JP5463948B2 - Multistage coaxial cable harness and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a multistage coaxial cable harness and a method for manufacturing the same.

In recent years, multi-core coaxial cable harnesses in which a plurality of small-diameter coaxial cables are assembled and integrated have been used as cable harnesses for medical devices and the like.
In this type of cable harness, the outer claws are removed, and a plurality of coaxial cables in which the outer conductor, the insulator, and the central conductor are sequentially exposed stepwise are arranged in parallel, and the locking claws that individually lock the coaxial cables A ground bar having a portion is fixed to each outer conductor, the pitch of the coaxial cable is fixed, and the exposed center conductor is bonded to an insulating coating material at a predetermined pitch (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

JP 2008-270108 A

In a multi-core cable harness, terminal processing of all cables is performed in advance before connection to a connected portion such as a flexible wiring board or a substrate.
Further, when the connected portion is multi-staged, a multi-stage harness having a plurality of cable bundles each flattened is used, and terminal processing is also performed in advance in such multi-stage harness.
However, in such a multi-level harness connection operation, the upper-side cable bundle is curved in order to secure a connection work space to the connected portion at the lower level. There was a possibility that the line-alignment pitch of the conductor exposed by processing was greatly disturbed, and hindered subsequent connection work.
Moreover, in the harness which performed the terminal process, it was necessary to protect the exposed conductor and to prevent disorder of the wire-pitch at the time of movement, transportation, and storage.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-stage coaxial cable harness capable of smoothly and satisfactorily performing a connection operation, and capable of reliably preventing disturbances in the alignment pitch during movement, transportation, and storage, and a method for manufacturing the same. It is in.

The multi-stage coaxial cable harness of the present invention that can solve the above-mentioned problem is that a plurality of coaxial cables in which an insulator, an outer conductor, and a jacket are sequentially provided coaxially around a central conductor are divided into a plurality of groups. It is a flat cable unit that is arranged in a plane for each group, and a multi-stage coaxial cable harness in which a plurality of the flat cable units are stacked in a plurality of stages,
The coaxial cable has a center conductor, an insulator, and an outer conductor exposed in a step shape,
Each flat cable unit includes a ground bar connected to the outer conductor, an alignment film that is attached to at least the insulator to fix the insulator, and a width of the alignment film that is attached to the alignment film. A fixing film for fixing both ends of the direction,
The alignment film is formed with a window portion through which the central conductor is exposed.

  In the multistage coaxial cable harness according to the present invention, it is preferable that the insulator is left on a front end side of the exposed portion of the center conductor, and the insulator left on the center conductor is fixed by the alignment film. .

  In the multistage coaxial cable harness of the present invention, it is preferable that the flat cable unit has the window portion covered with a protective film.

Further, in the manufacturing method of the multistage coaxial cable harness of the present invention, a plurality of coaxial cables in which an insulator, an outer conductor, and a jacket are sequentially provided coaxially around a central conductor are divided into a plurality of groups. A method for producing a multi-stage coaxial cable harness in which a flat cable unit is arranged in a plane for each group, and a plurality of the flat cable units are stacked in a plurality of stages,
Dividing the coaxial cable into a plurality of groups and aligning them flatly for each group to form a flat cable unit; and
A terminal treatment step for exposing the insulator and outer conductor of the coaxial cable in a stepped manner;
For each flat cable unit, an alignment film affixing step for affixing the insulator by affixing an alignment film to at least the insulator;
For each flat cable unit, a ground bar connecting step of connecting a ground bar to the outer conductor,
A fixing film affixing step for affixing and fixing a fixing film to both ends of the alignment film in the width direction;
And removing a part of the alignment film and the insulator to form a window portion in the alignment film and exposing the center conductor at the window portion.

