Hermaphroditic Wire Cover

The present invention relates to a wire guide and strain relief assembly for mounting to an electrical connector; more particularly, the present invention relates to a wire guide assembly with hermaphroditic, inter-changeable parts.

Wire guides are typically used in the motor vehicle industry for the purposes of supporting and guiding a plurality of wires terminated to electrical connectors, for example, wires which comprise part of a motor vehicle wiring harness. The supporting function is important in protecting electrical terminations from strain acting on the conductors. The guiding function is important in environments where exposed machinery parts are in motion, for example, in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle. Improperly guided wires may become entangled in the moving machinery or engine parts and can be broken, or the entire wiring harness can be ripped apart in seconds. Wiring harness assemblies including wire guides should therefore be compact, and must reliably perform their functions in spite of the harsh conditions associated with use in a motor vehicle engine compartment, namely, mechanical vibration, temperature/heat cycling, and/or corrosive chemical vapors, fluids, gasses and etc. Moreover, an engine mechanic must be able to service the electrical components to which the wiring harness is interconnected, but do so with a minimum of disassembly/assembly time and effort. Finally, the wire guide should be produced and assembled at low cost.

A conventional wire guide assembly is disclosed in US-A-4358178 which comprises a two-piece assembly whereby the pieces are laterally slidable onto an electrical connector for providing strain relief to a bundle of wires terminated to the electrical connector. This two-piece design is undesirable because the two-pieces are not identical, and, therefore, the assembly requires two non-interchangeable parts for each assembly. Additionally, the latching structure of this two-piece design is subject to breakage when the two-pieces are mated over the connector. Moreover, the overall assembly is cumbersome to assemble because the two-piece design requires the electrical connector to be installed within the wire guide.

The present invention solves the foregoing problems by providing a wire guide assembly for use with an electrical connector: the assembly comprises two shells, each shell is engageable with an electrical connector for guiding a bundle of wires exiting from the electrical connector; and the shells are substantially identical for advantageously defining interchangeable parts.

For ease of assembly, the shells each comprise profiled structure for cooperating with complementary profiled structure formed on a wire exit side of the connector for assembling the wire guide assembly to the electrical connector. Additionally, each shell comprises a robust double beam latch member for securely latching the shells together. Moreover, each shell comprises a raised profile for inter-fitting engagement with a corresponding groove on the other of the shells, thereby defining a profile which prevents the ingress of water into the wire cover whereby the connector is made splash-proof.

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of the wire guide according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an isometric view of the wire guide of FIG. 1 exploded away from an electrical connector for use therewith.

FIG. 3 shows an isometric assembly view of the wire guide of FIG. 2 in an assembled state.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the wire guide 1 according to the present invention will be described. Wire guide 1 includes substantially identical shells 10 and 30, i.e. the shells are hermaphroditic and fully interchangeable so that one can be used in the place of the other. The inter-changeability of the shells is advantageous because it reduces the number of parts needed to form a wire guide. As shown in FIGS. 2-3, wire guide 1 is designed for use with an electrical connector 40.

Referring to FIG. 1, shell 10 includes: a shoulder 12; a recess 13 (as best shown in FIG. 2); a double beam latch 15 with a tapered lead section; and a profiled groove 17 as best shown in FIG. 2. However, it is to be understood that all of the features of shell 10 are likewise found on shell 30, and all of the features described for shell 30 have like structure on shell 10, thereby assuring that the shells 10,30 are hermaphroditic and interchangeable. Latch 15 has a tapered profile for the purposes of providing a positive latch mechanism, and uniformly distributing stress in the latch for ease of latching and unlatching. Shell 30 includes: a raised section 33; a latching projection 35 for latching engagement with double beam latch 15 of shell 10, and a tapered surface 35a for engagement with tapered lead 15a; raised projections 36 for located on either side of the latch 35 for protecting latch 35 from inadvertent unlatching; and profiled grooves 37 for registering with profiled sections of electrical connector 40, as further described below.

As shown in FIG. 2, profiled grooves 17,37 are shaped to receive profiled rails 47, which rails are formed on a wire exit side of connector 40. During assembly to connector 40, shells 10,30 will be aligned laterally of the side walls of connector 40, and shells 10,30 will be moved towards each other, with grooves 37 in registration with respective profiled rails 47. Double beam latches 15 will be aligned with corresponding latching projections 35, and the tapered lead sections 15a of each respective latch 15 will slidingly engage respective tapered surfaces 35a of projections 35 so that latch 15 will be deflected up and over latching projections 35. Latches 15 will then snap into place behind respective projections 35, thereby latching the shells 10,30 together (see FIG. 3). Raised projections 36 are positioned laterally of respective latching projections 35 for, for example, blocking wires which would otherwise tend to snag on the latch 15 or disengage the latch 15 from its respective latching projection 35. At this point, respective raised sections 33 will be aligned with and disposed in respective recesses 13 thereby defining a profile which prevents the ingress of water into the wire cover 30 whereby the connector 40 is made splash-proof.

Thus, while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be strictly limited to such embodiment but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the appended claims.