PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-7775825-B2
Application Number: US-15473908-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Cable connector assembly having strain relief member for cable

Abstract:
A cable connector assembly ( 100 ) in accordance with the present invention includes a housing ( 1 ), a terminal ( 2 ), a sleeve ( 5 ), and a strain relief member ( 7 ). The housing includes a mating end ( 11 ), a soldering end ( 12 ), and a passage formed through the mating and soldering ends. The terminal is received in the passage of the housing and includes a mating portion ( 21 ) exposed in the mating end and a soldering portion ( 22 ) extending beyond the soldering end of the housing and soldered to a cable ( 3 ). The sleeve is mounted to enclose a contact junction ( 8 ) between the cable and the terminal, and the strain relief member is molded over a part of the cable and the sleeve.

Claims:
1. A cable connector assembly, comprising:
 a housing comprising a mating end, a soldering end, and a passage formed through the mating and soldering ends; 
 a terminal received in the passage of the housing and comprising a mating portion exposed in the mating end and a soldering portion extending beyond the soldering end of the housing and soldered to a cable; 
 a sleeve mounted to enclose a contact junction between the cable and the terminal; and 
 a strain relief member molded over a part of the cable and the sleeve. 
 
   
   
     2. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve extends forwards into the housing so as to be held on the housing, and extends backwards to hold the cable. 
   
   
     3. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein a cable clamp is mounted on the cable, and comprises a tubular crimper mounted and crimped on outer surfaces of the cable and a hook holding the sleeve. 
   
   
     4. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the sleeve comprises a tube covering the contact junction between the cable and the terminal, and an enlargement extending forwards into an opening of the housing and holding on the housing. 
   
   
     5. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein further comprises a gasket with an opening in the center thereof, and the gasket passes through the tube of the sleeve and abuts against the enlargement so as to hold the sleeve on the housing. 
   
   
     6. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the gasket is shaped to near perfect match with the opening of the housing. 
   
   
     7. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve comprises a tube covering the contact junction between the cable and the terminal, and an enlargement extending forwards into an opening of the housing and holding on the housing. 
   
   
     8. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the cable connector comprises a pair of soldering portions, one of which electrically connects at least two mating portions for transmitting positive electricity, the other of which electrically connects at least two mating portions for transmitting negative electricity. 
   
   
     9. A cable connector assembly, comprising:
 a housing comprising a mating end and a soldering end defining an opening; 
 a terminal comprising a mating portion received in the mating end and a soldering portion extending beyond the opening of the housing so as to be soldered to a cable; and 
 a rigid sleeve mounted to cover a contact junction between the cable and the terminal, the sleeve extending forwards into the opening of the housing so as to be held on the housing, the sleeve extending backwards to hold the cable. 
 
   
   
     10. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein a strain relief pipe is molded and encloses the sleeve and a part of the cable. 
   
   
     11. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein a cable clamp is mounted on the cable, and comprises a tubular crimper mounted and crimped on outer surfaces of the cable and a hook holding the sleeve. 
   
   
     12. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the sleeve comprises a tube covering the contact junction between the cable and the terminal, and an enlargement extending forwards into the opening of the housing and holding on the housing. 
   
   
     13. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein further comprises a gasket with an opening in the center thereof, and the gasket passes through the tube of the sleeve and abuts against the enlargement so as to hold the sleeve on the housing. 
   
   
     14. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the gasket is shaped to near perfect match with the opening of the housing. 
   
   
     15. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the cable connector comprises a pair of soldering portions, one of which electrically connects at least two mating portions for transmitting positive electricity, the other of which electrically connects at least two mating portions for transmitting negative electricity. 
   
   
     16. A cable connector assembly comprising:
 an insulative housing defining a mating port facing in a first direction and a connection port facing in a second direction different from said first direction; 
 a plurality of contacts disposed in the housing, each of said contacts defining a mating section in said mating port, and a connection section in said connection port; 
 a cable having an outer jacket enclosing a plurality of wires which are connected to the connection sections of the corresponding contacts, respectively; 
 a sleeve extending along an axial direction primarily behind the housing, and surrounding a joint area of said connection sections and said wires; and 
 a gasket embedded in the housing and forwardly abutting against a front end of said sleeve to in said axial direction so as to prevent the sleeve from moving rearwardly away from the housing. 
 
   
   
     17. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 16 , further including a cable clamp located around a front end of the jacket and having a front end received in the sleeve. 
   
   
     18. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and said housing defines a larger dimension in said first direction than in a third direction which is perpendicular to both said first and second direction, and the gasket is configured to define a greater dimension along said first direction than any other directions in a plane defined by said first direction and said third direction. 
   
   
     19. The cable connector assembly as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein said gasket essentially surrounds the sleeve.

