Electrical connector

• US 5,558,533 A
• Filed: 04/11/1995
• Issued: 09/24/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Hashizawa, Shigemi, Hasegawa, Toshiaki, Inaba, Shigemitsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Hien D.
• Application Number:
  US08/419,936
• Time in Patent Office: 532 Days
• Field of Search: 439/32, 439/48, 439/135, 439/136, 439/142, 439/310, 439/352, 439/353, 439/357, 439/358, 439/372
• US Class Current: 439/310
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/32 of electricity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/34 of parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/629 Additional means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. aligning or guiding means, levers, gas pressure electrical locking indicators, manufacturing tolerances separate tools or apparatus H01R43/26
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/639 Additional means for holding or locking coupling parts together, after engagement, e.g. separate keylock, retainer strap
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/48 utilising a spring, clip, or other resilient member H01R4/52 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

The present invention provides an electrical connector used for charging an automobile in which an incomplete connection between a feeding connector half and a receiving connector half is prevented and the work of connecting both connector halves can be easily carried out with a small insertion force. The feeding connector according to the present invention includes a feeding connector half and a receiving connector half, wherein the feeding connector half includes: a case; a connector main body slidably accommodated in a front half portion of the case for accommodating a plurality of terminals; a handle attached to a rear half portion of the case; a slider for causing the connector main body to slide; a member for positioning the feeding connector half with respect to the receiving connector half and for preliminarily locking the feeding connector half to the receiving connector half; a lever means for routing to complete lock the feeding connector half to the receiving connector half, the lever means having an intermediate portion between a working portion and an operating portion, the working portion rotatably attached to the handle and the operating portion projecting out of the case; and a means for locking and unlocking the lever at in its rotated position to completely lock the connector main body of the feeding connector half to a connector main body of the receiving connector half.

Claims

1. An electrical connector comprising a feeding connector half and a receiving connector half, wherein said feeding connector half comprises:

a case having a front half portion and a rear half portion;

a connector main body slidably mounted within said front half portion of said case, said connector main body having terminal accommodating cavities for housing a plurality of terminals;

a handle including a main body portion and a slider, wherein said slider is slidably mounted in a drilled hole in a partition wall within said case for causing said connector main body to slide;

a rotatable lever having a working portion, an intermediate portion and an operating portion, said intermediate portion being between said working portion and said operating portion, said working portion being rotatably attached to one end of said handle within said case and said operating portion projecting out of said case;

a preliminary locking means comprising a pair of locking arms rotatably attached in said case, said locking arms each having a hook-shaped locking claw at a front end of said locking arms, said hook-shaped locking claws outwardly projecting so as to engage locking channels of said receiving connector half and wire springs adjacent to each of said locking arms for urging said hook-shaped locking claws outwardly into engagement with said locking channels of said receiving connector half; and

a secondary locking means attached to said handle and adjacent to said rotatable lever for locking and unlocking said rotatable lever wherein said rotatable lever is locked after said feeding connector half and said receiving connector half are preliminarily locked to each other and then said rotatable lever is rotated to a position where said operating portion of said rotatable lever is rotated towards and near said handle so that said feeding connector half is completely locked to said receiving connector half.

2. An electrical connector comprising a feeding connector half and a receiving connector half, wherein said feeding connector half comprises:

a case having a front half potion and a rear half portion;

a connector main body slidably mounted within said front half portion of said case, said connector main body having terminal accommodating cavities for housing a plurality of terminals;

a compression coil spring surrounding said connector main body for urging said connector main body of said feeding connector half toward said receiving connector half;

a handle including a main body portion and a slider, wherein said slider is slidably mounted in a drilled hole in a partition wall within said case for causing said connector main body to slide;

a rotatable lever having a working portion, an intermediate portion and an operating portion, said intermediate portion being between said working portion and said operating portion, said working portion being rotatably attached to one end of said handle within said case and said operating portion projecting out of said case;

