Electrical connectors – With contact preventer or retractable cover part – Movably mounted
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-18
2001-12-25
Bradley, Paula (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With contact preventer or retractable cover part
Movably mounted
C439S201000, C439S271000, C439S310000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06332787
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pin and socket type, wet-mateable connector for making electrical and fiber-optic cable connections in a harsh environment, such as an underwater or deep sea environment, a splash zone, or other harsh or hazardous environment. .
Both electrical and optical cables are now commonly used in undersea environments for various applications, such as telecommunications, oceanography, submarine systems, and subsea oil and gas development. There are many problems inherent in successfully mating electrical and optical circuits or cables underwater, particularly in ensuring adequate, reliable sealing and protection of the optical contact faces at deep sea depths.
Current underwater connectors typically comprise releasably mateable plug and receptacle units, each containing one or more electrical or optical contacts or junctions for engagement with the junctions in the other unit when the two units are mated together. The contacts on one side are in the form of pins or probes, while the contacts or junctions on the other side are in the form of sockets for receiving the probes. Typically, the socket contacts are contained in a sealed chamber containing dielectric fluid, and the probes enter the chamber via one or more sealed openings. One major problem in designing such units is the provision of seals which will adequately exclude seawater from the contact chamber after repeated mating and demating.
In some known underwater electrical connectors, such as the connector described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,442 of Cairns, the receptacle unit has a stopper which is positioned in sealing engagement with an annular end seal when the units are not mated. The chamber sealed by the stopper and end seal contains a circuit contact and dielectric fluid. As the plug probe enters the chamber, it pushes the stopper back, enters the inner chamber, and makes electrical contact with the circuit connection. At the same time, the end seal will seal against the plug probe to ensure that water cannot enter the chamber. This provides a robust and reliable electrical connector for use in harsh, deep sea environments, but it cannot accommodate optical circuits
U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,227 of Cairns et al. describes a hybrid, wet-mateable electro-optical connector which has oil-filled and pressure-balanced plug and receptacle units, together with a rolling seal arrangement for sealing the oil-filled chamber of each unit when unmated. Within the internal oil chambers of both units, groups of contact junctions are aligned behind cylindrical seals which are mounted in seats in the front face of each unit. As the units are mated together, projecting portions of the cylindrical seals engage and press against each other, forcing water out from between them. As the mating sequence continues, actuators engage the two rolling seals to rotate them in unison, transporting any trapped debris to one side, and at the same time aligning openings in the seals with the oil-filled chambers. Probes in one unit then extend through the aligned seal openings into the chamber in the other unit, contacting sockets within the receptacle. This connector may be used for optical or electrical circuits, or both optical and electrical circuits. It ensures that none of the contacts are ever exposed to the outside environment, whether before, during, or after mating.
Although the rolling seal connector provides an extremely reliable sealing mechanism which can withstand repeated mating and de-mating, it cannot accommodate larger electrical circuits of relatively high voltage. Thus, its capacity for providing an electro-optical junction is limited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved wet-mateable electro-optical connector particularly suitable for underwater use.
According to the present invention, an electro-optical connector is provided, which comprises a receptacle unit and a plug unit releasably securable to the receptacle unit in a mated condition of the units, the units each having a rear end, a front end, and at least two chambers extending side-by-side inwardly from the front end, one of the chambers comprising an optical contact chamber and the other chamber comprising an electrical contact chamber, at least one optical contact element mounted in the optical contact chamber and at least one electrical contact element mounted in the electrical contact chamber, each of the optical contact chambers having a front end wall having a recessed seat communicating with the respective first chamber, and a seal member movably mounted in the seat, the seal member having at least one through bore and being movable in a non-axial direction relative to the respective unit between a first, closed position in which the through bore is offset from the chamber and the end of the chamber is sealed, and a second, open position in which the seal through bore is aligned with the chamber, the optical contact element in the optical contact chamber of the plug unit extending through the aligned through bores into the optical contact chamber of the receptacle unit when the units are mated together and the seal members are in the open position to contact the optical contact element in the optical contact chamber of the receptacle unit, one of the electrical contact chambers having a front end wall having a sealable opening, an annular seal member mounted in the sealable opening, and a resiliently biased stopper movably disposed within the annular seal member and in sealing engagement with the annular seal member when the units are not mated, and the electrical contact element in the other electrical contact chamber comprising a conductive probe adapted for insertion through the sealable opening in the first electrical contact chamber to sealably engage the annular seal member and engage the electrical contact element when the units are mated together.
In one embodiment, the seal members of the optical contact chambers are cylindrical, rolling seals, each rotatably mounted in a cylindrical or part-cylindrical seat in a front end wall of the respective chamber, for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical seal.
In one embodiment of the invention, the plug unit has an electrical contact chamber having the annular seal member at its forward end sealed by the resiliently biased stopper, while the receptacle unit has an electrical contact chamber containing the conductive probe. As the conductive probe engages the forward end of the opposing second chamber of the plug unit, it pushes the stopper rearwardly into the chamber and moves into electrical contact with the electrical contact member in the chamber, with the body of the probe replacing the stopper in the end opening to seal the opening against leakage or seeping of fluid past the seal.
In this invention, the optical contacts are located in chambers separate from the electrical contacts, with the optical chambers each sealed by rolling seal members, while the electrical contact chamber has a simpler seal arrangement. The electrical circuit connector arrangement has the capability of accommodating larger electrical circuits with more sets of contacts than would be possible with a rolling seal connector for the electrical side. At the same time, the reliable rolling seal connector arrangement is maintained for the optical circuits. Thus, this invention combines a high capacity electrical connection with an optical connection arrangement which has a highly reliable seal mechanism to ensure that the optical contact faces are sealed at all times and which resists ingress of dirt or water into the optical contact chambers.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5203805 (1993-04-01), Cairns
patent: 5645442 (1997-07-01), Cairns
patent: 6017227 (2000-01-01), Cairns et al.
Barlow Stewart M.
Cairns James L.
Bradley Paula
Brown Martin Haller & McClain LLP
McCamey Ann
Ocean Design, Inc.
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