U.S. patent number 3,842,388 [Application Number 05/310,061] was granted by the patent office on 1974-10-15 for latching system for an electrical connector plug and assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to AMP Incorporated. Invention is credited to Robert George Harwood, Charles Donald Hoover.
United States Patent |
3,842,388 |
Harwood , et al. |
October 15, 1974 |
LATCHING SYSTEM FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR PLUG AND ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A latching system for an electrical connector plug is capable of
being utilized with a receptacle having a female cavity in a
closely packed array of additional plugs and receptacles. A male
electrical contact is disposed within the cavity which includes in
one of its sidewalls a latching window. The plug formed of a
resiliently deformable material includes a body having forward and
rearward end portions and a latch. The plug is shaped to be
received within the cavity of the receptacle at the forward end
portion of the body. A female electrical contact is disposed within
the body of the plug and mateable with the male contact in the
receptacle when the plug is received within the receptacle. The
latch is hingedly connected at a first end to the body at the
forward end portion and extends in general alignment with, and
along, the body. The latch has a latching lug extending outwardly
from a location between the first end and a second end of the latch
in general alignment with the window of the cavity with the plug
inserted therein. A protuberance extends outwardly from the body to
make contact with the latch between the first end and the latching
lug so that the latch may be resiliently deformed about the
protuberance for relative movement toward the plug against inherit
biasing of the latch caused by its deformation. A resiliently
deformable collar extends from the second end of the latch to
partially encircle the rearward end of the body to maintain the
latch in a biased condition at a predetermined displacement from
the body. The predetermined displacement is sufficient enough to
allow the latching lug to extend into the window of the cavity to
retain the plug within the receptacle. The latch is capable of
being further deformed toward the body to disengage the latching
lug from the window to allow withdrawal of the plug. Thus, the
collar maintains the latch and the body at the desired displacement
for easy alignment of the plug with the cavity and maintains the
latch in a biased condition for positive latching.
Inventors: |
Harwood; Robert George
(Mechanicsburg, PA), Hoover; Charles Donald (Harrisburg,
PA) |
Assignee: |
AMP Incorporated (Harrisburg,
PA)
|
Family
ID: |
23200839 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/310,061 |
Filed: |
November 28, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/353 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
13/6272 (20130101); H01R 13/501 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
13/627 (20060101); H01R 13/50 (20060101); H01r
013/54 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/59,61-63,91,18R,18B |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gay; Bobby R.
Assistant Examiner: Staab; Lawrence J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A latchable electrical connector plug capable of being plugged
into a receptacle in a closely packed array of additional plugs and
receptacles, each said receptacle having a female cavity, a male
contact fixed in said cavity and a latching window in one side wall
of said cavity and each said plug having a female receptacle
contact mounted therein, said connector plug comprising:
an elongated body of resiliently deformable material having central
bore extending between forward and rearward end portions, a locking
lance receiving aperture in a side wall of said bore for fixedly
retaining said female contact therein, and at least said forward
end of said body having a profile adapted to be received within
said cavity,
latching means hingedly connected to said forward end of said body
and extending in general alignment with and along said body, said
latching means including a latching lug extending outwardly of said
latching means at a point in general alignment for engagement with
aid latching window,
a protuberance extending outwardly from said body adjacent the
hinged connection of said latching means and adapted to engage said
latching means,
resiliently deformable locking means on the free end of said
latching means, said locking means encircling opposite sides of the
rearward end of said body and holding said latching means
resiliently deformed about the protuberance for relative movement
toward the plug against inherent biasing of the latching means
caused by its deformation, whereby a predetermined displacement of
said latching means is sufficient to allow the latching lug to be
inserted into and withdrawn from said latching window.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a latching system for an
electrical connector plug utilized with a cavity of a receptacle
which includes a latch biased away from a body of the plug but
being maintained within a predetermined displacement from the plug.
