Patent ID: 7575459

Claim:
A connector arrangement for connecting together a pair of electrical cables or optical cables, comprising: (a) a cylindrical plug body ( 12 ) having a first end provided with a plurality of plug contacts; (b) a cylindrical socket body ( 4 ) having at one end a plurality of socket contacts arranged for engagement with said pin contacts when said first ends of said plug and socket bodies are axially displaced colinearly toward an engaged condition; and (c) locking means for locking said plug and socket bodies together when in said engaged condition, including: (1) an inner tubular locking sleeve ( 5 ) mounted for axial and rotational displacement concentrically about one of said plug and body first ends; (2) an outer tubular locking sleeve ( 7 ) mounted for axial and rotational displacement about the other of said plug and body first ends; (3) said inner and outer locking sleeves being colinearly arranged and having adjacent first ends carrying external ( 6 ) and internal ( 8 ) screw threads, respectively, said adjacent first ends each containing a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinal slits ( 19 , 20 ) that define a plurality of resilient circumferentially-spaced split threaded sectors ( 5 b , 7 d ); and (4) deforming means ( 9 a , 12 a ) operable upon axial displacement of said locking sleeves on said plug and socket bodies from separated unlocked positions toward adjacent locked positions for displacing said resilient split threaded sectors radially outwardly and radially inwardly toward concentrically-arranged positions in mutually-threaded engagement, respectively, whereby upon slight relative rotation of said sleeves, said sleeves are locked against axial separation.