Hermaphroditic electrical connection system with mating assist device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10326237-B1
Application number	US-201815987387-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	May 23, 2018
Priority date	May 23, 2018
Publication date	Jun 18, 2019
Grant date	Jun 18, 2019

Abstract

A connection system includes a first electrical connector, a second electrical connector, and a mating assist device. The first electrical connector includes a first housing that has a mating end. The second electrical connector includes a second housing that has a mating end. The second housing is a duplicate of the first housing. The mating end of the first housing is configured to mate to the mating end of the second housing during a mating operation. The mating assist device is mounted to the first housing and is configured to engage catch features protruding from an outer surface of the second housing. The mating assist device is configured to be rotated or pivoted relative to both the first and second housings to linearly pull the second electrical connector towards the first electrical connector during the mating operation via the catch features.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A connection system comprising:
a first electrical connector including a first housing that has a mating end;
a second electrical connector including a second housing that has a mating end, wherein the second housing is a duplicate of the first housing, the mating end of the first housing configured to mate to the mating end of the second housing during a mating operation, wherein the first and second electrical connectors include protrusions located at identical positions along an outside surface of the first and second housings; and
a mating assist device mounted to one of the first and second housings by attachment with the protrusions of either the first or second housing, the mating assist device being configured to engage the protrusions of the other of the first or second housing, wherein the mating assist device is configured to be rotated or pivoted relative to both the first and second housings to linearly pull the second electrical connector towards the first electrical connector during a mating operation via engagement of the unattached portion of the mating assist device with the protrusions.

2. The connection system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second housings has a cable end opposite the respective mating end and defines a linear cavity from the mating end to the cable end.

3. The connection system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second housing each have a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein the first and second housings are configured to mate together in an inverted orientation such that the first side of the first housing generally aligns with the second side of the second housing and the second side of the first housing generally aligns with the first side of the second housing.

4. The connection system of claim 1 , wherein the mating assist device is a lever.

5. The connection system of claim 4 , wherein lever is pivotable between an unlock position and a lock position, wherein a handle of the lever is located more proximate to an outer surface of the first housing on which the lever is mounted in the lock position than in the unlock position.

6. The connection system of claim 4 , wherein the lever is mounted to the first housing via the protrusions on the first housing and pivots about the protrusions on the first housing, and wherein the lever engages the protrusions on the second housing such that movement of the lever causes the first and second housings to be mover linearly towards one another.

7. The connection system of claim 1 , wherein the protrusions on the first and second housing comprise a pair of protrusions, wherein each protrusion is spaced apart around a perimeter of the respective first and second housing.

8. The connection system of claim 1 , wherein the protrusions are teeth on a linear rack bar protruding from the outer surface of the second housing, and the mating assist device includes a curved pinion segment having multiple teeth that engage the teeth of the linear rack bar.

9. The connection system of claim 1 , wherein the mating assist device is a twist lock sleeve that circumferentially surrounds the first and second housings at a mating interface, the twist lock sleeve defining cam slots along an interior surface thereof that are configured to receive the protrusions of the second housing therein.

10. The connection system of claim 9 , wherein the cam slots extend from a mating end of the twist lock sleeve along respective slot trajectories, each of the slot trajectories having both an axial dimension and a circumferential dimension.

11. An electrical connector comprising:
a housing defining a mating end and holding one or more electrical contacts, the housing including multiple catch features protruding from an outer surface of the housing, wherein the housing is hermaphroditic such that the mating end of the housing is configured to mate with a mating housing that is a duplicate of the housing and has mating catch features matching the catch features of the housing; and
a mating assist device mounted to the housing proximate to the mating end, the mating assist device configured to rotate or pivot relative to the housing during a mating operation to engage the mating catch features and linearly pull the mating housing towards the housing, wherein the mating assist device is mountable with the mating catch features of either housing to engage the mating catch features of the other of the housing.

12. The electrical connector of claim 11 , wherein the mating assist device is mounted to the housing via the catch features that protrude from the outer surface of the housing.

13. The electrical connector of claim 12 , wherein the mating assist device is a lever and the catch features of the housing are protrusions, the lever configured to pivot about the protrusions, wherein the lever defines cam slots that are configured to receive protrusions therein that define the mating catch features.

14. The electrical connector of claim 12 , wherein the mating assist device is a twist lock sleeve and the catch features of the housing are protrusions, the twist lock sleeve defining an annular groove along an interior surface thereof that receives the protrusions of the housing therein to allow the twist lock sleeve to rotate relative to the housing, the twist lock sleeve also defining cam slots along the interior surface that are configured to receive protrusions therein that define the mating catch features.

15. The electrical connector of claim 11 , wherein the mating assist device is a lever that is mounted to the housing via axles that are discrete and spaced apart from the catch features of the housing.

16. The electrical connector of claim 15 , wherein the catch features of the housing are teeth on a linear rack bar that do not engage the lever mounted to the housing, wherein the lever includes a curved pinion segment having multiple teeth configured to engage teeth of a linear rack bar that define the mating catch features.

17. An electrical connector comprising:
a housing defining a mating end and holding one or more electrical contacts, the housing including multiple protrusions protruding from an outer surface of the housing along opposite sides of the housing, wherein the housing is hermaphroditic such that the mating end of the housing is configured to mate with a mating housing that is a duplicate of the housing and has mating protrusions matching the protrusions of the housing,
a lever mounted to the housing via the protrusions and pivotable about the protrusions, the lever defining cam slots configured to receive the mating protrusions therein during a mating operation to linearly pull the mating housing towards the housing as the lever is pivoted relative to the housing, wherein the lever is mountable with the protrusions of either housing to engage the protrusions of the other of the housing.

18. The electrical connector of claim 17 , wherein the lever includes two arms, each of the arms defining an aperture that receives a corresponding one of the protrusions of the housing therein to mount the lever to the housing, each of the arms defining one of the cam slots along an inner surface thereof that faces the housing, the cam slots spaced apart from the apertures.

19. The electrical connector of claim 18 , wherein each of the cam slots has a curved trajectory that extends from an open end of the cam slot to a closed end of the cam slot, wherein a radial distance between the closed end and the aperture of the corresponding arm is less th

Assignees

• Te Connectivity Corp

Inventors

• Campos Tyler Anton
• Stack Daniel Franklin

Classifications

• H01R24/84

  Hermaphroditic coupling devices · CPC title

• H01R13/62938 Primary

  Pivoting lever comprising own camming means · CPC title