Patent Publication Number: US-10326234-B2

Title: Cable protection kit and radio remote unit including the same

Description:
This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national phase filing of International Application No. PCT/CN2015/096643, filed Dec. 8, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to communication systems, and more particularly to a cable protection kit and an radio remote unit (abbreviated as RRU). 
     BACKGROUND 
     RRUs are often used in outdoor, and thus IP55/65 should be fulfilled. There are many external interfaces, and these interfaces also need to be designed to fulfill the IP55/65 or more stricter requirements. For current products, there are two solutions available in the market. With referring to  FIG. 1 a   , one solution is an outdoor connector  300 . As shown in  FIG. 1 b   , the other solution is an interface chamber  400 . 
     It is well known in the art that the solution using the outdoor connector  300  is very expensive, though it can reduce the size of the obtained product. The outdoor connector  300  also needs a big area of a front panel, because an operation space should be kept between connectors. The operation space also should be kept for IP protection between the connector and a frame of the product. 
     With respect to the other solution, using the interface chamber  400  is cheap, because standard indoor connectors are used and IP protection is designed in the frame of the product and cable sealing is combined with a gasket. However, more space should be kept for cable routing, and thus it would lead to bigger size of the product. Further, this solution has another drawback that it will lead to water leakage in site due to being unreliable. 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of the foregoing, an object of the present disclosure is to overcome or at least mitigate above shortcomings of the prior art solution for finding an alternative solution to replace the outdoor connector and provide a low cost solution. 
     Further, another object of the present disclosure is to provide a cable protection kit and the RRU including it, wherein the innovative thinking is to use the standard indoor connectors by a simple connector protection solution. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, it provides a cable protection kit for RRU, comprising: 
     a main body having at least one hole for correspondingly accommodating at least one cable, wherein the at least one hole extends from a first end of the main body to an opposite second end thereof along a longitudinal direction of the main body; 
     a sealing member located onto the first end and at least partly enclosing the first end; and 
     a pressing assembly, located onto the main body adjacent to the sealing member and configured to press and deform the sealing member so that the sealing member fixes and seals up the cable protection kit to a frame of the RRU. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, it provides a Radio Remote Unit (RRU) including the cable protection kit as described above. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These aspects and/or other aspects as well as advantages of the present invention will become obvious and readily understood from the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings below, in which 
         FIGS. 1 a  and 1 b    are respectively schematic views for showing structures of an outdoor connector and an interface chamber in the prior art; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view for showing a structure of a cable protection kit for RRU in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention without being inserted with a cable; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view for showing the cable protection kit as shown in  FIG. 2  accommodating a cable therein; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view for showing an integrated structure of the cable protection kit as shown in  FIG. 3  and a frame of RRU; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the integrated structure as shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6 a    is a partial cross sectional view for showing a non-deformed gasket in  FIG. 5  before pressing and pushing a slide of the cable protection kit; 
         FIG. 6 b    is another partial cross sectional view for showing a deformed gasket in  FIG. 5  after pressing and pushing a slide of the cable protection kit; 
         FIG. 6 c    is a yet another partial cross sectional view for showing the frame having a subuliform hole for housing the deformed gasket as shown in  FIG. 6   b;    
         FIGS. 7 a  and 7 b    are schematic views for showing the connection of the cable protection kit with the frame of RRU by a clip, respectively; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view for showing an EMC clip which is provided on the cable protection kit; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view for showing a variant of the cable protection kit in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention without being inserted with a cable; 
         FIG. 10  shows a comparison view of the present cable protection kit with the outdoor connector as shown in  FIG. 1   a.    
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     In the discussion that follows, specific details of particular embodiments of the present techniques are set forth for purposes of explanation and not limitation. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other embodiments may be employed apart from these specific details. 
     Furthermore, in some instances detailed descriptions of well-known methods, structures, and devices are omitted so as not to obscure the description with unnecessary detail. 
     As can be seen from  FIGS. 2 and 9 , the present invention provides two alternative cable protection kits  100  and  100 ′, due to the different shape thereof. Firstly, the structures in  FIG. 2  are described in more detail. 
