Patent Publication Number: US-7223130-B2

Title: Electrical connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and particularly to an electrical connector with a terminal assurance position member that assures a proper position of terminals of wiring harnesses to be installed into the electrical connector. 
   2. Background Art 
   An electrical connector is a core component used in many electric systems to connect wiring harnesses. Connectors are typically manufactured by a connector manufacturer, and thereafter supplied to a harness assembler to install wiring harnesses thereinto. The connectors attaching the wiring harnesses are further supplied to a downstream assembler to be installed into electric systems, combining with mating connectors. 
   A connector for a specific application, among other things, a connector for an automotive electric system, may include a terminal position assurance (TPA) member for installing the wiring harnesses. The TPA member is a piece to assure a proper position of terminals of the wiring harnesses relative to a housing of the connector. When the terminals of the wiring harnesses are inserted into the housing, detents disposed on the terminals may be elastically deformed due to interference with small protrusions disposed within the housing, and thereafter snap back to engage with the protrusions disposed within the housing. In this case, when the TPA member is inserted into the housing from, for example, a side surface of the housing, the TPA member may engage with edge portions of the terminals to restrain movement of the terminals. As a consequence of this, the position of the terminals of the wiring harnesses can be properly assured. 
   In recent years, some relatively large connectors have also been developed, which may be provided with several dozen terminals or poles. These terminals may be consolidated into one or more sub housings or sub connectors depending on various types thereof, such as optical fibers and electrical wires for communication and for power. The sub housing is fitted into a housing body, thereby resulting in a configuration of the connector. The sub housing and the housing body may include corresponding TPA members, respectively. The larger connectors with dozens of terminals typically require a greater force to combine with a mating connector. Accordingly, the larger connectors are generally provided with an insertion-assist mechanism, such as a lever mechanism, in order to reduce a necessary insertion force. 
   The connectors, which are manufactured by the connector manufacturer as discussed above, are supplied to the harness assembler as they are sets of assembly components, each of which is typically composed of a housing body with a lever, a sub housing, and a TPA member. The assembly components are assembled into connectors, installing wiring harnesses. In the process of assembling the connector with the lever, the wiring harnesses are inserted into the sub housing and fixed with the TPA member, and subsequently the resulting sub connector is installed into the housing body. All of the wiring harnesses are inserted, and thereafter the lever is set up at the predetermined position in order to combine with the mating connector. 
   In the conventional connector discussed above, however, it has been difficult to verify whether the sub housing is properly installed into the housing body. Accordingly, there has been a problem that the sub housing is not properly installed into the housing body, thereby resulting in deterioration in fundamental performance of the connector. This may include deterioration in reliability of connection. 
   Additionally, the TPA member inserted into the sub housing has been simply devoted to assuring a proper position of the wiring harnesses relative to the sub housing. Thus, the TPA member has not ultimately assured a proper position of the terminals of the wiring harnesses relative to the housing body. Accordingly, in a case where the sub housing is not installed properly into the housing body, the terminals of the wiring harnesses may be displaced. This may also cause the deterioration in the fundamental performance of the connector. 
   SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
   In one aspect of the invention, an electrical connector includes a housing body, a lever, and a terminal position assurance (TPA) member. The housing body includes a front terminal receiving portion to receive terminals of a mating connector and a rear terminal receiving portion to receive a plurality of wiring harnesses. The housing body also includes a TPA slot into which the TPA member is inserted. The lever include an interference portion and is disposed on the housing body so as to rotated within a range between a predetermined position and a final position, thereby functioning as an insertion-assist mechanism. The TPA member is to assure a proper position of the terminals of the wiring harnesses inserted, engaging with the terminals. When the TPA member is improperly inserted into the housing body, the interference portion comes into interference with, in accordance with rotational movement of the lever, a portion of the TPA member that protrudes from the surface of the housing body. 
