Circular sealed connector
United States Patent [1 1 Stauffer CIRCULAR SEALED CONNECTOR [75] Inventor: Larry Ronald Stautfer, Camp Hill,  
 Pav  
 [73] Assignee: AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. [22] Filed: Nov. 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 419,166  
 [52] U.S. Cl. 339/60 R, 339/184 R, 339/259 R [51] Int. Cl. H01r 13/52 [58] Field of Search 339/59-63,  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,035.345 3/1936 Schaefer 339/101 2,958,842 11/1960 Schaefer t .1 339/61 M 3.059.214 10/1962 Heller 1 339/184 R 3,114,567 12/1963 Colley 339/94 R 1199,0150 8/1965 Marasco 339/60 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,202,348 8/1970 United Kingdom 339/184 M 1.108.113 4/1968 United Kingdom 339/60 M Primary E.ruminer.loseph H. McGlynn Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Russell J. Egan 57 ABSTRACT A low cost circular sealed connector is disclosed which provides a weather tight seal between two polarized connector halves, namely a plug and a receptacle, when mated. The plug half of the connector is provided with a number of through bores equal to the number of electrical socket contacts to be carried thereby. Each of the through bores has a constricted neck portion serving as a resilient biasing means acting on the socket portion of the contact inserted therein. The receptacle half of the connector has a like number of bores, each with a male contact therein, and a hood portion with an inwardly directed flange on the outer end. The hood portion is preferably initially rolled back upon the receptacle half of the connector, the connector halves are mated and the hood portion is unrolled so that it extends fully over the plug half with the flange seated over the end of the plug. The hood thus serves for both sealing the connector and providing a means whereby rapid visual inspection may be made of the connector to insure proper connection. The subject connector is adapted for use with stamped and formed contacts and may further be provided with a sealing boot to adopt the receptacle half for a weather tight seal with a cable,  
 13 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIEM APR was ($874,761  
 CIRCULAR SEALED CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. The Field Of The Invention The present invention relates to a circular sealed connector and in particular to a connector which, when assembled is completely weather tight and can be readily visually inspected to determine its mated and sealed condition.  
 2. The Prior Art There has been a long felt need in many industries for completely sealed, low density, low cost connectors. As a specific example, the automotive industry has a requirement for low density (less than 12 position) con nectors which can be used for anti-skid systems on trucks. However, there is also a need for such connector in other related industries, such as recreation vehicles, boats, outdoor products, etc. The connectors which have been used heretofore have had many disadvantages amongst which are great cost, difficulty of manufacture and assembly, and lack of reliability in insuring good weather tight connection.  
  Some of the well known low density mateable connectors are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,981,460 and 3,l66,37l. The first of these patents shows a typical post molded cable connector which is rather expensive to produce and requires the use of screw machine formed contacts. The second patent shows a multipart connector. Both connectors rely on a friction fit mating of the connector halves to achieve a water tight connection.  
  A more positive weather tight connection is achieved by the connectors illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,037,630; 2,742,622; and 3,611,255 as well as British Pat. No. 800,037. Each of the connectors shown in this group of patents is provided with a hood or skirt on one connector half which resiliently engages an annular bead or protuberance on the opposite connector half. However, it is not always possible to readily ascertain whether or not these connectors are properly and fully mated.  
  The most positive weather tight seal is represented by the sleeves and connectors shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,059,008 and 3,079,459. According to the first of these patents, a soft, pliable, rubber sleeve is vulcanized to the core while according to the second patent the annular flanges are provided with a rubber cement coating. Thus both devices provide permanent bonds.  
  A final group of connectors is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 1,918,533; French Pat. No. 718,387; and British Pat. No. 77 l ,386. Each of the illustrated connectors includes a hood on one connector half (on both halves in the French connector) which is initially folded upon itself. The connector is mated andd the hood unfolded to form a weather tight seal over the mating surfaces. These connectors, unlike some of the previously mentioned connectors, can be unmated and remated as desired. However, they still have the disadvantage of high cost and their connection status cannot be readily determined by simple visual inspection.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The subject circular sealed connector includes a mating plug half and receptacle half, each having a like number of through bores adapted to receive mating electrical contacts therein. Both the plug half and receptacle half are polarized for mating in one direction only. The plug half is adapted to receive socket type contacts in the through bores which include a restricted neck portion serving to resiliently bias the socket portion of the associated contacts. The receptacle half includes a forwardly extending hood having an inwardly directed annular flange. The hood is adopted to be rolled upon itself on the receptacle half to provide ready access to the mating face thereof. The hood, when fully extended, surrounds the mating plug half with the annular flange extending over the rear end of the plug, when the plug is fully mated in the receptacle. An additional separate sealing boot is provided to form a weather tight seal between a cable and the receptacle half. The plug, receptacle and sealing boot are all preferably formed from a resilient rubber material while the contacts are preferably stamped and formed contacts.  
  It is therefore an object of the present invention to produce a low cost, weather tight, low contact density circular sealed connector.  
