Patent Abstract:
An outer sleeve for a CATV filter has, in one embodiment, a first end and a second end. The second end has a face with one or more engagement holes.

Full Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit and priority of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/013,797, filed on Aug. 29, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/467,247, filed on Aug. 25, 2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,545,235). The entire contents of such applications are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates generally to the field of CATV filters, and more particularly to a torque transmitting outer sleeve for a CATV filter. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    In typical CATV applications, a filter circuit or network is provided to pass signals having frequencies within one or more specified bandwidths, sometimes with a desired amount of signal attenuation, while blocking signals of other frequencies. It is convenient, but not necessary, to mount the electrical components such as capacitors, inductors, and resistors on one or more printed circuit boards in essentially conventional fashion. The circuit board carrying the filter circuit components is mounted within a suitable protective housing. Physical rigidity is required to maintain stable electrical response. Connection headers at each end provide for connecting the filter to a coaxial cable connector and to an equipment port. The entire assembly is commonly referred to as a filter or trap. 
         [0004]    It is customary in the CATV industry for system technicians to use special wrenches for the installation and removal of traps. These special wrenches are of the pin spanner type where the driving pins of the wrench are accepted by two shallow holes bored into the end face of one header, sometimes referred to as engagement holes. This has been effective, but requires a degree of manufacturing difficulty and material usage which increases the cost of the trap housing components. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,087 (Yoshie et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,488 (Kotani et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,494 (Zennamo, Jr. et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,766 (Zennamo, Jr. et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,129 (Zennamo, Jr. et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,829,813 (Zennamo, Jr. et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,888,423 (Tresness et al.) all show traps with the two engagement holes drilled into the end face of one of the headers. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    Briefly stated, a housing for a CATV filter includes an outer sleeve which can be made of stainless steel. A filter assembly and two headers are contained within the outer sleeve. Two engagement holes for a special pin spanner-type wrench are formed in a face of the outer sleeve instead of in a header. The engagement holes are preferably “drifted” holes, which in effect means that rims are created during the forming of holes which add to the strength of the holes. 
         [0007]    According to an embodiment, an outer sleeve for a CATV filter has a first and second end. The second end includes a face that defines a connector hole. The connector hole is configured to receive a cable connector and the connector hole is located on a first axis. The face also defines at least one engagement hole located on a different axis. 
         [0008]    According to another embodiment, a method for making an outer sleeve for a CATV filter includes forming a first hole located on a first axis in a face. The face is located on an end of the outer sleeve and the first hole is configured to receive a cable connector. The method also includes forming at least one engagement hole in the face. The at least one engagement hole located on a different axis. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  shows a cutaway perspective view of a filter with a housing according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the housing of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  with two engagement holes shown. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  shows a front elevation view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional view taken across line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0013]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , a CATV filter  10  includes a circuit board  28  connected to an inner frame  26 . At one end of filter  10 , an insulator  34  is adjacent to one end of circuit board  28  and is held in place partly by a header  22 , while at another end of filter  10 , an insulator  36  is adjacent to another end of circuit board  28  and is held in place partly by a header  24 . An outer sleeve, also known as a housing,  16  fits over inner frame  26  and headers  22 ,  24  holding the assembly together. A portion of header  22  is shaped to connect to an equipment port (not shown), while a portion of header  24  is shaped to connect to a coaxial cable (not shown) via a coaxial cable connector (not shown), and in particular, includes a threaded connector  38 . 
         [0014]    Outer sleeve  16  includes a central hole  32  in a face  30  to accommodate threaded connector  38 . Outer sleeve  16  also includes two engagement holes  12 ,  14  to accommodate the driving pins (not shown) of the special pin spanner-type wrench (not shown) which is used in the industry to screw filters and traps onto equipment ports. Outer sleeve  16  is preferably of stainless steel, which is comparable to brass in terms of durability. When fabricating outer sleeve  16  of stainless steel, the part is deep drawn, which means that it starts out as steel sheet and is successively stamped into ever deeper and narrower “soup cans” until the final diameter and length are reached. The bottom end is closed, while the top end is still attached all the way around the rim to the parent sheet. 
         [0015]    Engagement holes  12 ,  14  are then formed in face  30  by punching two small holes in the bottom of the partially formed outer sleeve, after which a larger diameter tapered pin is forced through the holes, pushing the edge inward and stretching the diameter of each engagement hole  12 ,  14  to its final diameter. Central hole  32  is then punched out, after which the part is sheared off the parent sheet and the edge is compacted in an operation known as a “pinch trim” which tapers edge  18  while eliminating the sharp edge left from the shearing. The taper of edge  18  is preferably approximately 15 degrees to aid in fitting outer sleeve  16  over inner frame  26  and headers  22 ,  24 . 
         [0016]    Engagement holes  12 ,  14  are “drifted” holes, meaning that they have curled-in edges  40 ,  42 , respectively, as a result of how they were made. Simply die-punching engagement holes  12 ,  14  would not add curled edges  40 ,  42  to engagement holes  12 ,  14 . The strength of the “drifted” edge of the holes, combined with the durability of the stainless steel base metal, makes engagement holes  12 ,  14  comparable in performance to drilled holes in brass. Curled edges  40 ,  42  add effective thickness to engagement holes  12 ,  14  which is greater than the thickness of the sheet metal itself, thus providing structural rigidity to withstand the up to 90 in-lb of torque expected when abused, with minimal deformation of engagement holes  12 ,  14 . Non-drifted holes actually tear under those conditions, whereas the drifted holes merely become slightly egg-shaped. In addition, the prior art method of drilling engagement holes in one header is costlier than the present method of forming engagement holes  12 ,  14  in outer sleeve  16 . 
         [0017]    With no engagement holes in the header, machining or casting or metal injection molding without secondary machining operations becomes possible. The material thickness of the header may also be reduced, also saving costs. 
         [0018]    While the present invention has been described with reference to a particular preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment and that various modifications and the like could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7