Abstract:
A cable assembly comprises an insulative housing receiving a plurality of mating terminals therein, a cable extending beyond the housing and having a plurality of wires, a plurality of connecting terminals electrically terminated to the wires respectively, and an outer cover enclosing the housing and having a dustproof lid being delectably between an open position while the connecting terminals being exposed to an exterior and a closed position while the connecting terminals being covered by the dustproof lid for dustproof protection. The connecting terminals penetrate into the corresponding wires, respectively.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a cable assembly, and more particularly to a cable assembly with an improved dustproof lid. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Low profile and multi-functional features have become the main stream for design of the electrical device, and a cable assembly for the electrical device has to be compact, while also capable of performing a high-speed transmission, and reliable connection and easily detachable with its counterpart. Cable assemblies made in accordance with USB, SATA, HDMI, DiiVA and Displayport protocols have been widely applied in different kinds of electronic devices. U.S. Pat. No. 7,628,638B2 issued to Wu on Dec. 8, 2009 discloses a cable assembly. The cable assembly includes an insulative housing, a plurality of terminals, a terminal organizer attached to a rear end of housing, a cable having a plurality of wires corresponding to the terminals, and a metal shell enclosing the housing. Each of the terminals has a body portion, a curved mating portion extending forwardly from the body portion, and a tail portion extending rearwardly from the body portion. The terminal organizer includes a base portion and a tongue portion forwardly extending from the base portion. An upper portion and a lower portion of the tongue portion define a plurality of terminal slots aligned in a row by side-to-side manner, and the base portions also define a plurality of through holes and each through hole aligns with corresponding terminal slot. 
         [0005]    When assembling the cable assembly, firstly, the terminals are arranged on the terminals organizer, with the mating portions extending beyond the terminal organizer, the body portions are then securely located in the terminal slots of the tongue portion, the termination portions via the through holes and disposed on an upper and a bottom surfaces of the base portion. Secondly, the terminals and the terminal organizer together are assembled to the housing. Thirdly, the wires of the cable are respectively soldered to the tail portions of the terminals. Fourthly, the metal shell is assembled to the housing. However, the wires may be broken away from the tail portions or the terminal organizer may become loose with respect to the housing while the metal shell is assembling to the housing and the cable assembly are in transportation etc. Thus, This would be result in bad contact between the wires and the terminals. 
         [0006]    Hence, an improved cable assembly is highly desired to overcome the above problems. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    According to one aspect of the present invention, a cable assembly comprising: an insulative housing receiving a plurality of mating terminals therein; a cable extending beyond the housing and having a plurality of wires; a plurality of connecting terminals electrically terminated to the wires, respectively; and an outer cover enclosing the housing and having a dustproof lid being delectably disposed between an open position while the connecting terminals being exposed to an exterior and a closed position while the connecting terminals being covered by the dustproof lid for dustproof protection. 
         [0008]    According to another aspect of the present invention, a cable assembly comprises: an insulative housing defining a cavity for receiving a corresponding connector; a sub PCB received in the housing; a plurality of mating terminals received in the housing, each of the mating terminals having a mating portion exposed to the cavity and a tail portion soldered on the sub PCB; a plurality of connecting terminals, each including a first contact portion, and a second contact connected with the sub PCB; an outer cover enclosing the housing and the sub PCB, the outer cover has dustproof lid covering the connecting terminals for dustproof protection, and a compartment receiving the dustproof lid; and a cable having a plurality of wires electrically connected with the sub PCB via the connecting terminals; wherein the first contact portions downwardly pierce into corresponding wires respectively by an outer force and presses onto the connecting terminals while the dustproof lid is at an open position. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is an assembled, perspective view of a cable assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is another assembled, perspective view of the cable assembly with a dustproof lid being opened; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a third assembled, perspective view of the cable assembly without an outer cover thereof; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is similar to  FIG. 3 , but viewed from another aspect; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a fourth assembled, perspective view of the cable assembly without an outer cover and an outer shell thereof; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is similar to  FIG. 4 , but viewed from another aspect; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the cable assembly; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is similar to  FIG. 7 , but viewed from another aspect; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a partially exploded view of the cable assembly; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a cross-section view along  10 - 10  line of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0020]    In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-10 , a cable assembly  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a terminal module  1 , an insulative housing  2  receiving the terminal module  1  therein, an insulative spacer  3  disposed behind the housing  2 , a metal outer shell  5  covering the spacer  3 , a cable  6  backwardly extending beyond the spacer  3 , an insulative outer cover  7  covering the outer shell  5 , and a metal inner shell  8  covering the housing  2 , and a metallic latch  9  retained in the housing  2 . The cable assembly  100  further includes a sub PCB  40  soldered with the terminal module  1 , a plurality of connecting terminals  41  respectively connecting between corresponding wires  62  of the cable  6 . 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIGS. 7-8 , the housing  2  includes a main portion  20 , and a pair of mounting arms  21  extending rearwardly from two lateral sides of the main portion  20 . The mounting arms  21  each defines a mounting hole  22  forwardly recessed from a rear end thereof. The main portion  20  defines a pair of longitudinal slots  201  recessed from a top of two lateral sides thereof and backwardly extending into the mounting arms  21 . Each of the pair of mounting arms  22  has a sliding slot  202  formed on inner side surface thereof. The main portion  20  defines a receiving space  203  recessed forwardly from a middle segment of a rear edge thereof, and a cavity  204  is recessed downwardly from a top side thereof and passing through a front end thereof. A set of passageways  2041  are recessed downwardly from a bottom wall of the cavity  204 . 
         [0023]    The spacer  3  includes a front end defining a positioning hole  30  retaining the cable  6 , and a rear end opposited to the front end and defining a main plate  300  extending forwardly. The main plate  300  has a plurality of receiving slots  34  forwardly extending from the positioning hole  30 , two rows of through holes  31  disposed at front of the receiving slots  34  and two positioning posts  32  located at two lateral sides of the through holes  31  for securing the sub PCB  40 . The positioning hole  30  is surrounded around by a top wall, a bottom wall, and a pair of side walls. The top wall defines a pair of first locking slots  36  opposited to each other in a left-to-right direction, and a circle hole  37  disposed between the pair of locking slots  36 . The bottom wall defines a pair of second locking slots  38  opposited to each other in the left-to-right direction, and three circle holes  39  disposed at front of the locking slots  38 . 
         [0024]    The terminal module  1  includes a first terminal module  11  and a second terminal module  12  assembled to each other in an upper-to-lower direction. The first terminal module  11  has a first insulator  111  and a plurality of first mating terminals  112  combined together by insert-molding process. The first mating terminals  112  are divided into signal terminals and grounding terminals configured to be longer than the signal terminals. The first mating terminals  112  have first mating portions  113  forwardly extending beyond the first insulator  111 , and first tail portions  114  backwardly extending beyond the first insulator  111 . A pair of retaining tabs  116  are formed in a bottom side of the first insulator  111  and a pair of protruding portions  117  are formed in a top side of the first insulator  111 . The first insulator  111  further has a pair of first protruding edges  118  respectively protruding laterally from two lateral sides thereof and positioned in the guiding slots  202  of the housing  2 . 
         [0025]    The second terminal module  12  has a second insulator  121  and a plurality of second mating terminals  122  combined together by insert-molding process. The second mating terminals  122  are divided into signal terminals and grounding terminals configured to be longer than the signal terminals. The first and second mating terminals  112 ,  122  are combined together to adapt for the DiiVA protocol. The second mating terminals  122  have second mating portions  123  forwardly extending beyond the second insulator  121  and second tail portions  124  backwardly extending from the second insulator  121 . The second insulator  121  has a retaining block  126  formed in a top side thereof, a pair of mounting holes  127  retaining the pair of protruding portions  117  of the first insulator  111  therein, and a pair of pair of second protruding edges  128  respectively protruding laterally from two lateral sides thereof and positioned in the guiding slots  202  of the housing  2 . 
         [0026]    The sub PCB  40  has a front end sandwiched between the mounting arms  21  of the housing  2 , and a rear end downwardly supported onto the main plate  300  of the spacer  3 . The front end has a plurality of conductive pads  401  soldered with the tail portions  114 ,  124  of the terminal module  2 . The rear end has two rows of locating holes  402  aligned with the through holes  31  of the spacer  3  in the upper-to-lower direction, and a pair of securing holes  403  retaining with the positioning posts  32  of the spacer  3 . 
