Data connector locking mechanism

Abstract: A hermaphroditic data connector has latching members (8,10) integrally connected to a connector body (4) via a molded web (12) of material thereby forming a hinge for the latching members (8,10). The forward end of the latching members (8,10) include latching mechanisms (14,16) thereon for mated interconnection with a like connector. A locking mechanism (20) is insertable over the latching mechanisms (14,16) to lock the latching members (8,10) in place. The locking mechanism (20) includes side walls (24,26) which flank side edges of the latching members (8,10) and an upper wall (22) which extends over the latching members (8,10). The locking mechanism (20) further includes bars (28) extending integrally from the side walls (24,26) of the locking member (20), and are positioned intermediate the latching members (8,10) and the connector housing (4). The locking mechanism (20) is movable between locked and unlocked positions.

Description: The invention relates to electrical connectors for use in terminating shielded multiconductor cables and more specifically to a data connector having a locking mechanism for locking the data connector in a latched configuration. U.S. Patent No. RE32,760 discloses a local area network connector specifically intended for use in the data communications industry. These connectors can be employed in a closed loop data communications link in which various equipment, such as computer terminals, can be interconnected in a system. These connectors are specifically adapted for use in interconnecting numerous micro- or mini-computers in a computer network in an office environment. Connectors of this type have standard interface dimensions and configurations. There exists within the industry, a need for retaining such electrical connectors in a latched configuration with other electrical connectors when connected. In particular, the connectors need to be held in a latched configuration with electrical connectors mounted in a patch panel, so-called panel mounted connectors, where a plurality of electrical connectors are positioned in a common panel for cross connect between various locations. In the connector assembly shown in U.S. Patent RE32,760, a discrete locking member is available which is movable laterally between the latching arms and the top of the housing, filling the void between the latching arms and the housing on both sides of the integral web forming the hinge, thereby preventing the pivotal movement of the latching arms while the locking member is in place. Another embodiment of locking mechanism is shown in U.S. Patent 4,711,511 wherein each latching mechanism includes a locking bar between the pivotal latching arm and the housing, and wherein each locking bar is longitudinally movable to perform a wedgelike function thereby preventing the pivotal movement of the latching arms when the locking bars are in the fully forward position. The present invention consists in an electrical connector comprising an insulative housing having a mating face and a wire receiving face, latching members integral with opposite side surfaces of said housing via molded webs of material medially positioned between opposite ends of said latching members thereby forming hinges for said latching members, one end of each of said latching members having a latching mechanism thereon for mating with a complementary electrical connector, and the opposite end being free to move upwardly and downwardly during pivoting of said latching member, and a locking latch slidably receivable over each of said latching members, said locking latch comprising two opposite sidewalls having an upper wall spanning therebetween, rear rod means extending between the sidewalls and a pair of front bars extending from the sidewalls and facing each other in spaced apart relation, said rod means and said bars being located in the same plane which is generally parallel to a plane extending through the upper wall, the locking latch being positioned on the latching member with the upper wall positioned above said latching member and with the bars positioned forwardly of said hinge, and the locking latch being movable longitudinally between a position where said bars abut the hinge and a position where said rod means abuts the hinge. Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of an electrical data connector showing one of the locking members exploded from the rear thereof. FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the locking member shown in Figure 1. FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view through lines 3-3 of Figure 2. FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view showing the locking mechanism in cross-section installed on the data connector. FIGURE 5A shows the locking member in a position allowing the latching members to be pivoted towards the data connector for insertion in a panel opening. FIGURE 5B is a view similar to that of Figure 5A showing the data connector inserted in the panel opening and the locking mechanism in a position preventing the disconnection of the data connector from the panel. FIGURE 6A shows a mating data connector poised for receipt within the data connector positioned in the panel with the locking mechanism in a position allowing the latch members to be pivoted outwardly for receipt within the mating data connector. FIGURE 6B shows the two data connectors in mated engagement with the locking mechanism in a position preventing the disconnection of the two connectors. FIGURE 7 is a front isometric view of a second embodiment of locking latch. FIGURE 8 is a lower isometric view of the second embodiment of Figure 7. FIGURE 9A is a cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 5A showing the second embodiment locking latch. FIGURE 9B is a cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 5B showing the second embodiment locking latch. With reference first to Figure 1, a data connector is shown generally at 2 which is of the type generally shown in U.S. Patent RE 32,760. The data connector includes a central body portion 4 having a plurality of electrical contacts 6 adjacent to a front mating face where the contacts 6 are reversely bent for interconnection with like contacts in a corresponding hermaphroditic connector. Connector 2 includes an upper latch member 8 and a lower latch member 10 where each of the latch members 8 and 10 are pivotal relative to the central body portion 4 by means of an integral web of material 12 (Figure 4) thereby forming a hinge. The latch member 8 includes a C-shaped slot 14 whereas the latch member 10 includes a T-shaped bar 16 where the C-slot 14 is adapted to receive a T-bar 16 of a corresponding connector when the front face of the corresponding hermaphroditic connector is rotated 180° about a longitudinal axis. As shown now in Figure 1, the data connector further comprises a locking latch shown generally at 20 comprising an upper wall portion 22 profiled to span the latch members 8 and 10 of the data connector, and side wall portions 24 and 26 adapted to flank side edges of the latch members 8 and 10. The locking latch 20 includes two locking bars 28 extending from the side walls 24 and 26 where the bars extend only part way between the two side walls, the two bars 28 being spaced apart a distance less than the width of the hinge 12. The bars 28 include, at the forward sides of their ends, ramped surfaces 30 in order that the locking latch 20 can be moved forwardly to a position where the ramps 30 contact the outer edges of the hinge 12 thereby flexing the side walls 24,26 outwardly to a position where the bars 28 pass the hinge 12 and thereafter resiliently snap back to a position where the bars 28 are longitudinally beyond the hinge 12. As shown best in Figure 2, the locking latch 20 further comprises a lower surface 40 for bearing engagement against an upper surface of either the latch member 8 or 10 as will be described in greater detail herein. The locking latch 20 also comprises a cylindrical rod 34 extending continuously between the opposite side walls 24 and 26. With reference now to Figure 3, the upper wall 22 includes a forward detent 36 and a rearward detent 38 extending downwardly from the lower surface 40 of the upper wall 22. The detents 36 and 38 cooperate with the transverse recesses or grooves 42 and 44 in the upper surface of the latching members 8, 10 (Figure 1). With reference now to Figure 4, as positioned on either the latch member 8 or 10, the locking latch 20 has its lower surface 40 adjacent to an upper surface 46 of the latch member 10 and adjacent to surface 48 of latch member 8. Both the bars 28 and the rod 34 are positioned intermediate lower surface 50 of the latch member 10 and the upper surface 52 of the central body portion, whereas the opposite locking latch 20 is positioned intermediate lower surface 54 of the latch member 8 and between surface 56 of the central body portion. With reference now to Figure 5A, the locking latches 20 are movable to their rearwardmost position where the bars 28 abut the hinge 12. In this position, the latching members 8, 10 and the locking latches 20 are pivotal together about the hinge 12, the bars 28 of the locking latch 20 having a radiused surface 59 allowing the bars 28 to pivot against the housing. The latching members 8, 10 pivot to a position where the locking shoulders 60 and 62 on the latch members 10 and 8, respectively, clear an opening 64, such that the connector is insertable through the opening 64 of the panel 66. The connector 2 is insertable into the opening 64 to a position where side edges 68 of the central body portion abut a side edge 70 of the opening 64. At this position, the latch members 8 and 10 can be released whereby the latching shoulders 60 and 62 resiliently spring back to their normal position and abut the front surface of the panel 66. With reference now to Figure 5B, the locking latch 20 is now movable forwardly to a position where the rod 34 abuts the back side of the hinge 12 thereby placing the bars 28 forwardly of the hinge 12. The bars 28 thereby prevent downward movement of the latch members 8 and 10 preventing disconnection of the connector 2 from the