  It is another object of the present invention to produce a circular sealed connector which, when assembled and mated, can be easily visibly inspected to insure proper connection.  
  It is still another object of the present invention to produce a circular sealed connector in which one of the mating connector halves is provided with a hood portion having an inwardly directed annular flange, which hood portion substantially encompasses the mating connector half with the flange extending over the rear end thereof to thereby provide a weather tight seal about the mating faces of the connector.  
  It is a further object of the present invention to produce a circular sealed connector of resilient material, such as rubber, which provides a weather tight connection between the mating members as well as provides resilient biasing for the electrical contacts inserted therein.  
  It is a still further object of the present invention to produce a circular sealed connector which uses low cost stamped and formed contacts.  
  It is a further object of the present invention to produce a circular sealed connector of the low density type which may be readily and economically produced.  
  The means for accomplishing the foregoing objects and other advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view, partially in section, showing the plug half and receptacle half of the subject circular sealed connector;  
  FIG. 2 shows the subject circular sealed connector in a fully mated condition;  
  FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through the plug and receptacle halves of the subject circular sealed connector without contacts and in an unmated condition;  
  FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section through the plug and receptacle halves of the subject connector in the mated condition and with contacts mounted therein;  
  FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the receptacle half of the subject connector and a sealing boot;  
  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the subject receptacle half with the sealing boot mounted thereon; and  
  FIG. 7 is a partial longitudinal sectional view through the sealing boot mounted on the subject receptacle half.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The subject connector 10 includes a plug half 12 and a receptacle half 14. The plug half 12 includes a generally cylindrical body 16 having a polarized forward mating portion 18, an enlarged cylindrical rear end 20, a plurality of through bores 22 (in this case 3).and a longitudinally extending raised alignment rib 24. Each through bore 22, see FlG. 3, includes a rear wire receiving portion 26 of a first diameter, a central contact receiving portion 28 of a large diameter, a restricted neck portion 30 and a profiled entry portion 32 comprising a truncated conical lead in surface 34 and annular flange 36. The receptacle portion 14 includes a cylindrical body 38 having a raised alignment rib 40 extending longitudinally therealong, a rear portion 42 of a lesser diameter than the body portion 38, and a forwardly directed hood 44 having an annular flange 46 on the end thereof. The hood normally extends forwardly from the polarized mating portion 48 of the receptacle. The hood 44 is preferably folded upon itself, as shown in FIG. 1, when the connector is in an unmated condition and is folded outwardly forwardly, as shown in FIG. 2, to enclose and substantially encompass the mating plug. The receptacle half is likewise provided with a plurality of through bores 50, each having a rear wire engaging portion 52 of a first diameter, a connector receiving cavity 54 of a second larger diameter, and an annular contact holding annular flange 56 at the forward end of the bore.  
  Contacts suitable for use with the subject connector are shown in FIG. 4 and include a stamped and formed receptacle contact 58 and a mating stamped and formed pin contact 60. The receptacle contact 58 includes a portion 62 adapted to be crimped connected to an associated wire 64 and a pin receiving cylindrical portion 66. The pin contact 60 includes a portion 68 adapted to; be crimp connected with a wire 70, a main barrel portion 72 and a projecting pin portion 74.  
  The contacts are crimp fastened to associated wires in a conventional manner and then inserted into the appropriate connector halves. It may be desirable to provide some lubrication on the rear face of the connector halves prior to insertion of the contacts. The female contacts 58 are inserted into bores 22 until the forward end of the cylindrical portion 66 abuts flange 36. The pin contacts are inserted into bores 50 until the forward end of the main barrel portion 72 abuts flange 56. When the receptacle contact 58 is fully inserted into a bore 22, the cylindrical portion 66 will be biased closed by the neck portion 30 to insure good electrical and mechanical connection between the receptacle contact and an associated pin contact inserted therein.  
  The subject connector is assembled with the contacts as shown in FIG. 4 and then mated as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hood 44 is preferably initially folded back upon itself to provide access for the mating portion 18 to the mating portion 48. The alignment ribs 24 and 40 are provided to aid in the correct mating of the polarized connectors. When the plug 12 is fully seated in the receptacle 14, the hood 44 is extended forwardly, as shown in FIG. 2, to seal the connector 10. However, it is not necessary to fold the hood as shown in FIG. 1.  
 The plug 12 can be lubricated and driven into the receptacle 14 if so desired. If the plug is fully mated in the receptacle, then the annular rib 46 will extend over the rear end 20 of the plug. Thus a rapid visual inspection is all that is necessary to determine whether or not the plug and connector are fully mated.  
  A particularly effective seal is produced by the engagement of the hood 44 with the enlarged cylindrical rear end 20 of the plug. The hood is somewhat stretched by the enlarged cylinder but is prevented from expanding by the annular flange 46. The enlarged cylinder is relatively narrow which causes the creation of substantial sealing forces.  
