EP0287697A1 - Apparatus and method for providing orientation of a coax cable having a ground termination bar - Google Patents
Apparatus and method for providing orientation of a coax cable having a ground termination bar Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0287697A1 EP0287697A1 EP87105994A EP87105994A EP0287697A1 EP 0287697 A1 EP0287697 A1 EP 0287697A1 EP 87105994 A EP87105994 A EP 87105994A EP 87105994 A EP87105994 A EP 87105994A EP 0287697 A1 EP0287697 A1 EP 0287697A1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- orientation bar
- connector
- insulation displacement
- coax
- bar means
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R9/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, e.g. terminal strips or terminal blocks; Terminals or binding posts mounted upon a base or in a case; Bases therefor
- H01R9/03—Connectors arranged to contact a plurality of the conductors of a multiconductor cable, e.g. tapping connections
- H01R9/05—Connectors arranged to contact a plurality of the conductors of a multiconductor cable, e.g. tapping connections for coaxial cables
- H01R9/053—Connectors arranged to contact a plurality of the conductors of a multiconductor cable, e.g. tapping connections for coaxial cables using contact members penetrating insulation
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R9/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, e.g. terminal strips or terminal blocks; Terminals or binding posts mounted upon a base or in a case; Bases therefor
- H01R9/03—Connectors arranged to contact a plurality of the conductors of a multiconductor cable, e.g. tapping connections
- H01R9/05—Connectors arranged to contact a plurality of the conductors of a multiconductor cable, e.g. tapping connections for coaxial cables
Definitions
- This invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly, to an electrical connector of the insulation displacement connector-type and a method for connecting a plurality of coax cables to a predetermined contact of the electrical connector and provided a common ground termination in conjunction therewith.
- insulation displacement connectors which are used to produce a cable harness whereby a wire having some dielectric covering (insulation) is forcibly inserted into a contact, the contact being structured to pierce or cut through the insulation and to make contact with the metal conductor (i.e., wire) thereby eliminating the step of stripping the insulation from the wire before making the electrical connection of the wire to the contact.
- the insulation displacement connector (IDC) contact has been developed such that a highly reliable electrical connection is made and has proved to be a highly efficient technique for connecting ribbon cables. No other connections are required when wires of the type mentioned above are used in conjunction with the insulation displacement connector.
- an additional connection must be made; namely, the drain wire (i.e., ground shield and/or the ground wire) must also be connected to a common electrical terminal.
- coaxial ribbon cable consisting of individual coaxial cables encased in a PVC jacket making up a standard flat ribbon cable configuration.
- Each coaxial lead has a solid center conductor (wire) and a foil shield with a drain wire. This construction allows the cable to be cut in any length maintaining the exact positioning of the center conductor (wire) and drain wire.
- the ground termination block allows all of the contacts of the connector to be utilized for the signal conductors of the coax cable, and also provides for using individual coax cables, rather then ribbon cable, for the cable harness.
- Existing ribbon cable drain wires are in between signal conductors and dieletric materials limiting the size of the diameter of the dielectric, thereby limiting higher range of characteristic impedances of the coax.
- An orientation bar of the present invention aligns the drain wires to allow for maximum dielectric diameters, thereby maximizing the higher characteristic impedance range of the coax cable.
- the diameter of the drain wire must be the same or nearly the same as the wire since the contacts on the IDC are the same physical size. In the present invention, since the contacts of the connector are not utilized to terminate the drain wires, no such requirement exists.
- the present invention permits the use of coax cables with the readily available and relatively inexpensive IDC connectors by providing a ground termination bar for making the common ground termination, while still maintaining a relatively simple method of making the connection of the wire and the drain wire.
- the use of the ground termination bar also allows all the contacts of the connector to be available for signal conductors (wires).
- a connector for providing electrical connections for a coax cable harness including a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire.
- the connector comprises an insulation displacement connector having a plurality of insulation displacement contacts set in a top surface of the insulation displacement connector. Each insulation displacement contact engages a corresponding wire encased in the dielectric, the insulation displacement contact piercing the dielectric thereby providing the electrical connection for the wire of the coax cable.
- An orientation bar positions the coax cables to be in line with the corresponding insulation displacement contact, the coax cables resting on a top surface of the orientation bar.
- the orientation bar is positioned next to the insulation displacement connector such that a side surface of the insulation displacement connector is in contact or nearly in contact with the orientation bar.
- the orientation bar further has a plurality of holes from the top surface which extend to a bottom surface of the orientation bar, each hole being positioned under the corresponding coax cable in order to permit the corresponding drain wire of the coax cable to be inserted through the hole with the end portion of drain wire bent across the bottom surface of the orientation bar.
- a ground termination block having a top surface placed opposite the bottom surface of the orientation bar and fixed against the drain wires bent across the bottom surface of the orientation bar, causes the drain wires to be in pressure contact between the ground termination block and the orientation bar, wherein at least one of the ground termination block or the orientation bar is made of an electrically conducting material.
- the present invention also includes a method of connecting a coax cable harness to a connector, the coax cable harness including a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire, and each coax cable having been stripped of an outer jacket and accompanying shield.
- the connector includes an insulation displacement connector having insulation displacement contacts, and an orientation bar positioned next to the insulation displacement connector.
- the orientation bar has holes along the length of the orientation bar for each coax cable position opposite each insulation displacement contact.
- each drain wire of the coax cable is bent at about right angles to the length of the coax cable at the point where the outer jacket has been stripped.
