FPC cable and earphones

Abstract

The present invention is applicable to the field of cable arrangement, and provides an FPC cable and earphone. The FPC cable includes: an FPC soft board, which is in a strip shape and extends left and right; two connectors, which are respectively connected to the left and right ends of the FPC soft board; a sleeve, which is sleeved on the outside of the FPC soft board and is fitted with the FPC gap, and the two ends of the sleeve are respectively fixedly connected to the two connectors, and the sleeve has better tensile and bending resistance than the FPC soft board. The FPC cable provided by the present invention can improve the overall tensile and bending resistance of the FPC cable and protect the FPC soft board.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of cable arrangement, and in particular relates to an FPC cable and an earphone. Background Art

[0002] Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) is a printed circuit made of flexible insulating substrate, which has many advantages that rigid printed circuit boards do not have. For example, it can be bent, rolled, folded freely, can be arranged arbitrarily according to spatial layout requirements, and can be moved and stretched arbitrarily in three-dimensional space, so as to achieve the integration of component assembly and wire connection.

[0003] In the field of headphones, as the functions of headphone products increase, the number of core wires required for traditional wires increases, which leads to problems such as difficulty in arranging wires, complicated connection procedures, and time-consuming. Replacing traditional wires with FPC cables and using male and female plugs for direct plug-and-play can greatly improve production efficiency.

[0004] The FPC cable includes an FPC soft board and a protective cover for protecting the FPC. Due to the poor toughness and mechanical reliability of the FPC soft board, it is easy to bend during use and break after being bent a certain number of times. The existing protective cover is made of flexible material, and the protective cover only isolates and protects the FPC soft board to prevent foreign objects from directly contacting the FPC soft board. When the FPC cable is bent, the structural bending resistance of the protective cover is relatively limited, and due to the fixed connection between the FPC soft board and the protective cover, when the protective cover is bent and deformed, a tensile force will be applied to the FPC soft board, causing the FPC soft board to bend, which is not conducive to the protection of the FPC soft board. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and to provide an FPC cable, which is intended to solve the technical problem that the FPC flexible board is easily bent during use and breaks after being bent a certain number of times.

[0006] An FPC cable, comprising:

[0007] The FPC soft board is in strip shape and extends left and right;

[0008] There are two connectors, which are respectively connected to the left and right ends of the FPC soft board;

[0009] The sleeve is made of a bendable material and is sleeved on the outside of the FPC soft board. The cross-sectional shape of the sleeve is a closed ring or an open ring, and the FPC soft board can move inside it. The two ends of the sleeve are respectively fixedly connected to the two joints. The sleeve has better tensile and bending resistance than the FPC soft board.

[0010] Optionally, the cross-sectional shape of the sleeve is an open ring, and the ring opening is used for allowing the FPC soft board to enter and exit, and the FPC cable also includes a sealing strip for closing the sleeve ring opening.

[0011] Optionally, the sleeve is made of an elastic material, and the ring opening thereof is expanded by elastic deformation to allow the FPC soft board to enter and exit.

[0012] Optionally, the FPC cable further includes at least one bulletproof wire, each of the bulletproof wires is arranged parallel to the FPC soft board and embedded in the sleeve, and the tensile strength of the bulletproof wire is due to the sleeve.

[0013] Optionally, there are multiple bulletproof threads and they are arranged at intervals around the FPC soft board.

[0014] Optionally, the FPC cable further includes a protective cover, which is disposed on the outside of the sleeve and the sealing strip and is fixedly connected to the sleeve and the sealing strip, and both ends of the protective cover are respectively connected to the two connectors.

[0015] Optionally, the protective cover is made of silicone material.

[0016] Optionally, the sleeve is made of TPU material.

[0017] Optionally, the bulletproof wire is made of glass fiber material, and the bulletproof wire is embedded in the sleeve by implantation injection molding.

[0018] An earphone comprises two earphone tips and an FPC cable connecting the two earphone tips, wherein the FPC cable is the above-mentioned FPC cable.

[0019] The FPC cable and earphone provided by the present application have the following beneficial effects: under the same tensile force or torque, the FPC cable provided by the present application can effectively reduce the amount of stretching deformation or the curvature of bending, thereby protecting the FPC soft board. In addition, there is a clearance fit between the sleeve and the FPC soft board, and the FPC soft board will not be affected by the deformation of the sleeve, which is conducive to further protecting the FPC soft board and solving the risk that the FPC soft board is easily bent during use and breaks after being bent a certain number of times. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0021] Figure 1This is an overall schematic diagram of the FPC cable provided in Example 1 of the present application;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a partial disassembly of the FPC cable provided in the first embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the FPC cable provided in Example 1 of the present application.

