AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION PROTECTIVE HOUSING ASSEMBLY The following statement is a description of this invention: 1 PROTECTIVE HOUSING ASSEMBLY Field of the Invention 5 The present invention relates to a protective housing assembly for electrical connectors and in particular a protective housing assembly which is able to encase an electrical connector for physical protection. Background of the Invention 10 Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field. There are many types of electrical connector's available with the main 15 purpose to connect and supply electrical current to a mating connector. There are many electrical connectors that are used in applications which they were physically not designed for or certain connectors may be designed for the application however lack essential physical protective features to operate correctly and prolong their operational life. An example of this is using a 20 heavy duty connector assembly made for fixed interior use in or on the exterior of a motor vehicle. In such circumstances the connector is vulnerable to the intake of dust and moisture as well as exposed to extreme vibration. Furthermore the mounting of the connector may not be sufficient to make it securely attached to the vehicle. Any mating connector would suffer the same 2 problems. The mating connection between the two connectors could also prove to make a poor electrical connection and possibly even be disconnected due to vibration because of incorrect mounting and mating retaining setups. 5 Attempts have been made to protect electrical connectors in the form of moulded housings. Conventional housings of this nature include those found in WO/2005/069444 and WO/2009/043862. WO/2005/069444 discloses a housing for a connector module in which the housing has a frame for which the connector module can be inserted to. A 10 stirrup device which is movable about the housing serves the purpose of aiding the coupling of an additional connector as well as providing a locking means for the initial connector module in the frame. This device while providing a housing has a main objective of locking the connector module to the housing by way of stirrup device. The connector 15 module is not fixable to the main housing with out the stirrup device engaged. Furthermore the device does not include a complete barrier to protect the connector module from environmental conditions. WO/2009/043862 discloses connector cover with first and second connecting members which are able to be connected together to cover a 20 connector. At least one of the parts has a protruding locking pin to engage and lock the connector cover to a separate housing. The connector cover does not have a fixing means to the actual connector itself however; instead the assembly relies on the connecting of the first and second connecting members together to hold the housing, total 3 stability is only achieved when the connector cover is engaged into the separate housing. This device also lacks a complete barrier to protect the housed connector inside the cover assembly. It has now been found by the present inventors that a connector cover 5 assembly can be economically constructed to physically protect an electrical connector without affecting its operation or versatility. It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. 10 It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved protective housing for an electrical connector. Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a 15 protective housing assembly for an electrical connector assembly having first and second parts arranged to mate together said housing assembly including: a housing shaped to receive the first part; and a closure hingedly attached to the housing and biased for covering a mating end of the first part in a closed position; 20 wherein the closure is dimensioned to retain a protrusion from the second part in an open position to thereby assist in maintaining the first and second parts of the electrical connector assembly in a mated configuration. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a protective housing assembly in combination with an electrical connector 4 assembly comprising first and second parts mated together, the combination comprising: a housing receiving the first part; a spring loaded closure hingedly attached to the housing; and 5 a locking tab protruding on the second part of the connector; wherein said closure is configured in an open position whereby it retains the locking tab to thereby assist in maintaining the first and second parts mated together. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided 10 a method for maintaining an electrical connector assembly comprising first and second parts in a mated configuration comprising the steps of: retaining the first part in a housing attaching a protruding member to the second part; locating a biased closure attached to the housing over the protruding 15 member to thereby retain the first and second parts in the mated configuration. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a protective housing assembly for an electrical connector having external surfaces of a predetermined shape including a number of gripping ribs, said 20 housing assembly including: a main housing and a housing cover cooperating to define an internal chamber shaped to receive said connector and complement one or more portions of the external surfaces; a sealing cable entry located at a first end of the chamber; and 5 a displaceable closure located at a second opposite end of the chamber wherein the displaceable closure is spring loaded to assume a closed resting position whereby the second end of the chamber is closed. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided 5 a protective housing assembly for an electrical connector of the type substantially as shown herein as item 80 of Figure 18, said protective housing including: a body defining a chamber complementary to at least one outer surface portion of said connector; 10 at least one cable entry into the chamber; and at least one closure hingedly connected to the body and displaceable for access of a mating connector to the electrical connector. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a protective housing assembly for a connector comprising a main housing 15 having an internal chamber for receiving a connector assembly, the internal chamber section having at least one form of securing means to fasten the connector assembly to the main housing, a housing cover which interlocks over with the main housing covering the internal chamber, the housing cover having at least one form of securing means to be fastened to the main 20 housing, an opening at one end of the main housing by way of a removable cover permitting access to the internal chamber, an opening at one end of the main housing permitting access to the internal chamber, the opening having a sealing device for a cable, an external securing means for attachment to a surface, wherein the attachment of housing cover, removable cover and 6 sealing device to the main housing create a protective barrier to the internal chamber section and connector assembly fastened within. It is preferred that the internal chamber is shaped to receive the contours of the connector assembly. 5 It is also preferred that the securing means of the internal chamber section is by way of a aperture for receiving a fastener, moulded into the main housing the aperture being aligned with an aperture in the connector assembly when the connector assembly is inserted into the internal chamber. Another preferable form is where the housing cover securing means is 10 by way of a aperture for receiving a fastener, the aperture being aligned with the an aperture of the connector assembly and aligned with a aperture in the main housing. It is also preferred that the removable cover is permanently affixed to the main housing and is retractable. 15 Brief Description of the Drawings In order that the invention may be better understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in 20 which: Fig. 1 is a front elevated view of a protective housing assembly in a fully assembled condition with a removable cover in the open position; Fig. 2 is a side plan view the protective housing assembly with the 25 removable cover closed; 7 Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the protective housing assembly; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the protective housing assembly Fig. 5 is a front plan view of the protective housing assembly with the removable cover closed; 5 Fig. 6 is an end view of the protective housing assembly showing a rear sealing device; Fig. 7 is a front perspective view of a connector assembly Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the connector assembly Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the main body showing the elements of the 10 internal section; Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the top cover showing underside elements; Fig. 11 is an exploded end view of the protective housing assembly showing a second form of sealing means; 15 Fig. 12 is a partially assembled end view showing the assembly and second form of sealing means; Fig. 13 is a separate end view of a first form of sealing means; Fig 14 is an exploded front perspective view of the protective housing assembly showing how the connector assembly is fitted to the 20 protective housing cover; Fig. 15 is an exploded side view of the protective housing assembly in unassembled condition showing exterior components; 8 Fig. 16 is a side plan view of the protective housing assembly showing securing means for a mating connector before it is inserted into the assembly; Fig. 17 is a side plan view of the protective housing assembly 5 showing securing means for a mating connector after it is inserted into the assembly; Fig. 18 is a top plan view of the internal section of the main body showing how the first form and second form sealing means can be used together and applied to a cable; 10 Fig. 19 is an exploded front perspective view showing how the twelve pin trailer connector is fitted to the protective housing assembly; Fig. 20 is an exploded front perspective view showing how the dual seven pin trailer connector is fitted to the protective housing assembly. 