Patent ID: 8109778
Filing Date: 2012-02-07
Classification: H01R

Abstract:
1. A locking female electrical receptor device for use with an electrical male connector provided with electrically conductive prongs having apertures, the female receptor comprising: a housing having an end face with slots configured to receive the prongs of the male connector; a pair of spaced-apart electrically conductive contact members mounted in the housing in alignment with the slots, each of said contact member being provided with a channel sized and configured to receive a prong therein, each of the contact members having a transverse opening; a locking means mounted in the housing for locking the male connector and the female receptor, said locking means being configured to move between a normally locked position extending through the openings of the contact members and an unlocked position away from the contact members, said locking means being configured to extend through apertures of the prongs when the male connector is engaged with the female receptor, wherein the locking means comprises a generally U-shaped leaf spring member having a pair of leaf spring portions connected by a bridge, each of said leaf spring portions carrying a projection adjacent a free end thereof, and wherein each of the projections is sized and configured to normally extend through the opening in the contact member; and a depressible actuator means operationally connected to the locking means for moving the locking means into an unlocked position, said actuator means comprising at least one depressible actuator button accessible from outside of the housing.