WO2008003383A1

WO2008003383A1 - Activatable electrical plug connection for an airbag connection

Info

Publication number: WO2008003383A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/005122
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kai Sellien
Original assignee: Tyco Electronics Amp Gmbh
Priority date: 2006-07-07
Filing date: 2007-06-11
Publication date: 2008-01-10
Also published as: DE102006031838B4; DE102006031838A1

Abstract

An activatable electrical connector (2) of an electrical plug connection (1) of an airbag connection and a method for electro-mechanically connecting the electrical plug connection (1) includes at least one first contact (29) of a first connection member (4) that is first shortcircuited, thereby deactivating the electrical plug connection (1). Then, the first connection member (4) and a separate second connection member (6) are assembled and at least one first contact (29) and at least one mating contact (36) of the second connection member (6) are brought into electrically conductive contact with each other. Afterwards, the electrical plug connection (1) is activated by removing the short circuit and the first (4) and second connection members (6) are secured against being pulled apart. The short circuit is removed by moving an activating body (18) arranged on one of the connection members (4, 6) relative to the connection members (4, 6).

Description

ACTIVATABLE ELECTRICAL PLUG CONNECTION FOR AN AIRBAG CONNECTION

The present invention relates to an activatable electrical plug connection for electro-mechanical connection of an airbag connection, comprising a first connection member with at least one first contact, at least one shorting contact, a second separate connection member with at least one mating contact and an activating body.

The invention also relates to an activatable electrical connector of a plug connection for an airbag connection comprising a connection member with at least one first contact, a shorting contact and an activating body. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of electro-mechanically connecting an activatable electrical plug connection, in particular for connection of a plug connection of an airbag connection, at least one first contact of a first connection member being first short- circuited and the plug connection being deactivated in the process, then the first connection member and a second separate connection member being assembled and at least one first contact and at least one mating contact of the second connection member being brought into electrically conductive contact with each other, and afterwards the electrical plug connection being activated, by removing the short circuit and the first and the second connection members being secured against being pulled apart. In the case of electrical plug connectors and electrical plug connections, particularly those used in the automotive field, care must be taken to ensure that the electrical circuits are deactivated when the connection members are separated. Shorting contacts are used for this purpose, which short-circuit the contacts of the electrical connector.

These types of electrical connectors and electrical plug connections are used in particular for airbag connections, to prevent the airbag being accidentally activated, for example, if the electrical plug connection is released during maintenance and static charges occur.

Electrical plug connectors with shorting bars are known in the prior art, for example from WO 93/07662 Al. This document relates to a connector, which has a housing made from an insulating material, in which a plurality of contact cavities is constructed. Contacts can be inserted into the contact cavities. A series of contact springs is provided parallel to these contact cavities, each contact spring being constructed as a shorting bar and being able to short-circuit two adjacent contacts.

The shorting bar in WO 93/07662 Al has a long length, in order to achieve a long spring arm. The long length of the shorting bar means that it extends beyond the housing and must be covered by a separately provided housing component. Furthermore, an additional stop spring is necessary in order to fix the shorting bar in the housing. The connector in WO 93/07662 Al also comprises a connector body, likewise consisting of insulating material, with a series of contact pins, which are designed to be inserted into the contacts and a series of disconnecting pins parallel to them consisting of insulating material. Each shorting bar has a disconnecting element associated with it, so that when the housing and connector are coupled, one contact spring is lifted off the contacts by one disconnecting pin. Another connector, in which a contact end is contacted by a shorting bar, is shown in US 4,978,311. This shorting bar is constructed in a relatively complicated manner with two tabs and requires a lot of space and high usage of material . It is therefore the object of the present invention to create an electrical connector and an electrical plug connection for an airbag connection, which is of simple construction and ensures that the connection is held together securely, both electrically and mechanically, and can be released again.

This object for the electrical connector described at the beginning is achieved in that the electrical connector is configured so as to be transferable from an assembly position, in which at least one shorting contact contacts at least one first contact, via a transition position, in which the activating body is movable relative to the connection member, into a final position, in which at least one shorting contact is released from at least one first contact by the activating body.

