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EP-4073564-B1 - MECHANICAL CONNECTOR WITH CABLE RETENTION FEATURE

EP4073564B1EP 4073564 B1EP4073564 B1EP 4073564B1EP-4073564-B1

Inventors

  • CLAVER, Nicholas, V.
  • CRAWFORD, WILLIAM
  • CARAPELLA, Peter
  • HONSINGER, Brian

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20201210

Claims (14)

  1. A connector comprising: a body (110; 610), a cap (140; 640) configured to be threadedly coupled with the body (110; 610), wherein the body (110; 610) is configured to receive a fiber optic cable therein and to be coupled with a sub assembly of a fiber optic connector, and wherein the body (110; 610) is configured to be radially compressed on a jacket of the fiber optic cable when the cap (140; 640) is threadedly coupled with the body (110; 610), characterized in that an inner surface of the body (110; 610) includes an annularly-extending, circumferential ridge (124; 624) that protrudes radially inward.
  2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the body (110; 610) includes a forward portion (112; 612), a rearward portion (114; 614) and a threaded portion (116; 616), the threaded portion (116; 616) being between the forward and rearward portions, wherein the forward portion (112; 612) is configured to be coupled with the fiber optic connector sub-assembly, and wherein the threaded portion (116; 616) includes threads on an external surface.
  3. The connector of claim 2, wherein the rearward portion (114; 614) of the body (110; 610) includes a plurality of fingers (120; 620) that extend from a tubular wall of the rearward portion (114; 614) in a rearward direction away from the threaded (116; 616) and forward portions (112; 612).
  4. The connector of claim 3, wherein one or more of the fingers (120; 620) includes the annularly-extending , circumferential ridge (124; 624) that protrudes radially inward from an inner surface of the one or more fingers (120; 620).
  5. The connector of claim 3 or 4, wherein the cap (140; 640) includes a forward portion (142; 642) and a rearward portion (144; 644), wherein the forward portion (142; 642) of the cap (141; 640) includes internal threads (146; 646) that are sized and arranged to be coupled with the threads on the external surface of the body (110; 610).
  6. The connector of claim 5, wherein the rearward portion (144; 644) of the cap (140; 640) includes a tapered inside diameter portion that tapers radially inward in the rearward direction from the internal threads (146; 646).
  7. The connector of claim 6, wherein the tapered inside diameter portion is configured to engage the plurality of fingers (120; 620) on the body (110; 610) when the cap (140; 640) is threadedly coupled with the body (110; 610).
  8. The connector of any one of the preceding claims, when combined with claim 2, wherein the connector includes a crimp sleeve (170), wherein the connector is configured to receive a jacket of the fiber optic cable between the body and the crimp sleeve (170), wherein the crimp sleeve (170) includes an elongated tubular member (172) terminating at a forward flanged head portion (174), and the flanged head portion (174) includes a first flange portion (176) rearward of a second flange portion (178), each of the first and second flange portions including an annular flange, with the second flange portion (178) having a greater outer dimension that the first flange portion (176), the first flange portion (176) including at least one flattened region (180) on its outer surface; and wherein the tubular wall of the rearward portion (114) of the body (110) includes an annular notch (138) configured to receive the first flange portion (176) of the crimp sleeve (170), and the notch (138) includes one or more flattened regions (139) sized and arranged to receive the one or more flattened regions (180) of the first flange portion (176) of the crimp sleeve such that the crimp sleeve (170) does not rotate relative to the body (110) when the first flange portion (176) is received by the notch (138).
  9. The connector of claims 7 and 8, wherein the tapered inside diameter portion is configured to radially compress the plurality of fingers (120; 620) toward the crimp sleeve when the cap (140; 640) is threadedly coupled with the body (110; 610) such that the fiber optic cable is gripped between the body (110; 610) and the crimp sleeve
  10. The connector of any one of the preceding claims, when combined with claim 5, wherein the forward portion (142; 642) of the cap (140; 640) has an exterior surface that includes one or more gripping features (148; 648), optionally raised ribs, grooves, or knurls.
  11. The connector according to any one of the preceding claims, when combined with claim 5, wherein rearward portion (144; 644) of the cap (140; 640) includes an outer surface (158; 658) having one or more barbs (160; 660) configured to receive and to help retain a boot (192; 692).
  12. A fiber optic connector comprising: the connector (100; 600) of any one of the preceding claims configured to be coupled with a fiber optic cable (190); a sub-assembly (182; 682) of a fiber optic connector configured to be coupled with the connector (100; 600); and a fiber optic connector outer housing (184) configured to be coupled with the sub-assembly (182; 682).
