Lever fitting-type manual disconnector

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a lever fitting-type manual disconnector capable of fitting or detaching one connector housing into or out of the other connector housing by operating a lever with small control force using a cam mechanism.

2. Description of the Related Art

An electric car contains an electric power source, i.e. a battery, which has a larger capacity as compared to a battery in a usual gasoline-engine car or the like. Accordingly, in the event of maintenance of electric systems or the like, a power circuit is set open with a circuit breaker in order to secure operation safety. As illustrated in

FIG. 1

to

FIG. 4

, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9(1997)-265874 discloses such a related power circuit breaker.

As shown in

FIG. 1

to

FIG. 4

, this circuit breaker

100

includes a body

101

and a detachable plug

102

disposed detachably on the body

101

. The body

101

is provided with a pair of male terminals

103

. One of the pair of male terminals

103

is electrically connected to a load, and the other male terminal

103

is electrically connected to a power unit via a fuse

104

. A pair of perpendicular guide walls

106

each including a guide groove

105

are severally provided on outer positions of the pair of male terminals

103

of the body

101

.

Moreover, as shown in

FIG. 4

, the body

101

is provided with a lead switch

107

a

. A closed state or an open state of the power circuit is detected by an on-state or an off-state of the lead switch

107

a

. Further, as shown in FIG.

1

and

FIG. 4

, the body

101

is provided with bolt fitting holes

108

in appropriate places. The body

101

is fixed to a fitting plane (not shown) with bolts (not shown) inserted into the bolt fitting holes

108

.

The detachable plug

102

includes a control lever

110

provided with a pair of protrusions

109

on right and left side faces thereof, a plug body

112

fitted rotatably on the control lever

110

via shafts

111

, and a pair of female terminals

114

fixed to the plug body

112

and electrically connected to each other with a bus bar

113

. Moreover, magnets

107

b

are buried severally in right-and-left symmetric positions on the control lever

110

.

When an operator grasps the control lever

110

of the detachable plug

102

and thereby inserts the pair of protrusions

109

into the pair of guide grooves

105

on the body

101

from the position illustrated with solid lines to the position illustrated with imaginary lines in

FIG. 3

, the male terminals

103

are inserted into the female terminals

114

owing to such an insertion stroke of the detachable plug

102

. Due to this operation, as shown in

FIG. 2

, the pair of male terminals

103

are electrically connected to each other via the pair of female terminals

114

and the bus bar

113

. Accordingly, the power circuit is set to a closed state. After the detachable plug

102

is inserted into the body

101

, the control lever

110

is rotated with respect to the plug body

112

from the position illustrated with imaginary lines to the position illustrated with solid lines in

FIG. 3

, and the control lever

110

is thereby laid sideways on the body

101

as shown in FIG.

4

. The magnet

107

b

closely faces the lead switch

107

a

immediately before laying the control lever

110

sideways, whereby the lead switch

107

a

is turned on. In this way, a closed state of the power circuit is detected electrically.

Meanwhile, in order to set this circuit to an open state, the control lever

110

laid sideways is rotated to an upright position, and the detachable plug

102

fitted to the body

101

is pulled upward from the body

101

. In other words, an action reverse to the foregoing fitting action should be carried out. Then, the pair of female terminals

114

come out of the pair of male terminals

103

owing to a pulling stroke of the detachable plug

102

, whereby the pair of male terminals

103

are disconnected from each other and the power circuit is set to the open state.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, according to the related power circuit breaker

100

, the power circuit is set to the closed state at the time of inserting the control lever

110

into the body

101

(in the state shown in FIG.

