WO1999000876A1

WO1999000876A1 - Coupling ring for a circular connection

Info

Publication number: WO1999000876A1
Application number: PCT/US1998/013556
Authority: WO
Inventors: David R. Radliff
Original assignee: The Whitaker Corporation
Priority date: 1997-06-30
Filing date: 1998-06-29
Publication date: 1999-01-07
Also published as: AU8275198A

Abstract

This invention is related to a coupling ring (20) for use with a circular electrical connector housing (10). The coupling ring (20) has a pair of partially annular projections (26) extending inward toward each other for cooperating with a locking annular projection (16) the connector housing (10). The coupling ring (20) is deformable from a circular shape to an oval shape in order to spread the partial annular projections (26) apart from each other and allow them to clear the annular projection (16) of the housing (10).

Description

COUPLING RING FOR A CIRCULAR CONNECTION ^~

This invention is related to the field of electrical connectors and more particularly to a coupling ring for use in a circular electrical connector.

Circular electrical connectors have typically been used in a variety of applications requiring a separable connection between a plurality of contacts. These connectors consist of two mating halves, a plug and a receptacle. The contacts are interchangeable so that the pins or receptacle contacts can be housed in either the plug or the receptacle housings.

Examples of such connectors are disclosed in AMP catalog number 73-204 entitled CPC (Circular Plastic) and metal shell CPC connectors. The receptacle has a threaded portion on its periphery near the mating end for securing the mating plug.

The plug has a coupling ring attached to the plug housing near the mating end. The coupling ring has threading projections, on the inside to engage the threads on the periphery of the receptacle housing. As shown in Figure 1, a known coupling ring has a mounting end 2 and a mating end 4. A plurality of latching fingers 6 located at the mounting end 2 extend inwardly in a cantilever fashion from the periphery toward each other. The latching fingers 6 cooperate with an annular projection on the plug housing as the coupling ring 1 is urged over the plug housing from the mating end 2. The locking fingers 6 spread outwardly away from each other to pass over the annular projection and then return to their relaxed position after passing over the annular projection in order to secure the coupling ring 1 to the plug housing. The coupling ring 1 also has threading projections 8 along its inner diameter near the mating end 4 which engage threads along the periphery of the receptacle housing (not shown) to facilitate mating and securing of the plug to the receptacle. In order to mate the plug to the receptacle, their mating ends are urged together until threading projections 8 on the inner diameter of the coupling ring 1 engage threads along the periphery of the receptacle housing. The coupling ring 1 is then rotated thus threading the coupling ring 1 to the receptacle housing and drawing the plug and receptacle together to secure them in a mated condition.

A problem exists with this known arrangement in that while mounting the coupling ring 1 to the plug housing by urging it over the annular projection, one or several of the locking fingers 6 may be broken before returning to their relaxed secured position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a coupling ring which is easily securable to a circular plug connector housing without causing damage to the securing member.

This and other objects are achieved by providing a coupling ring which is cylindrical in shape and has a plurality of partially annular securing projections extending from the periphery inward towards each other.

These projections are generally disposed along a mounting end of the coupling ring.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figure of which:

Figure 1 shows a three dimensional view of a known coupling ring.

Figure 2 shows a three dimensional exploded view of a coupling ring and plug housing acording to the present invention. Figure 3 shows a cross sectional view of the assembled coupling ring and plug housing of figured.

Figure 4 shows an end view of the coupling ring as it is urged over an annular projection (shown in phantom) of the plug housing.

Figure 5 shows an end view similar to that of figure 4 wherein the coupling ring is fully assembled to the plug housing.

The electrical connector of the present invention will first be described generally with reference to Figure 2. This figure shows a plug housing 10 having a coupling ring 20 mounted on its periphery near a mating end 15. At the opposite end, referred to as the wire receiving end 13, terminated wires (not shown) enter into the plug housing. The coupling ring 20 is mounted to plug housing 10 and is threadable to a receptacle housing as described in the background above during mating of the plug to a receptacle. Each of the major components will now be described in greater detail again with reference to Figure 2. The plug housing 10 is formed of an insulative material and is generally cylindrical in shape. The plug housing 10 has a contact receiving cavity 18 extending from the mating end 15 toward the wire receiving end 13. Along the outer periphery of the wire receiving end 13 , a threaded section 12 extends toward the mating end 15. This threaded section is designed to receive a back shell (not shown) to secure terminated wires inside contact receiving cavity 18. Around the outer periphery near the mating end 15, an annular securing projection 16 extends outward and is profiled to have a lead in surface 17 facing the mating end 15 and a locking shoulder 21 facing the wire receiving end 13. A flange 19 extends around the outer periphery near the annular securing projection 16 to form a small recess therebetween for accommodating partially annular locking projections 26 which will be described below.

