Patent Publication Number: US-10333263-B2

Title: Cable connector assembly having cable of a flat structure

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a cable connector assembly having a cable of a flat structure. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0079689, published on Mar. 17, 2016, shows a cable connector assembly including a connector and a cable electrically connected to the connector. The cable includes a plurality of core wires and associated outer insulative layers. The cross-section of the cable is circular such that the cable has a large dimension in the thickness direction. 
     An improved cable connector assembly is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide an improved cable connector assembly with a cable having a small dimension in the thickness direction. 
     To achieve the above-mentioned object, a cable connector assembly comprises: a connector; and a cable electrically connected to the connector and extending along a longitudinal direction, the cable including a plurality of core wires, the core wires comprising plural pairs of high-speed signal lines for transmitting high-speed signals, a pair of low-speed signal lines for transmitting low-speed signals, a pair of power signal lines for transmitting power signals, a pair of spare signal lines, a detection signal line for transmitting detection signals, and a power supply line, wherein the core wires are arranged in an upper row and a lower row along a width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a part of the high-speed signal lines, the pair of low-speed signal lines, one power signal line, and one spare signal line are located in the upper row, and the remaining high-speed signal lines, the detection signal line, the power supply line, another spare signal line, and another power signal line are located in the lower row. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cable connector assembly in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially exploded view of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a further partially exploded view of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view similar to  FIG. 3 , but from a different perspective; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an cross-section view of the cable of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is another cross-section view of the cable of the cable connector assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 8  is another cross-section view of the cable of the cable connector assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 8 , a cable connector assembly in accordance with the 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  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. 3 to 6 , 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.