Patent Description:
<FIG> illustrate a lever-type connector <NUM> described in Patent Literature <NUM> as a conventional example of a lever-type connector. <FIG> illustrates a state in which a lever <NUM> is on a separation position and <FIG> illustrates a state in which the lever <NUM> is on a fitted position.

In <FIG>, <FIG> denotes an outer housing and <NUM> denotes a front cover. Further, <NUM> denotes a slider and <NUM> denotes a wire cover. An inner housing, holding a contact, and the like (hidden and not seen) are accommodated in the outer housing <NUM> and the front cover <NUM> is attached to a front end of the inner housing.

The lever <NUM> is attached to the outer housing <NUM> so as to rotate in both of an arrow a direction illustrated in <FIG> and an arrow b direction illustrated in <FIG> with respect to the outer housing <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a state in the middle of fitting of the lever-type connector <NUM> with respect to a counterpart connector <NUM>. A protrusion for slider movement 11a provided on the lever <NUM> is inserted and fitted to a concave portion 14d of the slider <NUM>. The protrusion for slider movement 11a pushes the slider <NUM> in an arrow c direction in response to rotation of the lever <NUM> and the slider <NUM> slides in a slider accommodating groove 12a, which is provided to the outer housing <NUM>, in conjunction with the lever <NUM>.

Cam grooves 14a to 14c are formed in the slider <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. Into the cam grooves 14a to 14c, cam pins 21a to 21c provided to a fitting portion <NUM> of the counterpart connector <NUM> are respectively inserted. When the slider <NUM> is slid by rotating the lever <NUM> from the separation position illustrated in <FIG> to the fitted position illustrated in <FIG>, the lever-type connector <NUM> and the counterpart connector <NUM> are mutually drawn by the action between the cam grooves 14a to 14c and the cam pins 21a to 21c, completing the fitting.

A restricting protrusion 15a and a locking member 15b are provided to the wire cover <NUM> that is attached to a rear end of the outer housing <NUM>. The restricting protrusion 15a restricts the rotation in the arrow a direction of the lever <NUM> from the separation position and the locking member 15b prevents the rotation in the arrow b direction of the lever <NUM> from the fitted position.

Prior art relating to or similar to those described as background art is also known from, for example, Patent Literature <NUM>, and Patent Literature <NUM>.

Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a connector assembly including a connector and a mating connector. The mating connector is connectable to and removable from the connector along an up-down direction. The mating connector includes a force-receiving portion and a first pushing portion. The connector includes a housing, a lever and a slider. The housing is provided with a housing regulating portion. The slider has a rack portion, a force-transmitting portion and a regulated portion. When the lever is positioned at a first position under a state where the connector and the mating connector are not mated with each other, the housing regulating portion regulates a forward movement of the slider by engagement of the housing regulating portion with the regulated portion. When the mating connector and the connector are mated with each other, the first pushing portion pushes the housing regulating portion or the regulated portion to release regulation by the housing regulating portion.

Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a rotary buckling type connector. The rotary buckling type connector includes a connector shell, sliding devices which are located on the two sides of the connector shell and can slide left and right, a power locking rod for fixing the connector shell and the sliding devices in a sliding mode, and an in-shell assembly locating in the connector shell. Two or more conductive terminal contact parts extending front and back are arranged in the in-shell assembly, and clamping columns protruding in the vertical direction are arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the board end connector. The sliding devices and the connector shell are provided with sliding guide grooves and sliding convex parts which are in sliding fit with each other left and right, the sliding devices and the connector shell are provided with pivoting concave part, and pivoting convex parts which are pivoted with each other, the sliding devices and the power locking rod are provided with convex shafts and sliding grooves part which are pivoted in a mutual displacement mode, each sliding device is provided with a buckling groove used for containing a buckling plate end connector clamping column in the direction facing the shell assembly, and each buckling groove extends in a square arc shape from the front end to the rear side.

In the lever-type connector <NUM> described above, the lever <NUM> rotates if a greater force than the restricting force of the restricting protrusion 15a is applied to the lever <NUM>. Therefore, if such a force is applied to the lever <NUM> even in other than the fitting with the counterpart connector <NUM>, the lever <NUM> may rotate and the slider <NUM> may slide in conjunction with the lever <NUM>.

