EP3262725B1 - Shielded electric connector - Google Patents

Description

Field of invention

The invention relates to a shielded electrical connector for connecting shielded electrical lines or connectors to one another and to methods for producing the shielded electrical connector.

Such a shielded electrical connector can take the form of the connection between two coaxial cables, or of several shielded cables among each other as a distributor, or the connection can exist between a shielded cable and a connector, or can take the form of a shielded multiple distributor, the several shielded connectors or connects shielded cables together.

Background of the invention

From the DE 196 13 228 B4 an electrical connector with connecting cable is known with a metallic coupling device with a union nut or with a screw and with an inwardly directed collar which is in contact with a crimped sleeve and establishes the connection between the coupling device and the shielding of the terminating cable. The manufacture of a shielded connector with a crimped shield sleeve is complex, many individual parts are required and the preparation of the cable to be connected is carried out by hand, as is the assembly of the many individual parts. In the case of angular connectors, manufacture is even more difficult to manage. The electrical connection by crimping Furthermore, sharing is not always safe, in particular the contact resistance at the crimp connection can change with temperature changes and with aging, which reduces the shielding quality of the connector.

From the U.S. Patent 5,906,513 a shielded injection-molded electrical connector is known in which a sleeve-shaped metallic housing is provided on the cable side with slots to form tabs which are pressed onto the metal braid shielding of the cable, after which the sleeve-shaped metal housing behind the metallic connector coupling, the exposed metal braid shielding and the cable end can be overmolded with thermoplastic material. The thermoplastic material contains strands of thin metal wire which are pressed against the sleeve-shaped metal housing during the injection molding process in order to establish good electrical continuity between the cable and connector or to the sleeve-like housings of connectors. Here, too, the contact resistance between the shielding parts can deteriorate with temperature changes and with aging.

From the DE 10 2008 018 403 A1 and the WO 2011/151373 A1 as well as the EP 2 109 194 A2 a connector with a shielded cable connected to it is known, in which a molded shield sleeve made of electrically conductive material, in particular an electrically conductive plastic, electrically connects the cable shield to the coupling nut of the connector. Electrically conductive plastic is generally understood to mean a plastic filled with metal fibers. Such electrically conductive material can be injection moldable (see DIN 24450). In detail, the electrical conductor ends of the cable are connected in the connector housing to which a Metal sleeve is arranged. An insulating carrier is then injection molded, which extends from the conductor screen into the housing. An electrically conductive sleeve part is injection molded around the insulating carrier, which connects the conductor screen to the metal sleeve and thus to the housing screen of the electrical connector. However, electrically conductive plastic only makes weak contacts to metallic surfaces of the connector or the cable, so that the contact resistance at the transition surfaces between the electrically conductive plastic material and the metallic surfaces on the connector or on the cable shield has increased values, which can also deteriorate if gaps or cracks open up at the transition surfaces as a result of the shrinkage or melting of the plastic. Furthermore, conductive plastics disadvantageously have a lower shielding attenuation than metal.

Out DE 10 2011 012 763 A1 a plug connector for a shielded cable is known in which an insulating body is encapsulated by injection molding with an electrically conductive composite material to form a shielding element. the DE 10 2012 009 790 A1 relates to the injection molding of a liquid metal component by means of a nozzle into the cavity of a tool or a mold. It is possible to inject the metal component onto a prefabricated component.

General description of the invention

The invention is based on the object of creating a shielded electrical connector with a good shield connection between shielded electrical lines and / or shielded plug connectors.

Another aspect of the task is to create a durable, shielded electrical connector in which the contact resistance between the components of the shielding involved remains low during the life of the connector.

Another aspect of the task is to create a shielded electrical connector which can be produced simply and largely by machine and has as few individual parts as possible.

The object of the invention is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous further developments of the invention are defined in the subclaims.

In detail, the shielded electrical connector contains one or more line elements which belong to at least one line or at least one plug connector. In the case of several lines, these can be at least partially connected to one another in order to form a distributor. The line elements can be designed, for example, as line cores of an electrical cable or as continuations of plug contact elements of a plug connector. The connector further comprises one or more shielding sleeves and / or one or more shielding housings which, as cable shielding, belong to at least one line or, as housing shielding elements, belong to at least one plug connector. The invention further comprises a shielding housing which either has a plurality of shielding shells with one another, or at least one shielding shell with at least one shielding housing, or connects several shielding housings with one another, or forms part of the shielding housing. The shielding housing consists of a cast metal body which has been cast in situ on ring areas of both the one shielding cover or the multiple shielding covers and on ring areas of the one shielding housing or the multiple shielding housings and provides an anchoring there with low electrical contact resistance and a complete, in particular causes complete shielding of the connector. The shielded housing can also extend between two shielded cables or cable groups to be connected to one another.

In other words, the screen housing preferably does not consist of prefabricated shell or sleeve parts, but is cast directly onto the connector, in particular onto and around the connector, during assembly or in the manufacturing process of the connector. Accordingly, liquid metal or a liquid metal alloy is poured directly onto components of the connector made of plastic and around them. The screen housing is accordingly cast in situ from liquid metal onto the already partially manufactured connector or cast around components of the partially manufactured connector in situ.

