Amphenol Corporation

Heath Allen Johnson

David L Frear

Clifford Joseph Westrick

David O Gallusser

John Henry Mikolaicyk

David A Phillips

Gregory John Olesik

A contact assembly that comprises an outer body and an insert assembly receivable in the outer body. The insert assembly includes a housing and a conductive bather received in the housing. The conductive barrier defines first and second receiving areas in the housing. At least a first contact member is receivable in the first receiving area and at least a second contact member is receivable in the second receiving area. Each of the first and second contact members is adapted to accept a conductor.

High speed electrical contact assembly

A termination arrangement for fiber optic cables includes a precision ceramic guide press fit into a sleeve on both the socket and pin termini. The precision ceramic guide of the socket terminus is extended through a bushing and alignment sleeve, and a compression spring is positioned between the bushing and a stepped washer secured in the connector so that the bushing, sleeve, and precision ceramic guide may all be moved relative to the stepped washer upon insertion of the ceramic guide of the pin terminus into the alignment sleeve. The length of each terminus is chosen so that any grommet on an environmentally sealed connector will always fall on a portion of the body which has the same diameter for each terminus so that one grommet can be used with a variety of different size cables. A rear section of both the pin and socket terminus bodies are stepped down to provide an area for the strength member of the fiber optic cable to be terminated to. By applying epoxy to the stepped down diameter of the rear bodies and the fiber optic cable jacketing, the strength member can be evenly distributed over the rear of the bodies and a shrink tube can be brought up over the outer jacketing of the fiber optic cable to the appropriate position and shrunk down in order to cure the epoxy, captivate the strength member, and seal the shrink tube to the fiber optic cable jacketing. The sleeve may alternatively be extended through the stepped washer and terminate in a threaded portion onto which the bushing may be threaded, the precision ceramic guide being press fit into the bushing rather than the sleeve so as to minimize the length of the hole that must be produced in the precision ceramic guide.

Pin and socket fiber optic termini

An anti-decoupling arrangement for an electrical connector (as well as an electrical connector incorporating such an anti-decoupling arrangement) is made up of just three operative components: a spiral lock clutch, at least one spring ring, and ratchet teeth or serrations formed on an inside surface of the coupling nut. The ratchet teeth are in the form of serrations formed into the inside diameter of a recessed area of the coupling nut in which all of the components reside, and each spring ring is a self-supporting ring that has spring cantilevers with engaging tines of a given number located around its outer circumference, the engaging tines engaging the serrations in a radial direction. The engaging tines thus provide a torque/ratchet mechanism when they glide over the radial cuts of the tooth ring in the uncoupling direction, and stay engaged which forces the spiral lock clutch to expand and slide smoothly over the plug shell with minimal torque in the coupling direction.

Anti-decoupling arrangement for an electrical connector

An anti-decoupling arrangement for an electrical connector includes a spiral lock clutch, a spring ring, and a separate ratchet wheel or tooth ring having a plurality of radial cuts, all surrounding the connector shell and sandwiched between a flange or shoulder on the connector shell by a conventional snap ring. The tooth ring is situated in a space between the thread of the coupling nut and the flange or shoulder that forms the inner surface of a recessed area with the coupling nut. The shell includes two grooves, one for the spiral lock clutch and the other for the snap ring, that are behind the flange or shoulder towards the rear of the connector, the shell providing axial alignment of all components except the spring ring. The tooth ring also includes extensions that cooperate with a notch or slot in the coupling nut so that the tooth ring rotates with the coupling nut, while the spring ring includes an extension in engagement with a notch in the spiral lock clutch so that the spring ring is locked against angular rotation relative to a spring ring. Preferably, the spring ring member is a self supporting ring that has spring tines or beams of a given number located angularly around its radial wall. These tines provide the ratchet mechanism when the tines glide over the radial cuts of the tooth ring in the uncoupling direction. This provides a free running clutch in the coupling direction and a torque/ratchet mechanism in the uncoupling direction. Alternatively, the decoupling assembly may be flipped by 180 degrees, the tooth ring being replaced by teeth extending axially from an inwardly extending flange in the coup ling nut.

Growing community of inventors

Bainbridge, NY, United States of America

Heath Allen Johnson