     With referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , it shows a cable protection kit  100  for RRU  200  (abbreviation of Radio Remote Unit, shown in  FIG. 4 ). Specifically, the cable protection kit  100  includes a main body  10 , a sealing member  30 , and a pressing assembly  20  cooperated with each other. The sealing member  30  and the pressing assembly  20  both are provided onto the main body  10 . 
     As shown, the main body  10  has a hole  50  which is configured to accommodate a cable  40 . The hole  50  extends from a first end  11  of the main body  10  to an opposite second end  12  thereof along a longitudinal direction of the main body  10  (i.e., the direction from left to right of the drawing page). It should be understood that more holes can be provided within the main body  10 , and the number thereof can be selected as required actually. Alternatively, more parallel holes can be provided onto the main body in the present invention, though the figure only shows one hole as an example. Alternatively, each hole can house one cable or more cable, if necessary. It is apparent that the present invention is not limited to this. 
     The sealing member  30  is used herein for fixation and sealing up. In one example, the sealing member  30  is provided in a form of a gasket, but the present invention is not limited to this. The sealing member  30  can be embodied in any form, as long as it can function for fixation and sealing up. For sake of briefness and conciseness, the sealing member  30  is called as the gasket below. 
     The gasket  30  is located on the first end  11  and encloses the first end  11  around the periphery of the main body  10 . As described later, the gasket  30  is use to fix and seal up the cable protection kit  100  to a frame  210  of Radio Remote Unit  200 . As shown, the gasket  30  entirely surrounds the first end  11 . Of course, the gasket  30  also can be designed to partially surround the first end  11 . That is, the form of the gasket  30  is not limited herein, as long as it can achieve the function as described above. In addition, the gasket  30  is made of an elastomeric material or similar material, for example a silicon rubber. 
     In  FIG. 2 , the first end  11  of the main body  10  is designed in a quadrate shape, and thus the gasket  30  is formed in a quadrate shape. Further, the main body  10  is made of metal or plastic. It could be an assembled part or a single part. All the other parts are assembled into the main body  10  and the cable  40  is fixed by the main body  10 . 
     Further, the pressing assembly  20  is located onto the main body  10  adjacent to the gasket  30  and configured to press and deform the gasket  30 , so that the gasket  30  fixes and seals up the cable protection kit  100  to the frame  210 . 
     In combination with  FIG. 4 , in order to fix with the cable protection kit  100 , the frame  210  at one side thereof (for example, the right side of the figure) is provided with an opening  220 . The first end  11  of the cable protection kit  100  is inserted into the opening  220 , and after then the cable protection kit  100  and the frame  210  are fixed and assembled together by means of pushing and pressing the gasket  30  through the pressing assembly  20 . In the assembled state as shown, the cable  40  at one end is connected to a board  230  (shown in  FIG. 5 ) within the frame  210 , and the other end extends out of the cable protection kit  100 . In order to securely fix with the board  230 , the end of the cable  40  is designed with a protruding part  41 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     The pressing assembly  20  includes a slide  22  and a holder  21  cooperated with each other. The slide  22  is capable of moving forward and backward onto the main body  10  by the holder  21  and the holder  21  is configured to provide a force for moving the slide  22  so that the gasket  30  is pressed and deformed by the slide  22 . In this example, each of the slide  22  and a first part  13  of the main body  10  where the slide  22  is located is in a quadrate shape. This example is only intended to explain the working principle of the cable protection kit  100 , and of course they can be changed into other shapes as long as they can function in the same way as described in the present invention. In addition, the slide  22  is made of plastic or metal and it can be moved by the holder  21 . The holder  21  is made of plastic or metal, and used to provide the force for moving the slide  21 . 
