Electrical connectors – With stress relieving means for conductor to terminal joint – Conductor gripped outside connector housing by distinct clamp
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-03
2001-03-06
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With stress relieving means for conductor to terminal joint
Conductor gripped outside connector housing by distinct clamp
C439S470000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196865
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a rear connector designed to be fitted to the wiring side of a plug in order to fit said plug with an accessory that serves, for example, to retain the cables and/or ensure leaktightness.
Throughout the present text the terms “rear” and “forward” assume that the rear of the plug is the side to which the cables are connected.
The removable rear connector of the invention may be used on any plug provided with a threaded rear section. Cylindrical multi-conductor plugs, normally known as “circular plugs”, come into this category. The plug of the invention may, however, be used on other types of plug such as fiber optic connectors, hybrid connectors, etc.
BACKGROUND ART
Most electrical plugs of the prior art are provided with a threaded rear section that enables a removable rear connector to be fitted to them. This connector, which constitutes an accessory for the plug, is often referred to as a cable clamp since its main function is usually to retain cables in a desired position in the immediate proximity of the connector.
Rear connectors of the prior art comprise a ring that constitutes a nut designed to be screwed onto the threaded rear section of the plug. By means of one or more arms, this ring includes a system for retaining the cables composed, for example, of two half-flanges capable of pressing against one another by means of a screw. The arms connecting the ring to the cable retaining system are shaped to hold the cables at the required angle. The cables may therefore be held in the axis of the plug or at an angle relative to this axis, for example 45° or 90°.
Irrespective of their shape, all the rear connectors of the prior art comprise a ring constructed as a single part. Consequently, these types of connector must be threaded onto the cables before the ends of the cables are connected to the plug. Failure to do this means that the operator must disconnect all the cables from the plug and then reconnect them including the connector. In addition to the time wasted carrying out these operations, the chances of connecting cables wrongly are greatly increased.
Similarly, any maintenance operation to replace the connector or part thereof also involves disconnecting and reconnecting all the cables once replacement is complete. The drawbacks of this type of operation are the same as when an operator has forgotten install the rear connector before connecting the cables to the plug.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The subject-matter of the invention is thus a removable rear connector whose original design enables it to fitted to a plug to which the cables have already been connected, or removed from the plug without the need to disconnect the cables.
According to the invention this is achieved by using a removable rear connector for a plug that includes a threaded rear section characterized in that it comprises:
a first hinged subassembly comprising at least two arc-shaped collar sections capable of forming a collar and having a stepped outer surface;
a second, ring-shaped, hinged subassembly formed by at least two arc-shaped ring sections including a forward threaded section and a rear stepped section that fit the rear threaded section of the connector and the stepped outer surface of the collar respectively.
This type of rear connected may easily be fitted onto or removed from a plug irrespective of whether the cables have already been connected, thereby overcoming all the problems of connectors of the prior art. The connector is fitted by positioning the first hinged assembly so that the two arc-shaped sections of the collar close over the bundle of cables immediately behind the rear threaded section of the connector. The rear threaded section and the collar formed by the first hinged section are thus simultaneously encircled by closing the second hinged subassembly around them.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the collar formed by the first hinged subassembly has a forward surface provided with anti-rotation means capable of operating in conjunction with complementary means formed on a rear surface of the connector. These anti-rotation means may consist of a toothed wheel formed on the forward surface of the collar.
In this embodiment of the invention the rear stepped section of the inner surface of the second hinged subassembly has a ring-shaped throat that operates in conjunction with a ring-shaped ridge formed on the outer surface of the collar.
The second hinged subassembly is preferably composed of two hinged semicircular ring sections capable of being connected at their opposite ends by a removable component such as a screw fitted parallel to the axes of the said sections of the ring. This arrangement facilitates fitting and removal, particular where several plugs are used side by side on the same panel.
Moreover, the first hinged subassembly advantageously comprises two semicircular collar sections that are fastened firmly to the first ends of two arms and a half-flange on which the opposite end of at least one of the two arms is hinged. Depending on the configuration chosen, the two arms may be hinged on the half-flange, or only one of the arms may be hinged on the half-flange, the other being fastened firmly to it.
Cable clamping means such as a second half-flange are then fitted onto the half-flange of the first hinged subassembly using removable fastening means.
To prevent any relative movement between the sections of the arc-shaped collar of the first hinged assembly, the ends of these sections of the collar preferably have complementary shapes so that they can fit one into the other.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3904265 (1975-09-01), Hollyday et al.
patent: 4280746 (1981-07-01), Ignatowicz
patent: 4721830 (1988-01-01), Dagan et al.
patent: 4808123 (1989-02-01), Dee et al.
patent: 4984995 (1991-01-01), Tucker et al.
patent: 5018987 (1991-05-01), Kirma
patent: 5178559 (1993-01-01), Mello
Dardenne Marie-Thérèse
Ruffel Régis
Tournier Gilles
Aerospatiale - Societe Nationale Industrielle
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Prasad Chandrika
Sircus Brian
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