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EP-4742463-A1 - CONNECTOR HOUSING, CONNECTOR AND CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY

EP4742463A1EP 4742463 A1EP4742463 A1EP 4742463A1EP-4742463-A1

Abstract

The present invention discloses a connector housing, a connector, and a connector assembly. The connector housing comprises: an outer peripheral wall (10) which has an elastic buckle (11) formed on it; and an unlocking part (14) which is connected to the elastic buckle (11). When the connector housing (1) is not mated with a mating housing (2), the elastic buckle (11) is in a locking position engaged with a mounting panel (3) to lock the connector housing (1) to the mounting panel (3); when the connector housing (1) has been mated with the mating housing (2), the unlocking part (14) engages with a mating unlocking part (24) on the mating housing (2) and the elastic buckle (11) is moved from the locking position to an unlocking position detached from the mounting panel (3) under the driving of the mating unlocking part (24). In the present invention, by mating the connector housing with the mating housing of the mating connector, the elastic buckle on the connector housing can be pushed to the unlocking position away from the mounting panel without the need for a dedicated unlocking tool, making the unlocking operation of the elastic buckle very simple.

Inventors

  • ZHU, JIANGHUA
  • LI, HUAIHENG
  • ZONG, Jun
  • HU, WEIWEI

Assignees

  • Tyco Electronics (Suzhou) Ltd.
  • Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251110

Claims (15)

