Electrical connector with integrated CPA
The invention relates to an electrical connector configured to be connected to a mating electrical connector, the electrical connector comprising a housing configured to be mated with a mating housing of the mating electrical connector, which mating housing is received in an interior of the housing; the housing comprising a deflectable locking member for engagement with a counter locking member of the mating electrical connector; and a connector position assurance (CPA) member, which is configured to be moved from a release position to a securing position, wherein in the securing position, the CPA member prevents a deflection of the locking member.
Electrical connectors and connector position assurance means and members, or briefly CPA means, respectively CPA members, are known from the art. These CPA members require different tools for their actuation, the additional tool itself, and require an additional assembly process.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector with a CPA member at a lower cost, and which allows easier handling and ease of manufacture.
The electrical connector mentioned in the beginning solves the above objective in that the CPA member is monolithically connected to the housing.
Thus, the inventive electrical connector has the advantage that a separate tool for operating the CPA member is not required and that no additional manufacturing step is necessary to assemble the CPA member. Handling is facilitated because the CPA member cannot get lost but – due to the monolithical connection – is attached to the housing. The monolithical connection corresponds to a CPA member which is integrally formed with the housing, e.g. by injection molding.
In the following, further advantageous embodiments of the inventive electrical connector will be presented and described. Technical features of the specific embodiments may be arbitrarily combined with each other or omitted if the technical effect obtained with the omitted technical feature is not essential to the present invention.
Mating of the electrical connector with the mating electrical connector may in particular occur along a mating direction. The interior of the housing may extend along such a mating direction. The interior is to be understood as a three-dimensional volume comprised by at least one housing wall, which may represent the outer shell of the electrical connector. The housing wall is preferentially circumferentially arranged around the interior, more precisely defines the interior.

The deflectable locking member may be located in said interior or may at least partially extend into the interior of the housing. The deflectable locking member is preferably monolithically connected with the housing, wherein a deflection of the locking member occurs preferably in a direction perpendicular to the mating direction.
The inventive CPA member may also be provided at a connector which is received within an interior of a mating connector. The engagement of the locking member with a counter locking member is known from the art, wherein possible locking members may be lock beaks, lock pins and their corresponding counterparts. The locking member may comprise a ramp structure, i.e. an inclined surface which facilitates or initiates the deflection of the locking member prior to the engagement between the locking member and counter locking member.
The inventive electrical connector is preferably fabricated by injection molding. Since in the inventive electrical connector the housing is monolithically connected to the CPA, only one fabrication step is necessary to fabricate the entire electrical connector, including the housing, the locking member and the CPA member.
The movement of the CPA member from the release position to the securing position is preferably reversible.
The CPA member may, in either the release position or the securing position, be located in the vicinity of the locking member, i.e. adjacent to it. The CPA member may, in particular in the securing position, be in abutment with the locking member or may be brought into abutment upon a minor deflection of the locking member. A minor deflection is to be understood as a deflection which is not sufficient for disengaging the locking member from the counter locking member.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the inventive electrical connector, the CPA member is connected pivotably to the housing. The CPA member may be pivotable with regard to a pivot axis, which may be oriented parallel or perpendicular to the mating direction.
The CPA member may preferably be rotatable about a hinge portion connecting the CPA member to the housing. The hinge portion may comprise a hinge member, which is embodied as a hinge known from the art.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the hinge portion comprises a film hinge. Further possible monolithic hinge members, such as filament or fiber hinges, are conceivable. The hinge may for example be a so-called living hinge, i.e. a thin flexible structure or flexure bearing.

