Multi-terminal connector housing and assembly

Abstract

 The invention relates to a connector housing (1) with at least one contact terminal retention cavity (5) configured to accept and removably retain at least two different types of contact terminals (20, 30). The contact terminal retention cavity (5) may be defined by surrounding walls (7) having at least two stepped surfaces (10, 15) that may be integrally provided on an inner surface of one or more of the surrounding walls (7). The at least two stepped surfaces (10, 15) may form at least two locking features (10, 15) capable of engagement with a contact terminal position lock feature (22, 32) that may be present on a contact terminal (20, 30) that may be inserted therein. The at least two stepped surfaces (10, 15) may be perpendicular to an insertion direction (2) of the contact terminals (20, 30) into the connector housing (1) and the contact terminal retention cavity (5) formed therein. The invention further relates to a connector assembly (2) comprising the connector housing (1) with at least one contact terminal (20, 30) contained within at least one contact terminal retention cavity (5).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a connector housing for an electrical contact terminal. The invention further relates to a connector housing for multiple types of electrical contact terminals.

[0002] Connector housings are well known in applications that require the interconnection of various types of electric circuits. Usually, connector housings have one or more cavities formed therein for accepting electrical contact terminals. Once inserted, it is normally expected of the contact terminal to remain in its fully inserted position without requiring further supportive actions. In order to prevent the accidental sliding out or a partial or complete extraction of the electrical contact terminals. Contact terminal position locking features are often used both at the time of manufacture-related handling as well as when the connector housing is being put to use or being mated with its corresponding connector. These contact terminal position locking features can be formed as what is commonly referred to as a primary locking feature or a secondary locking feature. Both of these types of locking features achieve a similar goal but differ in the actual features that are provided in or around the connector housing to affect the locking. Also, the parts of the electrical contact terminals that engage with those features are different for the different types of locking features.

[0003] Primary locking features are generally formed as one of two commonly used types. Some electrical contact terminals have a rewards facing elastically deflectable arm known as a locking lance, and these are therefore called locking lance type electrical terminals. EP 0762551 discloses an electrical contact terminal with a locking lance. Other electrical contact terminals have a protrusion formed on an outer surface of the electrical contact terminal, with a rearward facing shoulder for use as a locking feature. These types of electrical contact terminals are commonly referred to as clean body terminals due to their more streamlined appearance. US 7,625,251 discloses a Clean Body terminal with a protrusion forming a primary locking surface.

[0004] Secondary locking features are generally formed as a locking leg that is connected to the connector housing by a connection surface that allows the locking leg to pivot. Such a configuration allows movement of the locking leg with the secondary locking features from an initial, unlocked stage to a final, locked stage. US 7,625,251 discloses one such secondary locking mechanism.

[0005] The availability of many different types of locking features in electrical contact terminals does not easily allow a simplification or standardization of connector housings that may be used with those electrical contact terminals. Use of various types of electrical contact terminals in an interchangeable manner is therefore not possible. One manner in which a partial solution to this can be found is disclosed in US 7,780,484 that discloses the use of different types of inner housings in combination with a standardized outer housing. Each type of inner housing is capable of receiving a specific type of electrical contact terminal as defined by its primary locking feature. Once the inner housing has been provided with the specific type of electrical contact terminal that it is configured to accept, the inner housings can then be inserted into the outer housing to form the complete electrical connector assembly.

[0006] This solution retains the problem of a lack of interchangeability of electrical contact terminals at the individual electrical contact terminal level, allowing only an interchangeability of the inner housings. Each inner housing still requires a fixed type of terminal being inserted therein - so the resolution of the problem is only up to the inner housing level. The additional complexity and the associated requirements of discrete sorting, handling, and assembly of a connector housing loaded with electrical contact terminals of the same kind remain unaddressed. This document also introduces the requirement of molding at least one of the inner and one of the outer connector housings to make a single connector housing assembly.

[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a connector housing which is capable of securely and removably locking in place an electrical contact terminal that is inserted into the connector housing, irrespective of the manner of primary locking feature provided on the electrical contact terminal. A further object of this invention is to allow the fast and cost-effective production of connector housings by removing the need to produce multiple sub-parts for each connector housing.

[0008] This object is reached according to the invention for a connector housing as mentioned in the beginning in that a connector housing with at least one contact terminal retention cavity configured to accept and removably retain at least two different types of contact terminals is disclosed. The contact terminal retention cavity may be defined by surrounding walls having at least two stepped surfaces that may be integrally provided on an inner surface of one or more of the surrounding walls. The at least two stepped surfaces may form at least two locking features capable of engagement with a contact terminal position lock feature that may be present on a contact terminal that may be inserted therein. The at least two stepped surfaces may be perpendicular to an insertion direction of the contact terminals into the connector housing and the contact terminal retention cavity formed therein.

[0009] For each of the at least two different types of contact terminals, one of the available at least two stepped surfaces may abut the contact terminal position lock feature that may exist on the electrical contact terminal. Upon insertion of the contact terminal in the contact terminal retention cavity, the engagement of the locking feature with the contact terminal lock feature may hold the contact terminal fixed inside the contact terminal retention cavity.

[0010] All of the additional improvements described herein may be combined independently of each other, depending on whether a particular advantage of a particular improvement is needed in a specific application.

[0011] In an embodiment, the surrounding walls described above may also be formed with three or more stepped surfaces. Each of these three or more stepped surfaces may be made capable of abutting various types of contact position lock features. Further, one or more of these stepped surfaces or combinations or 'sets' of such at least two stepped surfaces may be made capable of abutting various types of contact position lock features present on different sized electrical contact terminals. A single contact terminal retention cavity constructed according to this invention may, therefore, allow insertion and secure holding of electrical contact terminals of a variety of sizes, as required, while also allowing freedom of choice as to the locking features provided on the electrical contact terminals.

[0012] In an embodiment, in case of use with the largest possible sized or an intermediate sized electrical contact terminal size acceptable by the contact terminal retention cavity, the stepped surfaces suited for use with smaller electrical contact terminal sizes may either be destroyed, deformed, displaced or cut away by the action of insertion of the largest or intermediate sized electrical contact terminal.

[0013] The presence of such 'sets' of two or more stepped surfaces may additionally allow a single connector housing to suitably hold electrical contact terminals of a variety of sizes. This would accommodate, for example, the separate needs of power or signal transmission being selectively addressed by a standardized external connector housing. Electrical contact terminals intended to be used for power transmission may be expected to be larger in size than those intended for signal transmission, although certain intermediate sized electrical contact terminals are capable of efficiently transmitting both power as well as signals.

[0014] For a given application, a potentially unique mix of power and signal requirements may determine the actual number, the power/signal transmission capabilities and relative positioning of a set of electrical contact terminals. A connector housing constructed according to this invention may allow freedom of placement of the various types of electrical contact terminals therein as required, without requiring a pre-selection of the number of each type, or relative positioning of each type of electrical contact terminal. This may allow standardized production of connector housings, thereby achieving economies of scale during production.

[0015] In an embodiment, the at least two stepped surfaces may be configured to abut any one or more of a plurality of contact terminal position lock features, such as a primary locking feature of the locking lance type, a primary locking feature that may be of a clean-body protrusion type or a secondary locking feature. A combination of one or the other type of primary locking feature and the secondary locking feature being abutted by the at least two stepped surfaces or the locking features as disclosed in this invention may also be implemented. In this case, it would be apparent that there would need to be at least three stepped surfaces provided, according to this invention, for a given size of electrical contact terminal intended to be used. A first and a second stepped surface can be suitable for abutting a locking lance or a clean body protrusion, and a third stepped surface can be suitable for abutting a secondary locking feature. In an embodiment, a secondary locking leg could be configured with a further protruding surface to abut an external surface portion of the surrounding wall that is formed with the secondary locking feature, such as will be described below. This protrusion formed on the secondary locking leg may be used to prevent the up or outward movement of the surrounding wall by forming a secondary lock support feature. All permutations and combinations of possible contact terminal position lock features are allowed by this invention, including only one or the other type of primary locking feature or only the secondary locking feature being abutted by one of the two or more locking features.

