The present invention relates generally to connectors for terminating coaxial cable. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coaxial cable connector having fewer connector components and providing simpler installation.
It has long been known to use connectors to terminate coaxial cable so as to connect a cable to various electronic devices such as televisions, radios and the like.
Conventional coaxial cables typically include a center conductor surrounded by an insulator. A conductive foil is disposed over the insulator and a braided conductive shield surrounds the foil covered insulator. An outer insulative jacket surrounds the shield. In order to prepare the coaxial cable for termination, the outer jacket is stripped back exposing an extent of the braided conductive shield which is folded back over the jacket. A portion of the insulator covered by the conductive foil extends outwardly from the jacket and an extent of the center conductor extends outwardly from within the insulator. Such a prepared cable may be terminated in a conventional coaxial connector.
Prior art coaxial connectors generally include a connector body having an annular collar for accommodating a coaxial cable, an annular nut rotatably coupled to the collar for providing mechanical attachment of the connector to an external device and an annular post interposed between the collar and the nut. Upon assembly to a coaxial cable, the annular post is inserted between the foil covered insulator and the conductive shield of the cable. A resilient sealing O-ring may also be positioned between the collar and the nut at the rotatable juncture thereof to provide a water resistant seal thereat. The collar includes a cable receiving end for insertably receiving an inserted coaxial cable and, at the opposite end of the connector body, the nut includes an internally threaded end extent permitting screw threaded attachment of the body to an external device.
This type of coaxial connector further includes a locking sleeve to secure the cable within the body of the coaxial connector. The locking sleeve, which is typically formed of a resilient plastic, is securable to the connector body to secure the coaxial connector thereto. Thus, the prior art coaxial cable connector included four distinct components: a rotatable nut; a connector body; an annular post; and a locking sleeve. A coaxial cable connector of this type is shown and described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,807.
Such coaxial connectors are generally manufactured in large quantities at relatively low costs. One cost factor in manufacturing these connectors is the number of connector components that are required for assembly. Thus, eliminating just one component of the connector could significantly reduce the connector's manufacturing cost. Furthermore, fewer components could also simplify the cable installation process.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a coaxial connector having fewer components. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a coaxial connector that eliminates the need for a locking sleeve altogether. As a result, the number of components of the connector would be reduced, along with the connector's associated manufacturing costs, and the cable installation process would be simplified.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a coaxial cable connector for terminating a coaxial cable.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a coaxial cable connector having fewer components and, therefore, a lower manufacturing cost.
It is a further object of the present invention to simplify the cable installation process.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of terminating a coaxial cable.
In the efficient attainment of these and other objects, the present invention provides a coaxial cable connector. The connector of the present invention generally includes an annular post defining an axial bore therein, a cylindrical collar movably coupled to the post and a nut rotatably coupled to the post. The post has a shoulder portion defined by an outer surface and a tubular extension extending axially rearwardly from the shoulder portion and the collar has a forward end movably coupled to the outer surface of the post shoulder portion.
In a preferred embodiment, the collar and the post tubular extension define an annular chamber therebetween. The post may further include an annular sleeve portion extending rearwardly from the shoulder portion, which, together with the tubular extension, defines an annular pocket therebetween. The connector further preferably includes a sealing ring disposed between the post, the collar and the nut to provide a water resistant seal thereat. Also, the post shoulder portion preferably includes a flanged base portion for securing the post in the nut.
For coupling the collar to the post, the outer surface of the post shoulder portion and the forward end of the collar preferably include cooperating detent structure for permitting axial movable connection of the collar and the post. This cooperating detent structure preferably includes an annular rib formed on one of the forward end of the collar and the outer surface of the post shoulder portion and two axially spaced annular grooves formed on the other of the forward end of the collar and the outer surface of the post shoulder portion. The annular rib may be provided on the collar and is preferably defined by a rearwardly facing perpendicular wall and a forwardly facing chamfered wall. In this case, the grooves are provided on the outer surface of the post shoulder portion and are defined by a forwardly facing perpendicular wall and a rearwardly facing chamfered wall to permit only forward movement of the collar on the post from a first position for loosely retaining a coaxial cable within the connector to a forward second position for securing the cable within the connector.
In alternative embodiments, the forward end of the collar may be press-fit on the outer surface of the post shoulder portion, or it may be threadably engaged with the outer surface of the post shoulder portion. In any event, the post shoulder portion preferably includes a rearwardly facing chamfered wall at a transition between the shoulder portion and the tubular extension to facilitate attachment of the collar to the post.
In other alternative embodiments, the collar may be detachably coupled to the post. Additionally, the collar may include a detachable arm extending outwardly therefrom for temporarily attaching the collar to the post in an initial configuration. The detachable arm may include a ring extension extending radially outwardly from the collar and a ring disposed at an end of the ring extension for attaching the collar to the post, wherein the ring is sized to be snugly fit on the outer surface of the post shoulder portion. The ring may include a slot breaking the continuity of the ring for facilitating perpendicular attachment of the ring to the post shoulder portion and the ring extension may include a frangible portion disposed where the extension meets the collar. Moreover, the outer surface of the post shoulder portion and the ring may include cooperating detent structure for facilitating attachment of the ring to the post shoulder portion.
In still another alternative embodiment, the collar is movably coupled to a rearward interior surface of the rotatable nut in a first position and is movable forward to a second position, wherein the collar is coupled to the outer surface of the annular post. Here too, cooperating detent structure may be provided to facilitate forward movable connection of the collar and the post. Specifically, the detent structure preferably includes an outwardly extending annular rib formed on an outer surface of the forward end of the collar, an inwardly extending annular rib formed on an inner surface of the forward end of the collar, a first annular groove formed on the inner surface of the nut and a second annular groove formed on the outer surface of the post shoulder portion.
The present invention further involves a method for terminating a coaxial cable within a coaxial cable connector. The method generally includes the steps of inserting a prepared end of a coaxial cable into a rearward end of a cylindrical collar of the connector having a forward end movably coupled to an outer surface of an annular post of the connector and moving the collar forward on the outer surface of the annular post to a locked position wherein the cable is secured within the connector.
In a preferred embodiment of the method, during the moving step, the cable end is compressed within an annular chamber formed between the collar and a tubular extension of the post extending axially rearward from the shoulder portion. Also, the moving step preferably involves moving the collar from a first position wherein the cable is loosely retained within the connector to the locked position wherein the cable is secured within the connector. The moving step further preferably includes the step of disengaging a rib formed on one of the forward end of the collar and the outer surface of the annular post from a first groove formed on the other of the forward end of the collar and the outer surface of the annular post and engaging the rib in a second groove formed on the other of the forward end of the collar and the outer surface of the annular post.
The method may further include the steps of detaching an arm of the collar from the outer surface of the annular post, detaching the arm from the collar and movably coupling the forward end of the collar to the outer surface of the annular post. The inserting step may also include the step of inserting a shield portion of the prepared end of the coaxial cable into an annular pocket defined between an annular sleeve portion and a tubular extension of the annular post.
In an alternative embodiment, the prepared end of a coaxial cable is inserted into a rearward end of a cylindrical collar of the connector that is initially apart from the annular post. The collar is then movably coupling to an outer surface of the annular post and moved forward on the outer surface of the annular post to a locked position wherein the cable is compressed between the inside of the collar and the outside of the post thereby locking the cable to the connector.
Thus, the connector may be supplied in a configuration wherein the movable collar is initially temporarily attached to the post by a detachable arm. In this case, the user would first detach the collar from the post and then frangibly detach the arm from the collar. The collar would then be attachable to the post in its installation position for receiving a coaxial cable.
A preferred form of the coaxial connector, as well as other embodiments, objects, features and advantages of this invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
a is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the connector shown in
b is a cross-sectional view of another alternative embodiment of the connector shown in
a is an enlarged view of the temporary attachment of the collar to the post shown in
The present invention is directed to connectors for terminating coaxial cable. Coaxial connectors of this type are shown and described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,807 issued Aug. 28, 2003, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Referring to
The collar 12 includes a cable receiving end 20 for insertably receiving a prepared end of a coaxial cable. The nut 16 includes an internally threaded end extent 22 permitting screw threaded attachment of the connector body 10 to the external device. The cable receiving end 20 and the internally threaded end extension 22 define opposite ends of the connector 10.
