Cam-equipped connector

Abstract: In order to prevent deformation of contacts of connectors (10,20) during their mating and to reduce the effort required for their connection without resorting to an increase in size, a cam-equipped connector has a facility for intermediate mating. To prevent deformation of the contacts, the female connector (10), equipped with a cam device (30) has protrusions (14) extending from the bottom surface (11a) of the mating cavity (11) which are taller than the male contacts. Cavities (24) intended for reception of said protrusions (14) are made in the mating surface (21) of the male connector (20). The protrusions (14) and the cavities (24) have devices, locking steps (14a) and locking lugs (24a) for intermediate mating of the connectors (10,20).

Description: This invention relates to electrical connectors, especially to cam-equipped connectors in which male and female connectors in an intermediate joined position can be easily joined completely using a cam device requiring only low effort. Several types of such cam-equipped connectors are known in the art. For example, a connector described in JP-A-Sho 61 (1986)-203581 consists of a male connector with a cam groove and a female connector having a slide-type cam with a pin fitting in the groove, and the female connector is equipped with a slide type cam having a cam groove matching with a pin formed on the male connector (cam follower). In addition, in Japanese Utility Model Disclosure Hei 5 (1993)-90846, another type of connector is described. It consists of a female connector equipped with a rotary-type cam having a groove matching with a pin formed on the male connector. EP-A-0549370 similarly describes a connector assembly having a rotary type cam. In these connectors equipped with cam devices, it is necessary to retain both connectors in a temporary joined position before operating the cam but, in conventional cam-equipped connectors, there is no devices to retain the connectors in a temporary joined position. Therefore, when joining conventional cam-equipped connectors, the operator has to keep them in a temporary joined position while operating the cam, thus making this process very difficult. In order to make operation of such cam-equipped connectors easier, it is possible to provide them with devices for temporarily joining both connectors. But the problem is where exactly this temporary joining device should be installed. Generally, temporary joining devices are often made in the form of lugs etc. on the walls forming the joining cavity of the female connector to retain the male connector. However, if lugs are disposed on the walls of the joining cavity of the female connector, it is necessary to provide grooves or depressions in the walls, thus reducing their strength. But when the cam device is operated, the walls of the joining cavity experience rather high stress. Therefore, it is undesirable to reduce the strength of the walls. This can be done by increasing the thickness of the walls, but this is undesirable also, since it will lead to an increase in size. In addition, the cam-equipped connectors have the following disadvantages. In order to join the connectors, they have to be temporarily joined. If, during this temporary joining, the male connector is not properly aligned relative to the joining cavity of the female connector, edges of the male connector can engage against male contacts located in the joining cavity and deform them (in some cases such deformation is referred to as "twisting"). In many applications the connectors are joined manually which substantially increases the danger of contact deformation. This invention takes into consideration the drawbacks mentioned above and its purpose is to offer a cam-equipped connector which makes it possible to avoid deformation of contacts during temporary joining without detrimental effect to the strength of the joining cavity of the female connector and without increasing the dimensions of both connectors. The present invention consists in a cam-equipped connector assembly comprising a female connector having male contacts and a mating male connector, one of said female and male connectors being equipped with a cam device having cam grooves for slidably engaging pins of the other connector for moving said connectors to a fully joined position characterized in that at least one protrusion extends from the bottom surface of a joining cavity of the female connector and is longer than the length of, and extends beyond, contact sections of the male contacts, said male connector has at least one cavity in a joining surface thereof for receiving said protrusion when said female and male connectors are joined, and said protrusion and said male connector cavity comprise complementary engaging means defining an intermediary-retaining device for temporarily retaining both connectors in an intermediate joined position. The cam-equipped connector assembly according to this invention makes it possible to avoid deformation of male contacts located inside the joining cavity, even when an attempt is made to insert the male connector into the female connector at an angle, by providing protrusions at the bottom surface of the joining cavity of the female connector which prevent interaction of the male connector with the male contacts located in the joining cavity. In addition, due to the device for temporary joining the connectors, the worker does not have to hold them in the intermediate joined position while operating the cam device, thus increasing the effectiveness of the cam device. And, since the device for temporary joining comprises complementary engaging means of the protrusions, provided at the bottom surface of the joining cavity of the female connector, and the cavity in the joining surface of the male connector, the strength of the walls forming the joining cavity of the female connector is not compromised without resorting to increasing their thickness which would lead to an increase in connector dimensions. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of the exterior of the cam-equipped connector according to this invention. Figure 2 is a front view of the female connector shown in the Figure 1. Figure 3 is a front view of the male connector shown in the Figure 1 Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of the female and the male connectors shown in the Figure 1. Figure 5 is a top view of the female connector shown in Figure 1. Figure 6 is a side view of the male connector shown in the Figure 1. Figure 7 is a vertical cross section of an alternative, but substantially similar, embodiment of a female connector showing the male contacts. Figures 1-6 show the housings of the female connector 10 and the male connector 20. The contacts used in connectors 10 and 20 are not shown. A female connector 10 like that shown in the Figure 1 has a joining cavity 11 intended for the insertion of a male connector 20. At the bottom surface 11a, shown in Figure 4, of this joining cavity, multiple contact holding openings 12 are made to accommodate male contacts (not shown in Figure 1). On the other hand, as can be seen from the Figure 3, the male connector 20 has an end joining surface 21 which comes in contact with the bottom surface 11a of the joining cavity 11 of the female connector 10 when the connectors are joined together. A number of contact holding openings 22 are made in the end joining surface 21 to accommodate female contacts (not shown in Figure 3) intended for connection with the male contacts of the female connector 10. The female contacts which could be used in the male connector 20 are conventional in construction, and any number of standard female contacts could be employed. The structures of the housings is more clearly seen if these standard contacts are omitted. For this reason, the female contacts have not been shown. As shown in the Figure 1, the cam device 30 of the female connector 10 slides in a lateral direction (in the drawing, it is direction AB) inside the joining cavity 11. This cam device consists of upper wall 31 and lower wall 32 connected by side wall 33. In the upper and lower walls 31 and 32, two cam grooves 34 are made (shown only partially in Figure 1). On the other hand, as shown in the Figure 3, on the upper and lower sides of the male connector 10 (two on each side) follower pins 23 are provided which fit into the cam grooves 34 of the cam device 30. As can be seen from the Figures 1 and 2, at the front edge of the joining cavity 11 of the female connector 10, guiding grooves 13 are made to direct the follower pins 23 into the cam grooves 34 of the cam device 30. As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4, two beam-like protrusions 14 are provided at the bottom surface 11a of the joining cavity 11 of the female connector 10 which extend in the direction of joining. These protrusions 14 are longer that the length of the contact sections, of the male contacts inserted in the female connector 10. On the other hand, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the male connector 20 has two cavities 24 for these protrusions 14. As can be seen from the Figure 4, locking steps 14a, are located near the tip of the protrusions 14, and locking lugs 24a matable with the locking steps 14a are located near the front end of the cavities 24. These locking steps 14a and locking lugs 24a form the complementary engaging means of the device for temporary joining. When connectors 10 and 20 are brought from the position shown in the Figure 4 to a position of temporary joining (that is, the position in which the follower pins 23 can enter the guiding grooves 13), this device prevents separation of the connectors 10 and 20. There now follows an explanation of the operation of this embodiment. When connectors 10 and 20 are joined together, the male connector 20 is first inserted in the joining cavity 11 of the female connector. If at that time the male connector 20 is not inserted straight, it is stopped by the protrusions 14 of the connector 10. This makes it possible to prevent deformation of contacts. If the male connector 20 is properly inserted in the joining cavity 11, the protrusions 14 of the female connector 10 enter in the cavities 24 of the male connector 20 and, if the male connector 20 is inserted further until it reaches the position of temporary joining, the locking lugs 24a in the cavities 24 and the locking steps 14a in the protrusions 14 become engaged, thus providing for intermediary connection and preventing the connectors 10, 20 from separation. After the connectors 10 and 20 were joined in the intermediate position, the cam device 30 is slid in the direction "A", thus bringing both connectors in the position of full joining using only low effort. Additionally, in this embodiment, an opening 35 is formed in the side wall 33 of the cam device 30 in order for a worker to check if connectors 10 and 20 are fully engaged (see Figures 5 and 6). When the cam device 30 is in the position corresponding to the full engagement of connectors 10 and 20 (shown in the Figure 5 by a solid line) pin 15, located on the female connector 10, appears through the opening 35. In order to make the pin 15 more noticeable, it is made of the same color as the female connector 10, and the cam device 30 is made of a contrasting color. Since it is also possible to check if the pin 15 sticks out of the opening 35 by touch, the worker has an additional option to check if the connectors 10 and 20 are joined fully or not. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the upper and lower front edges of the joining cavity 11 of the female connector 10 have grooves 16, which are different from the above mentioned guiding grooves 13. These grooves 16 are provided for pins 25 (which are different from the above mentioned follower pins 23) disposed on the upper and bottom sides of the male connector 20. Grooves 16 and pins 25 perform the following functions. During shipment, the cam device 30 is accommodated in the female connector 10 and is slid in the direction "A" as indicated in the Figure 1. Without the above mentioned grooves 16 and pins 25, if an attempt is made to insert the male connector 20 into the joining cavity 11 with the cam device 30 slid into it, the worker may incorrectly assume that connectors 10 and 20 are fully engaged, while only a portion (a part up to the place where the pins 25 are made) of the male connector 20 is inserted. If an attempt is made to join connectors 10 and 20 with the grooves 16 and pins 25 in this state, the pins 25 will enter grooves 16 only to the edge of the cam device 30, thus preventing the possibility of such an erroneous joining. Pins 25 also assist in prevention of contact deformation. Without pins 25, the square end part of the male connector 20 approximately up to the location of pins 25, could be inserted into the joining cavity 11, thus causing deformation of male contacts. However, because of the pins 25, the male connector can be inserted in the joining cavity 11 only if it is guided by the guiding grooves 13 and grooves 16. Figure 7 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the female connector 10', which differs only in insignificant details not relevant to the structure and operation of the protrusions and cam device. A (') is used to identify elements of this alternative embodiment, but basic reference numerals are used to identify corresponding elements. This alternative embodiment, like the first embodiment has three rows of contacts 40'. Figure 7 shows that the contacts 40' are inserted from the rear of the housing of the connector 10'. Figure 7 shows a contact 40' exploded from the rear of the housing of connector 10' and contacts 40' located in the upper two rows of the housing of connector 10'. The contacts 40' are held in position by housing lances 42'. The positions of the contacts 40', relative to the protrusion 14', is substantially the same as relative positions of contacts and protrusion 14 in connector 10. The protrusion 14' in the joining cavity 11' extends further forward from the bottom surface 11a' of the joining cavity 11' than the contacts 40'. Protrusion 14' thus extends beyond the front ends of contacts 40' where the protrusion would be initially engaged by a misaligned mating male connector in the same fashion previously described with reference to the first embodiment. Figure 7 also shows the cam device 30'. A secondary lock 44' is shown exploded from the housing of connector 10'. When all of the contacts 40' are fully inserted, the secondary lock 44' can be inserted and the contacts 40' are held by housing lances 42' and by secondary lock 44'. Two specific embodiments of the cam-equipped connectors according to this invention have now been described in relevant detail. However, this invention is not only limited to these specific designs, but also comprises various modifications which would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and which fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example the configuration of the sliding cam device can be changed compared to that used in these embodiments. This invention also covers connectors having cam devices of rotary type.

Claims: A cam-equipped connector assembly comprising a female connector (10) having male contacts and a mating male connector (20), one of said female and male connectors being equipped with a cam device (30) having cam grooves (34) for slidably engaging pins (23) of the other connector for moving said connectors to a fully joined position characterized in that at least one protrusion (14) extends from the bottom surface (11a) of a joining cavity (11) of the female connector (10) and is longer than the length of, and extends beyond, contact sections of the male contacts. said male connector has at least one cavity (24) in a joining surface (21) thereof for receiving said protrusion (14) when said female and male connectors are joined, and said protrusion (14) and said male connector cavity (24) comprise complementary engaging means defining an intermediary-retaining device (14a,24a) for temporarily retaining both connectors in an intermediate joined position. The cam-equipped connector assembly of claim 1 wherein the cam device (30) is mounted in the female connector (10). The cam-equipped connector assembly of claim 1 or 2 wherein the protrusion (14) extends from the bottom surface (11a) of the joining cavity (11) adjacent the middle of said joining cavity. The cam-equipped connector assembly of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein two of the protrusions (14) extend side-by-side in the joining cavity (11). The cam-equipped connector assembly of claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 wherein the cam device (30) slides laterally and perpendicularly to the protrusion(s) (14) when said connectors are moved from said intermediate-joined position to the fully-joined position. The cam-equipped connector assembly of any preceding claim wherein additional pins (25) are located on the male connector (20), said additional pins being engageable with the cam device (30) to prevent insertion of the male connector (20) into the female connector (10) when the cam device is in the position corresponding to the fully-joined position before said connectors are mated. The cam-equipped connector assembly of any preceding claim wherein the female connector (10) includes an indicator pin (15) and the cam device (30) includes an opening (35), said indicator pin protruding through the cam device opening when the cam device is shifted to a position corresponding to the fully-joined position. The cam-equipped connector assembly of any preceding claim wherein the intermediary-retaining device comprises interengaging lugs (24a) and steps (14a). The cam-equipped connector assembly of any preceding claim wherein the or each protrusion (14) is located between two rows of male contacts in the female connector (10).

Inventors: BETSUI KAZUHISA, TSUKAKOSHI MASAO, BETSUI, KAZUHISA, TSUKAKOSHI, MASAO
Applicants: WHITAKER CORP, THE WHITAKER CORPORATION
Application year: 1995
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13