This avoids the formation of gaps, which can occur, for example, when a sleeve is crimped onto the shielding sleeve of a cable, or the shielding comprises two crimped sleeves. Furthermore, the contact resistance between the shielding sheaths of cables and / or the shielding housings of plug connectors to that in situ is made of liquid metal molded and the shielding sheaths and / or the shielding housing interconnecting the shield housing is low. The electrical connections made by the screen housing cast in situ are also durable and are only subject to aging processes to a small extent. Since the invention does not work with prefabricated shielding sleeves to be mounted, the manufacture of the connector is simplified. A particularly great simplification and quality improvement can be seen in the case of angle connectors.

When the shield housing is manufactured by casting directly onto the shielding sheaths and / or shielding housing, there is good anchoring and intimate connection between the adjacent parts of the shielding, which leads to a low contact resistance between the parts of the shielding. With a suitable choice of materials for the parts to be connected to one another, a metallurgical connection can even occur. Such a connection is particularly durable and of consistent quality.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the shield housing is at least partially cast on and around an intermediate insulating body made of temperature-resistant, electrically insulating material, which protects the line elements during the casting process of the shield housing. In order to handle the line elements when assembling the connector, the ends of the line elements, for example the conductors of a cable, are made free of the shielding sheath, which typically consists of a metal mesh. Even if the line elements are from a Line insulation should be surrounded, it can be advantageous to better protect the line elements with an additional intermediate insulating body against the hot molten metal flow when casting the shielded housing. The intermediate insulating body can consist of heat-resistant, electrically insulating material and be made sufficiently thick to meet the requirements when casting the screen housing.

In the case of a connector for paired connection with a mating connector, the rear continuations of the contact elements of the connector are used as the line elements. The contact elements or line elements are expediently accommodated in an electrically insulating connector housing. To this connector housing, which holds the contact elements or line elements, a coupling half of the connector, which is intended to work together with the other coupling half of the mating connector, is built around, which acts as an electrical shielding connection to the mating connector. This represents a simple and safe structure of a shielded connector.

The shielding housing of the connector can comprise a metallic connecting part and metallic half-shells which are fastened to the insulating connector housing with the aid of a coupling ring and which form part of the coupling half of the connector. A rear edge part of the metallic connecting part is encapsulated by the shielding housing, so that a good electrical connection to the shielding housing of the Connector is given what constitutes the shielding quality of the connector.

If the plug connector is designed for a data line and preferably has a plurality of line elements, these are protected by an intermediate insulating body made of electrically insulating and thermally poorly conductive material. In this case, the thermal conductivity of the material of the intermediate insulating body is preferably between 0.01 and 10 W / mK. For example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), compact polyurethane (PUR), polyimide (e.g. Kapton ^® ), polytherimide (PEI), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyamide (e.g. nylon ^® or Perlon ^® ), polypropylene (PP ), Polycarbonate (e.g. Makrolon ^® ), epoxy resin, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polysiloxane (silicone) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). If necessary, the intermediate insulating body consists of a foamed plastic with which a thermal conductivity between 0.01 and 0.1 W / mK, preferably around 0.02 W / mK, can be achieved. This provides good protection for sensitive wire insulation when casting the screen housing.

If one of the line elements of the connector leads to the protective earth (PE conductor), the shielding housing is preferably cast directly onto the protective earth with a cast branch. This represents a simple and secure connection between the outer shield and the protective earth (PE conductor) running on the inside, which simplifies the construction of the connector overall.

In the case of a power connector, the intermediate insulating body is made from an electrically insulating and thermally highly conductive material. The shielded housing is preferably provided with cooling ribs and, in particular, including the cooling ribs, is cast in situ from metal onto the thermally highly conductive intermediate insulating body. In this case, the thermal conductivity of the material of the intermediate insulating body is preferably between 0.2 and 10 W / mK. ^{LATICONTHER ®} or a prefabricated intermediate insulating body made of ceramic come into consideration, for example. In the case of heavy loads and great heat development in the power connector, good heat dissipation can thus still take place with a simple structure of the power connector.

The intermediate insulating body can either be used as a prefabricated intermediate insulating body for both the data connector and the power connector or, if a thermoplastic is used, it can be injection molded in situ before the shielded housing is cast, which allows an efficient manufacturing process.

The connector according to the invention can also be designed as a multiple distributor for one or more shielded lines and / or one or more shielded plug connectors. A distributor body with several connection points for line elements is provided, which either one or more lines, or one or more connectors. This distributor body and adjacent line elements are protected during the manufacture of the shielded housing and also later during the operation of the multiple distributor. The shielding housing surrounds the intermediate insulating body directly and, depending on the connection and distribution partner, is cast in situ either on ring areas of the shielding sheaths of the shielded cables and / or on end areas of the shielding housings of the connector and is thus intimately connected. The construction of the distributor thus enables a large number of different multiple distributors in which one or more plug connector connections or one or more direct line connections can also be used in a mixed manner.

