PANEL WITH CONNECTOR AND SECURED PROTECTIVE COVER

Abstract

A connector secured to a panel and connectable to a circuit terminal. The connector extends through a panel opening with a flange abutting the panel rear and a front portion with a connecting terminal projecting from the panel front. A lock washer around the connector front portion includes a planar washer body and integral lock tabs radially outward of its central aperture. A securing tab extends radially from the washer body and is bent away from the panel front face. A nut is secured to the connector outer thread over the lock washer. A protective cover is selectively securable over the connector front portion by threading on the connector outer thread, and a lanyard secures the protective cover to the lock washer securing tab.

Claims

1. A connector secured to a panel and connectable to a circuit terminal, comprising: a panel having a front face and a rear face, said panel having an opening therethrough; a connector extending through said panel opening with a flange abutting the panel rear face and a front portion projecting from said panel front face, said connector front portion having an outer thread, and at least one connecting terminal exposed at a front end and adapted to connect to the circuit terminal; a lock washer around said connector front portion adjacent said panel front face, said lock washer including a planar washer body formed of a sheet of resilient metal with a central aperture and a selected thickness between top and bottom surfaces, first and second lock tabs integral with said body radially outward of said central aperture, and a securing tab extending radially from the washer body and bent from the plane of the body away from said panel front face; a nut secured to said connector outer thread with said lock washer between said nut and said panel front face; a protective cover selectively securable over said connector front portion by threading on said connector outer thread; and a lanyard securing said protective cover to said lock washer securing tab.

2. The connector of claim 1, wherein said nut has a maximum outer radius R.sub.MAX and said securing tab is bent at a radius greater than R.sub.MAX.

3. The connector of claim 1, wherein said lock washer includes: a radially inward facing, straight, free edge transverse to a radius of said body; and a spring bend biasing said tab to a displaced position in which the tab is bent to one side of the plane of said body to provide a selected spring force adapted to allow the lock tabs to be pushed down to a coplanar position with the washer body.

4. The connector of claim 1, wherein said lock tabs and free edge are defined by notches.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIGS. 1-4 illustrate prior art panel mounted connectors and protective caps;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a panel mounted connector according to the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 6 is a plan view of a lock washer according to the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 7 is a side of the Fig. lock washer;

[0022] FIG. 8 illustrates a connected lock washer and protective cap according to the present invention; and

[0023] FIGS. 9-10 illustrate a panel mounted connector according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] FIGS. 5-10 illustrate one embodiment of the present invention, providing a panel 10 with a securely and reliably mounted protectable connector 12.

[0025] Specifically, the connector 12 is secured in an aperture of the panel 10 with a flange 14 abutting the rear side of the panel 10. The flange 14 may be integral with the connector 12 and may include an O-ring 15 which seals around the panel aperture, A nut 16 is screwed onto the thread 18 on the forward portion of the connector 12 with a lock washer 50 between the nut 16 and the front face of the panel 10.

[0026] The lock washer 50 may be particularly advantageous with a washer body 52 having lock tabs 54, 56 (see FIG. 6-7) such as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,919, the full disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Specifically, in the illustrated advantageous embodiment, the tabs 54, 56 each have a straight free edge 64, 66 transverse (i.e., at 90 degrees) to a radius of the washer body 52 and include a spring bend at the connection to the washer body 52 to extend out of the plane of the washer body 52 (see particularly FIG. 7).

[0027] The free edges 64, 66 are radially spaced from the center of the washer body 52 a distance approximately equal to or just slightly greater than the distance from the center of the nut 16 to the nearest point on the flat 70 of the nut 16. It should be appreciated that with the lock washer 50 between the panel 10 and the nut 16 when the nut 16 is rotated to tighten (e.g., counter-clockwise such as illustrated in FIG. 5), the nut points 72 will push lock washer tabs 54, 56 down to allow such rotation. However, at least one tab 54, 56 will spring up out of the plane of the washer body 52 and block the nut 16 from loosening (i.e., prevent clockwise rotation in FIG. 5) to maintain the nut 16 in its tightened position. If removal is desired, the maintenance person can use a wrench which will push the tabs 54, 56 down and out of the way to allow such loosening rotation.

[0028] An alternative lock washer configuration which may be used is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,136, the full disclosure of which is also hereby incorporated by reference.

[0029] In accordance with the present invention, the lock washer 50 also includes a radially extending tab 80 which is also bent from the plane of the washer body 52. The bend is located at a radius from the central axis which is at least as great as the maximum outer radius R.sub.MAX of the nut 16 (i.e., the radius of the nut points 72) so that it may maintain its bent configuration at all times, including when the nut 16 is turned and the nut points 72 pass by the bend.

[0030] A lanyard 24 is secured on one end to the cap 20 and on the other end to the lock washer radially extending tab 80, so that the cap 20 may be reliably secured by the connector 12 whether the cap 20 is in use or not. That is, when not in use, the cap 20 will hang from the lanyard 24 by the connector 12. When the connector 12 is disconnected from a mating connector so as to expose the terminals 90 of the connector 12 (e.g., female terminals 90 illustrated in FIG. 5), the cap 20 may be screwed onto the connector threads 18, where sufficient threads will be available for that purpose even in retrofitted connectors 12 having limited threads 18. This may all be accomplished by very simple maintenance without the many disadvantages of a safety wire.

[0031] From the foregoing, it will be readily appreciated that the panel mounted connector of the present invention will may be easily, quickly, efficiently and reliably assembled. Moreover, over the course of its useful life, the connector will be positively locked in its mounted position while also allowing easy maintenance, including protecting the connector terminals during such maintenance.