Electrical connectors – With coupling separator – Including retainer or joiner
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-17
2001-02-06
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With coupling separator
Including retainer or joiner
C439S347000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183279
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a low coupling force connector assembly in which to one connector (e.g. female connector) are fitted a plurality of other connectors (e.g. male connectors) at staggered times with a slider and, more particularly, to a low coupling force connector assembly which enables to-downsize the slider, but yet requires a reduced force for operating the slider.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has conventionally been used a low coupling force connector assembly in which a plurality of male connectors are driven at staggered times and fitted to an integral-type female connector by means of a slider.
For example, a low coupling force connector assembly as shown in
FIGS. 7A and 7B
has been proposed in Japanese U.M. Application Unexamined Publication No. 54-95894.
In
FIG. 7A
, the low coupling force connector assembly
100
consists of an integral-type female connector
110
, five male connectors
120
A to
120
E, and a slider
130
slidably mounted on the female connector
110
which, when operated, causes each male connector
120
A to
120
E to fit into the female connector
110
at staggered times.
As shown in
FIG. 7B
, the male connector
120
A to
120
E has a pair of bosses
121
,
122
located on each side wall thereof, at different distances from the front end toward the female connector
110
. The female connector
110
is formed in each major wall thereof with five pairs of straight guide slits
111
,
112
for guiding the respective pairs of bosses
121
,
122
of the male connectors
120
A to
120
E.
Reverting to
FIG. 7A
, the slider
130
is provided in each major wall thereof with five pairs of cam grooves
131
,
132
which receive the bosses
121
,
122
of the respective male connectors
120
A to
120
E and extend transversely to the respective guide slits
111
,
112
of the female connector
110
. The two cam grooves
131
,
132
in each pair are of the same shape and have a slant portion at the same part thereof which has an effective drive stroke S.
The slant portion of the cam grooves
131
,
132
is for driving the bosses
121
,
122
of the male connector
120
A to
120
E when the slider
130
is operated. Because the forming positions of the slant portion are different for each pair of the cam grooves
131
,
132
, the movement of the slider
130
is transmitted to the bosses
121
,
122
of each male connector
120
A to
120
E at staggered times.
In the thus constructed conventional low coupling force connector assembly
100
, the slider
130
is assembled to the female connector
110
and its pairs of cam grooves
131
,
132
are registered relative to the respective pairs of guide grooves
111
,
112
, and the bosses
121
,
122
of each male connector
120
A to
120
E are introduced into the inlets of the respective pairs of guide grooves
111
,
112
and of cam grooves
131
,
132
.
If in this condition the slider
130
is pushed in, the bosses
121
,
122
of the male connectors
120
A to
120
E slide in succession along the respective guide grooves
131
,
132
of the slider
130
to have the male connectors
120
A to
120
E fit to the female connector
110
at staggered times.
In the conventional low coupling force connector assembly
100
, however, because all the pairs of cam grooves
131
,
132
are formed in the same slider
130
, it is necessary that the length of the effective drive stroke S for each cam groove
131
,
132
be made equal to the entire cam-groove length L
umber of male connectors. Consequently, the effective drive stroke S of each cam groove
131
,
132
for driving the male connector
120
A to
120
E becomes short. To cope with this, it is necessary that the cam-constituting slant portion of each cam groove
131
,
132
be formed at a steep angle, with the result that the load of coupling the male connectors
120
A to
120
E, i.e., the force required for operating the slider
130
becomes unfavorably large.
If the entire length of the slider
130
is made large, a wide space can be obtained on the slider
130
so that each cam groove
131
,
132
is formed with a longer effective drive stroke S and at a less steep slant angle. In this case, however, there arises a drawback that the slider is upsized.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention has been accomplished to overcome the above drawbacks and an object of this invention is to provide a low coupling force connector assembly which provides cam grooves on a slider with a long effective drive stroke and at a less steep slant angle and reduces the force required for operating the slider, and which downsizes the slider.
In order to attain the object, according to this invention, there is provided a low coupling force connector assembly which comprises: a first connector having a housing with a plurality of sub connectors fixed therein; a plurality of second connectors, each having a boss means, corresponding to the sub connectors; and a first and second sliders, each having a cam groove means which guides therealong the boss means of a respective one or ones of the second connectors to fit the second connectors to the sub connectors, the first and second sliders, the latter inside the former, being longitudinally slidable relative to each other between a telescopically-expanded position and a telescopically-contracted position, wherein the first and second sliders, in the telescopically-expanded position, are inserted into the housing of the first connector from a direction traverse to a fitting direction of the first and second connectors, and the first slider, with the cam groove means of the first and second sliders engaged with the boss means of the second connectors, is pushed and moved to telescopically-contracted position so as to make the second slider follow the first slider into the housing, whereby to fit the second connectors to the sub connectors of the first connector at staggered times.
With the thus constructed low coupling force connector assembly, through the operation (pushing into the first connector housing) of the first slider, the related one or ones of the second connectors are first fitted to the first connector, and through the subsequent operation of the second slider, the remainder of the second connectors are fitted to the first connector at staggered times.
With such a low coupling force connector assembly, because a plurality of sliders (first and second sliders) are employed which are slidable relative to one another in a telescopic manner, a wide space can be secured on each slider for forming a cam groove means. As a result, the cam groove means can be formed with an elongated effective drive stroke for driving the boss means of the related second connector(s) and at a less-steep slant angle, leading to a reduced force required for operating the sliders.
Because it is arranged that the first and second sliders are operated at differed times, the second connectors are coupled with the respective sub connectors of the first connector at staggered times, also contributing to a reduction in the force required for operating the sliders.
Further, because the sliders are longitudinally slidable relative to one another and become shortened in a telescopic manner when pushed into the housing of the first connector, the sliders and thus the connector assembly can be downsized.
Incidentally, the number of sliders employed according to this invention is not limited to two (first and second sliders), but three or more sliders may be employed in a longitudinally-extendable (telescopic) manner relative to one another.
Preferably, the cam groove means of at least one of the first and second sliders comprises two or more cam grooves in a longitudinally-spaced arrangement.
Preferably, the two or more cam grooves are located at different distances from an end in a width direction of the related slider or sliders toward the second connectors, and the boss means of the second connectors are correspondingly located at different distances from ends of the related second connectors towar
Fukuda Masaru
Murakami Takao
Armstrong, Westerman Hattori, McLeland & Naughton
Dinh Phuong KT
Sircus Brian
Yazaki -Corporation
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