Abstract:
An electrical connector including a connector subassembly having a front mating portion and a waveguide disposed around the front mating portion of the connector subassembly. The waveguide may alternatively be disposed near the front mating portion of the connector subassembly and an illumination device is provided at the side portion of the connector subassembly adjacent to the waveguide for coupling light emanating therefrom onto a portion of the waveguide which in turn conducts the light to illuminate at least a front end of the waveguide. The connector subassembly may further cooperate with a bezel having a frame and an opening. The frame retains the connector subassembly in position with the front mating portion of connector subassembly extending to the opening. The waveguide is then configured to have a front portion disposed between a rim portion of the opening and the front mating portion of the connector subassembly.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector with illumination source, and more particularly to an electrical connector having an integrated waveguide for use in poorly lit environment, such as in a car. 
   2. Description of Prior Art 
   An electrical connector, such as a cable assembly with an Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector, has been used in electronics for years. Since devices such as cell phones, MP3, IPOD, and DVD player, are widely used in daily life, the auto industry is upgrading the electronics to meet this rising demand. More and more USB connectors are appeared in auto industry to meet the harsh environments of the auto industry. The current cable system is connected from the back of the radio system to the dash board through a bezel to which the electrical connector or more particularly the cable connector is latched. This will allow the consumer to plug in their electronic devices for downloading information, music, etc. However, while driving a car in darkness, it is difficult to find the right position of the inserting opening of the USB connector. 
   Hence, it is desirable to have an improved electrical connector, such as a cable end connector, that is equipped with an illumination source or a waveguide around the electrical connector for ease of access by a mating connector. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, a main object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector assembly capable of showing its position in darkness. 
   In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in one aspect, an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention comprises a connector subassembly having a front mating portion and a waveguide disposed around the front mating portion of the connector subassembly. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an electrical connector comprises a connector subassembly having a side portion and a front mating portion, a waveguide disposed near the front mating portion of the connector subassembly, and an illumination device disposed at the side portion of the connector subassembly adjacent to the waveguide for coupling light emanating therefrom onto a portion of the waveguide which in turn conducts the light to illuminate at least a front end of the waveguide. In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, an electrical connector assembly comprises: a connector subassembly having a front mating portion; a bezel having a frame and an opening, the frame retaining the connector subassembly in position with the front mating portion of connector subassembly extending to the opening; and a waveguide having a front portion disposed between a rim portion of the opening and the front mating portion of the connector subassembly. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cable connector in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded, perspective view of the cable connector shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded, perspective view of a USB connector constituting part of the cable connector shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is another perspective view of the cable connector with its rear cover removed for clarity; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the cable connector mounted on a bezel in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a front elevation view of the cable connector and bezel combination shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  8 - 8  in  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  9 - 9  in  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 10  is a rear perspective view of the bezel; 
       FIG. 11  gives two perspective views of a waveguide of the cable connector; and 
       FIG. 12  is a side elevational view of the waveguide. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 5 , an electrical connector, a cable connector in this embodiment shown, is to be latched to a bezel  8  so as to mate with a complementary connector (not shown) inserted in a front-to-back direction from an opposite side of the bezel  8 . The bezel  8  then may be suitably mounted to another faceplate or a car dash board (not shown). The connector comprises a connector subassembly and a waveguide  2  disposed around a front mating portion of the connector subassembly. 
