Patent Grant
10074928
This application claims priority of Taiwanese Utility Model Patent Application No. 106212816, filed on Aug. 30, 2017.
The disclosure relates to a connecting assembly, and more particularly to a cable connecting assembly.
Referring to
However, when the conventional cable connecting assembly 1 is used for connecting the cable 2 in a relatively humid environment, the conventional cable connecting assembly 1 may not able to completely prevent water or moisture in the air from entering the accommodating space 110 and the receiving space 120 even if the securing member 14 is screwed to tightly abut against the connect ring 13. As a result, the cable 2 is easily damaged due to contact with water or moisture. In addition, the conventional cable connecting assembly 1 is not suitable for connecting the cable 2 in a winding path.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a cable connecting assembly that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, the cable connecting assembly is for being connected to a cable. The cable connecting assembly includes a barrel member, a tubular member, a securing member, and a seal unit.
The barrel member defines an accommodating space that extends in a lengthwise direction, and includes a main body and an extending body. The main body has a first end portion, and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion in the lengthwise direction and being formed with an internal thread. The extending body extends from the first end portion away from the second end portion. The accommodating space extends through the extending body and the main body.
The tubular member includes a head part and a hollow tail part. The head part defines a receiving space adapted to receive an end portion of the cable therein, and has an outer surface formed with two annular grooves spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction. The tail part is connected to an end of the head part, is adapted for a neck portion of the cable which is connected to the end portion to extend therethrough, and is curved to extend in a direction transverse to the lengthwise direction. The tail part includes two body halves that are removably coupled to each other.
The securing member has a coupling portion and an abutment portion. The coupling portion has an external thread threadedly engaging the internal thread of the main body of the barrel member, and abuts against the tubular member. The abutment portion is connected to the coupling portion, is located outside of the accommodating space, abuts against the second end portion of the main body, and cooperates with the coupling portion to form a through hole extending in the lengthwise direction and permitting extension of the tail part of the tubular member therethrough.
The seal unit includes two seal rings that are respectively disposed in the annular grooves of the tubular member, and that sealingly contact an inner surface of the main body of the barrel member.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
The barrel member 3 defines an accommodating space 30 that extends in a lengthwise direction, and includes a main body 31 and an extending body 32. The main body 31 has a first end portion 312, and a second end portion 313 opposite to the first end portion 312 in the lengthwise direction and being formed with an internal thread 311. The extending body 32 extends from the first end portion 312 away from the second end portion 313, and has an outer surface formed with an external thread. The accommodating space 30 extends through the extending body 32 and the main body 31.
The tubular member 4 includes a head part 41 and a hollow tail part 42. The head part 41 defines a receiving space 40 adapted to receive an end portion of the cable 9 therein. The end portion of the cable 9 is adapted to be connected to another cable (not shown) via a connector 91 disposed in the receiving space 40, or is adapted to extend further through the barrel member 3 via the extending portion 32 to be connected to other device (e.g., a computer terminal) or another cable (not shown). Since such connection is well known to those skilled in the art and is not pertinent to the disclosure, further details of the same will not be described hereinafter.
The head part 41 of the tubular member 4 has an end surface 411 proximate to the extending body 32 of the barrel member 3, and an outer surface formed with two annular grooves 419 spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction. The tail part 42 is connected to an end of the head part 41, and is adapted for a neck portion of the cable 9 which is connected to the end portion to extend therethrough. The tail part 42 extends out of the main body 31 of the barrel member 3, and is curved to extend in a direction transverse to the lengthwise direction. In this embodiment, the tail part 42 is curved to extend in a direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction (i.e., the orientations of opposite ends of the tail part 42 are perpendicular to each other).
In greater detail, the tail part 42 of the tubular member 4 has a connecting segment 421 integrally connected to the head part 41 of the tubular member 4, and a curved segment 422 connected to the connecting segment 421, having an outer diameter that is smaller than that of the connecting segment 421, and cooperating with the connecting segment 421 to form a shoulder 423 therebetween. As shown in
In this embodiment, the tail part 42 is made of metal to have a fixed curvature. In other embodiments, the tail part 42 may be made of a flexible material, e.g., rubber or plastic.
The securing member 5 has a coupling portion 51 and an abutment portion 52. The coupling portion 51 of the securing member 5 is sleeved on a portion of the curved segment 422 of the tail part 42 of the tubular member 4, abuts tightly against the shoulder 423 of the tail part 42 of the tubular member 4, and has an external thread threadedly engaging the internal thread 311 of the main body 31 of the barrel member 3. The abutment portion 52 is connected to the coupling portion 51, is located outside of the accommodating space 30, and has an abutment surface 521 transverse to the coupling portion 51 and abutting against the second end portion 313 of the main body 31 of the barrel member 3. Specifically, the abutment surface 521 is connected to the coupling portion 51, and is perpendicular to the coupling portion 51. The abutment portion 52 and the coupling portion 51 cooperatively form a through hole 510 extending in the lengthwise direction and permitting extension of the tail part 42 of the tubular member 4 therethrough.
The seal unit 6 includes two seal rings 61 that are respectively disposed in the annular grooves 419 of the tubular member 4 and that sealingly contact an inner surface of the main body 31 of the barrel member 3. As shown in
When the cable connecting assembly is used for connecting the cable 9, the end portion of the cable 9 which is to be connected to another cable or other device is inserted into the receiving space 40, followed by coupling of the two body halves 420 of the tail part 42 of the tubular member 4 via engagement between the male and female engaging portions 424, 425. The tail part 42 of the tubular member 4 provides protection to the cable 9 and guides extension of the cable 9 where bending of the cable 9 is required. By virtue of the design of the tail part 42 of the tubular member 4, operation of connecting the cable connecting assembly and the cable 9 can be performed effectively and efficiently since extra care is not required to prevent damage of the cable 9 when bending the cable 9, especially when the operation is conducted in a relatively small or narrow working space.
In addition, the coupling portion 51 of the securing member 5 tightly abuts against the shoulder 423 of the tail part 42 of the tubular member 4 after the coupling portion 51 of the securing member 5 and the second end portion 313 of the main body 31 of the barrel member 3 threadedly engage each other, which serves as a barrier against fluid entry into the accommodating space 30. In addition, the relatively large gap formed between the main body 31 of the barrel member 3 and the head part 41 of the tubular member 4 further prevent moisture or water from entering into the accommodating space 30 and the receiving space 40 in an effective manner.
In summary, by virtue of the tail part 42 of the tubular member 4 being constituted by the two body halves 420, the cable 9 can be quickly connected to the cable connecting assembly, thereby saving time for the connecting operation. When the cable connecting assembly is used for connecting the cable 9 in a working space where bending of the cable 9 is required, the tail part 42 provides support and protection to the cable 9 and prevents the cable 9 from damage due to bending, thus the installation process in the working space is facilitated. By the design of the head and tail parts 41, 42 of the tubular member 4 in combination with the seal unit 6, the cable 9 is effectively prevented from damage caused by bending and water contact.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 106212816 U | Aug 2017 | TW | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050037656 | Cairns | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20140342594 | Montena | Nov 2014 | A1 |
| 20150362030 | Choi | Dec 2015 | A1 |
| 20160312558 | Cavalheiro | Oct 2016 | A1 |
| 20170218718 | Cavalheiro | Aug 2017 | A1 |
| 20170242198 | Zhu | Aug 2017 | A1 |
| 20180062282 | Chastain | Mar 2018 | A1 |
