JP2784845B2 - Electrical connector assembly - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sealed electric connector assembly into which a program can be incorporated, and more particularly, to a secondary lock member for fixing a secondary contact terminal. The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly having a stamped and formed cylindrical pin and a stopper formed therein and sealed therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,350 discloses a multi-core hermetic connector suitable for being used to terminate a plurality of wires on a printed circuit board. This sealed connector uses stamped and formed pins in the pin header and employs an intermediate face seal and a single group of seals, which have a plurality of holes, each having a single hole. Accept the wire. This connector does not employ a secondary lock member.

U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,557,542, 4,319,799, 4,655,52
No. 5,4,787,864 and 3,601,760 disclose an electrical connector employing a secondary locking member along with a connector having two rows of terminals. Further, the secondary locking member employed by each of these electrical connectors must be a separate piece and must be inserted into the housing after the contact terminals have been disposed within the housing. U.S. Pat.No. 4,708,662 discloses a connector assembly having a pre-tailored terminal retainer, the terminal retainer comprising:
At the rear of the housing, it is fixed to the body of this housing. The terminal retainer has a plurality of resilient fingers having a conical shape. These resilient fingers hold the terminals in place. When these resilient fingers in this soft shell connector are folded into engagement with the surrounding recess on the contact terminal, the resilient fingers enter the conical cavity of the insulated housing. Inserted. U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,443,048 and 4,544,220
The patent discloses a connector that also has terminals for engaging resilient fingers. These retainer members can be attached to the soft shell housing of the electrical connector after the terminals are secured within the retainer members. The device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,048 does not employ a secondary locking member. The electrical connector shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,220 employs the ability of a secondary lock.

None of these conventional electrical connectors provide multiple rows of high density electrical terminals in a connector with a secondary lock. The present invention provides such a configuration.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,350 discloses a sealed receptacle and plug connector assembly for use in terminating a plurality of conductors on a printed circuit board. A stamped pin located in the pin header includes a rear section, which is bent at a right angle,
It is fixed to the rear part of the pin header. The front part of the stamped pin is stamped into a cylindrical shape. The cylindrical or tubular pin has a seam line where the ends of the flat metal material forming the tubular pin abut each other. Seals that can be provided along this seam line perform poorly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a means for sealing stamped pins in an electrical connector that exhibits improved performance over those previously demonstrated by the prior art. It is.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides an insulating housing including a latch for locking a contact, a sealing member mounted on an outer surface of the insulating housing from a fitting surface side, and the fitting to the insulating housing. A fixed member mounted from the mating side and engaged with the latch to prevent the latch from bending and prevent the seal member from coming off. Is formed with at least one protrusion projecting outward, and the insulating housing is formed with a groove extending along the outer surface and engageable with the protrusion, and the protrusion cooperates with the groove. A key for mounting the fixing member to the insulating housing is formed, and when the key is engaged with the groove, the key protrudes further outward from the groove to prevent the sealing member from coming off, and to engage with the mating connector. The key of the present invention is characterized in that:

An electrical connector assembly provided by the present invention comprises a receptacle-type connector, the receptacle-type connector having terminals secured in a housing by a latch, the latch being fitted into the housing. A second locking member on the housing that is received in a pocket of a next housing and that is displaced to an appropriate position when the latch locks the terminal; and, additionally, a pin header. The pin header has a pin in the header housing, and a sealing plug is provided in the area of the pin.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A sealed electrical connector assembly comprising a preferred embodiment of the present invention is intended for use in providing a seal between the interconnections of a plurality of conductors in a densely packed row. The sealed connector assembly 2 with the preferred embodiment of the present invention should be used for conductors at any free location, not the total number of terminal locations within the housing. Seal integrity is achieved for each of the electrical conductors, such as wires, and seal integrity is maintained for individual wires, even if all locations within the connector are not filled with terminals. And can be achieved along individual circuits. An electrical connector or receptacle-type connector 6 is employed for mating with a mating connector or an enclosed pin header 8. The electrical terminals 10 are mounted in a plurality of rows within the electrical connector 6. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the terminals 10 are mounted in three rows, the central row of which is:
The terminals are arranged alternately with respect to the terminal positions in the outer two rows. The terminal 10 is attached to the wire 4 and can be fitted with a pin 20 which is stamped and formed into a cylindrical shape or a tubular shape. The terminals 10 are arranged in an insulating housing 30 and the pins 20 are arranged in a header housing 140 of the pin header 8.

