Abstract:
A locking and unlocking mechanism of a cable connector, consisting of a connector and a housing, and a method for locking and unlocking the cable connector capable of providing a reliable connection of a cable even when a cable connecting operation is carried out by holding the cable. The connector is unlocked from the housing by sliding the lock release mechanism from the set position to the release position when the connector is fitted in the housing. At the time of connecting the cable, when the cable holding member is inserted into the housing while holding the cable, the elastic beam portion of the housing is pushed to open by the protrusion of the lock release member, and the engaging hole formed in the elastic beam portion is engaged with the engaging pawl of the cable holding member, and the connector is installed into the housing by moving the lock release member to the set position by the elastic energy of the lock release member from the elastic deformation caused by being pushed by the cable holding member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a locking and unlocking mechanism of a cable connector and a method for locking and unlocking the same. 
     2. Background Art 
     A mechanism, which has a structure, for example, of inserting a plug  1 A into an adapter  1 B, is known as shown in FIG.  14 . In FIG. 14, the plug  1 A comprises, for example, a cable holding member  3  for holding an end of a cable  2 , such as an optical fiber cable and a lock release member  4 , slidably installed at the outside of the cable holding member  3  in the direction for installing the cable holding member  3 . The adapter  1 B receives the cable holding member  3  for inserting the cable  2  through the cable holding member  3 . 
     The cable holding member  3  comprises an engaging pawl  5  and an engaging hole  7  is formed in an elastic beam portion  6  of the adopter  1 B. Two protrusions  8  are formed on both sides of the engaging pawl  5  on the lock release member  4 . Here, the numeral  9  denotes a notched portion for receiving the protrusions  8  of the lock release member  4 . 
     Accordingly, when the plug  1 A is connected to the adapter  1 B, since the protrusions  8  of the lock release member  4  pushes up the elastic beam portion  6  by inserting the cable holding portion  3  into the adapter  1 B, while gripping the lock release member  4 , the engaging pawl of the cable holding member  3  is further inserted for being engaged in the engaging hole  7  in the elastic beam portion  6 . At the same time, the protrusions  8  of the above-described lock release member  4  are received in the notched portion  9 . 
     In contrast, when the plug  1 A is extracted from the adapter  1 B, since the protrusions  8  of the lock release member  4  pushes up the elastic beam portion  6  of the adapter  1 B, while the engaging pawl  5  of the cable holding member  3  is engaged in the engaging hole  7  in the elastic beam portion  6 , the engaging pawl  5  of the cable holding member  3  is extracted from the engaging hole  7  in the elastic beam portion  6 . When the plug  1 A is further drawn through the lock release member  4 , the plug  1 A is released from the adapter  1 B. The above-described connecting structure is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 4-25807. 
     In the above-described conventional technique, since it is necessary to release the engagement of the engaging pawl  5  of the cable holding member  3  with the engaging hole  7  in the elastic beam portion  6  by pushing up the elastic beam portion potion  6  by the use of protrusions  8  of the lock release member, irrespective of whether the plug  1 A is inserted into the adapter  1 B or the plug  1 A is extracted from the plug, the lock release member  4  is slidably attached to the cable holding member  3 , such that the protruded portion  8  of the lock release member  8  can be transferred along the attached direction within a range wherein the protruded portions  8  are located across the engaging pawl  5  of the cable holding member  3 . 
     Thus, there is no problem in the case of installing a plug  1 A into an independent adapter  1 B while gripping the lock release member  4 , but a problem is encountered in inserting the plug  1 A into an adapter  1 B by gripping the lock release member  4  when a plurality of adapters are in a densely mounted array, because adjacent lock release members disturb the accurate positioning of the lock release member  4 . 
     Under these circumstances, it is assumed that the plug  1 A is inserted into the adapter  1 B by gripping the cable  2 . However, since the lock relese member  4  is slidable for the cable holding member  3 , when the cable is pushed into the adapter  1 B, the cable holding member  3  is inserted into the adapter  1 B towards the lock release member  4 . Thus, the protrusions  8  of the lock releasee member  4 , which comes later than the cable holding member  3 , cannot move forward while the protrusions  8  of the lock release member  4  push the elastic beam portion  6  upward, and as a result, a problem arises that the engaging pawl  5  cannot become engaged in the engaging hole  7 , and this state is called half engaged state. 
     If the plug  1 A in the half engaged state is located at the outside of the densely mounted array of adapters  1 B, it is possible to insert or draw the plug  1 A easily. However, if the plug  1 A in the half engaged state is located in the middle of the matrix of the adapters  1 B, the already inserted plugs  1 A surrounding the half engaged plug must be extracted in order to extract the half engaged plug, which results in causing a problem that the number of operations increases. In addition, if the half engaged plug is left as it is, and if the cable connected by the half engaged plug is drawn during operation of the system, a problem arises that malfunction may be encountered in a system, which may be, for example, an electronic exchange system. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a locking and unlocking mechanism, capable of providing reliable connection even during operation while gripping the cable and also provide a locking and unlocking method. 
     The first aspect of the present invention provides a locking and unlocking mechanism for locking and unlocking the connector comprising a cable holding member for holding an end of a cable and a lock release member slidably attached to the outside of the cable holding member, to the housing for receiving said connector and for conducting the cable; wherein, at the time of inserting the connector, a pushing operation of the lock release member allows connection of a lock release member to a housing by setting the lock release member at a set position by engaging of the engaging pawl provided with one of the cable holding member or the lock release member with an engaging portion provided with the other one of the cable holding member and the lock release member by pushing up the elastic beam portion provided in one of the cable holding member and the lock release member by means of a protrusion provided with the other one of the cable holding member and the lock release member; at the time of extracting the connector, the connector is released from the housing by sliding the lock release member in the releasing direction for pushing up the elastic beam member by the protrusion; and the lock and unlock mechanism further comprises an automatic retracting device for moving the lock release mechanism to the set position and to the reset position at the time of inserting and extracting the connector. 
     The second aspect of the present invention provides a locking and unlocking mechanism for locking and unlocking the connector comprising a cable holding member for holding an end of a cable and a lock release member slidably attached to the outside of the cable holding member, to the housing for receiving said connector and for conducting the cable; wherein the lock and unlock mechanism comprises: in the connector, an engaging pawl provided in the cable holding member; in the connector, a protrusion on the beam portion extended from the lock-release member extending towards the housing; and in the housing, an engaging portion provided in an elastic beam portion, in which one side is opened for receiving said beam portion, provided with an engaging portion for engaging with said engaging pawl and a notch for receiving said protrusion; an automatic retracting device, in which, when the connector is inserted, the lock release member is moved to a set position where the protrusion of the lock release mechanism is received by the notch portion in the elastic, and when the connector is extracted, the lock release mechanism is moved to the reset position with respect to the cable holding member; wherein, the connector is connected to the housing by adjusting the engaging pawl of the lock release mechanism of the connector to the engaging portion of the housing by pushing up the elastic beam portion of the housing by means of the protrusion of the lock release mechanism of the connector and by moving the lock release member to the set position through the automatic retracting device. 
     According to the third aspect of the present invention, in a locking and unlocking mechanism according to the first aspect, said automatic retracting device comprises an elastic body provided between a cable holding member and the lock release member, pressed at the time of inserting the connector. 
     According to the fourth aspect, in the locking and unlocking mechanism according to the second aspect, said cable holding member comprises a pushing portion for applying a pushing force to said lock release member, and said automatic retracting device comprises a forward descending inclined plane provided with said pushing portion, and at the time of inserting the connector, the beam portion is bent toward the elastic beam portion by pushing the beam portion of the lock release portion through said inclined plane. 
     According to the fifth aspect, there is provided a locking and unlocking mechanism for locking and unlocking the connector comprising a cable holding member for holding an end of a cable and a lock release member slidably attached to the outside of the cable holding member, to the housing for receiving said connector and for conducting the cable; wherein the lock and unlock mechanism comprises: in the connector, an engaging pawl provided in the cable holding member; in the connector, a protrusion on the beam portion extended from the lock release member extending towards the housing; in the housing, an engaging portion provided in an elastic beam portion, in which one side is opened for receiving said beam portion, provided with a engaging portion for engaging with said engaging pawl and a notch for receiving said protrusion as well as a guide portion for guiding the distal end of the beam portion; and the automatic retracting device, provided between the cable holding member and the lock release member, after the connector is extracted, for moving the lock release member to a set position where a top end of the beam portion is made flat, and when the connector is extracted, the connector is separated from the housing by releasing the engagement between the engaging pawl with the engaging portion by pushing up the elastic beam portion of the housing by bending the beam portion, and by moving the lock release member to the reset position by said automatic retracting device. 
