WO2012085667A1

WO2012085667A1 - Electrical connector arrangement with main and subconnector housings and a terminal position assurance member

Info

Publication number: WO2012085667A1
Application number: PCT/IB2011/003242
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juergen Muehlmichel
Original assignee: Fci Automotive Holding
Priority date: 2010-12-20
Filing date: 2011-12-19
Publication date: 2012-06-28

Abstract

The present invention relates to a modular electrical connector arrangement com¬ prising a main connector housing and at least one subconnector housing mount- able to the main housing. The electrical connector arrangement comprises further a terminal position assurance (TP A) member which can be inserted into the main and into the at least one subconnector housing. Thereby, the TP A locks the main and the at least one subconnector housing with each other.

Description

Electrical connector arrangement with main and subconnector housings and a terminal position assurance member

1. Field of invention

The invention relates to an electrical connector arrangement comprising a main connector housing, at least one subconnector housing and a terminal position as- surance (TP A) member.

2. Technical background Electrical connector arrangements with TP As are know in the art. They are commonly used in automotive applications, e.g. for airbag modules or electrical seat adjustments. TP As assure that an electrical contact terminal is completely inserted into the terminal receiving cavity of a connector housing before the first operation of the electrical connector. Without a TP A, the electrical contact terminal may be incompletely inserted into its terminal receiving cavity, which may lead to an open circuit or other electrical connection problems. As such mistake becomes often only obvious during an operation of the electrical connector arrangement, a repair of the mistake requires a demounting of the arrangement, which is time consuming and cost intensive.

Typical examples of such electrical connector assemblies are for example disclosed in US 2010/055961 Al and WO 2009/120333 A2. US 2010/055961 Al discloses an electrical connector assembly with a connector housing and a terminal position assurance member. The connector housing has a latch which abuts with a tine on the TPA. The terminal, when received in the fully inserted position, deflects the tine, and the TPA can be moved to its fully locked position. WO 2009/120333 A3 discloses an electrical connector assembly with an electrical connector housing and a TPA. The electrical connector housing has terminal receiving cavities with openings which access the cavities. Latching projections are located within the openings. The TPA is insertable into the electrical connector housing and has a latching element which cooperates with the latching projections.

However, the known electrical connector arrangements with TPAs have the dis- advantage that they cannot be flexible adapted or extended to different operation conditions.

Further, modular electrical connector arrangements are know in the prior art. Such modular electrical connector arrangements comprise at least two subsystems ar- ranged together. Modular electrical connector arrangements are commonly used to provide flexible extensions for different operation conditions.

Typical examples for such modular connector systems are for example disclosed in US 4,655,515 and US 4,846,727. In these documents, the connectors are as- sembled from a number of independent connector modules onto a common frame. The housings of the modules are provided with a mating face having corresponding passageways or cavities for the insertion of the contacts of a corresponding counter terminal. The mating face or contact openings of the modules have to be aligned with the corresponding openings in the mating face of the frame.

The known modular electrical connector arrangements have the disadvantage that the mechanic as well as the electric connection of the subsystems, as e.g. the modules mentioned above, is susceptible for failures and may e.g. be decoupled unintentionally. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a safe electrical connector arrangement which can be easily adapted or extended to different operation conditions and which can not release unintentionally but is at the same time of low complexity and thus easy to assemble.

These, and further objects which will become apparent upon reading the following description, are solved by an electrical connector arrangement according to claim 1.

3. Summary of the invention

According to the invention, a (modular) electrical connector arrangement comprises a main connector housing and at least one subconnector housing. Both con- nector housings comprise each at least one terminal receiving cavity. The electrical connector arrangement comprises further a terminal position assurance (TP A) member, which is adapted to secure the correct insertion of terminals in both housings at the same time. The at least one subconnector housing is mountable to the main connector housing in order to achieve a more flexible connector design. Thereby, e.g. a two-way main connector housing (i.e. a housing with two electrical contact terminals) can be supplemented with a four-way subconnector housing, threreby achieving a six-way connector assembly. The TPA is adapted to be e.g. insertable into corresponding reception means of the main and the subconnector housing and mounted thereon movable between a first open and a second closed position. In the first position, electrical contact terminals can be inserted in the terminal receiving cavities. In the second position, the TPA locks the main and the at least one subconnector housing with each other and preferably at the same time also locks the terminals in their respective positions inside of the housings. The electrical connector arrangement can be extended to be used in different operation conditions by adding one or more subconnector housings to the main con- nector housing. The preferably single TPA can thus prevent an unintended release of several connector housings and can verify and secure the correct position of a number of contact terminals in a number of housings with one single actuating movement.