2

). That is, although a fitting operation is completed only after the control lever

110

is laid sideways with respect to the body

101

as shown in

FIG. 4

, the power circuit is set to the closed state in the midst of the operation. Moreover, the lead switch

107

a

detects the closed state for the first time when the operation of the control lever

110

is completed. Therefore, there is a risk of misunderstanding that the power circuit still remains at the open state at the time of inserting the control lever

110

into the body

101

, because the operation is not completed yet. Accordingly, it is preferable that the power circuit is set to the closed state for the first time after the operation of the control lever

110

is completed. Moreover, the power circuit is set to the open state at the time when the detachable plug

102

is pulled out of the body

101

and the pair of female terminals

114

are thereby disconnected from the pair of male terminals

103

. Therefore, if the detachable plug

102

is pulled out in the state that a high voltage is applied to a load side, there is a risk of causing arc discharge.

Moreover, the above-described power circuit breaker

100

is designed such that the body

101

can be detached from the fitting plane by unfastening the bolts in the bolt inserting holes

108

of the body

101

even in the state where the control lever

110

is inserted into the body

101

and the male terminals

103

and the female terminals

114

are thereby connected to one another. Therefore, there is a problem that safety for an operator cannot be secured in the case of detaching the body

101

for the purpose of repairing or the like.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the foregoing problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a lever fitting-type manual disconnector capable of preventing a closed state of a power circuit prior to completion of an operation of a lever, and capable of surely preventing occurrence of arc discharge. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a lever fitting-type manual disconnector, in which fixing means thereof is detachable only in an open state upon detaching the other connector housing from a fitting plane for the purpose of repairing or the like, and thereby capable of surely securing safety for an operator.

A first aspect of the present invention is a lever fitting-type manual disconnector including a first connector housing having a first terminal, a second connector housing having a second terminal for being combined with the first connector housing, a lever provided on the first connector housing, a cam groove provided on the lever, a cam pin provided on the second connector housing for being engaged with the cam groove, and a fitting-state detective switch for detecting a fitting-state of the connector housings. Here, the lever is rotated while the cam pin is engaged with the cam groove to establish a rotation completive position, in which the terminals on the both connector housings contact to each other. Then, the lever is moved linearly from the foregoing position to establish a fitting completive position, in which the fitting-state detective switch is turned on. Further, the lever is moved linearly from the fitting completive position reverse to the foregoing linear direction to establish the rotation completive position, in which the fitting-state detective switch is turned off. Then, the lever is rotated from the rotation completive position reverse to the foregoing rotational direction to establish an unconnected state of the terminals by detaching the both connector housings. Moreover, a circuit to be turned on and off by the fitting-state detective switch, and a power switch composed of the respective terminals on the both connector housings are interposed in a power circuit in series connection.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in this lever fitting-type manual disconnector, the terminals on the both connector housings are set to a connected state in the process of rotating the lever from a rotation initial position to the rotation completive position, whereby the power switch is turned on. However, the power circuit remains at the open state at this stage. The fitting-state detective switch is turned on in the process of moving the lever linearly from the rotation completive position to the fitting completive position, whereby the circuit is turned on and the power circuit is set to the closed state for the first time. Moreover, in the event of changing the power circuit from the closed state to the open state, the fitting-state detective switch is turned off in the process of moving the lever linearly from the fitting completive position to the rotation completive position. Accordingly, the circuit is turned off and the power circuit is thereby set to the open state, and the power switch composed of the terminals on the both connector housings is set to a detached state in the process of rotating the lever from the rotation completive position to the rotation initial position. Therefore, there is a time-lag between the time when the power circuit is turned off and the time when the power switch composed of the terminals is detached, whereby time for discharge is secured.

