COAXIAL CABLE HAVING END TERMINAL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME

A method of manufacturing a coaxial cable having an end terminal includes exposing one end portions of twisted wires from a coaxial cable having an inner conductor, an inner insulator wrapping a periphery of the inner conductor, a plurality of twisted wires spirally wound onto an outer periphery of the inner insulator and an outer insulator wrapping a periphery of the twisted wires, radially unfolding the one end portions of the twisted wires, fitting the one end portions of the twisted wires between an inner cylindrical end terminal having a cylindrical shape and an annular ring, and caulking the ring to connect the one end portions of the twisted wires to the annular ring.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a coaxial cable having an end terminal and a method of manufacturing the same.

BACKGROUND ART

When connecting a coaxial cable to a mating end terminal (hereinafter, abbreviated as an end terminal), the coaxial cable is subject to terminal processing. For example, a coaxial cable may be configured so that an inner insulator wraps a periphery of an inner conductor, a braided wire, which is an outer conductor, wraps a periphery of the inner insulator and an outer insulator wraps a periphery of the braided wire. When performing the terminal processing of the coaxial cable, one end of the outer insulator is stripped to expose a terminal of the outer conductor and one end of the inner insulator is stripped to expose a terminal of the inner conductor.

PTL 1 discloses a method of connecting a coaxial cable (shield electric wire) to an end terminal having a cylindrical shape. In the coaxial cable inserted into a hole of the end terminal, the exposed braided wire is folded onto an outer periphery of the end terminal from a cylindrical end surface of the end terminal and an annular ring is fitted onto the folded braided wire. Then, the ring is caulked to crimp the braided wire to the outer periphery of the end terminal, so that the coaxial cable and the end terminal are electrically connected.

According to the shield electric wire of PTL 1, the outer conductor consists of the braided wire that is formed by braiding conductive wires into a net shape. Among the coaxial cables, there is a coaxial cable in which a plurality of electric wires is spirally wound along the outer periphery of the inner insulator, instead of the braided wire. The electric wires are respectively twisted into a spiral shape to thus form a bundle of the plurality of electric wires (hereinafter, referred to as twisted wires), thereby configuring the outer conductor. The twisted wires are arranged side by side in a circumferential direction along the outer periphery of the inner insulator.

Regarding a method of connecting the coaxial cable, in which the outer conductor consists of the plurality of twisted wires, to the end terminal, a method as shown inFIG. 2may be considered, for example.

First, as shown inFIG. 2A, a coaxial cable51having a processed terminal is prepared. In the coaxial cable51, an inner conductor53, an inner insulator55and an outer conductor55(twisted wires57) are exposed in order from a terminal-side thereof Then, as shown inFIG. 2B, end portions of the exposed twisted wires57are radially unfolded and a cylindrical end terminal59mounted from the terminal-side of the coaxial cable51is positioned at an inside of the twisted wires57.

Then, as shown inFIG. 2C, an annular ring61, which has been mounted onto the coaxial cable51in advance, is slid to the terminal-side, so that the ring is mounted to wrap the end terminal59while pressing the twisted wires57along an outer periphery of the end terminal59. Thereby, the twisted wires57are interposed between the outer periphery of the end terminal59and an inner periphery of the ring61. At last, as shown inFIG. 2D, the ring61is caulked from the outer periphery thereof, so that the twisted wires are interposed and pressed between the end terminal59and the ring61.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

However, the twisted wires exposed from the terminal of the coaxial cable are spirally twisted. Hence, as shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B, when the twisted wires57are radially unfolded, each twisted wire57extends with being spirally twisted. Therefore, when the ring is fitted to wrap the bundle of the twisted wires57radially unfolded, since the extension direction of the twisted wires and the ring fitting direction are different from each other, the twisted wires57may overlap with each other at the inside of the ring, as shown inFIG. 4. When the twisted wires overlap with each other, the fitting ability of the ring is deteriorated. Also, a sectional area of a connection part of the end terminal and the coaxial cable becomes non-uniform in the circumferential direction, so that an electric resistance may be increased.

An object of the invention is to prevent twisted wires from overlapping with each other when connecting an end terminal to a terminal of a coaxial cable.

Solution to Problem

(1) According to an aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing a coaxial cable having an end terminal includes exposing one end portions of twisted wires from a coaxial cable having an inner conductor, an inner insulator wrapping a periphery of the inner conductor, a plurality of twisted wires spirally wound onto an outer periphery of the inner insulator and an outer insulator wrapping a periphery of the twisted wires, radially unfolding the one end portions of the twisted wires, fitting the one end portions of the twisted wires between an inner cylindrical end terminal having a cylindrical shape and an annular ring, and caulking the ring to connect the one end portions of the twisted wires to the annular ring. In the unfolding step, while pressing root portions of exposed parts of the one end portions of the twisted wires with a jig, the coaxial cable is rotated about an axis of the coaxial cable in an opposite direction to a twisted direction of the twisted wires, or the jig is rotated about the axis of the coaxial cable in the twisted direction of the twisted wires to correct a twisted state of the exposed twisted wires.

