Connector for high pressure environment

• US 6,439,899 B1
• Filed: 12/12/2001
• Issued: 08/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bunke, Carl Rodney, Muzslay, Steven Zoltan
• Primary Examiner(s): Bradley, P. Austin
• Assistant Examiner(s): GUSHI, ROSS N
• Application Number:
  US10/020,383
• Time in Patent Office: 258 Days
• Field of Search: 439/98, 439/92, 439/95, 439/96, 439/97, 439/101, 439/108, 439/271-277, 439/278-283, 439/587, 439/588, 439/589, 439/604, 439/606, 439/936
• US Class Current: 439/98
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/5216 characterised by the sealing material, e.g. gels or resins
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/533 Bases, cases made for use in extreme conditions, e.g. high temperature, radiation, vibration, corrosive environment, pressure H01R13/52 takes precedence
• 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 connector is provided for connecting to a device in a high pressure environment, wherein a front portion of the connector body is inserted into a passage of the device so contacts mate, and a nut is screwed into the threaded rear end of the passage until the nut front end presses against a shoulder on the body to press an elastomeric portion of the body against a ledge of the device to seal thereagainst. A grounded wire has its front end crimped to a grounding terminal. A finger on the grounding terminal extends radially through a portion of the body to the outside of the body, the finger being bent and engaging a smooth inner surface on the nut. One connector is formed of an elastomeric front member and a hard plastic rear member that is overmolded to the front member and to a quantity of potting material, the attachment portion of the grounding terminal being molded in the hard plastic rear member. In another connector, only a single hard plastic molded member is used, with the grounding terminal held in the potting material and an elastomeric washer being used for sealing to the ledge.

Claims

1. A high pressure connector for connecting to device contacts of a high pressure device and sealing to the device, the device having walls forming a connector-receiving passage with a metal threaded outer portion, the connector including a connector body having an axis and having a body front mating part with a plurality of connector contacts therein, a body middle part that lies in said passage outer portion and a body rear part that extends rearward of said body middle part, including a plurality of wire-and-contact assemblies that extend forwardly through said body and include connector contacts lying in said body front mating part and including a ground wire with a ground conductor, said body includes an elastomeric seal part that presses against said device, and said connector includes an electrically conductive nut that threadably engages said threaded outer portion and presses said seal part against said device, wherein:

said connector includes a ground terminal that connects to said ground wire at a location within said body rear part, said ground terminal having a finger that projects largely radially through said body rear part and that has a finger outer part that lies outside said body rear part;

said nut having an inner surface that moves around said finger outer part and makes contact with said finger outer part as well as with said casing.

2. The connector described in claim 1 wherein:

said body includes an integral molded elastomeric member that includes said body front mating part and said elastomeric seal part and an internal sleeve portion that forms part of said body rear part, said body rear part also including a shell member of rigid polymer material with a front portion that surrounds said internal sleeve portion, said shell member having a shell member rear portion;

said internal sleeve portion of said elastomeric member has an open rear end; and

including

a quantity of potting material that lies in said internal sleeve portion and that forms a seal around said main wires;

said shell member is overmolded around said internal sleeve portion and against a rear end of said potting material and said shell member rear portion is solid and extends rearward of said internal sleeve portion.

3. The connector described in claim 1 wherein:

said body front mating part and said body rear part, are integrally molded of rigid engineering polymer and form a forwardly-facing shoulder;

said elastomeric seal part of said body, includes a ring of elastomeric material that lies against said forwardly-facing shoulder.

4. The connector described in claim 1 wherein:

said body rear part includes a sleeve-shaped shell wall centered on said axis, said shell wall having a through hole therein extending largely perpendicular to said axis and of larger width than said ground terminal finger to easily project said finger therethrough;

said connector body includes a quantity of potting material which fills said sleeve-shaped shell wall to a location rearward of said through hole and that encapsulates a part of said ground terminal that lies within said shell wall but not a part of said finger that lies outside said shell wall.

5. A high pressure connector for mating with a high pressure device that has a rearwardly-opening device passage with a small diameter device front passage end, an internally threaded larger diameter device rear passage end, and a rearwardly-facing ledge lying between said passage ends, comprising:

a connector body that includes a mating body front part that fits in said device passage front end and that has a plurality of contact-holding bores, a middle body part lying rearward of said mating body part and lying in said device passage rear part, and a rear body part that extend rearward of said middle body part;

said middle body part forming an annular forwardly-facing shoulder lying in line with said ledge and forming an annular rearwardly-facing shoulder lying rearward of said forwardly-facing shoulder;

said body including an elastomeric portion that directly engages said ledge;

a nut that lies around said body rear part, said nut having an external thread for threadably engaging said device passage threaded rear end;

a metal washer that lies against said rearwardly-facing shoulder of said body middle part, said nut having a front end for pressing forwardly against said metal washer as said nut is threaded into said device passage threaded rear end;

a plurality of main wire-and-contact assemblies that each extends forwardly through said body rear part and middle part and into said contact-holding bores;

said rear body portion is in the form of a shell with an open rear end;

a quantity of potting material that fills at least said shell and lies around said main wire-and-contact assemblies, except for front parts of said main wire-and-contact assemblies;

said mating body part, middle body part, and shell are all molded integrally of a rigid polymer, and said elastomeric portion of said body is a separate elastomeric member that lies against said middle body part forwardly-facing shoulder.

