1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of electrical connectors, and more particularly in the field of latches for electrical connectors such as cable connectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of cable connectors, many types of latches meant to retain the cable in the mating connector have been used. Two basic types are in popular use today: a) a thumbscrew or jackscrew type; and b) a snap latch or lateral spring-loaded latch type.
In the thumbscrew or jackscrew type an actual screw is used to secure the connector or to disengage it. This type has the advantage that once engaged, the attachment is ridged and will easily support hanging cables and other external loads. It will be appreciated that movement of the connector from external loads is undesirable. If the connector is of very fine pitch, small movement can cause electrical problems.
A snap latch or lateral spring-loaded latch activates automatically when the connector is installed. Release is usually accomplished by a separate member that defeats the spring-loaded latch. This type has a latch that has a small overtravel in order to allow the lateral spring latch to engage. This over-travel fundamental to its operation can be fairly large in order to account for manufacturing tolerance and various source suppliers. The overlap is essentially an axial looseness that would allow external forces (i.e., hanging cables or the like) to move or change the position of the connector.
Improvements would be desirable in the field of latching mechanisms for cable connectors.
According to an aspect of the invention, a latching mechanism for an electrical connector involves a spring member as part of the receptacle to secure its mating connector.
According to another aspect of the invention, an electrical connector latch mechanism uses a rocker element to disengage the receptacle latch member.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the rocker element is actuated by a ramp element, the movement of which is facilitated by a finger-pull loop.
According to a further aspect of the invention, an electrical connector includes a backshell and a latch mechanism. The latch mechanism includes a rocker that is pivotal in the backshell member, and a ramp actuator with a loop pull feature, slideable in the backshell. The slideable ramp member is spring loaded to the latch position by at least one spring, the first side of which bears against the ramp member and the second side which bears against the backshell. The movement of the ramp slideable member inside of the backshell selectively compresses and expands the axial spring. The sliding motion of the ramp member causes the rotation of the rocker member such that the latch will be released when the loop in the ramp member is pulled against the spring load.
According to a still further aspect of the invention, an electrical coupling includes: a pair of electrical connectors that mate with each other; wherein the coupling may include one or more of the following features: a latch mechanism that works with a simple push-pull operation allowing single-operation engagement by pushing and single-operation disengagement by pulling; a latch mechanism in which tilting of a rocker part is used to disengage the latch; a loop that includes an actuator ramp that is used to tilt a rocker member; a loop that is spring-biased to prevent disengagement of a latch mechanism except when the loop is pulled; a loop that includes a return ramp used to prevent tilting of a rocker part except when the loop is pulled; a molded plastic loop having a pull section, and a head that is within a backshell of one of the connectors; a rocker part in one of the connectors that tilts to press against and resiliently deform part of the other connector, to disengage the latch mechanism; a rocker part that includes a forked end with a pair of fingers, wherein the fingers lift on opposite sides of an anchor when the rocker part is tilted; and a thinned section of a pull loop that allows easy flexing of the loop.
According to another aspect of the invention, an electrical coupling includes: a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector that mate with each other and are secured by a latch mechanism. The latch mechanism includes: an anchor on the first connector that fits into an opening in a receiver on the second connector; and a part on the first connector is configured to selectively move at least part of the receiver to disengage the anchor from the opening.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, an electrical coupling includes: a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector that mate with each other and are secured by a latch mechanism. The latch mechanism includes: an anchor on the first connector that fits into an opening in a receiver on the second connector; and a rocker on the first connector is configured to selectively tilt to deform the receiver to disengage the anchor from the opening.
According to still another aspect of the invention, an electrical coupling includes: a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector that mate with each other and are secured by a latch mechanism. The latch mechanism includes an anchor and a loop that are parts of the first connector, and a receiver of the second connector that has an opening therein. Pressing the connectors together causes deformation of the receiver to allow the anchor to enter into the opening, thereby engaging the connectors and locking the connectors together. Pulling the loop causes deformation of the receiver, allowing the anchor to be released from the opening and the connectors to be disengaged from each other.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The annexed drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, show various features of the invention.
An electrical cable connector has a latch mechanism wherein the moveable portion is part of the mating receptacle, and the mechanism for unlatching resides in the cable connector. A rocker part is located such that one end extends under the resilient latch member and the other end has a surface which is made to rotate about a pivot point by an externally actuated ramp. The rotation of the rocker lifts the resilient member from its seat and releases the connector latch. The actuating ramp is spring loaded to return to its resting position which is the latched position; it is attached to a loop designed to allow a finger pull action to initiate latch disengagement. Forces and friction resistance is managed such that reliable single-hand operation is achieved, with push to engage and pull to disengage.
The connector 12 has a disengagement mechanism that is used to disengage the latching mechanism 20. The disengagement mechanism includes a plastic loop 36 that is pulled to cause a rocker part 40 to tilt upward. The rocker part 40 lifts the receiver 28 off of the seat 34 and out of engagement with the anchor 22, disengaging the latch mechanism 20. The connector 12 may be removed from the receptacle 14, for instance using the same pulling that is used to disengage the latch mechanism 20.
