Environmentally sealed grounding backshell with strain relief

Abstract

A grounding backshell assembly is provided for achieving a grounded electrical connection to a conductive braid of a cable, and for simultaneously achieving effective strain relief and environmental sealing. The backshell assembly comprises a generally cylindrical backshell having a toroidally configured coil spring mounted therein. A plunger with a leading concave cam surface is slidably inserted in the backshell for camming engagement with the grounding spring. A toroidally configured strain relief coil spring is disposed around the cable at the rear end of the plunger. A compression nut having a concave camming surface therein is threadably engageable with the backshell such that the concave cam surface thereof is operative to radially compress the strain relief spring and to urge the plunger into camming interengagement with the grounding spring. An elastomeric seal is resiliently engaged with the rear end of the compression nut and is further resiliently engaged with the cable. A tightening of the compression nut onto the backshell deforms the elastomeric seal into tight environmental sealing engagement with the cable and further contributes to environmental sealing.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An environmentally sealed grounding backshell assembly for strain relief mounting to a jacketed cable having an electrically conductive EMI shield, said assembly comprising: a metallic backshell having opposed forward and rearward ends and a cable receiving aperture extending therethrough;   a toroidally configured, radially compressible, metallic coil grounding spring disposed in said backshell for surrounding the cable disposed therein;   restriction means in said backshell forwardly of said grounding spring for limiting axial movement of the grounding spring relative to said backshell;   plunger means disposed in the backshell for selective longitudinal movement relative thereto, said plunger means comprising opposed forward and rearward ends, the forward end of said plunger means defining a cam for urging the grounding spring against the restriction means and for radially compressing said grounding spring;   a toroidally configured, radially compressible strain relief spring for surrounding the cable and disposed adjacent the rear end of said plunger means;   compression means engageable with the backshell for selective longitudinal movement relative thereto, said compression means comprising a forwardly facing concave cam surface for engaging and radially compressing the strain relief spring; and   environmental sealing means for mounting to the compression means and for environmentally sealing the cable mounted in said assembly, whereby the axial advancement of said compression means relative to said backshell radially compresses the grounding spring into grounding contact with the shield of the cable and radially compresses the strain relief spring into strain relief engagement with the jacketed cable.   
     
     
       2. A backshell assembly as in claim 1 wherein said environmental seal is formed from an elastomeric material. 
     
     
       3. A backshell assembly as in claim 2 wherein said environmental seal comprises opposed forward and rearward ends, said forward end of said environmental seal being resiliently engageable with said compression means, the rearward end of said environmental seal being of generally frustoconical convex outward configuration, whereby the axial movement of said compression means relative to said backshell deforms said elastomeric environmental seal into tight environmentally sealing engagement with the jacketed cable and contributes to the strain relief of said assembly. 
     
     
       4. A backshell assembly as in claim 3 wherein the compression means comprises an inwardly directed generally annular groove extending thereabout, and wherein the forward end of said elastomeric environmental seal includes an inwardly directed generally annular flange for resiliently engaging the groove of said compression means. 
     
     
       5. A backshell assembly as in claim 1 wherein said rearward end of said backshell comprises an array of threads, and wherein the forward end of said compression means comprises an array of threads mateable with the threads on the rearward end of said backshell, the threaded engagement between said backshell and said compression means defining the means for longitudinally advancing the compression nut relative to the backshell. 
     
     
       6. A backshell assembly as in claim 5 wherein the restriction means comprises a generally annular inwardly directed ledge integral with said backshell. 
     
     
       7. A backshell assembly as in claim 6 wherein the restriction means further comprises a reversible washer engageable with said ledge of said backshell and disposed intermediate said ledge and said grounding spring. 
     
     
       8. A backshell assembly as in claim 7 wherein said reversible washer is formed from a metallic material and has opposed forward and rearward ends, the forward end of said washer defining a major diameter portion, and the rearward end of said washer defining a minor diameter portion, said minor diameter portion being dimensioned to pass through the ledge of said backshell, while the major diameter portion thereof is dimensioned to engage said ledge, whereby the relative axial position of said washer relative to the rear end of said backshell can be varied by reversing the washer relative to the ledge. 
     
     
       9. A backshell assembly as in claim 1 wherein the camming surface of said plunger means is generally frustoconical in configuration. 
     