- the method comprises the steps of inserting the drain wire in a first hole of the orientation bar such that the coax cable is resting essentially on a top surface of the orientation bar, bending the end portion of the drain wire, which extends from outside the hole at the bottom surface of the orientation bar, parallel to the coax cable, and forcibly inserting the wire encased in the dielectric in the corresponding insulation displacement contact. These steps are repeated for the next adjacent coax cable until all the coax cables have been connected to the corresponding insulation displacement contact.
- a ground termination block is placed along the bottom surface of the orientation bar such that the drain wires are between the orientation bar and the ground termination block. The ground termination block is then fastened to the orientation bar such that the drain wires are held in pressure contact with the ground termination block.
- Figure 1A shows a cut-away isometric view of a coax cable as utilized in conjunction with an electrical connector (or more simply referred to herein as a connector) of the present invention
- Figure 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the coax cable.
- the coax cable 10 consists of a wire 18 (also referred to herein as a metal conductor, and a signal conductor), having a dielectric covering 19 (also referred to herein as insulation).
- a metallic foil 14 Surrounding the insulation 19 is a metallic foil 14 (which can also be a braided wire or other type of metallic substance) for providing a shield for the wire 18.
- a drain wire 16 which makes electrical contact with the metallic foil 14.
- the metallic foil 14 is then encased in an outer jacket 12 of some insulation material.
- the connector 20 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an insulation displacement connector (IDC) 22 which is readily available from connector manufacturers, such as AMP.
- IDC 22 as shown, has two rows of contacts 23 ⁇ and 23 ⁇ , also referred to herein as a front row (or first row) 23 ⁇ , and a back row (or second row) 23 ⁇ .
- the contacts 23 are set in the IDC 22 such that the contacts 23 have an extension embedded into the body of the IDC 22 and protrude from another surface for making contact with a backplane or printed circuit board (not shown since it has no bearing on the present invention).
- the part of the contacts 23 shown extending above a top surface 21 of the IDC 22 include that portion for connecting the coax cable 10 to the contact 23. It is this part of the contact 23 which will be discussed.
- Included as part of the connector 20 is an orientation bar 26 and a ground termination block 24.
- Coax cables 10 have been stripped of some of the outer jacket 12 and metallic foil 14 such that a predetermined length of the insulation 19 containing wire 18, and drain wire 16 are exposed.
- the stripping can be accomplished through the use of stripping and terminating equipment well known to those skilled in the art; the stripping process will not be discussed further herein since it forms no part of the present invention.
- the insulation 19 and the wire 18 have been stripped the predetermined length such that the length extends beyond the front surface 29 of the IDC 22, the length extension not shown for clarity, but will be discussed further hereinunder.
- the drain wire 16 of each coax cable 10 is bent at approximately 90° to the length of the coax cable such that the drain wire 16 can be inserted into a corresponding hole 25 in the orientation bar 26.
- the orientation bar 26 contains a plurality of slots 27 such that each coax cable 10 fits within the slot 27.
- the drain wire 16 is then wrapped around the bottom of the orientation bar such that the drain wire 16 goes across a W-shaped indentation 30 which is cut into the bottom surface of the orientation bar 26 and extends the entire length of the orientation bar 26.
- the slot 27 of the orientation bar serves to position and orient each coax cable 10 such that the drain wire 16 is facing downward, and positions and holds the coax cable 10 in line with the corresponding contact 23.
- the insulation 19 and wire 18 extends across or slightly above the top surface of the IDC 22 and is inserted into the corresponding contact 23 such that alternate coax cables 10 are connected to contacts 23 within the same row.
- the insulation 19 and wire 18 of coax cable 10-1, 10-3, 10-5 (not shown) ... are connected to corresponding contacts 23 ⁇ in the back row.
- coax cable 10-2, 10-4 (not shown) ... are connected to the corresponding front row contacts 23 ⁇ .
- a top bar 28 is set across the coax cables 10 and the ground termination block 24 is set across the bottom of the orientation bar 26 and fastened together thereby holding the coax cables 10 in position.
- the orientation bar 26 is made of a molded plastic and the ground termination block 24 is made of a metallic substance.
- the ground termination block 24 has a W-shaped protrusion 31 which corresponds to the indentation 30 and lines up with the indentation 30 of the orientation bar 26.
- a step 32 is provided at the two ends of the orientation bar 26 on the surface which mates with the ground termination bar 24 such that a space is provided for the drain wires. It is desirable that the drain wires only be pierced by the protrusion 31 of the ground termination bar 24, thereby avoiding a shearing of the drain wire 16. Such a shearing action could cut the drain wire 16 and thus make an unreliable contact of the drain wire 16 to the ground termination block 24.
- Figure 3A shows a top view of the orientation bar 26 in position with IDC connector 22 at the start of the assembly process.
- Figure 3B shows section A-A of Figure 3A with the connector 20 partially assembled.
- Figure 3C shows section A-A of the completed connector 20.
- a plurality of coax cables 10 are stripped such that a predetermined amount of the outer jacket 12 and metallic foil 14 are removed leaving a predetermined length of the drain wire 16 and a predetermined length of the insulation 19 containing wire 18.
- the length of the drain wire 16 is sufficiently long to fit through hole 25 and bend across the indentation 30 of the orientation bar 26.
- the insulation 19 containing wire 18 is sufficiently long to be inserted into a corresponding contact 23 and extend beyond the IDC connector allowing an assembler to make the proper insertion of the insulation 19 into the corresponding connector 23.
