Patent Description:
This application claims the benefit of and is a continuation of <CIT>.

Various magnetic latching systems are known, often used in fields of art like cabinetry. <CIT> describes a magnetic latch that is used for maintaining a hinged member in a closed position. The magnets are movable in an axial direction and require a manually operable member such as a lever bar mounted on a pivot in order to change the magnet position for repulsion force.

Other example magnetic latches include <CIT> which describes a magnetic latch that is used for securing a member such as swinging doors of cabinets, cupboards, closets, or other objects. <CIT> describes a magnetic latch for a refrigerator door, which is used for securing a refrigerator door to prevent air leakage from within the cabinet. <CIT> describes a magnetic gate latch device. <CIT> describes a magnetic latch construction that utilizes the electromagnetic characteristic of magnets. <CIT> describes a quick release magnetic latch. <CIT> describes a charging connector for an electric vehicle.

In addition to the noted magnetic latches, various other mechanisms for latching connectors may be utilized, especially in the field of electrical connectors. For instance, threaded latches, spring latches, manual latches, snap fit latches, twist and lock mechanism, and/or no latch mechanism. Threaded latches typically add threads to the mating parts for retention, requiring tooling to mate and unmate and being time consuming to mate and unmate. Spring latches add locking features to the parts with spring mechanism to activate and deactivate the lock for mating and unmating. The retention force oftentimes degrades over time due to material wear out and spring degradation from mating and unmating, thereby typically shortening the cycle life. A manual latch typically hooks onto physical stops for retention. These types of latches are oftentimes hard to align to ensure they are in the proper position. Snap fit latching features oftentimes require tooling to unmate. Twist and lock features are typically hard to manufacture and have a shorter cycle life due to material wear out over time from mating and unmating.

Finally, using no latch and relying upon contact retention to keep the parts mated are generally difficult to unmate as they need to overcome the contact retention. Additionally, the contacts used have a shorter cycle life due to material wear out from mating and unmating as the retention degrades over time. <CIT> concerns cable assemblies and connector systems that include magnetic elements. The cable assemblies may include first and second cables. A first plurality of magnetic elements may be arranged around the first cable proximate a first end, while a second plurality of magnetic elements may be arranged around the second cable proximate a second end. Magnetic forces between respective ones of the first and second pluralities of magnetic elements may tend to retain the respective first and second ends of the first and second cables proximate one another. <CIT> describes an electrical plug and socket assembly comprising: a base including at least two first electrical contacts and a first magnetic portion arranged so as to move by magnetic attraction to move the first two electrical contacts toward the outside of the base; a plug comprising two second electrical contacts intended to electrically connect to the first two electrical contacts when same are outside the base and a second magnetic portion to move, by magnetic attraction, the first magnetic portion to drive the first electrical contacts toward the outside of the base; the first magnetic portion or the second magnetic portion comprises at least one permanent magnet such as to form a magnetic circuit when the plug is brought near the base. According to the present disclosure, there is provided a convertible force latching system according to claim <NUM>.

The following description of example methods and apparatus is not intended to limit the scope of the description to the precise form or forms detailed herein. Instead the following description is intended to be illustrative so that others may follow its teachings.

Some of the problems with some of the known prior art mentioned above include: connectors, particularly electrical connectors tend to have a high mating and unmating force. Physical latches can be hard to disengage due to the size of any kind of connector. Physical latches also take up a lot of space that some designs do not have. Latches can wear out and fail to hold connection and maintain necessary connective force. Latches can also have an issue with ease of use for both engaging and disengaging as well as alignment to ensure the latch is in the proper position.

The example latching systems disclosed herein have nearly unlimited cycle life with consistent retention, and are easy to mate and unmate. More specifically, the act of latching is easier with the presently disclosed magnet latches because the attraction of unlike magnetic poles help to align and pull connectors together, which makes it easy to mate. The arrangement of the magnets with alternating poles is a pattern which allows the force to be switched between attraction and repulsion as needed. The repulsion of like magnetic poles can then be used to push connectors away from each other, which makes it easier to unmate. By putting magnets in a circular pattern, some of the examples disclosed below can help to reduce the overall size of latch without sacrificing the strength of latch. Finally, there is no damage or wear to the magnets from mating and unmating, and magnets do not lose strength over time under normal circumstances. This feature allows the example latching systems to have consistent retention force and a nearly unlimited cycle life.

In the present disclosure, alternate magnetic poles are allocated in a circular pattern in the example shown in <FIG> and are arranged with a magnetic orientation that makes this latching system unique. Circular pattern was chosen instead of others to provide the maximum latch strength with the most compact size, but other examples are shown and discussed below as may be more beneficial to a specific user's needs. The example device utilizes both the attraction and repulsion characteristics of magnets in one single application, and also allows the force to be easily switched between attraction and repulsion as needed by simple rotation of the latching portion of the connector.

In these examples, all magnets are fully enclosed in the latch under both mated and unmated conditions. This provides extra protection to the magnets and makes the latch stay clean and easy to maintain, which allows the latch to have a long life.

