Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Coupling part with relatively pivotable concentric...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-18
2003-08-05
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Coupling part with relatively pivotable concentric...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06602085
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accessory for an electrical connector and more particularly to a backshell adapter assembly which includes an adapter body formed with anti-rotation teeth, a threaded coupling nut, a retaining ring and a one-piece shuttle with one or more integrally formed spring arms that are adapted to provide an axial biasing force to force proper mating of the anti-rotation teeth on the adapter body relative to corresponding teeth on an electrical connector when the coupling nut is being secured thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Backshell adapter assemblies are known in the art. Such backshell adapter assemblies normally provide a transition from a plurality of electrical conductors to an electrical connector. An example of such backshell adapter assemblies is disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,278.
Known backshell adapter assemblies normally include an adapter body, normally tubular in shape, and a coupling nut. In order to secure the coupling nut relative to the adapter body, a retaining ring is normally used. The coupling nut is normally threaded onto an electrical connector. In order to prevent rotation of the backshell adapter assembly relative to the electrical connector, anti-rotation teeth are provided on the adapter body as well as on the electrical connector which interlock and prevent rotation of the coupling nut relative to the electrical connector, for example, as disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,278.
If the interlocking teeth on the adapter body and the connector shell properly mate, rotation of the backshell adapter assembly relative to the electrical connector will be prevented. Unfortunately, false mating of the interlocking teeth on the adapter body and the connector shell is known to occur. The false mating can occur when the rotational force of the coupling nut resulting from threading the coupling nut onto the electrical shell causes radial forces on the backshell adapter assembly which causes the backshell adapter assembly to rotate resulting in the interlocking teeth engaging point to point. During such a condition, since the interlocking teeth are hidden from view, an installer may be unaware of the false mating. As such, such a configuration enables the installers to tighten the coupling nut to the desired torque level without being aware of the false mating thus defeating the anti-rotation feature of the backshell adapter assembly possibly resulting in rotation and loosening and even disengagement of the adapter body relative to the connector shell, for example, due to vibration.
Various solutions have been presented in the art to prevent false mating of the interlocking teeth on the backshell adapter assembly with the interlocking teeth on the connector shell. These various solutions generally involve providing an axial force sufficient to overcome any rotational forces that occur during tightening of the coupling nut to force the interlocking teeth into engagement.
One such solution is illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
. Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, a known backshell adapter assembly is illustrated and generally identified with the reference numeral
20
. The backshell adapter assembly
20
includes an adapter body
21
, formed with anti-rotation teeth, aligned in an axial direction and generally identified with the reference numeral
24
, a thrust bushing
26
, a Bellville washer
28
, a coupling nut
30
and a pair of C-clips
27
, which are adapted to be received in a retaining groove
29
on the thrust bushing
26
, forming a retaining ring. The backshell adapter assembly
20
also includes an anti-decoupling mechanism to prevent the coupling nut
30
from rotating relative to the adapter body
21
. The anti-decoupling mechanism includes a plurality of teeth
32
disposed in a radial direction which cooperate with one or more leaf springs
34
,
36
, disposed in an annular grove
38
in the coupling nut
30
. The leaf springs
34
,
36
include one or more tabs
40
that are adapted to engage the teeth
32
to prevent rotation of the coupling nut
30
relative to the adapter body
22
.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the thrust bushing
26
is disposed in an annular groove
42
on the adapter body
21
. As discussed above, the C-clips
27
are received in the retention groove
29
on the thrust bushing
26
and form a retaining ring. The retaining ring is adapted to be received in an annular groove
44
on the coupling nut
30
in order to capture the coupling nut
30
relative to the adapter body
22
to prevent movement in an axial direction.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the Bellville washer
28
is disposed adjacent the retaining ring
26
in the annular groove
42
on the adapter body
22
. In order to prevent false mating of the interlocking teeth
24
on the adapter body
22
with corresponding teeth on the connector shell (not shown), the Bellville washer
28
is used. More particularly, as the coupling nut
30
is threaded onto the connector shell (not shown) by way of the threads
46
, the bellville washer
28
exerts an axial force in the direction of the arrow
44
which overcomes any anticipated radial forces which would tend to rotate the adapter body
22
which force the mating teeth
24
on the adapter body
22
into proper mating arrangement with the corresponding mating teeth on the connector shell.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,760 provides a similar solution. In particular, a Bellville or wave washer is used to provide an axial force in the direction of the electrical connector to overcome any rotational forces on the adapter body to ensure proper seating on the adapter body and connector shell.
There are several problems with the solutions discussed above. In particular, both solutions utilize a wave or Bellville washer, normally formed from tempered metal. As such, such washers are subject to corrosion and tend to vibrate severely and can damage to softer backshell materials, such as aluminum and high temperature thermoplastic composites. Another problem with the configuration illustrated in '760 patent is that the wave spring is tightened to a flattened condition to act as a retainer ring to capture the coupling nut which can permanently distort the wave washer causing it to lose its inherent memory.
The backshell adapter assembly
20
illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, solves the above-mentioned problem while also providing axial loading without the need to flatten the wave washer and use it as a retaining ring to axially couple the coupling nut to the adapter body. Indeed, as discussed above, the backshell adapter
20
illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
utilizes a thrust bushing with an annular groove for receiving one or more C-clips which act as a retaining ring thus obviating the need to use the Bellville washer as a retaining ring.
Although the configuration illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
provides an adequate solution to the problems discussed above, the adapter assembly
20
illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
include a relatively large number of parts making it relatively expensive to manufacture. Indeed, as discussed above, the prior art backshell adapter assembly
20
includes a two-piece shuttle mechanism which includes a thrust bushing and a Bellville washer. Moreover, the Bellville washer is made of metal and is subject to corrosion and vibration as discussed above. Thus, there is a need for a backshell adapter assembly which prevents false mating of interlocking teeth on the adapter body relative to the connector shelf which is formed with less parts and is less expensive to manufacture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, the present invention relates to a backshell adapter assembly which includes an adapter body, a coupling nut, a retaining ring and a one-piece shuttle mechanism. The one-piece shuttle mechanism is formed as a tubular member and is adapted to be received in a retaining groove on the adapter body. In order to facilitate loading of the one-piece shuttle into the retainer groove on the adapter body, the one-piece shuttle i
Fuertes Nestor
Tonkiss David W.
Young Thomas Frederic
Glenair Inc.
Katten Muchin Zavis & Rosenman
Le Thanh-Tam
Nguyen Khiem
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