Patent Description:
Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) require methods to ensure that an electrical connector with wires is properly connected with a mating connector. To ensure the connection system is properly mated, a connector position assurance device (CPA) that is movable from a pre-staged position to a staged position only when the connector and mating connector are fully mated is provided. However, assembly operators may mate the connectors but fail to move the CPA to the staged position, thereby failing to assure that the connector is properly connected with the mating connector. In order to address this problem, OEMs require a way to verify that the connection system is fully mated and the CPA is in the staged position.

Some connection systems or connector assemblies include a recordable feature that is used to record and log a presence, position, characteristic, or other features of the connector assembly during a manufacturing process or an assembly process that verifies proper mating of the connector assembly. It may be useful to record that the connector assembly is properly mated to verify that a proper electrical connection has been made in the assembly process and/or to verify the presence of the connector assembly in a larger product that is being assembled, such as an automobile or an appliance. Such recorded data may then be stored in a database.

Publication <CIT> discloses a connector comprising a connector body having a mating interface configured to engage a complementary mating connector, a first indicator feature carried by the connector body, the first indicator feature having a first partial visual identifier disposed thereon, and a second indicator feature carried by the connector body having a second partial visual identifier disposed thereon, wherein the first and second indicator features are movable relative to each other between a separated position and a joined position. The first and second indicator feature form a complete visual identifier only when in the joined position, wherein the first and second indicator features are in the separated position when the connector body is not fully mated relative to the mating connector, and wherein the first and second indicator features are in the joined position responsive to the connector body being fully mated to the mating connector.

Preferred embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

In the various illustrated embodiment, similar elements share the last two digits of the reference numbers.

A connector assembly <NUM> is illustrated in <FIG>. The connector assembly <NUM> includes an indicium <NUM>, e.g., a two-dimensional barcode that can be used to automatically verify and record a first housing <NUM> of the connector assembly <NUM> being fully mated with a second housing <NUM> of the connector assembly <NUM>. An optical scanning device, hereafter referred to as a bar code reader, that is used to read the indicium <NUM> needs unrestricted free space, hereafter referred to as a "quiet zone" <NUM> around the indicium <NUM> in order to successfully read the indicium <NUM>. The quiet zone <NUM> is a zone or area surrounding or partially surrounding a barcode or 2D symbol that must be kept free of text, marks, or obstacles (also referred to as the "no-print zone"). All barcode readers have tolerances for minimum allowable quiet zone size. This quiet zone or space provides separation from surrounding marks, allowing the reader to "see" the barcode in its entirety. In ID barcodes, the quiet zone lies to the left and right ends of the barcode. As a general rule, a width of the quiet zone on the left and right sides should be a minimum of <NUM> times the width of the narrowest bar in the ID barcode. In 2D barcodes, the quiet zone is the space surrounding the entire barcode. Quiet zone requirements for 2D barcodes are prescribed by the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM), which specifies at least a width of one of the smallest elements (or cells) on each side of the 2D barcode. For best results with large 2D barcodes, it is typically recommended that the quiet zone be <NUM>% of the barcode height or width in the X (longitudinal) and Y (lateral) axes, whichever is smaller.

In the illustrated example, the connector assembly <NUM> is an electrical connector assembly comprising a first connector that is configured to be directly mated to a second or mating connector. The first connector includes the first housing <NUM> and the second connector includes the second housing <NUM>. The first and second housings <NUM>, <NUM> contain electrical terminals (not shown) that are configured to make electrical connections between wires, circuit board traces, etc. The first housing <NUM> defines the indicium <NUM>, and a movable member <NUM> defines a first aperture <NUM>. The first aperture <NUM> is sized such that the indicium <NUM> is visible through the first aperture <NUM> when the movable member <NUM> is in a pre-staged position <NUM> shown in <FIG>. Preferably, the indicium <NUM> is fully visible through the first aperture <NUM> when the movable member <NUM> is in the pre-staged position. Even though the indicium <NUM> is fully visible when the movable member <NUM> is in the pre-staged position <NUM>, the first aperture <NUM> is sized such that the movable member <NUM> restricts or intrudes upon the quiet zone <NUM> around the indicium <NUM> such that the contrast between the outer edge of the indicium <NUM> and the space around the indicium <NUM> is low or inconsistent, see <FIG>, thereby making the indicium <NUM> illegible to the optical scanning device.