Meanwhile, a second aspect of the present invention is a lever fitting-type manual disconnector including terminals severally provided on first and second connector housings for being connected and unconnected by approaching and detaching movements, a lever provided movably on the first the connector housing, a cam groove provided on any one of the lever and the second connector housing, a cam pin provided on the other one of the lever and the second connector housing for being engaged with the cam groove. Here, when the lever is moved in a state that the cam pin is engaged with the cam groove, the first connector housing approaches the second connector housing owing to the cam pin being guided by the cam groove, and the terminals on the both connector housings contact to each other. Moreover, the movements of the lever includes a rotational movement between a rotation initial position and a rotation completive position where the terminals on the both connector housings are connected and unconnected, and a linear movement between the rotation completive position and a fitting completive position where a fitting-state detective switch is turned on and off. Furthermore, a relay circuit to be turned on and off by the fitting-state detective switch, and a power switch composed of the respective terminals on the both connector housings are interposed in a power circuit in series connection.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in this lever fitting-type manual disconnector, the second connector housing is detachable only when the first connector housing is detached from the second connector housing or when the lever is set to the rotation initial position. In this way, safety for an operator is sufficiently secured in the case of detaching the second connector housing from a fitting plane for the purpose of repairing the breaker, which is designed to disconnect the power circuit by operating the lever in accordance with the rotational movement and the linear movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a related example showing a power circuit breaker prior to fitting.

FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view of the related example showing a state where a detachable plug is inserted into a body.

FIG. 3

is a side view of the related example showing a process of fitting the detachable plug into the body.

FIG. 4

is a plan view of the related example showing a state where detachable plug is fitted completely to the body.

FIG. 5A

is an exploded front view of a first connector housing according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B

is an exploded side view of the first connector housing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6

is a perspective view of a lever according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A

is a side view of the lever according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7B

is a cross-sectional view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, which is taken along the VIIB—VIIB line in FIG.

7

A.

FIG. 8

is a front view showing the first connector housing fitted with the lever according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in a state where the lever is located at a rotation initial position.

FIG. 9

is a rear view showing the first connector housing fitted with the lever according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in a state where the lever is located at a rotation initial position.

FIG. 10A

is a partially cutaway plan view of the first connector housing fitted with the lever according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10B

is a bottom view of the first connector housing fitted with the lever according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11

is a partially cutaway plan view of a second connector housing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A

is a plan view of the second connector housing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12B

is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention, which is taken along the XIIB—XIIB line in FIG.

12

A.

FIG. 13

is a circuit diagram of a power circuit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14

is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state prior to fitting of the first connector housing on the second connector housing.

FIG. 15

is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in the process of fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, in which the lever is located at a rotation completive position.

FIG. 16

is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state where the first connector housing is fitted completely to the second connector housing.

FIG. 17A

is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention for explaining a process of a movement of the cam pin upon fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, which shows a state where the lever is located between the rotation initial position and the rotation completive position.

FIG. 17B

is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention for explaining the process of the movement of the cam pin upon fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, which shows a state where the lever is located at the rotation completive position.

FIG. 17C

is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention for explaining the process of the movement of the cam pin upon fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, which shows a state where the lever is located at a fitting completive position.

FIG. 18A

is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention for explaining a process of a movement of a lever track corrective guide pin upon fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, which shows a state where the lever is located between the rotation initial position and the rotation completive position.

FIG. 18B

is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention for explaining the process of the movement of the lever track corrective guide pin upon fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, which shows a state where the lever is located at the rotation completive position.

FIG. 18C

is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention for explaining the process of the movement of the lever track corrective guide pin upon fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, which shows a state where the lever is located at the fitting completive position.

FIG. 19A

is a plan view of the first embodiment of the present invention showing a state where the first connector housing is fitted completely to the second connector housing.

FIG. 19B

is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention showing the state where the first connector housing is fitted completely to the second connector housing.

FIG. 20

is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention showing the state where the first connector housing is fitted completely to the second connector housing.

FIG. 21

is an enlarged view of principal parts of

FIG. 20

showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22

is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention, which is taken along the XXII—XXII line in FIG.

19

A.

FIG. 23A

is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention for explaining that a bolt fitting tool cannot be fitted to a bolt in the state where the first connector housing is fitted to the second connector housing.

FIG. 23B

is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention for showing a state where the bolt fitting tool is fitted to the bolt in a state that the first connector housing is detached from the second connector housing.

FIG. 24A

is a front view of a first connector housing fitted with a lever according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24B

is a side view of the first connector housing fitted with the lever according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24C

is a bottom view of the first connector housing fitted with the lever according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25

is a plan view of a second connector housing according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26

is a plan view of the second embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in the process of fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, in which the lever is located at a rotation initial position.