     
       10. A backshell assembly as in claim 1 wherein the camming surface of said compression means is generally frustoconical in configuration. 
     
     
       11. A backshell assembly as in claim 1 wherein the forward end of said backshell comprises an array of threads. 
     
     
       12. An environmentally sealed backshell asembly for strain relief mounting to a jacketed cable having an electrically conductive braid therein, said backshell assembly comprising: a metallic backshell having opposed forward and rearward ends and a longitudinally aligned cable receiving aperture extending entirely therethrough, said rearward end of said backshell comprising an array of threads;   a toroidally configured, radially compressible, metallic coiled grounding spring disposed in said backshell;   a plunger slidably disposed in the rearward portion of said backshell, said plunger having opposed forward and rearward ends and a cable receiving aperture extending therebetween, the forward end of said plunger defining a concave frustoconical camming surface for engaging and radially compressing the grounding spring;   a toroidally configured, radially compressible coiled strain relief spring disposed adjacent the rearward end of said plunger;   a compression nut having opposed forward and rearward ends and a cable receiving aperture extending therebetween, the forward end of said compression nut being provided with an array of threads engaged with the threads on the rearward end of said backshell, the cable receiving aperture of said compression nut defining a forwardly facing concave camming surface engaged with the strain relief spring; and   an elastomeric seal having opposed forward and rearward ends and a cable receiving aperture, the forward end of said elastomeric seal resiliently engaging said compression nut, the rearward end of said elastomeric seal being of generally frustoconical convex configuration and being dimensioned to resiliently grip the cable, whereby the threaded interconnection of said compression nut to said backshell urges the grounding spring into grounding electrical connection with the braid of the cable and simultaneously urges the strain relief spring into gripping engagement with the cable while tightening the resilient engagement between the elastomeric seal and the cable for enhanced environmental sealing protection and additional strain relief.   
     
     
       13. A backshell assembly as in claim 12 comprising restriction means for limiting the movement of the grounding spring in the backshell. 
     
     
       14. A backshell assembly as in claim 13 wherein the restriction means comprises a stop integral with the backshell. 
     
     
       15. A backshell assembly as in claim 14 wherein the restriction means further comprises a reversible washer having opposed first and second ends, said first end of said washer being dimensioned to pass through the stop, the second end of said washer being dimensioned to engage the stop, whereby the position of the washer relative to at least one end of the backshell is determined by the reversible orientation of the washer. 
     
     
       16. An environmentally sealed grounding backshell assembly for strain relief mounting to a cable, said assembly comprising: a metallic backshell having opposed forward and rearward ends and a cable receiving aperture extending therebetween;   a metallic coiled grounding spring formed into a compressible toroidal configuration and disposed in the metallic backshell;   a first concave cam means disposed adjacent said grounding spring for radially compressing the grounding spring;   plunger means for effecting relative movement between the grounding spring and the first concave cam means;   a coiled strain relief spring formed into a compressible toroidal configuration and disposed adjacent said plunger means and spaced from said grounding spring;   a second concave cam means disposed adjacent said strain relief spring for radially compressing the strain relief spring;   compression means engaged with the metallic backshell for generating relative movement between the second cam means and the strain relief spring, and for generating corresponding movement of the plunger means; and   elastomeric environmental sealing means resiliently engaging the cable and mounted to at least one other portion of said assembly.   
     
     
       17. An assembly as in claim 16 wherein at least one of said first and second cam means is integral with the plunger means. 
     
     
       18. An assembly as in claim 16 wherein said second cam means is integral with the compression means. 
     
     
       19. An assembly as in claim 16 further comprising means for adjustably limiting the movement of the grounding spring in the backshell. 
     
     
       20. An assembly as in claim 16 wherein said metallic backshell and said compression means each comprises an array of threads, said threads comprising the means for generating relative movement between the second cam means and the strain relief spring. .Iadd. 
     
     
       21.  A terminal backshell assembly for strain relief mounting to a cable having a conductive shield, comprising: a backshell member;   compression means engageable with the backshell member for longitudinal movement relative thereto;   means defining an axial passage through the engaged backshell member and compression means for receiving said cable;   an annular plunger member disposed between the backshell member and the compression means;   a first resilient ring disposed between the compression means and the plunger member for engaging the cable;   a second resilient, electrically conductive ring disposed between the plunger member and the backshell member for engaging the conductive shield of the cable; and   variable means mounted on one of said backshell member and compression means for engaging the respectively adjacent ring on a side thereof opposite the plunger means, the variable means being positionally variable axially to vary the distance said adjacent ring can resiliently move radially and thereby accommodate cables of varying diameters..Iaddend. .Iadd.22. The assembly of claim 21 wherein one of said resilient rings comprises an annular spring..Iaddend. .Iadd.23. The assembly of claim 21 wherein both of said resilient rings comprise annular springs..Iaddend.   
     
