Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-208866 discloses a technology for increasing the mounting density of cable connectors. This technology reduces the thickness of a locking means (a removal prevention mechanism) for a connector guide of a mating connector mounted on a mother board, thereby reducing the size of the connector. This makes it possible to increase the mounting density of the cable connectors. This patent illustrates the use of a latch that runs the length of the connector and which may be manipulated by a user. It is difficult to reach in a high-density application.

A large number of cable connectors may be connected to a mother board of a computer in plug-in fashion. In recent years, in association with increased processing speed of computers, the size of computer motherboards have generally decreased. In order to make these motherboards smaller, it is necessary to increase the mounting density of cable connectors on the motherboard. In high-density mounting of cable connectors to a motherboard, a locking means for preventing disengagement of the cable connector from its mating board connector is generally provided only at one location on a housing portion of the cable connector. The provision of the locking means at a single location, rather than distributing the locking function between multiple locations on the connector enables the overall size of the connector to be minimized. This is shown in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application.

However, this causes a problem. When the locking means is provided at one location, the resistance of the locking means to torsional, or pulling, forces is relatively weak. These types of forces may act on the locking means when the cable is bent or twisted and may result from such activities as maintenance, repair and part-replacement within the computer.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a locking means at two spaced-apart locations on the connector housing in order to enhance the reliability of the interconnection.

Summary of The Invention Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector having an easily engaged locking means located at two different locations for improved reliability, and which will enable high-density mounting of cable connectors by minimizing the thickness of the locking means. A cable connector according to the present invention includes a connector provided at an end of a cable fro engagement with a mating connector, locking means for securing the connector to the mating connector, and a release mechanism for the locking means.

The locking means includes a pair of hook members respectively extending along opposite side surfaces of a connector housing, fulcrum portions that rotatably support the hook members on the housing, and opposing engagement recesses formed in the mating connector.

The hook members include engagement (hook) end provided to engage with opposing recesses, and spring pieces for urging the engagement ends in a direction toward the engagement recesses.

The release mechanism includes a cover that is slidable with respect to and over the connector housing in an axial direction, so that when the cover is moved away from the mating connector, the hook members are rotated in such a direction (counter-clockwise) that the engagement pieces are disengaged from their engaging recesses.

According to the present invention, the pair of hook members extend along opposite side surfaces of the housing and are rotatably attached to the connector housing. Since the hook members extend along the sides of the housing, the width of the locking means is minimized, as is the overall width of the connector. By this arrangement, the locking means can be provided at two distinct, spaced-apart locations, and the reliability of the locking means is increased while minimizing the connector width for purposes of high-density mounting of the connectors.

It is desirable that the release mechanism includes guide slopes provided in the sliding cover, and first contact pieces provided as first, base ends of the hook members for contacting the sliding cover guide slopes which rotate the hook members when the cover is slid backward with respect to the connector housing. By this arrangement, the release mechanism can be activated by simply sliding the cover.

It is further desirable to configure the release mechanism to be activated when the slide cover is slid in a direction away from the mating connector. By this arrangement, by simply pulling the slide toward the operator, the release mechanism is activated to release the locking means, and by pulling the cover further, the connector can be removed from the mating connector. Accordingly, the releasing operation for the connector can be realized simply by pulling the cover toward the operator.

It is desirable that the free end of the contact piece of the hook member and the free end of the spring piece thereof are distanced from each other by a clearance within the cover, and further are arranged so that the spring piece is elastically deformed, or deflected, when the free end of the contact piece makes contact with the guide slope. Then, when the release mechanism is activated, the spring piece is elastically deformed, and when the release mechanism is not activated, the spring piece resides in its undeflected position. Accordingly, rotation of the plate- like hook members are effected by movement of the slide cover.

It is preferable that the locking means be activated when the cover is slid toward the mating connector. By this arrangement, if the connector is connected to the mating connector simply by grasping the slide cover and moving the slide cover toward the mating connector, connection between the connector and the mating connector can be realized with the locking means maintained in an activated state.

It is desirable that the side surfaces of the housing are formed as planar surfaces that extend parallel to each other, and that each of the hook members are rotatably attached to the connector housing in such a manner that a surface of each hook member contacts a respective side surface of the connector housing such that clearance between the hook members and the housing side surfaces is substantially eliminated. Thus, the width of the connector is minimized.

