EP0992083B1 - Elektrischer verbinder mit sekundär verriegelungsmittel - Google Patents

Elektrischer verbinder mit sekundär verriegelungsmittel Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0992083B1
EP0992083B1 EP98924524A EP98924524A EP0992083B1 EP 0992083 B1 EP0992083 B1 EP 0992083B1 EP 98924524 A EP98924524 A EP 98924524A EP 98924524 A EP98924524 A EP 98924524A EP 0992083 B1 EP0992083 B1 EP 0992083B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
terminal
secondary locking
locking member
connector
electrical connector
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP98924524A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0992083A1 (de
Inventor
Dorian Bisetti
Oscare Canuto
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Whitaker LLC
Original Assignee
Whitaker LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Whitaker LLC filed Critical Whitaker LLC
Publication of EP0992083A1 publication Critical patent/EP0992083A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0992083B1 publication Critical patent/EP0992083B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/40—Securing contact members in or to a base or case; Insulating of contact members
    • H01R13/42—Securing in a demountable manner
    • H01R13/436—Securing a plurality of contact members by one locking piece or operation
    • H01R13/4361—Insertion of locking piece perpendicular to direction of contact insertion
    • H01R13/4362—Insertion of locking piece perpendicular to direction of contact insertion comprising a temporary and a final locking position

