Patent ID: 7431605

Claim:
A connector position assurance apparatus, comprising: a header part having a header outer surface and a header inner surface, the header inner surface defining an interior connector-receiving chamber, the header part having a catch connected to and projecting from the header outer surface; an electrically-conductive element having a main body portion and at least one electrical contact portion integrally formed with the main body portion, the electrically-conductive element being connected to the header part at the main body portion, the at least one electrical contact portion movable between a relaxed state and a stressed state and resiliently biased to the relaxed state; a connector part having an outer connector part surface and sized and adapted to be slidably received by the interior connector-receiving chamber of the header part and having at least one polarity tab and a latch member connected to the outer connector part surface, the latch member having a catch-receiving chamber formed therein and pivotably movable to and between a relaxed condition and a flexed condition, the latch member resiliently biased to the relaxed condition, wherein, as the connector part is received by the interior connector-receiving chamber in a connector receiving direction, the at least one polarity tab contacts the at least one electrical contact portion causing the at least one electrical contact portion to move from the relaxed state to the stressed state while the latch member slides onto and over the catch causing the latch member to pivotably move from the relaxed condition to the flexed condition and then back to the relaxed condition again when the catch-receiving chamber receives the catch thereby releasably locking the connector part and the header part together while the at least one polarity tab retains the at least one electrical contact portion in the stressed state.