Releasing electrical connector assembly

A manually operable releasable retention arrangement in one connector housing includes a receptacle comprised of a pair of split semi-cylindrical segments each pivotally mounted to a drive shaft and adapted to threadably engage a threaded member on a second connector housing. Rotation of the drive shaft causes the segments to interengage with the threaded member whereby to hold the housings together but rearward axial movement of a forwardly biased operating sleeve circumposed about the receptacle brings an annular groove thereon into register with outward annular ribs on the segments allowing the ribs to be received in the groove and the segments to pivot relative to their mounting whereby to release the threaded member.

This invention relates to mating plug and receptacle connector housing 
members including an externally actuated lanyard release retention 
arrangement for releasing the housing members from their mated relation. 
Releasing electrical connector designs have included a pair of generally 
cylindrical plug and receptacle shells and a cylindrical operating sleeve 
which is mounted about the receptacle shell such that upon application of 
an external releasing force placed on the operating sleeve by a lanyard 
attached thereto, the operating sleeve is axially shifted which in turn 
transmits the releasing forces to a cam arrangement therewithin to produce 
a release of a retaining connection between the plug and the receptacle. 
The connection which secures the connector shells also defines the means 
for transmitting forces to release the connection. Of course manual 
rotation operates to effect mating and unmating between the connector 
shells. U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,458 issuing July 21, 1981 to Knapp "Releasing 
Electrical Connector" is a good example of such a lanyard releasable 
connector. 
In a connector which utilizes such a quick disconnect, the outer diameter 
of the connector assembly is a direct function of the plug and receptacle 
shells since the release mechanism must be accommodated around the 
assembled shells. This increase in assembly size prohibits the use in many 
applications. 
In particular, some applications require use of generally rectangular 
shaped connector housings. It would be desirable to have a connector 
assembly other than cylindrical which includes a lanyard releasable 
connection and which does not unduly increase the overall package size as 
a result of a quick release arrangement being used therewith. 
A lanyard releasable electrical connector assembly includes a pair of 
laterally elongated, generally rectangular, housing members which are 
respectively provided with terminal elements which mate with one another 
when the housing members are mated in a direction transverse to the 
lateral direction, and a releasable retention arrangement for releasing 
the connection upon application of an external force. 
The releasable retention arrangement includes one or more manually operable 
jack-screw mechanisms being supported on the housing members, each 
including a passive male member adapted to be threadably engaged by a 
segmented receptacle, an operating sleeve mounted in a through passage of 
one connector member so as to be circumposing the receptacle and adapted 
to axially slide between retaining and releasing positions, a drive member 
having rearward end portions of the segments pivotally connected thereto 
for rotating the receptacle to cause the threads to interengage, and a 
coil spring which forces the operating sleeve into the retaining position, 
external force on the operating sleeve such as by a lanyard attached 
thereto causing the receptacle segments to pivot relative to their 
connection to the drive member and pivot from engagement with the male 
member. Axially spaced shoulders from the sleeve and a flange from the 
drive member cooperate to captivate the coil spring whereby a constant 
forward spring bias is exerted on the operating sleeve during forward 
threadable engagement by the receptacle with the male member.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a first connector housing 10 
including a receptacle shell 12 mounted on an arcuate wall adjacent to a 
mounting bracket and positioned for mating by a second connector housing 
20 including a plug shell 22. While not shown the respective connector 
housing members would each carry terminal elements which mate with one 
another when the housings are mated. The plug and connector housings are 
arcuately rectangular so as to fit tight spaces such as might be defined 
against the internal wall of an airframe panel and each includes a support 
member 14, 24 at its opposite lateral ends for supporting a lanyard 
releasable retention device. 
The retention arrangement includes a passive threaded male member 16 
secured to the support member 14 on the receptacle connector adapted to be 
actively threadably engaged by a segmented receptacle disposed in the 
support member 24 on the plug connector. Although shown best in FIGS. 3 
and 4, a cylindrical operating sleeve 30 is slidably disposed in a through 
passage 25 of the plug connector and about the segmented receptacle, the 
operating sleeve having a lanyard 26 attached thereto to pull the sleeve 
from a retaining first position to a releasing second position. 
FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the releasing arrangement supported in the 
plug connector. Proceeding from right to left is shown a retaining ring 
28, the support member 24 on the plug connector with the passage 25 
therethrough, the operating sleeve 30 sized to fit within the passage, an 
axially elongated generally cylindrical shaft 44 adapted to fit within the 
sleeve, a retention collar 56 having a generally cylindrical inner wall 
which defines an aperture 58 therethrough and adapted to journal the shaft 
55 therewithin, a threaded receptacle defined by a pair of 
semi-cylindrical sleeve segments 76, and a coil spring 68 to bias the 
operating spring forwardly. While two segments are shown more could be 
used. 
