IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR TAIL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION: Underwater electrical cables and marine conductors in general cause major problems when they begin to leak. Leakage, of course, is common due to the fact that such cables, and their connectors, commonly operate in subsurface environments, or in near surface atmospheric environments characterized by extreme salt and humidity. The primary water and humidity sealing means in underwater connectors is generally the insulation encapsulating the strands of individual conductors, or it is an encapsulating plastic around the machined stainless steal connector. Frequently, these connectors are made of corrosion resistant metals, such as stainless, or the like, and are coated with a plastic coating for the purpose of precluding entry of moisture.

Further, in marine seismic operations, underwater electrical plugs or connectors are needed to connect power and instrumentation conductors to other equipment, such as seismic

sound generators, i. e. air guns. These"guns"are used as a sound source to obtain acoustic reflections from the sea-floor.

Typically, they are fired every ten to fifteen seconds producing extremely strong pressure waves. As a result, the electrical, cables, conductors, and connectors are subjected to a great deal of structural abuse, and normally they may not last for extended periods of time before developing leaks or other operational defects. Typically, these components, such as electrical connectors, are exposed to such blasting forces and also to the extremely adverse nature of the environment and will not last long if they are not able to withstand the conditions.

Therefore, all of the electrical connectors and other components used in these harshest of environments must necessarily withstand repeated explosive forces on their exteriors while allowing for a degree of flexibility there within lest the internal conductor be jolted loose from its external housing.

Underwater electrical cables are also subject to movement due to currents, wave action, and the general movement of their fluid environment, which can cause the electrical cables to move in any variety of directions and to be tugged and yanked by the motion of the water. Underwater equipment is frequently connected to instruments on the surface, often to floating rigs on the surface of the water. The motion of the floating rig in relation to the underwater equipment produces great stress on the

underwater electrical cable particularly at the cable connection to the underwater equipment.

Generally underwater marine connectors are provided with a reinforced tail, which is a sheath of reinforcement around the cable insulation from the electrical connection to some point along the insulate electrical conducting cable. This connector tail of reinforced insulating material protects the electrical cable from excessive bending, which might crack the insulating material-exposing the electrical conductor to the water and creating a short of the electrical current. Electrical cables are particularly susceptible to such excessive bending near the point of connection between the electrical cable and the underwater equipment because the equipment fixes the one end of the cable in place, allowing no mobility of the cable to relieve bending stresses on the cable.

If the shape of the reinforced tail is not properly designed however, the tail itself may contribute to the problem of leakage. The cable bends around a focal point, or area of maximum bending. The focal point is determined by the shape of the tail. An improperly designed tail creates a focal point at the junction of the tail and the main conductor cable. In such an instance, the tail itself, rather than protecting the cable from leakage, can become a source of resistance on the cable and increase the chances that the cable will split and leak at the focal point.

The problem of conductor cable leakage at the junction of the cable and the connector tail is not limited to underwater or marine environments, but is also a problem in any situation where excessive bending of an electrical conductor threatens to compromise the integrity of the electrical circuit.

SUMMARY AND PURPOSES OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to move the focal point away from the end of the tail and toward the middle of the tail to eliminate cracking problems in the cable when under severe stress, such as over bending of the tail.

It is also an object of the present invention to change the bending focal point toward the middle of the tail by providing more reinforcing material to the tail at the end portion of the tail attached to the cable, providing added strength to this portion of the tail, so that the cable has less of a tendency to bend at the junction of the tail and the cable, and will preferentially bend in the middle portion of the tail.

It is further an object of the present invention to provide a tail that can withstand much greater bending forces due to the fact that there is complete bonding or fusion of the tail material and the cable insulating material.

The marine electrical connector tail of the present invention provides a"necking down"design that changes the focal point of bending from the end where the end of the tail and cable

are fused together to the middle part of the tail, where the tail still provides significant reinforcement of the cable insulation.

The present invention provides an electrical connector tail, where the connector is connected to an insulated electrical conductor and the tail is disposed around the connector and the conductor, the tail comprising: a connector end having a cross-sectional area ; a conductor end having a cross-sectional area; and a neck between the connector end and the conductor end, wherein the neck comprises a smaller cross-sectional area than the connector end and the conductor end.

The present invention also comprises a tail for an electrical connector, wherein the connector is connected to a flexible, insulated, electrical conductor, where the tail comprises: a connector end attached to the electrical connector and having a first cross-sectional area ; and a tail terminus attached to the insulated electrical conductor and having a second cross-sectional area; wherein the tail tapers to a third cross-sectional area between the connector end and the terminus of the tail, said third cross- sectional area being less than either of the first or second cross-sectional areas.

The present invention further comprises an electrical connector connected to an insulated, flexible electrical conductor, said connector comprising a flexible reinforcing sheath attached at one end to said connector, and attached at the other end to said conductor, wherein said sheath tapers between said ends such that said conductor preferentially bends around said tapered portion of said sheath.

The electrical connector tail of the present invention may be fused to the insulated conductor at the end of the tail where the tail is attached to the conductor cable.

The connector tail of the present invention is useful in marine and underwater environments, and is useful with connectors and conductor cables used in underwater marine environments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 illustrates a side view of the electrical connector tail of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In reference to figure 1, a connector 1 connects to the underwater equipment. Tail 3, extends from connector 1 for some distance along cable 5. Tail 3 and cable 5 are made of a suitable insulating material such as flexible polyurethane, rubber or plastic. Tail 3 is comprised of a relatively larger cross-sectional area 7 around the connector 1, a narrower or

smaller cross-sectional region 9 around cable 5 and a neck 11 between said larger area 7 and said narrower area 9. The neck 11 is the portion of the tail with the smallest cross-sectional area. Neck 11 tapers from the large cross-sectional area of segment 7 to a segment of smallest area 11 and then widens out to an intermediate cross-sectional area 9 where the tail 3 terminates at cable 5.

This"necking down"design of the tail moves the focal point from the terminus 13 of the tail 3 into the neck 11 of the tail 3, whereby the focal point or the flex point of the cable bending occurs at the neck 11 of the tail 3, rather than at the terminus 13 of the tail 3. By moving the focal point of bending into the neck of the tail 3, bending occurs at a reinforced region of the cable, thereby substantially reducing the likelihood of cracking of the cable due to excessive bending. Moving the focal point into the neck of the tail also reduces the amount that the cable can bend. That is, it reduces the maximum curvature of any bending, so that such bending is rarely excessive to the point of cracking the insulating material of the cable.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the terminus 13 of the tail 3 is fused to the insulating material of cable 5. This fusion may be accomplished by any number of suitable means, such as the use of water insoluble adhesives, chemical bonding, extrusion processes or molding processes.

Fusion of tail 3 with the cable 5 provides additional strength

to the construction, further enhancing the reliability of tail 3.

Tail terminus 13 has extra material added in comparison to neck region 11. That is, the diameter of tail terminus portion 9 is slightly larger than the diameter of neck region 11. This extra material added to end portion 9 of tail 3 makes terminus portion 9 of tail 3 more rigid. The rigidity of the terminal portion 9 of tail 3 in comparison to the relative flexibility of neck 11, moves the focal point of bending away from terminus 13 and into neck 11. Cable 5, therefore, preferentially bends at neck 11 of tail 3, rather than at terminus 13 of tail 3 (at the junction between the cable and the tail).

In the preferred embodiment, connector 1 and conductor cable 5 are substantially cylindrical or annular in shape. However, the present invention is also adaptable to other shapes of connectors and cables, including substantially flat, ovoid, rectangular, triangular, and the like.

The design of the tail of the present invention addresses a significant problem in underwater marine connectors by providing a connector with a reinforced tail which moves the focal point into the neck of the tail so that excessive stress due to over bending of the cable occurs at a reinforced portion of the tail greatly reducing the likelihood of cracking and leaking of the cable at the area of connection to underwater electrical equipment.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the tail of the present invention is useful not only in underwater environments, but is also generally useful for any electrical connector where excessive bending forces may raise concerns about the integrity of the electrical circuit.

The foregoing description of the invention is merely intended to be explanatory thereof. There are changes in the details and the materials of the described electrical connector tail which may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention as disclosed herein.