Contact splice

Abstract

Technologies for devices and methods for splicing two contacts of a cable are described. Assemblies may include a first and second sealing bellows, each configured to slide onto the cable and create a seal. Assemblies may include a pin contact and a socket contact. One first side of the pin contact may be configured to receive wires from the cable. One second side of the pin contact may be configured to match the socket contact. Assemblies may include a housing with a tubular body and a grommet at the first and second ends. Each grommet may be configured to create a seal on either the first or second sealing bellows.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Applications Ser. No. 16 / 381,286 filed on April 11, 2019, entitled "CONTACT SPLICE".BACKGROUND

[0002] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0003] Network cables transfer data in various environments. Network cables may fail and require repairs. A network cable that has failed may be repaired with a splice. Some network cable splices include a clamshell body and a shrink material. Documents US 5 667 008 A and EP 3 410 543 A1 disclose splice assemblies relating to the preamble of claim 1.SUMMARY

[0004] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an assembly to splice two contacts of a cable according to claim 1.

[0005] Another embodiment of the invention includes a contact splice. The contact splice comprises the assembly of claim 1, a first end of a cable and a second end of a cable.

[0006] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method to splice a first cable to a second cable according to claim 5.

[0007] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0008] The foregoing and other features of this disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side exploded view of a contact splice; Fig. 2 is a side exploded view of a housing of a contact splice assembly; Fig. 3 is a side cutout view of a contact splice; Fig. 4 is a side view of a contact splice; Fig. 5 illustrates a flow diagram for an example process to splice a contact, all arranged according to at least some embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized within the scope defined by the claims.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a side exploded view of a contact splice, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. System 100 may include a cable 10 and a contact splice assembly 15. Cable 10 may be an electric or communication cable. Cable 10 may be size 8 and may include 2, 4, or 8 conductor pair wires. Cable 10 may include a first end 10A and a second end 10B. Cable 10 may have an outer protective sheath 12 around wires 14 with respective protective covers 16. Contact splice assembly 15 includes a first sealing boot 20A, a pin contact 30, a housing 50, a socket contact 40, and a second sealing boot 20B.

[0011] Contact splice assembly 15 may splice or repair a break in cable 10. Each sealing boot 120A, 20B may be hard plastic and is configured to slide onto protective sheath 12 of cable 10. Each sealing boot 20 A, 20B forms a seal to protective sheath 12 of cable 10. Each sealing boot 20A, 20B includes a first end 22A, 22B and a second end 24A, 24B respectively. First end 22A, 22B may be a different color than second end 24A, 24B. First end 22A, 22B is configured to receive an end of cable 10. Second end 24A, 24B is configured to slide over and surround a first side of pin contact 30 and / or a first side of socket contact 40. First end of cable 10A may be inserted into a first side 22A of first sealing boot 20A so that a portion of first end of cable 10A is passed through sealing boot 20A and out second side 24A to allow for crimping of a contact. First sealing boot 20A forms a waterproof environmental seal to first end of cable 10A. Second end of cable 10B is inserted into a first side 22B of second sealing boot 20B so that a portion of second end of cable 10B is passed through sealing boot 20B and out second side 24B to allow for crimping of a contact. Second sealing boot 20B forms a waterproof environmental seal to second end of cable 10B.

[0012] First end of cable 10A, having been passed through sealing boot 20A, may have protective sheath 12 removed, and wires 14 may have respective protective covers 16 removed so as to be inserted and crimped into first side of pin contact 30. First side of pin contact 30 is configured to receive wires 14. A second side of pin contact 30 includes an alignment key 35. Second side of pin contact 30 is configured to mate with a second side of socket contact 40.

[0013] Second end of cable 10B, having been passed through sealing boot 10B, may have protective sheath 12 removed, and wires 14 may have respective protective covers 16 removed so as to be inserted and crimped into socket contact 40. First side of socket contact 40 is configured to receive wires 14. A second side of socket contact 40 includes an alignment key 45. Second side of socket contact 40 is configured to mate with second side of pin contact 30. Second side of pin contact 30 mated with second side of socket contact 40 forms a contact connection or splice between first end of cable 10A and second end of cable 10B.

