Connector assembly

Claim 1

Electrical pin-and-socket connecter (86) with a) a housing consisting of two half-shells (2,4) and adapted to accommodate a contact carrier element (6), b) in the corner zones of each half-shell (2,4) which are towards the contact carrier element (6), matchingly constructed connecting elements (34, 36; 50, 52) which engage separably into one another when the housing is assembled, c) in the region of the housing end opposite the contact carrier element (6), means for the reciprocal interlocking of the closed half-shells (2,4), characterised by the following features: d) the connecting elements (34, 36; 50, 52) are constructed as projections which bear on the inside of a fixing flange (42) of the contact carrier element (6) and which, when the half-shells are assembled, have adjacently disposed surfaces extending at a right-angle to and parallel with the plane of the fixing flange (42) and which engage each other pairwise, e) disposed on the half-shells (2,4), in each corner zone, there is on the end face a retaining hook (68, 78) which engages over the fixing flange (42) of the contact carrier element (6) and which, when the half-shells (2,4) are closed, bears on the outside of the fixing flange (42), f) those faces of the projections (34, 36; 50, 52) which extend parallel with the plane of the fixing flange (42) on one half-shell (2) are of convex construction, taking the form of part of a cylinder to serve as pivotally guiding faces (44,46) while those of the other half-shell (4) are of matchingly concave construction to serve as pivotally guiding faces (54, 56), g) the front edges of the retaining hooks (78) which bear on the outside of the fixing flange (42) and which are provided on the half-shell (4) which has the concave pivotally guiding faces (54, 56) lie on the longitudinal axis (48) of the cylinder, h) when the half-shells (2,4) are closed, the concave pivotally guiding faces (54, 56) engage behind the convex faces (44, 46) when, during pivoting of the halfshells (2,4) about the longitudinal axis (48) of the cylinder, a predetermined minimum angle is attained and passed.