Electrical connectors – With coupling separator – Including retainer or joiner
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-17
2001-06-05
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With coupling separator
Including retainer or joiner
C439S372000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241540
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lever type connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art lever type connector is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 6-45275, and is identified generally by the numeral
100
in
FIGS. 13 and 14
. The connector
100
is provided with a U-shaped lever
102
rotatably assembled therewith. A middle portion of the U-shaped lever
102
is formed with a lock claw
105
that is engageable with a locking portion
104
on the top of a mating connector
103
.
The lever type connector
100
is connected with the mating connector
103
by rotating the lever
102
to a position where it covers an upper part of the mating connector
103
. Thus, the lock claw
105
and the locking portion
104
are engaged to hold the lever
102
in a locking position (see FIG.
14
).
To disengage the lock claw
105
and the locking portion
104
, an unlocking portion
106
that extends in a direction substantially opposite from the locking portion
104
is pressed to rotate the lever
102
in a direction opposite from the engaging direction while elastically deforming the locking portion
104
upwardly.
With the lock claw
105
and the locking portion
104
engaged, the unlocking portion
106
is exposed. Thus, if an external force acts on the unlocking portion
106
, there is an undesirable likelihood that the locking portion
104
and the lock claw
105
will be disengaged unintentionally.
In view of the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a lever type connector in which the engagement by a lever is not inadvertently disengaged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A lever type connector according to the invention, comprises a connector housing, and a preferably substantially U-shaped lever rotatably or pivotably mounted on the connector housing. The lever is provided with at least one lock claw which is elastically engageable with at least one corresponding locking portion provided on the connector housing. The lever also has an unlocking portion for disengaging the lock claw from the locking portion. An error disengagement restricting portion is provided in proximity to a surface of the unlocking portion where unlocking is effected when the lock claw and the locking portion are engaged with each other to narrow a space necessary to effect unlocking.
Accordingly, even if an external force acts on the lever type connector, the error disengagement restricting portion makes it difficult for this external force to directly act on the unlocking portion. Thus, an inadvertent disengagement of the lever and the locking portion can be restricted.
According to a preferred embodiment, the connector housing comprises a wire protection cover for protecting wires extending through the rear surface of the connector housing. The wire protection cover also acts as the error disengagement restricting portion. Consequently, since the wire protection cover acts also as the error disengagement restricting portion, it is not necessary to provide a separate error disengagement restricting portion.
Preferably, the lock claw is arranged in a recess and a connection piece is formed above the lock claw for connecting opening edges of the recess. The recess and the connection piece preferably are provided substantially in a middle portion of the lever. The connection piece is formed to restrict an excessive deformation of the lock claw in an unlocking direction. Accordingly, since the lever is strengthened by the connection piece and an excessive deformation of the lock claw is restricted by the connection piece, it is not necessary to separately provide two separate members having such functions.
Still further preferably, the leading end of the unlocking portion is curved to extend along a curved configuration of the outer surface of the wire protection cover while leaving a minimum necessary interval or space therebetween to effect unlocking when the lock claw and the locking portion are engaged with each other. Accordingly, since the leading end of the unlocking portion is curved to extend along the curved configuration of the outer surface of the wire protection cover, an error disengagement restricting function is further enhanced.
Most preferably, the locking portion is provided on the wire protection cover. Accordingly, the locking of the lever can be performed securely, since the interaction between locking portion and lever is performed preferably at a distal portion of the lever. Preferably, two locking portions are provided on opposite sides of the wire protection cover. Then, it is easily possible to safely connect the wire protection cover with a connector housing in a second position in which the cover and the housing are turned by 180° around their common longitudinal axis.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the connector housing is provided with one or more locking portion protection portions preferably at its rear portion for protecting a front part of the locking portion. As a result, an external force is prevented from acting directly on the locking portion from the front. Therefore, an undesirable event where the lock claw and the locking portion are inadvertently disengaged can be avoided more securely.
Preferably, the one or more locking portion protection portions are disposed in front of the locking portion and have a greater vertical dimension than the locking portion.
Further preferably, the lever is mounted rotatably or pivotably on the connector housing by means of one or more lever mount portions. The lever mount portions preferably comprise stopper portions for stopping a rotation of the lever in a predetermined or predeterminable position.
Most preferably, cam elements are provided on the lever for the interaction of mating cam elements provided on the mating connector for forcibly mating the connectors upon rotating or pivoting the lever.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5609494 (1997-03-01), Yamaguchi et al.
patent: 5637003 (1997-06-01), Takahashi
patent: 5928010 (1999-07-01), Katsuma et al.
patent: 5997321 (1999-12-01), Nakata et al.
patent: 0 599 332 (1994-06-01), None
patent: 0 736 935 (1996-10-01), None
patent: 0 812 038 (1997-12-01), None
patent: 0 823 757 (1998-02-01), None
patent: 6-45275 (1994-06-01), None
Casella Anthony J.
Hespos Gerald E.
Porco Michael J.
Sircus Brian
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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