Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WIRING CONNECTOR HOUSING
TECHNICAL FIELD
This application is directed, in general, to an air
conditioning system and, more specifically, to a wiring
connection system for "ice cube" relays.
BACKGROUND
Current air conditioning (HVAC) systems employ
multi-pole relays encased in clear polycarbonate and
resembling an oversize ice cube; thus the common name
"ice cube" relays. The
relays are typically mounted to
the chassis or a board and have up to 11 single point
connections configured with 0.25" x o.032" male quick
disconnect wiring terminals. As all of the terminals on
the multi-pole relay are physically the same, i.e., male
quick disconnect type, and the wires to be connected to
the relay are all terminated with the same size female
quick disconnects, this leads to the possibility of
incorrect connection of the wires to the relay terminals
during manufacturing, assembly and troubleshooting.
For example, the relays in question may have up to
three poles with double throw and nine connectors to the
internal relays with an additional two connectors for
coil voltage.
Thus, with 11 terminals and 11 wiring
leads there are //! (eleven factorial) ways to connect
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the wiring leads to the terminals. This can
lead to
errors in servicing the unit, which in turn can lead to a
malfunction in the operation of the unit.
SUMMARY
One aspect provides a wiring connector housing
comprising a housing body having first and second ends
and at least one interference tab extending outwardly
from the second end. The
wiring connector housing
further comprises spaced apart channels located through
the housing body extending from the first end to the
second end with the first end of the channels each
configured to receive a quick connector therein. Each of
the second ends of the spaced apart channels are located
to register with and receive corresponding quick connect
terminals therein. The at least one interference tab is
configured to contact an isolation ridge of an electrical
relay and thereby prevent the second ends of the spaced
apart channels from being improperly registered with the
corresponding quick connect terminals.
In another aspect, there is provided a method of
manufacturing a wiring connector housing comprising
forming a housing body having first and second ends and
forming at least one interference tab extending outwardly
from the second end. Spaced
apart channels are formed
through the housing body and extend from the first end to
the second end. The first ends of the channels are each
configured to receive a quick connector therein. Each of
the second ends of the spaced apart channels are formed
to register with and receive corresponding quick connect
terminals therein. The interference tab is configured to
contact an isolation ridge of an electrical relay and
thereby prevent the second ends of the spaced apart
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channels from being improperly registered with the
corresponding quick connect terminals.
In yet another aspect, there is provided an air
conditioning system comprising an air handler, a
controller, a chassis having an electrical relay mounted
thereon, and a wiring connector housing having first and
second ends and spaced apart channels therethrough. The
electrical relay has at least one isolation ridge and
terminals thereon. Each of the spaced apart channels is
configured to receive a quick connector through the first
end. An
interference tab extends outwardly from the
second end and is positioned such that the interference
tab contacts the isolation ridge when the housing body is
incorrectly aligned with the terminals. The
quick
connectors are thereby prevented from contacting one of
the terminals.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Reference is now made to the following descriptions
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a
wiring connector housing;
FIG. 2 is an elevation view of a conventional female
quick connector and a conventional male quick connector
tab located on a relay on which the quick connector may
be placed;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first end of the
wiring connector housing of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the second end of
the wiring connector housing of FIG. 1; and
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FIG. 5 illustrates a relay contrasting a correct
positioning of a wiring connector housing with an
incorrect positioning of the wiring connector housing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring initially to FIG. 1, illustrated is a
perspective view of one embodiment of a wiring connector
housing 100 constructed according to the principles
discussed herein. As
explained below, the wiring
connector housing 100 is designed to receive and retain a
quick connector therein that is often used to make
connection to electrical components, such as a relay,
that have one or more corresponding male terminals
located thereon. In many
HVAC applications, various
components have to be electrically connected or serviced
in the field. In such instances, the service technician
must make the appropriate connections when either
assembling the HVAC system or servicing an in-place unit.
Often in rooftop units, the wiring schemes can be very
complicated, which increases the chance of a wrong
electrical connection being made. The wiring
connector
housing 100 is designed to reduce the number of erroneous
connections being made during installation or servicing.
The wiring connector housing 100 comprises a housing
body 110, spaced apart channels 121, 122, 123,
interference tabs 130, and terminal registration slots
141, 142, 143. The housing body 110 has first and second
ends 111, 112, respectively. In this
embodiment, the
interference tabs 130 are a plurality of tabs extending
outwardly from a side of the housing body 110 at the
second end 112 that will prevent the connection of the
wiring connector housing 100 to an electrical component
having quick connect male terminals or tabs thereon, if
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not correctly aligned with those male tabs. However, in
other embodiments, the interference tab may be a single
tab that extends along a portion of the side of the
housing 110. The
wiring connector housing 100 may be
manufactured from suitable plastic materials using an
injection molding process.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional quick connector
200 and a conventional relay 210 that includes male quick
connector tabs 210a, which are often used in HVAC
applications. In one embodiment, the quick connector 200
may include a flat portion 201 with sides 202, 203 that
are bent around to near contact with an inside surface
204 of the flat portion 201. The quick connector 200 has
a connecting end 205 that can receive one of the male
connector tabs 210a. As
explained below, the quick
connector 200 is housed within one of the spaced apart
channels 121, 122, 123 of the device of FIG. 1.