In order to give the invention according to the invention a pleasing appearance and to electrically isolate the shield housing, as is customary in the trade, the shield housing is preferably surrounded by an insulating protective jacket made of plastic.

The screen housing made of cast metal can for example consist of a low-melting metal alloy. The solidus temperature is between 120 ° and 420 ° C, for example. In particular, the metal alloy can be a metal solder, for example a tin solder. For example, when using tin solder (melting temperature approx. 230 ° C.), no damage to the encapsulated plastic parts, such as line insulation and intermediate insulating bodies, has been shown. In particular when using metal solder, the shielding housing can melt components, for example tin-plating of the shielding sheaths or shielding housings, and with it during in situ casting these merge, which enables a particularly low-resistance shield connection.

The invention also relates to methods of making the shielded electrical connector in its various embodiments.

1. a) Verbinden der freien Enden der Leitungselemente miteinander;
2. b) Optional Aufbringen des Zwischenisolierkörpers auf den freien Enden der miteinander verbundenen Leitungselemente;
3. c) Umgießen der einen oder mehreren freigemachten Abschirmhüllen und/oder der einen oder mehreren Abschirmgehäuse und gegebenenfalls des Zwischenisolierkörpers mit flüssigem Metall zur Bildung des Schirmgehäuses.

The process for manufacturing the shielded electrical connector is therefore carried out in its general form as follows:

1. a) connecting the free ends of the line elements to one another;
2. b) optionally applying the intermediate insulating body to the free ends of the interconnected line elements;
3. c) Casting around the one or more exposed shielding shells and / or the one or more shielding housings and optionally the intermediate insulating body with liquid metal to form the shielding housing.

The optional intermediate insulating body can be applied, depending on the material, by injection molding the intermediate insulating body in situ, or the intermediate insulating body can be used as a prefabricated part.

If the shielded electrical connector is to connect two shielded lines to one another, the shielding sleeves and the line elements are at the end of the two Lines made free, the free ends of the line elements are connected to one another and the intermediate insulating body is applied to the free ends of the line elements connected to one another. Then the intermediate insulating body and the exposed shielding sheaths are encased with liquid metal to form the shielded housing. This creates a connector with a low electrical contact resistance between the shielding sheaths of the lines to be connected to one another and the shielded housing of the connector. This low electrical contact resistance promises to remain low over the long term, even with robust handling of the connector.

When producing an electrically shielded connector, in which line elements of a shielded line are connected to contact elements of the connector, the shielding sleeve and the line elements at the end of the shielded line are exposed, the contact elements of the connector are attached to the end of the line elements of the shielded line and through Inserting into the insulating connector housing, the contact elements are isolated from one another. The intermediate insulating body is applied between the insulating connector housing and the point at which the line elements have been freed from the common insulating jacket, i.e. on line elements that remain free or individually isolated, for example by overmolding with temperature-resistant plastic. A plastic is preferably used which has a temperature resistance in the range from about 180 ° C to 230 ° C. Then the intermediate insulating body and the are free Made shielding sheath of the cable encased with liquid metal to form the shielded housing. In this way, a connector with a simple, robust structure can be produced in which the electrical contact resistance between the shielding sleeve of the supply line and the shielding housing of the connector is low and promises to remain low during the life of the connector.

If the connector is designed as a multiple distributor, depending on whether the multiple distributor is to be connected directly to one or more lines, or whether the multiple distributor is to be provided with one or more individual plug connectors, the shielding sleeve and the line elements at the end of the line or lines to be connected made free and / or connectors with respective shielding housings and respective line elements are provided. The line elements are then connected to a distributor body. The intermediate insulating body is then applied to the exposed line elements and around the distributor body, for example produced by overmolding with plastic. Subsequently, the intermediate insulating body and each exposed shielding cover is cast around and / or the edge zone of the shielding housing in the case of a connector is cast around with liquid metal to form the shielding housing. The invention thus enables great variability in the construction of electrically shielded multiple distributors.

In the method according to the invention, soldered connections between the shielding housing and the shielding shell can be created by partial melting on the shielding shell concerned. Such soldered connections are created during the metal casting of the shielding housing when appropriate preparations are made on the respective shielding cover, for example when tinned wire meshes are used as the shielding cover.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments and with reference to the figures, with identical and similar elements in some cases being provided with the same reference numerals and the features of the various exemplary embodiments being able to be combined with one another.