In a further embodiment of the inventive electric connector, the CPA member may comprise a blocking section, wherein, in the securing position of the CPA member, the deflection of the locking member is blocked by the blocking section.
Thus, a correct engagement between the locking member and the counter locking member may be assured. In the securing position of the CPA member, the locking member may therefore not be deflected anymore, such that the engagement between the locking member and the counter locking member may not be released.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the inventive electrical connector, the blocking section may be arranged between the housing and the locking member in the securing position. In this embodiment, the deflection of the locking member occurs away from a center of the interior of the housing towards the wall of the housing, i.e. the edge of the interior.
Placing the blocking member in between the housing and a space into which the locking member is to be deflected is easily performed as compared to the case that the locking member deflects towards the center of the interior, i.e. away from the housing wall. In the latter case, a blocking member needs to be located further away from the housing wall than the locking member, in order to guarantee its blocking function.
The blocking section is to be understood as a portion of the CPA member which comprises a blocking surface, which is, at least in the securing position of the CPA member, located in the vicinity of the locking member or is in abutment with the locking member. The blocking section thus may be understood as a mechanical stop of a deflection of the locking member.
In the release position of the CPA member, the locking member may be freely deflected from its stationary or idle position to the deflected position. The idle position is the unbiased position of the locking member, in which no force acts on the locking member, which in turn is not deflected.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the inventive electrical connector, the blocking section may be formed by a protrusion that, at least in the securing position, is located between the hinge portion and the interior of the housing.
This embodiment has the advantage that the pivoting of the CPA member about the hinge portion occurs along a segment of a circle. During the pivoting the blocking section formed by the protrusions is moved along a side-segment-shaped trajectory that corresponds to a segment of a circle of a radius corresponding to the distance between the hinge portion and the blocking portion.

The embodiment of the blocking section, respectively by the protrusion, allows defining a trajectory that allows moving the CPA member from the release position to the securing position without touching the locking member, but in such a manner, that upon arriving at the securing position, the blocking section is located close enough to the locking member to block its deflection and prevent disengagement.
The movement of the blocking section along the trajectory corresponding to a segment of a circle thus results in the blocking section being in mesh with an abutment portion of the locking member.
The abutment portion of the locking member may be understood as a surface facing away from the interior towards the wall of the housing and towards the CPA member.
The abutment portion may, in the securing position of the CPA member, be in abutment with the same or may come into abutment upon a minor deflection of the locking member. The protrusion may be understood as a cantilever, which may protrude into the housing towards the hinge portion. In such an embodiment, the pivoting movement of the blocking section, arranged at the protrusion or cantilever, is therefore easily performed from the outside of the electrical connector.
Due to the fact that the CPA member may comprise a hinge portion, a person may actuate the CPA member by pressing it in a direction towards the interior, wherein the pressure may be initiated at different distances from the hinge portion. Thus, an insertion resistance of the CPA member may be easily overcome by the user in that he or she presses the CPA member farther away from the hinge portion using the cantilever effect. It is to be noted that a cantilever may be formed or may extend from the hinge portion towards both ends of the CPA member.
One end of the CPA member may thus comprise a first cantilever with the blocking section, wherein an actuation portion is provided at the opposite end of the CPA member.
In a further advantageous embodiment, at least a portion of the blocking section is pivotably insertable between sections of the locking member. In other words, the locking member may comprise a recess into which a portion of the CPA member may be pivotably moved.
Said portion of the CPA member may be referred to as interleaving member, wherein the interleaving member may be received in between the sections of the locking member, i.e. in the recess, only in an intermediate position, which is present between the release position and the securing position. The intermediate position may be understood as a plurality of certain exact positions of the CPA member during its pivotable rotation from the release position to the

securing position. Similarly, the deflection of the locking member may be blocked by the CPA member in a certain number of exact positions of the CPA member. Preferably, the release position and the securing position are marked by a stop member, against which the CPA member abuts in the corresponding position.
The locking member may in particular be embodied as an elongated latch or tongue with a slotted hole or slotted recess, into which the interleaving portion may be pivotably moved. In this embodiment, the sections of the locking member, in between which the blocking section is pivotably insertable, may be considered as two spring arms forming a recess in between them.
Thus, in an exemplary orientation of the inventive electrical connector, if the rotation of the blocking section is considered to be a section of a circle starting from a point A to a point B and having a point C that is furthest away from an imaginary line drawn between point A and point B, the locking member may be oriented essentially parallel to said imaginary line. The recess of the locking member, i.e. the two sections in between the blocking section is pivotably insertable, open towards the section of the circle. The section of the circle is located in a two-dimensional plane being perpendicular to the plane, in which the locking member is placed. In the embodiment described above, the section of the circle intersects with the plane of the locking lever. In particular, point C is located on a side of the locking lever plane opposite to points A and B. If point A is considered the release position and point B the securing position, the blocking section may be located above an abutment portion of the locking lever in point B.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the inventive electrical connector, a free end of the CPA member comprises a guiding protrusion that extends into a guide receptacle of the housing, the guiding protrusion and the guide receptacle cooperating to guide the CPA member during pivoting.
The guiding protrusion of the CPA member may be a guiding pin, a guiding flag, a guiding wall or a guiding fin, i.e. a protruded structure suitable for moving along the guide receptacle. The guide receptacle may be a slotted hole or a slot which may be oriented essentially perpendicular to the mating direction, i.e. essentially perpendicular to a wall of the housing. The guide receptacle may also be formed by two walls positioned next to each other, which walls form a slot in between them.
In a further embodiment, the protruding structure may be comprised at the housing and the slot may be provided at the CPA member.
The inventive electrical connector may be further improved in that the guiding protrusion and the protrusion forming the blocking section may be formed by a rib of the CPA member. That is to