Like this, while pressing the root portions of the exposed parts of the twisted wires, any one of the coaxial cable and the jig is rotated in a predetermined direction. Hence, it is possible to correct the twisted state of the twisted wires while radially unfolding a bundle of the twisted wires. Thereby, when fitting the ring, it is possible to prevent positional deviation of the twisted wires, which is caused due to a deviation between an extension direction of the twisted wires and a ring mounting direction. Hence, it is possible to prevent the twisted wires from overlapping with each other.

(2) According to another aspect of the invention, a coaxial cable having an end terminal includes a coaxial cable that has an inner conductor, an inner insulator wrapping a periphery of the inner conductor, a plurality of twisted wires spirally wound onto an outer periphery of the inner insulator and an outer insulator wrapping a periphery of the twisted wires, one end portions of the twisted wires being exposed, an inner cylindrical end terminal that has a cylindrical shape and is arranged at an inside of the exposed twisted wires, and an annular ring that is caulked in a state where the annular ring wraps the one end portions of the twisted wires arranged on an outer periphery of the inner cylindrical end terminal. The twisted wires are fitted and pressed between the inner cylindrical end terminal and the ring in a state where a twisted state of the twisted wires is changed to an untwisted state and the untwisted wires extend in an axial direction of the coaxial cable.

In the coaxial cable having an end terminal configured as described above, the twisted wires are arranged without overlapping with each other. Thereby, a sectional area of a connection part of the coaxial cable and the end terminal becomes uniform in the circumferential direction, so that it is possible to suppress an increase in an electrical resistance.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the invention, it is possible to prevent the twisted wires from overlapping with each other when connecting the end terminal to the terminal of the coaxial cable.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an illustrative embodiment of a coaxial cable having an end terminal of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.FIGS. 1A to 1Fshow a configuration of a coaxial cable having an end terminal of this illustrative embodiment (FIG. 1F) and a method of manufacturing the same (FIGS. 1A to 1F). In the meantime, the reference numerals shown inFIG. 1Aare omitted inFIGS. 1B to 1F.

As shown inFIG. 1A to 1F, a coaxial cable1that is used in this illustrative embodiment includes an inner conductor (core wire)3, an inner insulator5that extends in a longitudinal direction while wrapping a periphery of the inner conductor3, an outer conductor7that extends in a longitudinal direction while wrapping a periphery of the inner insulator5and an outer insulator9(sheath) that extends in a longitudinal direction while wrapping a periphery of the outer conductor7.

The outer conductor7consists of a plurality of twisted wires11that is wound into a spiral shape along an outer periphery of the inner insulator5. In this illustrative embodiment, the twisted wires11are arranged side by side in a line without a gap in a circumferential direction along the outer periphery of the inner insulator5. In the meantime, as shown inFIG. 1A, the twisted wires11are spirally wound in a clockwise direction on the outer periphery of the inner insulator5, when seen from an arrow A direction along an axis of the inner conductor3.

In order to connect the coaxial cable1to an end terminal13, a terminal of the coaxial cable is subject to terminal processing. That is, one end of the outer insulator9is stripped to expose a terminal of the outer conductor7and one end of the inner insulator5is stripped to expose a terminal of the inner conductor3. As shown inFIG. 1A, in the coaxial cable1having the processed terminal, the inner conductor3, the inner insulator5and the outer conductor7are exposed in order from the terminal thereof. In this illustrative embodiment, the outer conductor7of the coaxial cable1having the processed terminal is connected to the end terminal13.

As shown inFIG. 1D, the end terminal13includes an end terminal body15having a flat plate shape, a circular through-hole17that is formed at one end of the end terminal body15and an inner cylindrical part19that is projected to have a cylindrical shape from a circumferential edge of the through-hole17. The through-hole17and the inner cylindrical part19have an inner diameter (hole diameter) into which the inner insulator5exposed from the terminal of the coaxial cable1can be inserted, respectively. Also, the inner cylindrical part19has an outer diameter larger than that of the outer insulator9.

An annular ring21is mounted onto the coaxial cable1so that it wraps the outer insulator9. The ring21has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the outer insulator9of the coaxial cable1and is mounted so that it can be slid along the outer insulator9of the coaxial cable1.

In the below, a method of connecting the end terminal13to the coaxial cable1is described. First, as shown inFIG. 1A, the coaxial cable1that has been subject to the terminal processing is prepared and the ring21is fitted onto the coaxial cable1.

Subsequently, the twisted wires11are radially unfolded so as to position the inner cylindrical part19of the end terminal13at an inside of the twisted wires11. At this time, when the twisted wires11are merely radially unfolded, the twisted wires are spirally twisted, so that the twisted wires11may overlap with each other when the ring21is fitted, as described below (refer toFIG. 4).

