Trouble-Free Connector With Lock Mechanism

The present invention relates to a trouble-free connector with lock mechanism, that is relatively simple in construction, easy to operate, durable and free from premature disengagement.

The present invention relates to a trouble-free connector with lock mechanism, which in particular, is relatively simple in structure and can be easily and quickly coupled and uncoupled.

Owing to the high development of computer hardware, the electrical connector, one of the basic parts in electronic transmission, has become smaller in volume and more reliable in computerized and electronic communication, thereby effectively saving assembling and operating space and preventing the delivery of electrical signals and computerized information from interruption. French Pat. No. 1455850; German Pat. No. 2063258; Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 53-110489 and French Pat. No. 2447103 have already revealed electrical connectors that, when a plug and a socket are coupled with each other, a lock mechanism is automatically actuated to insure the coupling of the plug and the socket, free from abnormal disengagement problems. But, these connectors are still in the "in-the-work" stage, are not practical and have some drawbacks, such as: in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 53-110489, it is not possible to connect the plug and the socket while holding the coupling sleeve, thereby making the coupling operation very inconvenient.

An improvement on the functions of the existing connectors is disclosed in Republic of China patent application Ser. No. 7325709 entitled "Connector with lock mechanism" (see FIGS. 2 & 3). However, that connector still has the following disadvantages: (1) it is too complicated to be economically put into production because (a) it is equipped with a coupling sleeve 1, a locking spring 2, a pair of support bars 3, engagement members 4 and a coil spring 5 and (b) it is limited in construction due to space requirements necessary for axially disengaging the bar 3 from the insertion slot 6 while the protrusion 2a is located on and radially engages the locking recess 7. In this position, since the spring 2 springs back, the value d1, which is the sum of thickness of the protrusion 2a of the spring 2 and the bar 3, must be greater than the width d2 of the slot 6; (2) it can easily malfunction due to defects in the actuating process that arise from the bad effects to the spring 5, the bars 3, and the other contacting portions, which damage and shorten the service life of the whole plug and socket, due to the force of impact resulting from the injecting action of the bar 3 which is hastily injected into the space of the slot 6 when the spring 2 automatically springs back with an actuating injection force towards the spring 5. This occurs when the spring 2 has accomplished the engagement into the recess 7 when coupling the plug and the socket; and (3) a secondary locking action is required to finish both the locking action after the spring 2 has been fully injected into the recess 7 and the secondary disengaging action after the bar 3 has been fully pulled out from the slot 6. Therefore, total locking and engaging procedures and operations are relatively long and complicated.

In light of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the known electrical connectors, disclosed herein is a compact, durable and quick-to-operate connector with lock mechanism. Such an electrical connector provides the best quality and highest stability in electronic communication as noted earlier. Furthermore, the main objects and advantages of the present invention are to provide a compact, easy-to-operate means, that absorbs the external sources that are harmful to said connector, and that prevents the connection from damage due to the operation processes. Another advantage of the present invention is that it is very concise and easy to mass produce. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by way of illustrated example.

FIG. 1 is a side view, in cross-section of the electrical connector disclosed in R.O.C. patent application No. 7325709 entitled "Connector with lock mechanism".

FIG. 1A is an end view of the electrical connector to be coupled with FIG. 1.

FIG. 1B is a cross-section view taken along line 1B--1B of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the support bar of the electrical connector of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3(a) through 3(d) illustrate the locking and disengaging actuation processes of the electrical connector of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view, in perspective, of the electrical connector of the present invention.

FIGS. 5-1 through 5-6 illustrate the actuation process during engagement and disengagement of the electrical connector of the present invention.

FIG. 5-1 is a cross-section view of the electrical connector of the present invention before being operated.

FIG. 5-2 is a cross-section view of the electrical connector of the present invention after being engaged.

FIG. 5-3 is a cross-section view of the electric connector of the present invention after being coupled by the locking action.

FIG. 5-4 is a cross-section view of the electric connector of the present invention after being uncoupled by the disengaging action.

FIG. 5-5 is a cross-section view of the electric connector of the present invention after removing the plug from the socket.

