AU2016213740A1

AU2016213740A1 - Jumpers with protection caps

Info

Publication number: AU2016213740A1
Application number: AU2016213740A
Authority: AU
Inventors: XueFang Chen; Mulan Huang; Hongwei SHEN
Original assignee: Commscope Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Commscope Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2015-08-11
Filing date: 2016-08-10
Publication date: 2017-03-02
Anticipated expiration: 2036-08-10
Also published as: CN106450910B; AU2016213740B2; CN106450910A

Abstract

Abstract The invention relates to a jumper, comprising a jumper cable, connectors, protection sheaths, a conduit tube and protection caps, wherein the protection sheaths can move to the jointing areas with the connectors so as to protect the jointing areas; the protection cap comprises a first and second hollow members that are formed with internal and external threads respectively, wherein a plurality of clamping fingers are formed at an axially outer side of the external threads of the second hollow member, and the first hollow member is formed with a chamfered portion or a beveled portion around the circumferential direction at an axially inner side of the internal threads thereof so that when the internal threads engage with the external threads, the chamfered portion or the beveled portion will engage with the clamping fingers and force them to incline radially inwardly and snap firmly onto the conduit tube. Drawings 15'0 Fig. 1 Fig 2

Description

Australian Patents Act 1990 2016213740 10 Aug 2016

ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT

Invention Title

Jumpers with protection caps

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:-1

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 2016213740 10 Aug 2016 [1] The invention relates to a jumper with a protection Cap.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[2] In the connection and wiring of coaxial cables, a jumper is often used. The jumper comprises a jumper cable and connectors electrically connected to opposite ends of the jumper cable respectively. The connectors will be connected to connectors of another equipment/cable, thereby realizing delivery of signals. The jointing areas where the connectors are connected with cable or where the connectors are connected with each other may be easily subjected to corrosions from outside to inside as time elapses with exposure to the weather. In particular, after moistures and tiny dusts enter inside, a series of problem might easily occur, such as system short circuit, system failure or the like. Moreover, the jointing area where the connectors are connected with cable is typically subject to damage due to bird pecking and/or due to environmental reasons, and thus problem such as system short circuit, system failure or the like may occur. A conventional solution comprises wrapping Butyl rubber tapes and PVC tapes around the jointing area to protect the area. However, such a solution is time consuming, and a standardized work is difficult to realize. Therefore, it is desired for a solution in which the jointing areas can be better protected from being damaged for example by birds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[3] An object of the invention is to provide a solution which aims to protect the jointing area of connectors of jumper from being pecked by birds. This object is realized by providing a protection sheath adjacent to the connector and additionally providing a protection cap, wherein the protection sheath is formed of elastomeric material and will be used for covering and sealing the jointing areas of connectors (the jointing area of the connector and the jumper cable, and/or the jointing area of one connector and another connector), and the protection cap will be locked on a conduit tube of the jumper after the protection sheath having the sealing function is applied, thereby providing protection for the protection sheath.

[4] According to the invention, there is provided a jumper comprising a jumper cable, first and second connectors electrically connected to opposite ends of the jumper cable respectively, first and second protection sheaths located adjacent to the first and second connectors and formed of elastomeric material, a conduit tube disposed between the first and second protection sheaths, and first and second protection caps configured to protect the first and second protection sheaths, wherein the jumper cable passes through the conduit tube so as to be protected by the conduit tube from being pecked by birds; and when the first and second connectors are connected with other connectors, the protection sheaths are capable of moving to jointing areas of the connectors and covering the jointing areas by elastic deformation so as to protect the jointing areas; and each of the protection caps is capable of locking onto the conduit tube and comprises a first and second hollow members to be mated together, and each of the first and second hollow members is formed with a hollow passage for passing the conduit tube, and the second hollow member is arranged to be closer to a corresponding protection sheath than the first hollow member is, for covering the protection sheath, wherein one of the first and second hollow 1a members is provided with internal threads at the end to be mated, and the other one of the first and second hollow members is provided with external threads at the end to be mated; a plurality of clamping fingers are formed at an axially outer side of the external threads of said other one of the first and second hollow members, the clamping fingers being extend in parallel along the axial direction or inclining radially inward as they extend towards the distal ends, and said one of the first and second hollow members is circumferentially formed with a chamfered portion or a beveled portion around an axially inner side of the internal threads thereof so that when the internal threads engage with the external threads, the chamfered portion or the beveled portion will engage with the clamping fingers and force them to incline radially inwardly and snap firmly onto the conduit tube. 2016213740 10 Aug 2016 [5] According to an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of clamping fingers are provided by a wall of a corresponding axial end of the second hollow member and are spaced apart by a plurality of longitudinal cutouts formed in the wall.

