Continuity maintaining biasing member
DCFirst Claim
1. A coaxial cable connector comprising:
- a post having a flange, the post configured to receive a center conductor surrounded by a dielectric of a coaxial cable;
a coupling element configured to engage the post and axially move between a first position, where the coupling element is partially tightened on an interface port, and a second position, where the coupling element is fully tightened on the interface port, the second position being axially spaced from the first position, the coupling element including an inward lip and also including a biasing contact surface facing a rearward direction; and
a connector body configured to engage the coaxial cable when the connector is in the assembled state, the connector body including;
a resilient biasing structure extending from the body, wherein the resilient biasing structure is configured to contact the biasing contact surface of the coupling element when the connector is in the assembled state; and
an annular groove configured to allow the resilient biasing structure to deflect along the axial direction and exert a biasing force against the biasing contact surface of the coupling element sufficient to axially move the inward lip of the coupling element toward the flange of the post when the coupling element axially moves between the first position, where the coupling element is partially tightened on the interface port, and the second position, where the coupling element is fully tightened on the interface port, and at least until the post contacts the interface port, so as to improve electrical grounding continuity between the coupling element and the post even when the coupling element is not fully tightened relative to the interface port.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A post having a first end, a second end, and a flange proximate the second end, wherein the post is configured to receive a center conductor surrounded by a dielectric of a coaxial cable, a connector body attached to the post, a coupling element attached to the post, the coupling element having a first end a second end, and a biasing member disposed within a cavity formed between the first end of the coupling element and the connector body to bias the coupling element against the post is provided. Moreover, a connector body having a biasing element, wherein the biasing element biases the coupling element against the post, is further provided. Furthermore, associated methods are also provided.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A coaxial cable connector comprising:
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a post having a flange, the post configured to receive a center conductor surrounded by a dielectric of a coaxial cable; a coupling element configured to engage the post and axially move between a first position, where the coupling element is partially tightened on an interface port, and a second position, where the coupling element is fully tightened on the interface port, the second position being axially spaced from the first position, the coupling element including an inward lip and also including a biasing contact surface facing a rearward direction; and a connector body configured to engage the coaxial cable when the connector is in the assembled state, the connector body including; a resilient biasing structure extending from the body, wherein the resilient biasing structure is configured to contact the biasing contact surface of the coupling element when the connector is in the assembled state; and an annular groove configured to allow the resilient biasing structure to deflect along the axial direction and exert a biasing force against the biasing contact surface of the coupling element sufficient to axially move the inward lip of the coupling element toward the flange of the post when the coupling element axially moves between the first position, where the coupling element is partially tightened on the interface port, and the second position, where the coupling element is fully tightened on the interface port, and at least until the post contacts the interface port, so as to improve electrical grounding continuity between the coupling element and the post even when the coupling element is not fully tightened relative to the interface port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for improving electrical continuity through a coaxial cable connector, the method comprising:
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positioning a post, so that at least a portion of the post surrounds a center conductor of a coaxial cable and also surrounds a dielectric surrounding the center conductor of the coaxial cable, wherein the post includes a flange; coaxially positioning a coupling element so as to rotate with respect to the post, wherein the coupling element includes an inward lip and a biasing contact surface facing a rearward axial direction away from the flange of the post, when the connector is in an assembled state; coaxially positioning a connector body to engage the post, the coupling element, and the coaxial cable when the connector is in an assembled state, the connector body including; a resilient biasing structure extending from the body so as to contact the biasing contact surface of the coupling element when the connector is in the assembled state; and an annular groove configured to allow the resilient biasing structure to deflect along the axial direction and exert a biasing force against the biasing contact surface of the coupling element sufficient to axially move the inward lip of the coupling element toward the flange of the post; and axially moving the coupling element between a first position, where the coupling element is partially tightened on an interface port, and a second position, where the coupling element is fully tightened on the interface port, the second position being axially spaced from the first position, wherein the resilient biasing structure exerts a biasing force upon the biasing surface of the coupling element when the coupling element axially moves between the first position and the second position, at least until the post contacts the interface port, so that during movement of the coupling element between the first and the second positions the coupling element persistently contacts the post and improves electrical grounding reliability between the coupling element and the post even when the coupling element is not fully tightened relative to the interface port. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A coaxial cable connector comprising:
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a post having a flange, the post configured to receive a center conductor surrounded by a dielectric of a coaxial cable; a coupling means for engaging the post and axially moving between a first position, where the post does not engage an interface port, and a second position, where the post engages the interface port, the second position being axially spaced from the first position, the coupling element including an inward lip and also including a biasing contact means facing a rearward direction; and a body means for engaging the coaxial cable when the connector is in the assembled state, the body means including; a resilient biasing means for extending from the body and contacting the biasing contact means of the coupling means when the connector is in the assembled state; and a deflection space means for allowing the resilient biasing means to deflect along an axial direction and flexibly exert a biasing force against the biasing contact means of the coupling means sufficient to axially move the inward lip of the coupling means toward the flange of the post when the coupling means axially moves between the first position and the second position so as to improve electrical grounding continuity between the coupling means and the post even when the coupling means is not fully tightened relative to the interface port. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A coaxial cable connector comprising:
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a post having a flange, the post configured to receive a center conductor surrounded by a dielectric of a coaxial cable; a body means for engaging the post, the body means including a body biasing means; a coupling means configured to engage the post and move between a first position, where the post does not engage an interface port, and a second position, where the post engages the interface port, when the connector is in an assembled state, the second position being axially spaced from the first position, the coupling element including; an inwardly extending lip having a rearwardly facing biasing means; and an outer wall means extending toward a rearward direction; the rearwardly facing biasing means and the outer wall means being configured to at least partially define a cavity means between the coupling element and the body means when the connector is in an assembled state, the cavity means being configured to allow electrical grounding continuity to be interrupted when the coupling means and the post means move out of contact relative to one another; a biasing means configured to fit within the cavity means and cooperate with the rearwardly facing biasing means of the inwardly extending lip of the coupling means and the body biasing means of the body means so as to exert a constant axial biasing force between rearwardly facing biasing means of the inwardly extending lip of the coupling means and the body biasing means of the body means when the coupling means moves between the first position and the second position, the constant axial biasing force being sufficient to axially bias the coupling means towards the post along an axial direction and help prevent the cavity means from allowing electrical grounding continuity to be interrupted when the coupling means and the post move out of contact relative to one another; and wherein the biasing means is configured to provide a physical seal between the coupling means and the body means when the connector is in the assembled state, the biasing means is made of a resilient and substantially non-metallic and non-conductive material, and the biasing means simultaneously contacts both the outer wall means of the coupling means and the body biasing means of the body means when the coupling means moves between the first position and the second position. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification