Patent Publication Number: US-6338651-B1

Title: Electrical connector assembly with seal

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The subject invention relates to electrical connector assemblies, and more particularly to electrical connector assemblies having a seal for sealing between the electrical connector assembly and a support structure such as a wall. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Persons of skill in the connector art are familiar with male connectors that extend through a wall or similar support structure to connect with a female connector. In certain applications it is necessary to provide a water-tight seal between the male connector and the wall. This is true in the art of vehicle headlamps, where power for the headlamp comes into the headlamp housing by means of a male connector that extends through a wall in the housing. Because water impacts the headlamp housing, and because engineers do not want water penetrating into the housing, it is important to create a reliable seal between the male connector and the housing. Until recently, a simple compression gasket was used to seal between the male connector and the housing. The compression gasket arrangement is shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The compression gasket has to be compressed during installation, and this requires the use of a special press. Also, the gasket design is not as robust as it could be. This leaves room for improvement in the design of the gasket. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES 
     An electrical connector assembly is disclosed for supporting at least one terminal as it extends through a wall and mates with a mating terminal. The electrical connector assembly includes an elongated conduit for supporting the terminal as the terminal extends through the wall, where the conduit has a flange extending radially outwardly from one end of the conduit. The connector assembly also includes a seal having a jacket portion extending around the conduit adjacent the flange, and a skirt portion extending radially outwardly from the conduit and over the flange to effect a seal between the electrical connector assembly and the wall. 
     This electrical connector assembly can be assembled to a wall by hand because the seal does not need to be compressed with any substantial force. This eliminates the need for any press and pressing operation. Also, the seal has a robust design that provides redundant sealing features that seal over a wide range of fits between the conduit and the wall. 
    