[6] According to an embodiment of the invention, the protection sheaths are formed of silicon rubber.

[7] According to an embodiment of the invention, the conduit tube is an elastic corrugated tube, and the clamping fingers are configured to snap firmly into annular grooves formed in a surface of the corrugated tube.

[8] According to an embodiment of the invention, the first and second hollow members are formed of hard materials.

[9] According to an embodiment of the invention, the length of the second hollow member is 1.2 times larger, or more, than that of the protection sheath.

[10] According to an embodiment of the invention, the connectors are straight-head connectors, and the second hollow member is provided with threads at an opposite end to the end to be mated with the first hollow member, thus enabling the second hollow member to be successively connected to another hollow member having threads.

[11] According to an embodiment of the invention, the second hollow member comprises two half portions that are formed with additional external threads at ends thereof opposite to the ends with the clamping fingers so that the two half portions can be jointed together at said ends opposite to the ends with the clamping fingers by means of a locking ring having internal threads, and the two half portions can be fixed at the ends with the clamping fingers by threadingly engaging with the first hollow member, thus providing protection for the protection sheaths.

[12] The above and other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

[13] Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the jumper according to an embodiment of the invention, wherein the jumper has a straight-head connector.

[14] Fig. 2 shows a schematic exploded view of the jumper of Fig. 1.

[15] Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of a first stage of the process in which the connector of the jumper in Fig. 1 according to the invention is connected with a connector of other devices.

[16] Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of a second stage of the process in which the connector of the jumper in Fig. 1 according to the invention is connected with the connector of other 2 devices. 2016213740 10 Aug 2016 [17] Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of a third stage of the process in which the connector of the jumper in Fig. 1 according to the invention is connected with the connector of other devices.

[18] Fig. 6 shows a schematic cut-away view of the protection cap in the position shown in Fig. 5.

[19] Fig. 7 shows a schematic exploded view of the protection cap according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

[20] Fig. 8 shows an embodiment of the jumper having an elbow connector and a corresponding split-type second hollow member according to the invention.

[21] Like features are denoted by like reference signs throughout different embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[22] The invention will be firstly described in connection with an embodiment where the connector of the jumper is a straight-head connector.

[23] Figs. 1 and 2 show a jumper 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. The jumper 100 comprises: a jumper cable 6; first and second connectors 4, 5 electrically connected to opposite ends of the jumper cable 6 respectively; protection sheaths 1 located at the jointing areas of the first and second connectors, formed of elastomeric material, and having a sealing function; a conduit tube 3 disposed between the protection sheaths 1; and protection caps 2 moveably along the conduit tube 3.

[24] According to the invention, the jumper cable 6 passes through the conduit tube 3 so as to be protected by the conduit tube 3 from being pecked by birds. The protection sheaths 1 are disposed adjacent to the jointing areas 9 (see Fig. 3) of the connectors 4, 5 with the jumper cable 6. When the connectors 4, 5 are connected with other connectors, the protection sheaths 1 can move to the jointing areas of the connectors and cover the jointing areas by elastic deformation so as to provide protection for the jointing areas, thus avoiding erosion of connectors and adverse problems caused thereby such as system short circuit, system breakdown, etc. The protection caps 2 will be fixed onto the conduit tube 3 during use and will completely cover the protection sheaths 1, thus protecting the protection sheaths 1 from being pecked by birds, which will be described in detail hereinafter.

[25] With reference to Figs. 3 to 5, an operational principle of the protection sheaths 1 and the protection caps 2 will be more easily understood. Figs. 3 to 5 schematically show in sequence three stages of the process in which the jumper according to the invention is connected with other devices respectively.

[26] Fig. 3 shows a first stage, in which the connector 4 is connected with a connector 4' of the device 8 so that a jointing area 7 of the connectors is formed.

