DE29823003U1 - Electrical connector unit - Google Patents

Description

9133 G/l/hm-bg

Grote Sc Hartmann GmbH & Co. KG 23 December 1998

At Power Plant 13
42369 Wuppertal

Electrical connector unit

The invention relates to an electrical connector unit according to the preamble of claim 1.

From DE 26 04 241 C2 an electrical connector unit is known in which the wire end of a coil winding wound around a sheet metal core, e.g. of an electric motor or a generator or the like, is both fixed in position in a simple manner immediately after winding the coil, thereby preventing the winding from coming loose, and is also electrically contacted with an electrical conductor wire that introduces electrical energy into the coil or conducts it outward from the coil. For this purpose, the conductor wire is led outward from the connector unit through the housing of a motor or generator or the like.

In this state of the art, each coil wire end is held in an electrical contact element formed from a stamped sheet metal part, which is located in a contact element chamber of the connector, and is electrically contacted with a conductor wire end via the contact element. A number of contact elements corresponding to the number of coils is provided in the connector, each of which is located in a contact element chamber of the electrical connector. The electrical connector essentially consists of a plastic ring arranged on the laminated core of the sheet metal core, which has the contact element chambers evenly spaced around the circumference.

The box-shaped contact element chambers are open at the top and have two opposing walls -

overlying - a narrow slot running from the upper edge of the open side of the chamber towards the bottom of the chamber for the almost form-fitting insertion of a coil winding wire end from above. Between the slots, a so-called conductor plug protrudes upright from the bottom of the chamber. The electrical contact element has contact slots corresponding to the chamber slots, running from bottom to top, with a passage for the conductor plug provided between the contact slots.

To make contact, the free end of a coil wire is inserted into the chamber slots from above until it rests on the conductor plug. The electrical contact element with its contact slots is then pushed over the coil wire from above and the coil wire is fixed between the slot base and the plug. The edges of the contact slots penetrate the insulation of the coil wire and thus enable an electrically conductive transition to the contact element.

This type of coil wire contacting has proven itself. It is used in many variants, but with the same system, for coil wire contacts in motors, generators, compressors or the like. For example, according to EP 0 002 099 Bl, a straight connector strip made of plastic with contact element chambers arranged in a straight row is used. The contact principle for the coil wire ends is, however, the same as for the contacting described in DE 26 04 241 C2.

The disadvantage in all cases is that the contact element chambers are arranged relatively far apart (e.g. DE 26 04 241 C2) and must be fitted with contact elements individually, usually by hand, during assembly. This fitting requires skill because the contact elements are relatively small. Another disadvantage is that the connectors require a lot of installation space and must be attached to the coil carrier element, which is complex. Another disadvantage is that almost every manufacturer of electric motors, generators or compressors or the like

Self-created connector configurations are used, which usually also require individualized spatial shapes of contact elements, so that relatively expensive special shapes of connectors and contact elements are used.

A particular disadvantage, however, is that the conductor wires that are led from the outside into the inside of a housing of a motor, generator, compressor or similar, up to the connector housing, also usually have to be connected to the contact elements by hand to create an electrically conductive connection. This conductor wire contact is achieved, for example, by clamping technology (DE 26 04 241 C2, Fig. 2, 3) or solder hole technology (DE 26 04 241 C2, Fig. 4) or winding mandrel technology (DE 26 04 241 C2, Fig. 5). Insulation displacement technology is also used (EP 0 002 099 Bl, Fig. 1, IA). In all cases, the assembly work is very complex and this contact is not always optimal or safe.

The object of the invention is to provide a connector unit for the ends of coil windings which is easy to assemble, ensures contact reliability and which is generally usable.

This object is solved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims.

The invention standardizes the coil wire and conductor wire contact in a very small space and makes assembly considerably easier. It is essential that conventional contact element plugging systems are used for the connections of the coil wire ends and that a connector element similar to the edge of a circuit board is created for the conductor wire connections with conductor tracks arranged at a certain grid spacing, whereby the conductor tracks are connected in one piece to a contact element each and the circuit board edge element and the contact element chambers are part of an electrical connector element, in particular a type of connector tray in which the

Bottom of the tray, in the form of a narrow plastic web protruding, onto which the circuit board edge element is molded, whereby the plastic web supports the conductor tracks.

The connector according to the invention is expediently arranged on the coil body. In this case, a known mating connector connected to conductor wires is plugged into the connector or into the connector tray. The conductor wires are led out through the housing of a motor, generator, compressor or the like. This electrical contact is defined as safe, repeatable and, in particular, possible with very little assembly effort. The components of the connector unit take up very little space and can be used in general because they can be plugged together with standardized mating connectors.

Although the invention draws on known standardized connector systems, such as those developed for industrial devices such as washing machines, dishwashers or the like, it creates a new connector unit for the new application with which the various problems that occur with coil windings can be solved in a surprisingly simple manner. The connector systems for household appliances are connector systems that contact conductor wires using insulation displacement technology and are designed, among other things, for contacting the edges of printed circuit boards or circuit cards. The conductor tracks on printed circuit boards are spaced apart using a predetermined standardized grid. For example, the conductor tracks are located at a lateral distance of 2.5 or 5 mm. Accordingly, the connectors support the contact elements with such a lateral distance that their contact spring arms or soldering legs or similar contact means are arranged at a distance from one another by this distance. In the industry, the connector systems for household appliances are called "RAST 2.5" or "RAST 5". They usually consist of a connector housing and a connector tray. Conductor wires are stored in the connector housing

electrically connected contact elements with contact spring arms, while in the connector tray there are contact pins that pass through slots in the bottom of the tray and stand upright and protrude from the bottom of the tray, with each pin being part of a contact element that has a soldering leg protruding from the connector at the other end and with the soldering legs and the contact pins having the same pitch as the contact spring arms of the connector housing. The contact pins are supported laterally by posts protruding from the bottom of the tray. The contact pins and the support posts form a sandwich-like plug strip, on the surface of which the pins provide contact edges for contact spring arms of a mating connector.

