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United States Patent	3,659,251
Fish	April 25, 1972

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Current U.S. Class:	439/607.47 ; 174/87; 174/92; 439/906
Current International Class:	H01R 13/516 (20060101); H01r 013/34 (); H01r 013/46 ()
Field of Search:	339/14R,14P,14L,88,89,90,103,107,136,141,143,177R,177E,208 174/87,88,92,93 285/373,419

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References Cited

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U.S. Patent Documents

2286952	June 1942	Cannon et al.
2737543	March 1956	Irwin et al.
2829358	April 1958	Testori
3078436	February 1963	Berry
3037069	May 1962	Wilson
1959442	May 1934	Paulson

Primary Examiner: Champion; Marvin A.
Assistant Examiner: Staab; Lawrence J.

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Claims

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I claim:

1. In an adapter for an electrical cable and connector, the combination of:

a connector sleeve having one end for fastening to an electrical connector;

a cable sleeve having one end for fastening to an electrical cable;

each of said sleeves having another end for engaging a shell;

a tubular shell comprising a plurality of shell sections and including means at each end for engaging a sleeve other end, said sections having abutting surfaces with interengaging ridges and grooves, said sections and said sleeves having abutting surfaces with interengaging ridges and grooves; and

first and second coupling means for joining said shell with each of said sleeves;

with said shell enclosing a space for the conductors of an electrical cable and with said shell sections being separable from said sleeves providing access to said space, and

with the ends of said shell sections having a diminishing taper, with said shell sections disposed about end portions of said sleeves, and

with each of said coupling means comprising a nut threadedly engaging the corresponding sleeve and having an inner tapered zone mating with said shell section ends for compressing said shell sections onto the sleeve.

2. An adapter as defined in claim 1 in which said shell sections and said sleeves have interengaging pins and notches for rotational alignment of said sections and sleeves.

3. In an adapter for an electrical cable and connector, the combination of:

a connector sleeve having one end for fastening to an electrical connector;

a cable sleeve having one end for fastening to an electrical cable;

each of said sleeves having another end for engaging a shell;

a tubular shell comprising a plurality of shell sections and including means at each end for engaging a sleeve other end, said sections having abutting surfaces with interengaging ridges and grooves, said sections and said sleeves having abutting surfaces with interengaging ridges and grooves; and

first and second coupling means for joining said shell with each of said sleeves;

with said shell enclosing a space for the conductors of an electrical cable and with said shell sections being separable from said sleeves providing access to said space; and said cable sleeve including:

a first member having an outwardly tapering opening;

a second member having an inwardly tapering end positioned within said first member; and

a third member threadedly engaging said first member for urging said tapering end into said tapering opening for clamping the metal braid of a cable therebetween.

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Description

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This invention relates to electrical cable terminations and to adapter structures for use where a cable is joined to an electrical connector.

A cable typically comprises a large number of individual insulated wire conductors, all enclosed in a wire braid for electromagnetic shielding and a cover or sheath for mechanical protection. A variety of cable constructions are in use today, with one type having an extruded plastic or rubber sheath over the wire braid and with another type having a corrugated metal helix over or under the wire braid. Adapters as presently used provide for a mechanical connection to the outer cover or sheath and a mechanical and electrical connection to the wire braid. The adapters also provide a mechanical connection to the electrical connector, with the individual conductors of the cable electrically connected to individual pins or receptacles in the connector. The adapter provides the electrical ground connection from the braid of the cable to the electrical connector and also provides the mechanical connection so that there is no strain on the electrical connection of the conductors to the connector pins.

From time to time, it becomes necessary to inspect, check and/or change the electrical connections between the cable conductors and the connector pins. The adapter has to be opened to provide access and in the conventional adapters this also requires disturbing the connections to the wire braid and to the outer cover of the cable. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved adapter which provides all the functions of the conventional adapter and also provides access to the conductor terminations for checking or change, in the shop or in the field, without having to disturb any portion of the cable or shield or terminations or connections. A further object is to provide such an adapter having electromagnetic shielding equal to or superior to that of the cable being used with the adapter.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide an adapter having a shell which is readily removed and replaced without disturbing the cable or its conductors. A further object is to provide such an adapter which may be used with the various types of cables and connectors presently available and which may have various configurations including straight and angular forms.

The invention contemplates an adapter with a sleeve at one end for fastening to an electrical cable and a sleeve at the other end for fastening to an electrical connector, with the sleeves joined by a shell having a plurality of sections, with the cable conductors passing through the space within the shell and with the shell sections readily removed. Other objects, advantages, features and results will more fully appear in the course of the following description. The drawing merely shows and the description merely describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention which is given by way of illustration or example.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, showing a cable and connector assembly incorporating a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing portions of the adapter removed providing access to the conductors of the cable;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 showing a right angle adapter.

The cable assembly of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 includes an electrical connector 10, and adapter 11, and a cable 12. The connector 10 may be any of the presently available connectors and the embodiment illustrated includes a housing 14 with an externally threaded section 15 for attachment to the adapter 11. A body 16 of insulating material is positioned within the housing 14 and carries a plurality of conducting pins 17.