Maintaining the latch in a biased position allows easy alignment of
plug with the cavity of the receptacle even if the plug and
receptacle are to be located within a closely packed array of
additional plugs and receptacles and insures positive latching and
unlatching of the plug with and from the cavity of the
receptacle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Transmission networks in the telephone industry include thousands
of electrical conductor wires. Typically, these wires are
electrically and mechanically terminated at the rear bay of main or
intermediate frames installed at central offices of telephone
companies. These wires may serve any of a variety of functions such
as carrying incoming or outgoing signals, or carrying signals
between the main frame and various test equipment installed at the
central office.
The primary purpose of the main frame is to provide a central
location at which interconnections between these wires can be made
as desired on the front bay of the frame. Typically, the wires
terminated at the rear bay of the frame are electrically and
mechanically attached to contact terminals mounted in the frame,
the attachment being made by either the wire-wrap or soldering
techniques. These techniques provide a more or less permanent
connection in the sense that the wires cannot be readily detached
from the terminals. While permanent connections between the
terminals and the wires at the rear bay of the frame are ordinarily
desirable, such connections between interconnecting wires and the
terminals at the front bay of the frame are not desirable since
these connections need to be frequently detached to change the
interconnections between the wires terminated at the rear bay of
the frame.
One type of interconnection system which has been used heretofore
involves terminating the ends of the interconnecting wires to jacks
which are pluggable into the main or intermediate frames. These
jacks are retained in the frame by conventional detents on the
contact terminals mounted in the jacks which mate with conventional
complementary detents on the contact terminals mounted in the frame
when the respective contact terminals on the jack and the frame are
mated.
The incorporation of the detent retention system into the mating
contact terminals of the jack and the frame creates certain
problems.
On the one hand, if the detents and contact terminals are designed
such that a high extraction force is required to unmate them to
thereby avoid frequent accidental removal of the jacks from the
frame, the plating on the contact surfaces at which the electrical
connection is made will be subjected to a high degree of wear each
time the jack is removed from the frame which will lead to the need
for frequent repair or replacement of the contact terminals in the
jack and frame. Furthermore, in view of the fact that an operator
may be making hundreds of interconnections each day, an extraction
force of from five to ten pounds for each jack imposes a heavy
burden on the stamina of the average operator.
On the other hand, if the detents and contact terminals are
designed such that a low extraction force is required to unmate
them, the jacks becone susceptible to being accidentally removed
from the frame merely by the act of spreading apart of the various
interconnecting wires in order to find the jack which the operator
desires to remove from the frame. Also, jacks utilizing this type
of retention system which has a low extraction force encourages
removal thereof by pulling on the interconnecting wires which
emanate from the jack.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The latching system incorporating the present invention eliminates
all the aforementioned problems and disadvantages of the above
described retention system used heretofore in an interconnection
system.
An object of the invention is to provide a latching system in which
the retention of individual resiliently deformable connector plugs
within the connector receptacles is achieved by a novel mechanical
system which is separate from the electrical and mechanical mating
connection between the contact terminals respectively of the plug
and receptacle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a latching system as
described above wherein the plug includes a body and a latch
generally aligned with, and flexibly movable toward, each other
with the latch having an outwardly extending lug disposable with a
window defined in the receptacle to retain the plug inserted
therein.
A further object of the invention is to provide a latching system
as described above wherein the latch is biased away from the body
but maintained within a desired predetermined distance from the
body to facilitate alignment of the plug with the receptacle while
providing positive retention of the plug inserted therein.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a
preferred embodiment thereof wherein a latching system is provided
for an electrical connector plug which is capable of being utilized
with a receptacle having a female cavity in a closely packed array
of additional plugs and receptacles. A first electrical contact
means is disposed within the cavity and a first interengaging means
is disposed within the cavity. The latching system comprises the
plug which includes a body having forward and rearward end portions
and a latch. The plug is shaped to be received within the cavity of
the receptacle at least at the forward end portion of the body. A
second electrical contact means is disposed within the body of the
plug and mateable with the first electrical contact means of the
receptacle when the plug is received within the cavity. The latch
has a first end and a second end and extends in general alignment
with, and along, the body. The first end of the latch is connected
to the body at the forward end portion.
The latch has a second interengaging means disposed between the
first and second ends of the latch in general alignment with the
first interengaging means of the receptacle when the plug is
received within the receptacle.