In addition, the latch in one example of the present latching system is external to the connector which is more accessible by hand for rotation to unlatch. This eliminates the need for additional mechanism connected internally for unlatching, which allows the latch to have a more compact size and lower manufacturing cost due to less components involved.

Referring now to the figures, <FIG> and <FIG> show two examples of a pair of connectors which embody one example of the convertible force latching system according to the teachings of the present disclosure. The latching system in this example is comprised of two matched connector bodies, shown in <FIG> as first connector body <NUM> and second connector body <NUM>. The first and second connector body <NUM>, <NUM> are connected at mating surfaces <NUM>, <NUM> thereby coupling the respective electrical connectors <NUM>.

The first and second connector bodies <NUM>, <NUM> are adapted to be mated with complementary shaping as such that the form of the first connector body <NUM> securely accepts the projections of the second connector body <NUM> within a recess. The coupling of the first and second connectors <NUM>, <NUM> in some examples is a slight press fit such that the connectors cannot move relative to one another when connected.

The first connector body <NUM> and optionally, the second connector body <NUM> have at least two subsections: a connecting portion <NUM> housing the electrical contacts <NUM> and latch portion <NUM>. The latching portion <NUM> is usually positioned around the connecting portion <NUM>. In the example shown, the second connecting body <NUM> has a moving latching portion <NUM>. On the sides facing each other, the first and second connector bodies <NUM> and <NUM> each have mating faces <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, positioned around electrical contacts <NUM>. These are a relatively flat portion on the latching portions <NUM> of the connector bodies <NUM> and <NUM> near the outer periphery of each connector body <NUM>, <NUM> in the example shown in <FIG>. The mating faces serve to bring the parts of magnetic latching appropriately oriented and sufficiently proximate to each other in order to function.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that electrical contacts <NUM> in the example shown are but one of many configurations that can be used. Any number of electrical connections of various gauges and arrangements thereof can be accommodated in each connector body <NUM>, <NUM>. One of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that the teachings of this disclosure could equally be applied to other types of releasable connections like data, fluid transfer, or other suitable connections. In some examples of the present latching system, the connector bodies are adapted to swap the connections enabled inside, allowing different electrical connectors to be inserted for example.

Within each connector body <NUM>, <NUM> as a part of the latching portion <NUM> there are magnets positioned just under the mating faces <NUM>, <NUM>. The latching portion <NUM> moves relative to the connecting portion <NUM>. The rotation of the latching portion <NUM> allows the magnets on one connecting body <NUM> to be repositioned relative to the other connecting body <NUM> as one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the magnets can be any type of magnet, such as permanently magnetized ferromagnetic materials or rare earth magnets. In other examples of the present latching system <NUM>, an electromagnet could be used to selectively engage or reverse the magnetic poles.

As shown in in <FIG>, there are two alternating series of magnets <NUM> and <NUM> in different orientations. Each magnet, regardless of its shape and attendant magnetic field, has a north and south pole. The magnet orientation is based on how the poles are positioned within the magnet and their relative organization when the magnet is installed in the connector body <NUM>, <NUM>. For the purposes of this discussion, a magnet is termed to be facing up if the north pole of that magnet is closest to the respective mating surface <NUM> or <NUM> and a magnet is termed to be facing down if the south pole of the magnet is closest to the mating surface <NUM> or <NUM>. In the figures, the illustrated green circle represents North Magnetic Pole and the purple circle represents South Magnetic Pole for visualization only. Magnets are exposed in <FIG> and <FIG> for illustrated purpose only, but are enclosed in some examples by a cover <NUM> with screws <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. Magnets may be exposed, partially exposed, or fully enclosed and retained by any other means as desired.

As in the example convertible force latching system shown in the figures, each of the series of magnets are placed in an alternating pattern. This pattern is repeated in a similar manner on the opposite connector body <NUM> as in the connector body <NUM>. In the example shown, the magnets are placed in a circular pattern on the connector body <NUM> with the north poles of the first series of magnets closest to the mating surface <NUM>, facing "up", and the south poles of the second series of magnets closest to the mating surface <NUM>, facing "down".

The arrangement enables different uses depending on the relative arrangements of the magnets on one connecting body to the other depending on the position of the moving latching portion <NUM>. In a first arrangement, illustrated in <FIG>, the magnets in the respective alternating series on each connector body <NUM>, <NUM> with opposite poles are facing each other to assist in holding the latching system <NUM> together. Thus, the first and second series of magnets are aligned with the third and fourth series of magnets, respectively, in a first position such that the first and second series of magnets are attracted to the third and fourth series of magnets.

Contrastingly, the latching portion <NUM> can be moved in along a predetermined motion path to alter the alignments of the magnets. In the example shown in <FIG>, the latching portion can be rotated to shift the magnets in each series <NUM> and <NUM> from facing opposite magnetic poles to facing identical charged magnetic poles to the position shown in <FIG>. The repulsion of the similar poles assists in decoupling the latching system <NUM>. Thus, the second arrangement illustrated in <FIG> has the first and second series of magnets aligned with the fourth and third series of magnets, respectively, in a second position such that the first and second series of magnets are repelled by the third and fourth series of magnets. In some examples of the present invention, a locking mechanism can be added to prevent rotation when not desired by the user.