Each of the terminals 10, as shown in FIG. 14,
It comprises a plurality of contact springs 12, which are in the form of cantilevers arranged in a tubular or barrel-shaped contact area. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, these contact springs 12 extend forward from the rear to the front of said barrel contact area 14. A shoulder 15 is formed at the rear of the barrel contact area 14 and a reduced diameter waist area 16 is formed between the barrel contact area 14 and the stabilization area 17 to provide a stabilization area 17.
Has an outside diameter approximately equal to the outside diameter of the barrel contact area 14. The barrel shoulder 15 forms a well-defined shoulder between the barrel contact area 14 and the waist area 16. A conventional wire crimping section 18 is located near the cylindrical stabilizing section 17 and an insulation crimping section 19 having a conventional winding structure is located at the rear of the terminal 10. The procedure for crimping the terminal 10 is to prevent the elastic seal from being damaged when the crimped terminal is inserted into the elastic seal. Each terminal 10 is crimped to the stripped end of wire 4 in a conventional manner.

The terminal 10 is disposed in an insulating housing 30 having an insulating base 32, through which a plurality of openings or cavities extend, the openings or cavities being located in rows corresponding to the arrangement of the terminal positions. I have. These openings or cavities
36 form means for arranging the terminals in three alternating rows, these rows extending between opposing end walls 38 of the insulating housing 30 and opposing each other. The plurality of side walls 40 extend in parallel. Housing 30 has mating surface 34
The fitting surface 34 is in the shape of a rectangular fitting enclosure formed by a plurality of end walls facing each other and a plurality of side walls facing each other. The end wall 38 and the side wall 40 forming the fitting enclosure project forward from the base 32 of the insulating housing. The insulating housing 30
Within the enclosure formed by the end wall 38 and the side wall 40, it opens forward from the insulating housing base 32.
A plurality of grooves 46 are provided in each side wall 40. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of grooves 46 in the upper sidewall
The plurality of grooves 46 in the lower side wall are separated from each other by different distances. Therefore, the groove 46 gives directionality to the fitting enclosure formed on the fitting surface 34 of the insulating housing 30.

An insulating housing / enclosure 42 is disposed at the rear end of the insulating housing 30 and projects rearward from the insulating housing base 32. The housing / enclosure 42 projects beyond the side wall 40 and beyond the end wall 38 such that the mating envelope has a smaller outer diameter than the housing / enclosure 42. A shoulder is formed at the joint between the end wall 38 and the side wall 40 forming the fitting envelope and the housing / enclosure 42. Further, a plurality of grooves 48 are formed in the surrounding body 42 near the rear end portion 44 of the housing 30. The housing / enclosure 42
On the top wall and the bottom wall of the enclosure 42, grooves on opposing walls of the housing / enclosure 42 are arranged in different forms in order to give directionality.

A plurality of resilient plastic latches 50 are integral with the insulated housing 30 and project from the insulated housing base 32 toward the mating 34. Each of these latches 50
Means are provided for securing the terminals within the insulating housing 30. Latch 50 is located within end wall 38 and side wall 40 within a large mating cavity on insulating housing 30. Each of the latches 50 comprises a resiliently deflectable beam projecting from the base 32. As best seen in FIG. 18, each of the latches 50 has a generally triangular cross-section, and the outer surface 54 of each latch 50 has an apex at a distance away from each terminal 10 secured by the latch 50. It is converging towards 52. In other words, the outer surface 54 of each latch 50 converges toward the vertex 52 with a distance away from the centerline of the opening 36 in the insulating housing base 32. Two latches positioned to surround each terminal 10 are connected to each corresponding opening 36.
And protrudes from the insulating housing base 32 on the periphery of each of the openings 36 in order to fix the terminals positioned by the openings 36. Since the outer surfaces 54 of each opposing pair of latches 50 converge toward opposing vertices 52, each opposing pair of latches 50 has a generally diamond-shaped configuration. An engagement surface 58 in the form of a curved lip projects inwardly from the triangular cantilever beam 56 forming the latch 50. These engagement lips 58 project into the cylindrical contour of the opening 36 and constitute means for gripping the terminal 10 inserted into the opening 36.