- the orientation bar 26 and IDC connector 22 are mounted into a fixture 50.
- a second fixture 50 also contains a second IDC connector 22 (not shown) and a second orientation bar 26 ⁇ (not shown) for the opposite end of the cable harness.
- a first coax cable 10 having been previously stripped the predetermined lengths at both ends has the drain wire 16 inserted into the first hole 25 of the orientation bar 26 and the remainder of the coax cable 10 inserted into the corresponding slot 27, the insulation 19 containing the wire 18 being inserted into the corresponding contact 23.
- the other end of the first coax cable 10 is likewise inserted into the corresponding first position of the second orientation bar 26 ⁇ (not shown) in a like manner as described above.
- the individual coax cable 10 has been inserted into the first position of the two connectors 20 at both ends of the cable.
- a second coax cable is then inserted into the second position of the first connector 20.
- the assembler continues the process until all the available positions have a coax cable 10 (or all the positions as previously determined, in the preferred embodiment 30 positions exist and hence there are 30 coax cables 10 making up the coax cable harness). After the assembler has inserted the 30th coax cable 10 there should be no available positions in the connectors 20 at both ends of the cable harness.
- the top bar 28 is placed on the top surface of the orientation bar 26 and across the coax cables 10.
- the ground termination block 24 is placed under the orientation bar 26, and the top bar 28, the orientation bar 26, and the ground termination block 24 are fastened together.
- the connector 20 can then be removed from the fixture 50 and the insulation 19 containing the wires 18 and the drain wires 16 are then trimmed flush with the surface of the IDC connector 22 and the orientation bar 26, respectively.
- a simple visual inspection of the connectors at both ends would verify that all the positions are occupied thereby eliminating the electrical check, commonly known as "ringing-out" the cable can be eliminated.
- a dielectric covering 51 can be placed over the contacts 23 to further install the drain wires 16 into the contacts 23 and also to avoid any physical damage to the contacts 23.
- a cable harness can be made embodying the present invention which includes a second plane of coax cables 10-101.
- a second orientation bar 26 ⁇ having notches 27 ⁇ are positioned such that the drain wire 16 of the coax cable 10-101 is inserted into hole 25 ⁇ of the second orientation bar 26 ⁇ and made to be oriented opposite a corresponding hole 29 in the orientation bar 26.
- the drain wire 16 of coax cable 10-101 passes between coax cables 10-1 and 10-2. Additional coax cables 10-102, 10-103, (not shown) ...
- the contact 23′′′ which is utilized to make the connection of the wire 18 corresponding to coax cable 10-101, can be on a pedestal 36 of the IDC connector 22, or the contact 23′′′ may be sufficiently high to engage the insulation 19 and corresponding wire 18 of coax cable 10-101 without interfering with the connections made by the contacts of the first and second row, 23 ⁇ , 23 ⁇ .
- the spacing between contacts 23 in the first row and the second row is sufficiently far apart, or the diameter of the coax cables 10 is sufficiently small, such that there is sufficient space for the drain wires 16 of coax cable 10-101 to fit between adjacent coax cables 10 (i.e., coax cables 10-1 and 10-2).
- FIG. 5 there is shown still another alternative embodiment of the present invention.
- the orientation bar 26 is shown made of an electrically conducting material (i.e., a metallic substance) which is positioned next to the IDC connector 22 such that the insulation 19 containing the wire 18 of the coax cable 10 is positioned to a corresponding IDC contact 23.
- the drain wire 16 is positioned along a side surface of IDC connector 22 and a side surface of the orientation bar 26 with the coax cable 10 resting along the top surface of the orientation bar 26.
- holes are provided for fastening IDC connector 22 to orientation bar 26 such that pressure is exerted against the drain wire 16.
- the fastening can be accomplished by a fastener 52.
- all the drain wires 16 are making physical contact with orientation bar 26.
- This arrangement holds drain wires 16 in place as a result of the pressure between the orientation bar 26 and the IDC connector 22, and also serves to hold the coax cables 10 in position.
- Such an arrangement may be suitable when little or no stress is placed upon the coax cables 10.
- a top bar 28 (not shown) may be placed across the top surfaces of the coax cable 10 and fastened to orientation bar 26 as done in the preferred embodiment described above.
- a dielectric covering (not shown) can be placed over the contacts 23 as discussed above in connection with the preferred embodiment.
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- Multi-Conductor Connections (AREA)
Abstract
A connector for providing electrical connections for a coax cable harness, the coax cable harness including a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire. The connector comprising an insulation displacement connector (22) having a plurality of insulation displacement contacts set (23) in a top surface of the insulation displacement connector. Each insulation displacement contact engages a corresponding wire encased in the dielectric, the insulating displacement contact piercing the dielectric thereby providing the electrical connection for the wire of the coax cable. An orientation bar (26) positions the coax cables to be in line with the corresponding insulation displacement contact, the coax cables resting on a top surface of the orientation bar. The orientation bar is positioned next to the insulation displacement connector such that a side surface of the insulation displacement connector is in contact or nearly in contact with the orientation bar. The orientation bar further has a plurality of holes (25) from the top surface which extend to a bottom surface of the orientation bar, each hole being positioned under the corresponding coax cable in order to permit the corresponding drain wire of the coax cable to be inserted through the hole with the end portion of drain wire bent across the bottom surface of the orientation bar. A ground termination block, (24) having a top surface placed opposite the bottom surface of the orientation bar and fixed against the drain wires bent across the bottom surface of the orientation bar, causes the drain wires to be in pressure contact between the ground termination block and the orientation bar, wherein at least one of the ground termination block of the orientation bar is made of an electrically conducting material.
