Patent Application
20100087086
The present invention relates to connector for the end of a coaxial cable, and in particular to a quick connect/disconnect coaxial cable connector for connecting test equipment to the female end of a coaxial cable.
Conventional quick connect connectors, such as the ones disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,234 issued Oct. 17, 2000 to Waidner et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,851 issued Jan. 29, 2008 to Brookmire, facilitate the connection of the end of a coaxial cable to a coaxial cable outlet with external threads, e.g. on a TV or wall outlet, so that a cable TV watcher can quickly connect and disconnect the cable extending between the wall outlet and the TV. Male push on connectors are also commonly used, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,412 issued Feb. 2, 1993 to Nagafuji; however, special adaptation to the end of the coaxial cable and the coaxial cable outlet are required.
In the cable test industry connecting test equipment to standard F-connector style coax cables, requires the user to use both hands to screw the cable under test into the test equipment or a test lead. While not extremely time consuming, a technician may have to repeat the procedure many times throughout a work day, which is very difficult to do while wearing gloves, resulting in the technician having to repeatedly remove their gloves in extreme weather conditions.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by a coaxial cable clip connector including a threadless connector, which fits into the cable under test, and an easily actuated clip, which fits over the coaxial cable connector housing to maintain a solid mechanical and electrical connection. The mechanical clip is important for field use when the cables under test are attached to the side of a home and/or hang free.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a coaxial cable connector for connecting to a male end of a coaxial cable, which includes a center pin extending therefrom and a rotating outer sleeve with internal threads, comprising:
a cylindrical connector having a central longitudinal recess for receiving the center pin when inserted into the rotating sleeve of the male end of the coaxial cable, the cylindrical connector having an outside diameter slightly smaller than an inside diameter of the internal threads of the rotating outer sleeve to enable the cylindrical connector to be easily slid into the rotating outer sleeve;
a first lever arm including a first jaw biased towards the cylindrical connector in a first direction, and a first handgrip for rotating the first jaw away from the cylindrical connector; and
a second lever arm including a second jaw biased towards the cylindrical connector in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a second handgrip for rotating the second jaw away from the cylindrical connector.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to A testing device for testing a cable network via a male end of a coaxial cable, which includes a center pin extending therefrom and a rotating outer sleeve with internal threads, comprising:
a testing module for sending test signals or receiving test data;
a coaxial cable lead extending from the testing module for transmitting test signals from the testing module, and for receiving test data from the cable network;
a coaxial cable connector on the outer free end of the coaxial lead comprising:
a cylindrical connector having a central longitudinal recess for receiving the center pin when inserted into the rotating sleeve of the male end of the coaxial cable, the cylindrical connector having an outside diameter slightly smaller than an inside diameter of the internal threads of the rotating outer sleeve to enable the cylindrical connector to be easily slid into the rotating outer sleeve;
a first lever arm including a first jaw biased towards the cylindrical connector in a first direction, and a first handgrip for rotating the first jaw away from the cylindrical connector; and
a second lever arm including a second jaw biased towards the cylindrical connector in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a second handgrip for rotating the second jaw away from the cylindrical connector.
The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which represent preferred embodiments thereof, wherein:
a and 4b are end views of alternative jaw sections for the cable clip of
With reference to
Preferably, the first handgrip 11 is angled upwardly at an acute angle from a horizontal line extending from along the axis of the first jaw section 8, thereby forming an obtuse angle between the first handgrip 11 and the first jaw section 8. Similarly, the second handgrip 12 and the second jaw section 9 from an obtuse angle therebetween, whereby the first and second handgrips 11 and 12 form an acute angle therebetween, when the first and second jaw sections 8 and 9 are biased together or a cable connector.
The end of a conventional coaxial cable under test 21 is provided with a standard 75 ohm compression connector 22, which includes a rotating sleeve 23 surrounding the exposed metal conductive pin 24. The rotating sleeve 23 includes internal threads, for mating with externally threaded wall or television connectors, and external gripping features for facilitating manual gripping during standard connection. Typical external gripping features include a multi-faceted structure, e.g. hexagonal, and a cylindrical structure with knurled sections for gripping.
The barrel connector 2 is a F-connector barrel with a smooth outer surface without any threads on one end, and a outside diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the threads of the rotating sleeve 23 of the male F-connector 22 to enable the barrel 2 to be easily slid into the rotating sleeve 23 of the male connector 22. The barrel connector 2 has a central longitudinal recess and has sufficient length for engaging the center pin 24 when inserted into the rotating sleeve 23 of the male F-connector 22. See
The push and clip operation can be preformed quickly and without removing your gloves. Accordingly, the present invention will reduce the time a technician spends on a service call and in turn enable the technician to execute more service calls in a given day without exposing the technicians hands to the elements.
The other end of the barrel 2 can be a standard threaded barrel end for screwing into a male F-connector at the end of the coaxial cable segment 3, which enables the technician to replace the coaxial cable segment 3 between the coax clip 1 and the test instrument 4.
With reference to
Ideally, the outer free edge of each of the first and second jaw sections 8, 8′, 9, 9′ and includes a rectangular tooth 35 extending perpendicular thereto for extending behind the rotating sleeve 23 and preventing the first and second jaw sections, i.e. the clip 5 from slipping off the rotating sleeve 23 without the first and second lever arms 6 and 7 from being rotated apart. Similarly, an arcuate tooth 45 can be provided at the outer edge of each of the first and second jaw sections 8″ and 9″ for extending behind the rotating sleeve 23 and preventing the first and second jaw sections, i.e. the clip 5 from slipping off the rotating sleeve 23 without the first and second lever arms 6 and 7 from being rotated apart.
