Cable Shield Grounding Clamp

The present invention relates to means to clamp shielding of a shielded cable to edges of an opening in a panel or the like, through which the cable passes, thereby providing total shielding of the opening, grounding of the shielding and strain relief for the cable.

The increased use of electronic equipment has caused a corresponding rise in the amount of radio frequency and electro-magnetic interference being generated. It is necessary to prevent both RF/EMI from entering into equipment or to be contained therein in order to preserve the electronic integrity of an electronic system. There have also been recent numbers of federal regulations which greatly restrict the amount of RF/EMI that can be tolerated.

While it is possible to contain RF/EMI within a component or cabinet it is often necessary to interconnect with various peripheral equipment and thus the barrier formed by the casing or equipment housing must be perforated thereby creating the possibility of allowing the escape of or entrance of RF/EMI. In either case, if there is an unprotected opening, this can create a slot antenna which can have very derogatory effects on adjacent equipment.

The present invention overcomes the above described difficulty by providing a clamp which engages the insulation and shielding of a shielded multi-conductor cable to provide both strain relief for the cable and grounding of the shields while mounting the cable on a panel, bulkhead or the like, so that the clamp overlies and covers a cable passage aperture therein. The clamp is an elongated metal body with a central opening through which the cable passes and a pair of integral lateral flanges opposite the opening. The flanges and the body portions between the opening and the flanges are each provided with a plurality of apertures and lances which, when the flanges are folded upon the adjacent body portion, penetrate the shielding and insulation of the cable to secure them to the clamp. The clamp further includes a slot extending from one end of the central opening and means for mounting the clamp on either face of a panel, bulkhead, or the like overlying a cable passage aperture therein.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the subject invention together with a cable, connector, and panel;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the clamp in a fully assembled condition;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the subject clamp; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

The clamp 10 of the subject invention is used to secure a shielded, multi-conductor cable 12 to a panel, bulkhead, or the like 14. The cable 12 is of the type having a central ribbon 16 formed by a plurality of individual insulated conductors which are shown terminated by a known electrical connector 18. The connector illustrates is of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,970, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The cable further includes shielding layers 20, 22 and an outer jacket or sheath 24. The shielding layers can be either a conductive foil or a metal mesh. Preferably, for ease of handling, the cable is of the type in which the shielding layers 20, 22 are merely placed on both sides of the ribbon of conductors 16 and the insulative sheath 24 encloses the shielding layers but is not adhered hereto.

The panel bulkhead or the like, 14 is a conductive wall of an equipment housing having an elongated cable passage aperture 26 therein. It is the intent of the present invention to join the shielding 20, 22 of the cable 12 to the panel 14 leaving enough free length of conductor ribbon 16 to allow the connector 18 to mate with an appropriate connector (not shown) inside the housing. The subject clamp 10 can be mounted on either the inner or outer face of the panel 14 without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. It may be that an interior mounting as shown, would have some preference from the asthetic standpoint of keeping the outside of the cabinet relatively clean in appearance.

The subject clamp 10 is formed from a piece of copper, or other conductive material, and has an elongated body 28 with a similar elongated central cable passage 30 with a slot 32 connecting the passage 30 to one marginal edge of the body 28. Flange portions 34, 36 adjacent each elongated edge of passage 30 are rolled back upon the body 28 to form a smooth entry. First and second integral flanges 38, 40 extend from opposite edges of the body 28 and are aligned with the passage 30. Each flange has a stepped portion 42, 44, respectively, at its free end. The clamp 10 is provided with groups of lances or tines and corresponding apertures which are arranged, starting from each side of the passage 30 and working toward the free ends of the flanges, first insulation piercing lances 46, 48, second shield piercing lances 50, 52 second shield apertures 54, 56 and first insulation apertures 58, 60. Each aperture 54, 56, 58, 60 is surrounded by tines which project from the same plane of the clamp 10 as the lances and is aligned with a respective lance when the flanges are folded upon themselves, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The tines of the apertures 54, 56 interengage with lances 50, 52 to trap the shielding 20, 22 therebetween. The tines of the apertures 58, 60 interengage with lances 46, 48 to trap the insulation 24 therebetween. It will be appreciated that the lances 46, 48 and apertures 58, 60 will be larger in size and fewer in number than lances 50, 52 and apertures 54, 56.

In the closed position of the flanges 38, 40, 42, 44 the lances 46, 48, 50, 52 will penetrate the shielding 20, 22 and insulation 24 of the cable 12 to perform both a grounding and strain relief function. The clamp 10 is completed by a plurality of mounting holes 62 each of which receives an appropriate mounting means 64 to secure the clamp to the panel 14.

The present invention is employed by first stripping the insulation 24 from an end portion of a shielded cable 12, as shown in FIG. 1, to reveal the ribbon of conductors 16 and the shielding layers 20, 22. The cable 12 can either be terminated by connector 18 now or later, after the clamp, is put in place. If the connector 18 is placed on the cable, then the cable can be slipped through the slot 32 into proper position in the clamp, otherwise the cable can just be fed through the central passage 30. Once the cable is in position, the flanges 38, 40 of the clamp are secured to the respective sides of the cable to engage the shielding 20, 22 and the insulation 24 as best seen in the section view of FIG. 4. The clamping can be effected by any known tool, such as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,121, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Once the termination is effected the clamp can be secured to the panel by means of the fasteners 64.

It would also be possible to form the subject clamp 10 with a flange or tab 66, see FIG. 3, which could be used to receive a terminal, (not shown) such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,774,951, to provide additional grounding.