A watertight cable and a method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a watertight cable, comprising a main cable, a branch cable, a base plate, an upper cover and a clamping plate. A printed circuit board is provided on the base plate, and a sealed cavity is formed between the upper cover and the base plate. The sealed cavity is filled with structural rubber, and the outer side walls of the main cable, branch cable, upper cover and base plate are all coated with vulcanized rubber. The advantages of the present invention are as follows: the electrical connection between the main cable and the branch cable is achieved through the printed circuit board, which can achieve a compact volume, high wiring density, reduced wiring and assembly errors, improved assembly efficiency, and can achieve standardization and miniaturization in design. The printed circuit board is encapsulated through the base plate and the upper cover. Since the main cable and the branch cable are fixed to the two ends of the base plate through the clamping plate, it can ensure that the load-bearing unit of the main cable remains taut at the electrical connection. In addition, the present invention also discloses a method for manufacturing a watertight cable, which is used to manufacture the above-mentioned watertight cable.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a water-tight cable and a manufacturing method thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of modern high-tech, the exploration, development, utilization and attention of underwater resources by human beings have reached an unprecedented height, and the scale of underwater engineering is getting larger and larger, and various communication technologies around the underwater environment are emerging in an endless stream. The control signals of underwater instruments are transmitted through cables, and a control system often needs to control multiple underwater instruments, so multiple cables need to be connected together to form a cable. And in the process of using underwater and some underwater equipment, due to the flow of seawater, the self-weight of the equipment, seawater erosion and other reasons, it is inevitable to generate a certain stress on the cable, which also requires the cable used to have certain characteristics such as bearing tension and water-tight hydrolysis resistance.

[0003] At present, most of the existing technologies adopt the form of a junction box, such as the invention patent CN 103795018 A discloses an underwater junction box, which includes a sealed shell, a cable water-tight connector and a cable junction plate. The cable is connected with the junction box through the water-tight connector, and the electrical signal of the cable is connected in the circuit in the junction box. The structure of this scheme is complex, and if there are multiple branch cables, multiple water-tight connectors are required, and corresponding openings are required on the junction box for installation, resulting in an increase in the volume and weight of the junction box. Moreover, the sealing between the junction box itself and the connector and the junction box is sealed by an O-ring, which has high processing precision requirements and poor water-tight performance. In addition, the main cable of this scheme is disconnected at the junction box, which causes the entire main cable to be unable to bear a large tension. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a water-tight cable that can connect multiple branch cables on the same main cable, ensure good water-tight performance, and enable the main cable to bear a large tension.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application is realized by the following technical scheme: a water-tight cable, comprising a main cable, a branch cable, a bottom plate, an upper cover and a wire clamping plate, the bottom plate is provided with a printed circuit board for electrical connection of the main cable and the branch cable, the main cable and the branch cable are respectively fixed at both ends of the bottom plate through the wire clamping plate, the upper cover is buckled on the bottom plate, and a sealed cavity is formed between the upper cover and the bottom plate, the sealed cavity is filled with structural rubber, and the outer side wall of the main cable, the branch cable, the upper cover and the bottom plate is coated with vulcanized rubber.

[0006] Preferably, the main cable and the branch cable each comprise a force bearing unit, a signal unit, a signal unit insulation layer arranged on the signal unit, and an outer sheath arranged between the force bearing unit and the outer sheath.

[0007] Preferably, the force bearing unit is twisted into a cable by aramid yarn, the signal unit is a copper alloy core wire or an aluminum alloy core wire, the signal unit insulation layer is chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane, and the outer sheath is chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane.

[0008] Preferably, the upper cover is provided with a first through hole and a second through hole, and the structural rubber is injected into the sealing cavity through the first through hole or the second through hole.

[0009] Preferably, the structural rubber is silicone rubber or epoxy glue.

[0010] Preferably, the wire clamping plate is fixed to the bottom plate by a screw locking structure.

[0011] Preferably, the bottom plate is provided with a groove, and the upper cover cooperates with the groove to limit the printed circuit board in the groove.

[0012] Preferably, the upper cover is provided with openings on both sides.

[0013] Preferably, the vulcanized rubber is chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane.

