Electrical connector assembly

An electrical connector assembly for mating with a mating connector comprising:

• a housing having spaced apart side walls;
• a first slide slideably supported in the housing and spaced inwardly from one of the side walls;
• a second slide slideably supported in the housing and spaced inwardly from the other of the side walls;
• the first and second slides each including at least one mating slot adapted to receive a mating portion of the mating connector;
• a slide assist lever pivotally interconnected with the housing and each of the slides and being operable to move the slides with respect to the housing to facilitate mating with the mating connector, the slide assist lever having a first arm and a spaced apart second arm, the first arm extending between the first slide and the adjacent side wall of the housing, and the second arm extending between the second slide and the adjacent side wall of the housing;
• the housing including a first pivot pin extending from one side wall and engaging the first arm, and a second pivot pin extending from the other side wall and engaging the second arm,
• the housing including a first track slidably supporting the first slide, and a second track slidably supporting the second slide,
• each arm terminating in a tip segment and including an abutment disposed adjacent the tip segment where the abutment extends outwardly from the tip segment relative to the axis along the length of the arm, and
• each track defining a support slot that is sized to provide clearance to the tip segment but not the abutment so that the tip segment passes through the support slot until the abutment abuts the track.

An electrical connector assembly for mating with a mating connector comprising:

• a housing having spaced apart side walls;
• a first slide slideably supported in the housing near one of the side walls;
• a second slide slideably supported in the housing near the other of the side walls;
• the first and second slides each including at least one mating slot adapted to receive a mating portion of the mating connector;
• a slide assist lever pivotally interconnected with the housing and each of the slides and being operable to move the slides with respect to the housing to facilitate mating with the mating connector, the slide assist lever having a first arm pivotally connected to the first slide and a spaced apart second arm pivotally connected to the second slide;
• the housing including a first pivot pin extending from one side wall and engaging the first arm, and a second pivot pin extending from the other side wall and engaging the second arm;
• and
• a retaining rib extending across at least a portion of each of the mating slots in the slides.

A method for assembling an electrical connector that includes a housing for supporting a plurality of wires, first and second slides, and a slide assist lever having arms that are pivotally interconnected with the housing and the slides for moving the slides with respect to the housing, the method including the steps of:

• inserting the arms of the slide assist lever into the housing to a predetermined assembly position;
• supporting the slide assist lever with a portion of the housing in the assembly position;
• inserting the slides into the housing;
• moving the slide assist lever from the assembly position into engagement with the slides wherein a portion of each arm of the slide assist lever mates with a portion of each slide.