DE2364003A1 - SUBSAVE ELECTRIC CONNECTOR - Google Patents

Description

With the rapid growth of oceanographic research, it became necessary to create submarine electrical devices that could both be ' are safe and relatively cheap. Although submarine electrical connectors have already been developed,

t which make or break the plug connection under water |

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'allow, require the most successful marine connectors to date, that the connection is established outside the water or above the water surface before it is exposed to the submarine conditions get abandoned. However, with the use of electronic devices at ever greater depths, it became a necessity to ' that the plugging and unplugging process under the water surface as well as; be made at depths that make the connector high Subject water pressure.

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409827/0785

Detachable electrical subsea plug connectors generally consist of two coupling halves that can be plugged together, each of which is provided with a sealant or a sealing device so that seawater cannot penetrate the electrical plug connector when it is plugged together or also,

separated; is. Obvious is the limitation of effectiveness ^; of mated or disconnected connectors, a function of the effectiveness of the seal; that is, if the seal or the sealant is subjected to ever greater differential pressures when it is lowered into the water, it is prone to defects and also fails when the differential pressure breaks its seal . ■ capacity exceeds. Oversized fits and O-ring seals are commonly used for subsea connectors to prevent fluid from entering the live portion of the mated coupling halves.

t ■. .

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j If the coupling plug and the coupling socket are plugged in I

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or separated into the sea and exposed to ever greater pressures, then a differential pressure builds up on the seal in these devices until it finally yields and water can penetrate the coupling halves, creating an electrical defect. Another disadvantage of some of these connectors is that the upper \

with which they form the watertight seal, open \

and can therefore be damaged by external influences. ;

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Any scratch or notch in the sealing surface causes one : poor sealing with the o-ring and leads to leakage and I Failure of the connector.

In order to avoid these disadvantages, according to the invention a solvable! Electrical connector is provided, which in any depth of water, when voltage is applied to one or more contacts ' -. and can be removed and which is characterized by the fact that the contacts of the two plug-in coupling halves are immersed in an oil bath. The mating coupling halves are designed so that the contacts of each corresponding half are immersed in a common bath once the connector is made, and the connector is primary

characterized in that the two coupling halves with ' elastically deformable cable feeds made of plastic connected ■

• which contain a non-conductive fluid that j when immersed in the water to any depth pressure-resistant for

\ is the ambient pressure, which means that all of the waterproof ver j

i!

j Differential pressures acting on the connector j i

be avoided.

[The invention is explained in more detail below. All in the description Features and measures contained may be essential to the invention Be meaning. The drawings show:

j Fig. 1 is a partial longitudinal section through the invention electrical connector with cable, the corresponding connector parts not mated are; -4-

AO9827 / 0765

Fig. 2 is a view like Fig. 1, but here are the two Coupling halves plugged together.

[Fig. 1 shows a connector and cable with the coupling plug and the coupling socket and the cable feeds

: 300, the waterproof with the ends of the coupling plug and the Coupling socket are connected. The plug comprises the housing 100 with the front plug-in end 10 2 and the rear end 104 to accommodate the cable feed. A flexible cable feed 300, for example made of a rubber-like material

! is made, is attached to the receptacle for the cable feed 104 and forms a watertight seal. At the inside ' On the side of the housing 100 is a number of electrical contacts 110

• With a front plug-in end 112 and a rear end

ι for the line connection 114 on the circumference and at a distance around arranged the central axis of the housing 1OO. In this embodiment the contacts are in an approximately tubular shape

j housing 123 is attached, in which a second approximately cylindrical _: I '".';

; shaped housing 121 protrudes telescopically, which by a spring 122 is biased to a first contact-protecting or contact-covering position. The roughly cylindrical inner

; Housing 121 is in its pretensioned and contact-protecting position under pressure on the 0-rings 170 and thus forms one ^!

'' watertight seal between the tubular outer casing!

_i 123 and the cylindrical inner housing 121, whereby the con-

The bars 110 and their front, pluggable ends 112 are protected against contact with liquid from the outside. All cavities 120, 140 > in the housing 100 and in the elastically deformable cable feed 3o) d

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409827/0765

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are filled with a non-conductive liquid such as petroleum. The liquid in the housing 100 and in the cable

j feed 3OO communicates with the pluggable ends 112 and the

Line connections 114 of the contacts and also with the lines 400 in the cable feed 3OO, so that the pluggable ends ^: 112 of the contacts are always immersed in the non-conductive liquid. The electrical contacts 110 are circumferentially arranged so that they communicate with the outside of the tubular housing 121, which is telescoped into the housing 123. The cylindrical housing 121 can be moved backwards in the tubular housing 123. The remainder The structure of the coupling plug is the same as that of any other coupling plug and also fulfills the same ■ tasks.

