III III 0 II0 II0 III 100 lID III DIII DI (cid:9)
`
`II DI II
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Chen
`
`(lo) Patent No.: (cid:9)
`(45) Date of Patent: (cid:9)
`
`US 7,674,132 B1
`Mar. 9, 2010
`
`(54) ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ENSURING
`EFFECTIVE GROUNDING CONTACT
`
`5/2008 Burris et al . ................ 439/578
`7,371,113 B2 * (cid:9)
`7,455,549 B2 * 11/2008 Rodrigues et al............ 439/578
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor: Yi-Hsiang Chen, Taipei (TW)
`
`(73) Assignee: EZCONN Corporation, Taipei (TW)
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 12/385,905
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Apr. 23, 2009
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`H01R 9/05 (cid:9)
`(2006.01)
`(52) U.S. (cid:9) Cl . (cid:9)
`...................................................... 439/578
`(58) Field of Classification Search .......... 439/578-585
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`................ 439/578
`9/2004 (cid:9) Burris et al . (cid:9)
`6,790,081 (cid:9) B2 * (cid:9)
`................ 439/578
`7,128,603 (cid:9) B2 * (cid:9) 10/2006 (cid:9) Burris et al . (cid:9)
`7,288,002 B2 * (cid:9) 10/2007 (cid:9) Rodrigues et al............ 439/578
`
`20 (cid:9)
`^ (cid:9)
`
`^n
`
`52 53
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner Gary F. Paumen
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm Rosenberg, Klein & Lee
`
`(57) (cid:9)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`An electric connector ensuring effective grounding contact
`includes coaxially arranged inner sleeve and outer sleeve and
`a conductive grounding element. The inner sleeve is adapted
`to receive a central conductor and an insulating spacer of a
`cable therein, and can be axially rearward moved from a first
`position to a second position, and the outer sleeve is adapted
`to receive a braided conductive grounding sheath and an
`insulating sheath of the cable therein. The conductive ground-
`ing element is externally immovably fitted around the inner
`sleeve. When a stripped free end of the cable is inserted into
`the connector and the cable is rearward pulled, the inner
`sleeve is simultaneously rearward moved from the first posi-
`tion to the second position, forcing the inner sleeve, the con-
`ductive grounding element, and a connecting ring coaxially
`mounted around the inner sleeve to electrically contact with
`one another.
`
`3 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets
`
`43 (cid:9)
`
`34 50
`
`CORNING EXHIBIT 1010
`
`(cid:9)
`(cid:9)
`

`
`U.S. Patent (cid:9)
`
`Mar. 9, 2010 (cid:9)
`
`Sheet 1 of 5 (cid:9)
`
`US 7,674,132 B1
`
`14
`
`10
`
`111
`
`FIG.1 A
`PRIOR ART
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`
`U.S. Patent (cid:9)
`
`Mar. 9, 2010 (cid:9)
`
`Sheet 2 of 5 (cid:9)
`
`US 7,674,132 B1
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`20 (cid:9)
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`

`
`U.S. Patent (cid:9)
`
`Mar. 9, 2010
`
`Sheet 3 of 5
`
`US 7,674,132 B1
`
`30
`
`31
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`33
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`

`
`U.S. Patent (cid:9)
`
`Mar. 9, 2010 (cid:9)
`
`Sheet 5 of 5 (cid:9)
`
`US 7,674,132 B1
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`US 7,674,132 B1
`
`1
`ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ENSURING
`EFFECTIVE GROUNDING CONTACT
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to a connector, and more
`particularly to an electrical connector having structure ensur-
`ing effective grounding contact.
`
`necessary to overcome such poor contact between the inner
`sleeve 13 and the collar 12 of the connector 10.
`Therefore, it is tried by the inventor to develop a connector,
`which not only ensures effective connection of the connector
`5 main body to a coaxial cable, but also ensure good grounding
`contact between components in the connector main body over
`a long period of time, so as to maintain the cable and the
`connector in good electrical characteristic.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`10 (cid:9)
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In signal transmission applications, the selection of a
`coaxial cable for carrying the signal is usually determined
`according to the distance between two points to be connected,
`the signal frequency, the maximum bend radius required, and
`the connector space available in a particular transmitting and/
`or receiving device. The longer the coaxial cable is and the
`higher the signal frequency is, the larger the outside diameter
`of the coaxial cable needs to be to prevent excessive signal
`loss. Conventionally, coaxial cables that are applied in cable
`TV transmission, broadband data transmission, and micro-
`wave signal transmission usually have an outer diameter
`ranged from 0.25 to 1 inch when the transmission distance is
`between 50 and 1000 feet.
