JP2003077585A - Cable connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cable connector equipped with an enhanced reliability by installing two locking means, in which the locking means is constructed thin to enable a high density mounting and also the operating easiness is enhanced. SOLUTION: The cable connector includes a mating party connector 20 wheto a connector 10 is to be connected, the locking means on the connector to work for the mating party connector, and a disengaging mechanism for the locking means. Each locking means is equipped with a pair of plate-form hook members 30 extending along the sides faces of a housing 11, a fulcrum part 12 to support rotatably the hook members on the housing, an engaging piece 33 attached to the free end of each hook member, an engaging recess 21 provided in the mating party connector whereto the engaging piece is engaged, and a spring piece 34 installed on each hook member and energizing the engaging piece in the direction of the engaging recess. The disengaging mechanism rotates the hook members 30 in the direction that the engaging piece is set off from the recess with the aid of a slide cover 40 slidable in the axial direction of the cable relative to the housing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cable connector, and more particularly to a technique suitable for a high-density mounting cable connector connected to a mother board of a large computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Motherboards for large computers are
Many cable connectors are plugged in. In recent years, miniaturization of motherboards has been rapidly promoted as the processing speed of large computers has increased.
In order to reduce the size of the motherboard itself, it is necessary to take measures to increase the mounting density of cable connectors on the motherboard.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-208866 discloses a technique for increasing the mounting density of cable connectors. In this technique, the locking means (removal prevention mechanism) for the connector guide of the mating connector mounted on the motherboard is made thin, and the connector itself can be miniaturized. As a result, the packaging density of the cable connector can be increased.

[0004]

By the way, in such a cable connector for high-density mounting, locking means for preventing disconnection is often provided only at one location in the housing portion of the connector. The reason is that it is easier to reduce the size of the connector by providing the locking means at any one position rather than providing it on the left and right sides of the housing.

However, this has a problem. If there is only one locking means, there is a problem that the connector itself is weak against the force such as twisting or pulling out. Such forces act when the locking means is functioning with the cable bent or twisted. In addition, such force often occurs during maintenance, inspection, maintenance, and parts replacement of computer hardware. Therefore, it is desirable to provide the locking means at two positions as much as possible in order to improve the reliability of the connection.

Here, consideration will be given to the operability of attaching and detaching the connector when the locking means is provided at two places. Although there is no problem at the time of connecting the connector, the releasing operation of the locking means is performed at two positions at the time of releasing the connector, and the operation of detaching the connector from the mating connector also has to be performed after that, so the operability is poor. Therefore, in this case, it is desirable to consider the operation of releasing the connection of the connectors.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique of a cable connector which is provided with two locking means to improve reliability and which enables high density mounting by thinning the locking means. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique of a cable connector that can perform an uncoupling operation of connectors very easily.

[0008]

A cable connector according to the present invention comprises a connector provided at an end of a cable, a mating connector for connecting the connector, a locking means for the connector to the mating connector, and a releasing mechanism for the locking means. With. The locking means is formed on the mating connector and a pair of plate-like hook members extending along opposite side surfaces of the housing of the connector, fulcrums for rotatably supporting the plate-like hook members with respect to the housing. And an engaged recess formed therein. The plate-shaped hook member includes an engagement piece formed on the free end side thereof and engaged with the engagement recess, and a spring piece urging the engagement piece toward the engagement recess. The release mechanism is provided with a slide cover that is slidable in the axial direction of the cable with respect to the housing, and moves the slide cover to rotate the plate-shaped hook member in a direction in which the engagement piece is disengaged from the engagement recess.

According to the present invention, a pair of plate-like hook members extending along the opposite side surfaces of the housing are provided rotatably with respect to the housing of the connector. Since both plate-like hook members are fitted to the side surface of the housing, the locking means can be made thin and the thickness of the connector in the width direction can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to improve reliability by providing the locking means at two places, and moreover, it is possible to realize high-density mounting by making the locking means thin.

