Plug connector assembly
This invention relates to a plug connector assembly of mutually latching parts, including housing, connectors, and cover. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is standard practice to utilize plug and receptacle connectors having intermating contacts terminated to wires to electrically interconnect circuits for a wide variety of applications, including appliance, automotive, and computer applications. Typically, the connector housings are of a resilient and flexible plastic material and incorporate latches, typically formed on mutually engaging surfaces of the connector halves with one of the halves including a resilient arm carrying such surface. Japanese publication Number 22943/1990 shows such a connector incorporating an integral resilient arm in the plug half of a connector. 
     The present invention has as an object the provision of an improved connector assembly featuring a latching mechanism for multiple connectors incorporated into such assembly. The invention has as a further object the provision of a connector assembly of housing, multiple connectors and cover which internest and lock together without external hardware to provide a reliable interconnection in the face of tensional and vibrational forces. 
     Still a further object is to provide a simple and easily assembled multi-way connector having improved latching features. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention achieves the foregoing objects through the provision of an assembly of molded plastic parts, including a housing and connectors that fit in a recess therein, and a cover which fits over the housing and over the connectors and latches together with such elements to form an integral unit. The housing recess is adapted to receive multiple connectors inserted therein, the connectors carrying receptacle contacts terminated to cables and including external latches which cooperate with internal projections of the housing to latch the forward end of the connectors within the housing. The connectors include projecting rear portions which receive the cables terminated by the connectors and provide a strain relief therefor. The connectors also include proximate the rear thereof, recesses adapted to be engaged by projections of the halves of a cover which snaps down over the connectors to lock the connectors against axial withdrawal and to provide an additional strain relief. The cover halves latch together around grooves in the housing toward the rear thereof and include forwardly projecting portions which internest with complementary portions of the housing to resist withdrawal in an axial sense of the cover relative to the housing. The housing includes, projecting rearwardly, cantilever spring arms which form latches engaging the interior projections of a mating connector upon insertion of the invention assembly therein. The latches of the housing are carried by resilient arms which are deflected transversely to the axis of insertion upon insertion to restore outwardly and effect the latching of the connector and assembly of the invention to the mating receptacle connector half. The cover of the invention also includes a resilient arm projecting forwardly and overlying a projection from the resilient arms of the housing such that when the plug half connector assembly is mated with the receptacle half, a deflection of the cover arm from the rear of the cover will engage the projection of the resilient arms of the housing and deflect them radially inwardly, in a sense, transverse to the axis of engagement and allow a disengagement of the connector assembly from the mating connector half. The invention assembly is arranged so that the preterminated connectors may be inserted within a housing and latched therein toward the front end thereof with the cover then being applied through the halves thereof being snapped together to lock the connectors toward the rear thereof to the cover. The sides of the cover include latches to latch the cover to the housing as well. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of the invention showing a housing, the upper part of a cover, and connectors preparatory to assembly. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the connector assembly as assembled. 
     FIG. 3 is a side view, in elevation, of the connector shown in FIG. 2. 
     FIG. 4 is an elevational view taken along lines 4--4 of the view shown in FIG. 2. 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 2. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6--6 of the connector shown in FIG. 2. 
     FIGS. 7 and 8 are part cross-sectional views of alternative embodiments. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, the invention assembly 1 is shown to include a housing 2, a cover 3, and connectors 9 terminated to cables 8 preparatory to assembly. The bottom half of the cover 3 is not shown in FIG. 1 but is shown in FIGS. 3-5 with the cover assembled. The cover upper half 3a includes a resilient arm 3b extending forward above the main body of the cover half and between projections 3c which protect the arm 3b from damage in use or handling. The cover half 3a further includes flat L-shaped projections 3d extending forwardly for purposes to be described and latching projections 3f and 3g extend downwardly. The bottom half 3h of the cover, shown in FIG. 3, includes side members 3i which include oppositely oriented latches, similar to the latches 3f and 3g, which cooperate with surfaces 3e of the latches 3f, 3g of the cover half 3a to latch the two halves together in a vertical or radial sense relative to the insertion axis of the connector, shown as A in FIG. 6. FIG. 3 shows the upper half 3a of cover 3 to include a bridge structure supporting the resilient arm 3b for radial deflection downwardly. Depression of the arm 3b is achieved by an operator attempting to separate the connector assembly 1 from a mating connector half, a receptacle half, adapted to receive the plug half assembly 1. 
     FIG. 6 shows connector housing 2 including internal recesses 6 extending within the body of the housing, the recesses arranged in two rows extending across the width of the housing and each including an interior projection 2b adapted to latch connectors 9 inserted in such recesses along the axis A of insertion of the connector with a mating connector half. As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 2 further includes a latch member 4 including a projection 4a extending at the ends of resilient arms 4b. Both reside above the main body of the housing and both are adapted to be deflected downwardly in a sense transverse to the insertion axis A during engagement with the mating receptacle connector (not shown), referring to FIG. 5. The projections 12 of resilient arms 4b cooperatively engage a latching projection of the matable receptacle connector. A downward deflection, as by an operator squeezing the cover, driving arm 3b transverse to the axis A will also deflect the latch member 4 through the engagement of projection 4a with the end of arm 3b. Both of the arm 3b and latch member 4 will restore to the normal position shown in FIG. 5 following deflection. The latch member 4 thus is driven inwardly by arm 3b during disengagement of connector 1 from it matable connector. 
     FIGS. 1 and 2 show the housing 2 to include a pair of projections 4c which reside in the plane of the upper surface of the housing and are L-shaped to receive the projections 3d of the cover when the cover halves are snapped together. The engagement of these projections cover over the connectors 9 as inserted within the housing recesses but extending back along the housing and additionally, through internesting, resist withdrawal of the covers in an axial sense during unmating of the plug and receptacle connectors or due to strains applied to the cables 8 of connectors 9. Further projections 15, as shown in FIG. 1, protect the resilient arms 4a during handling and use against damage. 
     As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, a series of apertures 2a are incorporated in rows in the front face of housing 2 to facilitate entry of contact pins extended into the housing to engage receptacle contacts 7 in the connectors 9. FIG. 4 shows, in section, cables including conductors, which are terminated by the contacts 7 within the connectors 9 and in turn interconnect to the pins (not shown) which extend within apertures 2a into the contacts 7. The housing 2 includes further slots 14 along the side wall which receive latches 3f, 3g of cover half 3a to secure it thereon. 
     The connectors 9 include forward housing portions 6 which have surfaces 6a engaged by the projections 2b in the manner shown in FIG. 6 and they further include toward the rear of the housing recesses 10 which are engaged by projections 11 on the cover halves 3a and 3h and which resist axial stresses on the connector assembly due to disengagement of the plug half assembly or strains applied to the cables 8. 
     In practice, the housing 2 is molded of engineering plastic sufficient to define the required characteristics of the resilient arms 4a. The covers are molded in two halves and the connectors are molded of plastic and terminated in a suitable fashion to the wires of cables 8. The connectors, as terminated, are inserted into the housing into the position shown in FIG. 6 with the cover halves applied down over the connectors until the latches thereof snap into place thus resulting in a plurality of latches locking several parts of the assembly together. 
     In the alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the free end of arm 3b is spaced from projection 4a; whereas, in FIG. 8, the free end of arm 3b has a projection that is disposed in a recess in projection 4a. 
     Having now described the invention in relation to the drawings, claims are appended intended to define the invention.