Abstract:
A sealed electrical connector is disclosed including a central body and a peripheral skirt separated from each other by a throat having a joint disposed in the throat. The connector includes a frontal piece forming a front grill. The grill includes a frontal plate having at least one hole adapted to permit the passage of contacts of a male plug, the frontal grill covering the central body and having means for supporting the joint in the throat, the means being integrated within the contour of the central body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a sealed electrical connector, and more particularly to a sealed electrical connector provided with a front grill for locking electrical contacts received in the connector. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are known connectors in which one of the elements, generally the female portion, comprises a sealing joint provided to be interposed between this female portion and the male portion after plugging in and locking. 
     The problem of these joints is holding them in place, either in the housing of the connector in question before mounting, or after mounting when, for specific needs, the two portions of the connector must be disconnected. Such a case is encountered for example by diagnostic sockets for vehicles. 
     Thus, during disconnection, the joint can remain partially pressed against the withdrawn male connector which involves the joint being out of its recess and often leads to loss of this joint before remounting. 
     The connector can for this reason be subject to premature wear and lead to breakdown by loss of the initial sealing or by unlocking. 
     There is known from the patent application DE-A-36 33 358 a female connector which comprises a body into which the contacts are introduced and immobilized by a resilient catch with the holding of the contacts in a retained position by a member movable along the insertion axis of the connector. 
     The female contacts are introduced into the electrical connector and each contact receives, in a suitable recess, a catch which is free to retract under the introduction pressure of the contacts. The movable member is then moved to lock each catch in the snap-in position on the contact, which prevents retraction of this contact. 
     This female contact is also provided with a flat sealing joint disposed parallel to the plug-in axis, or in the form of a sleeve, about a wall which encircles the contacts. This sleeve comprises projecting sealing paths to come to bear against the internal surface of the male plug and on the external surface of the wall which surrounds the contacts to ensure interfacial sealing between the parallel walls of the male and female plugs. 
     The movable member also ensures immobilization as to translation, of this sleeve, about the wall which carries it, by coming into partial bearing relation on said sleeve. 
     The patent application EP-A-330 436 discloses a connector with an arrangement substantially identical to the preceding, but the movable member is different in that it comprises a peripheral cover which forms at the same time a guide for the male plugs during introduction. 
     Sealing is effected by a sleeve with a sealing surface of revolution, oriented parallel to the plug-in axis. On the contrary, this sleeve remains free and is not maintained in position by any member. 
     There is also known from the patent application EP-A-691 708 a monobloc connector with a frame provided with wings which are to be inserted in a space provided between the recesses for reception of the contacts. There is however no frontal grill provided with holes for the passage of contacts. 
     Patent application EP-A-691 711 discloses a connector in two parts, with a principal body receiving the rear of contacts and an internal peripheral joint and a secondary body with the front portion of the contacts which are received in the principal body. This connector has a sealing property but without the presence of a front grill. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a sealed electrical connector which comprises a sealing joint, particularly with a sealing plane perpendicular to the axis of plugging in, a front grill which avoids retraction of the joint in case of dismounting or before the first plugging in, protections of the locking catches as well as means for positioning by pre-insertion and by insertion of the front grill. 
     To this end, the present invention provides a sealed connector which comprises a central body with a front grill provided with holding means of a sealing joint which are integrated into the central body, with no projecting element. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will now be described with respect to the accompanying drawings, which show a particular non-limiting example of a sealed electrical connector and the different figures concerned: 
     FIG. 1, a perspective view of a connector according to the invention with a sealing joint, 
     FIG. 2, a top plan view of this same connector, 
     FIG. 3, a top plan view of the connector joint according to the invention, 
     FIG. 4, a perspective view of this same joint, 
     FIG. 5, the front grill of the connector according to the present invention, seen in perspective, 
     FIG. 6, a view of this grill, still in perspective, but seen from below, 
     FIG. 7, a view of an electrical contact provided to be introduced into the connector, 
     FIGS. 8A and 8B, side elevational views of the connector with the front grill in position before and after introduction, 
     FIGS. 9A and 9B, cross-sectional views corresponding to views  8 A and  8 B, and 
     FIGS. 10A and 10B, side cross-sectional views in two perpendicular directions, of a complete connector with a plug, after connection. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector  10  comprises a central body  12 , a peripheral skirt  14  separated from said body by a throat  16 . 
