Abstract:
A method associated with the related structures to prepare cable wires of a cable connector, comprising the steps of: extending a first type and a second type of cable wires through a wire spacer having a notch; securing the first and second types of wires to the spacer; bending the extended cable wires of the first type in the spacer notch; operating the extended cable wires of the second type; returning the extended cable wires of the first type; and operating the extended cable wires of both the first type and the second type. The second type may be coaxial cables and the operating steps on these coaxial cables may include steps of removing outer jackets and braidings.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to an improved wire spacer or organizer in a cable connector for facilitating preparation of cable wires for subsequent mounting to an internal printed circuit board (PCB) and especially to a method of preparing the cable wires. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     U.S. Pat. No. 8,133,071, issued on Mar. 13, 2012, shows a cable including two different types of wires connected to pads and grounding portion of an internal flexible circuit. The two types of wires differ in that different number of operations are required to prepare the connection ends. To expose a center conductor, a first type of unshielded wire needs a single operation to remove only its outer dielectric, while a second type of shielded wire, e.g., a coaxial wire, needs three operations to remove its outer jacket, braiding, and dielectric. With proximity of the wires decreasing and length of the connection ends reducing, it will become difficult to prepare the wire needing more operations without adversely affecting the wire needing less operations. 
     Wire spacers or organizers are known to provide efficiency and accuracy in handling and preparing wire ends. For instance, a spacer may be accurately secured to the wires prior to operating the wire ends. However, when used together with an internal PCB, e.g., in the instance as seen in FIGS. 26 of US 2015/0044886, published on Feb. 12, 2015, where the wires secured to the spacer extend only a short distance from a front face of spacer, limited mobility of the secured wires inhibits severing operations of the shielded wires in the presence of the unshielded wires. 
     An improved wire spacer in a cable connector is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide an improved wire spacer in a cable connector for facilitating preparation of cable wires including a first type and a second type. 
     To achieve the above-mentioned object, a method of preparing cable wires of a cable connector comprises the steps of: extending a first type and a second type of cable wires through a wire spacer having a notch; securing the first and second types of wires to the spacer; bending the extended cable wires of the first type in the spacer notch; operating the extended cable wires of the second type; returning the extended cable wires of the first type; and operating the extended cable wires of both the first type and the second type. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cable connector in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially exploded view of the cable connector in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a further partially exploded view of the plug connector assembly as shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 3  but from a different perspective; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view further showing particularly a cable, a spacer, and an internal circuit board of the cable connector of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a view similar to  FIG. 5  but from a different perspective; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded view of a mating member of the cable connector; 
         FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 7  but from a different perspective; 
         FIG. 9  is a view showing the spacer at a different arrangement; and 
         FIG. 10  is a view showing bent cable wires. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a cable connector, e.g., a plug connector assembly  100 , in accordance with the present invention for mating with a mating connector (not shown) comprises a mating member  1 , an internal printed circuit board (PCB)  2  disposed behind and electrically connecting with the mating member  1 , a cable  3  comprising a plurality of wires, namely a first type of wires  32  and a second type of wires  31 , electrically connected with the PCB  2 , a spacer or wire organizer  4  for positioning the wires  31  and  32 , a first shell  51  having a closed circumference, a second shell  52  also having a closed circumference, a strain relief  6 , an inner over-mold on the first shell  51 , and an outer over-mold  7 . The plug connector assembly can be mated with the mating connector in two orientations. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the mating member  1  comprises an insulative housing  11 , a plurality of first contacts  12  arranged in two rows and spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction, a latch  13  disposed between the two rows of contacts  12  for latching with the mating connector, an insulative member  14  disposed behind the insulative housing  11 , a third shell  15  covering the insulative housing  11  and the insulative member  14 , and a pair of grounding members  16  disposed on the insulative housing  11 . 
     The insulative housing  11  comprises a top wall  110 , a bottom wall  111  spaced apart from and parallel with the top wall, a pair of side walls  112  connecting the top wall  110  and the bottom wall  111 , a receiving room  113  surround by the top, bottom, and side walls, and an internal wall  114  dividing the receiving room  113  into a front portion  1132  having a front opening  1131 , and a rear portion  1134  having a rear opening  1133 . The top wall  110  defines a top recess  1100  in communication with the front portion  1132 . The bottom wall  111  defines a bottom recess  1110  in communication with the front portion  1132 . Each of the side walls  112  defines a side recess  1120  extending forwardly from a rear end of the insulative housing  11  but not through a front end of the insulative housing  11 . The side recesses  1120  are in communication with the front portion  1132  and the rear portion  1134  of the receiving room  113 . 
     Each of the contacts  12  comprises a front mating portion  121  extending forwardly into the front portion  1132  of the receiving room  113 , a rear mating portion  122  extending rearwardly, and an intermediate mounting portion  123  secured to the insulative housing  11 . The front mating portion  121  is to be mated with the mating connector and the second mating portion  122  is to be mated with the PCB  2 . The front mating portions  121  of the two row of contacts  12  are arranged face to face along the vertical direction. 