[0016] In an embodiment, the at least two stepped surfaces that form the respective at least two locking features may have the individual surfaces formed at different distances along the direction in which contact terminals are inserted into the connector housing. These distances may be defined with respect to a first end of the contact terminal retention cavity, which can be the front end of said contact terminal retention cavity that faces a corresponding complementary connector during mating. It would be obvious that these different distances along the longitudinal or terminal insertion direction axis may also be considered with reference to a back or second end of the connector housing, where the wires attached to the electrical contact terminals present therein exit the contact terminal retention cavity. The stepped surfaces may be formed at locations that allow the most advantageous use of the connector housing by enabling the locking of the one or the other type of primary lock or the locking of the secondary lock, as per the usage requirements, for a variety of electrical contact terminal sizes.

[0017] In an embodiment, the fixation of the electrical contact terminal inserted within the electrical contact retention cavity at different distances from a front or first end of the contact terminal retention cavity, selected by the type of primary locking feature that may be provided on the individual electrical contact terminals and for a given size of electrical contact terminals, may be enabled by this invention. This would allow, for example, the differentiation of, say, male tab or lance bearing electrical contact terminals to all be fixed at a position other than the end-position described above, and instead allow fixation at an optimal distance within the contact terminal retention cavity as measured from a first or front end. The direction in which contact terminals are inserted into the connector housing can be referred to as the longitudinal or axial direction. This can simplify the task of ensuring that, say, male terminals do not protrude their full length outside of the connector housing. There would be no need to construct special holding features to hold the electrical contact terminal at intermediate positions. The task would be simplified to the selection of, say, male electrical contact terminals having a particular size and kind of primary locking feature present on them. The presence of the 'sets' of at least two stepped surfaces forming the locking features would also allow selection simply by way of choosing the male (or alternatively the female) electrical contact terminals to be of a different size than the other. This would ensure the continued freedom to use any of the above described kind of primary or secondary type of contact terminal position lock feature for that size of electrical contact terminal.

[0018] In an embodiment, each of the at least two stepped surfaces may protrude into the contact terminal retention cavity to different depths in a radial direction towards what may be described as a central longitudinal or terminal insertion direction axis of the contact terminal retention cavity. The above referenced 'sets' of at least two stepped surfaces could similarly intrude into the contact terminal retention cavity to further differentiated depths. An electrical contact terminal of a given size inserted into the contact terminal retention cavity would therefore lie along such a central longitudinal or terminal insertion direction axis once inserted. The axis could be envisaged as a geometric center of the cavity if it is viewed in a cross-sectional view. The respective depths to which the stepped surfaces protrude into the contact terminal retention cavity may be configured to correspond with the electrical contact terminals intended to be used with the connector housing. The depths to which the stepped surfaces are formed may correlate with the height or size of the electrical contact terminal body or the primary or secondary locking features formed thereon, and provide optimal abutment surfaces for the intended electrical contact terminal position lock feature. For a given outer dimension of the electrical contact terminal being inserted into the contact terminal retention cavity, one of the stepped surfaces would extend to a depth that would optimize its abutment against a lanced version of the electrical contact terminal, while the other of the stepped surfaces would extend to a depth that would optimize its abutment against a clean body version of the electrical contact terminal. A different set of the at least two stepped surfaces forming the locking features may similarly be optimized to abut contact terminal position lock features present on a different size of electrical contact terminal. An optimal positioning of the greater and lesser deep protruding stepped surface with respect to each other, so as to allow both types of a given electrical contact terminal to be securely and removably held within the contact terminal retention cavity may be selected.

[0019] In an embodiment, each of the at least two locking features may be formed on two different surrounding walls that form and define the contact terminal retention cavity. Or, alternatively, the at least two locking features may be formed at the intersection of such surrounding walls, which could be of particular relevance if the cavities are formed of an odd number of walls, such as three, which would result in a triangular cross-section, for example. Alternative embodiments with four or more individual walls that are at least partially interconnected to each other for forming the electrical contact retention cavity are envisaged by this invention. The cross sectional areas of the electrical contact retention cavity may therefore be of an unlimited number of forms, using three or more walls to form cross sections that are triangular, square, rectangular, trapezoidal, pentagonal and so forth; optimized to the requirements of the particular embodiment of this invention. The formation of the at least two locking features at the intersection of two walls may be formed spanning the two walls with material forming the connector housing to form the at least two stepped surfaces at a location appropriately corresponding to the lock features present on the electrical contact terminal intended to be inserted therein.

[0020] In an embodiment, the connector housing may be formed of four walls that may be at least partially interconnecting with each other to form the surrounding walls that define the contact terminal retention cavity. The interconnection between the walls may be along the full longitudinal length of the connector housing, or alternatively may be only along a part of the length. One or more parts of a wall may be formed fixed to the rest of the connector housing at a first or forward end of the connector housing with reference to the insertion direction, while the rest of that wall may be disconnected. Such a partial disconnection along three sides of a rectangular surrounding wall, as viewed from outside, may allow a movement or flexing of the unsupported and disconnected sections of the support wall. Such a movement or flexing may be in a radial or alternatively in another direction. This direction may be configured as required by appropriately choosing the shape and length of the attachment of that surrounding wall with the rest of the connector housing. A surrounding wall that is flexed radially outwards may allow a temporary increase in the internal volume of the contact terminal retention cavity. This may be useful, as an example, to enable the extraction of the electrical contact terminals from within the contact terminal retention cavity. The radially outward flexing of such a partially interconnected wall would also carry outwards with it any stepped surface formed on the inside surface of such a wall, thereby unlocking the electrical contact terminal previously held in place by stepped surface. This would allow movement of the electrical contact terminal out of the contact terminal retention cavity as required.

[0021] In an embodiment, the four walls forming the connector housing and the surrounding walls that together form and define the contact terminal retention cavity may have a square cross section, a rectangular cross section, or a trapezoidal cross section. The shape and dimensions of the contact terminal retention cavity may be configured as required by the size and dimensions of the electrical contact terminals intended to be utilized with the connector housing. In a possible embodiment, the connector housing may have three walls forming triangular surrounding walls that together form and define the contact terminal retention cavity. Depending upon the design of the electrical contact terminals intended to be utilized in a connector housing, this invention may advantageously be implemented in housings with triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal or any such further contact terminal retention cavity cross sectional designs, as also mentioned before.

[0022] In this description, improvements of the connector housing and a connector assembly according to this invention are described. These improvements that are described as various embodiments may be combined independently of each other, depending on whether a particular advantage of a particular improvement is needed in a specific application. Improvements described in conjunction with the connector housing may be utilized in the connector assembly and vice versa.

[0023] In an embodiment, a connector assembly according to this invention may comprise at least one electrical contact terminal loaded into at least one contact terminal retention cavity in a connector housing. Each contact terminal retention cavity may be formed in a longitudinal or terminal insertion direction axis from a first, or synonymously the front or mating end to a second or synonymously a rear or electrical contact terminal insertion end, which may be opposite to the first or mating end. The contact terminal retention cavities of the connector housing forming the connector assembly may be formed or defined by surrounding walls that may have two or more stepped surfaces forming locking features that may be integrally formed upon the surrounding walls. Each of the two locking features may be capable of removably retaining at least one of two or more different types of contact terminals within the contact terminal retention cavity when the electrical contact terminal is fully inserted therein.

[0024] In an embodiment, the retention may be enabled by any one of the at least two locking features that may be capable of engagement with one or the other kind of contact terminal position lock features on the electrical contact terminal. The contact terminal position lock features may be of a variety of different kinds such as a primary locking feature of a locking lance type, a primary locking feature of a clean-body type that is formed as a protrusion, or a secondary locking feature that may be formed to abut a shoulder on the contact terminal. The shoulder utilized for enabling secondary locking may be on the rear facing part of a front contacting portion of the electrical contact terminal, such that the locking feature enters and occupies the space above the transition region between that box-like front contacting portion and the crimp portion. Alternatively, this shoulder may be selected to be located on any other part of the crimped electrical contact terminal, such that an abutment against it would prevent the removal of the contact terminal from within the contact terminal retention cavity.

[0025] In the event that the at least two locking features are both provided for engaging with one or the other kind of primary locking feature, a secondary lock feature may be separately provided in the connector housing. In an embodiment, this secondary lock feature could then be a third locking feature integrally formed on a surrounding wall as a further stepped surface. In such an embodiment, a secondary lock support feature may be formed externally on a secondary locking leg or any similar movable structure that may be capable of abutting the surrounding wall at an appropriate location to prevent the surrounding wall from moving up or outwards. The secondary locking feature may also be formed as an appropriately shaped projection integrally formed in the material of the connector housing, and located at an appropriate position to project into the contact terminal retention cavity at some preselected location. Such a preselected position may correspond with features present on one or more types as well as one or more sizes of electrical contact terminals.