[0014] In addition, the application also provides a method for manufacturing the watertight cable, which comprises the following steps:

[0015] S1: stripping the outer sheath and the internal signal unit insulation layer of the main cable and the branch cable to be connected, and electrically connecting the main cable and the branch cable through the printed circuit board;

[0016] S2: assembling the main cable and the branch cable after electrical connection in S1 to the bottom plate through the wire clamping plate, and keeping the force bearing unit of the main cable in a tight state;

[0017] S3: fastening the upper cover on the bottom plate after assembly in S2, and injecting structural rubber into the sealing cavity through the first through hole or the second through hole;

[0018] S4: after the structural rubber is cured, the outer surfaces of the main cable, the branch cable, the upper cover and the bottom plate are roughened, the outer surfaces of the upper cover and the bottom plate are sandblasted, the vulcanized parts of the main cable and the branch cable are roughened, and the roughened parts are cleaned with industrial anhydrous alcohol;

[0019] S5: Apply adhesive to the outer surface of the main cable, branch cable, upper cover and bottom plate, then cover with vulcanized rubber and vulcanize into shape. The vulcanization temperature is 90-200℃.

[0020] In summary, the advantages of the present invention are: the electrical connection between the main cable and the branch cable is achieved through the printed circuit board, which can achieve compact size, high wiring density, reduce wiring and assembly errors, improve assembly efficiency, and achieve standardization and miniaturization in design. Secondly, the printed circuit board is encapsulated by the base plate and the upper cover. Since the main cable and the branch cable are fixed to the two ends of the base plate through the clamping plate, it can be ensured that the load-bearing unit of the main cable remains taut at the electrical connection. Then, the structural rubber is filled in the sealing cavity to ensure the insulation performance between the printed circuit board and the upper cover and the base plate, and the overall structural strength is improved. The vulcanized rubber is coated on the outer surface of the main cable, branch cable, upper cover and base plate to ensure the watertightness and mechanical properties of the overall structure. The structure is simple, the size is compact, and the external dimensions are small, which reduces production costs and improves production efficiency. At the same time, due to the compact structure and the light weight of the entire product, the pressure on underwater application equipment is reduced, the product has strong scalability, and a single branch cable assembly can be equipped with multiple branch cables; the main cable can also be electrically connected multiple times to form multiple branch cable assemblies. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a watertight cable according to the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the upper cover and the bottom plate assembled in the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the bottom plate of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the connection between the main cable and the branch cable in the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the structure of the main cable in the present invention.

[0027] Reference numerals:

[0028] 1 Main cable, 2 Branch cable, 3 Bottom plate, 31 Groove, 4 Upper cover, 41 First through hole, 42 Second through hole, 43 Opening, 5 Clamping plate, 51 Screw locking structure, 6 Printed circuit board, 7 Load-bearing unit, 8 Signal unit, 9 Signal unit insulation layer, 10 Outer sheath, 11 Vulcanized rubber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Example 1

[0030] As Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 shown, a watertight cable, comprising a main cable 1 and a branch cable 2, comprising a main cable 1, a branch cable 2, a bottom plate 3, an upper cover 4 and a wire clamping plate 5, the bottom plate 3 and the upper cover 4 are made of one of copper, titanium alloy, stainless steel and high polymer material, the embodiment preferably uses stainless steel, the bottom plate 3 is provided with a printed circuit board 6 for electrical connection of the main cable 1 and the branch cable 2, the electrical connection can be selected from welding, perforation welding and other welding methods, the main cable 1 and the branch cable 2 are respectively fixed at both ends of the bottom plate 3 through the wire clamping plate 5, the upper cover 4 is buckled on the bottom plate 3, and a sealed cavity is formed between the upper cover 4 and the bottom plate 3, the sealed cavity is filled with structural rubber, and the outer side wall of the main cable 1, the branch cable 2, the upper cover 4 and the bottom plate 3 is coated with vulcanized rubber 11.