FIG. 27

is a plan view of the second embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in the process of fitting the first connector housing to the second connector housing, in which the lever is located at a rotation completive position.

FIG. 28

is a plan view of the second embodiment of the present invention, showing a state where the first connector housing is fitted completely to the second connector housing, in which the lever is located at a fitting completive position.

FIG. 29

is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention showing a state of inserting the first connector housing into the second connector housing, which corresponds to the XXIX—XXIX line in FIG.

24

A and the XXIX—XXIX line in FIG.

25

.

FIG. 30

is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention, which is taken along the XXX—XXX line in FIG.

25

.

FIG. 31

is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention, which is taken along the XXXI—XXXI line in FIG.

25

.

FIG. 32

is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention, which is taken along the XXXII—XXXII line in FIG.

27

.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Now, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 5A

to

FIG. 23B

show a lever fitting-type manual disconnector for a high-voltage and large-current circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A

is an exploded front view of a first connector housing and

FIG. 5B

is an exploded side view of the first connector housing.

FIG. 6

is a perspective view of a lever.

FIG. 7A

is a side view of the lever and

FIG. 7B

is a cross-sectional view taken along the VIIB—VIIB line in FIG.

7

A.

FIG. 8

is a front view of the first connector housing fitted with the lever in the state where the lever is located at a rotation initial position.

FIG. 9

is a bottom view of the first connector housing fitted with the lever in the state where the lever is located at the rotation initial position.

FIG. 10A

is a partially cutaway plan view of the first connector housing fitted with the lever, and

FIG. 10B

is a bottom view of the first connector housing fitted with the lever.

FIG. 11

is a partially cutaway front view of a second connector housing.

FIG. 12A

is a plan view of the second connector housing, and

FIG. 12B

is a cross-sectional view taken along the XIIB—XIIB line in FIG.

12

A.

As shown in

FIG. 14

to FIG.

16

and

FIG. 19A

to

FIG. 23B

, a lever fitting-type manual disconnector

1

A for a high-voltage and large-current circuit includes a first connector housing

1

made of plastics, a lever

2

made of plastics which is fitted to the first connector housing

1

, and a second connector housing

3

made of plastics to which the first connector housing

1

is fitted by an operation with the lever

2

.

As shown in FIG.

5

A and

FIG. 9

to

FIG. 10B

, the first connector housing

1

includes a housing body

4

and a cover

5

to be fitted so as to occlude an upper portion of the housing body

4

. Further, the housing body

4

includes a pair of triangular pyramid protrusions (convex portions)

6

. The cover

5

is designed to be fitted to the housing body

4

by inserting the protrusions

6

into retaining holes

7

on the cover

5

. Each of the respective protrusions

6

of triangular pyramid shapes is provided such that a lower portion side thereof in

FIG. 5A

constitutes a perpendicular plane with respect to a side face of the housing body

4

, and that an upper portion and side portions thereof constitute inclined planes which stand up gradually from a plane of the housing body

4

. In this way, the cover

5

can be fitted from both directions of a direction from the upper portion of the housing body

4

as illustrated with solid lines in

FIG. 5A and a

direction from the side portion of the housing body

4

as illustrated with imaginary lines in FIG.

5

A. Therefore, the cover

5

is designed as easily fittable or detachable in the case of disposing the lever fitting-type manual disconnector

1

A in a small space.

A terminal hood

8

is provided on the lower portion of the housing body

4

. Inside the terminal hood

8

provided are a pair of male terminals

9

as shown in FIG.

9

and

FIG. 10B

in a protruding manner toward a direction to be fitted into female terminals to be described later. The pair of male terminals

9

are connected electrically to each other via a fuse

10

, which is housed inside the housing body

4

as shown in FIG.

10

A and FIG.

22

.