     The central body  12 , of substantially rectangular shape in the embodiment in question, comprises recesses  18 , in this instance two in number, of a cross-section suitable to receive an electrical contact. 
     These recesses have two thick walls  20 ; disposed on opposite sides of these recesses in which are also provided blind holes  22  and  24 . 
     Along a median line parallel to the thick walls, the central block has a central passageway  26  in which are disposed two pairs of catches  28 . 
     Perpendicular to these two walls, beyond the catches, the central block is provided with two protective covers  29 , formed by molding with the central block. 
     The peripheral skirt  14  is disposed about the central block, at a constant distance, so as to provide a throat  16  of constant dimensions. 
     One of the walls of this skirt comprises recesses  30  forming a corrector to receive the male plug as will be explained later on. 
     On opposite sides of this skirt, snap-in connection means  32  are also made by molding with the skirt. These means comprise a resilient tongue  34  with a window  36  and an upper beveled portion  38 . 
     The throat  16  is provided to receive a joint represented in FIGS. 3 and 4. This flat joint has a rectangular shape to fit about the central block  12  and within the skirt  14 , in this throat  16 . A groove  42  is provided in the bottom of this throat to permit deformation of the joint. 
     This joint has the particularity of being shaped with internal angles which are prolonged in the form of angular sectors to form bearing regions  43 . 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 permit understanding the shapes and profiles of the frontal member forming the front grill  44 . This grill comprises on the top, a frontal plate  46  which is provided with two passage holes  48  for the contacts of a male plug. 
     This plate has dimensions and cutouts which permit it to cover all of the central body, without extending beyond, to form a substantially continuous external contour. 
     On opposite sides of this frontal plate extend guide blades  50  having a bevelled end  52  to facilitate introduction. 
     These blades also carry positioning means  53  for pre-insertion and insertion. These means comprise, in the illustrated embodiment, a snap-in tooth  53 - 1 , projecting from a resiliently deformable portion of the blade. This tooth can coact with suitable recesses  53 - 2  and  53 - 3 , provided at two heights in the wall facing holes  22  and  24 . 
     From this same frontal plate and at four corners extend four bearing tongues  54 , whose profile has a section identical to the angular sectors of the bearing zones  43  of the joint  40 . 
     From the central portion of this frontal plate and to coincide with the central passageway  26 , extend locking fingers  56 , four in number, as well as catches  28 . 
     In FIG. 7, there is shown schematically a contact  58 , of known type, with a cage  60  provided with two openings  62 , with tongues  64  for gripping the cable  66 , and with a sealing joint  68  with pads. 
     The preparation of the connector is carried out by practicing the following steps. 
     The connector receives, at the bottom of the throat  16 , a joint  40 , in this instance a flat joint, which covers the groove  42 . 
     This joint comes into line with the junction of the central body with the bottom of the throat  16  by its internal side and in line with the internal surface of the skirt  14  by its exterior plate. 
     The bearing regions  43  of this joint are received in recesses, of conjugated profile, which result from the junction between the central block  12  and each protective cover  29 . 
     Then the central body  12 , formed by molding, is provided with the front grill which is disposed in the pre-insertion position in which the tooth  53 - 1  coacts with the recess  53 - 2 . 
     This sealed connector receives two contacts, such as  58 , each introduced into a recess  18  of the central block. These contacts come into abutment in the recesses  18  and in this position the openings  62  come to face the locking catches  28 . 
     The joint  68  of each contact ensures sealing against the penetration of projections or of foreign bodies, by the lower portion of the central body. 
