Patent ID: 7351117

Claim:
An electrical connector assembly for a refrigerator door comprising: a substantially cylindrical plug subassembly having a front plug housing and a rear plug housing, the front plug housing and the rear plug housing positionable in a first staging configuration and a second staging configuration with respect to one another; a substantially cylindrical receptacle subassembly mateably connectable with the plug subassembly; and means for releaseably mating the plug and receptacle subassemblies to one another, wherein the receptacle subassembly includes a common receptacle channel for receiving the plug subassembly, wherein a plurality of male contacts are disposed within the common receptacle channel, and wherein the plug subassembly includes a plurality of female contacts individually having a mating end positioned within separate plug channels, the female contacts comprising a head section, and a neck section having a diameter smaller than the head section, wherein each female contact is configured to connect with a corresponding male contact when the plug and receptacle are mateably connected and wherein the plug is sized and dimensioned to fit through a refrigerator door hinge, and wherein the rear plug housing comprises a plurality of multi-fingered parapets extending forwardly away from the rear plug housing toward the front plug housing retracted around the neck section of the female contact.