Electrical connector with secondary locking
AssigneeAMP Incorporated
InventorEarl J. Hayes, Sr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electrical connector assembly has a frame member which is positioned on a housing and is movable between an terminal insertion position and a terminal lock position. The frame member has resilient fingers with extend into terminal receiving cavities of the housing to properly position and maintain the terminals in the terminal receving cavities when the frame member is in the terminal lock position. The frame member has anti-rattle projections which cooperate with a panel when the assembly is mounted therein. The anti-rattle projections ensure that a positive electrical connection will be effected and maintained over time.
Claims15
An electrical connector assembly having a housing with terminal receiving cavities extending therethrough, terminals positioned in the terminal receiving cavities, a frame member which cooperates with the housing, the frame member is movable between an initial position in which the terminals are moved into the terminal receiving cavities and a final position in which the terminals are maintained in the terminal receiving cavities, the electrical connector assembly comprising:
- the frame member has a plurality of sets of resilient fingers which extend therefrom, the resilient fingers have free ends, respective resilient fingers of each set having webs provided at the free ends thereof which extend between and connect the respective resilient fingers of each set to each other,
- the housing has locking shoulders provided thereon, the locking shoulders are aligned with the webs, whereby the webs will cooperate with the locking shoulders to maintain the frame member in the initial position.
An electrical connector assembly having a housing with terminal receiving cavities extending therethrough, terminals positioned in the terminal receiving cavities, a frame member which cooperates with the housing, the frame member is movable between an initial position in which the terminals are moved into the terminal receiving cavities and a final position in which the terminals are maintained in the terminal receiving cavities, the electrical connector assembly comprising:
- the frame member has a plurality of sets of resilient fingers provided thereon, the resilient fingers have free ends with webs extending therefrom,
- the housing has locking shoulders provided on walls which extend between the terminal receiving cavities, the locking shoulders are aligned with the webs, whereby the webs of each resilient finger will cooperate with respective locking shoulders to maintain the frame member in the initial position.
A method of securing a frame member to a housing, the frame member having resilient fingers which are positioned in terminal receiving cavities of the housing, the method comprising the steps of:
- moving the frame member with resilient fingers extending therefrom into engagement with the housing,
- forcing the resilient fingers to cooperate with inclined surfaces to resiliently deform the resilient fingers,
- inserting free ends of the resilient fingers beyond the inclined surfaces to allow the resilient fingers to return to an unstressed position such that the resilient fingers engage shoulders of the inclined surfaces to position the frame member in an initial position relative to the housing,
- inserting terminals into the terminal receiving cavities, whereby the terminals will engage free ends of the resilient fingers, causing the resilient fingers to move to a stressed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.