     
        .Iadd.24.  The assembly of claim 21 wherein said variable means is ring-shaped and includes surface means for engaging said respectively adjacent ring at different axial locations in response to positionally varying the variable means..Iaddend. .Iadd.25. The assembly of claim 24 wherein said backshell member has ledge means for mounting the ring-shaped variable means, the variable means being shaped to have different axial dimensions in a direction facing said respectively adjacent ring depending on the position in which the variable means is mounted on said ledge means..Iaddend. .Iadd.26. The assembly of claim 25 wherein said ring-shaped variable means has a radially outwardly directed flange for engaging the ledge means of the backshell member, the variable means having a greater axial dimension on one side of the flange than the other whereby the variable means can be positionally reversed to change the axial location at which the variable means engages said respectively adjacent ring..Iaddend. .Iadd.27. The assembly of claim 21 wherein said backshell member and said variable means have complementarily engageable mounting means, and the variable means has a greater axial dimension on one side of the mounting means than the other whereby the variable means can be positionally reversed to change the axial location at which the variable means engages said respectively adjacent ring..Iaddend. 
     
     
        .Iadd.     A backshell assembly for strain relief mounting to a cable, comprising: first and second members assembled for relative longitudinal movement and defining an axial passage through the assembly for receiving said cable;   a resilient ring between said members about the axial passage;   means for engaging one side of the ring to compress the ring and grip the cable in response to longitudinal connecting movement of said members toward each other; and   variable means mounted on one of said members for engaging an opposite side of the ring, the variable means being positionally adjustable axially on said one member to vary the distance the ring can resiliently move radially and thereby accommodate cables of varying diameters..Iaddend. .Iadd.29. The assembly of claim 28 wherein said ring comprises an annular spring..Iaddend. .Iadd.30. The assembly of claim 28 wherein said variable means is washer-shaped and includes surface means for engaging the ring at different axial locations in response to positionally varying the variable means..Iaddend. .Iadd.31. The assembly of claim 30 wherein said one member has ledge means for mounting the washer-shaped variable means, the variable means being shaped to have different axial dimensions in a direction facing the ring depending on the position in which the variable   
     
     
        means is mounted on said ledge means..Iaddend. .Iadd.32.  The assembly of claim 31 wherein said washer-shaped variable means has a radially outwardly directed flange for engaging the ledge means of said one member, the variable means having a greater axial dimension on one side of the flange than the other whereby the variable means can be positionally reversed to change the axial location at which the variable means engages the ring..Iaddend. .Iadd.33. The assembly of claim 28 wherein said one member and said variable means have complementarily engageable mounting means, and the variable means has a greater axial dimension on one side of the mounting means than the other whereby the variable means can be positionally reversed to change the axial location at which the variable 
     
     
        means engages the ring..Iaddend. .Iadd.34.  A backshell assembly for strain relief mounting to a cable, said assembly comprising: a metallic backshell having opposed forward and rearward ends and a cable receiving aperture extending therebetween;   a metallic coiled grounding spring formed into a compressible toroidal configuration and disposed in the metallic backshell;   a first concave cam means disposed adjacent said grounding spring for radially compressing the grounding spring;   plunger means for effecting relative movement between the grounding spring and the first concave cam means;   a coiled strain relief spring formed into a compressible toroidal configuration and disposed adjacent said plunger means and spaced from said grounding spring;   a second concave cam means disposed adjacent said strain relief spring for radially compressing the strain relief spring;   compression means engaged with the metallic backshell for generating relative movement between the second cam means and the strain relief spring, and for generating corresponding movement of the plunger means; and   variable means mounted on one of said backshell and compression means for engaging the respectively adjacent spring on a side thereof opposite the plunger means, the variable means being positionally variable axially to vary the distance said adjacent spring can resiliently move radially and thereby accommodate cables of varying diameters..Iaddend.