Patent Publication Number: US-10790606-B2

Title: Plug connector for easy locking and unlocking

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a connector technology, and more particularly to a plug connector for easy locking and unlocking. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Locking devices are usually disposed on a plug connector and a socket connector, which can be engaged together, to prevent them from loosening due to external forces after docking, thereby ensuring the reliability and safety of mechanical connection between them. 
     A common locking way is to set a lock head on the plug connector. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 , an RJ45 plug  9  for computer networks disposes a lock head  90 . When the RJ45 plug  9  is inserted into an RJ45 socket  8 , first the lock head  90  is pressed downward, then the plug  9  enters into the socket  8 , and the lock head  90  is engaged with a block  80  in the socket  8 , thereby locking the plug  9  and the socket  8  together. When needing to unlock them, first the lock head  90  is pressed downward again, and is detached from the block  80 , thereby unlocking the plug  9  and the socket  8 . 
     However, there are many shortcomings in this locking and unlocking way. For example, the lock head  90  can cause too much insertion force of the plug  9 . When unlocking, because of the difficulty in pressing the lock head  90 , it is even necessary to use an auxiliary tool for pressing the lock head  90  in place. So the existing unlocking operation is difficult. 
     Hence, it is necessary to provide a new plug connector that adopts a new unlocking way to solve the problem existing in the prior art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide a plug connector for each locking and unlocking, which is safe, effective and convenient to lock and unlock. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be further understood from the technical features disclosed by the present invention. 
     To achieve the aforementioned object or other objects of the present invention, the present invention adopts the following technical solution. 
     The present invention provides a plug connector for easy locking and unlocking, comprising a base, a signal transmission module being mounted in the base, a lock head being fixed on the base and the signal transmission module, a cover being mounted on the base, and a pull strip being mounted on the cover. The lock head has an L-shaped elastic arm, a fixed end formed on one end of the elastic arm, a free end formed on the other end of the elastic arm, and at least one shoulder formed on the elastic arm. The fixed end is fixed on the base, and the free end is located above the base and extending backward. The free end forms at least one edge block, which is located on rear of the shoulder. The pull strip is flat ribbon-shaped, and forms at least one holding-down structure on a front end of the pull strip to drive the edge block to move downward. When pulling the pull strip backward, the holding-down structure can force the lock head to go down; and when releasing the pull strip, the lock head can automatically go up to its original position. 
     In one embodiment, the edge block has two upward inclined surfaces, including a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface, which are parallel to each other; and the second inclined surface is higher than the first inclined surface. 
     In one embodiment, the holding-down structure includes an upright long arm and an upright short arm; the long arm and the arm are formed by vertically bent from the front end of the pull strip and extend downward; the long arm is perpendicular to the short arm; the long arm is located in front of the edge block, and the short arm is located above the edge block; when pulling the pull strip backward, the long arm can press against a front end of the first inclined surface, and the short arm can press against the second inclined surface. 
     In one embodiment, the long arm has a bending piece formed by bending a bottom end of the long arm, the bending piece is parallel to the long arm and faces the edge block; when the pull strip moves backward, the bending piece can press against the front end of the first inclined surface, and an oblique edge formed on a bottom of the short arm can press against the second inclined surface. 
     In one embodiment, the length of the first inclined surface is greater than that of the second inclined surface. 
     In one embodiment, wherein the long arm further has a reinforcing rib. 
     In one embodiment, the cover has a horizontal top wall, and two symmetrical vertical sidewalls perpendicular to the horizontal top wall; the horizontal top wall forms two symmetrical limiting grooves and a limiting block located between the two limiting grooves; the limiting block is located on a middle of the horizontal top wall, and the two limiting grooves are symmetrically located on two sides of the limiting block; the pull strip further has a middle groove in a middle of the pull strip, a pair of horizontal side wings on two sides of the pull strip, and a pull ring on a rear of the pull strip; wherein the pair of side wings is inserted into the two limiting grooves, the limiting block enters into the middle groove and protrudes out of the middle groove, and the pull ring extends out of the cover. 
