WO2009156800A1

WO2009156800A1 - Cable connector and method of assembling the same

Info

Publication number: WO2009156800A1
Application number: PCT/IB2008/053506
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michel Fonteneau; Laurent Saillard
Original assignee: Fci
Priority date: 2008-06-25
Filing date: 2008-06-25
Publication date: 2009-12-30

Abstract

A cable end connector (1) comprising a housing (3) having cavities (43) and a stop member (4) having terminal openings (31) and cable openings (32) connected to the latter. A cable having wires (20) and associated terminals (21) is also provided. The cross-sectional areas of cable and terminal openings (31,32) are greater than the cross sectional area of the cable (20). The cross-sectional area of the cable openings (32) is lower than the cross sectional area of terminals (20). The invention also relates to a method for assembling the cable (2) into the cable end connector (1).

Description

CABLE CONNECTOR AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING THE SAME

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cable end connector. More particularly, the invention relates to a cable end connector having a dielectric housing and a dielectric stop member. The present invention also relates to a method of assembling a cable into a cable end connector. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of assembling a cable into a cable end connector having a backstop feature.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A cable end connector usually comprises an insulating housing having a plurality of cavities and adapted to receive terminals, said terminals being adapted to be mechanically connected to housing cavities. Each terminal is also connected to a cable wire by conventional means, such as soldering or crimping.

During use, the cable end connector may be faced to unexpected pulling forces, said forces acting on the wire in a direction opposed to the mounting direction. This may cause the displacement or even the disengagement of the terminals from within the housing cavities. Therefore, it is suitable to develop a backstop system which can secure the placement of the terminals into the cavities of the housing.

US Pat. No. 5,004,436 discloses such a cable end connector having a stop system. The cable end connector includes an insulating housing having cavities adapted to receive terminals therein, and a backstop member adapted to be attached to the housing for securing the placement of terminals into cavities. The stop member comprises first latching means, which can position the backstop member at a first position relative to the housing, and second and third latching means which can position the backstop member at a second position relative to the housing. When assembling the cable into the connector, at a first step each wire of the cable is connected to a terminal. Then, the backstop member is attached to the housing in a first position, by using the first latching means. In the next step, each terminal with the connected wire is inserted through a corresponding backstop member opening and is positioned into its corresponding housing opening. Finally, the backstop member is pushed to the second position and can no more be removed due to the second and third latching means which secure it. In this position, a local portion of the backstop member is deflected by the housing into the housing cavity so as to prevent the terminals from moving backwardly . The above described cable end connector has at least one drawback. Indeed, the backstop member must be located in the first position relative to the housing when inserting a terminal into its corresponding opening of the backstop member. Nevertheless, a terminal inevitably interferes during insertion with the inner walls of backstop member opening, due to the small dimensions of the system. As a consequence, the backstop member is prone to be pushed to its second position relative to the housing while inserting terminals. When this happens, the terminals can no longer be inserted through backstop member since the cavity has been blocked by a portion of the backstop member. Therefore, the assembly of the connector and the cable cannot be readily achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for assembling a cable into a cable end connector with a stop feature which overcomes the above mentioned drawback.

This objective is at least partially achieved with a method according to claim 1.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cable end connector with a backstop feature which facilitates the assembly of a cable in the cable end connector .

In order to fulfil this object, an electrical connector in accordance with claim 4 is proposed. Various embodiments of such electrical connector are defined in dependant claims. An advantage of at least one of these embodiments is that the backstop member can be removed so as to repair cable wires or cable terminals.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure provided here in connection with the attached drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is an exploded view of an electrical connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in addition with a cable, - Figure 2 is a perspective view of a dielectric backstop member in accordance with figure 1,

Figure 3 is a front view of a dielectric backstop member in accordance with figure 1,

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along line IV-IV of the figure 3 of a dielectric backstop member in accordance with figure 1 with an inserted cable,

- Figure 5 is a cross sectional view along line V-V of the figure 3, showing the terminal of the cable inserted into the housing, - Figure 6 is similar to figure 5, but showing the backstop member connected to the housing,

Figure 7 is a left view of a dielectric housing in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

- Figure 8 is a perspective view of a dielectric backstop member in accordance with another embodiment of the invention .

- Figure 9 is an exploded view of an electrical connector comprising a dielectric backstop member in accordance with another embodiment of the invention, in addition with a cable. In the various drawings, the same reference numerals designate identical or similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows an electrical connector 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, in addition with a cable 2. Such electrical connector is designed to be used in various applications, including in a non restrictive way automotive applications.

Referring to figure 1, the cable connector is adapted to connect a plurality of cables, but for the purpose of simplifying the drawing, only one cable 20 with its corresponding terminal 21 is represented on the figures.

The cable 2 comprises at least a wire 20 extending along a longitudinal direction X and a terminal 21 secured to the wire 20. Said cable has a first cross-sectional area Sl. Each terminal 21 has a mating portion 22 and a connecting portion 23 which is connected to the corresponding wire 20 by conventional means, for example by crimping. The terminal presents a second cross-sectional area S2, measured as the maximum sectional area of the relevant part transverse to the longitudinal direction X. Said mating portion 22 is adapted to receive a male terminal of a matable connector which is not represented, so as to be electrically connected to the male terminal.

Referring to figure 1, the electrical connector 1 comprises a backstop member 3 and a housing 4 made of dielectric material.

In the embodiment shown on figure 1, the base of the housing 4 has a first latching organ 50 and the socket may have second latching organ. The first locking organ 50 and the second latching organ may cooperate so as to prevent a movement of the housing 4 relatively to the socket in a direction opposite to a direction of insertion of said housing into the socket. The latching is for example performed by snap-fitting. Referring to the figures 1, 5, 6 and 7, the housing 4 comprises a rear face 40a, a front face 4Oe and a plurality of cavities 43 extending from the front face 4Oe to the rear face 40a and a bedplate 44 the thickness of which extends from the bedplate top face 4Od (see Fig. 7) to the housing bottom face 4Oe. The plurality of cavities 43 are arranged in two rows, the cavities 43 in a same row are arranged in a side-by-side relationship and each comprises a corresponding silo 42. As shown in Fig. 5, the cavities 43 are separated from one another by a partition wall and present a tapered profile, which narrows from the rear face 40a toward the front face 43. The broader portion 45 of the cavity 43 has a fifth cross-sectional section S5 (See Fig. 5) adapted to receive the first connecting portion 22 of a terminal 21. The housing 4 further comprises two first locking elements 48. Each of these first locking elements 48 comprises two lateral protrusions 49a and one back protrusion 49b protruding from the housing lateral walls. As shown in Fig. 5, the each protrusion 49b determines a catching element and comprises a sloped surface 49c and an edge defining a substantially orthogonal catching surface 49d.

Referring to the figures 1, 2 and 3, the backstop member 3 comprises a base portion 30 and two lateral second locking elements 33. Said base portion 30 comprises a plurality of terminal openings 31 having a third cross- sectional area S3 (See Fig. 3), and a plurality of cable openings 32 having a fourth cross-sectional area S4, wherein each cable opening 32 has a corresponding terminal opening 31 and is in communication with the latter.

The third cross-sectional area S3 of each terminal opening 31 is greater than the first cross-sectional area Sl of the cable, so as to enable the cable 20 to easily pass through the terminal opening 31. The fourth cross- sectional area S4 of the cable opening 32 is greater than the first cross-sectional area Sl of the cable but is lower than the second cross-sectional area S2 of the terminals 21, so as to enable the cable with its terminal to pass through a cable opening 32, but preventing withdrawal of the cable with its the associated terminal 21 when the cable portion 20 is maintained in the cable opening 32. Noteworthy is also, in the present embodiment, that the third cross-sectional area S3 is greater than the second cross-sectional area S2 of the terminal 21, so as to enable the terminal 21 to pass through the terminal opening 31.

As shown on Fig. 6, each of said second locking element 33 comprises one flexible leg 34a and one latching hook 34b which itself comprises a sloped surface 34c and an edge 34d. The second locking elements 33 are thus sloped to engage with the first locking element 48 to assemble the backstop member and the housing.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing 4 has twelve terminal receiving cavities 43 and the backstop member has six terminal openings 31 which are in communication with one another to form a single backstop opening 34. Twelve cable openings 32 are in communication two by two to their respective terminal opening 31 and are in alignment with the terminal receiving cavities 43. But this conformation is not restrictive, as the numbers of cavities 43, terminal openings 31 and cable openings 32 may vary depending on the application and/or the customer' s will. Also, the terminal openings 31 of the backstop member 3 may not be in communication with one another.

The assembly of the cable end connector 1 of the present embodiment and of the cable 2 comprises five main steps .

In the first step, the cable 2 and the backstop member

3 are provided.

In the second step, represented on figure 4, the cable 20 with its corresponding terminal 21 is inserted through one terminal opening 31 of the backstop member 3 along the direction Xl (from the rear end to the front end of the housing) . For illustration reasons, the terminal is represented entirely although it is understood that, at this step, the sectional plan IV-IV passes through the terminal .

In the third step, represented on figure 5, the housing

4 is also provided. The terminal is inserted in its corresponding cavity 43 of the housing 4. Once a terminal engaged with in a cavity 43, the cavity walls cooperate by friction or mechanical locking with the mating portion 22 of its corresponding terminal 21, so as to ensure a retention force.

In the fourth step, represented also on figure 5, the cable 20 is transversely displaced relatively to the backstop member from the terminal opening 31 to a corresponding cable opening 32. It should be noted that the fourth step could take place either before, during or after the third step. When inserting several cables into the housing, it is both possible to repeat sequentially the second, the third then the fourth step for each cable, or to achieve the first step for a plurality of cable, then the second and finally the third (for example, for all wires 20 of a given row of the connector) . Also, every combination of these two methods may be appropriate.

In the fifth step, represented figure 6, the backstop member 3 is moved closer to the housing 4. The legs 34a of the backstop member 3 are inserted between the lateral protrusions 49b of the housing 4, until cooperation of the sloped surfaces 34c of the backstop member 3 with the sloped surfaces 49c of the housing 4. Then, as the latching member moves further, the internally-oriented hook 34b of the backstop member 3 slides along said sloped surfaces 49c of the housing 4 until said hook 34b rides over the top surface of the sloped surfaces 49c of the housing 4. Then, the cooperation of the two catching edges 34d and 49d prevents the backstop member from moving in a direction opposite to the insertion direction. When the base portion 30 of the backstop member 3 comes into abutment against the housing 4, the backstop member cannot move further in the direction of insertion Xl .

As the cable opening 32 has a fourth cross-sectional area S4 lower than the second cross-sectional area S2 of of the terminals 21, the terminals 21 are prevented from being pulled out, in the opposite direction of their insertion, from their corresponding cavities 43. This substantially increases the retention force of the terminals 21 into the cavities 43. The backstop member 3 may be removed from the housing 4 by using a tool for disengaging the edges 34d and 49d from one another so as to allow the replacement of the cable.

Figure 8 represents a dielectric backstop member 3 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the backstop member 3 may be composed of two complementary sub-parts 60. In order to reduce the manufacturing costs, said sub-parts 60 may be identical. Each sub-part 60 comprises the same elements than the backstop member 3 represented in figures 2 and 3. Said sub- parts 60 engage with the housing 4 in a similar way than described in step 5. In an embodiment of the invention, the two sub-parts 60 engage successively with the housing 4. In another embodiment of the invention, the two sub-parts 60 cooperate firstly with one another and then with the housing 4.

In an embodiment of the invention, the five steps mentioned above for assembling the cable end may be performed in a different order; for instance, the terminals are first introduced into the housing, without necessarily passing through the terminal opening, and then the sub- parts are brought and locked to the housing with the cable extending in the cable opening.

A dielectric backstop member 3 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention is represented in figure 9. In this embodiment, the dielectric backstop member 3 comprises a base portion 30 and four locking elements 33. Each locking element 33 comprises one flexible leg 34a and one latching hook 34b, which itself comprises a sloped surface 34c and a catching edge 34d. Each locking element 33 is placed at the bottom of the base portion 33 and is adapted to engage with a terminal receiving cavity 43 of the housing 4. For example, the sixth cross-sectional area S6 of the flexible leg 34a may be lesser than the fifth cross-sectional section S5 of the cavity 43, so as to allow the insertion of the locking element 33 through the cavities 43 so as to prevent the backstop member 3 from moving in a direction opposite to the direction of insertion. In this embodiment, as shown on figure 9, the first locking element of the housing 4 of the first embodiment may be removed as they are not necessary for securing the backstop member 3 onto the housing 4.

The cable end connector 1 may be adapted to be connected to an unrepresented socket. Said socket may have a plurality of socket terminals, said sockets terminals being received by the first connecting portion 22 of the female terminals 21.

Claims

1. A method for assembling an electrical connector (1) and a cable (2), comprising the following steps: - providing a cable (2) having a first cross- sectional area (Sl), and at least one electric terminal (21) adapted to be placed in a corresponding cavity (43) of a housing (4) and having a second cross-sectional area (S2), - providing an electrical connector (1) comprising:

- a dielectric housing (4) having a plurality of terminal receiving cavities (43),

- a dielectric backstop member (3) adapted to be secured to the housing (4) and having : o at least one terminal opening (31) of a third cross-sectional area (S3) greater than the first cross-sectional area (Sl), o at least one cable opening (32) in communication with a respective terminal opening (31) and of a fourth cross-sectional

(S4) area greater than the first cross- sectional area (Sl) and lower than the second cross-sectional area (S2), inserting the cable into at least one terminal opening (31) of the backstop member (3), inserting the terminal (21) into the cavity (43) of the housing (4) ,

- transversely displacing the cable (20) and the backstop member (3) relatively to one another from an insertion position wherein the cable (20) extends in a respective terminal opening (31), to a connected position wherein the cable (20) extends in a respective cable opening

(32) .

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said dielectric housing (4) has a first locking element (48) and said dielectric backstop member (3) has a second locking element (33) , said first and second locking element

(33,48) being adapted to engage with one another so as to prevent movement of the stop member (3) relatively to the housing (4) in a direction opposite to the direction of insertion of said backstop member (3) into the housing (4) .

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, prior to inserting the cable (20) into a cable opening (32), the corresponding terminal (21) is passed through said terminal opening (31) .

4. An electrical connector (1) adapted to be connected to a cable (2) having a first cross-sectional area (Sl) and at least one electric terminal (21) adapted to be placed in a corresponding cavity (43) of the housing

(4) and having a second cross-sectional area (S2), comprising: a dielectric housing (4) having a plurality of cavities (43) , - a dielectric stop member (3) adapted to be secured to the housing (4), wherein said dielectric stop member (3) has:

- at least one terminal opening (31) of a third cross-sectional area (S3) greater than the first cross-sectional area (Sl)

- at least one cable opening (32) in communication with a respective terminal opening (31) and of a fourth cross-sectional area (S4) greater than the first cross-sectional area (Sl) and lower than the second cross-sectional area (S2),

5. An electrical connector (1) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the third cross-sectional area (S3) is greater than the second cross-sectional area (S2).

6. An electrical connector (1) as claimed in claims 4 or 5, with at least two terminal openings (31) communicating with one another.

7. An electrical connector (1) according to any of claims 4 to 6, wherein said dielectric housing (4) has a first locking element (48) and said dielectric stop member (3) has a second locking element (33) , said first and second locking element (33,48) being adapted to engage with one another so as to prevent movement of the backstop member (3) relatively to the housing (4) in a direction opposite to the direction of insertion of said stop member (3) into the housing (4) .

8. An electrical connector (1) as claimed in any of the claims 4 to 7, wherein the backstop member comprises two sub-parts (60) adapted to engage with one another.

9. An electrical connector (1) as claimed in any of the claims 4 to 8, wherein the backstop member (3) has one single opening (43) in communication with all the terminal openings (31) and all the cable openings (32) .

10. A dielectric stop member (3) for a cable connector (1) in accordance with any of the claims 4 to 9, wherein said dielectric stop member (3) has: - at least one terminal opening (31) of a third cross-sectional area (S3) greater than the first cross-sectional area (Sl) of said wire (20),

- at least one cable opening (32) in communication with a respective terminal opening (31) and of a fourth cross-sectional area (S4) greater than the first cross-sectional area (Sl) of said wire (20) and lower than the second cross-sectional area (S2) of the terminal.