Cable assembly, cable connector and positioner

Abstract

The invention provides a positioner which can be manufactured at low cost and has specified precision and strength, a cable assembly equipped with the positioner, and a cable connector. The positioner (10) is cut from a flat printed circuit board, and has a plurality of holes (16) into which the coaxial cable (42) is inserted in the thickness direction of the flat plate, and through-hole plating is performed in the plurality of holes (16) into which the coaxial cable (42) is inserted.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cable assembly and a cable connector (Japanese: コネクタ · ケーブル) and locators that can utilize them. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when manufacturing wiring harnesses, it is preferred that the cables be connected to the connectors by welding or the like in an aligned state at the connection portion where the connectors and cables are connected, in view of accuracy and time, and therefore a component called a positioner is used to align the cables. For example, in a housing (1) as a positioner disclosed in the following patent document 1, as shown in FIG. Fig. 22 as well as Fig.23 As shown, a structure is adopted in which an inner conductor part (6) in contact with the outer conductor of the coaxial cable (10) is provided on the inner periphery of the cable connection hole (3). In this structure, in addition to aligning the end of the coaxial cable (10) stripped of the outer conductor, it also has the effects of shielding and impedance matching. In addition, for the figure numerals related to the description of the prior art document, they are distinguished from the embodiment of the present invention by adding brackets. Prior art literature Patent Literature

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-67297 Summary of the invention 1. Technical issues to be resolved

[0004] However, in the housing (1) as a positioner disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document 1, it is necessary to install the inner circumferential conductor component (6) of other components on each of the cable connection holes (3) of the housing (1) made of insulating resin for assembly, so there is a technical problem that it is not suitable for mass production. In addition, regarding the positioner of the prior art, if mass production is carried out, it is necessary to use a mold or other equipment that can cope with mass production for production, and if trial production is carried out, it is necessary to cut a block or use a production machine such as light molding for production, so there is a technical problem that the manufacturing cost is high or the required strength cannot be obtained.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a positioner that can be manufactured at low cost and has predetermined accuracy and strength, and a cable assembly and a cable connector in which such a positioner is mounted. (II) Technical solution

[0006] The cable assembly of the present invention has a positioner, and a coaxial cable with an outer conductor stripped is inserted into each of the multiple holes of the positioner. It is characterized in that the positioner is a positioner cut out from a flat printed substrate, and has the multiple holes along the thickness direction of the flat plate into which the coaxial cable is inserted, and through-hole plating is implemented in the multiple holes into which the coaxial cable is inserted.

[0007] The cable connector of the present invention has a positioner, and a coaxial cable with an outer conductor stripped is inserted into each of the multiple holes of the positioner. The characterizing feature is that the positioner is a positioner cut out from a flat printed circuit board, and has: the multiple holes along the thickness direction of the flat plate into which the coaxial cable is inserted; an oblong hole along the thickness direction of the flat plate into which a switch card (Japanese: パドルカード) is inserted; and notch-shaped portions formed at the four corners of the positioner as viewed from the insertion direction of the coaxial cable, through-hole plating is implemented in the multiple holes into which the coaxial cable is inserted, a switch card is inserted in the oblong hole, the positioner is embedded in an opening portion on one side of a shell constituting the outer contour of the connector, and further, protrusions formed at the four corners of the opening portion of the shell are embedded in the notch-shaped portions formed at the four corners of the positioner.

[0008] That is, in the cable connector having the positioner of the present invention, the printed circuit board constituting the positioner is a double-sided substrate having copper foil layers on both sides, so if it is embedded in a manner covering the outer shell constituting the outer contour of the connector, it has a shielding effect.

[0009] The positioner of the present invention is a positioner cut out from a flat printed circuit board, and is characterized in that it has a plurality of holes along the thickness direction of the flat plate for inserting coaxial cables, and through-hole plating is applied to the plurality of holes for inserting the coaxial cables.

[0010] That is, in the positioner of the present invention, since through-hole plating is applied to the hole into which the coaxial cable is inserted, impedance matching and shielding can be performed even when the shield layer of the coaxial cable is stripped off and inserted.

[0011] In the positioner of the present invention, the printed circuit board may be a double-sided board having copper foil layers on both sides.

[0012] That is, the retainer of the present invention can be manufactured by the same manufacturing method as a printed circuit board, so chamfering can be performed, and in particular, through-hole plating can be performed at one time for a plurality of holes by collective processing.

[0013] Furthermore, the positioner of the present invention may include an oblong hole along the thickness direction of the plate into which a switch card is inserted.