[27] Fig. 4 shows a second stage, in which the protection sheaths 1 are pulled to the jointing areas 7 and cover the jointing areas 7 by its elasticity (therefore, the jointing areas 7 and the connectors 4, 4' are invisible in the figure). The protection sheaths 1 are preferably formed of silicon rubber. As compared to a conventional way of using Butyl rubber tapes and PVC tapes to cover the jointing areas, the use of protection sheaths 1 formed of elastomeric material can save a lot of time and reduce the cost relating to working at a high height from the ground, while being convenient for a standardized operation.

[28] Fig. 5 shows a third stage, in which the protection cap 2 is moved to a position for 3 covering the protection sheath 1 (therefore, the protection sheath 1 is invisible in the figure), and is fixed in position by being locked onto the conduit tube 3. The structure and fixation of the protection cap 2 will be described below with reference to Figs. 6 and 7. 2016213740 10 Aug 2016 [29] Firstly, reference is made to Fig. 7 in which the members of the protection cap 2 are shown. The protection cap 2 comprises hollow members 21, 22 to be mated together. The two hollow members are respectively formed with axial hollow passages for passing the conduit tube 3 so that the two hollow members can be passed by the conduit tube 3 and move on the conduit tube 3, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4. In addition, the axial passage of the second hollow member is large enough in terms of its end size to thus receive and cover the connector 4 and the protection sheath 1 thereon.

[30] As shown in Fig. 7, the first hollow member 21 and the second hollow member 22 are provided with internal threads 23 and external threads 24 respectively at ends to be mated with each other.

[31] According to an embodiment of the invention, a plurality of clamping fingers 25 are formed at an axially outer side of the external threads 24 of the second hollow member 22. The clamping fingers extend in parallel substantially along the axial direction, or incline radially inward as they extend towards the distal ends, i.e., converge toward each other. The plurality of clamping fingers 25 are provided by a wall of a corresponding axial end of the second hollow member 22 and are spaced apart by a plurality of longitudinal cutouts 27 formed in the wall. Correspondingly, the first hollow member 21 is circumferentially formed with a chamfered portion or a beveled portion 26 around an axially inner side of the internal threads 23 thereof.

[32] As shown in Fig. 6, when the first hollow member 21 and the second hollow member 22 are threadingly engaged, the chamfered or beveled portion 26 will engage with the distal ends of the clamping fingers 25 and force them to incline radially inwardly and press against the conduit tube 3 so as be to gripped onto the conduit tube 3. In this way, the axial positions of the first hollow member 21 and the second hollow member 22 relative to the conduit tube 3 are fixed. It is noted herein that the conduit tube 3 may be preferably a corrugated tube (as shown in the figure) so that the clamping fingers 25 can be more firmly snapped onto annular grooves in the surface of the corrugated tube.

[33] The second hollow member 22, i.e., the one which is closer to the distal end of the jumper than the first hollow member so as to be capable of covering the protection sheath 1, has a sufficient length (e.g., can be 1.2 times larger, or more, than the length of the protection sheath 1) so that the second hollow member 22 can easily cover the protection sheath 1 when being fixed relative to the conduit tube 3.

[34] In an embodiment, the first hollow member 21 is a screw nut-like member, and the second hollow member 22 is an elongated cylinder-like member which has an integral structure, as shown in Fig. 7.

[35] In an embodiment, both the first hollow member 21 and the second hollow member 22 are formed of hard material such as hard polymer material (e.g., polyamide) or hard metal (e.g., aluminum) or the like so as to resist the pecking of the birds.

[36] Moreover, it is noted that the relative positions of the internal threads of the first hollow member 21 and the external threads and clamping fingers of the second hollow member 22 is interchangeable. That is, the external threads and clamping fingers can be provided at the end of the first hollow member 21, and the internal threads can be provided at the end of the 4 second hollow member 22 used for covering the protection sheath 1. This arrangement is also within the scope of the invention. 2016213740 10 Aug 2016 [37] In another embodiment, the second hollow member 22 is arranged in such a way that its length can be extended. For example, the end of the second hollow member 22 that is opposite to the threads 24 can be also provided with threads so that an additional hollow member having threads can be successively connected when necessary so as to increase the length for the purpose of facilitating covering the protection sheath 1 of the connector 4.

[38] The invention has been described above in connection with an embodiment where the connectors 4, 5 are straight-head connectors. In fact, the principle of the invention can be also applied to a jumper in which the connectors are elbow connectors. In this regard, Fig. 8 may be referred to.

[39] Fig. 8 shows a jumper having an elbow connector jointed to a connector of the device 8. In the embodiment, the second hollow member 22' has a shape that resembles the shape of the elbow connector, and comprises external threads 23' and clamping fingers 25' like those of the second hollow member 22. Unlike the second hollow member 22, the second hollow member 22' comprises two half portions 221 and 222 which can be laterally jointed together around the connector (and the protection sheath Γ) so as to provide protection for the protection sheath Γ. In order to realize the jointing of the half portions 221 and 222, the two half portions 221 and 222 are provided with external threads 31 at ends thereof that are opposite to the threads 23' and clamping fingers 25'. Further, by engaging the locking ring 30 having internal threads 32 with the threads 31, the two half portions 221 and 222 can be jointed together at this end. Moreover, like the previous embodiment, a firm snap-fit positioning is realized at the other end by threadingly engaging the second hollow member 22' with the first hollow member 21. Furthermore, other features of the previous embodiment can be also equally applied to this embodiment.

[40] Finally, it is noted that the concept of designing the second hollow member to have two half portions can be also equally applied to the jumper of straight-head connector.

[41] Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

[42] The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavor to which this specification relates. 5

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A jumper comprising a jumper cable, first and second connectors electrically connected to opposite ends of the jumper cable respectively, first and second protection sheaths located adjacent to the first and second connectors and formed of elastomeric material, a conduit tube disposed between the first and second protection sheaths, and first and second protection caps configured to protect the first and second protection sheaths, wherein the jumper cable passes through the conduit tube so as to be protected by the conduit tube from being pecked by birds; and when the first and second connectors are connected with other connectors, the protection sheaths are capable of moving to jointing areas of the connectors and covering the jointing areas by elastic deformation so as to protect the jointing areas; and each of the protection caps is capable of locking onto the conduit tube and comprises a first and second hollow members to be mated together, and each of the first and second hollow members is formed with a hollow passage for passing the conduit tube, and the second hollow member is arranged to be closer to a corresponding protection sheath than the first hollow member is, for covering the protection sheath, wherein one of the first and second hollow members is provided with internal threads at the end to be mated, and the other one of the first and second hollow members is provided with external threads at the end to be mated; a plurality of clamping fingers are formed at an axially outer side of the external threads of said other one of the first and second hollow members, the clamping fingers being extend in parallel along the axial direction or inclining radially inward as they extend towards the distal ends, and said one of the first and second hollow members is circumferentially formed with a chamfered portion or a beveled portion around an axially inner side of the internal threads thereof so that when the internal threads engage with the external threads, the chamfered portion or the beveled portion will engage with the clamping fingers and force them to incline radially inwardly and snap firmly onto the conduit tube.
2. The jumper according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of clamping fingers are provided by a wall of a corresponding axial end of the second hollow member and are spaced apart by a plurality of longitudinal cutouts formed in the wall.
3. The jumper according to claim 1, wherein the protection sheaths are formed of silicon rubber.
4. The jumper according to claim 1, wherein the conduit tube is an elastic corrugated tube, and the clamping fingers are configured to snap firmly into annular grooves formed in a surface of the corrugated tube.
5. The jumper according to claim 1, wherein the first and second hollow members are formed of hard materials.
6. The jumper according to claim 1, wherein the length of the second hollow member is 1.2 times larger, or more, than that of the protection sheath.
7. The jumper according to claim 1, wherein the connectors are straight-head connectors, and the second hollow member is provided with threads at an opposite end to the end to be mated with the first hollow member, thus enabling the second hollow member to be successively connected to another hollow member having threads.
8. The jumper according to claim 1, wherein the second hollow member comprises two half portions that are formed with additional external threads at ends thereof opposite to the ends with the clamping fingers so that the two half portions can be jointed together at said ends opposite to the ends with the clamping fingers by means of a locking ring having internal threads, and the two half portions can be fixed at the ends with the clamping fingers by threadingly engaging with the first hollow member, thus providing protection for the protection sheaths.