  A sealing boot 76, FIGS. 5 to 7, can be utilized with the subject connector 10 when a shielded or jacketed cable is used to bring wires to the receptacle half 14. The cable 78 is shown with wires 70 extending therefrom into the rear end of the receptacle half 14 in the same manner as previously described. The sealing boot 76 is a substantially cylindrical body 80 having one end closed by an annular sealing member 82 including a central orifice 84. The cable 78 is passed through the central orifice 84 to form a weather tight seal therebetween. The forward end of the body 80 includes a thickened annular ring 86 and a forwardly annular directed hood 88.  
  The sealing boot 76 is assembled with the receptacle half 14 of the subject connector 10 by simply forcing it over the rear portion 42, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. it may be preferable to use a lubricant to facilitate the assembly of these parts.  
  As mentioned above, the contacts are preferably stamped and formed contacts which are crimped on the appropriate wires in a known manner and inserted into the respective connector halves either by hand or by using an insertion tool, after first lubricating the rear faces of the connector halves.  
  The preferred material for forming the subject connector is a rubber material such as chloroprene (neoprene) since this material is resistent to water, oils, fuels, ozone, etc., and thus is very suitable for use in exposed positions. The connector and contacts will accommodate wire sizes from 14 to 18 with insulation diameters of 0.080 to 0. l 35.  
  The receptacle half 14 can also be provided with an annular groove or recess (not shown) in the area of the rear portion 42. The receptacle half can then be mounted in a panel or board by simply pushing it into a position in which the panel or board is seated in the annular opening.  
  The subject connector is so designed that it has positive keying and contact arrangements which prevent mismating and makes it impossible to mate a two position connector half with a three position connector half. Both the plug and receptacle have raised molded identification marks for quick visual initial alignment prior to mating. When the stamped and formed contacts have been inserted into the cavities of the subject connector it forms essentially a post molded connector in character and performance without the problems of a post molding operation.  
  Sealing of the mated connector is accomplished very easily without exerting high forces on the connector halves. Mating and subsequently sealing the connector can be accomplished in two ways. If a lubricant is applied to the shoulder of the plug, mating and sealing requires simply pushing the two halves together until the flange of the receptacle hood snaps into position behind the plug with the connector now being mated and sealed. If a lubricant is not available or desirable, the hood of the receptacle is folded back upon itself for approximately a quarter of an inch. The plug can now be easily inserted and mated. While holding the plug in a fully mated position, the hood is rolled forwardly over the plug until the flange on the hood snaps behind the plug. The connector is now mated and sealed.  
  The present invention may be subject to many modifications and changes without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The above discussed embodiment should therefore be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive of the scope of the invention.  
 What is claimed is:  
 1. A circular sealed connector comprising:  
 a plug member having a substantially cylindrical body, a polarized profiled mating portion on one end of said body, an enlarged peripherial projection towards the other end of said body, and a plurality of longitudinal bores through said body, each said bore having a constricted throat portion;  
 a like plurality of female receptacle contacts each inserted into a respective bore of said plug member, said constricted throat portion biasing said contact closed;  
 a receptacle member having a substantially cylindrical body with a polarized profiled mating portion, a cylindrical hood integral with said body extending beyond said mating portion, an inwardly directed annular flange on the free end of said hood, and a like plurality of longitudinal bores through said body, said annular flange of said hood extending over said peripherial projection of said plug member fully mated in said receptacle member to substantially enclose said plug member and form a weather tight seal therebetween; and  
 a like plurality of male pin contacts each mounted in a respective bore of said receptacle member.  
 2. A circular sealed connector according to claim 1 further comprising an alignment rib formed on the exterior each ofsaid members whereby the members can be brought into proper polarized alignment before mating.  
  3. A circular sealed connector according to claim 1 wherein said contacts are stamped and formed contacts.  
  4. A circular sealed connector according to claim 1 wherein said contacts further include crimp means for clampingly engaging associated conductors.  
  5. A circular sealed connector according to claim 1 wherein said plug and receptacle members have not more than 12 bores therein.  
  6. A circular sealed connector according to claim 1 wherein said hood is resilient so as to be rolled upon itself to thereby provide access to said mating portion.  
  7. A circular sealed connector according to claim 1 wherein both said plug member and said receptacle member are formed from rubber material.  
  8. A circular sealed connector according to claim 7 wherein said rubber material is neoprene.  
  9. A circular sealed connector according to claim 1 further comprising a sealing boot adapted to be mounted on the end of said receptacle opposite said hood, said boot comprising a hollow cylindrical member closed at one end, a central orifice in said closed end, a reinforcing ring at the open end of said member, and an annular hood attached to and extending forwardly of said reinforcing ring, said boot being adapted to have a cable passed through said orifice and to sealingly engage both the cable and the end of said receptacle member opposite said hood.  
  10. A circular sealed connector according to claim 9 wherein said boot is formed of rubber material.  
  11. A circular sealed connector according to claim 10 wherein said boot is formed of neoprene.  
  12. A circular sealed connector according to claim 1 further comprising means for fixedly mounting said receptacle member in a panel.  
  13. A circular sealed connector according to claim l2 wherein said mounting means comprises a groove formed about the outer periphery of said receptacle member.