Brief description of the figures:

Fig. 1

zwei Koaxialkabel mit sich gegenüberstehenden abisolierten Innenleitern und mit freigemachten Enden der Abschirmhüllen,

Fig. 2

die Innenleiter mit einer Kupplungshülse verbunden,

Fig. 3

die Kupplungshülse mit einem Zwischenisolierkörper versehen,

Fig. 4

die Abschirmhüllen der beiden Koaxialkabel über ein Schirmgehäuse verbunden,

Fig. 5

den Koaxialkabel-Verbinder nach Fig. 4 mit einem Schutzmantel versehen,

Fig. 6

einen Längsschnitt durch den Koaxialkabel-Verbinder der Fig. 5,

Fig. 7

ein abgeschirmtes Kabel mit an den abisolierten Ader-Enden angecrimpten Kontaktelementen,

Fig. 8

die Kontaktelemente in ein Verbindergehäuse gesteckt,

Fig. 9

die Adern außerhalb des Verbindergehäuses mit einer Zwischenisolierung umspritzt,

Fig. 10

das Kabelende mit einem metallischen Schirmgehäuse umgossen, das einen Ringflansch aufweist,

Fig. 11

den geschirmten Steckverbinder,

Fig. 12

den Steckverbinder nach Fig. 11 von einem Schutzmantel umgeben,

Fig. 13

einen Längsschnitt durch den Steckverbinder nach Fig. 12,

Fig. 14

ein vorbereitetes Kabelende an einen Steckverbinderkopf angeschlossen

Fig. 15

das Kabelende mit Steckverbinderkopf in ein Spritzgusswerkzeug eingelegt,

Fig. 16

das Kabelende nahe dem Steckverbinderkopf mit einem Zwischenisolierkörper umspritzt,

Fig. 17

den Steckverbinderkopf mit umspritztem Kabelende in ein Metallgusswerkzeug eingelegt,

Fig. 18

den Steckverbinder mit einem metallischen Schirmgehäuse umgossen,

Fig. 19

den Steckverbinder nach Fig. 18 mit einem Schutzmantel versehen,

Fig. 20

einen Längsschnitt durch einen Leistungssteckverbinder mit Schutzerde-Anbindung,

Fig. 21

einen vergrößerten Längsschnitt durch den Kopf des Leistungssteckverbinders in gedrehter Schnittebene,

Fig. 22

eine perspektivische Darstellung eines Leistungssteckverbinders,

Fig. 23

einen Leistungssteckverbinder in Winkelform,

Fig. 24

einen Verteilkörper eines Mehrfachverteilers,

Fig. 25

den Verteilkörper mit umspritztem Zwischenisolierkörper,

Fig. 26

den Mehrfachverteiler mit Schirmgehäuse,

Fig. 27

den Mehrfachverteiler nach Fig. 26 mit Schutzmantel und

Fig. 28

einen Längsschnitt durch den Mehrfachverteiler nach Fig. 27.

Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the drawings. It shows:

Fig. 1

two coaxial cables with stripped inner conductors facing each other and with exposed ends of the shielding sleeves,

Fig. 2

the inner conductor connected with a coupling sleeve,

Fig. 3

provide the coupling sleeve with an intermediate insulating body,

Fig. 4

the shielding sheaths of the two coaxial cables are connected via a shielded housing,

Fig. 5

the coaxial cable connector Fig. 4 provided with a protective jacket,

Fig. 6

a longitudinal section through the coaxial cable connector of Fig. 5 ,

Fig. 7

a shielded cable with contact elements crimped onto the stripped wire ends,

Fig. 8

the contact elements are plugged into a connector housing,

Fig. 9

the wires outside the connector housing are coated with intermediate insulation,

Fig. 10

the end of the cable is encased in a metallic shielded housing with an annular flange,

Fig. 11

the shielded connector,

Fig. 12

the connector Fig. 11 surrounded by a protective sheath,

Fig. 13

a longitudinal section through the connector Fig. 12 ,

Fig. 14

a prepared cable end is connected to a connector head

Fig. 15

the cable end with the connector head is placed in an injection molding tool,

Fig. 16

the cable end near the connector head is coated with an intermediate insulating body,

Fig. 17

the connector head with the molded cable end is placed in a metal casting tool,

Fig. 18

the connector is encased in a metallic shielded housing,

Fig. 19

the connector Fig. 18 provided with a protective jacket,

Fig. 20

a longitudinal section through a power connector with protective earth connection,

Fig. 21

an enlarged longitudinal section through the head of the power connector in a rotated sectional plane,

Fig. 22

a perspective view of a power connector,

Fig. 23

an angled power connector,

Fig. 24

a distributor body of a multiple distributor,

Fig. 25

the distribution body with overmolded intermediate insulating body,

Fig. 26

the multiple distributor with shielded housing,

Fig. 27

the multiple distributor Fig. 26 with protective sheath and

Fig. 28

a longitudinal section through the multiple distributor Fig. 27 .

Detailed description of the invention

the Figs. 1-6 show the creation of a coaxial cable connector. The coaxial cables form a first shielded line 1 and a second shielded line 2. Each line comprises a line element 11 or 21, line insulation 12 or 22, a shielding sleeve 10 or 20 and an insulating jacket 13 or 23 To connect 21 to one another, a metallic coupling sleeve 31 is used, which electrically connects the two bare ends of the line elements 11 and 21 to one another. In the space between the line insulation 12 and 22, an intermediate insulating body 32 made of temperature-resistant insulating Injection-molded plastic so that the line insulation of the two coaxial cables meet at roughly the same diameter. The gap between the two exposed insulating jackets 13 and 23 is closed by a shielded housing 30 which electrically connects the shielding sheaths 10 and 20 to one another. The shielding sleeves 10, 20 consist, for example, of a metal wire mesh, so that good anchoring and good electrical contact with the shielding housing 30 is obtained when casting around.