[0014] Housing 50 is tube shaped. Housing 50 includes a housing body 52, grommets 54, a pin contact alignment mark 56, and a socket contact alignment mark 58. Housing body 52 may be a hard polymer plastic tube with a circular first end and a circular second end. A grommet 54 is at the first end of housing body 52 and a grommet 54 is at the second end of housing body 52. Grommets 54 may be a flourosilicone blend and may be tube shaped. A grommet 54 may form a rim at the first end of housing body 52 and a grommet may form a rim at the second end of housing body 52.

[0015] Pin contact alignment mark 56 and socket contact alignment mark 58 may be marks such as a line or letter (i.e., P for pin contact 30 and S for socket contact 40) on housing body 52 for aligning alignment key 35 and alignment key 45 of pin contact 30 and socket contact 40 respectively. Pin contact alignment mark 56 and socket contact alignment mark 58 may be color coded with a first color indicating pin contact alignment mark 56 and a second color indicating socket contact alignment mark 58. Second end of pin contact 30 is inserted into a first side of housing 50 with alignment key 35 lined up with pin contact alignment mark 56. Second end of socket contact 40 is inserted into a second end of housing 50 with alignment key 45 lined up with socket contact alignment mark 58. Pin contact 30 and socket contact 40 are connected within housing 50 and are attached or mated together to splice wires 14 from first end of cable 10A with respective wires 14 from second end or cable 10B.

[0016] First sealing boot 20A is inserted into housing 50 so that second end 24A and at least some of first end 22A are within housing 50 and grommet 54. First sealing boot 20A may be pressure fit into housing 50 at grommet 54. Grommet 54 may form a waterproof environmental seal between housing body 52 and first sealing boot 20A.

[0017] Second sealing boot 20B is inserted into housing 50 so that second end 24B and at least some of first end 22B are within housing 50 and grommet 54. Second sealing boot 20B may be pressure fit into housing 50 at grommet 54. Grommet 54 may form a waterproof environmental seal between housing body 52 and second sealing boot 20B. Contact splice assembly 15 connects first end of cable 10A with second end of cable 10B while maintaining an environmental seal.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a side exploded view of a housing of a contact splice assembly, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Those components in Fig. 2 that are labeled identically to components of Fig. 1 will not be described again for the purposes of brevity.

[0019] Housing 50 further includes contact clips 210. Contact clips 210 may be beryllium copper. Contact clips 210 are configured to clip to and secure pin contact 30 and socket contact 40 (shown in Fig. 1) within housing 50. Contact clips 210 mate with alignment key 35 and alignment key 45 of pin contact 30 and socket contact 40 respectively. Housing body 52 may include a main tube section 220 and two end sections 230. Main tube section 220 may be a tube with a first inner diameter and a first outer diameter. End sections 230 may be tubes with a second inner diameter and a second outer diameter. The second inner diameter of end sections 230 may be larger than the first inner diameter of main tube section 220. The second outer diameter of end sections 230 may be larger than the first outer diameter of main tube section 220. Grommets 54 may be tube shaped and may include a first end with an outer diameter similar in size to the second outer diameter of end sections 230 of housing body 52. Grommets 54 may include a second end with an outer diameter similar in size to the second inner diameter of end sections 230 of housing body 52. Grommet 54 may be securely attached to each end section 230 of housing body 52 with the second end of each grommet within each end section 230 of housing body 52 and the first end of each grommet 54 extending out from an outer end of each end section 230 to form ringed ends of housing 50.

[0020] Fig. 3 is a side cutout view of a contact splice, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Those components in Fig. 3 that are labeled identically to components of Figs. 1-2 will not be described again for the purposes of brevity.

[0021] System 100 may include cable 10 and contact splice assembly 15. First end of cable 10A passes through sealing boot 10A and is inserted and crimped into first side of pin contact 30. Second end of cable 10B passes through sealing boot 10B and is inserted and crimped into socket contact 40.

[0022] Second side of pin contact 30 mates with second side of socket contact 40. Second side of pin contact 30 is mated with second side of socket contact 40 to form a contact connection or splice between cable ends 10A and 10B. Contact clips 210 clip and secure pin contact 30 and socket contact 40 within housing 50.

[0023] First sealing boot 20A may form a waterproof environmental seal to first end of cable 10A. Second end 24A of first sealing boot 20A may surround at least a portion of first side of pin contact 30. First sealing boot 20A may pressure fit into housing 50 at grommet 54. Grommet 54 may form a waterproof environmental seal between housing body 52 and first sealing boot 20A.

