Electrical connector
Patent Information
- Application Number
- AU2026201958
- Authority / Receiving Office
- AU · AU
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2025-03-20
- Filing Date
- 2026-03-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-10-08
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field The invention relates to electrical connectors for use in connecting two or more electrical 5 cables together. In particular, the present invention relates to an electrical connector for underground residential distribution (“URD”) and neutral screen type cables, in which connectors typically connect cables within a residential boundary service box. Each service box has three or four connectors of this type, depending upon the number of conductors in the URD cable. From each connector, smaller sized branch cable 10 connections are taken off to supply an adjacent residential building. Background Art At present, there are a number of designs in use for connectors of this type. One of the most commonly used is shown in Figure 1. This connector provides a generally cubiod 15 body 10 which provides a central tunnel 11 to receive a mains connector and a number of bores 12, 13 through the body 10 to receive connection cables. This design is relatively bulky and does not make the optimum use of the surface area of the connector. Connectors made as elongated tubes also are known (see for example EP 399646 and 20 US 3399270) but in the arrangement shown in these patents, cables to be connected have to be inserted from opposite ends of the tube, with the result that the connector occupies a significant amount of space. Another commonly used design is shown in Figure 2 in which an oval cross section 25 connector 14 of malleable material provides two or more apertures 15 for cables to be connected and once the cables have been inserted, the connector is crimped on to the cables. However, the procedure of crimping is relatively time consuming, and all bores require cable to be inserted prior to crimping; it also means that to release the connection, the joiner has to be cut from the cables. 30 Disclosure of Invention An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector which overcomes at least some of the above mentioned drawbacks. 35 The present invention provides a cable connector having a body of electrically conductive material one face of which is formed with a plurality of closed bores, each 2026201958 16 Mar 2026 bore being associated with at least one securing device adapted to secure a cable within said bore. Preferably, the or each securing device is a shear head machine screw as hereinafter 5 described. Preferably said body is cylindrical and has a circular or elliptical cross section, with said bores formed only on one end face of the cylinder. However, other body shapes and other regular or irregular cross-sections may be used. Preferably also, each closed bore is provided with two securing devices. However, more 10 than two securing devices per bore may be used. Preferably also, at least one of said closed bores is formed with opposed breakout bores, for the accommodation of cables having a substantially elliptical cross-section. 15 Preferably also, said body is formed with a securing hole associated with each of said closed bores, the longitudinal axis of said securing hole extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the associated closed bore. The securing hole may be internally screw threaded. 20 Brief Description of Drawings By way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates one example of a prior art connector; 25 Figure 2 illustrates another example of the prior art; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the connector of the present invention, without any cables attached; 30 Figure 4 is a front view of the connector of Figure 3, taken in the direction of Arrow X; Figure 4a is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a variation of the conductor; 35 Figure 5 is a section on line A-A of Figure 4; 2026201958 16 Mar 2026 Figure 6 shows a variant of Fig. 3; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of a typical cable of the type to be connected by the connectors shown in Figures 3-6. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Referring to Figures 3-5 of the drawings, a connector 20 in accordance with the present invention is formed with a cylindrical circular cross section body 21 made of an electrically conductive material e.g. aluminium. One face 22 of the body 21 is provided with six closed ended bores:- three large diameter bores 23 arranged at the apices of a triangle and three smaller diameter bores 24 arranged between the larger diameter bores 23. It will be noted that the layout of the bores 23, 24 makes the optimum use of the space available. The opposite face 25 of the body 21 is blank. Each of the bores 23 has a shear head machine screw 26 associated with it, with the shear head screw mounted in a screw threaded bore which extends with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the corresponding bore. Each of the bores 24 has a shear head machine screw 27 associated with it, with the shear head machine screw mounted in a screw-threaded bore which extends with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the corresponding bore. As shown in Figure 4, each of the screws 26, 27 can be screwed up or down the corresponding screw threaded bore to press upon a cable (not shown) which has been inserted into that bore, to retain the cable in place in the bore. Preferably, each of the screws 26, 27 is a shear head machine screw:- this is a type of screw in which, once the torque exerted on the head of the screw exceeds a predetermined limit, the head shears off, so that the screw cannot be over-tightened in the bore. The torque limit of each screw is of course selected such that the inner end of the screw bears firmly against the corresponding cable, but not firmly enough to damage the cable. In use, the fact that the head of the screw is sheared off once the screw