Such sliding of the slider <NUM> causes deviation of the positions of the cam grooves 14a to 14c with respect to the cam pins 21a to 21c of the counterpart connector <NUM>, making the fitting with the counterpart connector <NUM> impossible. This brings the necessity to check whether the lever <NUM> is on the separation position illustrated in <FIG>, that is, on a position on which rotation is restricted by the restricting protrusion 15a, in the fitting with the counterpart connector <NUM>. A case where the position is deviated requires an operation to raise the lever <NUM> and position the lever <NUM> on the position illustrated in <FIG>. Thus, the lever-type connector <NUM> of the related art illustrated in <FIG> requires such an operation, exhibiting poor usability.

In view of this situation, an object of the present invention is to provide a lever-type connector whose lever does not move even when a force is applied to the lever other than in fitting with a mating connector.

The technical matters described herein are not intended to expressly or implicitly limit the invention described in the claims, or, moreover, are not a statement of the possibility of accepting such limitation by persons other than those who benefit from the present invention (for example, the applicant and the right holder), but are merely described to facilitate an understanding of the gist of the present invention. An overview of the present invention from another point of view can be understood, for example, from the scope of claims at the time of filing this patent application.

In a separation state between the lever-type connector and a mating connector, a slider is locked by a spring mechanism. Accordingly, a lever coupled to the slider does not move in the separation state. The locking by the spring mechanism is released at the start of fitting between the lever-type connector and the mating connector. A user can operate the lever coupled to the slider, in a non-separation state.

In particular, the present invention is defined by the independent claim <NUM>.

The dependent claims relate to embodiments thereof.

According to the present invention, the lever does not move from a predetermined position even when a force is applied to the lever in the separation state from the mating connector. Therefore, the present invention eliminates the necessity of the conventionally-required operation, which is checking whether a lever is on a predetermined position in fitting with a mating connector, and favorable usability is thus achieved.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> illustrates an outer appearance of a lever-type connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and <FIG> illustrates the lever-type connector <NUM> shown in <FIG> as an exploded view with some portions removed.

The lever-type connector <NUM> in this example is composed of an inner housing <NUM>, an outer housing <NUM>, two sliders 50U and <NUM>, a lever <NUM>, a harness cover <NUM>, a seal stopper <NUM>, a seal ring <NUM>, a retainer <NUM>, a grommet, and a large number (<NUM> in this example) of socket contacts. Here, <FIG> illustrates the seal ring <NUM>, the retainer <NUM>, and the seal stopper <NUM> as these are attached to the inner housing <NUM> and <FIG> omits the illustration of the grommet and socket contacts.

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrate details of the slider 50U and the inner housing <NUM> respectively. The shape of the slider 50U will be first described.

The slider 50U has a substantially rectangular plate shape as illustrated in <FIG>, and one long side of a lower surface 50a is chamfered to be an inclined surface <NUM> formed along the long side. On the lower surface 50a, three cam grooves <NUM> are further formed to be arrayed in a long side direction of the slider 50U. Each of the cam grooves <NUM> has an opening, which a driven boss of a later-described mating connector is to enter, on the long side on which the inclined surface <NUM> is formed.

A projecting portion <NUM> projecting from the lower surface 50a is formed along the other long side of the lower surface 50a, and concave portions <NUM> are formed in a notched manner respectively on three spots in an extending direction of the projecting portion <NUM>. Further, a groove <NUM> extending along the projecting portion <NUM> is formed on an inner side of the projecting portion <NUM> on the lower surface 50a.

Meanwhile, on an upper surface 50b of the slider 50U, a rack <NUM> is formed on a side, which corresponds to the long side on which the projecting portion <NUM> is formed, in a manner to be positioned along a substantially half portion of the long side of the upper surface 50b. The teeth of the rack <NUM> are arrayed along the long side and the tips of the teeth are positioned on the long side. Here, the rack <NUM> is formed by digging the upper surface 50b.