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 having a strain relief member for a cable. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Metal strain relief member is widely used in a cable connector assembly for providing mechanical support and grounding function to a cable. Usually, there are two types of strain relief member currently. One type is that a conductive shell forms a train relief section grasping a metal braiding layer of a cable to provide mechanical support and grounding function. The other type is that a cable connector assembly has a separate strain relief member comprising a strain relief section grasping a metal braiding layer of the cable and electrically connects with a metal shell of the cable connector assembly to realize mechanical support and grounding function, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,706,970B2, 6,663,415B1. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector assembly having a stain relief member with thereof a sleeve for enclosing contact junctions between a cable and terminals. 
   In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a cable connector assembly in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing, a terminal, a sleeve, and a strain relief member. The housing comprises a mating end, a soldering end, and a passage formed through the mating and soldering ends. The terminal is received in the passage of the housing and comprises a mating portion exposed in the mating end and a soldering portion extending beyond the soldering end of the housing and soldered to a cable. The sleeve is mounted to enclose a contact junction between the cable and the terminal, and a strain relief member is molded over a part of the cable and the sleeve. 
   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 exploded, perspective view of a cable connector assembly in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a view similar to  FIG. 1 , but viewed from a different aspect; 
       FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 1 , but viewed from another different aspect; 
       FIG. 4-8  show assembling process of the cable connector assembly; 
       FIGS. 9-10  are cross-section views taken along lines  9 - 9  to  13 - 13  of  FIG. 8 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , a cable connector assembly  100  in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing  1 , a terminal assembly  2  assembled to the housing  1 , a round cable  3  soldered to the terminal assembly  2 , a rigid sleeve  5  covering a contact junction  8  between the terminal assembly  2  and the round cable  3 , and a strain relief member  7  molded over the rigid sleeve  5  and a part of the round cable  3 . 
   The housing  1  is made of metal and comprises a mating port  11  opening to the left so as to mate with a complementary connector and a soldering port  12  opening to the rear so as to accommodate the round cable  4 . The mating port  11  and the soldering port  12  communicate with each other and receive the terminal assembly  2  therein. 
   The terminal assembly  2  comprises a terminal block  23 , five mating members  21  held in the terminal block  23 , a plurality of function elements  24  held on surfaces of the terminal block  23  and electrically connecting with the mating members  21 , and a pair of soldering members  22  electrically connecting with the function elements  24 . The mating members  21  is received in the terminal block  23 , with front portions  211  of the mating members  21  extending beyond the terminal block  23  so as to mate with a complementary connector. Tail portions  221  of the soldering members  22  extends beyond the terminal block  23  and the housing  1  so as to be soldered to the round cable  3 . 
   The mating members  21  consist of a pair of ground terminals  212 , a pair of power terminals  213  located between the pair of ground terminals  212  and a center detect terminal  214  located between the pair of power terminals  213 . Each mating member  21  is of a POGO Pin type, that is to say, there is a spring (not shown) inside the mating member  21 , thus, when mating, the mating member  21  can be pressed to rearward move along the mating direction. One of the pair of soldering members  22  electrically connects with the pair of power terminals  213  for transmitting positive electricity, and the other electrically connects with the pair of ground terminals  212  for transmitting negative electricity. 
   The round cable  3  comprises an insulative jacket  31  at the outermost thereof and a pair of conductive conductors  32  enclosed by the insulative jacket  31  for transmitting power. A front portion of the insulative jacket  31  is stripped to expose part of the conductive conductors  32 . 
   A cable clamp  4  which is made of metal is mounted on the cable  3 , and comprises a tubular crimper  41  mounted and crimped on outer surfaces of the round cable  3  and a hook  42  holding the sleeve  5 . 
   The rigid sleeve  5  is made of metal and comprises a tube  51  covering the contact junctions  8  between the round cable  3  and the soldering members  22 , and an enlargement  52  extending forwards into the opening  12  of the housing  1  and holding on the housing  1 . 
   A gasket  6  with an opening  60  in the center thereof passes through the tube  51  of the sleeve  5  and abuts against the enlargement  52  so as to hold the sleeve  5  on the housing  1 . The gasket  6  is also made of metal. 
   In assembly, please referring to  FIGS. 4-10 , at first the gasket  6  is assembled onto the sleeve  5  along the tube  51  from the rear, and the cable clamp  4  is inserted from the front into the tube  51  of the sleeve  5  with the tubular crimper  41  extending beyond the sleeve  5  and exposed outside. Then the front portion of the round cable  3  is inserted into the sleeve  5  with the conductive conductors in the front exposed outside the sleeve  5 . Thirdly, solder the conductive conductors to the soldering members  22 . Fourthly, the sleeve  5  slides along the round cable  3  so that the tube  51  covers the contact junctions  8  and the enlargement  52  enters into the opening  12  of the housing  1 . Fifthly, the gasket  6  is inserted into and engages with the opening  12  of the housing  1  to prevent the enlargement  52  from withdrawing from the opening  12 , and press the tubular crimper  41  inwards so the cable clamp  4  holds on the round cable  3 . The housing  1 , the gasket  6 , the rigid sleeve  5  and the cable clamp  4  are soldered to each other. Finally, the strain relief member  7  is molded over a part of the round cable  3  and the rigid sleeve  5 . 
   The sleeve  5  is mounted to cover the contact junction  8  between the round cable  3  and the soldering member  22  so that the contact junction  8  isn&#39;t destroyed when the strain relief member  7  is molded. Moreover, the sleeve  5  is rigid and can strengthen the rigidity of the round cable  3 . 
   Other structures and assembly process of the cable connector assembly  200  same as those of the cable connector assembly  100  are omitted here. 
   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.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20080527
Publication Date: 20100817
Grant Date: 20100817
Priority Date: 20080527
Inventors: WU JERRY
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H01R13/5812", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/5845", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/5812", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01R13/5845", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 41380381