For the electrical plug connection described at the beginning the object is achieved in that the electrical plug connector is transferable from an assembly position, in which at least one shorting contact contacts at least one first contact, and the two connection members are separated from each other, via a transition position, in which at least one first contact and at least one mating contact are in electrically conductive contact with each other, the first and the second connection members are assembled together and the activating body is movable relative to the first and second connection members, into a final position, in which at least one shorting contact is released from at least one first contact by the activating body and the first and the second connection members are secured against pull- out.

The method described at the beginning achieves the object according to the invention in that the short circuit is removed by an activating body arranged on one of the connection members being moved relative to the first and second connection members.

This surprisingly simple solution ensures that the connection members of the electrical plug connection are first assembled and the electrical contact established. Only thereafter is the shorting contact released from the electrical contact by moving the activating body and the connection activated. In this way the assembly of the electrical connector is decoupled by removing the short circuit. This thus ensures that the shorting contact is only released during the assembly of the electrical connection for an airbag connection when the electrical contacts are combined. Furthermore, the plug connection can be deactivated first when the contact connection is released, before the connection members are separated from each other. The present invention can be developed in various embodiments, which are each advantageous in themselves, and can be combined with each other without restriction. The individual advantageous embodiments and the associated advantages are described briefly hereinafter.

According to a first advantageous embodiment, the activating body can be arranged on the first connection member in the assembly position. In this way the first connection member has the shorting contact as well as the activating body, by which means the short circuit is removed, which makes a particularly compact construction possible.

This lends itself to locking the activating body onto the first connection member in the direction of an insertion movement along which the first and second connection members are assembled in the transition from the assembly position into the transition position, before the connection members are assembled. Thus the activating body can be locked onto the first connection member in the assembly position in the direction of the insertion movement, for example, in that the activating body is locked on the first connection member before the first and second connection members are assembled. In this way the activating body can be detachably fixed to the first connection member in the assembly position, in order to ensure that the activating member is locked in the assembly position and the connection cannot be activated during assembly of the connection members.

Advantageously, the activating body can have a feed tongue, the tip of which is braced against a retention stop of the first connection member in the assembly position in the direction of the insertion movement. The feed tongue is a region of the activating body, which is located adjacent to an exterior side of the first connection member when the activating body is arranged on the first connection member in the assembly position. Since the feed tongue is braced against the retention stop in the direction of the insertion movement, this prevents the connection according to the invention from not being activated during assembly. When contact is established in the electrical connection, the first and the second connection members are assembled. In order to guide the insertion movement, the first connection member can have at least one guide groove, which pre-determines the direction of the insertion movement. The second connection member can have at least one unlocking member to unlock the locked activating body from the first connection member, so that the displacement of the unlocking lug inside the guide groove ensures correct assembly of the connection member.

This is thus a simple and compact means of ensuring that the direction of the insertion movement is pre- determined in the assembly position, namely through the configuration of the guide groove. The activating body cannot, however, be moved relative to the electrical connector in the assembly position, because the feed tongue is braced against the retention stop in the insertion direction and is therefore locked in the insertion direction.

In order to ensure mechanical connection in the transition position, the first and second connection members can be secured together against being pulled apart by a fixing mechanism, preferably by locking the connection members. Locking the connection members is advantageous insofar as this produces a mechanically secure, but simply detachable connection between the electrical connector as the first connection member and the second connection member, for example, a pin connector socket.

The present invention can ensure that the activating body is unlocked after or whilst the connection members are secured against being pulled apart. It is particularly advantageous to remove the short circuit only when the first and the second connection members have been secured against being pulled apart. This thus guarantees that the electrical connector is electro-mechanically assembled in its deactivated state before it is activated.

This can be achieved in an embodiment in that the second connection member can have at least one unlocking member, which forms the detachable fixing of the activating body on the first connection member. The unlocking member can be in the form of an unlocking lug, which is configured so it can be inserted into at least one guide groove. The first connection member can have at least one guide groove, in which a deflection lug, which is formed on the feed tongue, engages in the assembly position. According to this embodiment the unlocking lug and the deflection lug can concur in the insertion direction in the transition position, the unlocking lug being arranged in the guide groove and the deflection lug outside the guide groove and the tip of the tongue being distanced from the retention stop radially to the insertion direction.

