Patent ID: 6851987

Claim:
A connector, comprising: a housing having a terminal accommodating portion with opposite front and rear ends and cavities extending between the ends for receiving terminal fittings along a connecting direction, a receptacle surrounding the front end of the terminal accommodating portion; a separate front member having opposite front and rear faces and being insertable along an inserting direction into the receptacle until the rear face of the front member substantially abuts the front end of the terminal accommodating portion; a resiliently deflectable lock formed on at least one of the housing and the front member and at least one locking projection provided on the other of the housing and the front member, the resiliently deflectable lock being engageable with the locking projection to hold the front member in at least one selected position relative to the housing; and guiding means between the front member and the receptacle and spaced from the resilient lock and the locking projection for guiding the front member into the receptacle substantially parallel with the connecting direction and preventing misalignment in response to forces generated when the resilient lock engages the locking projection, the guiding means comprising a plurality of pairs of ribs and grooves, the ribs, the grooves, the resiliently deflectable lock and the locking projection all being disposed relative to one another so that the ribs and the grooves engage one another before the resiliently deflectable lock engages the locking projection for preventing the moving plate from tilting when the lock engages the locking projection, the rib and the groove in a first of said pairs having a cross section different from a rib and groove in a second of said pairs to ensure connection in only one orientation.