JP2955008B2 - Short circuit device for electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is used in a short-circuit device for automatically engaging a connector terminal when a connector is in a non-operating state, particularly for an ignition device such as an airbag. And a short-circuit device that activates the ignition device only when necessary.

(Prior art, its problems, means for solving the problems, operations and effects) Various ignition devices for igniting propellants and ammunition have already been proposed. Many of these known igniters have insulated connector leads that connect to the igniter element, such as a conductive bridge formed of a thin metal filament or the like.
However, a significant problem with these igniters is that they may start before the connectors are mated together. This problem becomes more severe as the sensitivity of the igniter increases.

As an example, a vehicle equipped with an airbag system requires a sensitive ignition device with a relatively short response time. In the event of a vehicle collision, the response time of the igniter must be short, as the igniter must ignite the airbag system with a fraction of a second to inflate the airbag. However, the system must be reliable to prevent unintentional ignition of the airbag and possible injury.

To prevent unintended starting of the igniter, various connectors have been designed to short the contacts when the igniter is inactive. As an example, a bracket type fuse is disclosed in DE 562,732. The bracket-type fuse is cut off when the conductors of the ignition device are electrically connected.

The problem with this type of device is that dangerous conditions can occur during the installation of the ignition system, especially when removing the fuse from the connector, and unintentional explosions or start-ups can occur in the presence of such dangerous conditions. Easy to happen.

German Patent No. 502,758 discloses a fuse designed so that the short-circuit condition automatically disappears when the ignition device is connected to a conductive wire, and the short-circuit condition is restored again when the connection is broken. However, the structure of this fuse is extremely complicated, and on the other hand, since the ignition device is required to be miniaturized, the individual parts must be manufactured with extremely high mechanical accuracy.
As a matter of course, the production cost is extremely high.

U.S. Pat.No. 4,369,707 discloses a relatively easy-to-manufacture short-circuit fuse in which the short circuit is automatically released when the ignition device is connected to the ignition circuit, and the short circuit is automatically restarted when the ignition device is disconnected from the ignition circuit. Is disclosed. However, this configuration also has some problems. Because the resilience of a short-circuit fuse is determined by the cooperation between the fuse and the housing, for proper functioning of the fuse (ie, for the fuse to remain in contact with the electrodes under resilient action), Various restrictions must be placed on the tolerances of the housing and fuse. Further, since the fuse is formed by stamping out a metal material, the contact point provided between the fuse and the ignition device terminal is not accurately controlled. As a result, the electrical connection between the fuse and the terminal becomes insufficient, which may lead to a dangerous state in which unintended start-up of the device is likely to occur.

Therefore, when the ignition device is connected to the ignition circuit, the short-circuit device having elasticity and electric characteristics which automatically stops operating when the ignition device is disconnected from the ignition circuit, automatically restarts when the ignition device is disconnected from the ignition circuit, and reliably operates for repeated use. It would be beneficial to be able to provide it. It would further be advantageous to provide a short circuit device that includes means for ensuring a positive electrical connection between the device and the electrodes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a short circuit for an electrical connector that automatically eliminates the short circuit when the mating connector is mated to the connector. If the mating connector is not inserted, the contact means provided on the short circuit device occupies the closed position by cooperating with the contact member of the electrical connector, and if the mating connector is inserted, the contact means assumes the open position without cooperating with the contact member. Occupy.

This short-circuit device is characterized in that a cam means is provided in the vicinity thereof. The cam means cooperates with the contact means to move the contact means between the open and closed positions.

As another feature of the invention, the contact means of the short-circuit device spans between the contact members of the electrical connector. Each contact means is biased under elastic action toward the corresponding contact member.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a pin-shaped electrode 2 is provided in an insulating housing 4 and extends to an ignition element (not shown). The electrodes 2 are insulated from each other and arranged in a hole 6 of the housing 4. I have. Placing the electrode 2 in the hole 6 allows the electrode to be accurately positioned and maintained in the housing. 3 to 6, the housing 4 extends beyond the electrode 2 to form a socket 8, which protects the electrode 2 from bending deformation and provides a contact, i.e., a connector. -It functions as guide means for guiding the plug 10 into the housing 4. The socket 8 also cooperates with the short-circuit contact 12 to hold the short-circuit contact 12 close to the electrode 2 as will be described in detail later.

The short-circuit contact 12 is a spring contact of circular cross section having the required electrical and mechanical properties, but the use of other types of short-circuit contact does not depart from the scope of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the short-circuit contact 12 has a first portion 14 in electrical contact with one of the electrodes 2,
A third portion 18 that is in electrical contact with the other electrode 2 and is electrically and mechanically connected to the first and third portions;
A second portion 16 having a substantially circular shape having a flat portion 20 near the free end 22 of the portion.

The relative heights of the first, second and third portions 14, 16, 18 will be apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4. That is, the first and third
The parts 14 and 18 rise obliquely from the second part 16. Fig. 4 shows part 1 with each part released from stress.
Shows a slope of 4,18. The second portion 16 also has a slope. That is, the inclined portion of the second portion is near the flat portion 20. Second
The ramp surface 24 of the portion 16 acts as a cam surface cooperating with the free end 22 of the first and third portions 14,18.

