CN107732563B

CN107732563B - Cable assembly with improved cable retention

Info

Publication number: CN107732563B
Application number: CN201610663328.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王海燕
Original assignee: Dongguan Molex Interconnect Co Ltd
Current assignee: Dongguan Molex Interconnect Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-08-12
Filing date: 2016-08-12
Publication date: 2019-12-06
Anticipated expiration: 2036-08-12
Also published as: CN107732563A

Abstract

A cable connector assembly comprising: a metal housing having an upper case and a lower case connected to each other; and at least one cable assembly housed within the metal shell, each cable assembly comprising: a cable having a plurality of wires, a shielding mesh grid and an insulating outer cover; a docking circuit board, a rear end of which is connected to a wire of the cable; the fixing sleeve ring is a polygonal metal sleeve ring, the inner peripheral surface of the fixing sleeve ring is tightly sleeved on the periphery of the shielding mesh grid of the cable, and the outer peripheral surface of the fixing sleeve ring is clamped between the upper shell and the lower shell. The invention can firmly hold the cable, has small damage to the cable and can prevent the rotation of the cable.

Description

cable assembly with improved cable retention

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cable assembly, and more particularly, to a cable assembly with a cable rotation-preventing design.

background

The cable connector is an important component for transmitting signals between electronic devices, and through years of development, the types of the cable connector are increasingly abundant, so that the cable connector conforming to various transmission protocols such as USB, SATA, HDMI, SAS, Displayport and the like is formed, and most of the various cable connectors transmit signals through metal conductors in cables and metal terminals in the connectors.

For example, as shown in fig. 1-2, chinese patent publication No. CN104348051A discloses a cable assembly 100, which includes a connector 1 ' and a cable 2 connected to one end of the connector 1 ', wherein the connector 1 ' includes a printed circuit board 3 and a connector 4 mounted on a front end of the printed circuit board 3, the printed circuit board 3 has a front end and a rear end opposite to each other, the cable 2 includes a plurality of wires electrically connected to the rear end of the printed circuit board 3, the wires include a pair of power wires 231 for transmitting power signals, and the power wires 231 include conductive wires, an insulating layer covering the conductive wires, and a shell layer covering the insulating layer. The cable connector fixes the cable by the U-shaped cable holding part 513 at the tail of the metal shell 5 which is pressed and bent to match with the extension part 5223. However, the U-shaped opening of the cable holding portion is easily opened by force, which results in an insufficient holding strength of the cable.

In order to solve the above problems, it is necessary to provide an improved cable connector assembly.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cable connector assembly capable of securely holding a cable.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cable connector assembly having a cable anti-rotation design to prevent cable rotation from causing wire damage.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cable connector assembly including: a metal housing having an upper case and a lower case connected to each other; and at least one cable assembly housed within the metal shell, each cable assembly comprising: a cable having a plurality of wires, a shielding mesh grid and an insulating outer cover; a docking circuit board, a rear end of which is connected to a wire of the cable; the fixing sleeve ring is a polygonal metal sleeve ring, the inner peripheral surface of the fixing sleeve ring is tightly sleeved on the periphery of the shielding mesh grid of the cable, and the outer peripheral surface of the fixing sleeve ring is clamped between the upper shell and the lower shell.

Preferably, a first butt circuit board receiving groove is formed in the upper housing, a second butt circuit board receiving groove is formed in the lower housing, and the first butt circuit board receiving groove and the second butt circuit board receiving groove are matched to receive a butt circuit board of the cable assembly.

Preferably, a first fixed lantern ring clamping groove is formed in the upper shell, a second fixed lantern ring clamping groove is formed in the lower shell, and the first fixed lantern ring clamping groove and the second fixed lantern ring clamping groove are matched to form a shape complementary with the fixed lantern ring so as to accommodate the fixed lantern ring.

Preferably, semicircular baffles are respectively arranged at two ends of the first fixed lantern ring clamping groove and the second fixed lantern ring clamping groove along the length direction of the first fixed lantern ring clamping groove and the second fixed lantern ring clamping groove so as to prevent the fixed lantern ring from longitudinally displacing.

preferably, a first cable accommodating groove is formed in the upper shell, a second cable accommodating groove is formed in the lower shell, and the first cable accommodating groove and the second cable accommodating groove are matched to accommodate the cable.

Preferably, the cable connector assembly further comprises a positioning module, and the positioning module is wrapped at a connection position between the docking circuit board and the cable.

Preferably, the cable connector assembly further comprises an anti-pulling structure injection-molded behind the fixing collar, and one end of the anti-pulling structure is provided with a boss and clamped in the metal shell.

Preferably, the initial shape of the fixing lantern ring is a circular lantern ring, and the fixing lantern ring is sleeved on the periphery of the cable and then punched into a hexagon in shape.

Preferably, the outer circumferential surface of the fixed lantern ring is provided with a circle of grooves.

Preferably, the accommodating hole of the fixing collar for accommodating the cable is hexagonal.

The cable connector assembly has the beneficial effects that the lantern ring of the cable connector assembly is compressed on the periphery of the cable through integral deformation, the lantern ring is not provided with the opening, so that the lantern ring is not easy to expand under stress, and the problem that the cable is not firmly held can be solved. Moreover, the cable anti-rotation design of the cable connector assembly of the present invention effectively prevents the occurrence of wire damage caused by cable rotation after the connection of the mating circuit board.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The invention, both as to organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals identify like elements and wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a cable connector assembly according to the prior art.

Fig. 2 shows an exploded view of a cable connector assembly according to the prior art.

Fig. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of a cable connector assembly according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows an exploded perspective view of a cable assembly according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows an assembled perspective view of a cable assembly according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of a fixing collar of a cable assembly according to the invention before stamping.

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the fixing collar of the cable assembly according to the invention after stamping.

Fig. 8 shows another exploded perspective view of a cable connector assembly according to the present invention.

Fig. 9 shows a partial assembly view of a cable connector assembly according to the present invention.

Fig. 10 shows an assembled perspective view of a cable connector assembly according to the present invention.

List of reference numerals:

Background art section:

100 cable connector assembly

1' connector

2 Cable

3 printed circuit board

4 connector

231 power cord

5 Metal housing

513 Cable grip

5223 extension part

In the present application section:

1 cable connector assembly

10 Metal housing

110 upper shell

1110 first mating circuit board receiving groove

1120 first positioning module accommodating part

1130 first fixing collar fastening groove

1132 baffle plate

1140 first cable receiving trough

115 first locking screw

120 lower casing

1210 second opposite connection circuit board holding groove

1220 second positioning module receiving part

1230 second fixed collar clamp groove

1232 baffle plate

1240 second cable receiving groove

125 second locking screw

20 cable assembly

210 cable

2110 shielding mesh grid

2112 conducting wire

2220 insulating outer cover

220 butt-joint circuit board

230 positioning module

240 fixed collar

250 pulling-proof structure

2410 groove

2420 hexagonal containing hole

240' fixed collar

2410' grooves

2420' round containing hole

Detailed Description

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail several specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present description is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the drawings illustrated herein.

Likewise, references to a feature or aspect are intended to describe a feature or aspect of an example of the invention and do not imply that every embodiment thereof must have the described feature or aspect. Further, it should be noted that the description shows a number of features. While certain features have been combined to illustrate a potential system design, other combinations not explicitly disclosed may also be employed for these features. Accordingly, the combinations are not intended to be limiting unless otherwise specified.

In the embodiments shown in the drawings, directional references such as up, down, left, right, front and rear, etc. are not absolute, but relative, and are used to explain the structure and movement of various components of the present invention. These representations are appropriate when the components are in the positions shown in the figures. However, if the description of the location of an element changes, it is believed that these representations will change accordingly.

Referring to fig. 3, the cable connector assembly 1 includes a metal shell 10 and one or more cable assemblies 20. The metal case 10 is divided into an upper case 110 and a lower case 120, and the upper case 110 and the lower case 120 have a centrosymmetric structure and are correspondingly provided with screw holes to be coupled to each other by screws. Of course, other connecting means commonly used in the art may be used to connect the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120, such as a snap, a bump, etc. Their rear ends are respectively provided with a first locking screw 115 and a second locking screw 125, which are locked by rotating the locking screws 115, 125 when connecting the cable connector assembly 1 to a desired device.