Further, two spring pieces <NUM> are formed on the upper surface 50b. The spring piece <NUM> cantilevers along the upper surface 50b and a convex portion 57a protruding from the upper surface 50b is formed on an end of the spring piece <NUM>. Here, two windows <NUM> are formed on the slider 50U in a manner to penetrate through the slider 50U in a thickness direction of the slider 50U. The two spring pieces <NUM> are integrally formed on the slider 50U so as to be positioned in these windows <NUM> respectively.

The shape of the slider 50U has been described above. The other slider <NUM> has a shape mirroring the shape of the slider 50U and accordingly, portions corresponding to those of the slider 50U are provided with the same reference characters and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The inner housing <NUM> has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape as illustrated in <FIG>, and a large number of insertion holes <NUM> are formed inside in an array in a manner to penetrate in a front-rear direction. In the insertion holes <NUM>, the socket contacts are inserted and held. On an upper surface 30a of the inner housing <NUM>, a projection portion <NUM> which is long and thin is formed in a projecting manner. The projection portion <NUM> extends from one end to the other end of the upper surface 30a in a left-right direction which is orthogonal to the penetrating direction (the front-rear direction) of the insertion hole <NUM>. On a rear end side from the projection portion <NUM> on the upper surface 30a, a groove <NUM> is formed to extend along the projection portion <NUM>. On a bottom surface of the groove <NUM>, four protrusions <NUM> are formed in a manner to be arrayed in an extending direction of the groove <NUM>. The protrusion <NUM> protrudes in a triangular shape. Here, a supporting shaft <NUM> is formed in a protruding manner on the rear end side from the groove <NUM> on the upper surface 30a. The supporting shaft <NUM> is used for attaching and supporting the lever <NUM>.

The projection portion <NUM>, the groove <NUM>, the protrusions <NUM>, and the supporting shaft <NUM>, which are described above, are also similarly formed on a lower surface 30b of the inner housing <NUM> so as to correspond to respective positions on the upper surface 30a.

The outer housing <NUM> has a box shape having an accommodation space <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Openings <NUM> each communicating with the accommodation space <NUM> are formed on upper portions and lower portions of left and right side surfaces <NUM> and <NUM> of the outer housing <NUM>. Further, two small windows <NUM> are provided on each of an upper plate portion <NUM> and a bottom plate portion <NUM> of the outer housing <NUM>.

The lever <NUM> has a U shape formed by two arm portions <NUM> and a coupling portion <NUM> that couples the arm portions <NUM> to each other, as illustrated in <FIG>. A disc portion <NUM> is formed on one end (tip) of each arm portion <NUM>, and a shaft hole <NUM> is formed on the center of the disc portion <NUM>. A gear <NUM> centering on the shaft hole <NUM> is formed on an inner surface of each of the disc portions <NUM>, which are opposed to each other, of the two arm portions <NUM>. A protrusion <NUM> is formed on the coupling portion <NUM> that couples the other ends of the two arm portions <NUM>.

The configurations of the main portions have been described above. The lever-type connector <NUM> is assembled by accommodating the inner housing <NUM>, to which the seal ring <NUM>, the retainer <NUM>, and the seal stopper <NUM> are attached as illustrated in <FIG>, in the accommodation space <NUM> of the outer housing <NUM> and by attaching the harness cover <NUM>, the lever <NUM>, and the sliders 50U and <NUM>. Wires of a wire harness which is not illustrated are threaded through grommets and connected to socket contacts whose illustration is omitted. The socket contacts are respectively inserted in the insertion holes <NUM> of the inner housing <NUM> and are held by the inner housing <NUM> and the retainer <NUM>.

The harness cover <NUM> is attached to the outer housing <NUM>, and the lever <NUM> is attached to the inner housing <NUM> by threading a pair of supporting shafts <NUM> of the inner housing <NUM> through a pair of shaft holes <NUM> so that the lever <NUM> can rotate about the supporting shaft <NUM>. The sliders 50U and <NUM> are inserted from the openings <NUM> on the side surface <NUM> side of the outer housing <NUM> and incorporated in the upper and lower spaces between the outer housing <NUM> and the inner housing <NUM>, and the racks <NUM> of the sliders 50U and <NUM> are engaged with respective gears <NUM> of the lever <NUM>.

