Connector and method of connecting wires thereto

• US 4,781,619 A
• Filed: 09/18/1987
• Issued: 11/01/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Ikeda, Tomohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Pirlot, David
• Application Number:
  US07/098,309
• Time in Patent Office: 410 Days
• Field of Search: 439/488, 439/489, 439/490, 439/491, 439/869, 439/871, 439/872, 439/873, 439/739, 439/744, 439/745, 439/746, 439/733, 439/910, 439/315, 439/595, 439/603, 439/913, 29/842, 29/857, 29/863, 29/876, 29/739, 29/741, 29/745, 29/747, 29/748, 29/749
• US Class Current: 439/488
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/465 Identification means, e.g. labels, tags, markings H01R9/2475, H01R9/2683 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49147 Assembling terminal to base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53213 Assembled to wire-type conductor

Abstract

In a connector in which a plurality of wire connector terminals are inserted into a connector housing, a first marking is formed at the same position of the wire. Therefore, when a connector terminal is not prefectly inserted into the connector housing, the first marking on the imperfectly inserted terminal is misaligned from the other markings arranged on a parallel line. Further, a second marking is formed on the wire in such a way that the marking distance from the connector terminal increases in incremental steps from one extreme end wire to the other extreme end wire. Therefore, when two connector terminals are not correctly inserted into the connector housing, the second markings on the incorrectly inserted terminals are misaligned from the other markings arranged on an inclined line, thus allowing simple visual inspection of imperfect and incorrect insertions of connector terminals into the connector housing.

Claims

1. A connector comprising:

(a) a connector housing formed with a plurality of cavities;

(b) a plurality of connector terminals each inserted into one of the cavities formed in said connector housing; and

(c) a plurality of wires each connected to one of the connector terminals, each of said wires being provided with a single marking formed at a position on each of said wires a same distance away from a predetermined position of said connector terminal, to check imperfect insertion of said connector terminal into said connector housing on the basis of misalignment of markings of said wires along a parallel line relative to said connector housing.

2. The connector of claim 1, wherein a second marking is formed at a position on each of said wires in such a way that the marking distance from a predetermined position of each of said connector terminals increases in incremental steps from the wire connected to a connector terminal inserted into one extreme end cavity of said connector housing to that inserted into the other extreme end cavity of said connector housing, to check incorrect insertion of said connector terminals into said connector housing on the basis of misalignment of markings of said wires along an inclination line relative to said connector housing.

3. A method of connecting wires to a connector, which comprises the following steps of:

(a) stripping a part of insulating material from an end of each of wires to expose a conductor thereof;

(b) caulking each of the stripped conductors to a connector terminal;

(c) forming a first visible marking at a position on each of the wires a predetermined same distance away from a predetermined position of each of the connector terminals;

(d) inserting a plurality of connector terminals to each of which the wire having the first visible marking is connected into a connector housing; and

(e) checking imperfect insertion of the connector terminals into the connector housing on the basis of misalignment of the first markings of the wires along a parallel line relative to said connector housing.

4. The method of claim 3, which further comprises the following steps of:

(a) forming a second visible marking at a position on each of the wires in such a way that a marking distance from a predetermined position of each of the connector terminals increases in incremental steps from the wire connected to a connector terminal inserted into one extreme end of the connector housing to that inserted into the other extreme end of the connector housing; and

(b) checking incorrect insertion of the connector terminals into the connector housing on the basis of misalignment of the second markings of said wires along an inclination line relative to the connector housing.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second visible marking is formed on the wire simultaneously when the wire is caulked to the connector terminal.