Abstract:
In an anti-decoupling structure for a USB connector, a hooking device is mounted on a terminal base. A control plate is extended from the hooking device. A hidden lock is mounted behind the control plate. The terminal base, the hidden lock and the hooking device are packaged by the outer shell to form a unity, whereby the USB connectors are protected from being decoupled by using the hooking device. Besides, the hooking device is locked or unlocked by controlling the hidden lock to protect the USB connectors from being stolen.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to an anti-decoupling structure to protect USB connectors from being decoupled by pull and drag, and more particularly to an anti-decoupling structure applicable for all kinds of wire, connector, conversion connector, conversion wire, connector of related apparatus, or the like. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The USB (Universal Serial Bus) connectors are currently very popular. Referring to  FIG. 7 , the USB connectors are easy to use. However, when a need exists in coupling a male plug B with a female socket A, an outer frame B 2  of a terminal base (not shown) of the male plug B is hooked and confined merely by an outer frame A 2  of a terminal base A 1  of the female socket A so as to contact these two terminal bases with each other for transmitting signal. 
   The coupled USB connectors are able to provide good signal transmission. However, the coupled USB connectors, which are provided with no anti-decoupling structure, may be decoupled easily by inadvertent pull and drag, causing negative influence on signal transmission. 
   Whereas the foregoing description, the present inventor makes diligent studies in providing the consumers with an anti-decoupling structure to protect the USB connectors from being decoupled by pull and drag, thereby preventing the signal transmission from being affected. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a main object of the present invention to provide an anti-decoupling structure to protect USB connectors from being decoupled by external force to further prevent the signal transmission from being affected. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide an anti-decoupling structure with a hidden lock. 
   In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, a hooking device is mounted on a terminal base. A control plate is extended from the hooking device. A hidden lock is mounted behind the control plate. The terminal base, the hidden lock and the hooking device are packaged by the outer shell to form a unity. Besides, the hooking device is locked or unlocked by controlling the hidden lock to avoid stealing. 
   The aforementioned objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily clarified in the description of the preferred embodiments and the enclosed drawings of the present invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a three-dimensional view showing a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view showing the components of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a three-dimensional view showing the hooking device attached to the terminal base. 
       FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  are cross-sectional views showing the assembly process of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a three-dimensional view showing a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a three-dimensional view showing the conventional USB connectors. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring simultaneously to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the present invention is applied to a USB connector mounted on a connecting wire or a portable disk. For the purpose of explanation, the USB connector is mounted on a MP3 device according to this preferred embodiment. The USB connector of this MP3 device comprises a terminal base  1  on which several contact terminals are mounted, a hooking device  2  and an outer shell  3 . Besides, a notch  10  is formed on an upper middle section of the terminal base  1 . Three rectangular through trenches  101 ,  102  and  103  are formed on both sides and the center of the notch  10 , respectively. In addition, a shaft hole  105 , which penetrates through the bottom of the notch  10 , is formed on a middle section of the bottom of the terminal base  1 . A trench  104  is formed on the terminal base  1  behind the notch  10 . Besides, a notch  106  is formed on a lateral rearward of the terminal base  1 . A through hole, which penetrates through the trench  104  perpendicularly, is formed on the bottom of the notch  106 . A rod  251  is extended from the bottom of the press-button  25  for insertion into the notch  106 , and a spring  26  is sleeved onto the rod  251 . 
   The hooking device  2  comprises a hooking plate  20 , a spring  21 , a control plate  22  and a shaft  23 , wherein the hooking plate  20  is a reverse U-shaped frame having an upward bended connection plate  201  on a center section for insertion into a through hole  221  formed on one end of the control plate  22 . Besides, a bended part  222  is formed on the other end of the control plate  22 . Two hooked rods  202 , each having a downward hook, are protrudent forward from both lateral walls of the reverse U-shaped frame, respectively. Besides, two shaft holes  203  are formed oppositely on the respective lateral walls of the reverse U-shaped frame for insertion of the shaft  23 . The spring  21  is a long arc-shaped spring with an included angle. 
   The outer shell  3  is fitted for the terminal base  1 , and two through holes  31  are formed oppositely on both top and bottom surfaces of the outer shell  3 . Besides, two extension trenches  311  are formed adjacent to the respective inner edges of the through holes  31 , which are formed on the bottom of the outer shell  3 . A notch  30  is formed properly on a rearward of a top surface of the shell  3 , and another notch  32  is formed beside the notch  30 . 
   In the assembly process, the spring  21  and the hooking plate  20  are inserted into the notch  10  from the top of the terminal base  1  such that the spring  21  is located inside the through trench  103  and that the lateral walls and the hooked rods  202  of the hooking plate  20  are inserted into the through trenches  101  and  102 , respectively. Besides, the shaft  23  is inserted into the shaft hole  105  of the terminal base  1  for pivotally coupling the hooking plate  20  with the notch  10  of the terminal base  1 . Besides, the connection plate  201  of the hooking plate  20  is inserted into the through hole  221  formed on a front end of the control plate  22  such that a rear end of the control plate  22  is located in the trench  104  of the terminal base  1 . Finally, the terminal base  1  and the hooking device  2  are packaged by the outer shell  3  in a manner that the notches  30  and  32  of the outer shell  3  are located to aim at the trench  104  and notch  106  of the terminal base  1  for completing the assembly of the present invention. 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , the spring  21  is confined between the outer shell  3  and the hooking plate  20 . In a normal condition, the spring  21  is against the rearward of the connection plate of the hooking plate  20  so that the hooked rods  202  of the hooking plate  20  are extended to the outside of the through holes  31  and the extension trenches  311  as a result of the pivotal connection between the shaft  23  and the hooking plate  20 . Accordingly, when the USB connector of the present invention couples with another corresponding USB connector, the hooked rods  202  are able to hook the corresponding through holes of this corresponding USB connector for positioning them. Furthermore, if the coupled USB connectors are pulled and dragged inadvertently, the USB connectors will not be decoupled since the corresponding through holes are hooked tightly by the hooked rods  202 . 