Description
- This invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly, to an electrical connector of the insulation displacement connector-type and a method for connecting a plurality of coax cables to a predetermined contact of the electrical connector and provided a common ground termination in conjunction therewith.
- There is currently available insulation displacement connectors which are used to produce a cable harness whereby a wire having some dielectric covering (insulation) is forcibly inserted into a contact, the contact being structured to pierce or cut through the insulation and to make contact with the metal conductor (i.e., wire) thereby eliminating the step of stripping the insulation from the wire before making the electrical connection of the wire to the contact. The insulation displacement connector (IDC) contact has been developed such that a highly reliable electrical connection is made and has proved to be a highly efficient technique for connecting ribbon cables. No other connections are required when wires of the type mentioned above are used in conjunction with the insulation displacement connector. However, when a plurality of coax cables form the cable harness, an additional connection must be made; namely, the drain wire (i.e., ground shield and/or the ground wire) must also be connected to a common electrical terminal.
- There presently exists coaxial ribbon cable consisting of individual coaxial cables encased in a PVC jacket making up a standard flat ribbon cable configuration. Each coaxial lead has a solid center conductor (wire) and a foil shield with a drain wire. This construction allows the cable to be cut in any length maintaining the exact positioning of the center conductor (wire) and drain wire.
- Through the use of stripping and terminating equipment, well known to those skilled in the art, all conductors are stripped simultaneously and mass terminated. On the connector, the signal conductors (i.e., wires) are terminated on one side of the connector and the drain wires are attached to the opposite side (the connector having two rows of contacts). These operations greatly reduce assembly time, damage and overall applied cost. However, one row of contacts is dedicated to terminating the drain wires, thereby cutting in half the amount of contacts available for connecting the signal conductors (i.e., wires).
- The ground termination block provided by the present invention allows all of the contacts of the connector to be utilized for the signal conductors of the coax cable, and also provides for using individual coax cables, rather then ribbon cable, for the cable harness. Existing ribbon cable drain wires are in between signal conductors and dieletric materials limiting the size of the diameter of the dielectric, thereby limiting higher range of characteristic impedances of the coax. An orientation bar of the present invention aligns the drain wires to allow for maximum dielectric diameters, thereby maximizing the higher characteristic impedance range of the coax cable. Further, when the contacts of the connector are used to terminate the drain wire, the diameter of the drain wire must be the same or nearly the same as the wire since the contacts on the IDC are the same physical size. In the present invention, since the contacts of the connector are not utilized to terminate the drain wires, no such requirement exists.
- The present invention permits the use of coax cables with the readily available and relatively inexpensive IDC connectors by providing a ground termination bar for making the common ground termination, while still maintaining a relatively simple method of making the connection of the wire and the drain wire. The use of the ground termination bar also allows all the contacts of the connector to be available for signal conductors (wires).
- Therefore, there is supplied by the present invention a connector for providing electrical connections for a coax cable harness, the coax cable harness including a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire. The connector comprises an insulation displacement connector having a plurality of insulation displacement contacts set in a top surface of the insulation displacement connector. Each insulation displacement contact engages a corresponding wire encased in the dielectric, the insulation displacement contact piercing the dielectric thereby providing the electrical connection for the wire of the coax cable. An orientation bar positions the coax cables to be in line with the corresponding insulation displacement contact, the coax cables resting on a top surface of the orientation bar. The orientation bar is positioned next to the insulation displacement connector such that a side surface of the insulation displacement connector is in contact or nearly in contact with the orientation bar. The orientation bar further has a plurality of holes from the top surface which extend to a bottom surface of the orientation bar, each hole being positioned under the corresponding coax cable in order to permit the corresponding drain wire of the coax cable to be inserted through the hole with the end portion of drain wire bent across the bottom surface of the orientation bar. A ground termination block, having a top surface placed opposite the bottom surface of the orientation bar and fixed against the drain wires bent across the bottom surface of the orientation bar, causes the drain wires to be in pressure contact between the ground termination block and the orientation bar, wherein at least one of the ground termination block or the orientation bar is made of an electrically conducting material.
- The present invention also includes a method of connecting a coax cable harness to a connector, the coax cable harness including a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire, and each coax cable having been stripped of an outer jacket and accompanying shield. The connector includes an insulation displacement connector having insulation displacement contacts, and an orientation bar positioned next to the insulation displacement connector. The orientation bar has holes along the length of the orientation bar for each coax cable position opposite each insulation displacement contact. Also, each drain wire of the coax cable is bent at about right angles to the length of the coax cable at the point where the outer jacket has been stripped. The method comprises the steps of inserting the drain wire in a first hole of the orientation bar such that the coax cable is resting essentially on a top surface of the orientation bar, bending the end portion of the drain wire, which extends from outside the hole at the bottom surface of the orientation bar, parallel to the coax cable, and forcibly inserting the wire encased in the dielectric in the corresponding insulation displacement contact. These steps are repeated for the next adjacent coax cable until all the coax cables have been connected to the corresponding insulation displacement contact. A ground termination block is placed along the bottom surface of the orientation bar such that the drain wires are between the orientation bar and the ground termination block. The ground termination block is then fastened to the orientation bar such that the drain wires are held in pressure contact with the ground termination block.
- Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector for connecting coax cables.
