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US 7,063,578 B2Granted
Electrical connector having improved terminal positioning assurance member
AssigneeTyco Electronics Canada, Ltd.
InventorKazuhiro Goto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electrical connector is shown having a connector housing and a terminal positioning assurance member. The housing has slots which co-exist in a parallel manner with terminal receiving passageways of the housing. The terminal positioning assurance member has leg portions receivable transversely of the slots, and the TPA is movable from a position where a primary latch in the connector can be biased into the slot to allow the insertion of a terminal into the cavity of the housing and the terminal positioning assurance member can be moved to a locked position, where legs of the TPA, which are movable within the slot, are moved behind the latch, preventing the movement of the latch members.
Claims27
An electrical connector, comprising:
- a housing having at least one terminal receiving cavity extending between a mating face and a terminal receiving face, a resilient latch extending from an internal sidewall of said at least one terminal receiving cavity, said latch being spaced from said internal sidewall to form a spacing for the resilient movement of said latch towards said internal sidewall;
- a slot extending through said housing and in a generally parallel manner with said cavity, and said slot being generally aligned with said spacing;
- an access opening extending transversely through said housing and into communication with said slot;
- a terminal positioning assurance member (TPA), comprised of at least a leg portion which is movable through said access opening and into said slot, said TPA being slidable between a position allowing flexure of said latch and a position into said spacing, preventing substantial flexing of said latch, and wherein the TPA further comprises a foot portion extending from said leg portion, said foot portion being profiled to extend under, and lock said TPA to said latch.
1 more element
An electrical connector, comprising:
- a housing having at least two terminal receiving cavities extending between a mating face and a terminal receiving face, a resilient latch extending from an internal sidewall of said terminal receiving cavities, said latch being spaced from said internal sidewall to form a spacing for the resilient movement of said latch towards said internal sidewall;
- a slot extending through said housing and in a generally parallel manner with each said cavity, and said slot being generally aligned with said spacing;
- an access opening extending transversely through said housing and into communication with said slot;
- a terminal positioning assurance member (TPA), comprised of at least two leg portions movable through said access opening and into said slots, with a bridge portion spanning said foot portions, said TPA being slidable between a position allowing flexure of said latch and a position into said spacing, preventing substantial flexing of said latch, wherein said bridge portion is profiled to lie adjacent to a top wall of said housing, and slide along the surface thereof in the sliding movement of said TPA.
1 more element
An electrical connector, comprising:
- a housing having at least one terminal receiving cavity extending between a mating face and a terminal receiving face;
- a resilient latch extending from an internal sidewall of said at least one terminal receiving cavity, said latch being spaced from said internal sidewall to form a spacing for the resilient movement of said latch towards said internal sidewall;
- a slot extending through said housing and into said cavity, said slot being generally aligned with said spacing;
- a terminal positioning assurance member (TPA), comprised of at least a leg portion which is movable into said slot and into said spacing, said TPA further comprising a foot portion extending from said leg portion, said foot portion being profiled to extend under, and lock said TPA to said resilient member, the TPA leg portion being movable in an insertion direction into the slot, and the foot portion preventing movement of the TPA in a direction opposite the insertion direction.
1 more element
An electrical connector, comprising:
- a housing having at least one terminal receiving cavity extending between a mating face and a terminal receiving face, a resilient latch extending from an internal sidewall of said at least one terminal receiving cavity, said latch being spaced from said internal sidewall to form a spacing for the resilient movement of said latch towards said internal sidewall;
- a terminal positioning assurance member (TPA), comprised of a first portion which prevents the latch from biasing inwardly, and a second portion which retains the TPA to the resilient latch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.