EP3703198B1 - Connector, plug and method for producing a plug - Google Patents

Description

Area

The invention relates to a connection device for establishing an electrical connection between a plug and a mating plug. The invention also relates to a plug connection and a method for producing a plug connection.

background

In automotive engineering, there are applications in which sensors are arranged in a closed housing and have to be electrically contacted in order to supply the sensors with electrical energy and to transmit signals between the sensors and a control unit. Contact is typically made through an opening in the otherwise closed housing. A cable bushing is arranged in the opening, by means of which the sensor plug is inserted into the housing through the opening. A typical application for such a connection device is the contacting of a sensor for an electric power steering, which has a sensor for detecting the rotational position and the torque of a steering shaft. The sensor is arranged in a housing through which passes a steering shaft which is connected to a steering wheel of a motor vehicle. A sensor plug should be connected to the sensor in such a way that the sensor plug does not transmit any shocks or vibrations that occur during operation of the motor vehicle to the sensor. Such vibrations can lead to disturbances in the measurement signals or impair the operational reliability of the electrical connections between the sensor connector and a mating connector. For this purpose, with conventional connection devices, the sensor plug must be mechanically separated from the cable bushing during assembly by manual intervention. This intervention in the installation space where the sensor is arranged takes place through a separate opening in the housing. This process is complex, manual and therefore unsafe and also difficult to automate.

From the DE 698 14 251 T2 discloses a flexible and elastically deformable protective sleeve for securing the passage of a wiring harness between body panels. A plug holder is provided at one end of the protective cover, in which a plug is detachably held.

the US 2002/0189837 A1 shows an elastic cable bushing which has a plug holder. A plug is detachably held in the plug holder by means of a latching device.

the JP 2000 311751A also discloses a grommet made of an elastic material with a holder for a plug. The plug is detachably held in the holder.

the US 2010/0025077 A1 also describes a bushing for a cable harness for a motor vehicle. The bushing is made of an elastic material and includes a plug holder in which a plug is detachably held.

From the EP 1 986 281 B1 a connection device is known in which a sensor plug is held on a holder on a cable bushing. The sensor connector can be inserted with the holder into an opening in the housing and plugged into a corresponding mating connector of the sensor. Thereafter, the holder is rotated so that the sensor plug comes free from the holder. The sensor plug is then mechanically separated from the holder. However, this connection device presupposes that there is a sufficiently large installation space in the area where the sensor plug is plugged onto the mating plug in order to be able to rotate the holder. However, rotating the holder also twists the connecting cables, which means that a certain force is transferred to the sensor plug. The mechanical decoupling between the cable bushing and the sensor plug is therefore not 100% given.

Proceeding from this, the present invention has the object of creating a connection device in order to overcome or at least improve one or more of the problems mentioned at the outset.

Summary of the Invention

To solve this problem, the invention proposes, according to a first aspect, a connection device with a plug that is set up to establish an electrical connection with a mating plug. The connecting device has a cable bushing and a plug holder in which the plug is detachably held. The plug holder is designed to be elastic in the plug-in direction of the plug. The elastic connector holder ensures that even with different distances between the connector and the mating connector, an essentially unchanged insertion force is always exerted because the connector holder can compensate for the different distances. An even mating force prevents damage to the connector or the mating connector and ensures consistent quality of the connector. In addition, this makes it easier to automate the production of the plug-in connection, because a robot would possibly exert too high a plug-in force if the distance between plug and mating plug is lower than usual. The plug holder of the connection device according to the invention can be displaced in the plug-in direction in the cable bushing.

After the plug has been plugged into the mating plug, the plug holder is removed from the plug in order to achieve mechanical decoupling of the plug as far as possible. In this case, no forces are transmitted to the connection lines of the plug, so that the mechanical decoupling of the plug from the cable bushing goes further than in known devices.

The plug holder can expediently have an elastic element and/or an elastic section whose deformation can compensate for manufacturing tolerances and at the same time ensure a uniform plug-in force.

The plug holder advantageously has elastic arms which hold the plug in a non-positive manner. The elasticity of the arms is adjusted in such a way that they hold the connector securely during assembly, but the connector holder can be easily pulled off as soon as the connection is made and the connector holder is pulled back in the opposite direction to the mating direction.