[0031] The electrical connection of the main cable 1 and the branch cable 2 is realized through the printed circuit board 6, which can realize compact size, high wiring density, reduce wiring and assembly errors, improve assembly efficiency, and realize standardization and miniaturization in design. Secondly, the packaging of the printed circuit board 6 is realized through the bottom plate 3 and the upper cover 4. Since the main cable 1 and the branch cable 2 are fixed at both ends of the bottom plate 3 through the wire clamping plate 5, the force bearing unit 7 of the main cable 1 can still maintain a tight state at the electrical connection. Then fill the structural rubber in the sealed cavity, which can ensure the insulation performance between the printed circuit board 6 and the upper cover 4 and the bottom plate 3, improve the overall structural strength, and coat the outer surface of the main cable 1, the branch cable 2, the upper cover 4 and the bottom plate 3 with vulcanized rubber 11, which can ensure the watertightness and mechanical properties of the overall structure. Simple structure, compact size, small size, reduce production cost, improve production efficiency, at the same time, due to the compact structure and light weight of the product, reduce the pressure on the underwater application equipment, the product has strong expandability, a single branch cable 2 component can be assembled with multiple branch cables 2; the main cable 1 can also be electrically connected multiple times to form multiple branch cable 2 components.

[0032] The main cable 1 and the branch cable 2 each comprise a force bearing unit 7, a signal unit 8, a signal unit insulation layer 9 and an outer sheath 10, the signal unit insulation layer 9 is arranged on the signal unit 8, the signal unit 8 is arranged between the force bearing unit 7 and the outer sheath 10, the force bearing unit 7 is twisted into a cable by aramid yarn, the signal unit 8 is a copper alloy core wire or an aluminum alloy core wire, and the copper alloy core wire is preferred in the embodiment, the signal unit insulation layer 9 is chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane, and the outer sheath 10 is chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane, and the chloroprene rubber is preferred in the embodiment, in the embodiment, the force bearing unit 7 twisted into a cable by aramid yarn has a smaller specific gravity than a metal armored unit, a smaller twisted outer diameter and can bear a larger tension, and has a large tension redundancy value, the signal unit insulation layer 9 made of chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane can have good mechanical properties, hydrolysis resistance and insulation performance, avoid mutual interference between transmission signals of the signal units 8, and has no mutual influence on water-tightness between the signal units 8, one signal unit 8 can work normally even if other signal units 8 are damaged, and the signal units 8 have replaceability, and the polyurethane is preferred in the embodiment.

[0033] The upper cover 4 is provided with a first through hole 41 and a second through hole 42, and structural rubber is injected into the sealed cavity through the first through hole 41 or the second through hole 42, in the embodiment, when the structural rubber is injected through one of the first through hole 41 or the second through hole 42, the other through hole can simultaneously discharge air in the sealed cavity, so that the structural rubber can be filled in the sealed cavity, the structural rubber is silicone rubber or epoxy glue, and the silicone rubber is preferred, which can ensure that the structural rubber has good fluidity and viscosity, and ensure that the structural rubber can be distributed in the sealed cavity in a flow filling mode, and the first through hole 41 and the second through hole 42 are both circular holes in the embodiment.

[0034] The wire clamping plate 5 is fixed on the bottom plate 3 through a screw locking structure 51, the screw locking structure 51 comprises a screw and a nut, in the embodiment, the bottom plate 3 is provided with a mounting hole for assembling the screw, which simplifies the mounting process of the whole wire clamping plate 5 and can ensure that the main cable 1 and the branch cable 2 are pressed on the bottom plate 3, the bottom plate 3 is provided with a groove 31, the upper cover 4 cooperates with the groove 31 to limit the printed circuit board 6 in the groove 31, which can realize assembly positioning of the upper cover 4 and limit the printed circuit board 6 in the groove 31, thereby simplifying the fixing mode of the printed circuit board 6, both sides of the upper cover 4 are provided with openings 43, which facilitates the main cable 1 and the branch cable 2 to pass through, the vulcanized rubber 11 is chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane, which can adapt to different application environments, and the chloroprene rubber is preferred in the embodiment.

[0035] Embodiment two

[0036] The embodiment also discloses a manufacturing method of the watertight cable.