   Other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an electrical connector with a lever, as the lever is positioned at a final position, according to one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the electrical connector, as the lever is positioned at a predetermined position according to one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4A  illustrates a plan view of a sub housing of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4B  illustrates a front view of a sub housing of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4C  illustrates a left side view of the sub housing of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4D  illustrates a right side view of a sub housing of the electrical connector shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a right side view of the electrical connector, as the sub housing is about to be installed into a housing body, according to one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector in which the sub housing is installed into the housing body according to one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector  1  along the lines VII—VII shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  illustrate conditions that any of TPA members is incompletely inserted into the electrical connector according to one embodiment of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a connector according to one embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a connector  1  is shown as including a female housing  11  with a lever-type insertion-assist mechanism  12 . The dimensions of the connector  1  are determined to a large extent by a size and number of terminals or poles. The female connector  11  includes a housing body  13  and a sub housing, which is installed into the housing body  13 . At least one TPA member  15  is inserted into the female housing  11 . In this embodiment, two types of the TPA members  15   a  and  15   b  are used. The TPA members  15   a  and  15   b  are assembly components to assure a proper position of terminals of wiring harnesses (not shown) inserted into the female housing  11 . The lever  12  is disposed on the housing body  13  and configured to be freely rotated. In a process of attaching the wiring harnesses to the female housing  11 , the lever  12  is set up at a final position as shown in  FIG. 1 . In contrast, after assembly into a connector as a final product, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the lever  12  is set up at a predetermined position by rotating in a direction of an arrow A. The lever  12  may be provided with a lever locking mechanism to prevent the lever  12  from accidentally rotating in the final position. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates an exploded perspective view of the connector shown in  FIG. 1 . The housing body  13  is a single-piece component made of insulating material such as plastic, using a molding method. The housing body  13  may alternatively be formed using other known materials and methods. The housing body  13  has a plurality of front terminal slots  16  at a front receiving portion  13   a  thereof. The plurality of front terminal slots  16  are linked to a plurality of rear terminal slots  17  at a rear receiving portion  13   b  of the housing body  13  through passageways disposed within the housing body  13  (also shown in  FIG. 1 ). The rear terminal slots  17  receives the terminals of the wiring harnesses (not shown). 
   The housing body  13  also includes substantially cylindrical protrusions  18  disposed on both side surfaces thereof, and the lever  12  is supported pivotally by the protrusions  18 . The lever  12  primarily serves as an insertion-assist mechanism to reduce an insertion force in combining with a mating connector, i.e., a male connector. In this embodiment, the lever  12  is configured in a roughly inverted U shape such that arm portions  122  extending from base portions  121  that hold the protrusions  18  disposed on the both side surfaces of the housing body  13  support a beam portion  123  at both sides of the beam portion  123 . 
   The base portions  121  include arcuate recesses  19  respectively to accommodate cylindrical bosses disposed on an inner surface of a housing of the mating connector. In combining with the mating connector, the bosses initially come into contact with guide portions  19   a . Subsequently, by way of rotational movement of the lever  12  in the direction of the arrow A as shown in  FIG. 1 , the bosses are fitted into the recesses  19 , in response to a reactive force between the lever  12  and the boss so as to combine the connector  1  deeply with the mating connector. Accordingly, the insertion-assist mechanism allows an insertion force to be reduced during the process of the combining. 
   In addition, the base portions  121  include interference portions  20   a  and  20   b . The interference portions  20   a  and  20   b  are designed so as to move across openings of TPA slots  21   a  and  21   b  as will be described below, in accordance with the rotational movement of the lever  12 . Specifically, in a case where any of the TPA members  15   a  and  15   b  is incompletely inserted into the TPA slots  21   a  and  21   b , a portion of any of the TPA members  15   a  and  15   b  projecting from the TPA slots may come into interference with the interference portion  20   a  and  20   b  so as to restrain the rotational movement of the lever  12 . Thus, the lever  12  cannot rotate into the predetermined position, thereby not allowing the connector  1  to be combined with the mating connector. Accordingly, a user or assembler can visibly verify whether the TPA members  15   a  and  15   b  are completely inserted into the female housing  11 , thereby preventing incomplete insertion of the TPA members  15   a  and  15   b.    
   The housing body  13  includes a sub housing slots  22  to receive the sub housing  14 . The sub housing  14  inserted into the housing body  13  forms a part of the female housing  11 . It is noted that no sub housing  14  may be needed depending on the requirements of an electrical system in which the connector  1  is installed. In this case, the housing body  13  itself may be equivalent to the female housing  11 . 
   The housing body  13  also includes the TPA slots  21   a  and  21   b , each of which receives the corresponding TPA members  15   a  and  15   b  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The TPA member  15   a  is to assure a proper position of terminals of wiring harnesses which are inserted into the rear terminal slots  17  of the housing body  13 . On the other hand, the TPA member  15   b  is to assure a proper position of terminals of wiring harnesses which are inserted into the rear terminal slots  17  of the sub housing  14  inserted into the housing body  13 . The TPA member  15   a  and  15   b  may be configured in a front-rear asymmetric shape to avoid wrong insertion. 
     FIGS. 4A through 4D  illustrate a configuration of the sub housing  14  shown in  FIG. 3  in great detail. The sub housing  14  may also be a single-piece component made of insulating material such as plastic. Referring now to  FIG. 4B , the sub housing  14  includes a plurality of front terminal slots  23  disposed on a front receiving portion thereof and a plurality of rear terminal slots  24  disposed on a rear receiving portion thereof, which are linked to the plurality of front terminal slots  23  through passageways disposed within the sub housing  14 . The sub housing  14  also includes grooves  25  extending in a transverse direction thereof, which are disposed on a top surface and a bottom surface of the sub housing  14 . The grooves  25  is for receiving and engaging with the TPA member  15   b . As apparent from  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the size and shape of the grooves  25  in a side view of the sub housing  14  conform to that of the TPA slot  21   b . Thus, when the sub housing  14  is properly inserted into the housing body  13 , the TPA slot  15   b  and the grooves  25  align, thereby allowing the TPA member  15   b  to be inserted therein. 
