Delphi Technologies, Inc.

Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Other

John H Bakker

William George Flask

Vickey E Reed

Ronald A Puhl

John George Kountz

Joseph Albert Svette, Jr

Courtney A Mansky

Jay Harold Garretson

George Raymond Herlinger

Greg S Reese

Gregory S Reese

William G Strang

John M Chupak

Frank Thomas Neale, Iii

Mark A Scheel

Peter T Bucco

Donald John Mizner

Matthew K Monden

Joseph A Wilson

Jefferson S Mendenhall

Brian R Nagy

Gary E Casterline

William Keith Clupper

Scott Duncan Welsh

James E Bankston

Edward Joseph Miller

David W Van Sickle

Michael M Ruberto

David P Bakker

A cable carrier chain having improved strength and flexibility (including improved bilateral flexibility) useful in automotive and other applications contains pivotally joined chain links, each link containing two side plates, two undercut pins, two round apertures which are slightly oversized relative to the pins, a hinged cover lid and a bottom support plate. In the chain, the undercut pins of one chain link are mated with the slightly oversized apertures of an adjacent link, giving the chain increased strength and flexibility. The cover lid preferably includes a hinge member having a relatively thin horizontal strap hinge disposed between two relatively thick vertical hinge straps. The bottom surface of the support plate preferably contains ribs which reduce noise and wear.

Chain links and cable carrier chains containing same

An electrical connector assembly has a male connector which houses and locks to a series of male bladed terminals and a female connector housing and locking to a series of female terminals. A blade of each male terminal extends into a chamber defined by a shroud of the male connector. Prior to mating of the electrical connector assembly, a self-aligning blade stabilizer is snap fitted into a pre-staged position with the male connector via a two-stage fastening feature so that the distal ends of the blades are disposed within respective apertures of the stabilizer and aligned to their respective female terminals. With the blade stabilizer held in a pre-staged position, the distal ends of the blades are protected from being inadvertently knocked and bent which would cause misalignment. Furthermore, the stabilizer prevents entry of debris into the chamber of the male connector which would hinder or prevent full mating of the electrical connector. During mating of the electrical connector assembly, the stabilizer is pushed out of the pre-staged position and into a staged position as the blades travel through the apertures and into the female terminals of the female connector.

Electrical connector assembly

An electrical connector assembly has a male connector which mates to a female connector thereby electrically engaging male terminal blades, locked to a male connector body, to female terminals locked to a female connector body. The blade of each male terminal extends into a blind bore defined by a shroud of the male connector body. Prior to mating of the electrical connector assembly, a self-aligning blade stabilizer is snap fitted into a blade alignment position with the male connector via a lock arm which prevents withdrawal of the stabilizer from the male connector and a flex arm which restricts insertion of the stabilizer into the male connector. When the stabilizer is in the blade alignment position, the tips of the blades are disposed within respective apertures of the stabilizer and aligned to their respective female terminals. Moreover, the terminal blades are protected from being inadvertently knocked and bent which would cause blade misalignment and hinder electrical continuity of the mated assembly. Furthermore, the stabilizer prevents entry of debris into the blind bore of the male connector which would hinder or prevent full mating of the electrical connector. During mating of the electrical connector assembly, the stabilizer is pushed out of the blade alignment position and into a seated position as the blades travel through the apertures and into the female terminals of the female connector.

An electrical connector assembly has a first connector with preferably two oppositely protruding cam followers and a second connector having a pivoting cam lever having preferably two lever arms. The two lever arms respectively engage the earn followers when the first connector is initially staged and locked partially into a cavity defined by the second connector, and as the cam lever pivots from an open position and towards a mated position. The first connector, once locked in the staged position within the forward cavity of the second connector, can not be easily or inadvertently withdrawn, thus, proper orientation of the cam followers to the cam lever is assured for initial cam engagement. The assembly is locked in the staged position by the snap fitting of a tab, which projects laterally from the first connector, into a close ended groove carried by a flex wall which is cantilevered from the second connector. Should the first connector be inadvertently pulled backward from the mating direction, a forward facing stop surface of the tab engages, and thereby prevents further withdrawal of the first connector, with a rearward facing lock seat of the flex wall. The stop surface of the tab is disposed substantially perpendicular to the mating direction preventing inadvertent flexing of the flex wall which would otherwise un-lock the first connector from the staged position.