[0024] Among them, the reference numerals in the figure are:

[0025] Label name Label name 10 FPC soft board 40 Sealing strip 20 Connectors 50 Bulletproof wire 30 casing 60 Protective case 31 Accommodation cavity 32 aisle 33 Insertion hole DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0027] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element.

[0028] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0029] In addition, in the description of the present application, “plurality” means two or more than two, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0030] Embodiment 1

[0031] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 This embodiment provides an FPC cable, including an FPC soft board 10, a connector 20 and a sleeve 30.

[0032] The FPC board 10 is strip-shaped and extends left and right.

[0033] There are two connectors 20, which are respectively connected to the left and right ends of the FPC soft board 10. The connector 20 is used to be electrically connected to the electrical device, and the connector 20 can be a male and female plug. The structure of the connector 20 matches the socket of the electrical device.

[0034] The sleeve 30 is made of a bendable material, and is sleeved on the outside of the FPC board 10 and is fitted with the FPC gap. Specifically, the cross-sectional shape of the sleeve 30 is a closed ring or an open ring, and the FPC board 10 can move inside it. The two ends of the sleeve 30 are fixedly connected to the two connectors 20 respectively, and the sleeve 30 has better tensile and bending resistance than the FPC board 10.

[0035] The sleeve 30 has a receiving cavity 31 that passes through from front to back. The FPC soft board 10 is placed in the receiving cavity 31. The connector 20 is inserted into the receiving cavity 31 and connected to the FPC soft board 10. Both ends of the sleeve 30 are directly connected to the connector 20 or connected to the connector 20 through other structures.

[0036] The sleeve 30 and the two ends of the FPC board 10 are connected as one body through the joint 20. Since the sleeve 30 has a better tensile strength than the FPC board 10, when the FPC cable is pulled, its internal stress can counteract the external tensile force to achieve the effect of protecting the FPC board 10; since the sleeve 30 has a better bending strength than the FPC board 10, when the FPC cable is subjected to an external bending force, its internal stress can counteract the external force to achieve the effect of protecting the FPC board 10; from another perspective, under the same tensile force or torque, the FPC cable can effectively reduce the tensile deformation or bending arc, thereby protecting the FPC board 10 to improve the bending of the FPC board 10. In addition, there is a clearance fit between the sleeve 30 and the FPC soft board 10, and the sleeve 30 and the FPC soft board 10 can move relatively freely. Compared with the design in which the cavity wall of the sleeve 30 is fixedly connected to the FPC soft board 10 or the sleeve 30 and the FPC soft board 10 are interference fit, when the sleeve 30 is stretched or bent under the action of external force, when the FPC soft board 10 is connected or interference fit with the sleeve 30, the FPC soft board 10 will be subjected to the tensile force from the sleeve 30 due to the deformation of the sleeve 30, and when the FPC soft board 10 and the sleeve 30 are clearance fit, the FPC soft board 10 will not be affected by the deformation of the sleeve 30. Therefore, the design of clearance fit between the sleeve 30 and the FPC soft board 10 can further protect the FPC soft board 10 and reduce the risk of bending and breaking of the FPC soft board 10.

[0037] Based on the above analysis, the FPC cable provided in this embodiment can effectively improve the overall tensile and bending resistance of the FPC cable, improve the stress bending condition of the FPC cable, protect the FPC soft board 10, and solve the problem that the FPC soft board 10 is easily bent during use and breaks after being bent a certain number of times.

[0038] In another embodiment of the present application, the sleeve 30 is made of TPU material. TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethanes) is a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber. TPU has a tensile strength of up to 70 MPa and has excellent bending resistance. It is not easy to break under repeated periodic stress, which is very consistent with the material requirements of the sleeve 30 of this embodiment. Of course, those skilled in the art can also select other materials for the sleeve 30 as long as it meets the requirements of tensile and bending resistance.

[0039] In another embodiment of the present application, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the cross section of the sleeve 30 is an open ring, and its ring opening is used for the FPC soft board 10 to enter and exit, and the FPC cable also includes a sealing strip 40 for closing the ring opening of the sleeve 30. In the illustrated structure, the sleeve 30 has a channel 32 inwardly opened on its outer surface to communicate with the accommodating cavity 31, and the FPC soft board 10 can enter the accommodating cavity 31 from the side of the sleeve 30 through the channel 32, thereby facilitating the assembly operation of the FPC soft board 10 and the sleeve 30. In other embodiments, the cross section of the sleeve 30 can also be a circular ring or other closed ring structure, and the accommodating cavity 31 is set to pass through from left to right, so that the FPC soft board 10 can be inserted into the accommodating cavity 31 from the left or right side of the accommodating cavity 31.

