Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
' ~ . CA 02387867 2002-04-17
Coupler for coaxial plug connector
The invention concerns a coupler for a coaxial plug
connector with a plug-side end for connecting to a coaxial plug,
s an end facing away from the plug-side end, particularly for
connecting with a coaxial cable, a contact sleeve formed on the
plug-side as collet and with a locking sleeve overlapping the
collet and movable axially, having an unlocking position in
which the collet is expansible and so that the coaxial plug may
io be plugged into the coupler to the point of latching of the
collet into a coupling-side groove, and also having a locking
position in which the collet is not expansible and therefore the
coaxial plug is not releasable from the coupler, according to
the generic portion of Claim 1.
i5 Coaxial plug connectors of this type with snap mechanism
are described, for instance, for an SMB series in the German
norm DIN EN 122130. In these plug connectors, a collet-shaped
contact sleeve of a coupler snaps into a groove of a plug. Thus
the plug connection can only be loosened by application of an
2o appropriate force determined by the force of the snap
connection. It has been found, however, that this plug
connection loosens itself in undesirable manner under the
influence, for instance, of vibration. In order to prevent this,
it is already known to provide a locking sleeve on the coupler,
2s which in a locking position prevents expansion of the collet of
the contact sleeve of the coupler and thus blocks withdrawal of
the plug from the coupler. The mechanisms found on the market in
this connection have the disadvantage, however, that the locking
sleeve must either be brought manually into the locking position
30 or has a corresponding return mechanism for the locking sleeve
with many individual parts having a complicated design and
correspondingly high manufacturing and assembly costs.
The invention is therefore based on the aim of creating a
coupler of the aforementioned type having a simple structure and
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simultaneously being functionally reliable in use and secure
against unwanted loosening of the plug connection once made.
This aim is fulfilled according to the invention with a
coupler of the aforementioned type having the features in Claim
s 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in
the other claims.
According to the invention, it is provided in a coupler of
the aforementioned type that an end of the locking sleeve facing
away from the plug-side end of the coupler has at least one
io radially elastically sprung section so designed that it
interacts with a surface of the coupler in such a manner that on
axial displacement of the locking sleeve from the locking
position through radial displacement of the elastically sprung
section of the locking sleeve, a force is produced tending to
i5 return it to the locking position.
This has the advantage that with automatic locking after
insertion of the coaxial plug into the coupler, the plug has few
parts and particularly the mechanism of the automatic return of
the locking sleeve into the locking position is realised
2o exclusively through interaction of locking sleeve and coupler,
without additional separate components. This makes the coupler
according to the invention economical and simple in
manufacturing and assembly, as well as functionally reliable in
use. The solution according to the invention has the particular
2s advantage that it can also be realised economically for
relatively small couplers.
The locking sleeve has, for instance, a first unlocking
position for inserting the coaxial plug and a second unlocking
position for releasing the coaxial plug from the coupler,
3o whereby, in the first unlocking position, the locking sleeve is
pushed out of the locking position in the direction of the plug-
side end of the coupler and, in the second unlocking position,
in the direction of the end of the coupler facing away from the
plug-side end.
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To create the largest possible returning force on
displacement of the locking sleeve, the end of the coupling
sleeve facing away from the plug-side end of the coupler is
designed collet-like.
s In a preferred embodiment, on the elastically sprung
section of the locking sleeve, a cam and, on the surface of the
coupler in the region of the cam, two opposed angled surfaces
are formed, which are so arranged and designed that the cam, on
displacement,of the locking sleeve out of the locking position,
io glides along one of the angled surfaces according to the axial
movement direction of the locking sleeve and causes a
displacement of the elastically sprung section of the locking
sleeve. The cam is preferably designed in one piece with the
locking sleeve.
15 In an alternative preferred embodiment, on the surface of
the coupler a cam and, on the elastically sprung section of the
locking sleeve in the region of the cam, two opposed angled
surfaces are formed, which are so arranged and designed that, on
displacement of the locking sleeve out of the locking position,
2o one of the angled surfaces glides over the cam according to the
axial movement direction of the locking sleeve and causes a
displacement of the elastically sprung section of the locking
sleeve. The angled surfaces are suitably designed in one piece
with the locking sleeve.