Staged lock feature for an electrical connector assembly having a cam mating device

A multi-blade electrical connector featuring a guidingly movable blade stabilizer which prevents blade misalignment and foreign article entry into the blade environment. A shroud provides a shroud cavity which communicates with terminal cavities. A bladed terminal is received in a respective terminal cavity, wherein the blade thereof projects into the shroud cavity. The shroud has a top wall and a bottom wall and have formed therein at least one pair of mutually opposed slot sets, each being composed of a prestage slot and a staging slot mutually aligned and separated by a prestage detent. The blade stabilizer has a plurality of blade apertures for snugly receiving a blade, respectively. Opposing edges of the blade stabilizer each have at least one staging nib for being respectively received into the at least one prestage and staging slots, wherein the blade stabilizer is at a prestage position when the staging nibs are at the prestaging slots, and at a sliding staging position when at the staging slots.

Electrical connector having a blade stabilizer

Described is an expanding mounting system for a light emitting cable lead having a cable lead and a lens housing encasing the lead. The housing and lead are routed through a hole in a panel from a bottom side. A mounting bezel is installed about the cable from above the panel. A slot within the bezel permits installation of the bezel on the cable from a radial direction. Closure of the slot thereby causes the installed bezel to encompass the cable. Rigidly attached to a bottom surface of the bezel are a plurality of ribs which are positioned to extend through the panel hole when the bezel bottom surface contacts the panel top side. Engagement of the housing within the bezel causes the ribs to expand thereby locking the bezel to the panel.

Expanding mount system for light emitting cable leads

A control rod adapted to be bundled with a plurality of telecommunication cables to prevent the cables from being bent beyond a predetermined radius. The control rod includes a plurality of flexible control rod sections releasably connected together end-to-end by socket members and male members respectively provided on the ends of adjacent control rod sections. Each control rod section includes a plurality of beads connected together end-to-end by webs of material formed integrally with the adjacent beads.

Radius control rod

An electrical connector assembly supports a number of terminals as they extend through a wall such as one might find in a headlamp housing to mate with mating terminals outside the housing. The electrical connector assembly includes an elongated conduit or housing for supporting the terminals as they extend through the wall, where the conduit has a flange extending radially outwardly from one end of the conduit. The connector assembly also includes a seal having a jacket portion extending around the conduit adjacent the flange, and a skirt portion extending radially outwardly from the conduit and over the flange to effect a seal between the electrical connector assembly and the wall.

Electrical connector assembly with seal

A connection assurance bracket system (,) which is interfaced between mutually interconnectable first and second connectors (,) to provide assurance of the connection therebetween and eliminate relative motion therebetween. A connection assurance bracket (,) has a flattened horseshoe-shaped base (,) defining a rectangular cut-out (,), wherein a cantilever beam (,) projects normally therefrom. The first connector includes a pump-handle lock (,) for engaging a ramped boss (,) of the second connector. The pump-handle lock features a beam seat (,) for receiving a distal end portion (,) of the cantilever beam, wherein the distal end (,) thereof has a lip (,). The first connector further includes left and right rear guide tabs (,) which abut opposing left and right end walls (,) of the cut-out, as well as left and right forward guide tabs (,) for respectively engaging left and right tab collets (,) of the second connector. In operation, the first connector is mounted onto the connection assurance bracket so as to be at a prestaged position, wherein the left and right rear guide tabs abut the left and right end walls and the distal end portion of the cantilever beam is fully seated in the beam seat of the pump-handle lock. As the second connector approaches the first connector, the left and right forward guide tabs guidably enter into the left and right tab collets. Thereafter, as engagement force is further applied the pump-handle lock is forced to surmount the ramped boss with a snap action, whereupon the lip immediately projects forward, and free from, the pump-handle lock, whereat the first and second connectors are mutually fully engaged and are slidable in unison with respect to the connection assurance bracket.

Connection assurance bracket system

A force distribution seal for an electrical connection system having matable electrical connectors prevents leakage at the joint between the coupled connectors. The force distribution seal comprises a seal body with a plurality of radial bending ribs extending outward from the seal body. At least one external radial compression rail is disposed between each pair of adjacent bending ribs. At least one internal radial compression rail extends inward from the seal body. The internal radial compression rail is longitudinally disposed between a pair of adjacent bending ribs and corresponds to at least one external radial compression rail whereby force exerted upon a corresponding external radial compression rail by a radial bending rib is transferred to the internal compression rail to form a superior seal.

