This patent application claims priority of a Chinese Patent Application No. 202123234722.8, filed on Dec. 20, 2021 and titled “CABLE CONNECTOR AND CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY”, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a cable connector and a cable connector assembly, which belongs to a technical field of connectors.
Limited by the current high-speed development of servers, product miniaturization has become a trend. A board end connector is usually mounted to a circuit board inside a shell of the server. A cable connector is used for mating with the board end connector to realize signal transmission. In order to ensure the stability of signal transmission, a locking mechanism is generally provided to maintain a locking state between the cable connector and the board end connector. The locking mechanism can also be unlocked, so that the locking state between the cable connector and the board end connector is released. However, the product installation in the shell tends to be intensive, which results in a small operating space for the locking mechanism when the cable connector and the board end connector are mated. As a result, it is inconvenient to unlock the cable connector and the board end connector when needed.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a cable connector and a cable connector assembly to solve the above-mentioned problem.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a cable connector and cable connector assembly which have reliable structures and are easy to complete unlocking when needed.
In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a cable connector, including: an insulating housing including a body portion and a locking portion located on one side of the body portion, the locking portion including a pivot portion connected with the body portion and a locking plate connected with the pivot portion, the locking plate extending along a mating direction, the locking plate being provided with a middle section connected with the pivot portion, and a first end and a second end respectively extending in opposite directions from two ends of the middle section, the body portion defining a receiving cavity extending through the body portion along the mating direction, a bottom of the body portion being a mating end, and a top of the body portion being a cable connection end; a metal connecting member received in the receiving cavity, the metal connecting member including an inner cavity recessed inwardly from a bottom wall of the metal connecting member; a conductive terminal installed in the inner cavity of the metal connecting member; a cable connected to the metal connecting member which is located on the top of the body portion; and an unlocking mechanism cooperating with the first end, the unlocking mechanism being configured to drive the first end to move in a first direction adjacent to the body portion, and to drive the second end to move in a second direction away from the body portion.
In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a cable connector assembly, including: the cable connector mentioned above; and a mating connector including an insulating body and a mating terminal, the insulating body including a base portion for holding the mating terminal and a holding portion extending from the base portion in the mating direction; wherein the holding portion is provided with a protrusion protruding outwardly along the second direction, and the protrusion is mated with the second end.
In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a cable connector assembly, including: a cable connector, including: an insulating housing including a body portion and a locking portion located on one side of the body portion, the locking portion including a pivot portion connected with the body portion and a locking plate connected with the pivot portion, the locking plate extending along a mating direction, the locking plate being provided with a middle section connected with the pivot portion, and a first end and a second end respectively extending in opposite directions from two ends of the middle section, the body portion defining a receiving cavity along the mating direction; a metal connecting member received in the receiving cavity, the metal connecting member defining an inner cavity; a conductive terminal fixed in the inner cavity of the metal connecting member; a cable electrically connected to the metal connecting member; and an unlocking mechanism cooperating with the first end, the unlocking mechanism being configured to drive the first end to move in a first direction towards the body portion, and to drive the second end to move in a second direction away from the body portion, simultaneously; and a mating connector including an insulating body and a mating terminal, the insulating body including a base portion for fixing the mating terminal and a holding portion, the holding portion being provided with a protrusion; when the cable connector and the mating connector are mated with each other, the second end of the unlocking mechanism is in lock with the protrusion along the mating direction; and when the cable connector and the mating connector are required to be separated from each other, the second end of the unlocking mechanism is driven by an external force to move in the second direction away from the body portion so as to disengage with the protrusion along the mating direction.
Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure facilitates the unlocking between the cable connector and the mating connector by providing the unlocking mechanism which cooperates with the insulating housing, and reduces the impact caused by the space restriction.
Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail here, examples of which are shown in drawings. When referring to the drawings below, unless otherwise indicated, same numerals in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The examples described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the application as detailed in the appended claims.
The terminology used in this application is only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments, and is not intended to limit this application. The singular forms “a”, “said”, and “the” used in this application and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates other meanings.
It should be understood that the terms “first”, “second” and similar words used in the specification and claims of this application do not represent any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, “an” or “a” and other similar words do not mean a quantity limit, but mean that there is at least one; “multiple” or “a plurality of” means two or more than two. Unless otherwise noted, “front”, “rear”, “lower” and/or “upper” and similar words are for ease of description only and are not limited to one location or one spatial orientation. Similar words such as “include” or “comprise” mean that elements or objects appear before “include” or “comprise” cover elements or objects listed after “include” or “comprise” and their equivalents, and do not exclude other elements or objects. The term “a plurality of” mentioned in the present disclosure includes two or more.
Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the case of no conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.
Referring to
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Referring to
A bottom wall of the metal connecting member 2 is recessed inwardly to form an inner cavity. The conductive terminal 3 is attached and installed in the inner cavity of the metal connecting member 2. The metal connecting member 2 is received in the receiving cavity 110 and connected to the cable 5. The insulating housing 1 includes a body portion 11 and a locking portion 12 located on a side of the body portion 11. The unlocking mechanism cooperates with the locking portion 12 and is configured to drive the first end portion 1221 of the locking portion 12 to move in the first direction, and is configured to enable the second end 1222 of the locking portion 12 to move in the second direction.
Referring to
The body portion 11 defines a receiving cavity 10 which extending up and down along the mating direction. The receiving cavity 10 is generally of a cylindrical configuration, and is used for receiving the metal connecting member 2 generally of a cylindrical configuration. A bottom of the body portion 11 is a mating end, and a top of the body portion 11 is a cable connection end.
Referring to
The body portion 11 has a bottom wall 112. The bottom wall 112 can support the bottom wall of the metal connecting member 2 so that the metal connecting member 2 can be more stably confined in the body portion 11.
