Ganged Coaxial Connector Assembly with Floating, Replaceable Cables
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ganged coaxial connector assemblies face challenges in maintaining consistent and reliable electrical contact due to component tolerances and the need for precise alignment, which can lead to unpredictable passive intermodulation (PIM) performance. Additionally, existing assemblies require replacement of the entire assembly when one cable becomes faulty or inoperable.
Innovation Solution
The proposed ganged connector assembly incorporates a shell with cavities, rear bodies with radially-outward tabs, and retainer rings with discontinuous lips and recesses. This configuration allows for axial, radial, and angular float of the connectors, ensuring consistent contact. The locking features enable individual connectors and cables to be secured or removed without affecting the rest of the assembly, allowing for replacement of faulty components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If ganged coaxial connector assemblies use fixed rigid connections, then structural stability is improved, but component tolerances and alignment precision deteriorate leading to unpredictable PIM performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements float mechanisms that allow connectors to move dynamically within cavities, accommodating misalignment through controlled movement in axial, radial, and angular directions. This dynamic adjustment capability resolves the contradiction by allowing structural stability while compensating for manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The float mechanisms change the positional parameters of connectors relative to the shell, enabling adjustment of alignment parameters to compensate for manufacturing variations. This parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction between structural stability and alignment precision.
2Reliability
If ganged connector assemblies use integrated locking mechanisms for all connectors, then secure interconnection is improved, but ease of repair and component replacement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the locking mechanism into individual independent locking features for each connector cavity, rather than a single integrated locking system. This segmentation allows one connector and cable to be removed or replaced without affecting the locking status of other connectors, resolving the contradiction between secure interconnection and ease of repair.
Solution Approach 2:
Each connector cavity has its own self-contained locking mechanism that operates independently. The locking features automatically secure connectors when mated and can be independently released, allowing individual component replacement without manual intervention for the entire assembly.
3Ease of manufacture
If ganged connector assemblies require removal of entire assembly for cable replacement, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but loss of time and productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly is segmented into independently serviceable units, where each connector and its associated cable can be accessed and replaced individually. This segmentation maintains manufacturing simplicity while dramatically improving maintenance productivity by eliminating the need to disassemble the entire ganged connector assembly for single cable replacement.
Data Source
AI summary
A ganged connector assembly includes: a plurality of coaxial connectors, each of the coaxial connectors connected with a respective coaxial cable extending rearwardly therefrom, each of the coaxial connectors including an inner contact and an outer body that is electrically separated from the inner contact; a shell having a plurality of cavities; and a plurality of rear bodies, each of the rear bodies encircling a respective outer body, each of the rear bodies mounted in a respective cavity of the shell. Each of the rear bodies includes a first locking feature. A second locking feature is located in each of the cavities and is fixed relative to the shell. The first and second locking features are configured such that rotation of a first of the plurality of rear bodies relative to the shell moves the first rear body between locked and unlocked positions, wherein in the locked position a respective first connector and respective first cable are secured with the shell within a respective cavity, and in the unlocked position the first connector and first cable can be removed from the shell without removing the remaining connectors and cables.