     The latch  13  comprises a base portion  131  extending along a transverse direction, a pair of latch beams  132  respectively extending forwardly from two opposite ends of the base portion  131 , a latch portion  133  extending from a front end of each latch beam  132  along a face to face direction. The latch  13  is mounted into the insulative housing  11  through the rear opening  1133  of the rear portion  1134  of the receiving room  113 . The base portion  131  abuts forwardly against the internal wall and the latch beams  132  are received into the side recesses  1120 , respectively. At least a portion of each of the latch portions  133  projects into the front portion  1132  of the receiving room  113 . 
     The insulative member  14  cooperates with the insulative housing  11  to fix the latch  13 . The insulative member  14  comprises an insulative base portion  140 , a pair of extending portions  141  extending rearwardly from two opposite ends, two rows of through holes  142  spaced apart in the vertical direction and extending through the insulative base portion  140  along a front to rear direction, two rows of posts  143  spaced apart in the vertical direction and extending forwardly, and a projected portion  144  extending forwardly between the two rows of posts  143 . A channel  145  is formed between every two adjacent posts  143  of each row and is in communication with a corresponding one of the through holes  142 . Each of the extending portions  141  defines a mounting slot  1410  extending along a rear to front direction. The posts  143  extend forwardly beyond the projected portion  144 . A receiving slot  146  is formed between the two rows of posts  143 . The insulative base portion  140  is thicker than the insulative housing  11 . The insulative member  14  is mounted to the insulative housing  11  along a rear to front direction. The base portion  131  of the latch  13  is received into the receiving slot  146  of the insulative member  14 , and the projected portion  144  is pressed against a rear side of the base portion  131 . The rear mating portions  122  of the contacts  12  extend through the insulative member  140  through the channels  145 , respectively. 
     The third shell  15  has a closed circumference that has a good seal performance, a good anti-EMI performance, etc. The closed circumference of the third shell  15  could be manufactured by drawing a metal piece, bending a metal piece, die casting, etc. The third shell  15  comprises a third front end  151  for being inserted into the mating connector, a third rear end  152  for being mated with the first shell  51 , and a third transition portion  153  for connecting to the third front end  151  and the third rear end  152 . A diametrical dimension of the third front end  151  is smaller than a diametrical dimension of the third rear end  152 . The third rear end  152  comprises a pair of latch tabs  1520  projecting outwardly. 
     One of the grounding members  16  is received into the top recess  1110 , and the other one is received into the bottom recess  1110 . Each of the grounding members  16  comprises a flat body portion  160 , a pair of mounting portions  161  extending from two opposite ends of the flat body portion  160  and toward the insulative housing  11  for being attached to the insulative housing  11 , a plurality of front grounding tabs  162  extending forwardly from a front side of the flat body portion  160  and entering into the front portion  1132  of the receiving room  113 , and a plurality of rear grounding tabs  163  extending rearwardly from a rear side of the flat body portion  160 . The front grounding tabs  162  are used for mating with the mating connector. The rear grounding tabs  163  are used for mating with the third shell  15 . The front grounding tabs  162  of the pair grounding members  16  are disposed face to face along the vertical direction. A distance along the vertical direction between the front grounding tabs  162  of the pair of grounding members  16  is greater than a distance along the vertical direction of the front mating portions  121  of the two rows of contacts  12 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4-6 , the PCB  2  is disposed between the mating member  1  and the cable  3 . The cable  3  is electrically connected with the contacts  12  by the PCB  2 . The PCB  2  comprises a front portion  21 , a rear portion  22 , and a middle portion  23  connecting the front portion  21  and a rear portion  22 . The front portion is smaller than the rear portion  22  along a transverse direction. The front portion  21  of the PCB  2  is disposed between the rear mating portions  122  of the two rows of contacts  12 . The PCB  2  comprises a plurality of front conductive pads  210  disposed on opposite side faces of the front portion  21  for electrically connecting with the rear mating portions  122  of the contacts  12 , and a plurality of rear conductive pads  220  disposed on opposite side faces of the rear portion  22  for electrically connecting with the wires  31  and  32  of the cable  3 . The PCB  2  is mounted to the insulative member  14  by the front portion  21  along the mounting slots  1410 . 
     Referring particularly to  FIG. 5 , the cable  3  has a sheath  33  that contains multiple wires, e.g., two types of wires. Each cable wire  32  of a first type comprises a center conductor  321  and an outer jacket or dielectric  322  while each cable wire  31  of a second type comprises a center conductor  311 , an inner dielectric  312 , a braiding  313 , and an outer jacket  314 . Prior to connecting with the PCB  2 , all layers of the wires other than possibly the center conductors need be removed. In this embodiment, the first type of wires  32  need to remove the dielectrics  322 , e.g., in one operation, while the second type of wires  31  need to remove sequentially the outer jacket  314 , braiding  313 , and inner dielectric  312 , e.g., in three operations. 
     Referring also to  FIG. 9 , the spacer  4  comprises an upper half  41  and a lower half  42  mounted to the upper half  41 . Each spacer half has a front face  43 , an opposite rear face  44 , a top face  45 , a bottom wall  46 , and a plurality of through holes  47  and  48 , each of the wires  31  and  32  of the cable  3  received in a corresponding through hole  47  or  48 . The spacer  4  is further provided with a notch  49  at the junction of the top and front faces  45  and  43  or over the bottom wall  46 . In this area of the notch  49 , it can be seen that a wire positioning groove  461  is formed at the bottom wall  46  or is formed as a continuing part of the through hole  48 . The spacer  4  is forwardly pressed against a rear side of the PCB  2 . Posts  412 ,  422  and holes  413 ,  423  are correspondingly provided on the upper and lower halves  41  and  42  for proper engagement. The wires  31  and  32  of the cable  3  are divided into two rows by the upper and lower halves  41  and  42  for subsequent connection to the rear conductive pads  220  of the PCB  2 . A respective step  490  is formed on each spacer half for engaging a rear edge of the PCB  2 . 
     Moreover, in the embodiment shown, each spacer half is substantially a mirrored image relative to its imaginary center line along a front-to-rear direction in the aspect that two through holes  47  are provided on the left side, another two through holes  47  are provided on the right side, and four through holes  48  are provided in the middle. As can be understood, the middle holes  48  are for receiving the first type of wires  32  which are subject to comparatively less processing steps (e.g., one operation step) while the left and right-side holes  47  are for receiving the second type of wires  31  which are subject to comparatively more processing steps (e.g., three operation steps). If desired, the positions of first and second types of wires can be interchanged so that the second type of wires  31  are provided in the middle while the first type of wires  32  are provided on both sides. In either arrangement, the first and second types of wires are consecutively arranged. 
     Referring particularly to  FIG. 3 , the first shell  51  has a closed circumference that has a good seal performance, a good anti-EMI performance, etc. The closed circumference of the first shell  51  could be manufactured by drawing a metal piece, bending and forming a metal piece, die casting, etc. The first shell  51  comprises a first front end  511  telescoped with a rear end of the mating member  1 , a first rear end  512  opposite to the first front end  511 , and a first transition portion  53  between the first front and rear ends. The first front end  511  is larger than the first rear end  512 . The first front end  511  defines a pair of latch holes  510  latched with the latch tabs  1520  of the third shell  15 , when the first shell  51  is telescoped on an outer side of the third rear end  152  of the third shell  15 . The first front end  511  of the first shell  51  is interference fit with the third rear end  152  of the third shell  15 . The first front end  511  of first shell  51  and the third rear end  152  of the third shell  15  are further connected by laser welding in some spots or full circumference to have a good strength. The first rear end  512  is telescoped on an outer side of the spacer  4 . 
     The second shell  52  has a closed circumference that has a good seal performance, a good anti-EMI performance, etc. The closed circumference of the second shell  52  could be manufactured by drawing a metal piece, bending and forming a metal piece, die casting, etc. The second shell  52  comprises a second front end  521  telescoped with the first rear end  512  of the first shell  51 , a second rear end  522  telescoped and crimped with the cable  3 , and a second transition portion  523  between the second front end  521  and the second rear end  522 . The second front end  521  is larger than the second rear end  522 . In assembling, firstly, the second shell  52  is telescoped on the cable  3 . The second shell is moved forwardly and telescoped on the spacer  4 , after the wires  31  and  32  are soldered on the rear conductive pads  220 . Then, the second shell  52  are forwardly moved beyond the spacer  4  to latch with the first shell  51 . The second front end  521  of second shell  52  and the first rear end  512  of the first shell  51  are further connected by spot laser welding to have a good strength. 
     The strain relief  6  is molded on the second shell  52  and the cable  3 . The inner over-mold is molded on the first shell  51  and the third shell  15  to enhance the plug connector assembly  100 . The outer over-mold  7  can be molded or mounted on the inner over-mold. 
     A method of preparing the cable wires  31  and  32  comprises the steps of: extending a first type and a second type of cable wires  32  and  31  through the wire spacer  4  having a notch  49 ; securing the first and second types of wires to the spacer; bending rearwardly the extended cable wires  32  of the first type in the spacer notch to be out of way, i.e., not in the operation path of the second type of cable wires  31 , as shown in  FIG. 10 ; operating the extended cable wires  31  of the second type; returning the extended cable wires of the first type to its original state before bending; and operating the extended cable wires of both the first type and the second type. Further, the step of operating the extended cable wires of the second type may comprise removing an outer jacket and removing a braiding thereof. Still further, the step of operating the extended cable wires of both the first type and the second type may comprise removing a respective dielectric thereof. Yet further, the step of extending may comprise arranging the first and second types of cable wires in an upper and a lower rows each including a plurality of first and second types of wires, passing the upper row of wires through an upper spacer half and the lower row of wires through a lower spacer half having a respective notch, and staggering the upper and lower spacer halves. Yet still further, the method may further comprise a step of soldering the operated wires of the first and second types to an internal printed circuit board.