     The front grill  44  is then moved into the insertion position by pressing and each tooth  53 - 1  clicks into the recess  53 - 3  in the lower position. 
     By translation in the direction of plugging in, symbolized by the arrow  70 , the front grill ensures, by complete insertion, several functions. First, the locking fingers  56  act against the catches and press them against the contacts by penetrating a recess, made at the same time as the catch, in the openings  62 , which immobilizes in translation the contacts in their recesses  18 . The two central fingers bear one against the other to generate a suitable overpressure, whilst the end fingers bear on the internal surface of the protective covers  29 . The protection of the end catches will be seen to take place by these covers. 
     The four bearing tongues  54  will also slide in the corresponding angles formed by the intersections of the central body  12  and the protective covers  29 , this step being visible particularly in FIGS. 8A and 9A. 
     The front grill having been totally inserted, has been displaced in translation until the front plate  46  comes into abutment against the central body, more particularly along the height of the thick walls  20 . 
     In this position, the bearing tongues  54 , as shown in FIG. 9B, are located immediately above the joint  40 , generating an expansion space  55 , which avoids blocking it and permits it to undergo certain deformations without giving rise to movement of the front grill. 
     It will be noted that the central body forms a continuous assembly with the front grill, without projecting elements, neither along its periphery, nor along the top. Thus, the four bearing tongues are integrated into the contour of the central body. 
     The connector is then adapted to receive a plug  72  as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B. 
     The plug  72  has a profile generally conjugated with that of the connector. 
     This plug comprises a body  74  which is prolonged by two coaxial walls  76  and  78 , internally and externally, provided to engagement respectively within the throat  16  and with the outside of the skirt  14  of the connector. 
     The internal wall  76  has a bevelled end  80  on the one hand to facilitate introduction into the throat  16  and on the other hand to bear against the joint  40  so as to effect the deformation of this joint, which takes the hollow form shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B. Thus, under the exerted pressure, the joint deforms and bends slightly into the groove  42  provided for this purpose at the bottom of the throat. 
     There is not only contact but also the formation of a baffle which reinforces the sealing in the plane of the joint. 
     This internal wall thus covers the central body  12 . It will be noted that this central internal wall, during introduction of the plug, cannot damage the end catches  28  which are protected by the protective covers  29  and generally by the front grill. 
     This grill serves also to guide the electrical contact blades of the plug, not shown for simplicity of the drawings, through the holes  48  provided in the front plate  46 . 
     The external wall  78  comprises catches  82  adapted to coact with the windows  36  of the resilient tongues  34  of the skirt  14  of the connector. 
     The snap-in operation is facilitated by the fact that the plug is already guided by the internal and external walls. It thus suffices to exert a supplemental pressure to compress the joint  40  by the internal wall  76 , until the catches hook into the windows  36 . The bevel  38  permits easily spacing the catches  82  during introduction. 
     When the plug is to be withdrawn from the connector, it suffices to press on the projecting resilient tongues  34 , toward the skirt, to disengage the catches  82 . If needed, pulling on the two connector elements permits disconnection. 
     It will thus be seen that the joint  40 , although pressed by the internal wall  76  of the plug, remains in place at the bottom of the throat  16 , even if it is subjected to suction or adhesive effects with the plug. The joint is maintained in place by the bearing tongues  54  of the front grill  44 . 
     The front grill  44  cannot be withdrawn during disengagement of the plug outside the connector because no element projects outside the profile of the central block  12  and the inserted positioning means  53  hold the grill. On the other hand, as may be needed, after disconnection of the plug, a specific pull on the front grill ensures its retraction into the pre-insertion position and permits freeing the female contacts. 
     As to the joint, the described example has a flat one, but it is possible to provide an identical arrangement with a sleeve type joint which would surround the central body. In this case, the internal portion of this sleeve should carry the bearing regions of the same type as the bearing zones  43  to receive the corresponding bearing tongues of the front grill.