A fitting operation between the lever-type connector <NUM> described above and the mating connector will now be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrate processes (<NUM>) to (<NUM>) of fitting between the lever-type connector <NUM> and a mating connector <NUM> in order. <FIG> and <FIG> are plan views of the fitting state between the lever-type connector <NUM> and the mating connector <NUM>. <FIG> and <FIG> illustrate an enlarged longitudinal section of a main portion of the fitting state. <FIG> respectively illustrate a section taken along the E-E line shown in <FIG> and a section taken along the F-F line shown in <FIG>. <FIG> illustrates transverse sections on a position where the rack <NUM> of the slider 50U is positioned in the fitting state between the lever-type connector <NUM> and the mating connector <NUM>. <FIG> correspond to the processes (<NUM>), (<NUM>), and (<NUM>) respectively and <FIG> corresponds to the state between the processes (<NUM>) and (<NUM>).

Fitting of the lever-type connector <NUM> to the mating connector <NUM> is started. The mating connector <NUM> has a configuration in which a large number of pin contacts <NUM> are arrayed and held in a housing <NUM> and the mating connector <NUM> is mounted on a substrate (not illustrated).

With the start of fitting, a fitting portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM> of the mating connector <NUM> is inserted into a gap between the seal stopper <NUM>, which is attached to the front end side of the inner housing <NUM>, and the outer housing <NUM> in the lever-type connector <NUM>.

In this state, the convex portions 57a of the spring pieces <NUM> of the sliders 50U and <NUM>, which are respectively positioned in the upper and lower spaces between the inner housing <NUM> and the outer housing <NUM> of the lever-type connector <NUM>, are pushed by inner surfaces of the upper plate portion <NUM> and the bottom plate portion <NUM> of the outer housing <NUM>. That is, the sliders 50U and <NUM> are pushed by the spring pieces <NUM> to be maintained in a locked state in which the protrusions <NUM> of the inner housing <NUM> enter the concave portions <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. Here, the illustration of socket contacts and wire harnesses is omitted, but in <FIG>, <NUM> denotes a grommet through which a wire of the wire harness is threaded.

As the fitting progresses, the end of the fitting portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM> in the mating connector <NUM> is abutted on the inclined surfaces <NUM> positioned on the front end in the fitting direction of the sliders 50U and <NUM> and the inclined surfaces <NUM> are pushed by the fitting portion <NUM>. Accordingly, the sliders 50U and <NUM> are displaced in respective directions separating from the inner housing <NUM> against the spring force of the spring pieces <NUM>. As a result, the protrusions <NUM> which have entered the concave portions <NUM> are disengaged from the concave portions <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG> and the locked state of the sliders 50U and <NUM> is thus released. The sliders 50U and <NUM> respectively ride up on upper and lower surfaces 221a and 221b of the fitting portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM> in the mating connector <NUM>.

As the fitting further progresses, three driven bosses <NUM>, which are formed in a protruding manner on each of the upper surface 221a and the lower surface 221b of the fitting portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM> in the mating connector <NUM>, enter corresponding cam grooves <NUM> of the sliders 50U and <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. The lever <NUM> becomes to be able to be operated in an arrow d direction around the supporting shaft <NUM>.

In response to the operation of the lever <NUM>, the gears <NUM> which are rotating and the racks <NUM> mesh with each other and the sliders 50U and <NUM> accordingly performs a sliding operation in an arrow e direction as illustrated in <FIG>. In response to the sliding operation of the sliders 50U and <NUM>, the lever-type connector <NUM> is drawn to the mating connector <NUM> and thus, the fitting further progresses.

By rotating the lever <NUM> to a position illustrated in <FIG>, the fitting of the lever-type connector <NUM> to the mating connector <NUM> is completed. The driven bosses <NUM> of the mating connector <NUM> are positioned on inner ends of the cam grooves <NUM> of the sliders 50U and <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>.