`A coaxial connector is well-known in the technological
`field of coaxial cable transmission. Typically, a coaxial con-
`nector is connected to a mating interface connector, so that a
`coaxial cable connected to the coaxial connector can be elec-
`trically connected to various kinds of electronic devices.
`The conventional connector for a coaxial cable has some
`disadvantages. For instance, to ensure good electric signal
`transmission, it is a must a braided conductive grounding
`sheath of the coaxial cable is in good contact with a main body
`of the connector. However, with the conventional coaxial
`connector technique, poor grounding contact might occur
`between different components, such as an inner sleeve and a
`collar, of the connector to result in interrupted signal trans-
`mission. FIG. 1A is a sectional view of an F-series connector
`10, being illustrated as a representative example of the con-
`ventional connectors. The F-type connector 10 includes an
`outer sleeve 11, a collar 12 coaxially fitted in the outer sleeve
`11, an inner sleeve 13 axially movably fitted in the collar 12,
`and a nut-shaped connecting ring 14 rotatably mounted
`around the collar 12.
`As can be seen in FIG. 1B, a free end of a cable 15 can be
`inserted into the connector 10, such that a central conductor
`16 and an insulating spacer 17 of the cable 15 are received in
`the inner sleeve 13 while a braided conductive grounding
`sheath 18 and an insulating sheath 19 of the cable 15 are
`located in an annular space between the outer sleeve 11 and
`the inner sleeve 13, allowing the cable 15 to be connected to
`the connector 10. When the free end of the cable 15 has been
`fully inserted into the connector 10, the cable 15 can be pulled
`with a sufficient force to compel the inner sleeve 13 to move
`from a first position closer to a front end of the connecting
`ring 14 to a second position closer to a rear end of the con-
`necting ring 14, so that the inner sleeve 13 and the collar 12
`are in effective grounding contact, and the outer sleeve 11 is
`tightly connected at a radially inward annular rib 111 thereof
`to the insulating sheath 19 of the cable 15.
`However, in the event the pull applied to the cable 15 is
`insufficient, a space S will exist between the inner sleeve 13
`and the collar 12, resulting in poor contact between the inner
`sleeve 13 and the collar 12. The poor contact between the
`inner sleeve 13 and the collar 12 will further degrade the
`electrical characteristic of the connector 10. It is obviously
`
`A primary object of the present invention is to provide an
`electrical connector, which includes a conductive grounding
`element to establish stable grounding contact between inter-
`1 5 nal components of the connector, so as to ensure good signal
`transmission quality and maintain the connector in good elec-
`trical characteristic.
`To achieve the above and other objects, the electrical con-
`nector ensuring effective grounding contact according to the
`20 present invention includes coaxially arranged inner sleeve
`and outer sleeve and a conductive grounding element. The
`inner sleeve is adapted to receive a central conductor and an
`insulating spacer of a cable therein, and can be axially rear-
`ward moved from a first position to a second position, and the
`25 outer sleeve is adapted to receive a braided conductive
`grounding sheath and an insulating sheath of the cable. The
`conductive grounding element is externally immovably fitted
`around the inner sleeve. When a stripped free end of the cable
`is inserted into the connector and the cable is rearward pulled,
`30 the inner sleeve is simultaneously rearward moved from the
`first position to the second position, forcing the inner sleeve,
`the conductive grounding element, and a connecting ring
`coaxially mounted around the inner sleeve to electrically
`contact with one another.
`
`35
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The structure and the technical means adopted by the
`present invention to achieve the above and other objects can
`40 be best understood by referring to the following detailed
`description of the preferred embodiments and the accompa-
`nying drawings, wherein
`FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a conventional connector;
`FIG. 1B is a sectional view showing the connection of a
`45 coaxial cable to the conventional connector of FIG. 1A;
`FIG. 2 is an assembled cutaway perspective view of an
`electrical connector ensuring effective grounding contact
`according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
`FIG. 3 is an assembled sectional view of the electrical
`50 connector of FIG. 2;
`FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an outer sleeve included in the
`electrical connector of the present invention;
`FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a connecting ring included in
`the electrical connector of the present invention;
`FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an inner sleeve included in the
`electrical connector of the present invention;
`FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conductive grounding
`element included in the electrical connector of the present
`invention; and
`FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate the manner of installing the
`connector of the present invention on a coaxial cable.
