Abstract:
A connector assembly that includes first and second connector housings, which are configured to hold a plurality of male terminals, a pair of lock tabs, which are disposed on opposite sides of the first connector housing, and a male terminal protector that is engaged to the lock tabs to protect ends of the male terminals that are to engage the female terminals when the second connector housing is fully mated to the first connector housing. The male terminal protector is released from the lock tabs when the second connector housing is positioned in a connector pre-set condition so that they do not impede movement of the male terminal protector when the second connector is moved toward the first connector housing to align and mate the female terminals with the male terminals.

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a connector assembly with a male terminal protector. 
     BACKGROUND 
     This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. 
     Mating connector assemblies are used extensively in various industries, including the automotive industry, to couple sets of electrical conductors to one another. A relatively recent development is related to a floating alignment member of the type that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,670,177. The floating alignment member is slidably received in a male connector housing and is configured to move between an extended position and a retracted position. The floating alignment member is disposed in the extended position prior to the mating of a female connector housing with the male connector housing and is moved to its retracted position when the female connector housing is moved to a position where it is fully mated to the male connector housing. While such configuration is suited for its intended purpose, we have noted several drawbacks. For example, the floating alignment member is locked to the male connector housing and the unlocking force that is required to unlock it from the male connector housing is added to the force that is required to seat the female connector housing to the male connector housing. It will be appreciated that the force required to mate the female connector housing to the male connector housing can be greatly affected by the quantity of electrical conductors that are to be mated to one another. In instances where a relatively large quantity of electrical conductors are to be coupled to one another, the force to fully mate the female connector housing to the male connector housing can be relative high. Moreover, it can be undesirable to time the unlocking of the floating alignment member from the male connector housing at the same time that the mating male and female terminal elements (carried by the male and female connector housings, respectively) are initially being aligned and engaged to one another. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an improved connector assembly with a male terminal protector. 
     SUMMARY 
     This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. 
     In one form, the present teachings provide a connector assembly that includes a first connector housing, a plurality of male terminals, a pair of lock tabs, and a male terminal protector. The first connector housing has a first connector body and a shroud member that is coupled the first connector body and defines a connector housing cavity that is disposed about a mating axis. The first connector body defines a plurality of first terminal apertures that are formed parallel to the mating axis and which intersect the connector housing cavity. The male terminals are fixedly coupled to the first connector housing. Each of the male terminals is received in one of the first terminal apertures and has a portion that extends into the connector housing cavity. The lock tabs are disposed on opposite sides of the first connector housing. Each of the lock tabs has a first lock tooth, a second lock tooth, and a lock recess that is disposed between the first and second lock teeth. Each of the first lock teeth is disposed on a distal end of an associated one of the lock tabs. The male terminal protector is slidably received in the connector housing cavity and is movable along the mating axis. The male terminal protector has a body, a plurality of terminal openings that are formed through the body, and a pair of lock projections. The terminal openings are disposed in-line with the male terminals. The lock projections are configured to deflect the lock tabs outwardly from the first connector housing as the male terminal protector is moved along the mating axis toward the male terminals. The lock projections are disposed in the lock recesses to position the male terminal protector in a protector pre-set position. The portions of the male terminals that extend into the connector housing cavity are disposed between first connector body and the male terminal protector when the male terminal protector is in the protector pre-set position. The male terminal protector is moveable along the mating axis toward the first connector body into a protector full-set position in which the portions of the male terminals extend through the male terminal protector. 
     Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a connector assembly constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is an section view of the connector assembly of  FIG. 1  taken along the line  2 - 2  and depicting a second connector housing as exploded from a remaining portion of the connector assembly, the connector assembly further being depicted as being coupled to the electrical conductors of a pair of wire harnesses; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the connector assembly of  FIG. 1  depicting a first connector housing, a lever and a male terminal protector in more detail; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the portion of the connector assembly that is depicted in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective section view taken along the line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 2  but depicting the second connector housing positioned relative to the first connector housing in a connector pre-set position; and 
         FIG. 7  in an enlarged portion of  FIG. 6 , showing in more detail contact between the second connector housing and a first lock tooth on a lock tab that causes the lock tab to flex outwardly from the first connector housing to cause the lock tab to disengage the male terminal protector. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2  of the drawings, a connector assembly constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is generally indicated by reference numeral  10 . The connector assembly  10  can include a first connector housing  12 , a second connector housing  14 , a plurality of male terminals  16 , a plurality of female terminals  18 , a lever  20 , a pair of lock tabs  22 , and a male terminal protector  24 . 
     In  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the first connector housing  12  can have a first connector body  30  and a shroud member  32  that is coupled the first connector body  30 . The shroud member  32  can define a connector housing cavity  34  that is disposed about a mating axis  36 . The first connector body  30  can define a plurality of first terminal apertures  38  that are formed parallel to the mating axis  36  and intersect the connector housing cavity  34 . 
     The second connector housing  14  can define a plurality of second terminal apertures  40  and is sized to be received into the connector housing cavity  34  and slidable relative to the first connector housing  12  along the mating axis  36  between a connector pre-set position and a connector full-set position. 
     The male terminals  16  are fixedly coupled to the first connector housing  12 . Each of the male terminals  16  is received in one of the first terminal apertures  38  and has a portion  44  that extends into the connector housing cavity  34 . 
