DC SOLDERLESS CONNECTOR

Abstract

Methods and systems for assembling customizable solderless cables for direct current (DC) transmission of electricity to an electronic device. The systems and methods utilize shielded co-axial cable defining first and second opposed ends which may be cut to a desired length as selected by the user. Connectors, which may have a conventional 2.1 mm×5.5 mm DC plug design, include a barrel portion defining a threaded axial passageway. In use, the threaded passageway of the plug is twisted upon a respective end of the cable such that the end of the cable becomes threadedly seated thereinto and in electrical contact with the plug to form two dedicated electrical connections. A respective other plug is mounted on the other respective end of the cable in the same manner to thus define the customizable cable. A single length of cable or a plurality of wire segments and plugs may be sold as a pre-packaged unit for use in making a plurality of customizable DC cables.

Claims

1. A method for constructing a solderless DC cable comprising the steps: a. providing a cable operative to transmit a DC current, said cable having a conductive inner core, a core insulator wrapped about said inner core, a metal conductive shield formed about said core insulator and a shearable outer jacket; b. providing first and second plugs, said first and second plugs being operatively functional as conventional 2.1 mm male connectors, each respective first and second plug having an outer barrel portion defining a proximal end and a distal end, said barrel portion having an external male sleeve portion extending from the distal end thereof, said barrel portion further defining a threaded axial passageway extending into the proximal side thereof, said external sleeve, barrel portion and threaded portion all being in electrical communication relative one another, each respective first and second plug further having an internal pin assembly disposed within said barrel portion of said plug whereby said internal pin assembly includes a distally extending conductive sleeve and further including a conductive pin extending proximally therefrom and into said threaded axial passageway, each respective first and second plug further having a non-conductive electrically insulated sleeve disposed between and separating said barrel portion and distal male sleeve extending therefrom from said internal pin assembly; c. defining a first respective end of said cable provided in step a) and inserting said end within said axial passageway of a respective one of said plugs provided in step b); d. rotating said plug upon said end of said cable such that said threads within said axial passageway shear said outer jacket of said cable such that said threads of said barrel portion electrically contact said metal conductive shield of said cable, said end of said cable being advanced within said axial passageway to a degree sufficient for said pin of said internal pin assembly to establish electric communication with said inner core of said cable; e. defining a second respective end of said cable provided in step a) and inserting said second end within said axial passageway of said respective other of said plugs provided in step b); and f. rotating said respective other plug upon said second end of said cable such that said threads within said axial passageway shear said outer jacket of said cable such that said threads of said barrel portion electrically contact said metal conductive shield of said cable, said second end of said cable being advanced within said axial passageway to a degree sufficient for said pin of said internal pin assembly to establish electric communication with said inner core of said cable.

2. The cable formed by the method of claim 1.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein step c) comprises making a cross-sectional cut through said cable to define said first respective end and wherein in step e) comprises making a cross-sectional cut through said cable to define said second respective end.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said cable provided in step a) has a selectively chosen length.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said cable of step a) and said plugs of step b) are provided as part of a pre-packaged kit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a solderless DC cable having conventional 2.1 mm male plugs formed on the respective ends thereof as assembled by the methods and kits of the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 2 is an exploded view, partially in cross-section, of a respective plug as attached to a respective end of a cable as taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, partially in cross-section, showing the assembly procedure for assembling a plug to a respective end of the cable; and

[0022] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the components of the plug assembly for forming the DC solderless cables of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be implemented or performed. The description sets forth the functions and sequences of steps for practicing the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments and that they are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention.