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to electrical connectors incorporating secondary locking members for ensuring contacts are retained in the connector.
  • the secondary locking mechanisms are formed as a movable component of the connector and they incorporate a shoulder that in a first position is clear of a terminal receiving passageway so that the terminals may be inserted into the connector housing and then displaced to a second position where the shoulder now blocks part of the passageway so that it is impossible to withdraw the terminal therefrom. It is highly desirable that it is difficult to move the secondary locking mechanism from the second position back to the first position so that the secondary locking function is not unintentionally defeated.
  • the secondary locking member and latch structure that establishes both the first and second positions thereof is well known in the art and can take on various configurations.
  • An electrical connector with all features of the pre-characterising portion of claim 1 is known from EP-A-0691709.
  • the releasable retention member should be released before insertion of the electrical terminal.
  • the terminals that are received within one of the mating connectors originate from different components and therefore it is not possible to insert all terminals at the same time during the creation of a wire harness.
  • the connector may be incorporated into a harness associated with one of the components and a primary retention function, such as a locking lance, is used to retain whatever terminals have been inserted.
  • a primary retention function such as a locking lance
  • the latch structure used to establish these positions is intended to prevent easy movement of the secondary locking member from the second position back to the first position. This may even require special tools that are not generally present on the production line. Obviously, this disruption is both time consuming and inconvenient for the manufacturer.
  • the electrical connector 2 includes a connector body 4 and a secondary locking member 6.
  • the electrical connector 2 has a terminal receiving end 8 and a mating face 10 located on the secondary locking member 6.
  • the connector body 4 includes terminal receiving passageways 12 that extend through a body portion 14 of the connector body 4.
  • a shroud 16 generally surrounds the body portion 14 to define an annular receiving region 18 therebetween.
  • the shroud 16 further includes a latch 20 for maintaining engagement with a mating component 3 ( Figure 8) as will be described below.
  • the connector body 4 further includes cantilevered resilient primarily retention lances 22 extending along either side of the passageways 12.
  • Each retention lance 22 includes a retention shoulder 24 designed to fall behind a shoulder 26 of a terminal 28 once the terminal is fully inserted into the passageway 12 ( Figures 3 and 6). It is apparent that the resilient retention lances could incorporated into the contact as locking lances and the primarily retention shoulders could be fixed forms in the housing, in essence the reverse construction illustrated here.
  • the secondary locking member 6 includes the mating face 10 of the connector 2 and has openings 30 where complementary contacts from the mating connector 3 ( Figure 8) would be received for mating with the terminals 28 received in the terminal receiving passageways 12.
  • the secondary locking member 6 is shown in a first position where the terminals 28 may be inserted.
  • the mating face 10 further includes a keying slot 32 to ensure proper mating.
  • the mating face 10 also includes a releasable retention member 34 for maintaining the secondary locking member 6 in the first position until the terminals 28 are fully inserted, as will be described below.
  • the secondary locking member 6 further includes a plurality of ribs 36 which define openings 38 where in the first position of the secondary locking member 6, as shown, the resilient retention lances 22 are free to deflect outward during insertion of the terminal 28, as shown in Figure 3.
  • the ribs 36 interconnect the front mating face 10 with a rear band 40 from which a secondary locking shoulder 42 is suspended that would extend into the terminal receiving passageway 12 and the secondary locking member 6 is displaced into the unlocked position.
  • the releasable retention member 34 is shown.
  • the releasable retention member 34 is cantilevered about a resilient hinge 44.
  • the resiliency of the hinge 44 may be adjusted by way of a opening 46 formed therebelow.
  • the releasable retention member 34 has a free end 48 and a underside 50 where a notch 52 is defined that embraces a wall 54 that defines the terminal receiving passageway 12.
  • the notch 52 is defined by a pair of lugs 56 that extend on either side of the wall 54 of the connector body 4 to prevent relative motion between the secondary locking member 6 and the connector body 4.
  • the releasable retention member 34 includes a camping head 58 that co-operates with the electrical terminal 28 in order to displace the releasable retention member 34 such that the notch 52 and associated lugs 56 disengage the wall 54 upon full insertion of the terminal 28, enabling the secondary locking member 6 to be displaceable into the second position, as will be described below.
  • the camping lug 58 is aligned with a forward edge 60 of the terminal 28 as the terminal is inserted into the terminal receiving passageway 12. During insertion, the resilient retention lances 22 defect outwardly over the terminal 28.
  • the terminal 28 is illustrated only as a representative housing which may or may not have individual contact arms therein. It would be obvious to utilise other known receptacle terminals or even pin terminals as desired. Additionally, it may be desirable to locate the camping head 58 in a different location. As can be further observed, a seal 62 has been included such that a sealed connection with a mating component 3 may be formed.
  • the connector 2 is shown from the outside with the terminal 28 fully inserted.
  • the terminal 28 has now co-operated with the camping head 58 to deflect the releasable retention member 34 at the hinge 44.
  • the releasable retention member 34 deflected, it is now possible to move the secondary locking member 6 relative the connector body 4 in the direction of arrow A, thereby achieving the second locked position.
  • the releasable retention member 34 is displaced as a result of co-operation of the camping head 58 and the front edge 60 of the terminal 28.
  • the lugs 56 are moved such that the notch 52 disengages the wall 54. This ensures that the displacement for the secondary locking member 6 can now occur in the direction of arrow A.
  • the camping head 58 will be located in the relieved portion 64 so that the retention member 34 may return to its natural position as a result of the resilience of hinge 44 ( Figure 7).
  • releasable retention member 34 While in the present embodiment only a single releasable retention member 34 has been incorporated to correspond to one of the terminal receiving passageways 12 (possibly the last passageway to be loaded), it may be desirable to incorporate a feature such as this for some or each passageway 12.
  • the releasable retention member 34 has been shown incorporated into the mounting face 10 of the secondary locking member 6, it may be also possible to incorporate the deflectable portion of this retention structure into the connector body 4, whereby the connector body then engages the secondary locking member, as opposed to the structure described above.
  • secondary locking members such that the second position must be achieved before mating with the complementary component can occur. The embodiment shown incorporates this feature.
  • the mating component 3 includes a shroud 64 having a latch 66 thereupon.
  • the shroud 64 is configured to fit within the angular opening 18 and cooperate with the seal 62. As can be imagined and is known, by properly sizing the angular opening 18 and the shroud 64, it can be assured that the connectors 2, 3 will not mated until the secondary locking member 6 is in the second position.
  • the latch 66 is engaged by the latch 20 to assure that the connector components 2, 3 remain engaged.
  • the invention assures that the secondary locking member is not disadvantageously displaced to its second or locked position without insertion of the terminal.
  • the releasable retention member correspond to the last terminal inserted, it can be assured that the secondary locking member 6 is not displace until the connector is fully loaded.