     At each of two opposite sides of the first part  13 , a pivot shaft  60  is provided. The pivot shaft  60  is connected with a fixing hole of the holder  21  by passing though a traverse groove  24  on the slide  22 . Further, a pin  23  for stopping and/or limiting the movement of the slide  22  is provided at each of two opposite sides of the slide  22  and housed within a slide groove  25  of the holder  21 . Please be noted that since the slide  22  is needed to move forward and backward along the longitudinal direction of the main body  10 , it is necessary for three of them to align substantially with each other. In one preferable illustrative example, the traverse groove  24 , the pivot shaft  60  and the pin  23  are substantially located at the same height level at the same side of the cable protection kit  100 . In one example, the slide groove  25  is in a shape of arc or curve, and intersects with the longitudinal direction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , it shows the slide  22  in an unlocking position, that is, the upper end of the slide groove  25  is adjacent to the pin  23  or contacts the pin  23 . As the holder  21  is lifted up along with the pin  23  slides within the slide groove  25 , the slide  22  is pushed to move forward facing to the frame  210 , and then slide  22  will press the gasket  30  to be deformed. Finally, the frame  210  and the cable protection kit  100  are fixed together. At this time, the slide  22  is located in a locking position. When the holder  21  is lifted or lowered down, the slide  22  will move backward toward the second end  12  of the main body  10  until the lower end of the slide groove  25  comes in contact with the pin  23 , and finally the slide  22  changes from the locking position to the unlocking position. 
     It should be understood that since the gasket  30  is positioned at the left side of the slide  22 , and the holder  21  is positioned at the right side of the slide  22  opposite to the gasket  30 , if a handle part  201  of the holder  21  is positioned above the main body  10  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the lifting up of the holder  21  causes the slide  22  to move forward and become into the locking position from the unlocking position; and if the handle part  201  of the holder  21  is positioned below the main body  10  (opposite to the shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  with respect to the longitudinal direction), the lifting down of the holder  21  causes the slide  22  to move forward and become into the locking position from the unlocking position. In other words, the specific operational direction of the holder  21  is not limited herein, as long as the holder  21  can push and move the slide  22 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5, 6   a ,  6   b  and  6   c , the frame  210  is disposed with a slot  211 ,  212 ,  216 . As discussed above, in the locking position, the slide  22  is pressing the gasket  30  and thus the deformed part  31  of the gasket  30  will be present. The slot  211 ,  212 ,  216  can be rectangular, square, elliptical or subuliform so as to house the deformed part  31  of the gasket  30  and provide a bigger fixing force. Taking into this, the elliptical slot  211  as shown in  FIG. 6 b    and the subuliform slot  212  as shown in  FIG. 6 c    can provide a bigger fixing force than the rectangular slot  216  as shown in  FIG. 6   a.    
     Please be noted that in the locking position, at least a part of the cable protection kit  100  is fixed with the frame  210 , specifically, the gasket  30  is partly or entirely housed within the slot of the frame  210 , so as to achieve the fixation and the sealing up. 
     Except that the bigger fixing force can be obtained by the design of the slot  211 ,  212 , there are other means available, for example other fixing parts, like screw or clip. Please see  FIGS. 7 a  and 7 b   , and the frame  210  has at least two protruding parts  213  adjacent to a bottom edge of the opening  220 , which are used to fix with the pressing assembly  20  (for example the slide  22 ) by means of the clip  214 , when the slide  22  is in the locking position. In this example, the two protruding parts  213  are opposite to each other and the clip  214  is inserted therebetween. 
     Alternatively, in the locking position, at least one protruding part  213  of the frame  210  is fixed with the pressing assembly  20  by means of a screw(not shown). 
     With referring to  FIG. 8 , in accordance to specific requirement on electromagnetic shielding or EMC, an EMC clip  70  can be provided onto the first end  11  of the main body  10  in front of the gasket  30 . The shape of the EMC clip  70  matches with that of the main body  10 , and it can be designed to entirely or partly enclose the first end  11 . 
     With referring to  FIG. 9 , it provides an alternative cable protection kit  100 ′ for RRU in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Because the main body  10 ′ in this embodiment is designed into a columniform shape rather than the described quadrate shape, the pressing assembly  20 ′ also employs a different working way from that shown in  FIG. 2 . Specifically, the present embodiment utilizes the screw-feeding, whereas the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  uses a slide movement. Except from the above differences, the remaining are substantially identical with the previous embodiment, and thus they are not repeatedly discussed herein. The same component is marked by the similar reference number with a symbol “′” for distinguishing. 
