Electrical connector having a protective door element
AssigneeADC GmbH
InventorScott David Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrical connector including a housing having a socket shaped to at least partially receive a mating plug; a plurality of electrically conductive contact elements at least partially extending into said socket for effecting electrical connection with corresponding electrically conductive contacts of the plug; and a door element coupled to the housing, wherein the door element is mounted for slidable movement along a nonlinear path between an open position whereby the socket is laid open for engagement by the mating plug and a closed position whereby access to the socket is inhibited.
Claims29
An electrical connector including:
- (a) a housing having a socket shaped to at least partially receive a mating plug;
- (b) a plurality of electrically conductive contact elements at least partially extending into said socket for effecting electrical connection with corresponding electrically conductive contacts of the plug;
- and
- (c) a door element coupled to the housing,
- wherein the door element is mounted for slidable movement along a nonlinear path between an open position whereby the socket is laid open for engagement by the mating plug and a closed position whereby access to the socket is inhibited;
- wherein the door element includes guiding lugs for guiding the mating plug into the socket during insertion, wherein the guiding lugs include locking surfaces for engaging with a locking clip on the mating plug when the mating plug is inserted in the socket.
A door element for an electrical connector, including:
- (a) a body defining a generally planar exterior surface for inhibiting access to a socket of the electrical connector;
- (b) two pairs of tracking lugs extending from opposite sides of the body for at least partially extending into corresponding guides of the electrical connector;
- and
- (c) guiding lugs arranged on an interior surface of the body,
- wherein the tracking lugs facilitate translation of the door element to open the socket to receive a mating connector plug or to close the socket to inhibit access to the socket by said plug,
- wherein the guiding lugs are configured to guide the mating plug into the socket during insertion, wherein the guiding lugs include locking surfaces for engaging with a locking clip on the mating plug when the mating plug is inserted.
An electrical connector including:
- (a) a housing defining a socket configured to at least partially receive a mating plug;
- (b) a plurality of electrically conductive contact elements at least partially extending into the socket for effecting electrical connection with corresponding electrically conductive contacts of the mating plug;
- (c) a door element coupled to the housing, the door element being moveable relative to the housing along a nonlinear path between an open position and a closed position, wherein the socket is laid open for engagement with the mating plug when the door element is in the open position and wherein access to the socket is inhibited when the door element is in the closed position;
- and
- (d) a torsion spring that applies a force biasing the door element to the closed position, the torsion spring having a first leg substantially retained in the housing and a second leg substantially retained in the door element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.