The releasing mechanism is provided with a guide slant surface provided on the slide cover and a contact piece provided on the base end side of the plate hook member for contacting the guide slant surface when the slide cover slides to rotate the plate hook member. It is desirable to have and. According to this structure, the release mechanism can be operated only by sliding the slide cover. This facilitates the operation of releasing the locking means.

It is desirable that the release mechanism is set to operate when the slide cover is slid in a direction away from the mating connector. According to this structure, the unlocking mechanism is activated and the lock is released only by pulling the slide cover toward the front side, and the connector can be pulled out from the mating connector by pulling the slide cover. Therefore, the connector uncoupling operation can be performed only by a simple operation of pulling the slide cover toward the front side.

The free end of the contact piece of the plate-like hook member and the free end of the spring piece are spaced from each other in the slide cover, and the spring is provided when the free end of the contact piece contacts the guide slope. It is desirable that the piece is set to elastically deform. With this structure, the spring piece elastically deforms while the release mechanism is operating, and thus the spring piece returns to its original state when the release mechanism does not operate. Therefore, the operation control of the plate-shaped hook member can be performed only by the slide cover.

It is preferable that the locking means is set to be in an operating state when the slide cover is slid toward the mating connector side. With this setting, when the connector is coupled to the mating connector, it is possible to perform the coupling while keeping the lock means in an operating state only by holding the slide cover.

The side surfaces of the housing are formed as flat surfaces extending parallel to each other, and each plate-like hook member is rotatably provided such that one surface thereof is in surface contact with a corresponding side surface of the housing. desirable. This is because by making one surface of each plate-shaped hook member contact the corresponding side surface of the housing, it is possible to reduce the width dimension of the connector so that there is almost no gap between them.

The fulcrum portion of the plate-like hook member is formed in a boss shape projecting from the side surface of the housing, and is inserted into a fitting port provided at an intermediate portion in the lengthwise direction of the plate-like hook member. Is desirable. This is because the fulcrum portion of the plate-like hook member can be made simple and thin.

The mating connector is preferably provided with a plurality of connector guides for connecting the connectors side by side in a grid arrangement in a matrix. This is because a plurality of connector guides can facilitate the connection operation of the connectors and can also provide a function of protecting each connector after connection.

The connector guide includes side support plates that support both side surfaces of the housing of the connector when the connector is connected to the mating connector, and the engagement recess is formed in the inner wall of the side support plate. Is desirable. With this configuration, the side surface support plate has a function of supporting both side surfaces of the connector housing and stabilizing the connection state of the connector. Further, by providing the engagement recesses on the inner wall portion of the side surface support plate, the space for providing the engagement recesses can be saved and the space between the side surface support plates can be reduced.

The mating connector is provided with a plurality of pin contacts penetrating the motherboard of the electronic device and projecting into the respective connector guides, and socket contacts connected to the pin contacts are provided in the housing of the connector. Can also be If you do this,
The mating connector can be integrated with the motherboard.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a cable connector connected to a mother board M of a large computer is shown.

The cable connector shown in these figures is provided with a connector 10 provided at the end of the cable 1, a mating connector 20 to which the connector 10 is connected, a locking means for the connector 10 with respect to the mating connector 20, and its locking. And a mechanism for releasing the means.

The connector 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and a housing 11 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) having a front surface serving as a connection port, and a plurality of socket contacts (FIG. 3) provided in the housing 11. (Not shown), a plate-like hook member 30 rotatable about a fulcrum portion 12 provided in the housing 11, and a slide cover 40 provided so as to cover the housing 11 from the outside of the plate-like hook member 30.
It has and. The plate-shaped hook member 30 includes the housing 1
It is formed in a thin plate shape that extends along both opposite side surfaces of 1.

The fulcrum portion 12, which is the center of rotation of the plate-like hook member 30, is provided at the intermediate portion in the lengthwise direction, so that the base end side becomes the operation portion and the tip end side becomes the action point portion. It is set. Engaging pieces 33 with projections 33a are provided on the tip end side, which is the point of action of the plate-like hook member 30, respectively. Then, on the mating connector 20 side, a step portion 21a that engages with the engagement piece 33 (projection 33a).
Engaging concave portions 21 are provided respectively.

On the base end side of the plate-like hook member 30, a spring piece 34 for urging the engaging piece 33 to rotate in the direction of the engaging recess 21 and a guide slope 41 of the slide cover 40 come into contact. The contact pieces 35 that rotate the plate-like hook member 30 within a certain range are provided.

Therefore, the locking means is the connector 10
Of the pair of plate-shaped hook members 30, 30 extending along the opposite side surfaces of the housing 11 of
1, fulcrum portions 12 and 12 for rotatably supporting the plate-like hook members 30 and 30, respectively, and the plate-like hook member 3.
0, the engaging piece 33 provided on the free end side, and the engaging recess 21 provided on the mating connector 20 side for engaging the engaging piece 33.
And a spring piece 34 provided on the plate-like hook member 30 for urging the engagement piece 33 in the direction of the engagement recess 21 (clockwise direction around the fulcrum portion 12 in FIGS. 5 to 7). There is.

The release mechanism has a slide cover 40 slidable in the axial direction of the cable 1 with respect to the housing 11. The cable 1 is attached to the end surface of the slide cover 40.
A cable through hole 40a is provided to allow the slide cover 40 itself to slide through. Then, the plate-like hook member 30 is rotated in a direction in which the engagement piece 33 is disengaged from the engagement recess 21 by the movement of the slide cover 40.

That is, the release mechanism is provided on the guide slope 41 provided on the slide cover 40 and on the base end side of the plate hook member 30, and comes into contact with the guide slope 41 when the slide cover 40 slides to contact the plate hook. The contact piece 35 for rotating the member 30 is provided. The reason for configuring in this way is that the release mechanism can be operated only by sliding the slide cover 40.

In this embodiment, the slide cover 40
Is set so that the release mechanism is activated when it is slid in the direction away from the mating connector 20, that is, in the direction of pulling out toward the front side. With this, only by performing an operation of pulling the slide cover 40 toward the front side, the unlocking mechanism is activated and the lock is released. Further, by pulling the slide cover 40, the connector 10 can be pulled out from the mating connector 20. Therefore, the connector uncoupling operation can be performed only by a simple operation of pulling the slide cover 40 toward the front side.

The free end of the contact piece 35 of the plate-like hook member 30 and the free end of the spring piece 34 have a predetermined interval in the slide cover 40, and the free end of the contact piece 35 contacts the guide slope 41. The spring piece 34 is set to elastically deform when the spring piece 34 is open. Therefore, since the spring piece 34 is elastically deformed when the release mechanism is operating, the spring piece 34 returns to its original state when the release mechanism is not operating. Thus, the operation control of the plate hook member 30 can be performed only by the slide cover 40.

Further, the locking means is set to operate by sliding the slide cover 40 toward the mating connector 20 side. With this setting, when the connector 10 is coupled to the mating connector 20, it is possible to perform the coupling while keeping the locking means in an operating state only by holding the slide cover 40.

The side surfaces 11a, 11a of the housing 11 are
They are formed on planes (flat surfaces) extending parallel to each other. One side of the plate-shaped hook member 30 is the housing 11
Are rotatably provided so as to make surface contact with the corresponding side surfaces 11a, 11a. In this way, by making one surface of the plate-like hook member 30 in contact with the corresponding side surface of the housing 11, it is possible to reduce the width dimension D of the connector 10 with almost no gap between them. Is considered.

The fulcrum portion 12 of the plate hook member 30 is formed in a boss shape projecting from the side surface 11a of the housing 11, and enters the fitting hole 36 provided at the middle portion of the plate hook member 30 in the longitudinal direction. There is. The fitting port 36 is formed in a circular shape as shown in FIG. This plate-shaped hook member 30
Are made of synthetic resin capable of imparting sufficient elasticity to the spring pieces 34. In the present invention, the fulcrum portion 12 has a boss shape projecting from the side surface 11a of the housing 11, and the fitting opening 36 is a circular punched-out portion. It may be in a state.

