Wire management member and electric cable connector with wire management member

• US 6,802,744 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2001
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Molex Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Molex Incorporated
• Inventors: Chiang, Chun-Hsiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Paumen, Gary
• Assistant Examiner(s): Leon, Edwin A.
• Application Number:
  US09/960,172
• Publication Number:
  US 20020039848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,117 Days
• Field of Search: 439/701, 439/392, 439/626, 439/709, 439/660, 439/723, 439/874, 439/460, 439/465, 439/470, 439/472, 439/742, 439/492
• US Class Current: 439/701
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/023 between cables or wires and terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/027 comprising means for positioning or holding the parts to be soldered or welded
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 439/942 Comblike retainer for conductor

Abstract

An electric cable connector includes a connector housing, a cable, and a wire management member. The connector housing includes a plurality of terminals, the terminals each having a tail extending out of one end of the connector housing for electrically soldering to respective wires of the cable. The wire management member is joined to the connector housing, and includes a plurality of terminal grooves adapted to receive the tail of each of the terminals, thereby preventing the tail of each terminal from being suspended in the air, and a plurality of wire grooves adapted to receive the wires of the cable for enabling the wires to be respectively positively soldered to the tail of each of the terminals. Positioning rods are also included on the wire management member to be received within cavities in the connector housing.

Claims

1. An electrical connector for use with an electrical cable having a plurality of wires, the electrical connector comprising:

a connector body, the connector body comprising a front side, a rear side, a cavity between said front side and said rear side, a plurality of terminal passageways, and a plurality of terminals respectively received within the terminal passageways, the terminals each having a tail extended out of said rear side of the connector body; and

a wire management member, the wire management including a body portion having an end face, said body portion adapted to support the tail of each of the terminals, the wire management member comprising a projection rod projecting from said end face of the body portion, the projection rod being received within the connector body cavity.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the wire management member body portion includes a plurality of wire grooves, the wire grooves adapted to receive the wires of the cable for enabling the wires of the cable to be respectively electrically soldered to the tail of each of the terminals.

3. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the cavity is contiguous with one of the plurality of terminal passageways.

4. An electrical connector as defined in claim 1, wherein the cavity is provided below the plurality of terminal passageways.

5. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the wire management member body portion includes a plurality of terminal grooves, the terminal grooves being adapted to receive the tail of each of the terminals.

6. The electrical connector of claim 5 wherein the wire management member comprises a plurality of ribs respectively disposed between two adjacent terminal grooves above the elevation of the tail of the terminals.

7. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the wire management member body portion comprises a plurality of platforms, at least one of the platforms comprising a plurality of terminal grooves adapted to receive the tail of each of the terminals.

8. The electrical connector of claim 7 wherein at least one of the platforms comprises a plurality of wire grooves adapted to receive the wires of the cable.

9. The electrical connector of claim 7 wherein at least one of the platforms includes a plurality of ribs respectively disposed between two adjacent terminal grooves above the elevation of the tail of the terminals.

10. A cable assembly, the assembly comprising:

a connector body, the connector body comprising a front side, a rear side, a cavity between said front side and said rear side, a plurality of terminal slots, and a plurality of terminals respectively mounted in the terminal slots, the terminals each having a tail extended out of said rear side of the connector body;

a cable, the cable comprising a plurality of wires respectively electrically soldered to the tail of each of the terminals; and

a wire management member, the wire management member having an end face and being adapted to support the tail of each of the terminals, the wire management member comprising a projection rod projecting from said end face of the wire management member, the projection rod being received within the connector body cavity.

11. The cable assembly of claim 10 wherein the wire management member includes a plurality of terminal grooves, the terminal grooves being adapted to receive the tail of each of the terminals, and wherein a plurality of ribs are respectively disposed between two adjacent terminal grooves above the elevation of the tail of the terminals.

12. The cable assembly of claim 10 wherein the wire management member includes a plurality of wire grooves, the wire grooves adapted to receive the wires of the cable for enabling the wires of the cable to be respectively electrically soldered to the tail of each of the terminals.

13. The cable assembly of claim 10 wherein the wire management member comprises a plurality of platforms, each of the platforms comprising a plurality of terminal grooves adapted to receive the tail of each of the terminals.

14. The cable assembly of claim 13 wherein at least one of the platforms comprises a plurality of wire grooves adapted to receive the wires of the cable.

15. The cable assembly of claim 13 wherein at least one of the platforms includes a plurality of ribs respectively disposed between two adjacent terminal grooves above the elevation of the tail of the terminals.

16. A wire management member for use with an electrical connector having a connector body, the connector body comprising a front side, a rear side, a cavity between said front side and said rear side, a plurality of terminal slots, and a plurality of terminals respectively mounted in the terminal slots, the terminals each having a tail extended out of said rear side of the connector body, the wire management member comprising:

a body portion, the body portion having an end face, said body portion including a plurality of terminal grooves, the terminal grooves being adapted to receive the tail of each of the terminals; and

a projection rod, the projection rod projecting from said end face of the body portion, the projection rod being adapted to be received within the connector body cavity.

17. The wire management member of claim 16 wherein the body portion includes a plurality of wire grooves, the wire grooves adapted to receive wires of a cable for enabling the wires of the cable to be respectively electrically soldered to the tail of each of the terminals.

18. The wire management member of claim 16 wherein the wire management member comprises a plurality of ribs respectively disposed between two adjacent terminal grooves above the elevation of the tail of the terminals.

19. The wire management member of claim 16 wherein the body portion comprises a plurality of platforms, at least one of the platforms comprising a plurality of terminal grooves adapted to receive the tail of each of the terminals.

20. The wire management member of claim 19 wherein at least one of the platforms comprises a plurality of wire grooves adapted to receive wires of a cable.

21. An electrical connector for use with an electrical cable having a plurality of wires, the electrical connector comprising:

a connector body, the connector body comprising a front side, a rear side, a cavity between said front side and said rear side, a plurality of terminal passageways, and a plurality of terminals respectively received within the terminal passageways, the terminals each having a tail extended out of said rear side of the connector body; and

a wire management member, the wire management member including a body portion having an end face, said body portion adapted to support the tail of each of the terminals and at least one wire groove for receiving at least one of the plurality of wires, the wire management member comprising a projection rod projecting from said end face of the body portion, the projection rod being received within the connector body cavity.

22. An electrical connector for use with an electrical cable having a plurality of wires, the electrical connector comprising:

a connector body, the connector body comprising a front side, a rear side, a cavity between said front side and said rear side, a plurality of terminal passageways, and a plurality of terminals respectively received within the terminal passageways, the terminals each having a tail extended out of said rear side of the connector body with a first portion of the terminals extending a distance further from the rear side of the connector body than a second portion of the terminals; and

a wire management member, the wire management including a body portion having a front side and a rear side, said body portion adapted to support the tail of each of the terminals, the body portion formed to have a first platform and a second platform, the first platform adapted to support the first portion of the terminals and the second platform adapted to support the second portion of the terminals, the first platform being provided proximate to the rear side of the body portion and the second platform being provided proximate to the front side of the body portion wherein the front side of the body portion faces the rear side of the connector body.