This leads to a low electrical contact resistance between the shielding sleeves 10, 20 on the one hand and the shielding housing 30 on the other hand. The screen housing 30 thus consists of a metal body cast in situ, which is produced by means of a metal casting tool. A corresponding metal casting tool is in Fig. 17 shown. If necessary, the screen housing 30 cast in situ is produced without a sprue using hot runner technology, for example in FIG DE 10 2012 009 790 which is hereby incorporated by reference.

In the shape of Fig. 4 the coaxial cable connector is usable per se. Usually, however, a protective jacket 33 is also placed around the shielded housing 30 and the adjacent ends of the lines 1 and 2. The commercially available form of a connector 3 is thus obtained. The shielded connection between the two lines 1 and 2 is now complete.

the Fig. 7-13 show the creation of a connector that connects a shielded line 1 to contact elements 34 of the connector. The shielded line 1 as a cable comprises one or more Line elements 11, line insulation 12, a shielding sleeve 10 and an insulating jacket 13 all around. How out Fig. 7 As can be seen, the front end of the line 1 is stripped so that the bare ends of the line elements 11, onto which the contact elements 34 are crimped, protrude from the line insulation 12 and the shielding sleeve 10 and the insulating jacket 13 are also through the front end of the line 1 a cut at 14 has been shortened. Furthermore, the insulating jacket 13 was cut through a cut at 15 until it reached the shielding sleeve 10 and an insulating jacket edge part 16 was pushed forward in the direction of the line end in order to expose a shielding ring region 101 which is axially limited on both sides. Furthermore, a union nut 351, as part of a coupling half 35, is pushed onto the end of the line 1 until the intact insulating jacket 13 is reached.

The ends of the line elements 11 are now pushed with the crimped contact elements 34 into bores of an insulating connector housing 36, after which the in Fig. 8 shown condition arises. As can be seen, there is a free area 17 between the connector housing 36 and the insulating jacket edge part 16, in which the individual line elements 11 provided with line insulation 12 are located, as in FIG Fig. 8 shown. This remaining free area 17 is closed by injection molding with insulating plastic, for example Macromelt, to form an intermediate insulating body 32, as in FIG Fig. 9 shown.

Based on the in Fig. 9 State shown, a screen housing 30 is formed by casting around the intermediate insulating body 32 and the shielding sleeve 10 in the ring area 101 made of liquid metal. The screen housing 30, cast in situ in this way, also extends partially around the insulating connector housing 36 and forms an annular flange 301 there. The captured union nut 351 can now be pushed over the screen housing 30 until it rests against the annular flange 301, as shown in FIG Fig. 11 shown. This represents the usable state of the connector. To get to the commercially available embodiment, a protective jacket 33 is injection molded over the screen housing 30, the connector having the appearance Fig. 12 and 13th accepts.

The production of a further connector 4 is carried out according to Figures 14-19 explained. First, a head of the connector 4 is connected to the end of the line elements 11 of the line 1. For this purpose, the line elements 11 and the shielding sleeve 10 have been made free in the shielding ring area 101, as shown on the basis of FIG Fig. 7 has been described.

The head of the connector 4 has a union nut 451, which is part of the coupling half, which works together with a mating connector (not shown) in order to connect the connector 4 to the mating connector in a paired manner. The front end of an electrically insulating connector housing 46, in which the contact elements are arranged, which are connected to the bare ends of the line elements 11, can be seen covered by the union nut 451. The head of the connector 4 also includes a metallic connecting part 41, which is attached to the rear end of the Connector head protrudes and extends to the front and around the electrically insulating connector housing 46 in order to ensure the shielding to this when coupling with a mating connector.

With Fig. 15 an open injection molding tool 5 is shown, which has a cavity for receiving the composite of the head of the connector 4 and the line 1. The metallic connecting part 41 has a first sealing ring region 411 which, together with the insulating jacket edge part 16, delimits a casting cavity 50. An injection molding channel 51, over which an electrically insulating plastic is injected, which envelops the line elements 11, leads to this casting cavity 50. After cooling, an intermediate insulating body 32 is formed, as in FIG Fig. 16 shown.

The raw connector according to Fig. 16 is inserted into the cavity of a metal casting tool 6 ( Fig. 17 ), wherein a casting cavity 60 is delimited between the insulating jacket 13 of the line 1 and a second sealing ring area 412. Casting channels 61 and 62 lead into this casting cavity 60 through which liquid metal of a metal alloy, for example tin solder, is poured. After cooling, the solidified metal alloy forms the shielding housing 30, which encloses the intermediate insulating body 32, the insulating jacket edge part 16 and the shielding sleeve 10 in the shielding ring area 101. If the casting has not been carried out seamlessly, any sprues that may still have arisen are removed, after which a plug-in connector that can be used per se is obtained, as shown in FIG Fig. 18 is shown. Commercially available, shielded connectors have however, a protective jacket 33 around the screen housing 30, as shown in FIG Fig. 19 and 20th is shown.

To produce such a commercially available connector, the connector, which is usable per se, is inserted into a casting cavity of a further injection molding tool, not shown, in such a way that the injection molding tool seals against the sealing ring area 412 on the one hand and on an unaffected area of the insulating jacket 13 on the other side of the screen housing 30 on the other. Then the connector becomes the Fig. 18 between the sealing ring area 412 and the unaffected area of the insulating jacket 13 is encapsulated with insulating plastic, whereby the protective jacket 33 surrounding the shielded housing 30 and a commercially available connector according to FIG Fig. 19 is obtained.

The work described can be carried out fully automatically. By dividing them into individual steps and performing these steps along a production line, which can also be designed as a round plate, rapid production is possible. The total cycle time can be shorter than if the connector were manufactured with a single, but then thick-walled overmolding. If the overmoulding with insulating plastic and the overmolding with liquid metal for three consecutive connectors are carried out at the same time, the throughput time per connector piece is determined by the longest cycle time in the manufacturing process. It should be noted that metal overmolding has a very short cycle time.

the Fig. 20 , 21 show a longitudinal section through a power connector with protective earth connection (PE connection) of the shielded housing 30. As can be seen from this, the bare ends 110 of the line elements 11 are mechanically and thus also electrically connected to contact elements 44, for example by soldering, squeezing or crimping. The head of the plug connector 4 has an electrically insulated connector housing 46, through whose axial bores the front ends of the contact elements 44 are inserted. A tubular metallic connecting part 41 extends around the connector housing 46 and is provided with engagement projections 413 in order to hold metallic half-shells 42 which, with screw connections 420, form part of the coupling half 45 of the plug connector 4. The half-shells 42, of which there are, for example, two, are held by a compression ring 43 on the metallic connecting part 41 and the insulating connector housing 46 by pressing force. The metallic connecting part 41 and the half-shells 42 form a shielding housing 40 around the relevant connector 4, which has a rear ring area 401 at which it is intimately connected to the shielding housing 30 due to the metal casting of the shielding housing 30 in situ.

The power connector according to Fig. 20 and 21 is made in a similar way as with Figures 14-19 has been described. The end of the line 1 is provided with a shielding ring area 101 to expose the shielding sleeve 10 and at the head of the connector 4 there is the metallic connecting part 41 which, together with the half-shells 42, provides the shielding on the entire connector head represents. The shielding on the connector 4 is accomplished by the shielded housing 30, which is made by in situ metal casting in the with Figures 14-19 described manner is generated.

A contact element 440 ( Fig. 20 ) carries protective earth (PE) and is connected to the in situ cast shielded housing 30 via a junction 303 cast directly at the same time. In this example, the intermediate insulating body 32 consists of electrically insulating and thermally poorly conductive material in order to protect the line elements 11 against the heat from the molten metal during the manufacture of the shielded housing 30 by means of the metal casting.

the Figures 22 and 23 represent a power connector, which can be constructed in a similar way inside as the connector according to Fig. 20 and 21 , however, the intermediate insulating body 32 consists of electrically insulating, but highly thermally conductive material in order to be able to better dissipate the waste heat of the power connector during operation. With filled plastics, a thermal conductivity of 0.2 W / mK to almost 10 W / mK can be achieved with good electrical insulation. The intermediate insulating body 32 can, however, also consist of a prefabricated ceramic component, which can have an even higher thermal conductivity. The shielding sleeve 30 is also provided here with cooling fins 302 in order to dissipate heat from the interior of the power connector even better to the outside.

Using the example of the power connector of the Fig. 23 it is shown that such a connector can also be used as an angle connector can be built. However, this also applies to the other designs described. Essentially, all that is required is adapted injection molding tools or metal casting tools in an angular shape for the casting cavity.

A data connector is produced accordingly, it being possible to use a plastic for the intermediate insulating body 32 which has a low thermal conductivity, since less heat needs to be dissipated during operation. In return, this has the advantage that when the screen housing 30 is cast in situ, the line elements 11 are even better protected from the effects of heat.

the Figures 24 to 28 show a shielded multiple distributor, which represents a connector for connecting several shielded plug connectors 7 to one another. The connection of the individual plug connectors 7 takes place via a distribution body 8. This distribution body 8 contains two circuit boards 81 and 82 with distribution lines between connection points 83, 84 and 85. The connection points 85 are connected to one another via cross connection lines 86.

The connectors 7 comprise a metallic connecting part which has an outer shield case 70 ( Fig. 28 ) forms and the coupling is used to form a complementary mating connector. An electrically insulating connector housing 76 is housed in the interior of the shield housing 70 in order to hold the contact elements 74. The contact elements 74 are at associated connection points 83 or 84 connected to the distributor body 8 and have extensions which form line elements 71. Based on the state of the Fig. 24 an intermediate insulating body 32 is injection molded around the line elements 71 and the distributor body 8, so that the state according to FIG Fig. 25 is achieved. A shielding housing 30 ( Fig. 26 ) cast, i.e. manufactured as a metal body cast in situ, which interlocks with the shielding housings 70 of the connector 7 ( Fig. 28 ) and thereby causes an extremely low contact resistance between parts 70 and 30. The shielding housing 30 surrounds the intermediate insulating body 32 without any gaps and thus offers good shielding of the overall connector also in the area of the distributor body 8.

In order to give the connector a commercial appearance, a protective jacket 33 is placed around the shielded housing 30 by injection molding. The connector completed in this way is in Fig. 27 shown.

The connector designed as a multiple distributor of the Fig. 27 can also be modified in such a way that it comprises one or more shielded lines without any plug connectors 7. In other words, one, some or all of the plug connectors 7 can be replaced by directly connected shielded lines 1 or 2. In this case, the line elements 11, 21 of the relevant lines are connected to the distributor body 8 in the sense of the line elements 71. Thereafter, the intermediate insulating body 32 is produced by injection molding and the intermediate insulating body 32 is encapsulated with the shielding housing 30 made of metal and at the same time the electrical Connection to the shielding sleeve 10, 20 of the respectively connected line 1, 2 is established. Then - if desired - the protective jacket 33 is attached.

Various low-melting metals and metal alloys, particularly metal solders, are useful for the purposes of the invention. All lead-containing tin solders, all lead-free tin solders, including Sn-Bi solders with a melting point of around 130 ° C and silver solders can be used. The shielding sleeve 10 of the relevant lines or the connecting part 41 of a correspondingly designed connector can be tin-plated, which is beneficial for the connection to the shielded housing 30, especially if it consists of tin solder so that it fuses with the shielded housing 30. Nickel-plating of the parts mentioned is also possible. The parts mentioned can also consist of bare stainless steel. Shielding sleeves can also be designed as braided shields with bare copper wires.

For the stability of the connection between the connecting part 41 on the one hand and the shield housing 30 on the other hand, or between the shielding sleeve 10 and the shield housing 30, it is advantageous if there are thin ribs and thin shield wires that can heat up strongly when the metal is encapsulated that when these thin parts are tinned, the surface of these thin parts melts well locally and a good soldering takes place there. This results in a particularly low electrical contact resistance.

When tests were carried out, the connector according to the invention showed a contact resistance in the milliohm range. This very low contact resistance remained unchanged even after major temperature changes were carried out.

Another remarkable property of the connector according to the invention is the design of the screen housing 30 as a completely closed unit, apart from the axial openings for the supply lines or for the individual plug connectors. The shielding of the connected cable or the connector head is connected to these openings and completes the all-round shielding by 360 °. In other words, the shielding housing 30 is therefore preferably closed radially completely and without gaps in the area of the line connections. The shield housing 30 accordingly forms, in particular, a metal shell that is closed around the entire circumference of the shield connection.

Further possible modifications

The intermediate insulating body 32 serves to protect and / or isolate the line elements (line core in the case of a cable or rear ends of the contact elements in the case of a connector) and can be produced in a way other than by overmolding the line elements with insulating plastic. Seals, shrink tubes, plastic housings and adhesives or prefabricated insert parts can be provided in order to protect the line elements against the liquid metal when the shield housing 30 is produced.

In some embodiments of the intermediate insulating body 32, the shielding shell 10 can protrude beyond the cut surface 14 in order to electrically connect the shielding housing 30 to this protruding end of the shielding shell 10 by encapsulating liquid metal.

The intermediate insulating body 32 can also be produced using the low-pressure method, which enables sealing directly on the line elements 11 or on the shielding sleeve 10.

The protective jacket 33 does not necessarily have to be produced by insert molding with plastic. A prefabricated component, such as a grommet, can also be used as a protective jacket 33.

It is evident to the person skilled in the art that the embodiments described above are to be understood as examples and that the invention is not restricted to these, but rather can be varied in many ways without departing from the scope of protection of the claims. Furthermore, it can be seen that the features, regardless of whether they are disclosed in the description, the claims, the figures or otherwise, also individually define essential components of the invention, even if they are described together with other features.

Claims (15)

1. A shielded electrical connector for connecting shielded electrical lines or plug-in connectors to one another, comprising:

   - one or more conductor elements (11, 21, 71) belonging to at least one line (1,2) or at least one plug-in connector (4, 7);

   - one or more shielding sleeves (10, 20) or shielding casings (40, 70) belonging to at least one line (1, 2) or at least one electrical plug-in connector (4, 7);

   - a shielding housing (30) either connecting a plurality of shielding sleeves (10, 20) with one another, or connecting at least one shielding sleeve (10) to at least one shielding casing (40), or connecting a plurality of shielding casings (70) with one another, or forming part of the shielding casing; and

