Patent ID: 7811113

Claim:
An electrical connector, comprising: a housing comprising an inner bore and an open end providing access to the inner bore, the inner bore having an inner surface and a bore retaining groove disposed in the inner surface; a snuffer tube comprising opposing first and second ends and an ablative material extending substantially between the first and second ends; a piston-contact element comprising a conductive member adapted to engage an electrical contact of another electrical connector to complete a circuit that includes each electrical connector, the piston-contact element coupled to the first end of the snuffer tube and slidable in conjunction with the snuffer tube, the piston-contact element being substantially within the inner bore of the housing, through the open end, the piston-contact element being axially movable within the connector from a retracted position to an advanced position in response to arc extinguishing gas provided by the ablative material of the snuffer tube upon a fault condition, the second end of the snuffer tube being disposed (a) substantially within the inner bore of the housing in the retracted position and (b) substantially outside of the inner bore of the housing in the advanced position, and the piston-contact element comprising an outer surface having an element retaining groove and a lockout member; and a resilient member received in each of the retaining grooves to releasably retain the piston-contact element in the retracted position, wherein, after the piston-contact element moves from the retracted position to the advanced position, the lockout member engages the resilient member to retain the piston-contact element in the advanced position and prevents the piston-contact element from being moved from the advanced position to the retracted position.