say, the rib or wall structure or protruding elongated structure of the CPA member provides the blocking section and the guiding protrusion. This may increase the stability of either of both elements, as well as the stability of the CPA member. In particular, the rib may render the CPA member more torsion-resistant and more flexurally rigid as compared to CPA members with individually embodied blocking section and guiding protrusion.
The rib may be understood as a fin member, which, in the release position of the CPA member, may be oriented under an angle to the mating direction, and which, in the securing position of the CPA member, may be oriented essentially parallel to the mating direction.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the inventive electrical connector, the CPA member comprises at least one lock member of the list of lock members, comprising: a lock pin, a lock hook or a lock beak, each being configured to engage a lock recess of the housing; or an edge of the CPA member, which is arranged opposite the hinge portion and which is configured to be held in place by an undercut of the housing.
The at least one lock member may assure that the CPA member is fixed in at least one of the release position and the securing position.
The lock members may be combined in such a manner that the CPA member may be secured in the securing position, even if the hinge portion may be damaged or broken. That is to say, the lock members determine the exact position and orientation of the CPA member with respect to the housing in the securing position.
The CPA member may thus be used for controlling the correct position and orientation of the CPA member with respect to the housing, at least in the securing position. With said combination of lock members, no further movement or rotation of the CPA member is possible in the securing position, which highly increases the redundancy of the entire electrical connector, in particular the redundancy of the securing position of the CPA member.
The inventive CPA member may further comprise a securing rib, which may extend from the CPA member and which may be oriented essentially parallel to the hinge portion and perpendicular to the rib of the CPA member. The securing rib may extend towards the interior of the housing.
The securing rib may be configured to secure the CPA member against movements towards or away from the hinge portion at least in the securing position. That is to say, the securing rib may engage in a positive lock with a corresponding slot of the housing. In particular, the securing rib

may comprise a securing area facing away from the edge of the CPA member arranged opposite the hinge portion, i.e. the securing area may face towards the hinge portion.
If the CPA member is therefore locked by the edge of the CPA member, which may be received in the undercut of the housing, wherein additionally the securing rib engages with a corresponding slot or wall of the housing, movement of the CPA member along the mating direction, i.e. perpendicular to the orientation of the hinge portion, is inhibited.
In a further embodiment of the inventive electrical connector, the CPA member may be oriented essentially parallel to the locking member in the securing position.
In the release position, the CPA member may be oriented under any angle between exemplarily 10° and 90° with respect to the orientation of the locking member.
The inventive electrical connector may be further improved in that the CPA member comprises a plate-like section, which, in the securing position, forms a cover or an outer shell of the housing.
This embodiment has the advantage that in the securing position of the CPA member, the risk of an unintentional opening of the CPA member is strongly decreased and preferably entirely excluded, since, by forming the cover or outer shell of the housing, no portions of the CPA member may be accessible, onto which a force may be exerted to move the CPA member from the securing position to the release position.
For disengaging the CPA member from the housing, a further advantageous embodiment of the electrical connector may comprise at least one CPA lock release opening in the housing, in which an unlocking tool may be received. That unlocking tool may exemplarily be a screw driver, which may be inserted into the lock release opening in order to pry the CPA member away from the interior, i.e. from the securing position to the release position. The release tool may be applied to any portion of the CPA member, preferably at the guiding protrusion or at the rib of the CPA member.
The inventive electrical connector may be further improved in that, in the securing position, the plate-like section of the CPA member may be at least partially flush with an outer surface of the housing. This may provide the user with haptic feedback informing about arriving in the secured position. The above mentioned lock members may further confirm the obtained securing position acoustically.
In the following, the inventive electrical connector will be described by an exemplary embodiment shown in the accompanying figures. The embodiment described is purely

