Abstract:
An electrical connector for a cable such as a ribbon cable used in an electronic instrument. The electrical connector plugged into a connector of a printed circuit-board of, for instance, a notebook computer has substantially an inverted U-shaped handle with its pair of leg elements being engaged with socket elements formed in the sides of the connector. The leg elements are bent at about the mid points so as to reduce the height of the handle, thus allowing the handle to be fit within narrow interior space of the notebook computer.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Filed of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector and more particularly to an electrical connector having a handle for facilitating removal of the connector from a printed circuit-board of an electronic instrument such as a notebook computer. 
     2. Prior Art 
     In small electronic instruments such as a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc, a flexible printed circuit or a so-called flat ribbon cable is used. Such a circuit or a cable is attached to an electrical connector that is mated to a connector mounted on a printed circuit-board or a motherboard of the electronic instrument. Such electronic instruments are recently designed as small as possible so as to be easily carried to places. As a result, the internal space is severely limited, and devices installed in such a limited space are designed to be compact. Thus, a connector body of the electrical connector installed in such a limited space of, for instance, notebook computers is designed as compact as possible. This causes several problems. One of the problems is that pulling out or unplugging of such a compact component, for instance, an electrical connector with a cable, from the connector of the printed circuit-board of a notebook computer is very difficult. When such a component is forced to be unplugged in an awkward fashion, the component can be easily broken. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a structure that facilitates removal of an electronic component such as an electrical connector used in a small size electronic instrument such as a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. 
     The above object is accomplished by a unique structure for an electrical connector (merely called “connector”) that has a removing means from a limited space. 
     More specifically, the connector of the present invention is comprised of a connector body and substantially an inverted U-shaped handle body with its pair of leg elements being engaged with socket elements formed on the connector body to which a cable such as a ribbon cable is connected. The leg elements can be bent at substantially mid points thereof so as to reduce the height of the handle body to be installed in narrow interior space of, for instance, a notebook computer. 
     With the structure above, the connector engaged with the connector of a printed circuit-board of, for instance, a notebook computer can be easily unplugged by way of pulling the handle body attached to the connector body and not by pulling the connector body or the cable so that damage to the connector, the cable or the connector of the printed circuit-board is prevented. In addition, with the bent leg elements, the height of the handle body can be low so that the connector can fit within the limited interior space of compact electronic equipment, such as a notebook computer. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector according to the present invention; 
     FIG.  2 ( a ) is a front lavational view of the connector body; 
     FIG.  2 ( b ) is a side view thereof; 
     FIG.  3 ( a ) is a front elevational view of the handle body to be engaged with the connector body; 
     FIG.  3 ( b ) is a side view thereof; 
     FIG.  4 ( a ) is a front elevational view of the handle body engaged with the connector body; and 
     FIG.  4 ( b ) is a side view thereof. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The connector or a removing structure for the connector of the present invention comprises a connector body  20  and a handle body  40 . 
     The connector body  20  is in substantially a rectangular parallelepiped shape made of plastic or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) with longer sides to be oriented in a horizontal direction. The connector body  20  is provide with a terminal  12 ; and when the connector is plugged into the connector  2  of a printed circuit-board (PCB) or mother board  5  of, for instance, a notebook computer, the terminal  12  is mated and engaged with the connector  2  of the PCB  5 . A flexible printed circuit or a flat ribbon cable  1  is securely connected at its end to the connector body  20  so that an electrical connection is made between the cable  1  and the terminal  12  inside the connector body  20 . The cable  1  can be a wire cable. 
     The connector body  20  is integrally formed at both ends or opposite side ends thereof with socket elements  30 . Each of the socket elements  30  is substantially a cylinder and is formed with a central through hole  32  that extends in a direction perpendicular to the longer sides of the connector body  20 . The socket element  30  is further formed with a longitudinal slit or an opening  34  so that the slit  34  is located on a diametrically opposite side from the side end of the connector body  20 . 
     The handle body  40 , which can be made of the same material as that of the connector body as a whole, is shaped in substantially an inverted U-shape. The inverted U-shaped handle body  40  comprises a handle element  42  that is substantially horizontally disposed and a pair of leg elements  44  that extend from both ends of the horizontal handle element  42  at substantially right angles as noted at  42   a.    
