EP2434588A1

EP2434588A1 - Connector

Info

Publication number: EP2434588A1
Application number: EP10178806A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kim Lundgren Eriksen
Original assignee: PPC Broadband Inc
Current assignee: PPC Broadband Inc
Priority date: 2010-09-23
Filing date: 2010-09-23
Publication date: 2012-03-28

Abstract

A connector 1 comprises a body 2, a female contact member 17 being centrally disposed within a cavity 10 of the body 2 and including an end portion having flexible contractable fingers 19 for electrically engaging a center conductor of a mating component and a ring-shaped resilient clamping member being arranged axially movable within the cavity 10. The fingers 19 of the contact member 17 and the clamping member 21 are provided with cooperating surfaces cooperating to bring the fingers into electrical engagement with said center conductor in response to an applied force to provide axial movement of the clamping member 21 relative to said contact member 17 in a securing direction. The clamping member 21 is slit by means of a slit extending between a central aperture and an outer surface thereof.

Description

In general the invention relates to the field of coaxial cable connectors and more specifically to a connector that is adapted to receive various sizes of center conductors of a mating component, such as the center conductor of a coaxial cable and/or a center conductor pin of a mating conductor so that a firm electrical connection is established between the connector and the mating component for the connector to function desirably, i.e. with a low transmission loss.
US 3,686,623 , corresponding to GB 1289312 , discloses a connector comprising a body defining a cavity in which a clamping member and a contact member including contractable gripping means for electrically engaging a center conductor of a coaxial cable are arranged. The clamping member is arranged axially movable inside a cavity and the clamping member and the gripping means are provided with cooperating interengaging wedging means adapted to cooperate so as to contract said gripping means in response to an axial displacement of the clamping member.
Further, US 3,879,102 , US 4,280,749 , EP 0915536 and US 3,68,320 disclose connectors provided with cooperating clamping or wedging means adapted to cooperate in order to force a contractable portion of a contact member into electrical engagement with the center conductor of a coaxial cable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a connector establishing a firm electrical connection with a center conductor of a mating component, such as the center conductor of a coaxial cable and/or as center conductor pin of a mating connector.
Another object of the invention is to provide a connector that is adapted to receive various sizes of the center conductor of a mating component.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a compact connector that is capable of providing a firm electrical connection with various sizes of a center conductor of a mating component.
According to the present invention a connector is provided comprising:

a body having a longitudinal axis, at least one open end and defining a cavity in communication with said at least one open end,
a female contact member centrally disposed within said cavity and including an end portion having flexible contractable gripping means for electrically engaging and gripping a center conductor of a mating component and being contractable between an insertion position allowing insertion of the center conductor and a gripping position in which the center conductor is gripped,
a ring-shaped resilient clamping member centrally arranged within said cavity and having a first side and an opposite second side and further having a central aperture for receiving said center conductor and an outer periphery, said clamping member being arranged movably along the axis of the connector body,
wedging means comprising a tapered surface on at least one of said clamping members and the gripping means of said contact member and a cooperating surface on the other of said members, said surfaces being mutually engageable to bring the gripping means into its gripping position and thereby grip said center conductor in response to an applied axial force to provide axial movement of said clamping member relative to said contact member in a securing direction,

