Patent Grant
9960537
The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors and shipping caps that fit on the electrical connectors when the connectors are not mated to mating connectors.
Some known electrical connectors are mounted to one or more wires or cables, referred to herein as a wire harness. Such electrical connectors may be configured to mate with another cable-mounted mating connector or a header mating connector that is secured on a structure of a device. The electrical connectors may include a lever that is used to provide a mating assist. For example, the lever hooks onto a portion of the mating connector such that rotation of the lever pulls the electrical connector closer to the mating connector and secures the two connectors in a mated position. Depending on the application, the electrical connectors may be required to be routed through or another one or more objects in order to reach the mating connector to provide an electrically conductive signal path across the two connectors.
However, installing known electrical connectors that include levers is not without disadvantages. For example, there is a risk that dirt, dust, liquids, and other contaminants and debris may enter an opening in the connector as the connector is routed. Furthermore, routing the electrical connector through small openings and around various objects, such as in an automobile, may cause the lever to become dislodged from a desired position. For example, the lever may need to be at a specific position relative to a housing of the electrical connector in order to properly interlock with the mating connector, and the lever may get bumped out of position during the routing and installation process. Once the electrical connector reaches the mating connector, a worker may be required to reset the position of the lever, remove any cover that protects the connector from contaminants and debris, connect the two connectors, and then rotate the lever to secure the two connectors in the mated position. A need remains for improving the efficiency of routing an electrical connector having a lever through a congested environment and connecting the connector to a mating connector.
In an embodiment, a connector assembly is provided that includes an electrical connector and a shipping cap. The electrical connector includes a housing and a lever pivotably coupled to the housing. The housing has a mating opening at a mating end of the housing. The lever is pivotable relative to the housing between an open position and a closed position. The lever has a guideway configured to receive a guide journal of a mating connector that mates to the electrical connector. The shipping cap is removably mounted to the mating end of the housing when the electrical connector is not mated to the mating connector. The shipping cap includes a lid that covers the mating opening of the housing. The shipping cap further includes a blocking tab that is received in the guideway of the lever when the lever is in the open position. The blocking tab in the guideway engages the lever to block the lever from pivoting to the closed position.
In another embodiment, a connector assembly is provided that includes an electrical connector and a shipping cap. The electrical connector includes a housing and a lever pivotably coupled to the housing. The housing extends between a front end and a rear end. The housing has a mating opening configured to receive a mating connector therein. The lever is pivotable relative to the housing between an open position and a closed position. The lever defines a guideway configured to receive a guide journal of the mating connector. The shipping cap is removably mounted to the housing at the front end when the electrical connector is not mated to the mating connector. The shipping cap includes a lid that covers the mating opening of the housing and a shield that extends from the lid along the front end to shield the lever. The shipping cap further includes a blocking tab that is received in the guideway of the lever when the lever is in the open position. The blocking tab in the guideway engages the lever to block the lever from pivoting to the closed position.
In yet another embodiment, a connector assembly is provided that includes an electrical connector and a shipping cap. The electrical connector includes a housing and a lever pivotably coupled to the housing. The housing has a mating opening at a mating end of the housing. The lever is pivotable relative to the housing between an open position and a closed position. The lever has a guideway including a curved cam slot defined by first and second runners that extend a length of the cam slot. The cam slot is configured to receive a guide journal of a mating connector that mates to the electrical connector. The shipping cap is removably mounted to the mating end of the housing when the electrical connector is not mated to the mating connector. The shipping cap includes a lid that covers the mating opening of the housing. The shipping cap further includes a lug that is received in the cam slot of the lever when the lever is in the open position. The lug in the cam slot abuts against at least one of the first and second runners to retain the lever in a partially closed position relative to the housing when the shipping cap is mounted to the housing.
The housing 106 includes a top side 114, a bottom side 116, a left side 118 (shown in
The electrical connector 102 further includes a lever 126 that is coupled to the housing 106 and is pivotable relative to the housing 106. The lever 126 is configured to support the mating operation, such as by providing leverage to reduce the amount of manual effort required to pull the electrical connector 102 towards the mating connector to achieve a fully mated position. The lever 126 may also support the mating operation by providing a mechanism for locking the electrical connector 102 in the fully mated position relative to the mating connector. The lever 126 is pivotable relative to the housing 106 between an open position and a closed position. In an embodiment, during the start of a mating operation, the lever 126 is placed in the open position in order to receive a guide journal or post (not shown) of the mating connector in a guideway 128 of the lever 126. Rotation of the lever 126 from the open position to the closed position is configured to pull the guide journal linearly to pull the mating connector into the mating opening 124 (and/or vice-versa such that the electrical connector 102 is pulled towards the mating connector). The electrical connector 102 reaches the fully mated position upon the lever 126 attaining the closed position. The electrical connector 102 optionally is not fully mated to the mating connector when the lever 126 is not in the closed position.
