Electrical connectors – Including or for use with coaxial cable
Patent
1994-12-27
1997-04-15
Pirlot, David L.
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with coaxial cable
439584, 439784, H01R 905
Patent
active
056203390
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to electrical connectors.
The invention relates especially, but not exclusively, to electrical connectors of the coaxial type in which an electrical connection is made between the central conductor of an incoming coaxial cable and contact means of the connector without the need for crimping and/or other tools.
A connector is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,870 in which, a cylindrical connector body is provided with a contact having one end in the form of a collet like clamp. A resilient clamping element which has a through bore slides over the collet and is compressible onto the collet to effect clamping of a conductor by rotation of a hexagonally headed male threaded component which cooperates with a female thread in the cylindrical body to urge a clamping member to compress the resilient clamping element onto the collet. In order to effect clamping two hands are required in order to hold the body and rotate the nut and there is uncertainty about the degree of clamping which results as pressure is gradually applied during the screwing action.
Another connector is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,463 which has a two part cylindrical housing the parts being threadingly engageable and housing a collet having a conical end which cooperates with a collet closer having a conical through bore which is urged onto the conical end by the screwing together of the housing parts to close the collet and clamp a conductor therein. This construction again relies on the screw action of the housing parts to effect clamping with the requirement for two handed operation and uncertainty as to the degree of clamping that results.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved connector the previously mentioned disadvantages are overcome.
According to the present invention there is provided an electrical connector comprising a tubular body having an axially extending bore therein for receiving an incoming cable and for accommodating electrically-conductive contact-making means located within the tubular body and electrically coupled with contact means (e.g. pin contact) of the connector, and axially displaceably means at least partly received by and axially displaceable within the tubular body and effective to cause the contact making means to make good electrical contact with a conductor of an incoming cable in response to a predetermined axial displacement of the displaceable means, characterised in that in the assembled state of the connector the displaceable means has a preclamping position relative to the tubular body an which it acts to retain the contact making means relative to the body to permit insertion of the conductor, which displaceable means is accessible from outside the tubular body to permit axial depression thereby to effect displacement to a clamping position which establishes good electrical contact between the contact making means and the conductor.
The provision of a displaceable means which is accessible from outside the tubular body and actuable by depression considerably simplifies the operation of clamping as it does not require the rotation of housing parts and may be effected by depression with one hand.
The preclamping position of the displaceable means advantageously provides for security against loss of internal connector parts during handling, transport and/or delivery of the connector.
The displaceable means may be secured in one or each of said preclamping and clamping positions by latching.
The latching may be effected by co-operating projection(s) and groove(s) formed in the axially displaceable means and a cooperating latching element to effect snap engagement with each other in the latched position. The axially displaceable means may be arranged to exert a radially inward force on a contact-making element of the contact-making means to make good electrical contact with the conductor of the cable in response to the aforesaid predetermined axial displacement of the axially displaceable means.
The contact-making element may comprise a compressible clamping element adap
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Gray Ian J.
White Melvin D.
ITT Industries Ltd.
Peterson Thomas L.
Pirlot David L.
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