  13. The connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the annularly-extending, circumferential ridge (124; 624) is configured to engage a circumferential groove (199) in the fiber optic cable (190) to prevent relative axial movement between the fiber optic cable and the connector.
  14. The connector assembly of claim 12 or 13, wherein the outer housing (184) is configured as SC connector, an LC connector, or an ST connector.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to connectors for coupling a fiber optic cable to a fiber optic connector. More particularly, the present invention relates to mechanical connectors that are configured to be secured to a fiber optic cable via compression and to be coupled with a fiber optic connector. BACKGROUND Fiber optical communication systems typically use a network of fiber optic cables to transmit large volumes of data. Typical fiber optic connectors include a ferrule that supports an end portion of an optical fiber. When two fiber optic connectors are interconnected, end faces of the ferrules, on each connector, directly oppose one another. Thus, the optical fibers, which are supported by each ferrule, are also directly opposed to each other. Furthermore, springs in each connector bias the optical fibers towards each other when the connectors are in this interconnected state. An optical signal can then be transmitted from one optical fiber to the other optical fiber. Conventional fiber optical connectors are either fastened to a Kevlar strengthening member that is included in the fiber optic cable or crimped onto a crimp ring through the use of a crimp tool. Attaching the connector to the Kevlar strengthening member creates a relatively weak connection that is easy to bend. Further, some types of fiber optic cable, such as Miniflex® fiber cable, contains less Kevlar than other standard jumper cord, which could result in a less reliable connection under load. Crimp-type fiber optic connectors are not convenient because they require every installer to carry a specialized tool for crimping the connector onto the cable. Also, use of a crimping tool can lead to a poor connection due to potential installer error. It may be desirable to provide a connector that overcomes one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages of conventional fiber optics connectors. For example, it may be desirable to provide a connector configured to couple a fiber optic cable with a fiber optic connector with increased connection strength and where the risk of craft error is reduced. An example of fiber optic connector, disclosed by US2012/328248A1 and US2015/117822A1, comprises a body with an annular fork configuration, a cap threadedly coupled to the body, and vertical ridges protruding inwardly from the inner surface of the body for gripping the cable's outer jacket. Document DE20004842U1 discloses a cable connector couplable to a fiber cable and comprising tongues that can be pressed by a cap to clamp the cable. SUMMARY A connector is disclosed in any one of claims 1-11. A fiber optic connector is disclosed in any one of claims 12-14. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary connector in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.FIGS. 2A-2D are perspective, side, side cross-sectional (along line II-II), and end views, respectively, of the body of the exemplary connector of FIG. 1.FIGS. 3A-3D are perspective, side, side cross-sectional (along line III-III), and end views, respectively, of the cap of the exemplary connector of FIG. 1.FIGS. 4A-4D are perspective, side, side cross-sectional (along line IV-IV), and end views, respectively, of the crimp sleeve of the exemplary connector of FIG. 1.FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the exemplary connector of FIG. 1 assembled with a fiber optic cable.FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another exemplary connector in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.FIGS. 7A-7D are perspective, side, side cross-sectional (along line VII-VII), and end views, respectively, of the body of the exemplary connector of FIG. 6.FIG. 7E is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the body of the exemplary connector of FIG. 6.FIGS. 8A-8D are perspective, side, side cross-sectional (along line VIII-VIII), and end views, respectively, of the cap of the exemplary connector of FIG. 6.FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the exemplary connector of FIG. 6 assembled with a fiber optic cable and a fiber optic connector.FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of the exemplary connector of FIG. 6 assembled with a fiber optic cable and a fiber optic connector. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1-5 illustrate an exemplary connector 100 in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. The connector 100 is configured for use with a fiber optic cable 190, such as, for example, a Miniflex® fiber cable, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Of course, the connector 100 may be used with any fiber optic cable. Referring to FIG. 1, the connector 100 includes a body 110, a cap 140, and a crimp sleeve 170. The body 110 is configured to be coupled with a fiber optic connector sub-assembly, such as, for example, the fiber optic connector sub-assembly 682 illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. The fiber optic connector sub-assembly 682 may be a sub-assembly of a Subscriber Connector (SC connector), a Lucent Connector (LC connect