U.S. patent number 3,706,958 [Application Number 05/084,792] was granted by the patent office on 1972-12-19 for coaxial cable connector.
This patent grant is currently assigned to International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. Invention is credited to John P. Blanchenot.
United States Patent |
3,706,958 |
Blanchenot |
December 19, 1972 |
COAXIAL CABLE CONNECTOR
Abstract
A coaxial cable connector for securing the inner and outer
conductors of the cable. A connector housing has a radially
deformable inner conductor seizing member, a radially deformable
outer conductor seizing member and a radially deformable contact
member interconnecting the inner conductor seizing member and the
outer conductor seizing member. A gland nut is rotated in the
housing, thereby applying an axial force to the seizing members and
causing the inner conductor and the outer conductor seizing members
to contract radially, while simultaneously causing the contact
member to expand.
Inventors: |
Blanchenot; John P. (Agincourt,
Ontario, CA) |
Assignee: |
International Telephone and
Telegraph Corporation (New York, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
22187229 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/084,792 |
Filed: |
October 28, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/584 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
9/0521 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
9/05 (20060101); H01r 017/04 (); H01r 007/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/6C,89C,9C,91P,94C,126J,177R,177E,273 ;174/75C,88C,8.9 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
|
|
|
|
|
1,242,731 |
|
Jun 1967 |
|
DT |
|
1,038,560 |
|
May 1953 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Champion; Marvin A.
Assistant Examiner: Staab; Lawrence J.
Claims
What is claim is:
1. A coaxial cable for securing the inner and outer conductors of a
cable to a connector comprising:
a connector housing member having a forwardly tapered inner
surface;
a central contact member positioned in said housing member;
a radially deformable inner conductor seizing member having a
forwardly tapered outer surface abutting said housing member
tapered inner surface;
a radially deformable outer conductor seizing member;
a radially deformable contact member interconnecting said inner
connector seizing member and said outer conductor seizing member;
and
means for applying an axial force to said seizing members and
causing said inner conductor and said outer conductor seizing
members to contract radially while simultaneously causing said
contact member to expand, said inner conductor seizing member
compressing said central contact member.
2. A coaxial cable connector in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said radially deformable contact member has a tapered inner surface
and said outer conductor seizing member has a tapered outer surface
abutting said inner surface, axial movement of said radially
deformable member and said outer conductor seizing member causing
said tapered surfaces to move with respect to each other and
thereby compress said outer conductor seizing member.
3. A coaxial cable connector in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said radially deformable contact member expands radially outwardly
forming a grounding connection between said cable outer conductor
and said connector housing.
4. A coaxial cable connector in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said inner conductor seizing member, said outer conductor seizing
member and said radially deformable contact member are all split,
allowing radial deformation of said members.
5. A coaxial cable connector in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said central contact member includes a socket member for insertion
of said cable inner conductor therein, said inner conductor seizing
member being radially deformable around said socket member
compressing said socket member around said inner conductor.
6. A coaxial cable connector in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said central contact member extends forwardly from the end of said
housing member.
Description
The invention relates in general to a coaxial cable connector and,
more particularly, to an electrical connector which can be readily
secured to the center and outer conductors of a coaxial cable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the advent of community antenna television systems (CATV),
coaxial cables have been utilized to interconnect a master antenna
to homes in a given area by utilizing a coaxial cable. The cable is
normally brought into the home and terminated in a connector which,
in turn, may be mated with a connector electrically connected to
the television set in the home. To perform such an operation both
rapidly and simply, it is necessary that the electrical connector
be able to engage the cable and securely captivate the cable
conductor in the connector.
In prior art arrangements, the insulation was removed between the
layers of the inner and outer conductors and the bared central
conductor inserted in the connector. Then the two parts of the
connector were rotated with respect to each other; both the inner
and outer conductors were secured to the connector by means of
captivating surfaces. In one arrangement, a spring like member was
utilized to assure that the captivating surfaces exerted sufficient
pressure on the captivating member of the inner conductor. Such an
arrangement was complex and rather expensive. In an alternative
arrangement, the captivating member was utilized to secure the
inner conductor as well as being utilized itself to secure the
outer conductor. However, such an arrangement did not perform an
adequate captivation of both the inner or outer conductors. A third
arrangement which utilized separate captivating members for
securing the inner and outer conductors simultaneously, was found
to be inadequate in view of the fact that the captivating forces
tended to counteract each other.
In order to overcome the attendant disadvantages of prior art
captivating electrical connectors, the present invention provides a
rapid, simple arrangement for readily securing both the inner and
outer conductors to an electrical connector. An end nut is provided
which exerts a forward force on captivating members mounted within
the connector. The captivating members are moved radially and
thereby secure the connector to the inner and outer conductors.
Moreover, a clamping adapter may be provided which allows different
diameter cables to be secured to the connector.
The advantages of this invention, both as to its construction and
mode of operation will be readily appreciated as the same becomes
better understood by reference to the following detailed
description when considered in connection with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 depicts an exploded view of the connector in accordance with
the invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates an assembled view of the electrical connector of
FIG. 1 prior to securing the cable to the connector; and
FIG. 3 shows the connector with a cable fully secured thereto.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a preferred
embodiment of the electrical connector in accordance with the
invention. The connector 12 is formed of a main housing portion 14.
Mounted in the front end of the main housing is an insert made of
inert plastic insulating material 16 such as Teflon which is used
to insulate the main housing 14 from a central contact member 18.
Also mounted in the housing rearwardly from the front end thereof
is a bushing 22 which may be made of a plastic insulating material
such as molded Delrin and is split so as to allow compression
thereof.
Mounted rearwardly of the portion 22 is a tapered ground bushing 24
which is also split. Mounted within the rear half of the bushing 24
and extending rearwardly thereof is a cable sleeve locking member
26 which is normally angularly split along a diagonal so as to
allow compression thereof. To the rear of the sleeve 26 is a
compression seal housing bushing 28 having mounted along the inner
surface thereof a rubber compression member 32. To the rear of the
member 28 a compression member 32 is an O-ring housing member 34
having a O-ring seal 36 mounted along the central outer surface of
the housing 34. Finally, threadably secured to the rear end of the
main housing 14 is gland nut 38.
In addition, optionally, an adapter ring may be mounted within the
member 26 for accommodating different diameters of coaxial cables.
The connector may be mounted on a bulkhead having an opening
therethrough, the opening being sufficient to insert the front end
of the connector therein. A bulkhead O-ring rubber sealing member
40 can be provided to provide a sealing surface between the front
end of the bulkhead and the housing 14. The connector is typically
utilized to connect a coaxial cable 50 to equipment mounted in the
bulkhead.
As can be seen in greater detail in FIG. 2, the housing 14 has a
forward facing shoulder 52 defining the front opening 54 therein. A
front bore portion 56 in the housing terminates at its front end at
a rearward facing shoulder 58, the rearward facing shoulder also
defining the rear end of the opening 54. An enlarged diameter rear
bore portion 62 is interconnected to the front bore portion 56 by a
rearward facing tapered surface 64. The rear end of the bore
portion 62 may be threaded as at 66. Further, a dimpled key 68 may
be formed at approximately the middle of the bore portion 62.
The outer surface of the housing 14 is threaded at its front end as
at 72 with the threads terminating at an annular groove 74 and the
rear end of the annular groove being defined by a forward facing
shoulder 76. The annular groove 74 provides a mounting surface for
the O-ring rubber seal member 40.
The insert 16 contains a reduced diameter forward bore portion 82
and an enlarged diameter rear bore portion 84, the junction of the
bore portions 82 and 84 defining a rearward facing shoulder 86 in
the insert. Further, the outer surface of the insert 16 contains a
reduced diameter front portion 88 and an enlarged diameter rear
portion 92 with the junction of the portions 88 and 92 forming a
forward facing shoulder 94. The front face 96 of the insert is
formed such that it is flush with the forward facing shoulder 52 of
the housing 14 when the insert 16 is mounted in the housing 14.
Further, the shoulder 58 of the housing abuts the shoulder 94 of
the insert, thus allowing the insert 16 to be correctly positioned
within the housing when inserted from the rear end thereof.
The central contact member 18 is formed of a forward, solid,
reduced diameter contacting portion 102 which extends forwardly
from the insert 96 and a central, solid, enlarged diameter portion
104, the junctions of the portions 102 and 104 forming a forward
facing shoulder 106 which abuts the rearward facing shoulder 86
when the contact 18 is mounted therein. Further, the rear end of
the contact member 18 contains a rearward opening tubular socket
portion 108 extending rearwardly from the central portion 104. The
tubular portion 108 may have a bore 112 formed therein and can be
slotted as at 114 so as to allow contraction of the socket portion
108, as well as being threaded at the rear end of the bore so as to
facilitate grasping of a central conductor of a coaxial cable.
The bushing 22 contains a front bore portion 122 which extends from
the front surface 124 of the bushing 22 to a forward facing tapered
shoulder 126. The diameter of the bore portion 122 is approximately
equal to the outer diameter of the tubular socket 108. The shoulder
126 defines the front end of a reduced diameter central bore
portion 128 whose rear end is defined by a rearwardly facing
tapered shoulder 132. An enlarged diameter rear bore portion 134 in
the bushing extends from the rear surface 136 of the bushing to a
rearward facing shoulder 138, with the rearward facing tapered
shoulder 132 terminating at the shoulder 138.
The outer surface of the bushing 22 tapers outwardly as at 142 from
the front surface 124 of the bushing to an outer cylindrical
surface 144. The front end of the surface 142 is such that the
bushing 22 can be inserted from the rear of the housing and the
front surface 124 will be flush approximately with the junction of
the bore portion 56 and the tapered surface 64. The surface 142
tapers at a greater angle than the surface 64 so that a gap
actually exists between the two surfaces where the rear diameter
portion 144 is formed in the bushing. The outer diameter of the
portion 144, moreover, is less than the bore portion so 62 of the
housing so a gap also exists therebetween. Further, the bushing 22
is split lengthwise as at 146 so as to allow contraction of the
bushing, as will be explained hereinafter.
