Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Retaining means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-06
2003-11-04
Bradley, P. Austin (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Retaining means
C439S157000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06641423
ABSTRACT:
An anchoring system for connector boxes in service boxes.
The present patent application consists, as its title indicates, of an “Anchoring system for connector boxes in service boxes”, whose new characteristics of construction, shape and design fulfill the object for which it has specifically been planned, with maximum safety and effectiveness.
Electrical connectors are arranged in a connector box which essentially comprises a housing made of an appropriate insulating material inside which electrical terminals are provided, for example of the type called fast-connection electrical terminals. Inside, said housing comprises a plurality of divisions which define cavities through which the corresponding cables pass.
There are different ways of coupling an electrical connector box with the corresponding service box. One way is by mounting the connector box by pressure on said service box. Another way of coupling an electrical connector box in the service box consists of using a sliding body provided with inclined side guides, which slides inside said connector box, so that when the operator introduces said sliding body in the connector box, the inclination of the guides causes said connector box to anchor in the service box, as the former is forced to fit onto the latter.
In Japanese patent number JP8047142, a structure of coupling connector to electrical connection box is disclosed. In this document a plurality of connectors are mounted on a connector holding member in such a manner that the connectors can be freely attached and detached, by forming guide pins on the connector holding member, fitting the pins in guide ways, and turning a lever to move the connectors in such a direction as to fit them into the connector holding member.
These ways of mounting an electrical connector box on a service box have different drawbacks. Firstly, mounting the connector box by manual pressure on the service box is neither necessary nor effective. Indeed, on many occasions there is a large number of elements to be connected in the service box and, therefore, to couple the electrical connector box in said service box requires a great effort to be used. In order to avoid damaging the service box, for example in the case that the connector box has not been fitted in such a way that the elements of both boxes coincide correctly, in practice it is advisable to set a limit to the force that the operator must exert on the connector box to couple it in the service box in a safe and effective way.
A body provided with inclined side guides which slide inside the connector box and whose movement causes the latter to anchor, ensures that the connectors fit correctly into the box. This is due to the fact that said side guides correctly position the connectors and guide them into the anchoring of the same with respect to the service box. However, when the service box is made up of a large number of connection elements, it is still necessary to apply great force to anchor or release the connector box. Moreover, incorporation of these side guides inside the connector box means an increase in the outer dimensions of the unit, which is not desirable from a functional point of view. Nor is the incorporation of these side guides inside the connector box desirable from a construction point of view, since sometimes the thickness of the walls of the connector box is reduced in order to be able to house said side guides conveniently.
To resolve the above-mentioned drawbacks, the system for anchoring connector boxes in service boxes of the present invention has been developed.
Thus, one object of the invention is to guide the connector into its anchoring in the service box to ensure that in said operation no elements of the service box are damaged.
Another object of the invention is to provide an anchoring system that is capable of adequately mounting the connector box on the service box, with the connectors perfectly positioned and coinciding with the service box, regardless of the number of elements present in said service box.
In general terms, the system of anchoring connector boxes in service boxes which is the object of the present invention, is made up of two parallel sliding elements which can move with respect to the connector box. Each sliding element includes a series of inclined guides arranged conveniently parallel to each other.
The peculiarity of the system of the present invention lies in the fact that it comprises a lever element which is mounted and articulated at the same time on the connector box and on the free ends of the sliding elements. In this way, the swivelling of said lever element towards the connector box, caused by the operator applying a minimal force, makes the sliding elements move, and as a result causes the connector box to anchor in the service box thanks to the inclination of said guides. The lever element incorporated in the anchoring system of the invention allows a reduction in the amount of force the operator has to apply to the connector box to mount it on the service box thus contributing to a simpler and faster mounting.
From a construction point of view, the lever element has an operating surface which extends perpendicularly in side wings. Said side wings are conveniently provided with projections which are adapted to be housed and to slide inside the slots formed at the free ends of said sliding elements. Said side wings of the lever element also include lower orifices which serve to house projections provided in the connector box. The operating surface is conveniently designed so that the operator applies a minimal force to the same to mount the connector box on the service box. In this sense, when the operator moves the lever element towards the connector, it turns around said projections in the connector box. The projections of the lever element slide in turn along the slots in the ends of the sliding elements, thus causing the connector box to anchor in the service box.
In accordance with another advantageous feature of the anchoring system of the present invention, the two sliding elements described above are appropriately mounted so that they slide along the outside of the connector box. The inclined guides of said sliding elements can move between projections provided in the sides of the connector box. In this way, said wall of the connector box is able to be substantially thicker than those of the connector boxes used for the same purpose in the prior art, which gives greater rigidity to the same. This increase in thickness of the connector box wall is possible due to the fact that the structure of the service box itself co-operates with the movement of said guides thanks to the projections mentioned above, in contrast to conventional connector boxes which require additional walls provided with projections to allow said guides to move inside the connector box.
The invention also provides for the incorporation of blocking means of the lever element with respect to the connector box in order to ensure permanent anchoring. Said blocking means of the lever element are preferably made up of side protuberances which are provided in the lever element. These side protuberances are coupled in complementary holding flanges provided in the connector box when the lever body is in anchoring position, that is, in the position in which the connector box is coupled in the service box.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5613879 (1997-03-01), Fontenau et al.
patent: 5674090 (1997-10-01), Sumida et al.
patent: 5681175 (1997-10-01), Busse et al.
patent: 5871363 (1999-02-01), Kimura
patent: 6168445 (2001-01-01), Seutschinker et al.
patent: 2687509 (1993-08-01), None
patent: 8047142 (1996-02-01), None
Bradley P. Austin
Hammond Briggitte R.
Lear Automotive (EEDS) Spain, S.L.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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