`
`55 (cid:9)
`
`60 (cid:9)
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`65
`
`In the following description of the present invention, for
`the purpose of easy to understand, elements that are the same
`
`

`
`US 7,674,132 B1
`
`5
`
`15
`
`3
`in the accompanying drawings are denoted by the same ref-
`erence numerals. Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3 that are
`assembled cutaway perspective view and assembled sectional
`view, respectively, of an electrical connector ensuring effec-
`tive grounding contact according to a preferred embodiment
`of the present invention. As shown, the electrical connector is
`generally denoted by reference numeral 20, and includes an
`outer sleeve 22, a connecting ring 30, an inner sleeve 40, and
`a conductive grounding element 50.
`As can be seen in FIG. 4, which is a sectional view of the io
`outer sleeve 22, the outer sleeve 22 includes a main body 23
`internally defining a bore 24. The bore 24 has an inner dia-
`metrical size large enough for receiving a partial length of the
`connecting ring 30 therein. A circle of rearward tapered coni-
`cal inner wall portion 25 is formed in and around the bore 24
`near a front end thereof. A radially inward annular flange 26
`is formed in the main body 23 of the outer sleeve 22 adjacent
`to a rear end of the bore 24, and the annular flange 26 defines
`an opening 27 therein. The opening 27 has a diametrical size
`large enough for receiving a free end of a coaxial cable 60 20
`therein, as can be seen in FIG. 8A.
`FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the connecting ring 30. The
`connecting ring 30 is located at a front end of the connector
`20, and can be used in differently configured connecting
`interfaces, such as F, BNC, RCA, and IEC connectors. In the 25
`illustrated embodiment, the connecting ring 30 is used in an F
`connector. The connecting ring 30 includes a front screwing
`body 31 having a hexagonal outer face, and a rear hollow
`cylindrical portion 32. The hexagonal front screwing body 31
`is internally provided with screw threads 33 and a circle of 30
`radially inward flange 34. The screw threads 33 can mesh
`with a mating connecting interface on an electronic device, so
`that the electronic device is mechanically and electrically
`connected to the coaxial cable 60 via the connector 20. The
`inward flange 34 defines a bore 35 for the conductive ground- 35
`ing element 50 to pass therethrough.
`The rear hollow cylindrical portion 32 internally defines a
`bore 36, which has a diametrical size large enough for receiv-
`ing a braided conductive grounding sheath 63 and an insulat-
`ing sheath 64 of the coaxial cable 60 between the rear hollow 40
`cylindrical portion 32 and the inner sleeve 40. An annular
`groove 37 is formed around an outer wall face of the hollow
`cylindrical portion 32. When the hollow cylindrical portion
`32 of the connecting ring 30 is inserted into the bore 24 of the
`outer sleeve 22, the conical inner wall portion 25 in the outer 45
`sleeve 22 is received in and engaged with the annular groove
`37, such that the connecting ring 30 is freely rotatably in the
`outer sleeve 22.
`As shown in FIG. 6, the inner sleeve 40 defines a bore 41,
`which has a diametrical size large enough for receiving a 50
`central conductor 61 and an insulating spacer 62 of the
`coaxial cable 60 therein. An annular tooth 42 is formed
`around an inner wall surface of the bore 41 at a predetermined
`position with a sharp edge of the tooth 42 directed toward a
`front end of the inner sleeve 40 to prevent the coaxial cable 60 55
`from moving out of the connector 20. The inner sleeve 40
`includes a radially outward flange 43 formed around a front
`end thereof, an interfacing portion 44 behind the outward
`flange 43, and a slope-contained tubular portion 45 behind the
`interfacing portion 44. The interfacing portion 44 is sized for 60
`fitting in the conductive grounding element 50, and is coaxi-
`ally located in the hexagonal front screwing body 31 of the
`connecting ring 32. The slope-contained tubular portion 45 is
`coaxially located in the bore 36 defined in the rear hollow
`cylindrical portion 32 of the connecting ring 30, such that the 65
`hollow cylindrical portion 32 is concentrically disposed
`around the slope-contained tubular portion 45 with an annular
`
`hollow space 46 formed between the cylindrical portion 32
`and the slope-contained tubular portion 45, as shown in FIG.
