Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Retaining means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-26
2001-06-26
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Retaining means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250944
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a latch device, and particularly to an electrical connector assembly having a latch device for positively locking together and electro-statically grounding two component to mating electrical connectors.
Generally, to insure a reliable connection between a pair of mating electrical connectors, a latch device is used for attaching the mating connectors together. Commonly, the latch device is formed on an insulative housing of each connector for easy manufacturing and operation. Related inventions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,63,204, 4,648,665, 5,002,504, 5,015,199 and 5,083,933. Referring to
FIGS. 1-2
, a first electrical connector
1
comprises a pair of first latch arms
11
and a second electrical connector
2
comprises a pair of second latch arms
21
. After mating, the first and second latch arms
11
,
21
engage with each other to prevent the mating connectors
1
,
2
from separating from each other.
However, during the mating process, the first and second latch arms
11
,
21
do not automatically lock with each other. Furthermore, both the first and second latch arms
11
,
21
are formed as part of the insulative bodies of the connectors
1
,
2
, respectively. Therefore the first and second latch arms
1
,
2
can not provide a grounding function, and an additional grounding connection is required between the connectors. Finally, the latch arms
11
,
21
, which are made of insulative material (usually plastic), are not strong enough to retain a positive lock under a rough handling.
Thus, there is a need for a latch device which provides a grounding and a positive locking function between a pair of mating electrical connectors.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly having a latch device for providing grounding and positive locking function between mating electrical connectors thereof.
To fulfill the above-mentioned object, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an upper connector comprises a pair of metallic resilient arms fixed at lateral sides thereof. A lower connector comprises a pair of metallic locking arms located to correspond to the resilient arms of the upper connector. Each resilient arm comprises a pair of outer resilient plates extending outwardly and a central resilient plate extending inwardly. Both lower ends of the outer resilient plates are connected by a shoulder portion and a lower end of the central resilient plate is separated from the shoulder portion. The locking arm comprises an elongated body, a base plate perpendicularly extending from a lower edge of the elongated body, and a pair of boardlocks downwardly extending from the base plate for attaching the lower connector to a printed circuit board. A pair of locking tips perpendicularly extends from lateral sides of a top portion of the elongated body for locking with a corresponding shoulder portion. A pair of push bars is integrally formed with an insulative housing of the lower connector and is operable to release the engagement between the locking tips and the shoulder portion. Thus, the upper and lower connectors can be conveniently disengaged from each other.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5549481 (1996-08-01), Morlion et al.
patent: 5975929 (1999-11-01), Matsuura et al.
Chung Wei Te
Dinh Phuong K T
Hon Hai - Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.
Sircus Brian
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