Abstract:
A connector assembly ( 100 ) adapted to be mounted onto a panel ( 8 ) includes a housing ( 1 ) having a number of keys ( 107, 108 ) on exterior surfaces thereof, a number of contacts ( 2 ) received in the housing, and a fixing pusher ( 6 ) attached to the housing along a first direction. The fixing pusher includes a finger operable main body ( 60 ) and a forwardly extending filling bar ( 61 ). The keys are adapted to pass through the panel along the first direction and engage with the panel after a movement of the housing relative to the panel along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The main body of the fixing pusher is directly pushed by a user to bring the filling bar into engagement with the panel, and thus, safely mounts the connector assembly onto the panel in a floating manner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to a connector assembly, and more particularly to a connector assembly which can be easily held for mounting on a panel in a floating manner. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Cable connector assemblies are widely used for signal or power transmission between personal computers and peripheral equipments. Such a cable connector assembly is usually needed to be mounted to a panel on which a plurality of connectors are arranged side by side to form a sub module. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,591 (U.S. Cl. 439/557, 558) discloses a panel-mounting connector with resilient retaining members latching to the panel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,233 (U.S. Cl. 439/248, 247) discloses a panel mounting connector with locking portions latching to floating retaining caps for performing the floating retention thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,215 (U.S. 439/545, 564) discloses a panel mounting connector assembled to the panel in an L-shaped moving path. 
   Hence, an improved panel mounted connector system is highly desired to obtain a convenient, easy, and reliable attachment with the panel. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a floating panel mount connector assembly having a fixing pusher which is able to be easily held and safely mounted onto a panel by hands of an user. 
   In order to achieve the object set forth, a connector assembly in accordance with the present invention is adapted to floatable mount onto a panel having a mounting opening and a plurality of fitting openings therethrough, and comprises a housing having a plurality of keys formed on an upper surface and a lower surface thereof, a plurality of conductive contacts disposed in the housing, and a fixing pusher moveable attached to the housing along the first direction. The fixing pusher comprises a finger operable main body and a forwardly extending filling bar. The keys are adapted to pass through the corresponding fitting opening of the panel from one side along a first direction and engage with an opposite side of the panel after a movement of the housing relative to the panel along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The main body of the fixing pusher is pushed by a user without any other equipment to bring the filling bar into engagement with the panel, and thus easily safely mounts the connector assembly onto the panel in a floating manner. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded, perspective view of a connector assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention and a panel; 
       FIG. 2  is a view similar to  FIG. 1 , but taken from a different aspect; 
       FIG. 3  is an assembled view of the connector assembly shown in  FIG. 1  with a fixing pusher in  FIG. 1  in a pre-seated state; 
       FIG. 4  a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along line  4 — 4 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a partially cut away sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along line  5 — 5 ; 
       FIG. 6  is an assembled, perspective view of  FIG. 1 , showing the fixing pusher in a final-seated state; 
       FIG. 7  a partially cut away sectional view of  FIG. 6  taken along line  7 — 7 ; 
       FIG. 8  is an assembled, perspective view of a connector assembly in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, with a fixing pusher in a final-seated state; 
       FIG. 9  is an exploded, perspective view of the connector assembly shown in  FIG. 8  and the panel; 
       FIG. 10  is an assembled, perspective view of  FIG. 9 , showing the fixing pusher in a final-seated state; 
       FIGS. 11 and 12  are cross-sectional views showing the fixing pusher in a pre-seated state; and 
       FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 10  taken along line  13 — 13 ; 
       FIG. 14  is a perspective view showing the housing for use with a third embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 15  is a perspective view showing the fixing pusher for use with the third embodiment of  FIG. 14 ; 
       FIG. 16  is a perspective view showing the assembled housing and fixing pusher; 
       FIG. 17  is an illustrating view showing a rotatable fixing pusher for use with a fourth embodiment of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a connector assembly  100  in accordance with the present invention, which is mounted to a panel  8  to form a floating panel mount system  200 , comprises an insulative housing  1 , a plurality of conductive contacts  2  assembled to the housing  1 , two spacers  3  assembled to the housing  1 , a printed circuit board  4 , a plurality of cables  5  electrically connected with the conductive contacts  2 , a fixing pusher  6  attached to the housing  1  and a cover  6  assembled to the insulative housing  1 . 
