Electrical connectors – Including or for use with coaxial cable
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-11
2002-08-27
Bradley, P. Austin (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with coaxial cable
Reexamination Certificate
active
06439924
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to connectors for terminating the ends of coaxial cables of the general type used in the telecommunications industry, and more specifically, to an improved connector that can easily be soldered onto the end of such a coaxial cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Coaxial cable is widely used in the telecommunications industry to transport radio frequency signals. Such coaxial cable typically includes a center conductor made of copper for transmitting signals. The center conductor is surrounded by a dielectric material which, in turn, is surrounded by a semi-rigid, metallic outer conductor. The outer conductor may be relatively smooth, or it may be corrugated to enhance or ease bending of the coaxial cable. Typically, the outer conductor is covered by an insulative jacket to protect the outer conductor and to seal out moisture.
It is necessary to electrically and mechanically couple the ends of such coaxial cables to equipment ports or other cables in a system, and end connectors for serving such purpose are known. Examples of such coaxial cable connectors include U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,893 to Morris, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,412 to Morris; these patents disclose the use of a ferrule which is mechanically compressed against the outer conductor to clamp the coaxial cable within the connector. These patents also disclose the use of a collet to mechanically seize the center conductor of the coaxial cable and to thereby establish an electrical coupling between the center conductor and the center pin of the connector. Other examples of coaxial cable connectors of this general type include U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,636 to Langham, U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,134 to Jacobsen, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,698 to Locati, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,298 to Henningsen.
Despite efforts to seal such connectors from the elements, moisture sometimes penetrates into such connectors and corrodes the electro/mechanical contact between the center pin of the connector and the center conductor of the cable, resulting in a loss of signal strength or other signal degradation. Likewise, corrosion can form between the mechanism that clamps the connector to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable, thereby compromising the shielding of the desired signal from interference, and also allowing the signal being conducted to leak out of the cable.
Efforts have been made to avoid such problems by providing connectors that can be soldered onto the prepared end of a coaxial cable. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,710 to Bufanda, et al. describes a coaxial cable assembly which includes an end connector having a center pin that is soldered onto the end of the center conductor. An insulative disc is inserted over the exposed end of the cable, around the center conductor, before the center pin is soldered onto the exposed end of the center conductor. Bufanda, et al. explain that such insulative disc acts as a “solder gauge” by spacing the center pin of the connector at the proper axial distance from the exposed end of the coaxial cable. Pre-formed solder is then applied over the exposed outer conductor, and a body member is inserted over the exposed end of the cable. The body member includes a further insulator having a center hole formed therein for allowing the center pin to extend therethrough, while providing mechanical support to the center pin. A fastening nut is rotatably secured to the body member for fastening the connector to a mating connector. After the body member is slid over the outer conductor, the connector is heated to melt the pre-formed solder to establish a mechanical and electrical connection between the body member and the outer conductor of the coaxial cable. Bufanda et al. explain that the aforementioned insulative disc causes solder pooling to occur between the outer conductor and the body member at the location of the insulative disc to create a circumferential seal therebetween.
The connector described by Bufanda et al. requires the use of both an insulative disc and a second insulator to support the center pin within the body member. The need for two such insulators increases the cost of such connector. Moreover, the connector described by Bufanda et al. relies entirely upon the solder connection between the outer conductor of the coaxial cable and the body member to maintain mechanical coupling between the connector and the coaxial cable. Mechanical stress applied to such solder joint, due for example to pulling forces and/or bending forces at the connector/cable junction, can compromise the mechanical and electrical coupling between the outer conductor of the coaxial cable and the body member, and can degrade the moisture seal formed therebetween. In addition, the single mechanical support, formed at the solder joint between the outer conductor of the cable and the body member, tends to act as a fulcrum or pivot point; movement of the coaxial cable behind the connector is thereby transmitted, via the center conductor, to the center pin of the connector, resulting in movement at the connector interface. Such movement at the connector interface causes electrical performance instability and intermodulation distortion instability.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coaxial cable connector that can be easily and conveniently soldered onto the end of a coaxial cable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a coaxial cable connector which allows the user to solder the body of the connector to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable, and which optionally allows a user to solder the center pin of the connector to the center conductor of the coaxial cable.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a coaxial cable connector which prevents excess solder from flowing into the body beyond the end of the outer conductor of the coaxial cable.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a coaxial cable connector with improved pull-off strength.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a coaxial cable connector that captures the cable jacket to prevent the possibility of it shrinking, or pulling back, thereby maintaining moisture seal integrity.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a coaxial cable connector with enhanced electrical and intermodulation distortion stability.
Another object of the present invention is to provide additional mechanical support between the coaxial cable and the connector to eliminate the above-described fulcrum/pivot action of the solder joint formed between the outer conductor of the cable and the body of the connector.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a coaxial cable connector with an improved seal between the body of the connector and the coaxial cable jacket to reduce moisture penetration and related corrosion-induced reliability problems.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide such a coaxial cable connector that is less subject to mechanically induced stress and strain due to bending of the coaxial cable near the rear of the connector.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly described, and in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, the present invention relates to a solder-on connector for a coaxial cable and including a body member having a first end with an internal bore formed therein to provide a generally cylindrical cavity for receiving an exposed end of a coaxial cable, and a coupler secured to the second opposing end of the body member to removably fasten the connector to a mating coaxial connector; this coupler could take the form of a rotatable internally-threaded coupling nut, a rotatable externally-threaded member, a bayonet-style rotatable coupler, or the like. Alternatively, the coupler could be fixedly-secured to the seco
Bradley P. Austin
Cahill Sutton & Thomas P.L.C.
Corning Gilbert Inc.
Gushi Ross
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