The latches 50 in each column are staggered relative to the latches 50 in adjacent columns. A plurality of tapered latches 50 may be arranged in an overlapping manner. In this case, the rows of the terminal positions in the terminal arrangement can be separated in a more precise state. In other words, the plurality of openings 36 can be arranged closer to each other. In this case, a high density of terminal positions can be achieved. As shown in FIG. 18, each vertex 52 of the latch in each outer case
Overlaps the vertex 52 of the latch 50 in the adjacent center row.

A secondary housing member 60, which can be fitted to the front part of the insulating housing 30 so as to expand and contract, is formed of a secondary lock. Secondary lock 60 is movable from a first position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 to a second position shown in FIG. The secondary lock 60 has a plurality of pockets 62, and the pockets 62 are arranged in a plurality of rows in the secondary lock 60. As shown in FIG. 19, the individual pockets 62 are substantially diamond-shaped, with the vertices 64 of the pockets 62 in adjacent rows overlapping. In a preferred embodiment of the invention,
The pockets 62 are arranged in three rows, and the pockets in the center row are:
The two outer rows of pockets are staggered. Like the latch 50, the pocket 62 only partially overlaps the adjacent row of pockets. The pockets 62 are formed by diagonal wall sections 66, which are arranged in an intermingled manner so as to form a honeycomb structure. The diagonal wall section 66 projects rearward from the outer secondary housing member base or outer partition wall 68. Openings in the form of generally circular holes with tapered ends near the outer surface of secondary lock 60
70 has a generally circular or cylindrical shape, and each opening 70
Are aligned with the corresponding diamond-shaped pockets 62. The diagonal wall section 66 disposed beyond each opening 70 is generally larger than the opening 70 so that the diamond-shaped pocket 62 is aligned with the opening 70. The diagonal wall section 66 is located only inside the secondary lock 60 and extends from the rear of the opening 70 to the rear end of the secondary lock 60. Note that the opening 70 has a generally circular cross-section that merges with the diamond-shaped cross-section of the pocket defined by the diagonal wall section 66. The pocket 62
Similarly to the above, the openings 70 of each row adjacent to each other are alternately arranged. Each opening 70 is eccentric from the oblique wall area 66 of the secondary lock 60, so that a mating terminal in the form of a pin 20 can be inserted into the opening 70, and The pin 20 will be spaced from the diagonal wall section 66.

As best shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the shapes of the pair of latches 50 and the corresponding pockets 62 are substantially identical, so that the latches 50 are inserted into the corresponding pockets 62. It is possible to However, received in each pocket 62 of the latch 50 is a secondary lock.
When 60 is in the second position shown in FIG.
Is in a position where it is engaged with the corresponding terminal 10 in a fixed state.

The secondary lock 60 includes a plurality of tongues 72 projecting outward from a plurality of side walls 40 facing each other. The tongue 72 merges with the laterally extending base plate 74 so that each tongue and base plate has a substantially T-shaped protrusion 77 (see FIGS. 2 and 5 through 7). Is configured. The tongue 72 is arranged to correspond to the location of the groove 46 on the top and bottom side walls 40 of the insulating housing 30. As a result of the tongue 72 interfitting with the groove 46, the tongue and groove pattern provides a keyed orientation between the insulating housing 30 and the secondary lock 60. Also, the integral tongue 72 and base plate 74 provide a means for orienting or keying the connector 6 to the mating connector 8. This is because these T-shaped tongue and base plate configurations are located near the mating surface of the connector 6.