The annular post 14 includes a flanged base portion 24, which provides for press-fit securement of the post within a post receiving space in the nut 16. The annular post 14 further includes an elongated annular shoulder portion 26 having an outer surface which provides for movable attachment of the collar 12 to the post. The post 14 also includes an annular tubular extension 28 extending into the collar. The distal end of the tubular extension 28 includes a radially outwardly extending ramped flange portion 29 for compressing the outer jacket of the coaxial cable between the flange portion 29 and the internal diameter of the collar 12 to secure the cable within the connector. As will be described in further detail hereinbelow, the extension 28 of the post 14 and the collar 12 define an annular chamber 30 for accommodating the jacket and shield of the inserted coaxial cable.
Opposite the cable receiving end 20 of the collar 12 is a forward end 32 which is movably coupled to the outer surface of the shoulder portion 26 of the post 14. As will be described in further detail hereinbelow, the forward end 32 of the collar 12 and the shoulder portion 26 of the post 14 preferably include cooperative detent structure which allows for the movable connection of the collar 12 to the post 14 such that the collar is axially moveable along arrow A of
It is envisioned that other types of securing means may be utilized to movably couple the collar 12 to the annular post 14. For example, the collar 12 and the post 14 can be provided with friction-fit structure 34a, wherein the forward end 32 of the collar may be press-fit onto the shoulder portion 26 of the post 14, as shown in
The connector 10 of the present invention is constructed so as to be supplied in the assembled condition shown in
It is, however, contemplated that the connector 10 may be provided with securing means such that the collar 12 may be detachably coupled to the post 14 and, in a manner which will be described in further detail hereinbelow, will allow the coaxial cable to be first inserted directly into the post 14 unobstructed by the collar. Thereafter, the collar 12, which has been earlier placed around the cable, may be reattached to the post 14 where it can be moved from the first position to the second position locking the cable within the connector.
The cooperating detent structure mentioned above is but one exemplary structure employed to provide such attachment and movement of the collar 12 to the post 14. With additional reference to
As may be appreciated, the post 14 may be inserted into the forward end 32 of the collar 12 until the rib 34 of the collar comes to rest within the rearward groove 40 of the post shoulder portion 26. To further facilitate initial assembly of the collar 12 to the post 14, the transition of the post between the shoulder portion 26 and the annular tubular extension 28 may also be provided with a rearwardly facing chamfered wall 46. Upon assembly of the collar 12 to the post 14, the forward chamfered wall 38 of the collar rib 34 bears against the rearward chamfered wall 46 of the post shoulder portion transition. By its tubular shape, the collar 12 will have some resiliency at its forward end 32 which will allow the rib 34 to ride over the rearward chamfered wall 46 of the post shoulder portion 26 until the rib becomes lockingly resident within the rearward groove 40 of the post shoulder portion. This defines the first position of the collar 12.
As mentioned above, the cooperative detent structure of the present invention further includes a radially outwardly extending forward groove 41 formed on the shoulder portion 26 of the post 14 adjacent the rearward groove 40. Upon continued coaxial movement of the collar 12 along arrow A, the rib 34 of the collar disengages the rearward groove 40 and becomes resident within the forward groove 41 to define the second position of the collar which locks the collar in this position, thereby locking the cable within the connector.
Having described the components of the connector 10 in detail, the use of the connector in terminating a coaxial cable may now be described with respect to
Cable 50 is prepared in conventional fashion for termination by stripping back jacket 58 exposing an extent of shield 56. A portion of the foil covered insulator 54 extends therefrom with an extent of conductor 52 extending from insulator 54. The preparation process includes folding back an end extent of shield 56 about jacket 58.
As shown in exploded view in
Once the cable 50 is properly inserted, the collar 12 may be moved axially forward from the first position shown in
As may be appreciated, proper insertion of the cable 50 into the connector body 10 requires that the cable be inserted in such a manner that the extension 28 of the post 14 becomes resident between the foil covered insulator 54 and the shield 56. In certain installation settings, the installer may not have clear and convenient access when terminating the cable 50. Moreover, insertion may be rendered difficult by poor cable preparation, which may result in a frayed end. Therefore, it may be difficult for the installer to blindly insert the cable 50 through the collar 12 and into the connector body 10. In such situations, the present invention contemplates the ability to detachably remove the collar 12 from the post 14 so that the cable may be directly connected to the extension 28 of the post 14.
