1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to terminating a coaxial cable end in an angled connector and more specifically to using parts of an electrical terminal device within and extending from the connector to mechanically and electrically connect the cable end to the connector.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The traditional ferrule used with coaxial cable connectors is a simple, loose tube. To terminate a coaxial cable, an end of the cable is stripped in three stages to expose a center conductor, inner insulation layer, and outer conductive sheath or braid. The ferrule is then assembled over the prepared coaxial cable end. Care must be taken not to damage the exposed conductors as the ferrule is slid past onto an outer jacket of the cable. The braid is flared outward and the inner insulation layer and center conductor are inserted into a tubular part of a connector. The braid is then folded around an outer surface of the tubular part and then the ferrule is slid over the braid and tubular part. Finally, the ferrule is crimped in place. This provides a good electrical and mechanical connection of the braid to the connector suitable for automotive applications. Co-pending, commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/016,919, filed Dec. 21, 2004, for example, makes use of a loose ferrule of this type. However, the process is time consuming, difficult to automate and therefore expensive to use.
Another method attempts to do away with the loose-piece ferrule and a wire stripping stage. The method uses a ferrule attached to the connector body and does not require the coaxial cable outer jacket to be stripped. The ferrule has a sharp leading edge that wedges between the outer jacket and conductive braid. The jacket and ferrule are then crimped, crushing the jacket into the crimp area and compromising the electrical and mechanical performance of the crimp to a degree not acceptable for automotive use. In addition, both of these described methods traditionally require expensive screw-machining technology to fabricate the parts of the connector.
There are also terminals known in the art, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,828,298 and 6,206,727, having arms directly crimped on the conductive sheaths of coaxial cables. However, these terminals do not address the assembly issues involved in terminating coaxial cables in angled connectors with inner terminal devices.