These configurations make it possible to release the activating body into the transition position and to activate the electrical connector in a constructively simple manner and with a compact construction. Furthermore, the activating body can be displaced relative to the first and second connection members during the insertion movement, with which the connection members are assembled. Connection and activation of the electrical connector therefore take place one after the other in a fluent insertion movement with which the electrical connector is transferred from the assembly position via the transition position into the final position.

In order to ensure electro-mechanical assembly of the electrical connector in the final position, the activating body can be locked to at least one of the connection members, preferably with the first connection member after activating the electrical connector.

In one embodiment, the feed tongue can have at least one locking opening, in which at least one locking lug engages in the final position. Final locking of the activating body in the final position is thus ensured in a simple manner, so that all members of the plug connection are secured together against pull-out in the final position. "Secured against pull-out" means that the connection members of the plug connection cannot be pulled apart and separated from each other.

The locking lug can advantageously form the retention stop of the electrical connector or the electrical plug connection. After the deflection lug of the locking tongue has passed the unlocking lug of the second connection member in the direction of the insertion movement, the locking openings of the feed tongue concur with at least one locking lug, which previously formed the retention stop. This is thus a simple means of ensuring that the activating body is fixed on the first connection member in the final position. The activating body can, of course, also be fixed to the second connection member and it is also possible to use a locking device for connecting the first connection member, the second connection member and the activating body.

In order to prevent the mechanical connection between the first and the second connection members being released when the activating body is locked on the electrical connector in the contact connection position, the activating body can have a connection position assurance element, which shields the fixing mechanism from the outside in the final position. This thus ensures that the activating body is first unlocked and the electrical connector deactivated when the electrical connection is released and before releasing the connection between the connection members, which is secured against pull-out, and before the connector parts can be separated. The invention is described hereinafter by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, the different characteristics can be combined independently of each other or omitted, as has already been illustrated above in the case of the individual advantageous embodiments.

Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of an electrical connector according to the invention and an electrical plug connection according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective sectional view along the sectional line A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical plug connection during the transition from the assembly position into the transition position; Fig. 3 shows a sectional view along the sectional line

A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical plug connection during the transition from the assembly position into the transition position; Fig. 4 shows a perspective sectional view along the sectional line A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical plug connection in the transition position;

Fig. 5 shows a sectional view along the sectional line

A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical plug connection in the transition position;

Fig. 6 shows a perspective sectional view along the sectional line A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical plug connection in the final position;

Fig. 7 shows a sectional view along the sectional line A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical plug connection in the final position; and

Fig. 8 shows a perspective sectional view along the sectional line A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical connector in the assembly position. Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of an activatable electrical plug connection 1 according to the invention. The electrical plug connection 1 comprises an electrical connector 2 and a corresponding mating connector

3. The mating connector 3 is typically an activation device of an airbag or seat belt tightener or similar, described as a detonator. The electrical connector 2 comprises a first connection member, which is configured as a socket housing 4 and is provided with a large number of contact cavities 5. The socket housing 4 can be assembled with a second connection member, which is configured as a pin connector socket 6, in an insertion movement in an insertion direction S. The socket housing 4 and the pin connector socket 6 are engaged into each other in the process, so that the contact cavities

5 are arranged at least in sections inside a contacting space 9 (Fig. 3) of the pin connector socket 6.

The pin connector socket 6 is provided with a connector socket base 7 and a connector socket jacket 8, which form the contacting space 9, which can not be seen in Fig. 1. The connector socket jacket 8 has a substantially rectangular cross section with rounded corners.

