EP0448084A1 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

A connector engagement detecting apparatus

Assignee: Yazaki Corp

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Filing: 1991-03-20

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Granted: —

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Expires: 2011-03-20

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Abstract

Abstract A first connector housing has a resilient lock arm and a second connector housing to be connected with the first connector housing has an engagement projection and a short-circuit contact behind the engagement projection. The engagement projection cooperates with the resilient lock arm when the two connector housings are joined together. The first connector housing also has a pair of elastic contacts situated on either side of the resilient lock arm which are connected at the rear with a connector engagement detection circuit. The front ends of the paired elastic contacts are rested on the front end of the resilient lock arm so that the elastic contacts are displaced by the tilting motion of the lock arm. The resilient lock arm has a lock bar at the front end that abuts on and is guided along a guide surface of the engagement projection so that the lock arm is tilted or deflected when the two connector housings are being engaged. When the two connector housings are completely connected, the lock bar rides over and beyond the engagement projection and the resilient lock arm snaps back to its original shape, allowing the front ends of the paired elastic contacts to come into contact with the short-circuit contact, thus completing a connector engagement detection circuit.

Inventors

👤 Naoto C/O Yazaki Parts Co. Ltd. Taguchi

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —

Jurisdiction EP

Data Source google_patents

Last Synchronized 2026-11-03 04:00

CPC Classifications

H; H01; H01R; H01R13/00; H01R13/64; H01R13/641; H01R13/62; H01R13/627; H01R13/6271; H01R13/6272

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 4

Claim 1

Independent Claim 123 words

A connector engagement detecting apparatus comprising: a first connector housing and a second connector housing, said first and second connector housing being adapted to be joined together; a resilient lock arm provided to the first connector housing; an engagement portion provided to the second connector housing to cooperate with said resilient lock arm; a pair of elastic contacts provided to the first connector housing for detecting the correct engagement between the first and second connector housings; and a short-circuit contact provided to the second connector housing; free ends of the paired elastic contacts being displaced as the resilient lock arm is tilted and, when the mating connector housings are connected completely, coming into contact with the short-circuit contact on the second connector housing.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 80 words

A connector engagement detecting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said paired elastic contacts for detecting the correct engagement between the first and second connector housings have stationary contact plates secured to the first connector housing, and a connector housing for a detection circuit is connected to the first connector housing to bring into contact with said stationary contact plates of the paired elastic contacts a pair of engagement detection terminal lugs incorporated in the detection circuit connector housing.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 100 words

A connector engagement detecting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said paired elastic contacts have their front ends rested on the upper surface of the front end of the resilient lock arm so that the paired elastic contacts for the engagement detection are displaced by the resilient lock arm as the latter is tilted or deflected, and that when the mating connector housings are connected completely and the paired elastic contacts are released from the deflecting force from the lock arm, they return to their original shape by their own elastic recovering force to engage with the short-circuit contact.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 96 words

A connector engagement detecting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said paired elastic contacts have their front ends engaged with the front end of the resilient lock arm so that the paired elastic contacts for the engagement detection are displaced by the resilient lock arm as the latter is tilted or deflected, and that when the mating connector housings are connected completely, the paired elastic contacts return to their original shape not only by their own recovering force but also by the recovering force of the resilient lock arm to engage with the short-circuit contact.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4750893A Cited

US4878853A Cited

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