Patent Publication Number: US-8124496-B2

Title: Cable connector assembly with improved printed circuit board

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a cable connector assembly, and more particularly to a cable connector assembly transmitting power signal. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Nowadays, cable connector assemblies are widely used in an electronic equipment, especially for transmitting power, and the performance of the cable connector assembly directly impacts on the entire electronic equipment whether can normally run. 
     CN patent No. 201252264Y issued to Zhang on Jun. 3, 2009 discloses a conventional cable connector assembly, the cable connector assembly comprises an inner print circuit board, a LED attached on the print circuit board to indicate the work status of the cable connector assembly, a light pipe receiving the LED, a cable with a plurality of wires, a plurality of contacts connected with the cable, a mating member, and an insulated shell enclosing the print circuit board, the LED, the light pipe, the cable and the mating member partially. One of the contacts is inserted through a central hole in the printed circuit board and electrically connected with the central hole, and one of the wires is passing through an aperture on lateral side of the printed circuit board and soldered to the aperture. However, the cable connector assembly is designed more and more smaller, and the electronic components are defined on the printed circuit board densely, and the electronic components may be destroyed while soldering the cable or contacts to the printed circuit board. 
     Hence, it is desirable to have an improved structure to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector assembly to prevent electronic components on a printed circuit board thereof being destroyed. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a cable connector assembly in accordance with the present invention comprises a mating member assembled with a plurality of contacts, a printed circuit board, a cable having a plurality of wires and a strain relief portion, and a light pipe located between the printed circuit board and the strain relief portion. The printed circuit board is attached with a LED, and the LED is electrically connected with the contacts. The printed circuit board defines a front surface, a rear surface and a cutout extending through the front surface and the rear surface along a mating direction, and the LED is disposed behind the rear surface of the printed circuit board, the wires are extending through the cutout of the printed circuit board and soldered to the contacts in front of the printed circuit board. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an assembled view of a cable connector assembly in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2 , but viewed from a different angle; 
         FIG. 4  is a partially assembled, perspective view of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is similar to  FIG. 4 , but viewed from another aspect; and 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-section view take along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , a cable connector assembly  100  made in accordance with the present invention comprises a printed circuit board  2  perpendicular to a mating direction, a mating member  3  arranged in front of the printed circuit board  2 , a light pipe  4  behind the printed circuit board  2 , an inner cover  5  molded on the printed circuit board  2 , the light pipe  4  and the mating member  3 , an outer cover  6  and a cable  7  with a plurality of wires  71 . The inner cover  5  defines a ringed depression (not labeled) on a back end thereof. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-3 , the printed circuit board  2  is arranged along a direction vertical to the mating direction, the mating member  3  and the light pipe  4  are located on opposite sides of the printed circuit board  2 . The printed circuit board  2  has a polygonal configuration with a cutout  23  in the middle thereof, and also the printed circuit board  2  has a front surface and a rear surface, the cutout  23  is defined through the front surface and the rear surface. A pair of conductive portions  21 ,  22  are defined side by side on a lower segment of the front surface of the printed circuit board  2 , and the conductive portions  21 ,  22  are spaced apart from each other along a direction perpendicular to the mating direction. In addition, the printed circuit board  2  defines four Light Emitting Diodes (LED)  24  disposed symmetrically on the rear surface to indicate the work status of the cable connector assembly  100 . A pair of resistors  25  are disposed on an upper segment of the front surface. 
     The mating member  3  comprises a mating section  31  made of metallic material and in the front thereof, an insulative housing (not labeled) enclosed in the mating section  31 , a pair of signal contacts  34  received in the insulative housing, a pair of power contacts  33  extending beyond a back end of the mating section  31 , and a spacer  35  sandwiched between the pair of the power contacts  35 . Each signal contact  34  has a smaller dimension than each power contact  33 , so can be distinguished and soldered conveniently. The mating section  31  has a cavity  32  and a slit  311  on a top wall thereof. The signal contacts  34  are received in channels (not labeled) of the cavity  32 . Each power contact  33  has a soldering portion  331  extending outwards, and a top wall of the spacer  35  is higher than the power contacts  33  to prevent short circuit. 
     The light pipe  4  is of cap-shape and has a front section and a back section, the front section has a bigger dimension than the back section. The light pipe  4  is made of transparent plastic material to transmit the light from the LED  24 . The light pipe  4  comprises a transmitting portion  43  in the front thereof and a retaining portion  41  behind the transmitting portion  43 , and the transmitting portion  43  has a bigger outside diameter than the retaining portion  41 . The transmitting portion  43  has a visible area  431  on a rear end of the transmitting portion  43  to indicate the status of the LED  24  for users looking at. The retaining portion  41  has a plurality of ringed ribs (not labeled) and a number of grooves (not labeled) in stagger relationship with the corresponding ribs, and each rib has a pair of planes on lateral sides to avoid the rotation of the light pipe  4  relative to the cable  7 . The light pipe  4  is defined with a passageway  42  therethrough. 
     The cable  7  comprises a strain relief portion  72  for releasing stress and a plurality of wires  71  extending forwardly from the strain relief portion  72 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-6 , in assembly, the mating member  3  is electrically connected with the printed circuit board  2  via the pair of power contacts  33 , the power contacts  33  are passing through the cutout  23  of the printed circuit board  2 , the soldering portions  331  are adjacent and soldered to the corresponding conductive portions  21 ,  22  of the printed circuit board  2 . The printed circuit board  2  is located neighboring to a front end surface of the light pipe  4 , the wires  71  of the cable  7  are extending through the passageway  42  of the light pipe  4  and the cutout  23  of the printed circuit board  2 , and then the wires  71  is soldered to the signal contacts  34  and the power contacts  33  in front of the printed circuit board  2  to increase the soldering area and prevent destroying the electronic components on the printed circuit board  2 . And then the inner cover  5  is molded on the assembly of the printed circuit board  2 , the mating member  3  and the light pipe  4 . The inner cover  5  is made of engineering plastic material to enhance the intensity of the interconnection between the before-mentioned components in a narrow space. Finally, the outer cover  6  is over-molded on the inner cover  5 . When the cable connector assembly  100  is assembled, the strain relief portion  72  is enclosing the retaining portion  41  of the light pipe  4 , and the visible area  431  is exposed between the outer cover  6  and the strain relief portion  72  to indicate the work status of the cable connector assembly  100 , and the strain relief portion  72  is enclosing a back part of the inner cover  5 . 
     The strain relief portion  72  molded on the light pipe  4  can achieve a better conjunction via the plurality of ribs and grooves configured on the light pipe  4 , and the cable connector assembly  100  can be swayed repetitiously. Additionally, as the retaining portion  41  defined on the light pipe  4  has an effect of relieving strain, so the cable connector assembly  100  is omitted a conventional ring member to be manufactured easily. The printed circuit board  2  is close to the front end surface of the light pipe  4 , so the light from the LED  24  can be transmitted to the visible area  431  and decreased waste. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of 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.