The present invention relates to an electrical connector having an electrical terminal and a housing including a locking system configured to retain the electrical terminal.
Electrical connectors may have a number of design requirements depending on the their intended use. Some of these requirements include assurance of correct orientation or polarity of the terminal, minimum retention force for a terminal inside a housing, and the ability to remove a terminal and reinsert it, or insert a new terminal, into the same housing, just to name a few such requirements. Examples of electrical connectors are described in the following patents and patent applications: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,554,051, 6,524,133, 7,223,124, 7,278,883, US20110223789 and JP2003100376.
Embodiments of the invention include an electrical connector including an electrical terminal and a housing. The housing has a front end and a back end having an opening configured to receive the electrical terminal therethrough. The housing includes a first lock system configured to allow insertion of the electrical terminal into the housing and prohibit removal of the electrical terminal therefrom. The housing includes a tapered surface therein for guiding the electrical terminal to a desired position when the electrical terminal is inserted into the housing. A second lock system is configured to cooperate with the housing in a lock position for prohibiting removal of the electrical terminal from the housing. The second lock system also cooperates with the housing in a pre-lock position wherein a tapered surface of the second lock system is configured to cooperate with the tapered surface of the housing for guiding the electrical terminal to the desired position when the electrical terminal is inserted into the housing.
Embodiments of the invention include an electrical connector including an electrical terminal and a housing. The housing includes a front end and a back end including an opening therein for facilitating insertion of the electrical terminal into the housing such that the housing at least partially encloses the electrical terminal. The housing further includes a wall having a tapered interior surface for guiding the electrical terminal to a desired position when the electrical terminal is inserted into the housing. The housing also includes a locking beam having a lock position for prohibiting removal of the electrical terminal from the housing and a release position for facilitating removal of the electrical terminal from the housing. A blocking member has a tapered surface thereon and is configured for insertion into the housing such that when it is partially inserted into the housing, its tapered surface cooperates with the tapered interior surface of the wall for guiding the electrical terminal to the desired position when the electrical terminal is inserted into the housing. When the blocking member is fully inserted into the housing, it blocks removal of the electrical terminal from the housing.
Embodiments of the invention include an electrical connector including an electrical terminal and a housing configured to at least partially enclose the electrical terminal. The housing includes a locking beam cantilevered toward a front of the housing and having a lock position in which the locking beam is engaged with the electrical terminal, and a release position in which the locking beam is not engaged with the electrical terminal. The housing includes a back end through which the electrical terminal is inserted into the housing, and a front end through which a mating terminal can be inserted to mate with the electrical terminal. The locking beam includes a back surface tapered toward the back end of the housing for guiding the electrical terminal to a desired position when the electrical terminal is inserted into the housing. A lock system is configured for insertion into the housing in a lock position for prohibiting removal of the electrical terminal from the housing. The lock system also has a pre-lock position wherein a tapered surface of the lock system cooperates with the back surface of the locking beam for guiding the electrical terminal to the desired position when the electrical terminal is inserted into the housing.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
The housing 14 includes a wall 38, which may be considered one continuous feature defining the boundaries of the housing 14. Alternatively, the housing 14 can be considered to include a number of walls, but in the case of a molded polymeric component, such as the housing 14, it is convenient to refer to a single wall, such as the wall 38. Disposed through the wall 38 are apertures 40, 42, which are configured to receive the elongate members 34, 36 of the lock system 24, the function of which is described below.
A housing, such as the housing 14, can be configured with different housing alignment features to interfere with a terminal alignment feature, such as the tab 44. Alternatively, another component, such as a portion of the second lock system 24 can be configured to interfere with the electrical terminal if it is inserted into the housing with the wrong orientation. In other embodiments, where polarity is not an issue, the housing and electrical terminal may be configured to allow insertion of the electrical terminal into the housing with any orientation.
As shown in
In
As discussed above, the secondary lock 24 is configured to prohibit removal of the electrical connector 12 from the housing 14 by virtue of its being interposed between the electrical terminal 12 and the back end 18 of the housing 14 when it is in the lock position. In this way, the secondary lock 24 acts independently from the primary lock 22 in keeping the electrical terminal 12 within the housing 14.
In addition to the elongate member 80, which acts independently from the primary lock 22′, the secondary lock 78 also includes another blocking member 82, which is disposed through an aperture 84 in the housing 14′. As shown in
In contrast,
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/510,712, filed on 22 Jul. 2011, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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Machine Translation of JP 2003-100376, published Apr. 4, 2003. |
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