     According to the sixth aspect, in the locking and unlocking mechanism according to the fifth aspect, said automatic retracting device comprises a forward descending inclined plane provided on one of the receiving portion and the engaging pawl and an abutting portion for abutting to said inclined plane, and, at the time of extracting the connector, said inclined plane and said abutting portion bend the beam portion of the lock release mechanism toward the elastic beam portion. 
     According to the seventh aspect, in the locking and unlocking mechanism according to the fifth aspect, said lock release member comprises an engaging portion for receiving said engaging pawl and said automatic retracting device comprises an inner downward periphery of said engaging portion and a top end pushing portion for pushing said periphery, and the top end pushing portion of the engaging pawl and said internal periphery make the beam portion of the lock release member bend towards the opposite side of the elastic beam member. 
     According to the eighth aspect, in the locking and unlocking mechanism according to the first aspect, said lock release member comprises a gripping portion for extracting the connector. 
     The ninth aspect provides a method for locking and unlocking a cable connector comprising a connector for holding an end of a cable and a lock release member slidably attached to the outside of the cable holding member and a housing for receiving said connector and conducting the cable, and a method of unlocking the cable connector is carried out by sliding the lock release member of the connector fitted in the housing from the set position to the release position, wherein the method comprises: fitting the connector into the housing, at the time of inserting the connector, by the steps of: inserting the cable gripping the cable holding member into the housing, pushing up the elastic beam portion by a part of the lock release member, engaging the engaging portion of the elastic beam portion with the engaging pawl of the cable holding member, and by moving the lock release member to the set position by the elastic energy of the elastically deformed lock release member by being pushed by the cable holding member; and disconnecting the connector from the housing, at the time of extracting the connector, by the steps of: extracting the lock release member, pushing up the elastic beam portion for releasing the engagement between the engaging portion of the elastic beam portion and the engaging pawl of the cable holding member and moving the lock release member to the reset position by the elastic energy of the lock release member by the elastic energy of the lock release member caused by the elastic deformation after the connector is extracted. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view as a whole showing the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the main portion of the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along A—A line of FIG.  3 . 
     FIGS. 5A,  5 B, and  5 C are diagrams showing inserting states into the connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIGS. 6A to  6 D are diagrams showing extracting states from the connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views showing the second embodiment of the present invention, wherein  7 A shows the set position and  7 B shows the state in which the engaging pawl is raised. 
     FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing another example of the second embodiment of the present invention, wherein  8 A shows the set position and  8 B shows the state in which the engaging pawl is raised. 
     FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing another example of the second embodiment of the present invention, wherein  9 A shows the set position and  8 B shows the state in which the engaging pawl is raised. 
     FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the third embodiment of the present invention, wherein  10 A shows the set position and  10 B shows the state in which there is pressure by the engaging pawl. 
     FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing the fourth embodiment of the present invention, wherein  11 A shows the set position and  11 B shows the state in which the elastic beam portion is raised. 
     FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams showing the fifth embodiment of the present invention, wherein  12 A shows the set position and  12 B shows the state in which the elastic beam portion is raised. 
     FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing the sixth embodiment of the present invention, wherein  13 A shows the set position and  13 B shows the state in which the elastic beam portion is raised. 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional example of the locking and unlocking mechanism. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the attached drawings. In FIG. 1, which shows a perspective view of the first embodiment as a whole of the present invention, the numeral  10  denotes a connector, and the connector  10  comprises a cable holding member  4  for holding an end of the cable  11  and a lock release member  13  slidably installed at the outside of the cable holding member  12 . In FIG. 2, showing an exploded view of the main portion of the first embodiment, the cable holding member  12  of the connector  10  comprises a connector body  14  for holding the cable and a cover portion  15 , being attached so as to cover the connector body  15 , and this cover body  15  is configured so as to be combined with the lock release member  13 . 