panel 66. With reference now to Figure 6A, the data connector 2 is shown in the locked configuration within the panel 66 and poised for receiving an identical data connector 2′. With the locking latch 20′ fully forward such that the cylindrical rod 34′ abuts the hinges 12′, the latches 8′ and 10′, and the locking latches 20′, are pivotal about the hinges 12′ to position the T-bar 16′ in registration with the corresponding C-slot 14 and the C-slot 14′ in registration with the T-bar 16 for mating interconnection. As shown in Figure 6B, when the two data connectors 2 and 2′ are fully mated, the locking latch 20′ is movable to its rearwardmost position where the bars 28′ abut the hinge 12′ thereby preventing disconnection of the connector 2′ from the connector 2. With reference now to Figure 7, a second embodiment of locking latch is shown at 120 comprising an upper wall 122 extending between two sidewalls 124 and 126. Two wedge-like bars 128 extend inwardly from the sidewalls and have inner beveled edges 130 to assist in the insertion of the latch over the hinge 12. The bars 128 also have cantilevered locking arms 131, which will be described in greater detail herein. With reference now to Figure 8, the lower isometric view shows the underside structure of the locking latch 120. The rear rod 134 is discontinuous, thereby adding greater flexibility to the sidewalls 124,126 during the insertion of the locking latch over the hinge. In a similar nature to the locking latch 20, the locking latch 120 includes detents 136 and 138 having an identical function as the detents 36 and 38 of the locking latch 20. As shown in Figure 9A, with the locking latch 120 pulled all the way back, the latches 8, 10 are pivotal about the hinge as the cantilevered locking arms have tapered surfaces 139 (Figure 8) allowing the cantilevered arms 131 to fit within the void created between surfaces 50,52 of the latch 10, and between the void created between the surfaces 54,56 of the latch arm 8. When the locking latch is positioned all the way forward however, (Figure 9B) the cantilevered arms extend forwardly of the sidewalls 124,126 and help to support the forward ends of the latch arms 8,10, preventing the inward pivoting of the latch arms 8,10.

Claims: An electrical connector comprising an insulative housing (4) having a mating face and a wire receiving face, latching members (8,10) integral with opposite side surfaces of said housing via molded webs of material medially positioned between opposite ends of said latching members (8,10) thereby forming hinges (12) for said latching members, one end of each of said latching members having a latching mechanism (14,16) thereon for mating with a complementary electrical connector, and the opposite end being free to move upwardly and downwardly during pivoting of said latching member (8,10), and a locking latch (20,120) slidably receivable over each of said latching members (8,10), said locking latch comprising two opposite sidewalls (24,26;124,126) having an upper wall (22,122) spanning therebetween, rear rod means (34,134) extending between the sidewalls and a pair of front bars (28,128) extending from the sidewalls (24,26) and facing each other in spaced apart relation, said rod means (34,134) and said bars (28,128) being located in the same plane which is generally parallel to a plane extending through the upper wall (22,122), the locking latch being positioned on the latching member (8,10) with the upper wall (22,122) positioned above said latching member (8,10) and with the bars (28,128) positioned forwardly of said hinge (12), and the locking latch being movable longitudinally between a position where said bars abut the hinge (12) and a position where said rod means (34) abuts the hinge (12). The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the front bars (28,128) have a spacing therebetween less than the width of the hinge (12), and the sidewalls (24,26;124,126) are resiliently flexible to allow the bars (28,128) to pass beyond the hinge. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the bars (28,128) have ramped lead in surfaces (30,130) on their facing ends, positioned to engage the hinge (12) upon positioning of the locking latch. The electrical connector of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the latching members (8,10) having transverse grooves (42,44) in upper surfaces. The electrical connector of claim 4, wherein the upper wall (22,122) of the locking latch (20,120) includes detents (36,38;136,138) on a lower surface (40) thereof for engagement with at least one of the grooves (42,44). The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein a forward detent (36,136) engages a forward groove (42) when the locking latch (20) is in the fully forward position. The electrical connector of any preceding claim, wherein the rear rod means comprises a cylindrical rod (34) extending continuously between the sidewalls (24,26).

Inventors: PITTS TERRY LEE, PITTS, TERRY LEE
Applicants: WHITAKER CORP, THE WHITAKER CORPORATION
Application year: 1991
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13