    
     FIGURES IN THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art connector having a foam compression gasket serving as a seal; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the subject connector assembly together with a wall and a mating connector assembly; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the connector assembly assembled to the wall with the wall partly cut away; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the rear of the connector assembly; 
     FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the rear of a mating electrical connector assembly; and 
     FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the front of the mating electrical connector assembly. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the Figures wherein like numerals indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, an electrical male connector assembly of the present invention is generally shown at  10 . The connector assembly  10  is adapted to extend through a wall generally indicated at  12  to connect with a mating or female connector assembly generally indicated at  14 . The connector assembly  10  supports at least one terminal  16  as the terminal extends through the wall  12  and mates with a mating terminal  18  in the female connector assembly  14 . The assembly  10  includes an elongated conduit or housing or body  20  for supporting the terminal  16  as the terminal extends through the wall  12 . The conduit  20  is rigid and has a rigid flange or base  22  extending radially outwardly from one end of the conduit. The conduit  20  and flange  22  are preferably molded as a unit from a suitable plastic material. The assembly  10  also includes a seal disposed on the conduit  20 , where the seal is generally indicated at  24 . The seal  24  has a jacket portion  26  extending around the conduit  20  adjacent the flange  22 , and an integral skirt portion  28  extending radially outwardly from the conduit  20  and over the flange  22  to effect a seal between the electrical male connector assembly  10  and the wall  12 . 
     According to a preferred embodiment of t he invention, the electrical male connector assembly  10  is for a headlamp. The assembly  10  extends through the wall  12  of the headlamp housing to connect with the female connector assembly  14  outside the housing. The version of the assembly  10  shown in the Figures supports twelve terminals as they extend through the headlamp housing wall  12  to mate with mating terminals  18  in the female connector assembly  14 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the wall  12  defines an opening for receiving the male connector assembly  10 . The wall  12  includes a shroud  30  disposed around the opening. The shroud  30  includes oppositely disposed tips  32 . 
     The details of the seal  24  are show n in FIGS. 2 and 3. The jacket portion  26  of the seal  24  includes a first flexible rib  34  extending radially outwardly to engage the shroud  30  of the wall  12  forming a seal between the wall and electrical male connector assembly  10 . The jacket portion  26  also includes a second flexible rib  36  disposed between the first flexible rib  34  and the skirt portion  28  and extending radially outwardly to engage the wall  12  and form another, redundant seal between the wall  12  and electrical male connector assembly  10 . This double rib design provides two levels or lines of sealing. The jacket portion  26  of the seal includes an insertion end  38  disposed on the side of the first rib  34  opposite the second rib  36 , the insertion end tapering radially inwardly. The insertion end  38  facilitates insertion of the male connector assembly  10  into the shroud  30  of the wall  12 . 
     The skirt portion  28  of the se al  24  defines a U-shaped channel  40  extending around the jacket portion  26 . The purpose of this channel  40  is to allow the skirt  28  to blossom out, or deform, when compressed to provide for yet further sealing. This is shown in the cut-away view in FIG.  3 . The overall effect of the channel  40  is to provide another line of sealing—in addition to that provided by the ribs  34 ,  36 —between the flange  22  of the conduit  20  of the connector assembly  10  and the wall  12 . 
     The seal  24  is made from a silicone material. This allows the seal  24  to compress with minimal force and yet still provide for adequate sealing. 
     The seal  24  includes at least two retaining tabs  42  engaging either the conduit  20  or the flange  22 . These retaining tabs  42  attach the seal to the male connector assembly  10 . In the version shown, the tabs  42  extend into holes in the flange  22 . 
     The male connector assembly  10  also includes a retainer  44  formed unitarily to the conduit  20  and adapted to retain the male connector assembly  10  to the wall  12 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, for example, the retainer  44  is a set of four tangs, where two of the tangs are disposed on either side of the male connector assembly  10  (only two of the tangs are visible in FIG.  2 ). These retainers or tangs  44  mate with the oppositely disposed tips  32  on the shroud  30  once the male connector assembly  10  is fully inserted into the opening of the wall  12 . The male connector assembly  10  also includes some appropriate structure  46  for a locking connection to the female connector assembly  14 . In the embodiment shown, the structure is a ramp  46  formed unitarily to conduit  20  and interconnecting with a single tang  48  on the female connector assembly  14 . 
     The mating female connector assembly  14  has a number of seals  50 ,  52  to seal the connection with the male connector assembly  10 . FIG. 5A shows a set of terminal seals  50  that extend around each terminal  18  as it enters the female connector assembly  14  from the rear. FIG. 5B shows an end seal  52  extending inside the female connector assembly  14 . The very tip of the male connector assembly  10  abuts this end seal  52  when the male connector assembly  10  is fully inserted into the female connector assembly  14 . Together, the end seal  52  and the terminal seals  50  prevent water from passing into and through the male connector assembly  10 . These two sets of seals  50 ,  52  render unnecessary any terminal seals on the male connector assembly  10 , making the male connector assembly less costly to produce. FIG. 4 shows that the male connector assembly  10  is configured for unsealed terminals. 
     In operation, the seal  24  is disposed over the male connector assembly  10 , with the tabs  42  extending into the holes in the flange  22  to secure the seal to the male connector assembly  10 . Then the male connector assembly  10  may be inserted into the opening in the wall  12  of the headlamp housing. When the male connector assembly  10  is fully inserted, the tangs  44  deflect outwardly to engage the tips  32  of the shroud  30 . At this time, the ribs  34 ,  36  of the seal  24  engage the shroud  30 . As shown in FIG. 3, the ribs  34 ,  36  are sized so that the shroud  30  compresses the ribs slightly to effect a good seal. The wall further deforms the skirt  28  of the seal  24 —compressing the channel  40 —also to effect good sealing. At this point, the male and female connector assemblies  10 ,  14  may be joined. Because of the seal  24 , and the sets of seals  50 ,  52  in the female connector assembly  14 , no water can pass through the opening in the wall  12  and into the headlamp housing.