[0026] Alternatively, one of the at least two locking features may be configured to abut the electrical contact terminal in a secondary lock capacity. An embodiment of this invention could provide for only a secondary lock feature on an electrical contact terminal being engaged as per this invention. Another embodiment may have one or the other kind of primary locking feature being engaged along with a secondary lock feature. And in yet another embodiment of this invention, one or the other kind of primary lock feature may be engaged, with the secondary lock feature either being absent or embodied in any other manner, such as described above.

[0027] In an embodiment, at least one of the surrounding walls defining and forming one or more contact terminal retention cavities in the connector housing, which in turn may also form the connector assembly upon loading with an electrical contact terminal, can be flexed outwards to allow an expansion of a local cross sectional area of the contact terminal retention cavity. This can be enabled by a partial connection of that wall with the rest of the connector housing as has been explained above. Such a partially connected surrounding wall may be configured to allow maximum flexure at some predetermined distance from the first or synonymously the front or mating end of the contact terminal retention cavity. This flexure may be configured to be sufficient to disengage the particular locking feature from the contact terminal as may be in use. This may in turn allow the removal of the electrical contact terminal from within the connector housing forming the connector assembly.

[0028] The degree of flexure may additionally be chosen as required by a particular use or application. As an example, a certain degree of flexure may utilized to disengage and unload a particular size of electrical contact terminals while leaving other, presumably larger, electrical terminals mounted within the electrical contact retention cavity. This may enable a selective loading or unloading of electrical contact terminals within the electrical contact retention cavities.

[0029] In an embodiment employing different sizes of electrical contact terminals being present in the electrical contact retention cavities to form a connector assembly, the selection of an appropriate degree of flexure may enable the step by step insertion of diminishing sizes of electrical contact terminals. The flexure of the surrounding wall may be incrementally reduced after each type of electrical contact terminal to lock the larger sized electrical contact terminal in place while enabling the easy insertion of a comparatively smaller sized electrical contact terminal. Similarly, selective removal of electrical contact terminals may also be enabled by this invention. An incrementally increasing degree of flexure of the surrounding wall may allow the selective disengagement and unloading of smaller electrical contact terminals before larger electrical contact terminals that may be securely held in place within the electrical contact retention cavities.

[0030] In an embodiment, the connector housing forming the connector assembly may be configured with a separate secondary lock feature. Such a secondary lock feature may be additionally configured as at least one protrusion that emerges from the secondary lock feature and is formed projecting towards the first or front end of the connector housing. This protrusion may be made capable of abutting and externally supporting a surrounding wall at least partially when in a closed, final position, preventing the upward or outward movement of such a surrounding wall section, thereby forming a secondary lock support feature. The prevention of this movement of the surrounding wall in a radially outwards direction may prevent at least one of the two or more locking features from being disengaged from the electrical contact terminal that they may be abutting and thereby holding in place.

[0031] In an embodiment, a connector assembly as described above may be provided with a slot formed in and going through a surrounding wall such that it allows the insertion of a tab-like object, for example a screwdriver, under an adjoining surrounding wall. The tool may be utilized to flex at least one of the surrounding walls in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal or terminal insertion direction axis, such that any features present on this surrounding wall section would be moved outward and away from the contact terminal lodged in the contact terminal retention cavity. Such a slot may be provided between the first, front end and the second, rear end of the connector housing forming the contact assembly. The location of the slot may be at a predetermined distance from the first or mating end of the connector housing, such that optimal flexure of the partially disconnected surrounding wall may be achieved, as has been described above concerning the degree of flexure. The surrounding wall can be moved up and outwards to unlock the electrical contact terminal while exposing the partially disconnected surrounding wall to the least possible mechanical stresses, preferably.

