Patent Publication Number: US-10777954-B2

Title: Cable connector assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to a miniaturized cable connector assembly. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0079689, published on Mar. 17, 2016, discloses a cable connector assembly. The cable connector assembly includes a plug, a PCB connected with the plug, a cable connected with the PCB, a first metal shell receiving PCB and part of plug, a second metal shell receiving part of the first metal shell and cable, and a cage disposed outside the first metal shell and the second metal shell. The cable connector assembly has a large number of parts and a complex structure such that the overall size of the cable connector is large and it is difficult to meet demand for miniaturization. 
     An improved miniaturized cable connector assembly is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector assembly with simple and stable structure. 
     To achieve the above object, a cable connector assembly comprises: a cable connector; a cable electrically connected with the cable connector; an outer shell enclosing at least a portion of the cable connector and enclosing a portion of the cable, the outer shell having an inner dimension greater than an outer dimension of the cable; and a filler filled between the outer shell and the cable. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cable connector assembly in accordance with a first embodiment of present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially exploded view of the cable connector assembly as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is another exploded view of the cable connector assembly as shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is further exploded view of the cable connector assembly as shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is another exploded view of the cable connector assembly as shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is further exploded view of the cable connector assembly as shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded view of a plug and a metal shell of the cable connector assembly in the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a plug and a metal shell of the cable connector assembly taken along line  8 - 8  in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the cable connector assembly taken along line  9 - 9  in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a cable connector assembly in accordance with a second embodiment of present invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a partially exploded view of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a further partially exploded view of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 13  is an exploded view similar to  FIG. 12 , but from a different perspective; 
         FIG. 14  is an exploded view of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-section view of the cable of the cable connector assembly taken along line  15 - 15  in  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 16  is another cross-section view of the cable of the cable connector assembly taken along line  16 - 16  in  FIG. 10 ; and 
         FIG. 17  is another cross-section view of the cable of the cable connector assembly taken along line  17 - 17  in  FIG. 10 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 9 , a cable connector assembly  100 , in accordance with a first embodiment of present invention, can be mated with the mating connector in two opposite directions and includes a plug  1 , a cable  2  electrically connected with plug  1 , a crimping member  3  crimped on the outside of the cable  2 , and a metal shell  6  with receiving cavity  60  set on the outside of the plug  1  and cable  2 . An inner mold (not shown) may be provided to enclose part of the plug  1  and the cable  2 . 
     The plug  1  includes an insulative housing  11 , a plurality of conductive terminals  12  received in the insulative housing  11 , and a latch  13 . The housing forms a mating member (not labeled) with a mating port (not labeled) in which the terminals  12  are exposed for mating. The conductive terminals  12  include a row of first terminals  121  and a row of second terminals  122 . The latch  13  is sandwiched between the first terminals  121  and the second terminals  122 . The insulative housing  11  includes a first housing  111  fixing the first terminals  121 , a second housing  112  fixing the second terminals  122  and a front housing  113  assembled at the front of first housing  111  and second housing  112 . The insulative housing  11  has a positioning block for fixing a reinforcement  33  of the crimping member  3 . The conductive terminals  12  include a plurality of ground terminals  1211 . In this embodiment, both sides of the first terminals  121  and the second terminals  122  are ground terminals  1211 . In other embodiments, The ground terminals  1211  may also be disposed at other positions in the conductive terminals  12 . The rear end of the ground terminals  1211  has a welding portion  1212 . The latch  13  includes two spaced latch arms  131  and a connecting arm  132  connecting two spaced latch arms  131 . The front end of two spaced latch arms  131  both have latching portion  1311  locked with a mating connector. The rear ends of two spaced latch arms  131  both have fixing portion  1312 . 
     The crimping member  3  includes a crimping ring  31  crimped on the outside of the cable  2 , a reinforcement  33  fixed to the tail of the plug  1  and a connecting portion  32  connecting the crimping ring  31  and the reinforcement  33 . In this embodiment, the crimping ring  31  covers the outside of the cable  2 . The connecting portion  32  extends forward from one wall of the four walls of the crimping ring  31 . The reinforcement  33  is formed to extend forward from left and right sides of the connecting portion  32 , and includes two fixing pads  331  extending forward from left and right sides of the connecting portion  32 , respectively. The fixing pads  331  have a positioning hole  3310 . The positioning hole  3310  cooperates with the positioning block  116  to limit the position. In other embodiments, the specific structure of the crimping member  3  can be determined according to actual conditions. 