[0024] Referring now to the figures, and initially to FIG. 1, there is shown a DC cable 10 as constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the cable 10 assumes the configuration of a conventional 2.1 mm DC cable having an intermediate cable portion 12 with 2.1 mm plugs 14 and 16 fitted on the opposed ends thereof. Per conventional 2.1 mm plugs, plugs 14,16 include barrel portions 18, 20 respectively, as well as male pin portions 22, 24, respectively. Such cables as 10 are utilized in a conventional manner to transmit DC electricity therethrough via the use of conventionally sized fittings such as 14,16. Advantageously, however, the cables 10 of the present invention are operative to be easily and readily fabricated such that the cable portion 12 may have a desired length and further, plugs 14,16 may be easily, readily and securely attached to cable 12 at the opposed ends thereof without the need of forming a soldered connection.

[0025] To accomplish that end, the DC cable 10 of the present invention are assembled via the interconnection of the respective plugs 14,16 to the opposed ends of cable 12 in the manner depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown, cable 12 comprises a coaxial cable operative to facilitate the transmission of two signals. Specifically, a first current is transmissable via a conductive inner core 32, about which is wrapped a core insulator 31a. Axially encased about the core insulator 31a is a metal conductive shield 31, which is thus electrically isolated from the inner core 32 and operative to facilitate the transmission of the second separate, independent signal. Wrapped about the metal conductive shield 31 is a shearable outer layer 30, which is operative to electrically insulate the metal conductive shield 31 unless otherwise selectively sheared or shred therefrom to enable an electrical connection to be made, as discussed more fully below.

[0026] The opposed ends of the cable 12 are designed to interconnect and form an electrical connection with a respective plug, such as 14 as shown in FIG. 2, as well as exploded view of FIG. 4. With respect to the latter, plug 14 includes an outer barrel portion 18 with male sleeve portion 22 extending therefrom. Such plug 14 is designed to have a conventional 2.1 mm configuration whereby external sleeve portion 22 is operative to interconnect with and transmit DC electricity per conventional fittings well-known in the art. To accomplish that end, plug 14 is configured such that the barrel portion 18 has an axial passageway 24 extending therewithin from the proximal side thereof. Such axial passageway 24 is defined by a periphery of threads 26 that are operative to be twisted or rotatably mounted upon the end of the cable 12 to which the plug 14 is attached. Plug 14 further includes an internal pin assembly that comprises conductive sleeve 36 having a pin 28 extending rearwardly therefrom and into the axial passageway 24 of barrel 18. Insulating sleeve 34 is further provided so as to prevent current transmitted through sleeve 36 to anything than the socket to which the plug 14 is connected, including outer sleeve portion 22. Such plugs 14 have recently become commercially available from 3 Monkeys Amps, of Raleigh, N.C. Also, although depicted in the figures as having a straight or 180° linear configuration, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that plugs 14,16 may also be formed to have a right angle or 90° orientation as may be desired for a particular application.

[0027] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown the manner by which an end of cable 12 is interconnected with plug 14 as shown in FIG. 2. As illustrated, plug 14 is rotated in a clockwise fashion as indicated by the letter “A” such that threads 26 are caused to compress against and shear through sheath 30 as the end of the cable 12 is advanced into the axial passageway. By virtue of the concentric orientation of pin 28 within axial passageway 24, the threads 26 thus cause interior wiring 32 to concentrically encase pin 28 to thus establish an optimal degree of electricity transmission. In this regard, by maintaining a concentric relationship between core wiring 32 and pin 28, a secure connection is easily and readily established that further dispenses with the need of having to strip coaxial cable.

[0028] At the same time, a second, independent electrical connection is established by virtue of threads 26 that have sheared through outer layer 30 and subsequently brought into contact with metal conductive shield 31. In this regard, the threads 26 are operative to only shear through outer layer 30 and form an electrical contact with metal conductive shield 31 but not shear through core insulator 31a, which in turn maintains an electrically insulated covering about inner core 32. As a consequence, electrical signal pathways are established both by inner core 32 with pin 28 and ultimately internal male pin portion 36, in one direction, and separately through outer sleeve portion 22, which in integrally formed as part of barrel portion 18 and threaded portion 26 thereof with metal conductive shield 31.

[0029] Such interconnection advantageously dispenses with the need to form any type of soldering connection, as discussed above, as well as dispenses with the need of any type of screws that are frequently deployed to secure plugs to the cables with which they are connected that are widely recognized in the art as being exceptionally problematic. In this regard, the user need only make a clean, straight cut of the cable 12 using a utility knife with a sharp blade in order to form a connection between the end of the cable 12 and a connector 14. Such clockwise twisting is performed to the point to where the end of the cable 12 is fully nested within the axial passageway formed within bore 18, a point that is reached when the plug 14 is “finger tight” or cannot be advanced further without applying excessive force.

[0030] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the sheath or jacket 30 formed about metal conductive shield 31 of cable 12 should be selectively chosen to shear when contacted with threads 26. Exemplary of commercial wiring suitable for the practice of the present invention including a cable jacket 30 capable of shearing includes Part No. 8 1C16-1430SB, produced by Anixter, Inc. of Glenview, Ill. Cables 12 that do not include a shearable jacket will not be ideal for the practice of the present invention.

[0031] As discussed above, the spiral shearing accomplished by threads 26 are operative to facilitate the electrical connection between threads 26 and metal conductive shield 31, on one hand, and interior wiring 32 and pin 28, on the other. Such action also causes the end of the cable 12 to become securely seated and permanently nested within the axial passageway of bore 18. In this regard, the compressive force by thread 26 forms a 360° interconnection that forms a nearly perfect concentric relationship between threads 26 and shield 30 and the core of the cable 32 and the pin 28, especially insofar as the pin 28 is driven into the core wiring 32 that, in turn, maximizes the contact between such elements and eliminates the need for a solder-like connection.

[0032] In order to cause the DC solderless cables of the present invention to assume the desired length, the cable 12 may be cut to have a pre-determined length prior to the attachment of the plugs 14,16 on the opposed ends thereof or, alternatively, a first plug 14 may be mounted on a respective end of the cable 12, and thereafter the length of cable 12 measured to a desired length and subsequently cut to define the other end of the cable to which the respective other plug 16 may be attached. In this regard, the attachment of second plug 16, not shown, is identical to that as discussed above with respect to plug 14. Advantageously, because each respective plug 14,16 is threadably mounted upon the respective opposed ends of cable 12 via clockwise threaded engagement, such plugs 14,16 are consequently caused to assume a more secure attachment to the respective ends of cable 12 insofar as to remove a respective 14,16 would require the same be rotated counterclockwise relative the cable 12, which consequently has an opposite effect on the opposite end of cable 12 and plug to which it is attached. A more secure attachment to the opposed end is thus created by virtue of the torsional system by which the respective plugs 14,16 are attached to cable 12. Indeed, such interconnection is so secure, that any type of conventional locking material or mechanism, such as screws, glue and the like, are completely unnecessary.

[0033] In order to more easily and readily practice the methods of the present invention, it is contemplated that a plurality of cable segments 12 and plugs 14,16 may be pre-packaged and sold as a kit to thus enable a plurality of cables of the present invention 10 to be performed. To that end, it is contemplated that two plugs 14,16 will be provided for each segment of cable 12 or, alternatively, a certain number of pairs of plugs 14,16 may be sold in connection with a single length of cable 12, the latter may be cut to specific lengths as may be selectively chosen by the user. For example, it is contemplated that a kit may include ten plugs (i.e., 5 pairs) in combination with ten feet of cable 12, the latter of which being cut to specific lengths and used with a respective pair of plugs 14,16 as may be desired.

[0034] Additional modifications and improvements of the present invention may also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, while discussed herein for the creation of DC cables, it is expressly contemplated that the methods of the present invention and the cables formed thereby may also include any bi-filler (i.e., bi-polar) connection, such as for AC applications and the transmission of audio signals. Thus, the particular combination of parts and steps described and illustrated herein is intended to represent only certain embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to serve as limitations of alternative devices and methods within the spirit and scope of the invention.