Sealed electrical connector assembly

Abstract: An electrical connector (2) comprising an insulating housing (50) with at least one electrical terminal receiving passageway (66) therein for receiving a respective electrical terminal (120) that is connected to a conductor of an insulated cable where the housing further includes a front mating face and a cable receiving section (70) opposite thereof and wherein the insulated cable is positioned when the terminal (120) is in the housing (50), the connector further including a retention member (90) movable to a position remote of said cable receiving section to an attached position over the rear cable receiving section (70), and a sealing grommet (130) seated in the rear cable receiving section (70) for slidably receiving the insulated cable therethrough to form a sealed interconnection with the housing; the connector characterized in that the rear cable receiving section and the seal each include complementary positioning features that locate the seal with respect to the housing, the retention member captivating the seal in position when in the attached position at said cable receiving section.

Description: The subject invention relates to a sealed electrical connector which may include an improved secondary retention feature for the retention of electrical terminals within their housing. It is quite common in the electrical connector industry today to require that electrical terminals have redundant retention means within their connector housings. The first or primary means of retaining the electrical terminals within the housing is to have a stamped out lance from the electrical terminal metal body which abuts a shoulder within the housing. The redundant or secondary retention means is typically profiled as a plastic moveable member which can be moved into place over the terminal to lock the terminal in place. Some of these members are moved transversely of the axial direction, while some are defined as hinged flaps which are rotated into place. These flaps include plastic tabs which, when rotated, reside in a groove or gap within the terminal to retain the contact in place. In one prior method, as shown for example in U.S. Patent 4,750,893, an electrical connector housing has a hinged flap which rotates into place. The electrical connector has an insulating housing and a plurality of electrical terminals disposed in terminal receiving passageways within the housing. The housing includes an upper retention flap including a retention tab which, when in its locked location, is positioned adjacent to an edge of the terminal to retain the terminal in the passageway. The flap has tabs which reside at an edge of the contact to prevent withdrawal thereof. If more than one row of contacts is present, then two hinged flaps on the outside of the each of the two rows are used to retain the terminals in place. It is also quite common in the electrical connector industry today to require that electrical terminals have sealing means to prevent the internal structure of the connector housing from the ingress of moisture and contaminants. It is common then to have some form of sealing grommet around a cable or to have a rear seal with a plurality of apertures through it, which are profiled to receive a wire therethrough. In one prior method, as shown for example in U.S. Patent 4,497,531, an electrical connector has a rear seal member with a plurality of apertures for the receipt therethrough of a plurality of discrete wires. The connector housing has a plate which rotates to reside against the rear of the seal to retain the seal in place. While this design is beneficial for its intended purpose, that is to retain the seal in place, the disadvantage is that the plate does not help in the sealing function, that is, the plate does not help to compress the seal against the wires. A further disadvantage of the retainer is that the retainer does not assist to position the seal in place, but rather only retains the seal in place once in position. US-A-4 311 355 discloses an electrical connector having a rear cable receiving section and a seal surrounding the insulated cable inserted into the cable receiving section. The cable seal is pressed against the cable by means of a flap hinged to the connector body. US-A-4 776 813 discloses a sealed connector assembly in which a seal member comprises a plurality of openings each receiving insulated cable. Each opening includes a plurality of ribs providing compression sealing with the cable. It is an object of the invention to provide for an electrical connector where a seal is retained in place and compressed against the wire when the connector is in its assembled condition. It is a further object of the invention to provide for a sealed connector where the seal can be placed around a multiconductor cable and inserted into the rear face of a connector housing, where the retention means of the connector retains the seal to the cable during the insertion, thereby preventing the seal from sliding on the cable. In accordance with claim 1, the above mentioned objects were accomplished by designing a sealed electrical connector assembly having a front mating face and a rear terminal receiving face, where the housing has at least one terminal receiving passageway extending forwardly from the rear face. The housing further comprises a rear cable receiving section extending from the rear face, where the cable receiving section comprises a transverse groove therein. An electrical terminal is disposed in the passageway, where the terminal is electrically connected to a conductor of an insulated wire. A sealing grommet is slidably received over the outer insulation of the insulated wire, and the grommet comprises a forward annular rib and rearward annular ribs. The insulated wire is positioned in the rear cable receiving section with the forward annular rib placed in the transverse groove. A retention member is moveable to a position remote from the rear cable receiving section, to a position latched over the rear cable receiving section, and which comprises gripping arms which when in the locked position, surround the forward annular rib, thereby compressibly retaining the seal in place. The preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of reference to the drawing figures, where: Figure 1 is an isometric view showing the components of the pin receptacle assembly exploded away from one another; Figure 2 is an isometric view of the socket assembly showing the components exploded away from one another; Figure 3 is a plan view of the outer shell shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the outer shell of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the outer shell shown in Figure 3; Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the pin housing shown in Figure 1; Figure 7 is a side plan view of the pin housing shown in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pin housing of Figure 7 through the axial center-line of the housing; Figure 9 is a side plan view of the receptacle housing; Figure 10 is a top plan view of the receptacle housing; Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle housing through lines 11-11 of Figure 10; Figure 12 is an isometric view of the receptacle housing of Figures 9-11; Figure 13 is an isometric view of the outer socket housing; Figure 14 is a side plan view of the outer socket housing; Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of the outer socket housing; Figure 16 is a top plan view of the outer socket housing; Figure 17 is a cross-sectional view of the outer socket housing; Figures 18-22 are isometric views showing the assembly of the receptacle assembly; and Figures 23-27 are isometric views showing the assembly of the socket assembly. With reference first to Figure 1, the receptacle assembly includes an outer housing 4, an inner pin housing 50, a plurality of pins 120, a rear wire sealing grommet, and a rear cap 140. With reference now to Figures 3-5, the outer shell 4 includes a front mating end 6 and a rear wire receiving end 8. The front mating end 6 includes an opening 10 having an inner bore 12. The front mating end 6 also includes T-slots 14 at the front edge thereof which provides for mating latching with a complementary connector. Formed integrally with the inner bore 12 of the housing 4 is a key bar 16 and a key wedge 18. As shown in Figure 4, the rear wire receiving end 8 includes a wire opening 30 which extends inwardly from an end of the housing 4. Two keying wedges 32 are also found on the interior of the housing 4 having top surfaces 34 and side surfaces 36. Latches 38 are integral with the inner shell and extend forwardly towards the front mating end 6 of the shell 4. The wire receiving end 8 includes an outer diameter 40 having a plurality of latching lugs 42 on the outer surface thereof. With reference now to Figure 6, the pin housing 50 comprises a central body section 52 having an integral flexible latch 90 interconnected to the central body section 52 via a web section 92. The central body section 52 comprises a rear wall 68 and an upper wall 56. Three terminal receiving passageways 66a, 66b and 66c extend forwardly from the rear face 68 towards the front face 86. As shown in Figure 6, a cross-shaped opening 58 extends downwardly from the upper surface 56 towards the terminal receiving passageways. The cross-shaped opening 58 comprises an axial slot 60 and a transverse slot 62. The axial slot portion 60 extends downwardly from the upper surface 56 and is situated intermediate the two upper terminal receiving passageways 66a and 66b. As shown in Figure 8, a vertical passageway section 64 extends from the axial slot 60 and intersects and communicates with the axial terminal receiving passageway 66c. The transverse slot 62 extends downwardly from the upper surface 56 and intersects with both of the upper terminals passageways 66a and 66b. As best shown in Figure 6, three apertures 78, 80 and 82 extend into the central body section and are formed by side draw mold dies, such that retraction thereof forms a latch shoulder. Each of the apertures 78, 80 and 82 intersects with one of the terminal receiving passageways, for example, aperture 78 intersects with terminal passageway 66b, aperture 80 intersects with passageway 66a and aperture 82 intersects with the terminal passageway 66c. As best shown in Figure 8, aperture 82 intersects at the upper edge of the terminal passageway to provide a rear latching surface 84. While the rear latching surfaces formed by apertures 78 and 80 are not shown, they are similar in nature to the rear latching surface 84 shown in Figure 8. Also extending from the rear face 68 is a cable receiving section 70 which is formed by a substantially U-shaped wire nest 72. A slot 74 intersects the cable receiving nest in a transverse direction to the nest. On the outer surfaces of the wire nest, are downwardly facing latching surfaces 76. The pin housing 50 also includes an integral latch member 90 which comprises a wall 94 having two semi-circular gripping arms extending therefrom at the end of the wall 94. Each of the arms includes a latching surface 98. At the forward section of the arm 94 is an axial bar section 100 having a vertical peg 102 extending therefrom. A transverse bar 104 extends crosswise to the axial bar and is also integral with the arm section 94. The central body section 52 of the pin housing 50 is generally arcuately shaped as defined by surfaces 106. Intermediate the arcuate wall sections is a cut out section 108 which defines a rearwardly facing latch surface 110. With reference again to Figure 1, the receptacle assembly further comprises a plurality of pin members 120 including central body sections 124 having a rearwardly extending retention arm 126 extending from the central body section. The pin members also include the forwardly extending pin section 122 and rearwardly extending crimp sections 127. The assembly also includes a grommet 130 as shown in Figures 1 and 2 as including an internal bore 132 and a forward rib section 136 and a rearward set of ribs 134, where the rib 136 and the ribs 134 are spaced apart by a reduced diameter section 138. A rear cap 140 is also included having a cable receiving opening 142 where the opening 142 has a plurality of stabilizing rib sections 144 integral with the opening 142. Around the periphery of the cap at the forward end thereof are apertures 146 equal in number with the latching ribs 42 as shown in Figure 5. With reference now to Figure 2, the socket assembly is shown as including an outer housing 250, a socket housing 150, a plurality of electrical socket terminals 320, a rear cable grommet 130 and a rear retention cap 350. A comparison of Figures 6 through 8 with Figures 9 through 12 show that the pin housing and the socket housing are virtually identical, and therefore only the differences will be shown. Comparing Figure 8 to Figure 11 shows that with the pin housing, the front aperture 87 of the terminal passageways forms a dimple on the exterior of the surface 86 whereas the aperture 187 on the receptacle housing forms an indent within the front housing face 186. Furthermore, with respect to Figure 9, the receptacle housing includes a pair of latching shoulders 212 on either side of the side surfaces 214 which are not included on the pin housing 50. With reference now to Figures 13-17, the socket outer housing 250 is shown as including a generally cylindrical body 252 having a rear section 254 and a front mating end 256. The rear section includes an inner bore 255 while the front mating end 256 includes an opening 258 having a partially cylindrical surface 276 and parallel sidewalls 260. As shown best in Figure 14, two apertures 266 and 262 project through the sidewall 252 of the housing 250 to isolate a section 264, to provide for its flexibility. As shown in Figure 15, the arm 264 includes a latch member on its inner surface having a forwardly facing latching surface 268 and as shown in Figure 16 a ramp surface 270. With reference again to Figure 2, the receptacle contacts 320 include a central section 324, a pin receiving section 322 and a resilient retention arm 326 extending from the central portion 324. Rearward of the central portion 324 is a crimp contact section 327 and a strain relief section 328. Also shown in Figure 2 is the rear retention cap 350 having a rear section 360 and a cylindrical portion 352. A cable receiving opening 358 extends through the section 362 while resilient latch arms 356 extend from the cylindrical portion 352. To assemble the pin connector assembly shown in Figure 1, the three conductor cable 340 is fed through the rear opening 142 of the clamp 140 and through the inner bore 132 of the grommet 130. The individual cables insulator conductors 344 are then stripped and placed into the crimping sections 127 of the individual terminals and crimped in place. At the same time, the strain relief arms are wrapped around the insulation section of the cable to provide for a strain relief, as shown in Figure 18. The terminals may now be moved forwardly into the individual terminal passageways 66a, 66b and 66c until the resilient retention arms 126 snap in place in front of their respective latching shoulders, for example, against surface 84 as shown in Figure 8. The resilient arm 126 against the rear shoulder 84 provides for the primary retention of the terminals within their respective passageways. With the terminals in their respective passageways, the grommet 130 can be slideably placed in the axial disposition along the cable such that the front rib 136 (Figure 2) of the grommet lies within the axial slot 74 in the cable nest (Figure 6) as shown in Figure 19. The resilient latch arm 90 is now rotated to a closed position as shown in Figure 19 to the position where the latch shoulders 98 and 76 (Figure 6) and retain the latch member 90 in a closed position. When in this position, the gripping arms 96 retain the grommet 130 in its axial position, and also slightly compresses the forward section of the grommet around the outer jacket 342 of the cable. Also, when the resilient latch member 90 is rotated into its latched position, the axial bar 100 provides for secondary retention of the terminals within their respective passageways. In other words, the transverse bar 104 is profiled to be received within the transverse slot 62 such that the transverse bar is locked in place behind and below the rear edges 129 (Figure 1) on the electrical terminals, which are in the passageways 66a and 66b. With respect to the electrical terminal which is in passageway 66c, the locking peg 102 (Figure 6) is received within the vertical aperture 64 (Figure 8) and further into the terminal passageway 66c such that the peg 102 is behind the rear edge 129 of the terminal which is located within passageway 66c. The assembled housing 50 may now be inserted into the rear of the outer housing portion 4 until the housing is locked into place. The housing 50 is inserted forwardly into the outer shell section 4 until the forwardly facing shoulder 116 (Figure 7), abuts the rear face 33 (Figure 5) of the outer shell. At this time the resilient latch members 38 will lock into the aperture at 108 (Figure 6) and behind surfaces 110. It should be noted that the side