[0014] That is, the retainer of the present invention has an oblong hole into which the switch card is inserted, so the switch card can be easily assembled.

[0015] Furthermore, in the positioner of the present invention, the oblong hole into which the switch card is inserted and the surface of the positioner may be plated.

[0016] That is, in the retainer of the present invention, since the oval hole into which the switch card is inserted and the side surface of the rectangular parallelepiped are plated, the retainer can be fixed to the switch card and the housing constituting the outer contour of the connector by welding.

[0017] Furthermore, in the positioner of the present invention, notch-shaped portions may be formed at four corners of the positioner when viewed from the insertion direction of the coaxial cable.

[0018] That is, the retainer of the present invention has the notch-shaped portions at the four corners of the rectangular parallelepiped, and therefore can be positioned and fixed when fitted into the housing constituting the outer shell of the connector. (III) Beneficial effects

[0019] According to the present invention, a positioner that can be manufactured inexpensively and has a predetermined accuracy and strength, a cable assembly equipped with such a positioner, and a cable connector can be provided. In addition, the positioner of the present invention not only aligns the ends of the coaxial cable in the same way as the prior art, but also has the effects of shielding and impedance matching. In addition, since a plurality of them can be manufactured at one time through a unified process, they are suitable for mass production. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the appearance of the positioner according to this embodiment as viewed from the upper left front. Figure 2 It is a front view of the positioner of this embodiment. Figure 3 Yes means Figure 2 Section view of the AA line section. Figure 4 It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the positioner of this embodiment. Figure 5 It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the positioner of this embodiment. Figure 6 It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the positioner of this embodiment. Figure 7 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable assembly using the positioner of the present embodiment, as viewed from the upper left front side. Figure 8 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable assembly using the positioner of the present embodiment, as viewed from the lower right rear side. Fig. 9Observed from the upper left front Figure 7 as well as Figure 8 The cable assembly shown is a perspective view of the appearance of a housing that can be formed into a cable connector by being arranged on the cable assembly. Fig.10 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable connector using the retainer of the present embodiment, as seen from the upper left front side. Fig.11 It is for Fig.10 The cable connector shown is a partially perspective view in which a housing constituting an outer contour of the connector is depicted as a semi-transparent portion. Fig.12 Viewed from the upper right side of the back Fig.10 The shown is a perspective view of the appearance of a housing unit used in the cable connector. Fig.13 This is a perspective view of the appearance of the positioner according to the first modified example as viewed from the upper left front. Fig.14 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable connector using a retainer according to a first modified example, as viewed from the upper left front side, and is a partial perspective view in which a housing constituting an outer contour of the connector is rendered semi-transparent. Fig.15 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable connector using a retainer according to a first modified example, as viewed from the lower right rear side, and is a partial perspective view in which a housing constituting the outer contour of the connector is rendered semi-transparent. Fig.16 This is a perspective view of the appearance of the positioner according to the second modified example as viewed from the upper left front. Fig.17 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable connector using a retainer according to a second modified example, as viewed from the upper left front side, and is a partial perspective view in which a housing constituting the outer contour of the connector is rendered semi-transparent. Fig.18 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable connector using a retainer according to a second modified example, as viewed from the lower right rear side, and is a partial perspective view in which a housing constituting the outer contour of the connector is rendered semi-transparent. Fig.19 This is a perspective view of the appearance of the positioner according to the third modified example as viewed from the upper left front. Fig. 20 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable connector using a retainer according to a third modified example, as viewed from the upper left front side, and is a partial perspective view in which a housing constituting the outer contour of the connector is rendered semi-transparent. Fig.21 This is a perspective view of the appearance of a cable connector using a retainer according to a third modified example, as viewed from the lower right rear side, and is a partial perspective view in which a housing constituting the outer contour of the connector is rendered semi-transparent. Fig. 22This is an exploded perspective view showing an example of use of the housing (1) disclosed in Patent Document 1 as a positioner. Fig.23 This is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of a housing (1) as a positioner disclosed in Patent Document 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The following is a description of preferred embodiments for implementing the present invention using the accompanying drawings. In addition, the following embodiments do not limit the invention of each claim, and the combination of features described in the embodiments is not necessarily required for the solution of the invention. Moreover, in this specification, for the sake of convenience, Figure 1 to Figure 3 , Figure 7 to Figure 21 As shown, the directions of the positioners 10, 100, 200, 300, cable assembly 30, and cable connectors 50, 150, 250, and 350 are defined. However, this direction does not represent the direction of the positioners 10, 100, 200, 300, cable assembly 30, and cable connectors 50, 150, 250, and 350 of this embodiment when in use. The positioners 10, 100, 200, 300, cable assembly 30, and cable connectors 50, 150, 250, and 350 of this embodiment can be used in any posture. In other words, Figure 1 to Figure 3 , Figure 7 to Figure 21 The directions of “front, back, top, bottom, left side, right side” shown are only determined for convenience of explanation.