Electrical connection system having force distribution seal

A removable connector edge clip has a support plate, a first arm integrally attached to the first end of the support plate by a first bight and a second arm integrally attached to the second end of the support plate by a second bight. The first arm confronts a lower surface of the support plate in generally parallel fashion to form a panel edge clamp at the first end of the clip. The support plate has a first spring blade inclined downwardly toward the first arm and the first bight for biasingly engaging a panel edge inserted into the panel edge clamp. The first arm has a barb for retaining the panel edge inserted into the panel edge clamp. The second arm confronts an upper surface of the support plate in generally parallel fashion to form a connector attachment at the second end of the clip. The connector attachment includes a second spring blade inclined downwardly toward the second bight and the support plate and a detent tang inclined upwardly toward the second bight and away from the second arm. The support plate has an anti tangle tongue inclined upwardly toward the second bight and the second arm.

Removable connector edge clip

An edge clip which uses precoated sheet metal stock, is stamped in a high speed progressive die, and has a robustly configured triangularly shaped body. A solid blank of the sheet stock is die cut into a patterned blank including a base, a projection forward of the base, and first and second wings located at either side of the base. Each of the first and second wings has an outboard member and an inboard member, wherein the outboard member includes a barb. A pointed flange projects from the rear edge of the patterned blank at each of the first and second wings. The projection is stamped to form a standard attachment appendage, and the first and second wings are folded, wherein a spring arm is formed at an apex thereof and provided by an overlap of the outboard members. A tab of the outboard member of the second wing secures the overlap of the outboard members. The folding also provides first and second rails, wherein each is radiused to provide a basal corner of the triangular configuration. Each of the first and second rails project in parallel with the overlapped spring arm, are separated therefrom, respectively, by radiused first and second upper slots, and are separated from the platform, respectively, by first and second lower slots. Finally, each of the pointed flanges are folded into mutual abutment rearwardly of the first and second upper slots, in spaced relation to the base.

Edge clip

A bilaterally split retainer pin which is structurally robust, having a head easily insertable into an aperture yet highly resistant to backing out through the aperture. The bilaterally split retainer pin includes a post base having a periphery and a pair of legs integrally connected thereto which are mutually separated by a bilateral slot. Each of the legs is composed of a post segment integrally connected with the post base and a head integrally connected with the respective post segment. Each head is characterized by a tapered surface and an abutment surface, wherein a barb radially projects outwardly relative to the periphery a radial length defined by an abutment surface. The tapered surface includes the barb and converges radially toward a respective tip. Each leg has a transverse cut originating at the post base and extending to the tip, wherein the transverse cut slopes from the periphery toward a midsection of the bilaterally split pin. The transverse cut is located at diametrically opposite sides of each of the legs in transverse relation to the slot. Each head is characterized by a flat opposite, and parallel, to the slot, whereby the barb of each respective leg is located diametrically opposite its respective transverse cut. When the bilaterally split retainer pin is pressed through an aperture about the size of the perimeter, the barbs engage the aperture wall and cause the legs to laterally flex parallel to the slot, allowing the heads to pass through the aperture. Upon passage through the aperture, the legs freely flex laterally back to their original configuration, and the abutment surfaces now serve to prevent the head from backing out through the aperture.

Bilaterally split retaining pin

The present invention includes an electrical connector system utilizing a single piece slide lever system which is lockable in a pre-staged and in a final fully seated position. The slide lever is used to provide assurance of proper mating position of connector halves and to mechanically assist the mating of male and female connectors. The slide lever may also be received inside of a flexible grommet to provide a mechanical assist in making a seal between the grommet and a panel. The locking features and the slide lever may be selectively released to move the slide lever from a pre-staged position (open position) to a final seated position (closed position) locking the two connector pieces together. Likewise, the locking features on the slide lever may be released to move the slide lever from a final fully seated (closed) position back to a pre-staged (open) position to disconnect the connector pieces all while the slide lever is contained within the flexible grommet.

Slide lock position assurance and release lever

The present invention includes an electrical connector system utilizing a single piece slide lever system which is lockable in a pre-staged and in a final fully seated position. The slide lever is used to mechanically assist the mating of male and female connectors. The slide lever may also be received inside of a flexible grommet to provide a mechanical assist in making a seal between the grommet and a panel. The locking features and the slide lever may be selectively released to move the slide lever from a pre-staged position (open position) to a final seated position (closed position) locking the two connector pieces together. Likewise, the locking features on the slide lever may be released to move the slide lever from a final fully seated (closed) position back to a pre-staged (open) position to disconnect the connector pieces all while the slide lever is contained within the flexible grommet.

Growing community of inventors

Cortland, OH, United States of America

John H Bakker