[0001] The present application for Patent of Invention, as its title indicates, is an "IMPROVED
SLIDING ELEMENT FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY", whose new features of construction,
shape and design fulfil the objective for which it has been specifically planned,
with maximum safety and effectiveness.
[0002] The electrical connectors used, for example, in cars are basically made up of a housing
made of an appropriate insulating material inside which a series of electrical terminals
is mounted which are arranged in inner cavities of the connector body through which
the corresponding cables pass. These connectors usually include a blocking element
for the terminals to hold them in position, which is inserted into the housing once
the terminals are correctly placed inside the same. The electrical connectors of the
type described centralise the cabling of an electrical installation and are designed
to be appropriately coupled to the corresponding service boxes.
[0003] Coupling of the connector may be carried out by pressure or by using a sliding body
provided with inclined side guides. This sliding body or slider runs through the inside
of the connector box so that the inclination of the guides causes the anchoring of
said connector box in the corresponding service box, ensuring the correct positioning
of the connectors with respect to the box by virtue of the creation of an avalanche
effect.
[0004] In practice, it has been found that on many occasions it is necessary to extract
the sliding body from the connector to handle the terminals or to carry out any maintenance
or repair operation on the connector's elements. However, extraction of the sliding
body is not easy as it is held inside the connector assembly thanks to blocking flanges
and to the resistance itself offered by the terminals.
[0005] In order to solve this drawback the present invention has been developed, whose main
objective is to have a sliding body or slider which can be handled comfortably and
effectively by the operator. In this sense, the invention proposes a double handling
system of said sliding body designed to facilitate the extraction operation as will
be described in detail below.
[0006] Specifically, the invention refers to an improved sliding element for an electrical
connector assembly of the type made up of a housing which houses electrical terminals
inside, a sliding body mounted in the housing provided with parallel arms and an operating
element of said sliding body.
[0007] The main feature of the present invention is that the ends of the side walls of the
housing of the electrical connector adjacent to the said operating element of the
sliding element have respective undercuttings adapted to facilitate extraction of
the sliding body from the connector housing. Moreover, the operating element of the
sliding body has, in its upper part, an undercutting which is similar to the undercuttings
of the connector mentioned above. Thanks to this feature, the operator can extract
the sliding body with great ease by gripping the end of the same with his fingers
introduced into said side undercuttings. The present invention also provides for the
arrangement of protuberances formed in the arms of said sliding body, which extend
vertically upwards and co-operate with the side undercuttings described above to facilitate
extraction of the sliding body from the connector housing.
[0008] The features and advantages of the improved sliding element for an electrical connector
assembly which is the object of the present invention will be made clearer in the
detailed description of a preferred embodiment of said assembly. Said description
will be given, hereinafter, by way of non-restrictive example, with reference to the
drawings which accompany it, in which figure 1 is a perspective view of an electrical
connector of the type which is used in electrical installations for cars. Figure 2
of the drawings corresponds to a side elevational view of an electrical connector
in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 is a front view according to the
embodiment of figure 2 and figure 4 is a plan view of the electrical connector illustrated
in the foregoing drawings.
[0009] The different elements which appear in the drawings are: (1) an electrical connector
assembly, (2) housing of the connector, (3) cavities for the terminals, (4) sliding
body of the connector, (5) arms of the sliding body, (6) operating element, (7) undercutting
of the operating element, (8) side undercuttings of the connector and (9) vertical
protuberances.
[0010] In the drawings different views may be observed of a practical embodiment of an electrical
connector assembly (1) provided with a double handling system in accordance with the
present invention. More specifically, the connector assembly (1) of the invention
consists of a housing (2) provided with inner cavities (3) for housing electrical
terminals (not shown) and a sliding body or slider (4) mounted in the housing (2)
made up of two parallel arms (5) which are introduced inside the connector (1). The
arms (5) of the sliding body (4) are joined to each other at their ends by an operating
element (6) which receives the force of the operator when the sliding body (4) is
introduced into the connector. For extracting said sliding body (4) there is a semi-circular
undercutting (7) adapted so that the operator may introduce his finger into the same.
Also, the ends of the side walls of the housing (2) adjacent to the operating element
(6) have respective undercuttings (8) which co-operate in facilitating extraction
of the sliding body (4) from the housing (2) of the electrical connector (1).
[0011] The arms (5) of the sliding body (4) incorporate protuberances (9) which extend vertically
upwards and also serve to facilitate extraction of the sliding body (4) from the housing
(2) of the connector (1), co-operating with said undercuttings (7, 8) described above
and constituting a second handling system of the assembly. Therefore, handling of
the connector by means of the undercuttings (7, 8) and the protuberances (9) considerably
facilitate extraction of the slider or sliding body (4) from the connector (1).
[0012] Without departing from the essential nature of the present invention, nor from the
inventive concept of the same as defined in the claims included below, all the materials
of the elements which make up the connector assembly of the invention, as well as
the shapes, dimensions and other accessory elements, may be replaced by others which
are technically equivalent.
1. "AN IMPROVED SLIDING ELEMENT FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY", the connector
assembly (1) being made up of a housing (2) which houses electrical terminals inside,
a sliding body (4) mounted in the housing (2) provided with parallel arms (5) and
an operating element (6) of said sliding body (4), characterised in that the ends
of the side walls of said housing (2) adjacent to said operating element (6) have
respective undercuttings (7) adapted to facilitate handling of the sliding body (4)
when it is extracted from the housing (2) of the connector (1), the operating element
(6) having an undercutting (7) formed in the upper part of the same.
2. "AN IMPROVED SLIDING ELEMENT FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY" in accordance with
claim 1, characterised in that the arms (5) of said sliding body (4) are provided
with protuberances (9) which extend vertically upwards for facilitating the extraction
of the sliding body (4) from the housing (2) of the connector (1), co-operating with
said side undercuttings (8) of the connector (1).