     In one embodiment, each limiting groove can be a complete continuous groove or a disconnected discontinuous groove. 
     In one embodiment, the middle groove is slender, and has a large opening on one end of the middle groove, and the limiting block of the cover can pass through the opening to enter into the middle groove. 
     In one embodiment, the base has a U-shaped receiving portion, and an inverted U-shaped plug portion communicated with the receiving portion; the signal transmission module has a front portion, a rear portion, multiple electrical contact terminals located at the front portion and exposed on a bottom of the front portion, and a cable extending out of the rear portion; wherein the front portion enters into the plug portion, the electrical contact terminals are exposed to outside from a bottom of the plug portion, the rear portion is placed into the receiving portion, and the cable extends out of the base; the free end of the lock head is above the plug portion and extends backward freely; the free end forms two edge blocks, which are symmetrically located on left and right sides of the free end; the elastic arm forms two symmetrical shoulders; the two shoulders and the two edge blocks are above the base; and the pull strip forms two symmetrical holding-down structures on the front end of the pull strip for driving the corresponding edge blocks to move downward. 
     In comparison with the prior art, the plug connector of the present invention employs the holding-down structure, which can drive the corresponding edge block to go down and further force the lock head to go down by pulling the pull strip backward. When releasing the pull strip, the lock head can automatically go up. Therefore, in the present invention, the pull strip can control the lock head, thereby completing the locking and unlocking work. The locking and unlocking way of the present invention is safe, effective and convenient. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an existing plug, which mainly shows a lock head having locking and unlocking functions; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a plug connector of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the plug connector of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a base, a signal transmission module, and a lock head after being combined together in the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the structure of  FIG. 4  along another direction; 
         FIG. 6  is a side plan view of the structure of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view of a cover of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view of the cover of the present invention along another direction; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the plug connector after removing a pull strip; 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic view of the pull strip of the plug connector of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic view of the pull strip along another direction; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the plug connector, a part of which is disassembled; 
         FIG. 13  is a detailed structure view showing the relationship of the lock head and the pull strip; 
         FIG. 14  is a plan structure view showing the relationship of the lock head and the pull strip; 
         FIG. 15  is a structure schematic view of a socket connector; and 
         FIG. 16  is a schematic view showing that the plug connector is inserted into the socket connector. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following description of every embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings is used to exemplify a specific embodiment, which may be carried out in the present invention. Directional terms mentioned in the present invention, such as “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “top”, “bottom” “above”, “below” etc., are only used with reference to the orientation of the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the used directional terms are intended to illustrate, but not to limit, the present invention. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a plug connector  1  of the present invention includes a base  10 , a signal transmission module  20  mounted in the base  10 , a lock head  30  fixed on the base  10  and the signal transmission module  20 , a cover mounted on the base  10 , and a pull strip  50  mounted on the cover  40 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 , the base  10  has a U-shaped receiving portion  11 , and an inverted U-shaped plug portion  12  communicated with the receiving portion  11 . The base  10  further has a shaft  13  on each side surface of the receiving portion  11  to protrude outward. 
     It should be noted that the so-called U-shaped and inverted U-shaped are defined with reference to the direction shown in drawings. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the signal transmission module  20  has a front portion  21 , a rear portion  22 , multiple electrical contact terminals  23  (seen in  FIG. 5 ) located at the front portion  21  and exposed on a bottom of the front portion  21 , and a cable  24  extending out of the rear portion  22 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the signal transmission module  20  is mounted in the base  10 , wherein the front portion  21  enters into the plug portion  12 ; the electrical contact terminals  23  are exposed to the outside from a bottom of the plug portion  12  for being ready to electrically contact with socket terminals  201  of a socket connector  2  as shown in  FIG. 15 ; the rear portion  22  is placed into the receiving portion  11 ; and the cable  24  extends out of the base  10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the lock head  30  has an elastic arm  31  being generally L-shaped, a fixed end  32  on one end of the elastic arm  31 , a free end  33  on the other end of the elastic arm  31 , and at least one shoulder  34  formed on the elastic arm  31 . The free end  33  forms at least one edge block  35  thereon. The edge block  35  is on rear of the shoulder  34 , and has at least one inclined surface facing the shoulder  34 . In the embodiment, the elastic arm  31  forms two symmetrical shoulders  34 , and the free end  33  forms two edge blocks  35 , which are located on left and right sides of the free end  33 , respectively. 