A longitudinal portion of the latch extending from the second end
to a location on the latch beyond the second interengaging means
and the body are capable of relative movement toward and away from
each other in a plane generally intersecting the longitudinal axis
of the body.
The latching system also includes means for biasing the
aforementioned longitudinal portion of the latch in relation to the
body such that the longitudinal portion of the latch tends to
normally assume a displacement from the body.
The system further includes means for retaining the body and the
longitudinal portion of the latch within a desired predetermined
displacement from each other when the plug is separated from the
receptacle. The predetermined displacement is less than the normal
displacement.
The first and second internegaging means are disposed in coupling
relationship when the plug is received within the receptacle and
the body and the longitudinal portion of the latch are disposed at
the aforementioned desired predetermined displacement from each
other. The first and second interengaging means are disposed in an
uncoupled relationship when the body and the longitudinal portion
of the latch are moved toward each other to allow insertion of the
plug into the receptacle and removal of the plug from the
receptacle. Thus, retaining the portion of the latch at the desired
predetermined position makes the plug readily alignalbe with the
cavity of the receptacle during insertion and withdrawal while
maintaining the longitudinal portion of the latch in a biased
condition for positive latching.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the course of the following detailed description reference will
be frequently made to the attached drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector assembly
embodying the principles of the present invention having
single-contact, two-contact and four-contact plugs aligned for
insertion into cavities of a receptacle array:
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred single-contact plug
prior to insertion of the contact and prior to positioning of the
latch;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the plug as shown generally along
line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the plug shown in FIG. 2 as
received within a receptacle cavity and retained therein by the
latch;
FIG. 5 is a view of the plug and its latch as seen along line 5--5
of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a view of the plug and its latch as seen in FIG. 5
showing their relative positioning during unlatching;
FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of the preferred plug and latch
configuration with the latch positioned for unlatching;
FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of an alternative plug and latch
configuration with the latch positioned for unlatching;
FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of another alternative plug and
latch configuration with the latch positioned for unlatching;
and
FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of still another alternative plug
and latch configuration with the latch positioned for
unlatching.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 show a preferred
plug 12 made of a resiliently deformable material such as nylon and
including various features of the present invention. The plug 12
houses a single female contact 14 therein and is shaped to be
received within any one of a plurality of cavities 16 of a
receptacle array 18. Each cavity 16 of the array 18 housed therein
a male contact 20 which mates with the female contact 14 of the
plug 12 when the plug 12 is fully inserted into the cavity 16. The
male contact 2o extends beyond the receptacle array 18 to provide a
portion 22 capable of receiving wire wrapping or some other means
of termination known in the art. As shown in FIG. 1, the basic
configuration of the plug 12 may be modified to provide a
two-contact plug 24 and a four-contact plug 26 to add flexibility
to the connector system so that simultaneous multiple
interconnections may be made. Although the plugs 24 and 26 utilize
a double latching system, the features and characteristics of that
system are so similar to the latching system utilized with the plug
12 that a detailed description of the plug 12 will sufficiently
disclose the latching system and be equally applicable for the
plugs 24 and 26.
As best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the plug 12 primarily includes a
body 28 and a latch 30. To retain the plug 12 within the cavity 16
of the receptacle array 18, the latch 30 is generally biased away
from the body 28 and includes an outwardly extending lug 31 which
is received within a window 33 (FIG. 4) in a sidewall of the cavity
16 when the plug 12 is fully inserted therein. The biasing and
latching functions are described in greater detail hereinbelow.
Extending longitudinally through the body 28 is a chamber 32 which
is shaped to receive the female contact 14 with its associated wire
35 extending beyond a rearward end portion 34 of the body 28. An
opening 36 in one side of the body 28 provides a surface 38 upon
which a locking lance 40 of the female contact 14 will rest to
retain the fully inserted female contact 14 within the body 28.
The latch 30 of the plug 12 has a generally U-shaped cross-section
and includes a base wall 44 and a pair of sidewalls 46. The latch
30 is pivotally connected to the body 28 at its forward end portion
42 by each of a pair of flexible, resiliently deformable hinges 48.