According to the multistage coaxial cable harness of the present invention, even when each flat cable unit is connected to the connected portion, even if the flat cable unit before the connection work is curved, the central conductor of the flat cable unit before the connection work is Since the alignment state is maintained by the alignment film and the fixed film, the alignment pitch of the center conductor is not disturbed. Therefore, each flat cable unit can be connected to the connected portion very smoothly and satisfactorily. In addition, since the alignment state of the center conductor is maintained by the alignment film and the fixed film, it is possible to reliably prevent disturbance of the alignment pitch of the center conductor during movement, transportation, and storage.
Further, according to the method for manufacturing a multistage coaxial cable harness of the present invention, it is possible to easily manufacture a multistage coaxial cable harness in which connection work is smooth and there is no disturbance in the alignment pitch during movement, transportation, and storage. it can.

It is a top view of the multistage coaxial cable harness which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a part of the multistage coaxial cable harness of FIG. 1. It is sectional drawing of the coaxial cable which comprises a multistage coaxial cable harness. It is a top view of the flat cable unit of the state which removed the protective film. It is an enlarged plan view of the window part of a flat cable unit. It is a top view of the flat cable unit in the state where a protective film was stuck. It is a figure which shows the ultrasonic probe cable using a multistage coaxial cable harness. It is a top view of the to-be-connected part which shows the to-be-connected part provided in the probe. It is a top view which shows the connection structure of the flat cable unit to the to-be-connected part of a probe. It is a top view of the flat cable unit which shows the intermediate state in which a multistage coaxial cable harness is manufactured. It is a top view of the flat cable unit which shows another intermediate state in which a multistage coaxial cable harness is manufactured. It is a top view of the flat cable unit which shows another intermediate state in which a multistage coaxial cable harness is manufactured. It is a top view of the flat cable unit which shows another intermediate state in which a multistage coaxial cable harness is manufactured. It is a top view of the flat cable unit which shows another intermediate state in which a multistage coaxial cable harness is manufactured. It is a top view of the flat cable unit which shows another intermediate state in which a multistage coaxial cable harness is manufactured. It is a top view of the flat cable unit which shows another intermediate state in which a multistage coaxial cable harness is manufactured. It is a top view of the flat cable unit which shows a multistage coaxial cable harness.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a multistage coaxial cable harness and a manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1, FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 show the inner structure of the portions covered with the films 42 and 44 in a transparent manner.
As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the multistage coaxial cable harness 11 is provided with the some flat cable unit 12 in the edge part.
The multi-stage coaxial cable harness 11 of the present embodiment is used by being connected to a probe such as a medical device such as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and each flat cable unit 12 is used by being connected to a connected portion of the probe. It is done.

  These flat cable units 12 are obtained by arranging a plurality of (for example, 16) coaxial cables 21 in a plane, and the flat cable unit 12 has a plurality of stages (12 in this embodiment) as shown in FIG. Layered). These flat cable units 12 are bundled and integrated by a resin tape 13 formed of polyimide such as Kapton (registered trademark) wound around the rear end side thereof.

Each flat cable unit 12 has a different length in the longitudinal direction. Specifically, the length is gradually shorter from the upper side toward the lower side. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the width dimension of each flat cable unit 12 is respectively substantially the same.
Each flat cable unit 12 has a label 14 on which a numerical value corresponding to the number of stages is written from the upper stage.

  The coaxial cables 21 constituting these flat cable units 12 are bundled together by a sheath 15 made of a contraction tube to form a multicore cable 16. The multi-core cable 16 is a cable in which a plurality of bundles (for example, 16 bundles) of a plurality of (for example, 16) coaxial cables 21 constituting the flat cable unit 12 are combined. Since the sheath 15 is made of a contracted tube, the multicore cable 16 bundled by the sheath 15 is restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction of the coaxial cable 21 and prevented from being displaced. In addition, as this multi-core cable 16, it is preferable to wind the shield layer which braided the copper alloy wire on the inner peripheral side of the sheath 15 for ensuring a shield and mechanical reinforcement.