The short-circuit contact 12 is arranged in the socket 8 of the housing 4 close to the electrode 2. A locking projection 26 projects from the side wall 28 into the socket 8 to hold the short-circuit contact 12 in the socket 8. The projection 26 has an entry surface 30 and a shoulder 32, which cooperates with the contact 12 to hold the contact in the socket 8, as can be seen in FIGS. To position the short-circuit contact 12 in the socket 8, the short-circuit contact is inserted from above the socket 8 and pushed down. When the pressing operation is continued, the second portion 16 of the short-circuit contact 12 slides along the introduction surface 30 of the projection 26,
Accordingly, the second portion elastically deforms inward. This elastic deformation continues until the short-circuit contact 12 exceeds the protrusion 26. At the point beyond the projection 26, the second portion of the short-circuit contact returns to a state where it is released from the stress by the elastic action. In this state, the second part cooperates with the shoulder 32 to hold the short-circuit contact 12 in the socket 8, as can be seen in FIG.

When the electrodes 2 and the short-circuit contacts 12 are correctly arranged in the housing 4, the short-circuit contacts 12 establish the necessary connection between the electrodes. The first and third portions of the short-circuit contact are arranged between the electrodes. This is an essential condition in applications where the connector housing must be miniaturized. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, when the short-circuit contact 12 is in the safe position, ie, the operating position, the first and third portions 14, 18 are in electrical contact with the electrode 2. I have. That is, the electrical connection is ensured by maintaining the contact surface 34 in pressure contact with the electrode 2 under the elastic action. In other words, when the short-circuit contact 12 is in the operative position, the first and third portions are in a stressed state.
Since the electrodes prevent the first and third portions from moving to the stress-releasing position, the short-circuit contacts ensure a positive electrical connection by creating a contact force between the first and third portions and the electrodes. To

Since the possibility of the electrostatic charge acting on the electrodes due to the short-circuit state is prevented, the possibility of unintentionally starting the ignition element is also avoided.

When the connector plug 10 is fitted with the housing 4,
The electrode 2 comes to a position where it makes electrical contact with a mating contact (not shown) of the plug 10. When the plug 10 is continued to be inserted into the socket 8 of the housing 4 in a state where the electrode and the mating contact are in electrical contact, the ribs 36 of the plug cause the first and third portions 14 near the free end 22 of the short-circuit contact 12. , 18.

As insertion continues, ribs 36 press on the first and third portions as shown in FIGS. When pressed, the free ends 22 of the first and third portions 14, 18 are forcibly forced into the cam surface 24.
Contact with. The cam surface cooperates with the free ends to bring the free ends closer together. As a result, the downward movement of the plug 10 is converted into a downward inward movement of the first and third portions of the short-circuit contact. In this movement, the free end 22 comes into contact with the flat part of the short-circuit contact 12 (FIG. 6), and the connector plug
10 is continued until the position of FIGS. 5 and 6 is reached. 2 and 5, when the plug is completely inserted into the socket, the contact surfaces 34 of the first and third parts are separated from the electrode 2. This is the inactive position.

To remove the connector plug 10 from the socket 8, the plug 10 is moved upwardly from the position of FIGS. 5 and 6 to the position of FIGS. 3 and 4 and beyond. Along with this extracting operation, the first and third portions 14 and 18 of the short-circuit contact can return to the positions shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 under elastic action. With the return of the first and third portions, the contact surface 34 is forced to slide along a part of the surface of the electrode 2, so that a wiping action to ensure a positive electrical connection between the electrode and the short-circuit contact. Is obtained. As mentioned above, the first and third portions are maintained in a stressed state to ensure a sufficient contact force between the contact surface 34 and the electrode 2.

As the connector plug is pulled out, the contact of the plug comes off the electrode, and finally the plug separates from the socket. The electrical contact between the short-circuit contact and the electrode occurs before the contact between the plug contact and the electrode is released.
This can prevent the possibility of starting against the intention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector showing the operation of the short circuit device of the present invention, i.e., in a safe position. FIG. 2 shows the short-circuit device in the inactive, i.e.
It is a cross-sectional view of the electric connector similar to a figure. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1 showing the operation of the short-circuit device, that is, the safety position. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 1 showing the operation of the short-circuit device, that is, the safety position. FIG. 5 shows the short-circuit device inactive, i.e. in the second position, shown in the ignition position.
It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in the line of FIG. 5-5. FIG. 6 shows the short-circuit device inactive, i.e. in the second position, shown in the ignition position.
Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line in Fig. 6-6. 2 ... contact member (electrode) 4 ... insulating housing 10 ... electrical connector (plug) 12 ... short circuit member (short contact) 22 ... free end 24 ... Cam surface

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-55-14496 (JP, A) JP-A-55-51731 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60R 21/16 F42B 3/18 F42C 19/06 H01R 13/70-13/703 H01R 13/71-13/713 H01R 31/08

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An insulating housing having first and second contact members spaced apart from each other, and disposed within said insulating housing to substantially surround said contact members and to have free ends at said contact members. A short-circuit member having an integral structure passing between the members, wherein the free end of the short-circuit member is brought into contact with the cam surface and the free end of the short-circuit member is brought into contact with the contact when the mating electrical connector is fitted into the insulating housing. A short-circuit device for an electrical connector, wherein the short-circuit device moves from a short-circuit position in contact with a member to a non-contact position.