Patent Publication Number: US-6220889-B1

Title: Adjustable cable egress mechanism for cable connectors

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to cable connectors for cables used in voice and data communication systems. 
     2. Discussion of the Known Art 
     Industry standard “Category 5” cables comprise 25 unshielded twisted pairs (UTP) of insulated wires for carrying voice and data signals. These cables are quite rigid and difficult to bend. Thus, it becomes difficult if not impossible for a customer always to be able to route such cables conveniently in various applications where space is limited. When a number of typical 25-wire pair connectors associated with such cables are mounted in close proximity to one another, as normally occurs in the field, the stiffness of the cables makes their routing near the connectors especially troublesome. 
     In an attempt to meet different user applications, various connector arrangements have been proposed that offer the user a limited number of options with respect to cable egress angle relative to a connector body. This requires the user to determine beforehand which angle or angles are best suited for a particular application, however. Also, suppliers of such connectors must inventory a number of different cable connector/cable assemblies, so as to accommodate user requests for a particular plug connector type and cable length. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,960 issued Feb. 26, 1974, discloses an electrical connector junction shell that supports a cable which exits from an associated connector with an in-line or “straight up” configuration (i.e., at an angle of 180 degrees with respect to the direction in which the connector faces), or at a right angle (90 degrees) with respect to the direction of the connector face. As mentioned, applications exist where cable egress angles other than 180 or 90 degrees may be desirable to satisfy installations where a number of connectors are mounted close to one another and space for routing of the connector cables is limited. 
     Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,145 issued Aug. 2, 1988, shows an electrical connector with a housing that has three openings facing in different directions through which wires can exit in a selected direction. To change the egress direction, it is necessary to disassemble the connector housing, redirect the wires through a different opening, and to clamp the wires with a clamp piece and an actuating screw. 
     Accordingly, the known connector housings or shells do not permit wires or cables to be set conveniently at a desired egress angle to meet the needs of various installations where angles ranging from, for example, 110 to 240 degrees may be required. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention, an adjustable cable egress mechanism for cable connectors includes a protective hood, and a supporting hub that is mounted within the hood for rotation about a hub axis. The hub has a cable passage, and the hood has an outside wall with a cable egress slot. The egress slot is formed in the hood to open into the cable passage in the hub, over a predetermined range of angular positions of the hub about the hub axis. Thus, an outside cable passing through the cable egress slot and extending in the cable passage in the hub can be rotated with the hub about the hub axis and supported by the hub at a desired egress angle within the predetermined range. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a cable connector comprises a connector body having a terminal face for engaging terminals of a mating connector, and a cable end face for terminating cable conductors, diverging from a cable end of an outside cable. A hood is constructed and arranged for protectively enclosing the conductors and the cable in the region of the cable end face of the connector body, and a hub is mounted for rotation about a hub axis within the hood, the hub having a cable passage. The hood has a wall with a cable egress slot formed to open into the cable passage in the hub over a range of angular positions about the hub axis. Thus, an outside cable passing through the egress slot in the hood and extending in the passage in the hub, can be rotated with and supported by the hub at a desired egress angle within the mentioned range. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a cable assembly includes a length of cable having a cable end, and a number of cable conductors diverging from the cable end. The assembly also includes a connector body having a terminal face, and a cable end face for terminating cable conductors from the cable end. A hood is constructed and arranged for protectively enclosing the conductors and the cable near the cable end face of the connector body, and a hub is mounted within the hood for rotation about a hub axis, the hub having a cable passage. A wall of the hood has a cable egress slot formed to open into the cable passage in the hub over a certain range of angular positions about the hub axis, and the cable passes through the cable egress slot in the hood and extends in the cable passage in the hub, so that the cable may rotate with the hub about the hub axis and be supported by the hub at a desired egress angle within the mentioned range. 