The secondary lock 60 can be attached to the insulative housing 30 by a two-position holding means in the first position of FIGS. 6 and 7, and the second position shown in FIG. The retaining means comprises fingers 85 on a plurality of end walls 38 of the insulating housing 30, which fingers 85 are spaced apart from each other on the plurality of ends of the secondary lock 60 by mating shoulders 84 and
86 can be engaged. Referring to FIGS. 3, 20, and 21, the two-position holding means includes an outer strap.
An outer strap 80 also overlaps the finger 85 when the secondary lock 60 is in the closed second position. The mating shoulders 84 and 88 are located within a channel (groove) 82 on one end of the secondary lock 60. Two inner shoulders 84
Are located on two mutually spaced ridges 86a and 86b located near the edge of channel 82. Shoulder 84
Is a curved surface inclined toward the rear of the secondary lock 60,
A vertical restraining shoulder area facing the outer or mating surface of the secondary lock 60 is provided. The outer shoulder 88 is connected to the inner shoulder 84
And the fitting surface of the secondary lock 60. An outer shoulder 88 is centrally located with respect to the laterally located channel 82 between the two spaced apart ridges 86a and 86b, as shown in FIG. When the secondary lock 60 is in the first position, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the inward latch shoulder 85A on the finger 85 engages the inner shoulder 84 on the secondary lock 60. Combine. In this position,
The restraining shoulder 85a is located between the inner shoulder 84 and the outer shoulder 88. In this position, each finger 85 abuts the outer strap 80. When each finger 85 is moved to the closed position through the corresponding strap 80, each finger 85 is always sunk first, so that the secondary lock 60 From the position of the secondary lock shown in FIG.
You cannot be reluctantly moved. The secondary lock 60
Secondary lock when moved to the second position in FIG.
60 and shoulder 85a on the inclined curved surface of outer shoulder 88,
It is displaced outward by the cam action. Secondary lock 60 is second
When in position, the latching finger 85a is free to return to its normal position, and the shoulder 85a engages a restraining surface on the outer surface of the outer shoulder 88 to attach the secondary lock 60 to the insulating housing 30. Will be fixed firmly against

As can be seen in FIG. 6, the outer enclosure surrounding the row of latches 50 limits outward deflection of the latch 50 near the outer wall or enclosure. Therefore, the latch deflected outwardly near the outer enclosure
50 attempts to move the secondary lock 60 from the first position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 to the second position shown in FIG. 8, like the latch shown in FIG. When a force is applied to the secondary lock 60, it does not break. Since there are a plurality of rows of latches 50, the inner latch does not abut the outer wall. Projection 51 on inner surface of secondary lock 60
Constitutes a stopper for limiting the deflection of the inner latch. It is clear from FIG. 6 that the deflected inner latch attempts to engage a corresponding projection or ridge located at the intersection of the diagonal wall sections 66 forming the pocket 62. . Therefore, these projections 51
Prevents the inner latch 50 from spreading like a pig leg on ice.

A cap 90 is received within the enclosure 2 at the rear of the insulating housing 30. The cap 90 has both a sealing cap used in connection with the conductor seal 110 and a hooking mechanism for securing the connector 6 to a mating connector such as the pin header 8. The cap 90 has a plurality of fastening members 91.The fastening members 91 are used to secure the cap 90 to the insulating housing 30 and to secure the conductor seal 110 within the insulating housing surrounding body 42. Can be engaged with the projections 43 on the outside of the device. Also,
The cap 90 has a connector latch 92 that projects the cap 90 forward from the upper edge and beyond the enclosure 42 to secure the electrical connector 6 to the mating header 8. I have. This connector latch
By placing the 92 on the cap 90, the insulating housing 30 can be more easily operated by an automatic device. This is because the connector latch 92 is out of the way.

The resilient seal 110 used to provide a complete seal around the individual conductors or wires 4 comprises a single piece of collective seal formed of conventional resilient material. Seal 110 has a plurality of holes 114, each hole 114 being dimensioned to receive a wire and to achieve the integrity of a seal with the wire. The seal 110 also has a peripheral sealing rib 112 for achieving sealing integrity with the inner surface of the enclosure 42. Seal 110 comprises a conventional collective seal to achieve the integrity of the seal between the plurality of individual conductors. The seal 110 is located within the enclosure 42 and each independent hole 114 will be aligned with the opening or cavity in the insulating housing 30 and the pocket 62 of the secondary lock 60.

