Lever action mechanical assist connector

Abstract

A lever-type electrical connector assembly employs a pivoting lever arm to assist in securely mating and un-mating connector halves with reduced connection mating forces between the halves. The assembly employs a housing with a boss pin and a connector with a corresponding cam groove. The connector includes a lever arm with which to direct the necessary mating forces. The lever arm engages the boss pin in the cam groove based upon a stroke, and the boss pin travels through the center point of rotation of the cam groove. The present invention also provides a lever-lock mechanism to securely prepare the lever arm connector in a pre-lock position. The lever lock mechanism is then automatically deflected by the base housing to enable free rotation. Once the lever arm is fully rotated and the connector halves are fully mated, a connector lock mechanism secures the connection.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.