The known "RAST 2.5" or "RAST 5" technology, designed for indirect and direct contacting of circuit boards, cannot be used to solve the problems of contacting the coil wire ends of a coil winding; rather, based on the task of improving the contacting technology and simplifying assembly, the grid connection technology for household appliances had to be selected first and a new contacting element had to be found, namely in the form of a combination of several known electrical insulation displacement contact elements punched and formed from a sheet metal part with a circuit board edge plug element, the latter being formed from a part of the connector housing, namely a continuous strip and at least one contact conductor track of an insulation displacement contact element.

The invention is explained in more detail below using the drawing as an example.

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of the connector according to the invention in a perspective view of the front side;

Fig. 2 shows a connector according to Fig. 1 in a perspective

6
tive view of the back;

Fig. 3 shows a connector according to Fig. 1 in a plan view;

Fig. 4 Contact elements for insertion into contact element chambers of a connector according to the invention in a perspective view;

Fig. 5 is a section through the transverse center of a contact element chamber of the connector according to the invention with a contact element in a pre-assembly position;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the center of a contact element chamber of a connector according to the invention with a contact element in the assembled state;

Fig. 7 shows an electrical plug connection according to the invention with a plug connector according to Fig. 1 and a known mating plug connector in the plugged state;

Fig. 8 shows a second embodiment of the connector according to the invention in a perspective view of the front side;

Fig. 9 shows a plug connection according to the invention according to Fig. 8 in a vertical section through the transverse center of a contact element chamber;

Fig. 10 shows an electrical plug connection according to the invention with a plug connector according to Fig. 8 and the known mating plug connector in the plugged state.

A connector 1 according to the invention (Fig. 1, 2) is preferably made of plastic and has a longitudinal front wall 2, a first narrow side wall 3, a second narrow side wall 4, a longitudinal rear wall 5 and

a bottom wall 6, which are each flat and form a cuboid-shaped connector housing 1a that is open at the top. The side walls 3, 4 and the front wall 2 are approximately the same height; the rear wall 5 is higher.

Between the inner sides of the front wall 2 and the rear wall 5, there are separating webs 7 extending at right angles to the front wall 2 and the rear wall 5, the vertical extent of which extends from the bottom wall 6 to the upper edge 8 of the front wall 2, with which the separating webs are flush, so that an upper boundary edge 9 of the separating webs 7 is formed. The separating webs 7 are arranged at such an even distance from one another that the interior space delimited by the front wall 2, the narrow sides 3, 4 and the rear wall 5 is divided into several (here: 4) contact element chambers 10 of equal size, approximately square in cross-section and open at the top. The division of the interior into contact element chambers of equal size is carried out in such a way that the vertical center axes of the contact element chambers 10 each have a defined, constant grid spacing from one another, which is, for example, 2.5 mm (corresponds to grid 2.5) or 5 mm (corresponds to grid 5).

In the middle of the contact element chambers 10, slanted sections 11 are introduced into the front wall 2, which extend from the upper boundary edge 8, tapering, downwards over approximately 1/3 of the height of the front wall 2, so that slanted guide edges 12, 13 are formed in each case. At the lower end of the sections 11 forming an insertion funnel, narrow guide slots 14 running vertically downwards are connected with guide edges 15, 16 that are parallel to one another. The guide slots 14 extend from the lower ends of the funnel-shaped sections 11 over approximately 1/3 of the height of the front wall 2, so that the guide slots 14 end at a height of approximately 1/3 of the front wall 2 above the base wall 6.

At the lower end of each guide slot 14, support projections 17 are arranged on the outside of the front wall 2. The support projections 17 have a substantially cube-shaped spatial form with an upper side 18, a lower side 19, an outer surface 20 parallel to the front wall 2 and two side surfaces 21, 22. A channel-shaped recess 23 is made in the upper side 18, which is slightly wider than the width of the guide slot 14 and whose channel base 24 is rounded. The channel base 24 is flush with the lower end of the guide slot 14 (see Fig. 5, 6). In addition, the diameter of the rounded portion in the channel base 24 is slightly larger than the width of the guide slots 14 and is dimensioned such that conductor wires 103, in particular coil wire ends of magnetic coils, for example of an electric motor, can be inserted into the channel-shaped recess 23. The width of the guide slots 14 is dimensioned, for example, such that the conductor wires 103 are held in a clamped manner in the guide slots.

The partial areas of the front wall 2 bordering the narrow sides 3, 4 from the outer sections 11 have the same vertical extension as the side walls 3, 4, so that these outer partial areas of the front wall 2 together with the narrow side walls 3, 4 each form an L-shaped upper boundary edge 25, 26. At the height of the L-shaped boundary edge surfaces 25, 26, the front wall 2, the separating webs 7 and the narrow side walls 3, 4 each have bevels 27 in the direction of the interior of each contact element chamber 10. The rear wall 5 is smooth and flat towards the contact element chambers 10. The bevels 27 thus form an insertion funnel for easier insertion of contact elements 30, which are inserted from above in the direction of the arrow 97 into the contact element chambers 10 and are stored there. From the bevels 27 downwards, the front wall 2 and the separating webs 7 each have a thicker wall thickness than their upper end regions, for example approximately twice as thick.

The rear wall 5 has, over its entire extent, approximately the same wall thickness as the thicker areas of the separating webs 7 and the front wall 2. Beyond the level of the upper boundary edges 9, the rear wall 5 forms a web-shaped carrier plate 32a of a circuit board edge element 32 of the same wall thickness, such that the inner side 31 of the rear wall 5 forms a common flat inner surface 33 with the inner side of the carrier plate 32a. Furthermore, the carrier plate 32a has a common outer surface together with the rear wall 5

34, which faces away from the contact element chambers 10.

At the end, the carrier plate 32a is connected by a free plug-in edge

35. The carrier plate 32a ends laterally with its lateral front edges 36 flush with the respective outer sides of the narrow side walls 3, 4, so that a flat outer surface 38, 39 is formed.

Corresponding to the guide slots 14 in the front wall 2, slots 41 are made in the rear wall 5 and the carrier plate 32a, running vertically downwards from the plug-in edge 35, the lower end 42 of which is rounded and is at the same height as the channel base 24 and the lower end of the guide slots 14 (see Fig. 2). The slots 41 are somewhat wider than the corresponding guide slots 14. In the area of the upper end of each slot 41, a conductor track groove 43 is formed on the outer wall side, spanning a slot 41 in each case. The grooves 43 are U-shaped in cross section, their depth corresponding approximately to the sheet thickness of a contact element 30 and their transverse extent corresponding to the width of a conductor track element 112 of a contact element 30 - as described further below. In the region of the upper end, the slots 41 are formed in the shape of an insertion funnel, similar to the guide slots 14, widening upwards, the width of the insertion funnel at its open end corresponding approximately to the groove width.

In the imaginary extension of the outer dividers 7, the

A vertically extending, thin-walled plug-in limiting or stop web 45 is formed on the outer surface 34, which forms an upper limiting edge 46. These upper limiting edges 46 lie in the same plane as the upper limiting edges 9 of the separating webs 7 and the upper front edges 8 of the front wall 2 (cf. Fig. 9).

Adjacent to the mutually facing boundary edges of the two middle slots 41, thin-walled retaining webs 48, 49 are formed below the respective grooves 43, running parallel to the stop webs 45 and extending at right angles from the outer surface 34 (see Fig. 2, 3), the upper front edges 48a, 49a of which can be at the same height as the upper boundary edges 46 of the stop webs 45 or slightly below. A resiliently flexible locking arm 50 connecting the retaining webs 48, 49 is formed on the ends of the retaining webs 48, 49 facing away from the rear wall 5. The locking arm 50 has an approximately rectangular plate-shaped spatial form with an inner surface 51 facing the rear wall 5 and an outer surface 52 facing away from the rear wall 5. The locking arm 50 extends parallel to the rear wall 5 from the holding webs 48, 49 upwards, with the inner surface 51 being arranged at a distance parallel to the outer surface 34. The locking arm 50 protrudes a little above the upper front edge 35 of the carrier plate 32a and has at its upper end on its inner surface 51 a locking lug 53 with an inclined surface 54 and a locking surface 55, which form a locking edge 56 (see Fig. 1).

A guide wall 60 with a U-shaped cross section and a side wall 61, a front guide web 62 and a rear guide web 63 is integrally formed on the front edges 3 6 of the carrier plate 32a. The guide webs 62, 63 are each arranged at right angles to the side wall 61 and point in the direction of the carrier plate 32a, so that an upwardly open insertion shaft is formed for a component with a rectangular cross section, in particular a plug housing of a mating connector. The guide walls 60 extend vertically to

at the top, each extend a little beyond the free plug-in edge 35 of the carrier plate 32a and each form a U-shaped upper front edge 64. The guide walls 60 with the side cheeks 61 and the rear guide webs 63 extend vertically downwards, each to a little below the L-shaped boundary edges 25, 26. The front guide webs 62 sit with their lower ends on the L-shaped boundary edges 25, 26. The side cheek 61, the front guide web 62 and the rear guide web 63 each have an inner side 61a, 62a, 63a facing the carrier plate 32a and an outer side 61b, 62b, 63b facing away from the carrier plate 32a. The guide walls 60 are arranged on the end faces 36 of the carrier plate 32a in such a way that the carrier plate 32a divides the upwardly open insertion shaft, which is formed from the guide walls 60, approximately in the middle in the longitudinal direction. To form an insertion funnel for a mating connector, the inner sides 61a, 62a, 63a are each chamfered towards the upper U-shaped boundary edge 64, so that insertion bevels 61c, 62c, 63c are formed.

The bottom wall 6 (see Fig. 3, 5, 6) has a flat outer surface 70 and an inner surface 71, which closes off the contact element chambers 10 at the bottom. A conductor plug 72, which is essentially rectangular in cross-section, extends dome-like from the inner side 71 of the bottom wall 6 into each contact element chamber 10, the vertical extension of which is limited upwards by a plug face 73, the plug face 73 being aligned with the channel base 24 of the support projections 17 and the lower ends of the guide slots 14 and the lower ends of the slots 41. The conductor plugs
72 each have two opposite broad sides 74, 75 which run at a distance parallel to the lateral boundary walls of a contact element chamber 10 and one front narrow side 76 and one rear narrow side 77 which, in comparison to the distance of the broad sides 74, 75, run parallel to the front wall 2 and the rear wall 5 respectively.

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In each of the contact element chambers 10 there is a contact element 30, which is described in more detail below (Fig. 4).

The contact elements 30 are designed as a stamped sheet metal part and have in cross section a U-shaped base body 80 with a front contact tab 81, an opposite rear contact tab 82 and a base web 83 connecting the contact tabs 81, 82 on the base side.

The front contact tab 81 and the rear contact tab 82 each have a substantially planar spatial shape and are arranged at a distance from one another parallel to the front wall 2 or the rear wall 5 of the connector 1 and each have an upper boundary edge 84 or 85, which lie in a common extension plane parallel to the bottom wall 6 of the connector 1.

The contact tabs 81, 82 also each have an outer surface 86, 87 and an inner surface 88, 89, the distance between the outer surfaces 86, 87 corresponding to the clear width between the front wall 2 and the rear wall 5 in a contact element chamber 10. The width of the contact tabs 81, 82 is determined by an outer boundary edge 90, 91 and an inner boundary edge 92, 93, the width of the contact tabs 81, 82 being slightly smaller than the clear width of a contact element chamber 10 between two walls laterally delimiting the contact element chamber 10. Approximately halfway up the base body 80, the inner and outer boundary edges 90, 91; 92, 93 of each contact element 3 0 have claws 94 formed thereon, each of which has a downwardly facing inclined surface 95 and at its upper end a sharp-edged hooking edge 96 for hooking the contact elements 3 0 in a contact element chamber 10. For this purpose, the lateral distance between two hooking edges 96 of a contact tab 81, 82 is selected to be slightly larger than the clear width between two walls laterally delimiting the contact element chamber 10, so that the contact elements 3 0 after insertion into a contact

element chamber 10 (arrow direction 97) are clamped into the contact element chambers 10.

Centered in relation to the contact tabs 81, 82, vertical clamping slots 99, 100 are provided, which are open at the bottom and extend approximately from the height of the interlocking edges 96. These are separated by limiting edges, which are each designed as insulation displacement edges 101 and

102. The insulation displacement edges 101 and 102 serve to contact conductor wires 103 (Fig. 5, 6) according to the essentially known insulation displacement technology. The clamping slot 99 in the front contact tab 81 is aligned with the clamping slot 100 in the rear contact tab 82. In addition, the clamping slots 99, 100 are aligned with the guide slots 14 and the slots 41 of the contact element chambers 10 in the assembled state. Furthermore, the clamping slot 99 and the clamping slot 100 are designed in the same way, so that the design of the clamping slot 99 explained in more detail below also applies to the clamping slot 100.

