LIGHTNING ARRESTOR CONNECTOR WITH MESH DIELECTRIC STRUCTURE

Abstract

A dielectric barrier for use with a lightning arrestor connector comprises a plurality of physically connected cells defining a hollow, tubular side wall, with each cell including a frame formed from dielectric material and an aperture that creates a void within the frame. The dielectric barrier is configured to be positioned between an inner conductor and an outer conductor and provides a low resistance path from one conductor to the other conductor when the voltage between the two conductors exceeds a threshold value.

Claims

1. A dielectric barrier for use with a lightning arrestor connector, the dielectric barrier comprising: a plurality of physically connected cells defining a hollow, tubular side wall, each cell including a frame formed from dielectric material and an aperture that creates a void within the frame, wherein the dielectric barrier is configured to be positioned between an inner conductor and an outer conductor and provides a low resistance path from one conductor to the other conductor when the voltage between the two conductors exceeds a threshold value.

2. The dielectric barrier of claim 1, wherein each cell further includes at least one post formed from dielectric material, physically connected to the frame, and extending into the aperture of the cell.

3. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the frame of one cell is physically connected to at least a portion of the frame of another cell.

4. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 1, wherein the connection of the cells forms a hollow tubular lattice with each cell having a square-shaped frame and a square-shaped aperture.

5. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 4, wherein each cell is physically connected to other cells at each corner of the frame.

6. A lightning arrestor connector comprising: a shell including an internal cavity and opposing open ends; a web formed from electrically conductive material and positioned in the interior of the shell, the web including a through-hole opening; an electrical contact formed from electrically conductive material and retained within the through-hole opening, the electrical contact having a smaller diameter than that of the through-hole opening, thus forming a gap between the electrical contact and a surface of the through-hole opening which defines a breakdown chamber; and a dielectric barrier positioned in the breakdown chamber, the dielectric barrier configured to provide a low resistance path between the electrical contact and the web when the voltage between the electrical contact and the web exceeds a threshold value, the dielectric barrier constructed from a plurality of physically connected cells, each cell including a frame formed from dielectric material and an aperture that creates a void within the frame.

7. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 6, wherein each cell further includes at least one post formed from dielectric material, physically connected to the frame, and extending into the aperture of the cell.

8. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the frame of one cell is physically connected to at least a portion of the frame of another cell.

9. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 6, wherein the connection of the cells forms a hollow tubular lattice with each cell having a square-shaped frame and a square-shaped aperture.

10. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 9, wherein each cell is physically connected to other cells at each corner of the frame.

11. A lightning arrestor connector comprising: a shell including an internal cavity and opposing open ends; a web formed from electrically conductive material and positioned in the interior of the shell, the web including a through-hole opening; an electrical contact formed from electrically conductive material and retained within the through-hole opening, the electrical contact having a smaller diameter than that of the through-hole opening, thus defining a gap between the electrical contact and a surface of the through-hole opening which forms a breakdown chamber; and a dielectric barrier positioned in the breakdown chamber, the dielectric barrier configured to provide a low resistance path between the electrical contact and the web when the voltage between the electrical contact and the web exceeds a threshold value, the dielectric barrier constructed from a plurality of physically connected cells defining a hollow, tubular side wall, each cell including a frame formed from dielectric material, an aperture that creates a void within the frame, and at least one post formed from dielectric material, physically connected to the frame, and extending into the aperture.

12. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 11, wherein the connection of the cells forms a hollow tubular lattice with each cell having a square-shaped frame and a square-shaped aperture.

13. The lightning arrestor connector of claim 12, wherein each cell is physically connected to other cells at each corner of the frame.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0012] Embodiments of the current invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

[0013] FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of a lightning arrestor connector constructed in accordance with various embodiments of the current invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view the lightning arrestor connector cut along a vertical plane;

[0015] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the lightning arrestor connector including a shell, a couple of insulators, a web, an electrical contact, and a dielectric barrier;

[0016] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the dielectric barrier; and

[0017] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the dielectric barrier.

[0018] The drawing figures do not limit the current 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 OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The following detailed description of the invention references the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. 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 present invention. 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 current technology can include a variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

[0021] A lightning arrestor connector 10, constructed in accordance with various embodiments of the current invention, is shown in FIGS. 1-3. The lightning arrestor connector 10 may broadly comprise a shell 12, a web 14, one or more electrical contacts 16, one or more breakdown chambers 18, and one or more dielectric barriers 20.

[0022] The shell 12 may be formed from electrically conductive material including metals such as aluminum, nickel, copper, tin, and others, alloys such as bronze, brass, steel, and the like. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the shell 12 may be formed from rigid polymers, hardened rubber, or the like. The shell 12 may have an internal cavity and opposing open ends. Some embodiments of the shell 12 may have a hollow cylindrical shape with a single circumferential side wall, while other embodiments may have a hollow box shape with four side walls and two partial end walls. The shell 12 may also include at least one mechanical coupler component, such as internal or external threads, lugs, latches, clasps, etc., in order for one connector to stay connected to another connector. In some embodiments, the coupler component may be positioned at one or each end of the circumferential side wall of the shell 12. In other embodiments, the coupler component may be positioned on one or each end wall of the shell 12. The shell 12 may further include electrical insulators 22, such as polymers, in the form of rings, discs, blocks, gaskets, and the like, to provide structural support and/or electrical isolation.

