Electrical connectors – With coupling separator – Including retainer or joiner
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-28
2003-01-14
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With coupling separator
Including retainer or joiner
C439S160000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06506065
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to equipment and procedures for making wiring connections, and more particularly to equipment and procedures for quickly and easily making and breaking a large number of cable connections to an electronics module simultaneously, or any of such connections selectively. The invention is also applicable to facilitating the making or breaking of multiple-conductor connections if all the wiring passes through only a few cable connectors, or even just one.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A common apparatus used by the airline industry is an electronics module. Each electronics module is connected to other equipment by cables. An electronics module utilizes a common device, to make and break these cable connections, called a cable connector.
One category of electronics module contains equipment which operates a variety of functions in an aircraft passenger cabin. There is typically one electronics module for each row of passenger seats on an airliner. In a commercial airliner an electronics module is commonly mounted under a seat, and therefore is inconvenient or awkward to reach.
During flight, aircraft undergo a significant amount of vibration. Therefore, the electronics modules should be securely fastened to the aircraft and the cable connectors should be securely fastened to the electronics module. The electronics modules and the cable connectors, however, also require testing, repair and replacement, and therefore must be removable. For these purposes different designs are now in use, as set forth in detail in the inventor's above-mentioned earlier patent document.
Such removal of electronics modules is quite frequent. In the airline industry, however, profit is made only by flying, and enormous loss or expense is incurred whenever aircraft must remain on the ground because of testing and repair.
Of course many spare modules can be kept available, so that a jetliner need not be delayed for the entire duration of testing and repair of a malfunctioning electronics module. Nevertheless the sensitivity of airline operations to idle time is so great that even a few minutes' delay for removal or replacement—or for the availability of a highly trained technician to perform such procedures—represents monumental cost.
Detailed discussion in the earlier patent document covers prior-art nonrack and rack configurations for mounting of electronics modules. That discussion shows that nonrack designs created routine maintenance processes that were extremely labor intensive and time consuming—whether the task at hand was simply changing out an electronics module or involved troubleshooting the cable connectors or wiring harness.
The discussion also shows that rack designs establish an intermediary or interface, between the cables and the electronics module, that is both mechanical and electrical. The rack is a mechanical intermediary, and the unitary cable connector is an electrical intermediary.
Establishment of this electromechanical intermediary greatly improves half of the maintenance effort, namely the ease and efficiency of changing out electronics modules—although procedures remain cumbersome as to seating or unseating of multiple connections at the same time. As to cable troubleshooting, however, rack designs fail to make significant improvement.
Discussion in the earlier document also covers details of the Astier cable-connector patent, which teaches use of a locking element with several hooks for attaching individual cable connectors to a panel. The connectors, as introduced by Astier, still must be individually disconnected from the electronics module in order to-remove the module.
In general the precursor invention satisfactorily resolves all the above-discussed problems in the art. It has been found, however, slightly bulkier than optimum—leading in some unusual cases to interferences with other apparatus in closely confined spaces of commercial aircraft. In addition it is very slightly heavier than optimally desired.
From the preceding descriptions, it is apparent that prior-art devices currently being used have significant disadvantages. Even the precursor invention may be subject to useful refinement.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention introduces such refinement. In its preferred embodiments, the present invention has several aspects or facets that can be used independently, although they are preferably employed together to optimize their benefits.
In preferred embodiments of a first of its facets or aspects, the invention is apparatus for making or breaking electrical connections between at least one electrical cable connector and an electronics module that has at least one corresponding panel connector, and that also carries module camming means. The module camming means are either a cam or a cam-follower; they are part of the electronics module. The module and cable connector are elements of the context or environment of the invention, not elements of the invention itself.
The apparatus of the invention includes an exclusively mechanical, nonelectrical intermediary between the cable connector and electronics module. The intermediary in turn includes a rack for receiving and holding the electronics module.
The apparatus also includes at least one cable-connector holder, formed in the rack. This holder receives and holds the at least one cable connector in positions that are aligned with the at least one panel connector when the electronics module is held in the rack;
The apparatus also includes rack camming means. These camming means are either a cam-follower or a cam, and complementary to the module camming means mentioned just above. It will be understood that the rack camming means and module camming means are mutually engageable to provide relative force as between the rack and module.
In addition the apparatus includes a lever fixed to either the rack or module for operating the rack camming means or module camming means. When operated, these camming means forcibly shift the module relative to the rack, so as to engage or disengage the at least one panel connector and the at least one cable connector.
The foregoing may represent a description or definition of the first aspect or facet of the invention in its broadest or most general form. Even as couched in these broad terms, however, it can be seen that this facet of the invention importantly advances the art.
In particular, this aspect of the invention relies upon intrinsically more-compact and lighter-weight camming means, distributed as between the rack (of the invention) and the module (forming part of the operating environment of the invention)—rather than an intrinsically more-extended and heavier linkage device that is wholly in the rack as in the precursor invention. As will be seen this shared functionality, together with reliance on camming rather than a linkage, is key to a much lighter and much less bulky overall construction.
It is correspondingly much more satisfactory in the stringently confined and weight-sensitive aircraft environment. The rack of the present invention can be used only when an electronics module with suitable complementary camming means is available.
Although the first major aspect of the invention thus significantly advances the art, nevertheless to optimize enjoyment of its benefits preferably the invention is practiced in conjunction with certain additional features or characteristics. In particular, preferably each cable-connector holder includes some means for easily and quickly engaging, or disengaging from, its corresponding cable connector.
Another preference that is particularly notable when the electronics module weighs at least several pounds—as is commonplace—is that the lever be a single lever for manual actuation by one hand, and that the cam and follower bodily move the electronics module. Yet another preference is that the camming means (i. e. the rack camming means and module camming means considered in the aggregate together) include substantially duplicate cam-and-follower sets at opposed sides
Ashen & Lippman
Ergo Mechanical Systems, Incorporated
Nguyen Phuongchi
Ta Tho D.
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