The cable 12 may be any of the presently available electrical cables and in the embodiment illustrated, includes a plurality of insulated electrical conductors 20 enclosed in a woven wire braid 21 which in turn is covered by an extruded plastic sheath 22.

The adapter 11 includes a connector sleeve 25 and a cable sleeve 26. A shell formed of shell sections 27, 28 is positioned between the sleeves 25, 26. The shell sections 27, 28 are semicylindrical in shape and meet at abutting surfaces as indicated at 29, 30 in FIG. 3. At each abutment, one of the abutting surfaces is provided with a groove 31 and the other abutting surface is provided with a mating ridge 32.

One end of the sleeve 25 has an internally threaded section 35 for engagement with the threaded section 15 of the connector 10. The other end of the sleeve 25 has an annular groove 36 for receiving annular ridges 37 of the shell sections 27, 28. The shell sections 27, 28 are fastened to the sleeve 25 by a lock nut 40 threadedly carried on the sleeve 25. The ends of the shell sections are preferably tapered as indicated at 41 (FIG. 2) and the nut 40 has a corresponding taper to provide a wedging action for clamping the shell sections in position as the nut is advanced to the right as viewed in FIG. 1. Wrench flats 43 may be provided on the sleeve 25 if desired.

The other ends of the shell sections and the cable sleeve 26 are similarly constructed, with the shell sections being fastened to the sleeve by another lock nut 42.

The inner ends of the sleeves 25, 26 preferably are provided with a plurality of notches 45 and each of the shell sections 27, 28 carries a pin 46 adjacent each end for positioning in a notch 45 to provide rotational alignment for the parts.

The configuration of the cable end of the sleeve 26 will depend upon the particular type of cable with which the adapter is to be used. In the embodiment illustrated, a clamp 50 is threaded onto a boss 51. A ring 52 with a tapered inner end is positioned within a correspondingly tapered opening in the sleeve 26, with the ring being held in position by the clamp 50.

In making an installation, the clamp 50 and the ring 52 are slid onto the cable 12. A portion of the outer cover 22 of the cable adjacent the end of the cable is removed exposing the braid 21. A portion of the braid adjacent the end of the cable is removed and another portion of the braid is folded back over the ring 52, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The lock nut 42 and the sleeve 26 are now positioned on the cable with the end of the braid and the ring 52 within the sleeve 26. The clamp 50 is threaded onto the sleeve 26, clamping the braid between the ring 52 and the end 51 of the sleeve 26. The screws 56 are then tightened to clamp the cable 12 to the clamp member 50.

The sleeve 25 and the locking nut 40 are now positioned over the cable and the individual conductors 20 of the cable are soldered, crimped or welded to the pins 17 of the connector 10. The sleeve 25 is then threaded onto the portion 15 of the connector 10, resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 2.

In the next step, the shell sections 27, 28 are positioned on the sleeve 25, 26 as shown in FIG. 1 and the nuts 40, 42 are advanced to engage the shell sections and clamp them onto the sleeves, to provide the complete adapter of FIG. 1.

The cable assembly of FIG. 1 provides an electrical connection from the braid 21 of the cable through the metal parts of the adapter to the housing 12 of the connector thereby maintaining the ground circuit for the cable. The adapter provides a complete mechanical enclosure for the conductors 20 and provides shielding for electromagnetic radiation. The mating groove and ridge construction for the abutting surfaces of the shell and for the junction of the shells and sleeves provides a superior electromagnetic shield. Radiation tests have shown that the shielding provided by the adapter construction is superior to that of the cable so that no degradation in performance occurs through use of the adapter. The adapter construction provides a rigid mechanical structure from the cable at the clamp 50 to the connector 10 thereby preventing any strain on the connection between the cable conductors and the connector pins.

When access to the conductors of the cable is desired for testing or inspection or for changing conductor connections to the pins, the shell sections are readily removed by backing off the nuts 40, 42. The shell sections are then lifted off, as illustrated in FIG. 2, providing access to the conductors with a sizeable working space and without disturbing the clamping of the braid or of the cable itself at the right end of the structure. After the shell sections are removed, the sleeve 25 may be disengaged from the connector and moved to the right, making the pin and conductor joints available.

With the unique adapter of the present invention, only two removable parts are required, these being the two shell sections. Of course, the shell could be made in three or more sections if desired, particularly where larger diameter units are being employed.

The adapter of FIGS. 1-3 has a cylindrical configuration, but other configurations will readily come to mind and the invention is equally applicable thereto. A right angle configuration is illustrated in FIG. 4 incorporating shell sections 60, 61. The connector 10, sleeves 25, 26, coupling nuts 40, 42, clamp 50 and ring 52 of the cable assembly of FIG. 4 are the same as those of the cable assembly of FIGS. 1-3. The shell sections 60, 61 have the same construction at each end as the shell sections 27, 28, and differ only in having right angle bends intermediate the ends. The right angle unit of FIG. 4 is installed in the same manner as the straight unit of FIGS. 1-3, and the shell sections are removed for access in the same manner.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and discussed, it will be understood other applications of the invention are possible and that the embodiments disclosed may be subjected to various changes, modifications and substitutions without necessarily departing from the spirit of the invention.

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