WO2006081820A1

WO2006081820A1 - Uncoupling mechanism for male and female connectors

Info

Publication number: WO2006081820A1
Application number: PCT/DK2006/000052
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bjarke Legind Larsen
Original assignee: Terma A/S
Priority date: 2005-02-01
Filing date: 2006-01-31
Publication date: 2006-08-10

Abstract

This invention relates to an uncoupling mechanism to be used for enabling a secure separation of male and female connectors when separating interconnected objects, wherein said objects are at least interconnected by said male connector and said female connector. The mechanism comprises means which, when activated, provide a force on at least one of said connectors needed for said separation of said male and female connector, and furthermore means for activating said separation means, wherein said activation is associated to the separation of said objects.

Description

UNCOUPLING MECHANISM FOR MALE AND FEMALE CONNECTORS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an uncoupling mechanism to be used for enabling a secure separation of male and female connectors when separating interconnected objects, wherein said objects are at least interconnected by said male connector and said female connector.

BACKGROUND Connections of different parts where signals of some type, as for instance electrical or optical signals, are to be transmitted from the one part to the other are widely used everywhere, the most simple example being a plug in a socket.

When such parts are to be physically disconnected, the parts are normally simply pulled apart. However, in many applications it is preferable or a necessity that the physical disconnection of the parts can be done without any manual operations (and clumsy fingers). This can for instance be the case for connectors being too small to handle appropriately, if the connectors are very fragile, or when disconnecting external parts from satellites, submarines, sending off catapult seats from airplanes etc. The force needed to pull the parts apart is in these cases traditionally applied, if not by hand, then by e.g. the gravity acting on one part (or if underwater then the buoyancy), or alternatively by a small amount of explosives as used on space crafts. As to the latter example, the explosive serves both to physically disengage the parts and to send off the smaller part in the right direction. It is, however, important that the pulling force is applied in the right direction relative to the connection part in order not to damage any of the connectors or the wires or fibers within them. An example of the above concerning safely disconnecting electrical or optical connections is when aircrafts carry equipment, which is to be sent off during flight. Such equipment could for instance be a smaller airplane being transported to its flying location by a mother plane, a decoy as a part of a defense system or a bomb. In these cases the plane is letting go of an (external) part, which is highly electronically equipped, and to which the plane communicates and/or sends information via electronic or optical connections during flight. Such connectors can easily contain up to a hundred or more electrical wires and/or optical fibers and are thus complex systems and accordingly expensive.

When letting go of an object from an airplane, the gravity is traditionally used to unplug all the connections there might be by simply letting the dropping mini plane, decoy or bomb or whatever pull the connectors apart. However, as mentioned above, care has to be taken that the pulling force acts in the right direction, as even a small skew angle can cause severe damage to the connector parts as well as influence the precision of the dropping. This direction is very difficult to control, as the pulling force from a falling object depends largely on the direction, the velocity, and the acceleration of the objects - the falling object and the mother airplane - relative to each other and these are all parameters, which may change very rapidly after the disengagement/separation.

US 3,509,515 describes such an electrical connector connecting the electrical circuits of an aircraft and a bomb or a similar device. The connector includes a locking and unlocking mechanism comprising one or more balls following a groove in an outer sleeve. The connector is released by the pulling force from the falling device but halfway through the separation a compressed spring within the connector helps to disengage the parts of the connector. However, the connector is thus still subjected to the very strong pulling forces from the falling device which act quite suddenly and in a somewhat unpredictable direction. The high risk of damaging the connections within the connector thus remains.

To complicate things further, the technical requirements for these kinds of connectors are very high reflecting the high demands to their functionality as well as the extreme conditions under which the connectors must function. The connectors must be able to work under both very high and very low temperatures, severe loading conditions, vibrations, harsh environment, disturbing electric fields and resistance to penetrating water etc. The connection thus must be very strong and to a large extent sealing, but still automatically operated. Here a tight connection is traditionally obtained by a twisting coupling where the surfaces of the connector parts are fitted with threads. In an advanced configuration such a coupling can be released automatically where the outer shell can have a complex built-in mechanism that will disengage the treads holding it to the receptacle when pulling manually backwards in an attached lanyard. This mechanism is, however, as mentioned, a very complex mechanical mechanism built up by many movable parts and therefore both quite expensive to manufacture and rather time consuming to collect. Also, the problem of having to add a pull force in a straight and well-controlled direction in order to physically disengage the connector persists.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to enable a secure separation of male and female connectors when releasing two objects without any manual operation in such a way that they are pushed away from each other in the right direction without damaging the connectors.

According to one aspect the present invention relates to an uncoupling mechanism to be used for enabling a secure separation of male and female connectors when separating interconnected objects, wherein said objects are at least interconnected by said male connector and said female connector, said mechanism comprising:

-separation means which, when activated, provide a force on at least one of said connectors needed for said separation of said male and female connector, and

-activation means for activating said separation means, wherein said activation is associated to the separation of said objects.

Since it is no longer the gravity force from one or both of the objects which causes the separation of the connectors but in stead said separation force, it is ensured that the connectors can be separated from each other prior or simultaneously to the separation of the objects. Therefore, the way including the direction in which they are separated as well the force with which they are separated can be fully controlled, thus obtaining that the connectors will not be damaged, and hence can be reused. In applications where the connectors are developed to be used under extreme conditions, such as at high altitudes, in space or underwater, such reusability can result in a very large cost saving.

In an embodiment, said uncoupling mechanism further comprises a first and a second housing for housing said male and female connectors, and wherein separating said connectors away from each other comprises separating at least a part of said housings away from each other. Therefore, the housings enclose the connectors, which thereby can be used under extreme conditions, e.g. in space or underwater, where they have to be able to tolerate underwater pressure, low or high temperatures, harsh environment, disturbing electric/magnetic fields, vibrations etc. By separating at least a part of said housings the necessary cover provided by the housing is maintained until the separation of said connectors. In one embodiment, said activation mean comprises engaging means for engaging with said male and/or female connectors, or their housings, prior to activating said separation means, and wherein said activation comprises disengaging said engaging means from said male and/or female connectors, or their housings. In another embodiment, said activation means comprise engaging means for engaging with said separation means, prior to activating said separation means, and wherein said activation comprises disengaging said engaging means from said separation means. In that way, the male and female conductors can be maintained in a fixed position in relation to each other. The engaging means can comprise flaps, pins, balls or the like, which engage e.g. with slits, holes, or grooves provided in said male and/or female connectors or their housing and are moved from locking position to unlocking position, thereby activating said separation means.

In one embodiment, said separation means comprise a spring and wherein activating said spring comprises releasing said spring from a compressed position, thereby transferring the spring force to at least one of said connectors. In another embodiment, said separation means comprise an elastic media having an elastic character and wherein activating said media comprises releasing said media from a compressed position, thereby transferring the force obtained due to said compression to at least one of said connectors. Hereby, a cost saving way is obtained to provide the force needed for the separation of the objects.

In an embodiment, said spring or media is mounted to one of said male or female connectors or their housings in the area between the connectors. The spring or the media, and the uncoupling mechanism, are therefore reusable since the spring (media) does not have to be replaced each time such connectors are separated from each other. According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for enabling a secure separation of male and female connectors when separating interconnected objects, wherein said objects are at least interconnected by said male connector and said female connector, the method comprising:

- activating a force on at least one of said connectors needed for said separation,

wherein said activation is associated to the separation of said objects.

In an embodiment, said force comprises a spring force, and wherein activating said spring force comprises releasing a spring from a compressed position thereby transferring the spring force to at least one of said objects.

In an embodiment, said force is activated prior or simultaneously to the separation of said objects. In this way, it is ensured that the connectors are separated from each other when the two objects are released from each other. Under certain circumstances where the separation of the two objects is accidental, the releasing could occur shortly after the separation.