The mating connector 20 is provided with a plurality of connector guides 22 for connecting the connectors 10 side by side in a matrix arrangement in a matrix. This plurality of connector guides 22
This is to facilitate the connection operation of the connector 10 and to provide a function of protecting each connector 10 after connection.

The connector guide 22 is the mating connector 20.
Side support plate 2 that supports both side surfaces of the housing 11 of the connector 10 when the connector 10 is connected to the connector 10.
It has 3,23. Then, the side support plate 23,
An engagement recess 21 is provided on the inner wall of 23. The side support plates 23, 23 are provided to support both side surfaces of the housing 11 of the connector 10 and stabilize the connection state of the connector 10. Further, the engaging recess 21 is provided on the inner wall portion of the side support plate 23 in order to save the space for providing the engaging recess 21 and to reduce the space between the side support plates 23, 23.

At the opening of the engaging recess 21 of the mating connector 20, as the engaging piece 33 enters the engaging recess 21,
A direction in which the engagement piece 33 is separated from the engagement recess 21 (see FIGS. 5 to 7).
A guide portion 24 is provided for elastically deforming the spring piece 34 by displacing the spring piece 34 in the counterclockwise direction about the fulcrum portion 12). Repulsive force is generated in the spring piece 34 by elastically deforming the spring piece 34. By utilizing this repulsive force, the force with which the engagement piece 33 engages with the engagement recess 21 can be increased.

In the illustrated example, the mating connector 20 has a plurality of pin contacts 25 penetrating the mother board M of the electronic device and projecting between the side surface support plates 23 of the respective connector guides 22. Therefore, socket contacts (not shown) connected to those pin contacts 25
Are provided in the housing 11 of the connector 10.
As a result, the mating connector 20 is mounted on the motherboard M in a configuration integrated with the motherboard M.

In the cable connector having such a structure, as shown in FIG. 5, the engaging piece 33 is inserted into the engaging recess 21 only by inserting the connector 10 between the side surface support plates 23, 23 of the mating connector 20. When engaged, the locking means functions. At this time, the projection 33a of the engagement piece 33 is engaged with the engagement recess 21.
Engages with the stepped portion 21a.

Next, the operation of the lock means and the release mechanism thereof will be described in detail. While inserting the connector 10 into the mating connector 20, the guide surface 3 at the tip of the engaging piece 33 is inserted.
3b comes into contact with the guide portion 24 of the engagement recess 21 and acts to push down the engagement piece 33 in FIG. At this time,
Since the tip of the spring piece 34 is in contact with the inner surface of the slide cover 40, the spring piece 34 elastically deforms and bends, and the spring piece 3
Repulsive force will be generated in 4.

When the insertion of the connector 10 approaches the final stage, the repulsive force of the spring piece 34 causes the engagement piece 33 to move upward in the engagement recess 21 as shown in FIG. 5, and the projection 33a and the step portion 21a. And are engaged. As a result, the connector 10 is locked.

When the locked state is released, as shown in FIG. 6, the slide cover 40 is moved away from the mating connector 20, that is, the connector 10 is pulled out to move only the slide cover 40 to the front side. Then, the guide slope 41 of the slide cover 40 causes the contact piece 35 to move.
Move relative to. At this time, since the contact piece 35 comes into contact with the guide slope 41 and is lifted up, the plate-like hook member 30 slightly rotates about the fulcrum 12. As a result, the engagement of the engagement piece 34 with the engagement recess 21 is released. That is, the lock is released.

After unlocking, as shown in FIG. 7, the slide cover 40 may be pulled out further rearward. By doing so, the protrusion (not shown) formed on the slide cover 40 and the recess (not shown) formed on the connector 10 are engaged with each other, and the connector 10 is fitted only by the pulling operation of the slide cover 40. The combined state is also canceled. This withdrawal operation only needs to be performed withdrawing operation of the connector 10 as it is after the unlocking operation, so that there is an advantage that the operation is simple and the workability is good.