   The insulative housing  1  is substantially elongated and comprises a mating portion  10  forwardly extending and an arm/pier portion  12  rearwardly extending from one rear end of the mating portion  10 . The housing  1  comprises a mating face  13  at a front end of the mating portion  10  and a terminating face  14  opposite to the mating face  13 . The housing  1  also defines a front-to-back direction parallel to a mating direction of the connector assembly  100  and a longitudinal direction generally perpendicular to the front-to-back direction. The mating portion  10  comprises an upper wall  101 , an opposite lower wall  102  and a partition wall  103  extending between the upper wall  101  and the lower wall  102  in the mating direction and thus, defining two L-shaped receiving spaces  104 . The lower wall  102  defines a plurality of first passages  105  and a plurality of second passages  106  extending through the terminating face  14 . A pair of first keys  107  and a pair of second keys  108  are respectively provided on outer surfaces of the upper wall  101  and the lower wall  102 , and a distance between the pair of the first keys  107  is larger than that of the second keys  108  for polarization. A pair of guiding projections  109  outwardly extend from opposite side surfaces (not labeled) of the mating portion  10  for guiding a proper insertion of a complementary connector (not shown). The housing  1  further comprises a pair of supporting brackets  15  rearwardly extending from the terminating face  14  and bracketing rear openings (not labeled) of the second passages  106  therein. 
   The arm portion  12  of the housing  1  is composed of a flat plate  120  essentially connecting with the mating portion  10  and a leading portion  121  extending outwardly from the flat plate  120 . The flat plate  120  defines a plurality of slots  1201  in an inner surface thereof for reliably securing to the cover  7  during overmolding the cover  7  with housing  1 . The leading portion  121  comprises a pair of first protrusions  123  on opposite top and bottom surfaces thereof and a second protrusion  124  on most outer side surface thereof, and each protrusion  123 ,  124  defines a rearwardly inclined rear face  125 . The pair of first protrusions  123  locates near a rear end of the leading portion  121 . The second protrusion  124  locates near a front end of the leading portion  121 . 
   The plural contacts  2  are divided into a first set  21  and a second set  22 . The first set  21  is composed of seven contacts  2  used for transmitting signal. the second set  22  is composed of fifteen contacts  2  used for transmitting power. Each conductive contact  2  comprises a retention section  202 , a mating section  201  extending from one end of the retention section  202  with a curved mating end  200  formed at a forward end thereof, and a tail section  203  extending from the other end of the retention section  202 . Each spacer  3  is elongated and is made of insulative material. A plurality of through-holes  30  are defined through the spacers  3  corresponding to the first and second passages  105 ,  106 . 
   The printed circuit board  4  has a plurality of soldering pads  40  on one edge thereof corresponding to the contacts  2  of the second set  22 . A plurality of apertures  41  are defined near the other edge of the printed circuit board  4 . In the preferred embodiment, the cable  5  comprises a first cable  51  having a plurality of first conductors  510  and a plurality of second cables  52 . Each second cable  52  comprises a second conductor  520  in the center thereof. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–2  and in conjunction with  FIGS. 3–7 , the fixing pusher  6  is formed with a box-shaped main body  60  and a pair of filling bars  61  forwardly extending from a front end of the main body  60 . The main body  60  defines a T-shaped receiving opening  601  opened to one side near the housing  1  for moveable receiving the T-shaped leading portion  121  of the housing  1  ( FIG. 4 ). The main body  60  further provides a pair of first stopping projections  604  on each rear inner surface thereof for respectively engaging with the first protrusions  123  and a second stopping projection  605  on forward side surface thereof. Each stopping projection  604 ,  605  defines an inclined front face  606  ( FIG. 7 ). 
   The panel  8  is a rectangular board and defines a mounting opening  80  in a center thereof, and a pair of first and second fitting openings  81 ,  82  in communication with the mounting opening  81 . The first and second fitting openings  81 ,  82  are respectively in alignment with the first and second keys  107 ,  108  of the housing  1  in the front-to-back direction. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–2  in conjunction with  FIGS. 3–7 , in assembly, the contacts  2  of the first set  21  and the second set  22  are respectively inserted into the first passages  104  and the second passages  105  with the curved mating ends  200  of the mating sections  201  exposed into the receiving space  104 . The retention sections  202  interferentially fit into corresponding passages  104 ,  105  for securing the conductive contacts  2  to the insulative housing  1 . The spacers  3  are assembled to the insulative housing  1  with the tail portions  203  of the contacts  2  passing through corresponding through-holes  30  thereof. The printed circuit board  4  is embraced between the pair of supporting brackets  15  with soldering pads  40  thereon electrically connecting with the contacts  2  of the second set  22 . The first conductors  510  of the first cable  51  are respectively electrically connected with the tail sections  203  of contacts  2  of the first set  21  by conventional means. The second conductors  520  of the second cables  52  are respectively inserted into corresponding apertures  41  of the printed circuit board  4 , thereby forming an electrical connection between the second cables  52  and the contacts  2  of the second set  22 . 
