Patent Grant
8062064
Connectors are used to connect coaxial cables to various electronic devices, such as televisions, antennas, set-top boxes, satellite television receivers, etc. Conventional 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. The annular collar that receives the coaxial cable includes a cable receiving end for insertably receiving a coaxial cable and the annular nut includes an internally threaded end that permits screw threaded attachment of the body to an external device.
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 with a connector, the outer jacket is stripped back exposing a portion of the braided conductive shield. The exposed braided conductive shield is folded back over the jacket. A portion of the insulator covered by the conductive foil extends outwardly from the jacket and a portion of the center conductor extends outwardly from within the insulator.
Upon assembly, a coaxial cable is inserted into the cable receiving end of the connector body and the annular post is forced between the foil covered insulator and the conductive shield of the cable. A locking sleeve is then moved axially into the connector body to clamp the cable jacket against the post. The connector can then be attached to an external device by tightening the internally threaded nut to an externally threaded terminal or port of the external device.
A large number of home coaxial cable installations are often done by “do-it yourself” laypersons who may not be familiar with torque standards associated with cable connectors. In these cases, the installer will typically hand-tighten the coaxial cable connectors instead of using a tool. As described briefly above, conventional cable connectors typically include an annular nut rotatably coupled to the connector for facilitating connection of the cable connector to a mating terminal. The annular nut typically has a hexagonal surface for receiving a wrench or other similar tool or mechanical device. Unfortunately, hand-tightening of a hex nut (or similar wrench-tightened nut configuration) may not provide sufficient torque to properly seat the connector with the terminal, or the nut may be difficult to tighten by hand.
Implementations consistent with embodiments described herein may provide for increased usability and cost-effectiveness by providing a modular, annular nut assembly for facilitating connection of a cable connector to a mating terminal. In one exemplary implementation, an annular nut assembly may include a body portion and a textured ring connected or attached around the body portion. The body portion may include surfaces suitable for engagement by a wrench or similar mechanical tool. The textured ring may be lockingly mounted relative to the body portion and may include a textured surface suitable for facilitating hand tightening of the nut.
In one implementation, connector body 12 (also referred to as a “collar”) may include an elongated, cylindrical member, which can be made from plastic, metal, or any suitable material or combination of materials. Connector body 12 may include a forward end 20 operatively coupled to annular post 16 and rotatable nut 18, and a cable receiving end 22 opposite to forward end 20. Cable receiving end 22 may be configured to insertably receive locking sleeve 14, as well as a prepared end of a coaxial cable in the forward direction as shown by arrow A in
Locking sleeve 14 may include a substantially tubular body having a rearward cable receiving end 24 and an opposite forward connector insertion end 26, movably coupled to connector body 12. Upon assembly of connector 10, locking sleeve 14 may be lockingly axially moveable along the direction of arrow A toward the forward end 20 of the connector body 12 from a first position, as shown, for example, in
As mentioned above, connector 10 may further include annular post 16 coupled to forward end 20 of connector body 12. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Body portion 36 may include a substantially tubular body having a forward portion 40 and a rearward portion 42, as illustrated in
Textured ring engagement portion 46 may be configured to receive textured ring 38 thereon. As illustrated in
In another exemplary implementation, as illustrated in
Body portion 36 may further include an annular flange 48 configured to fix nut assembly 18 axially relative to annular post 16 and connector body 12. In one implementation, a resilient sealing O-ring 50 may be positioned between annular nut assembly 18 and connector body 12 to provide a water resistant seal between connector body 12, annular post 16, and annular nut 18. Body portion 36 may include internal threads 52 for engaging matching external threads provided on a mating terminal.
As illustrated in
In exemplary implementations, textured ring 38 may be formed of any suitable material, such as metal, plastic, or any suitable material or combination of materials. Furthermore, textured ring 38 may be provided in a variety of different colors or appearances different from connector body 12 for the purposes of product differentiation or marking. In one implementation, body portion 36 may be formed of metal and textured ring 38 may be formed of a plastic, resin, or rubber having a different visual appearance from body portion 36.
During assembly, textured ring 38 may be inserted onto textured ring engagement portion 46 of body portion 36. As described above, the locking structure of textured ring 38 and textured ring engagement portion 46 may facilitate insertion of textured ring 38 onto textured ring engagement portion 46 while preventing relative rotational movement therebetween.
In one implementation, textured ring 38 may be coupled to body portion 36 via a snap-fit or press-fit mechanism. As illustrated in
In another exemplary implementation, textured ring 38 may be formed of molded plastic or plastic resin formed in place about textured ring engagement portion 46 in an overmolding procedure. In this implementation, textured ring 38 is not inserted onto textured ring engagement portion 46 during assembly.
Connector 10 may be supplied in the assembled condition, as shown in the drawings, in which locking sleeve 14 is pre-installed inside rearward cable receiving end 22 of connector body 12. In such an assembled condition, a coaxial cable may be inserted through rearward cable receiving end 30 of locking sleeve 14 to engage annular post 16 of connector 10 in the manner described above. In other implementations, locking sleeve 14 may be first slipped over the end of a coaxial cable and the cable (together with locking sleeve 14) may subsequently be inserted into rearward end 22 of connector body 12.
In either case, once the prepared end of a coaxial cable is inserted into connector body 12 so that the cable jacket is separated from the insulator by the sharp edge of annular post 16, locking sleeve 14 may be moved axially forward in the direction of arrow A from the first position to the second position. In some implementations, advancing locking sleeve 14 from the first position to the second position may be accomplished with a suitable compression tool. As locking sleeve 14 is moved axially forward, the cable jacket is compressed within annular chamber 34 to secure the cable in connector 10. Once the cable is secured, connector 10 is ready for attachment to a port connector, such as an F-81 connector, of an external device.
To facilitate attachment of connector 10 to the port connector of an external device, the port connector may be inserted into the forward opening of annular nut assembly 18. Subsequent hand tightening of nut assembly 18 via textured ring 38 or wrench tightening via angled surface portion 44 may cause the port connect and post 16 to move axially together, thereby facilitating electrical and RF communication therebetween.
The above-described connector may pass electrical and RF signals typically found in CATV, satellite, closed circuit television (CCTV), voice of Internet protocol (VoIP), data, video, high speed Internet, etc., through the mating ports (about the connector reference planes).
An annular nut assembly is provided that includes both a textured portion suitable for hand tightening and an angled portion suitable for wrench tightening. Further, by providing a modular nut assembly, manufacturing costs may be significantly reduced. For example, consistent with implementations described above, body portion 36 may be machined from a single piece of hexagonal stock, thereby avoiding additional machining and fabrication costs. In addition, the modular nature of the proposed nut assembly may facilitate color and/or appearance differentiation between the textured portion and the connector body.
The foregoing description of exemplary implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments described herein to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the embodiments.
For example, various features have been mainly described above with respect to a coaxial cables and connectors for securing coaxial cables. In other implementations, features described herein may be implemented in relation to other cable or interface technologies. For example, the coaxial cable connector described herein may be used or usable with various types of coaxial cable, such as 50, 75, or 93 ohm coaxial cable, or other characteristic impedance cable designs. In addition, the modular nut assembly described above may be used with any type of nut that may require hand and/or tool tightening.
Although the invention has been described in detail above, it is expressly understood that it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that the invention may be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention. Various changes of form, design, or arrangement may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the above mentioned description is to be considered exemplary, rather than limiting, and the true scope of the invention is that defined in the following claims.
For example, although the above description references a modular nut assembly for use in connection with a coaxial cable connector, it should be understood that the described modular nut assembly may be incorporated into a variety of implementations, such as other types of nuts, connectors, etc.
No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.
This application claims priority under 35. U.S.C. §119, based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/177,008 filed May 11, 2009, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61177008 | May 2009 | US |