^! The coupling socket includes the housing 2OO to the front pluggable ■ cash end 202 and rear end 204 for receiving the cable:

execution. On the circumference of the inside of the can body 200 is a number of electrical contacts 210 around the central axis of the!

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cylindrical housing 221 arranged at the same distance as; the corresponding contacts of the coupling plug 110. The!

tubular outer housing 223 telescoped in ■

The cylindrical inner housing 221 of the coupling socket forms a watertight seal with the tubular housing 223 with the aid of the O-rings 270 on the front of the coupling socket. The tubular outer housing 223 of the coupling socket is pretensioned by the spring 222 which attaches the O-ring 270 to the wall of the ^! Inner housing 221 pushes, creating a waterproof lock and

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a protection of the electrical contacts 210 against the sea water are guaranteed when the coupling socket is submerged. When a rearward force is applied to the front end of the tubular housing 223, the tubular housing 223 can be moved backwards. The O-ring 270 ensures a watertight seal along the outside of the cylindrical

The inner housing 221. In this embodiment, the cylindrical housing 221 generally has a smooth rod

. made of insulating material, with the pluggable ends 212 of the contacts ■ are flush with the surface of the housing 221. All cavities

- in the cable feed 300 and in the coupling housing 2OO are filled with a non-conductive liquid, and the O-rings 270 ensure a watertight seal between the liquid in the connector, the cable feed and the water in; that the connector is submerged.

'Fig. 2 shows the assembled connector. In this state, the tubular housing 223 of the coupling socket in ^! the rear part of the socket housing 200 is pressed, and the cylindrically shaped housing 121 of the coupling plug 100 is also pushed backwards relative to the housing 100 so that the socket contacts 210 can be plugged into the plug contacts 110 at their plug-in ends 212, 112. It should be noted that the contacts in the connector housing 100 as well as in the not; Conductive liquid, which is located both in the connector housing 100 and in its cable feed 300, with one another. The O-rings 270 and 170 prevent them not

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conductive liquid in the coupling socket in the coupling plug and, conversely, that the non-conductive liquid in housing 100 can get into the can housing 200. Preferred non-conductive

Liquids are oil, freon, or any other suitable electric insulating liquid.

With reference to the drawings, it will now be explained how the connector 'is assembled underwater: A keyway (not shown) aligns the contacts of the socket 210 with the contacts of the plug 110 when the socket is inserted into the front end 102 of the plug housing IOC. When the socket is pushed into the plug housing, the tubular housing 223 rests against the tubular plug housing 123 and presses the socket housing 223 ' backwards. At the same time, the cylindrical can! housing 222 on the cylindrical connector housing 121 and presses | the cylindrical connector housing 122 opposite the housing 100; afterwards »When the front part of the cylindrical socket housing 222 is pushed into the plug housing 100, then j

that the socket contacts 212 are cleaned by the O-rings 170 that

I are in pressure connection with the cylindrical housing 212

and form a watertight seal with it. If ι

moves the cylindrical connector housing 121 rearward, then j

the plug-in end 212 of the socket contact comes into contact with j ^; to the plug-in end 112 of the plug contact 110. The upper

"Union nut 1O6 secures the two coupling halves in their closed \

assembled state by using the front part 202 of the j

Box housing is screwed. \

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- 8 In order to separate the connector, the union or

lock nut 106 released, and the coupling halves are off; j pulled together. If the coupling halves are now under water then no water can get into the contact-equipped parts

penetrate the corresponding coupling halves. This is based on the effect of the elastically deformable cable feeds, which, if subjected to pressure, increase the pressure of the insulating liquid in the connector on the O-ring seals 17O, 270, so that the pressure of the insulating liquid in the cable feed 300 and in the housings 100, 200 is the same as that on the Housing 100, 200 acting external pressure of the sea water. Since there is little or no differential pressure on the O-ring seals 170, 270 acts, the sea water does not penetrate into the plug or socket housing. If the cable feeder 300 would be deformable, then there would obviously be no way of increasing the internal pressure of the insulating liquid to the pressure of the

To align with sea water. Since the cable feed 300 is elastic is compressible when the cable and the connector sink to ever greater depths, and since the cable feed 300 is compressed when the. the pressure of the sea water acting on them increases, the pressure of the insulating liquid is also increased thus preventing the sea water from passing through the O-ring seals can penetrate the connector.

^! To determine the performance of this new connector, the following tests were carried out:

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TEST NO. 1: Electrical contacts lying next to one another and their leads were connected in series in pairs, whereupon a current of 5 A was sent through this circuit. The following voltage drop ih mV was at the contacts

ί measured when this buildup is immersed in water and rushed on

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Brought pressure of 175 kg / cm and then again from the

^! Water was taken:

Voltage drop after exposure to water pressure ^ of 2500 psig (175.3 kg / cnt) for one hour

575 mV 585 mV 567 mV

TEST NO. 2: An alternating voltage of 4800 V, ._ was applied to two adjacent connector contacts that were electrically isolated from one another, while the connector was one

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ι was exposed to water pressure of 175 kg / cm. Between the con i no arcing occurred, and the interfaces! between the coupling plug and socket were dry when they were? were separated.