exemplary, i.e. technical features shown and described in the figures may be arbitrarily combined or even omitted if the technical effect of the omitted technical feature is not relevant to the present invention. Identical technical features or technical features having the same technical effect will be denoted using the same reference numerals.
In the figures:
Fig. 1 shows an inventive electrical connector with a received mating connector and a
CPA member in the release position;
Fig. 2 shows the inventive electrical connector in a final plug position;
Fig. 3 shows a cut detailed view of the inventive CPA member;
Fig. 4 shows a further cut detailed view of the CPA member;
Figs. 5 to 8 show a sequence of plugging together and securing the electrical connector to the mating connector; and
Figs. 9 to 12 show further details of the inventive electrical connector.
The following general description may refer to Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Figs. 5 to 8 and Fig. 9, all of which show a first embodiment of the inventive electrical connector 1. If specific technical features, positions or states are to be described, this will be indicated accordingly with reference to the corresponding figure.
The electrical connector 1 is adapted to be connected to a mating electrical connector 3, both of which form an electrical connection assembly 5, which is shown in the above referenced figures in different states.
The electrical connector 1 and the mating electrical connector 3 shown are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Thus, the electrical connector 1 according to the invention is not limited to an oval plug interface 7 shown in the figures.
The electrical connector 1 comprises a housing 9 having an outer wall 11 that surrounds or encircles an interior 13. The interior 13 is shown accessible in the figures, as additional connection means, e.g. inner details of the connector, the terminal and the cables, are not shown.
The electrical connector extends along an x-axis defining a width direction 15, along a y-axis defining the depth direction 17, and a z-axis defining a height direction 19.

Based on a coordinate system 21 shown in the figures, a mating direction 23 is oriented parallel to the z-axis.
In the perspective views of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 the electrical connection assembly 5 is shown in an unmated state 25 and in a final mated state 27, respectively. The same states are shown in Figs. 5 and 8 in a different view.
The mating electrical connector 3 comprises a mating housing 29 which may be received in the interior 13.
The housing 9 further comprises a deflectable locking member 31 which is visible in the cut views of Fig. 5 to 8. Said deflectable locking member 31 comprises a free end 33 and a fixed end 35, wherein the free end 33 is deflectable in a direction opposite the depth direction 17 (the coordinate system 21 is valid for Figs. 5 to 8).
The locking member 31 extends in the embodiment shown from the fixed end 35 along a direction opposite the height direction 19, respectively opposite the z-axis. The locking member 31 is embodied linearly or straight, but may, in different embodiments, comprise curved or angled sections, such that it may for instance extend from the fixed end 35 in or against the depth direction 17 and then bend in a direction opposite the height direction 19.
The locking member 31 comprises at least one flexible arm 37, which connects the fixed end 35 with the free end 33.
At the free end 33, an insertion ramp 39 is provided, which is adapted to cooperate with a mating insertion ramp 41 of the mating housing 29.
In the following, the mating process between the electrical connector 1 and the mating electrical connector 3 will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 8.
In the unmated state 25 shown in Fig. 5, the mating electrical connector 3 is inserted into the interior 13 of the electrical connector 1 in mating direction 23. Fig. 6 also shows the electrical connection assembly 5 in the unmated state 25, wherein the insertion ramp 39 of the deflectable locking member 31 is in the vicinity of the mating insertion ramp 41 of the mating housing 29.
Upon further insertion of the mating housing 29 into the interior 13 of the housing 9, the two insertion ramps 39, 41 abut each other and exert a force (not shown) onto each other which is oriented approximately normal to the corresponding surface (not shown) of the insertion ramps 39, 41.