`3. The slope-contained tubular portion 45 includes a circle of
`rearward declined first slope 47 and a circle of rearward
`declined second slope 48 respectively externally formed at a
`front and a rear end thereof.
`Please refer to FIG. 7. The conductive grounding element
`50 includes a tubular main body 51 for externally immovably
`fitting around the interfacing portion 44 of the inner sleeve 40.
`On the tubular main body 51, there is integrally formed a
`plurality of front elastic leaves 52 and a plurality of rear
`elastic leaves 53. In the illustrated embodiment, there are four
`front elastic leaves 52 and four rear elastic leaves 53 respec-
`tively circumferentially and equally spaced along a wall of
`the tubular main body 51.
`The front and the rear elastic leaves 52, 53 are formed on
`the conductive grounding element 50 by radially outward
`punching the wall of the tubular main body 51. As shown in
`FIG. 3, before the assembled connector 20 is connected to the
`coaxial cable 60, the inward flange 34 of the connecting ring
`30 is located between the rear elastic leaves 53 of the conduc-
`tive grounding element 50 and the first slope 47 of the inner
`sleeve 40, so that the inner sleeve 40 is not freely axially
`movable. However, when a rearward pull is applied to the
`inner sleeve 40, the rear elastic leaves 53, due to the elasticity
`thereof, can be radially inward compressed by the inward
`flange 34 to thereby pass through the bore 35 defined in the
`inward flange 34. Thereafter, the front elastic leaves 52 are
`also radially inward compressed by the inward flange 34 to
`pass through the bore 35. Finally, the outward flange 43 of the
`inner sleeve 40 is pressed against the inward flange 34 of the
`connecting ring 30 under the pull and the inner sleeve 40 can
`no longer be axially moved rearward. At this point, the front
`elastic leaves 52 will spring radially outward to a predeter-
`mined position for electrically contacting with the inward
`flange 34.
`FIGS. 8A to 8C show the manner of installing the connec-
`tor 20 on the cable 60. The cable 60 includes, from outer to
`inner side, the insulating sheath 64, the braided conductive
`grounding sheath 63, the insulating spacer 62, and the central
`conductor 61. Please refer to FIG. 8A. Before installing the
`connector 20, first strip a length of the insulating sheath 64
`from a free end of the cable 60, and turn part of the exposed
`braided conductive grounding sheath 63 backward to expose
`a length of the insulating spacer 62 and the central conductor
`61. Meanwhile, the outward flange 43 on the inner sleeve 40
`of the connector 20 before installing is located at a first
`position closer to a front end of the connecting ring 30. Then,
`as shown in FIG. 8B, the stripped free end of the coaxial cable
`60 as prepared in FIG. 8A is inserted into the inner sleeve 40
`to contact a front end of the insulating spacer 62 with a flat
`inner end surface 49 of the front end of the inner sleeve 40.
`While inserting the cable 60 into the inner sleeve 40, the
`slope-contained tubular portion 45 of the inner sleeve 40 is
`forced into between the braided conductive grounding sheath
`63 and the insulating spacer 62 of the cable 60. With the
`slope-contained tubular portion 45 of the inner sleeve 40
`extending between the braided conductive grounding sheath
`63 and the insulating spacer 62, the circular tooth 42 is forced
`against an outer circumferential surface of the insulating
`spacer 62 to tightly engage with the insulating spacer 62,
`bringing the inner sleeve 40 to firmly mechanically connect to
`the cable 60, so that the free end of the cable 60 is held in the
`connector 20.