In these situations, the collar 12 is detachably removed from the post 14 in a manner facilitated as above described. The collar 12 is then slipped over the cable 50 and moved to a convenient position along the cable length. The end of the foil covered insulator 54 may then be inserted directly into the post extension 28 so that the extension is interposed between the foil covered insulator 54 and the shield 56. Thereafter, the collar 12 may be brought up along the cable 50 and the forward end 32 of the collar may be slipped over the shoulder portion 26 of the post 14. The respective chamfered walls 38 and 46 of the collar rib 34 and the shoulder portion transition facilitates insertion of the post 14 into the collar 12 so that the collar rib becomes resident within the rearward groove 40 as shown in
Alternatively, the collar 12 may simply be removably press-fit over the post shoulder portion 26 without the use of any detent structure. In this case, the same installation method would apply to secure the coaxial cable within the connector.
Referring now to
The collar 112 is initially temporarily attached to the post 114 by a detachable arm 113 including a ring 115 and a ring extension 117. The ring 115 is sized to receive and be snugly fitted over a shoulder portion 126 of the post 114. The ring 115 may take the form of a split-ring wherein a slot 119 breaks the continuity of the ring to facilitate easy attachment and detachment of the collar 112 to the post 114. With a split-ring arrangement, the collar 112 may be attached and detached from the post 114 in a direction perpendicular to the post axis, as opposed to being longitudinally slipped over the post shoulder section.
The ring 115 further preferably includes a radially inwardly directed annular rib 119 defined by a rearwardly facing perpendicular wall 121 and a forwardly facing chamfered wall 123. The rib 119 of the ring 115 engages a radially outwardly opening annular forward groove 141 formed in the shoulder portion 126 of the post 114 to secure the ring to the post. With additional reference to
As may be appreciated, the ring 115 may be longitudinally slipped over the post 114 or, where the ring is a split-ring, it may be laterally snapped in place whereby the rib 119 of the ring comes to rest within the forward groove 141 of the post shoulder portion 126. To further facilitate initial assembly of the ring 115 to the post 114, the ring rib 119 is provided with the forward chamfered wall 123 which, when seated, bears against the rearward chamfered wall 144 of the forward groove 141. However, the rearward facing perpendicular wall 121 of the ring rib 119 bearing against the forward facing perpendicular wall 142 of the forward groove 141 prevents inadvertent rearward axial movement of the ring 115.
The ring 115 is connected to the collar 112 by a radially outwardly extending ring extension 117. The ring extension 117 preferably includes a frangible portion 125 disposed where the extension meets the collar 112. The frangible portion 125 may include a perforation, slit, groove or other structure for permitting the ring extension 117 to be easily and cleanly detached from the collar 112. Once detached from the collar 112, the detachable arm 113, including the ring 115 and the ring extension 117, has no further use and may be discarded. The collar 112 is now preferably slipped over the end of a prepared coaxial cable or, alternatively, the collar may be attached first to the post 114.
Referring additionally to
The annular post 114 includes a flanged base portion 124 which provides for press-fit securement of the post within a post receiving space in the nut 116. The annular post 114 further includes an elongated annular shoulder portion 126 having an outer surface, which provides for movable attachment of the collar 112 to the post. However, in this embodiment, the post 114 also includes an annular sleeve portion 127 extending rearwardly from the shoulder portion and an annular tubular extension 128 extending from within the sleeve portion into the collar. The sleeve portion 127 and the tubular extension 128 of the post 114 define an annular pocket 129 therebetween and the post extension 128 and the collar 112 define an annular chamber 130. The distal end of the tubular extension 128 includes a radially outwardly extending ramped flange portion 131 for compressing the outer jacket of the coaxial cable in the annular chamber 130 between the flange portion and the internal diameter of the collar 112 to secure the cable within the connector. As will be described in further detail herein below, both the pocket 129 and the chamber 130 are designed for accommodating the jacket and shield of the inserted coaxial cable.