   Particularly referring to  FIGS. 3–5  and  7 , the fixing pusher  6  is attached to the housing  1  along a rear-to-front direction in a pre-seated state. In this state, the leading portion  121  of the housing  1  is partially received in the receiving opening  601 , the first stopping projections  604  of the fixing pusher  6  are respectively pushed over the corresponding first protrusions  123  to lock with each other, with the second stopping projection  605  being not in contact with the second protrusion  124  ( FIG. 5 ). Thus, a rearward movement of the fixing pusher  6  is limited by the first protrusions  123  when it is in the pre-seated state. As the leading portion  121  is substantially T-shaped, the fixing pusher  6  will not rotate about an axis in the rear-to-front direction. Finally, the insulative cover  7  is molded with the inner side of the flat plate  120 , the rear end of the housing  1  and joint portions of the contacts  2  and the cables  5 , thus, the connector assembly  100  is obtained. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–7 , when the connector assembly  100  is assembled to the panel  8 , the mating portion  10  and the pair of guiding projections  109  extend through the mounting opening  80  until a front end of the arm portion  12  abuts against a rear side of the panel  8 . The first and second keys  107 ,  108  respectively pass through corresponding first and second fixing openings  81 ,  82 . The connector assembly  100  is then moved relative to the panel  8  in the longitudinal direction until keys  107 ,  108  abutting against a front side of the panel  8 . The fixing pusher  6  is further forwardly pushed until the filling bars  61  at its forward are brought into mounting opening  80  of the panel  8 , thereby mounting the connector assembly  100  onto the panel  8  in a floating manner. Further, this is a final-seated state of the fixing pusher  6  with the second stopping projection  605  thereof being pushed over the second protrusion  124  to lock with second protrusion  124 . Thereafter, a rearward movement of the fixing pusher  6  is limited by the second protrusion  124  in this state. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 8–13 , another preferable embodiment of the present invention is shown. The arm portion  11  comprises a top wall  110 , an opposite bottom wall  111  and a receiving channel  113  defined therethrough between the top wall  110  and the bottom wall  111 . Both the top wall  110  and the bottom wall  111  of the arm portion  11  define a first slot  114  at the most outer side thereof with a rear end face thereof in front of an end of the arm portion  11 . A recess  115  inwardly recessing from inner surface thereof with a forward end thereof behind a front end of the arm portion  11  and a top opened cutout  117  in communication with the recess  115 . The arm portion  11  further forms a forward portion  116  on the forward end of the recess  115  protruding toward the receiving channel  113 . 
   The fixing pusher  9  comprises a main body  90  and a filling bar  91  forwardly extending from the main body  90 . Both upper and lower surfaces of the main body  90  have a second stopper  910 , a first block  911 , a fitting block  912  and a second block  913  thereon, which are arranged in a row along the front-to-back direction. A pair of first stoppers  914  is formed at the most outer side of the main body  90 . Two spaced grooves  915  are defined through the main body  90  for providing deforming space of the second stoppers  910  and the fitting block  912  when the fixing pusher  9  is attached to the housing  1 ′. 
   Particularly referring to  FIGS. 11–13 , when the electrical connector  100  is mounted onto the panel  8 , the fixing pusher  9  is firstly assembled to the housing  1 ′ in the rear-to-front direction. The first stoppers  914  respectively interferentially slide into the first slots  114  and front ends of the second stoppers  910  respectively abut against the forward ends of the recesses  115 , thus, the fixing pusher  9  is in a first state that it cannot be rearwardly moved. Then, the housing  1 ′ is inserted into the mounting opening  80  of the panel  8  with keys  107 ,  108  thereon passing through corresponding fitting openings  81 ,  82  of the panel  8 . Thereafter, the electrical connector  100 ′ is moved relative to the panel  8  in the longitudinal direction to bring the keys  107 ,  108  into abutment against the panel  8 . Finally, the fixing pusher  9  is further pushed into engagement with the arm portion  11  of the housing  1 ′ until the filling bar  91  is brought into the mounting opening  80 . This is a second state of the fixing pusher  9  that the second stoppers  910  thereof slid over the forward portions  116  of the arm  11  and further protrude into the opened cutouts  117  with rear ends thereof stopped by the forward portion  116  for preventing a rearward movement. In this way which is essentially similar to that of the first embodiment of the present invention, the connector assembly  100 ′ is mounted onto the panel  8  in a floating manner to form the floating panel mount system  200 ′. 