An outer diameter 152 of the tapered ground bushing 24 is slightly
less than the opening of the bore portion 62 and contains a forward
facing shoulder 154 and a rearward facing shoulder 156. Moreover,
an opening 158 in the bushing 24 flares outwardly to the rear from
the front surface 154 to the rear surface 156. The bushing, when
inserted in the housing, has its front surface 154 abutting the
rear surface 136 of the bushing 22. Further, the bushing 24 may
also be split as at 160 to allow expansion of the bushing 24 for a
grounding connection to bore portion 62.
The cable sleeve locking member 26 is internally threaded as at 162
from its front surface 164 to its rear surface 166. Further, the
front outer surface tapers forwardly inwardly as at 168 with the
rear end of the surface defining the junction with the cylindrical
outer surface 170 of the member 26. The tapered surface 168 is such
that it mates with the rearward tapered surface 158 of the bushing
24 when the connector is assembled. Further, the member 26 is split
as at 171 to allow the member to contract.
The compression seal housing bushing 28 contains a reduced diameter
forward bore portion 172 and an enlarged diameter rear bore portion
174, the junction of the bore portions 172 and 174 defining a
rearward facing shoulder 176. Further, the front surface 178 of the
bushing 28 abuts the rear surface 166 of the locking member 26. The
outer diameter of the bushing 28 is slightly less than the bore 62
with the bushing 28 having a keyway 180 on its outer surface which
engages dimpled key 68 with the key utilized to prevent rotation of
bushing 28. This, in turn, prevents rotation or twisting of coaxial
cable 50 when gland nut 38 is tightened.
The cylindrical rubber compression member 32 has an outer diameter
approximately equal to the rear bore portion 174 and an inner
diameter approximately equal to the forward bore portion 172. The
front surface 182 of the rubber compression member 32 abuts the
rearward facing shoulder 176 and the rear surface 184 may extend
slightly to the rear of the rear surface of the bushing 28 during
assembly.
The O-ring housing member 34 contains a bore 186 approximately
equal to the bore 172 of the bushing 28 and has a forward facing
surface 188 which abuts the rear facing surface 184 of the
compression member 32 and a rear facing surface 192. The O-ring
housing member 34 further contains a pair of outwardly extending
flange members 194, 196 which terminate slightly before the bore
portion 62 and provide containing surfaces between which the O-ring
seal 36 can be mounted.
The gland nut 38 has a bore 202 therethrough which is approximately
equal in diameter to the bore 186 and has a forward facing surface
204. The outer surface of the gland nut is threaded as at 206 near
the front end thereof so as to allow the gland nut to be threadably
mated with the inner threads 66 of the main housing. Further, the
gland nut is enlarged at its rear end 208 so as to provide a
gripping surface for rotating the gland nut.
The coaxial cable 50 which is to be secured to the connector
contains an outer conductor 212 which is spaced from an inner
conductor 214 by means of an insulating layer 216. The front end of
the outer conductor 212 and the insulating layer 216 is removed
from the cable so that the inner conductor 214 extends forward of
the remainder of the cable.
The cable 50 is inserted into the connector housing as shown in
FIG. 3 so that the inner conductor 214 is inserted into the tubular
socket portion 108 until the front surface of the insulating layer
216 and outer conductor 212 abut the rearward facing shoulder 138
of the bushing 22. Then the gland nut 38 is rotated which initially
causes the housing member 34 to move forward and compress the
rubber compression member 32 until the front surface of the flange
194 abuts the rear surface of the housing bushing 28.
Further rotation of the nut 38 causes the bushing 28 to move
forward with the front surface 178 abutting the rear surface 166 of
the locking member 26. Further movement of the locking member 26
causes the locking member to compress as the tapered surface 168
rides up the tapered surface 158 of the ground bushing 24.
Compression of the locking member 26 causes the threads 162 to be
secured to the outer conductor 212 of the coaxial cable. Further,
it should be noted that should a smaller diameter cable be used, an
adapter ring could be mounted within the locking member 26 so as to
utilize the same connector with the smaller diameter cable.
As the nut 38 is further rotated, the locking member 26 causes the
bushing 24 to expand and, in turn, the bushing 22 to move forward.
The expansion of bushing 24 provides a good ground connection with
the bore portion 62 as was previously pointed out.
As the bushing 22 moves forward, the outer tapered surface 142 of
the bushing abuts the tapered surface 64 of the housing and bushing
22 is compressed. Compression of the bushing 22 causes the bore
surface 122 thereof to tighten around the socket portion 108 which,
in turn, secures the threaded bore portion 112 to the inner
conductor 214 of the cable.
Thus, as can be readily seen, the connector, when assembled, can be
readily secured to both the inner and outer conductors of a coaxial
cable. Operation is simple. The cable is merely bared at its outer
layer and insulating layer and inserted into the connector. Then,
the nut 38 is rotated until securing is completed.
* * * * *