Shielded Cable Structure for Sharp Bending and Mass Termination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical cables face challenges in mass-termination techniques, flexibility, and maintaining high-speed electrical performance, especially when subjected to bends and folds.
Innovation Solution
A shielded electrical cable design featuring conductor sets with insulated conductors, first and second shielding films with cover and pinched portions, and an adhesive layer to bond the shielding films, allowing for flexible bending and mass-termination while maintaining high electrical performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional shielded cables are used, then electrical shielding is provided, but the cables cannot be mass-terminated and have poor flexibility when bent
Solution Approach 1:
The cable is divided into multiple conductor sets with individual insulation layers, allowing each set to be independently terminated while maintaining overall cable integrity. This segmentation enables mass-termination processes while preserving flexibility of individual conductors.
Solution Approach 2:
The shielding structure uses thin film barriers instead of rigid shields, allowing the cable to be bent and flexed without compromising shielding effectiveness. The thin film shielding maintains electrical performance while enabling cable flexibility and ease of routing.
2Ease of operation
If cable bending is performed, then routing in constrained spaces is enabled, but impedance variation and insertion loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The thin film shielding and insulation layers are designed to flex with the cable without creating impedance discontinuities. This allows the cable to be routed in constrained spaces while maintaining consistent electrical characteristics and minimizing insertion loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable construction parameters (insulation thickness, shielding configuration, conductor spacing) are optimized to maintain impedance stability during bending. By carefully controlling these parameters, the cable achieves both routing flexibility and electrical performance reliability.
3Ease of manufacture
If mass-termination techniques are applied, then termination costs are reduced, but cable flexibility and electrical performance are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cable's segmented conductor sets are designed to accommodate mass-termination processes while maintaining electrical integrity. Each conductor set can be efficiently terminated using automated processes, reducing costs while preserving high-speed electrical performance through consistent geometric configuration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The cable design enables high-speed data transmission with minimal impedance variation and insertion loss even after sharp bending, facilitating easier routing in constrained spaces and reducing termination costs.
Implementation Method 1
an adhesive layer to bond the shielding films together in the pinched portions
Data Source
AI summary
A shielded electrical cable includes conductor sets extending along a length of the cable and spaced apart from each other along a width of the cable. First and second shielding films are disposed on opposite sides of the cable and include cover portions and pinched portions arranged such that, in transverse cross section, the cover portions of the films in combination substantially surround each conductor set. An adhesive layer bonds the shielding films together in the pinched portions of the cable. A transverse bending of the cable at a cable location of no more than 180 degrees over an inner radius of at most 2 mm causes a cable impedance of the selected insulated conductor proximate the cable location to vary by no more than 2 percent from an initial cable impedance measured at the cable location in an unbent configuration.