A longitudinal wall of the connector socket jacket 8 is provided as an assembly face 10 for the pin connector socket

6 with a locking lug 11 and two unlocking lugs 12. The locking lug 11 is a shoulder projecting outwards from the assembly face 10, which is arranged centrally in relation to a width of the assembly face 10 and over about 2/3 to 3/4 of a height of the contacting space 9 in the insertion direction S from an open end of the connector socket jacket 8 towards the connector socket base 7. The locking lug 11 is inclined, rising from the assembly face 10 and ending in a locking surface, which is substantially perpendicular to the assembly face 10 and the insertion direction S. The two unlocking lugs 12 are arranged offset to the right and left of the locking lug 11 in relation to the width of the assembly face. The two unlocking lugs 12 are spaced at about 1/3 to 1/2 of the total height of the open side of the pin connector socket 6 in relation to the height of the contacting space 9. The unlocking lugs 12 extend substantially trapezoidally from the assembly face 10.

The socket housing 4 has a large number of the contact cavities 5, which extend substantially in the insertion direction S. The socket housing 4 can be fitted onto the connector socket jacket 8 of the pin connector socket 6 in the insertion direction S, so that an assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4 slides along an outer side of the assembly face 10 inside the pin connector socket 6. The assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4 is provided with a locking notch 14 corresponding to the locking lug 11, two guide grooves 15, two pre-locking lugs 16 and two final locking lugs 17.

Like the pre-locking lugs 16 and also the final locking lugs 17, the locking notch 14 projects substantially vertically out of the assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4. The locking notch 14 is arranged centrally in a width of the assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4 and is located in its final position on an edge on which the socket housing 4 is fitted on the open side of the pin connector socket 6. The guide grooves 15 extend substantially against the insertion direction S, starting from an end of the socket housing 4, which is to be fitted, to just before an opposite end of the socket housing 4. The guide grooves 15, which run substantially parallel, are configured so as to be offset to one side respectively of the locking notch 14. Two substantially cuboid shoulders form the final locking lugs 17. The final locking lugs 17 are arranged substantially centrally in the assembly face 13 and are located between one of the two guide grooves 15 respectively and the locking notch 14, as seen from the insertion direction S.

The two pre-locking lugs 16 are arranged externally in the direction of the width of the assembly face 13, on the other side of the guide grooves 15. In the insertion direction S, the pre-locking lugs 16 are located substantially centrally along a length of the socket housing 4 and in front of the final locking lugs 17. Therefore, as seen in the insertion direction S from left to right, there is the first pre-locking lug 16, the first guide groove 15, the first final locking lug 17, the locking notch 14, the second final locking lug 17, the second guide groove 14 and finally the second pre-locking lug 16.

The socket housing 4, together with an activating body 18, forms the electrical connector 2. The activating body 18 is configured in the illustrated embodiment as a connection position assurance (CPA) element. The activating body 18 is fitted onto the socket housing 4 in the insertion direction S and pre-locked with the socket housing 4 in an assembly position, as shown in Fig. 8.

Before connecting the activating body 18 to the socket housing 4, first contacts 29, which cannot be seen in Fig. 1 and which are arranged inside the contact cavities 5, are connected to electrical cables of the airbag system. In this way, the activating body 18 forms an element, which closes the socket housing 4 on one side and which also serves as a cable feed. Furthermore, the activating body 18 secures the body, so that when the activatable electrical connector 2 is connected to the mating connector 3, a mechanical connection is achieved first, only subsequently followed by activation of the electrical connection.

The activating body 18 has an assembly face 20 with a feed tongue 19, and at least one activating pin 21, which is not visible in Fig. 1.

The activating body 18 is fitted onto the socket housing 4 in the insertion direction S and in the process the electrical connector 2 is transferred into the assembly position, which can be seen in Fig. 8.

During insertion, two guide bars 22 of the activating body 18 are moved over two corresponding guide rails 23 of the socket housing 4. The guide rails 23 are formed laterally on the assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4 and extend substantially in the insertion direction S. The guide bars 22 attach themselves laterally onto the assembly face 20 of the activating body 18. Two pre-locking openings 24, which correspond to the pre-locking lugs 16, are formed in the assembly face 20 of the activating body 18. In relation to the length of the activating body 19 and seen in the insertion direction S, the pre-locking openings 24 are located about 1/6 to 1/5 before the end of the assembly face 20, which is fitted externally on the assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4. The feed tongue 19 is arranged in the assembly face 20 of the activating body 18 and fixed on one side at an end which is located opposite the assembly face 13 to be fitted on the socket housing 4. The feed tongue 19 is arranged centrally in relation to a width of the assembly face 20, and extends for about 1/2 the width of the assembly face 20. A deflectable tip 37 of the feed tongue 19 is provided with the two final locking openings 24, which correspond to the final locking lugs 17 of the socket housing 4. The final locking openings 25 are located in front of the pre-locking openings 24 in the insertion direction S, the two pre- locking openings 24 and the final locking openings 25 following each other in a substantially flush position in the insertion direction S.