  In addition, as the sheath 15, a resin excellent in characteristics required as a movable part of a medical device, that is, flexibility, wear resistance, and mechanical characteristics is used. For example, fluororesin, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Urethane, polyolefin, silicone, polyvinylidene chloride or the like is used. In addition to the coaxial cable 21, the multicore cable 16 may include various electric wires such as a feeder line (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 3, the coaxial cable 21 has a center conductor 31 at the center, and an insulator 32, an outer conductor 33, and a jacket 34 are sequentially provided around the center conductor 31 in a coaxial manner. .
The center conductor 31 is formed, for example, by twisting a plurality of tin-plated copper alloy wires 31a. The outer periphery of the center conductor 31 is, for example, polyolefin (polyethylene, foamed polyethylene, etc.), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin (EVA). The insulator 32 is formed by covering with an insulating material made of ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin (EEA), vinyl chloride resin (PVC), fluorine resin, or the like.

  For example, the outer conductor 33 is formed by winding a plurality of copper alloy wires 33a in a horizontal manner, and the outer conductor 33 is covered with a jacket 34 made of a resin such as polyester.

Next, the structure of the flat cable unit 12 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the coaxial cable 21 constituting the flat cable unit 12 has a central conductor 31, an insulator 32, and an external conductor 33 exposed in a step shape. Further, the insulator 32 is left in the center conductor 31 on the tip side from the exposed portion.
Further, the flat cable unit 12 is provided with a ground bar 41 on the surface side at an exposed position of the outer conductor 33 of each coaxial cable 21, and the ground bar 41 is electrically connected to the outer conductor 33 of each coaxial cable 21. It is connected.

As for this flat cable unit 12, the alignment film 42 is affixed from the front and back. The alignment film 42 is formed from, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and the alignment film 42 covers the front and back of the insulator 32 of each coaxial cable 21 in the flat cable unit 12. The alignment film 42 is bonded to each other at both ends to form an ear portion 42a. By these alignment films 42, the insulator 32 and the center conductor 31 of the coaxial cable 21 are maintained in an aligned state. The alignment film 42 can also be attached from one side of the insulator 32. However, when it is applied only from one side, the adhesive surface of the alignment film 42 is partly exposed, and may stick unnecessarily to something else. Therefore, it is preferable to apply from both sides.
Further, the alignment film 42 is formed with a window 43, and the center conductor 31 is exposed at the window 43 of the alignment film 42 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the alignment film 42 is hatched.

In the flat cable unit 12, fixing films 44 are attached to the ear portions 42 a at both ends of the alignment film 42 from both sides. These fixed films 44 are, for example, hard films formed from polyimide having a thickness of about 0.05 mm, and films such as Kapton (registered trademark) are used.
These fixing films 44 prevent the center conductor 31 from being deformed in the window 43 due to deformation of the alignment film 42. 4 and 6, the fixing film 44 is hatched.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a protective film 47 made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is attached to the flat cable unit 12 so as to cover the window 43. As a result, the central conductor 31 exposed at the window 43 is covered and protected. Although the protective film 47 can be stuck from one side, it is preferable to stick from both sides because the protective film 47 can be reliably protected.

The multi-stage coaxial cable harness 11 is used as, for example, an ultrasonic probe cable of a medical device such as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
FIG. 7 shows an ultrasonic probe cable. In the ultrasonic probe cable, the multi-stage coaxial cable harness 11 has a probe 51 connected to one end where a plurality of flat cable units 12 are stacked, and a connector 52 for connecting to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus on the other end. Is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the probe 51 includes a plurality (12) of connected parts 53 to which the respective flat cable units 12 are connected. These connected parts 53 are made of flexible printed circuits (FPC) and have a plurality of signal terminal parts 54 and ground terminal parts 55.

  As shown in FIG. 9, for each connected portion 53 of the probe 51, the central conductor 31 of each flat cable unit 12 is connected to the signal terminal portion 54, and the ground bar 41 is connected to the ground terminal portion 55. The

In order to connect the flat cable unit 12 to the connected portion 53, first, the protective film 47 is peeled off and the central conductor 31 is exposed at the window portion 43.
Then, the central conductor 31 and the ground bar 41 of the flat cable unit 12 are electrically connected to the signal terminal portion 54 and the ground terminal portion 55 by soldering or the like. At this time, since the center conductor 31 is kept in alignment by the alignment film 42 and the fixed film 44 in the window 43, connection work to the signal terminal portion 54 can be performed collectively by pulse heat or the like. Smooth.