     The lock release member  13  comprises a hook  16  and an extracting tab  17  (a gripping portion) is to be fitted to the hook  16 . An extended portion  18  is provided with the above-described cover portion  15  and an engaging pawl  19  having a downward inclined plane is provided at the top end of this extended portion  18 , and a slit portion  20 A for engaging with the protruded portion  20 B is formed at the base end of the cover portion  15 . A holding pawl  21  (a pushing portion), capable of engaging with the lock release member  13 , is provided on the upper surface of the cover portion  15  at the side where the extended portion  18  is provided. Here, the holding pawl  21  is configured with the vertical front surface directed ahead. 
     The lock release member  13 , as installed in the cover portion  15 , can be slidably fitted to the cable holding member  12  in the inserting direction of the cable into the connector and the lock release member  13  comprises a box portion  22 , into which the cable  11  can be inserted, and a plate-like beam portion  23  extended from a side edge of an opening of the box portion  22 . The beam portion  23  can be deformed by bending upward shown in FIG.  2 . At the center portion of the beam portion  23 , a receiving hole  24  for receiving the engaging pawl  19  of the cover portion  15  is formed. In addition, at a top end portion of the beam portion close to the inserting end, a pair of triangular protrusions  25  having slopes on the fore and after sides are provided. 
     Here, the engaging hole  24  has a thickness such that the engaging pawl  19  sticks out of the engaging hole  24 . A hole  26  capable of engaging with the holding pawl  21  of the cover portion  15  is formed at the base end of the beam portion  23 . The inside surfaces of the engaging hole  24  are formed by inclined planes  24 A so as to fit the inclined planes  24 A of the engaging hole to the inclined planes  19 A of the engaging pawl  19 . Either one of inclined hole surfaces  24 A or one of inclined hole surfaces  19 A constitutes the abutting surface. 
     The numeral  30  in FIG. 1 denotes a housing. This housing  30  is a quadrangular box-type member for receiving the connector  10 . As shown in FIG. 4, the housing  30  is used for connecting the male terminals  31  inserted through the bottom plate of the housing  30  with the cables  11  through the contacts  32  installed in the connector body  14 . Here, the numeral  34  in FIG. 4 denotes a shield for covering the connector body  14  and the numeral  33  in FIG. 4 denotes a core wire. The housing  30  comprises a recessed portion  35  formed on one side of the housing which corresponds to the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13 , and an elastic beam portion  36  is provided at the bottom wall portion of this recessed portion  35 . This recessed portion  35  eliminates the elastic beam portion from protruding outside of the housing  30  due to deformation of the elastic beam portion  36 , which is described later, for preventing the interference to the adjacent housings  30 . 
     The above-described elastic beam portion  36  is formed in the form of a cantilever extending from one side of the opening of the housing  30  and, on the elastic beam portion, an engaging hole  37  (the engaging portion) is formed at a position corresponding to the engaging pawl  19  of the cover portion  15 , which protrudes from the receiving hole  24  of the lock release member  35 . Notches  38  and  38  are formed for receiving the protrusions  25  and  25  of the lock release member  13  in the elastic beam portion  36  at a position closer to the base end of the beam portion than the engaging hole  37 . 
     As shown in FIG. 5A, the beam portion  23  is constructed such that, when the holding pawl  21  of the cover portion  15  pushes the front surface of the hole  26 , the inclined plane  24 A of the receiving hole  24  rides on the inclined plane  19 A of the engaging pawl  19  for pushing the beam portion in the upward direction. The protrusions  25  of the beam portion  23  have a height such that engagement between the engaging pawl  19  and the engaging hole  37  can be released by extracting the lock release member  13  for pushing up the elastic beam portion  36  while the beam portion  23  is retracting for the housing  30  through the holding pawl  21 . As shown in FIG. 5B, the protrusion  25  is formed at a position where the protrusion  25  operates so as to draw the beam portion  23  by the reactive force of the elastic beam portion  36  by abutting the inclined plane  25 A of the protrusions  25  to the back end of the notch  38 . The combination of the elastically deformable beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13 , the receiving hole  24 , the inclined plane  24 A, the engaging pawl  19  and the inclined plane  19 A constitutes an automatic retracting device. 
     According to the above-described embodiment, when the connector  10  according to this embodiment is applied, for example, to a telephone exchanger, the connector  10  must be inserted in a densely mounted array of connectors, which results in disturbing the normal operation of inserting the connector manually by gripping the lock release mechanism due to the adjacent lock release members. Under such circumstances, the connector  10  is installed into the housing  30  by gripping the cable  11 , which may ensure the reliable locking. 