     Each of the female terminals  18  is received in a corresponding one of the second terminal apertures  40  in the second connector housing  14 . The female terminals  18  are configured to engage the male terminals  16  as will be described in more detail below. 
     The lever  20  can be pivotably coupled to one of the first and second connector housings  12  and  14  and can be configured to engage the other one of the first and second connector housings  12  and  14  to cause relative movement between the first and second connector housings  12  and  14  that is associated with movement of the second connector housing  14  from the connector pre-set position to the connector full-set position. In the particular example provided, the lever  20  is pivotably coupled to the first connector housing  12  and is configured to engage the second connector housing  14  to draw the second connector housing  14  toward the first connector body  30  (i.e., from the connector pre-set position to the connector full-set position). 
     The lock tabs  22  can be disposed on opposite sides of the first connector housing  12 . Each of the lock tabs  22  can have a first lock tooth  50 , a second lock tooth  52 , and a lock recess  54  that is disposed between the first and second lock teeth  50  and  52 . The first lock teeth  50  can project into the connector housing cavity  34  to a greater extent than the second lock teeth  52 . In this regard, the first lock teeth  50  can be relatively larger than the second lock teeth  52  such that a distance between the first lock teeth  50  can be relatively larger than a distance across the second lock teeth  52 . Each of the first lock teeth  50  can be disposed on a distal end  56  of an associated one of the lock tabs  22 . The proximal end  58  of each lock tab  22  can be resiliently mounted to another structure. In the particular example provided the lock tabs  22  are integrally formed with the lever  20 , but it will be appreciated that the lock tabs  22  could be formed directly on the first connector housing  12  in the alternative. 
     In  FIGS. 2 through 5 , the male terminal protector  24  can be slidably received in the connector housing cavity  34  and can be disposed between the first connector body  30  and the second connector housing  14 . The male terminal protector  24  can be movable along the mating axis  36  and can have a body  60 , a plurality of terminal openings  62  and a pair of lock projections  64 . The terminal openings  62  can be formed through the body  60  and can be disposed in-line with the male terminals  16 . The lock projections  64  are configured to deflect the lock tabs  22  outwardly from the first connector housing  12  as the male terminal protector  24  is moved along the mating axis  36  toward the male terminals  16 . The lock projections  64  can be received in the lock recesses  54  to position the male terminal protector  24  relative to the first connector housing  12  in a protector pre-set position. The portions  44  of the male terminals  16  that extend into the connector housing cavity  34  are disposed between first connector body  30  and the male terminal protector  24  when the male terminal protector  24  is in the protector pre-set position. The male terminal protector  24  can be moved along the mating axis toward the first connector body  30  into a protector full-set position in which the portions of the male terminals  16  extend through the male terminal protector  24 . 
     In a typical application, the male terminals  16  can be coupled to associated conductors  70  in a first wire harness  72  and can be installed to the first connector housing  12 . The male terminal protector  24  can be received in the connector housing cavity  34  and engaged to the lock tabs  22  so that the lock tabs  22  can retain the male terminal protector  24  in its protector pre-set position. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that contact between the lock projections  64  and the second lock teeth  52  can inhibit movement of the male terminal protector  24  along the mating axis  36  toward the protector full-set position. Those of skill in the art will also appreciate that when so positioned, the male terminal protector can prevent unintended contact between ends of the male terminals and another object, such as the finer of an assembly technician. The female terminals  18  can similarly be coupled to conductors  74  in a second wire harness  76  and can be installed to the second connector housing  14 . The second connector housing  14  can be aligned to the connector housing cavity  34  and slid relative to the first connector housing  12  along the mating axis  36  to position the second connector housing  14  in the connector pre-set position, which is shown in  FIG. 6 . In the connector pre-set position, the female terminals  18  are not engaged to and do not contact the male terminals  16 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2, 6 and 7 , movement of the second connector housing  14  into the connector pre-set position can cause contact between the second connector housing  14  and the lock tabs  22  that causes the distal ends  56  of the lock tabs  22  to deflect outwardly so that the lock projections  64  are disengaged from first and second lock teeth  50  and  52  so that the second lock teeth  52  will not interfere with movement of the male terminal protector  24  toward the protector full-set position. As noted above, the first lock teeth  50  project into the connector housing cavity  34  to a greater extent than the second lock teeth  52  and as such, when they are spread apart to receive the second connector housing  14  there between, the second lock teeth  52  are inherently spread apart by a distance that is sufficient to permit the male terminal protector  24  to slide in an unencumbered manner toward the first connector body  30 , particularly when the female terminals  18  are initially contacting the male terminals  16 . 
     Accordingly, the connector assembly  10  is configured so that the male terminal protector  24  can be unlocked from the first connector housing  12  (when the second connector housing  14  is positioned in its connector pre-set position) so that the force required to mate the second connector housing  14  to the first connector housing  12  is not affected by the male terminal protector  24 . The lever  20  can be rotated to pull the second connector housing  14  toward the first connector body  30  and into the connector full-set position. It will be appreciated that the male terminals  16  engage the female terminals  18  as the second connector housing  14  is moved from the connector pre-set position to the connector full-set position. 
     The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.