- It is another object of the present invention to provide a connector for connecting the drain wire of the coax cables to a common termination.
- It is still another object of the present invention to provide a connector for connecting each wire of the coax cables to a predetermined contact of the connector.
- It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a connector for connecting the drain wires of the coax cable to a common termination and for connecting the wires of the coax cables to predetermined contacts of the connector.
- It is still another object of the present invention to provide a connector for connecting the drain wires of the coax cables to a common termination and for connecting the wires of the coax cables to predetermined contacts of the connector, whereby all the contacts of the connector are utilized for connecting respective wire.
- It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for making the connection of the wire and the drain wire to the electrical connector.
- These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent when taken in conjunction with the following description and attached drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts, and which drawings form a part of the present application.
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- Figure 1A, which together with Figure 1B comprise Figure 1, shows a cut-away isometric view of a coax cable as utilized in conjunction with a connector of the present invention;
- Figure 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the coax cable of Figure 1A;
- Figure 2 shows an isometric view of the connector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
- Figure 3A, which together with Figures 3B and 3C comprise Figure 3, shows a top view of an orientation bar in position with an insulation displacement connector at the start of the assembly process;
- Figure 3B shows section A-A of Figure 3A with the connector of the present invention partially assembled;
- Figure 3C shows section A-A of Figure 3A of the completed connector;
- Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the connector of the present invention; and
- Figure 5 shows still another alternative embodiment of the connector of the present invention.
- Referring to Figure 1, being comprised of Figures 1A and 1B, Figure 1A shows a cut-away isometric view of a coax cable as utilized in conjunction with an electrical connector (or more simply referred to herein as a connector) of the present invention, and Figure 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the coax cable. The
coax cable 10 consists of a wire 18 (also referred to herein as a metal conductor, and a signal conductor), having a dielectric covering 19 (also referred to herein as insulation). Surrounding theinsulation 19 is a metallic foil 14 (which can also be a braided wire or other type of metallic substance) for providing a shield for thewire 18. Enclosed inside themetallic foil 14 is adrain wire 16 which makes electrical contact with themetallic foil 14. Themetallic foil 14 is then encased in anouter jacket 12 of some insulation material. - Referring to Figure 2, there is shown an isometric view of the
connector 20 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Theconnector 20 of the present invention includes an insulation displacement connector (IDC) 22 which is readily available from connector manufacturers, such as AMP. The IDC 22 as shown, has two rows of contacts 23ʹ and 23ʺ, also referred to herein as a front row (or first row) 23ʹ, and a back row (or second row) 23ʺ. Thecontacts 23 are set in the IDC 22 such that thecontacts 23 have an extension embedded into the body of the IDC 22 and protrude from another surface for making contact with a backplane or printed circuit board (not shown since it has no bearing on the present invention). The part of thecontacts 23 shown extending above a top surface 21 of theIDC 22 include that portion for connecting thecoax cable 10 to thecontact 23. It is this part of thecontact 23 which will be discussed. Included as part of theconnector 20 is anorientation bar 26 and aground termination block 24.Coax cables 10 have been stripped of some of theouter jacket 12 andmetallic foil 14 such that a predetermined length of theinsulation 19 containingwire 18, anddrain wire 16 are exposed. The stripping can be accomplished through the use of stripping and terminating equipment well known to those skilled in the art; the stripping process will not be discussed further herein since it forms no part of the present invention. Theinsulation 19 and thewire 18 have been stripped the predetermined length such that the length extends beyond thefront surface 29 of theIDC 22, the length extension not shown for clarity, but will be discussed further hereinunder. Thedrain wire 16 of eachcoax cable 10 is bent at approximately 90° to the length of the coax cable such that thedrain wire 16 can be inserted into a correspondinghole 25 in theorientation bar 26. Theorientation bar 26 contains a plurality ofslots 27 such that eachcoax cable 10 fits within theslot 27. Thedrain wire 16 is then wrapped around the bottom of the orientation bar such that thedrain wire 16 goes across a W-shapedindentation 30 which is cut into the bottom surface of theorientation bar 26 and extends the entire length of theorientation bar 26. Theslot 27 of the orientation bar serves to position and orient eachcoax cable 10 such that thedrain wire 16 is facing downward, and positions and holds thecoax cable 10 in line with thecorresponding contact 23. Theinsulation 19 andwire 18 extends across or slightly above the top surface of theIDC 22 and is inserted into thecorresponding contact 23 such that alternatecoax cables 10 are connected tocontacts 23 within the same row. Thus, theinsulation 19 andwire 18 of coax cable 10-1, 10-3, 10-5 (not shown) ... are connected to corresponding contacts 23ʺ in the back row. In a like manner coax cable 10-2, 10-4 (not shown) ... are connected to the corresponding front row contacts 23ʹ. Atop bar 28 is set across thecoax cables 10 and theground termination block 24 is set across the bottom of theorientation bar 26 and fastened together thereby holding thecoax cables 10 in position. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention theorientation bar 26 is made of a molded plastic and theground termination block 24 is made of a metallic substance. Theground termination block 24 has a W-shapedprotrusion 31 which corresponds to theindentation 30 and lines up with theindentation 30 of theorientation bar 26. By clamping theorientation bar 26 to theground termination block 24, with thedrain wires 16 all extending across theindentation 30, all thedrains wires 16 are thus electrically connected to theground termination block 24, the ground termination block providing the common termination for all thedrain wires 16. Astep 32 is provided at the two ends of theorientation bar 26 on the surface which mates with theground termination bar 24 such that a space is provided for the drain wires. It is desirable that the drain wires only be pierced by theprotrusion 31 of theground termination bar 24, thereby avoiding a shearing of thedrain wire 16. Such a shearing action could cut thedrain wire 16 and thus make an unreliable contact of thedrain wire 16 to theground termination block 24. - Referring to Figure 3, which is comprised of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C, the assembly process of the cable harness will be described. Figure 3A shows a top view of the
orientation bar 26 in position withIDC connector 22 at the start of the assembly process. Figure 3B shows section A-A of Figure 3A with theconnector 20 partially assembled. Figure 3C shows section A-A of the completedconnector 20. As described above, a plurality ofcoax cables 10 are stripped such that a predetermined amount of theouter jacket 12 andmetallic foil 14 are removed leaving a predetermined length of thedrain wire 16 and a predetermined length of theinsulation 19 containingwire 18. The length of thedrain wire 16 is sufficiently long to fit throughhole 25 and bend across theindentation 30 of theorientation bar 26. Theinsulation 19 containingwire 18 is sufficiently long to be inserted into acorresponding contact 23 and extend beyond the IDC connector allowing an assembler to make the proper insertion of theinsulation 19 into the correspondingconnector 23. Theorientation bar 26 andIDC connector 22 are mounted into afixture 50. A second fixture 50 (not shown) also contains a second IDC connector 22 (not shown) and a second orientation bar 26ʹ (not shown) for the opposite end of the cable harness. A firstcoax cable 10 having been previously stripped the predetermined lengths at both ends has thedrain wire 16 inserted into thefirst hole 25 of theorientation bar 26 and the remainder of thecoax cable 10 inserted into the correspondingslot 27, theinsulation 19 containing thewire 18 being inserted into thecorresponding contact 23. The other end of the firstcoax cable 10 is likewise inserted into the corresponding first position of the second orientation bar 26ʹ (not shown) in a like manner as described above. In this manner, the individual coaxcable 10 has been inserted into the first position of the twoconnectors 20 at both ends of the cable. A second coax cable is then inserted into the second position of thefirst connector 20. The assembler continues the process until all the available positions have a coax cable 10 (or all the positions as previously determined, in thepreferred embodiment 30 positions exist and hence there are 30coax cables 10 making up the coax cable harness). After the assembler has inserted the 30thcoax cable 10 there should be no available positions in theconnectors 20 at both ends of the cable harness. After all 30coax cables 10 have been inserted, thetop bar 28 is placed on the top surface of theorientation bar 26 and across thecoax cables 10. Theground termination block 24 is placed under theorientation bar 26, and thetop bar 28, theorientation bar 26, and theground termination block 24 are fastened together. Theconnector 20 can then be removed from thefixture 50 and theinsulation 19 containing thewires 18 and thedrain wires 16 are then trimmed flush with the surface of theIDC connector 22 and theorientation bar 26, respectively. A simple visual inspection of the connectors at both ends would verify that all the positions are occupied thereby eliminating the electrical check, commonly known as "ringing-out" the cable can be eliminated. As shown in Figure 3C a dielectric covering 51 can be placed over thecontacts 23 to further install thedrain wires 16 into thecontacts 23 and also to avoid any physical damage to thecontacts 23. - Many alternatives embodiments and modifications can be made which are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. Referring to Figure 4 there is shown an alternative embodiment in which the
coax cables 10 are in more than a single plane (i.e., co-planer). A cable harness can be made embodying the present invention which includes a second plane of coax cables 10-101. A second orientation bar 26ʹ having notches 27ʹ are positioned such that thedrain wire 16 of the coax cable 10-101 is inserted into hole 25ʹ of the second orientation bar 26ʹ and made to be oriented opposite a correspondinghole 29 in theorientation bar 26. Thedrain wire 16 of coax cable 10-101 passes between coax cables 10-1 and 10-2. Additional coax cables 10-102, 10-103, (not shown) ... are oriented in corresponding slots 27ʹ of second orientation bar 26ʹ, the corresponding drain wire fitting into a corresponding hole 25ʹ of second orientation bar 26ʹ and the correspondinghole 29 oforientation bar 26. Thecontact 23‴, which is utilized to make the connection of thewire 18 corresponding to coax cable 10-101, can be on apedestal 36 of theIDC connector 22, or thecontact 23‴ may be sufficiently high to engage theinsulation 19 andcorresponding wire 18 of coax cable 10-101 without interfering with the connections made by the contacts of the first and second row, 23ʹ, 23ʺ. It is understood that in this embodiment, the spacing betweencontacts 23 in the first row and the second row is sufficiently far apart, or the diameter of thecoax cables 10 is sufficiently small, such that there is sufficient space for thedrain wires 16 of coax cable 10-101 to fit between adjacent coax cables 10 (i.e., coax cables 10-1 and 10-2). - Referring to Figure 5, there is shown still another alternative embodiment of the present invention. In the configuration of the
connector 20 of Figure 5, a more simple embodiment is shown. Theorientation bar 26 is shown made of an electrically conducting material (i.e., a metallic substance) which is positioned next to theIDC connector 22 such that theinsulation 19 containing thewire 18 of thecoax cable 10 is positioned to acorresponding IDC contact 23. Thedrain wire 16 is positioned along a side surface ofIDC connector 22 and a side surface of theorientation bar 26 with thecoax cable 10 resting along the top surface of theorientation bar 26. At the ends of theorientation bar 26 andIDC connector 22, holes are provided for fasteningIDC connector 22 to orientation bar 26 such that pressure is exerted against thedrain wire 16. (The fastening can be accomplished by afastener 52.) In this manner all thedrain wires 16 are making physical contact withorientation bar 26. This arrangement holdsdrain wires 16 in place as a result of the pressure between theorientation bar 26 and theIDC connector 22, and also serves to hold thecoax cables 10 in position. Such an arrangement may be suitable when little or no stress is placed upon thecoax cables 10. For a more film holding arrangement ofcoax cables 10, a top bar 28 (not shown) may be placed across the top surfaces of thecoax cable 10 and fastened to orientation bar 26 as done in the preferred embodiment described above. Also, a dielectric covering (not shown) can be placed over thecontacts 23 as discussed above in connection with the preferred embodiment. - While there has been shown what is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be manifest that many changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the essential spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended, therefore, in the annexed claims, to cover all such changes and modifications which fall within the true scope of the invention.