Due to the slit of the clamping member, the flexibility thereof is increased so that it may expand when subjected to an axial load bringing the surface of the clamping member into engagement with the surface of the gripping means and flex back to its initial shape when not subjected to an axial load, whereby the clamping member is moved axially in the releasing direction and out of contracting engagement with the gripping means. Thus, the clamping member functions as a kind of spring assisting it in moving it in the releasing direction and out of contracting engagement with the gripping means of the contact member, said gripping means thereby flexing back to its insertion position.
In an embodiment at least one of said first and second sides of the clamping member comprises at least one recess or opening whereby the flexibility of the clamping member is improved.
According to a further embodiment, the slit extends through the at least one recess or opening whereby the flexibility of the clamping member is further improved.
In an embodiment, the tapered surface is provided on the outer surface of the gripping means of the contact member.
According to a further embodiment, the tapered surface is provided on the clamping member as a portion of the aperture thereof adjacent the first surface thereof.
In an embodiment, the cooperating surface is a tapered surface.
Both the clamping member and the contact member can be provided with tapered surfaces, the tapered surfaces preferably having various angles of taper.
The angle of taper of the tapered surface(s) is (are) in the range of 15-90°.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the aperture of the clamping member is provided with a second tapered surface adjacent the second side thereof. The second tapered surface allows for an easy insertion of the center conductor of the mating components through the aperture of the clamping member.
The angle of taper of the second surface is in the range of 15-90°.
According to an embodiment, the slit of the clamping member is shaped so as to widen as seen from the aperture to the periphery thereof.
The slit can be angle-shaped with an angle in the range of 0.5-35°.
In an embodiment of the present invention the clamping member is made of a dielectric material, preferably a plastic material.
In a further embodiment, the gripping means of the contact member comprises a slit end portion thereof defining longitudinal extending flexible fingers.
In an additional embodiment, the mating component is a coaxial cable, the center conductor being the centre conductor thereof.
In a further embodiment, the mating component is a mating connector, the center conductor being a center conductor pin thereof.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the clamping member and the body have interengaging means restricting the axial movement of the clamping member in the releasing direction.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the interengaging means restricts the movement of the clamping member in the releasing direction to a position in which the clamping member essentially contacts the gripping means but is out of contracting engagement with it. Thereby, it is obtained that the gripping means of the contact member will be moved towards its gripping position, essentially as soon as an axial force is applied to the clamping member to move it axially in the securing direction.
Finally according to an embodiment, the interengaging means comprises a protrusion on the outer periphery of the clamping member and an inner abutment face of the body of the connector.
The present invention will now be discussed in more details with reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of the connector according to the invention,
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the connector shown in Fig. 1 connected to a mating connector,
Fig. 3 is a first perspective view of a first embodiment of a clamping member of the connector,
Fig. 4 is a second perspective view of the first embodiment of the clamping member shown in Fig. 3,
Fig. 5. is a sectional view of the clamping member shown in Figs. 3 and 4,
Fig. 6 is a first end view of a second embodiment of a clamping member,
Fig. 7 is a second end view of the clamping member shown in Fig. 6,
Fig. 8 is a side view of the clamping member shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and
Fig. 9 schematically illustrates a transverse sectional view of a connector provided with the clamping member shown in Figs. 6 to 8 and connected to a mating connector.

Fig. 1 discloses an embodiment of a connector according to the invention being a compression connector 1. The connector 1 includes body 2 being essentially cylindrical and having a forward end 3 and a rearward end 4. Further, the body comprises a separate cylindrical body extension 5 at the forward end of the body. The body 2 has an outer surface 6 and an inner surface 7, and similarly the body extension 5 has an outer surface 8 and an inner surface 9. The outer surface 8 of the body extension 5 is of the same diameter as the outer surface 6 of the body 2 at the forward end thereof. The body 2 and the body extension 5 define a cavity 10 with an opening both at the forward end and at the rearward end thereof.
A nut member 11 is arranged rotatably on the outer surface 8 of the body extension 5 and the outer surface 6 of the body 2. A locking ring 12 received in a groove in the outer surface 6 of the body 2 and in a groove in the inner surface 13 of the nut member 11 essentially prevents the nut member 11 from being axially displaced relative to the body 2 and the body extension 5. An inner ledge 14 is provided between the inner surface 13 of the nut member 11 and an inner thread 15 at an open end 16 of the nut member 11, the body extension 5 being retained between the ledge 14 and the front face of the body 2.
A female contact member 17 is disposed essentially within the cavity 10 by means of a support 18. The contact member 17 comprises a forward end portion having flexible contractable gripping means formed by slitting the end portion so as to define longitudinal extending flexible forward fingers 19. The female contact member 17 extends into the rearward end of the cavity 10 defined by the body 2. At the rearward end, the female contact member 17 is longitudinally slit to define flexible rearward fingers 20. The forward fingers 19 are contractable between an insertion position allowing insertion of a center conductor of a mating component and a gripping position, in which the center conductor is gripped. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the mating component is a connector 35 (best seen in Fig. 2), and the center conductor is a conductor pin 36 thereof, as explained in more details below, see Fig.2. Correspondingly, the rearward fingers 20 are contractable between an insertion position allowing insertion of a center conductor of a mating component and a gripping position, in which the center conductor is gripped. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the mating component is a coaxial cable(best seen in Fig. 2), and the center conductor is a center conductor thereof as explained in more details below.
Further, the connector 1 comprises a ring-shaped clamping member 21 centrally arranged within the forward end of the cavity adjacent a forward end of the forward fingers 19. The clamping member 21 is shown in more details in Figs. 3-5. The clamping member 21 is made of a dielectric material, preferably a plastic material, and has a first rearwardly facing side 22 and an opposite second forwardly facing side 23 and further a central aperture 24 dimensioned for receiving the above-mentioned center conductor pin 36 of a mating connector 35. The clamping member 21 is arranged axially movable along the axis of the connector body 2, guided by an inner face 25 of an inwardly extending protrusion 26 of the body extension 5 cooperating with an outer surface 27 of the clamping member 21.
As best seen in Figs. 3-5, the clamping member 21 is slit by means of a slit 28 extending between the central aperture 24 and the outer surface 27 thereof. The slit 28 comprises three recesses 29 formed in the first rearwardly facing side 22 thereof. The slit 28 extends through one of these recesses 29.
As seen in Figs. 1 and 5, the clamping member 21 is provided with a tapered surface 30 tapering forwardly from the first rearwardly facing side 22 thereof and is further provided with an inner rearwardly tapering surface 31 tapering from the second forwardly facing side 23 thereof. The rearwardly tapering surface 31 assists in insertion of the above-mentioned center conductor pin 35 of a mating connector 36 through the aperture 24 of the clamping member.
The inner forwardly tapering surface 30 of the clamping member 21 is adapted to cooperate with an outer forwardly tapering surface 32 of the forward fingers 19 of the female contact member 17 when the clamping member 21 is moved rearwardly in order to bring the forward fingers 19 into their gripping position and thereby grip the center conductor pin 36 in response to an applied axial force to provide said axial movement of said clamping member 21 relative to the contact member 17 in a securing direction. Thus, the inner forwardly tapering surface 30 of the clamping member 21 and the outer forwardly tapering surface 32 of the fingers 19 of the contact member 17 provide wedging means for moving the fingers 19 of the contact member 17 between the insertion position shown in Fig. 1 and the gripping position shown in Fig. 2. Further, it should be noted that the above wedging means is configured so that when the above-mentioned axial force is removed, the clamping member 21 is moved axially in a releasing direction opposite to the above securing direction and out of contracting engagement with the above gripping means, i.e. the fingers 19, which thereby flexes back to its insertion position. It should, however, be noted that it is not necessary that both gripping means, i.e. the fingers 19 of the contact member 17, and the clamping member 21 are provided with a tapered surface. Only one of these members needs to be provided with a tapered surface in order to obtain the said contraction of the gripping means, i.e. the fingers 19 of the contact member 17.