In an alternative embodiment, the plug holder can be easily releasably latched to the plug holder.

The cable bushing expediently has openings for insulated lines which are electrically conductively connected to the contacts of the plug. It also makes sense for the lines to have seals to seal the cable bushing. In addition, it is favorable if the cable bushing has a seal on the outside that seals the housing into which the cable bushing is inserted.

Advantageously, the cable bushing has latching elements which latch in a housing opening when the connection device is in the installed position in the housing. In this way, the cable bushing is securely fixed in the assembly position.

In an advantageous embodiment, the connector holder is releasably fixed in the direction of insertion by means of a locking element. The fixation of the connector holder ensures that the connector can be inserted into the connector with a predetermined insertion force. For this it makes sense that the connector holder is initially fixed until the plug connection is made.

Expediently, the locking element can be a slide which is latched in an initial position on the cable bushing before the cable bushing is installed in the housing.

The locking element can advantageously be actuated after the cable bushing has been installed in the housing. By actuating the locking element, the plug holder is pulled back in the opposite direction to the plug-in direction of the plug.

An ergonomically advantageous solution is when the locking element can be displaced transversally or transversely to the insertion direction. In the case of manual assembly of the connection device, the locking element can be actuated, for example, by a worker with his thumb.

It is particularly advantageous if the locking element latches in an end position and fixes the plug holder in a retracted end position. The latched locking element causes the plug holder to remain in its retracted position and also not to approach the plug again accidentally or due to vibrations in a vehicle and thereby transmit the vibrations to the plug connection. The transfer of vibrations to the connector should be avoided as far as possible.

The plug holder expediently has a structural element which protrudes in the radial direction, which is guided in a groove in the cable bushing and, in cooperation with the cable bushing, provides the plug holder with anti-twist protection. In particular, several structural elements can also be present, which are designed, for example, as wings projecting radially from a central rod. In cooperation with a corresponding channel in the cable bushing, the structural elements guide the connector holder in the longitudinal direction. At least one of the structural elements creates an anti-twist device that ensures that the connector holder is always mounted in the same angular position. The same angular position is important so that the connector can find the mating connector as easily as possible during assembly.

In a particularly advantageous exemplary embodiment, the structural element projecting in the radial direction blocks a latching element of the cable bushing when the connection device is mounted in its mounting position in a housing or in a housing opening. In this case, the structural element can be the same structural element that provides the anti-twist device or a different one. I.e. anti-twist protection and blocking of a latching element can be provided by the same or by different structural elements.

According to a second aspect, a plug connection made up of a plug and a mating plug is proposed, which has a connection device according to the first aspect of the invention. The plug connection achieves the same advantages as the connection device.

In an advantageous exemplary embodiment of the plug-in connection, the mating connector is designed in the shape of a funnel on the front side. The funnel-shaped design of the mating connector makes it easier for the connector and mating connector to come together during assembly. Even if there are small misalignments between the connector and the mating connector, the connector finds its way into the funnel opening of the mating connector and guides the connector securely to the contacts of the mating connector in the mating direction.

• Einführen eines Steckers, der an einer Anschlussvorrichtung nach dem ersten Aspekt der Erfindung gehaltert ist, in eine Öffnung eines Gehäuses;
• Stecken des Steckers auf einen passenden Gegenstecker.
• Betätigen eines Verriegelungselementes, um einen Steckerhalter entgegen der Steckrichtung des Steckers zurückzuziehen und
• Verrasten des Verriegelungselementes in einer Endstellung, um den Steckerhalter in einer vom Stecker abgezogenen Entstellung zu fixieren.

According to a third aspect, a method for producing a plug connection is proposed. The procedure includes the following steps:

• inserting a plug held on a connector device according to the first aspect of the invention into an opening of a housing;
• Plug the connector into a suitable mating connector.
• Actuating a locking element in order to withdraw a plug holder counter to the insertion direction of the plug and
• Latching of the locking element in an end position in order to fix the plug holder in a disfigurement removed from the plug.

The method according to the invention makes it possible to produce a plug connection according to the second aspect of the invention with the advantages mentioned above.

Brief description of the drawing

Fig. 1

eine schematische Darstellung eines elektrischen Bauteils in einem Gehäuse;

Fig. 2

eine perspektivische Ansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Anschlussvorrichtung;

Fig. 3

eine perspektivische Draufsicht von oben auf die Anschlussvorrichtung mit abgenommenem Deckel;

Fig. 4

eine Detailansicht eines Ausschnitts von der Kabeldurchführung;

Fig. 5

eine in ein Gehäuse eingesetzte Anordnung;

Fig. 6

erfindungsgemäßen Anschlussvorrichtung mit zurückgezogenem Steckerhalter;

Fig. 7

den Steckerhalter als Einzelteil; und

Fig. 8

ein Flussdiagrmm

The invention is explained in more detail below by way of example using an embodiment with reference to the accompanying figures. All figures are purely schematic and not to scale. Show it:

1

a schematic representation of an electrical component in a housing;

2

a perspective view of a connecting device according to the invention;

3

a perspective plan view from above of the connection device with the cover removed;

4

a detailed view of a section of the cable bushing;

figure 5

an assembly inserted into a housing;

6

connection device according to the invention with retracted connector holder;

7

the connector holder as a single part; and

8

a flow chart

Identical or similar elements are provided with the same or similar reference symbols in the figures.

execution example

In figure 1 an electrical component 100 is shown in very general terms, which is electrically connected to a connector plug 101 . The component 100 is, for example, a sensor 100 that is arranged in a housing 102 of an electric power steering system and detects the rotational position of a steering shaft 103 . A connecting piece, which has an opening 105 , is arranged on the housing 102 . Contact is made with the connector plug 101 through the opening 105. The connector plug 101 is also referred to below as the mating connector 101 because it is connected to a sensor connector 208 ( figure 2 ) is connected. A number of contacts 106 are shown schematically in mating connector 101, by means of which sensor 100 is electrically contacted in order to supply it with electrical energy and to transmit measurement signals. The electrical connection between the connector plug 101 and the electrical component 100 is established by means of electrical lines 107, which can be realized, for example, as insulated lines or as current paths on a printed circuit board. In the figure, three lines 107 are shown in the drawing, but in other embodiments more or fewer than three lines can also be provided. The mating connector 101 is connected using an in figure 2 connection device 200 according to the invention shown contacted.

figure 2 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the connection device according to the invention, which is denoted as a whole by the reference number 200 . The connecting device 200 has a cable bushing 201 which is inserted into the opening 105 in the housing when the connecting device 200 is installed. The cable bushing 201 carries a lamellar seal 202 on its outer circumference, which seals the opening 105 in the housing 102 .

A multi-core cable 203 is introduced into the cable bushing 201, which is protected by a corrugated hose 204 against external environmental influences and mechanical damage. A cover 206 is arranged on the cable bushing 201 and seals the cable bushing 201 tightly. The cable 203 comprises several individual wires 207, which exit again from the cable bushing 201 and with a sensor plug 208 are electrically connected. A connector holder 209 holds the sensor connector 208. For this purpose, the connector holder 209 has elastic arms 211, which hold the cuboid sensor connector 208 in a non-positive manner.

The connector holder 209 is injection molded as a one-piece plastic part and has in particular an elastic area 212 with an annular structure 213, which is followed by a U-shaped section 214. The function of the elastic area 212 is explained in more detail below. In principle, other production methods for producing the plug holder 209 are also conceivable, in particular 3D printing. The manner in which the plug holder 209 is manufactured is not important for the present invention.

A slider 216 fixes the plug holder 209 in the cable bushing 201 in the plugging direction when the connection device 200 is inserted into the housing opening 105 . The plug-in direction is in figure 2 indicated with an arrow 217. When connecting device 200 is in the installed position in housing 102 or in its opening 105, sensor connector 208 finds its way into mating connector 101.

figure 3 shows a perspective plan view from above of the connecting device 200 with the cover 206 removed ( figure 2 ). The lines 207 of the cable 203 are guided through a serpentine path formed by means of a projection 301 which provides strain relief for the lines 207 . The lines 207 are wrapped around the projection 301 in an Ω-shape, i.e. if the cable 203 is pulled from the outside, the tension is not transferred to the individual lines 207 and in particular not to the sensor plug 208.

Through-holes for the lines 207 of the cable are provided in the cable bushing 201 . The lines 207 carry gaskets which seal these through holes. The presence of through holes and their sealing with individual gaskets on the lines 207 is known and in figure 3 not visible. The end section 302 of the plug holder 209 remote from the sensor plug 208 has a round cross section and is guided in a channel 303 in the cable bushing 201 in the longitudinal direction. The end section 302 has a groove 304 into which a bar 306 arranged on the slide 216 engages. The bar 306 goes into an in figure 3 rising run-up slope 307, the function of which will be explained further below. Slider 216 is in figure 3 shown in a starting position and fixes the connector holder 209 so that it cannot be displaced counter to the direction of insertion 217 . Therefore, the connector holder 209 is able to transmit an insertion force to the sensor connector 208 . The insertion force is limited by the resiliency of the resilient portion 212, which progressively deforms when a predetermined limit force is exceeded. In this way it is ensured that no mechanical overloading of the sensor plug 208 or mating plug 106 can occur, even if the relative position of the sensor plug 208 in relation to the mating plug 101 varies due to manufacturing tolerances. A mechanical overload is undesirable because it can damage the connector.

The slide 216 also has a latching hook 311 which is latched in a first recess 312 of the cable bushing 201 . The slider 216 is thereby fixed in place. Thus, even if pressure is exerted on a finger rest 313 on the slide 216, the slide 216 does not move and therefore the sensor holder 209 does not move either. When the latching hook 311 is latched in the recess 312, an initial position of the slide 216 is thereby defined. If the latching hook 311 is latched in a second recess 314, a distortion of the slider 216 is thereby determined.

figure 4 shows a detailed view of a section of the area where the cable bushing 201 is seated in the opening 105 of the housing 102. Arranged on an outer ring 401 of the cable bushing 201 are latching hooks 402 which snap in behind the schematically illustrated wall 403 of the housing 102 and lock the cable bushing 201 in place. The latching hooks 402 have bevels 404, as a result of which the latching hooks 402 are pressed radially inwards when the cable bushing 201 is inserted into the opening 105. The cable bushing 201 also has an inner ring 406 . In the region of the inner ring 406 , the plug holder 209 has radial wings 407 , whose end faces 408 directed radially outward bear against an inner side of the inner ring 406 . Also, there is one more radial wing 409, the radial extension of which is greater than the inner diameter of the inner ring 406. The radial wing 409 is guided in a groove 411 in the inner ring 406. The wing 409 forms with the groove 411 an anti-rotation device for the connector holder 209. The anti-rotation device formed in this way ensures that the sensor connector 208 is correctly aligned with the mating connector 106 in order to ensure correct insertion. The longitudinal extension of the wing 409 along the connector holder 209 ends in front of the latching hook 402. As a result, when the cable bushing 201 is inserted into the opening 105, the inward radial movement of the latching hook 402, which is at the same angular position as the wing 409, is not impeded. In other exemplary embodiments, a plurality of radial vanes 409 can also be present, the radial extension of which is greater than the inner diameter of the inner ring 406. In this case, a corresponding number of grooves 411 must also be present, which accommodate the vanes 409.

figure 5 shows the arrangement 200 inserted into the housing 102. The latching hook 311 on the slide 216 is pressed out of its latching position in the first recess 312, as a result of which the slide 216 moves transversely to the insertion direction 217, i.e. in the radial direction in relation to the plug holder 209 , can be moved by pressing on the finger rest 313. In this position of the arrangement 200, the sensor connector 208 is plugged into the mating connector 101 and latches there.

In figure 6 the assembly 200 inserted into the housing 102 is shown. In the representation of figure 6 the slide 216 has already been inserted. The latching hook 311 on the slider 216 now latches into the second recess 314 so that the slider 216 can no longer be moved back. When the slide 216 is pushed in, the chamfer 307 on the slide engages with the groove 304 in the end section of the plug holder 209 . The starting bevel 307 causes the plug holder 209 to be pulled into the cable bushing 201 in the opposite direction to the plugging direction 217 . With the movement of the plug holder 209 in the opposite direction to the insertion direction, the wing 409 is simultaneously moved under the latching hook 402, which is at the same angular position as the wing 409. This latching hook 402 can no longer move in a radial direction Move inward so that grommet 201 is locked in opening 105.

When the plug holder 209 is pulled back, the sensor plug 208 detaches from the plug holder 209 so that mechanical decoupling is achieved. This situation is in figure 6 shown. The sensor connector 208 is plugged into the mating connector 101 shown in dashed lines and the connector holder 209 is released from the sensor connector 208, because the sensor connector 208 is locked on the mating connector 101 in this situation, while it is only held by the elastic arms 211 of the sensor holder 209 with a force fit . As a result, the sensor plug 208 slides out of the sensor holder when it is pulled back by the slide 216 counter to the plug-in direction 217 .

In the representation of figure 6 It can be seen that the mating connector 101 is funnel-shaped in order to guide the contacts of the sensor connector 208 precisely to the contacts of the mating connector even in the presence of manufacturing tolerances and/or misalignments. The connector holder 209 is fixed at a certain distance from the sensor connector 208 because the slider 216 blocks movement toward the sensor connector. Since the latching hook 311 of the slide 216 has latched in the second recess 314, the slide 216 can no longer move back into its initial position, so that the sensor holder 209 is in the in figure 6 shown withdrawn distortion remains fixed.

figure 7 shows the sensor holder 209 again as an individual part. The sensor holder has a rod 701 which is adjoined by an elastic area 212 . The elastic area is formed from an annular element 213 and a U-shaped element 214 which are connected to one another via a web 702 . The arms 211 , which form a receptacle for the sensor plug 208 , are connected to the U-shaped element 214 . The rod 701 has at its one end the end portion 302 where the groove 304 is located. The wings 407 and 409 are arranged on the rod 701 in a central area. In the detail view in figure 7 it can be seen that the wing 409 has a greater extent in the radial direction than the wing 407 and is therefore suitable for, on the one hand, with the groove 411 ( figure 4 ) one Form anti-rotation for the sensor holder 209 and on the other hand for the cable bushing 201 provides a secondary locking in the housing 102.

The ring-shaped element 213 and the U-shaped element 214 are elastically deformable in the direction of the arrow 700, which is shown in FIG figure 7 is indicated by dashed lines. The plug holder 209 can therefore compensate for manufacturing tolerances and avoid excessive stress on the sensor plug 208 and mating plug 101 when the plug connection is made. For illustration, three different cases are considered.

In a first case, there should be no manufacturing tolerances and the sensor plug 208 and mating plug 101 have exactly the theoretically intended distance when the arrangement 200 is completely plugged into the housing. In this case, the plug holder 209, in particular the ring-shaped area 212, is compressed by a few millimeters when the plug-in connection is produced. A desired insertion force between the sensor connector 208 and the mating connector 101 is established.

In a second case, manufacturing tolerances occur, which lead to a slightly larger distance between sensor connector 208 and mating connector 101 when arrangement 200 is fully inserted into housing 102 . In this case, the connector holder is compressed a little less than in the first case. Nevertheless, essentially the same insertion force is established between the sensor connector 208 and the mating connector 101 as in the first case.

In a third case, manufacturing tolerances occur, which lead to a slightly smaller distance between the sensor plug 208 and mating plug 101 when the arrangement 200 is fully inserted into the housing 102. In this case, the connector holder is compressed a little more than in the first case. Nevertheless, essentially the same insertion force between the sensor connector 208 and the mating connector 101 as in the first case is again established.

Overall, this means that unavoidable manufacturing tolerances have no effect on the insertion force between the sensor connector 208 and the Have mating connector 101, which has an advantageous effect on the quality of the connector.

In addition, the sensor plug 209 can also be deformed to a certain extent transversely to the longitudinal extent of the rod 701 , so that the sensor holder 209 can also compensate for misalignments between the sensor plug 208 and the mating plug 106 . The funnel-shaped design of the mating connector 101 ensures that the sensor connector 208 and the mating connector can be found even if there is a misalignment, with the rod 701 of the connector holder 209 possibly bending somewhat, although this has no significant effect on the insertion force.

The connection device 200 described so far is used to establish a contact between the sensor connector 208 and the mating connector 106 . The plug connection is made as follows, which is shown in the flow chart in figure 8 is shown schematically. In a first step S1, the cable bushing 201 is inserted into the opening 105 in the housing 102. The correct angular position of the cable bushing 201 in the opening 105 is ensured, for example, by a projection and a corresponding recess on the housing or on the cable bushing. Of course, other indexing means are also conceivable which determine the angular position in a suitable manner. The cable bushing is then pushed into the opening 105 until it rests with a flange on the wall 403 of the housing 102 . When the cable bushing 201 is plugged in, the sensor holder 209 guides the sensor plug 208 to the mating plug 106, which locks together in a step S2. Manufacturing tolerances that lead to a different relative position of the mating connector in relation to the sensor connector are compensated for in the manner described above by deforming the elastic area 212 or the rod 701 of the sensor holder 209 . Inserting the cable bushing into the opening 105 also causes the locking hook 311 to be released from the slide 216 from the recess 312, as a result of which the slide 216 can be pressed in a step S3 and the sensor holder 209 can be pulled off the sensor plug 208 in the process.

In this way, a plug-in connection with mechanical decoupling is produced. <u>Reference List</u> 100 electrical component/sensor 301 head Start 101 connector plug 302 end section 102 Housing 303 channel 103 steering shaft 304 groove 104 connecting piece 306 strip 105 Opening in the housing 102 307 leading edge 106 contacts 107 cables 311 latch hook 312 first recess 200 connection device 313 finger rest 201 grommet 314 second recess 202 lamellar seal 203 multi-core cable 401 outer ring 204 corrugated hose 402 latch hook 403 housing wall 404 leading edge 406 inner ring 206 lid 407 wing 207 single lines 409 wing 208 sensor connector 411 groove 209 plug holder 701 Rod 211 elastic arms 702 web 212 elastic area 213 Ring-shaped structure 214 U-shaped section 216 slider 217 Insertion direction/arrow

Claims (14)

1. A connecting device (200) with a plug (208), which is configured in order to establish an electrical connection to a mating plug (101), wherein the connecting device (200) has a cable feedthrough (201) and a plug holder (209), in which the plug (208) is detachably held, wherein the plug holder (209) is designed so as to be elastic in the plug-in direction (217) of the plug (208), characterized in that the plug holder (209) can be moved in the cable feedthrough (201) in the plug-in direction (217).
2. The connecting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the plug holder (209) comprises an elastic element (213, 214) and/or has an elastic section (212).
3. The connecting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the plug holder (209) has elastic arms (211), which hold the plug (208) in a force-fitting manner or the plug holder (209) is easily detachably latched to the plug (208).
4. The connecting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cable feedthrough (201) has latching elements (402), which in the installation position of the connecting device (200) latch in a housing (102) in a housing opening (105).
5. The connecting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plug holder (209) is detachably fixed in the plug-in direction (217) by means of a locking element (216).
6. The connecting device according to claim 5, characterized in that the locking element is a slide (216), which is latched in an initial position on the cable feedthrough (201) before the installation of the cable feedthrough (201) in a housing (102).
7. The connecting device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the locking element (216) can be actuated after the installation of the cable feedthrough (201) in a housing (102) and retracts the plug holder (209) in the opposite direction to the plug-in direction (217) of the plug (208).
8. The connecting device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the locking element (216) can be moved transversally or transversely to the plug-in direction.
9. The connecting device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the locking element (216) is latched in an end position and fixes the plug holder (209) in a retracted end position.
10. The connecting device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plug holder (209) has a structural element (409) protruding in the radial direction, which is guided in a groove (411) in the cable feedthrough (201) and in cooperation with the cable feedthrough (201) provides protection of the plug holder (209) against rotation.
11. The connecting device according to claim 4 together with claim 10, characterized in that the structural element (409) protruding in the radial direction blocks one of the latching elements (402) of the cable feedthrough (201), when the connecting device (200) is installed in its installation position in a housing (102) or in a housing opening (105).
12. A plug connection consisting of a plug (208) and a mating plug (101), which has a connecting device (200) according to any one of claims 1-11.
13. The plug connection according to claim 12, characterized in that the mating plug (101) is designed in the form of a funnel on the end face.
14. A method for establishing a plug connection, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

    - Inserting a plug (208), which is held on a connecting device (200) according to any one of claims 1-11, into an opening (105) of a housing (102);

    - plugging the plug (208) into a suitable mating plug (101);

    - actuating a locking element (216), in order to retract a plug holder (209) in the opposite direction to the plug-in direction (217) of the plug (208) and

    - latching the locking element (216) in an end position, in order to fix the plug holder (209) in an end position disconnected from the plug (208).

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