The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 26, 2004
Filed:
Aug. 22, 2003
James E. Cannon, Colorado Springs, CO (US);
Agilent Technologies, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A precision locking BNC male connector mates without requiring twisting of the cable or multiple bends to accommodate the rotation of the BNC latch. The shell portion of the male connector that carries the adapter connector or cable clamp on one end and that is the male cylindrical shield at the other end, is free to rotate whenever the precision locking BNC male connector is not locked, whether or not it is mated with a female connector. A knurled sleeve is captive at a location along the male shell, but is free to rotate. The knurled sleeve has internal threads that engage external threads on a portion of the BNC latch. A radial friction device is in contact with both an-external surface of the BNC latch and the internal surface of the knurled sleeve. When not engaged with the bayonet pins of a female connector, rotating the knurled sleeve will rotate the BNC latch also, by virtue of the friction device, but both will, as a unit, rotate freely relative to the shell. Once the bayonet pins engage the spiral portion of the slot in the BNC latch, the friction between the sleeve and the latch is sufficient to rotate the latch all the way into the detent. At that point the latch can turn no more, and further CW rotation of the sleeve by about three-quarters of a turn causes thread driven displacement of the male shell toward the female parts by about 0.030 inches. This applies the compression that produces the locked condition. To unlock the connectors the knurled sleeve is turned in the CCW direction. The friction device does not transmit enough torque to overcome the detent, which is also temporarily maintained by an anti-jam spring, so that the shell initially stays still as the knurled sleeve rotates about it, which undoes the thread-induced displacement until no more displacement in the other direction is possible, and further rotation is transmitted to the latch, which causes it to leave its detent and traverse the spiral over the bayonet pins to where they are opposite the entrance to the groove. A simple axial tug then separates the connectors. The friction device may be a neoprene washer held between two adjacent metallic washers.