As seen in Fig. 1, the clamping member 21 and the body 2 including the body extension 5 comprise interengaging means restricting the axial movement of the clamping member in the releasing direction. The interengaging means comprises a protrusion 33 on the outer surface 27 of the clamping member 21 and an inner abutment face 34 on the inwardly extending protrusion 26 of the body extension 5. The above interengaging means restricts the movement of the clamping member 21 in the releasing direction to a position, in which the clamping member essentially contacts the gripping means, i.e. the fingers 19, but is out of contracting engagement with it.
Referring now to Fig. 2, it is explained how the connector 1 functions, especially how the contact member 17 cooperates with the fingers 19 of the clamping member 21, when the connector 1 is connected with a mating component formed by a mating connector 35 having a center conductor pin 36 extending beyond an insulator part 37 and being provided with an outer thread 38 adapted to be brought into engagement with the inner thread 15 of the nut member 11.
When the inner thread 15 of the nut member 11 of the connector 1 is screwed onto the outer thread 38, an end face 39 of the mating connector 35 is brought into engagement with the second forwardly facing side 23 of the clamping member 21, thereby moving the clamping member 21 rearwardly. Thereby, the inner forwardly tapering surface 30 of the clamping member 21 is brought into engagement with the outer forwardly tapering surface 32 of the fingers 19 of the contact member 17 so as to contract the fingers and thereby bring them into firm electrical contact with the center conductor pin 36, which has been inserted through the aperture 24 of the clamping member 21 and into the forward end of the contact member 17 formed by the fingers 19. By the above engagement between the tapered surface of the clamping member 21 and the contact member 17, respectively, the clamping member 21 is slightly expanded as the slit thereof is slightly widened, whereby the clamping member 21 is preloaded. If the connector 1 is disconnected from the mating connector 35 the axial force applied by the end face 39 of the mating connector 35 during the connection of the connector 1 to the mating connector 35 is removed. Thereby, the preloading of the clamping member 21 is released. As a result thereof and the configuration of the wedging means, i.e. the inner forwardly tapering surface 30 of the clamping member 21 and the outer forwardly tapering surface 32 of the fingers 19 of the contact member 17, the clamping member 21 is moved in a releasing direction opposite to the securing direction and out of contracting engagement with the gripping means formed by the fingers 19 of the contact member 17, whereby the gripping means, i.e. the fingers 19, flexes back to its insertion position. As mentioned above, the forward movement of the clamping member 21 in the releasing direction is restricted by the abutment of the protrusion 33 of the clamping member 21 against the abutment face 34 of the body extension 5. The connector 1 can now be connected to another mating connector having a center conductor pin of a different size than the center conductor pin 36 of the connector 35, i.e. a mating connector having a smaller or larger center conductor pin than the center conductor pin 36.
Reference is now made to Figs. 6-8 disclosing a second embodiment of a clamping member 40, which essentially only differs from clamping member 21 shown in Figs. 3-5 in that it is provided with a slit 41 tapering from an outer surface 42 to an inner aperture 43 thereof.
Fig. 9 illustrates a transverse sectional view of the conductor shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and wherein the clamping member 40 shown in Figs. 6-8 has been used instead of the clamping member 21 shown in Figs. 1-5. In Fig. 9, it can be seen that the clamping member 40 has been slightly expanded and slit 41 thereby slightly opened when moved rearwardly to contract the gripping fingers 19 of the contact member 17.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the embodiment of the connector 1 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 further comprises a compression sleeve 44 being in engagement with the rearward end 4 of the body 2 by means of an interference fit and having a rearwardly open end 45. A second clamping member 46 similar to that shown in Figs. 1-5 or Figs. 6-9 is arranged adjacent the rearward fingers 20 of the contact member 17. A compressive clamp 47 and an elastomer sealing 48 are arranged in an interior of the compression sleeve 44 between the second clamping member 46 and a bottom part 49 of the compression sleeve 44. The rearward fingers 20 are adapted to receive the center conductor of a prepared coaxial cable inserted through the open end 45 of the compression sleeve 44, a central spiral corrugated bore 50 of the clamp 47 and an aperture 51 of the second clamping member 46.
In order to connect the coaxial cable, not shown, to the connector 1, the compression sleeve 44 is moved forwardly, whereby the second clamping member 46 is moved forwardly so as to contract the fingers 20 to bring them into firm electrical contact with the center conductor of the coaxial cable. By the forward movement of the central spiral corrugated bore 50, the clamp 47 is brought into firm electrical contact with a corresponding central spiral corrugated bore outer conductor layer of the coaxial cable and the elastomer sealing 48 brought into sealing contact with an outer jacket of the coaxial cable.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to the details disclosed herein could be developed, while the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appending claims and equivalence thereof.