  When the center conductor 31 and the ground bar 41 are connected to the connected portion 53, the front end side is cut from the connection portion of the center conductor 31, and the alignment film 42 is cut at the vicinity of both side portions of the flat cable unit 12. Then, the alignment film 42 on the front side of the connection portion of the center conductor 31 and the fixing film 44 on both sides are removed.

By the way, the connection work of the probe 51 to the connected portion 53 is performed in order from the flat cable unit 12 at the lowest level. Therefore, when performing the connection work, the upper flat cable unit 12 is bent in order to secure a connection work space for the flat cable unit 12 to be worked. At this time, since the flat conductor unit 12 on the upper stage side maintains the alignment state of the center conductor 31 by the alignment film 42 and the fixed film 44, the alignment pitch of the center conductor 31 is not disturbed. .
Therefore, the upper flat cable unit 12 can be connected to the connected portion 53 very smoothly and satisfactorily.

It is possible to maintain the aligned state of the center conductor 31 by applying an adhesive tape to the aligned center conductor 31. In this case, the adhesive tape is peeled off to connect the center conductor 31 to the connected portion 53. Then, the center conductor 31 is deformed by the peeled adhesive tape, and the alignment state of the center conductor 31 is disturbed.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the central conductor 31 exposed at the window 43 is not in contact with the alignment tape 42 and the protective tape 47, so that the alignment of the central conductor 31 is also performed when the protective tape 47 is peeled off. The state is not disturbed.

Moreover, since the window part 43 of the flat cable unit 12 is covered with the protective film 47, the trouble which touches and deforms the center conductor 31 before a connection operation can be eliminated.
Moreover, in the multistage coaxial cable harness 11 described above, the alignment state of the center conductor 31 is maintained by the alignment film 42 and the fixed film 44, and the window 43 is covered with the protective film 47. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent disturbance of the straight line pitch of the central conductor 31 during the movement, transportation, and storage, damage, or oxidation.

Next, the manufacturing method of said multistage coaxial cable harness 11 is demonstrated.
(Unitization process)
First, the coaxial cables 21 are divided into groups each having a predetermined number, aligned in a planar shape, and integrated by a tape (not shown) to form a plurality of flat cable units 12 having different lengths in stages. To do. If the several flat cable unit 12 is formed, the process shown below with respect to each flat cable unit 12 will be performed.

(Terminal treatment process)
With respect to the coaxial cable 21 of the flat cable unit 12, as shown in FIG. 10, the jacket 34 is removed by a predetermined length and the external conductor 33 is exposed by a CO ₂ laser processing machine.
Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the outer conductor 33 is cut at a predetermined position by a YAG laser processing machine, and the outer jacket 34 and the outer conductor 33 on the tip side from the cut portion do not leave the copper alloy wire 33a. Thus, the insulator 32 is exposed.

(Alignment film pasting process)
As shown in FIG. 12, the exposed insulator 32 is straightened to a predetermined pitch, and an alignment film 42 is attached from the front and back of the insulator 32 to fix the insulator 32 at a predetermined pitch. The alignment film 42 can be cut with a CO ₂ laser such as PET.

(Ground bar connection process)
As shown in FIG. 13, the ground bar 41 is connected to the external conductor 33. The ground bar 41 is connected to the external conductor 33 by sandwiching the thread solder between the ground bar 41 and the external conductor 33 or by applying paste solder to the ground bar 41 and heating it with a pulse heater. Cut and remove the excess part. At this time, the projecting dimension of the outer conductor 33 toward the tip side of the ground bar 41 is 0.2 mm or less. It should be noted that it is preferable that the outer conductor 33 does not protrude beyond the ground bar 41 toward the tip side.

(Fixed film application process)
As shown in FIG. 14, the fixing film 44 is affixed from both surfaces of the ear | edge part 42a so that the ear | edge part 42a of the both ends of the alignment film 42 may be covered. The fixed film 44 is not cut by a CO ₂ laser such as polyimide (for example, Kapton).
When the fixing film 44 is attached, the flat cable unit 12 is cut in the width direction at a predetermined position from the ground bar 41 as shown in FIG.

