PROTECTIVE SLEEVE AND CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY HAVING THE SAME

The present disclosure discloses a protective sleeve used for matching with a cable of a cable connector. The protective cover is used to be fixed on the cable to prevent the cable from being excessively bent. The present disclosure also discloses a cable connector assembly having the protective sleeve. Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure is capable of preventing the cable from being excessively bent by providing the protective cover fixed on the cable.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application claims priority of a Chinese Patent Application No. 202120943289.6, filed on Apr. 30, 2021 and titled “PROTECTIVE SLEEVE AND CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY”, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a protective sleeve and a cable connector assembly, which belongs to a technical field of connectors.

BACKGROUND

According to different wiring requirements, bending a cable of a cable connector is a conventional design in the technical field. As electronic products have higher and higher requirements for signal transmission, excessive bending of the cable will affect the quality of signal transmission, and even interrupt signal transmission.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a protective sleeve and a cable connector assembly which is capable of preventing the cable from being excessively bent.

In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a protective sleeve, the protective sleeve being adapted to mate with a cable of a cable connector, the protective sleeve being adapted to be fixed on the cable to prevent the cable from being excessively bent.

In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a cable connector assembly, including: a cable connector; and a protective sleeve; the cable connector including: a connector plug; and a cable electrically connected to the connector plug; wherein the protective sleeve is fixed on the cable, and the protective sleeve and the cable covered by the protective sleeve are bent together during bending so as to prevent the cable from being excessively bent.

In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: a cable connector assembly, including: a cable connector; and a protective sleeve; the cable connector including: a connector plug; and a cable electrically connected to the connector plug; wherein the protective sleeve is fixed on the cable to prevent the cable from being excessively bent, the protective sleeve includes a sleeve portion and a clamping portion connected to the sleeve portion, the clamping portion extends a length along an extending direction of the cable; and wherein the sleeve portion is in a ring shape with a closed outer periphery so as to be sleeved on a part of the cable, and the clamping portion is an open structure with a non-closed outer periphery so as to be clamped on a part of the cable.

Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure is capable of preventing the cable from being excessively bent by providing the protective sleeve fixed on the cable. In addition, the sleeve portion with the closed outer periphery can be reliably sleeved on a part of the cable so as to prevent the protective sleeve from falling off the cable. The non-closed outer periphery of the clamping portion can reduce the difficulty of assembling with the cable.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail here, examples of which are shown in drawings. When referring to the drawings below, unless otherwise indicated, same numerals in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The examples described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the application as detailed in the appended claims.

The terminology used in this application is only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments, and is not intended to limit this application. The singular forms “a”, “said”, and “the” used in this application and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates other meanings.

It should be understood that the terms “first”, “second” and similar words used in the specification and claims of this application do not represent any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, “an” or “a” and other similar words do not mean a quantity limit, but mean that there is at least one; “multiple” or “a plurality of” means two or more than two. Unless otherwise noted, “front”, “rear”, “lower” and/or “upper” and similar words are for ease of description only and are not limited to one location or one spatial orientation. Similar words such as “include” or “comprise” mean that elements or objects appear before “include” or “comprise” cover elements or objects listed after “include” or “comprise” and their equivalents, and do not exclude other elements or objects. The term “a plurality of” mentioned in the present disclosure includes two or more.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the case of no conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

Referring toFIGS. 1 to 8, a first embodiment of the present disclosure discloses a cable connector assembly100including a cable connector101and a protective sleeve5. The cable connector101includes a connector plug1, a cable2electrically connected to the connector plug1, a wire stop3located at a junction of the connector plug1and the cable2, and a pull strap4connected to the connector plug1. The protective sleeve5is fixed on the cable2so as to prevent the cable2from being excessively bent. In an illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the protective sleeve5and the cable2covered by the protective sleeve5are bent together during bending. In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the cable2is a high-speed cable, and the cable connector101is used to transmit high-speed signals. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the connector plug1is an SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable) plug, that is, the cable connector101is a connector of a type related to an SFP cable connector. Of course, it is understandable to those skilled in the art that the cable connector101may also be other types of high-speed cable connectors, which will not be repeated in the present disclosure.

Referring toFIGS. 9 and 10, the connector plug1includes a first housing11, a second housing12, an unlocking mechanism13, and a built-in circuit board14located between the first housing11and the second housing12. The cable2and the built-in circuit board14are electrically connected by means such as soldering. The built-in circuit board14is provided with a mating tongue141and a plurality of conductive pads142exposed on the mating tongue141. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the conductive pads142are located on opposite surfaces of the mating tongue141, respectively. The mating tongue141is used for being inserted into a slot of a mating connector (not shown). The conductive pads142are used to contact with conductive terminals of the mating connector.

In order to improve the shielding effect, both the first housing11and the second housing12are made of metal materials. The first housing11and the second housing12are fixed by bolts15. The first housing11is provided with a raised first wall111(for example, a top wall) adjacent to the protective sleeve5. The first wall111includes a first surface1111(for example, a top surface).

The unlocking mechanism13includes a first locking arm131, a second locking arm132parallel to the first locking arm131, a connecting wall133connecting the first locking arm131and the second locking arm132, a first connecting portion134extending from one end of the connecting wall133in a direction away from the first locking arm131, and a second connecting portion135extending from the other end of the connecting wall133in a direction away from the second locking arm132. The first connecting portion134and the second connecting portion135are parallel to each other.

The pull strap4includes an outer surface40(for example, an upper surface) located on a same side as the first surface1111. The outer surface40is substantially flush with the first surface111(referring toFIG. 7). It should be noted that the technical term “substantially flush” used in the present disclosure is intended to indicate that related surfaces are substantially flush, which includes the situation of not being completely flush due to manufacturing tolerances. The pull strap4includes a first side wall portion41and a second side wall portion42located on opposite sides and fixedly connected to the first connecting portion134and the second connecting portion135of the unlocking mechanism13, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the first side wall portion41and the second side wall portion42are both L-shaped. The pull strap4further includes a force applying portion43connecting an end of the first side wall portion41and an end of the second side wall portion42, and a hollow portion44is located between the first side wall portion41and the second side wall portion42. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pull strap4is a flexible pull strap so as to facilitate arrangement and operation.

Referring toFIGS. 8 to 12, the protective sleeve5includes a sleeve portion51and a clamping portion52connected to the sleeve portion51. The clamping portion52extends for a certain length along an extending direction of the cable2. The sleeve portion51has a closed ring shape so as to be sleeved on a part of the cable2during assembling. The sleeve portion51is adjacent to the wire stop3so as to protect the cable2when the cable2just extends out of the connector plug1. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the sleeve portion51has an annular shape. The sleeve portion51is partially exposed in the hollow portion44of the pull strap4(referring toFIG. 1), and the sleeve portion51partially protrudes upwardly from the pull strap4(referring toFIG. 7). The clamping portion52has an open structure with a non-closed outer periphery so as to be easily clamped on a part of the cable2.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the clamping portion52includes an extension portion521having an arc-shaped cross section. The extension portion521includes an arc-shaped wall portion5210, and a first side wall5211and a second side wall5212extending from opposite sides of the wall portion5210, respectively. The wall portion5210, the first side wall5211and the second side wall5212form a receiving space5213to clamp the cable2.

The clamping portion52includes a claw portion522located at an end of the extension portion521away from the sleeve portion51. The claw portion522includes a first claw5221protruding from the first side wall5211in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction, and a second claw5222protruding from the second side wall5212in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction. The first claw5221includes a first guiding inclined surface5221afor guiding the cable2. The second claw5222includes a second guiding inclined surface5222afor guiding the cable2. The first claw5221and the second claw5222clamp the cable2in order to improve the installation reliability of the clamping portion52and the cable2, and prevent the clamping portion52from falling off the cable2.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the clamping portion52includes a third claw5231protruding from the first side wall5221in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction, and a fourth claw5232protruding from the second side wall5222in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction. The third claw5231is located between the sleeve portion51and the first claw5221. The fourth claw5232is located between the sleeve portion51and the second claw5222. The third claw5231and the fourth claw5232clamp the cable2in order to further improve the installation reliability of the clamping portion52and the cable2, and prevent the clamping portion52from falling off the cable2. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, a length of the third claw5231along the extending direction is greater than a length of the fourth claw5232along the extending direction, so as to protect the cable2, and at the same time be convenient to bend the cable2.

Referring toFIGS. 13 to 22, a second embodiment of the present disclosure discloses a similar cable connector assembly100. The main difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is that the cable connector assembly100in the second embodiment is not provided with the third claw5231and the fourth claw5232. At the same time, the cable connector assembly100in the second embodiment has a groove5211aformed on the first side wall5211to facilitate assembly or disassembly of the protective sleeve5. In addition, the extension portion521of the cable connector assembly100in the second embodiment includes an end surface5214away from the sleeve portion51. The wall portion5210defines a slot5215extending through the end surface5214along the extending direction. By providing the slot5215, the elasticity of the end of the protective sleeve5away from the sleeve portion51is improved, thereby facilitating the clamping of the clamping portion52on the cable2or separating the clamping portion52from the cable2.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, the protective sleeve5and the cable2are made separately, and then the protective sleeve5is assembled and buckled on the cable2, and finally, it is relatively fixed with the cable2. Of course, it is understandable to those skilled in the art that the relative position of the protective sleeve5and the cable2can be changed. For example, before the clamping portion52is fixed to the cable2, the sleeve portion51can slide freely on the cable2in order to adjust the position of the protective sleeve5with respect to the cable2. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the protective sleeve5may also be formed on the cable2to be integrated with the cable2as a whole.

Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure is capable of preventing the cable2from being excessively bent by providing the protective sleeve5fixed on the cable2. In addition, the sleeve portion51with the closed outer periphery can be reliably sleeved on the part of the cable2so as to prevent the protective sleeve5from falling off the cable2. The clamping portion52with the non-closed outer periphery can reduce the difficulty of assembling with the cable2.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present disclosure and not to limit the technical solutions described in the present disclosure. The understanding of this specification should be based on those skilled in the art. Although descriptions of directions have been described in detail in the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can still be made to the application, and all technical solutions and improvements that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the application should be covered by the claims of the application.