The movable member <NUM> moves or is movable to a staged position <NUM>, illustrated in <FIG>, as the first and second housings <NUM>, <NUM>, are connected together and fully mated. In the staged position <NUM>, the indicium <NUM> is fully visible through a second aperture <NUM> in a rotating gear member <NUM>, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. The second aperture <NUM> is sized such that the movable member <NUM> provides adequate clearance of the quiet zone <NUM> around the indicium <NUM> thereby allowing the indicium <NUM> to be legible to the optical scanning device as shown in <FIG>. In some embodiments the second aperture <NUM> is larger than the first aperture <NUM>.

The rotating gear member <NUM> also defines a third aperture <NUM> shown in <FIG> that is aligned with the indicium <NUM> and the first aperture <NUM> in the movable member <NUM> when the rotating gear member <NUM> is in a first rotated position and the movable member <NUM> is in the pre-staged position <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, thereby allowing the indicium <NUM> to be visible through the first aperture <NUM> and the third aperture <NUM>. The second aperture <NUM> of the rotating gear member <NUM> is aligned with the indicium <NUM> when the rotating gear member <NUM> is in a second rotated position and the movable member <NUM> is in the staged position shown in <FIG>, thereby allowing the indicium <NUM> to be visible through the second aperture <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the third aperture <NUM> is moved away from the indicium <NUM> when the rotating gear member <NUM> is in the second rotated position.

In an alternative embodiment, the indicium may be printed on a movable member, e.g., a CPA device, and the connector housing may define a first aperture in which the indicium is fully visible when the movable member is in the pre-staged position. This first aperture is sized to restrict the quiet zone around the indicium such that the contrast between the outer edge of the indicium and the quiet zone around the indicium is low or inconsistent, thereby making the indicium illegible to the optical scanning device. The connector housing also defines a second aperture in which the indicium is fully visible when the movable member is in the staged position. This second aperture is sized such that the connector housing provides adequate clearance of the quiet zone around the indicium thereby allowing the indicium to be legible to the optical scanning device.

In another alternative embodiment, the indicium may be printed on the first housing <NUM> and a movable member of the second housing <NUM> may define a first aperture in which the indicium is fully visible when the movable member is in a pre-staged position. This first aperture is sized such that the movable member of the second housing <NUM> restricts the quiet zone <NUM> around the indicium such that the contrast between the outer edge of the indicium and the space around the indicium is low or inconsistent, thereby making the indicium illegible to the optical scanning device. The movable member also defines a second aperture in which the indicium is fully visible when the movable member is in a staged position. This second aperture is sized such that the movable member of the second housing <NUM> provides adequate clearance of the quiet zone <NUM> around the indicium thereby allowing the indicium to be legible to the optical scanning device.

In yet another alternative embodiment, the indicium may be printed on the second housing <NUM> and a movable member of the first housing <NUM> may define a first aperture in which the indicium is fully visible when the movable member is in a pre-staged position. This first aperture is sized such that the movable member of the first housing <NUM> restricts the quiet zone <NUM> around the indicium such that the contrast between the outer edge of the indicium and the space around the indicium is low or inconsistent, thereby making the indicium illegible to the optical scanning device. The movable member also defines a second aperture in which the indicium is fully visible when the movable member is in a staged position. This second aperture is sized such that the movable member of the first housing <NUM> provides adequate clearance of the quiet zone <NUM> around the indicium to allow the indicium to be legible to the optical scanning device.

