US Patent 7083459 Latching connector assembly

In some embodiments, an electrical cable connector includes a latching spring having a user-pressable top plate coupled to a fixed base through a frontal U-shaped hinge. The top plate includes bi-directionally (front and back) sloped latching protrusions which fit into matching openings defined in a complementary connector. A connector pair can be separated by pressing the top plate to lower the latching protrusions, and/or by applying a pulling force lower than a cable-damaging threshold to cause the connectors to self-release. The hinge structure can include a pair of laterally-spaced hinges separated by a central notch. The width of the central notch can be chosen to yield desired spring properties.