A pair of guide pins

11

are provided in a protruding manner on outer walls of the housing body

4

. Each of the guide pins

11

has an approximately oval shape in which upper and lower ends of a columnar shape are cut away. In other words, the guide pin

11

includes a long width portion and a short width portion. Moreover, the pair of guide pins

11

are severally engaged with guide grooves

20

on the lever

2

to be described later.

Moreover, a pair of retaining protrusions (convex portions)

12

of an approximately semispherical shape are provided in a protruding manner on the outer wall of the housing body

4

. Each of the pair of retaining protrusions

12

is provided on a flexible arm

14

formed between a pair of slits

13

on the outer wall of the housing body

4

. The pair of retaining protrusions

12

are provided for retaining the lever

2

in a predetermined position by being inserted into either first retaining holes

22

or second retaining holes

23

of the lever

2

to be described later. Furthermore, the retaining protrusion

12

is designed as easily displaceable in an inward direction of the housing body

4

owing to elastic flexure deformation of the flexible arm

14

. In addition, a pair of lever track corrective guide grooves

15

are provided on the outer walls of the housing body

4

. A stepped side face

15

a

, which constitutes each lever track corrective guide groove

15

, includes a perpendicular step side face extending in a up-and-down direction, a horizontal step side face extending in a horizontal direction, and an arc step side face connecting the foregoing two side faces together with an arc. Moreover, a pair of lever track corrective guide pins

24

on the after-mentioned second connector housing

3

are engaged with the pair of lever track corrective guide grooves

15

. The pair of the lever track corrective guide pins

24

are designed to slide along the stepped side faces

15

a

of the lever track corrective guide grooves

15

.

Moreover, a pair of lever rotation stoppers

16

are provided on the housing body

4

in a protruding manner. The pair of lever rotation stoppers

16

control rotation of the lever

2

such that the lever

2

is rotatable only between a rotation initial position shown in

FIG. 14

where the lever

2

is set upright with respect to the first connector housing

1

, and a rotation completive position where the lever

2

is set parallel to the first connector housing

1

.

As shown in

FIG. 6

to

FIG. 10B

, the lever

2

includes a pair of arm plates

18

a

and

18

b

disposed parallel to each other with provision of a space, and an operating portion

19

for mutually joining the pair of arm plates

18

a

and

18

b

. The guide grooves

20

extending in a horizontal direction are provided in symmetric positions on the pair of arm plates

18

a

and

18

b

, and the pair of guide pins

11

on the connector housing

1

are inserted severally into the guide grooves

20

. Each of the guide grooves

20

includes an arc portion

20

a

on one end and a straight portion

20

b

to be linked therewith. A diameter of the arc portion

20

a

is made slightly larger than a diameter of an arc portion (the long width portion) of the guide pin

11

, and a width of the straight portion

20

b

is made slightly larger than a width of a cutaway portion (the short width portion) of the guide pin

11

. Moreover, regarding the lever

2

, the guide pin

11

can be disposed only on the arc portion

20

a

of the guide groove

20

in a rotational position other than the rotation completive position as shown in

FIG. 15

, whereby a rotational movement between the rotation initial position of FIG.

14

and the rotation completive position of

FIG. 15

is permitted. Furthermore, regarding the lever

2

, the guide pin

11

is made slidable from the arc portion

20

a

of the guide groove

20

toward the straight portion

20

b

at a rotational position of the rotation completive position shown in

FIG. 15

(or a fitting completive position shown in FIG.

16

), whereby a linear movement by sliding between the rotation completive position of FIG.

15

and the fitting completive position of

FIG. 16

is permitted. As described above, the lever

2

is provided as rotatable and linearly movable with respect to the first connector housing

1

.

Meanwhile, cam grooves

21

are provided in symmetric positions of the pair of arm plates

18

a

and

18

b

. The after-mentioned cam pins

36

of the second connector housing

3

are inserted into the pair of cam grooves

21

upon fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

. Each of the cam grooves

21

includes an aperture

21

a

on one end which is opened at an end face of the arm plate

18

a

or

18

b

, a bent portion

21

b

of which a distance r from the arc portion

20

a

of the guide groove

20

varies in a gradually approaching manner in accordance with a direction from the aperture

21

a

toward the operating portion

19

, and a straight portion

21

c

disposed parallel to the straight portion

20

b

of the guide groove

20

.

Furthermore, as shown in

FIG. 14

, an upper sidewall face of the aperture

21

a

in a state of setting the lever

2

upright is formed as a sidewall stopper face

17

for allowing the cam groove

21

to abut on the cam pin

36

in the event of inserting the first connector housing

1

into the second connector housing

3

without using the lever

2

in order to constitute a tentative fitting position. In other words, insertion of the cam pin

36

is inhibited by the sidewall face, and further insertion is conducted only by operating the lever

2

. Accordingly, there is no risk of fitting the first connector housing

1

improperly on the second connector housing

3

.

Moreover, first retaining holes (concave portions)

22

and second retaining holes (concave portions)

23

are provided severally in symmetric positions on the pair of arm plates

18

a

and

18

b

. The retaining protrusions

12

on the first connector housing

1

are inserted into the first retaining holes

22

and the second retaining holes

23

. In the rotation initial position where the lever

2

is set upright with respect to the first connector housing

1

, the retaining protrusions

12

are inserted into the first retaining holes

22

and the lever

2

is thereby retained in the rotation initial position. Further, in the fitting completive position where the lever

2

is set parallel to the first connector housing

1

, the retaining protrusions

12

are inserted into the second retaining holes

23

and the lever

2

is thereby retained in the fitting completive position. Since the rotation completive position of the lever

2

is an intermediate operational position, the retaining protrusions

12

are not retained.

Furthermore, the pair of lever track corrective guide pins

24

are provided severally on inner walls of the pair of arm plates

18

a

and

18

b

. The pair of lever track corrective guide pins

24

are retained in the pair of lever track corrective guide grooves

15

on the first connector housing

1

. Moreover, one of the pair of arm plates

18

a

and

18

b

is made wider than the other, and a connector unit

25

is provided on the wider arm plate

18

b

as shown in FIG.

7

A and FIG.

9

. This connector unit

25

is provided with fitting-state detective male terminals

26

as fitting-state detective terminals. Furthermore, the operating portion

19

is provided with a finger inserting hole

27

. This finger inserting hole

27

is set to a size so that just one human finger can be barely inserted therein.

As shown in

FIG. 11

to

FIG. 12B

, the second connector housing

3

has an approximately rectangular parallelepipedic shape with opening on an upper face thereof. An inner space thereof constitutes a fitting space

30

for the first connector housing

1

. Bolt inserting holes

32

shown in

FIG. 22

to

FIG. 23B

are formed on a bottom face

31

, which is a lower face of the fitting space

30

. The second connector housing

3

is fixed to an unillustrated desired fitting plane with bolts

33

, which constitute fixing means inserted into the bolt inserting holes

32

.

Moreover, on the bottom face

31

being the lower face of the fitting space

30

, a terminal hood housing

34

is provided integrally in a protruding manner in the up-and-down direction. Inside the terminal hood housing

34

, a pair of female terminals (terminals)

35

shown in FIG.

11

and

FIG. 12A

are severally housed therein. When the first connector housing

1

approaches from the upside of the second connector housing

3

downward, the pair of male terminals

9

on the first connector housing

1

are inserted into the terminal hood housing

34

and are connected to the pair of female terminals

35

. Moreover, when the first connector housing

1

is detached from the downside toward the upside in the state where the terminals

9

and

35

are connected to one another, the pair of male terminals

9

exit from the terminal hood housing

34

and are disconnected from the pair of female terminals

35

. One end of a lead line

39

a

is connected to each of the female terminals

35

. One of the lead lines

39

a

is guided to a load

40

of a power circuit D, and the other lead line

39

a

is guided to a power source unit

41

of the power circuit D, respectively. In short, as shown in

FIG. 13

, the male terminals

9

and the female terminals

35

severally on the both connector housings

1

and

3

constitute a power switch SW

1

of the power circuit D.