[0024] Second sealing boot 20B form a waterproof environmental seal to second end of cable 10B. Second end 24B of second sealing boot 20B may surround at least a portion of first side of socket contact 40. Second sealing boot 20B may pressure fit into housing 50 at grommet 54. Grommet 54 may form a waterproof environmental seal between housing body 52 and second sealing boot 20B. Contact splice assembly 15 connects first end of cable 10A with second end of cable 10B while maintaining an environmental seal.

[0025] Fig. 4 is a side view of a contact splice, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Those components in Fig. 4 that are labeled identically to components of Figs. 1 -3 will not be described again for the purposes of brevity.

[0026] Contact splice assembly 15 connects first end of cable 10A with second end of cable 10B while maintaining an environmental seal between sealing boot 20A and first end of cable 10A, sealing boot 20B and second end of cable 10B, as well as maintaining an environmental seal between sealing boots 20A, 20B and grommets 54 of housing 50. As shown in Fig. 4, when a contact splice is completed with contact splice assembly 15, protective sheath 12 of cable 10, sealing boots 20A, 20B, grommets 54, and housing body 50 may be exposed to environmental conditions. A spliced connection between cable ends 10A and 10B may be protected from environmental conditions within housing 50.

[0027] A device in accordance with the present disclosure may provide a contact splice that is easy to install. A device in accordance with the present disclosure may provide a contact splice while maintaining an environmental seal. A device in accordance with the present disclosure may provide a contact splice that can withstand water pressure. A device in accordance with the present disclosure may provide a contact splice that can maintain an environmental seal without requiring a shrink material. A device in accordance with the present disclosure may provide a contact splice that can maintain an environmental seal without requiring a heat shrinking of a housing. A device in accordance with the present disclosure may provide a contact splice with pressure fittings on the ends of the splice.

[0028] Fig. 5 illustrates a flow diagram for an example process to splice a contact, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments presented herein. An example process may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks S2, S4, S6, S8, S10, S12, S14, S16 and / or S18. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation.

[0029] Processing may begin at block S2, "Slide a first end of a first sealing boot over the first cable, wherein the first end of the first sealing boot forms a seal to the first cable and a portion of the first cable is passed through the first sealing boot". At block S2, a first end of a first sealing boot may be slid over the first cable. The first end of the first sealing boot may form a seal to the first cable. A portion of the first cable may be passed through the first sealing boot. The first end of the first sealing boot may form a waterproof seal to the first cable.

[0030] Processing may continue from block S2 to block S4, "Slide a first end of a second sealing boot over the second cable, wherein the first end of the second sealing boot forms a seal to the second end of the cable and a portion of the second end of the cable is passed through the second sealing boot". At block S4, the first end of a second sealing boot may be slid over the second cable. The first end of the second sealing boot may form a seal to the second cable. A portion of the second cable may be passed through the second sealing boot. The second end of the second sealing boot may form a waterproof seal to the second cable.

[0031] Processing may continue from block S4 to block S6, "Crimp wires from the portion of the first cable passed through the first sealing boot to a first side of the pin contact". At block S6, wires from the portion of the first cable passed through the first sealing boot may be crimped to a first side of the pin contact.

[0032] Processing may continue from block S6 to block S8, "Crimp wires from the portion of the second cable passed through the second sealing boot to a first side of the socket contact". At block S8, wires from the portion of the second cable passed through the second seating boot may be crimped to a first side of the socket contact.

[0033] Processing may continue from block S8 to block S10, "Surround at least a portion of the first side of the pin contact with the second side of the first sealing boot". At block S10, at least a portion of the first side of the pin contact may be surrounded by the second side of the first sealing boot.

[0034] Processing may continue from block SI0 to block SI2, "Surround at least a portion of the first side of the socket contact with the second side of the second sealing boot". At block SI2, at least a portion of the first side of the socket contact may be surrounded by the second side of the second sealing boot.

[0035] Processing may continue from block S12 to block SI4, "Insert the second side of the pin contact into a first end of a housing". At block SI4, the second side of the pin contact may be inserted into a first end of a housing. An alignment key on the pin contact may be aligned with a pin contact alignment mark on the first end of the housing.