The insulation displacement edges 101, 102 are dimensioned according to the diameter of the conductor wire to be contacted using insulation displacement technology.

103 are arranged parallel to one another and spaced apart. At the upper end of the clamping slot 99, this widens on both sides so that a transverse recess 104 is created in each case: and the clamping slot 99 is thus widened in a T-shape at the upper end. At the lower, open end of the clamping slot 99, this is widened in a V-shape so that insertion edges 106, 107 are formed, which each extend around the corner area between a contact tab 81, 82 and the base web 83 and continue in the base web 83 to form a base recess 108. The base recess 108 is dimensioned such that the conductor plug 72 reaches through the base recess 108 when the contact elements 30 are inserted.

Directly above the V-shaped extension of the clamping slot 9 9, adjacent to the clamping slot 99 in the cutting edges 101, 102, there are inward-facing spring-loaded penetrations 110

introduced in such a way that a clamping edge 111 pointing towards the base web 83 is formed on the inner sides 88, 89 of the contact tabs 81, 82. These penetrations 110 rest with their clamping edge 111 on the narrow sides 76, 77 of the conductor plug 72 when the contact element 30 is mounted and thus bring about an additional, positive holding of the contact element 30 on the conductor plug 72.

Adjoining the upper boundary edge 85 of the rear contact tab 82 in the middle of its extension is a flat plate-shaped first conductor track element 112 which is narrower than the contact tab 82 and which, when assembled, extends to the free plug-in edge 35 of the carrier plate 32a. At the upper end of the first conductor track element 112, there is a continuation of an arc piece 113 bent by 180°, which is followed by a rear, downward-pointing second conductor track end 114 which, when assembled, rests in the groove 43 of the carrier plate 32a (cf. Fig. 2). In the assembled state, the arc piece 113 surrounds the free plug-in edge 35 of the carrier plate 32a in the area of a groove 43.

The inner flat delimiting surfaces 115 and 116 of the conductor track element 112 and the conductor track end 114 facing the carrier plate 32a are each flat and arranged parallel to one another at a distance such that the remaining material thickness of the carrier plate 32a in the area of the groove bottoms of the grooves 43 corresponds to the distance between the inner surfaces 115, 116. Thus, when the contact element 30 is in the assembled state, the flat delimiting surfaces 115, 116 each lie flat against the inner surface 33 and the groove bottoms of the grooves 43 (see Fig. 6). Opposite the inner flat delimitation surfaces 115, 116 of the conductor track element 112 and the conductor track end 114 are outer flat delimitation surfaces which - as described further below - act as contact surfaces 117, 118 for a respective mating plug contact element 120 (cf. Fig. 2, 9).

The mating contact element 120 is part of a known mating connector 121, which is suitable for contacting printed circuit boards or circuit cards in their edge areas. The mating connector 121 has a plug housing 122 with a housing top 123. In the plug housing 122, a mating contact element 120 is located in contact element chambers 124. These are provided at one end with contact spring tongues 125, which each contact the contact surfaces 117, 118. At the other end, the mating contact elements 120 are provided with insulation displacement contacts in a known manner and contact and hold an outgoing conductor wire 126 stored in the mating connector housing 122. The lateral spacing of the mating contact elements 120 corresponds to the lateral spacing of the conductor track elements 112 and thus has the same standardized grid spacing - Rast 2.5 or Rast 5. When plugged in, the lower boundary surface of the plug housing 122 rests on the one hand on the upper boundary edges 9 of the separating webs 7 and on the other hand on the upper boundary edges 46 of the stop webs 45. Furthermore, the plug housing 122 is positively positioned and held at least in part on its outer surfaces 127, 128 via the guide walls 6 0 (see Fig. 7). When plugged in, the locking surface 55 of the locking lug 53 also comes into contact with the upper side 123 of the housing, so that the mating connector 121 is held locked on the plug connector 1. This prevents the plug connection according to the invention from being accidentally released. If the mating connector 121 is to be deliberately pulled off, the spring-loaded locking arm 50 only has to be bent slightly in the direction of the arrow 13 0 until the locking lug 53 lies next to the surface 123 of the plug housing 122. The mating connector 121 can then be removed from the connector 1 in the opposite direction to the arrow 97.

According to a further embodiment (Fig. 8, 9, 10) of the electrical connector according to the invention, the connector 1 has two spring-loaded locking arms 131, 132, which are attached to the end edges 36 of the carrier

plate 32a in one piece, extending at right angles to the rear. The locking arms 131, 132 have the same flat plate-shaped spatial shape as the locking arm 50 of the first embodiment and also have a locking lug 133, 134 at their upper end, which corresponds in its spatial shape to the locking lug 53. The inner surfaces 51 of the locking arms 131, 132 are arranged parallel to one another and at right angles to the rear side 34 of the carrier plate 32a and are spaced apart from one another by a distance which corresponds to the distance between the side surfaces 128 of the plug housing 122. Thus, the locking arms 133, 134 also act in the lateral direction as guide elements for the mating connector 121 and thus replace the guide walls 60. The fixing of the connector housing 122 in a direction perpendicular to the carrier plate 32a takes place, for example, via webs 135, 136, which are arranged between the mating contact elements 120 in the connector housing 122 and, in the plugged-in state, each rest between two conductor track elements 112 on the inner side 33 and each rest between two conductor track ends 114 on the outer side 34 of the carrier plate 32a. In the plugged-in state, as in the above-mentioned example, the locking surfaces 55 of the locking lugs 133, 134 rest on the top side 123 of the connector housing 122 and secure the mating connector 121 against unintentional removal from the circuit board edge element 32. By simultaneously bending the locking arm 131 in the direction of arrow 138 and the locking arm 132 in the direction of arrow 139, the locking can be released and the mating connector 121 can be removed. The remaining structure of the connector 1 according to the second embodiment is identical to the structure of the connector 1 according to Fig. 1.

In the following, the assembly process for producing a plug connection according to the invention is explained in detail using the example of an electric motor.

In the initial state, the connector 1 according to the invention is attached without inserted contact elements 30, for example to a core sheet package of a magnetic coil of an electric motor. In the first step, one conductor wire end of each of the windings of the

Electric motor is inserted from above in the direction of arrow 97 into a contact element chamber 10 in such a way that the conductor wire end preferably points towards the rear wall 5 and the conductor wire 103 comes to rest at the lower ends of the guide slots 14 and the slots 41. Thus, the conductor wire 103 to be contacted also rests on the plugging face 73 of the conductor plugging device 72 and on the channel base 24 of the support projection 17 before the contact element 30 is inserted.

In this state, a contact element 30 is inserted from above in the direction of arrow 97 with the base web 83 leading into the contact element chamber 10 (Fig. 5, 6). When the contact element 30 is inserted, the conductor wire 103 is contacted and held in a known manner using insulation displacement technology, with the insulation displacement edges 101, 102 of the slots 99, 100 of the contact element 30 each cutting through the insulation of the conductor wires 103 and thus contacting and holding the conductor wire 103. If the contact element 30 is completely inserted into a contact element chamber 10, its base web 83 rests on the base wall 6 of the contact element chamber 10, surrounding the conductor plug 72. The conductor track element 112 lies flat on the inner surface 33 of the carrier plate 32a, with the curved piece 113 gripping the carrier plate 32a at its free plug-in edge 35 and thus supporting the conductor track end 114 on the outside in the grooves 43. The contact elements 3 0 can be inserted manually, semi-automatically or fully automatically. However, with very large quantities, as is the case, for example, in the manufacture of electric motors, it is expedient to insert the contact elements 3 0 into the contact element chambers 10 semi-automatically or fully automatically. For the semi-automatic or fully automatic assembly of the contact elements 3 0, it is expedient to leave the contact elements 30 manufactured using progressive composite technology, which are connected to one another in a chain-like manner via sheet metal webs after the punching and forming processes, in this arrangement or to wind up the chain formed from contact elements 3 0 into contact element rolls. Thus, the contact elements 30 can be continuously fed to an automatic feeding and assembly device

If a contact element 30 is seated in a corresponding receiving device of the assembly machine, the contact element 30 is separated from the chain and inserted into the contact element chamber 10 provided for it. During the insertion process, the conductor wire 103, which rests in the connector 1, enters the insulation displacement slots 99, 100 of the contact element 30 and is contacted and held in place using the known insulation displacement technology.

After assembly, the conductor track elements 112, 114 together with the carrier plate 32a form a circuit board edge element 32, as occurs on the edge areas of circuit boards or printed circuit cards, wherein the conductor track elements 112, 114 of two adjacent contact elements 30 have a fixed, standardized grid spacing from one another. Thus - as described above - a known mating connector 121 intended for contacting circuit board edges can be used as the mating connector 121 for the connector 1 according to the invention.

A connector 1 according to the invention thus combines the advantages of insulation displacement technology for non-detachable contacts between contact elements and conductor wires with the advantages of a detachable multiple connector using already known mating connectors 121 available in large quantities. The special design of the contacting elements for the connector also advantageously allows a connector to be formed that is similar to the contacting conditions of a circuit board edge and can thus be reliably contacted with proven mating contacting elements, such as spring contact elements. In addition, an arrangement as a multiple connector, for example arranged in a row, requires only one plugging process to establish contact at all contact points, in which all the necessary electrical contacts between the connector 1 and the outgoing conductor wires 103 stored in the mating connector 121 and contacted there are established at the same time. This leads in particular to a

considerable simplification in the assembly process and increased ease of maintenance of the correspondingly equipped devices, since the wires leading from the electric motor to the outside do not have to be detached individually from the corresponding contact elements 3 0, but rather the contacts can be quickly released and restored by releasing the locking devices once and pulling off the mating connector 121. In addition, such a design of an electrical connection offers the possibility of providing the pairing of plug connector 1 and mating connector 121 with coding devices, so that contact cannot be confused. This reliably prevents damage during the manufacturing process or during repair work on the devices in question, which could be caused by incorrect assignment of the outgoing conductor wires to the corresponding conductor wires 103. In addition, such a plug connector 1 according to the invention ensures a high level of contact reliability during operation, since it uses tried and tested mating contact elements 12 0, which have proven themselves in use as plug connectors for printed circuit boards. The arrangement of the conductor track elements at regular, standardized intervals, in particular the standardized grid spacings of 2, 5 or 5 mm that are common in the printed circuit board sector, means that such a connector 1 with the corresponding mating connectors 121 can be used universally. This results in a smaller variety of parts and thus also a considerable cost advantage.

The invention also provides for the Lexter plate edge element 32 to be designed as a separate plug-in part which contains conductor track elements 112, 114 integrated into the carrier plate 32a and can be plugged into the housing la of the connector 1, wherein the conductor track elements 112, 114 are electrically connected to the contact elements 30 via suitable contacting elements, e.g. contact spring tongues, when the circuit board edge element 32 is plugged in.

Claims (66)