The feed tongue 19 is bordered laterally by a frame element 26 on the assembly face 20. The frame element 26 projects on three sides from the assembly face 20; the fixing side of the feed tongue 19 and the sides that run perpendicular to it, substantially vertically, starting from the lateral edge of the feed tongue 19. The frame element 26 is in the form of a hood 27 as a connection position assurance element on the insertion side of the activating body 18.

The frame element 26 serves to guide the deflection of the feed tongue 19 perpendicular to the assembly face 20, which will be described in detail hereinafter, as will the function of the connecting position assurance element 27.

Fig. 8 shows a sectional view along the sectional line A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical connector 2 in the assembly position, which follows the position shown in Fig. 1, in which the socket housing 4 and the activating body 18 are shown separately. In the assembly position, the activating body 18 is fitted in the insertion direction S onto the socket housing 4. The socket housing 4 and the activating body 18 are locked together via the pre-locking lugs 16 and the pre-locking openings 24.

The pre-assembled electrical connector 2 can be seen in Fig. 8. The feed tongue 19 is located in this position on the exterior of the assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4, and extends substantially in the insertion direction S. The activating pin 21 of the activating body 18 can also be seen in Fig. 8. The activating pin 21 extends substantially parallel to the feed tongue 19, therefore likewise in the insertion direction S and is, like the feed tongue 19, fixed to a cover 28 on one side. In contrast to the feed tongue

19, which is formed out of the edge region of the cover 28, the activating pin 21 is located in the center of the cover 28, so that it projects into the contacting space 9 of the socket housing 4 in the case of the pre-assembled electrical connector 2.

Fig 8 also shows that the feed tongue 19 has a deflection hook or a deflection lug 35 on its deflectable end. The deflection lug 35 is arranged in the guide groove 15 of the assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4. The deflectable end of the feed tongue 19, the tip of the tongue 37, is braced against the final locking lug 17 in the insertion direction S. The final locking lug 17 forms a retention stop 39 in the assembly position, which blocks displacement of the activating body 18 and fixes the activating body 18 on the socket housing 4 in the insertion direction S. Fig. 8 also shows one of the contacts 29 of the electrical connector 2. The contact 29 is configured as a contact clip and is arranged in one of the contact cavities 5 of the socket housing 4. The contact 29 is associated with a shorting bar or shorting contact 30, which contacts the two clip arms of the contact 29 to form a short circuit. The shorting contact 30 prevents the airbag from being set off accidentally during maintenance of the airbag connection.

The shorting contact 30 comprises a substantially U or V-shaped spring element 31, with two spring arms 32 and 33. The first spring arm 32 is substantially linear in form. At its free end the spring arm 32 has an inclination 40, which is at an angle of about 45 degrees to the spring arm 32, and contacts the contact 29 of the electrical connector 2.

The first spring arm 32 is arranged in a spring cavity 34 of the socket housing 4, which extends substantially in the insertion direction S. Only the inclination 40 of the first spring arm 32 projects out of the spring cavity 34 in order to contact the contact 29.

A connection region 41, in which the two spring arms 32, 33 meet, is likewise arranged inside the spring cavity 34. The second spring arm 33 extends from the connection region 41 and is substantially curved and slightly oblique to the insertion direction S, a free end of the second spring arm 33 being braced against a spring shoulder 35 of the socket housing 4 in the insertion direction S. The activating pin 21 is associated with the second spring arm 33 of the spring element 31 and is arranged at a distance from the spring element 31 against the insertion direction S in the assembly position.

Even though only one contact cavity 5 is shown in Fig. 8 with one contact 29 and one shorting contact 30 associated with it and with one activating pin 21, which activates the shorting contact 30, the electrical connector 2 according to the invention can, of course, have a plurality of such activatable contacts . Figs. 2 and 3 show a perspective sectional view and a sectional view along the sectional line A-A in Fig. 1 of the electrical plug connection 1 according to the invention. Figs. 2 and 3 show the electrical plug connection 1 during the transition from the assembly position, in which the socket housing 4 and the pin connector socket 6 are present separately, into a transition position. In Figs. 2 and 3 the electrical connector 2 of Fig. 8 is fitted onto the pin connector socket 6, which is configured as the mating connector 3, but is not, however, electrically connected to it.

The assembly face 13 of the socket housing 4 is located externally on the assembly face 10 of the pin connector socket 6. The unlocking lugs 12 of the pin connector socket 6 are assigned to the guide grooves 15 of the socket housing 4 in this process. The unlocking lugs 12 are guided inside the guide grooves 15 when the electrical connector 2 is connected to the mating connector 3. The guide grooves 15 thus pre-determine the direction of movement of the insertion direction S.

It can also be seen that a large number of contact pins 36 are arranged inside the contacting space 9, which is open on one side. The contact pins 36 extend substantially against the insertion direction S, starting from the base 7 of the pin connector socket 7, one respective contact pin 36 being assigned to each of the contact cavities 5 of the socket housing 4. Since the deflectable tip 37 of the feed tongue 19 is braced against the retention stop 39 of the final locking lugs 17 in the insertion direction S, an insertion force is transferred from the activating body 18 onto the socket housing 4 in the insertion direction S when the electrical connector 2 is fitted onto the mating connector 3 and is being transferred from the assembly position into the transition position, which is shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 4 shows the transition position of the electrical plug connection 1 in a perspective sectional view along the sectional line A-A, and Fig. 5 shows it in a sectional view along the sectional line A-A; the same reference numerals being used for parts with similar or identical construction and/or function to parts in the previous drawings.

The electrical connector 2 is connected to the mating connector 3 and secured against pull-out in the transition position. The locking lug 11 is locked to the locking notch 14 for this purpose. This thus ensures that the electrical connector 2 and the mating connector 3 can only be separated by being pulled apart after the locking lug 11, and the locking notch 14 has been released.

The contact 29 is connected to the contact pin 36 in an electrically conductive manner in the transition position. The electrical contact between the contact 29 and the contact pin 36 is, however, deactivated by the shorting contact 30, which short-circuits the clip arms of the contact 29 as before. In contrast to the assembly position, the activating body 18 is movable relative to the socket housing 4 and the pin connector socket 6 in the transition position, that is substantially in the insertion direction S.

In the transition position, the deflection lug 35 of the feed tongue 19 of the socket housing 4 concurs with the unlocking lug 12 of the mating connector 3 in the guide grooves 15. The unlocking lug 12 forces the deflection lug 35 out of the guide groove 15, the deflectable tip 37 of the feed tongue 19 being deflected laterally and moved in the insertion direction S next to the retention stop 39 of the locking lug 17. This deflection results in the feed tongue 19 no longer being braced against the final locking lug 17 in the insertion direction S. The activating body 18 is unlocked in the transition position, can continue the insertion movement in the insertion direction S and can be displaced relative to the socket housing 4 and the pin connector socket 6, which are connected together.

When the electrical connector 2 is assembled with the mating connector 3 in the insertion direction S, the fitting force is first transferred from the activating body 18 to the socket housing 4, until the socket housing 4 and the pin connector socket 6 are assembled and secured together against pull-out in the transition position. During assembly, the contacts 29 and the contact pins 36 are connected in an electrically conductive manner. The electrical current is, however, still interrupted by the shorting contact 30. Up until the transition position, the activating body

18 is fixed immovably in the insertion direction S on the socket housing 4. On or after arriving at the transition position, the activating body 18 is released and can be displaced in the insertion direction S relative to the socket housing 4 and the pin connector socket 6, since the insertion pressure is no longer being transferred to the socket housing 4.

