Yazaki North America, Inc.

David Kwang

James Leroy Jones, Iii

Shashidhar M Kamath

Truong Quoc Nguyen

Arkady Y Zerebilov

Bryan Donald Cole

Mark S Grant

Larry Kim

Jeffrey Ward

Vijendra Raghavendra

Chris Shelly

A connector assembly can include a bracket, a first connector and a second connector. The bracket can have a base adapted to be mounted in a fixed position and include a wall extending at a right angle from a plane of the base. The wall can have two curved, side-by-side grooves and an axis raised above the plane of the base. The first and second connectors can each have a housing for accommodating electrical terminals. One housing can include two posts located alongside each other for receipt in the grooves of the bracket such that the first connector is guided in a stable, curved sliding movement along the grooves. The second connector can include a channel for receiving and being acted upon by the axis of the bracket to draw the connectors further together and the terminals of the connectors into electrical engagement to a final position.

Electrical connector assembly connected upon rotation about a bracket

An electrical connector according to the present teachings can be coupled together with a low insertion force. The electrical connector can utilize levers to create a mechanical advantage and reduce the input force required to couple the mating members together and interconnect the electrical terminals. When utilized as a blind mating electrical connector, the connector can include visual indicators indicative of the proper and complete coupling of the mating members and interconnection of the terminals.

Low-insertion force-lever connector for blind mating

In a smart or intelligent electrical connector assembly, a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted in a first connector has circuit traces that extend from various locations on the PCB to a single, particular area between edges of the PCB. Components such as switches and microcontrollers for controlling the connector assembly circuits are electrically connected to the traces at the various locations. A terminal block is mounted at the single, particular area. The terminal block has terminals with ends electrically connected with the traces. The other ends of the terminals extend outward from surfaces of the block towards the edges of the PCB. Wire harness terminals within the first connector and within a second, mating connector of the assembly electrically connect with the terminal block terminals. By having the PCB terminals extend from a location inward from and above the PCB edges, rather than being located directly on the edges themselves, the PCB can be made smaller and the connectors can have a more telescopic fit, resulting in a compact connector assembly.

Terminal block arrangement for a printed circuit board in a smart connector

A smart connector for automotive accessories comprising injection molded plastic first and second components, the first component being adapted to receive a printed circuit board with edge contacts therein. Multiple position assurance features are provided so that the PCB can only be fully inserted in the proper orientation and can only be latched in place if fully inserted. Spring terminals are crimped to the wires leading to and from the connector assembly and contactingly engage the edge contacts on the surfaces of the PCB adjacent the leading and trailing edges thereof. The first and second connector components are releasably latched together by means of an exterior detent and spring arm combination.

Electronic connector utilizing edge board terminal systems

An insertion-force reducing connector assembly and method for mating multi-terminal male and female connectors of the type used in automotive wiring harnesses. The female connector is movably retained in a frame-like holder by a self-actuating force reducing link that automatically couples a male connector inserted into the holder to the female connector with an insertion/withdrawal ratio in which the female connector moves away from the male connector in the terminal-mating direction more slowly than the male connector is inserted, thus allowing the connectors to be coupled over a longer than normal terminal-mating distance and reducing the insertion force needed to mate the terminals. The method includes the steps of coupling the female connector to the holder and subsequently mating the male connector to the female connector in the holder.

Low insertion force connector system

In a wire harness connector body of the type having an end cover with a plurality of terminal openings and a mating seal having a corresponding plurality of terminal openings, a delete plug for insertion into a terminal opening in the cover such that it plugs that terminal opening against the insertion of a terminated wire. The delete plug includes a seal-plugging member which is inserted into a corresponding terminal opening in the seal to maintain the sealed nature of the connector. One or more delete plugs can be added to, moved around, or removed from the cover to reconfigure a basic cover and seal arrangement to accept different numbers or placement of terminated wires.

System for reconfiguring connector cover and seal

A spring contact for a female wire harness terminal, the spring contact having a sacrificial ramp which a mating terminal wipes on insertion. The sacrificial ramp includes an aperture below which a failsafe contact connected to a spring portion of the ramp rests until the mating terminal nears full insertion, at which point the spring portion forces the failsafe contact upwardly through the aperture into electrical engagement with the mated terminal. The ramp bears the brunt of the sacrificial wiping; the failsafe contact remains out of wiping contact with the mating terminal until a point at or near the end of terminal insertion, thereby preserving the mating conductive portions of the failsafe leg and the mating terminal from sacrificial wear. This protected, end-of-insertion failsafe connection allows the female spring contact to maintain good electrical connection with the mating terminal over many cycles in high cycle applications.

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Southfield, MI, United States of America

David Kwang