1. Electrical connector unit, in particular for connecting coil wire ends of an electric motor to outgoing conductor wire ends, e.g. for wiring an electric motor, consisting of a plastic housing with at least one contact element chamber which is open at the top and in which a contact element formed from a stamped sheet metal part is seated, which contact element has an insulation displacement contact device for a coil wire end of a magnetic coil, e.g. B. for a lacquered wire or a copper wire of an electric motor or capacitor or the like and at the other end has a contacting device for an outgoing conductor wire, wherein preferably in opposite walls of the contact element chamber there is provided a narrow slot running from the upper edge of the walls in the direction of the chamber floor for the introduction of the coil wire end and between the opposite walls a conductor plug pointing upwards from the floor wall is arranged, characterized in that the electrical connector unit is designed as a plug connector ( 1 ) for a mating connector ( 121 ), wherein the contacting device for the outgoing conductor wire is designed as a plug element for the mating connector ( 121 ) in the manner of a circuit board edge element ( 32 ) with a free plug edge ( 35 ), which has a web-shaped, preferably housing-integrated carrier plate ( 32a ) made of plastic with at least one conductor track element ( 112 ) and is designed in such a way that a particularly standardized mating connector ( 121 ), wherein the conductor track element ( 112 ) is electrically conductively connected to the contact element ( 30 ). 2. Electrical connector unit according to claim 1, characterized in that several contact element chambers ( 10 ) are combined, in particular in a row next to one another, to form a multi-pole plug connector. 3. Electrical connector unit according to claim 2, characterized in that the distance between two conductor track elements ( 112 ) has a standardized grid dimension, e.g. 2.5 or 5 mm. 4. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the conductor track element ( 112 ) is connected at one end, in one piece, to the contact element ( 30 ). 5. Electrical connector unit according to claim 4, characterized in that the conductor track element ( 112 ) is designed at the other end as a flat conductor track element which extends to the free plug-in edge ( 35 ). 6. Electrical connector unit according to claim 4, characterized in that the conductor track element ( 112 ) is designed at the other end as a flat conductor track element which extends to just before the free plug-in edge ( 35 ). 7. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the conductor track element ( 112 ) has at the other end a curved piece ( 113 ) which surrounds the carrier plate ( 32a ) at the edge, in particular in a form-fitting manner. 8. Electrical connector unit according to claim 7, characterized in that the curved piece ( 113 ) is adjoined by a conductor track end ( 114 ) which rests on the rear side against the carrier plate 32a . 9. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the plug connector ( 1 ) has locking devices ( 50 , 53 ) for lockingly holding the mating plug connector ( 121 ). 10. Electrical connector unit according to claim 9, characterized in that the locking device ( 50 , 53 ) is at least one resilient locking arm ( 50 ) with at least one locking lug ( 53 ). 11. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the plug connector ( 1 ) has devices ( 60 , 51 ) for guiding and positioning a mating plug connector ( 121 ). 12. Electrical connector unit according to claim 11, characterized in that the device ( 60 ) for guiding and positioning a mating connector ( 121 ) are shaft-shaped guide walls ( 60 ). 13. Electrical connector unit according to claim 11, characterized in that the devices ( 51 ) for guiding and positioning the mating connector ( 121 ) are inner surfaces ( 51 ) of locking arms ( 50 ). 14. Electrical connector element according to one or more of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the plug connector ( 1 ) has a longitudinal front wall ( 2 ), a first narrow side wall ( 3 ), a second narrow side wall ( 4 ), a longitudinal rear wall ( 5 ) and a bottom wall ( 6 ), which are each flat and form the upwardly open, cuboid-shaped connector housing ( 1a ). 15. Electrical connector unit according to claim 14, characterized in that the side walls ( 3 , 4 ) and the front wall ( 2 ) are of approximately the same height. 16. Electrical connector unit according to claim 14 and/or 15, characterized in that separating webs ( 7 ) extend between the inner sides of the front wall ( 2 ) and the rear wall ( 5 ) at right angles to the front wall ( 2 ) and the rear wall ( 5 ), the vertical extent of which reaches up to the upper boundary edge ( 8 ) of the front wall ( 2 ), with which the separating webs are flush, so that an upper plug-in boundary edge ( 9 ) is formed. 17. Electrical connector unit according to claim 16, characterized in that the separating webs ( 7 ) are arranged at a uniform distance from one another in such a way that the housing ( 1a ) is divided into a plurality of contact element chambers ( 10 ) of equal size, approximately square in cross section and open at the top. 18. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that the front wall ( 2 ) has guide slots ( 14 ) with oblique sections ( 11 ), in particular centrally with respect to the contact element chambers ( 10 ), which extend from the upper boundary edge ( 8 ), tapering downwards over approximately 1/3 of the height of the front wall ( 2 ), so that oblique guide edges ( 12 , 13 ) are formed in each case. 19. Electrical connector unit according to claim 18, characterized in that the guide slots ( 14 ) at the lower end of the inclined sections ( 11 ) run vertically downwards and form guide edges ( 15 , 16 ) parallel to one another. 20. Electrical connector unit according to claim 18 and/or 19, characterized in that the guide slots ( 14 ) extend from the lower ends of the inclined sections ( 11 ) over approximately 1/3 of the height of the front wall ( 2 ). 21. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that support projections ( 17 ) are arranged at the lower end of the guide slots ( 14 ) on the outside of the front wall ( 2 ). 22. Electrical connector element according to claim 21, characterized in that the support projections ( 17 ) have a substantially cubic spatial shape with an upper side ( 18 ), a lower side ( 19 ), an outer surface ( 20 ) parallel to the front wall ( 2 ) and two side surfaces ( 21 , 22 ). 23. Electrical connector unit according to claim 22, characterized in that a groove-shaped recess ( 23 ) is introduced into the upper side ( 18 ) of the support projections ( 17 ), which is somewhat wider than the width of the guide slots ( 14 ) and whose groove base ( 24 ) is rounded. 24. Electrical connector unit according to claim 23, characterized in that the channel base ( 24 ) is flush with the lower end of the guide slots ( 14 ). 25. Electrical connector unit according to claim 23 and/or 24, characterized in that the diameter of the rounded portion in the channel base ( 24 ) is slightly larger than the width of the guide slots ( 14 ) and is dimensioned such that conductor wires ( 103 ), in particular conductor wire ends of magnetic coils, can be inserted into the channel-shaped recess ( 23 ). 