Patent Publication Number: US-9407037-B2

Title: Connector for vehicle

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 10-2014-0042516, filed on Apr. 9, 2014. The content of this application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a connector for vehicles, and more particularly, to a connector for vehicles, which allows easy disconnection between a male housing and a female housing. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As fossil energy is gradually exhausted and environmental concern increases, hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles are attracting public attention worldwide. 
     Since the hybrid vehicle or the electric vehicle uses higher voltage/higher current than typical vehicles, an electric device for stably supplying and distributing external power to internal components of the vehicle is required. In addition, the hybrid vehicle or the electric vehicle also requires modularized units for electronic control of the vehicle, and use of connector-attached electric wires or communication cables for transmission of electric signals is rapidly increasing. 
     Such a connector is used for electrical connection between vehicle components and is subjected to various safety tests to prevent electric error when mounted on the vehicle components. 
     A typical connector is provided with a pair of male and female housings, which are connected to and disconnected from each other, and a connector location assurance (CPA) member, which serves to prevent the connected housings from being disconnected from each other. The CPA member is connected to an unlocking button to prevent the unlocking button from being pressed when the male housing is connected to the female housing, and is disconnected from the unlocking button when the male housing is disconnected from the female housing. 
     However, the typical connector has a problem in that, since the male housing and the female housing are disconnected from each other by sliding the CPA member and then pressing the unlocking button, it is difficult to manipulate and secure the CPA member and the unlocking button. Moreover, since the CPA member is inserted into the unlocking button, it is difficult to manipulate the CPA member. Therefore, there is a need for a connector for vehicles overcoming such problems in the art. 
     DOCUMENTS OF THE RELATED ART 
     Patent Document 1: Korean Utility Patent No. 20-0264075 (entitled “Assembly Structure of Connector for Vehicle” and registered on Jan. 30, 2002) 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Therefore, the present invention has been conceived to solve the problems in the related art and it is one aspect of the present invention to provide a connector for vehicles, which can reduce an operating space for connection between male and female housings and allows easy disconnection between the male and female housings from each other. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a connector for vehicles includes: a male housing; a female housing detachably connected to the male housing; a connection lever rotatably mounted on the female housing so as to be latched to the male housing, the connection lever connecting or disconnecting the male housing to or from the female housing through rotation; and a connector location assurance unit provided to the female housing so as to selectively interrupt rotation of the connection lever. 
     The connection lever may include: a body hingedly coupled to the female housing; a guide portion formed on the body so as to selectively come into contact with the male housing in response to rotation of the body, and guiding the male housing to be moved such that the male housing is connected to or disconnected from the female housing; and a latch portion provided to the body so as to secure the body to the connector location assurance unit when the male housing and the female housing are connected to each other. 
     The male housing may include a coupling protrusion coupled to the connection lever and the female housing may include a sliding groove to guide the coupling protrusion to be linearly moved along the sliding groove. 
     The male housing may include a coupling protrusion inserted into the guide portion and the guide portion may be formed in a groove shape such that the coupling protrusion is inserted into the groove and guided thereby. 
     The connector location assurance unit may include: a lever latch portion provided to the male housing such that the connection lever is latched to the lever latch portion when the male housing and the female housing are connected to each other; and a lever release portion movably provided to the lever latch portion and selectively releasing the connection lever from the lever latch portion. 
     The connector location assurance unit may further include a separation preventing portion preventing separation of the lever release portion from the lever latch portion. 
     The lever latch portion may include: a mounting plate to which the lever release portion is movably coupled; and a latch hole formed in the mounting plate such that the connection lever and the lever release portion are inserted into and connected to the latch hole. 
     The lever release portion may be maintained in a movable state from the lever latch portion by contact with the connection lever when the connection lever is latched to the lever latch portion. 
     The lever release portion may be moved from the lever latch portion and separated from the connection lever, when maintained in a movable state by contact with the connection lever. 
     The lever release portion may release the connection lever when brought into contact with the connection lever latched to the lever latch portion and subjected to pressure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a connector for vehicles according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a male housing and a female housing connected to each other in the connector for vehicles according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view of major components of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the male housing and the female housing in a secured state by a connection lever in the connector for vehicles according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of major components of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of a connector location assurance unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the connection lever connected to the connector location assurance unit according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a lever release portion of the connector location assurance unit according to the embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the connection lever released by the connector location assurance unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings are not to precise scale and may be exaggerated in thickness of lines or size of components for descriptive convenience and clarity only. Further, the terms used herein are defined by taking functions of the present invention into account and can be changed according to user or operator custom or intention. Therefore, definition of the terms should be made according to the overall disclosure set forth herein. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a connector for vehicles according to one embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a male housing and a female housing connected to each other in the connector for vehicles according to the embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is an enlarged perspective view of major components of  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the male housing and the female housing in a secured state by a connection lever in the connector for vehicles according to the embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of major components of  FIG. 4 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , in a connector for vehicles  100  according to one embodiment of the invention, a male housing  110  and a female housing  120  may be connected to or disconnected from each other using a connection lever  130 , and a connected state between the male and female housings  110 ,  120  may be stably maintained using a connector location assurance (CPA) unit  140 . Here, connection and disconnection between the male and female housings  110  and  120  may be easily performed through rotation of the connection lever  130 . 
