Serial bus receptacle with adjustable exterior socket clamping

• US 9,413,107 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2015
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Fallon, Matthew R., Toth, Dennis Vance, Rake, Christopher A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Riyami, Abdullah
• Assistant Examiner(s): Imas, Vladimir
• Application Number:
  US14/672,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20150229072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 498 Days
• Field of Search: 439/660, 439/370, 439/607.41, 439/607.47, 439/839
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/00 Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures printed connections to, or between, printed circuits H05K1/11
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/11 Resilient sockets carrying separate resilient parts H01R13/15
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/26 Pin or blade contacts for sliding co-operation on one side only for modular jack type connectors H01R24/62
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/512 assembled by screw or screws
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6275 Latching arms not integral with the housing H01R13/6276, H01R13/6277, H01R13/6278 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/629 Additional means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. aligning or guiding means, levers, gas pressure electrical locking indicators, manufacturing tolerances separate tools or apparatus H01R43/26
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/639 Additional means for holding or locking coupling parts together, after engagement, e.g. separate keylock, retainer strap
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/748 using one or more screws H01R13/746 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/26 for engaging or disengaging the two parts of a coupling device structural association with two-part coupling device H01R13/629
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

System and method for communicatively coupling a serial communication plug to a serial communication bus. The system may include a housing. The housing may include a receptacle that is configured to communicatively couple to a bus. The receptacle may include one or more internal retention springs situated inside the receptacle. The one or more internal retention springs may be configured to grip a male plug with a retention force, when the male plug is inserted into the receptacle. The housing may include or may be coupled to a clamp where the clamp is external to the receptacle. When the male plug is inserted into the receptacle, the clamp may be adjustable via a clamp adjustment mechanism to constrain the one or more internal retention springs, thus augmenting the retention force and further securing the male plug in the receptacle.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a housing, wherein the housing is configured to couple to a serial communication bus;

a serial bus receptacle comprised in the housing, wherein the serial bus receptacle is configured to communicatively couple to the serial communication bus and comprises one or more internal retention springs situated inside the serial bus receptacle that are configured to grip a male serial bus plug with a retention force when the male serial bus plug is inserted into the serial bus receptacle;

a clamp, comprised in or coupled to the housing, wherein the clamp is external to the serial bus receptacle; and

a clamping adjustment mechanism configured to couple to the clamp and adjust the clamp to constrain the one or more internal retention springs, thereby augmenting the retention force of the one or more internal retention springs;

wherein, when the male serial bus plug is inserted into the serial bus receptacle, the clamp is adjustable via a clamping adjustment mechanism to augment the retention force of the one or more internal retention springs to secure the male serial bus plug in the serial bus receptacle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the serial communication receptacle is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) receptacle, the serial bus plug is a USB plug, and the serial communication bus is USB.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a serial communication cable, wherein the housing is comprised on a first end of the serial communication cable, and wherein the serial bus receptacle is communicatively coupled to the serial communication bus via the serial communication cable.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the serial communication cable comprises a USB cable, and wherein the serial bus receptacle comprises a USB receptacle.

5. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

another male serial bus plug, comprised on a second end of the serial communication cable.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the other male serial bus plug comprises a USB plug.

7. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

another housing, comprised on a second end of the serial communication cable;

another serial bus receptacle comprised in the other housing and communicatively coupled to the serial communication cable, wherein the other serial bus receptacle comprises another one or more internal retention springs situated inside the serial bus receptacle, and configured to grip another male serial bus plug with a retention force when the male serial bus plug is inserted into the serial bus receptacle;

another clamp, comprised in or coupled to the housing, wherein the other clamp is external to the serial bus receptacle; and

another clamping adjustment mechanism configured to couple to the other clamp and adjust the other clamp to constrain the other one or more internal retention springs, thereby augmenting the retention force of the other one or more internal retention springs;

wherein, when the other male serial bus plug is inserted into the other serial bus receptacle, the other clamp is adjustable via the other clamping adjustment mechanism to augment the retention force of the other one or more internal retention springs to secure the other male serial bus plug in the other serial bus receptacle.

8. The system of claim 7,

wherein the serial communication cable comprises a USB cable, and wherein the serial bus receptacles comprise USB receptacles.

9. The system of claim 1,

wherein the clamping adjustment mechanism comprises:

one or more threaded fasteners; and

a corresponding one or more threaded inserts, comprised in or coupled to the housing; and

wherein the clamp is configured to close in response to the one or more threaded fasteners being threaded into the corresponding one or more threaded inserts.

10. The system of claim 1,

wherein the clamping adjustment mechanism comprises:

one or more threaded fasteners; and

one or more threaded nuts; and

wherein the clamp is configured to close in response to the one or more threaded fasteners being threaded into the one or more threaded nuts.

11. The system of claim 1,

wherein the clamp has a deploy position in which the clamp is closed, thereby further securing the male serial bus plug in the serial bus receptacle, and a service position in which the clamp is opened, thereby allowing the removal of the male serial bus plug from the serial bus receptacle.

12. The system of claim 1,

wherein the housing is comprised in or coupled to a panel;

wherein the serial communication receptacle protrudes through or is accessible from a front side of the panel; and

wherein the clamping adjustment mechanism protrudes through or is accessible from the front side of the panel.

13. A method, comprising:

inserting a male serial bus plug into a serial bus receptacle, wherein the serial bus receptacle is communicatively coupled to a serial communication bus;

wherein the serial bus receptacle comprises one or more internal retention springs situated inside the serial bus receptacle that are configured to grip the male serial bus plug with a retention force in response to said inserting, wherein the serial bus receptacle is comprised in a housing, wherein the housing comprises or is coupled to a clamp, wherein the clamp is external to the serial bus receptacle, and wherein a clamping adjustment is coupled to the claim and configured to adjust the clamp to constrain the one or more internal retention springs, thereby augmenting the retention force of the one or more internal retention springs; and

adjusting the clamp via the clamping adjustment mechanism to constrain the one or more internal retention springs to secure the male serial bus plug in the serial bus receptacle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the serial communication receptacle is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) receptacle, the serial bus plug is a USB plug, and the serial communication bus is USB.

15. The method of claim 13,

wherein the male serial bus plug is communicatively coupled to a serial communication device, and wherein said inserting the male serial bus plug into the serial bus receptacle connects the serial communication device to the serial communication bus.

16. The method of claim 13,

wherein the serial bus receptacle comprises a USB receptacle, wherein the male serial bus plug comprises a USB plug, and wherein the serial communication device is a USB device.

17. The method of claim 13,

wherein the housing is coupled to a first end of the serial communication cable;

wherein the serial bus receptacle is communicatively coupled to the serial communication bus via the serial communication cable;

wherein the male serial bus plug is communicatively coupled to a serial communication device; and

wherein said inserting the male serial bus plug into the serial bus receptacle connects the serial communication device to the serial communication bus via the serial communication cable.

18. The method claim 17,

wherein the serial communication cable comprises a USB cable, wherein the serial bus receptacle comprises a USB receptacle, wherein the other serial communication bus comprises a universal serial bus, wherein the male serial bus plug is a USB plug, and wherein the serial communication device is a USB device.

19. The method of claim 13,

wherein the clamping adjustment mechanism comprises:

one or more threaded fasteners; and

a corresponding one or more threaded inserts, comprised in or coupled to the housing;

wherein said adjusting the clamping adjustment mechanism comprises threading the one or more threaded fasteners into the corresponding one or more threaded inserts.

20. The method of claim 13,

wherein, the clamping adjustment mechanism comprises:

one or more threaded fasteners; and

one or more threaded nuts;

wherein said adjusting the clamping adjustment mechanism comprises threading the one or more threaded fasteners into the corresponding one or more threaded nuts.

21. The method of claim 13,

wherein the housing is comprised in or coupled to a panel;

wherein the serial communication receptacle protrudes through or is accessible from a front side of the panel;

wherein the clamping adjustment mechanism protrudes through or is accessible from the front side of the panel; and

wherein said adjusting the clamping adjustment mechanism occurs on the front side of the panel.

22. The method of claim 13,

wherein the clamp is adjustable to a deploy position in which the clamp is closed, thereby further securing the male serial bus plug in the serial bus receptacle, and wherein the clamp is adjustable to a service position in which the clamp is open, thereby allowing the removal of the male serial bus plug from the serial bus receptacle.