As preferably the mating housing 29 is not compressible and the locking member 31 is deflectable because of its flexible arm 37, the locking member 31 is deflected away from the interior 13 essentially along a direction opposite the depth direction 17, i.e. in Figs. 5 to 8 in an upward direction (not shown) with reference to the given orientation in the figures.
The insertion ramps 39, 41 slide along each other and the free end 33 of the locking member 31 is deflected by a ramp height 43 and finally returns to an undeflected state 45.
In Fig. 7, the electrical connection assembly 5 is shown in a locked state 47 but is still in an unsecured state 49.
The locked state 47 is characterized in that two block surfaces 51 are in mesh with each other. The block surface 51 and the corresponding insertion ramp 39 or mating insertion ramp 41 form a lock beak 53 of the locking member 31 and the mating housing 29, respectively.
The lock beak 53 of the mating housing 29 is a counter locking member 54 for engagement with the deflectable locking member 31.
The lock beaks 53 and the block surfaces 51 are only indicated in Fig. 5 and in Figs. 5 to 7, respectively.
Further, the inventive electrical connector 1 comprises a connector position assurance member 55, which will be denoted CPA member 55 in the following. The CPA member 55 is shown in all figures and its general structure will in particular be described with reference to Fig. 4.
The CPA member 55 comprises a plate-like section 57 which comprises a rib 59 which extends perpendicularly from the plate-like section 57. The CPA member 55 of the embodiment shown a monolithic part 61, i.e. it is monolithically connected to the housing 9.
The connection to the housing 9 is realized by a hinge portion 63, which, in the embodiment shown in the figures, is a film hinge 65.
The working principle of the film hinge 65 may best be seen in a comparison between Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The hinge portion 63 thus represents the monolithic connection 67, which is oriented parallel to the width direction 15 in the embodiment shown. In a different (not shown) embodiment, the hinge portion 63 may be oriented along the height direction 19.
The CPA member 55 is connected rotatably, respectively pivotably to the housing 9, wherein in the embodiment shown, a pivoting movement 69 (see Fig. 4) of the CPA member 55 occurs in the y-z-plane 71, i.e. the plane which is defined by the y-axis and the z-axis. The pivoting

movement 69 further occurs about the hinge portion 63, i.e. around an axis of rotation 73 oriented parallel to the x-axis.
The CPA member 55 may be moved from a release position 75 shown in Fig. 1 and Figs. 3 to 7 to a securing position 77 shown in Fig. 2 and Figs. 8 to 12.
In the release position 75, the mating housing 29 may be received in or removed from the interior 13 of the housing 9 of the electrical connector 1. In the securing position 77 the CPA member 55 prevents a deflection 79 (indicated by an arrow in Fig. 3) of the locking member 31.
Such a deflection 79 and its origin is described above, where the process of engagement between the locking member 31 and the counter locking member 54 is described with reference to Figs. 5 to 8.
In order to prevent the deflection 79 of the locking member 31, the CPA member comprises a blocking section 81, which is indicated in Fig. 3, in Fig. 4 by a shading 83, and in Figs. 5 to 8.
In the securing position 77 of the CPA member 55, the blocking section 81, in particular a blocking surface 83 of the blocking section 81, is located in the vicinity of an abutment portion 85 (see the zoom 87 of Fig. 8) of the locking member 31. The blocking surface 83 and the abutment portion 85 overlap by an overlap distance 89 which may be in the range of approximately 1 mm.
If the locking member 31 is deflected in a direction opposite the y-axis, the abutment portion 85 abuts the blocking surface 83 of the blocking section 81, such that the blocking section 81 acts as a mechanical stop 91.
In the securing position 77, the blocking section 81 is arranged between the housing 9 and the locking member 31, as shown in Fig. 8.
As can be seen in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the blocking section 81 is formed by a protrusion 93, which, in the securing position 77 is located between the hinge portion 63 and the interior 13 of the housing 9. Further, the blocking section 81 is pivotably insertable between sections 95 of the locking member 31. The protrusion 93 is formed by the rib 59.
In the cut view of Fig. 3, one section 95 of the locking member 31 is shown. During the pivoting movement 69 of the CPA member 55, the protrusion 93 along a trajectory 97 between the two opposing sections 95 of the locking member 31.

