Abstract:
An electrical connector ( 100 ) adapted for mating with a complementary connector ( 6 ), includes an insulative housing ( 1 ) defining a number of channels ( 12 ) and grooves ( 15 ), a number of terminals ( 2 ) received in the channels, a pair of locking/unlocking means ( 3 ) retained in the grooves, a latch cooperating with locking/unlocking means for engaging/disengaging with the complementary connector and a metal shell ( 5 ). The locking/unlocking means includes a spring ( 32 ), a moveable member ( 30 ) defining a guiding slot ( 300 ) and a guiding pole ( 31 ) slidable in the guiding slot by exerting twice push operations, the complementary connector can be engaged with and disengaged from the connector due to displacement of the guiding pole in the guiding slot.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to a USB connector with locking/unlocking means for detachably mating with a complementary connector. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   A conventional USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector for mating with a mating connector is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,432. The USB connector  10  comprises a jack  15  mating with a plug  40 . The jack  15  comprises a shield shell  16  and a plurality of jack terminals  35  mounted in the shield shell  16 . The plug  40  includes a shield case  41  and a plurality of plug terminals fitted into the shield shell  16  for electrically connecting with the jack terminals  35 . The shield shell comprises an upper wall  16   a , a tongue piece  18  protruding downwardly from the upper wall  16   a , and a pair of contact portions  19  symmetrically formed on both sides of the tongue piece  18 . A U-shaped groove  20  is defined by punching along a ridge line of each contact portion  19  between the contact portion  19  and the upper wall  16   a . The shield case  41  has a depression  45  defined on an upper surface thereof for receiving the tongue piece  18 . A pair of claws  51  protrude upwardly from the upper surface of the shield case  41  for engaging with the grooves  20  when the plug  40  is inserted into the jack  15 . 
   The plug  40  would be firmly fitted in the jack  15  due to the engagement among the tongue piece  18  and the depression  45 , the claws  51  and the grooves  20 . However, there is no locking/unlocking means, and the claws  51  of the plug  40  could not be depressed downwardly to escape from the grooves  20  easily, therefore, the plug  40  is hard to be pulled out from the jack  15 . The structure is easy to be damaged when an excessive force is exerted thereon for pulling the plug  40  out of the jack  15 . 
   With development of a digital camera or the likes in which a USB connector is always employed, an improved USB connector is appeared. The connector has a longer mating portion compared to the conventional connector and thus, it is much harder to pull a complementary connector out due to the long length of the mating portion thereof. 
   Hence, an improved USB connector having a locking/unlocking means is required to overcome the disadvantages of the related art. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A primary object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with locking/unlocking means to reduce an exerted force during the process of pulling out the mating connector. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with a means locking the mated connectors securely and releasing the mated connectors easily. 
   To achieve the aforementioned objects, an electrical connector adaptable for mating with a mating connector corresponding to the present invention comprises an insulative housing defining a plurality of channels and grooves, a plurality of terminals received in the channels, a pair of locking/unlocking means retained in the grooves, a shell and a latch cooperating with locking/unlocking means for engaging/disengaging with the mating connector. The locking means comprises a spring, a moveable member defining a guiding slot and a guiding pole slidable in the guiding slot to permit a movement of the moveable member between a forward position and a rear position. 
   The mating connector would be locked or disengaged freely by sliding movement of the guiding pole. It is available to make the exerted force greatly reduced via the locking/unlocking means when the mating connector is inserted into or disengaged from the connector under twice push operations. The structure is thus more strengthened and could be used for certain a long time. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical connector according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the electrical connector; 
       FIG. 3  is another exploded view of the electrical connector; 
       FIG. 4  is a partially exploded view of the electrical connector; 
       FIG. 5  is another partially exploded view of the electrical connector; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the electrical connector with a mating connector being partially inserted in; and 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the electrical connector with a metal shell being removed when the mating connector is completely inserted in but hasn&#39;t been locked. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–3 , an electrical connector  100  in accordance with the present invention, which is a USB connector in this exemplary embodiment, comprises an insulative housing  1 , a plurality of terminals  2 , a pair of locking/unlocking means  3  or a push-push means, a latch  4  and a metal shell  5 . 
   The insulative housing  1  comprises a body portion  10  and a rectangular nose portion  11  extending forwardly from the body portion  10 . The body portion  10  comprises a top face  101 , an opposite bottom face  102 , a pair of upper flanges  16   a  protruding laterally from opposite sides of the top face  101 , and a pair of lower flanges  16   b  extending laterally from opposite sides of the bottom face  102 . The body portion  10  also has a pair of grooves  15  defined between corresponding upper and lower flanges  16   a ,  16   b  for retaining the locking/unlocking means  3 . The grooves  15  extend in a longitudinal direction throughout a front surface to a rear surface (not labeled) of the body portion  10 . Each lower flange  16   b  has an L-shaped recess  17  defined at a rear end thereof. The body portion  10  defines a rectangular indentation  14  in a centre of the top face  101  thereof. The body portion  10  defines therein a plurality of passageways  13  extending parallel to the grooves  15 . The body portion  10  has a pair of posts  18  extending downwardly from the bottom face  102  thereof for guiding the connector  100  to be securely mounted on a PCB (not shown). The nose portion  11  has a plurality of channels  12  defined at a lower surface thereof and communicating with the passageways  13  respectively. 
   Each terminal  2  has a V-shaped contacting portion  21  for contacting with a mating connector  6 , an L-shaped soldering portion  23  used to be soldered onto the PCB, and a connection portion  22  connecting the contacting portion  21  and the soldering portion  23  together. 