         [0027]    The connecting terminals  41  each includes a vertical body portion  412  retained in the corresponding receiving slot  34  of the spacer  3 , a first contact portion  411  downwardly protruding from a rear end thereof, and a second contact portion  413  downwardly protruding from a front end thereof to be inserted into the corresponding locating hole  402  of the sub PCB  40 . The first contact portions  411  are disposed toward the positioning hole  30  and partly received in the receiving slots  34  respectively. The second contact portions  413  downwardly protruding through the locating holes  402  and are partly receiving in the through holes  31  respectively. Each of the first contact portions  411  is coattail shaped with two taper/sharp ends. Each of the second contact portions  413  is press-fit type and has a slit  4131  formed therethrough. 
         [0028]    The metallic latch  9  includes a pair of latching plates  91  spaced apart from each other along the left-to-right direction, and a connecting bridge  92  therebetween. Each latching plate  91  includes an U-shaped connecting portion  93 , a latching arm  94 , a retention portion  95 , a hook  941  disposed at a front end of the latching arm  94 , and a pressing tab  921  protruding upwardly from a top side of the latching arm  92 . The pressing tab  921  is behind the hook  941  and adjacent to the connecting bridge  94 . The retention portions  95  are inserted into the mounting holes  22  of the corresponding mounting arms  21  of the housing  2 , and the latching arms  94  are received in the slots  201  of the housing  2 . 
         [0029]    The inner shell  8  includes a first inner shell  81  and a second inner shell  82  surrounding around the first inner shell  81 . The first inner shell  81  includes a frame  811  defining a room to accommodate the base portion  20  of the housing  2  therein to form a mating plug. Two through holes  813  are defined in a front segment of a top side of the frame  811  to allow hooks  941  passing through. A first engaging portion  814  projects backwardly from the top side. An engaging hole  815  is defined in the first engaging portion  814  to latch with the protruding portion  126  of the second insulator  121 . The frame  811  also has a bottom side with a second engaging portion  814  projecting backwardly therefrom. Two engaging holes  818  are defined in the second engaging portion  814  to latch with the protruding tabs  116  of the first insulator  111 . The second inner shell  82  is rectangular hollow structure and has two slits  821  to allow the pressing tab  921  to upwardly pass through. 
         [0030]    The outer shell  5  is hollow structure and has a receiving space  57  receiving the housing  2  and the spacer  3  therein. A front portion of the outer shell  5  has a pair of cuts  58  at a top side thereof and the corresponding slits  821  of the second inner shell  82  for the pressing tabs  921  passing through. The top side defines a first opening  50  communicating with the receiving space  57  to make the body portions  412  of the connecting terminals  41  to be disposed to exterior, a pair of first circle holes  52  disposed behind the first opening  50 , a pair of protruding plates  51  downwardly protruding into the receiving space  57 , and a second opening  53  disposed at a rear portion thereof. A top side of the outer shell  5  defines three second circle holes  55  and a pair of protruding plates  54  upwardly protruding into the receiving space  57 . The first circle holes  52  of the outer shell  5  are respectively aligned with the circle hole  37  of the spacer  3  in the upper-to-lower direction. The protruding plates  51  are respectively locked into the first locking slots  36  of the spacer  3  to assemble the outer shell  5  and the spacer  3  with each other. The second circle holes  55  are respectively aligned with the circle holes  39  of the spacer  3  in the upper-to-lower direction. The protruding plates  54  of the outer shell  5  are respectively locked into the second locking slots  38 . 
         [0031]    The cable  6  includes a jacket  61 , a number of wires  62  enclosed in the jacket  61  and passing through the positioning hole  30  of the spacer  3  into the receiving slots  34 . Each of the wires  62  has an insulative layer and a conductor enclosed in the layer. The first contact portions  411  of the connecting terminals  41  respectively penetrate into the corresponding wires  62  to allow the connecting terminals  41  to electrically connect with the conductors of the wires  62 . 
         [0032]    The outer cover  7  includes an upper cover  71  and a lower cover  72  combined together in the upper-to-lower direction and surrounding the metallic outer shell  5 . The upper cover  71  has a top wall  710  defining a deformable button  77  floatable along the upper-to-lower direction to drive the pressing tabs  921  upwardly or downwardly so as to actuate the hooks  941  protruding out off or into the frame  811  of the inner shell  8 , a flexible dustproof lid  712 , and a compartment  713  accommodating the dustproof lid  712  therein. The compartment  713  passes through the top wall  710  in the upper-to-lower direction. The dustproof lid  712  is rectangle shaped viewed in the upper-to-lower direction and includes a front end integrated with an inner side of the compartment  713 , a rear end opposited to the front end, and a pair of lateral sides. The front end and the pair of lateral sides are respectively disconnect from inner sides of the compartment  713  to allow the dustproof lid  712  to rotate by the front end in the upper-to-lower direction. 