[0023] The web 14 may be formed from electrically conductive material including metals such as silver, gold, aluminum, nickel, copper, and others, alloys such as bronze, brass, steel, and the like. The web 14 may have a disc or block shape and may be oriented transverse to a longitudinal axis of the lightning arrestor connector 10. The web 14 may be mechanically coupled to the shell 12 and may contact an inner surface thereof. The web 14 may include one or more through-hole openings, each opening configured to receive one electrical contact 16. Typically, the openings have a circular shape, but may also have an oval, a square, a rectangular, or other shape.

[0024] Each electrical contact 16 may be formed from electrically conductive material including metals such as silver, gold, aluminum, nickel, copper, and others, alloys such as bronze, brass, steel, and the like. The electrical contact 16 may be of a male type and may include a pin, a rod, or the like, or may be of a female type and may include a hollow sleeve or receptacle. The electrical contact 16 may have a generally circular, square, or rectangular cross-sectional shape. The electrical contact 16 may have a diameter, or lateral dimension, that is smaller than a diameter, or lateral dimension, of the through-hole opening. Each electrical contact 16 is positioned within one through-hole opening of the web 14 and may be held in place by the insulators 22. Given that the electrical contact 16 may be smaller than the opening in which it is held, there is a gap between the electrical contact 16 and a surface of the opening. The gap may also be known as a spark gap.

[0025] Each breakdown chamber 18 may be located in, or defined by, the spark gap between the electrical contact 16 and a surface of the opening.

[0026] Each dielectric barrier 20, shown in detail in FIG. 4, may be constructed from electrically polarizable insulating (dielectric) material and may be positioned in one breakdown chamber 18. The dielectric barrier 20 may act to artificially reduce the size or distance of the spark gap. The dielectric barrier is generally designed to provide electrical breakdown, i.e., a low resistance path, between the electrical contact 16 and the web 14 when the voltage between the two exceeds a threshold value. The dielectric barrier 20 may have a hollow tubular shape with a circumferential side wall or an open-ended hollow box shape with four side walls, depending on the shape of the electrical contact 16 and the breakdown chamber 18. A dielectric constant of the material of the dielectric barrier 20 and a thickness of the side wall(s) may both determine the threshold of the breakdown voltage.

[0027] The dielectric barrier 20 may be formed to include a plurality of physically connected cells 24 or struts. Each cell 24 may include a frame 26 formed from solid material and an aperture 28 that creates a void. The frame 26 may have nearly any geometric shape such as a circle, oval, triangle, square, diamond, rectangle, polygon, or the like. The aperture 28 may be positioned within the frame 26 and may have nearly any geometric such as a circle, oval, triangle, square, diamond, rectangle, polygon, or the like. The aperture 28 may be the same shape or a different shape as the frame 26. In an alternative embodiment of the dielectric barrier 20A shown in FIG. 5, each cell 24 may optionally include a plurality of posts 30, each of which connects to the frame 26 and extends into the aperture 28. Each post 30 may be generally elongated with a length greater than its thickness or width and may be formed from the same material as the frame 26. In some embodiments, the cells 24 that form the dielectric barrier 20 may all be the same in shape and size. In other embodiments, the cells 24 may have the same shape but may vary in size. In still other embodiments, the cells 24 may vary in shape, wherein the shape of the frame 26, the aperture 28, or both may vary from cell 24 to cell 24. The cells 24 may be connected to one another such that a portion of the frame 26 of one cell 24 may be physically connected to a portion of the frame 26 of another cell 24. In some embodiments, the connection of the cells 24 may form a lattice structure.

[0028] The dielectric barrier 20 may be constructed using additive manufacturing or 3-D printing techniques such as selective laser sintering that may be used with materials such as ceramics.

[0029] The lightning arrestor connector 10 may be configured to attach, couple, or connect to one end of a cable or a housing or chassis of an electronic device or a piece of electrical equipment. In such situations, the shell 12 may be physically connected to a sheath, in the case of the cable, or to a wall or bulkhead of the electronic housing. One end of the electrical contact 16 may be electrically connected to another electrical conductor such as a wire. In some situations, the web 14 may be electrically connected to electrical ground through the shell 12 being connected to the electronic housing that is grounded. In other situations, the web 14 may be electrically connected to electrical ground through an electrical conductor in the cable that is to be connected to electrical ground. In still other situations, the web 14 may be electrically connected to electrical ground through a terminal on the shell 12 to which an electrical ground wire is connected.

[0030] The lightning arrestor connector 10 may also be configured to mount on a printed circuit board, wherein one end of the electrical contact 16 may be electrically connected, such as with solder, to a trace on the board while the shell 12 may be physically attached to the board. The web 14 may be electrically connected to electrical ground through a terminal on the shell 12 to which an electrical ground wire is connected.

[0031] In addition, the lightning arrestor connector 10 may be used as an inline coupler to connect two cables together, in which case the electrical contact 16 the electrical contact 16 only connects to electrical contacts 16 of other lightning arrestor connectors 10. Likewise, the shell 12 only connects to the shells 12 of other lightning arrestor connectors 10. Typically, the web 14 is electrically connected to electrical ground through a terminal on the shell 12 to which an electrical ground wire is connected.

[0032] In operation, under normal conditions, the dielectric barrier 20 may act as an electrical insulator, although charge may build up in the dielectric barrier 20 as a result of a voltage between the electrical contact 16 and the web 14. The lightning arrestor connector 10 may allow electric power or signals on the electric contact 16 to pass through the connector 10. In the event of a surge from lightning or other phenomena, the voltage between the electrical contact 16 and the web 14 may increase beyond the breakdown threshold and the dielectric barrier 20 may break down, allowing electric current to flow from the electrical contact 16 to the web 14 and electrical ground—thus preventing the surge in voltage from reaching and damaging electronic circuitry.

[0033] Although the invention has been described with reference to the embodiments 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.