Circuit Initial chip
waste Contacts A-B 567 mV Contacts C-D 569 mV Contacts E-F 564 mV

TEST NO.3: The plug connector with cable was inserted into a salt I immersed in water solution and combined several times under water: stuck and separated. The following table shows the initial resistance in GOhm between two neighboring contacts before the Immersion in the water compared to the resistance that is after

.409827 / 07 6 5 "

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was measured every mating / separating cycle.

Adjoining initial.

Bart resistance 1. 3, 5. 7. 9. 15.

Contacts GOhrn cycle cycle cycle cycle cycle cycle

AWAY 9, O 9. 8th ' 10. 0 5 .3 6th .0 6th 1 5. 3 G-D 5. 8th 6, 9 6, 7th 5 .5 5 .5 6th 3 4th 8th E-F 7th 8th 8th. 6th 8th. 9 5 .2 5 .2 5. 9 4th 7th

_: These tests show that the connector is pushing with cable

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could withstand up to and including 175 kg / cm with little or no adverse effects, and that the device both mechanically and electrically worked perfectly when it was compressed several times under water.

In addition to the embodiment described above are still

others are possible without leaving the scope of the invention. In ι
'In some cases, certain features of the invention may be more advantageous.

can be used without the corresponding other characteristics.

For example, it can be advantageous for some purposes that the insulating liquid is only in the coupling plug or the coupling socket of the electrical connector with cable. In this Case it is preferable to use the coupling plug of the electrical To provide the connector with the insulating liquid.

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Claims (3)

23640Q3 Patent attorneys Dr. Ing.H. Nerondank Df pi. Ing. H. Haue: - C i.: · »Phys. ^! V. Schmitz Dipl. Ing. E. Graffs - Di-> l. ! ng. W. Wehnelt 8 Mtiadi- ^ i 2, S »; oisr5ätia0e 23 Telephone 5380586 The Bendix Corporation Executive offices Bendix Center. . 20th December 1973 Southfield, Mich. 48075, U.S. Attorney File M-2929 Claims Iy Detachable submarine electrical connector for connection a number of electrical lines with a coupling socket and a coupling plug which can be detached from the coupling socket can be introduced and has a part in an outer housing, on the circumference of which electrical contacts are spaced are arranged to each other, which are connected to the electrical lines of a first cable end, which also has a plug-in end, one end for receiving the cable feed and devices for creating a watertight seal at its plug-in end, the closure having a movable device for protecting the contacts the coupling plug and a device for biasing the contact protection in the contact-covering position, so that the contacts when disconnecting the coupling plug; are covered by the coupling socket and when plugged together of the two are exposed, and likewise the coupling socket has a part in its outer housing, on the circumference of which elec- 409827/0765 tric Eontakte are arranged at a distance from each other, which come into engagement with the corresponding plug contacts and are connected to a number of electrical lines of the other cable end, which also have a plug-in end, _e in end for receiving the cable feed and a device for creating a has a water-tight closure at its plug-in end, and then the closure comprises a movable device for protecting the socket contacts and a device for biasing the protective device for the socket contacts in a contact-covering position so that the contacts are covered when the coupling plug and coupling socket are disconnected are and are exposed when the two are joined and finally with a cavity in the coupling plug and coupling socket, which is formed by the corresponding closure and the contact carrier, characterized by a waterproof, elastically deformable cable feed (3OO), which represents the cable sheath llt, with one end of the cable feed being connected to the receiving end (104) of the coupling plug and the other end being connected to the receiving end (204) of the coupling socket, as well as by an electrically insulating liquid which the remaining space in the cable feed (300) and the cavities (12Ο-14Ο; 22O-24O) in the housing. 2. Detachable electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that the seal of the coupling plug is a tubular housing (123) having an open outer end and 409827/0765 comprises an inner surface that the plug contacts (110) on the I. Inner surface are fixed and a movable inner part (121) j telescopically inserted into the tubular housing (123) is, also .that a first spring (122) the movable part (121) in a contact-covering position and at least one sealing ring (170) on the inner surface of the tubular Housing (123) is attached near its outer end, which is in operative connection with I the outer surface of the movable part (121) I stand to make a seal with him. i 3. Detachable electrical connector according to claim 2, characterized in that the seal of the coupling socket comprises a contact carrier (221), on the outer surface of which the socket contacts (212) are attached, that a tubular part (223) telescopic ^: like a telescope over the contact carrier ( 221) of the coupling socket is pushed, fener that a ring seal (270) between the '. Can part (221) and the movable part (223) is attached to form a seal between them and finally that a second spring (222) biases the movable part (223) in a contact-covering position. 'i 40982 7/0765 Blank page