Remaining assembly and activation of the electrical plug connection 1 take place by exerting or continuing to exert the insertion force in the insertion direction S on the activating body 18, the electrical plug connection 1 being transferred from the transition position in Figs. 4 and 5 into the final position, which is shown in Figs. 6 and 7, by the movement of the activating body 18.

Only the differences between the transition position in Figs. 4 and 5 and the final position in Figs. 6 and 7 are described hereinafter.

It can be seen on the assembly face 20 that the feed tongue 19 is bent back from the deflected position of the transition position into the original plane of the assembly face 20 again. The deflection lugs 35 are once again located in the guide grooves 15 in this process. In contrast to Figs. 2 and 3, the deflection lugs 35 are not located in front of the unlocking lug 12 of the pin connector socket 6, but behind it in the insertion direction S. Furthermore, Fig. 6 in particular shows that the final locking lugs 17 of the socket housing 4 are located in the final locking openings 25 of the feed tongue 19 in the final position. In this way, the activating body 18 is locked in its final position on the socket housing 4.

The connection position assurance element 27 of the frame element 26 shields the locking lug 11 and the locking notch 14, which fixes the socket housing 4 and the pin connector socket 6 to each other, from the outside. The connection position assurance element 27 prevents access to the locking lug 11 and the locking notch 14 in the final position. This thus ensures that the socket housing 4 and the pin connector socket 6 can only be released from each other when the activating body 18 is moved back into the transition position. This means that the contacts 29 and the contact pins 36 can also only be released from each other when the activating body 18 contacts the shorting contact 30 and the contact 29 in the transition position and accidental activation of the airbag system is prevented. Furthermore, Figs. 6 and 7 show that the shorting contact 30 is released from the contact 29 by the activating body 18, or more precisely its activating pin 21. The shorting contact 30 is released from the contact 29 during the transition from the transition position to the final position by displacement of the activating body 18 in the insertion direction S. Displacement of the activating body 18 causes a displacement of the activating pin 21. The activating pin 21 presses onto the curved second spring arm 33 in this process, pressing it against the spring shoulder 40 and expanding the curvature of the second spring arm 33. Since the second spring arm 33 can only deflect compressive force against the insertion direction S, the connection region 41 of the spring element 31 is displaced upwards against the insertion direction S inside the spring cavity 34. Displacement of the connection region 41 pulls the first spring arm 32 with it against the insertion direction S, resulting in the inclination 40 on the free end of the first spring arm 32 being raised up off the contact 29. The short circuit is broken. In this way the spring element 31 is raised up off the contact 29 against the insertion direction S during assembly of the electrical plug connection 1 in the insertion direction S in a constructively simple manner.

The electrical connector 2 according to the invention and the electrical plug connection 1 according to the invention provide a constructively simple means of guaranteeing a secure connection of the connection both in electrical and in mechanical terms.

In this process, mechanical connection of the electrical connector 2 and the mating connector 3 is achieved first, the contact 29 of the electrical connector 2 being connected in an electrically conductive manner to the mating contact pin 36 of the mating connector 3. The electrical connection is, however, interrupted by the shorting contact 30.

Only after the electrical connector 2 has been correctly connected and secured against pull-out to the mating connector 3 in electrical and mechanical terms can the activating body 18 be moved in order to activate the electrical plug connection 1 by raising the shorting contact 30 up off the contact 29. This thus ensures that the short circuit only occurs after contact has been made between the plug connection elements, thus preventing accidental activation of the airbag system during assembly or maintenance of the airbag connection.

Claims

1. Method of electro-mechanically connecting an activatable electrical plug connection (1), in particular connecting a connection of an airbag connection, at least one first contact (29) of a first connection member (4) being first short-circuited and thereby deactivating the electrical plug connection (1), then the first connection member (4) and a second separate connection member (6) being assembled and the at least one first contact (29) and at least one mating contact (36) of the second connection member (6) being brought into electrically conductive contact with each other and afterwards the electrical plug connection (1) being activated by removing the short circuit and the first (4) and second connection members (6) being secured against being pulled apart, characterized in that the short circuit is removed by an activating body (18) arranged on one of the connection members (4, 6) being moved relative to the first (4) and second connection members (6).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the activating body (18) is locked on the first connection member (4) in an insertion direction (S), along which the first (4) and second connection members (6) are assembled, before assembling the connection members (4, 6) .