2s In order to limit the axial movement of the locking sleeve,
the angled surfaces have stop edges.
To provide for economical and automatic mass production,
the locking sleeve is designed as injection moulded item,
whereby the locking sleeve is made, for instance, from plastics.
3o To provide for a high degree of mechanical stability in the
locking device, the locking sleeve has an inlaid metal part in
the region of the locking device of the collet, particularly a
brass part.
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The invention will now be described in greater detail with
the aid of the drawings. These show:
Fig. 1 a preferred embodiment of a coupler according to
the invention in schematic side view,
s Fig. 2 the coupler in Fig. 1 on insertion of a plug to
create a coaxial plug connection in schematic side
view and,
Fig. 3 the coupler in Fig. 1 on release of a plug to
separate a coaxial plug connection in schematic
io side view.
The preferred embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 of a coupler
according to the invention comprises a contact sleeve 10, a
central conductor 12 and a locking sleeve 14. The contact sleeve
is designed at a plug-side end with a collet 18, into which a
i5 plug 20 indicated with broken lines may be inserted. The
internal diameter of the collet 18 and the external diameter of
the plug 20 are so dimensioned that for insertion of the plug
20, the collet 18 must be expanded. The plug 20 also has a
surrounding groove 22 into which, with plug 20 fully inserted
2o into the contact sleeve 10, the collet 18 latches and thus
provides a certain resistance to release of plug 20 and contact
sleeve 10.
The locking sleeve 14 is so designed at its plug-side end
16 that in a locking position shown in Fig. 1, it prevents
2s expansion of the collet 18 and therefore insertion or removal of
the plug 20. For this purpose, the locking sleeve 14 has in the
region 24 a suitable elevation 26, against which corresponding
segments of the collet 18 make contact when the locking sleeve
14 is in the locking position shown in Fig. 1. Through this
3o contacting of the segments of the collet 18, expansion of same
is prevented and insertion or removal of the plug 20 is blocked.
On an end 28 of the coupler facing away from the plug-side
end, the locking sleeve 14 has a plurality of elastically sprung
sections 30 arranged collet-like around the circumference of the
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locking sleeve 14. The elastically sprung sections 30 are so
designed that they may be displaced elastically sprung in radial
direction relative to the coupler. Each elastically sprung
section 30 has a cam 32, which engages in a recess 34 in the
s contact sleeve 10 of the coupler. The recess 34 is so designed
with two angled surfaces 36 that on displacement of the locking
sleeve 14 from the locking position shown in Fig. 1, the cam 32
glides along a respective angled surface 36 and thus leads to a
displacement,of the elastically sprung sections 30 of the
to locking sleeve 14. In this way, a restoring force results which
automatically moves the locking sleeve 14 back into the locking
position shown in Fig. 1 after its release.
As can be directly seen from Fig. 1, according to the
invention a return mechanism to return the locking sleeve 14
i5 into the locking position is therefore realised in which only
the locking sleeve 14 interacts with the contact sleeve 10,
without additional separate parts. The axial movement of the
locking sleeve 14 on the contact sleeve 10 is limited by
suitable stops 38 of the recess 34 at the ends of the angled
2o surfaces 36. The cams 32 contact these stops 38 on corresponding
displacement of the locking sleeve 14 and the locking sleeve 14
may not be moved any further axially.