6. The connector described in claim 5 wherein:

said connector body has an axis and said nut has a largely cylindrical inner surface; and

including

a ground wire that extends forwardly into said shell;

a ground terminal that has a first part that is terminated to said ground wire and that has a finger that extends through said shell wall and that has a projecting finger part lying outside said shell and is radially inwardly deflectable by said nut to engage said nut inner surface.

7. The connector described in claim 5 wherein:

said rigid polymer has a hole therein through which said finger extends, said hole being sufficiently larger than said projecting finger part so said projecting finger part can be slid through said hole.

9. The connector described in claim 5 wherein:

said connector body has an axis and said nut has a largely cylindrical inner surface; and

including

a ground wire that extends forwardly into said shell part;

a ground terminal that has a first part that is terminated to said ground wire and that has a finger that extends through a wall of said shell part and that has a projecting finger part lying outside said shell part and being radially inwardly deflectable by said nut to engage said nut inner surface, at least said first part of said ground terminal being encapsulated in said molded polymer material.

8. A high pressure connector for mating with a high pressure device that has a rearwardly-opening device passage with a small diameter device front passage end, an internally threaded larger diameter device rear passage end, and a rearwardly-facing ledge lying between said passage ends, comprising:

a connector body that includes a mating body front part that fits in said device passage front end, said body front part having a plurality of contact-holding bores, a body middle part lying rearward of said body front part and lying in said device passage rear end, and a body rear part that extends rearward of said body middle part;

said body middle part forming an annular forwardly-facing shoulder lying in line with said ledge and forming an annular rearwardly-facing shoulder lying rearward of said forwardly-facing shoulder;

said body including an elastomeric portion that directly engages said ledge;

a nut that lies around said body rear part, said nut having an external threaded part for threadably engaging said device passage threaded rear end;

a metal washer that lies against said rearwardly-facing shoulder of said body middle part, said nut having a front part for pressing forwardly against said metal washer as said nut is threaded into said device passage threaded rear end part;

a plurality of main wire-and-contact assemblies that each extends forwardly through said body rear part and middle part and into said contact-holding bores;

said elastomeric portion is part of said body middle part, and said body front part and at least a front portion of said middle body middle part including said elastomeric portion are integrally molded of elastomeric material to form a front elastomeric member, said front elastomeric member also including an internal sleeve part with a rearwardly-open rear end that lies rearward of said body front part;

a quantity of potting material that lies in said internal sleeve part and that surrounds and seals to said main wire-and-contact assemblies;

said rear body part is molded of rigid polymer material around said internal sleeve part of said front elastomeric member and against a rear end of said potting material, and said rear body part includes an integrally molded rear end that extends rearward of said internal sleeve part and potting material and that surrounds wires of said main wire-and-contact assemblies.

10. A combination of a high pressure connector and a high pressure device that receives and connects to contacts of the connector, wherein the high pressure device has passage walls forming a rearwardly-opening device passage with a small diameter device front passage part, an internally threaded larger diameter device rear passage part, and a rearwardly-facing ledge between said passage parts, wherein:

said connector has a body with an axis and a forwardmost mating body front part that lies in said device passage front part, said connector has a plurality of contacts that lie in said body front part and engage contacts of said high pressure device, said body has a body middle part that lies in said device rear passage part, said body has an elastomeric part that lies against said ledge and said body has a body rear part;

said connector has a nut with external threads that screws into said threaded device rear passage part and that presses said body middle part forwardly, said nut having a smooth internal surface;

said connector has an electrically grounded finger that lies on the outside of said rear body part, said nut internal surface engaging said finger and sliding around said finger as said nut is turned.

11. The combination described in claim 10 wherein:

said finger has a radial thickness and has a circumferential width that is a plurality of times greater than said thickness.

12. A method for connecting a high pressure connector to a high pressure device that has passage walls forming a front passage part, an internally threaded larger diameter device rear passage part that opens rearwardly, and a rearwardly-facing ledge between said passage parts, comprising:

pushing a connector body partially into said device passage parts, including inserting a front mating part of the body into said device front passage part while mating device contacts engage contacts of said connector, until an elastomeric portion of said body rest on said ledge and a middle part of said body which has a rearwardly-facing body shoulder lies in said device rear passage part;

moving a nut forward around said body and against a rear end of said passage walls and turning said nut to thread it into said internally threaded device rear passage part while pressing forwardly against a metal washer that lies on said rearwardly-facing body shoulder to compress said elastomeric portion against said ledge;

establishing an electrically grounded finger in extension largely forwardly from an outside of said body at a location rearward of said rearwardly-facing body shoulder;

said step of moving a nut forwardly and turning said nut includes sliding an internal surface of said nut across said finger.