The shipping cap 104 is removably mounted to the housing 106 of the electrical connector 102. The shipping cap 104 is configured to be mounted to the connector 102 during shipping and/or installation of the connector 102, and is configured to be removed from the connector 102 prior to mating the connector 102 with the mating connector. The shipping cap 104, when mounted on the connector 102, is configured to block debris and contaminants from entering the housing 106 through the mating opening 124 (shown in
In an embodiment, the shipping cap 104 includes a lid 132 that covers the mating opening 124 (shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the mating end 122 of the connector 102 is along the bottom side 116 of the housing 106. The mating end 122 is oriented in a plane defined by the lateral and longitudinal axes 192, 193. The rear end 110 of the housing 106 is oriented along a plane defined by the vertical and lateral axes 191, 192. Since the rear end 110 is oriented perpendicular to the orientation of the mating end 122, the electrical connector 102 is a right angle connector. Although the rear end 110 is described as being perpendicular to the mating end 122, the angle between the orientations of the rear end 110 and the mating end 122 optionally may not be a right angle. In an alternative embodiment, the electrical connector 102 may be an inline connector such that the mating end 122 and rear end 110 are oriented parallel to one another, as shown in
The electrical connector 102 has side walls 138 along the left and right sides 118, 120 of the housing 106. The lever 126 is coupled to the side walls 138. For example, the lever 126 has a generally U-shaped structure that includes two arms 140 and a handle 142 that extends between and connects the two arms 140 at distal ends 144 of the arms 140. The arms 140 are pivotally coupled to the side walls 138 such that a first arm 140A is coupled to a left side wall 138A and a second arm 140B is coupled to a right side wall 138B. The arms 140 each define an aperture 146 that receives a corresponding axle 148 of the housing 106 therein. The axles 148 extend laterally outward from the side walls 138. The axles 148 retain the lever 126 on the housing 106. The lever 126 pivots about the axles 148. In an alternative embodiment, the lever 126 includes axles received in corresponding apertures of the housing 106.
The lever 126 is shown in the open position. In the illustrated embodiment, the lever 126 is oriented such that the arms 140 extend generally vertically along the vertical axis 191. The handle 142 is disposed above the top side 114 of the housing 106 and is spaced apart from the top side 114 by a clearance gap 152. The lever 126 is pivoted or rotated about the axles 148 to the closed position by moving the handle 142 in a curved trajectory 150 that is generally rearward and downward towards the top side 114 of the housing 106. The housing 106 also include a locking tab 154 on at least one of the side walls 138 located longitudinally between the axle 148 and the rear end 110. The locking tab 154 includes a catch or a latch that is configured to engage a complementary latch or catch on the lever 126 when the lever 126 reaches the closed position in order to lock the lever 126 in the closed position. Thus, the locking tab 154 engages the lever 126 when the lever 126 is in the closed position to restrict the ability of the lever 126 to pivot towards the open position.
The guideway 128 of the lever 126 is located proximate to the aperture 146. The guideway 128 includes a cam slot 156 and an insertion recess 158 (shown in
The lid 132 of the shipping cap 104 is oriented parallel to the mating end 122 at the bottom side 116 of the housing 106. The lid 132 is configured to cover and seal the mating opening 124 of the housing 106. The shield 134 of the shipping cap 104 extends from a front edge 160 of the lid 132. The shield 134 extends in a direction that is transverse to an orientation of the lid 132 in the illustrated embodiment. Thus, while the lid 132 covers the mating opening 124 at the bottom side 116 of the housing 106 (when mounted to the housing 106), the shield 134 covers the front end 108 of the housing 106. The shield 134 may be at least partially curved, at least along lateral end portions 162 of the shield 134, in order to provide sufficient structural rigidity to the shield 134 to prohibit the shield 134 from being deflected rearward into engagement with the lever 126 if the shield 134 is impacted by a remote object.
The shipping cap 104 further includes a blocking tab 164 that is disposed vertically above the lid 132. The blocking tab 164 is configured to be received in the guideway 128 of the lever 126 when the lever 126 is in the open position and the shipping cap 104 is moved towards the housing 106 to mount the shipping cap 104. As described in more detail below, the blocking tab 164 is configured to engage the lever 126 (for example, walls or edges of the guideway 128) to control the position of the lever 126. For example, the blocking tab 164 in the guideway 128 may block the lever 126 from pivoting from the open position to the closed position. In the illustrated embodiment, the blocking tab 164 is a box-shaped projection (for example, a cuboid or rectangular parallelepiped). Optionally, the box-shaped projection may be embodied as two small box-shaped projections placed adjacent to each other with a small gap therebetween. The box-shaped projection may have other shapes in other embodiments, such as a cylindrical post, a beam, a bulge, or the like.
In an embodiment, the shipping cap 104 includes at least one interior wall 166 extending generally vertically from a top surface 168 of the lid 132. The shipping cap 104 includes multiple interior walls 166 in the illustrated embodiment, including primary walls 166A and a secondary support wall 166B that extends between the primary walls 166A. The interior walls 166 enter the housing 106 through the mating opening 124 as the shipping cap 104 is moved in the loading direction 136. The interior walls 166 may be used to secure the shipping cap 104 to the housing 106, such as via an interference fit with inner surfaces of the housing 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the blocking tab 164 is mounted on one of the primary interior walls 166 and extends outward therefrom. In an embodiment, the shipping cap 104 includes a blocking tab 164 on each of the primary interior walls 166. In an alternative embodiment, the blocking tab 164 may be mounted to the top surface 168 of the lid 132 instead of to an interior wall 166. For example, the shipping cap 104 in an alternative embodiment may not include any interior walls 166.
As the interior walls 166 are received through the mating opening 124 into a cavity 174 of the housing 106, the blocking tab 164, mounted to one of the interior walls 166, at least partially enters the cavity 174. For example, the blocking tab 164 may extend outward through an access slot 170 defined in a side wall 138 of the housing 106. Therefore, an outer portion 172 of the blocking tab 164 is located outside of the cavity 174 along an exterior of the side wall 138, and an inner portion of the blocking tab 164 more proximate to the interior wall 166 is located inside the cavity 174. The outer portion 172 of the blocking tab 164 is received in the guideway 128 of the lever 126, as shown in more detail in
The shipping cap 104 optionally may be formed of a dielectric material, such as one or more plastic materials. The shipping cap 104 may be molded as a unitary, one-piece component such that the shield 134 is integral to the lid 132. Alternatively, the shield 134 and the lid 132 are discrete and are secured to one another.
The cam slot 156 forms a curved path from an entry region 182 adjacent to the insertion recess 158 to an end region 184. The cam slot 156 is defined between first and second runners 186, 188 that each extend along the length of the cam slot 156 between the entry and end regions 182, 184. The runners 186, 188 are curved surfaces or ledges along which the guide journal of the mating connector and/or the blocking tab 164 of the shipping cap 104 can slide. The end region 184 of the cam slot 156 is located more proximate to the axle 148 than the proximity of the entry region 182 to the axle 148. Therefore, when the guide journal of the mating connector is within the cam slot 156, rotation of the lever 126 from the open position to the closed position pulls the guide journal upwards towards the axle 148.
As shown in
Although the shipping cap 104 is described in
In the illustrated embodiment, the blocking tab 202 is a cylindrical lug 202 that is configured to be received in the cam slot 156 of the lever 126, as described below. The cylindrical lug 202 extends from a fixed end 210 at the interior wall 204 to an outer, free end 212. Optionally, the lug 202 may include a hood 214 at the free end 212. The hood 214 has larger diameter than the lug 202 between the hood 214 and the fixed end 210. The hood 214 may be used to retain the lug 202 in the cam slot 156 of the lever 126. The shipping cap 104 optionally also includes a support block 216 that extends between the cylindrical lug 202 and the lid 132. The support block 216 includes a ledge 218 that may engage a portion of the lever 126. Although only one cylindrical lug 202 is shown in
Referring first to
Referring now to
Referring now to
When the electrical connector 102 is in position to be mated to a mating connector after shipping and routing, the shipping cap 104 is removed from the connector 102 in an unloading direction 224 that is opposite to the loading direction 136 in order to expose the mating end 122 for receiving the mating connector. In an embodiment, as the shipping cap 104 is moved in the unloading direction 224 relative to the housing 106, the lug 202 causes the lever 126 to pivot from the partially closed position to the open position such that the lever 126 is automatically set in the open position when the shipping cap 104 disengages the connector 102. For example, the lug 202 moving vertically downwards in the unloading direction 224 may slide along at least the second runner 188 of the cam slot 156 to cause the lever 126 to pivot towards the open position. Therefore, removing the shipping cap 104 causes the lever 126 to pivot from the partially closed position shown in
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Dimensions, types of materials, orientations of the various components, and the number and positions of the various components described herein are intended to define parameters of certain embodiments, and are by no means limiting and are merely exemplary embodiments. Many other embodiments and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Further, the limitations of the following claims are not written in means-plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted based on 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), unless and until such claim limitations expressly use the phrase “means for” followed by a statement of function void of further structure.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20180090881 A1 | Mar 2018 | US |
