Patent ID: 7465192

Claim:
An in-line sealed electrical connector apparatus, comprising: a female connector assembly including a female housing, a female wire seal and a female cover, the female housing extending along a longitudinal axis and generally configured in cross-section in a generally D-shape to define a longitudinally-extending generally rectangularly-shaped female connector passageway, the female wire seal and the female cover sized and adapted to be received by the female connector passageway in a close-fitting relationship; and a male connector assembly including a male housing, a retention clip; a male housing seal defining a male housing seal opening, a male wire seal and a male cover, the male housing extending along the longitudinal axis to define a longitudinally-extending male connector passageway, the male housing having a female-receiving housing portion defining a female-receiving connector passageway portion of the male connector passageway and a sealed housing portion defining a seal-receiving connector passageway portion of the male connector passageway, the female-receiving housing portion and the sealed housing portion being integrally connected to each other, the female-receiving connector passageway portion sized and adapted to receive the retention clip and the male housing seal in a close-fitting relationship, the seal-receiving connector passageway portion sized and adapted to receive the male wire seal in a close-fitting relationship, the male cover operative to cap the sealed male housing portion adjacent the male wire seal, the retention clip formed in a generally U-shaped configuration to define a generally D-shaped retention clip duct extending longitudinally through the retention clip, the generally D-shaped retention clip duct sized to slidably receive the female housing such that, upon engaging the female connector assembly and the male connector assembly, the female housing is first received through the generally D-shaped retention clip duct and is thereafter inserted through the male housing seal opening.