KR0178378B1 - Latch arm for electrical connector housing - Google Patents

Abstract

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Description

Latch Arm on Electrical Connector Housing

1 is a perspective view of a connector housing in which a pair of latch arms are joined to a hinge joint of the present invention, and a mating connector housing spaced apart therefrom.

2A and 2B are partial enlarged cross-sectional views of the mating connectors of FIG. 1 illustrating the latching process of the latch arm during connector engagement, and FIG. 2A is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the latch arm taken along the line 2A-2A of FIG. 2b is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view after the latch arm is engaged.

3 is a partial perspective view of the latch arm of FIG. 1 disassembled from the housing to illustrate the hinge joint of the present invention.

4 and 5 are enlarged cross-sectional views of the hinge joint of FIG. 3, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10,70 Housing 24, 26

30: latch arm 32: hinge joint

36: free end 42: rear

50: bight part 52,54: leg part

56: relief region 58: rib portion

60: horizontal rib component 62: vertical rib component

64: first or rear corner 66: second or front corner

92: locking groove 94: locking surface

The present invention relates to the field of electrical connectors, in particular to connector housings.

The housings of electrical connectors are usually molded from insulator plastic material and are intended to be mounted to the mating connector housings when the connectors are moved together in a coupled state where each array of electrical connectors is joined to form an electrical connection. Some of these connectors may be secured to the respective housings in order to mount them together in their joined state, but the housings preferably have integral latching means. Integrally shaped latch arms are already known, wherein a pair of latch arms are disposed along opposite sides of one housing of the connectors, corresponding to the housing of the other connector when the connectors are moved together in an engaged state. Extend forward to engage the locking surface.

Latch arms used to mount the connectors together are shown in US Pat. No. 4,867,700. The latch arms include a rear portion that deflects inward to release the latch arms when disconnecting the connectors, in which case the latch arms are hinged to the housing. These latch arms are stressed and torqueed during the mating and disconnecting of the connectors, and the hinge joints are subjected to a large number of mating and disconnecting, taking into account that the hinge joints are formed from plastic material, which can lose strength, particularly by overwork and temperature cycling. It must be hard and durable to endure it.

It is desirable to provide a hinge joint to the latch arm of connector housings that are designed to withstand stress and torque and that can be bent to allow a large number of latch arm deflections.

The present invention relates to a hinge joint for joining a latch arm to an outer surface of a plastic connector housing, wherein the latch arm extends from the hinge joint to a latching means of the front end suitable for engagement with a corresponding catching means of the mating connector housing. The portion extends from the hinge joint to the portion that can be deflected inward to release the front catching means for separating the connector backwards, and the latch arms are usually used as opposing pairs on one of the opposite sides of the housing, respectively. Each hinge joint forms a vertical hinge axis, the front arm portion can deflect outwardly away from each housing side, and each corresponding catch means rises above the corresponding portion of the mating connector housing just before or during release. Thus, the rear arm portion can deflect inwardly with respect to the vertical hinge axis such that the front arm portion deflects outward. As a result, the handles of the latch arm pair can be gripped by a person and joined towards each other to disconnect the connectors.

The hinge joints of each latch arm are integrally bonded to each leg from the side of the housing and are a pair of vertically spaced parallels extending outwardly a short distance from the housing side to an outwardly spaced bite portion. It includes one leg. Each leg is a thin web with generally horizontal front and rear dimensions. The rib portion integrally joined and extending approximately in the middle of the latch arm spaced apart outwardly of the vertical bite portion comprises at least one horizontal rib component, preferably intersecting vertical and horizontal rib components forming a cross rib cross section. Have The legs allow the bite portion to bend, slightly deforming the hinge axis so that the latch arm is sufficiently deflected for latching and unlocking the latch arm. The horizontal rib component slightly elastically deforms the center of the bite portion in the middle of the spaced legs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an integral hinge joint for each latch arm of a connector housing that can be bent to allow deflection of the latch arm while the connector engages and disengages the mating connector.

Another object of the present invention is to allow these hinge joints to withstand stress and torque and to be durable against a large number of latch arm deflections, allowing the connector to be engaged and disconnected a large number of times.

Another object of the present invention is to allow the hinge joint to be molded as an integral part of the plastic connector housing in a two-draw molding process.

Embodiments of the improved integral flexible hinge junction will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

1, 2A and 2B show a pair of insulator housings 10, 70 for a pair of electrical connector assemblies. The housings 10, 70 are molded from a plastic material, such as glass-filled polyester, and are also shaped and dimensioned to bond with each other, and the joining surface 14 of the housing 10 is The housing 10 has a front plug portion 12 shaped to be received into a corresponding large cavity 72 of the housing 70 such that the cavity 72 is closely positioned to the trailing tail 74. Upon connector mating, respective contacts (not shown) of the terminal means mounted in the housing 10 are accommodated therein for mating with corresponding connector means (not shown) mounted in the housing 70. A plurality of passageways 16 are located as shown along the engagement surface 14. The housing 10 has a rear face 18, a wide and flat upper and lower outer surface 20, 22 and a low profile side face 24, 26. The mating housing 70 has a tip 78, a wide and flat upper and lower outer surface 80, 32, a low profile side 84, 86 and a back 8. The mating housing 70 also has a pair of right angle flanges 90 for mounting in a horizontal or vertical arrangement on a printed circuit board (not shown). As shown, the housings 10 and 70 have a low profile and are particularly suitable for use as connectors for connecting terminated flat power cables to printed circuit boards.