[0022] First, refer to Figure 1 to Figure 3 , the structure of the positioner 10 of this embodiment is described. The positioner 10 of this embodiment is cut out from a flat printed circuit board, for example, it is manufactured by effectively utilizing a double-sided substrate using a glass epoxy resin material such as FR-4. The double-sided substrate is a printed circuit board having a flat substrate body 11 made of a glass epoxy resin material and a copper foil layer 12 on both sides of the substrate body 11. Therefore, in Figure 1 to Figure 3 The illustrated positioner 10 has copper foil layers 12 formed on the front and back surfaces, and a flat substrate body 11 made of a glass epoxy resin material is sandwiched between the copper foil layers 12 on the front and back surfaces.

[0023] An oblong hole 13 is formed at the center of the positioner 10. The oblong hole 13 penetrates the plate in the thickness direction, and, for example, a switch card can be inserted. In addition, plating 14 is applied to the inner wall surface of the oblong hole 13, and is electrically connected to the copper foil layer 12 formed on the surface of the front side and the back side of the positioner 10.

[0024] In addition, in the surface of the positioner 10 Figure 1The upper and lower surfaces of the positioner 10 shown are also plated 15. The plated 15 applied to the upper and lower surfaces of the positioner 10 is also electrically connected to the copper foil layer 12 formed on the surface of the front side and the back side of the positioner 10.

[0025] In addition, a plurality of circular holes 16 as the plurality of holes of the present invention are formed above and below the oblong hole 13 formed in the center of the positioner 10 and penetrate along the thickness direction of the plate. In the present embodiment, six of the plurality of circular holes 16 are formed above the oblong hole 13 and six are formed below the oblong hole 13, for a total of 12 holes. These plurality of circular holes 16 are holes for inserting the coaxial cable 42 along the thickness direction of the plate, and can play a role in aligning the plurality of coaxial cables 42.

[0026] The twelve circular holes 16 may be formed as simple holes, or, for example, through-hole plating may be performed on the plurality of circular holes 16 to provide electrical conduction with the copper foil layer 12 formed on the front and back surfaces of the positioner 10 .

[0027] In addition, regarding the positioner 10 of this embodiment, the four corners of the positioner 10 seen in the insertion direction of the coaxial cable 42, that is, the direction in which the 12 circular holes 16 penetrate, are formed with notch-shaped portions 17 cut into a curved shape. The notch-shaped portion 17 is a shape portion that functions as a positioning of the housing 51 when the positioner 10 is embedded in the housing 51 described later to form a connector.

[0028] The structure of the positioner 10 according to the present embodiment has been described above. Figures 4 to 6 A method for manufacturing the positioner 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0029] To manufacture the positioner 10 of this embodiment, first, prepare Figure 4 The printed circuit board 20 is a flat plate. Figure 4 The printed circuit board 20 shown is a double-sided board having copper foil layers 12 on both sides thereof, and is a member in which the copper foil layers 12 are formed so as to sandwich the front and back sides of a flat-plate-shaped board body 11 made of a glass epoxy resin material.

[0030] for Figure 4 The printed circuit board 20 shown in the figure is processed by, for example, groove cutting. Figure 5 As shown, hole processing is performed on the printed substrate 20. Figure 5The holes processed in the middle are an oblong hole 13 for inserting a switch card, a plurality of circular holes 16 formed around the oblong hole 13 and for inserting a coaxial cable 42 , and a large oblong process hole 21 for forming the upper and lower surfaces of the positioner 10 .

[0031] when Figure 5 When the hole processing based on the notching processing shown in is completed, plating 14 and 15 are applied to the inner wall surface of the oblong hole 13 for inserting the switch card and the surface constituting the upper and lower surfaces of the positioner 10. In addition, at this time, through-hole plating can also be applied to the plurality of circular holes 16 for inserting the coaxial cable. By forming the plating 14, 15 and the through-hole plating, the copper foil layer 12 formed on the surface of the front side and the back side of the positioner 10 is electrically connected with the oblong hole 13, the plurality of circular holes 16, and the upper and lower surfaces of the positioner 10.