     In this embodiment, cable  2  is a flat cable and includes a plurality of cores  21  and an outer layer  22  coated on the outer side of the cores  21 . The core  21  may be a first core or a second core. Each core includes a conductor  2111 . Conductor of the first core is a bare conductor. Each second core includes an insulative layer  2121  coated on the conductor  2111 . In this embodiment, the cores  21  include a pair of adjacently disposed power wires  210 , a pair of adjacently disposed grounding wires  211 , and a signal wire  212  and a detection wire  213  disposed between the power wires  210  and the grounding wires  211 . Two power wires  210  are adjacent to each other and transmit the same power signal. Two grounding wires  211  are also adjacent to each other and commonly transmit the same ground signal. The signal wires  212  have a grounding wire  25 , and the grounding wire  25  is folded over and attached to the outer side of the cable  2 . The pair of grounding wires  211  and the pair of power wires  210  are first cores, and the signal wires  212  and detection wire  213  are second cores. In this embodiment, each conductor  2111  may include a wire  214  to improve the bending performance of the cable  2 . In the present embodiment, by setting the first cores to be bare conductors, the thickness of the cable is minimized while ensuring the thickness of the outer layer. In this embodiment, all the conductors  2111  employ an ultra-fine, copper alloy structure to reinforce the bending performance of the cable  2  itself. In other embodiments, the cable  2  may also be a round wire, and the internal structure of the cable  2  may also be set according to actual conditions. 
     During assembly, the conductive terminals  12  are accommodated in the insulative housing  11 , and the latch  13  is sandwiched between the first terminals  121  and the second terminals  122 . In this embodiment, the two fixing portions  1312  of the latch  13  are respectively welded to the corresponding one or two welding portions  1212  of the grounding terminal  1211  to achieve grounding. The grounding wire  25  of the cable  2  is folded and overlaid on the outside of the cable  2 , the cable  2  is electrically connected to the rear end of the conductive terminals  12 , and the crimping ring  31  is riveted on the outside of the cable  2 . The grounding wire  25  is press-fitted therein to achieve electrical contact between the crimping ring  31  and grounding wire  25 . The positioning hole  3310  of the fixing pads  331  of the reinforcement  33  is limited to the positioning block  116  of the insulative housing  1 , and then the fixing pads  331  is welded and fixed to the welding portion  1212  of the grounding terminals  1211 . In other embodiments, the reinforcement  33  may be directly welded and fixed with the fixing portion  1312  of the locking member  13 , or fixed and electrically connected through other fixing methods. In another embodiment, the fixing piece  331  of the reinforcement  33 , the welding portion  1212  of the grounding terminals  1211 , and the fixing portion  1312  of the locking member  13  can be directly laser welded or other methods, and the three are simultaneously fixed and electrically connected together. Then, the inner mold is over-molded and mated with the cable  2  and the mating connector  1 . Finally, the metal shell  6  is assembled from the rear thereof on the outside of the front end of the plug  1  and the cable  2 . The front section of the metal shell  6  is glued to the inner mold by glue. The rear end of the metal shell  6  is pressed against the upper and lower walls  311  of the crimping ring  31  so that the crimping member  3  is grounded, so that the noise in the signal wire  212  is introduced into the ground through the metal shell  6 . In a specific implementation process, a crescent-like plastic member  7  may be added between the metal shell  6  and the crimping ring  31  so that the metal shell  6  is in close contact with the crimping ring  31  to avoid gaps between the two metal parts, resulting in easy loosening of the structure. In the present invention, by adding the reinforcement  33  fixed to the plug  1  in the crimping member  3 . On the one hand, the overall structure of the cable connector assembly  100  of the present invention is made stronger, and avoids the phenomenon of breakage in the place where cable  2  and plug  1  are connected, and strengthens the tensile strength of the entire cable connector assembly  100 ; on the other hand, because the reinforcement member  33  is in direct or indirect contact with the ground terminals  1211  to achieve electrical connection therebetween, the reinforcement member  33  is grounded through the ground terminal  1211  so that even if the crimping ring  31  and the metal shell  6  resist poorly, when the crimping member  31  cannot be grounded through the crimping ring  31 , the crimping member  31  can still be grounded through the reinforcement  33  to reduce signal interference. 
