Safety locking means for industrial grade electrical connectors

In an electrical connector assembly comprising a male connector with at least one male contact and a surrounding insulative housing and a female connector with at least one female contact and a surrounding insulative housing, said connectors being adapted to be mated at their forward ends with said at least one male contact in mated relationship with said at least one female contact and the forward ends of said insulative housings in mated relationship, and a panel to which a first one of said connectors is mounted, the improvement comprising means to lock said connectors in said mated relationship, said locking means comprising a hollow shell having first and second open ends and a U-shaped clevis pin having a pair of legs connected at one end by a base portion, said first end of said shell having a laterally extending base member formed thereabout, said base member having a cavity formed therein, said first connector insulative housing having a laterally extending surrounding flange receivable within said cavity, said panel having a hole formed therein, said first connector having a rearward portion extending through said panel hole, fastening means attaching said shell base member to said panel with said insulative housing flange in compression between said base member and said panel so that said shell and said first connector are mounted on said panel with that part of said first connector within said shell being captively held therein and serving as a receptacle, a second one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said second end thereof and into mating relationship with said first connector, said shell near said second end thereof having first and second pairs of coaxial holes formed therein, each of said clevis pin legs being insertable in one of said first and second pairs of holes with that portion of each clevis pin leg extending between the holes of its respective pair thereof also extending into the interior of said shell and into engagement with said insulative housing of said second connector to lock said second connector in said shell and in said mating relationship with said first connector.

In an electrical connector assembly comprising a male connector with at least one male contact and a surrounding insulative housing and a female connector with at least one female contact and a surrounding insulative housing, said connectors being adapted to be mated at their forward ends with said at least one male contact in mated relationship with said at least one female contact and the forward ends of said insulative housings in mated relationship, the improvement comprising means to lock said connectors in said mated relationship, said locking means comprising a hollow shell having first and second open ends and a U-shaped clevis pin having a pair of legs connected at one end by a base portion, a first one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said first end thereof, means to captively maintain said first connector in said shell, a second one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said second end thereof and into mating relationship with said first connector, said shell near said second end thereof having first and second pairs of coaxial holes formed therein, each of said clevis pin legs being insertable in one of said first and second pairs of holes with that portion of each clevis pin leg extending between the holes of its respective pair thereof also extending into the interior of said shell and into engagement with said insulative housing of said second connector to lock said second connector in said shell and in said mating relaationship with said first connector, a pair of lug means on said shell so positioned with respect to said clevis pin that when said clevis pin is mounted in said first and second pairs of holes said base portion thereof lies between said lug means, each of said lug means having a perforation therethrough, locking means insertable through said lug means perforations and lockable therethrough, said locking means passing above said clevis pin base portion to prevent removal of said clevis pin from said first and second pairs of holes.

In an electrical connector assembly comprising a male connector with at least one male contact and a surrounding insulative housing and a female connector with at least one female contact and a surrounding insulating housing, said connectors being adapted to be mated at their forward ends with said at least one male contact in mated relationship with said at least one female contact and the forward ends of said insulative housings in mated relationship, said male and female connectors each terminating at least one cable length, said connectors forming an in-line connection when mated, the improvement comprising means to lock said connectors in said mated relationship, said locking means comprising a hollow shell having first and second open ends and first and second U-shaped clevis pins each having a pair of legs connected at one end by a base portion, a first one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said first end thereof, a second one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said second end thereof and into mating relationship with said first connector, said shell near said first end thereof having first and second pairs of coaxial holes formed therein, each of said legs of said first clevis pin being insertable in one of said first and second pairs of holes with that portion of each clevis pin leg extending between the holes of its respective pair thereof also extending into the interior of said shell and into engagement with said insulative housing of said first connector to lock said first connector in said shell and in mating relationship with said second connector, said shell near said second end thereof having third and fourth pairs of coaxial holes formed therein, each of said legs of said second clevis pin being insertable in one of said third and fourth pairs of holes with that portion of each leg of said second clevis pin extending between the holes of its respective pair thereof also extending into the interior of said shell and into engagement with said insulative housing of said second connector to lock said second connector in said shell and in said mating relationship with said first connector, a pair of lug means on said shell near each end thereof, each of said pairs of lug means being so positioned with respect to the adjacent one of said first and second clevis pins that when said adjacent clevis pin is mounted in its respective pairs of holes in said shell said base portion thereof lies between said pair of lug means, each lug means of said pairs thereof having a perforation therethrough, locking means for each of said pairs of lug means, each locking means being insertable through said lug means perforations of its respective lug means pair and lockable therethrough, said locking means passing above said base portion of its respective clevis pin to prevent removal of said clevis pin from its respective pair of holes.

In an electrical connector assembly comprising a male connector with at least one male contact and a surrounding insulative housing and a female connector with at least one female contact and a surrounding insulative housing, said connectors being adapted to be mated at their forward ends with said at least one male contact in mated relationship with said at least one female contact and the forward ends of said insulative housings in mated relationship, the improvement comprising means to lock said connectors in said mated relationship, said locking means comprising a hollow shell having first and second open end and a U-shaped clevis pin having a pair of legs connected at one end by a base portion, a first one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said first end thereof, means to captively maintain said first connector in said shell, a second one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said second end thereof and into mating relationship with said first connector, said second connector having at least one insert imbedded in the exterior surface of its insulative housing, at least one groove being formed in said at least one insert, said shell near said second end thereof having first and second pairs of coaxial holes formed therein, each of said clevis pin legs being insertable into one of said first and second pairs of holes with that portion of each clevis pin leg extending between the holes of its respective pair thereof also extending into the interior of said shell and into engagement with said at least one groove to lock said second connector in said shell and in said mating relationship with said first connector.

In an electrical connector assembly comprising a male connector with at least one male contact and a surrounding insulative housing and a female connector with at least one female contact and a surrounding insulative housing, said connectors being adapted to be mated at their forward ends with said at least one male contact in mated relationship with said at least one female contact and the forward ends of said insulative housings in mated relationship, said first and second connectors each terminating at least one cable length, said connectors forming an in-line connection when mated, the improvement comprising means to lock said connectors in said mated relationship, said locking means comprising a hollow shell having first and second open ends and first and second U-shaped clevis pins each having a pair of legs connected at one end by a base portion, a first one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said first end thereof, a second one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said second end thereof and into mating relationship with said first connector, at least one insert imbedded in the exterior surface of each of said insulative housings of said first and second connectors, at least one groove being formed in said at least one insert of each of said first and second connectors, said shell near said first end thereof having first and second pairs of coaxial holes formed therein, each of said legs of said first clevis pin being insertable into one of said first and second pairs of holes with that portion of each clevis pin leg extending between the holes of its respective pair thereof also extending into the interior of said shell and into engagement with said at least one groove of said first connector to lock said first connector in said shell and in said mating relationship with said second connector, said shell near said second end thereof having third and fourth pairs of coaxial holes formed therein, each of said legs of said second clevis pin being insertable in one of said third and fourth pairs of holes with that portion of each clevis pin leg extending between the holes of its respective pair thereof also extending into the interior of said shell and into engagement with said at least one groove of said second connector to lock said second connector in said shell and in said mating relationship with said first connector.

In an electrical connector assembly comprising a male connector with at least one male contact and a surrounding insulative housing and a female connector with at least one female contact and a surrounding insulative housing, said connectors being adapted to be mated at their forward ends with said at least one male contact in mated relationship with said at least one female contact and the forward ends of said insulative housings in mated relationship, the improvement comprising means to lock said connectors in said mated relationship, said locking means comprising a hollow shell having first and second open ends and at least one pin, a first one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said first end thereof, means to captively maintain said first connector in said shell, a second one of said connectors being partially insertable forward end foremost into said shell from said second end thereof and into mating relationship with said first connector, said shell near said second end thereof having first and second pairs of coaxial holes formed therein, said at least one pin being insertable in one of said first and second pairs of holes with that portion of said pin extending between the holes of that pair thereof in which the pin is located also extending into the interior of said shell and into engagement with said insulative housing of second connector to lock said second connector in said shell and in said mating relationship with said first connector.