[0032] Finally, by cutting out along the line indicated by reference numeral 22 Figure 6 The left and right surfaces of the positioner 10 shown in the figure are cut out to complete the positioner 10 of the present embodiment. In addition, the cutting process can also be performed by groove processing. In addition, during the cutting process, as shown by the line shown by the reference numeral 22, the notch-shaped portion 17 cut into a curved shape can be formed at the four corners of the positioner 10 cut out.

[0033] Just use Figures 4 to 6 The manufacturing method described above is suitable for mass production because a plurality of positioners 10 of the present embodiment can be manufactured at once by a unified process. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the positioner 10 can be manufactured at low cost and can have a predetermined accuracy and strength.

[0034] Furthermore, by using the positioner 10 of the present embodiment described above, the cable assembly 30 and the cable connector 50 can be manufactured.

[0035] For example, Figure 7 as well as Figure 8 As shown in the figure, the cable assembly 30 of the present embodiment is formed by inserting the switch card 41 into the oblong hole 13 from the front side of the positioner 10, inserting the coaxial cable 42 with the outer conductor stripped from the back side of the positioner 10 into the plurality of circular holes 16, and connecting the exposed wire 42a in the coaxial cable 42 to the conductor part 41a of the switch card 41 by welding. The cable assembly 30 can align the ends of the plurality of coaxial cables 42, and in addition, when the circular holes 16 into which the coaxial cables 42 are inserted are plated with through holes, impedance matching and shielding can be performed even if the shielding layer of the coaxial cables 42 is stripped and inserted.

[0036] In addition, for example, Figures 9 to 12As shown, the cable connector 50 can be manufactured by fitting the above-mentioned cable assembly 30 into the housing 51 constituting the outer contour of the connector.

[0037] Regarding the housing 51 of this embodiment, Fig.12 As shown, there are formed a positioning arm portion 52 for contacting the surface on the front side of the positioner 10 constituting the cable assembly 30 and positioning the cable assembly 30 relative to the housing 51, a protrusion 53 for fixing the cable assembly 30 relative to the housing 51 by embedding into the notch-shaped portion 17 formed at the four corners of the positioner 10, and a connection hole 54 used when connecting the upper and lower surfaces of the positioner 10 constituting the cable assembly 30 and the housing 51.

[0038] By inserting the cable assembly 30 into the opening on the back side of the housing 51 having such a shape, that is, Fig. 9 The status becomes Fig.10 The cable connector 50 of the present embodiment is completed. At this time, since the positioning arm portion 52 formed on the housing 51 contacts the surface on the front side of the retainer 10 constituting the cable assembly 30, the cable assembly 30 embedded in the housing 51 is always set at a predetermined position. In addition, at this time, since the protrusions 53 formed on the four corners of the opening portion on the back side of the housing 51 are embedded in the notch-shaped portions 17 formed on the four corners of the retainer 10, the housing 51 and the cable assembly 30 are fixed. In addition, the upper and lower surfaces of the retainer 10 are located at the positions of the connection holes 54 formed above and below the housing 51, and the housing 51 and the cable assembly 30 can be reliably fixed by flowing solder into the connection holes 54. In the cable connector 50 of the present embodiment, the ends of a plurality of coaxial cables 42 can also be aligned. In addition, when through-hole plating is applied to the circular hole 16 for inserting the coaxial cable 42, impedance matching and shielding can be performed even if the shielding layer of the coaxial cable 42 is stripped and inserted.

[0039] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above embodiments.

[0040] For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a plurality of circular holes 16 are formed that penetrate along the thickness direction of the flat plate, and these plurality of circular holes 16 are through holes having the same diameter. In addition, with respect to the plurality of circular holes 16, six are formed above the oblong hole 13 formed at the central position of the positioner 10, and six are formed below, for a total of 12. However, with respect to the plurality of circular holes (plurality of holes) for inserting the coaxial cable 42 that can be applied to the positioner of the present invention, all combinations of diameters, all numbers of holes formed, and all positions of holes formed can be arbitrarily set. As such a modification example, in Figure 13 to Figure 15 FIG. 1 shows a first modified example of a positioner 100 and a cable connector 150 using the positioner 100. Figure 16 to Figure 18 The second modified example of the positioner 200 and the cable connector 250 using the positioner 200 are shown in FIG. Figure 19 to Figure 21 2 shows a retainer 300 according to a third modified example and a cable connector 350 using the retainer 300. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used to denote components that are the same as or similar to those in the above-described embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0041] For example, in Fig.13 In the positioner 100 of the first modified example shown in FIG. 1 , there are a plurality of circular holes 16 for inserting the coaxial cable 42, including a large-diameter circular hole 116a and a small-diameter circular hole 116b. Fig.14 as well as Fig.15 As shown, a cable connector 150 can be configured in which a coaxial cable 142a for power supply is provided for the large-diameter circular hole 116a, and a coaxial cable 142b for signal is provided for the small-diameter circular hole 116b.