`Then, a force in the direction as indicated by the arrows X
`in FIG. 8B is applied to the coaxial cable 60, so that the cable
`60 is moved into a final connected position in the connector
`
`

`
`US 7,674,132 B1
`
`5
`20, as shown in FIG. 8C. When pulling the cable 60 as shown
`in FIG. 8B, the outward flange 43 of the inner sleeve 40 is
`simultaneously moved backward from the first position
`closer to the front open end of the connecting ring 30 to a
`second position, at which the outward flange 43 of the inner
`sleeve 40 is abutted on the inward flange 34 of the connecting
`ring 30. When the inner sleeve 40 is axially moved rearward,
`the front and rear elastic leaves 52, 53 on the conductive
`grounding element 50 are radially inward compressed by the
`inward flange 34 to thereby rearward pass through and locate
`behind the inward flange 34. At this point, the front elastic
`leaves 52 are electrically contacted at free ends with the
`inward flange 34 of the connecting ring 30 to establish good
`grounding contact between them to ensure good signal trans-
`mission quality and good electrical characteristic of the con-
`nector 20.
`The present invention has been described with a preferred
`embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes
`and modifications in the described embodiment can be car-
`ried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the
`invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended
`claims.
`What is claimed is:
`1. An electrical connector ensuring effective grounding
`contact for mechanically and electrically connecting a cable
`to a mating connecting interface on an electric device, the
`cable including a central conductor, an insulating spacer sur-
`rounding the central conductor, at least one layer of braided
`conductive grounding sheath surrounding the insulating
`spacer, and an insulating sheath surrounding the braided con-
`ductive grounding sheath; the connector comprising:
`an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve coaxially located
`around the inner sleeve; the inner sleeve being adapted to
`receive the central conductor and the insulating spacer of
`the cable therein, the outer sleeve being adapted to
`receive the braided conductive grounding sheath and the
`insulating sheath therein, and the inner sleeve being
`axially rearward movable from a first position to a sec-
`ond position; and
`a conductive grounding element being externally immov-
`ably fitted around the inner sleeve, the conductive
`grounding element including a tubular main body, the
`tubular main body having a plurality of front elastic
`leaves and a plurality of rear elastic leaves formed
`thereon;
`whereby when a stripped free end of the cable is inserted
`into the connector and the cable is rearward pulled, the
`inner sleeve is simultaneously rearward moved from the
`
`5 (cid:9)
`
`25 (cid:9)
`
`6
`first position to the second position, forcing the inner
`sleeve, the conductive grounding element, and a con-
`necting ring coaxially mounted around the inner sleeve
`to electrically contact with one another.
`2. The electrical connector, as claimed in claim 1, wherein
`the inner sleeve includes a radially outward flange formed
`around a front end thereof, and the connecting ring internally
`includes a radially inward flange; whereby when the inner
`sleeve is moved from the first position to the second position,
`io the front and the rear elastic leaves are radially inward com-
`pressed by the inward flange of the connecting ring to rear-
`ward pass through the inward flange, and when the inner
`sleeve reaches at the second position, the outward flange of
`the inner sleeve and the front elastic leaves are in electrical
`15 contact with the inward flange of the connecting ring.
`3. The electrical connector ensuring effective grounding
`contact for mechanically and electrically connecting a cable
`to a mating connecting interface on an electric device, the
`cable including a central conductor, an insulating spacer sur-
`2o rounding the central conductor, at least one layer of braided
`conductive grounding sheath surrounding the insulating
`spacer, and an insulating sheath surrounding the braided con-
`ductive grounding sheath; the connector comprising:
`an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve coaxially located
`around the inner sleeve; the inner sleeve being adapted to
`receive the central conductor and the insulating spacer of
`the cable therein, the outer sleeve being adapted to
`receive the braided conductive grounding sheath and the
`insulating sheath therein, and the inner sleeve being
`axially rearward movable from a first position to a sec-
`ond position; and
`a conductive grounding element being externally immov-
`ably fitted around the inner sleeve;
`whereby when a stripped free end of the cable is inserted
`into the connector and the cable is rearward pulled, the
`inner sleeve is simultaneously rearward moved from the
`first position to the second position, forcing the inner
`sleeve, the conductive grounding element, and a con-
`necting ring coaxially mounted around the inner sleeve
`to electrically contact with one another; and
`wherein the inner sleeve is formed around an inner wall
`surface at a predetermined position with an annular
`tooth, such that when the free end of the cable is fully
`inserted into the connector, the annular tooth is forced to
`tightly press against and accordingly associate with the
`insulating spacer of the cable.
`
`30 (cid:9)
`
`35
`
`40 (cid:9)
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`45 (cid:9)