illustrate an alternative connector assembly <NUM> having an indicium <NUM> imprinted on a first connector housing <NUM>. When a movable member <NUM>, in this non-limiting example a CPA device, of the first connector housing <NUM> is in a pre-staged position as shown in <FIG>, the movable member <NUM> is located adjacent at least two edges of the indicium <NUM>, thereby restricting the quiet zone <NUM> around the indicium <NUM> and making it illegible to an optical scanning device. When the first connector housing <NUM> is mated to a second connector housing (not shown) and the movable member <NUM> is in a staged position, as shown in <FIG>, the movable member <NUM> is moved away from the indicium <NUM> such that the movable member <NUM> provides adequate clearance of the quiet zone <NUM> around the indicium <NUM> and making it legible to the optical scanning device.

<FIG> illustrate the various elements of a 2D bar code and the quiet zone <NUM> needed for the bar code to be legible.

<FIG> illustrate two different ways that the quiet zone <NUM> around a 2D bar code can be restricted to make the 2D bar code illegible to an optical scanning device.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the inventors have also discovered that legibility of a bar code is affected by the height in the Z (vertical) axis of the movable member <NUM> bordering the quiet zone <NUM>, even if the movable member <NUM> is outside of the quiet zone <NUM> of the bar code <NUM>. The bar code <NUM> is rendered illegible to barcode readers when the thickness of the movable member <NUM> exceeds a height threshold <NUM>. The inventors have also found that this height threshold <NUM> is dependent upon the barcode reading technology that is used to read the bar code <NUM>. This may also be implemented by varying the thickness of the movable member <NUM> around the first aperture <NUM> and the thickness of the rotating gear member <NUM> around the second aperture <NUM>. Examples of two different connector types employing this feature are shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. In <FIG> and <FIG>, the movable members <NUM> are in the pre-staged position and are outside the quiet zone around the bar code <NUM>. Nonetheless, the bar code <NUM> is rendered illegible to the optical scanning device due to the height of the movable members <NUM>. In <FIG> and <FIG>, the movable members <NUM> are in the staged position and are outside the quiet zone around the bar code <NUM>. With the movable members <NUM> in the staged position the bar code <NUM> is legible to the optical scanning device.

While the example presented herein is directed to an electrical connector assembly, alternative embodiments of the connector assembly may be envisioned that are configured to interconnect fiber optic cables, pneumatic tubes, hydraulic tubes, or a hybrid connector assembly having a combination of any of these types of conductors. In addition, while the indicium in the illustrated examples is a data matrix 2D bar code, in alternative embodiments the indicium may be other bar code types, such as linear bar code or a quick response (QR) code.

While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment(s), it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s), but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

As used herein, 'one or more' includes a function being performed by one element, a function being performed by more than one element, e.g., in a distributed fashion, several functions being performed by one element, several functions being performed by several elements, or any combination of the above.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. are, in some instances, used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. For example, a first contact could be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a first contact, without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments. The first contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the same contact.

The terminology used in the description of the various described embodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms "includes," "including," "comprises," and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term "if' is, optionally, construed to mean "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting," depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase "if it is determined" or "if [a stated condition or event] is detected" is, optionally, construed to mean "upon determining" or "in response to determining" or "upon detecting [the stated condition or event]" or "in response to detecting [the stated condition or event]," depending on the context.

Claim 1:
A connector assembly (<NUM>), comprising:
a first housing (<NUM>) having an indicium (<NUM>) imprinted thereon; and
a movable member (<NUM>) movable from a first position (<NUM>) configured to render the indicium (<NUM>) illegible to an optical scanning device to a second position (<NUM>) configured to render the indicium (<NUM>) legible to the optical scanning device, wherein the indicium (<NUM>) is visible when the movable member (<NUM>) is in the first position (<NUM>) and when the movable member (<NUM>) is in the second position (<NUM>),
characterized in that
the movable member (<NUM>) is configured to intrude into a quiet zone (<NUM>) around the indicium (<NUM>) when in the first position (<NUM>) and wherein the movable member (<NUM>) is outside of the quiet zone (<NUM>) when in the second position (<NUM>).