   - an intermediate insulating body (32) made of temperature-resistant, electrically insulating material;

   characterised in that
   the shielding housing (30) consists of a cast metal body that has been cast in situ from liquid metal or liquid metal alloy on and around annular portions (101, 201, 401, 701) of the one or more shielding sleeves (10, 20) or the one or more shielding casings (40, 70), where it establishes an anchoring means having a low electrical contact resistance and provides complete shielding of the electrical connector; and that the shielding housing (30) has been cast in situ at least partially onto the intermediate insulating body (32), and wherein the intermediate insulating body (32) protects the one or more conductor elements (11) during the casting process of the shielding housing (30).
2. The shielded electrical connector according to claim 1, in the form of a plug-in connector (4) for being mated with a complementary plug-in connector, wherein the terminal elements (34, 44) of the plug-in connector (4) are the conductor elements thereof, and wherein an electrically insulating connector housing (36, 46) is provided which supports the terminal elements, wherein furthermore a coupling half (45) is defined on the plug-in connector (4), which is effective as an electrical shielding connection to the complementary plug-in connector.
3. The shielded electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein the shielding casing (40) comprises a metallic coupling part (41) and metallic half shells (42) mounted on the insulating connector housing (46) by means of a sleeve ring (43) and define a portion of the coupling half (45).
4. The shielded electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
   wherein one of the conductor elements (110) is on protective earth (PE) and the shielding casing (40) is electrically connected to the protective earth (PE) through a cast branching (303).
5. The shielded electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
   wherein the plug-in connector (4) is implemented as a data connector and comprises a plurality of conductor elements (11) which are surrounded by the intermediate insulating body (32) that comprises electrically insulating material of low thermal conductivity.
6. The shielded electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
   wherein the plug-in connector (4) implemented as a power connector and comprises a plurality of conductor elements, which are surrounded by the intermediate insulating body (32) that comprises electrically insulating material of good thermal conductivity and has been cast in situ on and around the shielding housing (30) including cooling fins (302).
7. The shielded electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

   configured as a multiway terminal block for one or more shielded lines and/or for one or more shielded plug-in connectors (7), comprising:

   - a distributing body (8) having a plurality of connection points (83, 84) for the conductor elements (11, 21, 71) belonging to either one or more lines, or to one or more plug-in connectors (7);

   - an intermediate insulating body (32) surrounding the distributing body (8) and adjacent conductor elements (11, 21, 71);

   wherein the shielding housing (30) surrounds the intermediate insulating body (32) and has been cast in situ either on and around the annular portions of shielding sleeves of the shielded lines and/or onto peripheral portions (701) of shielding casings (70) of the plug-in connectors (7).
8. The shielded electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
   wherein the shielding housing (30) is enclosed by an electrically insulating protective jacket (33).
9. The shielded electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
   wherein the shielding housing (30) is made of a low-melting metal alloy.
10. The shielded electrical connector according to claim 9, wherein the metal alloy is a tin solder.
11. A method for producing a shielded electrical connector according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of:

    a) connecting the stripped ends of the conductor elements (11, 21) with one another;

    b) applying the intermediate insulating body (32) onto the stripped ends of the interconnected conductor elements (11, 21);

    c) overcasting the one or more stripped shielding sleeves (10, 20) and/or the one or more shielding casings (40, 70) and the intermediate insulating body (32) with liquid metal or liquid metal alloy to form the shielding housing (30), wherein the intermediate insulating body (32) protects the one or more conductor elements (11) during the casting process of the shielding housing (30).
12. The method for producing a shielded electrical connector according to claim 11, wherein for producing a coaxial cable connector which connects a first shielded line (1) to a second shielded line (2), the shielding sleeves (10, 20) and the conductor elements (11, 21) are stripped at the ends of the first and the second lines (1, 2) prior to step a); and wherein in step c) the intermediate insulating body (32) and the stripped shielding sleeves (10, 20) are overcast with liquid metal to form the shielding housing (30).
13. The method for producing a shielded electrical connector according to claim 11, wherein for producing a plug-in connector (4) according to claim 2, which connects conductor elements (11) of a shielded line (1) to terminal elements (34, 44) of the plug-in connector (4), step a) is performed comprising

    - stripping the shielding sleeve (10) and the conductor elements (11) at the end of the shielded line (1);

    - mounting the terminal elements (34, 44) at the ends of the conductor elements (11) and insulating the terminal elements from each other by the insulating connector housing (36, 46);

    and in step c), overcasting the intermediate insulating body (32) and the stripped shielding sleeve (10) with liquid metal to form the shielding housing (30).
14. The method for producing a shielded electrical connector according to claim 11, wherein for producing a multiway terminal block according to claim 7, which connects one or more shielded lines and/or one or more shielded electrical plug-in connectors (7) to one another, the method comprises, prior to step a),

    stripping the shielding sleeve (10) and the conductor elements (11) at the ends of the one or more line(s) to be connected, and/or providing the one or more shielded electrical plug-in connector(s) (7) with a respective shielding casing (70) and respective conductor elements (71); and applying the intermediate insulating body (32) onto the stripped conductor elements (71) and around the distributing body (8);

    and step c) comprises overcasting the intermediate insulating body (32) and the stripped shielding sleeve in the case of a shielded line to be connected, and/or the peripheral portion (701) of the shielding casing (70) in the case of a shielded electrical plug-in connector (7) with liquid metal to form the shielding housing (30).
15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, as far as shielded lines (1, 2) are concerned, wherein a respective solder connection is established between the shielding housing (30) and the one or more shielding sleeves (10, 20) of the shielded lines (1, 2) by partially melting metal at the concerned shielding sleeve (10, 20).

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