   Moreover, after the press-button  25  is pressed, the rod  251  located on the bottom of the press-button  25  is inserted into the trench  104  to prevent backward movement of the control plate  22 , thereby avoiding inward movement of the hooked rods  202 , which are located on both sides of the hooking plate  20 , to protect the USB connectors from being decoupled. As a result, the MP3 device will not be stolen easily by a bad person. 
   If a need exists in detaching these two USB connectors, the press-button  25  is released first to retrieve the position of the rod  251  and to prevent it from insertion into the trench  104 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , at this moment, a backward force may be applied to the bended part  222  of the control plate  22  to allow the movement of the control plate  2  in the trench  104  and the notch  30 . The connection plate  201  is driven by the movement of the control plate  22  to rotate the hooking plate  20  since the hooking plate  20  is pivotally fixed by the shaft  23 , such that the hooked rods  202  can be lifted upward to be embedded into the terminal base  1 . As a result, the corresponding through holes are not hooked by the hooked rods  202 . Accordingly, these two USB connectors can be separated easily by applying respective backward forces to them. 
   As shown in  FIG. 6 , a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The MP3 connector comprises a terminal base  1  having several contact terminals mounted thereon, a hooking device  2  and an outer shell  3 . Besides, a notch  10  is formed on an upper middle section of the terminal base  1 . Three rectangular through trenches  101 ,  102  and  103  are formed on both sides and the center of the notch  10 , respectively. In addition, a shaft hole  105 , which penetrates through the bottom of the notch  10 , is formed on a middle section of the bottom of the terminal base  1 . Besides, a notch  106  is formed on the terminal base  1  beside the notch  10 . A through hole, which penetrates through the notch  10  perpendicularly, is formed on the bottom of the notch  106 . A press-button  25  having a rod  251  extending from the bottom thereof is inserted into the notch  106 , and a spring  26  is sleeved onto the rod  251 . 
   The hooking device  2  comprises a hooking plate  20 , a spring  21  and a shaft  23 , wherein the hooking plate  20  is a reverse U-shaped frame having a press-button  204  protrudent from a rearward of a center section thereof. A positioning hole  205  is formed on the press-button  204 . Two hooked rods  202 , each having a downward hook, are protrudent forward from both lateral walls of the reverse U-shaped frame, respectively. Besides, two shaft holes  203  are formed oppositely on the respective lateral walls of the reverse U-shaped frame for insertion of the shaft  23 . The spring  21  is a long arc-shaped spring with an included angle. 
   The outer shell  3  is fitted for the terminal base  1 , and two through holes  31  are formed oppositely on both top and bottom surfaces of the outer shell  3 . Besides, two extension trenches  311  are formed adjacent to the respective inner edges of the through holes  31 , which are formed on the bottom of the outer shell  3 . Besides, a through hole  33  and a notch  32  are formed correspondingly on the outer shell  3 . 
   In the assembly process, the spring  21  and the hooking plate  20  are inserted into the notch  10  from the top of the terminal base  1  such that the spring  21  is located inside the through trench  103  and that the lateral walls and the hooked rods  202  of the hooking plate  20  are inserted into the through trenches  101  and  102 , respectively. Besides, the shaft  23  is inserted into the shaft hole  105  of the terminal base  1  for pivotally coupling the hooking plate  20  with the notch  10  of the terminal base  1 . As are result, the positioning hole  205  of the press-button  204  of the hooking plate is located to face the press-button  25  directly. Finally, the terminal base  1  and the hooking device  2  are packaged by the outer shell  3  in a manner that the through hole  33  and the notch  32  of the outer shell  3  are located to aim at the press-button  204  of the hooking plate  20  and the notch  106  of the terminal base  1 . Consequently, the MP3 connector is prevent from being decoupled by controlling the insertion of the press-button  25 , which further controls the insertion of the press-button  204 . 
   In accordance with the foregoing description, it is apparent that the present invention provides the following practical advantages, wherein: 
   1. the coupled USB connectors will not be decoupled or separated easily by using the hooking device to hook the corresponding USB connector, 
   2. the hooking plate is rotated by pulling back the control plate such that the hooked rods of the hooking plate are shrunk inward in a seesaw manner to facilitate the separation of the USB connectors, and 
   3. the extension rod, which is extended from the bottom of the press-button, can be inserted into the trench of the terminal base by pressing the press-button, and the hooking abilities of the hooked rods located on both sides of the hooking plate can be controlled precisely to effectively protect the apparatus on which the USB connector is mounted from being stolen. 
   In summary, the present invention indeed achieves the expected objects by disclosing the anti-decoupling structure, which is provided with positioning ability and is able to protect USB connectors from being stolen or decoupled easily. Accordingly, the present invention satisfies the requirement for patentability and is therefore submitted for a patent. 
   While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiment of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments, which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.