Patent Abstract:
A plug connector ( 100 ) mating with a complementary connector includes a housing ( 1 ) having a base ( 11 ) defining a first slot and a second slot ( 1111 ), a latching mechanism ( 40 ) having a pusher ( 3 ) and a latch ( 2 ). The pusher includes a resilient beam ( 31 ) disposed in the first slot and facing toward the second slot, and a resisting portion ( 340 ). The latch has a latching portion ( 22 ) and an inclined connecting portion ( 23 ) engageable with the resisting portion. The resilient beam of the pusher is downwardly deformable in the second slot from an initial position to a final position to move the resisting portion relative to the connecting portion, to thereby move the latching portion from a latching position to an unlatching position.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This patent application is related to a pending U.S. patent application entitled “PLUG CONNECTOR HAVING A LATCHING MECHANISM”, which is invented by the same inventor as this patent application and assigned to the same assignee with this application. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to a cable end connector, and more particularly to a plug connector used for high-speed signal transmission. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   A committee called SFF is an ad hoc group formed to address storage industry needs in a prompt manner. When formed in 1990, the original goals were limited to define de facto mechanical envelopes within disk drives can be developed to fit compact computer and other small products. 
   Specification SFF-8088 defines matable Compact Multilane Shielded connectors adopted for being used in laptop portable computer to connect small-size disk drives to a circuit board. The connectors comprise a plug connector connecting with the small-size drive and a header mounted on the circuit board. The plug connector defined in the specification comprises a pair of engagable metal housings together defining a receiving space therebetween, a circuit board received in the receiving space, a cable comprising a plurality of conductors electrically connecting with the circuit board, and a latching mechanism assembled to a top surface of the upper metal housing. The latching mechanism comprises an elongated T-shape latch member for latching with the header mentioned above and an actuating member cooperating with the latch member for actuating the latch member to separate from the header. The latch member is assembled to a rear portion of a base of the upper housing with latch portion exposed beyond a front portion of the base of the upper housing to locate above a tongue portion of the upper housing. 
   However, such elongated latch member is hard to be actuated by the actuating member, otherwise the latch member must have enough thickness or made by high-quality material having enough rigidity to achieve the goal of latching reliably and unlatching easily. 
   Hence, an improved plug connector is provided in the present invention to address the problems mentioned above and meet the current trend. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a plug connector having a latching mechanism for achieving a reliable latching and an easy unlatching. 
   In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a plug connector mating with a complementary connector in accordance with the present invention includes a housing, a circuit board, a latching mechanism and a metal shell. The housing includes a base defining a first and a second slots, and a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base for fitting with the complementary connector. The latching mechanism includes a pusher and a latch. The pusher includes a resilient beam disposed in the first slot and facing toward the second slot, a head portion connected with the resilient beam and provided with a resisting portion, and a depressing portion formed above the resilient beam. The latch has an inclined connecting portion engageable with the resisting portion and a latching portion. The metal shell is attached to the base and has a window for outward passage of the pressing portion. The resilient beam of the pusher is downwardly deformable in the second slot from an initial position to a final position to move the resisting portion relative to the inclined connecting portion of the latch, to thereby move the latching portion from a latching position to an unlatching position. 
   The latching mechanism comprises a pusher and a latch cooperated with each other to latch or unlatch the complementary connector. When the pusher is depressed, the latch would be driven from the latching position to the unlatching position automatically. When the pusher is released, the pusher would restore to the initial position automatically. It is easy to drive the whole latching mechanism to perform the latching and unlatching function, if only depressing the pusher or releasing the pusher. Additionally, the claws would latch the complementary connector reliably, since the latch restores itself to the latching position via a resilient restoring force provided by the resilient beam of the pusher. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a plug connector in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a view similar to  FIG. 1 , taken from another aspect; 
       FIG. 3  is a partially assembled perspective view of the plug connector as shown in  FIG. 1 , with the metal shell being removed; 
       FIG. 4  is an assembled perspective view of the plug connector as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 , when a latching mechanism is positioned in a latching position; and 
       FIG. 6  is a view similar  FIG. 5 , showing the latching mechanism is positioned in an unlatching position. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , a plug connector  100  mating with a complimentary connector (not shown) in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing  1 , a latching mechanism  40  assembled to the housing  1 , an EMI gasket  6  attached to the housing  1 , a metal shell  5  partially covering the latching mechanism  40 , a plurality of screws  9  fixing the metal shell  5  on the housing  1 , a circuit board  7  disposed in the housing  1 , and a cable  8  electrically connected to the circuit board  7 . Optionally, the cable  8  could be replaced by any other structure in accordance with customer&#39;s requires. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , the housing  1  of the present invention comprises a base  11  and an elongated tongue portion  12  extending forwardly from the base  11 . The base  11  comprises a lower base  112 , an upper base  111  engaging with the lower base  112  and a receiving space (not shown) defined between the upper and lower bases  111 ,  112  for partially retaining the circuit board  7  and the cable  8  in a common manner. Both upper and lower bases  111  and  112  are preferably die-casted. 
   The upper base  111  defines an elongated receiving slot  1111  having an arc-like shaped lower surface  1118 , a retaining recess  1116  concave from an upper surface of the upper base  111 . The receiving slot  1111  is father away from the tongue portion  12 , than the retaining recess  1116  is away from the tongue portion  12 . The upper base  111  comprises a transversely extending engaging recess  1112 , a receiving recess  1117  defined at a rear side of the upper base  111 , an insertion recess  1113  communicating with the retaining recess  1116 , four screw holes  1114  defined at four corners of the upper base  111 , and a pair of protruding tabs  1115  formed at a front edge of the retaining recess  1116 . 
   The circuit board  7  is formed with a plurality of conductive pads  71  for electrically connecting with the complementary connector. The tongue portion  12  has a receiving space (not labeled) defined therein for receiving a front portion of the circuit board  7 , and an opening  121  defined on an upper surface thereof for exposing the conductive pads  71  of the circuit board  7 . The tongue portion  12  has a plurality of flanges  122  formed on an upper surface thereof and a plurality of keyways  123  each defined adjacent to one flange  122 . 
   The latching mechanism  40  comprises a latch  2  and a pusher  3  assembled to the latch  2 . The latch  2  made of metal material is a cantilever-type member. The latch  2  comprises a transverse bar section  21  located in a vertical surface, a flat latching portion  22  located in a horizontal surface perpendicular to the vertical surface and an inclined connecting portion  23  connecting the bar section  21  and the latching portion  22  to provide resilient force to the latch  2 . The bar section  21  has a pair of side sections  212  extending downwardly from opposite sides thereof. Each side section  212  is formed with a plurality of barbs  2121  on outmost edge thereof. The flat latching portion  22  defines a pair of rectangular holes  221  adjacent to the connecting portion  23 , and a pair of claws  222  bending downwardly from opposite sides of the front edge thereof for clasping the complementary connector. The connecting portion  23  also defines a slit (not labeled) therein for adjusting spring force of the latch  2  through changing size and shape of the hole. 
   The pusher  3  comprises a rectangular resilient beam  31  and a head portion  34  connected with the resilient beam  31 . The resilient beam  31  comprises a ear portion  32  formed at a connecting portion of the resilient beam  31  and the head portion  34 , a tail portion  35  formed at a free end of the resilient beam  31 , a pressing portion  33  provided above the resilient beam  31 , and a neck portion  36  upholding the pressing portion  33 . The head portion  34  comprises a pair of symmetrically formed flanges  344 , a pair of blocks  342  respectively formed at a front portion of the flange  344 , a resisting portion  340  between the pair of blocks  342 , and an indentation  343  defined between the flanges  344 . The resisting portion  340  has an inclined face  341  inclining toward the indentation  343 . 
