Connector assembly and connector product

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9608373-B2
Application number	US-201314405366-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 5, 2013
Priority date	Jun 8, 2012
Publication date	Mar 28, 2017
Grant date	Mar 28, 2017

Abstract

A connector assembly comprising: a first connector having a housing on which an elastic locking piece is suspended; a second connector having a housing on which a locking member mating with the elastic locking piece is formed so as to lock the first and second connectors together when the first and second connectors are mated together; and a connector position assurance device having a first stopper and a second stopper behind the first stopper. A first mating stopper is formed on the elastic locking piece, and a second mating stopper is formed on the housing of the first connector. The connector position assurance device only can be inserted into a first position under the elastic locking piece of the first connector when the first and second connectors are separate from each other. At the first position, the first stopper of the connector position assurance device is abutted against the first mating stopper of the first connector to prevent the connector position assurance device from being further pushed forward, and at the first position, the second stopper of the connector position assurance device is abutted against the second mating stopper of the first connector to prevent the connector position assurance device from being pulled out backward.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A connector assembly comprising:
a first connector having a first housing on which an elastic locking piece is suspended;
a second connector having a second housing on which a locking member mated with the elastic locking piece is formed so as to lock the first and second connectors together when the first and second connectors are mated with each other; and
a connector position assurance device having a first stopper and a second stopper behind the first stopper,
wherein a first mating stopper is formed on the elastic locking piece, and a second mating stopper is formed on the first housing of the first connector,
wherein the connector position assurance device is configured to be inserted into a first position under the elastic locking piece of the first connector when the first and second connectors are separate from each other,
wherein at the first position, the first stopper of the connector position assurance device is abutted against the first mating stopper of the first connector to prevent the connector position assurance device from being further pushed forward, and at the first position, the second stopper of the connector position assurance device is abutted against the second mating stopper of the first connector to prevent the connector position assurance device from being pulled out backward;
wherein the first mating stopper is configured to be an elastic finger formed integrally with the elastic locking piece and being movable independently from the remainder of the elastic locking piece.

2. The connector assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a first stopper release member is formed on the second housing of the second connector;
wherein the first stopper release member of the second connector is constructed to jack up the first mating stopper of the elastic locking piece of the first connector to separate the first mating stopper from the first stopper when the first and second connectors are mated with each other, so that the connector position assurance device is allowed to be further pushed forward from the first position to a second position;
wherein at the second position, the elastic locking piece of the first connector is held in a locked state, where the elastic locking piece of the first connector is locked with the locking member of the second connector, by the connector position assurance device.

3. The connector assembly according to claim 2 , wherein a first positioning feature is formed on the connector position assurance device, and a first mating positioning feature is formed on the first housing of the first connector,
wherein when the connector position assurance device is inserted into the first position, the first positioning feature of the connector position assurance device is mated with the first mating positioning feature of the first connector.

4. The connector assembly according to claim 3 , wherein a second positioning feature is formed on the connector position assurance device behind the first positioning feature,
wherein when the connector position assurance device is pushed forward from the first position to the second position, the first positioning feature of the connector position assurance device is disengaged from the first mating positioning feature of the first connector, and the second positioning feature of the connector position assurance device is mated with the first mating positioning feature of the first connector.

5. The connector assembly according to claim 4 , wherein the connector position assurance device comprising:
a pair of elongated arms separated from each other by a spacing slot; and
a bottom plate recessedly disposed between the pair of elongated arms at a rear portion of the spacing slot.

6. The connector assembly according to claim 5 , wherein the first stopper is configured to be a protrusion projected upward from the bottom plate; and
wherein the first mating stopper is formed in an opening of the elastic locking piece and extending aslant and downward beyond a bottom surface of the elastic locking piece.

7. The connector assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the second stopper is configured to be an elastic finger formed in an opening of the bottom plate of the connector position assurance device and extending aslant and downward beyond a bottom surface of the bottom plate; and
wherein the second mating stopper is configured to be a protrusion projected upward from the first housing of the first connector.

8. The connector assembly according to claim 7 , wherein a first chamber defined by a pair of side walls and a top wall is formed on the first housing of the first connector; and
wherein the elastic locking piece is suspended in the first chamber from the top wall.

9. The connector assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the first positioning feature is configured to be a pair of recesses formed in outer side walls of the pair of elongated arms, respectively; and
wherein the first mating positioning feature is configured to be a pair of protrusions formed on the pair of side walls in the first chamber, respectively.

10. The connector assembly according to claim 9 , wherein the second positioning feature is configured to be a pair of mating protrusions formed on the outer side walls of the pair of elongated arms and mated with the pair of protrusions on the side walls in the first chamber, respectively.

11. The connector assembly according to claim 10 , wherein a guide groove is formed in a rear portion of the bottom plate of the connector position assurance device and configured to be mated with the second mating stopper of the housing of the first connector to guide the insertion of the connector position assurance device.

12. The connector assembly according to claim 11 , wherein a pair of first locking hooks are formed on free ends of the pair of elongated arms of the connector position assurance device, respectively;
wherein at least one second locking hook is formed on a front end of the elastic locking piece of the first connector; and
wherein when the first and second connectors are mated with each other and when the connector position assurance device is inserted into the second position, the second locking hook of the elastic locking piece of the first connector is locked with the locking member of the second connector, and the first locking hooks of the connector position assurance device is locked with the second locking hook of the elastic locking piece of the first connector.

13. The connector assembly according to claim 12 , wherein a second chamber defined by a pair of side walls and a top wall move is formed on the second housing of the second connector and adapted to receive the elastic locking piece inserted therein.

14. The connector assembly according to claim 13 , wherein a window is formed in the top wall of the second chamber, so that a condition whether the connector position assurance device is inserted into the second position is watched.

15. The connector assembly according to claim 14 , wherein the top wall of the second chamber comprises a section of lateral plate constituting the locking member of the second connector.

16. The connector assembly according to claim 15 , wherein the first stopper release member is configured to be a pair of projections formed on the second housing of the second connector; and
wherein a distance between the pair of projections is larger than a width of the first stopper to allow the first stopper to pass through between the pair of projections during inserting the connector position assurance device from the firs

Assignees

• Tyco Electronics Shanghai Co Ltd
• Tyco Electronics Corp
• Tyco Electronics Shanghai Co Ltd
• Tyco Electronics Coporation

Inventors

• Wu Jianfeng
• Hertzler Christopher Scott
• Fan Jiucai
• Li Wei-Guo

Classifications

• H01R13/639 Primary

  Additional means for holding or locking coupling parts together, after engagement, {e.g. separate keylock, retainer strap} · CPC title

• H01R13/6272 Primary

  comprising a single latching arm · CPC title