In an embodiment, said objects comprise an aircraft and an object attached to said aircraft which is to be released from said aircraft. The aircraft could comprise any kind of aircraft such as a space shuttle, and the attached object could be a smaller remotely connected aircraft or device comprising high tech equipment for any kind of e.g. cosmic research, or an aircraft which is to be at least partly manually operated by astronauts. This object attached to the object could also be a bomb. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described referring to the figures, where

figure 1 shows an example of two objects, which are initially connected together both mechanically and by male and female connectors,

figure 2 shows one embodiment according to the present invention, where a male and a female connector are comprised in two housings

figure 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, where the force needed to separate the male and female conductors is provided by a compressed spring generating a spring force directly on a locking mechanism,

figure 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the locking mechanism interacts with the housing of the female conductor,

figure 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, where deformable materials such as rubber, plastic or the like having elastic properties are used instead of said spring,

figure 6 shows the working principle of a specific embodiment of a connector according to the invention is shown before and after separation, and

figures 7-9 show figure 6 in a more detailed way.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 shows an example of two objects, which are initially connected together both mechanically and by male and female connectors. The objects are then at some time being released from each other. By the connection is meant any kind of connection enabling a transfer of information from one object to the other and can thus comprise electrical connections, optical connections, remote connections or the like, or a combination of these.

In this example the two objects comprise a small aircraft 102, a bomb, or any kind of an object, which is to be released from a mother aircraft 101. The mother aircraft could for instance be a space shuttle. The small aircraft 102 describes any kind of remotely connected aircraft or device comprising high tech equipment for any kind of e.g. cosmic research, or an aircraft, which is to be at least partly manually operated by astronauts. Typically, the small aircraft 102 is electronically connected to the mother aircraft 101 prior to the separation of the two aircrafts. Under the extreme conditions at high altitudes all connections must be able to function under extremely low or high temperatures, harsh environment, disturbing electric/magnetic fields, vibrations etc.

The releasing of the small aircraft 102 from the mother aircraft 101 is done by releasing the engagement between the two aircrafts provided by some kind of engagement mechanism (not shown). Further, releasing the connection between the male and female connectors is provided with an uncoupling mechanism, which comprises means which, when activated, provide a force on at least one of said connectors needed for said separation and an activation mechanism for activating said force. This can be done either prior to the separation of the objects 101 , 102, or simultaneously to the separation. In that way, the force used to push the connectors apart is not the gravity of the smaller aircraft 102 as traditionally used, but a pre-oriented force, which ensures a secure separation of the connectors. In this way it is prevented that the connectors will be damaged or even destroyed due to a skew pulling angle when said aircrafts are separated from each other. This further enables the male and female connectors to be reusable (at least the one attached to the mother aircraft 101 ). In a specific case the separation of the two connectors could be performed just after the engagement mechanism is activated.

Another example where such a physical disengagement between male and female connectors is associated with the separation of the two objects to which they are related is a car driving with a trailer or a caravan. In this case, if the trailer or caravan is accidentally separated from the car, an electrical signal could be initiated indicating the separation, which subsequently would activate the force between the male and female connectors and therefore the separation between the connectors. A similar mechanism could be used in underwater applications, such as on a submarine, which has an external object of some kind attached.

Figure 2a shows one embodiment according to the present invention where a male 202 and a female 201 connector are comprised in two housings 207,

208, respectively, which in turn are attached to two objects and provide a connection between these objects. The connectors could of course comprise a combination of male and female connections as well as consist of other connection means than the ordinary pins, such as for instance surface connections etc. Referring to the previous example in figure 1 , the male connector could be a part of the mother aircraft 101 , whereas the female connector 201 is a part of the smaller aircraft 102 or vice versa. In this embodiment, both the male and female connectors are provided with cables

204, 209 for e.g. connecting to the controlling systems or the computers comprised in said aircrafts, submarines, cars etc.

The arrows 203 indicate the force needed for the separation of the two connectors, 201 , 202. This force can be a pure mechanical force, an electrical force or a magnetic force or combinations hereof. As shown here, the force 203 provides an interaction between the housing 208 of said male connector 202 and the female connector 201 (or the housing of the female connector 207). If electrical or magnetic forces are used then the material of said housings (and/or the male, female connectors) and mechanisms must of course be chosen accordingly to enable the generation of such forces. As an example, in the case where an electrical force is to be used, both housings could preferably be made of a conducting material for charging said housings with the same charge, or a coil could be provided (not shown) to create, via a current, a magnetic force which e.g. interacts with the female conductor 201 (or the housing 207) comprising e.g. diamagnetic material causing a repulsive force there between.