has been tightened means that the overall diameter of the connector is greatly reduced. If in fact it proves necessary to remove the shear head connectors once they have been tightened and the head has sheared off, an Allen key or similar tool is inserted 3 2026201958 16 Mar 2026 into an aperture provided along the axis of the screw, to unscrew the shank of the screw from the bore. Referring to Figure 7, a cable 30 is shown as a typical example of a cable to be 5 connected by a conductor of the present invention. The cable 30 provides four cores three of which carry three different phases and the fourth core of which is the neutral. A separate connector is used to physically connect each phase of the cable. The above described connector is used as follows:- to connect one phase of each of up 10 to six cables together, for each cable, the outer layer sheath 31 of insulation is stripped back to expose the cores and the selected core (e.g. the core 32) is inserted into one of the larger bores 23 of the connector 20 and is fastened in place by tightening the corresponding shear head screws 26 until the head of the shear head screw shears off. The core representing the same phase from up to five other cables can be connected 15 into one of the other bores in the same manner. Once the connections have been completed, the connector is covered with an insulating jacket, (in known manner) and is accommodated within a service box. The remaining two phases and the neutral of the other connectors are connected together using the same type of connector, with a separate connector for each phase. 20 A first variant of the connector is shown in Figure 4a, which is identical to the connector shown in Figure 4 except that each of the larger bores 23 is formed with a pair of “ears” or breakout bores 40, to give more space across diametrically opposed areas of the walls of the bore 23, so that the bore can more easily accommodate a larger segmented 25 cable where the number of cores inside the outer sheath makes the outer diameter of the cable slightly oval rather than strictly circular. A second variant of the connector is shown in Figure 6. This connector provides two large diameter bores 42, each formed with breakout sections 40 (only some of which 30 are visible) as described with reference to Figure 4a. In addition, the connector provides two smaller diameter bores 43. As with the embodiment described with reference to Figures 3 - 5, each bore 42, 43 has a shear head machine screw 44, 45 associated with it, with the shear head screw 35 mounted in a screw threaded bore which extends with its longitudinal axis perpendicular 2026201958 16 Mar 2026 to the longitudinal axis of the corresponding bore. This variant is used in the same manner as described with reference to Figures 3 to 5. The variant shown in Figure 6 further provides two stabilising holes 46, 47; the hole 46 5 is formed with a bore which extends at 90° to the bores of the shear head machine screws 44, and the hole 47 is formed with a bore which extends at 90° to the bores of the shear head machine screws 45. When the shear head machine screws 44 are being tightened on two cables in the 10 corresponding bores, a screwdriver or similar tool can be inserted through the hole 46 to stabilise the connector while the shear head screws are tightened. Similarly, when the shear head machine screws 45 are being tightened, a screwdriver or similar tool can be inserted through the hole 47. 15 Holes corresponding to the holes 46, 47 are formed on the opposite side (not visible) of the connector, so that the connector can be stabilised when the shear head screws 44a, 45a respectively are being tightened. The holes 46, 47, may be internally screw threaded. Alternatively, the connector may 20 be fitted or formed with any of a range of suitable stabilising devices (e.g. a circumferential band) for stabilising the connector while the shear head machine screws are being tightened. It will be appreciated that the connector provides an extremely compact connection:- the 25 cores to be connected all are connected into one face of the connector, and the shape and layout of the connector ensure that there is no wasted space. This is an advantage particularly for underground residential distribution cables, where multiple connections may be required and the size within the service box is limited.
Claims
1. A cable connector having a body of electrically conductive material one face of which is formed with a plurality of closed bores, each bore being associated with a 5 securing device adapted to secure a cable within said bore.
2. The cable connector as claimed in Claim 1, wherein each securing device includes a screw mounted in a screw threaded hole, each said hole having a longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the corresponding closed bore.
103. The cable connector as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the securing devices are shear head machine screws.
4. The cable connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said 15 body is cylindrical and has a circular or elliptical cross-section, and said bores are formed only on one end face of the cylinder.
5. The cable connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including a jacket of insulating material which is adapted to be placed over the exterior 20 of the connector once cables have been secured to the connector.
6. The cable connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein at least one of said closed bores is formed with opposed breakout bores, for the accommodation of cables having a substantially elliptical cross-section.
257. The cable connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said body is formed with a securing hole associated with each of said closed bores, the longitudinal axis of said securing hole extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the associated closed bore.
308. The cable connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein each closed bore is provided with two securing devices.