Separation between the mating connector <NUM> and the lever-type connector <NUM>, that is, disengagement of the lever-type connector <NUM> from the mating connector <NUM> is performed by operating the lever <NUM> to return the lever <NUM> from the position illustrated in <FIG> to the position illustrated in <FIG>.

The configuration and operation of the lever-type connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention have been described above. According to the lever-type connector <NUM>, the following actions and advantageous effects can be obtained.

Even if a force operating the lever <NUM> is applied to the lever <NUM> in this state, the direction of the force is orthogonal to the direction of the spring force of the spring pieces <NUM> pushing the sliders 50U and <NUM>. Therefore, the locked state of the sliders 50U and <NUM> cannot be released and accordingly, the lever <NUM> does not move.

Thus, according to the lever-type connector <NUM>, an operation for checking the position of the lever <NUM> is not required in fitting with the mating connector <NUM>.

<NUM>) In the state of completion of fitting with the mating connector <NUM>, the convex portions 57a of the spring pieces <NUM> enter and are positioned in respective windows <NUM>, which are provided to the outer housing <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Accordingly, the spring pieces <NUM> are elastically restored and deformation thereof is relieved, being able to prevent settling.

<NUM>) The sliders 50U and <NUM> are configured in a manner such that the side surface of the projecting portion <NUM> provided along one long side is along the side surface of the projection portion <NUM> provided to the inner housing <NUM>. Therefore, the sliders 50U and <NUM> are guided by the projection portion <NUM> and perform favorable slide movement.

<NUM>) In the state of completion of fitting with the mating connector <NUM>, the protrusion <NUM> provided to the lever <NUM> is caught on a projection portion <NUM> which is formed on the harness cover <NUM> in a projecting manner. Therefore, the lever <NUM> does not easily move and the position thereof is stably maintained.

<NUM>) In the state of separation from the mating connector <NUM>, the lever <NUM> is locked as described above and the operation in the arrow d direction is blocked. Meanwhile, stepped portions <NUM> that protrude mutually outward are formed on the harness cover <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. Accordingly, even if a force in an opposite direction to the arrow d direction, for example, is applied to the lever <NUM> in the state of separation from the mating connector <NUM>, the stepped portions <NUM> restrict movement of the lever <NUM>.

A configuration of a lever-type connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

<FIG> illustrates an outer appearance of a lever-type connector 100z according to the second embodiment, and <FIG> illustrates the lever-type connector 100z as an exploded view with some portions removed. <FIG>and <FIG> and <FIG> illustrate processes (<NUM>) to (<NUM>) of fitting between the lever-type connector 100z and the mating connector <NUM> similarly to the processes (<NUM>) to (<NUM>) in the first embodiment. In <FIG>, portions corresponding to those of the first embodiment will be provided with the same reference characters and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this example, spring pieces, which are provided for pushing sliders so as to produce a locked state of the sliders, are integrally formed not on the sliders but on an outer housing 40z. Two spring pieces <NUM> having a double-supported beam shape are formed on each of the upper plate portion <NUM> and the bottom plate portion <NUM> of the outer housing 40z. There are long and thin slits <NUM> on both sides in the width direction of each spring piece <NUM>, that is, the spring piece <NUM> is configured between the slits <NUM> which are provided in a pair. A convex portion 48a is formed in a protruding manner at the center in the longitudinal direction of an inner surface, facing the accommodation space <NUM>, of each spring piece <NUM>.

Meanwhile, recesses <NUM> are formed on the upper surface 50b of a slider 50Uz, and recesses <NUM> are also formed on a slider 50Lz in a similar manner.

In this example, the sliders 50Uz and 50Lz are configured in a manner such that the sliders 50Uz and 50Lz are pushed by the convex portions 48a of the spring pieces <NUM>, which are integrally formed on the outer housing 40z, to be in the locked state as is the case with the first embodiment. The operation in the processes (<NUM>) to (<NUM>) of fitting with the mating connector <NUM> is the same as that of the first embodiment other than that springs for pushing the sliders 50Uz and 50Lz against the inner housing <NUM> are the spring pieces <NUM> integrally formed on the outer housing 40z.

In the state of completion of fitting with the mating connector <NUM>, the convex portions 48a of the spring pieces <NUM> enter and are positioned in respective recesses <NUM>, which are provided to the sliders 50Uz and 50Lz. Accordingly, the spring pieces <NUM> are elastically restored and deformation thereof is relieved, and therefore, settling is prevented as is the case with the first embodiment.

The spring pieces <NUM> are integrally formed on the sliders 50U and <NUM> in the first embodiment and the spring pieces <NUM> are integrally formed on the outer housing 40z in the second embodiment so as to push the sliders against the inner housing with the spring force of these spring pieces and to lock the sliders. However, a configuration in which such a spring piece is not intentionally provided can also be employed.

A third embodiment employs such a configuration including no spring pieces, and the configuration and operation thereof will be described with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

The lever <NUM> of a lever-type connector has a U shape formed by two arm portions <NUM> and the coupling portion <NUM> that couples the arm portions <NUM> to each other as described above, as illustrated in <FIG>. In this example, these two arm portions <NUM> are configured to function as springs for pushing sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz to produce the locked state of the sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz.

<FIG> illustrates states of the lever <NUM> and the sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz in the state of separation from a mating connector, and <FIG> illustrates the states of the lever <NUM> and the sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz when fitting to the mating connector is performed and the locked state of the sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz is released.

The sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz are pressed in directions, in which the sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz mutually approach, by the disc portion <NUM> and the gear <NUM>, which are provided to each one end (tip) of two arm portions <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG> and thus, the sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz can be locked. On the other hand, in the fitting state with the mating connector, the sliders 50Uzz and 50Lzz are displaced in directions separating from each other against the spring force of two arm portions <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. In this state, the two arm portions <NUM> move opening in respective directions of arrows f.

Thus, the lever <NUM> may be made function as a spring for pushing sliders.

Claim 1:
A lever-type connector (<NUM>) comprising:
sliders (50U, <NUM>) each having a cam groove (<NUM>) which a driven boss (<NUM>) provided to a mating connector (<NUM>) is to enter, the number of the sliders (50U, <NUM>) being limited to two, one of the sliders (50U, <NUM>) being hereinafter referred to as a first slider (50U), and the other of the sliders (50U, <NUM>) being hereinafter referred to as a second slider (<NUM>); and
a lever (<NUM>) for making the first slider (50U) and the second slider (<NUM>) perform a sliding operation, wherein
fitting and separation between the lever-type connector (<NUM>) and the mating connector (<NUM>) are performed through an operation of the lever (<NUM>), and
the first slider (50U) and the second slider (<NUM>) are positioned in a space between an inner housing (<NUM>), the inner housing (<NUM>) holding a contact, and an outer housing (<NUM>, 40z) accommodating the inner housing (<NUM>),
each of the first slider (50U) and the second slider (<NUM>) has an inclined surface (<NUM>) on a front end thereof in a direction of the lever-type connector (<NUM>) fitting with the mating connector (<NUM>),
the inner housing (<NUM>) and the first slider (50U) have first surfaces facing each other, one of the first surfaces having a protrusion (<NUM>), and the other of the first surfaces having a concave portion (<NUM>),
the inner housing (<NUM>) and the second slider (<NUM>) have second surfaces facing each other, one of the second surfaces having a protrusion (<NUM>), and the other of the second surfaces having a concave portion (<NUM>),
characterized in that
in a separation state of the lever-type connector (<NUM>) being separated from the mating connector (<NUM>), the first slider (50U) and the second slider (<NUM>) are each pushed by a spring (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) to be in a locked state in which the protrusion (<NUM>) enters the concave portion (<NUM>), and accordingly, the sliding operation is blocked and the operation of the lever (<NUM>) is blocked, and
when the lever-type connector (<NUM>) starts fitting with the mating connector (<NUM>), a housing (<NUM>) of the mating connector (<NUM>) pushes the inclined surface (<NUM>) of each of the first slider (50U) and the second slider (<NUM>), and accordingly, the first slider (50U) and the second slider (<NUM>) are each displaced in a direction away from the inner housing (<NUM>) against a spring force of the spring (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), and the locked state is released.