GB2450299A

GB2450299A - Electrical connector with latching mechanism and seal

Info

Publication number: GB2450299A
Application number: GB0819463A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Mcquilken; Wendy Bourne; Peter Collins
Original assignee: Harwin PLC
Current assignee: Harwin PLC
Priority date: 2004-06-30
Filing date: 2008-10-23
Publication date: 2008-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 2024-06-30
Also published as: GB2415837B; GB0414690D0; GB0819463D0; GB2450299B; GB2415837A; ZA200406253B

Abstract

An electrical connector is provided that is assembled from a first mating section 10 and a second mating section 30. The first mating section has an elongate channel arranged to receive a first electrical cable, a first part of a latching mechanism which comprises a latching member 16 protruding from an outer surface of a housing portion of the first mating section, and a protruding lip 18 arranged around the edges of a lower part of the housing and integrally formed on the housing portion. The second mating section includes an elongate channel arranged to receive a second electrical cable, the other part of the latching mechanism which comprises a recess 36 positioned on an inner surface of a housing portion of the second mating section, and a profiled recess 38 arranged within an upper part of the housing and integrally formed on the housing portion. When engaged, the latching member interacts with the recess thereby locking the first and second mating section, and the lip abuts the profiled recess in order to create a seal between the first and second mating section. The lip may be formed by overmoulding, such as with a soft grade of PVC material.

Description

ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS

The present invention relates to electrical connectors. In particular, the present invention relates to a male and female electrical connector arrangement each constructed to interact with one another.

There is a requirement for interconnection devices in many industries to provide for interconnection between different systems. For example, interconnection is required within commercial quarrying and mining environments to interconnect electronic detonators and blast initiation systems.

It will be appreciated that the interconnection devices are preferably low cost, secure, and easily assembled.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an electrical connector comprising a male and female mating section, the male mating section including a first part of a latching mechanism which comprises a latching member arranged to protrude from an outer surface of the male mating section and the female mating section including the other part of the latching mechanism which comprises a recess positioned on an inner surface of the female mating section whereby in use the latching member interacts with the recess and causes the male and female mating sections to be in a locked position.

This arrangement allows the latching mechanism to securely mate the two mating sections when they are assembled.

In order that the present invention be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig I shows various views of a male connector according to a first and second embodiment of the present invention; Fig 2 shows various views of a female connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention; Fig 3 shows various views of a female connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention; Fig 4 shows a schematic view of an over moulded version of the male connector in Fig 1; Fig 5 shows a schematic view of an over moulded version of the female connector shown in Fig 2; Fig 6 shows a schematic view of an over moulded version of the female connector shown in Fig 3; and Fig 7 shows a basic view of the cable core and IDC arrangement in the connector of Fig 6.

The connectors according to the following embodiments of the present invention are utilised in a wiring system which allows one electrical cable to be electrically connected to one or more other cables without the cutting of the cables being necessary. In particular, the connector assembly enables one cable to form a bus type line and for the voltage to be tapped from the cable at various points along the bus cable without the main bus cable having to be cut to form the connection.

In addition, the connectors may be modified to act as extension plugs enabling one cable to be extended using another cable without the need of cutting the cable.

Accordingly the connectors of the present invention make it possible for a wiring system with a Christmas-tree type configuration to be assembled by forming various wiring paths.

Each connector comprises a first mating section which is the male connector assembly and a second mating section which is the female mating assembly. The male connector is attached to one cable and the female connector is attached to another cable and both the male connector and female connector are mated so as to enable a continuous current path to be established either by extension or by tapping from a main bus.

The male connector assembly will now be described with reference to Fig 1A, 1B, IC, 1D and 1E which each show different views of the male connector.

The male connector 10 is formed of an upper section 11 and a lower section 12. They are both typically moulded together to form one connector, however, each will be described separately.

The upper section 11 comprises a housing block 13 which may be formed from a type of plastics material. The housing is provided with four recesses each with an oval cross section. The openings of each of the recesses are in the upper surface 15 of the housing block 13.

The alignment of each recess 14 is slightly offset from the corresponding adjacent recess and each recess is displaced in relation to a central longitudinal axis A of the upper section 11 by a different magnitude.

The outer surface of the housing 13 is formed of two parallel wall sections 13a, 1 3b each with a height at least equal to the height of the recess 14.

The two parallel wall sections 13a,13b are each provided with a protruding element 16 which forms one part of a latching mechanism. The protruding element 16 is arranged on the outer surface of the housing 13 so as to slightly protrude away from the outer surface of the housing 13.

Each of the recesses 14 contains one part of an insulation displacement contact ("IDC") in the form of a pin I 7a. The pin I 7a extends within the recess 14 ensuring that the pin I 7a does not protrude out of the recess 14. The pins 17a are formed of electrically conductive material.

The lower section 12 of the male connector 10 will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 1A, IC, and 1D.

The lower section 12 is of a larger width and length with respect to the upper section.

The underside 19 of the lower section is provided with an elongate channel 20. The channel 20 is defined along a longitudinal axis of the lower section and is arranged to receive an electrical cable (not shown) with four electrical conductors contained therein.

As described above, one part of the IDCs are provided in the recesses 14 of the upper section. The other part of the IDCs will be referred to as the piercing portion I 7b. The piercing portion I 7b is arranged to protrude away from planar surface 20a of the elongate channel 20.

The piercing portion I 7b is shaped so as to pierce the insulation of the electrical cable (not shown) and directly contact the associated electrical conductor (not shown). Further, the structure of the piercing portion 1 7b is such as to secure the electrical conductor once the insulation has been pierced.

Any suitable configuration may be utilised for the piercing portions to achieve the above mentioned effect.

The alignment of each piercing portion I 7b corresponds to the alignment of the pins I 7a in the upper section 11. Accordingly, the alignment is arranged such that each piercing pin 17b contacts a different electrical conductor of the cable.

Additionally, a pair of cable retention bumps 21 are disposed at one end of the elongate channel 20 so as to securely retain the cable from one end when inserted into the channel. The retention bumps 21 are constituted by protrusions aligned on opposite faces of the channel and are curved so as to prevent piercing of the cable.

Furthermore, three sets of cable guide members 22 are provided on the underside 19 and are arranged between two adjacent piercing portions I 7b in an axial direction of the cable. Each member 22 is formed of a pair of opposing walls which are at a distance at least the width of a typical four conductor cable. The cable guide members 22 are positioned so as to prevent movement of the cable away from the channel 20.

The female connector assembly according to a first embodiment will now be described with reference to Fig 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and 2E which show different views of the female connector according to the first embodiment.

The female connector 30 is formed of an upper section 31 and a lower section 32. They are both typically moulded together to form one connector but each will be described separately.

The upper section 31 comprises a housing 33 which is constituted by two opposing parallel walls 33a each having a length similar to the distance between them. A further semi-circular wall 33b connects with the first end of each of the parallel walls and a further substantially rectilinear wall 33c with two curved ends which connect with the other ends of each of the parallel walls 33 a.

Within the housing 33 there are provided four profiled channels 34 each with an oval cross section which corresponds to the recesses 14 of the male connector 10. The height of the channels 34 is less than the height of the walls of the housing 33 and each channel 34 has the same height.

The alignment of each channels 34 is slightly offset from the corresponding adjacent channel 34 and each channel is displaced relative to a central longitudinal axis B of the upper section 31 by a different magnitude.

The inner surfaces of each of the parallel walls 33a is provided with a recess 36 which forms the other part of the latching mechanism referred to in relation to the male connector 10. The recess 36 is arranged to interact with the protruding element 16 of the male connector 10 such that when the male connector 10 and female connector 30 are mated, the protruding element 16 is inserted into the recess 36 an audible click is created to indicate that the male and female connectors have been correctly mated. In addition, a seal is provided and the sealing arrangement will be described in more detail at a later part of the description with reference to Fig 4 and 5.

The latching mechanism enables a secure connection to be established between the male and female connectors and prevents compressive forces between the two connectors forcing the connection open.

Each channel 34 is provided with an electrical terminal arrangement 37 which comprises an electrical contact 37a and a receiving section 37b.