By allowing for both magnetic attraction and repulsion, the connection allows for assistive coupling and decoupling. During mating, the attraction of unlike magnetic poles from both connector bodies <NUM>, <NUM> automatically pulls the parts together which makes them easy to mate. Even if the magnets on connector bodies <NUM>, <NUM> do not line up perfectly, as the latches get close to each other, the repulsion of magnets pushes like magnetic poles away from each other and the attraction of magnets pulls unlike magnetic poles together. This push/pull effect forces Latch <NUM> to rotate automatically and align all magnets in Latch <NUM> to Latch <NUM> for mating. The combination of attraction for all magnet pairs also acts as retention to keep the parts mated.

When the magnets are aligned with opposite poles, the attraction helps correctly seat the connector bodies within each other. When the magnets are aligned with the same poles, the repulsion helps push the connectors apart. Rather than requiring the user to apply sufficient force, the magnets thereby increasing the user ability to couple these connectors by reducing the force needed to couple the connectors.

The latch portion <NUM> is external to the connector body which is accessible by hand for rotation to unlatch, for any size of a scalable latching system <NUM>. This eliminates the need for an additional mechanism such as a trigger or engagement releasing unit connected internally for unlatching, which allows the convertible force latching system to have a more compact size and lower manufacturing cost due to less components involved. Such an example latching system <NUM> is shown used in <FIG>. In some embodiments, the connector body <NUM>, further includes a force actuation interface mechanism such as a handle or tab to more easily utilize the latching portion <NUM>. Such an example latching system <NUM> is shown in <FIG> and used in <FIG> a second connector body <NUM>' with handle <NUM>.

Motion of the latching portion <NUM> of the connector body <NUM> shown in <FIG> is restrained in the example shown by a series of motion guides including a motion stop <NUM>. The stop <NUM> is a projection from second connector body <NUM> that fits into a matching recess <NUM> in the second connector body <NUM>. The shape and size of the stop <NUM> and recess <NUM> are determined to allow the shifting of the magnets between each of the alignments discussed above. For example, when the latching system <NUM> is rotated to the position shown in <FIG>, the stop <NUM> and recess <NUM> together with the shaping of the connector bodies <NUM> and <NUM> themselves form a predetermined motion path which directs and guides user interaction along the proper shift between the attracting position and repelling position. After rotation, all magnets in corresponding connector body <NUM> have same exact poles as the corresponding mating magnets in corresponding connector body <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, both connector bodies <NUM>, <NUM> have rotational alignment features <NUM> as shown. As illustrated in <FIG>, because magnets are put in a circular pattern, parts with the latch can be mated in multiple orientations as long as the magnets align. Rotational alignment features, such as the features shown in <FIG> are included in some examples added to the connector bodies <NUM>, <NUM> to prevent them from mating in the wrong orientation. In the example shown, the alignment feature changes the mating surface from a perfect round shape to a "D" shape. The flat on the "D" shape interferes with the round when the two connectors are mated in the wrong orientation. They can only be mated while the flats align with each other. The alignment features can be in any other forms, shapes or means as desired. These rotational alignment features, such as the features shown in <FIG> are included in some examples added to the connector bodies <NUM>, <NUM> to prevent them from mating in the wrong orientation.

Claim 1:
A convertible force latching system (<NUM>) for electrical connectors, comprising:
a first connector body (<NUM>) with a first mating face (<NUM>), the first connector body further comprising a latching portion (<NUM>) movable relative to a connecting portion (<NUM>), the latching portion (<NUM>) comprising:
a first series of at least two magnets (<NUM>), each first magnet with a north pole and a south pole oriented in a first direction arranged within the first connector body proximate to the first mating surface;
a second series of at least two magnets (<NUM>), each second magnet with a north pole and a south pole oriented in a second direction, different than the first direction, arranged within the first connector body; and
a second connector body (<NUM>) with a second mating face (<NUM>), the second connector body further comprising:
a third series of at least two magnets (<NUM>), each third magnet with a north pole and a south pole oriented in a first direction arranged within the second connector body proximate to the second mating surface in a manner complementary with the arrangement of the first series;
a fourth series of at least two magnets (<NUM>), each fourth magnet with a north pole and a south pole oriented in a second direction, different than the first direction, arranged within the connector body in a manner complementary to the second series;
wherein in a first arrangement, the first (<NUM>) and second (<NUM>) series of magnets are aligned with the third (<NUM>) and fourth (<NUM>) series of magnets, respectively, in a first position such that the first and second series of magnets are attracted to the third and fourth series of magnets;
characterized in that, in a second arrangement, the first (<NUM>) and second (<NUM>) series of magnets are aligned with the fourth (<NUM>) and third (<NUM>) series of magnets, respectively, in a second position such that the first and second series of magnets are repelled by the third and fourth series of magnets; and
in that the rotational movement of the latching portion (<NUM>) along a predetermined motion path relative to the connecting portion (<NUM>), shifts the arrangement of the first (<NUM>) and second (<NUM>) series of magnets from the first position to the second position.