[0032] In an embodiment, the connector assembly as described above may be provided with a hook-like structure on an outer surface of an at least partially connected surrounding wall as has been described above. The hook-like structure may be provided at a predetermined distance from the second, or rear end of the connector housing that forms the connector assembly. This hook like structure may be used to cause movement of the partially connected part of the surrounding wall on which it is located, by the action of an appropriate tool. Such a tool may advantageously be inserted into the connector housing in a direction along the longitudinal or terminal insertion direction axis, from a front, a top, outside facing direction with respect to the surface of the connector housing or a rear of the connector housing, depending upon the particular design of the connector housing. The hook-like structure may be engaged by a tool brought into contact with it when movement of the surrounding wall is desired. The movement of such a tool would then be in a direction suitable to actuate the hook up and outwards in a radial direction with reference to the electrical terminal retention cavity. Such a tool may further advantageously be moved into the vicinity of the hook-like structure by inserting it over at least one of the at least partially interconnecting surrounding walls. This would advantageously allow unlocking of individual contact terminals held within contact terminal retention cavities even when a multitude of such contact terminal retention cavities are located adjacent to each other. Such densely-packed contact terminal retention cavities may together form a connector housing with a high number of 'positions' and be loaded with electrical contact terminals that together form a connector assembly.

[0033] In the following, the invention and its improvements are described in greater detail using exemplary embodiments and with reference to the figures. As described above, the various features shown in the embodiments may be used independently of each other in specific applications.

[0034] In the following figures, elements having the same function and/or the same structure will be referenced by the same reference signs.

[0035] In the figures:

Fig. 1

shows a schematic cut view of an embodiment of a connector housing according to the invention;

Figs. 2a and 2b

show a schematic cut view of an embodiment of a connector housing and an embodiment of a corresponding connector assembly formed with a locking lance electrical contact terminal;

Figs. 3a and 3b

show a schematic cut view of an embodiment of a connector housing and an embodiment of a corresponding connector assembly formed with a clean body electrical contact terminal;

Fig. 4

shows a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of a connector housing according to the invention;

Fig. 5

shows a schematic view of another embodiment of a connector housing according to the invention; and

Fig. 6

shows a schematic view of the embodiment of Fig. 5 in a locked position.

[0036] Fig. 1 shows a connector housing 1 according to the present invention in a schematic cut view parallel to a terminal insertion direction axis 2. The position of the internal features of the connector housing 1 and their relative positioning along a radial direction 3 are also shown. The cut view cuts through one contact terminal retention cavity 5 of the connector housing 1, and shows a surrounding wall 7 formed at the top of the contact terminal retention cavity 5. The connector housing 1 may comprise more contact terminal retention cavities 5 of which only one additional contact terminal retention cavity 5 is shown to be present in this connector housing 1.

[0037] In the following, the elements of the connector housing 1 according to the invention are described exemplary for a single contact terminal retention cavity 5 and it its related components even though the housing 1 may comprise a plurality of contact terminal retention cavities 5 which may be formed according to the invention.

[0038] The contact terminal retention cavity 5 is integrally configured with stepped surfaces 10, 15 formed on the surrounding wall 7 that are formed according to this invention. The stepped surfaces 10, 15 extend into the contact terminal retention cavity 5 to different depths along the radial direction 3. Also, the stepped surfaces 10, 15 are formed at different locations along the terminal insertion direction axis 2.

[0039] secondary locking feature is also shown with the secondary locking surface 18 that is movable pivotably into the contact terminal retention cavity 5 along the radial direction 3.

[0040] Fig. 2a shows a locking lance type electrical contact terminal 20 with a locking lance 22. This locking lance 22 abuts the stepped surface 10 once the electrical contact terminal 20 is fully inserted into the contact terminal retention cavity 5. This is shown in Fig. 2b, which exemplifies the connector assembly 2. The stepped surface 15 does not abut a contact terminal position lock feature as shown. The locking lance 22 may be deflected inwards or downwards during the movement of the electrical contact terminal 20 through the contact terminal retention cavity 5, and may snap into place as shown once the end position of the electrical contact terminal 20 is reached. An outward deflection of the surrounding walls forming the contact terminal retention cavity 5 may not necessarily be required for this locking lance type electrical contact terminal 20, though it remains possible.

