The present invention relates to moisture barriers of electrical cables. More particular, the present invention relates to a combined moisture barrier and strain relief of an electrical test cord.
Corrosion of metallic conductors due to moisture is a well-known problem in electrical applications. Metal oxides that result from the corrosion have typically relatively low conductivity. In cases, where electricity is transmitted via mechanically connected conductors, moisture may cause the formation of insulating oxide layers in the interface of the conductors. In such cases, an unfavorable electrical resistance degrades the conductive path across the interface.
Moisture is a particular problem in the field of telephone line testing where precise measurements need to be taken under partially severe weather conditions. Measurement devices are thereby exposed to a variety of operational conditions including sudden temperature changes, rain, snow, sleet, etc. The measurement devices need to be configured to provide continuous measurement precision under such operational conditions.
A main part of electrical measurement devices is the test cord that commonly includes two separate cables that are connected with one end on terminals of the measurement device. The other ends are designed for a temporary connection with contacts at which measurements need to be performed. In applications such as telephone line testing devices, the test cable terminals are commonly within a hermetically sealed housing.
The individual cables of a test cord are usually made of tinsel wire at the ends of which lugs are crimped on to reliably connect the cables to the device's terminals. It has been observed that despite careful sealing of the device housing, corrosion still occurs inside the housing at the interface between the crimped lugs and the tinsel wire. This corrosion is particularly undesirable since it may impose a resistance in the test cord that degrades the over all measurement precision of the device. Therefore, there exists a need for a test cord that is configured to prevent moisture related corrosion in the interface between the crimped lugs and the tinsel wire. The present invention addresses this need.
Efficient mass production of electrical components often includes plastic molding. In so-called inserter molds conductors are placed together with eventual other prefabricated parts and a plastic material is molded around them. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,581 to Miura discloses a method of making a pin plug that involves the insert molding of a housing whereby pins and cables are fixedly embedded. The molded plastic provides thereby electrical insulation and structural support.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,730 to Tanaka claims a method for protecting a conductive part of a flat cable. The conductors of a flat cable are inserted thereby together with the connected relay wires in a mold and a housing is molded around them that provides similarly to Miura electrical insulation and structural support.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,952 to Ito a pre-molded connector structure is provided that includes a core structure that fixedly holds a number of conductors that protrude all the way through the core structure. The core structure is made of plastic and provides structural support and electrical insulation.
Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,774 to Ichikawa et al. a connector structure is disclosed, in which independent connectors are fixed in a conductive connection by molding an upper portion onto a prefabricated housing base. Again, the molding provides structural support and electrical insulation.
A discovered pathway for moisture is the gap between the conductive core and the surrounding insulation of an electric cable. In the case of a test cord, moisture may creep along this pathway from the peripheral contacts into the sealed housing of the measurement device where the conductors of the test cord terminate.
In the present invention, a barrier is molded along an exposed section of a cable such that a gap between the conductive core and the cable's insulation is interrupted. As a result, moisture may propagate along the gap only up to the molded barrier. The moisture barrier is preferably incorporated in cables exposed to severe operational conditions, as is the case for test cords of telephone line-testing devices.
The test cord is an independently fabricated component that is typically assembled in the measurement device before the device housing is put together. The test cord has an enlarged section commonly called wick dam. The wick dam fits with its outside shape into correspondingly shaped material separations of the device housing. Thus, when the test cord is assembled, the wick dam snuggly fits and seals the hole through which the test cord's cable strings reach into the device housing. The wick dam is commonly molded or glued around the cable strings to provide structural support and to prevent cable damage.
Even though in prior art test cords, the housing opening is usually hermetically sealed by the wick dam, moisture may still creep along a gap between the cable strings' core and its surrounding insulation. In the present invention, the moisture barrier interrupts this remaining pathway. The moisture barrier is provided within the wick dam by removing the insulation layer along a certain length of the cable strings and consecutively embedding the exposed section directly in the wick dam. The molded and/or glued material of the wick dam snuggly surrounds the core such that the gap between the insulation and the core terminates within the enlarged section.
Eventually, metal sleeves are crimped adjacent to the exposed section to provide a strain relief for the exposed section. Once the enlarged section is formed the metal sleeves are fixedly held within the enlarged section. Tensile and/or bending forces applied on the outside portion of the test cord are transmitted via the crimped sleeves onto the enlarged section and the device housing.
Referring to
It is noted that the gap 8 and/or 10 may have any configuration allowing moisture to creep along it. This may be also the case where the insulation layer 2 and/or 4 contact the core 6 and/or the core layer 7 (see
Now turning to
In the embodiments of
In
The surrounding layers 2 and 4 may be made of braded nylon or any other well-known plastic that may be used for electrical insulation. The core layer 7 may be of a plastic material commonly traded under the name “Teflon”. With a heatstripper or any other suitable tool the surrounding layer 2, 4 are cut at the boundary of the exposed section 11. The use of a heatstripper prevents damage of the core layer 7, which has a significantly higher melting point than the outside layers 2, 4. In that way damage to the core layer 7 and an unintentional moisture bridge between core 6 and core layer 7 is avoided.
Once the exposed section 11 is prepared and the sleeves 3, 5 are crimped on, the cable string 12 is inserted in a mold and the housing 1 is molded in a well-known fashion. An exemplary material of housing 1 may be polyvinyl chloride traded under the name “PVC”. The housing 1 may be also fabricated from two separately molded halves that are fused together. The two halves may be potted and/or sealed with a curing resin and/or an insulating liquid. The two halves may feature a well-known snapping mechanism for holding them together.
The placement of the sleeves 3, 5 on both sides of the exposed section 11 uniquely divides tensile strain onto the sleeves 3, 5. This is possible, since the surrounding layer 2 is physically disconnected from the surrounding layer 4. Hence, the sleeve 3 transmits mainly strain from the surrounding layer 2 onto the housing 1, whereas the sleeve 5 transmits mainly externally induced strain from the core 6 via the layer 4 onto the housing 1. This is particularly advantageous in reducing the risk of ripping the layer 2.
In
Accordingly, the scope of the invention described in the specification above is set forth by the following claims and their legal equivalent:
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3978581 | Miura | Sep 1976 | A |
4486540 | Brewer et al. | Dec 1984 | A |
4659164 | Reuss | Apr 1987 | A |
5280774 | Entenmann et al. | Jan 1994 | A |
5396572 | Bradley et al. | Mar 1995 | A |
5691505 | Norris | Nov 1997 | A |
5713748 | Mulvihill | Feb 1998 | A |
5724730 | Tanaka | Mar 1998 | A |
5926952 | Ito | Jul 1999 | A |
6257920 | Finona et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6344614 | Sutehall et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
6386895 | Rehrig | May 2002 | B1 |
6426462 | Mignon et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
6482034 | Ozaki | Nov 2002 | B2 |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040056671 A1 | Mar 2004 | US |