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the activating body (18) is locked to the first connection member (4) before the first (4) and second connection members (6) are assembled.

4. Method according to any one of the abovementioned claims, characterized in that the locked activating body (18) is unlocked after or whilst securing the connection members (4, 6) against being pulled apart.

5. Method according to any one of the abovementioned claims, characterized in that the short circuit is only removed when the first (4) and the second connection members (6) are secured against being pulled apart.

6. Method according to any one of the abovementioned claims, characterized in that the activating body (18) is displaced relative to the first (4) and the second connection members (6) during movement in the insertion direction (S) with which the connection members (4, 6) are assembled.

7. Method according to any one of the abovementioned claims, characterized in that the activating body (18) is locked after activation of the electrical plug connection (1) with at least one of the connection members (4, 6) preferably with the first connection member (4) .

8. Activatable electrical connector (2) of a plug connection (1) for an airbag connection comprising a connection member (4) with at least one first contact (29), at least one shorting contact (30) and an activating body (18), the electrical connector (2) being transferable from an assembly position, in which at least one shorting contact (30) contacts at least one first contact (29), via a transition position, in which the activating body (18) is movable relative to the connection member (4), into a final position, in which at least one shorting contact (30) is released from at least one first contact (29) by the activating body (18) .

9. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) for electro-mechanically connecting an airbag connection, comprising at least one electrical connector (2) according to claim 8 and a second connection member (6), which is separate from the first connection member (4) of the electrical connector (2), with at least one mating contact (36), the electrical plug connection (1) being transferable from an assembly position, in which the shorting contact (30) contacts the first contact (29) and the two connection members (4, 6) are separated from each other, via a transition position, in which the first contact (29) and the mating contact (36) are in electrically conductive contact with each other, the first (4) and second connection members (6) are assembled together and the activating body (18) is movable relative to the first (4) and second connection members (6), into a final position, in which the shorting contact (30) is released from at least one first contact (29) by the activating body (18) and the first (4) and the second connection members (6) are secured against pull-out.

10. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the activating body (18) is arranged on the first connection member (4) in the assembly position.

11. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the activating body (18) is locked onto the first connection member (4) in the assembly position in an insertion direction (S), along which the first (4) and second connection members (6) are assembled during the transition from the assembly position into the transition position.

12. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the activating body (18) has a feed tongue (19), a tip (37) of which is braced against a retention stop (39) of the first connection member (4) in the assembly position in the insertion direction (S) .

13. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that the first (4) and second connection members (6) are secured together against pull-out and preferably locked in the transition position by means of a fixing mechanism (11, 14) .

14. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the first connection member (4) has at least one guide groove (15), in which a deflection lug (35), which is constructed on the feed tongue (19), engages in the assembly position.

15. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that the second connection member (6) has at least one unlocking member (12) to unlock the locked activating body (18) from the first connection member (4) .

16. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to claim 15, characterized in that the second connection member (6) is constructed with at least one unlocking lug (12) which is configured so that it can be inserted into at least one guide groove (15) .

17. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to claim 16, characterized in that the unlocking lug (12) and the deflection lug (35) concur in the insertion direction (S) in the transition position, the unlocking lug (12) being arranged in the guide groove (15) and the deflection lug (35) outside the guide groove (15) and the tip of the tongue (37) being distanced from the retention stop (39) radially to the insertion direction (S).

18. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 17, characterized in that the feed tongue (19) has at least one locking opening (24) in which at least one locking lug (17) engages in the final position.

19. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to claim 18, characterized in that the locking lug (17) forms the retention stop (39) .

20. Activatable electrical plug connection (1) according to any one of claims 9 to 19, characterized in that the activating body (18) has a connection position assurance element (27), which shields the fixing mechanism (11, 14) from the outside in the final position.