For simplicity and minimization of width, it is also desirable that the fulcrum portion for the hook member takes the form of a boss protruding from a side surface of the housing, and is inserted into a fitting hole provided at a central portion of the plate-like hook member located in a longitudinal direction.

It is also desirable that the mating connector has a plurality of connector guides for guiding the connectors to be arranged laterally and vertically in a grid pattern. The plurality of connector guides can ease the mating operation of the connectors, and can perform the function of protecting the mated connectors.

It is also desirable that the connector guide has side surface supporting plates which support the side surfaces of the housing of the connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector, and that engagement recesses are provided in inner wall portions of the side surface supporting plates. By this arrangement, the side surface supporting plates support the side surfaces of the housing of the connector in order to stabilize the mated connector interface.

Further, by providing engagement recesses in the inner wall portions of the side surface supporting plates, space for the engagement recesses can be provided in order to minimize a distance between the side surface supporting plates.

The mating connector may have a plurality of pin contacts that penetrates through a mother board of an electronic equipment and that protrude within each connector guide. Socket contacts connected to the pin contacts may also be provided within the housing of the connector.

By this arrangement, the mating connector can be integrated with the mother board.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.

Brief Description Of The Drawings In the course of this detailed description, the reference will be frequently made to the attached drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a side view of a cable connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 (a) is a side view of a housing of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 (b) is a plan view of a housing of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 (c) is a end view of a housing of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the cable connector of FIG. 4 (b) showing the locking means in a locked condition; FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the cable connector of FIG. 5 showing the locking means during disengagement; FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the cable connector of FIG. 5 showing the locking means fully disengaged; and, FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of a plate-like hook member of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments An embodiment of the present invention will now be discussed with reference to Figs. 1- 8. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a cable connector to be connected to a mother board M of a computer.

Referring to Figs. 1-4, the cable connector shown in the drawings includes a connector 10 provided at an end of a cable 1 and is used to connect the cable 1 to a motherboard, or circuit board M of a computer or other electronic device. The cable 1 and its connector 10 are mated to a mating connector 20, and means for locking the connector 10 to the mating connector in an engaged state, is included as part of the connector 10, as well as a release mechanism for disengaging the locking means.

The connector 10 includes a housing 11 of which an outer contour is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped (although other configurations may be used) and which has a front surface opened as a connection port (see FIGS. 3 and 4), a plurality of conductive terminals, or socket contacts (not shown) supported in the housing 11, an engagement means in the form of a pair of hook members 30 which are rotatably mounted to a fulcrum portion 12 formed as part of the connector housing 11. The connector 10 further includes a sliding member, typically in the form of an exterior cover member 40, that extends over the hook members 30 and at least partially covers the housing 11. Each hook member 30 is formed as a thin plate extending along a respective opposite side surface of the connector housing 11. The fulcrum portion 12 may be formed as part of the connector housing 11 and serves as a rotational center about which the hook member 30 rotates. As such, it is preferably located centrally along the longitudinal direction of the connector housing 11. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, each hook member 30 is provided with a first engagement end 33 that terminates in a protrusion 33a that has the form of a tooth, or barb. The mating connector 20 is provided with opposing engagement recesses 21, each having a step 21 a for engagement with one engagement end 33 of the hook members 30.

Each of the hook members 30 has an overall Y-shape and is further provided with two additional ends, or free arms 34,35. One of the free arms 34, takes the form of a spring piece, or arm, 34 for urging the hook member engagement end 33 in clockwise rotation toward the engagement recess 21 of the opposing connector, while the other of the free arms, 35, takes the form of a contact arm 35 that serves to actuate the hook into a released position as it contacts a guide slope 41 of the sliding cover 40. This contact effects a counterclockwise rotation in the engagement end 33 to release the hook member 30 from its engagement with the recess 21 of the opposing connector.