26. Electrical connector element according to one or more of claims 14 to 25, characterized in that the partial areas of the front wall ( 2 ) adjoining the narrow sides ( 3 , 4 ) from the outer oblique sections ( 11 ) have the same vertical extension as the side walls ( 3 , 4 ), so that these outer partial areas of the front wall ( 2 ) together with the narrow side walls ( 3 , 4 ) each form an L-shaped boundary edge ( 25 , 26 ). 27. Electrical connector unit according to claim 26, characterized in that the front wall ( 2 ), the separating webs ( 7 ) and the narrow side walls ( 3 , 4 ) each have bevels ( 27 ) of the interior of each contact element chamber ( 10 ) at the level of the L-shaped boundary edges ( 25 , 26 ). 28. Electrical connector unit according to claim 27, characterized in that the bevels ( 27 ) have an insertion funnel for easier insertion of contact elements ( 30 ) in the direction of the arrow ( 97 ) into the contact element chambers ( 10 ). 29. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 28, characterized in that the carrier plate 32 a of the circuit board edge element ( 32 ) is formed beyond the level of the upper boundary edge ( 9 ), in particular in an extension of the rear wall ( 5 ) aligned with the latter, e.g. in such a way that the inner side ( 31 ) of the rear wall ( 5 ) forms a common flat inner surface ( 33 ) with the inner side of the carrier plate ( 32 a) and the carrier plate ( 32 a) together with the rear wall ( 5 ) forms a common outer surface ( 34 ) which faces away from the contact element chambers ( 10 ) and at the end a free plug-in edge ( 35 ) delimits the carrier plate 32 a. 30. Electrical connector unit according to claim 29, characterized in that the carrier plate ( 32a ) terminates with its end edges ( 36 ) flush with the respective outer sides of the narrow side walls ( 3 , 4 ). 31. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 30, characterized in that a slot ( 41 ) running vertically downwards from the free plug-in edge ( 35 ) is expediently introduced into the rear wall ( 5 ) and the carrier plate ( 32a ) corresponding to a guide slot (14) in the front wall, the lower end (42 ) of which is preferably rounded and preferably lies at the same height as the channel base ( 24 ) and the lower end of the guide slots ( 14 ), the slot ( 41 ) being covered by the conductor track element ( 112 ) at least in part, in particular in the region of the carrier plate ( 32a ). 32. Electrical connector unit according to claim 31, characterized in that at least in the region of the upper end of the slot ( 41 ) on the outer wall and/or inner wall side a conductor track groove ( 43 ) spanning the slot ( 41 ) is formed, wherein the slot ( 41 ) is preferably formed in the shape of an insertion funnel and widened upwards. 33. Electrical connector unit according to claim 32, characterized in that the groove ( 43 ) is U-shaped in cross section, the depth of which expediently corresponds to the sheet thickness of the contact element ( 30 ) and the transverse extent of which corresponds to the width of a conductor track element ( 112 ). 34. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 16 to 33, characterized in that in an imaginary extension of the outer separating webs ( 7 ) a vertically extending, thin-walled plug-in limiting or stop web ( 45 ) is formed on the outer surface ( 34 ), which forms an upper limiting edge ( 46 ) which lies in the same plane as the upper limiting edges ( 9 ) of the separating webs ( 7 ) and the upper end faces ( 8 ) of the front wall ( 2 ). 35. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 14 to 34, characterized in that adjacent to the mutually facing boundary edges of the two middle slots ( 41 ) below the respective grooves ( 43 ) thin-walled retaining webs ( 48 , 49 ) are formed, running parallel to the stop webs ( 46 ) and extending at right angles from the outer surface ( 34 ). 36. Electrical connector unit according to claim 35 , characterized in that a resiliently bendable locking arm (50) connecting the retaining webs ( 48 , 49 ) is formed on the ends of the retaining webs ( 48 , 49 ) facing away from the rear wall ( 5 ). 37. Electrical connector unit according to claim 36, characterized in that the locking arm ( 50 ) has an approximately rectangular plate-shaped spatial shape with an inner surface facing the rear wall ( 5 ) and an outer surface facing away from the rear wall ( 5 ). 38. Electrical connector unit according to claim 36 and/or 37, characterized in that the locking arm ( 50 ) extends upwards from the holding webs ( 48 , 49 ) parallel to the rear wall ( 5 ), the inner surface ( 51 ) being arranged at a distance parallel to the outer surface ( 34 ). 39. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 36 to 38, characterized in that the locking arm ( 50 ) projects in height a little beyond the free plug-in edge ( 35 ) of the carrier plate ( 32a ) and has at its upper end on its inner surface ( 51 ) a locking lug ( 53 ) with an inclined surface ( 54 ) and a locking surface ( 55 ). 40. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 39, characterized in that the guide walls ( 60 ) each have a spatial shape with a U-shaped cross section with a side cheek ( 61 ), a front guide web ( 62 ) and a rear guide web ( 63 ) and are integrally formed on the front edges ( 36 ) of the carrier plate ( 32a ). 41. Electrical connector unit according to claim 40, characterized in that the guide webs ( 62 , 63 ) are each arranged at right angles to the side cheek ( 61 ) and point in the direction of the carrier plate ( 32a ), so that an upwardly open insertion shaft is formed for a component with a rectangular cross section. 42. Electrical connector unit according to claim 40 and/or 41, characterized in that the side cheek ( 61 ), the front guide web ( 62 ) and the rear guide web ( 63 ) each have an inner side ( 61 a, 62 a, 63 a) facing the carrier plate ( 32 a), wherein the inner sides ( 61 a, 62 a, 63 a) are each chamfered towards an upper U-shaped boundary edge ( 64 ) of the guide wall ( 60 ), so that insertion bevels ( 61 c, 62 c, 63 c) are formed. 43. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 40 to 42, characterized in that the guide walls ( 60 ) are arranged on the end edges ( 36 ) of the carrier plate ( 32a ) in such a way that the carrier plate ( 32a ) divides the upwardly open insertion shaft approximately centrally in the longitudinal direction. 44. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 14 to 43, characterized in that the bottom wall ( 6 ) has a flat outer surface ( 70 ) and an inner surface ( 71 ) which closes off the contact element chambers ( 10 ) on the bottom side. 45. Electrical connector unit according to claim 44, characterized in that the conductor plug ( 72 ) extends from the inner side ( 71 ) of the bottom wall ( 6 ) in a dome-like manner into each contact element chamber ( 10 ), its vertical extension upwards being limited by a plug end face ( 73 ), the plug end face ( 73 ) being aligned with the channel base ( 24 ) of the support projections ( 17 ) and the respective lower ends of the guide slots ( 14 ) as well as the lower ends of the slots ( 41 ). 46. Electrical connector unit according to claim 45, characterized in that the conductor plugs ( 72 ) each have two opposite broad sides ( 74 , 75 ) which run at a distance parallel to the lateral boundary walls of a contact element chamber ( 10 ) and each have a front narrow side ( 76 ) and a rear narrow side ( 77 ), which each run parallel to the front wall ( 2 ) or to the rear wall ( 5 ) at a smaller distance than the distance between the broad sides ( 74 , 75 ). 47. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 1 to 46, characterized in that the contact elements ( 30 ) have a base body ( 80 ) which is U-shaped in cross section and has a front contact tab ( 81 ), an opposite, rear contact tab ( 82 ) and a base web ( 83 ) connecting the contact tabs ( 81 , 82 ) on the base side. 48. Electrical connector unit according to claim 47, characterized in that the front contact tab ( 81 ) and the rear contact tab ( 82 ) each have a substantially planar spatial shape and are arranged at a distance from one another parallel to the front wall ( 2 ) or the rear wall ( 5 ) of the connector ( 1 ) and each form an upper boundary edge ( 84 or 85 ) which lie in a common plane of extension parallel to the bottom wall ( 6 ) of the connector ( 1 ). 49. Electrical connector unit according to claim 48, characterized in that the contact tabs ( 81 , 82 ) each have an outer surface ( 86 , 87 ) and an inner surface ( 88 , 89 ), the distance between the outer surfaces ( 86 , 87 ) corresponding to the clear width between the front wall ( 2 ) and the rear wall ( 5 ) in a contact element chamber ( 10 ). 50. Electrical connector unit according to claim 48 and/or 49, characterized in that the width of the contact tabs ( 81 , 82 ) is each limited by an outer limiting edge ( 90 , 91 ) and an inner limiting edge ( 92 , 93 ), the width of the contact tabs ( 81 , 82 ) being slightly smaller than the clear width of a contact element chamber ( 10 ). 51. Electrical connector unit according to claim 50, characterized in that approximately halfway up the base body ( 80 ) on the inner and outer boundary edges ( 90 , 91 ; 92 , 93 ) of a contact element ( 30 ) claws ( 94 ) are formed, each having a downwardly facing inclined surface ( 95 ) and at the upper end thereof a sharp-edged hooking edge ( 96 ) for hooking the contact elements in a contact element chamber ( 10 ). 52. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 48 to 51, characterized in that the clamping slots ( 99 , 100 ) are each introduced centrally with respect to the contact tabs ( 81 , 82 ) approximately from the height of the hooking edges ( 96 ) running vertically downwards, so that the insulation displacement edges ( 101 , 102 ) are formed. 53. Electrical connector unit according to claim 52, characterized in that the insulation displacement edges ( 101 , 102 ) are arranged parallel to one another at a distance from one another according to the diameter of the conductor wire ( 103 ) to be contacted, so that this conductor wire ( 103 ) can be contacted and held using insulation displacement technology. 54. Electrical connector unit according to claim (53), characterized in that the clamping slots ( 99 , 100 ) are aligned with one another and are widened in a V-shape at the lower, open end, so that insertion edges ( 106 , 107 ) are formed, which each extend around the corner region between a contact tab ( 81 , 82 ) and the base web ( 83 ) and continue in the base web ( 83 ) to widen into a base recess ( 108 ), the base recess ( 108 ) being dimensioned such that the conductor plug ( 72 ) reaches through the base recess ( 108 ) when the contact elements ( 30 ) are inserted. 55. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 48 to 54, characterized in that the flat plate-shaped conductor track element (112) lying in the plane of extension of the rear contact tab ( 82 ) is formed in one piece on the upper boundary edge ( 85 ) of the rear contact tab ( 82 ) in the middle of its extension, which conductor track element ( 112 ) is narrower than the contact tab (82) and extends in the assembled state to the free plug-in edge ( 35 ) of the carrier plate ( 32a ). 56. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 48 to 55, characterized in that a conductor track end ( 114 ) in the assembled state is supported in the groove ( 43 ) of the carrier plate ( 32a ), wherein a curved piece ( 113 ) engages around the free plug-in edge ( 35 ) of the carrier plate ( 32a ) in the region of a groove ( 43 ) and connects the conductor track end ( 114 ) to the conductor track element ( 112 ). 57. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 48 to 56, characterized in that the conductor track elements ( 112 , 114 ) have flat inner boundary surfaces ( 115 , 116 ), which are each arranged flat and parallel to one another at a distance such that the conductor track elements ( 112 , 114 ) each rest flat on the carrier plate ( 32a ) or on the groove bottoms of the grooves ( 43 ). 58. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 48 to 57, characterized in that the inside flat delimiting surfaces ( 115 , 116 ) are each opposite outside flat delimiting surfaces which act as contact surfaces ( 117 , 118 ) for a respective mating plug contact element ( 120 ). 59. Electrical connector unit according to claim 58, characterized in that the mating plug contact element ( 120 ) is a component of the mating plug connector ( 121 ), which is suitable for contacting printed circuit boards or printed circuit cards in their edge regions. 60. Electrical connector unit according to claim 58 and/or 59, characterized in that the mating connector ( 121 ) has a plug housing ( 122 ) with a housing top ( 123 ), wherein a mating plug contact element ( 120 ) is mounted in a contact element chamber ( 124 ) and the mating plug contact elements are provided at one end with insulation displacement contacts and at the other end with contact spring tongues ( 125 ). 61. Electrical connector unit according to claim 59 and/or 60, characterized in that the lateral spacing of the mating plug contact elements ( 120 ) corresponds to the lateral spacing of the conductor track elements ( 112 ). 62. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 59 to 61, characterized in that in the plugged-in state, the lower boundary surface of the plug housing ( 122 ) rests on the one hand on the upper boundary edges ( 9 ) of the separating webs ( 7 ) and on the other hand on the upper boundary edges ( 46 ) of the stop webs ( 45 ). 63. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of claims 59 to 62, characterized in that the plug housing ( 122 ) is positively positioned and held on its outer surfaces ( 127 , 128 ) via the guide walls ( 60 ), wherein in the plugged-in state the latching surface ( 55 ) of the latching nose ( 53 ) comes into contact with the upper side ( 123 ) of the housing, so that the mating plug ( 121 ) is held latched on the plug connector ( 1 ). 64. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that two resilient locking arms ( 131 , 132 ) are integrally formed on the end edges ( 36 ) of the carrier plate ( 32a ), which extend at right angles to the rear and have a flat plate-shaped spatial form and each have a locking lug ( 133 , 134 ) at their upper end. 65. Electrical connector unit according to claim 64, characterized in that the locking arms ( 131 , 132 ) have inner surfaces ( 51 ) which are arranged parallel to one another and at right angles to the rear side ( 34 ) of the carrier plate ( 32a ) and which act as guide elements for the mating connector ( 121 ) in place of the guide walls ( 60 ). 66. Electrical connector unit according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contact elements ( 30 ) can be automatically inserted into the contact element chambers ( 10 ).