surfaces 53a and 53b (Figures 6 and 7) are profiled to fit between the surfaces 36 (Figures 4 and 5) of the inner portion of the shell. When in this position, the rear section of the shell is sealed as the outer diameter of the ribs 134 of the grommet 130 are larger in diameter than the inside diameter of the bore 12 (Figure 4) such that movement of the connector assembly 50 into the outer housing 4 provides for a sealed assembly. The rear cap 140 is now moved forwardly until the locking apertures 146 snap into place over the locking members 42, as shown in Figure 21, to a final assembly as shown in Figure 22. With respect now to Figures 23-27, the assembly of the socket housing will be shown by first placing the cable 340 through the rear cap 350 and through the grommet 130. The individual conductors 344 may now be prepared and crimped within the crimp contact sections 327 of the terminals 320. The terminals are now placed into their respective passageways 166a, 166b and 166c such that the retention arms 326 of the terminals 320 latch in place against their respective latching shoulders within the apertures 166a-166c. The grommet 130 is slid forwardly with the forward rib 136 placed within the transverse slot 174. The resilient latch arm 190 is rotated in a similar manner as that latch arm 90, and the latch arm 190 is locked in place by the latching surfaces 176 and 198. Once again the secondary retention operates in a duplicate manner whereby the transverse bar 204 retains the terminals in passageways 166a and 166b whereas the vertical lug section extends into the vertical section 164 to retain the terminal situated in terminal passageway 166c. The socket housing 150 may now be moved into the rear of the outer housing 250 with the lower parallel surfaces 240 aligned with the inner parallel surfaces 260 of the outer housing 250. The socket housing 150 is moved forwardly until the latching surface 212 (Figure 9) is locked in place behind the latching surfaces 268 (Figure 15) on the flexible side arms 264. The flexible latch member 280 may now be rotated into position as shown in Figure 26 until the latching shoulder 290 (Figure 14) latches beneath the downwardly facing shoulder 269 of the arm 267 (Figure 14). When in this position, the arms 284 (Figure 13) of the latch member 280 reside within the side apertures 208 (Figure 9) of the housing and the forwardly facing shoulder 288 (Figure 14) is adjacent to the rearwardly facing shoulder 210 Figure 9) of the housing which retains the housing in place. The rear cap 350 may now be moved forwardly toward the housing 150 until the apertures 362 are latched in place on the lugs 279 as shown in Figures 26 and 27. The receptacle assembly shown in Figure 27 is now prepared for mating receipt to the pin housing as assembled in Figure 22. The receptacle as assembled in Figure 27 slideably received into the pin housing assembly as shown in Figure 22 until the T bars 356 latch within the respective T slots 14. It should also be noted that the O rings 290 as shown in Figure 15 have a larger outer diameter than the inner diameter 12 of the outer housing 4 which provides for a compressive seal between the interface of the two connectors.

Claims: A sealed electrical connector assembly (2) having a housing (50) with a front mating face and a rear terminal receiving face, the housing (50) having at least one terminal receiving passageway (66a, 66b, 66c) extending forwardly from the rear face, the housing further comprising a rear cable receiving section (70) extending from the rear face, where the cable receiving section comprises a transverse groove (74) therein; an electrical terminal (120) disposed in the passageway (66a, 66b, 66c), where the terminal (120) is electrically connected to a conductor of an insulated wire; a sealing grommet (130) slidably received over the outer insulation of the insulated wire, where the grommet comprises a forward annular rib (136) and rearward annular ribs (134), the insulated wire being positioned in the rear cable receiving section (70) with the forward annular rib (136) placed in the transverse groove (74); and a retention member (90) which is movable to a position remote from the rear cable receiving section (70), to a position latched over the rear cable receiving section (70), and which comprises gripping arms (96) which when in the locked position, surround the forward annular rib (136), thereby compressibly retaining the seal in place. The electrical connector of claim 1 further characterized in that the retention member compresses the seal grommet (130) for sealing. The electrical connector of claim 1 or 2 further characterized in that the retention member includes latching shoulders (290) that latch to shoulders (269) on the connector housing. The electrical connector of any one of claims 1 - 3 further characterized in that the retention member (90) includes tabs (102, 104) insertable into said passageways (66) to retain the contacts therein. The electrical connector at any one of claims 1 - 4 further characterized in that the retention member (90) is integrally hinged to the connector housing (50). The electrical connector of claim 5 wherein the connector housing (50) and the retention member (90) are of unitary moulded construction. The electrical connector of claim 5 or 6 further characterized in that the retention member is integrally hinged to the housing towards the front mating face of the cable receiving section and is rotatable towards the opposite end of the housing to be received in the cable receiving section.

Inventors: HASS JUERGEN, HOTEA GHEORGHE, HASS, JUERGEN, HOTEA, GHEORGHE, Hass, Jürgen
Applicants: WHITAKER CORP, THE WHITAKER CORPORATION
Application year: 1990
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13