Connector position assurance device

Details Connector position assurance device Connector position assurance device

1999-04-30

2001-05-22

Nguyen, Kheim (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...

Retaining means

C439S489000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06234826

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector system, and, more particularly, to a connector position assurance device for assuring proper connection and providing secure latching when connecting two halves of an electrical connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An electrical connector typically includes a pair of connector housing components or halves constructed from a dielectric material. The housing halves are usually identified as a plug half (or male half) and a socket half (also referred to as the receptacle half or female half). The two halves have complementary inter-engaging conductive terminals for completing an electrical circuit when the housing halves are fully and properly mated. The plug half generally has one or more projecting conductive pins which are inserted into one or more conductive receptacles or sockets on the socket half. The contact between the pins and sockets forms the electrical connection between the two connector halves.
Electrical connectors normally require a secure mechanical and electrical engagement between the two connector halves. Some prior art connectors rely only on friction to hold the connector halves together, and are relatively easy to separate or unmate, thereby disconnecting the electrical circuit. Obviously, inadvertent separation of a connector may cause malfunction of the equipment and associated inconvenience, safety concerns, or the like.
To prevent unintentional separation of the connector halves, a latching means is often included with the connector housing for holding the male and female connector halves in the engaged position. The latching means may also include a locking means to retain the connector in the latched position and to provide assurance to a person assembling the connector that the connector has been properly assembled, latched, and locked, and that the electrical connection is therefore complete. Such locking and indicating mechanisms are known in the art as connector position assurance (“CPA”) devices. A CPA device may be separate from the latching mechanism, or may be integrated as part of the latch. Typically, the primary function of a CPA device is to indicate that the connector halves are fully mated and latched. A secondary function is often to prevent the latching mechanism from inadvertently unlatching, so that the connector halves will not separate. Thus, CPA devices provide visual and mechanical assurance of the relative positions of the connector components, and thereby verify the complete mating of the components.
Latching mechanisms incorporating CPA devices have been accomplished in a wide variety of ways in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,058, to Jonathan Childs, assigned to the same assignee as in the present application, discloses an electrical connector having two connector halves, with a latching mechanism and a CPA device. The latching mechanism includes a flexible arm on a first connector half and a shoulder on a second connector half. As the connector halves are assembled, the flexible arm engages with the shoulder for latching the connector halves together. Following latching of the connector halves, a CPA device may then be slid forward and snapped into a final locked position. In this position, the CPA device prevents the flexible latching arm from disengaging from the shoulder, and, accordingly, the connector halves may not be unlatched. Further, if the connector halves are not properly mated, the CPA device is not able to slide into its proper forward position, thereby giving an indication of improper assembly of the connector halves.
Other prior art patents have described a wide variety of CPA devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,255, to T. Kouda, et al., discloses a connector position assurance component for utilization with a connector in which either the plug half or the socket half incorporates a tabbed latch. This tabbed latch pushes down on the CPA component during mating of the first connector half to the second connector half, thereby freeing the CPA component and allowing it to be moved manually into its final position.
The prior art also discloses a connector having a lock-release-prevention device which includes a flexible arm having a projection which causes the arm to bend as the connector halves are assembled. This moves the end of the flexible arm to prevent a sliding portion from locking into a final position if the connector halves are not properly assembled. Other prior patents show electrical connectors having a locking arm that is pivotally connected, or having a locking arm with a resilient bar, with a CPA device which slides or locks into place after the two connector halves are properly mated.
While the foregoing latch and CPA mechanisms function effectively for their intended applications, the components can be relatively bulky. The components are typically molded from plastic, and, thus, must be sufficiently thick to perform their intended function without cracking or breaking, while still being able to flex during assembly. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an alternative latch and CPA mechanism whose functional components enable a lower profile and more compact construction than those of the prior art, without sacrificing strength and functionality. The latching mechanism and CPA device of the present invention provide these and other benefits, and overcome the shortcomings associated with the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the preferred form of the invention, a connector includes a first housing half and a second housing half, with one of the connector halves being a socket half, and the other connector half being a plug half. A latching mechanism is provided so that as the connector halves are assembled, they are latched together in the assembled position. A CPA device is also provided which is independent of the connector halves. The CPA device may be securely mounted on one of the connector halves prior to assembly of the connector halves. Following latching of the connector halves into the assembled condition, the CPA device may be slid forward to a final position to lock the latching mechanism to prevent the assembled connector from being inadvertently unlatched. Also, if the connector halves are not fully and properly assembled, it is not possible to slide the CPA device into the final position. Additionally, after the CPA device is seated in its final position, the two connector halves cannot be unlatched from each other unless the CPA device is manually slid back to the initial or “ready” position. However, in order to disassemble the connector, the CPA device must be manually disengaged from the final locked position and moved to the initial unlocked position before the latch may be manually unlatched so that the connector halves may be unmated.
The CPA device of the present invention comprises a molded plastic component including a generally planar body having two forwardly extending basically parallel legs located in generally the same plane as the planar body. The legs are generally mirror images of each other, and each leg includes a dogleg segment along a mid portion of the leg and a flat stub area on the distal tip. The tips of the legs are beveled to facilitate insertion of the CPA device into guide channels located on one of the connector half housings. Each leg tip further includes a convex engagement area on the outer side of the tip for engagement with release projections on the other connector half. Each leg further includes a locking surface adjacent to the dogleg area for holding the CPA device in the final position once the CPA device has been slid forward. Also, when the CPA device is mounted on the connector housing in the initial ready position, this locking surface engages with a portion of the connector housing for securely mounting the CPA device on the connector housing.
The CPA device further includes a push pad which projects upward from the planar body for use in manually pushing against the CPA device w

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