     In a specific implementation process, a plastic member  7  may be added between the metal shell  6  and the crimping ring  31  so that the metal shell  6  is in close contact with the crimping ring  31  to avoid gaps between the two metal parts, resulting in easy loosening of the structure. In the present invention, by adding the reinforcement  33  fixed to the plug  1  in the crimping member  3 . On the one hand, the overall structure of the cable connector assembly  100  of the present invention is made stronger, and avoids the phenomenon of breakage in the place where cable  2  and plug  1  are connected, and strengthens the tensile strength of the entire cable connector assembly  100 ; on the other hand, because the reinforcement member  33  is in direct or indirect contact with the ground terminals  1211  to achieve electrical connection therebetween, the reinforcement member  33  is grounded through the ground terminal  1211  so that even if the crimping ring  31  and the metal shell  6  resist poorly, when the crimping member  31  cannot be grounded through the crimping ring  31 , the crimping member  31  can still be grounded through the reinforcement  33  to reduce signal interference. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 9 to 17 , a cable connector assembly, in accordance with a second embodiment of present invention, for mating with a mating connector (not shown), comprises an electrical connector  1 ′ and a cable  2 ′ electrically connected with the electrical connector  1 ′. The electrical connector  1 ′ includes s mating member  11 ′, in which the mating port is formed with two rows of terminals arranged by two sides, for mating with the mating connector, a printed circuit board (PCB)  12 ′ connected between the mating member  11 ′ and the cable  2 ′, an inner mold  13 ′ enclosing the conjunction portion of the cable  2 ′ and the PCB  12 ′, a shielding case  14 ′ enclosing the mating member  11 ′ and the PCB  12 ′, an insulative outer case  15 ′ enclosing the shielding case  14 ′ and the cable  2 ′, and a management block  16 ′ for locating the cable  2 ′. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 12 to 15 , The cable  2 ′ includes a plurality of core wires  21 ′, an inner insulative layer  22 ′ enclosing the corresponding core wires  21 ′, a first braided layer  23 ′ enclosing the inner insulative layer  22 ′ and a outer insulative layer  24 ′ formed on outside of the first braided layer  23 ′. The cable  2 ′ is used to transmit USB Type C signal. The core wires  21 ′ includes four (differential) pairs of high-speed signal lines  212 ′ for transmitting high-speed signals, a pair of spare signal lines  213 ′, a detection signal line  214 ′ for transmitting detection signals, a power supply line  215 ′ for supplying power to the connector, a pair of low-speed signal lines  216 ′ and a pair of power signal lines  217 ′ that transmit power signals. The low-speed signal lines  216 ′ are used to transmit USB 2.0 signals with lower speed. The pair of power signal lines  217 ′ is used respectively to transmit positive and negative signals of the power source. The pair of spare signal lines  213 ′ can set transmission of signals such as audio as required. 
     All the core wires  21 ′ except the pair of power signal wires  217 ′ are coaxial wires. The coaxial lines include a center conductor  218 ′, an insulating layer  219 ′ covering the center conductor  218 ′ and a second braided layer  220 ′ wrapped around the insulating layer  219 ′. The first and second braided layers  23 ′,  220 ′ can effectively weaken the external radiation of the center conductor  218 ′ and strengthen its own anti-interference ability. 
     The core wires  21 ′ are arranged up and down in two rows. An upper row includes two pairs of high-speed signal lines  212 ′, the pair of low-speed signal lines  216 ′, a spare signal line  213 ′ and a power signal line  217 ′. The lower row includes two pairs of high-speed signal lines  212 ′, a detection signal line  214 ′, a power supply line  215 ′, a spare signal line  213 ′ and a power signal line  217 ′. The cable  2 ′ is flat and is divided into a first side  201 ′ and a second side  202 ′ in a width direction. The two pairs of high-speed signal lines  212 ′ are located on the first side  201 ′ and are oppositely disposed one above the other. The power signal lines  217 ′ are located on the second side  202 ′ and are oppositely disposed one above the other. The other two pairs of high-speed signal lines  212 ′ are located inside the power signal lines  217 ′ in the width direction. The pair of low-speed signal lines  216 ′ and a spare signal line  213 ′ are disposed between the two pairs of high-speed signal lines  212 ′ in the upper row, and the spare signal lines  213 ′ are located between the low-speed signal lines  216 ′ and the high-speed signal lines  212 ′ located on the first side  201 ′. The detection signal line  214 ′ in the lower row is adjacent to the high speed signal lines  212 ′ on the first side  201 ′. The lower spare signal line  213 ′ in the low row is adjacent to the high speed signal lines  212 ′ near the second side  202 ′. The power supply line  215 ′ for powering the connector  1 ′ internally is located between the detection signal line  214 ′ and the spare signal line  213 ′ in the lower row. This arrangement allows the spare signal lines  213  to be arranged separately, effectively preventing them from coupling with each other. 
