Connector for coaxial cable with a corrugated outer conductor

The invention relates to a connector for an annularly corrugated outer conductor having coaxial cable with a plug head, the cable end has a conical annular surface which is intended for the inside contacting of the end edge portion of the outer cable conductor, and enclosing a cable outer conductor, sprung open in the radial direction clamping element which in the mounted state is enclosed by a screwable with the plug head pressure member and is axially loaded towards the conical annular surface of the plug head, so that the end edge region of the outer cable conductor between the conical annular surface and a counter surface of the clamping element electrically contacted and mechanically clamped. The conical annular surface of the plug head formed at its front edge kabelseitigem and the pressure member is a sleeve with an internal thread which engages in an external thread of the connector head.

A connector of this kind is known from EP-A-0798815. The clamping element is preferably formed as annularly closed helical spring. For mounting of the connector on a coaxial cable, first the cable jacket back. Subsequently, the pressure member is pushed onto the cable, then the clamping element is widened and pushed onto the bare annularly corrugated outer conductors. There the garter contracts again so that it is on the first trough. Finally, the plug head is placed, then the pressure member is screwed.

A disadvantage of this connector is that when it is mounted at least three items are to handle, which makes the time-consuming installation. In addition, there is a risk that a part of the connector is lost.

These disadvantages, a connector according to DE-C-198 57 528 does not occur. This connector also has a pressure member which is preferably designed as be screwed in a recess of the connector head hollow screw, but it can also have the form of a twist-on to an external thread of the connector head cap sleeve. In both cases, the clamping element consists of a contact sleeve which is divided by emanating from its mating end, distributed uniformly over the periphery, axial slots in radially resilient segments, have the cable side thickened heads whose inner surfaces in the assembled state the end edge area of ​​the annularly corrugated outer cable conductor against an annular surface, preferably a conical annular surface, of the connector head presses. In the embodiment of the pressure member as a hollow screw creates a recess in the connector head amounting whose annular surface and in the embodiment of the pressure member acting as cap sleeve a recess in the latter a free space for the springing of the heads of the contact sleeve when pushing the connector onto the cable, in both embodiments on the outer circumference of the contact sleeve and the inner periphery of the pressure member formed annular shoulders together so that the contact sleeve before and during the mounting of the connector axially displaceably sits on the cable around a Ringwellungsschritt in the pressure member, but between when it is a concluding braced with the plug head of the end edge portion of the outer cable conductor the annular surface of the plug head and the opposing faces of the thickened heads of the contact sleeve is clamped. The Tension is divided by a sealing O-ring into two sections, one of which corresponds to the first a pre-assembly, in which defer the complete connector dissection and without additional parts to the coaxial cable (and, if necessary, pull again) leaves. At the end of the assembly process, the pressure member only needs to be still screwed to the connector head over the length of the second Spannwegabschnittes.

Connectors of the type previously described have relatively high production costs. This is due to the described contact sleeve to a significant degree. In order to place them in the connector, this must have a minimum diameter not unterschreitbaren and cable side a certain minimum length. Moreover, the contact sleeve itself requires numerous manufacturing steps.

The invention is based is to provide a connector of the kind mentioned above, which is dissection Mountable and can be manufactured at low cost the task.

This object is achieved according to the invention with a connector having the features mentioned in the introduction by the standing in the characterizing part of claim 1.

Characterized that the clamping element is formed rather than as a garter as a slotted contact ring, the connector can in a pre-assembled state, as explained below (see FIG. Description), are pushed onto the ring-corrugated coaxial cable. This contact ring meets the mechanical and electrical function of the contact sleeve according to DE-C-198 57 528. As a consequence, the outer diameter of the connector head is reduced to approximately the value of the larger diameter of the conical annular surface and is therefore only slightly larger than the diameter of the outer cable conductor in the region a wave crest. The contact ring is furthermore completely housed in the interior of a sleeve formed with an internal thread pressure member, as opposed to the contact sleeve of the known connectors, which partially protrudes the cable end at least in the disassembled condition about the pressure member. Above all, the contact ring is a simple turned part with correspondingly low manufacturing costs and compared to a contact sleeve short design, so that a substantial reduction in the axial length of the threaded sleeve as compared to the previous design of the pressure member.

Suitably, the clamping ring has a cross section corresponding to a triangle with a blunted tip (claim 2). The clamping ring is so chamfered on its inner circumference, so that their profile is more suitable to Wellungsprofil the outer cable conductor. As a result, the outer diameter of the clamping ring, and thus the dependent outer diameter of both the threaded sleeve and the plug head can be reduced.