Figure 2b shows the two conductors 201 , 202 away from each other as they have been separated by, in this case, pushing the female connector in a direction shown by the arrow 210. This separation ensures that the female conductor 201 becomes separated in a secure way from the housing of the male conductor 202 prior or simultaneously to the separation of the object.

Figure 3a shows another embodiment of the present invention, where the force needed to separate the male 202 and female 201 conductors is obtained by a separation means comprising a spring 300 generating a spring force directly on a locking mechanism 301. As shown here the locking mechanism comprises pins, flaps or the like 301 reacting with a force equal but opposite to the spring force. In this way the spring is held in a compressed position. When activating the spring force, the pins or flaps 301 are electrically (optically or remotely) moved from a locked position to an unlocked position as indicated by the arrows 302. By doing so, the spring force is transferred to the female connector causing the movement of the connectors away from each other as shown in Fig. 3b.

The activation signal is in one embodiment issued when the two, or more, objects are released from each other, such as prior, or at the same time as the two aircrafts 201 , 202 are disengaged from each other. The activation signal could even be issued simultaneously to the signal indicating the release of the smaller aircraft.

Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the locking mechanism 301 interacts with the housing of the female conductor or the female conductor itself. Here, as before, a spring 300 is used to provide the force to the disengagement. Here, it is however the housing of the male conductor 208 which, with cooperating with the locking mechanism 301 , maintains the spring in a compressed position. The same steps as previously discussed follow when activating the locking mechanism.

Figure 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, where deformable materials such as rubber, plastic or the like having elastic properties are used instead of the spring 300. Figure 5a shows such a deformable material 501 in a compressed position, and figure. 5b shows the locking mechanism 301 comprising e.g. flaps, pins or balls having been moved apart, thereby releasing the potential energy stored in the deformable material, which at least partly becomes transferred to a kinetic energy of the female connector.

The working principle of a specific embodiment of an uncoupling mechanism according to the invention is shown in figure 6 before (a) and after separation (b). Here, as in some of the embodiments described in earlier figures, the male connector 202 is placed in a housing 208. The connection to the female connector 201 is obtained by turning the threads 601 together. Depending on the specific materials used and the dimensioning of the specific parts of the connection, it is possible to obtain a very tight and even a sealing connection of the connector parts. This can be advantageous among other things by being strong and able to withstand heavy loads and vibrations without the connection getting loose, and by holding out water or humidity from the air. If the housings of the connector are made of a metal or metal alloy, the connection can also provide isolation from surrounding electric fields.

Such a thread connection 601 cannot normally be disengaged in a fast and automatic way by simple means. However, in this embodiment of the invention this problem is solved by letting the connector parts disengage at another place than where initially fastened. The parts separate - not by the thread 601 - but in a secondary connection interface 602, which in this embodiment is controlled by one ore more balls 603 holding the parts together as illustrated in the figure 6. Other locking means than balls are also possible such as specially designed pins or flaps. This second connection interface 602 can be assembled a priori before the female and male connector parts 201 and 202 are put together. In contrast to the thread connection 601 , this secondary connection 602 can easily be opened by letting the balls 603 be free to move away from the interface. A detailed design is shown in the next figures 7-9. When the connection between the parts is broken or set free by the moving of the balls 603, a compressed spring 300 placed inside the housing 208 will be free to move and will push the female connector 201 up via an intermediate part 604. The adaptor 605 initially screwed onto the housing of the male connector 208 is in this way pushed away from here along with the female connector 201 in a controlled and well-defined optimal direction as illustrated by the arrow 210 so that the disengagement will not harm any of the electrical or optical connections. After the separation of the connector parts 201 and 202 (shown in figure 6b) the elements fitted with the threads are still interconnected and joined. Depending on the application and the need, the adaptor 605 with the threads on its inner surface, which initially was a part of the housing 208, can be retrieved from the female connector and be reused. Alternatively, it will have to be renewed before reusing the connector; however, this specific part 605 could be made in a fairly simple design at a low production cost. A connector using the same principle as sketched in figure 6 is shown in details in the figures 7-9. The mechanism is shown in a cross-sectional view from the side in figure 7 and in figure 8 from below in the cut marked B-B in the figure before. The same connector is shown in figure 9 in an exploded view. Referring to the figures the primary parts of the mechanism comprise an electrical motor 701 with a gear wheel, which drives a gear-ring 702 with gear sectors on the outside and shaped grooves 703 on the inside. The gear- ring 702 can rotate in the direction shown with the arrow 704 in figure 8. Furthermore, a quantity of locking steel balls 705 is placed partly in the grooves 703 and locks a so-called adaptor-ring 706 with corresponding grooves 707 for the locking balls on the outside and treads 708 for the male and/or female connectors on the inside. Finally, a spring 300 is compressed in the housing 208 to push the connector assembly away upon activation.