The coupling ring 20 is a unitary wall structure which is generally cylindrical in shape and hollow such that it fits securely over the periphery of the plug housing 10. Gripping bumps 22 are provided around an outer wall 32 of the coupling ring 20. Along the inner diameter 30 of the outer wall 32, threading projections 24 extend inward near a mating end 34. Partially annular projections 26 extend from the inner diameter 30 inward near the mounting end 36.

Referring to Figures 2-5 it can be seen that the partially annular projections 26 extend around a portion of the inner diameter 30 and have a pair of spaces between them around the inner diameter 30. Each of these partially annular projections 26 has a lead in surface 38 facing the mounting end 36 and a locking shoulder 40 positioned opposite the lead in surface 38 and facing the mating end 34. The coupling ring 20 is formed of a material which is somewhat flexible so that it can deform from a circular shape as shown in Figure 5 to an oval shape as shown in Figure 4 when depressed along opposite sides of the outer wall 32.

Assembly of the coupling ring 20 and plug housing 10 will now be described in greater detail. The coupling ring 20 is assembled to the plug housing 10 by simply urging the plug mating end 15 into the coupling ring mounting end 36. As the parts are urged together the lead in surface 38 of the partially annular projections 26 will ride up the lead in surface 17 of the annular projection 16 on the plug housing 10. As the coupling ring 20 is urged further, it will deform into an oval shape as shown in Figure 4. It should be noted here that assembly can be facilitated by squeezing the coupling ring 20 such that the partially annular projections 26 are urged away from other thus deforming the it into an oval shape. As the coupling ring 20 is urged further, the partially annular projections 26 will pass over the annular projection 16 of the plug housing 10 and lock behind the locking shoulder 21 such that the locking shoulders 21, 40 engage each other. At this point the coupling ring 20 will have returned to its relaxed circular shape (Figure 5) . In order to remove the coupling ring 20, one must depress it at two points opposite each other to deform the ring 20 into an oval shape as described above (Figure 4). This will provide clearance to release the partially annular projections 26 from the annular projection 16 of the plug housing 10.

Upon mating of the plug to a receptacle the coupling ring 20 will be threaded onto threads located on the outer diameter of the receptacle. This maintains the locking ring in a circular shape so as to eliminate the possibility of removal of the coupling ring 20 from the plug housing 10 while maintaining the plug and receptacle in a secured mated condition. An alternate coupling ring 120 is shown in Figures

6-8. The coupling ring 120 is also generally cylindrical in shape and hollow such that it fits securely over the periphery of the plug housing 10. Gripping bumps 122 are provided around the outer wall 132 of the coupling ring 120. Along the inner diameter 130, threading projections 124 extend inward near a mating end 134. Partially annular projections 126 extend from the inner diameter 130 inward near the mounting end 136. While the coupling ring 20 has two partially annular projections 26 this alternate coupling ring 120, has three smaller partially annular projections 126 for greater retention.

The partially annular projections 126 also extend around a portion of the inner diameter 130 and three spaces between them around the inner diameter 130. Each of these partially annular projections 126 has a lead in surface 138 facing a mounting end 136 and a locking shoulder 140 positioned opposite the lead in surface 138 and facing a mating end 134. The coupling ring 120 is formed of a material which is somewhat flexible so that it can deform from a circular shape as shown in Figure 8 to a non circular or clover like shape as shown in Figure 7 when urged onto the plug housing 10.

Assembly of the coupling ring 120 and plug housing 10 will now be described in greater detail. The coupling ring 120 is assembled to the plug housing 10 by simply urging the plug mating end 15 into the coupling ring mounting end 136. As the parts are urged together the lead in surface 138 of the partially annular projections 126 will ride up the lead in surface 17 of the annular projection 16 on the plug housing 10. As the coupling ring 120 is urged further, it will deform into the shape as shown in Figure 4 wherein the outer wall 132 is urged outward in the areas of the partially annular projections 126 and the spaces between the partially annular projections are drawn inward to form chord like sections along the outer wall 132. As the coupling ring 120 is urged further, the partially annular projections 126 will pass over the annular projection 16 of the plug housing 10 and lock behind the locking shoulder 21 such that the locking shoulders 21, 140 engage each other. At this point the coupling ring 120 will have returned to its relaxed circular shape (Figure 7) . An advantage of this embodiment is that it provides greater retention of the coupling ring 120 to the housing 10 because greater deformation (Figure 7 vs. Figure 4) is required for assembly. It should be understood here that other partially annular projection arrangements could be achieved depending on the retention force required for the coupling ring. For example more than three projections could be provided to achieve different retention forces.

