Feeder connector

• US 5,575,675 A
• Filed: 03/30/1995
• Issued: 11/19/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Toshiaki, Hashizawa, Shigemi, Endo, Takayoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Elkins, Gary E.
• Application Number:
  US08/413,957
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 439/34, 439/35, 439/310, 439/350, 439/351
• 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 13/62933 Comprising exclusively pivoting lever
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/635 by mechanical pressure, e.g. spring force
• 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

A feeding-side connector and a receiving-side connector are provisionally fitted to each other so that these connectors are locked by engagement of a locking hole of the feeding-side connector and a locking arm of the receiving-side connector. In this state, the lever of a toggle mechanism is pushed down forward until it hits on the front surface of a lever chamber. Thus, a fixed assembly composed of a connector body and a wire protection jig for a group of wires connected to the female terminals thereof advances to complete the electric connection between the female terminals and male terminals. The driving side link and follower side link of the lever are placed in the state concaved in a rotating direction of the lever from its substantially horizontal direction, thus locking these links.

Claims

1. A feeder connector comprising a feeding-side connector provided on a side of a power feeding and a receiving-side connector provided in a vehicle body,

said feeding-side connector including a casing, a connector body slidably mounted on a front half section of said casing to accommodate a plurality of terminals, a barrel-shaped wire protection jig for accommodating lead wires connected to said terminals, one end of said wire protection jig being fixed to said connector body and the other end of said wire protection jig being slidably mounted to a rear half section of said casing, a spring for forcing said connector toward a rear of said casing, and a toggle link mechanism for advancing said connector body against said spring in said casing.

2. A feeder connector according to claim 1, wherein

said toggle link mechanism includes a lever having a stem which is rotatably attached to said casing, a driving side link having two ends, one end of the driving side link attached to the stem of the said lever, and a follower side link having an end coupled with the other end of said driving side link and another end of the follower side link rotatably attached to said wire protection jig,

whereby when said driving side link and said follower side link are aligned on a substantially straight line by rotation of said lever in a predetermined direction, a degree of extension of said spring becomes maximum.

3. A feeder connector according to claim 1, wherein said wire protection jig is composed of a barrel body, a connector fixing portion communicated with one end of said barrel body and a cable fixing portion communicated with the other end of said barrel body, said barrel body being provided with a link bearing for a follower side link at an intermediate portion of said barrel body, and said connector body and said lead wires connected to said plurality of terminals are unified as a fixed assembly.

4. A feeder connector according to claim 1, wherein said wire protection jig and said connector body are unified.

5. A feeder connector according to claim 1, wherein said casing is composed of a pair of split-type cases each having an intermediate peripheral wall, each of said pair of split-type cases has a bearing chamber on the intermediate peripheral wall, a bearing pin for a lever is provided on an inner wall of each of said bearing chambers and a pair of lever protection walls are provided at an upper edge portion mating said pair of split-type cases to form a lever chamber.

6. A feeder connector according to claim 5, wherein a front inner wall of said lever chamber is formed as a stopper holding said lever at a locking position.

7. A feeder connector according to claim 5, wherein an arc guide groove centered on said bearing pin is formed on the inner wall of one of said pair of lever protection walls, and an engagement member to be engaged with said guide groove is formed on one side of said lever.

8. A feeder connector according to claim 2, wherein a grip is provided on an upper end of said lever, a branching leg is fixed to a lower end of said lever, and the stem of said driving side link is integrally fixed to a lower end of said leg.

9. A feeder connector according to claim 2, wherein said driving side link and said follower side link have equal lengths.