Landscapes

  • Connector Housings Or Holding Contact Members (AREA)

Claims (3)

  1. Elektrischer Verbinder (2) für das Aufnehmen einer elektrischen Anschlußklemme (28) darin, wobei der elektrische Verbinder aufweist: ein Verbindergehäuse (4) mit einem Klemmenaufnahmedurchgang (12) dort hindurch; ein sekundäres Sperrelement (6), das mit dem Gehäuse (4) zusammenwirkt und eine erste Position, wo die Anschlußklemme (28) vollständig in den Klemmenaufnahmedurchgang (12) eingesetzt werden kann, und eine zweite Position aufweist, wo die vollständig eingesetzte Anschlußklemme (28) zwangläufig im Durchgang (12) gehalten wird; wobei der Verbinder (2) ein lösbares Arretierelement (34) aufweist, das das sekundäre Sperrelement (6) in der ersten Position hält, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das lösbare Arretierelement (34) beim Einsetzen der elektrischen Anschlußklemme (28) als Ergebnis des Zusammenwirkens mit dieser freigegeben wird.
  2. Elektrischer Verbinder (2) nach Anspruch 1, bei dem das lösbare Arretierelement (34) einen Nockensteuerkopf (58) umfaßt, der sich in den Durchgang (12) hinein erstreckt, um an das vordere Ende (60) der Anschlußklemme (28) anzustoßen, die darin eingesetzt wird.
  3. Elektrischer Verbinder (2) nach Anspruch 1 oder Anspruch 2, bei dem das lösbare Arretierelement (34) eine Kerbe (52) umfaßt, die durch Schenkel (56) definiert wird, die eine Wand (54) längs des Durchganges (12) vor dem Einsetzen der Anschlußklemme (28) umfaßt.
EP98924524A 1997-06-30 1998-06-24 Elektrischer verbinder mit sekundär verriegelungsmittel Expired - Lifetime EP0992083B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB9713851.5A GB9713851D0 (en) 1997-06-30 1997-06-30 Electrical connector having a secondary locking member
GB9713851 1997-06-30
PCT/IB1998/000976 WO1999001911A1 (en) 1997-06-30 1998-06-24 Electrical connector having a secondary locking member

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0992083A1 EP0992083A1 (de) 2000-04-12
EP0992083B1 true EP0992083B1 (de) 2002-03-13

Family

ID=10815183

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98924524A Expired - Lifetime EP0992083B1 (de) 1997-06-30 1998-06-24 Elektrischer verbinder mit sekundär verriegelungsmittel

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0992083B1 (de)
AU (1) AU7671398A (de)
DE (1) DE69804222T2 (de)
GB (1) GB9713851D0 (de)
WO (1) WO1999001911A1 (de)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10162587B4 (de) * 2000-12-19 2005-08-25 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd., Yokkaichi Verbinder
JP4158686B2 (ja) * 2003-11-21 2008-10-01 住友電装株式会社 ロック構造

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB9413755D0 (en) * 1994-07-07 1994-08-24 Amp Gmbh Electrical connector for high voltage having secondary locking
GB9500877D0 (en) * 1995-01-17 1995-03-08 Amp Gmbh Electrical connector
DE19535979B4 (de) * 1995-09-27 2006-03-23 The Whitaker Corp., Wilmington Steckergehäuse mit einem Grundteil und einem Verriegelungsteil sowie Verwendung des Steckergehäuses

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9713851D0 (en) 1997-09-03
WO1999001911A1 (en) 1999-01-14
EP0992083A1 (de) 2000-04-12
DE69804222T2 (de) 2002-10-17
AU7671398A (en) 1999-01-25
DE69804222D1 (de) 2002-04-18

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