Hence, in this illustrative embodiment, as shown inFIG. 1B, while root portions of the exposed parts of the twisted wires11are pressed in predetermined directions and with predetermined forces by using dedicated jigs from arrows B, C directions (for example, 180° phase-deviated positions, for example), the coaxial cable1is rotated about an axis thereof in an arrow D direction, which is opposite to the twisted direction of the twisted wires11, at predetermined speed. The rotating operation may be mechanically performed while axially supporting the coaxial cable1.

As a result, as shown inFIG. 1C, the bundle of the twisted wires11is radially unfolded about the axis of the coaxial cable1and the twisted state of the twisted wires11is also corrected. That is, it is possible to remove the spirally twisted state of the twisted wires11by appropriately regulating the conditions such as pressing directions and pressing forces of the jigs, rotating speed of the coaxial cable1and the like.

Then, as shown inFIG. 1D, the inner cylindrical part19of the end terminal13is fitted onto the coaxial cable1from the terminal thereof in an arrow E direction and is positioned at the inside of the radially unfolded twisted wires11. At this time, an inner periphery of the inner cylindrical part19is arranged at a position facing the inner insulator5of the coaxial cable1.

Then, as shown inFIG. 1E, the ring21is slid in an arrow F direction along the coaxial cable1, is press-fitted to wrap the twisted wires11and is thus fitted onto the inner cylindrical part19.

Here, as the ring21is fitted, the twisted wires11are deformed so that they are press-fitted along the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical part19. However, since the twisted state has been already corrected, there is little deviation between the press-fitting direction of the ring21and the extension direction of the twisted wires11. Hence, the twisted wires11are press-fitted by the ring21without causing torsion. That is, the twisted wires11are disposed at the inside of the ring21with extending in the axial direction of the coaxial cable1without overlapping with each other.

At the state where the twisted wires11are interposed between the inner periphery of the ring21and the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical part19, the ring21is caulked, as shown inFIG. 1F, so that the twisted wires11are interposed and pressed between the ring21and the inner cylindrical part19. Thereby, a coaxial cable23having an end terminal in which the coaxial cable1and the end terminal13are electrically connected to each other is obtained.

In the coaxial cable23having an end terminal manufactured in this illustrative embodiment, the twisted wires11interposed between the ring21and the inner cylindrical part19are extended in the axial direction of the coaxial cable1, so that the twisted wires11are interposed and pressed between the ring21and the inner cylindrical part19without overlapping with each other. Thereby, since a sectional area of a connection part of the end terminal and the coaxial cable becomes uniform in the circumferential direction, it is possible to suppress an increase in the electrical resistance.

Also, according to the method of manufacturing the coaxial cable having an end terminal of this illustrative embodiment, when unfolding the bundle of the twisted wires11, the coaxial cable1is rotated while pressing the jigs to the exposed twisted wires11. Thus, even when the twisted wires11are twisted in a predetermined direction, it is possible to easily unfold the twisted wires and to correct the twisted state of the twisted wires11. Thereby, for example, it is possible to prevent the twisted wires11from overlapping with each other, which is caused due to the deviation between the extension direction of the twisted wires11and the mounting direction of the ring21when fitting the ring21. Hence, it is possible to suppress an increase in the resistance upon the mounting of the ring21, so that it is possible to increase the efficiency of the mounting operation of the ring21.

Also, in this illustrative embodiment, when unfolding the bundle of the twisted wires11, while the root portions of the exposed parts of the twisted wires11are pressed by the jigs, the coaxial cable1is rotated about the axis thereof in the opposite direction to the twisted direction of the twisted wires11. That is, the coaxial cable1has only to rotate relative to the jigs in the opposite direction to the twisted direction of the twisted wires11. Instead of the method of this illustrative embodiment, even when the coaxial cable1is fixed and the jigs are rotated about the axis of the coaxial cable1in a circumferential direction (clockwise direction, when seen from the arrow A direction) corresponding to the twisted direction of the twisted wires11while the root portions of the exposed parts of the twisted wires11are pressed by the jigs, the same effects can be obtained.

Although the illustrative embodiment of the invention has been specifically described, the above illustrative embodiment is only exemplary and the invention is not limited to the configuration of the above illustrative embodiment. The design can be changed without departing from the gist of the invention, which is also included in the invention.

For example, in the above illustrative embodiment, when unfolding the bundle of the twisted wires11, the jigs are pressed to two places (180° phase-deviated positions) of the exposed parts of the twisted wires11. However, the number of the jigs pressing the twisted wires11, the provision interval of the jigs in the circumferential direction and the like are not limited thereto and may be appropriately changed.

The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-105448, filed on May 2, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the exemplary embodiment, it is possible to prevent the twisted wires from overlapping with each other when connecting the end terminal to the terminal of the coaxial cable.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST