Claims
- 1. An electrical connector and cover comprising:
- a housing including a base, opposed side walls, and opposed end walls, together defining a terminal receiving cavity;
- a plurality of terminals disposed in at least two rows in said cavity;
- said cover having opposed elongate sides and ends and being dimensioned to extend over the terminal receiving cavity in its closed position, said cover including a hinge receiving slot extending inwardly from each of said ends and along a common one of said elongate sides, said slots being in alignment with each other;
- a pair of hinges securing said cover to said housing with a base of each said hinge retained within in a respective one of said slots of said cover and a leg of each said hinge extending orthogonally from said base thereof at an end of said slot to a leading end extending parallel to said base, said leading ends being collinear, a common distance from respective said bases and in opposing directions to define a common pivoting axis, said leading end of each said hinge being pivotally mounted proximate a middle position of a respective one of the housing end walls adjacent an entrance to said cavity, said legs of said hinges having a length of substantially one/half the width of said cavity at said end wall;
- whereby when said cover is in its closed position, access to said cavity is prevented, and upon opening said cover, said cover can be rotated about said hinge bases so that it is adjacent either one of said side walls as desired thereby allowing access to a row of terminals proximate the other side wall.
- 2. The connector and cover of claim 1 wherein said pair of hinges are at opposite ends of a common member.
- 3. The connector and cover assembly of claim 1 wherein said housing further includes at least one protrusion extending outwardly from at least one of the end walls proximate the side wall opposite the hinged side wall, and said cover includes a protrusion receiving recess adapted to engage said housing protrusion to secure said cover to said housing when said cover is closed.
- 4. The connector and cover assembly of claim 1 wherein said elongate side of said cover along which said hinges extend, further includes at least one latching lip adapted to extend beneath a cooperating surface along said housing side wall when said cover has been pivoted to a closed position with respect to said housing, to latch said elongate side of said cover to said housing side wall, thus preventing said cover from being opened along the hinged side.
- 5. The connector and cover assembly of claim 4 wherein said cover includes a pair of latching lips, each one being proximate one of said hinge receiving slots.
- 6. The connector and cover assembly of claim 1 wherein said cover further includes at least one alignment tab positioned along at least one of said side walls to align said cover to said housing when said cover is being closed.
- 7. The connector and cover assembly of claim 1 wherein at least one end of said cover further includes a downwardly projecting portion configured to cover an end of said hinge.
- 8. An electrical connector and cover assembly including a housing having a base, opposed side walls, and opposed end walls, together defining a terminal receiving cavity; a plurality of terminals disposed in at least two rows in said cavity; said cover having opposed elongate sides and ends and being dimensioned to extend over the terminal receiving cavity in its closed position, and said cover being hingedly secured to said housing; said assembly being characterized in that:
- said cover includes a hinge receiving slot extending inwardly from each of said ends and along a common one of said elongate sides, said slots being in alignment with each other; and
- a pair of hinges securing said cover to said housing with a base of each said hinge retained within in a respective one of said slots of said cover and a leg of each said hinge extends orthogonally from said base thereof at an end of said slot to a leading end extending parallel to said base, said leading ends being collinear, a common distance from respective said bases and in opposing directions to define a common pivoting axis, said leading end of each said hinge being pivotally mounted proximate a middle position of a respective one of the housing end walls adjacent an entrance to said cavity, said legs of said hinges having a length of substantially one/half the width of said cavity at said end wall;
- whereby when said cover is in its closed position, access to said cavity is prevented, and upon opening said cover, said cover can be rotated about said hinge bases so that it is adjacent either one of said side walls as desired thereby allowing access to a row of terminals proximate the other side wall.
- 9. The connector and cover assembly of claim 8 wherein said pair of hinges are at opposite ends of a common member.
- 10. The connector and cover assembly of claim 8 wherein said housing further includes at least one protrusion extending outwardly from at least one of the end walls proximate the side wall opposite the hinged side wall, and said cover includes a protrusion receiving recess adapted to engage said housing protrusion to secure said cover to said housing when said cover is closed.
- 11. The connector and cover assembly of claim 8 wherein said cover further includes at least one alignment tab positioned along at least one of said side walls to align said cover to said base when said cover is being closed.
- 12. The connector and cover assembly of claim 8 wherein said elongate side of said cover along which said hinges extend, further includes at least one latching lip adapted to extend beneath a cooperating surface along said housing side wall when said cover has been pivoted to a closed position with respect to said housing, to latch said elongate side of said cover to said housing side wall, thus preventing said cover from being opened along the hinged side.
- 13. The connector and cover assembly of claim 12 wherein said cover includes a pair of latching lips, each one being proximate one of said hinge receiving slots.
- 14. The connector and cover assembly of claim 8 wherein at least one end of said cover further includes a downwardly projecting portion configured to cover an end of said hinge.
Parent Case Info
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/022,831, filed Jul. 31, 1996.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0709924A2 |
May 1996 |
EPX |