     FIG. 7  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the connector  1  along the B–B′ line shown in  FIG. 1 , as best showing the TPA member  15 , which is inserted into the sub housing  14  inserted into the housing body  13 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , both end portions of the TPA member  15   b  engage with openings of the TPA slots  21   b , thereby allowing the sub housing  14  to be fixed to the housing body  13 . 
   Referring back to  FIG. 4A , the sub housing  14  also includes projections  26   a  and  26   b  disposed on the top surface and the bottom surface thereof for preventing the sub housing  14  from being inserted upside down. The projections  26   a  and  26   b  correspond to grooves  27   a  and  27   b  disposed on an inner surface of the sub housing  14  ( FIG. 3 ). The projections  26   a  and  26   b  and the grooves  27   a  and  27   b  are disposed asymmetrically, thereby preventing wrong insertion of the sub housing  14  into the housing body  13 . 
   One of the features of embodiments of the invention is characterized in that, when any of the TPA members  15   a  and  15   b  is not completely inserted into the female housing  11 , either of the interference portions  20   a  and  20   b  of the lever  12  comes into interference with any of the end portions of the TPA members  15   a  and  15   b , thereby restraining rotational movement of the lever  12 . If the lever  12  is set at the predetermined position, the TPA member  15   a  and  15   b  are deemed to be completely inserted into the female housing  11 . Further, the TPA member  15   b  relative to the sub housing  14  is inserted into the housing body  13  through the TPA slot  21   b  after the sub housing  14  is inserted into the housing body  13 . Accordingly, if the TPA member  15  is not completely inserted into the female housing  11 , the interference portion  20   b  of the lever  12  comes into interference with the end portion of the TPA member  15 , in accordance with rotational movement of the lever  12 , thereby preventing the lever  23  from rotating. 
     FIGS. 8A and 8B  illustrate perspective views of the connector  1  in interference of the lever  12  with any of the TPA member  15   a  and  15   b . It is noted that the wiring harnesses are omitted from these figures. In an actual process of assembling into the connector  1 , both of the TPA members  15   a  and  15   b  may be incompletely inserted into the female housing  11  simultaneously. 
   Referring to  FIG. 8A , when the TPA member  15   a  is not completely inserted into the TPA slot  21   a  of the housing body  13 , an end portion of the TPA member  15   a  protrudes from the side surface of the housing body  13 . In such circumstances, when the lever  12  is rotated, the interference portion  20   a  of the lever  12  comes into interference with the end portion of the TPA member  15   a , thereby restraining rotational movement of the lever  12 . 
   In the meantime, as shown in  FIG. 8B , when the TPA member  15   b  is not completely inserted into the TPA slot  21   b  of the housing body  13 , an end portion of the TPA member  15   b  protrudes from the side surface of the housing body  13 . In such circumstances, when the lever  12  is rotated, the interference portion  20   a  of the lever  12  comes into interference with the end portion of the TPA member  15   b , thereby restraining rotational movement of the lever  12 . 
   As a result of the various configurations described in detail above, embodiments of the invention may include one or more following advantages, some of which have been discussed above. According to one embodiment of the invention, for example, a base portion of a rotatable lever includes an interference portion. If a TPA member is not completely inserted into a female housing, the interference portion comes into interference with an end portion of the TPA, which protrudes from a surface of the female housing, thereby restraining the rotational movement of the lever. Thus, if the lever is properly set at a predetermined position by rotating the lever, the TPA member is deemed to be completely inserted into the female housing. Accordingly, an user or assembler can easily verify whether the TPA member is completely inserted into the female housing. 
   Further, according to one embodiment of the invention, a connector with a lever is configured such that a TPA member relative to a sub housing is inserted into a female housing through a TPA slot of a housing body after the sub housing is inserted into the housing body. Thus, this configuration does not allow the TPA member to be inserted unless the sub housing is completely inserted into the housing body. This is because the TPA slot is not overlapping with grooves disposed on the sub housing. In addition, even if the TPA member is inserted into the female housing but not completely, an interference portion of the lever comes into interference with an end portion of the TPA member, in accordance with rotational movement of the lever, thereby restraining the rotational movement of the lever. Thus, when the lever is properly set at a predetermined position, the TPA member is deemed to be completely inserted, thereby allowing a user or assembler to easily verify whether the TPA member is completely inserted. Further, as a consequence of this, the position of terminals of wiring harnesses, which are inserted into the sub housing, relative to the housing body is ultimately assured. Accordingly, performance of connector including reliability for connection is assured. 
   While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.