   Turning now to  FIG. 2 , the connector subassembly comprises in this embodiment a USB electrical connector  1  of generally known construction, a spacer  3  molded over a junction portion of a cable  6  and electrical contacts of the connector  1 . Cooperating with the waveguide  2 , a front cover  4  separately enclosing the connector subassembly or constituting a part of the connector assembly is provided. The cover  4  is preferably a pre-made piece that is assembled rearwardly of the waveguide  2  after the waveguide  2  has been mounted to the front mating portion of the connector subassembly, namely the shielding shell of the USB connector  1 . An illumination device  70  in the form of an LED (Light Emitting Diode)  72  and related wiring and connectors is disposed at a side portion of the connector subassembly, preferably on the cover  4 . After mounting the illumination device  70  to the cover  4 , a rear cover  5  is molded over the cable  6  and portions of the illumination device  70  and the front cover  4  to complete an electrical connector assembly with illumination source. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , the electrical connector  1  comprises a dielectric housing having a main body  11  and a tongue  12  extending from the main body  11 , a plurality of terminals  13  received in the main body  11  and the tongue  12 , and a metallic shell  14  enclosing the main body  11  and the tongue  12 . The shielding shell  14  defines a front mating portion  15  for insertion of a complementary connector and has one or more stopping plate  16  around a front end of the mating portion  15 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 11 , the waveguide  2  is configured substantially as a rectangular ring or sleeve having a receiving slot  21  along the front-to-back direction for sliding onto or encasing the front end of the connector shell  14  from a rear thereof. The waveguide  2  comprises a top wall  22 , a bottom wall  23 , a pair of side walls  24  connecting the top and the bottom walls  22 ,  23 , two fins  25  extending laterally from one of the side walls  24 , and a receiving slit  26  provided at the other side wall  24 . The fins  25  are arranged side by side along an up-to-down direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction to define a gap  27  therebetween. The gap  27  slightly diverges toward a front of the fins  25  for creating a wedging action with an internal feature of the bezel  8  for centering or stabilizing purpose when the waveguide  2  is mounted to the bezel  8 . The front end face of the waveguide  2  defines one or more retaining cutouts  28  at an edge thereof for seating corresponding stopping plate  16  of the electrical connector  1 . The waveguide  2  is preferably made of translucent or transparent material. 
   Turning back to  FIG. 2  again, the spacer  3  is generally an overmolded piece as mentioned above and as shown, for ease of explanation, comprises a plurality of passageways  31  for passage by the wires  60  of the cable  6 . 
   Still referring to  FIG. 2  in conjunction with  FIG. 4 , the cover  4 , bearing against the rear face of the waveguide  2 , comprises a top portion  41 , a bottom portion  42 , two side portions  43  connecting with the top and the bottom portions  41 ,  42 , and a rear portion  44 . These portions together define a receiving space  45 . One of the side portions  43  forms a pair of passages  46  extending along the front-to-back direction and communicating with the receiving slit  26  of the waveguide  2 . The other side portion  43  forms a latching member  47  with a receiving cavity  470  defined on a front end thereof. The latching member  47  is capable of moving along a lateral direction. The cover  4  further comprises an over-travel spring  48 , which comprises a retaining portion  481  and a resilient engaging portion  482  extending laterally from the retaining portion  481 . The retaining portion  481  is retained in the receiving cavity  470 , and the engaging portion  482  may or may not resist the fins  25  of the waveguide  2  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) when the connector subassembly has not been assembled to the bezel  8 . In the case of engagement between the spring  48  and the fins  25 , the fins  25  will help keeping the spring  48  in position to the cover  4 . Additionally, a triangular protuberance  49  is formed at the center of the top portion  41  of the cover  4 , serving as a centering feature between the connector and the bezel  8  to which the connector is assembled. 
   The rear cover  5  comprises a strain relief  51  itself generally of a known construction, a base  52  extending forwardly from the strain relief  51 , a beam  53  extending forwardly from the strain relief  51  beside the base  52 . As mentioned above, the rear cover  5  is preferably an overmolded piece cooperating with the front cover  4  to retain at least part of the illumination device  70 . 