The receiving section 37b in each channel 34 is positioned to be at a closer distance to the semicircular wall 33b of the housing 33 than its associated constant element 37a. That is, each electrical terminal arrangement 37 is aligned in a similar manner in that each faces the same direction.

The receiving section 37b is arranged to receive a corresponding pin I 7a from the male assembly 10 when the female and male assembly are mated together. The pin 17a is positioned in the receiving section 37b so as to also contact the electrical contact 37a.

In addition the upper part of the inner face of the housing 33 has a profiled recess 38 which is used to form a secure seal with the ma] e assembly when mating occurs. The sealing arrangement will be described in more detail at a later stage of the description with reference to Fig 4 and 5.

The lower section 32 of the female connector 30 according to the first embodiment will now be described in more detail.

The underside 39 of the lower section is provided with an elongate channel 40. The channel 40 is defined along a longitudinal axis of the lower section and is arranged to receive an electrical cable (not shown) with four electrical conductors contained therein.

As described above, one end of the electrical conductor 37a is arranged within channel 34 of the upper section 31. The other end of the electrical contact 37a is provided with an IDC configuration similar to that in the piercing position 17b of the male connector 10. That is, the other end of the electrical contact protrudes away from the planar surface 40a of the elongate channel 40.

Further, the other end is of a similar shape and structure to the piercing portion I 7b and achieves the same effect, thus the repetition of the description is not necessary.

Additionally, a pair of cable retention bumps 41 are disposed at one end and a blocking member 43 on the other end of the elongate channel in a similar manner to the cable retention bumps 21 and blocking member 23 of the male connector and thus repetition of the description is not necessary. The advantages of such a feature will be apparent from the earlier description.

Three sets of cable guide members 42 are also provide on the underside 39 and are arranged between two adjacent contacts 37a in an axial direction of the cable. Each member 42 is constructed and positioned in a similar manner to the guide members 22 of the male connector 10.

A second embodiment of the female connector 50 will be described with reference to Fig 3A, 3B and 3C which shows different views of the female connector according to the second embodiment.

The female connector according to the second embodiment is identical to the female connector of the first embodiment except for a few modifications which will now be described. It will be appreciated that reference numerals for the differing features only are included in the Figures to outline the differences.

Any identical features which are discussed utilise the same reference numerals as the first embodiment.

According to the second embodiment, the alignment of the electrical terminal arrangement 57 in the female connector 50 differs to that in the first embodiment. In particular, one of the electrical terminal arrangements 57a is positioned to face an opposite direction to the remaining terminal arrangements 57b,57c,57d.

That is, whereas the three receiving sections of the terminal arrangements 57b,57c,57d are at a closer distance to the semicircular wall 33b of the housing 33 than its associated contact element, the receiving section of the terminal arrangement 57a is aligned in an opposite direction such that the receiving section is further away from the semicircular wall than its associated contact element.

Furthermore, the elongate channel 40 on the underside 59 of the female connector 50 extends along the entire longitudinal axis of the underside 59 instead of being blocked at one end of the channel as in the first embodiment.

Accordingly, a pair of cable retention bumps 41,51 are provided at both ends of the elongate channel 40. A blocking member 43 is not required as the cable is arranged to extend through the channel without being cut.

With this modification, a cable can be passed through the channel on the underside of the female connector 50 and continue to extend after passing through the underside 59 of the female connector 50. This type of configuration enables the connector to be utilised in a bus-type cable arrangement where the current in a cable is to be tapped from a main cable and continue in a different cable.

The modification in the second embodiment obviates the requirement for the use of two female connectors to perform the same function as is necessary with the current state of the art.

In particular, the arrangement of the JDC contacts 57a, 57b, 57c, 57d in Fig 3 allows for one core (see Fig 7) of the cable to bypass the IDC termination without having to use a second version of the female IDC contact as is necessary if using a current state of the art arrangement. Instead, the tail of the IDC in this embodiment is offset by half the pitch of the cable cores, thus reversing the same type of contact on the same centre line so two adjacent contacts would have tails one core pitch apart. This removes the need for two slightly different contacts.