The operating sleeve 30 includes a continous annular groove 34 on its inner 
wall 32 adjacent to its forward end and a pair of continous axially spaced 
annular recesses 36. The outer periphery 38 of the operating sleeve 
includes an ear 40 to which the force receiving lanyard 26 is attached and 
an annular recess 42 for receiving the retaining ring 28 for retaining the 
operating sleeve withing the passage. 
The shaft 44 includes on its outer periphery 46 an annular recess 48 and an 
angularly extending socket 50. A forward end face 52 of the shaft is 
adapted to advance toward the end face 17 on the male member. 
Each of the sleeve segments 76 has rearward end 78, a forward end 80, and 
an inner surface 82 adapted to surround the shaft 44 and provided with 
thread. The forward end includes on its outer periphery an outwardly 
extending annular rib 84 and the rearward end includes an inwardly 
extending annular rib 86, the inward annular ribs 86 defining projections 
which seat within the socket 50 on the shaft 44 to form pivot connections 
thereto and the outward annular ribs 84 defining projections which seat 
within the annular groove 34 in the operating sleeve 30. To transmit 
external torques "T" from the drive shaft to the segments 76, each segment 
includes on its outer periphery an axial keyway 88 sized to receive a key 
60 extending from the retention collar 56. 
An arrangement disposed in the operating sleeve assures that threadable 
engagement by the segmented receptacle does not diminish the bias on the 
operating sleeve. A pair of split flat disks 66, 72 are adapted to 
radially contract and expand to snap fit within within one or the other 
annular recess 36 disposed on the inner wall 32 of the operating sleeve 
whereby to provide a pair of axially spaced inwardly extending radial 
shoulders. A split flat washer 70 is adapted to radially expand contract 
to snap fit within the annular recess 48 on the axial drive shaft 44 to 
define an outwardly extending radial flange. The coil spring 68 to bias 
the operating sleeve 30 into the retaining first position and resist 
rearward movement into the releasing second position is axially elongated 
and sized such that its coils encircle the shaft and its forward and 
rearward end faces are positioned between the disks and abutting the 
retention collar 56 and washer 70. A knurled knob 74 is attachable to the 
rearward end portion of the shaft 44 to facilitate rotation of the shaft. 
The retention collar 56 is generally cylindrical and includes the aperture 
58 extending generally concentrically therethrough to clearance fit about 
the shaft 44. A pin 64 passes through a radial opening 62 in the collar to 
be received in a corresponding radial pinhole 54 in the shaft to captivate 
the collar to the shaft. A pair of arcuate keys 60 adjacent the front face 
of the collar extend radially inward from the aperture wall, the keys 
being angularly spaced by an amount substantially the same as the angular 
separation of the keyways 88 when the segments are mounted to the drive 
shaft 44 so as to be received in the keyways when the collar is mounted to 
the shaft. The keys cooperate to abut adjacent angular end faces of the 
keyways whereby to rotatably drive the segments when the shaft is rotated. 
FIG. 3 shows the connector housings 10, 20 in their mated condition with 
the segmented receptacle being screwed about the threaded male member 16. 
The end face 52 of the shaft 44 is axially spaced from the end face 17 of 
the male member. The inner wall 32 of the operating sleeve 30 abuts the 
outwardly extending annular ribs 84 of the segments 76 thus constraining 
the thread portions thereof to engage with the thread on the male member. 
The ear 40 on the operating sleeve 30 is disposed in an axial slot 21 of 
the plug connector housing to constrain the operating sleeve to undergo 
axial movement as the result of an external axial force being placed on 
the lanyard 26. 
The inwardly extending annular ribs 86 and the outwardly extending annular 
ribs 84, respectively, are generally coplanar and disposed in parallel 
planes perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft 44. The inwardly 
extending annular ribs 86 are each seated within the socket 50 on the 
shaft. 
From the start of threadable engagement between the male member and the 
segmented receptacle, the rearward annular disk 72 abuts the washer 70. 
The forward annular disk 66 abuts the retention collar 56, and the coil 
spring 68 has its rearward end face abutting the washer and its forward 
end face abutting the forward annular disk, rotation of the drive shaft 
causing the segmented receptacle to axially advance as the segments 76 
engage the male member. During this axial advance the washer 70 drives 
against the rear end face of the coil spring 68 thereby constantly biasing 
the operating sleeve 30 axially forward as the receptacle segments 76 
axially advance. The ear 40 and axial slot 21 will not allow angular 
movement of the operating sleeve. 
FIG. 4 shows the lanyard 26 having been give a sufficient external force 
"F" to overcome the forward bias of the coil spring 68 whereby to cause 
the operating sleeve 30 to be drawn axially rearward. Rearward retreat of 
the operating sleeve causes the annular groove 34 to move into register 
with the annular ribs 84 disposed around each of the segments 76 with 
rearward forces being transmitted to the socket connection thereby causing 
each segment through its inwardly extending annular ribs 86 to pivot 
relative to the socket and the thread thereon to disengage with the thread 
on the male member allowing disengagement of the connectors.