  1. A connector housing, comprising: an outer peripheral wall (10) which has an elastic buckle (11) formed on it; and an unlocking part (14) which is connected to the elastic buckle (11), wherein when the connector housing (1) is not mated with a mating housing (2), the elastic buckle (11) is in a locking position engaged with a mounting panel (3) to lock the connector housing (1) to the mounting panel (3), wherein when the connector housing (1) has been mated with the mating housing (2), the unlocking part (14) engages with a mating unlocking part (24) on the mating housing (2) and the elastic buckle (11) is moved from the locking position to an unlocking position detached from the mounting panel (3) under the driving of the mating unlocking part (24).
  2. The connector housing according to claim 1, wherein the connector housing (1) is adapted to mate with the mating housing (2) along its height direction (Z), and the elastic buckle (11) is adapted to be moved between the locking position and the unlocking position along the transverse direction (X) of the connector housing (1); wherein a slope surface (14a) inclined with respect to the height direction (Z) is formed on the unlocking part (14), and the slope surface (14a) on the unlocking part (14) is used to cooperate with a mating slope surface (24a) on the mating unlocking part (24) to convert the movement of the mating unlocking part (24) along the height direction (Z) into the movement of the elastic buckle (11) along the transverse direction (X).
  3. The connector housing according to claim 2, wherein the elastic buckle (11) comprises: a frame (111) which is in the shape of a door frame with an opening; a cantilever (112) connected to the frame (111) and suspended in the frame (111); and a protrusion (113) formed on the cantilever (112), wherein the connector housing (1) is adapted to be installed into an installation opening (30) of the mounting panel (3), and the protrusion (113) is adapted to rest against the edge of the installation opening (30) of the mounting panel (3) along the height direction (Z) to lock the connector housing (1) to the mounting panel (3).
  4. The connector housing according to claim 3, wherein the frame (111) comprises: a pair of side pillars (11a), whose lower ends are connected to the outer peripheral wall (10); and a top beam (11b) connected between the upper ends of the pair of side pillars (11a), wherein the cantilever (112) extends along the height direction (Z) and its upper end is connected to the top beam (11b), the protrusion (113) is formed on the outer side of the lower end of the cantilever (112), and the unlocking part (14) is connected to the inner side of the lower end of the cantilever (112), wherein optionally the unlocking part (14) has two ears (140) respectively located on both sides of the width direction of the cantilever (112), which are used to engage with two tongues (240) on the mating housing (2) respectively; wherein optionally the slope surfaces (14a) are respectively formed on the two ears (140), and the slope surfaces (14a) on the two ears (140) are used to respectively cooperate with the mating slope surfaces (24a) on the two tongues (240).
  5. The connector housing according to claim 3, further comprising: a flange portion (12) formed outside the outer peripheral wall (10), wherein when the connector housing (1) is installed into the installation opening (30) of the mounting panel (3), the edge of the installation opening (30) of the mounting panel (3) is clamped between the flange portion (12) and the protrusion (113) of the elastic buckle (11), so that the connector housing (1) is locked to the mounting panel (3), wherein optionally when the connector housing (1) installed on the mounting panel (3) is mated with the mating housing (2), the protrusion (113) of the elastic buckle (11) is moved to the unlocking position that is detached from the edge of the installation opening (30) of the mounting panel (3), allowing the connector housing (1) to be pulled out from the installation opening (30) of the mounting panel (3).
  6. The connector housing according to claim 1, wherein multiple elastic buckles (11) and multiple unlocking parts (14) respectively connected to the multiple elastic buckles (11) are formed on the outer peripheral wall (10) of the connector housing (1), and the multiple elastic buckles (11) are distributed at intervals in the circumferential direction of the connector housing (1).
  7. The connector housing according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the outer peripheral wall (10) of the connector housing (1) comprises a pair of opposite side walls (10a) in the transverse direction (X) of the connector housing (1), and the elastic buckle (11) is formed on the side wall (10a) of the connector housing (1); wherein a protruding post (13) is formed on the inner side of the side wall (10a) of the connector housing (1) along the transverse direction (X), and the protruding post (13) is used to slidably mate with a sliding slot (40) on a driving component (4) inserted into the mating housing (2), so that the mating housing (2) can be moved from a pre installation position to a final installation position under the driving of the driving component (4).
  8. A connector, comprising: the connector housing (1) according to any one of claims 1-7; and a terminal set in the connector housing (1), wherein the terminal is used to mate with a mating terminal set in a mating housing (2) of a mating connector.
  9. A connector assembly, comprising: the connector as claimed in claim 8; and a mating connector, including: a mating housing (2) inserted into the connector housing (1) along the height direction (Z) of the connector housing (1); and a mating terminal set in the mating housing (2) and mated with the terminal in the connector housing (1), wherein a mating unlocking part (24) is formed on the peripheral wall of the mating housing (2), which engages with the unlocking part (14) of the connector housing (1) to push the elastic buckle (11) of the connector housing (1) from the locking position to the unlocking position.
  10. The connector assembly according to claim 9, wherein a mating slope surface (24a) is formed on the mating unlocking part (24), which cooperates with the slope surface (14a) on the unlocking part (14) to convert the movement of the mating unlocking part (24) in the height direction (Z) into the movement of the elastic buckle (11) in the transverse direction (X) of the connector housing (1).
  11. The connector assembly according to claim 10, wherein a receiving slot (21) corresponding to the elastic buckle (11) is formed on the peripheral wall (20) of the mating housing (2), and the elastic buckle (11) is accommodated in the receiving slot (21) on the peripheral wall (20) of the mating housing (2).
  12. The connector assembly according to claim 11, wherein the mating unlocking part (24) comprises two tongues (240) respectively located on both sides of the width direction of the receiving slot (21), and the two tongues (240) are respectively engaged with the two ears (140) on the unlocking part (14); wherein the two tongues (240) are respectively formed with the mating slope surfaces (24a), and the mating slope surfaces (24a) on the two tongues (240) are respectively mated with the slope surfaces (14a) on the two ears (140); and/or wherein multiple receiving slots (21) and multiple mating unlocking parts (24) are formed on the peripheral wall (20) of the mating housing (2), multiple elastic buckles (11) on the connector housing (1) are respectively received in the multiple receiving slots (21), and the multiple mating unlocking parts (24) are respectively engaged with the multiple unlocking parts (14) on the connector housing (1).
  13. The connector assembly according to claim 11, wherein the peripheral wall (20) of the mating housing (2) comprises a pair of side walls (20a) opposite to each other in the transverse direction (X) of the mating housing (2), and the receiving slot (21) and the mating unlocking part (24) are formed on the side walls (20a) of the mating housing (2).
  14. The connector assembly according to claim 13, further comprising: a driving component (4), including: a pair of push rod parts (41) which are respectively formed with sliding slots (40); and an end plate portion (42) connected between the outer ends of the pair of push rod parts (41), wherein a pair of slots (201) extending along the longitudinal direction (Y) of the mating housing (2) are respectively formed in a pair of side walls (20a) of the mating housing (2), and a pair of push rod parts (41) of the driving component (4) are respectively inserted into the slots (201) on the pair of side walls (20a) of the mating housing (2), wherein a slot hole (202) connected to the slot (201) is formed in the side wall (20a) of the mating housing (2), and the protruding post (13) is inserted into the sliding slot (40) through the slot hole (202) and slidably mated with the sliding slot (40), so that the mating connector can be move from a pre installation position to a final installation position along the height direction (Z) under the drive of the driving component (4).
  15. The connector assembly according to claim 14, wherein the driving component (4) is inserted into the slot (201) of the mating housing (2) in a movable manner, and can be moved relative to the mating housing (2) along the longitudinal direction (Y) between a pre locking position and a final locking position; wherein when the driving component (4) is moved from the pre locking position to the final locking position, the mating connector is moved from the pre installation position to the final installation position under the driving of the driving component (4), wherein optionally when the mating connector is in the pre installation position, the mating terminal is not in contact with the terminal in the connector and the mating unlocking part (24) is separated from the unlocking part (14); wherein optionally when the mating connector is in the final installation position, the mating terminal is mated with the terminal in the connector and the mating unlocking part (24) is engaged with the unlocking part (14); and/or wherein optionally the sliding slot (40) extends a predetermined length in a direction inclined to the height direction (Z) and longitudinal direction (Y) of the mating housing (2), so as to be able to convert the movement of the driving component (4) along the longitudinal direction (Y) into the movement of the mating connector along the height direction (Z); and/or wherein optionally an elastic locking buckle (43) is formed on the push rod part (41) of the driving component (4), and a pre locking slot (3a) and a final locking slot (3b) are formed on the mating housing (2), with the pre locking slot (3a) and the final locking slot (3b) spaced apart in the longitudinal direction (Y) of the mating housing (2); wherein optionally when the driving component (4) is in the pre locking position, the elastic locking buckle (43) engages with the pre locking slot (3a) to keep the driving component (4) in the pre locking position; wherein optionally when the driving component (4) is in the final locking position, the elastic locking buckle (43) engages with the final locking slot (3b) to hold the driving component (4) in the final locking position; and/or wherein optionally the sliding slot (40) on the push rod part (41) has an inlet (401) located at one end to allow the protruding post (13) on the connector housing (1) to enter into the sliding slot (40) through the inlet (401); wherein optionally when the driving component (4) is in the pre locking position and the mating housing (2) is in the pre installation position, the protruding post (13) on the connector housing (1) is located in the inlet (401) of the sliding slot (40) on the push rod part (41); wherein optionally when the driving component (4) is in the final locking position and the mating housing (2) is in the final installation position, the protruding post (13) on the connector housing (1) is located in the other end of the sliding slot (40) on the push rod part (41).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. CN202411614219.0 filed on November 12, 2024 in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector housing, a connector comprising the connector housing, and a connector assembly comprising the connector. Description of the Related Art In the prior art, a door connector is usually installed on the door sheet metal. The door connector includes a housing and terminals arranged in the housing. An elastic buckle is formed on the housing for locking the housing to the door sheet metal. When it is necessary to remove the door connector from the door sheet metal, a specialized unlocking tool must be used to drive the elastic buckle on the door connector to the unlocking position that is detached from the door sheet metal. Due to the formation of multiple elastic buckles on the housing of the door connector, unlocking multiple elastic buckles simultaneously is very difficult and time-consuming. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to overcome or alleviate at least one aspect of the above mentioned disadvantages. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector housing. The connector housing comprises: an outer peripheral wall which has an elastic buckle formed on it; and an unlocking part which is connected to the elastic buckle. When the connector housing is not mated with a mating housing, the elastic buckle is in a locking position engaged with a mounting panel to lock the connector housing to the mounting panel; when the connector housing has been mated with the mating housing, the unlocking part engages with a mating unlocking part on the mating housing and the elastic buckle is moved from the locking position to an unlocking position detached from the mounting panel under the driving of the mating unlocking part. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the connector housing is adapted to mate with the mating housing along its height direction, and the elastic buckle is adapted to be moved between the locking position and the unlocking position along the transverse direction of the connector housing; a slope surface inclined with respect to the height direction is formed on the unlocking part, and the slope surface on the unlocking part is used to cooperate with a mating slope surface on the mating unlocking part to convert the movement of the mating unlocking part along the height direction into the movement of the elastic buckle along the transverse direction. According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the elastic buckle comprises: a frame which is in the shape of a door frame with an opening; a cantilever connected to the frame and suspended in the frame; and a protrusion formed on the cantilever. The connector housing is adapted to be installed into an installation opening of the mounting panel, and the protrusion is adapted to rest against the edge of the installation opening of the mounting panel along the height direction to lock the connector housing to the mounting panel. According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the frame comprises: a pair of side pillars, whose lower ends are connected to the outer peripheral wall; and a top beam connected between the upper ends of the pair of side pillars. The cantilever extends along the height direction and its upper end is connected to the top beam, the protrusion is formed on the outer side of the lower end of the cantilever, and the unlocking part is connected to the inner side of the lower end of the cantilever. According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the unlocking part has two ears respectively located on both sides of the width direction of the cantilever, which are used to engage with two tongues on the mating housing respectively; the slope surfaces are respectively formed on the two ears, and the slope surfaces on the two ears are used to respectively cooperate with the mating slope surfaces on the two tongues. According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the connector housing further comprises a flange portion formed outside the outer peripheral wall. When the connector housing is installed into the installation opening of the mounting panel, the edge of the installation opening of the mounting panel is clamped between the flange portion and the protrusion of the elastic buckle, so that the connector housing is locked to the mounting panel. According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when the connector housing installed on the mounting panel is mated with the mating housing, the protrusion of the elastic buckle is moved to the unlocking position that is detached from the edge of the install