         [0033]    When assembling the cable assembling  100 , firstly, the first terminal module  11  and the second terminal module  12  are stacked with each other in the upper-to-lower direction. The pair of protruding portions  117  of the first terminal module  11  are respectively retained in the mounting holes  127  of the second terminal module  12 . The first and the second terminal modules  11 ,  12  together are assembled in the receiving space  203  of the housing  2 . The first and the second mating portions  113 ,  123  are received in the passageways  2041  and exposed to the cavity  204  for mating with a corresponding connector (not shown), and the first and the second tail portions  114 ,  124  are soldered with the conductive pads  401  of sub PCB  40 . 
         [0034]    Secondly, the metallic latch  9  is forwardly retained in the housing  2 , the lathing arms  94  are received in the slots  201  of the mounting arms  21 , the hooks  941  and the pressing tabs  921  upwardly protrude beyond the housing  2 , and the retention portions  95  are forwardly inserted into the mounting holes  22  of the mounting arms  21 . 
         [0035]    Thirdly, the first inner shell  81  backwardly encloses the housing  2  to allow the hooks  941  to pass through the through holes  813  of the first inner shell  81 . 
         [0036]    Fourthly, the sub PCB  40  is retained onto the main plate  300  of the spacer  3  via the positioning posts  32  of the main plate  300  are respectively inserted into the securing holes  403  of the sub PCB  40 , the locating holes  402  of the sub PCB  40  are aligned with the through holes  31  of the spacer  3  in the upper-to-lower direction. 
         [0037]    Fifthly, the cable  6  is retained in the positioning hole  30  of the spacer  3 , the wires  62  are respectively received in the receiving slots  34 . 
         [0038]    Sixthly, the connecting terminals  41  are respectively received in the receiving slots  34  of the spacer  3 , the first contact portions  411  downwardly press onto the insulative layers of the wires  62  of the cable  6 , and the second contact portions  413  are respectively partly inserted into the locating holes  402  of the sub PCB  40 . 
         [0039]    Seventhly, the second inner shell  82  backwardly covers the first inner shell  81  and the pressing tabs  921  of the metallic latch  9  upwardly pass through the slits  821  of the second inner shell  82 . 
         [0040]    Eighthly, the outer shell  5  covers the housing  2  and the spacer  3 , the protruding plates  51  downwardly lock into the first locking slots  36  of the spacer  3 , the protruding plates  54  upwardly lock into the second locking slots  38  of the spacer  3 . The pressing tabs  921  upwardly pass through the cuts  58  of the outer shell  5 . 
         [0041]    Finally, the outer cover  7  encloses the outer shell  5 , the deformable button  77  is floatable along the upper-to-lower direction to drive the pressing tabs  921  upwardly or downwardly so as to actuate the hooks  941  to protrude out off or into the inner shell  8 , the dustproof lid  712  covers the body portions  412  of the connecting terminals  41  for dustproof protection, and the dustproof lid  712  has a plurality of protrusions  7122  respectively downwardly inserted into the first circle holes  52  of the outer shell  5  for retaining the dustproof lid  712 . Conjunction with  FIG. 10 , the connecting terminals  4  are exposed to exterior when the dustproof lid  712  is opened, then an instrument (not shown) could be inserted into the compartment  713  of the upper cover  71  and the first opening  50  of the inner shell  5 , and push the body portion  412  of connecting terminals  41  to urge the first contact portions  411  to penetrate into the corresponding wires  62  to allow the connecting terminals  41  to electrically connect with the conductors of the wires  62 , and the second contact portions  413  continue to downwardly move to be fully inserted into the locating holes  402  of the sub PCB  40 . Thus, the cable  6  would be electrically connected with the sub PCB  40  reliably by the connecting terminals  41 . Assemblers could watch connection status among the connecting terminals  41 , the wires  62  and the sub PCB  40  when the dustproof lid  712  is opened. 
         [0042]    It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous, characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosed is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of number, shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.