DRY MATE CONNECTOR
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A connector apparatus, comprising:
- a first connector unit having a rear end, a forward end, and a first contact housing body with a forward end face;
a second connector unit releasably mateable with the first connector unit and having a rear end, a forward end, and a second contact housing body with a forward end face;
one of the connector units having a cavity extending from the forward end and the other connector unit having a forward end portion which engages in the cavity in a mated condition of the units;
each contact housing body having at least one forwardly facing contact for communication with a respective at least one contact of the other contact housing body to form at least one contact junction in the mated condition;
an elastomeric seal assembly in the first connector unit having a through bore aligned with the at least one forwardly facing contact of the first connector unit;
the forward end face of each contact housing body having an annular projection which surrounds the at least one respective contact, the annular projection on the first contact housing body extending into an inner end of the through bore in the elastomeric seal assembly and being in sealing engagement with said through bore.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A dry-mate connector has nipples on the front or mating side of the electrical conductors on both the plug and receptacle units which cooperate with an elastomeric seal on the mating end of one of the units to provide an individual seal around each electrical circuit in the mated condition. In a hybrid version of the connector, an optical contact assembly is provided in each unit which has a multi-fiber ferrule at the mating end of the assembly, allowing a high contact density to be achieved in a relatively small space.
39 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A connector apparatus, comprising:
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a first connector unit having a rear end, a forward end, and a first contact housing body with a forward end face; a second connector unit releasably mateable with the first connector unit and having a rear end, a forward end, and a second contact housing body with a forward end face; one of the connector units having a cavity extending from the forward end and the other connector unit having a forward end portion which engages in the cavity in a mated condition of the units; each contact housing body having at least one forwardly facing contact for communication with a respective at least one contact of the other contact housing body to form at least one contact junction in the mated condition; an elastomeric seal assembly in the first connector unit having a through bore aligned with the at least one forwardly facing contact of the first connector unit; the forward end face of each contact housing body having an annular projection which surrounds the at least one respective contact, the annular projection on the first contact housing body extending into an inner end of the through bore in the elastomeric seal assembly and being in sealing engagement with said through bore. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A connector apparatus, comprising:
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a first connector unit having a forward end and a rear end; a second connector unit having a forward end and a rear end and which is releasably mateable with the first connector unit; each connector unit having a central through bore; a first optical contact assembly movably mounted in the central through bore of the first connector unit and movable between an extended position in an unmated condition of the connector units and a retracted position in a mated condition of the connector units; a second optical contact assembly secured in the central through bore of the second connector unit; a biasing device in the central through bore of the first connector unit acting on the first optical contact assembly and biasing the first optical contact assembly into the extended position; a first multi-fiber ferrule mounted at a forward end of the first optical contact assembly and a second multi-fiber ferrule mounted at a forward end of the second optical contact assembly for mating engagement with the first multi-fiber ferrule in the mated condition of the connector units; a plurality of optical fibers extend from the respective ferrules through the central through bore of the respective connector unit; one of the connector units having a recess extending inwardly from the forward end for receiving the forward end of the other connector unit in the mated condition of the connector units; the connector units together forming a contact chamber surrounding the mated optical ferrules in the mated condition; and at least one seal member on one of the connector units which forms a seal between the connector units in the mated condition and which seals the optical contact chamber. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A connector apparatus, comprising:
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a first unit having a through bore and a first optical contact assembly movably mounted in the through bore for movement between an advanced and retracted position, the first optical contact assembly having a forward end face; a second unit which is releasably mateable with the first unit, the second unit having a through bore and a second optical contact assembly mounted in the through bore and having a forward end face for face-to-face engagement with the forward end face of the first optical contact assembly when the units are in a mated condition; the forward end face of each optical contact assembly having at least one optical contact for engagement with corresponding contact in the end face of the other optical contact assembly when the units are mated; and a biasing device mounted in the through bore in the first unit which biases the first optical contact assembly towards the advanced position; a first seal member mounted between opposing portions of the first optical contact assembly and through bore and forming a sliding seal between the opposing portions as the first optical contact assembly moves between the advanced and retracted positions; and the through bore in the first unit having a step in diameter forming a first stepped face and the first optical contact assembly having an outer surface with a corresponding step in diameter forming a second stepped face which faces the first stepped face, a back-up face seal member mounted in one of the stepped faces and which provides a back-up seal on exposure of the first unit to external pressure in an unmated condition, and the stepped faces being spaced apart in normal operation of the connector apparatus; whereby the face seal member comprises a back up seal which backs up the first seal member. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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44. A connector apparatus, comprising:
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a first connector unit having a rear end, a forward end, and a first contact housing body with a forward end face; a second connector unit releasably mateable with the first connector unit and having a rear end, a forward end, and a second contact housing body with a forward end face; one of the connector units having a cavity extending from the forward end and the other connector unit having a forward end portion which engages in the cavity in a mated condition of the units; each contact housing body having a central optical contact assembly, and a plurality of electrical contacts projecting from the forward end face arranged in a ring around the optical contact assembly which engage with electrical contacts in the other contact housing body to form a plurality of electrical contact junctions in the mated condition; and an elastomeric seal assembly positioned between the contact housing bodies in the mated condition of the connector units, the seal assembly providing a separate, individual sealed chamber around each electrical contact junction in the mated condition of the connector units. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification