• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    Abstract The invention relates to a trailer adapter to be interposed between a socket (2) of a towing vehicle and a connector (3) of a trailer, comprising a first taillight path on the input side and a second taillight path on the input side which are interconnected to form a common taillight path on the output side. (fig. 1)
    公开号:AU2013203607A1
    申请号:U2013203607
    申请日:2013-04-11
    公开日:2014-10-09
    发明作者:Frantisek Krajger；Alexander Wystron
    申请人:JAEGER AUTOMOTIVE GmbH；
    IPC主号:B60Q1-26
    专利说明:
    - 1 Trailer adapter The invention relates to a trailer adapter to be interposed between a socket of a towing vehicle and a connector of a trailer. So called vehicle trains which can also be designated as vehicle combinations are known from the state of the art. Such a vehicle combination comprises a towing vehicle on the one hand and a trailer that is towed by the towing vehicle on the other hand. A typical vehicle combination consists for example of a passenger car and a transport trailer or caravan. In the due application case, the towing vehicle and the trailer are coupled to each other both mechanically and electrically. Herein, the mechanical coupling is realized by means of a trailer coupling on the towing vehicle on the one hand and a correspondingly designed counterpart on the trailer on the other hand. For the electrical coupling, the electric network of the towing vehicle has to be connected to the electric network of the trailer, for which purpose a socket-connector assembly is typically used. The socket-connector assemblies known from the state of the art comprise a socket arranged on the towing vehicle as well as a connector on the trailer. Herein, the socket and the connector are correspondingly designed, such that in the due application case, the connector on the trailer is received by the socket on the towing vehicle, in which case an electric connection of the electric network of the trailer to the electric network of the towing vehicle is established. If the connector is not plugged in, both electric networks will be decoupled. Socket-connector assemblies of the above described type are well known from the state of the art, for which reason no special reference to any prior publication will be made here. In practice, sockets and connectors are used which have both a different geometric design and different pin connections and which are at least partly not compatible with each other. As a consequence, a trailer cannot be coupled to a towing vehicle for forming a vehicle combination in case of non-compatibility. A mechanical coupling may -2 be possible, but due to the lacking compatibility of the socket and the connector it will not be possible to connect the electric network of the trailer to the electric network of the towing vehicle. A safe operation of the vehicle combination which corresponds to the traffic rules will then not be possible. So called "round" sockets or connectors are known from the state of the art. Such sockets or connectors comprise a socket housing or connector housing, the cross section of which is circular in at least some sections. Furthermore, so called "flat" or "rectangular" sockets or connectors are known from the state of the art. Such sockets or connectors respectively comprise a housing, the cross section of which is rectangular in at least some sections. "Round" sockets or connectors are mainly used in Europe and the USA. "Rectangular" sockets or connectors are mainly used in the Pacific Region, such as for example in Australia and New Zeeland. Due to their geometric housing designs, "round" sockets or connectors on the one hand and "rectangular" sockets or connectors on the other hand are not compatible with each other. Furthermore, different pin connections are known from the state of the art. Thus, seven pole, twelve-pole and thirteen-pole systems are known. Depending on the system, a socket or a connector comprises seven, twelve or thirteen contacts. The individual systems are not compatible with each other, such that for example a seven-pole connector cannot be used in combination with a thirteen-pole socket and vice versa. But even systems having the same number of poles are not necessarily compatible with each other, notwithstanding the geometric design of the socket and the connector. Thus, different pin connections are known from the state of the art, such that in case of an interconnection, mis-mating can happen which endangers the operational reliability. Thus, in case of different pin connections it can for example happen that the contact of the socket which is connected to the connection path of the brake light of the towing vehicle corresponds to a connector contact which is connected to the connection path of the taillight of the trailer. As a consequence, the brake lights of the trailer will fail to appear if the brakes of the towing vehicle are actuated and instead the taillights of the trailer will be switched on. A short circuit may eventually occur or the whole installation will not show any function. In any case, compatible pin connections of the socket and the connector have to be made sure for a proper operation.
    -3 In Europe and the USA, in particular "round" sockets or connectors are used. Herein, both thirteen-pole and seven-pole systems are known. In order to be able to combine seven-pole connectors with thirteen-pole sockets and vice versa, so called connection or trailer adapters are known from the state of the art. These ones enable a due combination of sockets and connectors which are as such not compatible with each other. Herein, a trailer adapter comprises a connection section on the side of the connector and a connection section on the side of the socket. In the due application case, the connection section of the trailer adapter which is provided for the socket, is inserted into the socket of the towing vehicle. The connector of the trailer is meanwhile plugged into the connection section of the trailer adapter which is provided for the connector. The trailer adapter is thus interposed between the socket of the towing vehicle and the connector of the trailer. The known trailer adapter is only able to combine thirteen-pole "round" sockets or connectors with seven-pole "round" sockets or connectors. The known trailer adapter does not allow other combination possibilities. In so far, there is need of improvement and it is the object of the invention to propose a trailer adapter which extends the combination options of sockets or connectors which are not compatible with each other. For achieving this aim, the invention proposes a trailer adapter to be interposed between a socket of a towing vehicle and a connector of a trailer, comprising a first taillight path on the input side and a second taillight path on the input side which are switched to a common taillight path on the output side. On the input side, i.e. in the connection section on the side of the socket, the trailer adapter according to the invention provides a plurality of connection contacts which cooperate with the contact sockets of the socket of the towing vehicle in the due application case. Herein, the individual contact sockets of the socket of the towing vehicle are connected to different electric paths, such as for example the electric path of the brake light of the towing vehicle, the connection path of the direction indicators of the towing vehicle and/or the like. The plug-in contacts of the connector of the trailer are in the same way connected to electric paths of the trailer, thus for example the first plug-in contact is connected to the -4 electric path of the brake light of the trailer, the second plug-in contact is connected to the electric path of the taillight of the trailer and/or the like. It is now provided by means of the trailer adapter according to the invention to connect a path of a first taillight of the towing vehicle on the input side and a path of a second taillight of the towing vehicle on the input side to each other, such that only one common electric path for a taillight of the trailer will remain on the output side. In concrete terms, the path of the left taillight of the towing vehicle and the path of the right taillight of the towing vehicle can be connected to each other to form a common connection contact on the output side. The combination according to the invention of the two taillight paths of the towing vehicle offers the possibility to couple sockets or connectors to each other which are in themselves not compatible with each other with respect to their pin connections. Thus, it is in particular possible to combine sockets or connectors according to the European system with sockets or connectors according to the Australian system. The spectrum of possible socket-connector combinations will thus be advantageously broadened. According to the design of the invention, the two taillight paths on the input side are connected to each other to form a common taillight path on the output side, whereby in terms of circuitry one path has been saved. This advantageously enables to combine both seven-pole and thirteen-pole "round" sockets or connectors with seven-pole or twelve-pole "rectangular" sockets or connectors and vice versa. Thus, it is made possible for the first time to electrically couple trailers comprising Australian connector systems to towing vehicles comprising European socket systems and vice versa. The adapters known from the state of the art have hitherto not been able to realize this. According to another feature of the invention it is provided that the connection section on the side of the connector has a rectangular shape, i.e. a rectangular structure. Thus, it is geometrically compatible with "rectangular" connectors. The connection section of the adapter on the side of the socket is however designed with a round structure according to another feature of the invention, i.e. it has a round shape and is thus geometrically compatible with "round" sockets. Alternatively, the connection sections of the adapter can also be designed in a reverse manner, i.e. the connection section on -5 the side of the connector is designed with a round structure and the connection section on the side of the socket is designed with a rectangular structure. Thanks to the above described geometric design of the connection sections, the geometric compatibility of sockets and connectors which are otherwise not compatible with each other is achieved. The trailer adapter according to the invention is in so far not only able to assure the electric compatibility but also the geometric compatibility. According to a preferred embodiment it is provided that the connection section on the side of the socket comprises thirteen connection contacts in total. It is thus compatible with a thirteen-pole "round" socket. The connection section on the side of the connector however comprises seven or twelve connection contact sockets and is thus compatible with a "rectangular" connector comprising seven or twelve plug-in contacts. According to another feature of the invention, the connection section of the adapter on the side of the connector comprises a cover which is arranged in a pivoting manner thereon. This cover is advantageously prestressed by a spring and in the non-use position assumes its closing position, in which the connection section is covered and protected against splash water and dirt. In the due application case, the cover can be pivoted by the user, such that an access to the connection section of the adapter on the side of the connector is allowed and a connector can be plugged into the connection section. Herein, the cover is advantageously designed such that it overlaps or reaches behind an extension provided by the connector of the trailer, such that due to the spring power which acts upon the cover a safe position of the connector of the trailer with respect to the adapter is assured. Thanks to this protection, the vibrations which occur during the proper operation cannot lead to an unintended disengagement of the connector of the trailer from the connection section of the adapter on the side of the connector. According to another feature of the invention it is provided that the connection section on the side of the socket comprises a bayonet guidance. This bayonet guidance cooperates with a bayonet counterpart which is provided by the socket of the towing vehicle. In the finally assembled state, a position safe arrangement of the adapter on the socket of the towing vehicle is thus achieved, such that an unintended separation of -6 the connection or trailer adapter and the socket of the towing vehicle will be safely prevented, even in the case of vibrations which occur in the application case. Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description by means of the figures. Herein: Fig. 1 is a purely schematic view of a trailer adapter according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective side view of a trailer adapter according to the invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective side view of a trailer adapter according to the invention; Fig. 4 is a perspective rear view of a trailer adapter according to the invention; Fig. 5 is a schematic front view of a trailer adapter according to the invention and Fig. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram. Fig. 1 is a purely schematic representation showing a trailer adapter 1 according to the invention. This one comprises a connection section 4 on the side of the connector, on the one hand, and a connection section 5 on the side of the socket, on the other hand. In the due application case, the trailer adapter I is interposed between a socket 2 on the towing vehicle, on the one hand, and a connector 3 on the trailer, on the other hand. Thanks to the trailer adapter 1, the socket 2 and the connector 3 which are in themselves not compatible with each other can be connected to each other, wherein a compatibility adaptation both with respect to the geometric aspect and the pin connections is realized. As it is visible in fig. 1, the socket 2 is connected to a loom of cables 7 of the towing vehicle and the connector 3 is connected to a loom of cables 6 of the trailer. Each of the looms of cables 6 or 7 comprises a plurality of cables which respectively represent an electric path and are connected to the respective jacks with respect to the socket or to the respective plug-in contacts which are also called pins with respect to the connector.
    -7 Figures 2 through 5 are different perspective views of the trailer adapter 1 according to the invention. As it is visible in these drawings, the trailer adapter 1 comprises a connection section 5 on the side of the socket as well as a connection section 4 on the side of the connector, which connection sections merge into each other via a central section 8. Herein, the connection section 4 on the side of the connector is designed as a so called "rectangular" connection, i.e. it has a design, the cross section of which is essentially rectangular. The connection section 5 on the side of the socket is however designed as a so called "round" connection, i.e. it has a design, the cross section of which is circular in at least some sections. These geometrically different designs of the connection sections 4 and 5 allow the socket side of the trailer adapter 1 to be connected to a "round" socket 2 and the connector side to be connected to a "rectangular" connector 3, which is also called "flat" connector 3, whereby a "rectangular" connector which is otherwise not compatible with a "round" socket can be connected. As it is in particular visible in fig. 4, the connection section 4 on the side of the connector comprises a contact block 11 which provides a total of seven openings 15. In the finally assembled state, each of these openings 15 respectively receives one contact socket, which contact sockets are not represented in the shown exemplary embodiment for better clarity. According to the shown embodiment, a total of seven openings 15 are provided, the connection section 4 on the side of the connector is thus designed with seven poles. Herein, one electric path is allocated to each pole or each contact socket received in an opening 15, thus starting from the right side with 1, VI, V, Ill, 11, VII and IV with respect to the drawing plane of fig. 4. Herein: I stands for direction indicator to the left side I stands for reversing light Ill stands for ground IV stands for direction indicator to the right side V stands for control line VI stands for brake light VII stands for taillight, sidelight and number plate lamp. In the due application case, the connection section 4 of the trailer adapter 1 on the side of the connector is received by a connector of the trailer which is no further represented in the figures. Herein, the connection section 4 on the side of the connector or the contact block 11 provided by this one has got geometric dimensions including the orientation and position of the openings 15 which are corresponding to a usual rectangularf connector 3. For the positional stability in the plugged-in condition, the connection section 4 on the side of the connector comprises a guiding plate 13 which is placed beneath the contact block 11 with respect to the drawing plane of fig. 3. The guiding plate is spaced from the contact block 11 while leaving a gap 12 and in the plugged-in state of the trailer connector 3 it supports this one. Furthermore, the cover 9 which is arranged on the connection section 4 on the side of the connector in a pivoting manner is provided for securing the position of a plugged-in trailer connector 3. The design of the connection section 5 on the side of the socket will in particular become apparent by simultaneously looking at figures 3 and 5. These figures show that the connection section 5 on the side of the socket comprises a bayonet guidance on its outer surface. In the due application case, this bayonet guidance cooperates with a bayonet counterpart which is provided by the socket 2 of the towing vehicle, which socket is no further shown by the figures. The connection section 5 on the side of the socket provides a plurality of openings 18 into which corresponding connection contacts which are also called pins 19 are inserted in the finally assembled state. In the shown exemplary embodiment, only one such pin 19 is represented for better clarity. Furthermore, a coding extension 17 is visible in fig. 5. This one serves to assure that the connection section 5 of the trailer adapter 1 is inserted into a socket 2 of the towing vehicle in a correct manner with respect to the contacts.
    -9 The pins 19 provided by the connection section 5 on the side of the socket are allocated to different electric paths 1 through 13 as follows. I for direction indicator to the left side Il for rear fog-light of the trailer IllI for ground IV for direction indicator to the right side V for taillight, sidelight and number plate lamp on the right side VI for brake light VII for taillight, sidelight and number plate lamp on the left side VIII reversing light IX for power supply X for charging line + for battery in the trailer XI for ground for contact X XII for control line The above described pin connections correspond to those ones of a thirteen-pole "round" socket according to the European standard. According to the design according to the invention, an interconnection of the individual paths is realized such as schematically represented in fig. 6. It is in particular visible in this figure that on the input side, a first taillight path (V) and a second taillight path (VII) are interconnected and merged to one common taillight path (VII) on the output side. All -10 together, pin connections or interconnections between the connection section 5 on the side of the socket and the connection section 4 on the side of the connector are obtained as follows: I (direction indication to the left side) to I (direction indicator to the left side) VIII (reversing light) to li (reversing light) Ill (ground) to lIl (ground) IV (direction indicator to the right side) to IV (direction indicator to the right side) XII (control line) to V (control line) VI (brake light) to VI (brake light) V (taillight, sidelight, number plate lamp on the right side) and VI (taillight, sidelight, number plate lamp on the left side) to VII (taillight, sidelight, number plate lamp). The other connection contacts 11 and IX through XI of the connection section 5 on the side of the socket remain as they are and will not be interconnected, wherein either non connected pins 19 can be provided or - as it is in particular represented in fig. 5 corresponding pins 19 are not provided from the beginning for the purpose of saving material. Thanks to the above described circuit diagram according to fig. 6, a compatible electric contact connection between the pin connections of a thirteen-pole "round" socket according to European standard and a seven-pole "rectangular" connector according to Australian standard is achieved. In the shown exemplary embodiment, the central section 8 is equipped with a retaining plate 10 which is carried by a web 14. This retaining plate 10 is designed -11 correspondingly to a cover of a socket 2 of the towing vehicle. In the due application case, in which the connection section 5 of the trailer adapter 1 on the side of the socket is inserted into the socket 2 of the towing vehicle, the pivoted cover of the socket 2 reaches behind the retaining plate 10 provided by the central section 8 of the adapter 1, whereby a position safe placement of the adapter 1 with respect to the socket 2 of the towing vehicle is achieved.
    List of reference numerals 1 trailer adapter 2 socket 3 connector 4 connection section on the side of the connector 5 connection section on the side of the socket 6 loom of cables 7 loom of cables 8 central section 9 cover 10 retaining plate 11 contact block 12 gap 13 guiding plate 14 web 15 opening 16 bayonet guidance 17 coding extension 18 opening 19 pin
    权利要求:
    Claims (8)
    [1] 1. A trailer adapter to be interposed between a socket (2) of a towing vehicle and a connector (3) of a trailer, comprising a first taillight path on the input side and a second taillight path on the input side which are interconnected to form a common taillight path on the output side.
    [2] 2. An adapter according to claim 1, characterized by a rectangular connection section (4) on the side of the connector.
    [3] 3. An adapter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by a round connection section on the side of the socket.
    [4] 4. An adapter according to claim 2, characterized in that the connection section (4) on the side of the connector provides seven connection contact sockets.
    [5] 5. An adapter according to claim 2, characterized in that the connection section (4) on the side of the connector provides twelve connection contact sockets.
    [6] 6. An adapter according to claim 3, characterized in that the connection section (5) on the side of the socket provides thirteen connection contacts (19).
    [7] 7. An adapter according to claim 2, characterized in that the connection section (4) on the side of the connector comprises a cover (9) arranged thereon in a pivoting manner.
    [8] 8. An adapter according to claim 3, characterized in that the connection section (5) on the side of the socket comprises a bayonet guidance (16).
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    AU2013203607B2|2014-12-04|
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    US3970860A|1974-08-23|1976-07-20|Purdy James P|Electrical apparatus to connect towing vehicle light circuits to a trailer light circuit when the towing vehicle has separate circuits respectively for turning and stop lights and the trailer has a common light circuit for both turning and stop lights|
    法律状态:
    2015-04-02| FGA| Letters patent sealed or granted (standard patent)|
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    DE202013101184||2013-03-20||
    DE202013101184.3||2013-03-20||
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