In the present embodiment, a pair of plate-like hook members 30 extending along both opposite side surfaces of the housing 11 are rotatably provided with respect to the housing 11 of the connector 10. Since each plate-shaped hook member is a thin plate and is attached to the side surface of the housing 11, the locking means becomes thin and the widthwise dimension D of the connector can be suppressed.
As a result, it is possible to improve reliability by providing the locking means at two places, and moreover, it is possible to realize high-density mounting by making the locking means thin.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a cable connector connected to a mother board has been shown, but the present invention can be applied to other connectors that require locking means.

[0043]

As described above, according to the cable connector of the present invention, the locking means is provided at two places to improve the reliability, and further, the locking means is made thin to enable high-density mounting. You can Further, since the unlocking mechanism of the locking means is configured to be operated by the sliding operation of the slide cover, the uncoupling operation of the connector can be performed very easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

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 is a diagram showing a housing of a cable connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a side view, (b) is a plan view, and (c) is an end view.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining the operation of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining the operation of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional side view for explaining the operation of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of the plate-shaped hook member of the cable connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 cable 10 connectors 11 housing 11a side 12 fulcrums 20 Mating connector 21 Engagement recess 21a Step 22 Connector guide 23 Side support plate 24 Guide part 25 pin contact 30 Plate-shaped hook member 33 engagement piece 33a protrusion 33b Guide surface 34 Spring piece 35 contact piece 36 Mating port 40 slide cover 40a Cable through hole 41 Guide slope

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A connector provided at an end of a cable, a mating connector for connecting the connector, a locking means for the connector to the mating connector, and a releasing mechanism for the locking means, wherein the locking means is the connector. A pair of plate-shaped hook members extending along opposite side surfaces of the housing, fulcrums for rotatably supporting the plate-shaped hook members with respect to the housing, and an engagement member formed on the mating connector. The plate-shaped hook member includes an engaging piece that is formed on a free end side thereof and that engages with the engaging recess, and a spring piece that urges the engaging piece toward the engaging recess. The release mechanism includes a slide cover slidable in the axial direction of the cable with respect to the housing, and the engagement piece moves forward by the movement of the slide cover. A cable connector having a structure in which a plate-shaped hook member is rotated in a direction in which the plate-shaped hook member is disengaged. 2. The release mechanism includes a guide slope provided on the slide cover and a base hook of the plate hook member. The release mechanism comes into contact with the guide slope when the slide cover slides to contact the plate hook member. The cable connector according to claim 1, further comprising a contact piece for rotating the cable connector. 3. The cable connector according to claim 1, wherein the release mechanism is set to operate when the slide cover is slid in a direction away from the mating connector. 4. The free end of the contact piece and the free end of the spring piece are spaced apart from each other in the slide cover, and the free end of the contact piece contacts the guide slope. The cable connector according to claim 1, wherein the spring piece is set to elastically deform. 5. The cable connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking means is set to be in an operating state when the slide cover is slid toward the mating connector side. 6. The side surfaces of the housing are formed as flat surfaces extending parallel to each other, and each plate-like hook member is rotatably provided such that one surface thereof is in surface contact with a corresponding side surface of the housing. The cable connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The fulcrum portion of the plate-like hook member is formed in a boss shape projecting from the side surface of the housing, and is inserted into a fitting port provided at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the plate-like hook member. The cable connector according to claim 1. 8. The cable connector according to claim 1, wherein the mating connector includes a plurality of connector guides for connecting the connectors side by side in a grid arrangement. 9. The connector guide includes a side surface support plate that supports both side surfaces of a housing of the connector when the connector is connected to the mating connector, and the engagement recess is formed in an inner wall portion of the side surface support plate. The cable connector according to claim 8, which is provided. 10. The mating connector comprises a plurality of pin contacts penetrating a mother board of an electronic device and projecting into the respective connector guides, and socket contacts connected to the pin contacts are provided in a housing of the connector. The cable connector according to any one of claims 1 to 9.