[0036] Processing may continue from block SI4 to block SI 6, "Insert the second side of the socket contact into a second end of the housing". At block SI 6, the second side of the socket contact may be inserted into a second end of the housing. An alignment key on the socket contact may be aligned with a socket contact alignment mark on the second end of the housing.

[0037] Processing may continue from block S16 to block SI 8, "Connect the second side of the pin contact to the second side of the socket contact within the housing, wherein the housing has a tube shaped body, the first end of the housing forms a seal to the first sealing boot and the second end of the housing forms a seal to the second sealing boot". At block SI 8, the second side of the pin contact may be connected to the second side of the socket contact within the housing. The housing may have a tube shaped body. The first end of the housing may form a seal to the first sealing boot and the second end of the housing may form a seal to the second sealing boot.

[0038] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the scope being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. An assembly (15) to splice two contacts of a cable (10), the assembly comprising: a first sealing boot (20A) configured to slide onto the cable and form a seal to the cable; a second sealing boot (20B) configured to slide onto the cable and form a seal to the cable; a pin contact (30), wherein the pin contact includes a first side and a second side, the first side of the pin contact configured to receive wires from the cable and the second side of the pin contact configured to mate with a socket contact (40) within a housing (50); the socket contact (40), wherein the socket contact includes a first side and a second side, the first side of the socket contact configured to receive wires from the cable and the second side of the socket contact configured to mate with the pin contact within the housing; and the housing (50), wherein the housing has a tube shaped body (52) with a first end and a second end, the housing includes a pin contact alignment mark (56), a socket contact alignment mark (58), a grommet (54) at the first end, and a grommet (54) at the second end, and each grommet is configured to form a seal to the first sealing boot or the second sealing boot, and characterised in that the pin contact includes an alignment key (35), the socket contact includes an alignment key (45), and the housing includes contact clips (210) configured to mate with the alignment keys to secure the pin contact and the socket contact within the housing.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the first sealing boot (20A) is configured to form a waterproof seal to the cable, the second sealing boot (20B) is configured to form a waterproof seal to the cable, and each grommet (54) is configured to form a waterproof seal to the first sealing boot or the second sealing boot.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the grommets (54) are a fluorosilicone blend.

4. A contact splice, the contact splice comprising: a first end (10A) of a cable (10); a second end (10B) of a cable; and an assembly (15) according to any preceding claim.

5. A method to splice a first cable to a second cable, the method comprising: sliding a first end of a first sealing boot (20A) over the first cable, wherein the first end of the first sealing boot forms a seal to the first cable and a portion of the first cable is passed through the first sealing boot; sliding a first end of a second sealing boot (20B) over the second cable, wherein the first end of the second sealing boot forms a seal to the second end of the cable and a portion of the second end of the cable is passed through the second sealing boot; crimping wires (14) from the portion of the first cable passed through the first sealing boot to a first side of a pin contact (30); crimping wires from the portion of the second cable passed through the second sealing boot to a first side of a socket contact (40); surrounding at least a portion of the first side of the pin contact with a second end of the first sealing boot; surrounding at least a portion of the first side of the socket contact with a second end of the second sealing boot; inserting a second side of the pin contact into a first end of a housing (50) by aligning a pin alignment key (35) on the second side of the pin contact with a first alignment mark (56) on the first end of the housing; inserting a second side of the socket contact into a second end of the housing by aligning a socket alignment key (45) on the second side of the socket contact with a second alignment mark on the second end of the housing; and connecting the second side of the pin contact to the second side of the socket contact within the housing, wherein the housing has a tube shaped body (52) and a pin contact alignment mark (56) and a socket contact alignment mark (58), the first end of the housing having a grommet (54) which forms a seal to the first sealing boot and the second end of the housing having a grommet which forms a seal to the second sealing boot, and characterised in that the housing includes contact clips (210) to mate with the alignment keys to secure the pin contact and the socket contact within the housing.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first sealing boot (20A) forms a waterproof seal to the cable, the second sealing boot (20B) forms a waterproof seal to the cable, the grommet at the first end forms a waterproof seal to the first sealing boot, and the grommet at the second end forms a waterproof seal to the second sealing boot.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the grommets are a fluorosilicone blend.