Electrical connectors – Including or for use with coaxial cable – Having screw-threaded or screw-thread operated cable grip
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-28
2001-07-31
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with coaxial cable
Having screw-threaded or screw-thread operated cable grip
C439S578000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267621
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the priority of German Patent Application, Serial No. 198 46 440.1, filed Oct. 8, 1998, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, in general, to a connector for coaxial cables, and more particularly to a connector for coaxial cables of a type having annularly corrugated outer cable conductor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,451, issued on Sep. 6, 1977, describes a connector assembly for a coaxial cable of a type having an annularly corrugated outer cable conductor, with a connector head which is formed with a beveled clamping surface to engage the inner surface of the end zone of the outer cable conductor. Cooperating with the clamping surface of the connector head is a further clamping surface formed on one end of a contact sleeve for engaging the outer surface of the end zone of the outer cable conductor. The contact sleeve is formed at the same time as a hollow screw and has a plurality of slits extending from the connector head proximal end to form a plurality of resilient segments. Each of the segments terminates in a bead for meshing in the first valley of the outer cable conductor and clamping the outer cable conductor against the clamping surface of the connector head along the end zone extending over the contact sleeve, when the connector assembly is mounted to the coaxial cable.
The necessity to dismantle the connector before attachment to the coaxial cable is disadvantageous for several reasons. For one, components may fall out, get lost or mixed up. Moreover, manipulation of several components is time-consuming and annoying, in particular when carrying out the assembly at exposed sites. There is also a risk that errors occur during assembly. A further drawback is the inevitable friction encountered between the beads at the free ends of the segments of the contact sleeve and the outer cable conductor along the outer surface to be contacted and clamped during threaded engagement of the contact sleeve in the connector head. As the outer cable conductor is normally made of a relatively soft copper alloy, the friction frequently results in a squeezing of material in the circumferential direction, leading to respective bending of the segments of the contact sleeve, or as a result of an increase of the torque to be applied for tightening the components in a false indication that a secure clamping and contacting has been attained when in fact that is not the case.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improved connector, obviating the afore-stated drawbacks.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved connector for coaxial cables having annularly corrugated outer cable conductor, which is easy to make and quick to mount onto the coaxial cable while yet being reliable in operation.
These objects, and others which will become apparent hereinafter, are attained in accordance with the present invention by providing a connector head having a threaded portion and defining a ring surface for establishing a contact from inside with an end zone of an outer cable conductor, a contact sleeve adapted to fit over the outer cable conductor and having a plurality of radially resilient segments, a clamping bush formed with a thread which is interrupted by a smooth portion and adapted to fit over the contact sleeve for threaded engagement with the connector head such as to load, after moving a clamping path, the segments of the contact sleeve in a direction of a clamping action so that the segments clamp the outer cable conductor along the end zone, which projects beyond an end face of the contact sleeve, against the ring surface of the connector head, and an indexing mechanism for subdividing the clamping path of the threaded clamping bush into first and second sections, with the first section corresponding to a preassembled state of the connector, and with the second segment corresponding to a complete assembly of the connector onto the cable end, wherein the indexing mechanism is formed by the smooth portion of the clamping bush and by the threaded portion of the connector head, interacting with one another, with the threaded portion having a length which is equal or smaller than a length of the smooth portion of the clamping bush.
A connector according to the present invention can be installed to one end of the coaxial cable, without preceding dismantling thereof because the novel and inventive design of the pre-assembled connector allows the installer to simply slip the connector over the prepared cable end and to screw the clamping bush to a sufficient extent into the connector head until the threaded portion of the connector head is in engagement with the smooth portion of the clamping bush. This represents a first phase of the clamping path and is commensurate with the correct pre-assembly stage of the clamping bush with respect to the connector head.
The incorporation of the smooth portion of the clamping bush can easily be made in a same work cycle as the cutting of the thread, using a conventional N/C machine.
The connector can be designed of comparably short size when the clamping bush is formed as hollow screw, and the threaded portion of the connector head is an inner thread in a recess of the connector head.
According to another feature of the present invention, the connector head has an axial end for receiving the hollow screw, whereby the connector head may be formed with a ring collar, positioned between the threaded portion and the axial end, for providing a guide when the hollow screw is threaded into the connector head.
Alternatively, the clamping bush may also be designed as a clamping ring which has an inner thread, whereby the threaded portion of the connector head is provided externally.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the connector head may have a smooth portion which complements the smooth portion of the clamping bush. In this case, the thread of the clamping bush includes a first threaded portion, with the smooth portion of the connector head being positioned axially inwardly of the threaded portion of the connector head and defined by a length which at least corresponds to the length of the first threaded portion of the clamping bush. A further threaded portion of the connector head is then positioned axially inwardly of the smooth portion.
In order to ensure a sufficiently stable guidance of the clamping bush in the connector head in the pre-assembly stage of the connector, the smooth portion of the clamping bush, and, if provided, the smooth portion of the connector head may each be formed by a recess in the thread, which recess only slight exceeds the depth of the thread.
The number of revolutions of the clamping bush until clamping the outer cable conductor can be decreased by configuring the engaging threads of connector head and clamping bush as multiple threads.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4046451 (1977-09-01), Juds et al.
patent: 6032358 (2000-03-01), Wild
patent: 6036237 (2000-03-01), Sweeney
Pitschi Franz Xaver
Strasser Norbert
Wild Werner
Day Ursula B.
Feiereisen Henry M.
Gilman Alexander
Paumen Gary
Spinner GmbH Elektrotechnische Fabrik
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