Preferably, the TPA member can not be moved in the second closed position when one of the electrical contact terminals is incompletely inserted in one of the terminal receiving cavities. Preferably, the TPA is further adapted to be not movable from the first open into the second closed position if the subconnector hous- ing(s) is (are) not correctly mounted to the main connector housing. Thereby, an incorrect coupling or inserting can be remedied before the first operation of the electrical connector arrangement, and therefore without a time consuming and cost intensive demounting of the whole modular electrical connector arrangement. Preferably, the TPA blocks a movement of the main connector housing and the at least one subconnector housing in respect to each other by extending through aligned recesses in the housings. The aligned recesses may also guide the mounting of the main connector housing and the at least one subconnector housing. Further, the TPA may extend substantially perpendicular to the terminal receiving cavities to lock also the electrical contact terminals in the terminal receiving cavities.

The TPA may have essentially an L-shape with a pusher surface to push the TPA member from the first to the second position, and may be further provided with at least one channel or through-hole for the electrical contact terminals. The TPA may indicate the second position by a flush abutting between the TPA and at least one of the connector housings. Preferably, the TPA is further provided with latching means, as e.g. latching protrusions or latching recesses, which latch into corresponding latching means, as e.g. latching recesses or latching protrusions, pro- vided on the connector housings. Preferably, further subconnector housings are mountable to the main connector housing and/or the assembly of main connector and subconnector housing to extend the electrical connector arrangement. The connection between the main and the at least one subconnector housing may be provided by a mounting part, like e.g. a mounting protrusion, of the subconnector housing fitting into a corresponding mounting part like, as e.g. a mounting cavity, of the main connector housing.

The electrical connector arrangement may further comprise electrical contact terminals. Preferably, at least one of the terminal receiving cavities is provided with latching projections or latching shoulders formed to receive latching wings of the electrical contact terminals to lock the electrical contact terminals in the terminal receiving cavities. The terminal receiving cavities may be adapted for male or female terminals. Preferably, at least one of the terminal receiving cavities is further provided with a shorting clip to short circuit the electrical connector arrangement until the electrical connector assembly is mated with a corresponding counter connector. In a preferred embodiment, in the electrical connector arrangement at least one of the terminal receiving cavities is provided with a shorting clip to short circuit the electrical connector arrangement until the electrical contact terminal is completely inserted into the terminal receiving cavity. Preferably, the shorting clip is pushed to open the short circuit by the completely inserted electrical contact terminal (or alternatively by a mating counter connector). Preferably, in the electrical connector arrangement the terminal receiving cavities are adapted for male or female terminals.

4. Description of the preferred embodiments In the following, the invention is described exemplarily with reference to the enclosed figures, in which:

Fig. 1 is an explosion view of an electrical connector arrangement according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a planview of the electrical connector arrangement in the first position with a cross-section along line A- A;

Fig. 3 is a planview of the electrical connector arrangement in the second position with a cross-section along line A- A;

Fig. 4 shows the same arrangement as Fig. 3 with a cross-section along line B-B,

Fig. 5 shows the TPA from several perspectives; and

Fig. 6 shows the subconnector housing from several perspectives.

Fig. 1 shows an unassembled electrical connector arrangement in accordance with the invention. The electrical connector arrangement comprises a main connector housing 10, a subconnector housing 20 and a terminal position assurance (TPA) member 30. The subconnector housing 20 can be mounted to the main connector housing 10 and the TPA 30 can then be inserted into receiving cavities or openings of the main 10 and the subconnector housing 20. The connection between the main 10 and the subconnector housing 20 is provided by a mounting part 24 of the subconnector housing 20 fitting into a corresponding mounting cavity 14 of the main connector housing 10. The subconnector housing 20 with the mounting part 24 is shown in more detail in Fig. 6. The TPA 30 has an L-shape with a pusher surface 32 to push the TPA 30 manually from a first open to a second closed position. The TPA 30 has further latching shoulders 36 and 38 snapping into latching cavities 11 and 13 of the connector housing 10, which are described below in con- nection with Fig. 5. All parts may have guiding means to ease the mounting or the assembling, respectively.

Fig. 2 shows the assembled electrical connector arrangement. One can see, how the subconnector housing 20 is mounted to the main connector housing 10 by means of the mounting part 24 of the subconnector housing 20 fitting into the mounting cavity 14 of the main connector housing 10. Further, two electrical contact terminals 40 are inserted in each of the housings 10, 20 (i.e. each housing contains two terminals in the embodiment shown). The terminals are inserted from the left hand side in the figure. The terminal receiving cavities 12, 22 are provided with latching projections 26. When the electrical contact terminals 40 are fully inserted into the terminal receiving cavities 12, 22, latching wings 46 of the electrical contact terminals 40 snap behind the latching projections 26, thereby preventing a removal of the electrical contact terminals 40 from the terminal re- ceiving cavities 12, 22.

In Fig. 2, one can further see a shorting clip 18 being arranged in the terminal receiving cavity 12. The shorting clip 18 short circuits the terminals 40 arranged in the main connector housing 10 and is released upon mating of the connector as- sembly with a corresponding counter connector. Such shorting clips are commonly used to avoid e.g. electrical arching upon coupling of electrical connectors in high power applications or in applications which require additional safety measures as e.g. for the electrical connections in airbag applications. In Fig. 2 the TPA 30 is shown in the first open position. The longer leg of the L- shaped TPA 30 extends through a recess in main connector housings 10 and ends inside the connector housings 10 flush with an outer wall of the main connector housing 10. The TPA 30 extends essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of terminal receiving cavities 12, 22. In the first position shown, the elec- trical contact terminals 40 can be inserted in the terminal receiving cavities 12, 22. To this aim, the TPA is provided with channels 34 or through holes, through which the electrical contact terminals 40 of the main connector housing can be moved (see also Fig 5). When the electrical contact terminals 40 are completely inserted into the terminal receiving cavities 12, 22 as shown in Fig. 2, it is possible to further push the TPA 30 into the connector housings. Since the sub- connector housing 20 is likewise provided with a recess or opening for the reception of the TPA, which recess or opening is aligned with the corresponding recess or opening in the main connector housing, the TPA 30 can be disposed in its second position, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show the TPA 30 in the second closed position. The longer leg of the L-shaped TPA 30 extends into the subconnector housing 20 and locks thereby both connector housings 10, 20 with each other. The TPA 30 is further provided with locking steps 31, which engage in a restriction 48 provided on the terminals 40, thereby locking the same in position. Thus, a single TPA 30 can lock both connector housings 10, 20 with each other as well as all terminals arranged inside both housings and all this can be achieved by a single movement of the TPA.

When the connector housings 10, 20 are incompletely mounted to each other, the recesses in both connector housings 10, 20 are not aligned with each other and the TPA 30 can not be moved in the second closed (i.e. fully inserted) position. Since the TPA 30 is not flush with the respective connector housings 10, 20, but projects from the surface of the respective connector housings 10, 20, it is possible to visually check the mounting condition of the housings. Due to the shape of the electrical contact terminals, the TPA 30 can not be moved in the second position when the electrical contact terminals 40 are incompletely inserted in the terminal receiving cavities 12, 22. As mentioned, the electrical contact terminals comprise a restriction portion 48, which receives the locking steps 31 of the TPA 30. If an electrical contact terminal is not completely inserted into the terminal receiving cavity 12, 20, the restriction portion 48 is not in the correct position to receive the locking step 31 of the TPA 30 and the TPA 30 cannot be moved in its second closed position.

Fig. 5 shows the TPA 30 from different perspectives. The TPA 30 has an L-shape with a pusher surface 32 to facilitate pushing the TPA 30 from the first open to the second closed position. The TPA 30 has channels or through-holes 34 through which the electrical contact terminals 40 can extend. As can be seen in Figs. 1 and 5, the TPA 30 is further provided with a first latching shoulder 36 which snaps into a first latching cavity 1 1 of the connector housing 10 to keep the TPA 30 in the first position if not a certain force is applied to push the TPA into the second position. To keep the TPA 30 in the second position, the first latching shoulder 36 further snaps into a second latching cavity 13 of the connector housing 10. In the second position, additionally a second latching shoulder 38 of the TPA 30 snaps into the first latching cavity 11 of the connector housing 10 to provide a further securing means.

The connector assembly is preferably made from injection moulded plastic parts. The Figures show the connector assembly in larger scale; in practise the connectors have e.g. a length of 30 to 40 mm.

Claims

Electrical connector arrangement, comprising:

a main connector housing (10) and at least one subconnector housing (20) adapted to be mountable to the main connector housing (10), wherein each housing (10, 20) comprises at least one cavity (12, 22) for the reception of electrical contact terminals (40); and

at least one terminal position assurance (TP A) member (30) adapted to be inserted in the main (10) and at the same time in the at least one subconnector housing (20) when the subconnector housing (20) is mounted to the main connector housing (10), which TPA member (30) can be moved into a first open position and into a second closed position,

whereby in the first open position electrical contact terminals (40) can be inserted in the terminal receiving cavities (12, 22) of main and subconnector housing, and

whereby in the second closed position the TPA member (30) locks the main (10) and the at least one subconnector housing (20) with each other.

Electrical connector arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the TPA member (30) can not be moved in the second position when an electrical contact terminal (40) is incompletely inserted in one of the terminal receiving cavities (12, 22).

Electrical connector arrangement according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the TPA member (30) can not be moved in the second position when the subconnector housing (20) is incompletely mounted to the main connector housing (10).

Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the TPA member (30) extends through aligned recesses in the main connector housing (10) and the at least one subconnector housing (20) when the subconnector housing (20) is mounted to the main connector housing (10) to block a movement of the housings (10, 20) with respect to each other.

Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the TPA member (30) extends substantially perpendicular to the terminal receiving cavities (12, 22) and is adapted to lock electrical contact terminals (40) in the terminal receiving cavities (12, 22).

Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the TPA member (30) engages into a restriction portion (48) of the electrical contact terminal(s) (40) to lock electrical contact terminal(s) (40) in the terminal receiving cavity (12; 22).

Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the TPA member (30) visually indicates the second closed position by a flush abutting between the TPA member (30) and at least one of the connector housings (10, 20).

Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the TPA member (30) has essentially an L- shape with a pusher surface (32) to push the TPA member (30) from the first to the second position.

Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the TPA member (30) is provided with at least one channel (34) through which electrical contact terminals (40) can extend in assembled condition of the connector arrangement. Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the TPA member (30) is provided with at least a first latching shoulder (36) which snaps into a first latching cavity (11) of one of the connector housings (10, 20) to keep the TPA member (30) in the first position.

Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the TPA member (30) is provided with at least a second latching shoulder (38) which snaps into a second latching cavity (13) of one of the connector housings (10, 20) to keep the TPA member (30) in the second position.

Electrical connector arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that additional subconnector housings (20) are mountable to the main connector housing (10) and/or the at least one subconnector housing (20) to extend the electrical connector arrangement.

Electrical connector arrangement according to claims 1 or the preceding claim, characterized in that the connection between the main (10) and the at least one subconnector housing (20) is provided by a mounting part (24) of the subconnector housing (20) fitting to a corresponding mounting part (14) of the main connector housing (10).

Electrical connector arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the terminal receiving cavities (12, 22) is provided with latching projections (16, 26) formed to receive latching wings (46) of the electrical contact terminals (40) to lock the electrical contact terminals (40) in the terminal receiving cavities (12, 22).

Electrical connector arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims further comprising electrical contact terminals (40).