[0041] Fig. 3a shows a clean body type electrical contact terminal 30 with a protrusion 32. This protrusion 32 abuts the stepped surface 15 once the electrical contact terminal 30 is fully inserted into the contact terminal retention cavity 5. This is shown in Fig. 3b, which exemplifies the connector assembly 2. The stepped surface 10 does not abut a contact terminal position lock feature as shown. The protrusion 32 is relatively resistant to deflection inwards or downwards during the movement of the electrical contact terminal 30 through the contact terminal retention cavity 5, and instead causes the up or outward movement of the surrounding wall 7 carrying the stepped surfaces 10 and 15 when passing into the contact terminal retention cavity 5. Once the electrical contact terminal 30 reaches the end position within the contact terminal retention cavity 5, the outwardly deflected surrounding wall snaps back into a relaxed state, and reaches an abutment of the protrusion 32 against the stepped surface 15 as shown.

[0042] For both the figure sets 2a, 2b and 3a, 3b an alternative secondary locking surface may be provided according to this invention instead of the secondary locking surface 18 that is shown in an open position in both figure sets. Instead of this secondary locking surface being formed as a separate part, it remains possible to have a third stepped surface (not presently shown) in the contact terminal retention cavity 5 design to effect the secondary lock function.

[0043] Fig. 4 shows a hook-like feature 42 provided on an outside surface of a surrounding wall 7 forming the contact terminal retention cavity 5, according to an embodiment of this invention. This hook-like feature is formed on the surrounding wall 7 that is partially interconnected with the other surrounding walls and the connector housing 1. The surrounding wall 7 is attached to the rest of the structure at a front, mating end of the connector assembly and connector housing, and stands free to move in an up, outward direction along the radial direction 3 as shown. This up or outward direction movement enables the surrounding wall 7 to move, and allows both an insertion or locking of an electrical contact terminal (not shown) in the contact terminal retention cavity 5, as well as a similar movement to allow the electrical contact terminal to be unlocked and discharged from a back end (not shown) of the connector housing 1.

[0044] In this figure, the embodiment shown has two stepped surfaces (not shown) formed on the inside surface of the surrounding wall 7 to form the locking features. The secondary locking here may be achieved by the secondary locking surface 18 being inserted into the contact terminal retention cavity 5, where it may abut the shoulder of an electrical contact terminal (not shown). The movement of this secondary locking surface 18 is enabled by the movement of an entire secondary locking leg 44 such that it pivots around a connection surface 45. The secondary locking leg 44 may be connected to the connector housing 1 along the connection surface 45 as shown.

[0045] Fig. 5 shows a connector housing 1 with a secondary locking leg 44 pivotable about the connection surface 45. The secondary locking leg 44 is provided with a protrusion 55 corresponding with each surrounding wall 7 present in the connector housing 1. The protrusion 55 emerges from the secondary locking leg 44 as shown, and protrudes towards the first or front end of the connector housing 1. The surrounding wall 7 here is configured with at least one of the at least two stepped surfaces forming the locking features (not shown) formed on the inside surface of the surrounding wall 7 to form the locking features. The outer surface area 57 is formed on the surrounding wall 7, at an end of the surrounding wall 7 opposite to or furthest away from a front or mating end of the connector housing 1. A slot 59 is provided through a surrounding wall to allow the insertion of a tool under the surrounding wall 7 to flex it outwards when in an unlocked position.

[0046] Fig. 6 shows the connector housing of the embodiment of Fig. 5 in a closed or end position. The protrusion 55 has been moved downward with the pivoting of the secondary locking leg 44. The protrusion 55 abuts an outer surface area 57 of the surrounding wall 7, preventing it from moving up or outwards along the radial direction 3.

[0047] In order to unlock or unload such a connector housing 1, the secondary locking leg 44 must be brought to a position as shown in Fig. 5 first. Then, a tab-like tool such as a screwdriver may be inserted into the slot 59 and be moved to pry the surrounding wall 7 upwards. The surrounding wall 7 can be flexed along the radial direction 3, causing the internal volume of the contact terminal retention cavity 5 to increase. This can allow a removal of any electrical contact terminal that may be present in the contact terminal retention cavity 5. The slot 59 is formed between the first or front or mating end of the connector housing 1 and the second or rear or terminal insertion end (not shown) of the connector housing 1, at an optimal distance from the first end of the connector housing 1. This optimal selection of the size, shape and positioning of the slot 59 allows the flexing of the surrounding wall 7 to be carried out with the least mechanical damage being possible or caused to the material forming the surrounding wall 7. The optimization of stresses particularly around the area where the surrounding wall 7 is joined to the rest of the connector housing 1 is enabled.