     For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     In the drawing: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective, assembly view of a connector with an adjustable cable egress mechanism according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a cable indexing or positioning hub in the mechanism of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the hub as seen from the left in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is an end view of the connector as seen from the front in FIG. 1 in an assembled state, showing a cable exiting the connector at a “straight away” angle of 180 degrees; 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the assembled connector, showing a cable exiting the connector at an angle of about 110 degrees; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of the assembled connector, showing a cable exiting the connector at an angle of about 150 degrees; and 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of the assembled connector, showing a cable exiting the connector at an angle of about 240 degrees. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector  10  with an adjustable cable egress mechanism  12  according to the invention. The connector  10  has a generally rectangular, elongated connector body  14 . The connector body  14  has a terminal face  16  at a front side of the body for engaging terminals of a mating connector (not shown). The connector body may be, for example, that of a commercially available 25-pair cable plug connector meeting FCC rules, Part 68, Subpart F, for 50-pin miniature ribbon connectors. The invention is not limited with respect to a particular connector body, and may be applied in other types of electrical connectors as well as in connectors for optical fiber cables. 
     As is generally known in the art, cable conductors in the form of insulated wires (or fibers) may be terminated inside the connector body  14 . The wires are individually routed or “dressed” over a cable end face  18  of the connector body  14 , so that the wires diverge neatly and evenly from an end of a jacketed cable into the connector cable end face  18 . 
     The cable egress mechanism  12  comprises a hood or shell  30  for protectively enclosing individual wires dressed over the end face  18  of the connector body  14 , as well as the end of the jacketed cable from which the wires diverge. Hood  30  may, for example, be molded from a plastics material meeting all applicable standards with respect to electrical insulation and flammability. Suitable materials include, e.g., polycarbonate, ABS, and blends thereof. A typical wall thickness of the hood  30  is about 0.050 inches. A front portion of the hood  30  has an opening with a cross section that conforms to the periphery of the cable end face  18  on the connector body  14 . 
     A pair of resilient loop snaps,  32 ,  34 , project from both side ends of the front portion of the hood  30 . The snaps  32 ,  34 , have openings for engaging corresponding block protrusions  36 ,  38 , at opposite side ends of the connector body  14 . The hood  30  also has a pair of fastener openings  40 ,  42 , formed in the vicinity of the loop snaps  32 ,  34 . The openings  40 ,  42 , permit a pair of connector screws  44 ,  46 , to be inserted from outside the hood  30 , and to pass through corresponding openings  48 ,  50 , in opposite side ends of the connector body  14 . Threaded ends of the connector screws  44 ,  46 , may then engage corresponding threaded openings in the body of a mating connector, and both of the screws tightened from the cable end face side of the connector body  14  to fasten the connector  10  on the mating connector. 
     A cable supporting and indexing hub  60  is mounted for rotation within the hood  30 . See also FIGS. 2 and 3. The hub  60  is in partially cylindrical form, and has a hub axis A. The hub  60  is mounted between opposed walls  62 ,  64 , within a central portion of the connector hood  30  as viewed in FIG.  1 . See also FIG. 4. A part of the hood  30  which extends tangentially off the hub  60 , forms a resilient indexing spring finger or latch  66 . The latch  66  also has an indexing pawl  70  protruding from a free end of the latch, toward the circumference of the hub  60 . See FIG.  5 . 
     Latch  66  may be thicker at its base where it joins the body of the hood  30 , and the thickness of the latch  66  may taper narrower in the direction toward its free end. Thus, the latch  66  can be urged by applying a finger force to a lip  68  at the free end, in a direction away from the hub  60  (see FIG.  5 ). 
     The rear end wall of the hood  30  also has an elongated cable egress slot  74 , which slot is formed to subtend a determined arc about the hub axis A when the hub  60  is mounted within the hood. For example, one end  76  of the slot  74  may define a position at which a cable exits from the connector  10  at the 180-degree position shown in FIG.  4 . An opposite end  78  of the slot may define a position at which the cable egresses at an angle of either 110 degrees or 240 degrees, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. The slot  74  also allows the cable to be set to egress at angles intermediate those defined by the slot ends  76 ,  78 . 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 show further details of the hub  60  in the cable egress mechanism  12 . The hub  60  has a generally disk-shaped base  82 , and two partial circumferential walls  84 ,  86 . The two walls  84 ,  86 , and the base  82  define a cable passage  88  through the hub  60 . That is, the cable passage  88  lies above the hub base  82  and is substantially perpendicular to the hub axis A. As viewed in FIG. 2, a left end of the cable passage  88  is bordered by opposed, circumferentially spaced extensions  90 ,  92 , from the hub walls  84 ,  86 . Opposed edges of the wall extensions  90 ,  92 , are spaced by an amount sufficient to permit sliding movement of a cable along the direction of the passage  88 , and to restrain a cable end collar  98  (see FIGS. 5-7) which collar may be crimped about the cable end jacket near the cable end face  18  of the connector body  14 . Thus, the wall extensions  90 ,  92 , cooperate with the cable end collar to provide strain relief for cable wires dressed over the end face  18  of the connector body  14 , should the cable be pulled from outside the hood  30 . 
     Hub wall  84  also has a number of indexing grooves  94  in its circumference. Each of the grooves  94  extends parallel to the hub axis A (see FIG. 3) and is of such dimensions as to receive and to seat the pawl  70  at the free end of the indexing latch  66 , when the hub  60  is rotated to align one of the grooves  94  with the latch pawl  70 . In the illustrated embodiment, seven equi-circumferentially spaced grooves  94  are formed in the circumference of the hub wall  84 , so that the support hub  60  may be rotated to a selected one of seven angular positions when the hub is mounted within the connector hood  30 , and the pawl  70  is seated in the corresponding groove in the hub wall. 
     The support hub  60  also has a cylindrical boss  96  that projects coaxially from the bottom of the hub base  82 , as viewed in FIG.  3 . The boss  96  is arranged to be seated for pivotal movement within a corresponding circular cutout in the hood wall  64  (see FIG.  4 ). The boss  96  thus allows the hub  60  to pivot for rotation between the opposed side walls  62 ,  64 , of the connector hood  30 . With the hub  60  mounted for rotation inside the connector hood  30 , the cable passage  88  through the hub will open into the cable egress slot  74  in the hood  30 , at each position of the hub  60  where the latch pawl  70  may be seated in one of the indexing grooves  94  on the circumference of the hub wall  84 . 
     Assembly of the connector  10  with wires or fibers emerging from a cable end, proceeds as follows. Before terminating cable wires in the connector body  14 , the cable egress mechanism  12  comprising hood  30  and hub  60  is adjusted so that the supporting hub  60  is at the 180 degree (cable straightaway) position in FIG.  4 . The cable end is inserted through the cable egress slot  74  in the hood  30 , between the hub wall extensions  90 ,  92 , and through the cable passage  88  between the walls  84 ,  86  of the hub. The entire mechanism  12  is then slid along the jacketed cable, out of the way of cable wires to be terminated in the connector body  14 . The cable wires are then terminated and laced in and about the connector cable end face  18 , with the jacketed cable extending in the 180 degree position. 
     The cable end collar  98  is crimped about the cable jacket near the position where the jacket is removed, to allow the cable wires to diverge and terminate in the connector body  14 . The egress mechanism  12  is then slid back down the cable, and the loop snaps  32 ,  34 , on the hood  30  are snapped onto the protrusions  36 ,  38 , on the connector body. 
     After fastening the connector hood  30  on the connector body  14  via the loop snaps  32 ,  34 , a desired angle of cable egress may be set by urging the pawl  70  of the indexing latch  66  away from the hub  60 , and rotating the cable to the desired position by as much as, for example, 30 degrees from horizontal. FIG. 5 shows cable egress at 110 degrees, i.e., 30 degrees above horizontal at the left side of FIG.  5 . FIG. 6 shows a left-side egress at an angle of about 150 degrees, or 60 degrees above horizontal at the left side of the connector  10  in FIG.  6 . FIG. 7 shows cable egress at 240 degrees, i.e., 30 degrees above horizontal at the right side of connector  10  in FIG.  7 . 
     The cable egress slot  74  in the hood  30  should face the desired direction of cable egress. In the disclosed embodiment, the hood  30  is “reversible” as shown by FIGS. 5 and 7. That is, the cable egress mechanism  12  may be removed from the connector body  14  by unfastening the screws  44 ,  46 , releasing the hood snaps  32 ,  34 , flipping the hood 180 degrees about the cable axis, and re-fastening the hood to the connector body. This feature allows the cable egress slot  74  to extend along the hood in only one direction from the slot end  76  which corresponds to the 180 degree cable egress position in FIG.  4 . 
     While the foregoing description represents a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention which is pointed out by the following claims. For example, in place of the illustrated latching mechanism, a conventional releaseable friction clutch may be arranged between the hood  30  and the rotatable hub  60 , to allow a cable terminated in the connector body  14  to be moved and set at a desired angle relative to the connector body.