Claims (13)
1. A connector, for providing electrical connections for a coax cable harness, wherein the coax cable harness includes a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire, said connector comprising:
a) an insulation displacement connector, having a plurality of insulation displacement contacts made of an electrically conducting material and set in a top surface of said insulation displacement connector and arranged in at least one row, each insulation displacement contact engaging a corresponding wire encased in said dielectric, said insulation displacement contact piercing said dielectric thereby providing the electrical connection for the wire of the coax cable;
b) orientation bar means, for positioning said coax cables to be in line with the corresponding insulation displacement contact, said coax cables resting on a top surface of said orientation bar means, said orientation bar means being positioned next to said insulation displacement connector such that a side surface of said insulation displacement connector is in contact or nearly in contact with said orientation bar means, said orientation bar means further having a plurality of holes from the top surface of said orientation bar means and extending through a bottom surface of the orientation bar means, each hole being positioned under the corresponding coax cable in order to permit the corresponding drain wire of the coax cable to be inserted through the hole with the end portion of drain wire bent across the bottom surface of the orientation bar means; and
c) ground termination block means, having a top surface placed opposite the bottom surface of the orientation bar means and fixed against the drain wires bent across the bottom surface of the orientation bar means, for causing the drain wires to be in pressure contact between the ground termination block means and the orientation bar means, wherein at least one of said ground termination block means or said orientation bar means is made of an electrically conducting material.
2. A connector, according to claim 1 wherein said orientation bar means further includes a plurality of slots, each slot corresponding to a coax cable and placed along a top surface of said orientation bar means such that the slot extends along an entire width of said orientation bar means and extends parallel to said coax cable, thereby providing a defined area of the top surface of said orientation bar means in which said corresponding coax cable rests, each slot contains one of said corresponding holes.
3. A connector, according to claim 2, wherein said ground termination block means further includes a protrusion rising above said top surface and extending the length of said ground termination block means, such that the end portion of all the drain wires extend across said protrusion.
4. A connector, according to claim 3, which said orientation bar means further includes an indentation notched in the bottom surface and extending the length of the orientation bar means such that the protrusion of the ground termination block effectively mates with said indentation.
5. A connector, according to claim 4, further comprising a top bar means for holding said coax cables in the corresponding slot of said orientation bar means, said top bar means placed across the coax cables and aligned above the top surface of said orientation bar means, and fastened to said orientation bar means such that said coax cables are held in pressure contact between said top bar means and said orientation bar means.
6. A connector, according to claim 5, wherein said orientation bar means further includes a step at both ends of said orientation bar means and outside the area of said drain wires, the height of said step being slightly smaller than the diameter of said drain wires in order to avoid a shearing of the drain wires when said drain wires are held in pressure contact between the protrusion of said ground termination block means and the indentation of said orientation bar means.
7. A connector, according to claim 2, further comprising a top bar means for holding said coax cables in the corresponding slot of said orientation bar means, said top bar means placed across the coax cables and aligned above the top surface of said orientation bar means, and fastened to said orientation bar means such that said coax cables are held in pressure contact between said top bar means and said orientation bar means.
8. A connector, according to claim 1, wherein said ground termination block means further includes a protrusion rising above said top surface and extending the length of said ground termination block means, such that the end portion of all the drain wires extend across said protrusion.
9. A connector, according to claim 8, which said orientation bar means further includes an indentation notched in the bottom surface and extending the length of the orientation bar means such that the protrusion of the ground termination block effectively mates with said indentation.
10. A connector, for providing electrical connections for a coax cable harness, wherein the coax cable harness includes a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire, said connector comprising:
a) an insulation displacement connector, having a plurality of insulation displacement contacts made of an electrically conducting material and set in a top surface of said insulation displacement connector and arranged in at least one row, each insulation displacement contact engaging a corresponding wire encased in said dielectric, said insulation displacement contact piercing said dielectric thereby providing the electrical connection for the wire of the coax cable; and
b) orientation bar means made of an electrically conducting material, for positioning said coax cables to be in line with the corresponding insulation displacement contact, said coax cables resting on a top surface of said orientation bar means, said orientation bar means being positioned next to said insulation displacement connector such that the drain wires of each coax cable are in a space between a side surface of the orientation bar means and a side surface of the insulation displacement connector, the space being sufficiently narrow to cause the drain wires of each coax cable to physically contact said orientation bar means, thereby causing an electrical connection between the drain wires and the orientation bar means.