List of reference numbers

1: Connector
2: Body
3: Forward end
4: Rearward end
5: Body extension
6: Outer surface of body 2
7: Inner surface of body 2
8: Outer surface of body extension 5
9: Inner surface of body extension 5
10: Cavity
11: Nut member
12: Locking ring
13: Inner surface of nut member 11 I
14: Inner ledge of nut member 11 I
15: Inner thread of nut member 11 I
16: Open end of nut member 11 I
17: Female contact member
18: Support
19: Forward fingers
20: Rearward fingers
21: Clamping member
22: First, rearwardly facing side
23: Second, forwardly facing side
24: Central aperture
25: Inner face of inwardly protrusion
26: Protrusion
27: Outer surface of clamping member 21
28: Slit
29: Recesses
30: Inner forwardly tapering surface of clamping member 21
31: Rearwardly tapering surface of clamping member 21 1
32: Outer forwardly tapering surface of fingers 19
33: Protrusion on clamping member 21
34: Inner abutment face on body extension 5
35: Mating connector
36: Center conductor pin
37: Insulator part
38: Outer thread
39: End face of mating connector 35
40: Second embodiment of a clamping member
41: Slit of second embodiment of clamping member
42: Outer surface
43: Inner aperture
44: Compression sleeve
45: Open end of compression sleeve 44
46: Second clamping member
47: Compression clamp
48: Elastomer sealing
49: Bottom part
50: central spiral corrugated bore
51: Aperture of second clamping member 46

Claims

Connector comprising:
- a body having a longitudinal axis, at least one open end and defining a cavity in communication with said at least one open end,

- a female contact member centrally disposed within said cavity and including an end portion having flexible contractable gripping means for electrically engaging and gripping a center conductor of a mating component and being contractable between an insertion position allowing insertion of the center conductor and a gripping position in which the center conductor is gripped,

- a ring-shaped resilient clamping member centrally arranged within said cavity and having a first side and an opposite second side and further having a central aperture for receiving said center conductor and an outer periphery, said clamping member being arranged movably along the axis of the connector body,

- wedging means comprising a tapered surface on at least one of said clamping members and the gripping means of said contact member and a cooperating surface on the other of said members, said surfaces being mutually engageable to bring the gripping means into its gripping position and thereby grip said center conductor in response to an applied axial force to provide axial movement of said clamping member relative to said contact member in a securing direction,
and wherein said clamping member is slit by means of a slit extending between the central aperture and the periphery thereof, the wedging means is configured so that when said axial force is removed, the clamping member is moved axially in a releasing direction opposite to the securing direction and out of contracting engagement with the gripping means, which thereby flexes back to its insertion position.
Conductor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of said first and second sides of the clamping member comprises at least one recess or opening.
Conductor according to claim 2, wherein the slit extends through the at least one recess or opening.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the tapered surface is provided on the outer surface of the gripping means of the contact member.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the tapered surface is provided on the clamping member as a portion of the aperture thereof adjacent the first surface thereof.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cooperating surface is a tapered surface.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the aperture of the clamping member is provided with a second tapered surface adjacent the second surface thereof.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the slit of the clamping member is shaped so as to widen as seen from the aperture to the periphery thereof.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the clamping member is made of a dielectric material, preferably a plastic material.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the gripping means of the contact member comprises a slit end portion thereof defining longitudinal extending flexible fingers.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the mating component is a coaxial cable, the center conductor being the centre conductor thereof.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the mating component is a mating connector, the center conductor being a center conductor pin thereof.
Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the clamping member and the body have interengaging means restricting the axial movement of the clamping member in the releasing direction.
Connector according to claim 13, wherein the interengaging means restricts the movement of the clamping member in the releasing direction to a position in which the clamping member essentially contacts the gripping means but it out of contracting engagement with it.
Connector according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the interengaging means comprises a protrusion on the outer periphery of the clamping member and an inner abutment face of the body of the connector.