Each of the pair of hinges 48 extends outwardly from opposite sides
of the body 28 to join the latch 30 at a first end 50 of each
respective sidewall 46. The hinges 48 and sidewalls 46 of the latch
30 are disposed at opposite sides of the body 28 to provide
sufficient space therebetween to receive the body 28 therein when
the latch 30 is pivoted at the hinge 48 to a position generally
parallel with the body 28.
As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plug 12 is initially formed with the
latch 30 angularly displaced from the body 28 so that the
resiliently deformable hinges 48 provide biasing to the latch 30
when the latch 30 partially surrounds the body 28 as is desired
during utilization of the plug 12 in conjunction with the
receptacle array 18 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. It is desirable to
have the latch 30 in this biased position relative the body 28 to
provide more positive latching when the plug 12 is inserted in the
cavity 16. It is also desirable that this relative position be
maintained when the plug 12 is separated from the receptacle array
16 so that the plug 12 will be more convenient to handle and more
readily alignable with the cavity 16 during insertion. A preferred
means of retaining this relative position of the latch 30
throughout such above-described utilization of the plug 12 is
provided by a resiliently deformable collar, indicated generally at
52. The collar 52 maintains a second end 54 of the latch 30 and the
rearward end portion 34 of the body 28 at a maximum desired
displacement to retain the biased latch 30 generally parallel with
the body 28.
The collar 52 includes a pair of hooked members 56 which extend
coplanarly from the sidewalls 46 toward the rearward end portion 34
of the body 28. Each of the hooked members 56 includes a retaining
tab 58 having inwardly tapered outer surfaces 60. After the plug
12, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, has been produced, the latch 30 is
pivoted relative the body 28 against the biasing force of the
hinges 48 until the surfaces 60 of the tabs 58 make contact with
the rearward end portion 34 of the body 28. As force is applied to
decrease the displacement between the latch 30 and the body 28, the
rearward end portion 34 of the body 28 cams against the surfaces 60
of the tabs 58 to deflect the hooked members 56 apart. When the
second end 54 of the latch 30 and the rearward end portion 34 of
the body 28 are at the aforementioned desired displacement, as
shown in FIG. 5, the hooked members 56 return to their undeflected
position and, with the tab 58, partially encircle the rearward end
portion 34 to retain the latch 30 in a biased, generally parallel
position with respect to the body 28.
The general alignment of the plug 12 with the cavity 16 and its
retention therein are best seen in FIG. 4. The cross-sectional
dimensions of the plug 12 at the forward end portion 42 of the body
28 are slightly less than the corresponding dimensions of the
cavity 16 and generally remain constant during operation of the
latch 30 so that the contacts 20 and 22 are maintained in alignment
during insertion and withdrawal of the plug 12. When the plug 12 is
being inserted into the cavity 16, the latch 30 is displaced toward
the body 28, in a manner to be described in detail hereinbelow, by
the operator or by the camming action of the leading surface of the
lug 31 until the lug 31 is aligned with the window 33. The biased
latch 30 generally returns to the desired predetermined
displacement from the body 28 so that the lug 31 extends into the
window 33. Tapered surfaces 61 and 63 respectively of the lug 31
and the rearward wall of the window 30 insure overlapping, positive
retention of the plug 12 until outside forces are applied to again
displace the latch 30 toward the body 28 and allow withdrawal of
the plug 12. In the preferred embodiment 12, as shown in FIGS. 1,
2, 3, 4 and 7, additional features have been included to improve
the operation and reliability of the latching system. Because of
the relatively small cross-sectional dimensions of the hinges 48,
other means have been added to the plug 12 to prevent the hinges 48
from being strained to a point of failure and to provide additional
biasing to further insure positive latching. An opening 62 in the
base wall 44 of the latch 30 is provided between the hinges 48 so
that a shoulder 64 extending from the body 28 will be received
therein when the latch 30 is positioned in general alignment with
and along the body 28. As a result, of withdrawal force is applied
to the body 28, such as by pulling on the wire 35, while the plug
12 is being retained within the cavity 16, the force will be
transferred to the latch 30 through the shoulder 64 and the opening
62 rather than by the hinges 48 to relieve any strain to which they
might otherwise be subjected. A protuberance 66 extends from the
body 28 at the shoulder 64 toward the base wall 44 to make contact
therewith. The height of the protuberance 66 is such that the
resiliently deformable latch 30 must be deformed about the
protuberance 66 to displace the second end 54 of the latch 30
toward the rearward end portion 34 of the body 28 less than the
desired predetermined displacement therebetween. Therefore,
additional biasing is provided to the latch 30 by its tendency to
return to a natural, undeformed position.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, when force F is applied to the
second end 54 of the latch 30 to decrease its displacement from the
rearward end portion of the body 28, the latch 30 is deformed about
the protuberance 66. The deformation of the latch 30 causes the
latch 31 to be withdrawn from the window 33 of the cavity 16 to
allow removal of the plug 12 from the receptacle 18. If the plug 12
is not in a closely packed array of additional plugs and
receptacles, the operator can apply the force F to the plug 12 with
his fingers as generally shown in FIG. 7. However, if the plug 12
is in a closely packed array, the rearward end portion 34 of the
body 38 and the second end 54 of the latch 30 are accessible so
that the jaws of a pair of needle nosed pliers, indicated at 70 in
FIG. 6, can be applied to the plug 12 to cause its release and
withdrawal from the receptacle 18. A notch 68 is provided at the
second end 54 of the latch 30 so that the pliers 70 will not slip
from the end of the plug 12 when it is being withdrawn from the
receptacle 18 in this manner.
An alternative feature has been provided and is shown on the
two-contact plug 24 in FIG. 1 to facilitate removal of the plug
from a closely packed array. A finger tip extension 72 extends
rearwardly from the second end 54 of the latch 30 allows the
operator to grasp the wires extending from the plug 24 while using
a single finger on the extension 72 to deform the latch and release
the plug 24 and thereby allow its withdrawal from the cavity
18.
It can now be seen that by altering the cross-sectional dimensions
and/or features of some of the resiliently deformable members
described hereinabove, alternative latching systems can be provided
to accomplish the objectives of the invention. One alternative
embodiment is shown in FIG. 8 and includes a plug 73 to be utilized
with the cavity 16 of the receptacle 18. The plug 73 includes a
relatively rigid body 74 and a relatively rigid latch 78 connected
by a flexible hinge 76. Extending outwardly from the body 74 toward
the latch 78 is a resiliently deformable protuberance 80. In the
plug 73, the latch 78 pivots toward the body 74 at the hinge 76
against the biasing action of the deformed protuberance 80. The
plug 73 otherwise operates as does the plug 12 described
hereinabove.
Another alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 9 where a plug 81
is again utilized with the cavity 16 of the receptacle 18. However,
in the plug 81, a relatively rigid body 82 and a relatively rigid
latch 86 are joined by hinge 84 capable of generally longitudinal
resilient deformation. Therefore, a protuberance 88, similar to the
protuberance 66 described hereinabove, extending from the body 82
acts as a fulcrum about which the latch 86 can be pivoted to
unlatch the plug 81 from the receptacle 18 against the biased
expansion of the hinge 84.
Still another alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 10 where a
plug 89 is again utilized with a receptacle 18 as described
hereinabove. The cross-sectional dimensions of the resiliently
deformable plug 89 are such that a body 90 is relatively more
flexible than a latch 94 or a hinge 92 disposed therebetween.
Therefore, when the relatively rigid latch 94 is pivoted toward the
body 90 having a protuberance 96 similar to the protuberance 66
described hereinabove, the latch 94 again pivots about the
protuberance 96. However, since the hinge 92 will not expand as did
the hinge 84 described hereinabove, the flexible body 90 will be
deformed from its natural relaxed condition about the protuberance
96 with the forward end portion 98 angularly displaced from the
remainder of the body 90 to provide biasing to the latch 94.
It can be readily seen that various combinations of the above
described features can be utilized in a latching system to
accomplish the objectives of the invention.
* * * * *