Referring to fig. 4-5, the cable assembly 20 includes a cable 210, a docking circuit board 220, and a securing collar 240. The cable 210 includes a plurality of wires 2112, a shield braid 2110, and an insulating jacket 2220, each wire 2112 having a portion exposed and a front end of each wire 2112 connected to a rear end of the docking circuit board 220. The cable 210 is provided with a shielding mesh 2110 surrounding the outer circumference of the lead 2112, and the fixing collar 240 is tightly fitted around the outer circumference of the shielding mesh 2110 of the cable 210. The fixing collar 240 is originally a round hollow fixing collar 240 '(as shown in fig. 6) made of metal, a groove 2410' is provided at a position, such as the middle portion, of the outer surface of the fixing collar 240 ', and the groove 2410' plays a role in providing collapse deformation and yielding during punching. After the circular fixing ring 240' is sleeved on the outer circumference of the shielding mesh 2110 of the cable 210, the fixing ring is pressed by a processing tool to be deformed into a polygonal fixing ring, such as the hexagonal fixing ring 240 shown in fig. 7, so that the shielding mesh 2110 of the cable 210 can be clamped and electrically connected to the metal shell 10 of the cable connector 1 to achieve electrical grounding, thereby firmly holding the cable 210, and since the fixing ring 240 is uniformly shrunk and deformed inward into a hexagon, the damage to the inside of the cable 210 is small, which is beneficial to ensuring the perfect conduction of the cable 210. Meanwhile, the fixing collar 240 is electrically connected with the shielding mesh 2110 of the cable and the metal housing 10 to realize EMI protection. Of course, the retaining collar 240' may be stamped in other shapes, such as a quadrilateral or an octagon, so long as it captures the cable 210 and prevents it from rotating. When the fixing collar 240 is placed in the hexagonal receiving space of the metal shell 10, which is complementary to the shape of the fixing collar, the cable assembly 20 in the metal shell 10 can be prevented from rotating.

The cable assembly 20 further includes a positioning module 230 covering the periphery of the connection between the docking circuit board 220 and the conducting wires 2112 for protecting the connection of the conducting wires 2112 from being pulled out, and the positioning module 230 may further cooperate with the metal casing 10 to assist in positioning the docking circuit board 220 to the metal casing 10.

In addition, the cable assembly 20 further includes an anti-pulling structure 250 injection-molded behind the fixing collar 240, and one end of the anti-pulling structure 250 has a boss and is snapped inside the metal housing 10, so as to prevent the cable 210 from being pulled out of the metal housing 10 by an external force.

The cable connector assembly 1 is assembled by the upper housing 110, the lower housing 120 and the cable assembly 20. Referring to fig. 8 in conjunction with fig. 3, the upper case 110 of the metal shell 10 is formed with a first mating circuit board receiving groove 1110, a first fixing collar receiving groove 1130, and a first cable receiving groove 1140, and the lower case 120 is formed with a second mating circuit board receiving groove 1210, a second fixing collar receiving groove 1230, and a second cable receiving groove 1240. After the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120 are assembled together, the first docking circuit board receiving groove 1110 and the second docking circuit board receiving groove 1210 are matched with each other to form a receiving space for receiving the docking circuit board 220 and to space the plurality of docking circuit boards 220 apart from each other, the first fixing collar clamping groove 1130 and the second fixing collar clamping groove 1230 are matched with each other to form a shape complementary to the fixing collar 240, thereby forming a hexagonal receiving space for receiving the fixing collar 240, and the first cable receiving groove 1140 and the second cable receiving groove 1240 are matched with each other to form a receiving part for receiving the cable 210. In addition, the both ends of first fixed lantern ring draw-in groove 1130 and the fixed lantern ring draw-in groove 1230 of second are equallyd divide and are equipped with semicircular baffle 1132, 1232 respectively, and when the accommodation space that fixed lantern ring 240 holding formed in first fixed lantern ring draw-in groove 1130 and the fixed lantern ring draw-in groove 1230 of second, baffle 1132, 1232 can prevent fixed lantern ring 240 along fore-and-aft displacement to can fix the cable subassembly better.

