Electrical connectors – With stress relieving means for conductor to terminal joint – Conductor gripped by or entirely within connector housing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-20
2001-08-28
Patel, Tulsidas (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With stress relieving means for conductor to terminal joint
Conductor gripped by or entirely within connector housing
C439S456000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06280235
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of electrical connections and more particularly to enclosures for spliced cable connections such as telephone wires.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is common in the telephone industry, where cable splices need to be made along the path of distribution, that splices be made which will include some type of an electrical connection to splice the individual wires of the cable and environmentally seal them in a connection enclosure to prevent degradation to the connection. This type of splice could be either a so-called drop wire splice or could be a buried splice in the case of underground cable. It is also common to have both two or six pairs of twisted wire which comprise the telephone cable.
As in almost any electrical connection device, where a cable is involved, and where an individual wire or a plurality of wires are interconnected to terminals or like wires, a so-called strain relief mechanism is desirable, such that tension or force outwardly on the cable is not transmitted to the electrical connection of the wires, but rather the force as transmitted to a housing into which the cable is being terminated. Various strain relief mechanisms exist in the marketplace and in the prior art for transferring the forces to the connector housings.
One such device is shown in the Tyco Electronics (AMP Division) commercial product known as the CERTI-SEAL wire splice enclosure where the housing is formed as a shell of two similar halves, where one of the halves includes upstanding posts. The cables to be spliced are brought in from opposite ends and the cables are laced around the posts in a meandering fashion. The individual wires are then interconnected to one another by splice connection blocks known as TEL-SPLICE (also a commercial of Tyco Electronics) for making the individual wire splices.
While the above-mentioned connection assembly is adequate for its intended use, it would be, however, advantageous to provide such a splice enclosure which could either be used for a buried drop wire splice, or a so-called aerial drop wire splice interchangeably. In addition to being interchangeable between the specific application, it would also be advantageous to have a splice enclosure which can accommodate more than one cable size, in order that the enclosure can accommodate at least the two most common splice cable sizes, that is, the two pair and six pair as discussed above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objects of the invention have been accomplished by providing an electrical connector housing having first and second housing parts movable between open and closed positions, where the first and second housings cooperate to define a cable receiving opening into the housing. The first housing part has a first strain relief member positioned adjacent the opening, for gripping a cable of a first dimension, and the second housing part has a second strain relief member positioned adjacent the opening for gripping a cable of a second dimension, whereby alternative cables of either first or second dimension may be positioned through the opening.
Preferably, the connector housing is profiled for splicing at least two cables, the housing having two cable receiving openings extending into the connector housing. The connector housing is also preferably a clam shell style which, when in the closed position, is substantially cylindrical in configuration.
The enclosure is also profiled such that the first strain relief member is profiled to overlap the second strain relief member. In this configuration, the first strain relief member is defined by upstanding side walls and a transverse wall section interconnecting the side walls. Preferably, the first strain relief member is defined as a plurality of individual upstanding side walls. Also preferably, the upstanding side walls have barbed edges for gripping the cable. The transverse wall sections are progressively lowered, from a position adjacent to said openings, to an inner position of said housing and the second strain relief member is receivable between the upstanding side walls. In the preferred embodiment, the second strain relief is formed as a sinuous slot. In this embodiment, the upper surfaces of the second strain relief member are reversely progressed to conform to the profile defined by the transverse wall sections, whereby, when the first and second housing parts are in a closed position, the top surfaces and transverse wall portions cooperate to define a cable receiving channel therein.
In another aspect of the invention, an electrical connector housing is provided for encasing individual wires of cables to be spliced. The housing has openings therein for receiving the cables, where the housing further includes bi-partite housing members, where a first housing member includes strain relief devices positioned adjacent to the openings for retaining cables to be spliced, and wherein a second housing member includes urging members positioned adjacent to the cable strain relief members when the first and second housing members are in the closed position, to urge the cables into the strain relief device.
Preferably, the urging members include second strain relief members, for alternatively gripping cables of a different dimension than the first strain relief members. The connector housing can be a clam shell style which, in the closed position, is substantially cylindrical in configuration. Preferably, the first strain relief member is profiled to overlap said second strain relief member. In this embodiment, the first strain relief member is defined by upstanding side walls and a transverse wall section interconnecting said side walls. Preferably, the first strain relief member is defined as a plurality of individual upstanding side walls, and the upstanding side walls have barbed edges for gripping the cable. In this embodiment, the transverse wall sections are progressively lowered, from a position adjacent to the openings, to an inner position of the housing. Also preferably, the top surfaces of the second strain relief member are reversely progressed to conform to the profile defined by the transverse wall sections, whereby, when the first and second housing parts are in a closed position, the top surfaces and transverse wall portions cooperate to define a cable receiving channel therein. Preferably, the second strain relief is formed as a sinuous slot.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, an electrical connector for connection with a cable, has an insulative housing having at least one connection device therein for connection to a wire of the cable, the housing comprising an opening therethrough for receipt of the cable and a strain relief device proximate the opening, the strain relief device including a plurality of tandemly arranged walls having a longitudinal cable receiving slot therein, the walls having barbed edges for gripping the cable.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the electrical connector walls define side walls and transverse wall sections, and the slot is sinuous in the longitudinal direction. Also preferably, the insulative housing is comprised of bi-partite housing members, with an opening at each end, with strain relief members adjacent each opening.
In one embodiment, the insulative housing is comprised of bi-partite housing members, with a first strain relief member on a first bi-partite housing member, for accommodating a cable of a first diameter, and a second strain relief member on a second bi-partite housing member, for accommodating a cable of a second diameter, whereby alternative cables can be terminated. Preferably, the first strain relief device at least partially overlaps said second strain relief device, when in the closed position. Also preferably, a top surface of said tandemly arranged walls of said second strain relief device is positioned adjacent to said transverse wall sections of the first strain relief device, when in the closed position, and form urging surfaces for urging the cable into the slot. Also preferably, up
Patel Tulsidas
Tyco Electronics Corporation
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