Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Metallic connector or contact secured to insulation
Patent
1996-12-10
1998-06-30
Paumen, Gary F.
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Metallic connector or contact secured to insulation
H01R 13436
Patent
active
057724784
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector housing in which a secondary lock is provided to secure terminals within a housing body.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
Typical electrical connectors employ an insulative housing member to house and retain an electrical terminal. The housing and the terminal are constructed to be matable with a complementary electrical connector or component. Normally, the mating housings will include a positive locking feature for engaging the complementary connector. When the electrical interconnection is in a high vibration environment, such as a vehicle or industrial machine, it is not only necessary that the mating connector housings be securely attached to one another, but also that the electrical terminals contained therein are prevented from coming loose from the housing. In order to accomplish that locking lances which are part of the terminal and interfere with a part of the housing, or vica-versa, may be used.
Not only is the vibration a concern, but also that pulling on the conductors or wires attached to the terminals, such as during maintenance, does not result in interruption of the electrical connection by dislodging the terminal from the housing. In order to assure that the terminals are retained within the housing, many conventional electrical connectors incorporate a secondary locking or terminal position assurance member. While there are numerous ways of accomplishing the goal of maintaining the terminal within the housing, a common concept is to somehow, after the terminal is seated within the connector housing, block the direction of entry of the terminal so that it is not possible for the terminal to be removed. Common solutions include a connector housing incorporating resilient fingers that are displaceable out of the way as the contact is inserted and later, once the contact has passed, return to their original position. Other connectors use a comb or another member that can be inserted into the housing and engage a surface of the terminal. While these constructions have provided viable solutions to the problem, they can be mis-assembled resulting in damage to the contact, the housing, or the secondary locking member itself. In addition, it is normally necessary to disassemble the secondary locking member from the housing to install or remove contacts. What is still needed is a electrical connector having a secondary locking member where the connector may be fully assembled prior to the insertion of the terminal and then by actuating the secondary locking member, the terminal is retained therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DE-U-8700212 discloses an electrical connector having a connector housing for housing an electrical terminal where said housing comprises a body having a channel for receiving the terminal and a locking member cooperating with a latch that is moveable between an unlocked position outside of the channel and a locked position extending into and blocking at least a portion of said channel such that when the terminal is housed therein, the terminal is blocked from exiting the channel by the latch, said latch being moveable as a result of eccentric rotation of the locking member relative to the longitudinal axis of the channel.
It is an object of this invention to provide an electrical connector having a secondary locking member to ensure that the electrical terminal is retained therein.
It is another object of this invention to provide an electrical connector housing that Is easy to operate and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an electrical connector housing having a secondary locking member that is retained upon the housing body in both the locked and unlocked positions while being rotatable therebetween.
It is still yet another object of this invention to provide an electrical connector that cannot be mated with a complementary component unless the secondary locking is fully activated.
The objects of the invention have been
REFERENCES:
patent: 4750893 (1988-06-01), Sueyoshi et al.
patent: 4934963 (1990-06-01), Gardner et al.
patent: 5135416 (1992-08-01), Hass et al.
Krull Andreas
Kuempel Dietrich Wilhelm
Mueller Patrik
Ditty Bradley N.
Paumen Gary F.
The Whitaker Corporation
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