US6402552B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electrical connector with overmolded and snap locked pieces
Assignee: FCI Americas Technology LLC
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Filing: 2001-08-07
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Granted: 2002-06-11
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Expires: 2021-08-07
Abstract
Abstract An electrical connector comprising a contact wafer having at least one electrical contact connected to a first housing piece; a second housing piece having a contact wafer receiving area with snap lock latching surfaces, and a third housing piece overmolded onto rear ends of the first and second housing pieces. The first housing piece is snap lock inserted into the contact wafer receiving area and forms a seal between the first and second housing pieces. The seal between the first and second housing pieces substantially prevents flash blow by between the first and second housing pieces of material that forms the third housing piece as the third housing piece is overmolded onto the first and second housing pieces.
Inventors
- 👤 Douglas L. Wagner
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 15:00
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R13/00; H01R13/40; H01R13/405; H01R43/00; H01R43/20; H01R43/24; H01R13/58; H01R13/5845
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
118 words
An electrical connector comprising: a contact wafer comprising at least one electrical contact Connected to a first housing piece; a second housing piece having a contact wafer receiving area with snap lock latching surfaces, the first housing piece being snap lock inserted into the contact wafer receiving area and forming a seal between the first and second housing pieces; and a third housing piece overmolded onto rear ends of the first and second housing pieces, wherein the seal between the first and second housing pieces substantially prevents flash flow of material, which forms the third housing piece, between the first and second housing pieces as the third housing piece is overmolded onto the first and second housing pieces.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
118 words
An electrical connector comprising: a contact wafer comprising at least one electrical contact Connected to a first housing piece; a second housing piece having a contact wafer receiving area with snap lock latching surfaces, the first housing piece being snap lock inserted into the contact wafer receiving area and forming a seal between the first and second housing pieces; and a third housing piece overmolded onto rear ends of the first and second housing pieces, wherein the seal between the first and second housing pieces substantially prevents flash flow of material, which forms the third housing piece, between the first and second housing pieces as the third housing piece is overmolded onto the first and second housing pieces.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
An electrical connector as in claim 1 wherein the first housing piece comprises a polymer material which is overmolded onto the at least one electrical contact.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
An electrical connector as in claim 2 wherein the contact wafer comprises a plurality of the contacts aligned in a row.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
37 words
An electrical connector as in claim 3 wherein the first housing piece has a general rectangular block shape with opposite ends of the contacts extending from respective top and bottom sides of the general rectangular block shape.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
An electrical connector as in claim 4 wherein top ends of the contacts form spring contact sections.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
An electrical connector as in claim 5 wherein bottom ends of the contacts form wire termination sections for fixedly attaching electrical conductors to the wire termination sections.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
An electrical connector as in claim 5 wherein the second housing piece comprises a preload section, and wherein the top ends of the contacts are biased against the preload section.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
An electrical connector as in claim 1 wherein the second housing piece has a front end with a connector receiving slot extending towards the contact wafer receiving area, and wherein the connector receiving slot has a general L shaped cross section.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
An electrical connector as in claim 1 wherein the third housing piece extends in a rearward direction from the second housing piece.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
An electrical connector as in claim 1 wherein the third housing piece extends in a general lateral direction from the second housing piece.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
149 words
An electrical connector comprising: a first outer housing member having a general L shaped connector receiving slot extending into a first end of the first outer housing member and a contact module receiving area at a rear end of the L shaped slot; a contact module located in the contact module receiving area, the contact module comprising at least one electrical contact and a housing piece overmolded onto the contact; and a second outer housing member overmolded onto a rear end of the first outer housing member and onto a rear end of the contact module, wherein overmolding of the housing piece of the contact module on the contact forms a seal between the housing piece and the contact to prevent material of the second outer housing member from flowing through the contact module between the contact and the housing piece during overmolding of the second outer housing member.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
149 words
An electrical connector comprising: a first outer housing member having a general L shaped connector receiving slot extending into a first end of the first outer housing member and a contact module receiving area at a rear end of the L shaped slot; a contact module located in the contact module receiving area, the contact module comprising at least one electrical contact and a housing piece overmolded onto the contact; and a second outer housing member overmolded onto a rear end of the first outer housing member and onto a rear end of the contact module, wherein overmolding of the housing piece of the contact module on the contact forms a seal between the housing piece and the contact to prevent material of the second outer housing member from flowing through the contact module between the contact and the housing piece during overmolding of the second outer housing member.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
40 words