   The cable  6  comprises four wires  60 , for the exemplary USB connector  1  shown, extending through the strain relief  51 , the base  52  of the rear cover  5 , and the spacer  3  in sequence to finally electrically connect with corresponding terminals  13  of the electrical connector  1 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , the illumination device or source  70  in the embodiment comprises a pair of conducting wires, a resistor  71 , and an LED  72 . The LED  72  is placed in the receiving slit  26  of the waveguide  2  with two pins  721 , respectively, located in the two passages  46  of the front cover  4 . The resistor  71  electrically connects with one pin  721  of the illumination device  72  and is also received in one passage  46  of the cover  4 . One of the conducting wires electrically connects with one pin  721  of the LED  72 , while the other pin  721  electrically connects with the resistor  71  and then to the other wire. The beam  53  of the rear cover  5  is configured to generally cover the pins  721  of the LED  72 , the resistor  71  and portions of the conducting wires. It is noted that the illumination device may be separately provided, if desired, and then have the LED install to the waveguide  2  instead of integrating the illumination device and overmolding the same by the rear cover. As can be understood, the wiring of the illumination device is application specific and may be suitably configured routed through for example another connector (not labeled) depicted in some drawing figures for further processing. Moreover, while an LED is specifically shown, it is understood that other lighting portion such as fiber optics based, is also contemplated without departing from the present invention. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  5 ,  6  and  10 , the bezel  8  comprises a vertical plate  80 , a mating opening  81  defined through the perpendicular plate  81 , and a retaining frame  83  extending rearward from the plate  81 . The waveguide  2  extends to the mating opening  81  with a front portion of the waveguide  2  being in substantially same vertical plane with a front face of the perpendicular plate  80 . As can be seen in the figures, the front portion of the waveguide  2  is disposed between a rim portion of the opening  81  and the front mating portion  15  of the electrical connector  1 . The retaining frame  83  defines one or more receiving rooms  831 , a retaining cutout  832  at the lateral side thereof, and a stopper  833  behind the retaining cutout  832 . The connector subassembly or system and the illumination device or source are partially received in the receiving room  831  with a block  472  of the latching member  47  projecting into the retaining cutout  832  and resisted by or locking with the stopper  833 . The retaining frame  83  further has a tapered, projecting plate  834  projecting into the receiving room  831 . As mentioned previously, the projecting plate  834  extends into the gap  27  and is sandwiched by the two fins  25  of waveguide  2  (shown in  FIG. 9 ). Furthermore, the projecting plate  834  presses the engaging portion  482  of the over-travel spring  48  (shown in  FIG. 7 ) to bias the front cover  4  and therefore the connector subassembly rearward, thus further stabilizing the connector subassembly in the bezel  8 . With this construction, any movement resulting in unacceptable rattling noise is minimized. The wedge action created by the two fins  25  engaging with the tapered plate  834  further assist in alignment and press fit to one another to eliminate undesired relative movement. In one sense, the spring  48  is a secondary feature supplementing the latching member  47  by applying additional force to assure no undesired movement between the connector subassembly and the bezel  8 . The bezel  8  further forms a plurality of cutouts or openings (not labeled) at the rear of the retaining frame  83 . As a safeguard measure, the stopper  833  or the portion where the stopper is located is connected to the frame  83  through weak or easily broken limbs (not labeled) so that when the connector is accidentally pushed or subject to a strong rapid jerk action by way of the cable, the bezel  8  is easily broken than the dash board of the car. Understandably, replacing the bezel  8  is a lot cheaper than running a new cable through the car dash board. The bezel  8  further comprises a triangular recess  835  at the rear of the retaining frame  83  to mate with the triangular protuberance  49  of the front cover  4  for centering the front cover  4  with the bezel  8 . 
   In assembling, firstly, the cable  6  with the wires  60  is soldered to the electrical connector  1 , and then a dielectric material, in the final form of the spacer  3 , is over-molded on the electrical connector  1 . Secondly, the waveguide  2  and the front cover  4  are assembled on the electrical connector along the cable  6  and in a back-to-front direction. Thirdly, the illumination device placed beside the front cover  4  and the waveguide  2 . Finally, the rear cover  5  is over-molded on the cable connector assembly. 
   When the assembling is completed, the front end face of the waveguide  2  will be in a position relative to mating opening  15  of the cable assembly or the bezel  8  where the connector or more accurately speaking, the waveguide  2  is visible from outside.  FIG. 12  specifically shows how the ray or light path from the LED  72  or a suitable lighting source is guided through the waveguide  2 , as indicated by the arrow lines “A” and “B,” to eventually illuminate especially a front end face of the waveguide  2 . Also shown is a notch  291  defining or defined by two inclined faces  29  for properly guiding the light ray. 
   It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.