The locking or engagement means of the connectors of the invention include a pair of the hook members 30 respectively extending along respective opposite side surfaces of the housing 11 of connector 10, a pair of fulcrum portions 12 supporting the hook members 30 so that the hook members 30 rotate on the housing 11. This means further includes a pair of engagement recesses 21 formed on the mating connector 20 for engaging the engagement ends 33, and still further includes the contact arms 34 for engaging the hook members 30 and the release arms 35 for releasing the hook members from their engagement with the opposing connector recesses 21.

While the contact arms 34 serve to urge the hook members into movement in one direction, the release arms 35 serve to urge the hook members into movement in an opposite direction. This rotational movement is obtained by linear movement of the sliding cover in place on the connector. The movement of the hook members in response to movement of the sliding cover is seen in FIGS. 5-7.

The release mechanism includes the slide cover 40 which is slidable in an axial direction of the cable 1 with respect to the housing 11. An end surface of the slide cover 40 has a cable passing hole 40a through which the cable 1 is passed such that slide cover 40 is slidable along cable 1. By the movement of the slide cover 40, the members 30 are rotated in such a direction that the engagement pieces 33 are disengaged from the engagement recesses 21.

The release mechanism also includes the guide slopes 41 provided in the slide cover 40, and contact pieces 35 which contact the guide slopes 41 to rotate the hook members 30 when the slide cover 40 is slid away from mating connector 20. This arrangement enables actuation of the release mechanism by simply sliding the slide cover 40.

In this embodiment, when the slide cover 40 is slid in a direction away from the mating connector 20 (that is, toward a user), the release mechanism is activated. Thus, by simply pulling the slide cover 40 away from mating connector, the release mechanism is activated to release the lock, and by further pulling the slide cover 40 in the same direction, the connector 10 can be removed from the mating connector 20. Therefore, the connectors can be unmated by simply pulling the slide cover 40 toward the user.

The free end of the contact piece 35 of the plate-like hook member 30 and the free end of the spring piece 34 of hook member 30 are spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance within the slide cover 40, and are arranged so that the spring piece 34 is elastically deformed when the free end of the contact piece 35 contacts the guide slope 41. Accordingly, when the release mechanism is activated, spring piece 34 is elastically deformed, and when the release mechanism is not activated, the spring piece 34 is in an undeflected state. Thus, operation of plate-like hook members 30 can be performed by manipulation of slide cover 40.

Also, by sliding the slide cover 40 toward the mating connector 20, the locking means is activated. By this arrangement, if the connector 10 is connected to the mating connector 20 by a user grasping the slide cover 40, mating of the connectors can be achieved with the locking means maintained in an activated state.

The side surfaces 1 la, 1 la of the housing 11 are formed as planar surfaces that extend in parallel to each other. Each of the plate-like hook members 30 is rotatably connected to housing 11 such that one surface of hook member 30 contacts a respective one of the side surfaces 1 la, 11 a of the housing 11. Thus, clearance between hook members 30 and respective ones of side surfaces 11 a is substantially eliminated. Thus, the width D of the connector 10 can be minimized.

The fulcrum portion 12 for the plate-like hook member 30 is shown in its preferred form, namely that of a boss that protrudes from a side surface 1 la of the housing 11, and is inserted into a fitting hole 36 disposed in a central portion of the hook member 30. The fitting hole 36 is circular as shown in FIG. 8, but may take another form in order to retard the speed at which the hook members 30 rotate in movement thereabout. The hook member 30 is preferably formed of a synthetic resin to provide sufficient elasticity to the spring piece 34. Alternatively, the fulcrum portion 12 and the fitting hole 36 maybe formed as a recessed portion and a boss portion fitted to the recessed portion, respectively.

Referring to FIGS. 2 & 3, the mating connector 20 has a plurality of connector guides 22 for guiding connectors 10 to be arranged horizontally and vertically in a grid pattern. The plurality of connector guides 22 ease connection of connectors 10 to respective mating connectors, and function to protect the connected connectors 10.

Each connector guide 22 has side surface supporting plates 23,23 which support the side surfaces of the housing 11 when the connector 10 is mated with mating connector 20. The engagement recesses 21 are provided on the inner wall portions of the side surface supporting plates 23,23. Engagement recesses 21 are provided on the inner wall portions of the side surface supporting plates 23 in order to reduce the distance between the side surface supporting plates 23,23.

An opening portion of the engagement recess 21 of the mating connector 20 is provided with a guide portion 24 which displaces the engagement piece 33 in a direction away from the engagement recess 21 (in a counterclockwise direction about the fulcrum portion 12, as seen in FIGS. 5-7) as the engagement piece 33 enters into the engagement recess 21, causing spring piece 34 to bear against the inner surface of slide cover 40, thereby elastically deforming the spring piece 34 in a clockwise direction. By elastically deforming the spring piece 34 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIGS. 5-7), an engagement force acting in a counterclockwise direction is generated in the spring piece 34. This counterclockwise force causes an engagement force acting on the engagement piece 33 with respect to the engagement recess 21 to increase.

Referring to FIG. 2, the mating connector 20 has a plurality of pin contacts 25 that penetrate through the mother board M of the computer, and extended between the side surface supporting plates 23,23 of each connector guide 22. Socket contacts (not shown) are provided within the housing 11 of the connector 10 for connection to the pin contacts 25. With this arrangement, the mating connector 20 is mounted to the mother board M in such a manner that it is integrated with the mother board M.

In the cable connector thus constructed, as shown in FIG. 5, by simply inserting the connector 10 between the side surface supporting plates 23,23 of the mating connector 20, the locking means functions so that the protrusions 33a of the engagement pieces 33 are engaged with the steps 21 a of the engagement recesses 21.

Next, operation of the locking means and the release mechanism will be discussed in detail. Referring to FIG. 5, during the course of insertion of the connector 10 into the mating connector 20, the guide surfaces 33b at the leading ends of the engagement pieces 33 contact the guide portions 24 of the engagement recesses 21 so that the engagement pieces 33 are pressed downwardly. At this time, since the leading ends of the spring pieces 34 are in contact with the inner surface of the slide cover 40, the spring pieces 34 elastically deform so that an engagement force is produced, urging engagement pieces 33 and protrusions 33a toward engagement with engagement recesses 21.

When mating of connector 10 with mating connector 20 approaches the final stage, the engagement force on the spring pieces 34 causes the engagement pieces 33 to be moved upwardly in FIG. 5 within the engagement recesses 21, whereby the protrusions 33a and the steps 21 are engaged with each other. Consequently, the locking means is activated.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the locking means is to be released, the slide cover 40 is moved in a direction away from the mating connector 20, (that is, toward the user side) in such a manner that the connector 10 is pulled and removed. Consequently, the guide slopes 41 of the slide cover 40 are moved with respect to the contact pieces 35. At this time, since the contact pieces 35 ride along the guide slopes 41, the hook members 30 are slightly rotated about the fulcrum portions 12 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6. As a result, the engagement between engagement pieces 34 with the engagement recesses 21 is released. Thus is, the locking means is released.

Referring to FIG. 7, after the locking means is released the slide cover 40 is further pulled in a direction away from mating connector 20, so that a protruding portion (not shown) formed on the slide cover 40 is engaged with a recessed portion (not shown) formed on the connector 10, whereby connector 10 can be removed from mating connector 20 by simply pulling slide cover 40 in a direction away from mating connector 20 subsequent to the locking means releasing operation.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the pair of plate-like hook members 30 extending along the opposite side surfaces of the housing 11 are rotatably attached with respect to the housing 11 of the connector 10. Each of the hook members 30 is in the form of a thin plate, and extends along a respective side surface of the housing 11. Therefore, the width D of the locking means can be minimized to facilitate high-density mounting of the connectors. By this arrangement, a locking means can also be provided at two locations on the connector housing to increase reliability of the locking means.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a cable connector to be connected to a mother board has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to any other connector requiring locking means.

As described above, according to the cable connector of the present invention, it is possible to improve the reliability of a locking means by providing locking members at two locations on the connector, rather than one. The provision of locking members at two locations provides improved resistance to torsional and pulling forces exerted on the mated connector interface. High density mounting of the connectors is also facilitated by reducing the width of the locking means. Further, by adopting such an arrangement whereby a release mechanism for the locking means is activated by sliding a slide cover positioned on a connector, in a direction away from a mating connector, easy unmating and removal of the connector from the mating connector is facilitated.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.