[0040] Considering that the FPC soft board 10 is strip-shaped and easy to bend, the sleeve 30 adopts an open ring design, so that the FPC soft board 10 can pass through the channel 32 section by section and enter the accommodating cavity 31, thereby avoiding the FPC soft board 10 from being pushed during the process of inserting the FPC soft board 10 from the end of the sleeve 30 into the accommodating cavity 31, thereby avoiding the deformation of the FPC soft board 10 caused by pushing, which may cause the wires in the FPC soft board 10 to break.

[0041] In this embodiment, the sealing strip 40 is a sealant. After the FPC board 10 is placed in the accommodating cavity 31, the sealant is filled in the channel 32 of the sleeve 30 to close the ring opening of the sleeve 30. At this time, the sleeve 30 and the sealing strip 40 together form a closed ring structure.

[0042] In another embodiment of the present application, the sleeve 30 is made of an elastic material, and its annular opening is expanded by elastic deformation to allow the FPC soft board 10 to enter and exit. This design can facilitate the insertion operation of the FPC soft board 10 and reduce the size of the annular opening that needs to be opened in the circumferential direction of the sleeve 30, so that the sleeve 30 and the sealing strip 40 together form a closed annular structure, and the proportion of the sleeve 30 increases and the proportion of the sealing strip 40 decreases. Generally speaking, the tensile and bending resistance of the sealing strip 40 is weaker than that of the sleeve 30. Therefore, increasing the specific gravity of the sleeve 30 can improve the tensile and bending resistance of the FPC soft board 10. In other embodiments, when the sleeve 30 cannot be expanded to allow the FPC soft board 10 to enter and exit, the size of the annular opening of the sleeve 30 (the size of the channel 32 in the circumferential direction) can be set to be larger than the length or width of the FPC section. When the ring size of the sleeve 30 is larger than the width of the FPC section but smaller than the length of the section, the FPC soft board 10 can be placed in the accommodating cavity 31 and then rotated in the accommodating cavity 31 to adjust its length and width.

[0043] In another embodiment of the present application, please refer to Figure 2 The FPC cable also includes at least one bulletproof wire 50, each bulletproof wire 50 is arranged parallel to the FPC soft board 10 and embedded in the sleeve 30. The tensile strength of the bulletproof wire 50 is better than that of the sleeve 30. The arrangement of the bulletproof wire 50 together with the sleeve 30 improves the tensile strength of the FPC cable. The arrangement of the bulletproof wire 50 parallel to the FPC soft board 10, combined with the design that the sleeve 30 is sleeved on the FPC soft board 10, the bulletproof wire 50 is parallel to the sleeve 30 to enhance the tensile strength of the sleeve 30.

[0044] The bulletproof wire 50 is in the shape of an elongated wire. In the illustrated structure, the cross section of the bulletproof wire 50 is circular. In other embodiments, the cross section of the bulletproof wire 50 may also be rectangular or in other shapes, which is not limited here.

[0045] The bulletproof wire 50 can be arranged on the outer ring surface or the inner ring surface of the sleeve 30, or can be arranged inside the sleeve 30. In the illustrated structure, the bulletproof wire 50 is placed inside the sleeve 30. The sleeve 30 is provided with at least one insertion hole 33 that passes through from one end surface to the other end surface, and the bulletproof wire 50 is placed in each insertion hole 33 respectively. The bulletproof wire 50 is placed inside the sleeve 30 to ensure the integrity of the outer ring surface and the inner ring surface of the sleeve 30, thereby reducing the damage to the integrity of the outer ring surface and the inner ring surface of the sleeve 30 caused by the opening of the insertion hole 33, which is easy to cause stress concentration. In other words, compared with the bulletproof wire 50 being arranged on the outer ring surface or the inner ring surface of the sleeve 30, the bulletproof wire 50 arranged inside the sleeve 30 is conducive to improving the structural strength of the sleeve 30.

[0046] It should be noted that the bulletproof wire 50 is fixedly connected to the sleeve 30. More specifically, the peripheral side surface of the bulletproof wire 50 is fixedly connected to the hole wall of the insertion hole 33. Preferably, the bulletproof wire 50 is embedded in the sleeve 30 by implantation injection molding. The bulletproof wire 50 and the sleeve 30 are connected as one body, which is conducive to improving the connection tightness of the bulletproof wire 50 and the sleeve 30, and then improving the overall tensile and bending resistance of the sleeve 30 and the bulletproof wire 50.

[0047] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, since the circumferential surface of the bulletproof wire 50 is in full contact with and fixedly connected to the wall of the insertion hole 33, the structural strength of the sleeve 30 will not be affected by the provision of the insertion hole 33. On the contrary, the provision of the bulletproof wire 50 limits the deformation of the sleeve 30 and improves the structural strength of the sleeve 30.

[0048] In this embodiment, each bulletproof wire 50 is arranged to be equal in length to the sleeve 30. That is, the bulletproof wire 50 extends to two end surfaces of the sleeve 30. Those skilled in the art may arrange that the bulletproof wire 50 is entirely covered in the sleeve 30, which is not limited here.

