Abstract:
A backshell includes a cable-receiving portion presenting a front end, a rear end, and a first longitudinal axis; a connector portion presenting a front end, a rear end, and a second longitudinal axis; and a swivel joint operably coupling the front end of the cable-receiving portion with the rear end of said connector portion and operable to permit selective relative movement between the cable-receiving portion and the connector portion such that they may assume different relative positions with the longitudinal axes thereof at correspondingly different angles.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Backshell devices provide a secure connection between a wiring harness and an associated electrical connector. Backshells not only provide strain relief to prevent damage to the termination points of the wiring harness but may also be designed for coupling with and anchoring a braided sheath encasing the wires in the wiring harness to protect the wiring from the effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI). 
         [0002]    The particular design of an electrical or electronic system may require that a wiring harness enter a backshell at a particular angle. For example, some systems require a wiring harness to enter a backshell from a straight orientation, a 45° orientation, or a 90° orientation. To accommodate these different requirements, various configurations of backshells are known, including 0°, 45°, and 90° backshells. Unfortunately, the required orientation of wiring harnesses to their backshells is often not known until the devices are installed, so installers must stock and carry all configurations of the backshells. 
         [0003]    Adjustable backshells have been developed in an attempt to resolve the above-described problems, but known adjustable backshells are either difficult to use and adjust and/or overly complicated and expensive. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, there is a need for an improved adjustable backshell that overcomes the limitations of the prior art. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The present invention solves the above-described problems and provides a distinct advance in the art of backshell devices by providing an improved adjustable backshell that can be quickly and easily configured to secure a wiring harness in nearly any orientation. 
         [0006]    A backshell constructed in accordance with various embodiments of the invention broadly includes a tubular, open-ended, cable-receiving portion; a tubular, open-ended, connector portion; and a swivel joint interconnecting the cable-receiving portion and connector portion. The cable-receiving portion and connector portion are relatively shiftable my means of the swivel joint so that the cable-receiving portion and connector portion may assume an infinite number of relative positions between a substantially straight and axially aligned position and a 90° position. 
         [0007]    An embodiment of the swivel joint may comprise a first circumferentially extending bearing surface carried by a front end of the cable-receiving portion; a second circumferentially extending bearing surface carried by a rear end of the cable connector portion; and structure operable to maintain the first and second bearing surfaces in mating adjacency during relative swiveling movement of the cable-receiving and connector portions. 
         [0008]    An embodiment of the structure for maintaining the bearing surfaces together may comprise an annular connection flange carried by the connector portion, and a collar formed in the connector portion and surrounding the connection flange. Mating slots are formed in the annular connection flange and the collar to receive a snap-ring or similar fastener for holding the flange and collar together. 
         [0009]    This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
         [0010]    Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a backshell constructed in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the backshell positioned in its straight or aligned orientation. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the backshell positioned in its 90° orientation. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a vertical sectional view of the backshell positioned in its straight orientation. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a vertical sectional view of the backshell positioned in its 90° orientation. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the cable-receiving portion of the backshell. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the connector portion of the backshell with its locking not removed. 
       
    
    
       [0018]    The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention references the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 
         [0020]    In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to are included in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separate references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” in this description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are also not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For example, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment may also be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included. Thus, the present technology can include a variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein. 
         [0021]    A backshell  10  constructed in accordance with various embodiments of the invention is illustrated in the drawing figures and broadly includes a tubular, open-ended, cable-receiving portion  12 ; a tubular, open-ended, connector portion  14 ; and a swivel joint  16  interconnecting the cable-receiving portion  12  and the connector portion  14 . The cable-receiving portion  12  and connector portion  14  are relatively shiftable my means of the swivel joint  16  so that the cable-receiving portion  12  and connector portion  14  may assume an infinite number of relative positions between the substantially straight and axially aligned position of  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  4  and the 90° position of  FIGS. 3 and 5 . 
         [0022]    Embodiments of the backshell  10  may be used with copper wires, fiberoptic cables, or any other conductors. As used herein, the term “wiring harness” includes any number and type of electrical, optical, or other conductors. 
         [0023]    The cable-receiving portion  12  of the backshell  10  is best illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 6  and includes a tubular body  18  having a rear section  20  and a forward joint section  22 . The rear section  20  includes a sheath termination nipple  24  that is formed by a pair of spaced-apart radially enlarged flanges  26 ,  28  that define an annular fastener-receiving channel  30  therebetween. The outermost surfaces of the flanges  26 ,  28  and the channel  30  may be knurled or otherwise roughened to increase their friction. A sheath of a wiring harness (not shown) as well as the wiring harness&#39;s outer jacket may be stretched over the flanges  26 ,  28  and then compressed and held in the channel  30  by a clamp, clip, spring, or other fastener. A slot  32  is formed in the channel  30  for grounding purposes. 
         [0024]    The forward section  22  of the cable-receiving portion  12  includes an obliquely oriented, annular bearing wall  34  provided with a continuous circular groove  36 . The forward section also includes a radially outwardly and forwardly extending peripheral collar  38  equipped with an internal slot  40 . The outermost surface of the collar  38  may be knurled or otherwise roughened to provide a gripping surface for holding and adjusting the backshell as described below. 
         [0025]    The connector portion  14  of the backshell  10  is best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 ,  5 , and  7  and includes a tubular body  42  presenting a forward section  44  and a rear joint section  46 . The forward section  44  includes a toothed peripheral edge  48  that serves to locate and hold a connector insert as described below and a pair of laterally spaced apart, radially outwardly extending, annular shoulders  50 ,  52 . A threaded coupling nut  54  is rotatably coupled to the forward section of the connector portion by spaced-apart inwardly extending collars  56 ,  58 . The collars  56 ,  58  are positioned on opposite sides of the shoulder  50  and together define an annular channel  60  in which the shoulder  50  is received. 
         [0026]    The forward section  44  also receives and supports a connector insert (not shown) that is configured to mate with a complemental connector on an electrical or electronic device when the coupling nut  54  is threaded over the complemental connector. The connector insert may be a receptacle-type or “female” insert comprising a plurality of receptacles disposed therein or may be a plug-type or “male” insert with a plurality of outwardly extending pins or plugs. The individual wires in the wiring harness enter the rear section  20  of the cable-receiving portion  12  of the backshell and terminate at the rear of the connector insert in a conventional manner. 
         [0027]    The rear joint section  46  of the connector portion  14  includes an annular, obliquely oriented connection flange  62  presenting a bearing wall  64  provided with a continuous groove  66 . In addition, the outboard surface of the flange  62  has a continuous peripheral slot  68 . 
         [0028]    As best shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the forward joint section  22  of the cable-receiving portion  12  and the rear joint section  46  of the connector portion  14  are joined by the swivel joint  16  to present the overall backplate  10 . An O-ring  70  is seated within groove  66 , and a metallic snap-ring  72  is inserted into slot  68 . The forward joint section  22  of the cable-receiving portion  12  is then pressed onto flange  62  of the connector portion  14  such that the collar  38  surrounds the flange  62 , and the snap-ring  72  seats into the slots  40  and  68 . In this orientation, the bearing walls  34  and  64  are in close, mating adjacency, with the O-ring  70  captively retained between the grooves  36  and  66 , and with the snap-ring  72  within slots  40  and  68  serving to maintain the rotary connection between cable-receiving portion  12  and connector portion  14 . 
         [0029]    In order to adjust the relative positions of the cable-receiving portion  12  and connector portion  14 , an installer may simply grasp the portions and exert a relative turning or twisting movement until they are in the desired angular relationship. Advantageously, no tools are required to adjust the angular orientation of the backshell. It will be appreciated that the cable-receiving portion  12  and connector portion  14  may assume any position between that shown in  FIG. 1  where the longitudinal axes of the portions are in essentially parallel, offset relation, to the 90° position of  FIG. 3 . Once positioned in a desired relative orientation, the cable-receiving portion  12  and connector portion  14  may be locked or otherwise held in place by a suitable locking mechanism. 
         [0030]    The components of the backshell  10  may be formed by any suitable materials including synthetic resin materials, metals, and allows and may be of any size to accommodate any type and size of wiring harness. 
         [0031]    Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.