What follows are more details given to supplement the above summary. With reference in addition to
Referring now also to
Below and behind the slot 48 is a return ramp 66. The return ramp 66 presses against a lower surface 68 of the rocker arm 56, and is used to secure the rocker part 40 in place when the latch mechanism 20 is engaged.
The rocker part 40 may be made of any of a variety of suitable materials, such as a suitable metal or plastic. The rocker part 40 may be a molded or cast part, for example.
The loop head 44 also has a pair of slots 70 and 72 (
The loop 36 has a strap portion 80 that forms a U shape, running from one side of the back of the head 44 around to the other side of the back of the head 44. The strap 80 has a thinned portion 82 near the head 44, which is thinner in a vertical direction than a pull portion 84 that is gripped to pull on the loop 36. The thinner portion 82 allows for flexibility of the loop 36, to permit bending of the loop 36 up and down. This permits the loop 36 to be easily positioned in a variety of ways relative to a cable 88 (
The loop 36 may be formed as a single continuous piece of molded plastic. It will be appreciated that any of a variety of suitable thermoplastics, such as nylon, may be used.
Referencing now again
The engagement of the latching mechanism 20 commences with the insertion of the connector 12 into the receptacle 14. As the connector 12 is inserted into the receptacle 14, a sloped surface 110 of the anchor 22 comes into contact with an upturned end 112 of the receiver 28. The anchor 22 pushes the receiver tab 28 up and out of the way until the anchor 22 is aligned with the receiver opening 24. At that point the receiver 28 snaps down onto the seat 34 of the connector 12, securing the anchor 22 within the receiver opening 24. A pair of springs in the spring slots 70 and 72 (only one spring 114 is shown in
With reference now to
The coupling 10 described above has many advantages, including operating by simple push and pull actions. The connector 12 is pushed into the receptacle 14 to push the connector 12 into coupling with the receptacle 14 and to engage the latching mechanism 20. The loop 36 is pulled to disengage the latching mechanism 20 and to separate the electrical connector 12 from the receptacle 14. The simple and intuitive push-to-engage-and-pull-to-disengage operation of the latch mechanism 20 provides a substantial advantage over latch mechanisms that operate in more complex and/or non-intuitive ways.
It will be appreciated that many aspects of the coupling 10 are omitted from the above discussion, or are discussed only briefly, as not relating to the operation of the latch mechanism 20. For example it will be appreciated that the electrical connector 12 includes an array of electrical contacts that engage corresponding electrical contacts within the receptacle 14.
It will be further appreciated that the coupling described herein is only one embodiment of a variety of possible embodiments. To give one example of a variant, it will be appreciated that the anchor 22 and the opening 24 may have any of a wide variety of suitable shapes beyond the triangular shapes shown in the figures. More broadly, it will be appreciated that aspects of the latching mechanism 20 described above with regard the connector 12 alternatively may be place on the receptacle 14, and vice versa. Broadly speaking the latching mechanism may include a resilient member on one of the connectors, and an engaging rigid or resilient member on the other of the connectors.
The male connector 212 includes a series of protrusions 232 on a backshell 230. The protrusions 232 may be outward bent metal tabs that press against an inner surface 233 of the female receptacle 214 when the male connector 212 is inserted into the receptacle 214. The protrusions 232 are located where they engage the inner surface of the receptacle 214 just inside an insertion opening 213 of the receptacle 214. In cooperation with the receptacle 214, the protrusions 232 aid in maintaining position of the connector 212 within the receptacle 214, and also provide some frictional resistance to engagement and disengagement of the connector 212 and the receptacle 214.
The receptacle 214 also may have folded-over tabs 246 on the outside of the receptacle 214, surrounding the insertion opening 213. The purpose of the tabs 246 may be to make an electrical connection to an exterior metallic panel to control (minimize) EMI emissions.
The receptacle 214 may be a board mount receptacle, capable of being attached to a circuit board. Toward that end the receptacle 214 may have a series of pins 252 for attaching the receptacle 214 to a circuit board (not shown), and/or for electrical connecting the receptacle 214 to conductive traces or other elements on the circuit board. The pins 252 may be placed in holes (vias) in the circuit board. Some or all of the pins 252 may have curved split elements that resiliently engage walls of the holes or vias. Alternatively or in addition, some or all of the pins 252 may enter into the circuit board holes without engaging sides of the holes. The receptacle 214 may be secured to the circuit board by soldering at least some of the pins 252 to the holes, or by securing the pins 252 by any of a variety of other suitable means.
The receptacle 214 may enclose a receptacle mating part 258 that is also secured to the circuit board, through a window 218 in the receptacle 214. The receptacle mating part 258 may be used for receiving a connector circuit board of the electrical connector 212 (not shown, but similar to the connector circuit board 16 shown in
Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, it is obvious that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described elements (components, assemblies, devices, compositions, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such elements are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any element which performs the specified function of the described element (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiment or embodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been described above with respect to only one or more of several illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other embodiments, as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
The application claims priority under 35 USC 119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/163,135, filed Mar. 25, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61163135 | Mar 2009 | US |