     That is, as shown in FIG. 5 a , when the connector is inserted into the housing by gripping the cable  11 , the front surface  21 A of the holding pawl  21  in the cable holding member  12  (the cover portion  15 ) pushes the hole portion  26  of the lock release portion  13  and the lock release member  13  moves toward the inserting direction of the connector  10 . The protrusion  25  of the moving lock release member  12  pushes up the elastic beam portion  36 , which allows entering of the engaging pawl. 
     When the engaging pawl  19  of the cable holding member  12  is inserted and reaches the position where the engaging pawl  19  can engage with the engaging hole  37  of the elastic beam portion  36 , the protrusion  25  is settled in the notch  28  smoothly, and, in some cases, the engaging pawl  19  engages with the engaging hole  37 . In some other cases, as shown in FIG. 5B, the protrusions  25  of the lock release member  13  are caught by the edge of the elastic beam portion  36 . 
     In the state shown in FIG. 5B, when the inclined plane  19 A of the engaging pawl  19  rides on the inclined plane  24 A of the receiving hole  24  because the front surface  21 A of the engaging pawl  21  pushes the hole  26  of the lock release member  13 , the beam portion  23  is deformed by bending toward the elastic beam portion  36 . Then, the lock release member  13  moves towards the set position as indicated by the arrow shown in FIG. 5B, by the elastic energy of the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13 . In addition, since the inclined plane  25 A of the protrusion  25  is subjected to the elastic force from the edge of the notch  38 , this elastic force also moves the lock release member  13  to the set position. 
     Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5C, the protrusions  25  of the lock release member  13  and the engaging pawl  19  of the cable holding member are automatically settled in the notches  38  and the engaging holes  37  of the elastic beam portion  36  for settling the lock release member  13  in the set position, so that the connector  10  is reliably locked in the housing. 
     Accordingly, since the connector  10  can be locked in the housing  30  by pushing the cable  11  into the housing  30 , the connector  10  can be reliably locked into the housing by one action, even in the case of mounting in a housing located in a densely mounted array of housings  30 . 
     In contrast, when the connector  10  is removed from the housing, the connector  10  can be removed from the housing  30  by first pulling the extracting tab  17 , and the lock release member  13  at the set position, as shown in FIG. 6A, pushes up the elastic beam portion  36  by means of the inclined plane  25 A of the protrusion  25 , the engaging pawl  19  is taken off from the engaging hole  37 , and when the hole  26  of the lock release member  13  is caught by the front surface  21 A of the engaging pawl  21  of the cover portion  15  from th eposition shown in FIG. 6B, the cable holding member  12  (the cover portion) start moving, and when the protrusion  25  of the lock release member  13  is taken off from the elastic beam portion  36 , as shown in FIG. 6C, the connector  10  is separated from the housing. As shown in FIG. 6D, after the connector  10  is separated, since the beam portion  23 , which has been subjected to the elastic deformation, returns to the flat state, the lock release member  13  moves to the proper and reset position for the cable holding member  13 . 
     Therefore, the connector  10  can be surely removed off by the use of the extracting tab by one action. Thus, even if the housings  30  are densely mounted, the cable can be removed easily without gripping the lock release member  13 . 
     Next, the second embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. 7 to  9 . FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of the second embodiment of the present invention. The particular features of the second embodiment are related to the engaging pawl  19  of the cable holding member  12  and the receiving hole  24  in the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13 , which constitutes the above mentioned automatic retracting device. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the inclined plane is not provided, as shown in FIG. 7, and that the inclined plane  19 A of the engaging pawl  19  is substituted by an arcuate slope  19 B as shown in FIG. 8, and that the inclined plane  24 A of the receiving hole  24  is substituted by an arcuate slope  24 B as shown in FIG.  9 . Here, in FIGS. 7 to  9 ,  7 A to  9 A show the relative position of respective components, and  7 B to  9 B illustrate each state when the engaging pawl  19  is riding on the receiving hole. The same effect is obtained when the relation between the engaging pawl and the engaging hole is reversed. 
     Thus, in any of the above-described embodiments, since the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13  can be bent by configuring the engaging pawl  19  riding on the receiving hole  24 , the lock release member  13  can be surely moved to the set position in the final phase of inserting the connector  10 . The other constitutions of this embodiment are the same, so that their explanations are omitted (the same holds for the following embodiments). 