An advantage of the present invention is that the entire coupling ring flexes upon mounting to the plug. In contrast to the coupling ring of Figure 1, there are no securing fingers which must flex and possibly break during the mounting procedure.

Another advantage of the present invention is that once the coupling ring 20 and plug assembly are threaded to the mating receptacle, the coupling ring 20 can no longer be deformed into an oval shape and will not release from the plug housing 10 when the connectors are pulled apart. While the foregoing has been provided with reference to the embodiments, various changes within the sprit of the invention will be apparent to those reasonably skilled in the art. For example, the coupling ring could be utilized on the receptacle as opposed to on the plug as shown here. In that case, a threaded section would be positioned around the periphery of the plug instead of the receptacle. Also the number of partially annular locking projections may be varied. Thus, the invention should be considered as limited only by the scope of the claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A circular coupling ring (20) securable o^" a circular housing (10) having an annular projection (16) near a mating face (15) , the coupling ring (20) comprising: a flexible main body being generally cylindrical in shape and having an inner diameter (30) , a plurality of partially annular securing projections (26) extending inward toward each other from the inner diameter (30) , whereby the partially annular projections (26) are co-operable with the annular projection (16) of the housing (10) to secure the coupling ring (20) to the housing (10) .

2. A coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 1 wherein each of the partial annular projections (26) further comprises a lead in surface (38) facing a mounting end (36) .

3. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 1 wherein each of the partially annular projections (26) further comprises a locking shoulder (40) facing a direction opposite the mounting end (36) .

4. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 1 wherein a pair of open sections are disposed between the partially annular projections (26) around the inner diameter (30) .

5. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 1 wherein the main body flexes into an oval shape as the mounting end (36) is urged over the annular projection

(16) of the housing (10) .

6. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 1- further comprising threading projections (24) disposed along the inner diameter (30) near a mating end (34) .

7. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 1 further comprising gripping sections (22) around an outer diameter (32) .

8. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 1 wherein the coupling ring (20) is removable from the circular housing (10) by urging it into an oval shape causing a clearance between the partially annular projections (26) and the annular projection (16) of the housing (10) .

9. A coupling ring (20) being securable to a circular housing (10) which has an annular projection (16) around its periphery, the coupling ring (20) comprising: a flexible body which is deformable from a generally circular shape into an oval shape, a plurality of partially annular projections (26) being integrally formed with the body and extending from the periphery inward toward each other near a mounting end (36) , and; a locking shoulder (40) disposed around each partially annular projection (26) on a side opposite the mounting end (36) .

10. A coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 9 wherein each of the partially annular projections (26) further comprises a lead in surface (38) facing the mounting end (36) .

11. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 9 wherein a pair of spaces are disposed between the partially annular projections (26) around the inner diameter (30) .

12. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 9 further comprising threading projections (24) disposed along the inner diameter (30) near a mating end (34) .

13. The coupling ring (20) as recited in claim 9 further comprising gripping bumps (22) around an outer diameter (32) .

14. A coupling ring (120) being securable to a circular housing (10) which has an annular projection (16) around its periphery, the coupling ring (120) comprising: a flexible body having a unitary outer wall (132) which is deformable from a generally circular shape, a plurality of partially annular projections (126) being integrally formed with the unitary outer wall (132) and extending from the periphery inward toward each other near a mounting end (136) , and; a locking shoulder (140) disposed around each partially annular projection (126) on a side opposite the mounting end (136) .

15. The coupling ring (120) as recited in claim 14 wherein deformation of the flexible body causes outward movement of the partially annular projections (126) away from each other and inward movement of the unitary outer wall (132) in selected locations disposed between the partially annular projections (126) .

16. A coupling ring (120) as recited in claim 14 wherein each of the partially annular projections (126) further comprises a lead in surface (138) facing the mounting end (136) .

17. The coupling ring (120) as recited in claim 14 wherein a pair of spaces are disposed between the ^~ partially annular projections (126) around the inner diameter (130) .

18. The coupling ring (120) as recited in claim 14 further comprising threading projections (124) disposed along the inner diameter (130) near a mating end (136) .

19. The coupling ring (120) as recited in claim 14 further comprising gripping bumps (122) around an outer diameter (132) .