Fig 4, 5 and 6 show their respective male and female connectors as described hereinbefore after an over moulding process has been carried out..

Fig 4 shows an over moulded version of the male connector 10 of Fig 1 and reference is also made to Fig 1.

As shown, the over moulding process adds a protruding lip 18 around the edges of the lower part of the housing 13 which is arranged to fit in the profiled recess 38 of the female connector 30 when the male and female are mated.

When mated, the seal is constituted by the forces between the inner walls of the female connector housing 33 and the outer wall of the male mould housing 13, compressing it sufficiently by approximately 20% to provide a seal. To better facilitate this, the over mould material is preferably a soft grade of PVC allowing suitable compression.

A first cable 25 with four electrical conductors 25a,25b,25c,25d therein is visible and is arranged to pass through the underside of the connector. Each electrical conductor 25a,25b,25c,25d contacts a separate piercing portion I 7b aligned on the elongate channel 20.

Fig 5 shows an over moulded version of the female connector 30 of Fig 2.

A second cable 45 comprises four electrical conductors (not shown) and is arranged to contact the electrical contacts on the underside 39 of the connector 30 in a similar manner to that in Fig 4.

It is apparent from comparison of Fig 4 and Fig 5 that the alignment of the recesses 14 in the male connector are associated with the alignment of the channels 34. When mated, the protruding element 16 on the outer surface of the housing 13 interacts with the recess 36 on the inner surface of the housing 33.

By mating the two connectors in this configuration enables the first cable 25 to be extended through second cable 45.

The over moulded version of the second embodiment of the female connector 50 is shown in Fig 6. As discussed previously, a cable 65 passes through the female connector 50 entering at one end of the channel 40 and exiting at the opposite end.

Fig 7 shows the general principle utilised in the female connector of Fig 6.

The cable typically has four cores A,B,C,D of which one A passes through the elongate channel 40 of the underside of the female connector 50 without electrical termination (the term "termination" implies meeting of the IDC and the cable core). The remaining three cores B,C,D are pierced by four IDC contacts 57a,57b,57c,57d.

One core B is severed (denoted by "X") and terminated by two IDCs 57a,57c either side of the point it is cut effectively rerouting the current path.

To ensure that the two IDCs 57a,57c are in the correct plane, one 57a is reversed so the IDC tail is correctly aligned with the other 57e.

A male connector such as the example shown in Fig 4 may then be mated with the female connector 50 and enable current in the cable 65 to be tapped and continued through the cable 25.

It will be appreciated that the male and female connectors may be adapted depending on the type of wiring system which is to be created. For example, the blocking members 23, 43 may be removed from the connectors in Fig I and 2 respectively so as to create a through-channel without termination as in Fig 3.

The main advantages of the present invention can be summarised as: -robustness of the final assemblies -ease of mating -prevention of moisture or dust ingress into the connector assembly -ease of assembly -reliability of cable termination prior to over moulding -reliability of cable termination for transit and storage -minimising the overall costs -positive sound/feel to indicate closure -low environmental impact -pollutants

Claims

Claims 1. An electrical connector assembled from a first mating section

and a second mating section, wherein: the first mating section including an elongate channel arranged to receive a first electrical cable, said first mating section also including a first part of a latching mechanism which comprises a latching member arranged to protrude from an outer surface of a housing portion of the first mating section, wherein the first mating section further comprises a protruding lip arranged around the edges of a lower part of the housing and integrally formed on the housing portion of the first mating section; and the second mating section including an elongate channel arranged to receive a second electrical cable, said second mating section also including the other part of the latching mechanism which comprises a recess positioned on an inner surface of a housing portion of the second mating section, wherein the second mating section further comprises a profiled recess arranged within an upper part of the housing and integrally formed on the housing portion of the second mating section; whereby in an assembled position, the latching member interacts with the recess thereby locking the first and second mating section, and the lip abuts the profiled recess in order to create a seal between the first and second mating section.
2. The electrical connector according to claim 1 wherein the protruding lip and profiled recess are formed by an overmoulding process.
3. The electrical connector according to claim 1 or 2 wherein a soft grade of PVC material is used to form the protruding lip and/or the profiled recess.