Coaxial connector assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10468837-B2
Application number	US-201615277000-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2016
Priority date	Sep 27, 2016
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

A coaxial connector assembly includes a housing holding an outer contact and a dielectric holder received in the outer contact. The dielectric holder has a mating segment having a front cavity and a cable segment having a cable cavity receiving a cable assembly. The cable assembly has a pin contact. A center contact is received in the front cavity of the dielectric holder. The center contact has a base positioned in the dielectric holder generally at an intersection of the front cavity and the cable cavity. The center contact has deflectable pin beams extending from the base. The pin beams have flared lead-in tips at distal ends of the beams. The base and the pin beams are axially aligned with the cable axis to receive the pin contact.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A coaxial connector assembly comprising:
a housing holding an outer contact;
a dielectric holder received in the outer contact, the dielectric holder having a mating segment and a cable segment orthogonal to the mating segment, the mating segment having a front cavity extending along a mating axis, the cable segment having a cable cavity extending along a cable axis;
a cable assembly received in the cable cavity of the dielectric holder, the cable assembly having a pin contact configured to be terminated to an end of a center conductor of a cable, the pin contact having a tip, the pin contact extending longitudinally along a pin axis parallel to the cable axis; and
a center contact received in the front cavity of the dielectric holder, the center contact having a base and a mating portion extending forward of the base, the base positioned in the dielectric holder generally at an intersection of the front cavity and the cable cavity along a top of the front cavity and directly vertically above the cable cavity, the center contact having deflectable pin beams extending along pin beam axes downward from the base along opposite sides of the cable cavity to distal ends opposite the base, the pin beams configured to deflect outward when mated with the pin contact along the pin beam axes, the pin beams having flared lead-in tips at the distal ends of the pin beams receiving the pin contact when the center contact is mated with the pin contact, the base being axially aligned with the cable axis to receive the pin contact between the pin beams in a pin mating direction parallel to the pin axis, the pin beam axes being generally parallel with the cable axis, the pin beams including spaced apart beam arms with slots positioned between corresponding beam arms, the beam arms located on both sides of the slots, the beam arms extending parallel to the pin axis and the pin mating direction between the distal ends and the base, the slots being elongated parallel to the beam arms along the cable axis, the pin beams being flexed at the beam arms;
wherein the pin beams extend toward the cable assembly from the base on opposite sides of the pin axis, each pin beam having a first curve being curved inward toward the pin axis from the base and each pin beam having a second curve being curved outward at the lead-in tips such that the pin beams have an S-shaped configuration.

2. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first curve of each pin beam has a smaller radius of curvature compared to a radius of curvature of the second curve of the corresponding pin beam.

3. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pin beams include separable mating interfaces configured to engage and electrically connect to the pin contact.

4. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the lead-in tips are flared outward away from the pin contact.

5. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pin beams include mating segments, the lead-in tips being flared outward from the mating segments such that the pin beams have a first separation distance between the mating segments and a second separation distance between the distal ends greater than the first separation distance.

6. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the base has a first thickness, the pin beams having a second thickness less than the first thickness.

7. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the base has an opening axially aligned with the cable axis, the opening receiving the tip of the pin contact.

8. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 7 , wherein the opening is bounded by a strain relief surface, the strain relief surface configured to engage and locate the pin contact to prevent overstress of the pin beams.

9. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric holder includes an expansion slot that receives the base and the pin beams of the center contact, the pin beams being deflectable into the expansion slot, the dielectric holder including a guide opening in the cable cavity open to the expansion slot, the guide opening receiving the pin contact and guiding the pin contact into mating with the pin beams.

10. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 9 , wherein the lead-in tips having a wider catch area than the guide opening to receive the pin contact.

11. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric holder includes a pocket above the base, the pocket receiving the tip of the pin contact when the pin contact is plugged into the center contact.

12. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the front cavity is open at a rear of the dielectric holder to receive the center contact through the rear of the dielectric holder.

13. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric holder includes a guide opening in the cable cavity open to the front cavity, the guide opening being aligned with the cable axis, the guide opening having a first width, the tip of the pin contact being loaded through the guide opening, the tip having a tip width less than the first width such that the tip has a limited amount of movement in the guide opening, the base of the center contact being positioned in the dielectric holder above the guide opening, the pin beams of the center contact having mating interfaces and the pin beams having flared lead-in tips beyond the mating interfaces at the distal ends of the pin beams being deflectable relative to each other for mating with the pin contact, the base and the pin beams being axially aligned with the guide opening to receive the pin contact, the mating interfaces being separated by a second width less than the first width, the flared lead-in tips being separated by a third width greater than the first width such that the flared lead in tips have a larger catch area than the first width of the guide opening.

14. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein each pin beam includes a folded portion extending from the base, the folded portion being bent over the base and extending parallel to the base, the pin beam including an extension extending from the folded portion to the distal ends, the extension being bent at a non-parallel angle relative to the folded portion to extend away from the base.

15. The coaxial connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pin beams are bent at a transition portion of the beam arms between a first portion and a second portion of each beam arm, the first portion of each beam arm being angled non-parallel to the second portion of the corresponding beam arm, the slot extending along the first portion and the second portion of the beam arm such that the slot spans the transition portion.

16. A coaxial connector assembly comprising:
a housing holding an outer contact;
a dielectric holder received in the outer contact, the dielectric holder having a mating segment and a cable segment orthogonal to the mating segment, the mating segment having a front cavity extending along a mating axis, the cable segment having a cable cavity extending along a cable axis;
a cable assembly received in the cable cavity of the dielectric holder, the cable assembly having a pin contact configured to be terminated to an end of a center conductor of a cable, the pin contact having a tip; and
a center contact received in the front cavity of the dielectric holder, the center contact having a base and a mating portion extending forward of the base, the base positioned in the dielectric holder generally at an intersection of the front cavity and the cable cavity, the center contact having defl

Assignees

• Tyco Electronics Corp
• Te Connectivity Corp

Inventors

• Schroll Neil Franklin
• Myer John Mark

Classifications

• H01R24/545

  Elbows · CPC title

• H01R24/38 Primary

  having concentrically or coaxially arranged contacts · CPC title

• H01R13/631

  for engagement only · CPC title

• H01R13/6593

  the shield being composed of different pieces · CPC title

• H01R2103/00

  Two poles · CPC title