The pair of latch arms 30 are hinged to the sides 24, 26 of the housing 10 at each integral flexible hinge joint 32 located approximately midway along the latch arm. Each latch arm 30 is inclined slightly outward, as shown in FIG. 2, to form a backward engaging surface, with a free end 38 having a locking projection 38 extending toward the housing sides 24, 26. An anterior portion 34 ending at 36. The housing 70 includes a pair of catching grooves 92 disposed along the sides 84, 86 that form a corresponding catching surface 94 that faces inwardly and slightly inwards. The locking groove 92 is suitable for receiving the locking projection 38 therein. The latch arm 30 also includes a rear portion 42 that is adapted to being gripped and extends rearward from the hinge junction 32.

During engagement of the connectors, the latch arm 30 is slightly deflected outwardly by the catching projection 38 being raised over the portion 96 of the housing sides 84 and 86 in front of the catching groove 92. Upon engagement, the locking projection 38 enters the locking groove 92 and the locking surface 40 engages with the corresponding locking surface 94. The slight angle of inclination of the engaging surfaces 40, 94 is preferred by stress and vibration when the connectors are in their mating state by keeping the latch arm 30 facing the sides 84, 86 of the housing 70. Provides resistance to loosening. The portion close to the connector of the latch arm free end 36 is preferably inclined to engage with the corresponding portion of the tip 78 of the housing 70 and to bear against it to initiate deflection of the latch arm 30 outward. And surface portion 44. During detachment, the rear latch arm portions 42 are adapted to be pressed toward each other and rotate the latch arms 30 relative to their respective hinge joints to separate the locking projections 38 from the locking grooves 92. As a result, the housing 10 may be separated from the housing 70 and moved backwards.

The hinge joint 32 is shown in particular detail in FIGS. 3 to 5 and can bend during deflection of the latch arm. The hinge joint 32 is vertically spaced apart and is joined by upper and lower legs 52 and 54 which create a relief area between the bite section 50 and the housing side 24. ). Rib portion 58 has at least one horizontal rib component 60, preferably vertical rib component 62 that intersects to provide rib portion 58 having a cross section. The horizontal rib component 60 is bonded to the bite section 50 across the intermediate outward surface between the upper and lower legs 52, 54. Upon deflection of the latch arm 30 in the horizontal plane, the horizontal rib component 60 passes through the center of the bite portion 50 along the first or rear edge 64 of the bite portion 50 along the relief area 56. And elastically away from the relief area 56 along its second or front edge 66. Vertical rib component 62 provides strength to rib portion 58 and bite portion 50 to withstand stress and torque for a long time. The rear latch arm portion 42 is a transient stress resisting mechanism, which may preferably be provided with an inward projection 68 that abuts the housing sides 24, 26 to limit the degree of deflection during separation.

Skilled artisans may make changes to the specific embodiments described above, but they will be included within the spirit and claims of the invention.

Claims (5)

A plastic article comprising a surface portion 24, 246 in which the hinge joint 32 is positioned with a deflection portion 30 capable of deflecting towards and away from the surface portions 24, 26 by rotating about the hinge joint. In the hinge joint 32 for integrally joining (10), the hinge joint forms a first free edge 64 and a second free edge 66 spaced apart from the free edge 64 and is spaced apart. The surface portion at the pair of spaced apart joints 52, 54 extending over the relief area 56 of the surface 24, 26 between the spaced apart joints 52, 54. A bite section 50 integrally bonded to 24, 26; Bonding the bite portion 50 to the deflection portion 30 approximately in the middle between the spaced apart pairs 52, 54 of the pair, and the first free edge 64 of the bite portion 50. ) And a joining means 58 for joining the deflection portion 30 to the bite portion 50 closest to the second free edge 66, whereby the deflection portion with respect to the plastic product 10. Upon deflection of 30; The bite portion 50 is directed by the joining means 58 towards the surface portion 24, 26 at one of the first 64 and the second 66 edges, and the first 64 and the second. (66) The hinge joint (32), characterized in that it can be easily bent by being made to be locally elastically deformed away from the surface (24,26) at one of the free edges. The method of claim 1, wherein the spaced apart joints (52, 54) also consist of respective leg portions (52, 54) extending between the plastic product (10) and the bite portion (50). Hinge joint 32 characterized in that. 3. The closest connection according to claim 2, wherein the joining means (58) is joined to the bite portion (50) substantially parallel to the leg portions (52, 54) in the middle between the leg portions (52, 54). At least one first rib component 60 extending from the first edge 64 to the second edge 66 closest to the first edge 64, the deflection portion 30 being the first (64) and the second (66) free edges; The hinge joint part 32 which further consists of the rib part 58 joined to the field. 4. The rib portion (58) of claim 3, wherein the rib portion (58) comprises a second rib component (62) perpendicular to the first rib component (60) joining the deflection portion (30) and the bite portion (50), The hinge junction 32 is further characterized in that the rib portion 58 has a cross section. The corresponding locking means (92) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the product (10) is a connector housing (10) and the deflection portion (30) is engaged with a connector. 94 is one of a pair of latch arms 30, 30 having a latching projection 38 at its front free end 36 to engage the said latch arms 30, 30 with said mating connector housing. A rear portion extending rearward from each of the hinge joints 32, 32 to form a pair of latch arm portions that deflect inwardly, which may direct release and disengagement of the connector housing 10 from 70). Hinge joint 32, including 42).

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