An electrical connector as in claim 11 wherein the first outer housing member comprises a preload section extending into the contact receiving slot from the first end, and wherein the contact has a front end biased against the preload section.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
33 words
An electrical connector as in claim 11 wherein the contact module comprises a plurality of the electrical contacts aligned in a row, and wherein the housing piece has a general rectangular block shape.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
41 words
An electrical connector as in claim 11 wherein the first outer housing member comprises snap lock latches in the contact module receiving area, and wherein the housing piece of the contact module is snap lock connected with the snap lock latches.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
78 words
An electrical connector as in claim 11 wherein the first outer housing member has a lateral slot at the rear end of the first outer housing member, and wherein a rear tail of the at least one electrical contact can be bent to extend into the lateral slot, and the second outer housing member can be overmolded onto the first outer housing member to extend laterally from the first outer housing member to form a right angle connector.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
129 words
A method of manufacturing an electrical connector comprising steps of: overmolding a housing piece onto at least one electrical contact to form an electrical contact module, the housing piece forming a seal around the contact; snap lock mounting the electrical contact module into a receiving area in a first outer housing member; and overmolding a second outer housing member onto the first outer housing member and the electrical contact module, wherein the seal between the contact and the housing piece of the contact module, formed by overmolding the housing piece onto the contact, prevents material of the second outer housing member from passing between the housing piece and the contact during overmolding of the second outer housing member onto the first outer housing member and the electrical contact module.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
129 words
A method of manufacturing an electrical connector comprising steps of: overmolding a housing piece onto at least one electrical contact to form an electrical contact module, the housing piece forming a seal around the contact; snap lock mounting the electrical contact module into a receiving area in a first outer housing member; and overmolding a second outer housing member onto the first outer housing member and the electrical contact module, wherein the seal between the contact and the housing piece of the contact module, formed by overmolding the housing piece onto the contact, prevents material of the second outer housing member from passing between the housing piece and the contact during overmolding of the second outer housing member onto the first outer housing member and the electrical contact module.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method as in claim 16 wherein the step of overmolding the housing piece onto the electrical contact comprises overmolding the housing piece onto a plurality of the electrical contacts, and wherein the housing piece has a general rectangular block shape.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method as in claim 16 further comprising bending a tail end of the contact at a bottom end of the housing piece, and wherein the step of overmolding a second outer housing member onto the first outer housing member comprises the second outer housing member extending from the first outer housing member in a general lateral direction.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
40 words
A method as in claim 16 wherein the step of snap lock mounting the electrical contact module into the receiving area comprises inserting the electrical contact module through a hole in a rear end of the first outer housing member.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
154 words
A method of manufacturing an electrical connector comprising steps of: overmolding a housing piece onto at least one electrical contact to form an electrical contact module, the at least one electrical contact having a tail extending out of the housing piece in a general straight direction; connecting the electrical contact module with first housing member; overmolding a second outer housing member onto the first outer housing member and onto the electrical contact module at the tail; and optionally bending the tail, wherein when the tail is not bent the second outer housing member is overmolded to extend in a general reward direction from the first outer housing member to form the connector as a substantially straight connector, and wherein when the tail is bent the second outer housing member is overmolded to extend in a general lateral direction from the first outer housing member to form the connector as a substantially right angle connector.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
154 words
A method of manufacturing an electrical connector comprising steps of: overmolding a housing piece onto at least one electrical contact to form an electrical contact module, the at least one electrical contact having a tail extending out of the housing piece in a general straight direction; connecting the electrical contact module with first housing member; overmolding a second outer housing member onto the first outer housing member and onto the electrical contact module at the tail; and optionally bending the tail, wherein when the tail is not bent the second outer housing member is overmolded to extend in a general reward direction from the first outer housing member to form the connector as a substantially straight connector, and wherein when the tail is bent the second outer housing member is overmolded to extend in a general lateral direction from the first outer housing member to form the connector as a substantially right angle connector.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method as in claim 20 wherein the step of connecting the electrical contact module with the first outer housing member comprises inserting the electrical contact module into a hole at a rear end of the first outer housing member and snap lock connecting the housing piece of the electrical contact module with the second outer housing member.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method as in claim 20 wherein the step of overmolding the housing piece onto the at least one electrical contact comprises forming the housing piece as a general block shape with top and bottom ends of the electrical contact extending from top and bottom sides of the housing piece.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-06-10 | 2005-12-10 | 2006-06-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-06-10 | 2009-12-10 | 2010-06-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-06-10 | 2013-12-10 | 2014-06-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |