Service plug having a lever mechanism for positioning circuit terminals and short-circuiting terminals

• US 5,971,801 A
• Filed: 09/05/1997
• Issued: 10/26/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Deno, Masahiro, Kuboshima, Hidehiko, Kato, Hisaharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Abrams, Neil
• Assistant Examiner(s): NASRI, JAVAID H
• Application Number:
  US08/924,647
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 439/509, 439/511, 439/157, 439/484, 439/621
• US Class Current: 439/511
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0069 relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2009/108 Building a sliding and/or a removable bridging connector for batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/085 contact separation effected by removing contact carrying element
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/62933 Comprising exclusively pivoting lever

Abstract

A service plug is provided with circuit terminals respectively connected to the end of an open electric circuit, a circuit housing provided with the circuit terminals inside and terminal insertion holes, a pair of guide grooves stood on the surface on which the terminal insertions holes are made, guide grooves formed on the respective opposite surfaces of the guide walls, the plug body provided with short-circuiting terminals for short-circuiting the circuit terminals, a lever rotatably coupled to the plug body via a turning shaft which is long in the opposite direction of the guide walls, and bosses which are protruded from both sides of the lever, enter the guide grooves and position the circuit terminals and the short-circuiting terminals.

Claims

1. A service plug, comprising:

at least a pair of circuit terminals respectively connected to an end of an open electric circuit;

a circuit housing provided with said pair of circuit terminals therein and terminal insertion holes corresponding to said pair of circuit terminals;

a pair of parallel guide walls extending perpendicularly from a surface of said circuit housing on which said insertion holes for said pair of circuit terminals are formed;

at least one guide groove formed on each of said parallel guide walls, being open on respective end faces of said guide walls, and formed along a fitting direction of said pair of circuit terminals;

a plug body provided with short-circuiting terminals for short-circuiting said pair of circuit terminals;

a lever rotatably coupled to said plug body via a turning shaft; and

bosses protruding from said lever for respectively entering said guide grooves and positioning said pair of circuit terminals and said short-circuiting terminals so that said short-circuit terminals move in the fitting direction toward said pair of circuit terminals.

2. A service plug according to claim 1, further comprising refuge grooves having a shape of a locus along which said bosses are respectively moved with said turning shaft as the center, said refuge grooves being joined to respective lower ends of said guide grooves, and the respective lower ends of said guide grooves being set to a position at which said bosses respectively reach when said short-circuiting terminals and said circuit terminals are completely fitted.

3. A service plug according to claim 1, further comprising a magnet provided on said lever, a limit switch provided on said circuit housing, and a lever lock provided on said circuit housing for locking said lever in a folded position, wherein said limit switch cooperates with said magnet to determine when said lever is being locked by said lever lock.