US Patent 7488220 Electrical connector with locking mechanism

A protective bridge is provided between a pair of side covers on a rear side of an outer housing in an inserting direction of a terminal so that the protective bridge is nearer to an inner housing in a mounting direction than a terminal receiving chamber is when the inner housing is in a provisional locking position with the outer housing. A beam formed on a rear part of the inner housing protrudes downwards in the mounting direction so that the protective bridge overlaps the beam when the inner housing is locked with the outer housing. The protective bridge and the beam have a first retaining protrusion and a second retaining protrusion, respectively, by virtue of which full locking between the inner housing and the outer housing can be made more reliable.