15 Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention Referring to the drawings, the fully assembled protective housing assembly 10 is shown in Fig. 1. A closure in the form of a housing cover 12 is attached to and interlocks with a main housing 14. At the front end of the 20 protective housing assembly 10 there is an opening 15 to an internal chamber 17 which is moulded into the interior of the main housing 14. The opening 15 is defined by means of a removable cover 18. The cover includes a weather proof seal 20, which when retracted against the main body 14 closes and seals the opening 15. The removable cover 18 is attached to the main body 9 by a pin 22 which is inserted into a hole 24 in the removable cover 20. The pin 22 also is inserted into pin dowels 16 which are attached to the main body 14. This setup attaches the removable cover 20 to the main body. The removable cover 18 is spring loaded in that it is automatically closed, i.e. 5 biased, by a spring 26 which applies pressure to the removable cover 20 in the closed resting position, thus requiring a force to open. Fig. 2 shows the removable cover 18 in the closed position, the housing cover 12 and main housing 14 are defined by the lines 3-3. A first form rear sealing device 28 is shown attached to the rear end of the 10 protective housing assembly 10. The first form rear sealing device 28 acts as a cable entry and sealing point into the main housing 14. A gland nut 30 is attached to the rear sealing device 28. An insert 32 is moulded into the bottom of the main housing 14. The insert provides means of attaching the housing cover 12 to the main housing 14. 15 As shown in Fig. 3 the main body 14 has bracket flanges 34, 36 attached at each side. Each bracket flange 34, 36 include a plurality of holes 38 - 48. A main housing aperture 50 is shown placed into the moulded insert 32. Fig. 4 shows the housing cover 12 which has bracket flanges 52, 54 attached at each side. Each bracket flange 52-54 includes a plurality of holes 20 56-66. An housing cover aperture 72 is embedded into the housing cover 12 which aligns with the main housing aperture 50 when the housing cover 12 is interlocked with the main body 14. Finger grips 68 and 70 protrude from the retractable cover as shown in Fig. 4. When the housing cover 12 and the main body 14 are interlocked the bracket flanges 34, 36 of the main body 14 10 align with the bracket flanges 52, 54 of the housing cover 12 to form completed brackets 74, 76 of the protective housing assembly 10. The rear end sealing device 28 is shown in its complete form in Fig. 6. The gland nut 30 compresses a constrictive gland 78 which seals around a 5 cable when tightened. A connector assembly 80 is illustrated in Fig. 7 in its complete form, commonly known to a person skilled in the art as an "Anderson Connector" although many look alike alternatives exist. The connector assembly 80 has a bottom wall 81 and at least one electrical connector 83 housed within it. A 10 plurality of protrusions 82, 84, or gripping ribs, extend outwardly on each side wall 88, 86 as shown in Fig. 8. The connector assembly 80 also has a front wall 90, a top wall 91, and end wall 92. Two connector assembly apertures 94, 96 extend from the top wall 91 to the bottom wall 81. Fig. 9 shows in detail the internal chamber 17 of the main housing 14. 15 The internal chamber is shaped to receive the contours of the connector assembly 80. When the connector assembly 80 is inserted into the internal chamber 17, the internal chamber front wall 98 aligns with the front wall 90 of the connector assembly 80. The internal chamber bottom wall 100 mates with bottom wall 81, internal chamber side walls 102 and 104 also align with 20 side walls 88 and 86 of the connector assembly 80. A plurality of opposing recesses or grooves108, 106 on each side of the internal chamber 17 are shaped to mate with, i.e. complement, the protrusions 82, 84 of the connector assembly 80 when inserted into the internal chamber 17. The internal chamber end wall 110 also aligns with the bottom end wall 81. An internal 11 chamber aperture 112 extends to main housing aperture 50 and aligns with connector assembly aperture 94 on the connector assembly 80. A internal chamber locating dowel 114 is also situated on the internal chamber bottom wall 100 and aligns and interlocks with connector assembly aperture 96 on 5 the connector assembly 80. An internal groove 116 is moulded into one end of the main body 14 which receives the sealing device 28. The underside of the housing cover 12 is shown in Fig. 10. The housing cover internal wall 118 aligns with the top wall 91 of the connector assembly 80. An internal housing cover aperture 120 extend to housing cover 10 aperture 72 and aligns with connector assembly aperture 94 of the connector assembly 80. A rectangular housing cover locating dowel 122 interlocks with the top wall 91 of the connector assembly 80. A round housing cover locating dowel 124 aligns and interlocks with aperture 96 of the connector assembly. An internal groove 126 is moulded into one end of the housing cover which 15 aligns with the internal groove 116. The setup of the aperture alignment and dowel alignment provide a fastening mechanism for the connector assembly 80 into the protective cover housing 10. As illustrated in Fig. 11 top seal 128 and bottom seal 130 are inserted into top groove 126 and bottom groove 116. Each seal being made of a 20 flexible sealing material. Cable cut outs 134 and 132 exist on each top seal 128 and bottom seal 130 to thereby provide respective entries, or ports, for cables to the electrical connector assembly 80. Fig. 12 shows how when the protective housing assembly 10 is assembled, top seal 128 and bottom seal 130 align and compress to form a second form sealing device 136 for a cable.
