ELECTRICAL CABLE TERMINATING AND GROUNDING CONNECTOR

• US 3,739,076 A
• Filed: 04/17/1972
• Issued: 06/12/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: R. Kern Engineering & Manufacturing Corp.
• Original Assignee: Lawrence Schwartz
• Inventors: Schwartz, Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Askin, Laramie E.
• Application Number:
  US05/244,810
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 174/35C,65R,65SS,75C,77R,78,88C,89 339/14R,14L,89R,89M,94R,94A,94C,94M,13R,13C,177R,177E,255RT
• US Class Current: 174/78
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/648 Protective earth or shield arrangements on coupling devices , e.g. anti-static shielding coaxially arranged shields H01R24/38

Abstract

A terminating and grounding connector for electrical cables and the like. The connector includes a housing and an end member screw threadedly mounted on said housing. A resilient annular electrically conductive coil spring is mounted between adjacent portions of the housing and end member. As the end member is rotatably threaded toward the housing, an inwardly directed annular bevel engages the spring and moves it inwardly toward an electrically shielded portion of the cable. The spring is compressed circumferentially so that its inner periphery makes electrical grounding contact with the shielded portion of the cable. In an alternative embodiment, a plurality of separate shields from the interior of a cable are passed through and held between the coils of the spring.

Claims

1. A terminating connector for an electrical cable, said connector including a housing and an end member connected to said housing and mounted for longitudinal movement with respect to said housing, said connector having an open center adapted to receive a cable, a resilient annular electrically conductive spring mounted within said connector between said housing and end member, an annular spacer mounted adjacent to the side of said spring remote from said housing, a resilient annular O-ring mounted between said spacer and said end member, a first inwardly directed annular bevel formed on a portion of said connector directly adjacent to said spring and a second inwardly directed annular bevel formed on a portion of said connector directly adjacent to said O-ring, said end member adapted to be moved longitudinally toward said housing to compress said spring and Oring simultaneously, said spring being adapted to engage a shielded portion of the cable to electrically ground the cable and said O-ring being adapted to engage an insulated portion of the cable to form an environmental seal around the periphery of the cable.

2. The structure described in claim 1, said first bevel being formed on one end of said housing and said second bevel being formed on a portion of said end member.

3. The structure described in claim 1, both said first and second bevels being formed on opposite sides of said spacer.

4. The structure described in claim 1, said spring and O-ring being interchangeable with each other.

5. The structure described in claim 1, and interengaging means between said end member and housing for holding said end member in connected relationship to said housing with said spring, spacer and O-ring mounted therein prior to installation of said connector on a cable.

6. The structure described in claim 5, and a second O-ring mounted in a pair of grooves formed in overlapping portions of said housing and end member, said O-ring acting to hold said end member in connected and assembled relationship to said housing prior to installation of said connector on a cable.

7. The structure described in claim 6, said end member having an unthreaded portion disposed adjacent to the groove holding said second O-ring, said unthreaded portion adapted upon longitudinal movement of said end member toward said housing to compress said second O-ring and provide an environmental seal between said housing and end member.

8. The connector described in claim 1 in combination with a cable shield having a plurality of separate leads, said leads being bent back to extend between and be gripped by the coils of said spring.