     The cable  2 ′ is not provided with a ground wire, instead, the second braided layer  220 ′ of each coaxial line serves as a ground wire, and can satisfy a voltage drop of 250 mV when there is a current of 3 A or 5 A. The specifications of the two power signal lines  217 ′ can be flexibly designed with 26 or 24 AWG (American wire gauge), and can meet 500 mV voltage drop when there is 3 A or 5 A current. 
     The PCB  12 ′ includes an upper surface and a lower surface, and the front and back conductive sheets are symmetrical, because it can be inserted along both of the forward and backward direction. The PCB  12 ′ defines a plurality of first conductive pads  120 ′ on a front end thereof, a grounding region  121 ′ on a rear end and a plurality of second conductive pads  122 ′ between the first conductive pads  120 ′ and the grounding region  121 ′. Both of the upper surface and the lower surface define the first conductive pads  120 ′, the grounding region  121 ′ and the second conductive pads  122 ′. The first conductive pads  120 ′ are electrically connected to the contacts of the mating member  11 ′. The grounding regions  121 ′ are soldered to the second braided layers  220 ′. Each of the center conductors  218 ′ is electrically connected to the second conductive pads  122 ′ corresponding on the front and rear ends of the PCB  12 ′ respectively. 
     The shielding case  14 ′ includes a first case  140 ′ and a second case  141 ′. The first case  140 ′ includes a first edge  1400 ′, an upper surface  1401 ′, and a tail portion  1402 ′ extending from the upper surface  1401 ′ toward the extending direction of the cable  2 ′. The second case  141 ′ includes a second edge  1410 ′, a lower surface  1411 ′ and a retaining portion  1412 ′ extending from the lower surface  1411 ′ towards the extending direction of the cable  2 ′. The end of the first braided layer  23 ′ of the cable  2 ′ is overturned on the surface of the cable  2 ′, and is wrapped with a copper foil  25 ′. The tail portion  1402 ′ extends to the copper foil  25 ′. The retaining portion  1412 ′ is held on the tail portion  1402 ′ and the copper foil  25 ′ to be caulked on the cable  2 ′. The first case  140 ′ and the second case  141 ′ are assembled together by laser welding. The shielding case  14 ′ and the mating member  11 ′ are also assembled by laser welding. In this embodiment, an insulative or rubbery front cap  30 ′ surrounds the mating member  11 ′ and is enclosed in the shielding case  14 ′ for better sealing performance, and a pair of insulative or rubbery rear caps  32 ′ sandwiched between the copper foil  25 ′ and the outer case  15 ′ for compensating the contour difference between the outer profile of the cable  2 ′ with the associated copper foil  25 ′ thereon and that of the outer case  15 ′ which is essentially of a capsular cross-sectional configuration. 
     Notably, the cable  2 ′ is essentially of a rectangular cross-sectional with corresponding curves at four corners while the outer case  15 ′ is essentially of a capsular cross-sectional configuration for compliance with the similar capsular cross-sectional configuration of the mating member  11 ′. In this embodiment, the outer case  15 ′ is slightly larger than the mating member  11 ′ while in the first embodiment a front portion of the metal shell  6  directly covers the housing  11  to be a part of the mating member defined in the second embodiment. In other words, in the second embodiment, the pair of rear caps  32 ′ are sandwiched between the two lateral sides of the retaining portion  1412 ′ and the outer case  15 ′ in the transverse direction. Similarly and analogously, in the first embodiment, the pair of plastic members  7 , which are analogous to the pair of rear caps  32 ′, are sandwiched between the crimping member  3 , which is analogous to the retaining portion  1412 ′, and the metal shell  6 , which is analogous to the outer case  15 ′, in the transverse direction. 
     Notably, both the rear cap  32  and the plastic member  7  are essentially of a crescent configuration wherein an inner side of the plastic member  7  extends more curvedly than the rear cap  32 . It is also noted that in the first embodiment, in a cross-sectional view the cable  2  is smaller than the mating member in both the vertical direct and the transverse direction while in the second embodiment, in a cross-sectional view the cable  2 ′ is smaller than the mating member  11 ′ in the transverse direction while is not smaller or even bigger in the vertical direction.