US7094099B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Positive lock piece and electrical connector assembly equipped with same
Assignee: Aptiv Technologies AG
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Filing: 2004-11-01
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Granted: 2006-08-22
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Expires: 2024-11-01
Abstract
Abstract An electrical connector assembly comprises an electrical USB connector that has a separate lock piece attached to the terminal of the electrical connector. The lock piece has a collar that fits onto the terminal adjacent to the connector body of the electrical connector. The collar has orientation slots that receive tabs of terminal to properly orient the positive lock piece onto the terminal and inner retention shoulders that cooperate with lock fingers of the terminal for locking the positive lock onto the terminal. A flange attached to the collar serves as a finger guard and push surface when the collar is attached to the terminal. The lock piece has lock arms for attaching the collar to a face panel.
Inventors
- 👤 Barry M. Daggett
- 👤 Raymond J. Blasko
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 02:43
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R13/00; H01R13/62; H01R13/627; H01R13/6271; H01R13/6273; H01R13/639; H01R13/6395; H01R13/73; H01R13/74; H01R13/741; H01R13/745; H01R31/00; H01R31/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
96 words
A positive lock piece for an electrical connector comprising: a collar that is adapted to fit onto a terminal, the collar having at least one inner retention shoulder, a flange attached to the collar to serve as a finger guard, and lock arms for attaching the collar to a panel; wherein the collar has an inboard face and a plurality of retention slots that extend a first distance inwardly from a top and a bottom of the inboard face; and wherein the collar has a plurality of orientation slots that exend inwardly from an outboard face.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
96 words
A positive lock piece for an electrical connector comprising: a collar that is adapted to fit onto a terminal, the collar having at least one inner retention shoulder, a flange attached to the collar to serve as a finger guard, and lock arms for attaching the collar to a panel; wherein the collar has an inboard face and a plurality of retention slots that extend a first distance inwardly from a top and a bottom of the inboard face; and wherein the collar has a plurality of orientation slots that exend inwardly from an outboard face.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The positive lock piece as defined in claim 1 wherein the positive lock piece consists of a single, one-piece, molded plastic component having a rectangular collar.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
53 words
The positive lock piece as defined in claim 1 wherein the collar has at least one orientation slot that extends a short distance inwardly from the outboard face and at least one retention slot that extends a longer distance inwardly from the inboard face to provide the at least one inner retention shoulder.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
130 words
A positive lock piece for an electrical connector comprising: a collar that is adapted to fit onto a terminal, the collar having at least one inner retention shoulder, a flange attached to the collar to serve as a finger guard, and lock arms for attaching the collar to a panel; wherein the positive lock piece consists of a single, one-piece, molded plastic component having a rectangular collar; and wherein the collar has a plurality of orientation slots that extend a short distance inwardly from an outboard face with at least one orientation slot in the top and in the bottom of the rectangular collar and retention slots that extend a longer distance inwardly from an inboard face of the top and bottom respectively including the at least one retention slot.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
130 words
A positive lock piece for an electrical connector comprising: a collar that is adapted to fit onto a terminal, the collar having at least one inner retention shoulder, a flange attached to the collar to serve as a finger guard, and lock arms for attaching the collar to a panel; wherein the positive lock piece consists of a single, one-piece, molded plastic component having a rectangular collar; and wherein the collar has a plurality of orientation slots that extend a short distance inwardly from an outboard face with at least one orientation slot in the top and in the bottom of the rectangular collar and retention slots that extend a longer distance inwardly from an inboard face of the top and bottom respectively including the at least one retention slot.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
The positive lock piece as defined in claim 1 further comprising side walls that support the lock arms, the lock arms extending forwardly in cantilever fashion from their respective forward ends.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
88 words
A positive lock piece for an electrical connector comprising: a collar that is adapted to fit onto a terminal, the collar having at least one inner retention shoulder, a flange attached to the collar to serve as a finger guard, and lock arms for attaching the collar to a panel; further comprising side walls that support the lock arms, the lock arms extending forwardly in cantilever fashion from their respective forward ends; wherein the lock arms are U-shaped and have outer portions tat include longitudinally spaced look ramps.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
88 words
A positive lock piece for an electrical connector comprising: a collar that is adapted to fit onto a terminal, the collar having at least one inner retention shoulder, a flange attached to the collar to serve as a finger guard, and lock arms for attaching the collar to a panel; further comprising side walls that support the lock arms, the lock arms extending forwardly in cantilever fashion from their respective forward ends; wherein the lock arms are U-shaped and have outer portions tat include longitudinally spaced look ramps.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
96 words
An electrical connector assembly comprising an electrical connector having a separate lock piece attached to the electrical connector, the electrical connector comprising a terminal having one end disposed in a connector body, the lock piece having a collar that fits onto the terminal adjacent to the connector body, the collar having an inner retention shoulder for locking the separate lock piece onto the terminal, a flange attached to the collar to serve as a finger guard when the collar is attached to the terminal, and lock arms for attaching the lock piece to a face panel.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
96 words
An electrical connector assembly comprising an electrical connector having a separate lock piece attached to the electrical connector, the electrical connector comprising a terminal having one end disposed in a connector body, the lock piece having a collar that fits onto the terminal adjacent to the connector body, the collar having an inner retention shoulder for locking the separate lock piece onto the terminal, a flange attached to the collar to serve as a finger guard when the collar is attached to the terminal, and lock arms for attaching the lock piece to a face panel.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
The electrical connector assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein the positive lock piece consists of a single, loose-piece, molded plastic component having a rectangular collar.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
66 words
The electrical connector assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein the collar is rectangular and is fitted onto a rectangular portion of the terminal, the collar having at least one orientation slot that extends a short distance inwardly from an outboard face and at least one slot that extends a longer distance inwardly from an inboard face to provide the at least one inner retention shoulder.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
65 words
The electrical connector assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein the collar has a plurality of orientation slots that exend a short distance inwardly from an outboard face with at least one orientation slat in the top and in the bottom of the rectangular collar respectively and retention slots that extend a longer distance inwardly from an inboard face of the top and bottom respectively.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
The electrical connector assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein the positive lock piece further comprises side walls that support the lock arms, the lock arms extending forwardly in cantilever fashion from respective forward ends of the side wall.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
The electrical connector assembly as defined in claim 11 wherein the lock arms are U-shaped and have outer portions that include longitudinally spaced lock ramps.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
58 words
The electrical connector assembly as defined in claim 10 wherein the orientation slots of the collar receive upstanding tabs of the terminal to properly orient the positive lock piece with respect to the electrical connector and wherein the retention slots receive retention fingers of the terminal to retain the positive lock piece against a face of connector body.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
43 words
The electrical connector assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein the connector body is a molded plastic connector body and the electrical connector is a USB connector having a rectangular female terminal that has an end embedded in a molded plastic connector body.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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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) | 2009-08-21 | 2010-02-20 | 2010-08-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2013-08-21 | 2014-02-20 | 2014-08-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2017-08-21 | 2018-02-20 | 2018-08-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |