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US 5,690,503 AGranted
Connector lock structure
AssigneesSumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd., Asahi Metal Industries, Ltd.
InventorsKazumoto Konda, Kunihiko Watanabe, Sho Miyazaki, Shigehiro Tsuda
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lock operating member 25 is mounted on a connector housing 21, and in this condition lock balls 35 are mounted one by one in respective ball support holes 24 while elastically displacing elastic engagement members 27 radially outwardly. The mounted lock balls 35 are held in the respective ball support holes 24 by the respective elastic engagement members 27, and therefore even if the posture of a female connector is changed, the operation can be carried out easily.
Claims7
A connector lock structure comprising:
- a tubular fitting portion formed on a connector housing for fitting relative to a mating connector;
- at least one ball support hole formed through said tubular fitting portion, which are open to outer and inner peripheral surfaces of said tubular fitting portion;
- at least one lock ball received in said ball support hole in a manner that said lock ball is displaceable in a radial direction of the tubular fitting portion, and is prevented from passing radially past that peripheral surface of said tubular fitting portion facing said mating connector, a projecting portion of said lock ball, projecting from the peripheral surface of said tubular fitting portion, being engageable with said mating connector, thereby locking the two connectors in a mutually fitted condition;
- elastic engagement members each elastically displaceable radially between an engagement position where said elastic engagement member engages that side of the associated lock ball facing away from said mating connector and a retracted position where the associated lock ball is allowed to be disengaged from said mating connector;
- and
- a flexure restriction member for preventing said elastic engagement members from being elastically flexed into their retracted position.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.