     Lower leg portion  60  of each one of the leg elements  44  has substantially the same or slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of each one the central through holes  32  of the socket elements  30  of the connector body  20 . The leg elements  44  are designed so as to be longer than the length or height of the socket elements  30  of the connector body  20 . 
     In the handle body  40  shown in FIG.  3 ( b ), each of the leg elements  44  is bent at substantially a mid point  46  thereof so as to have an upper leg portion  50  and a lower leg portion  60 . As seen from FIG.  3 ( b ), the upper leg portion  50  is at an angle of about 75 degrees with reference to the imaginary line Y or vertical axis of the leg element  44 . In other words, each of the leg elements  44  is bent at its mid point  46  at an angle of about 105 degrees as best seen from FIG.  3 ( b ) that is a side view of the handle body  40  so as to define the upper leg portion  50  and the lower leg portion  60 . In the embodiment shown in FIGS.  3 ( a ) and  3 ( b ), the lower leg portion  60  is longer than the length or height of the socket elements  30  of the connector body  20 . 
     At the end of each one of the leg elements  44 , a bulged portion  62  is integrally formed. The bulged portion  62  is of a hemispherical shape with its convex surface facing opposite from the handle element  42  and its flat surface facing the handle element  42 . The bulged portion  62  has a larger diameter than each of the central through holes  32  of the socket elements  30 . 
     With the flat or upper surface of one of the hemispherical bulged portion  62  being brought into contact with the bottom of one the socket elements  30  of the connector body  20 , one of the leg elements  44  or the lower leg portion  60  of one of the leg elements  44  is pushed into the central through hole  32  through the vertical slit  34  of one of the socket elements  30 . Then, with the flat surface of the other bulged portion  62  being brought into contact with the bottom of another socket element  30 , another one of the leg elements  44  or the lower leg portion  60  of another one of the leg elements  44  is pushed into the central through hole  32  through the vertical slit  34  of the other socket element  30 . As a result, the leg elements  44  or the lower leg portions  60  of the handle body  40  are elastically engaged with the socket elements  30  and connected to the connector body  20  via its leg elements  44  and the socket elements  30 ; and the handle body  40  and the connector body  20  form an integral single component as shown in FIGS.  4 ( a ) and  4 ( b ). 
     As a result, the connector body  20  with the handle body  40  attached thereto is plugged into the connector  2  of the PCB  5  by pushing the handle element  42  of the handle body  40  or pushing the connector body  20  to the connector  2 . In the embodiment of FIG.  3 ( a ) and  3 ( b ), since the upper leg portions  50  of the leg elements  44  of the handle body  40  are at about 105 degrees with reference to the lower leg portion  60 , the handle body  40  is low (and is lower than the structure shown in FIG. 1) in height and can fit in a limited small space in, for instance, a notebook computer. When unplugging the connector body  20  from the connector  2  of the PCB  5 , the handle element  42  is held by fingers and pulled in the direction opposite from the connector as shown by an arrow P in FIG.  4 ( a ). Since the bulged portions  62  of the leg elements  44  of the handle body  40  are lager in diameter than the central through holes  32  of the socket elements  30  of the connector body  20 , the bulged portions  62  are kept in contact with the (lower) end surfaces of the socket elements  30 , and the leg elements  44  of the handle body  40  are avoided from disengaging from the socket elements  30 . As a result, the connector body  20  can be removed from the PCB  5  without being damaged and without damaging the terminal  12 , the connector  2  of the PCB  5  and the cable  1 . 
     In the shown embodiments, the leg elements  44  are bent so that the upper leg portion  50  and the lower leg portion  60  are defined at about 105 degrees apart relative to each other. However, it goes without saying the leg elements  44  can be bent at any desired angle that can provide an easy holding of the handle element  42  by fingers and that keep the height of the handle body  40  low. 
     The present invention is described with reference to a notebook computer; however, it should be noted that the present invention is applicable to, for instance, desktop computers and other larger size electronic equipment than notebook computers. 
     It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments merely illustrative of but a few of the many possible specific embodiments which represent the applications of the principles of the present invention. Numerous and varied other arrangement can readily devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.