   The metal shell  5  comprises a top wall  51 , a pair of side walls  54  bending downwardly from the top wall  51 . The top wall  51  has a window  511  and four mounting holes  53  defined at four corner portions thereof. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , in assembly of the plug connector  100 , the cable  8  is soldered to the circuit board  7 . The circuit board  7  together with the cable  8  is partially sandwiched between the upper and lower bases  111 ,  112 . The pusher  3  is assembled to the upper base  111  of the housing  1 , with the head portion  34  plunged in the retaining recess  1116 . The body portion  31  of the pusher  3  is disposed above the receiving slot  1111 , with the ear portion  32  attached to a front edge of the engaging recess  1112  and slidable in the engaging recess  1112 , and the tail portion  35  fixed in the receiving recess  1117 . The engaging recess  1112  and receiving recess  1117  could be regarded as a slot for receiving the ear portion  32  and the tail portion  35 . The latch  2  is inserted in the retaining recess  1116 , with the connecting portion  23  plunged in the indentation  343  of the pusher  3 . In conjunction with  FIG. 5 , the resisting portion  340  contact with the connecting portion  23  to support the connecting portion  23  of the latch  2 . The side sections  212  are inserted in the insertion recess  1113 , with the barbs  2121  engaging with the insertion recess  1113 . Thus, the latch  2  is restricted from a front-to-back movement. The pair of rectangular holes  221  engage with the pair of protruding tabs  1115 . 
   In conjunction with  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the EMI gasket  6  is attached to a front face of the base  11  of the housing  1  for shielding purpose. The metal shell  5  is fixed on the housing  1 , with each screw  9  inserted through the mounting hole  53  into the screw hole  1114 . The latching mechanism  40  is partially covered by the metal shell  5 , with the pressing portion  33  extending outward the metal shell  5  through the window  511 . 
     FIG. 5  illustrates the plug connector  100  located in a latching position and  FIG. 6  illustrates the plug connector  100  located in an unlatching position. When the pressing portion  33  of the pusher  3  is downwardly depressed from an initial position to a final position, the resilient beam  31  of the pusher  3  is deformable downwardly toward the arc-like lower surface  1118  in the receiving slot  1111 . The head portion  34  retreats backwardly, with the resisting portion  340  sliding along the inclined connecting portion  23  of the latch  2  to move the connecting portion  23 . Since the bar section  212  is restricted from the front-to-back movement by the insertion recess  1113 , the connection portions  23  have been upheld by the resisting portion  340 . In conjunction with  FIG. 3 , in such a process, the ear portion  32  of the pusher  3  slides backwardly and attached to a rear edge of the engaging recess  1112 . At the same time, the latching portion  22  together with the claws  222  move upwardly to the released position. 
   When the plug connector  100  is located in the unlatching position as shown in  FIG. 6 , the complementary connector could be mounted onto or removed from the plug connector  100 . When the pressing portion  33  of the pusher  3  is released, the resilient beam  31  of the pusher  3  would restore itself from the final position to the initial position. Simultaneously, the pressing portion  33  together with the whole latching mechanism  40  revert to the latching position as shown in  FIG. 5 . The complementary connector electrically connects with the conductive pads  71  of the circuit board  7 , with claws  222  clasping corresponding structure of the complementary connector. 
   The latching mechanism  40  comprises a pusher  3  and a latch  2  cooperated with each other to latch or unlatch the complementary connector. When the pusher  3  is operated, the latch  2  would be driven from the latching position to the unlatching position automatically. When the pusher  3  is released, the pusher  3  would restore to the initial position automatically. It is easy to drive the whole latching mechanism  40  to perform the latching and unlatching function, if only depressing the pusher  3  or releasing the pusher  3 . Additionally, the claws  222  would latch the complementary connector reliably, since the latch  2  restores itself to the latching position via the resilient restoring force provided by the resilient beam  31  of the pusher  3 . 
   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.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7