Patent ID: 8177575

Claim:
A connector assembly comprising a first connector having a mating portion and a second connector into which the mating portion of the first connector is inserted along an insertion direction so that the first connector is mated with the second connector, wherein the second connector comprises a receptacle portion, a lock key, and a biasing member, the receptacle portion is configured to receive the mating portion of the first connector, the receptacle portion includes a positioning key receiver extending along the insertion direction, the lock key is held by the receptacle portion so as to be movable between a locking position and an unlocking position along an entry direction crossing the insertion direction and along a withdrawal direction opposite to the entry direction, the lock key has a pushed portion, the pushed portion is positioned at an end of the lock key in the entry direction, the biasing member is configured to bias the lock key toward the locking position, the mating portion of the first connector has a positioning key extending along the insertion direction, the positioning key is received into the positioning key receiver upon the insertion of the mating portion into the second connector, the positioning key includes a pusher and a locking portion, the pusher is configured to, upon the insertion of the mating portion into the second connector, push the pushed portion of the lock key to temporarily move the lock key along the withdrawal direction to the unlocking position against the biasing member, and the locking portion is configured to lock a mating state of the first connector and the second connector in cooperation with the lock key when the lock key is moved back to the locking position by the biasing member after the pusher pushes the pushed portion, wherein each of an outer circumferential surface of the mating portion and an inner circumferential surface of the receptacle portion has a circular shape on a plane perpendicular to the insertion direction, and the entry direction and the withdrawal direction correspond to circumferential directions of the circular shape.