   Each locking/unlocking means  3  comprises a moveable member  30  defining a guiding slot  300 , a Z-shaped guiding pole  31  capable of sliding in the guiding slot  300 , and a spring  32  mounted on the moveable member  30 . The moveable member  30  comprises a body portion  30   a  and a front portion  30   b  extending forwardly from the body portion  30   a . The guiding slot  300  is defined at an outer surface of the body portion  30   a  and is configured like a lying “Y”. Referring to  FIG. 4 , specifically two ends extending forwardly are defined as points b, d. Another end extending rearwardly is defined as point a. A point c is defined beside the point d. Turn back to  FIGS. 1–3 , each body portion  30   a  has a receiving hole  301  defined in an inner surface opposite to the guiding slot  300  for receiving the spring  32 . A pair of protrusions  302  project outwardly from a top surface and a bottom surfaces of each body portion  30   a . The front portion  30   b  has a slit  303  defined on a top surface thereof in a longitudinal direction. The Z-shaped guiding pole  31  has a L-shaped hook  310  capable of sliding in the guiding slot  300 , with an opposite end fixed in the recess  17 . 
   The latch  4  comprises a pair of inserting portions  41  extending downwardly from two opposite sides thereof, and a pair of elastic arms  42 . Each elastic arm  42  extends at an acute angle with respect to an inserting direction of the mating connector  6 . A claw  43  for clasping the mating connector  6  is formed at a free end of each elastic arm  42 . 
   The metal shell  5  enclosing the insulative housing  1  is formed as a substantially rectangular case. The metal shell  5  comprises a top wall  52 , a pair of periphery walls  53 , and a bottom wall  54  opposite to the top wall  52 . The walls  52 ,  53 ,  54  are connected together to thereby define an opening  51  for retaining the mating connector  6 . The metal shell  5  has a pair of periphery beams  55  extending downwardly from a rear portion of two opposite side edges of the top wall  52 . The periphery beams  55  and the periphery walls  53  are arranged parallel to each other, but are not located on a same plane. The metal shell  5  has a pair of rectangular apertures  521  corresponding to the elastic arms  42  defined at the top wall  52 . A tab  522  is formed at the rear potion of the top wall  52  for engaging with the indentation  14 . The pair of periphery beams  55  are respectively provided with a clip  551  for resisting against the guiding pole  31 . The bottom wall  54  has an elastic blade  541  projecting inwardly and rearwardly from a rear edge thereof. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2–5 , in assembly, the plurality of terminals  2  are inserted into the corresponding passageways  13 , with the contacting portions  21  thereof being received in the corresponding channels  12  and the soldering portions  23  being exposed outside the insulative housing  1 . The springs  32  are mounted in the corresponding receiving holes  301 . The moveable members  30  together with the springs  32  are inserted into the corresponding grooves  15  from a rear of the body portion  10 , with the protrusions  302  thereof being retained between the nose portion  11  and the corresponding flanges  16 . The opposed inner surfaces of the flanges  16  are comfortably engaged by the top and bottom surfaces of the moveable member  30 . The guiding poles  31  are inserted into the corresponding recesses  17 , with the hooks  310  thereof moveably retained in the guiding slots  300 . The latch  4  is mounted on the insulative housing  1 , with the inserting portions  41  thereof being inserted into the corresponding slits  303  of the locking/unlocking means  3 . The metal shell  5  is assembled around the insulative housing  2 , with the tab  522  and the elastic blade  541  thereof respectively resisting against the indentation  14  and the bottom of the insulative housing  1  to thereby fasten the insulative housing  1  in the opening  51 . Each guiding poles  31  is resisted against by the corresponding clip  551  for preventing itself excursing off the guiding slot  300  during the process of sliding along the guiding slot  300 . The elastic arms  42  extend outwardly through the corresponding apertures  521 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4–7  together with the  FIG. 1 , in a normal state, each moveable member  30  is located at the front portion of the corresponding groove  15 , the hook  310  of the guiding pole  31  is positioned at the point a. 
   When the mating connector  6  is inserted into the connector  100  from the opening  51 , the pair of locking/unlocking means  3  are pushed backwards by the mating connector  6 . The hooks  310  slide forwardly along the guiding slot  300  from the point a toward the point b. At the same time, due to the engagement between the inserting portions  41  and the slits  303 , the latch  4  would be obliged to move rearwardly together with the moveable members  30 . The elastic arms  42  of the latch  4  are resiliently depressed downwardly by the top wall  52  of the metal shell  5  with the claws  43  thereof clasping the mating connector  6 . The elastic arms  42  latch with the mating connector  6  finally when the mating connector  6  is substantially engaged with the electrical connector  100 . When the mating connector  6  is completely inserted in, each moveable member  30  moves to the rear portion of the groove  15  and the guiding pole  31  is driven to the point b. Due to an elastic force of the compressed spring  32 , when no external force is exerted on the mating connector  6 , the hooks  310  slide rearwardly from the point b toward the point c freely and fixed at the point c finally. The elastic arms  42  are depressed to the lowest position in a state of clasping the mating connector  6  firmly. The mating connector  6  locks with the electrical connector  100 . 
   When the mating connector  6  needs to release from the electrical connector  100 , an external force can be exerted on the mating connector  6  to push the mating connector  6  to move a distance along the insertion direction. Once the hook  310  slides in the guiding slot  300  from the point c and arrives at the point d, the external force can be removed, and then, the hook  310  slides from the point d to the point a due to the elastic force of the spring  32 . The latch  4  moves with the locking/unlocking means  3 . The elastic arms  42  release from the mating connector  6  when the latch  4  moves till the arms  42  are exposed out of the metal shell  5  from the apertures  521 . 
   It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not be limited to the details given herein.