Fig. 2 illustrates a first unlocking position of the
locking sleeve 14 for insertion of the plug 20 into the contact
2s sleeve 10 with simultaneous expansion and latching of the collet
18 into the groove 22. The locking sleeve 14 is thereby pushed
manually in the direction of the plug-side end 16 of the
coupler, so that the corresponding segments of the collet 18
have a free space in radial direction for expansion of the
3o collet. For insertion, the coupler is manually gripped in the
region of the locking sleeve 14 and the plug 20 and coupler
pushed against each other, so that a force is exerted on the
locking sleeve 14 in the direction of the arrow 40. Due to the
resultant axial displacement of the locking sleeve 14 in the
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direction of the plug-side end 16 of the coupler according to
the invention, the cams 32 slide along the angled surfaces 36
and so produce the elastic displacement of the elastically
sprung sections 30, as visible from Fig. 2. The cams 32 and thus
s the locking sleeve 14 are thereby subjected to a tension
producing a restoring force in the direction of the locking
position. As soon as the plug 20 is completely pushed-into the
contact sleeve 10 and the collet 18 latches into the groove 22
of the plug 20, the locking sleeve 14 can be released, whereupon
io the restoring force automatically moves the locking sleeve 14
axially back into the locking position according to Fig. 1. This
force is generated by the deflected sections 30 of the locking
sleeve 14.
Fig. 3 shows a second unlocking position of the locking
is sleeve 14 for release of the coaxial plug connection and for
extraction of the plug 20 from the contact sleeve 10. To this
end, the plug 20 and the locking sleeve 14 are manually grasped
and pulled away from each other, whereby a releasing force is
produced in the direction of the arrow 42. Due to this force,
2o the locking sleeve 14 is axially displaced in the direction of
an end of the coupler facing away from the plug-side end 26 and
the segments of the collet 18 have corresponding free space in
radial direction for expansion of the collet 18, so that they
may be pulled out of the groove 22 of the plug 20. At the same
z5 time, due to the cam 32 sliding along the angled surface 36, a
corresponding restoring force is again produced, imposing a
tension on the locking sleeve 14 in the direction of the locking
position according to Fig. 1. As soon as the plug 20 is now
completely pulled out of the contact sleeve 10, the locking
3o sleeve 14 may be released, whereupon under the restoring force
due to the elastically deflected sections 30, the locking sleeve
14 automatically slides back in axial direction into the locking
position according to Fig. 1.
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It directly follows from the above that on manual plugging
of coupler and plug 20, when holding the coupler by the locking
sleeve 14, this is automatically pushed by the manually applied
force (arrow 40 or 42) into the correct unlocking position
s according to Fig. 2 or Fig. 3 and automatically moves back after
insertion of the plug 20 into the coupler or after release of
the plug 20 from the coupler into the locking position according
to Fig. 1, where undesired release of the plug connection, for
instance through vibration, is effectively prevented. Therefore,
io the respective movement direction of the locking sleeve 14
required for insertion or release of the plug 20 simultaneously
corresponds to a direction of a corresponding manual force
exercised between coupler and plug 20 for plugging or
unplugging. Thus the coupler according to the invention may be
15 handled intuitively and without particular attention for the
making or releasing of a coaxial plug connection, whereby the
user need not exercise thought, particularly about the required
unlocking position of the locking sleeve 14. The correct
unlocking position is automatically produced on pressing
2o together the coupler and plug 20 when making the coaxial plug
connection and when pulling apart coupler and plug 20 to release
the coaxial plug connection.
Furthermore, the plug connection is also releasable
manually only by conscious appropriate holding of the coupler by
2s the locking sleeve 14, since otherwise, even when applying force
between coupler and plug 20 in the releasing direction 42 (Fig.
3), the locking sleeve 14 remains in the locking position
according to Fig. 1 and release of the plug 20 from the collet
18 of the contact sleeve 10 is prevented. In other words,
3o extraction of the coupler from the plug 20 by accidental
traction loading of the coaxial cable attached to the coupler is
prevented.
The mechanism according to the invention achieves with only
one single part, namely the cam 32 formed on the section 30, an
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automatic axial restoring movement into the locking position
from both displacement directions. This is achieved thereby that
the radially sprung cams 32 on the locking sleeve 14 slide
downwards by compression against the angled surfaces 36 on the
s contact sleeve 10 and thus move the locking sleeve 14 back into
the locking position.