With combined reference to fig. 8 and 9, there is also provided a method for manufacturing the cable connector assembly 1 as described above, comprising the steps of connecting the rear end of the docking circuit board 220 to the cable 210; sleeving a circular accommodating hole 2420 'of a circular fixing lantern ring 240' on the outer circumference of a shielding mesh 2110 of a cable 210 connected to the back of a butting circuit board 220, punching the fixing lantern ring 240 'by using a machining tool to deform the fixing lantern ring 240' to form a polygonal, e.g., hexagonal, fixing lantern ring 240, and correspondingly deforming the accommodating hole 2420 of the fixing lantern ring 240 for accommodating the cable 210 therein to a hexagonal structure, so that the fixing lantern ring 240 can be tightly contacted with the shielding mesh 2110 to clamp the cable 210; the grooves 2410 'on the retaining collar 240' provide crush space for deformation during stamping, thereby advantageously reducing the amount of force required for stamping. The grooves 2410 remain on the retaining collar 240 after stamping. Then, the assembled cable assembly 20 is mounted to the lower case 120 of the metal housing 10 such that the fixing collar 240 is positioned in the second fixing collar catching groove 1230 of the lower case 120, the docking circuit board 220 is positioned in the second docking circuit board receiving groove 1210 of the lower case 120 and kept separated from each other, and the cable 210 behind the fixing collar 240 is positioned in the second cable receiving groove 1240 of the lower case 120 and kept spaced apart from each other. Finally, the upper housing 110 is connected to the lower housing 120, for example, by a snap-fit connection or using a connection screw, such that the first and second fixing collar slots 1130 and 1230 of the upper housing 110 mate to form a hexagonal shape complementary to the fixing collar to receive the fixing collar 240, such that the first and second mating circuit board receiving slots 1110 and 1210 of the upper housing 110 mate to receive the docking circuit board 220, and such that the first and second cable receiving slots 1240 and 1140 of the upper housing mate to receive the cables.

In this embodiment, the metal shell 10 further has a first positioning module accommodating portion 1120 and a second positioning module accommodating portion 1220 formed thereon. The positioning module 230 is injection molded and covers the connection between the docking circuit board 220 and the wires, and then is disposed in the accommodating space formed by the first positioning module accommodating part 1120 and the second positioning module accommodating part 1220, so as to further assist the positioning of the docking circuit board 220 in the metal shell 10.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above; other effects not described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the appended claims.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A cable connector assembly, comprising: the method comprises the following steps:

A metal housing having an upper case and a lower case connected to each other; and

At least three cable assemblies housed within the metal shell, each cable assembly comprising: a cable having a plurality of wires, a shielding mesh grid and an insulating outer cover; a docking circuit board, a rear end of which is connected to the wires of the cable, the at least three docking circuit boards being vertically arranged between the upper case and the lower case; the fixed lantern ring is a polygonal metal lantern ring, the inner peripheral surface of the fixed lantern ring is tightly sleeved on the periphery of the shielding mesh grid of the cable, the outer peripheral surface of the fixed lantern ring is clamped between the upper shell and the lower shell,

The front end of the upper shell is provided with at least three first butt circuit board receiving grooves, the front end of the lower shell is provided with at least three second butt circuit board receiving grooves, and after the upper shell and the lower shell are assembled together, the first butt circuit board receiving grooves and the second butt circuit board receiving grooves are matched with each other to form receiving spaces for receiving the butt circuit boards and enable the at least three butt circuit boards to be spaced apart from each other.

2. The cable connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: a first fixed lantern ring clamping groove is formed in the upper shell, a second fixed lantern ring clamping groove is formed in the lower shell, and the first fixed lantern ring clamping groove and the second fixed lantern ring clamping groove are matched to form a shape complementary with the fixed lantern ring so as to contain the fixed lantern ring.

3. The cable connector assembly of claim 2, wherein: the two ends of the first fixed lantern ring clamping groove and the two ends of the second fixed lantern ring clamping groove in the length direction are respectively provided with a semicircular baffle to prevent the fixed lantern ring from moving along the longitudinal direction.

4. The cable connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: a first cable accommodating groove is formed in the upper shell, a second cable accommodating groove is formed in the lower shell, and the first cable accommodating groove and the second cable accommodating groove are matched to accommodate the cables.

5. The cable connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: the cable connector assembly further comprises a positioning module, and the positioning module is wrapped at the connecting position between the butt joint circuit board and the cable.

6. The cable connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: the cable connector assembly further comprises an anti-pulling structure which is formed by injection molding at the rear part of the fixed lantern ring, and one end of the anti-pulling structure is provided with a boss and is clamped in the metal shell.

7. The cable connector assembly of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: the initial shape of the fixed lantern ring is a circular lantern ring, and the fixed lantern ring is sleeved on the periphery of the cable and then is punched into a hexagonal fixed lantern ring.

8. The cable connector assembly of claim 7, wherein: and the middle part of the peripheral surface of the fixed lantern ring is provided with a circle of groove.

9. the cable connector assembly of claim 7, wherein: the accommodating hole of the fixed lantern ring for accommodating the cable is hexagonal.