Moreover, the pair of cam pins

36

are provided in a protruding manner in symmetric positions on inner peripheral walls of the second connector housing

3

. The pair of cam pins

36

are inserted into the cam grooves

21

on the lever

2

upon fitting the first connector housing

1

. Further, a connector unit

37

is provided inside the fitting space

30

of the second connector housing

3

. A pair of fitting-state detective female terminals

38

are disposed on the connector unit

37

as fitting-state detective terminals. The pair of fitting-state detective female terminals

38

and the pair of fitting-state detective male terminals

26

on the lever

2

collectively constitute a fitting-state detective switch SW

2

. The fitting-state detective switch SW

2

is turned on by the pair of fitting-state detective female terminals

38

connecting to the pair of fitting-state detective male terminals

26

on the lever

2

, and is turned off when the pair of fitting-state detective male terminals

26

on the lever

2

are disconnected. Lead lines

39

b

are severally connected to the pair of female terminals

38

, and the both lead lines

39

b

are guided to a relay circuit

42

inside the power circuit D.

Next, description will be made regarding the power circuit D. As shown in

FIG. 13

, the power circuit D includes the load

40

and the power source unit

41

for supplying electric power to the load

40

. The power switch composed of the terminals

9

and

35

on the both connector housings

1

and

3

, and the relay circuit

42

are connected to the load

40

and to the power source unit

41

in series connection. The relay circuit

42

is an electric circuit to be turned on when the fitting-state detective switch SW

2

is on and to be turned off when the fitting-state detective switch SW

2

is off. The power switch SW

1

composed of the terminals

9

and

35

on the both connector housings

1

and

3

is a mechanical switch as described above.

Next, description will be made regarding operations of the lever fitting-type manual disconnector

1

A by use of

FIG. 14

to FIG.

22

.

FIG. 14

is a perspective view showing a state before fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

.

FIG. 15

is a perspective view showing a state where the lever

2

is located at the rotation completive position, which is a process of fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

.

FIG. 16

is a perspective view showing a state where the first connector housing

1

is fitted completely to the second connector housing

3

.

FIG. 17A

is a front view for explaining a process of a movement of the cam pin

36

upon fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

, which shows a state where the lever

2

is located between the rotation initial position and the rotation completive position.

FIG. 17B

is a front view for explaining the process of the movement of the cam pin

36

upon fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

, which shows a state where the lever

2

is located at the rotation completive position.

FIG. 17C

is a front view for explaining the process of the movement of the cam pin

36

upon fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

, which shows a state where the lever

2

is located at the fitting completive position.

FIG. 18A

is a front view for explaining a process of a movement of the lever track corrective guide pin

24

upon fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

, which shows a state where the lever

2

is located between the rotation initial position and the rotation completive position.

FIG. 18B

is a front view for explaining the process of the movement of the lever track corrective guide pin

24

upon fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

, which shows a state where the lever

2

is located at the rotation completive position.

FIG. 18C

is a front view for explaining the process of the movement of the lever track corrective guide pin

24

upon fitting the first connector housing

1

to the second connector housing

3

, which shows a state where the lever

2

is located at the fitting completive position.

FIG. 19A

is a plan view showing a state where the first connector housing

1

is fitted completely to the second connector housing

3

.

FIG. 19B

is a front view showing the state where the first connector housing

1

is fitted completely to the second connector housing

3

.

FIG. 20

is a cross-sectional view showing the state where the first connector housing

1

is fitted completely to the second connector housing

3

.

FIG. 21

is an enlarged view of principal parts of FIG.

20

.

FIG. 22

is a cross-sectional view taken along the XXII—XXII line in FIG.

19

A.

First, description will be made regarding an operation of setting the power circuit D to a closed state with the lever fitting-type manual disconnector

1

A. As shown in

FIG. 14

, when the first connector housing

1

is inserted from the upside of the second connector housing