Opposite the cable receiving end 120 of the collar 112 is a forward end 132 which is movably coupled to the outer surface of the shoulder portion 126 of the post 114. As discussed above, the forward end 132 of the collar 112 and the shoulder portion 126 of the post 114 preferably include cooperative detent structure which allows for the movable connection of the collar 112 to the post 114 such that the collar is axially moveable along arrow A of
As mentioned above, the connector 110 of the present invention is constructed so as to be supplied in the pre-assembled condition shown in
With additional reference to
As may be appreciated, the forward end 132 of the collar 112 may be fitted over the sleeve portion 127 of the post 114 and slid forward until the rib 134 of the collar comes to rest within the rearward groove 140 of the post shoulder portion 126. To facilitate such initial assembly of the collar 112 to the post 114, the rib 134 is provided with a forward facing chamfered wall 138, as described above. By its tubular shape, the collar 112 will have some resiliency at its forward end 132 which will allow the rib 134 to ride over the sleeve portion 127 of the post 114 until the rib becomes lockingly resident within the rearward groove 140 of the post shoulder portion 126. This defines the first position of the collar 112.
As mentioned above, the cooperative detent structure of the present invention further includes a radially outwardly extending forward groove 141 formed on the shoulder portion 126 of the post 114 adjacent the rearward groove 140. Upon continued coaxial movement of the collar 112 along arrow A, the rib 134 of the collar disengages the rearward groove 140 and becomes resident within the forward groove 141 to define the second position of the collar which locks the collar in this position, thereby locking the cable within the connector.
Referring to
Again, proper insertion of the cable 150 into the connector body 110 requires that the cable be inserted in such a manner that the extension 128 of the post 114 becomes resident between the foil covered insulator 154 and the shield 156. Thus, as shown in exploded view in
Thereafter, the collar 112 may be brought up along the cable 150 and the forward end 132 of the collar may be slipped forward over the sleeve portion 127 and the shoulder portion 126 of the post 114 until the collar rib 134 becomes resident within the rearward groove 140 as shown in
Once the cable 150 is properly inserted and the collar 112 is set in its first position, the collar is then further moved axially forward from the first position shown in
Alternatively, the collar 112 may first be assembled to the post 114 in its first position as shown in
Thereafter, as described above, the collar 112 may be moved from the first position shown in
Referring now to
In particular, the nut 206 in this embodiment extends further rearwardly and includes a rearward interior surface 208 having structure to engage the collar 202 in a first position. The post 204 again includes an axial bore 210 therein, a shoulder portion 212 defined by an outer surface 214 and a tubular extension 216 extending axially rearwardly from the shoulder portion. However, in this embodiment, the outer surface 214 of the post shoulder portion 212 includes structure for coupling the collar 202 only in its second position. To accomplish this, the forward end 218 of the collar includes structure on both its outer surface 220 and its inner surface 222 to respectively engage the inner surface 208 of the nut 206 and the outer surface 214 of the post shoulder portion 212.
Again, the securing means for coupling the collar 202 to the other connector components preferably takes the form of cooperating detent structure, wherein the outer surface 220 of the collar 202 includes an outwardly extending annular rib 224 formed thereon and the inner surface 222 of the collar includes an inwardly extending annular rib 226 formed thereon. Conversely, the inner surface 208 of the nut 206 includes a first annular groove 228 formed thereon and the outer surface 214 of the post shoulder portion 212 includes a second annular groove 230 formed thereon.
As described above, the annular ribs 224 and 226 and grooves 228 and 230 may be reversed, wherein the grooves are provided on the collar and the ribs are provided on the nut and the post. As also described above, the annular ribs 224 are preferably defined by a rearwardly facing perpendicular wall 232 and a forwardly facing chamfered wall 234 and the annular grooves 228 and 230 are preferably defined by a forwardly facing perpendicular wall 236 and a rearwardly facing chamfered wall 238 to permit only forward movement of the collar. Moreover, the post shoulder portion 212 of this embodiment may also include a rearwardly facing chamfered wall 240 at a transition between the shoulder portion and the tubular extension 216 to facilitate attachment of the collar 202 to the post. Finally, the post may further include an annular sleeve portion (not shown in
Use of the cable connector 200 shown in
Although the illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
Various changes to the foregoing described and shown structures will now be evident to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the particularly disclosed scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/562,953, filed on Apr. 16, 2004, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/562,952, filed on Apr. 16, 2004.
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