The transition between the larger diameter and the smaller diameter of the inner groove of the threaded sleeve can be formed cone-like (claim 3). Either by a facet or a smoothing of the cable-side edge of the inner groove with the larger diameter Alternatively it can be provided or rounded with a facet and the (cable side) opposite surface of the clamping ring. In both cases it is achieved that the threaded sleeve Screw on the (further) ben on the plug head, starting from the pre-assembly of the connector, the clamping ring in the radial direction increasingly compressed and simultaneously pushes toward the Kelgelringfläche of the connector.

Preferably, the connector head, axially spaced from its cable-side face surface by approximately half the distance between two successive wave crests of the outer cable conductor, an encircling annular shoulder according to a reduction of the connector head the inner diameter of the diameter of the cable dielectric to the value required to maintain a constant characteristic impedance (claim 4 ). The extent of this jump in diameter depends, as usual, on the diameter of the plug connector inner conductor and the nature of the dielectric between the latter and the inner wall of the connector head from.

In order to seal the interior of the connector of the connector head may have a circumferential groove mating side of its external thread, whose depth is less than the diameter of an inserted into the groove the O-ring (claim 5).

In particular, this circumferential groove may define a pre-assembly state in which the plug-side end edge of the sleeve abuts against the O-ring and in the inner groove recorded with the larger diameter clamping ring between its shoulder surface and the conical annular surface of the connector head leaves a circumferential gap for receiving the end edge portion of the outer cable conductor.

The proposed design of the connector allows it in certain standardized types, including the type 7-16 to adjust the outer diameter of the connector head to the inner diameter of the standard, plug-in side Schraubüberwurfes such that the Schraubüberwurf can be pushed from the cable side of the connector head. The Schraubüberwurf sits then without further mechanical measures captively on the plug head, the smallest inner diameter of the former to the outer diameter of the latter, plus a tolerance gap is equal to (claim 7).

In order to seal the connector to its cable side, an elastic gasket may be arranged in the sleeve, which has an annular lip at least that comes to rest after pushing the connector onto the cable in a wave trough of the cable outer conductor and with after the clamping of the connector the cable by screwing the threaded sleeve onto the plug head the cable outer conductor at the height of the wave crest tight manner (claim 8). Thereby, the connector is reliably sealed against the cable without additional parts. If is omitted this advantage, the seal can also be accomplished in a conventional manner by means of as a separate part which is pushed onto the cable jacket O-ring or by spraying with a polymerizing sealant.

the profile seal advantageously is positively fixed in the sleeve (claim 9), eg by means of complementary profiles of the corresponding internal wall portion of the sleeve and the outer periphery of the profile seal.

In particular, the gasket may be formed of a sleeve and facing the cable side, axially spaced from its lip, have at least one further lip which is intended for sealing engagement with the cable jacket (claim 10).

In the drawing an embodiment of a connector according to the invention and schematically shown in longitudinal section. It shows:<dl id="dl0001"><dt>figure 1</dt><dd>the connector in the pre, with enlarged detail "X"</dd><dt>figure 2</dt><dd>the same connectors after pushing on the end of a coaxial cable and</dd><dt>figure 3</dt><dd>the connector after assembling on the coaxial cable.</dd></dl>

The connector shown in Figure 1 comprises a substantially hollow cylindrical plug head 1, which surrounds a connector inner conductor 2, which in turn is held in an insulating material support. 3 Plug side (also Fig. 2 see.) Has the connector inner conductor in this embodiment, a plug pin 21. The cable-side end of the connector inner conductor 2 is for insertion into a tubular cable inner conductor gradually tapered form and carries a slightly tapered and resilient in the radial direction Contact pot 22. This training of the plug connector inner conductor is not part of the invention.

The plug head 1 ends the cable end in a conical annular surface 11, which, starting from the cylindrical peripheral surface of the plug head 1, located on the casing of an imaginary cone whose apex is located on the cable side by dashed lines from the plug head 1 to the shown longitudinal axis AA. At the radially inner, blade-like edge of the conical annular surface 11, the circumferential surface of a recess 12 follows, which has a larger diameter than the subsequent cylindrical interior space 13 of the connector head the first The diameter of the recess 12 is substantially equal to the diameter of the cable dielectric (see FIG. FIG. 2). The plug head 1 has on the outside following the conical annular surface an external thread 14, which extends up to a groove 15 into which an O-ring 5 is inserted, the diameter of which in the unloaded state is somewhat greater than the depth of the groove 15th

In the illustrated pre-assembly state is as much screwed that their plug-side end face is present just on the O-ring 5 onto the external thread 14 of the plug head 1 a provided with a corresponding internal thread threaded sleeve. 4 The threaded sleeve 4 has a first internal groove 4.1, the plug-side edge in this preassembled state approximately at the level of the blade-like edge of the conical annular surface 11 lies. This inner groove 4.1 proceeds with a smaller inner diameter to a second inner groove 4.2. The transition is designed as a ramp 4.3.

In the inner groove 4.1 is loosely fitted a clamping ring 6 of an elastic metal alloy, such as bronze. At one point of its periphery, the clamping ring has a slot 6 6.1. Instead, as depicted axially, the slot can also obliquely, ie at an angle of 45 ° for example, extend to the longitudinal axis of the connector. The clamping ring 6 has an approximately triangular cross-section with inward-facing tip, which is however broken by a chamfer 6.2. See detail "X".

The cable side of the inner groove 4.2 has the threaded sleeve 4 is an enlarged inside diameter and a reentrant collar 4.4 for the positive reception of a sleeve-shaped profile seal 7, which is formed at its mating end to a re-entrant annular lip 7.1 and at its cable end to a second entrant annular lip 7.2.

2 shows the same connector by being pushed onto the fitting made-up end of a coaxial cable comprising a tubular cable inner conductor 50, a cable dielectric 51, an annularly corrugated outer cable conductor 52 and a cable sheath 53rd

The plug-side end edge of the deposed 52.1 in height of a wave crest of the outer cable conductor 52 (cut-off) cable has been previously slightly flared with a simple, not shown here tool. The front edge region of the outer cable conductor 52 assumes the position shown between the conical annular surface 11 of the plug head 1 and the conical counter-surface 6.3 of the clamping ring 6, by which the end edge 52.1 by running onto the conical annular surface 6.4 of the clamping ring 6 (see FIG. "X" in Fig. 1), this widened in the radial direction, so that the end edge of the cable outer conductor 52 to pass and slide the clamping ring 6 with its chamfer 6.2 over the end edge 52.1 of the cable outer conductor 52 during the pushing on of the connector on the cable end away of the bevel 6.2 of the clamping ring 6 could. Before the front edge 52.1 of the cable outer conductor 52 has the first lip 7.1 of the sleeve-shaped gasket 7 and then the cable sheath 53, the second lip 7.2 displaced radially outward. The cable facing surfaces of both lips of the profile seal 7 for this purpose are correspondingly tapered, that is designed in the manner of tapered annular surfaces.

Simultaneously, the connector inner conductor occurs 2 a with its cable end into the tubular inner conductor cable 50, which is contacted in the region of its front edge by contact pot 22nd

For the final mounting of the connector on the end of the coaxial cable, the threaded sleeve 4 is screwed over the O-ring 5 out into the plug head 1, to a predetermined tightening torque is reached. This fully assembled state is shown in Fig. 3.

During the screwing of the threaded sleeve 4 onto the plug head 1 at first the rounding has 4.3 the clamping ring 6 is displaced in direction of the plug head 1 and at the same time as far compressed in the radial direction, that the second inner groove 4.2 is now engages over the clamping ring 6 and tightly encloses. With the last rotations of the threaded sleeve 4, the cable-side flank of the inner groove has come 4.2 into contact with the cable-side edge of the clamping ring 6, which thereby, compressed to the predetermined by the inner groove 4.2 inside diameter, in the axial direction with its surface 6.3 towards the front edge region of the the outer cable conductor 52 is pressed, whereby the latter is electrically contacted with the annular surface 11 of the plug head 1 and mechanically clamped between the faces 11 and 6.3. In this state, the interior of the connector is sealed on the one hand by the O-ring 5 and on the other hand by the compressed in the radial direction lips 7.1 and 7.2 of the profile seal. 7

The proposed design allows for example to keep the outer diameter of the plug head 1 is so small that a Schraubüberwurf 30 can be pushed with the standardized dimensions of the cable side of the connector body 1 and then by screwing the threaded sleeve with a connector of the standard type 7-16 4 also maintained the cable side a captive, without the need for further mechanical backup, unlike the same type connectors of previous design, which by design of the plug head has a larger outer diameter, so it is provided in the amount of Schraubüberwurfes with a circumferential groove and at the Schraubüberwurf a had to be formed inside waistband by rolling in this circumferential groove.