Although most conventional collective seals, such as seal 110, are intended to achieve the integrity of the seal between the wire 4 inserted in all holes 114, the wire 4
Means are provided on the seal cap 90 for closing all the holes 114 where are not located. The seal cap 90 has a plate in which the program can be incorporated. The embeddable plate of the program has a plurality of selectively removable protrusions 94 protruding from one surface. These projections 94 make the elastic seal 1
10 are given dimensions to sit on. Cap 90
Can be made of conventional plastic materials,
At this time, the protrusions 94 are arranged in a pattern corresponding to the arrangement of the terminal positions or a pattern facing the row of the holes 114 in the seal 110. This electrical connector assembly with seal 2
In some particular applications, only the terminal locations need to be selected, or the terminal locations are arbitrarily selected. The protrusions 94 need only be removed from the program mounting plate of the seal cap if the terminals are to be located. Next, the remaining protrusions 94 penetrate the corresponding holes 114 of the elastic sealing member 110, thereby providing a closing hole 114 in which the wire to be terminated is not placed. As shown in FIG. 16, the seal cap 90 has a plurality of recesses 96.
And the depression 96 is aligned with the protrusion 94 on the opposite side of the plate 90. The selected projections must be properly stamped
Using 160 as shown in FIG. 17, the corresponding recess 9
It can be removed by stamping the material into 6. Therefore, the connector assembly with seal 2
By simply punching out the protrusions 94 on the plate 90, a program can be incorporated for a specific application.

In addition to the conductor seal 110, the connector 6 includes a peripheral interface seal 100,
And it is arrange | positioned at the boundary surface which fits between the pin headers 8.
As shown in FIG. 2, the seal 100 is disposed between the secondary lock 60 and the enclosure 42 on the insulating housing 30.

Although the connector 6 may be used to achieve interconnection between two multi-core cables, the connector 6 is preferably employed for the mating pin header 8. The pin header 8 includes a plurality of tubular or cylindrical pins 20 formed by stamping. Each stamped pin 20 has a first and a second tubular section.
24a and 24b. Each pin 20 also has a third channel (groove) section 26 which, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, comprises a right angle fold and a channel portion 26b. I have. Channel section 26 includes two mutually spaced sections 26a and 26b. Section 26a is located near second or larger tubular section 24b. Flat area 27 is 2
It is located between the two channel-shaped areas 26a and 26b. The first tubular section 24a has a tapered nose 28 formed in a conventional manner. The pin 20 formed by punching is formed from a flat metal material 130. The blank 130 has a first section 136a and a wider second section 136b, from which the first and second tubular sections 24a and 24b are respectively formed. The second area 136b is wider, so the corresponding second
Tubular section 24b will have a larger outer diameter than first tubular section 24a. In order to seal the leakage path passing through the interior of the tubular pin 20, the stopper 120 is provided with a wide second tubular section 24b.
Is placed within. The plug 120, together with the inner surface 22 of the tubular pin 20, forms a metal-to-metal seal. The stopper 120 is formed from a portion of the second tubular section 136b of the metal blank 130. Stopper120
Is formed by partially shearing the plug from the center of the blank. The plug 120 remains connected to the blank 130 by an integral tail 128. The contour of the plug 120 around the tail 128 has substantially the same shape as the inner surface of the second tubular section 24b of the tubular pin 20. Therefore, stopper 12
The zero outline has generally circular edges 126, which are edges or surfaces 124 with an inner radius.
Merges with a and 124b, the surfaces 124a and 124b form the contour of the integral tail 128. The plug 120 is formed by folding the integral tail 128 upward and forming a wide area 136b of material around the integral plug 120. Thus, a metal-to-metal seal is formed by crimping a stamped cylindrical pin around a substantially circular plug 120. The width of the protruding portion of the integral tail 128 is at the second wide tubular section 24b:
Smaller than the inside diameter of the inside 22 of the tubular pin 20. The material is completely shaped around the plug 120, including the portion of the integral tail 128 that is bent upward from the flat of the material. However, as shown in FIG. 13B, the diameter of the circular portion of the integral tail 128 is greater in the second wider tubular section 24b than the diameter of the inner surface 22 of the tubular pin 20. . To completely close the tubular section 24b around the circular portion of the one-piece tail 128, a radially contracting or crimping force needs to be applied to completely form the tubular section 24b. When the tubular section 24b is fully formed, a metal-to-metal seal is fully connected around the integral tail 128, as shown in FIG. 13C.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
Are formed on each side of the flat area 136b. These recesses 138 have a width approximately equal to the thickness of the material, and when a flat area 136b is formed around the plug 120 to form a wide tubular section 24b, the edge of the plug 120 Are received within these depressions 138. In order to form a seal for a leak path that would otherwise penetrate the interior of the stamped pin, a method of shaping this flat material around the integral plug 120 would be a twelfth method.
13A and 13B, best shown.