     In this example, the pressing assembly  20 ′ includes a pressing ring  22 ′ and at least one holding part  21 ′. The holding part  21 ′ is located on the pressing ring  22 ′ and used to hold the pressing ring  22 ′, and thus it can be appreciated that the number thereof is not limited to the shown in the figure, and can be set as actually required. If a plurality of holding parts  21 ′ are used, they would be spaced apart on the surface of the pressing ring  22 ′. The pressing ring  22 ′ has an internal thread on its inner surface. A first part  13 ′ of the main body  10 ′ where the pressing ring  22 ′ is located has an external thread on its outer surface. That is, the pressing ring  22 ′ and the main body  10 ′ are fitted or installed with thread connection. In this way, the pressing ring  22 ′ can be screwed up from the second end  12  toward the first end  11  so as to press and deform the sealing member  30 ′. After the screwing up, as described above, the sealing member  30 ′ for example a gasket has at least one part fixed into the slot of the opening  220 . In other words, the cable protection kit  100 ′ will be in the locking position, at this time. Of course, after the unscrewing process, the cable protection kit  100 ′ will be in the unlocking position. Alternatively, the clip or screw, the protruding part as shown in  FIGS. 7 a  and 7 b    can also be applicable into the structure of  FIG. 9 . Further, the slots as shown in  FIGS. 5, 6   a - 6   c  can also be applicable into the structure of  FIG. 9 . The EMC clip as shown in  FIG. 9  is also applicable into the structure of  FIG. 9 . Since these are discussed in more detail above, it is apparent for the skilled person to apply them into the structure of  FIG. 9  and they are not repeated herein. 
     Specifically, the pressing ring  22 ′ is provided with a slide groove  25 ′ and the first part  13 ′ of the main body  10 ′ is provided with a pin  23 ′ cooperating with the slide groove  25 ′ so as to stop and limit the movement of the pressing ring  22 ′ during the process of screwing or unscrewing. In one illustrative example, the slide groove  25 ′ is curved or spiral so as to match the screw or unscrew feed of the pressing ring  22 ′. Of course, the shape of the slide groove  25 ′ is not limited herein, and the skilled person can select any suitable shape as actually required. 
     In this example, an end surface of the first end  11  of the main body  10 ′ is provided with at least one fixing pin  26  for fixing with the frame  210 . It can be seen that when in the locking position, the fixing pin  26  can provide a bigger fixing force for the cable protection kit  100 ′. 
     In addition, other embodiment of the present invention also provides a Radio Remote Unit (RRU), which uses or includes the cable protection kit as described above. Since the RRU is not improved in the present invention, its key point lies in the use of the described cable protection kit. Therefore, they are not discussed repeatedly herein. 
       FIG. 10  shows a comparison view of the present cable protection kit with the outdoor connector as shown in  FIG. 1 a   . As compared with the currently used CPRI ODC as shown in  FIG. 1 a    (called as the current solution herein), the cable protection kit  100 ,  100 ′ can be fixed to the frame  210  directly, and the cable protection kit  100  of the present solution has an area which is only 36% of the corresponding outdoor connector  300  of the current solution. The present solution can be any suitable shape, for example being quadrate or columniform, and thus provide the feasibility that two connectors provided by the current solution are combined to one connector. 
     In addition, the present invention provides a cable protection kit, rather than a connector. The above described indoor connectors can be used as the outdoor connectors by means of the present cable protection kit. Due to the current outdoor connector being very expensive, the present cable protection kit can significantly reduce the cost thereof. Further, the production line for the outdoor connector can be saved also. In the current solution, the connector should be fixed with the frame by 4 screws, and the present solution does not need any screw. 
     Moreover, for the present solution, the cable protection kit is very easy to assembly in site, because any tool and screws do not need. 
     The present disclosure is described above with reference to the embodiments thereof. However, those embodiments are provided just for illustrative purpose, rather than limiting the present disclosure. The scope of the disclosure is defined by the attached claims as well as equivalents thereof. Those skilled in the art can make various alternations and modifications without departing from the scope of the disclosure, which all fall into the scope of the disclosure.