Socket-and-plug assembly

• US 6,508,669 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2001
• Issued: 01/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Juei-Peng Wang
• Original Assignee: Juei-Peng Wang
• Inventors: Wang, Juei-Peng
• Primary Examiner(s): TA, THO DAC
• Application Number:
  US10/022,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20020127919A1
• Time in Patent Office: 404 Days
• Field of Search: 439/353, 439/354, 439/352, 439/357, 439/358, 439/682, 439/460, 439/461, 439/462, 439/598, 439/651
• US Class Current: 439/598
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/59 Threaded ferrule or bolt operating in a direction parallel to the cable or wire
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6272 comprising a single latching arm
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/06 for computer periphery

Abstract

A socket-and-plug assembly includes a socket member formed with a looped recess therein and a core that is surrounded by the looped recess and that is formed with a plurality of terminal passages. A latch member has an inserting end section inserted in the looped recess, and a resilient latch arm that is engageable with the socket member and that is resiliently pressable to disengage from the socket member. A plug member includes a terminal seat received snugly in the inserting end section, and a plurality of conductive terminals mounted in the terminal seat and received in the terminal passages, respectively.

Claims

1. A socket-and-plug assembly, comprising:

an insulator socket member including a cylindrical body that defines an axial direction and that has front and rear ends, said socket member further including a mating flange that extends outwardly from said rear end of said cylindrical body in a radial direction relative to said axial direction, said cylindrical body being formed with a looped recess that extends frontwardly from said rear end in said axial direction, and a core that is surrounded by said looped recess and that is formed with a plurality of spaced apart terminal passages which extend from said rear end in said axial direction, said mating flange defining a mating opening that is in spatial communication with said terminal passages, and having a top end that confines a top side of said mating opening, said top end of said mating flange having front and rear sides, and being formed with a bottom recess that extends from said front side to said rear side in said axial direction and that is in spatial communication with said mating opening;

an insulator latch member including a hollow body that extends in said axial direction and that confines a plug receiving space, said hollow body having a top wall confining a top side of said plug receiving space, an inserting end section which is received fittingly in said looped recess, and a fastening end section which is opposite to said inserting end section, said latch member being formed with a latch receiving opening in said top wall between said inserting end section and said fastening end section, said latch receiving opening being defined by a peripheral wall that has a rear end adjacent to said fastening end section, said latch member further including a resilient latch arm that extends frontwardly from said rear end of said peripheral wall in said radial direction into said latch receiving opening and that has a hooking free end which is opposite to said rear end of said peripheral wall, which extends through said bottom recess in said top end of said mating flange, and which releasably engages said front side of said top end of said mating flange, said latch arm being resiliently pressable so as to permit disengagement of said hooking free end from said front side of said top end of said mating flange and so as to permit disassembly of said latch member and said socket member; and

a plug member including an insulator plug housing and a plurality of conductive terminals mounted in and projecting outwardly from said plug housing in said radial direction, said plug member being insertable into said socket member in a manner such that said plug housing is received in said plug receiving space and that said terminals are respectively and fittingly received in said terminal passages.

2. The socket-and-plug assembly of claim 1, wherein said inserting end section is cylindrical in shape, and has a non-circular inner face that has a top flat section and a bottom curve section interconnecting two opposite ends of said top flat section, and that is formed with at least a guiding groove in said bottom curve section, said core of said cylindrical body having an outer face that conforms to said inner face of said inserting end section, said looped recess having a cross-section that conforms to that of said inserting end section so that said inserting end section can only be inserted into said looped recess at an angle relative to said core.

3. The socket-and-plug assembly of claim 1, wherein said inserting end section is cylindrical in shape, and has a non-circular inner face that has a top flat section and a bottom curve section interconnecting two opposite ends of said top flat section, and that is formed with at least a guiding groove in said bottom curve section, said plug housing including a terminal seat that has an outer face conforming to said inner face of said inserting end section and that is snugly received in said inserting end section of said hollow body so as to enhance positioning of said plug member in said plug receiving space.

4. The socket-and-plug assembly of claim 3, wherein said hollow body further includes an intermediate flange that interconnects said inserting end section and said fastening end section and that extends outwardly from a rear end of said inserting end section in said radial direction so as to cooperate with said rear end of said inserting end section to define a shoulder therebetween, said terminal seat having front and rear ends, said plug housing further including a limiting flange that projects from said rear end of said terminal seat in said radial direction so as to engage said shoulder and so as to limit the position of said terminal seat in said inserting end section.

5. The socket-and-plug assembly of claim 4, wherein said plug housing further includes a cable receiving seat that extends rearwardly from said limiting flange in said axial direction, said fastening end section of said latch member having a threaded outer face, and a top wall that is formed with a bottom recess, said plug member further including a sleeve that has a front enclosing section which is received in said plug receiving space and which is sleeved on said cable receiving seat, a top positioning protrusion which is snugly received in said bottom recess in said top wall of said fastening end section, and a contractable binding end which extends rearwardly from said front enclosing end in said radial direction and which has a frusto-conical shape with a plurality of equiangularly spaced apart slits, said plug member further including a nut that has a front threaded end which threadedly engages said threaded outer face of said fastening end section of said hollow body, and a frusto-conical end that extends rearwardly from said front threaded end and that is sleeved on said binding end so as to permit contraction of said binding end when said front threaded end is driven to advance frontwardly along said fastening end section.