Patent Publication Number: US-9837731-B2

Title: Field installable connector

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) of Chinese Patent Application No. 201520787998.4, filed on Oct. 12, 2015. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a connector, and more particularly, to a field installable connector. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As is known in the art, electrical connectors are used to connect two electrical components to transmit or provide an electrical power connection or a communication connection between them. Generally, at the time a product leaves a factory, various electrical components are already connected with each other through a connector. Sometimes, however, the connector needs to be installed in-situ, for example, during maintenance or other situations where a field installation is needed. In known field installable connectors, a relatively large force must be applied to the field installable connector or a tool may be required to connect or detach a cable and a metal terminal via the connector. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of the invention, among others, is to provide a connector that can be wired on site easily and without a tool. The disclosed connector comprises a housing having an insertion passageway, an operating lever having an end pivotably connected to the housing, and a spring having a first end fixed to the operating lever and an opposite second end extending into an interior of the connector. The operating lever is movable between an open position and a closed position. The second end of the spring closes the insertion passageway when the operating lever is in the closed position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a connector according to the invention connected to a cable; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the connector of  FIG. 1  with part of a housing removed; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the connector of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the connector of  FIG. 2  with an operating lever in an open position; and 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the connector of  FIG. 2  with an operating lever in a closed position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S) 
     The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to embodiments of a connector. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and still fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
     A connector  100  according to the invention is shown in  FIGS. 1-5 . As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 , the connector  100  includes a housing  101 , an operating lever  102 , a contact tongue  103 , a fuse  104 , a spring  105 , and a post  106 . The major components of the invention will now be described in greater detail. 
     The housing  101  is shown in  FIG. 1 . In the shown embodiment, the housing  101  is a rectangular prism, but the housing  101  may be any other shape capable of containing the described components. The housing  101  has an insertion passageway  107 , as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , extending through a rear end of the housing  101 . As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the housing  101  may include a plurality of insertion passageways  107 . 
     The operating lever  102 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , is disposed at an upper portion of the connector  100 . As also shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the connector  100  may include a plurality of operating levers  102 , with one operating lever  102  disposed at an upper portion of the connector  100  and one operating lever  102  disposed at a lower portion of the connector  100 . The operating lever  102 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , has a mounting portion  108 . The mounting portion  108  may comprise a hole, a slot, a long and narrow passage or other features. 
     The contact tongue  103 , as shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , has a first portion disposed within the housing  101  and a second portion extending out from a front end of the housing  101 . 
     The fuse  104 , shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , may be any type of fuse known to those with ordinary skill in the art. The fuse  104  is mounted within the housing  101 . A fuse mounting hole  109 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , may be provided in a first side of the housing  101  such that the fuse  104  may be mounted within the connector  100  without disassembling the connector  100 ; a size of the fuse mounting hole  109  is comparable with a size of the fuse  104 . In an embodiment, an opposite second side of the housing  101  may be provided with a fuse removing hole (not shown). The fuse removing hole may be much smaller than the fuse mounting hole  109 , such that the fuse  104  may be pushed out from the fuse mounting hole  109  simply by inserting a suitable tool into the fuse removing hole when it needs to be removed or replaced. In other embodiments, the fuse  104  may not be provided. 
     The spring  105  and post  106  are shown in  FIGS. 3-5 . The spring  105  may be any type of spring known to those with ordinary skill in the art, including a leaf spring. The spring  105  may be formed of a metal material having a sufficient rigidity. The post  106  is positioned within the housing  101  and extends transversely with respect to the housing  101 . As shown in  FIGS. 3-5 , the connector  100  may include a plurality of springs  105  and a plurality of posts  106 . 
     The spring  105  is mounted at an inner side of the operating lever  102 , and a central portion of the spring  105  is disposed around the post  106 . A first end of the spring  105  is fixed to the operating lever  102  at the mounting portion  108 , which holds or clamps the first end of the spring  105 , so as to move along with action of the operating lever  102 . An opposite second end of the spring  105 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , extends into an interior of the connector  100 ; the spring  105  extends around an outer side of the post  106  and bends in a different direction toward the second end of the spring  105 . In an alternative embodiment, a passage (not shown) may be formed in the operating lever  102  to hold or clamp the first end of the spring  105 , while the second end of the spring  105  may extend out of the passage towards the inside of the connector  100 . The spring  105  bends along with the passage toward the second end of the spring  105 . 