(Conductor exposure process)
As shown in FIG. 16, the alignment film 42 and a part of the insulator 32 are removed from the ground bar 41 by a CO ₂ laser processing machine at a predetermined size position. As a result, a window 43 is formed in the alignment film 42, and the central conductor 31 is exposed through the window 43.
Since the fixing film 44 is made of polyimide, the alignment film 42 and the insulator 32 can be removed without cutting the fixing film 44 with a CO ₂ laser.

When the window 43 is formed and the central conductor 31 is exposed, a protective film 47 is attached to the flat cable unit 12 so as to cover the window 43 as shown in FIG. As the protective film 47, PET or the like can be used. The portion that becomes the window portion 43 is not attached with an adhesive, and the portion other than the window portion 43 is attached to the alignment film 42 or the coaxial cable 21. It is preferable to apply the protective film 47 from both sides. Moreover, you may affix the label 14 of the number according to the number of steps to each flat cable unit 12. FIG.
Thereafter, the resin tape 13 is wound around the rear end side of the laminated flat cable units 12 to integrate the laminated flat cable units 12.

  According to the manufacturing method described above, the multi-stage coaxial cable harness 11 can be manufactured easily and smoothly, and can prevent the disturbance of the alignment pitch during movement, transportation, and storage. be able to.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the flat cable unit 12 of the multistage coaxial cable harness 11 is connected to the flexible board has been described. It is also possible to connect to a plate material.

11: multi-stage coaxial cable harness, 12: flat cable unit, 21: coaxial cable, 31: center conductor, 32: insulator, 33: outer conductor, 34: jacket, 41: ground bar, 42: alignment film, 43: Window part, 44: fixed film, 47: protective film

Claims (4)

A plurality of coaxial cables, in which an insulator, an outer conductor, and a jacket are sequentially coaxially arranged around the center conductor, are divided into a plurality of groups, and each group is arranged in a plane to form a flat cable unit. A multi-stage coaxial cable harness in which a plurality of the flat cable units are stacked in a plurality of stages,
The coaxial cable has a center conductor, an insulator, and an outer conductor exposed in a step shape,
Each flat cable unit includes a ground bar connected to the outer conductor, an alignment film that is attached to at least the insulator to fix the insulator, and a width of the alignment film that is attached to the alignment film. A fixing film for fixing both ends of the direction,
The multi-stage coaxial cable harness, wherein the alignment film is formed with a window portion through which the central conductor is exposed. The multi-stage coaxial cable harness according to claim 1,
The multi-stage coaxial cable harness, wherein the insulator is left on a front end side of an exposed portion of the center conductor, and the insulator left on the center conductor is fixed by the alignment film. The multi-stage coaxial cable harness according to claim 1 or 2,
The flat cable unit is a multistage coaxial cable harness, wherein the window portion is covered with a protective film. A plurality of coaxial cables, in which an insulator, an outer conductor, and a jacket are sequentially coaxially arranged around the center conductor, are divided into a plurality of groups, and each group is arranged in a plane to form a flat cable unit. A method for producing a multi-stage coaxial cable harness in which a plurality of flat cable units are laminated in a plurality of stages,
Dividing the coaxial cable into a plurality of groups and aligning them flatly for each group to form a flat cable unit; and
A terminal treatment step for exposing the insulator and outer conductor of the coaxial cable in a stepped manner;
For each flat cable unit, an alignment film affixing step for affixing the insulator by affixing an alignment film to at least the insulator;
For each flat cable unit, a ground bar connecting step of connecting a ground bar to the outer conductor,
A fixing film affixing step for affixing and fixing a fixing film to both ends of the alignment film in the width direction;
A multi-stage coaxial cable harness comprising a conductor exposing step of forming a window portion in the alignment film by removing a part of the alignment film and the insulator and exposing the central conductor at the window portion. Manufacturing method.

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