Cable end connector with locking member

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cable end connector, and particularly to a cable end connector with a locking member for locking with a complementary connector.

2. Description of Related Art

Complementary electrical connectors typically include dielectric housings respectively receiving a plurality of terminals or contacts which, when the connectors are mated, establish an electrical connection therebetween. The complementary connectors may be male and female connectors or plug and receptacle connectors. In some instances, the connectors have complementary latches for locking the connectors together when mated. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,445,534, 5,775,931, 5,924,886 and 6,431,887 disclose different forms of latch structures to provide a reliable mechanical and electrical connection between complementary connectors.

There exists in the art an electrical connector known as a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (Serial ATA) connector which is generally used for disk drives and storage peripherals. Especially, the Serial ATA connectors according the Serial ATA standard are featured in fewer electrical contacts than other conventional electrical connectors and are relatively tiny in configurations. It is desirable for the Serial ATA connector to have latching means for providing a reliable mechanical and electrical connection with a complementary connector. However, the latch structures disclosed in the above-mentioned patents are not fully suitable for the Serial ATA connector. For example, the latch structure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,534 is used for locking a male component in a female housing. The other latch structures are relatively complex or cannot used in the Serial ATA connector because of the specific structure of Serial ATA.

Therefore, assignee of the present application has proposed several solutions to satisfy current demands in, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/301,221, 10/280,515, 10/271,064, and 10/241,551, filed respectively on Nov. 20, 2002, Oct. 24, 2002, Oct. 15, 2002 and Sep. 11, 2002, and respectively entitled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY HAVING LOCKING MEMBER”, “CABLE END CONNECTOR WITH LOCKING MEMBER”, “CABLE END CONNECTOR WITH LOCKING MEMBER” and “CABLE END CONNECTOR WITH LOCKING MEMBER”.

The Serial ATA cable end connector of the above-mentioned applications generally comprises a housing, a plurality of terminals, a cable comprising a plurality of conductors respectively electrically connecting to the terminals, a cover over-molded with the housing and the cable, and a locking member. The locking member comprises a pushing portion received in a recess of the cover and a locking portion for releasing/locking the cable end connector from/with the complementary connector conveniently by way of the pushing portion. However, sometimes Serial ATA connectors are used in a chassis of a host computer. In such a condition, once the cable end connector has been engaged with the complementary connector, it doesn't need to separate the cable end connector often from the complementary connector. Thus, a suitable type of locking member is needed to satisfy this different demand.

An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a cable end connector with a locking member for locking the connector with a complementary connector permanently.

In order to achieve the objects set forth, a cable end connector for mating with a complementary connector comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of contacts disposed in the housing, a cable comprising a plurality of conductors electrically connected to the contacts, a cover partially enclosing the housing, and a locking member. The locking member comprises a securing portion fixedly secured to the insulative housing, and a latching portion movably extending from the securing portion and out of the insulative housing for locking with the complementary connector and providing a mechanical connection therebetween.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a cable end connector in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled, perspective view of the cable end connector of FIG. 1, without a locking member thereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the locking member of the cable end connector;

FIG. 4 is an assembled view of the cable end connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cable end connector in accordance with the present invention and a complementary connector, which together constitute an electrical connector assembly;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but the cable end connector and the complementary connector have been mated with each other; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7 — 7 of FIG. 6 .

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, a cable end connector 100 in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulative housing 1 , a locking member 2 , a spacer 3 , a plurality of contacts 4 , a cover 5 , and a cable 6 .

Referring to FIGS. 1-2 and in conjunction with FIG. 7, the insulative housing 1 is a rectangular body and comprises an upper wall 10 , a lower wall 12 opposite to the upper wall 10 , and a pair of side walls 15 joining the upper and lower walls 10 , 12 . An L-shaped receiving space 11 is defined between the upper and lower walls 10 , 12 for receiving the complementary connector 7 . A block 13 is formed on the lower wall 12 and protrudes into the receiving space 11 . A plurality of passageways 14 is defined through the block 13 for receiving the contacts 4 . Each side wall 15 is partly cut off to define a channel 151 . The upper and lower walls 10 , 12 each defines a pair of recesses 16 communicating with a corresponding channel 151 on a pair of sides thereof. A guiding projection 18 protrudes sidewardly from a side surface of the side wall 15 . A pair of ribs 17 is formed on an upper surface and a lower surface of the housing 1 and adjacent to a rear portion of the housing 1 for engaging with the cover 5 , and a receiving slot (not labeled) is defined in the rear portion of the housing 1 for receiving the spacer 3 .

The spacer 3 is a rectangular board defining a plurality of holes therethrough. Each contact 4 comprises a retention portion 41 for engaging with a corresponding passageway 14 defined in the block 13 , a mating portion 40 extending forwardly from the retention portion 41 for being received in corresponding passageway 14 and partly exposed into the receiving space 11 , and a tail portion 42 extending rearwardly from the retention portion 41 for electrically contacting the cable 6 .

The cable 6 comprises two differential pairs and an outer insulative jacket 60 surrounding the pairs. Each differential pair comprises a pair of signal conductors 62 and a pair of grounding conductors 61 arranged beside the signal conductors 62 . Each conductor extends beyond a front end of the jacket 60 .

The cover 5 is preferably formed of molded plastic or polymer material and is over-molded with the rear portion of the housing 1 and the front end of the cable 6 . The cover 5 is a rectangular body and a transverse size of a rear portion thereof is smaller than a transverse size of a front portion thereof for being grasped conveniently and receiving the cable 6 therein.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the locking member 2 comprises a securing portion 23 for securing the locking member 2 to the housing 1 and a latching portion 22 extending forwardly from a middle of the securing portion 23 . The securing portion 23 comprises a transverse portion 20 and a pair of side portions 21 extending sidewardly from opposite lateral edges of the transverse portion 20 . Each side portion 21 comprises a U-shaped claw having opposite first and second portions 210 , 212 , and a vertical portion 214 connecting the first and second portions 210 , 212 . The first portion 210 extends sidewardly from the lateral edge of the transverse portion 20 . The second portion 212 is opposite to the first portion 210 . The latching portion 22 comprises a neck portion 220 , an enlarged portion 224 extending forwardly from the neck portion 220 , and a hook portion 226 bent downwardly from a free end of the enlarged portion 224 for locking with the complementary connector 7 .

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, and in conjunction with FIG. 7, in assembly, the contacts 4 are first assembled into the housing 1 in a rear-to-front direction. The mating portion 40 and the retention portion 41 of each contact 4 are received into corresponding passageway 14 and the tail portion 42 exposed outside the housing 1 . The spacer 3 is then received into the receiving slot defined in the rear portion of the housing 1 , and the tail portions 42 of the contacts 4 protrude through the holes defined in the spacer 3 . The spacer 3 seals the rear portion of the insulative housing 1 , thereby efficiently preventing the melted plastic material of the cover 5 from entering into the housing 1 when the cover 5 is being molded. The signal and grounding conductors 61 , 62 of the cable 6 are soldered to the tail portions 42 , respectively. The cover 5 is then over-molded with the rear portion of the housing 1 and the front end of the cable 6 . Melted material of the cover 5 is received in the channel 151 . The pair of ribs 17 is received in a receiving cavity 56 defined by four walls of the cover 5 and engaging with inner surfaces of the receiving cavity 56 . Therefore, the cover 5 engages with the cable 6 and the housing 1 reliably.

The locking member 2 is then assembled to the housing 1 . The transverse portion 20 of the securing portion 23 filly attached to the upper surface of the housing 1 . The vertical portion 214 of the side portion 21 is received in the channel 151 . The first and second portions 210 , 212 of each side portion 21 are respectively received in the recesses 16 defined in the upper and lower surfaces of the housing 1 . Opposite first and second edges 230 , 232 of the securing portion 23 of the locking member 2 respectively abut against a front surface 50 of the cover 5 and front portions of the insulative housing 1 . Thus, the locking member 2 is secured between the insulative housing 1 and the cover 5 for preventing from moving along a front-to-rear direction. The enlarged portion 224 of the latching portion 22 extends beyond a front end of the housing 1 for locking with the complementary connector 7 .

Referring to FIGS. 5-7, the complementary connector 7 and the cable end connector 100 in accordance with the present invention together constitute an electrical connector assembly 200 . The complementary connector 7 comprises a dielectric housing 70 and a tongue 74 extending forwardly from a middle of the housing 70 . A guiding post 71 extends forwardly from one end of the housing 70 for facilitating the engagement with the cable end connector 100 . A guide portion 75 is formed on the housing 70 and is chamfered in configuration and has an inclined surface, functioning in guiding and facilitating the hook portion 226 of the locking member 2 to lock with the complementary connector 7 . A plurality of terminals 73 is assembled to the housing 70 and each terminal 73 has a solder tail in Surface Mount type extending beyond a rear surface 79 of the housing 70 for being soldered to a surface of a printed circuit board (not shown).

In use, referring to FIGS. 5-7, when the cable end connector 100 is to mate with the complementary connector 7 , the tongue 72 with the terminals 73 aligns with the receiving space 11 of the housing 1 of the cable end connector 100 . The hook portion 226 of the locking member 6 slides through the inclined surface of the chamfered guide portion 75 of the complementary connector 7 and then snapped onto the rear surface 79 of the housing 70 . In such a way, the one-mated locking member 6 of the cable end connector 100 is smoothly and securely locked with the complementary connector 7 . A permanent engagement between the cable end connector 100 and the complementary connector 7 is formed by the locking member 2 . Since there is no possibility of the latching portion 22 locking/separating with/from the complementary connector 7 repeatedly, after the locking member 2 locks with the complementary connector 7 , only the latching portion 22 of the locking member 2 is destroyed to deform upwardly, the cable end connector 1 can be separated from the complementary connector 7 .

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.