Connector with pivoting magnetic door
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorMichael A. Haase
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A connector has a first magnetic member proximate an opening of the connector. A door of the connector has a gate with a peripheral shape conforming to a shape of an opening of the connector. A pivot of the door rotatably engages with the at least one pivot attachment of the housing on a pivot axis that extends across the gate. A protrusion of the door extends from the pivot axis away from the gate. The protrusion includes a second magnetic member. The first and second magnetic members cause the gate to block the opening in an unmated configuration of the connector.
Claims20
A connector, comprising:
- a housing with an opening configured to receive part of a mating connector in a mated configuration of the connector, the housing comprising at least one pivot attachment proximate the opening and at least one first magnetic member proximate the opening;
- and
- at least one door comprising:
- a gate with a peripheral shape conforming to a shape of the opening;
- a pivot that rotatably engages with the at least one pivot attachment of the housing on a pivot axis that extends across the gate;
- and
- a protrusion extending from the pivot axis away from the gate, the protrusion comprising a second magnetic member that is magnetically attracted to the first magnetic member such that the first and second magnetic members cause the gate to block the opening in an unmated configuration of the connector.
An optical connector housing, comprising:
- an opening configured to receive part of a mating optical connector;
- a pair of pivot attachments on respective first and second sides of the opening;
- a first magnetic member proximate a third side of the opening that joins the first and second sides;
- and
- at least one door, comprising:
- a gate with a peripheral shape conforming to a shape of the opening;
- first and second pivots that rotatably engage with the pair of pivot attachments on a pivot axis;
- and
- a protrusion extending from the pivot axis away from the gate proximate the first and second pivots, the protrusion comprising a second magnetic member that is magnetically attracted to the first magnetic member such that the first and second magnetic members cause the gate to block the opening in an unmated configuration of the optical connector.
A method, comprising:
- positioning a mating optical connector relative to an optical connector so that an internal structure of the mating optical connector is aligned with an opening in a housing of the optical connector;
- pushing the mating optical connector towards the opening such that the internal structure contacts a gate portion of a door that is attached to the housing via a pivot;
- in response to further pushing of the mating optical connector towards the opening, rotating the door about a pivot axis along one side of the gate via the internal structure, the rotating of the door causes a second magnetic member of the door to separate from a first magnetic member of the housing, the second magnetic member being located opposed to the gate away from the pivot axis;
- and
- mating the mating optical connector with the optical connector such that there is at least one optical pathway therebetween.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.