Left and right sides of the top wall of the metal connecting member 2 are recessed to form a first plane 21 and a second plane 22, respectively.
Referring to
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The first through hole 12211 is located between the first side wall 1001 and the middle section 1223 in the mating direction.
The pull strap 6 has a fixing portion 61 passing through the first through hole 12211 and covering an outer periphery of the first side wall 1001. A width of the fixing portion 61 in the left-right direction is equal to a length of the first side wall 1001 corresponding to the first through hole 12211. That is, the position corresponding to the first through hole 12211 on the first side wall 1001 is completely covered by the fixing portion 61. This arrangement prevents the fixing portion 61 from shaking on the first side wall 1001 when the pull strap 6 is pulled, so that the operation is more stable. At the same time, the fixed portion 61 is made to have a larger width, and the pull strap 6 is not easily broken, thereby increasing its service life.
The pull strap 6 further includes a first operating portion 63, and a connecting portion 62 connected between the fixing portion 61 and the first operating portion 63. In this embodiment, the connecting portion 62 is centrally connected to one end of the first operating portion 63 in the left-right direction. With this arrangement, when an operator pulls the pull strap 6, the force acting on the pull strap 6 is more even, which is convenient to unlock and is beneficial to prolong the service life of the pull strap 6.
The top wall of the body portion 11 defines a first slot 111. After the connecting portion 62 passes through the first slot 111, the first operating portion 63 is exposed on the top wall of the body portion 11. An orthographic projection of the pull strap 6 on the top wall of the body portion 11 does not exceed an area of the top wall of the body portion 11 itself, so as to prevent the pull strap 6 from interfering with the cable connector 100.
Referring to
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The holding portion 72 is provided with a protrusion 721 protruding outwardly along the second direction. The protrusion 721 is mated with the second end 1222. In this embodiment, the second end 1222 is provided with a second through hole 12221 and a fifth sidewall 1005 located below the second through hole 12221. The protrusion 721 can be clamped with the fifth side wall 1005. In other embodiments, the second end 1222 is provided with a hook 1006 protruding inwardly along the first direction. The protrusion 721 can be locked with the hook 1006.
Referring to
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The mating terminal 8 also has a contact portion 83. When the cable connector 100 is mated with the mating connector 200, the contact portion 83 is inserted into the inner cavity of the metal connecting member 2 from the bottom of the body portion 11 and the metal connecting member 2. The contact portion 83 is in contact with the conductive terminal 3 to realize data transmission. An upper surface of the first rib 81 abuts against a lower surface of the bottom wall 112, which further limits the first rib 81 in the butting direction. As a result, the contact portion 83 can be placed in the inner cavity of the metal connecting member 2 more stably, which makes the signal transmission more stable.
Referring to
A second embodiment shown in
In the second embodiment, the top surface of the upper cover 4 is provided with a second slot 41. In detail, the second slot 41 is located on the base plate portion 401 of the upper cover 4. After the connecting portion 62 of the pull strap 6 passes through the second slot 41, the first operating portion 63 is exposed on the top surface of the upper cover 4. This arrangement extends the length of the connecting portion 62 of the pull strap 6 and further restricts the position of the pull strap 6. An operator can pinch the pull strap 6 to unlock it under different mechanism scenarios. Optionally, according to the thickness of the upper cover 4, the height of the locking portion 12, or the requirements of the operating space, the second slot 41 can be located on a side or a top of the base plate portion 401; or a part of the second slots 41 is located on the side, and another part of the second slots is on the top.
A third embodiment shown in
In the third embodiment, the pull strap 6, the locking portion 12 cooperating with the pull strap 6, and the holding portion 72 cooperating with the locking portion 12 are all rotated by a certain angle compared to those in the second embodiment. This makes an extension direction of the connecting portion 62 and an extension direction of the cable 5 oblique at 45°.
This setting makes it easy for the operator to unlock when the operating space is limited. In other embodiments, the angle between the extension direction of the connecting portion 62 and the extension direction of the cable 4 may also be other angles, which is not limited here.
The working principles of the first embodiment to the third embodiment are basically the same: in an initial position, the cable connector 100 is mated with the mating connector 200.
When the operator pulls the pull strap 6 diagonally upwards or backwards or backwards by 45°, the fixing portion 61 drives the first side wall 1001 located therein to move close to the body portion 11 along a direction (that is, the first direction), and move the fifth side wall 1005 or the hook 1006 in a direction (that is, the second direction) away from the body portion 11. As a result, the fifth side wall 1005 or the hook 1006 is separated from the protrusion 721, and the unlocking is completed.
A fourth embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. Referring to
The working principle of the fourth embodiment is that when the operator slides the upper cover 4 in the first direction, the first end 1221 is driven by the opening 42 to move along a direction (that is, the first direction) close to the body portion 11; and the second end 1222 is driven to move away from the body portion 11 along another direction (that is, the second direction), thereby completing the unlocking. At this time, the top of the elastic beam 13 is bent in the first direction under the pulling force of the upper cover 4. When the operator loosens the upper cover 4, the elastic beam 13 can push the upper cover 4 to reset.
In summary, the present disclosure facilitates the unlocking between the cable connector and the mating connector by providing the unlocking mechanism which cooperates with the insulating housing 1. During the unlocking process, the operator operates the pull strap 6 or the upper cover 4 above the cable connector 100, without being too limited by space.
The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present disclosure and not to limit the technical solutions described in the present disclosure. The understanding of this specification should be based on those skilled in the art. Descriptions of directions, although they have been described in detail in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can still be made to the application, and all technical solutions and improvements that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the application should be covered by the claims of the application.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202123234722.8 | Dec 2021 | CN | national |