     The third embodiment shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B has the particular configuration that an elastic body is inserted in between the engaging pawl  19  of the cable holding member  12  and the receiving hole  24  in the beam portion  13  of the lock release member  13 , which constitute the automatic retracting device. Practically, the top end of the engaging pawl  16  is formed into a flat surface and a elastic body D such as a rubber body is attached to the flat surface. When the engaging pawl  19  is pushed, the elastic body D is compressed between the engaging pawl  19  and the receiving hole  24  (FIG. 10B) and, by using the elastic energy accumulated in the elastic body, the lock release member  13  is moved to the set position at the final inserting stage of the connector. It is noted that the above elastic body D may be attached to the receiving hole  24 . 
     Next, the fourth embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B. FIG. 11A is a diagram for explaining the state in which the lock release member  13  is in the set position and FIG. 11B is a diagram for explaining the state in which the connector is inserted. In this embodiment, the holding pawl  21  on the cover portion  15  of the cable holding member  12  comprises an forward inclined plan e  21 B for pushing the hole  26  of the lock release member  13 , and the forward inclined plane  21 B constitutes the main portion of the automatic retracting device. At the time of inserting the connector  19 , the beam portion  23  is bent towards the elastic beam portion by pushing the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13  through this inclined plane  21 B. Accordingly, the lock release member  13  can be moved to the set position even at the final stage of the insertion of the connector  10 . 
     The fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. FIG. 12A is a diagram showing that the lock release member  13  is at the set position, and FIG. 12B is a diagram showing that the connector is being extracted. In this embodiment, the protrusion  25  of the lock release member  13 , which is used in the first embodiment, is disused and the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13  is made more flexible such that, instead of the protrusions  25  in the first embodiment, the elastic beam portion  36  is pushed up at the time of extracting the connector  10  by the distal end  23 A near the receiving hole  24  of the beam portion  23  bent towards the elastic beam portion  36 . 
     In this embodiment, the automatic retracting device operates at the time of extracting the connector (the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG.  13 ), and the main portion of the automatic retracting device is comprised of the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13 , which is now made flexible. At the time of extracting the connector  10 , the lock release member  13  can be moved to the reset position where the distal end  23 A of the beam portion  23  reaches the same level as that of the lock release member  13 . Accordingly, in this embodiment, the lock release member  13  can be surely moved to the reset position after the connector has been extracted. In addition, the lack of the protrusion  25  allows manufacturing of this mechanism at a reduced cost. Here, in the interior of the housing  30 , a guide portion  30 A is provided for guiding the distal end  23 A of the beam portion  23 . 
     FIGS. 13A and 13B show the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13A shows the lock release member  13  in the set position, and FIG. 13B is a diagram explaining the extraction of the connector  10 . In this embodiment, the protrusions  25  used in the first embodiment are absent and the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13  is made flexible, such that, at the time of extracting the connector, the elastic beam portion  36  is pushed up by the distal end  23 A of the beam portion  23  bent towards the elastic beam portion  36 , instead of by the protrusions  25  in the first embodiment. 
     In this embodiment, the automatic retracting device is composed of the inside downward periphery  24 C of the inserting side of the receiving hole  24  for receiving the engaging pawl  19  and a top end pushing portion  19 C of the engaging pawl  19 , and the top end pushing portion  19 C of the engaging pawl  19  and the above-described inside downward periphery  24 C allows the distal end portion  23 A of the beam portion  23  of the lock release member  13  bending toward the opposite side of the elastic beam portion  36 . The inclination of the inclined plane  24 A of the receiving hole  24  is made larger than the inclined plane  19 A of the engaging pawl  19  in order for both the inclined plane  24 A of the receiving hole  24  and the inclined plane  19 A of the engaging pawl  19  to allow bending of the above distal end  23  A. In addition, the present embodiment comprises, similar to the previous embodiment, the guide portion  30 A for guiding the distal end  23 A of the beam portion  23  inside of the housing  30 . 
     Therefore, at the time of extracting the connector  10 , the lock release member  13  can be moved to the reset position where the distal end portion  23 A of the beam portion is made flat with the lock release member  13 . Accordingly, in this embodiment, the lock release member  13  can be reliably retracted to the predetermined position after the connector  10  is extracted. In addition, it is also possible in this embodiment to manufacture the mechanism at a reduced cost.