A method of constructing an automotive airbag squib connector housing by injecting plastic into a single mold. The single mold provides for the formation of a bottom section, a top cover section, and a lock section. During the molding process, a pair of molding runners connect the bottom section to the top cover section. Likewise, the top cover section is connected to the lock section and where the two sections connect together a notch is formed. Once the sections are molded, they are used to construct an automotive airbag squib connector housing.
A detonator device for tripping a passenger restraint device in a motor vehicle includes a detonator circuit on a holder. Firing pins for receiving a detonator element are an integral component of the holder.
A vehicle safety apparatus (12) includes an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device (44) and first and second electrically actuatable devices (30, 32) for, when actuated, effecting flow of inflation fluid for inflating the inflatable device. The apparatus (12) further includes an electrical connector (10) electrically connected with the first and second actuatable devices (30, 32) for supplying electric current to the first and second electrically actuatable devices. The electrical connector (10) includes electrical components, such as diodes, (80, 82) responsive to the direction of current flow through the electrical connector for actuating a selected one of the first and second actuatable devices (30, 32).
The invention provides for an apparatus comprising a pin connector, and a method for assembling the pin connector, where the pin connector comprises a unitary insulator and housing, and a plurality of contact holes that extend between a front and back face of the insulator to receive contacts known in the art. The insulator may also contains an intermediate PCB slot that opens from the back face of the insulator and receives a PCB inserted therein. The unitary housing has a front and back end, where the back end receives the insulator from the front face, and the front end contains an open area that accesses the insulator to another connector mated therein. The invention may also incorporate a key element in the intermediate PCB slot that engages a matching notch on an edge of the PCB. The housing and insulator may include aligning fastener holes that receive fasteners shared by the components of the connector. The connector may also include one or more alignment ribs that extend from the back end forward along an interior side of the top segment of the housing. The pin connector may be assembled by inserting contacts into the front face of the insulator and inserting the insulator in the back end of the housing.