The conventional male quick connector tabs 210 are
representative of male quick connector tabs as found on
electrical equipment, such as electrical relays. One who
is skilled in the art will readily 'recognize how the
female quick connector 200 will removably couple to the
male quick connector tabs 210a. Further,
it should be
understood that the relay 210 may have three or more male
quick connector tabs 210a located on each side of the
relay 210. In the illustrated embodiment, the relay 210
also includes opposing isolation ridges 212. As
explained below, the isolation ridges 212 in cooperation
with the interference tabs 130 prevent incorrect
connection of the wiring connector housing 100 (FIG. 1)
to the relay 210.
FIG. 3 illustrates the first end 111 of the wiring
connector housing 100 of FIG. 1. In this view, it can be
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seen that the spaced apart channels 121-123 extend
through the entire length of the housing body 110. The
spaced apart channels 121-123 are configured to each
receive the quick connector 200, discussed above. Each
spaced apart channel has a quick connector securing
device 310 therein proximate the second end 112. Each
quick connector securing device 310 comprises a central
guide ridge 311, two connector spring tabs 312, and a
quick connector stop 313. The
central guide ridge 311
and connector spring tabs 312 are located on a first wall
321 of the spaced apart channels 121-123, whereas the
quick connector stop 313 is located on a second wall 322
opposite the first wall 321 at the second end 112 of each
spaced apart channel 121-123.
Referring now to FIG. 2 with continuing reference to
FIG. 3. The central guide ridge 311 acts to center the
quick connector 200 by fitting over the inside surface
204 and between the left and right sides 202, 203 as the
quick connector 200 is inserted into a one of the spaced
apart channels 121-123. As the
quick connector 200 is
inserted into the first end 111, the quick connector
spring tabs 312 are depressed slightly by the left and
right sides 202, 203 of the quick connector 200 until the
connecting end 205 of the quick connector 200 touches the
quick connector stops 313 and the quick connector spring
tabs 312 slip in behind ends 206 of the left and right
sides 202, 203 of the quick connector 200, thereby
securely locking the quick connector 200 in place within
the wiring connector housing 100. This
prevents a
service technician from removing a wire and connector
from the wiring connector housing 100 and incorrectly re-
inserting the connector in the wrong location.
Therefore, once the wiring harness is equipped with the
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appropriate wiring connector housing 100, the wiring
harness cannot be easily changed.
FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the second
end 112 of the wiring connector housing 100 of FIG. 1.
To the left and right of the wiring connector housing 100
are partial views of two male connector layouts 410, 420,
respectively, as may be found on a typical electrical
HVAC component. The left
and right male connector
layouts 410, 420 have male connectors 441-443 and 451-
453, respectively, extending therefrom in patterns that
align with the terminal registration slots 141-143
insofar as spacing is concerned. The left and right male
connector layouts 410, 420 have isolation ridges 444,
454, respectively.
In the following discussion, it must be remembered
that the wiring connector housing 100 must be inverted to
enable it to be placed on the connector layouts 410, 420
because of the spacing relationship of the male
connectors 441-443 and 451-453 and the terminal
registration slots 141-143. Therefore, if a technician
attempts to place the wiring connector housing 100 on the
right male connector layout 420, which in this case is
the wrong connector, the interference tabs 130 will
contact the isolation bar 454; and the technician will
not be able to properly seat the wiring connector housing
100 on the male connector layout 420. Thus,
incorrect
electrical contact will be prevented from occurring.
However, if the technician places the wiring connector
housing 100 on the left male connector layout 410, which
in this case are the correct components, the interference
tabs 130 will be located on the outside edge (indicated
by straight lines) of the male connector layout 410, and
the isolation bar 444 will not interfere with the proper
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seating of the wiring connector housing 100 onto the male
connectors 441-443. Thus,
correct electrical contact is
made.
Therefore, it should be understood that even
though the spacing of the male and female connectors
agree, the wiring connector housing 100 can only be
placed upon the correct terminals because the
interference tabs 130 will prevent proper seating on any
incorrect terminals.
FIG. 5 further illustrates the application of the
wiring connector housing 100 from a different
perspective. This
view illustrates the application of
how the wiring connector housing 100 can be seated onto
the male connectors 210a when properly oriented (left
side configuration) but cannot be seated when improperly
oriented (right side configuration). As seen
here, the
wiring connector housings 100 have the female quick
connectors 200 located therein that are configured to
slip onto the male connectors 210a. In the right side of
this view, it can be seen that, since the wiring
connector housing 100 is improperly oriented, the
interference tabs 130 contact the isolation bar 212,
which prevents the wiring connector housing 100 from
being fully seated on the male connector 210a. Thus,
improper electrical connection is prevented and will be
readily apparent to the technician. In
contrast, the
left side of this view illustrates the wiring connector
housing 100 properly oriented such that the interference
tabs 130 extend outwardly from the side of the housing
body 110 at the outside edge of the component 210. As
such, they do not contact an isolation bar 212, which
allows the quick connector 200 to fully engage the male
connector 210a on the left side of the component 210;
thereby providing complete seating of the wiring
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connector housing 100 and proper electrical connection to
be made.
Thus, a wiring connector housing 100 has been
described that locks a plurality of female connectors
within the housing in a pre-set order to correctly
interface to a matching plurality of male connectors on
an electrical device, e.g., an electrical relay. The
housing is configured in such a manner that even if the
spacing between male connectors and female connectors
have the same pattern and spacing, the housing will only
properly couple to the correct electrical contacts having
an isolation bar thereon.
One who is of skill in the art can readily
understand that the above described invention may be used
with a variety of electrical relays such as are commonly'
used in air conditioning systems to control operation of
the various system components.
Those skilled in the art to which this application
relates will appreciate that other and further additions,
deletions, substitutions and modifications may be made to
the described embodiments.
