United Technologies Automotive Inc.

Alcoa Fujikura Limited

Thomas F Rahrig

Thomas E Hall

Earl James Hayes

John H Dewar

Zenon Hotra

Michael Jerome Alloway

Christopher Dillon

Steven F Gawron

David E Champlin

Mark E Fouts

A lamp assembly for use with a vehicle's electrical system, the electrical system including a plurality of terminals each having a wire insulating portion and an end connector portion. A main elastomeric housing includes a socket for receiving a bulb. A front seal encircles an exterior surface of the socket and seals around a periphery of the socket. A first plurality of sealing ridges extend along an open facing side of the main housing, opposite the bulb socket, and within which are received the wire insulating portions of the terminals and the end connector portions of each terminal conmmunicating with the bulb socket upon the terminals being located within the main housing. A back cap matingly aligns over an open facing side of the main housing and includes an opposingly facing side with a second plurality of sealing ridges which align with the first plurality of sealing ridges and to sandwich therebetween the wire insulating portions of the terminals. An inlet seal is seatingly received between aligning recesses defined between the opposingly facing sides of the main housing and the back cap and is located proximate the first and second pluralities of sealing ridges. Wire receiving apertures extend through the seal and into which are inserted the wire insulating portions of the terminals. An ultrasonic welding operation secures the back cap to the main elastomeric housing in a seal-tight manner.

Automotive lamp socket

A modular automobile power distribution box having a housing for mounting a plurality of interchangeable support modules. Each support module is adapted for supporting a specific electrical component such as an ISO relay, a mini-fuse, a maxi-fuse, etc., and the support modules are uniform so as to permit interchangeable positioning within the housing for selective variation of combinations of electrical components.

Modular automobile power distribution box

A battery connector cover (10) having an insulative body (12) locked over a battery terminal (18) and a cable connector (16) for electrically insulating the battery terminal (18) and connector (16). The connector cover (10) is locked in a closed position at one end by a locking detent (24) and is secured at its opposite end to battery cables (14) via a cable lock (40). The cover includes an integral hinge (36) disposed between the two ends so as to provide easy access to the battery terminal (18) and connector (16).

Battery connector cover

An improved arrangement for retaining a terminal in a terminal holder includes providing a mounting opening through a wall of the terminal and provides a resilient snap-lock extending from the surface of a support member of the holder. The snap-lock extends through the terminal mounting opening for preventing relative longitudinal motion of the terminal in the holder and for yieldably restricting relative motion of the terminal substantially normal to the support member of the holder. The snap-lock has two locking fingers extending in 'V'-shape fashion from the support member, which is preferably the holder's base. The locking fingers include camming surfaces to facilitate mounting the terminal on the locking fingers by moving the terminal transverse to its longitudinal extent. The holder is open at its top to facilitate mounting and removal of a terminal. A connector housing may be provided to removably close that opening.

Arrangement for securing electrical terminal in terminal holder

An electrical receptacle terminal having a longitudinal body for receiving a pin terminal includes a bifurcated beam spring forming two spring arms. The two spring arms act independently to urge an inserted pin terminal into good electrical contact with an opposing rib formed in an opposing wall. Each spring arm also includes a respective side flange which is contoured to engage the pin terminal in quadrature with the spring arms and rib. The pair of flanges have opposed faces for engaging opposite sides of the pin terminal. The spacing of the opposed faces of the flanges is normally less than the dimension of the pin terminal they engage such that they and the spring arms are resiliently spread by the pin terminal to thereby provide secure engagement. The four walls of the receptacle terminal are folded inward and rearward to form a continuous entry aperture and also to provide the spring arms.

Electrical receptacle terminal

An improved sealing arrangement is provided for a connector assembly having a terminal holder, terminals in the holder and joined by conductor wires and a housing in which the holder is disposed with the wires extending rearward through an opening. The holder has a support surface with channels of arcuate cross section for supporting the wires substantially in coplanar relation. The sealing arrangement is provided by inner and outer resilient seal members. The inner seal member is preferably annular and encircles the support holder between the holder support surface and the wires. The outer seal member encircles both the terminal holder and the conductor wires at least in partial coincidence with the inner seal member. The outer seal includes circumferential ribs for sealing engagement with the periphery of the opening in the housing. A face seal between the forward end of the holder and the housing seals pin terminals when inserted into receptacle terminals in the housing. A locking engagement maintains the necessary sealing force.

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Woodhaven, MI, United States of America

Thomas F Rahrig