   It should be noted that, since the fixing pushers  6 ,  9  are made of insulative material and configured in a box-shape, they are enable to be held and operated by hands of an user without worrying about being inadvertently injured. Of course, there is no need of an additional device used for putting the fixing pusher  6 ,  9  into engagement with the housing  1  and the panel  8 . 
     FIGS. 14–16  show a third embodiment of the invention similar to the second embodiment, wherein the arm portion  11 ′ of the housing  1 ′ has the recess  115 ′ communicating with the cutout  117 ′ and the forward portion  116 ′, and a stopper support  118 ′ at the rear end of the recess  115 ′, and wherein the fixing pusher  9 ′ has a main body  90 ′ with a stopper  910 ′, the first block  911 ′ and a fitting block  912 ′ on one surface, a fitting bar  91 ′ at a front end, a groove  915 ′ in a middle portion, and a handle  92 ′ extending outwardly in a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main body  90 ′. When the fixing pusher  9 ′ is located in a retracted (rearward) position where the fitting bar  91 ′ is not effectively located in the mounting opening  80 , the rear face of the handle  92 ′ is seated upon the stopper support  118 ′ for preventing rearward movement of the fixing pusher  9 ′ relative to the arm portion  11 ′, and the stopper  910 ′ abuts against the forward portion  116 ′ for preventing forward movement of the fixing pusher  9 ′ relative to the arm portion  11 ′; when the fixing pusher  9 ′ is located in an extended (forward) position where the fitting bar  91 ′ is effectively located in the mounting opening  80 , the stopper  910 ′ is essentially restrictively located in the cutout  117 ′. 
   It can be noted that especially in the first and third embodiments, the fixing pusher is easily accessibly operated from an exterior in a lateral direction rather than and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the arm portion, so the operation of the fixing pusher is more controllably friendly for assembling. 
   Similar to the third embodiment using an L-shaped fixing pusher  9 ′,  FIG. 17  shows an L-shaped fixing/actuating lever  9 ″ which is rotatably fixed to the arm portion (not shown) about the pivot  93 ″ wherein the cam fitting bar  91 ″ is located at a front end of the main body  90 ″ and the handle  92 ″ is located at a rear end of the main body  90 ″. The fixing/actuating lever  9 ″ with the associated arm portion of the housing (not shown) initially approaches the mounting panel  8  with the fitting bar  91 ″ somewhat invading the mounting opening  82  and with the main body  90 ″ in an oblique manner (as shown in the solid lines), and successively rotates to have the main body  90 ″ essentially parallel to the housing (as shown in the dashed lines) so as to have the cam fitting bar  91 ″ push away the panel  8 , rendering a reaction force resulting in the movement of the whole connector housing in a longitudinal direction of the mounting opening along the shown arrow. 
   Under this situation, the fixing/actuating lever  9 ′ performs not only the fixing function as provided by the foregoing first, second and third embodiments, but also the actuating function to move the whole connector housing in a longitudinal direction of the mounting opening for offsetting the keys and the fixing openings in the front-to-back direction. In other words, in the first, second and third embodiments the L-shaped moving path of the housing (including the forward and lateral movements) is finished before the fixing pusher is moved; differently, in the fourth embodiment only the forward movement of such an L-shaped movement path is required to be finished before the fixing/actuating lever is operated because the fixing/actuating lever results in the lateral movement of such an L-shaped movement path. Understandably, this pivotal arrangement and the associated advantage are essentially derived from the lateral accessibility/operability of the fixing pusher. 
   It is also noted that referring to  FIG. 13 , in the second embodiment the second stopper  910  can be depressed downward through the cutout  117  from the exterior for disengagement from the cutout  17 , rendering backward movement of the fixing pusher  9  for easily releasing the connector  100 ′ from the panel  8 . This easy accessibility and operation makes it convenient to assembly or disassemble the connector  100 ′ with regard to the panel  8 . 
   It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.