FIG. 5-6 is a cross-section view of the electric connector of the present invention after completely removing the plug from the socket and restoring the plug to the original state.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the electrical connector with lock mechanism of the present invention, consists of a tubular body 10 having a rectangular-shaped slot 11 formed in the top portion thereof, and matched eccentric convex protrusions 12 are formed on both sides of the body 10. A support core 20 is provided which is furnished with a concave-shaped groove 21 on its surface that is matched (aligned) with the slot 11 when the core 20 is inserted into the body 10. A cable 30 is connected to the core 20 by means of crimping terminals 22. A rear cup 40 is tightly fitted by seal 41 to the rear end 13 of the body 10 for securing the cable that is disposed extending through hole 42. An insulation shell 50 is tightly shielded on the outer rim of the rear cup 40 and has an enclosed protrusion stopper 51. A locking device 60 is provided which mates with the slot 11 of the body 10. The locking device 60 is furnished with ring-shaped side wings 61 that ride on the body 10 and touch (abut) protrusions 12 which serve as a force-receiving point. A coil spring 70 is inserted from the rear end 13 of the body 10 and is located between the locking wings 61 and the rear cup 40. A slider 80 is provided which can integrally accommodate the wings 61 of the device 60. Inside the slider 80, a drive block 82 is furnished, being positioned in front of the wings 61 of the locking device 60 when assembled. This block 82 produces normal engagement through the actuation of the spring 70 via the locking wings 61 of the device 60. After coupling, the plug can be easily matched with the insertion slot 91 on the front side of the socket 90, thereby producing the locking action. All of the above descriptions are the preferred embodiment for the connector with lock mechanism manufactured according to this present invention. Referring now to FIG. 5, the operation of the electrical connector for actuation for both locking and engaging (coupling) and disengaging (uncoupling) is illustrated. The electrical connector of the present invention exhibits the following advantages: (1) it is simple in structure and only comprises three units: the locking device 60, the spring 70 and the slider 80, in which the main actuation element for both locking and disengaging can be easily and directly accomplished, through the simple driving action of the strong and compact locking device 60 by drive block 82. This makes operation of the connector very easy, quick and effective and eliminates the malfunction rate of the connector. Also, the high productivity of mass production and better quality can be easily accomplished; and (2) it is very easy to operate after coupling. Coupling occurs as follows: (a) the wings 61 are vertically positioned on the axial outside of the body 10, and locking arm 63 has fallen into the slot 11 of the body 10. On the arm 63, the locking protrusion 62 is located forward thereof (FIG. 5-1); at the front end; (b) the front end 14 of the body 10 passes the slot 91 and the protrusion 62 on the front end of the locking arm 63 touches the outer ring stopper 92 of the slot 91 in the socket 90 when the user plugs the body 10 into the socket 90. At that time, the locking arm 63 is downwardly and inclinatedly drived into the slot 91 of the socket 90 because the plug-in action is restrained causing the spring 70 to be eccentrically compressed through the rebounding reaction of the protrusion 62, the wings 61 and the protrusion 12 of the body 10 (FIG. 5-2); (c) both the body 10 and the socket 90 are coupled together when the user continues the plug-in procedure. Meanwhile, the device 60 is restored to its original state and the protrusion 62 is automatically lifted and put into the slot 91 of the socket 90 to accomplish the locking action, due to the protrusion 62 of the device 60 passing through the barrier of the stopper 92 and receiving the rebounding force of the spring 70. At this moment, outer force passes through the cable 30, the shell 60, the rear cup 40, the body 10 and the protrusion 12, being transmitted to the protrusion 62 of the locking device 60 and being absorbed by the stopper 92 in the front of the slot 91 when outer force actuates the cable 30 due to the tightly locking action between the protrusion 62 and the slot 91. Therefore, the interruption problem in communication is easily prevented (FIG. 5-3); (d) the user can only hold the slider 80 and pull backwardly, then, the drive block 82 actuates the wings 61 of the device 60 and pulls the protrusion 62 being disengaged from the slot 91 by means of the backward and downward eccentric movement producing the disengaging action for pulling the body 10 out from the socket 90 (FIG. 5-4); (e) the body 10 and the protrusion 62 are completely pulled out from the socket 90 due to the actuation between the front end 83 in the hollow space 81 of the slider 80 and the protrusion 12, directly through the matched moving action between the concave ring recess at the space 84 of the slider 80 and the stopper 51 of the shell 50 in case of continuing the pulling procedure for the body 10 (FIG. 5-5); and (f) the locking device 60 and the slider 80 are easily restored to the original state as shown in FIG. 5-1 through the reaction of the spring 70.

Based on the above descriptions, the electric connector according to the present invention is simple in construction, effective, and easy to operate, the locking action is quickly accomplished while coupling; the disengaging action is also quickly accomplished by pulling the slider 80 out. Also, the locking device 60 is relatively durable and the normal actuation adopted is the swinging and declining style which is very safe and force-saving. Therefore, the electrical connector of the present invention is durable, practical, useful and economical.