     The male housing  110  is formed on an outer surface thereof with coupling protrusions  111 , which are coupled to the connection lever  130  for connection with and disconnection from the female housing  120 . The male housing  110  is inserted into and connected to the female housing  120  by rotation of the connection lever  130 . 
     The female housing  120  is provided with hinge-protrusions  121  to which the connection lever  130  is rotatably coupled, and sliding grooves  123  along which the male housing  110  is stably linearly guided for connection with the female housing. The coupling protrusions  111  of the male housing  110  are inserted into the sliding grooves  123  such that the coupling protrusions  111  are exposed from the female housing  120 . In this state, the coupling protrusions  111  slide along the sliding grooves. This configuration allows the coupling protrusions  111  to be latched to the connection lever  130  even in a state of being inserted into the sliding grooves  123 . 
     The female housing  120  is provided with a connector location assurance (CPA) unit  140  in order to allow the connection lever  130  to be coupled thereto and to selectively interrupt rotation of the connection lever  130 . 
     The connection lever  130  is rotatably coupled to the hinge-protrusions  121  of the female housing  120 , and serves to connect or disconnect the male housing  110  with or from the female housing  120  through rotation in the female housing  120 . When the male housing  110  is completely connected to the female housing  120  by rotation of the connection lever  130 , the connection lever  130  is prevented from rotating by the CPA unit  140 . 
     The connection lever  130  includes a body  131  rotatably coupled to the hinge-protrusions  121  of the female housing  120 , guide portions  133  which guide the coupling protrusions  111  so as to move the male housing  110 , and a latch portion  135  which secures the body  131  to the location assurance unit  140 . 
     The body  131  has a rectangular shape open at one side thereof, for example, a “ ” shape, and is provided at both ends thereof with hinge holes  131   a  to allow the hinge-protrusions  121  to be inserted into the body  131  therethrough. Here, the guide portions  133  are separated from the hinge-holes  131   a.    
     Each of the guide portions  133  is formed in a curved hole or groove shape, along which the corresponding coupling protrusion  111  of the male housing  110  is easily inserted into the guide portion  133  and guided thereby when the guide portion is rotated. 
     The latch portion  135  protrudes downwards from the middle of the body  131 . When the connection lever  130  is rotated such that the male and female housings  110 ,  120  are completely connected to each other, the latch portion  135  is latched to the CPA unit  140 , thereby preventing rotation of the connection lever  130 . The latch portion  135  is selectively disconnected from the CPA unit  140  by operation of the CPA unit. 
     Now, the CPA unit  140  for selectively restricting rotation of the connection lever  130  will be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 6 to 8 . 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of a connector location assurance unit according to one embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the connection lever connected to the connector location assurance unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a lever release portion of the connector location assurance unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional sectional view of the connection lever released by the connector location assurance unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 6 to 9 , the CPA unit  140  includes a lever latch portion  150 , a lever release portion  160 , and a separation preventing portion  170  in order to stably interrupt rotation of the connection lever  130  and to easily release the interrupted rotation of the connection lever  130 . 
     In the CPA unit  140 , the lever latch portion  150  is provided to the female housing  120 , and the lever release portion  160  is movably coupled to the lever latch portion  150 . 
     Specifically, the latch portion  135  of the connection lever  130  is inserted into and latched to the lever latch portion  150  to come into contact with the lever release portion  160 . Then, the lever release portion  160  is moved towards the inside of the lever latch portion  150 , so that the lever release portion  160  is separated from the latch portion  135 . As a result, a latched (interrupted) state of the latch portion  135  of the connection lever  130  to the lever release portion  160  is stably maintained. 
     The lever latch portion  150  includes a mounting plate  151  to which the lever release portion  160  is movably coupled, and a latch hole  153  formed in the mounting plate  151  such that the latch portion  135  is selectively latched thereby. The lever latch portion  150  has an assembly space  155  between the mounting plate  151  and the outer surface of the female housing  120  for movement and easy mounting of the lever release portion  160  on the mounting plate  151 . 
     Further, in the lever latch portion  150 , the mounting plate  151  is formed with a rounded guide section  157  which guides the latch portion  135  such that the latch portion  135  of the connection lever  130  can be easily inserted into and connected to or disconnected from the latch hole  153 . The mounting plate  151  is formed with elongated holes  151   a  to which the lever release portion  160  is movably coupled. 
     The latch hole  153  includes a lever latch hole  153   a  to which the latch portion  135  of the connection lever is inserted into and latched, and an auxiliary latch hole  153   b  separated from the lever latch hole  153   a  and receiving the lever release portion  160 . With this configuration, the latch portion  135  of the connection lever  130  and the lever release portion  160  are inserted into the lever latch hole  153   a , and only the lever release portion  160 , which moves in the lever latch hole  153   a , is inserted into the auxiliary latch hole  153   b  and supported thereby. 
     The lever release portion  160  has a “ ”-shape and is movably coupled to the elongated holes  151   a  of the mounting plate  151 . The lever release portion  160  is formed on an upper surface thereof with a support protrusion  161  which supports the latch portion  135  inserted into the lever latch hole  153   a . As the latch portion  135  is inserted into the lever latch hole  153   a , with the support protrusion  161  inserted into the lever latch hole  153   a , the support protrusion  161  comes into contact with the latch portion  135 . 
     As such, the lever release portion  160  can be inserted into the lever latch portion  150  such that the latch portion  135  can be separated from the lever latch hole  153   a  by external pressure, with the support protrusion  161  and the latch portion  135  contacting each other, or such that the latch portion  135  can be stably maintained in a latched state, with the support protrusion  161  separated from the latch portion  135 . Here, as the lever release portion  160  is moved, the support protrusion  161  separated from the lever latch hole  153   a  is moved towards the auxiliary latch hole  153   b.    
     The separation preventing portion  170 , which serves to prevent the lever release portion  160  from being separated from the mounting plate  151 , includes a separation preventing protrusion  171  formed on an inner surface of each of the elongated holes  151   a , and a separation preventing groove  173  formed in the lever release portion  160  such that the separation preventing protrusion  171  is inserted into and latched to the separation preventing groove  173 . 
     The CPA unit  140  further includes an anti-pressing portion  180  which prevent the lever release portion  160 , which has been moved to the auxiliary latch hole  153   a , from being pressed by external pressure. 
     The anti-pressing portion  180  includes a support step  181  formed on the lever latch portion  150 , and a support rib  183  protruding from the lever release portion  160  so as to be selectively supported by the supporting step  181 . When the lever release portion  160  is inserted into the lever latch hole  153   a , the support step  181  and the support rib  183  are separated from each other, and when the lever release portion  160  is inserted into the auxiliary latch portion  153   b , the support step  181  and the support rib  183  come into contact with each other and maintain a coupled state between the lever release portion  160  and the auxiliary latch portion  153   b.    
     Operation of the connector for vehicles according to the embodiment of the present invention will now be described. 
     When the connection lever  130  is rotated in a direction in which the male and female housings  110 ,  120  are connected to each other with the coupling protrusions  111  inserted into the guide portion  133 , the coupling protrusions  111  are moved towards the inside of the guide portion  133 , so that the female housing  120  is inserted into and connected to the male housing  110 . In this state, when the connection lever  130  is further rotated in a direction for connection of the connector  100 , the latch portion  135  is inserted into the lever latch hole  153   a  and comes into contact with the support protrusion  161  of the lever release portion  160 . When the latch portion  135  is brought into contact with the support protrusion  161 , the support protrusion  161  can be separated from the lever latch hole  153   a.    
     Then, when the lever release portion  160  is moved towards the inside of the lever latch portion  150 , the support protrusion  161  is separated from the lever latch hole  153   a  and then inserted into the auxiliary latch hole  153   b . As a result, since the connection lever  130  is stably maintained in a state of being inserted into the lever latch hole  153   a , the connection lever  130  is prevented from being separated from the lever latch hole  153   a.  That is, rotation of the connection lever  130  is completely restricted. 
     In addition, the supporting rib  183  is latched to the supporting step  181  as soon as the lever release portion  160  is inserted into the auxiliary latch hole  153   b , whereby the pressing and movement of the lever release portion  160  can be restricted, thereby completely preventing malfunction of the connector. 
     When the male and female housings  110  and  120  are disconnected from each other, the lever release portion  160  is moved towards the outside of the lever latch portion  150 . Then, the support protrusion  161  of the lever release portion  160  is separated from the auxiliary latch hole  153   b  and then inserted into the lever latch hole  153   a  to come into contact with the latch portion  135 . In this state, when a distal end of the lever release portion  160  is pushed towards the female housing  120 , the lever release portion  160  is rotated such that the support protrusion  161  forces the latch portion  135  to move out of the lever latch hole  153   a.    
     As a result, the connection lever  130  can rotate in a direction of disconnecting the male and female housings  110 ,  120  from each other. 
     As described above, unlike the related art, the connector for vehicles according to the present invention has advantages in that disconnection between the male and female housings can be easily performed even in a narrow assembly space for connection of the male and female housings. 
     Although some embodiments have been disclosed herein, it should be understood that these embodiments are provided by way of illustration only, and that various modification, changes, and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be limited only by the accompanying claims and equivalents thereof.