     In the embodiment, each edge block  35  has two upward inclined surfaces, such as a first inclined surface  36  and a second inclined surface  37 . The second inclined surface  37  is roughly parallel to the first inclined surface  36 , and higher than the first inclined surface  36 . The length of the first inclined surface  36  is greater than that of the second inclined surface  37 , but their slopes are basically the same. Of course, in other embodiments, the slopes of the first inclined surface  36  and the second inclined surface  37  can be different, or the two inclined surfaces  36 ,  37  can also be regarded as one inclined surface. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 4 , the lock head  30  is fixed on the base  10  and located above the plug portion  12  of the base  10 . Specifically, the fixed end  32  (seen in  FIG. 3 ) of the elastic arm  31  is fixed on the base  10 , and particularly clamped between the base  10  and the signal transmission module  20 . The free end  32  of the elastic arm  31  is located above the plug portion  12  of the base  10  and extends backward freely. Moreover, the two shoulders  33  and the two edge blocks  35  are located above the base  10 . The lock head  30  can go down under the action of an external force and automatically go up when the external force disappears. 
     Moreover, referring to  FIG. 6 , when the lock head  30  is fixed on the base  10 , there is a certain distance between the free end  32  of the elastic arm  31  and a front surface  220  of the rear portion  22  of the signal transmission module  20 . Thus, when the lock head  30  is forced to go down, the free end  33  will not be blocked by the signal transmission module  20 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the cover  40  has a horizontal top wall  41 , and two symmetrical vertical sidewalls  42  perpendicular to the horizontal top wall  41 . The horizontal top wall  41  forms two symmetrical limiting grooves  43  and a limiting block  44  located between the two limiting grooves  43 . Each limiting groove  43  may be a complete continuous groove or a disconnected discontinuous groove. The limiting block  44  is located on a middle of the horizontal top wall  41 , and the two limiting grooves  43  are symmetrically located on two sides of the limiting block  44 . Moreover, in the embodiment, each vertical sidewall  42  forms an axis hole  45  for being engaged with the corresponding shaft  13  of the base  10 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 9 , the cover  40  is mounted on the base  10 , and the shaft  13  is engaged with the corresponding axis hole  45 , thereby fixing the cover  40  on the base  10 . Of course, the cover  40  and the base  10  can also be provided with other structures to be used for further fixing the both. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the pull strip  50  is flat ribbon-shaped. The pull strip  50  forms two holding-down structures  51 , which are left-right symmetrical, on a front end of the pull strip  50 . Each holding-down structure  51  can drive the corresponding edge block  35  (seen in  FIG. 3 ) to force the lock head  30  to go down. Specifically, each holding-down structure  51  includes an upright long arm  510  and an upright short arm  511 . The long arm  510  and the short arm  511  are vertically bent from the front end of the pull strip  50  and extend downward, and are perpendicular to each other. In other words, a plane of the long arm  510  is perpendicular to that of the short arm  511 . The long arm  510  is longer than the short arm  511 . Furthermore, the long arm  510  has a bending piece  512  formed on a bottom end thereof and being parallel to the long arm  510 . The bending piece  512  faces the corresponding edge block  35 . The long arm  510  also has a reinforcing rib  513 . The bending piece  512  and the reinforcing rib  513  can enhance the strength of the long arm  510  to provide sufficient thrust for the edge block  35 . The long arm  510  is located at the front end of the pull strip  50 , and the short arm  511  is slightly near a center of the pull strip  50 . Moreover, the short arm  511  forms an oblique edge  514  on a bottom thereof. A slope of the oblique edge  514  is generally the same as that of the second inclined surface  37  (seen in  FIG. 3 ), so as to be advantageous to press the corresponding edge block  35  downward. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the pull strip  50  further has a middle groove  52  in a middle of the pull strip  50 , a pair of horizontal side wings  53  on two sides of the pull strip  50 , and a pull ring  54  on a rear of the pull strip  50 . In the embodiment, the middle groove  52  is slender, and has a large opening  55  on one end of the middle groove, so that the limiting block  44  (seen in  FIG. 7 ) of the cover  40  can pass through the opening  55  to enter into the middle groove  52 . The pair of side wings  53  is actually left and right edges of the pull strip  50 . Moreover, in the embodiment, the pull ring  54  is an independent component, which is made of plastic and is mounted on the rear of the pull strip  50 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 12 and 2 , the pull strip  50  is mounted on a top of the cover  40 . The pair of side wings  53  of the pull strip  50  is inserted into the two limiting grooves  43  of the cover  40 , and the limiting block  44  enters into the middle groove  52  from the opening  55  and protrudes out of the middle groove  52 . The pull ring  54  extends out of the cover  40  to facilitate user operation. 
     More specifically, referring to  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the two holding-down structures  51  of the pull strip  50  are corresponding to the two edge blocks  35  of the lock head  30  respectively. Each long arm  510  is in front of the corresponding edge block  35 , and each short arm  511  is above the corresponding edge block  35 . When the pull strip  50  moves backward, the long arm  510  can press against a front end of the first inclined surface  36 , and the short arm  511  can press against the second inclined surface  37 . In the embodiment, when the pull strip  50  moves backward, the bending piece  512  of the long arm  510  presses against the front end of the first inclined surface  36 , and the oblique edge  514  of the short arm  511  presses against the second inclined surface  37 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 12 and 13 , when pulling the pull strip  50  backward, the two long arms  510  of the two holding-down structures  51  can simultaneously push the first inclined surfaces  36  of the corresponding edge blocks  35  backward, while the two short arms  511  can simultaneously press the corresponding second inclined surface  37  downward. When the pull strip  50  moves backward, the lock head  30  can be forced to go down under the combined action of the long arm  510  and the short arm  511 , particularly, the two shoulders  34  of the lock head  30  can go down, so the plug connector  1  can be successfully inserted into a socket connector  2  of  FIG. 15 . 
     When releasing the pull strip  50 , the lock head  30  can automatically return to its original position due to loss of the external force. With the lock head  30  going up, the pull strip  50  can move forward to it original state, so that the two shoulders  34  of the lock head  30  can be engaged with two blocks  202  (seen in  FIG. 15 ) disposed inside the socket connector  2 . Now, the plug connector  1  will not exit from the socket connector  2 . 
     When needing to unlock, referring to  FIG. 16 , the pull ring  54  needs to be pulled backward again, then the pull strip  50  can move backward and force the lock head  30  (seen in  FIG. 2 ) to go down, the two shoulders  34  (seen in  FIG. 12 ) will not be blocked by the blocks  202  of the socket connector  2  and can go backward, so that the plug connector  1  can be pulled out successfully. 
     As described above, the plug connector  1  of the present invention can force the lock head  30  to go down by pulling the pull strip  50  backward, thereby realizing to unlock. When releasing the pull strip  50 , the lock head  30  can go up with the help of automatically returning, thereby realizing to lock. Therefore, in the present invention, the pull strip  50  can control the lock head  30 , thereby completing the locking and unlocking work. The locking and unlocking way of the present invention is safe, effective and convenient. 
     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.