11. A connector, for providing electrical connections for a coax cable harness, wherein the coax cable harness includes a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire, said connector comprising:
a) an insulation displacement connector, having a plurality of insulation displacement contacts made of an electrically conducting material and set in a top surface of said insulation displacement connector and arranged in at least one row, each insulation displacement contact engaging a corresponding wire encased in said dielectric, said insulation displacement contact piercing said dielectric thereby providing the electrical connection for the wire of the coax cable; and
b) orientation bar means, for positioning said coax cables to be in line with the corresponding insulation displacement contact, said coax cables resting on a top surface of said orientation bar means, said orientation bar means being positioned next to said insulation displacement connector such that the drain wires of each coax cable are in a space between a side surface of the orientation bar means and a side surface of the insulation displacement connector, the side surface of at least one of the orientation bar means and the insulation displacement connector having a metallic bar extending the length of the surface and protruding above the side surface sufficient to contact each of the drain wires, the space being sufficiently narrow to cause the drain wires of each coax cable to physically contact said metallic bar thereby causing an electrical connection between all of the drain wires.
12. A method of connecting a coax cable harness to a connector, the coax cable harness including a plurality of coax cables, each coax cable having a wire encased in a dielectric and having a drain wire, each coax cable having been stripped of an outer jacket and accompanying shield, and wherein the connector includes an insulation displacement connector having insulation displacement contacts, and and orientation bar positioned next to said insulation displacement connector, the orientation bar having holes along the length of the orientation bar for each coax cable position opposite each insulation displacement contact, and further wherein each drain wire of the coax cable is bent at about right angles to the length of the coax cable at the point where the outer jacket has been stripped, the method comprising the steps of:
a) inserting the drain wire in a first hole of said orientation bar such that the coax cable is resting essentially on a top surface of said orientation bar;
b) bending the end portion of the drain wire, which extends from outside the hole at the bottom surface of the orientation bar, parallel to the coax cable;
c) forcibly inserting the wire encased in the dielectric in the corresponding insulation displacement contact;
d) repeating steps (a) - (c) for the next adjacent coax cable until all the cables have been connected to the corresponding insulation displacement contact;
e) placing a ground termination block along the bottom surface of the orientation bar such that the drain wires are between the orientation bar and the ground termination block; and
f) fastening the ground termination block to the orientation bar such that the drain wires are held in pressure contact with the ground termination block.
13. A method according to claim 11, wherein the step of fastening further comprises the steps of:
a) positioning a top bar across the top of the coax cables; and
b) fastening the ground termination block, the top bar, and the orientation bar such that the coax cables are held in position between the top bar and the orientation bar, and the drain wires are held in pressure contact between the orientation bar and the ground termination block.
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US06/849,085 US4662067A (en) | 1986-04-07 | 1986-04-07 | Apparatus and method for providing orientation of a coax cable having a ground termination bar |
EP87105994A EP0287697A1 (en) | 1987-04-24 | 1987-04-24 | Apparatus and method for providing orientation of a coax cable having a ground termination bar |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP87105994A EP0287697A1 (en) | 1987-04-24 | 1987-04-24 | Apparatus and method for providing orientation of a coax cable having a ground termination bar |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0287697A1 true EP0287697A1 (en) | 1988-10-26 |
Family
ID=8196941
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP87105994A Withdrawn EP0287697A1 (en) | 1986-04-07 | 1987-04-24 | Apparatus and method for providing orientation of a coax cable having a ground termination bar |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0287697A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0392422A1 (en) * | 1989-04-14 | 1990-10-17 | Entrelec Sa | Process for slicing and clamping a shielded multi-wire electrical cable and connector therefore |
CN117117457A (en) * | 2023-09-29 | 2023-11-24 | 长飞光纤光缆股份有限公司 | Coaxial cable production method, coaxial cable and device for introducing random quantity |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0009337A1 (en) * | 1978-09-05 | 1980-04-02 | AMP INCORPORATED (a New Jersey corporation) | Method of terminating flat multi-conductor electrical cable and connector therefor |
US4345811A (en) * | 1980-03-27 | 1982-08-24 | Burroughs Corporation | Flat ribbon cable shield |
US4365856A (en) * | 1980-07-09 | 1982-12-28 | Hirose Electric Co., Ltd. | Electric connector for coaxial ribbon cable |
-
1987
- 1987-04-24 EP EP87105994A patent/EP0287697A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0009337A1 (en) * | 1978-09-05 | 1980-04-02 | AMP INCORPORATED (a New Jersey corporation) | Method of terminating flat multi-conductor electrical cable and connector therefor |
US4345811A (en) * | 1980-03-27 | 1982-08-24 | Burroughs Corporation | Flat ribbon cable shield |
US4365856A (en) * | 1980-07-09 | 1982-12-28 | Hirose Electric Co., Ltd. | Electric connector for coaxial ribbon cable |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0392422A1 (en) * | 1989-04-14 | 1990-10-17 | Entrelec Sa | Process for slicing and clamping a shielded multi-wire electrical cable and connector therefore |
FR2646024A1 (en) * | 1989-04-14 | 1990-10-19 | Entrelec Sa | PLUG CONNECTOR FOR SHIELDED ELECTRIC CABLE |
CN117117457A (en) * | 2023-09-29 | 2023-11-24 | 长飞光纤光缆股份有限公司 | Coaxial cable production method, coaxial cable and device for introducing random quantity |
CN117117457B (en) * | 2023-09-29 | 2024-03-08 | 长飞光纤光缆股份有限公司 | Coaxial cable production method, coaxial cable and device for introducing random quantity |
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