Claims

1. A connector housing (1) with at least one contact terminal retention cavity (5) configured to accept and removably retain one of at least two different types of contact terminals (20, 30), characterized in that
said contact terminal retention cavity (5) is defined by surrounding walls (7) having at least two stepped surfaces (10, 15) integrally provided on an inner surface of one or more of said surrounding walls (7), each of said at least two stepped surfaces (10, 15) forming a locking feature (10, 15) capable of engagement with a contact terminal position lock feature (22, 32) on one of the at least two different types of contact terminals (20, 30).

2. The connector housing (1) of claim 1 characterized in that the at least two stepped surfaces (10, 15) are perpendicular to an insertion direction of said contact terminals (20, 30).

3. The connector housing (1) of claims 1 or 2 characterized in that the at least two stepped surfaces (10, 15) are provided along a contact terminal insertion direction axis at different distances from a first end of the contact terminal retention cavity (5).

4. The connector housing (1) of any one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that the at least two stepped surfaces (10, 15) protrude into said contact terminal retention cavity (5) to different depths in a radial direction towards a central longitudinal axis of said contact terminal retention cavity (5).

5. The connector housing (1) of any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that each of the at least two locking features are formed on two different surrounding walls (7) defining said contact terminal retention cavity (5).

6. The connector housing (1) of any one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that four at least partially interconnecting walls together form the surrounding walls (7) that define said contact terminal retention cavity (5).

7. The connector housing (1) of any one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that at least one of said surrounding walls (7) defining said contact terminal retention cavity (5) is capable of being flexed radially outwards to allow a temporary increase in the internal volume of said contact terminal retention cavity (5).

8. A connector assembly comprising a connector housing (1) with at least one contact terminal retention cavity (5) and at least one electrical contact terminal (20, 30), each contact terminal retention cavity (5) being formed in a longitudinal axis from a first end to a second end of said connector housing (1) and defined by surrounding walls (7), characterized in that
each contact terminal retention cavity (5) is integrally configured with at least two stepped surfaces forming locking features (10, 15) capable of retaining said electrical contact terminals (20, 30) within said contact terminal retention cavity (5) upon full insertion therein, each of said at least two locking features (10, 15) being capable of engagement with at least one contact terminal position lock feature (22, 32).

9. The connector assembly of claim 8 characterized in that the at least one contact terminal position lock feature (22, 32) on said electrical contact terminal (20, 30) is a primary locking feature (10, 15) that is of a locking lance type.

10. The connector assembly of claim 8 characterized in that the at least one contact terminal position lock feature (22, 32) on said electrical contact terminal (20, 30) is a primary locking feature (10, 15) that is of a clean-body protrusion type.

11. The connector assembly (2) of claims 9 or 10 characterized in that the connector housing (1) is further configured with a secondary lock feature (18).

12. The connector assembly (2) of claim 8 characterized in that the at least one contact terminal position lock feature (22, 32) on said electrical contact terminal (20, 30) is a secondary locking feature (10, 15) or a secondary lock support feature.

13. The connector assembly (2) of claim 11 or 12, characterized by at least one protrusion (55) emerging from a secondary locking leg (44) or secondary lock support feature towards the first end of said connector housing, said protrusion (55) being capable of abutting an outer surface of a surrounding wall (57, 7) configured with at least one of said at least two locking features (10, 15).

14. The connector assembly (2) of any of claims 8 to 13 characterized in that at least one of said surrounding walls (7) defining said contact terminal retention cavity (5) can be flexed outwards to allow an expansion of a local cross sectional area of said contact terminal retention cavity (5) at a predetermined distance from the first end of the contact terminal retention cavity (5).

15. The connector assembly (2) of claim 14 wherein at least one of said surrounding walls (7) is provided with a slot through said surrounding wall, the slot being configured to allow insertion of a tool to flex at least one of said surrounding walls (7) in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, the slot being provided between the first end and the second end of said connector housing (1) at a predetermined distance from the first end of the connector housing.

16. The connector assembly (2) of claim 14 wherein at least one of said surrounding walls (7) is configured with a hook-like structure on an outer surface, the hook-like structure being provided at a predetermined distance from the second end of the connector housing (1) and being configured to flex said surrounding wall outwards.

Drawing