12 Fig. 13 shows a first form sealing device 28 with gland nut 30 and constrictive cable gland 70 which seals and grips the cable. The second form sealing device 136 can be used independently of the sealing device 28 and vice versa. Each sealing device 136 and 28 can also be used together within the 5 protective housing assembly 10. Fig. 14 Illustrates how the connector assembly 80 is aligned to housing cover 12 and main housing 14 in preparation to assemble the protective housing assembly 10. The connector assembly 80 is inserted into the main housing 14 and aligned with the main housing side walls 106 and 108. The 10 protrusions on the side wall 94 align and mate with protrusions 108 of the internal chamber. Locating dowels 122, 124 and 114 all assist in aligning and securing the connector assembly into the completed protective housing assembly 10. Fig. 15 shows an external exploded view of protective housing 15 assembly and in particular a fastener 138 in the form of a bolt is shown which extends through apertures 72, 94 and 50 and can be tightened to an opposing fastener 144 in the form of a nut which is secured into the moulded insert 32. The fastener 138 acts as means for attaching and securing the connector assembly 80 to the main housing and also the housing cover 12 to 20 the main housing. A gripping finger gland 140 and constrictive seal form the constrictive gland 72 and are part of the first form sealing device 28. A fastening device 146 is illustrated in Fig. 16 which is inserted into a mating connector 158. The fastening device 146 has a tab 148 extending downwards. 150 and 152 are pins attached to the fastening device which 13 extend upwards. The pins 150 and 152 have locking heads 154, 156. The fastening tab 146 is inserted into the mating connector 158 by way of pins 150 and 152 being inserted into mating connector apertures 160, 162 respectively. Once fully inserted, locking heads 154 and 156 securely lock the 5 fastening tab 146 to the mating connector 158. Shown in Fig. 17 when the mating connector 158 is inserted into the protective housing assembly, 10 and mated to the connector assembly 80 housed inside, a front wall 164 of the removable cover 18 engages with the main tab 148 of the fastening device, thereby securing the mating connector 158 to the protective housing 10 assembly 10. Fig. 18 shows how both first and second form sealing devices 28 and 136 respectively are used together in the protective housing assembly 10. The cable from the connector assembly 80 is first sealed by the top seal haled 128 and bottom seal half which are comprised around cable entry holes 15 132 and 134 respectively. The cable is then placed through the sealing device 28 for which the gland nut 30 tightens around the constrictive gland 72 forming a secure cable seal. Fig. 19 illustrates how different forms of connectors or connector assemblies can be used with the protective housing assembly. A twelve pin 20 flat trailer connector assembly 168 has a plurality of protrusions 170 in the same form as those protrusions 82 on the connector assembly 80. The twelve pin flat trailer connector assembly 168 is aligned to housing cover 12 and main housing 14 in preparation to assemble the protective housing assembly 10. The twelve pin flat trailer connector assembly 168 is inserted into the 14 main housing 14 and aligned with the main housing side walls. The protrusions on the side wall 170 align and mate with protrusions 108 of the internal chamber. Locating dowels 122, 124 and 114 all assist in aligning and securing the twelve pin flat trailer connector assembly 168 into the completed 5 protective housing assembly 10. Fig. 20 shows another form of connector assembly that can be used in the housing in the form of a dual seven pin round trailer connector assembly 172 which has a plurality of protrusions 174 in the same form as those protrusions 82 on the connector assembly 80. The dual seven pin round 10 trailer connector assembly 172 is aligned to top cover 12 and main housing 14 in preparation to assemble the protective housing assembly 10. The dual seven pin round trailer connector assembly 172 is inserted into the main housing 14 and aligned with the main housing side walls. The protrusions on the side wall 174 align and mate with protrusions 108 of the internal chamber. 15 Locating dowels 122, 124 and 114 all assist in aligning and securing the dual seven pin round trailer connector assembly 172 into the completed protective housing assembly 10. Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is 20 recognized that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details described herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace and any all equivalent devices and apparatus.