said slider having radially extending shaft holes in a circumferential wall thereof and said working portion of said rotatable lever including a pair of supporting pieces forming a forked portion at a tip thereof such that said slider is placed between said pair of supporting pieces, said pair of supporting pieces having shaft holes corresponding to said shaft holes on said circumferential wall of said slider so that pins with narrow channels at front ends of said pins are inserted into said shaft holes of said supporting pieces when said slider is put between said pair of supporting pieces and stop rings are mounted through said supporting pieces and an outer periphery of said slider to said narrow channels;

a preliminary locking means comprising a pair of locking arms rotatably attached in said case, said locking arms each having a hook-shaped locking claw at a front end of said locking arms, said hook-shaped locking claws outwardly projecting so as to engage locking channels of said receiving connector half and wire springs adjacent to each of said locking arms for urging said hook-shaped locking claws outwardly into engagement with said locking channels of said receiving connector half; and

a secondary locking means attached to said handle and adjacent to said rotatable lever for locking and unlocking said rotatable lever wherein said rotatable lever is locked after said feeding connector half and said receiving connector half are preliminarily locked to each other and then said rotatable lever is rotated to a position where said operating portion of said rotatable lever is rotated towards and near said handle so that said feeding connector half is completely locked to said receiving connector half.

3. An electrical connector comprising a feeding connector half and a receiving connector half, wherein said feeding connector half comprises:

a case having a front half portion and a rear half portion;

a connector main body slidably mounted within said front half portion of said case, said connector main body having terminal accommodating cavities for housing a plurality of terminals;

a handle including a main body portion and a slider, wherein said slider is slidably mounted in a drilled hole in a partition wall within said case for causing said connector main body to slide;

a rotatable lever having a working portion, an intermediate portion and an operating portion, said intermediate portion being between said working portion and said operating portion, said working portion being rotatably attached to one end of said handle within said case and said operating portion projecting out of said case;

said slider having radially extending shaft holes in a circumferential wall thereof and said working portion of said rotatable lever including a pair of supporting pieces forming a forked portion at a tip thereof such that said slider is placed between said pair of supporting pieces, said pair of supporting pieces having shaft holes corresponding to said shaft holes on said circumferential wall of said slider so that pins with narrow channels at front ends of said pins are inserted into said shaft holes of said supporting pieces when said slider is put between said pair of supporting pieces and stop rings are mounted through said supporting pieces and an outer periphery of said slider to said narrow channels;

a preliminary locking means comprising a pair of locking arms rotatably attached in said case, said locking arms each having a hook-shaped locking claw at a front end of said locking arms, said hook-shaped locking claws outwardly projecting so as to engage locking channels of said receiving connector half and wire springs adjacent to each of said locking arms for urging said hook-shaped locking claws outwardly into engagement with said locking channels of said receiving connector half;

a secondary locking means attached to said handle and adjacent to said rotatable lever for locking and unlocking said rotatable lever wherein said rotatable lever is locked after said feeding connector half and said receiving connector half are preliminarily locked to each other and then said rotatable lever is rotated to a position where said operating portion of said rotatable lever is rotated towards and near said handle so that said feeding connector half is completely locked to said receiving connector half; and

said secondary locking means for locking and unlocking said rotatable lever comprising;

a locking concave portion on an outer periphery of said working portion of said rotatable lever;

a releasing lever rotatably attached within said case, said releasing lever having an operating portion at a front end portion thereof and said operating portion of said releasing lever having a locking claw at a front end thereof; and

a plate spring means for urging said front end portion of said releasing lever towards said rotatable lever, wherein said rotatable lever is locked when said locking concave portion in said working portion of said rotatable lever engages said locking claw of said operating portion of said releasing lever and wherein said rotatable lever is unlocked when said locking concave portion in said working portion of said rotatable lever is disengaged from said locking claw of said operating portion of said releasing lever.