Weatherproof electrical connector

Claim 2

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having an open ended cavity which extends therethrough in a longitudinal direction and has a portion defined by a longitudinal tower at one end of the connector body, a female terminal having an elongated socket at one end retained in the cavity with the elongated socket disposed in the portion defined by the tower, a socket connector body having an open ended cavity which extends therethrough in a longitudinal direction and has an enlarged portion at one end which slidably receives the tower of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forward of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portion of the cavity, a male terminal having an elongated contact at one end retained in the cavity with the elongated contact disposed in the enlarged portion thereof and inserted in the elongated socket when the connector bodies are mated, and a seal pad mounted on the tower in sealing engagement therewith and in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 3

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, a female terminal having an elongated socket at one end retained in each cavity with the elongated socket contact disposed in the portion defined by the tower, a socket connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have enlarged portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, a male terminal having an elongated contact at one end retained in each cavity with the elongated contact disposed in the enlarged portion thereof and inserted in one of the elongated sockets when the connector bodies are mated, and a seal pad mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, and in sealing engagment with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 4

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, a female terminal having an elongated socket at one end retained in each cavity with the elongated socket contact disposed in the portion defined by the tower, a socket connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have enlarged portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, a male terminal having an elongated contact at one end retained in each cavity with the elongated contact disposed in the enlarged portion thereof and inserted in one of the elongated sockets when the connector bodies are mated, and a seal pad mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, and in sealing engagment with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 5

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, a female terminal having an elongated socket at one end retained in each cavity with the elongated socket disposed in the portion defined by the tower, a socket connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have enlarged portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, a male terminal having an elongated contact at one end retained in each cavity, said elongated contact being disposed in the enlarged cavity portion spaced radially from the sidewall thereof and inserted in one of the elongated sockets when the connector bodies are mated, said elongated contact having a tip spaced rearwardly of the forward end of the enlarged cavity portion whereby the side wall guides the elongated socket into engagement with the elongated contact, and an apertured seal pad mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, said seal pad having a plurality of flexible radial lips in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 6

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, a female terminal having an elongated socket at one end retained in each cavity with the elongated socket disposed in the portion defined by the tower, a socket connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have enlarged portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, a male terminal having an elongated contact at one end retained in each cavity, said elongated contact being disposed in the enlarged cavity portion spaced radially from the sidewall thereof and inserted in one of the elongated sockets when the connector bodies are mated, said elongated contact having a tip spaced rearwardly of the forward end of the enlarged cavity portion whereby the side wall guides the elongated socket into engagement with the elongated contact, and an apertured seal pad mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, said seal pad having a plurality of flexible radial lips in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 7

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, a female terminal having an elongated socket at one end retained in each cavity, each cavity having a forward portion which has means for piloting the elongated socket disposed therein, a socket connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction, and which have intermediate reduced portions and enlarged end portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, a male terminal disposed in each cavity, each male terminal having an intermediate portion which is supported and retained in the intermediate reduced cavity portion and an elongated contact which is disposed centrally in the enlarged end portion spaced radially from the sidewall thereof, and inserted in one of the elongated sockets when the connector bodies are mated, each elongated contact having a tip spaced rearwardly of the forward end of the enlarged end portion whereby the sidewall guides the elongated socket into engagement with the elongated contact, and a seal pad having a plurality of undersized apertures extending therethrough by means of which the seal pad is mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, said seal pad having a plurality of flexible radial lips in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 8

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction and have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, a female terminal having an elongated socket at one end retained in each cavity, each cavity having a forward portion which has means for piloting the elongated socket disposed therein, a socket connector body having a plurality of open ended cavities which extend therethrough in a longitudinal direction, and which have intermediate reduced portions and enlarged end portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, a male terminal disposed in each cavity, each male terminal having an intermediate portion which is supported and retained in the intermediate reduced cavity portion and an elongated contact which is disposed centrally in the enlarged end portion spaced radially from the sidewall thereof, and inserted in one of the elongated sockets when the connector bodies are mated, each elongated contact having a tip spaced rearwardly of the forward end of the enlarged end portion whereby the sidewall guides the elongated socket into engagement with the elongated contact, and a seal pad having a plurality of undersized apertures extending therethrough by means of which the seal pad is mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, said seal pad having a plurality of flexible radial lips in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 9

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a longitudinal cavity which has a portion defined by a longitudinal tower at one end of the connector body, a first terminal retained in the cavity, said first terminal having an elongated contact at one end disposed in the portion defined by the tower, a socket connector body having a longitudinal cavity which has an enlarged portion at one end which slidably receives the tower of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal periphery sealing surface forward of and spaced radially outwardly of the elongated portion of the cavity, a second terminal retained in the aforesaid cavity, said second terminal having an elongated contact at one end disposed in the enlarged portion of the aforesaid cavity and mating with the elongated contact of the first terminal when the connector bodies are mated, and a seal pad mounted on the tower in sealing engagement therewith and in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 10

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a longitudinal cavity which has a portion defined by a longitudinal tower at one end of the connector body, a first terminal retained in the cavity, said first terminal having an elongated contact at one end disposed in the portion defined by the tower, a socket connector body having a longitudinal cavity which has an enlarged portion at one end which slidably receives the tower of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal periphery sealing surface forward of and spaced radially outwardly of the elongated portion of the cavity, a second terminal retained in the aforesaid cavity, said second terminal having an elongated contact at one end disposed in the enlarged portion of the aforesaid cavity and mating with the elongated contact of the first terminal when the connector bodies are mated, and a seal pad mounted on the tower in sealing engagement therewith and in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 11

The interface sealing arrangement as defined in claim 5 wherein said seal pad has an undersized aperture extending therethrough by means of which the seal pad is mounted on the tower in sealing engagement therewith and wherein said seal pad has flexible, radial lip means in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 12

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of longitudinal cavities which have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, first terminals retained in the cavities, said first terminals having elongated contacts at one end disposed in the portions defined by the towers, a socket connector body having a plurality of longitudinal cavities which have enlarged portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, second terminals retained in the aforesaid cavities, said second terminals having elongated contacts at one end disposed in the enlarged portions of the aforesaid cavities and mating with the elongated contacts of the first terminals when the connector bodies are mated, and a seal pad mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, and in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 13

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of longitudinal cavities which have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, first terminals retained in the cavities, said first terminals having elongated contacts at one end disposed in the portions defined by the towers, a socket connector body having a plurality of longitudinal cavities which have enlarged portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, second terminals retained in the aforesaid cavities, said second terminals having elongated contacts at one end disposed in the enlarged portions of the aforesaid cavities and mating with the elongated contacts of the first terminals when the connector bodies are mated, and a seal pad mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, and in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 14

The interface sealing arrangement as defined in claim 7 wherein said seal pad has a plurality of undersized apertures extending therethrough by means of which the seal pad is mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith and wherein said seal pad has flexible, radial lip means in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 15

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of longitudinal cavities which have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, first terminals retained in the cavities, said first terminals having elongated contacts at one end disposed in the portions defined by the towers, a socket connector body having a plurality of longitudinal cavities which have enlarged portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, second terminals retained in the aforesaid cavities, said second terminals having elongated contacts which are disposed in the enlarged cavity portions and spaced radially from the sidewalls of the enlarged portions, said elongated contacts mating with the elongated contacts of the first terminals when the connector bodies are mated, said elongated contacts of the second terminals having forward ends spaced rearwardly of the forward end of the enlarged cavity portions whereby the sidewalls guide the elongated contacts of the first terminals into engagement with the elongated contacts of the second terminals, and an apertured seal pad mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, said seal pad having a plurality of flexible radial lips in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 16

An interface sealing arrangement for matable electrical connectors comprising: a plug connector body having a plurality of longitudinal cavities which have portions defined by a plurality of longitudinal laterally spaced towers at one end of the connector body, first terminals retained in the cavities, said first terminals having elongated contacts at one end disposed in the portions defined by the towers, a socket connector body having a plurality of longitudinal cavities which have enlarged portions at one end which slidably receive the towers of the plug connector body, said socket connector body having a longitudinal projecting shroud at said one end providing an internal peripheral sealing surface forwardly of and spaced radially outwardly of the enlarged portions of the cavities, second terminals retained in the aforesaid cavities, said second terminals having elongated contacts which are disposed in the enlarged cavity portions and spaced radially from the sidewalls of the enlarged portions, said elongated contacts mating with the elongated contacts of the first terminals when the connector bodies are mated, said elongated contacts of the second terminals having forward ends spaced rearwardly of the forward end of the enlarged cavity portions whereby the sidewalls guide the elongated contacts of the first terminals into engagement with the elongated contacts of the second terminals, and an apertured seal pad mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith, said seal pad having a plurality of flexible radial lips in sealing engagement with the internal peripheral sealing surface of the shroud.

Claim 17

The interface sealing arrangement defined in claim 9 wherein the apertured seal pad has a plurality of undersized apertures extending therethrough by means of which the seal pad is mounted on the towers in sealing engagement therewith.