[0049] In another embodiment of the present application, there are multiple bulletproof wires 50 and they are arranged at intervals around the FPC soft board 10. The arrangement of multiple bulletproof wires 50 can further improve the tensile strength of the FPC cable. In addition, multiple bulletproof wires 50 are arranged at intervals around the FPC soft board 10, that is, multiple bulletproof wires 50 are arranged circumferentially around the FPC soft board 10, which can improve the bending resistance of the FPC cable. Specifically, when the FPC cable is bent upward by an external force, the bulletproof wire 50 located at the upper part of the FPC soft board 10 is bent and stretched to resist the external force. Similarly, when the FPC cable is bent downward by an external force, the bulletproof wire 50 located at the lower part of the FPC soft board 10 is bent and stretched to resist the external force. Therefore, the design of multiple bulletproof wires 50 arranged along the peripheral side of the FPC soft board 10 can effectively resist bending from all directions, thereby improving the bending resistance of the FPC cable.

[0050] In another embodiment of the present application, the bulletproof wire 50 is made of glass fiber material. Glass fiber has a higher elastic modulus than general plastic materials and has good tensile strength.

[0051] In another embodiment of the present application, please refer to Figure 2 or Figure 3 The FPC cable also includes a protective sleeve 60, which is sleeved on the outside of the sleeve 30 and the sealing strip 40 and fixedly connected to the sleeve 30 and the sealing strip 40. The two ends of the protective sleeve 60 are respectively connected to the two connectors 20. The protective sleeve 60 wraps the sleeve 30 and the sealing strip 40 therein, further connecting and fixing the sleeve 30 and the sealing strip 40, preventing the sleeve 30 and the sealing strip 40 from loosening under multiple bending, and improving the protection effect.

[0052] The protective cover 60 is formed by injection molding of a plastic material. In actual operation, the FPC soft board 10 is placed in the accommodating cavity 31 of the sleeve 30 (the sleeve 30 is implanted with the bulletproof wire 50), and then the seal strip 40 is formed by injecting glue into the channel 32 of the sleeve 30. Then, the assembled FPC soft board 10, the sleeve 30 and the seal strip 40 are placed in a mold as an implanted part, and the protective cover 60 is formed by injection molding in the mold.

[0053] Preferably, the protective cover 60 is made of silicone material. The silicone material is injection molded, and the molding pressure is small, and it is not easy to damage the FPC during injection molding. The material itself is soft and elastic, and it can buffer the external pressure and protect the FPC during use.

[0054] Embodiment 2

[0055] This embodiment provides an earphone, including two earphone heads and an FPC cable connecting the two earphone heads. The specific structure of the FPC cable can be found in Embodiment 1. Since the earphone provided by this embodiment adopts all the technical solutions of the above-mentioned Embodiment 1, it also has all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the above-mentioned embodiments, which will not be described one by one here.

[0056] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modification, equivalent substitution or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An FPC cable, characterized in that: include: The FPC soft board is in strip shape and extends left and right; There are two connectors, which are respectively connected to the left and right ends of the FPC soft board; The sleeve is made of a bendable material and is sleeved on the outside of the FPC soft board. The cross-sectional shape of the sleeve is a closed ring or an open ring, and the FPC soft board can move inside it. The two ends of the sleeve are respectively fixedly connected to the two joints. The sleeve has better tensile and bending resistance than the FPC soft board.

2. The FPC cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cross-sectional shape of the sleeve is an open ring, and the ring opening is used for the FPC soft board to enter and exit, and the FPC cable also includes a sealing strip for closing the sleeve ring opening.

3. The FPC cable according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sleeve is made of elastic material, and its ring opening is expanded through elastic deformation to allow the FPC soft board to enter and exit.

4. The FPC cable according to claim 2, characterized in that: The FPC cable also includes at least one bulletproof wire, each of which is arranged parallel to the FPC soft board and embedded in the sleeve, and the tensile strength of the bulletproof wire is due to the sleeve.

5. The FPC cable according to claim 4, characterized in that: There are a plurality of bulletproof threads which are arranged at intervals around the FPC soft board.

6. The FPC cable according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The FPC cable also includes a protective sleeve, which is sleeved on the outside of the sleeve and the sealing strip and fixedly connected to the sleeve and the sealing strip, and the two ends of the protective sleeve are respectively connected to the two connectors.

7. The FPC cable according to claim 6, characterized in that: The protective cover is made of silicone material.

8. The FPC cable according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The sleeve is made of TPU material.

9. The FPC cable according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The bulletproof wire is made of glass fiber material and is embedded in the sleeve by implantation injection molding.

10. An earphone, characterized in that: It comprises two earphone heads and an FPC cable connecting the two earphone heads, wherein the FPC cable is the FPC cable as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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