[0037] S1: the outer sheath and the internal signal unit insulating layer of the to-be-connected part of the main cable and the branch cable are stripped, and the electrical connection of the main cable and the branch cable is realized through the printed circuit board;

[0038] S2: the main cable and the branch cable after the electrical connection of S1 are assembled to the bottom plate through the wire clamping plate, and the force bearing unit of the main cable is kept in a tight state;

[0039] S3: the upper cover is buckled on the bottom plate after the assembly of S2, and the structural rubber is injected into the sealing cavity through the first through hole or the second through hole;

[0040] S4: after the solidification of the structural rubber, the outer surfaces of the main cable, the branch cable, the upper cover and the bottom plate are subjected to the roughening treatment, the outer surfaces of the upper cover and the bottom plate are subjected to the sand blasting treatment, the vulcanization parts of the main cable and the branch cable are subjected to the roughening treatment, and the roughening parts are cleaned by using the industrial anhydrous alcohol;

[0041] S5: the adhesive is brushed on the outer surfaces of the main cable, the branch cable, the upper cover and the bottom plate, and then the vulcanized rubber is coated, and the vulcanization forming is performed, and the vulcanization temperature is 90-200 DEG C.

[0042] In addition to the above preferred embodiment, the present application has other implementation manners, and those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications according to the present application, as long as the changes and modifications do not deviate from the spirit of the present application, and all should belong to the range defined by the appended claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A watertight cable, comprising a main cable and a branch cable, characterized in that: It also includes a base plate, an upper cover and a clamping plate, the base plate is provided with a printed circuit board for electrically connecting the main cable and the branch cable, the main cable and the branch cable are respectively fixed to the two ends of the base plate through the clamping plates, the upper cover is buckled on the base plate, and a sealed cavity is formed between the upper cover and the base plate, the sealed cavity is filled with structural rubber, the outer side walls of the main cable, branch cable, upper cover and base plate are all covered with vulcanized rubber; the main cable and branch cable each include a load-bearing unit, a signal unit, a signal unit insulation layer and an outer sheath, the signal unit insulation layer is arranged on the signal unit, the signal unit is arranged between the load-bearing unit and the outer sheath, the load-bearing unit is located in the sealed cavity and the structural part is partially exposed, the electrically connected main cable and branch cable are assembled to the base plate through the clamping plate, and the load-bearing unit of the main cable is kept in a taut state.

2. A watertight cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The load-bearing unit is made of aramid yarn twisted into a cable, the signal unit is a copper alloy core wire or an aluminum alloy core wire, the signal unit insulation layer is chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane, and the outer sheath is chloroprene rubber or chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane.

3. A watertight cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper cover is provided with a first through hole and a second through hole, and the structural rubber is injected into the sealing cavity through the first through hole or the second through hole.

4. A watertight cable according to claim 3, characterized in that: The structural rubber is silicone rubber or epoxy rubber.

5. The watertight cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wire clamping plate is fixed on the bottom plate through a screw locking structure.

6. The watertight cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom plate is provided with a groove, and the upper cover cooperates with the groove to limit the printed circuit board in the groove.

7. The watertight cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both sides of the upper cover are provided with openings.

8. The watertight cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vulcanized rubber is chloroprene rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene or polyurethane.

9. A method for manufacturing a watertight cable, for manufacturing the watertight cable according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: Strip the outer sheath of the main cable and branch cable and the internal signal unit insulation layer at the connection point, and realize the electrical connection between the main cable and branch cable through the printed circuit board; S2: Assemble the main cable and branch cable after electrical connection in S1 to the bottom plate through the clamping plate, and keep the load-bearing unit of the main cable in a taut state; S3: fasten the upper cover onto the bottom plate assembled in S2, and inject structural rubber into the sealing cavity through the first through hole or the second through hole; S4: After the structural rubber is cured, the outer surfaces of the main cables, branch cables, upper cover and bottom plate are roughened, and the outer surfaces of the upper cover and bottom plate are sandblasted; The vulcanized parts of the main cables and branch cables are roughened; And clean the hairy part with industrial anhydrous alcohol; S5: Apply adhesive to the outer surface of the main cable, branch cable, upper cover and bottom plate, then cover with vulcanized rubber and vulcanize into shape. The vulcanization temperature is 90-200℃.

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