Initially the mechanism is preloaded with the adaptor-ring 706 inserted into the connector, and the motor 701 and the rotatable gear-ring 702 in the start position, clockwise and locked. The reduced depth of the grooves 703 on the inside of the rotatable gear-ring 702 in this position will prevent the steel balls 705 from moving, causing the adaptor-ring 706 to be held in and locked in the connector. With the adaptor-ring 706 pushed up, the spring 300 is tensioned and, hence, preloaded to push the connector away when the mechanism is activated. Upon application of power to the motor 701 the gear-ring 702 will instantly rotate and quickly allow free move of the locking balls 705 away from the groove 707 in the adaptor-ring 706. The move is made possible because of the increased depth of the grooves 703 on the inside of the gear-ring 702. Consequently, the adaptor-ring 706 is no longer locked and the pre-loaded spring 300 will push the complete connector assembly including the adaptor-ring away from the counterpart. The adaptor- ring 706, new or reusable, must be pushed up in the mechanism and reverse power applied to the motor 701 to reload the assembly. It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word 'comprising' does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed in a claim.

Claims

1. An uncoupling mechanism to be used for enabling a secure separation of male (202) and female (201 ) connectors when separating interconnected objects (101 , 102), wherein said objects (101 , 102) are at least interconnected by said male connector (202) and said female connector (201 ), said mechanism comprising:

-separation means (300) which, when activated, provide a force (203) on at least one of said connectors needed for said separation of said male and female connector (201 , 202), and

-activation means (301) for activating said separation means (300), wherein said activation is associated to the separation of said objects (101 , 102).

2. An uncoupling mechanism according to claim 1 , further comprising a first (207) and a second housing (208) for housing said male (202) and female (201 ) connectors, and wherein separating said connectors away from each other comprises separating at least a part of said housings away from each other.

3. An uncoupling mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said activation means comprise engaging means (301 ) for engaging with said male (202) and/or female connectors (201 ), or their housings (207, 208), prior to activating said separation means, and wherein said activation comprises disengaging said engaging means (301 ) from said male (202) and/or female (201 ) connectors, or their housings (207, 208).

4. An uncoupling mechanism according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said activation means comprise engaging means (301 ) for engaging with said separation means (300), prior to activating said separation means, and wherein said activation comprises disengaging said engaging means (301 ) from said separation means (300).

5. An uncoupling mechanism according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said separation means comprise a spring (300), and wherein activating said spring comprises releasing said spring from a compressed position, thereby transferring the spring force to at least one of said connectors (201 , 202).

6. An uncoupling mechanism according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said separation means comprise an elastic media (501 ) having an elastic character, and wherein activating said media comprises releasing said media (501) from a compressed position, thereby transferring the force obtained due to said compression to at least one of said connectors (201 , 202).

7. An uncoupling mechanism according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said spring (300) or said elastic media (501 ) is mounted to one of said male or female connectors or their housings in the area between the connectors.

8. A method for enabling a secure separation of male (202) and female (201 ) connectors when separating interconnected objects, wherein said objects are at least interconnected by said male connector and said female connector (201 ), the method comprising:

- activating a force (203) on at least one of said connectors needed for said separation,

wherein said activation is associated to the separation of said objects.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein said force comprises a spring force, and wherein activating said spring force comprises releasing a spring (300) from a compressed position, thereby transferring the spring force to at least one of said objects (101 , 102).

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein said force (203) is activated prior or simultaneously to the separation of said objects (101 , 102).

11. A method according to claim 8, wherein said objects comprise an aircraft (101 ) and an object (102) attached to said aircraft, which is to be released from said aircraft.