Opposite to the hinge portion 63, the CPA member 55 comprises a free end 99, at which the rib 59 forms a guiding protrusion 101, which extends into a guide receptacle 103 of the housing 9, the guiding protrusion 101 and the guide receptacle cooperating to guide the CPA member 55 during pivoting (see Fig. 3). Thus, the rib 59 forms the protrusion 93 and the guiding protrusion 101.
As can be seen in Fig. 2, Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, the plate-like section 57 forms a cover 105, respectively an outer shell 107 of the housing 9. In the securing position 77, the plate-like section 57 may in particular be flush with the housing 9, which is shown in the side profile of Fig. 8.
Further, Fig. 8 shows a CPA lock release opening 123, which allows for receiving an unlocking tool 125, such as a screwdriver 127, for disengaging the CPA member 55 from the housing 9. This is performed by prying the rib 59 in a direction opposite the y-axis.
In Figs. 9 to 12 different lock members 109 are described.
A possible lock member 109 is a lock pin 111 which extends along the x-axis away from the CPA member 55, wherein preferably a second lock pin 111 is provided at the (not shown) opposite side of the CPA member 55 (referring to Fig. 12). Said lock pin 111 may be received in a lock recess 113 of the housing 9. In different embodiments, which are not shown, a lock hook or a lock beak may be provided.
Additionally or alternatively, the CPA member 55 may be locked to the housing 9 by an edge 115 of the CPA member 55, which is arranged opposite the hinge portion 63. Said edge 115 of the CPA member 55 may be held in place by an undercut 117 provided in the housing 9.
In particular, if the CPA member 55 is engaged in a positive lock between the edge 115 and the undercut 117, a securing rib 119 may be provided, which, in the securing position 77, extends from the plate-like section 57 along the y-axis, i.e. along the depth position 17. Such a securing rib 119, in combination with the positive lock between the edge 115 and the undercut 117, prevents a movement of the plate-like section 57 along or against the z-axis.
As shown in Fig. 11, the CPA member 55 may be held in the correct securing position 77 by means of the engagement between the edge 115 and the undercut 117 and the engagements between the lock pin 111 and the corresponding lock recesses 113 (both locking schemes are not visible in Fig. 11), even if the hinge portion 63 shows damage 121, i.e. is broken.
It is to be noted, however, that according to the invention, the CPA member 55 is monolithically connected to the housing 9. Nevertheless, the above described lock members 109 have the

advantage that even in the occurrence of a damage 121 to the hinge portion 63, the CPA member 55 may still be correctly applied.

We Claim:
1. Electrical connector (1) configured to be connected to a mating electrical connector (3),
the electrical connector (1) comprising
- a housing (9) configured to be mated with a mating housing (29) of the mating electrical connector (3), which mating housing (29) is received in an interior (13) of the housing (9);
- the housing (9) comprising a deflectable locking member (31) for engagement with a counter locking member (54) of the mating electrical connector (3); and
- a connector position assurance (CPA) member (55), which is configured to be moved from a release position (75) to a securing position (77), wherein, in the securing position (77), the CPA member (55) prevents a deflection of the locking member (31),
characterized in that the CPA member (55) is monolithically connected to the housing (9).
2. Electrical connector (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the CPA member (55) is connected pivotably to the housing (9).
3. Electrical connector (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the CPA member (55) is rotatable about a hinge portion (63) connecting the CPA member (55) to the housing (9).
4. Electrical connector (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the hinge portion (63) comprises a film hinge (65).
5. Electrical connector (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,characterized in that the CPA member (55) comprises a blocking section (81), and in that, in the securing position (77) of the CPA member (55), the deflection of the locking member (31) is blocked by the blocking section (81).
6. Electrical connector (1) according to claims 5, characterized in that the blocking section (81) is arranged between the housing (9) and the locking member (31) in the securing position (77).
7. Electrical connector (1) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the blocking section (81) is formed by a protrusion (93) that, at least in the securing position (77), is located between the hinge portion (63) and the interior (13) of the housing (9).

8. Electrical connector (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that at least a portion of the blocking section (81) is pivotably insertable between sections (95) of the locking member (31).
9. Electrical connector (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that a free end (99) of the CPA member (55) comprises a guiding protrusion (101) that extends into a receptacle (103) of the housing (9), the guiding protrusion (101) and the receptacle (103) cooperating to guide the CPA member (55) during pivoting.
10. Electrical connector (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the guiding protrusion (101) and the protrusion (93) forming the blocking section (81) are formed by a rib (59) of the CPA member (55).
11. Electrical connector (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the CPA member (55) comprises at least one lock member (109) of the list of lock members comprising

- a lock pin (111), a lock hook or a lock beak, each being configured to engage a lock recess (113) of the housing (9);
- an edge (115) of the CPA member (55), which is arranged opposite the hinge portion (63) and which is configured to be held in place by an undercut (117) of the housing (9).

12. Electrical connector (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that in the securing position (77), the CPA member (55) is oriented essentially parallel to the locking member (31).
13. Electrical connector (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the CPA member (55) comprises a plate-like section (57), which, in the securing position (77), forms a cover (105) or an outer shell (107) of the housing (9).
14. Electrical connector (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that in the securing position (77), the plate-like section (57) of the CPA member (55) is at least partially flush with an outer surface of the housing (9).
15. Electrical connector (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the housing (9) comprises at least one CPA lock release opening (123) for receiving an unlocking tool (125) for disengaging the CPA member (55) from the housing (9).