[0042] In addition, for example, Fig.16 In the positioner 200 of the second modified example shown in FIG. 1 , a plurality of circular holes 216 are present only above the oblong hole 13 formed at the center of the positioner 200. For example, Fig.17 as well as Fig.18 As shown, the installation position and the number of the coaxial cables 242 can be arbitrarily set according to the purpose of the cable connector 250 and the like.

[0043] In addition, for example, Fig.19 In the third modified example of the positioner 300 shown in FIG. 1 , a plurality of circular holes 316 formed above and below the oblong hole 13 formed at the center of the positioner 300 are arranged at different intervals instead of at equal intervals. Fig. 20 as well as Fig.21 As shown, the installation interval of the plurality of coaxial cables 342 can be arbitrarily set according to the purpose of the cable connector 350 and the like.

[0044] Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment and the first to third modified examples, the plurality of holes of the present invention for inserting the coaxial cables 42, 142a, 142b, 242, 342 are formed as a plurality of circular holes 16, 116a, 116b, 216, 316. However, the shape of the plurality of holes of the present invention is not limited to a circle. For example, the shape of the plurality of holes of the present invention can adopt all shapes, such as an oblong hole, an elliptical hole, a hole having a sawtooth shape on the inner wall surface, etc.

[0045] It is obvious from the description of the claims that aspects to which such changes or improvements are added are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Description of Reference Numerals

[0046] 10-positioner; 11-substrate body; 12-copper foil layer; 13-long oval hole; 14-plating; 15-plating; 16-plurality of circular holes (plurality of holes); 17-notch-shaped portion; 20-printed substrate; 21-large oval process hole; 22-wire for cutting out; 30-cable assembly; 41-switching card; 41a-conductor portion; 42-coaxial cable; 42a-wire; 50-cable connector; 51-housing; 52-positioning arm portion; 53-protrusion; 54-connection hole; 100-positioner (first variant); 116a -circular hole with large diameter (hole with large diameter); 116b-circular hole with small diameter (hole with small diameter); 142a-coaxial cable for power supply; 142b-coaxial cable for signal; 150-cable connector (of the first variant); 200-positioner (of the second variant); 216-multiple circular holes (multiple holes); 242-coaxial cable; 250-cable connector (of the second variant); 300-positioner (of the third variant); 316-multiple circular holes (multiple holes); 342-coaxial cable; 350-cable connector (of the third variant).

Claims

1. A cable assembly having a positioner, wherein a coaxial cable from which an outer conductor is stripped is inserted into each of a plurality of holes of the positioner, wherein: The locator is a locator cut out from a flat printed substrate. It has the plurality of holes for inserting the coaxial cables along the thickness direction of the plate, Through-hole plating is performed in the plurality of holes into which the coaxial cables are inserted.

2. A cable connector having a positioner, wherein a coaxial cable with an outer conductor stripped off is inserted into each of a plurality of holes of the positioner, wherein: The positioner is a positioner cut out from a flat printed substrate and has: the plurality of holes for inserting the coaxial cables along the thickness direction of the plate; Insert the oblong hole of the switch card along the thickness direction of the plate; as well as notch-shaped portions formed at four corners of the retainer as viewed from the insertion direction of the coaxial cable, Through-hole plating is performed in the plurality of holes into which the coaxial cables are inserted, A switch card is inserted into the oblong hole. The retainer is embedded in one opening of the housing constituting the outer contour of the connector, and The protrusions formed at the four corners of the opening of the housing are fitted into the notch-shaped portions formed at the four corners of the retainer.

3. A positioner cut out from a flat printed substrate, characterized in that: There are a plurality of holes for inserting coaxial cables along the thickness direction of the plate. Through-hole plating is performed in the plurality of holes into which the coaxial cables are inserted.

4. The positioner according to claim 3, characterized in that The printed circuit board is a double-sided board having copper foil layers on both sides.

5. The positioner according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: There is an oblong hole along the thickness direction of the plate for inserting the switch card.

6. The positioner according to claim 5, characterized in that The oblong hole into which the switch card is inserted and the surface of the retainer are plated.

7. The positioner according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: Notch-shaped portions are formed at four corners of the retainer when viewed from the insertion direction of the coaxial cable.

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