The pins 20 are housed in a three row pin header 8 with a header housing 140, as best seen in FIGS. The cylindrical or tubular portion of the pin 20 projects into a header housing cavity 142 located on the front of the header bulkhead mounting area 144. A plurality of pin support base plates 146a, 146b and 146c
It protrudes in three rows from the rear of 44. An angled fold is formed in the channel (groove) section 26b of the pin 20 and this right angle fold is formed by the base plates 146a, 146b and 146c.
Is located near the rear edge of the pin 20. The plurality of pin stabilizing ribs 148 protrude from a lower portion of the central header partition 144 and have pin stabilizing ribs 148a and 148b disposed on a plurality of opposing surfaces of the pin stabilizing rib 148. The channel-shaped area at the rear of the pin 20 is used to precisely position the pin for insertion into a hole in a printed circuit board on which the pin header 8 is mounted.
And 148b. Multiple keying ribs
150 is disposed on the inner surface of the header outer enclosure 156, the header outer enclosure 156 forming a housing inner cavity 142;
The receptacle type connector 6 is inserted therein. These key fixing ribs 150 are used for the secondary lock 6.
This corresponds to the contour of the support base plate 74 disposed on the top. When the secondary lock 60 is properly positioned in the second position on the receptacle-type insulating housing 30, the receptacle-type connector 6 can be inserted into the cavity 142, with the base plate 74 , Multiple keying ribs 15
Accepted between 0. Note that by properly positioning the keying ribs 150 and by properly sizing the base plate 74, the same basic connector can be used in a keyed state. It is also possible to provide a removal key stopper rib 150 and a removal base plate 74, and as a result,
Note that the same connectors can be easily keyed to each other to prevent mating with improperly keyed connectors. The pin header housing 140 can be secured to a printed circuit board by using a suitable restraining member 154 of conventional construction. The receptacle type connector 6 includes the connector
Secured to the pin header 8 by a latch 92, the connector latch 92 engages a catch shoulder 158 located on the exterior of the inner enclosure 156 near the mating surface of the pin header 8.

The components including the receptacle type connector 6 can be assembled in a predetermined mating state before the insertion of the wire 4 terminated by the receptacle type terminal 10. The secondary lock 60, by the two-position holding means,
The first position can be fixed to the fitting surface of the insulating housing 30. In this first position, the hook finger
85A will engage inner shoulder 84 and be located between inner shoulder 84 and outer shoulder 88. The interface seal 100 will be positioned in an enclosing position relative to the connector side wall 40 and end wall 38 prior to assembly of the secondary lock 60 on the mating surface of the insulating housing 30. It should be noted that the base plate 74 located on the exterior of the side wall 40 will serve to hold the interface seal 100 on the exterior of the housing 30. The seal 100 can be inserted into the housing / enclosure 42 and the cap 90
Can be fixed to the housing / enclosure 42. Cap by removing selected protrusions 94
If it is desired to program 92, seal 110
And cap 92 can be assembled to insulating housing 30 when the wire is inserted into the connector. After the selected protrusion 94 has been removed, and when other protrusions 94 remain, the cap 90 is attached to the connector,
The lugs 94 can be assembled, with the projections 94 closing all unused holes 114 in the manner shown in FIG. The terminated wire can then be inserted into the open hole 114. Latch 50 will be deflected outward during insertion of terminal 10 in the manner shown in FIG. Note that since the latches 50 have not yet entered the pockets 62, these latches 50 are free to extend outward when the secondary lock 60 is in its first position. After the terminals are located in the connector, the engagement surface 58 on the latch 50 is received in the waist region 16 with the barrel shoulder 15 engaged. In this embodiment, the terminal cannot be pulled out of the housing 30. Once the latch 50 is properly positioned as shown in FIG. 7, the secondary lock 60 is then moved from the first position shown in FIG. 7 to the second position shown in FIG. You can move freely to the position. In FIG. 8, the latch 50 enters the pocket 62 and the latch 50 is not allowed to expand freely. If any of the terminals are not fully inserted, the mating surface 58 will
It should be noted that the secondary lock 60 cannot be moved to the second position shown in FIG.

(Effect of the Invention) According to the electrical connector assembly of the present invention, at least one protrusion protruding outward is formed on the outer surface of the fixing member, and the protrusion extends along the outer surface on the insulating housing. An engageable groove is formed, and the protrusion cooperates with the groove to constitute a mounting key of the fixing member to the insulating housing,
When engaged with the groove, it further projects outward from the groove to prevent the seal member from coming off, and forms a key for mating with the mating connector. Of the present invention, it is not necessary to provide each member independently, so that the size of the electrical connector can be reduced, and the fixing member and the insulating housing have a relatively simple configuration. It can be. Also, the mounting key ensures the reliability of assembly of the fixing member and the insulating housing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing a circuit board header and a receptacle type connector disassembled from a pin header into which the receptacle type connector is to be fitted; FIG. 2 is a complete assembly of the receptacle type connector; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a plastic part and an elastic seal member of the receptacle type connector, and FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing the same parts as those shown in FIG. It is a perspective view, but has shown the surface of the opposite side of each component. FIG. 5 is an exploded cross-sectional view showing parts of the connector shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and FIG. 6 is an initial insertion state of a terminal into the insulating housing of the receptacle type connector. FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6, showing a completely inserted state of the terminal into the insulating housing, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the connector. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a typical assembled state, in which the secondary lock has the elastic latch fitted in a pocket formed in the secondary lock, FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a completely punched pin, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the pin formed by punching. Of the pin formed by punching FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway side view showing a manner in which the punched-out pin is closed in order to seal a leakage path penetrating the inside of the punched-out pin. FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view of the plug taken along section line 13-13 of FIG. 12, and FIG. 13B is a view of manufacturing a cylindrical pin formed by punching and closed by the plug. 13C is a cross-sectional view showing a first intermediate step, FIG. 13C is a cross-sectional view showing a second intermediate step in manufacturing a pin formed by punching and closed by a plug, and FIG. FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the receptacle-type terminal employed in the connector, FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the receptacle-type terminal, and the cylindrical pin formed by punching, and FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the seal cap. FIG. 17 shows an electric conductor and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a single-piece collective seal adopted for the seal cap and
FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a method of incorporating a program into the seal cap. FIG. 18 is a front view showing a shape of a latch used on the insulating housing. FIG. 19 is an individual view employed in the secondary lock member. FIG. 20 is a front view showing the shape of the pocket, FIG. 20 is a side view of the secondary lock showing a two-position holding element on the secondary lock, and FIG. 21 is the secondary lock in a predetermined fitted state. FIG. 9 is a cutaway perspective view of the lock member, showing a manner in which a hook finger is engaged with a retaining ring (strap) in order to prevent the secondary lock member from inadvertently moving to the closed position. FIG. 2 Electrical connector assembly 10 Contact (electrical terminal) 30 Insulated housing 46 Groove 50 Latch 60 Fixing member (secondary lock) 77 Projection 100 Seal member

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Robert Graham Landergan, Inventor 27284 Kernersville, Brookford Road, North Carolina, United States 1665 (56) References JP-A 1-213973 (JP, A) JP-A-60-158575 ( JP, A) JP-A-63-313478 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01R 13/42 H01R 13/52 301

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An insulating housing including a latch for locking a contact, a sealing member mounted on an outer surface of the insulating housing from a fitting surface side, and a sealing member mounted on the insulating housing from the fitting surface side. A fixed member that engages with a latch to prevent the latch from bending and prevent the seal member from coming off, wherein at least one outwardly protruding outer surface of the fixed member is provided.
Three protrusions are formed, the insulating housing is formed with a groove extending along the outer surface and engageable with the protrusion, and the protrusion cooperates with the groove to form the insulating housing of the fixing member. An electrical connector comprising: a mounting key to the connector; and a fitting key to a mating connector while projecting further outward from the groove when engaging with the groove to prevent the seal member from coming off. Assembly.