     The operating lever  102  is pivotably connected to the post  106 , which may be fixed to the housing  101 . In an alternative embodiment, the post  106  may be formed on an end of the operating lever  102 , and the operating lever  102  may be pivotably coupled to the housing  101  at the post  106 . For example, a blind hole (not shown) may be formed at a back side of the post  106 , and the operating lever  102  and post  106  may be pivotably coupled to a protrusion formed on the housing  101  via the blind hole 
     The connector  100 , as shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , may be connected to an electrical cable  200 . As would be understood by one with ordinary skill in the art, the connector  100  may alternatively connect to network cables or other signal cables. 
     The cable  200 , as shown in  FIGS. 3-5 , has an end  201  and a body  202 . The body  202  may be connected to a power source or other electrical components (not shown). As in the shown embodiment, the connector  100  may also be connected to a plurality of electrical cables  200 . 
     The operating lever  102  has a closed position, shown in  FIGS. 1-3 and 5 , and an open position, shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     When the connector  100  is not in use, the operating lever  102  may be fixed in the closed position shown in  FIG. 5 . The housing  101  may be provided with a fixing device  110  for holding the operating lever  102  in the closed position. The fixing device  110 , for example, may comprise a snap-fit structure for fixing the left end of the operating lever  102 . In the closed position, the insertion passageway  107  is closed by the second end of the spring  105 . Due to the position and rigidity of the second end of the spring  105  in the closed position, the end of the cable  200  cannot be inserted into the insertion passageway  107  easily, and foreign substances such as dusts and the like may be prevented from entering the inside of the connector  100  when the connector  100  is not in use. 
     When the connector  100  is to be used, the operating lever  102  is released from the fixing device  110 , and then the operating lever  102  is pulled manually to the open position shown in  FIG. 4 . The second end of the spring  105  is pivoted away from the insertion passageway  107  by motion of the operating lever  102 . The insertion passageway  107  is opened in the open position, such that the end  201  of the cable  200  may be inserted into the connector  100  via the insertion passageway  107 . Alternatively, the end of the cable  200  may be directly inserted into the insertion passageway  107  when the operating lever  102  is released from the fixing device  110 . In this case, during the insertion into the insertion passageway  107 , the end  201  of the cable  200  abuts against and pushes the second end of the spring  105  inwards, so as to drive the operating lever  102  to be pivoted to the opened position. 
     After the end  201  of the cable  200  has been inserted into the insertion passageway  107 , the end  201  contacts the first portion of the contact tongue  103 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , forming an electrical connection between the connector  100  and the cable  200 . Thus, when the second portion of the contact tongue  103  is connected to another electrical component (not shown), the electrical component is electrically connected to the cable  200 . 
     When the end  201  of the cable  200  is inserted into the insertion passageway  107 , the operating lever  102  may be pivoted manually back to the above described closed position shown in  FIG. 3 . In this state, since the end  201  of the electric cable  200  has been inserted into the inside of the connector  100 , the second end of the spring  105  cannot be restored to its original position to close the insertion passageway  107 , and instead, the second end of the spring  105  abuts against and presses on a side of the end  201  of the cable  200 . Since the spring  105  applies a pressure force on the side of the end  201  of the cable  200 , the end  201  is thereby firmly held within the connector  100 , such that the electric cable  200  is prevented from separating from the connector  100 . 
     Advantageously, in the connector  100  according to the invention, replacement of the cable  200  may be achieved rapidly through manually operating the operating lever  102  without using a tool to disassemble the connector  100 . Furthermore, when the connector  100  is not in use, foreign substances can be prevented from entering the connector  100 . Additionally, the cable  200  can be properly fixed, such that it cannot be separated from the connector  100  easily, and the fuse  104  may also be replaced rapidly without disassembling the connector  100 .