PREFABRICATED ELECTRIC CABLE, PLUG CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY, AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING AN ELECTRIC CABLE

Abstract

Embodiments of a prefabricated electric cable may have an outer conductor shield and a support sleeve which is fastened to the outer conductor shield. The support sleeve has a cable-side end and a portion of the support sleeve tapers in an axial direction oriented toward the cable-side end.

Claims

1. A prefabricated electric cable comprising: a support sleeve and an electric cable, the electric cable having an outer conductor shield, the support sleeve being attached to the outer conductor shield, the support sleeve having a connector-side end a cable-side end, and a cable-side end portion which tapers in an axial direction of the cable-side end.

2. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein cable-side end portion of the support sleeve is deformed by a deforming process in such a way that the cable-side end portion tapers in an axial direction of the cable-side end.

3. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cable-side end portion of the support sleeve has at least one incision which extends in an axial direction from the cable-side end through the cable-side end portion.

4. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cable-side end portion of the support sleeve has a deformation region for attaching the support sleeve to the outer conductor shield.

5. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support sleeve has a total length in an axial direction and the length of the cable-side end portion of the support sleeve in the axial direction is at least five percent of the total length of the support sleeve.

6. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cable-side end portion of the support sleeve tapers such that that the cable-side end has a circular cross-section.

7. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an outer conductor element for an electrical connector, the outer conductor element being attached to the support sleeve, the support sleeve being located within the outer conductor element, the support sleeve having at least one end face which abuts the outer conductor element to position the outer conductor element and the support sleeve with respect to one another in an axial direction.

8. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support sleeve the connector-side end has a connector-side end portion which tapers in an axial direction of the connector-side end, the axial direction of the connector-side end being a direction which is opposite the axial direction of the cable-side end.

9. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer conductor shield is folded back over the support sleeve.

10. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support sleeve also has a first support region, the first support region being adjacent to the connector-side end, the first support region having two half shells, each of the half shells being substantially U-shaped in cross-section and having a respective opening, each respective opening being arranged opposite one another; the connector sleeve also having a second support region, the second support region being adjacent to the cable-side end and having a circular cross-section.

11. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an outer conductor element of an electrical connector, the outer conductor element being crimped to the support sleeve.

12. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 11, wherein the support sleeve is located within the outer conductor element, the support sleeve including at least one end-face stop, the outer conductor element including at least one stop region for the at least one end-face stop of the support sleeve.

13. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 12, wherein the outer conductor element has at least one deformation region for swaging the outer conductor element to the cable-side end portion of the cable-side end portion of the support sleeve.

14. A connector arrangement, comprising: a) an electric cable having at least one end and an outer conductor shield; b) an electrical connector connected to at the least one end of the cable c) a support sleeve attached to the outer conductor shield of the electric cable, the support sleeve having a connector-side end and a cable-side end (5); and d) an outer conductor element (7) of the electrical connector, the outer conductor element being attached to the support sleeve, a cable-side end-portion of the support sleeve tapering in a direction of the cable-side end.

15. (canceled)

16. A method for fabricating an electric cable, said method comprising the steps of: a) attaching a support sleeve to an outer conductor shield of an electric cable the electric cable having an outer conductor shield, the outer conductor being folded back over the support sleeve; b) pushing an outer conductor element of an electrical connector axially over the support sleeve, and c) swaging the outer conductor element to the support sleeve, such that the outer conductor element is swaged to the support sleeve at least in a cable-side end portion of the support sleeve, the cable side end portion tapering in a direction of the cable-side end of the support sleeve.

17. An apparatus for fabricating an electric cable, said apparatus, comprising: a) a sensor device for detecting the axial position of a support sleeve the support sleeve being arranged within an outer conductor element of an electrical connector, the support sleeve also being attached to an outer conductor shield of the electric cable; and b) a deforming tool which can be positioned axially; and c) a control device for determining an axial deforming position for the deforming tool; and wherein the control device (26) is configured to determine the deforming position based on a detected axial position of the support sleeve, the detected axial position being detected by the sensor device, the deforming tool being axially positioned in such a way that the outer conductor element can be deformed by the deforming tool at least in a region of a cable-side end portion of the support sleeve, the cable-side end portion tapering in a direction of a cable-side end of the support sleeve.

18. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one stop region of the outer conductor element is a shoulder.

19. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 12, wherein the outer conductor element has an interior and wherein the least one stop region of the outer conductor element comprises at least one web which projects into the interior of the outer conductor element.

20. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 12, wherein the sleeve is formed by punching and bending and wherein the sleeve is so formed before being attached to the outer conductor shield.

21. A prefabricated electric cable as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an outer conductor element of an electrical connector, the outer conductor element being attached to the support sleeve, the outer conductor element having at least one deformation region for swaging the outer conductor element to the cable side end portion of the support sleeve.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0127] Represented schematically:

[0128] FIG. 1 shows a punched and bent part, preformed to produce a support sleeve with two support regions, in a perspective illustration;

[0129] FIG. 2 shows the support sleeve of FIG. 1 after a crimping process in the region of the cable-side end in a perspective illustration;

[0130] FIG. 3 shows the support sleeve of FIG. 2 in a plan view of the cable-side end;

[0131] FIG. 4 shows a prefabricated electric cable with the support sleeve attached to an outer conductor shield according to FIG. 2 and an outer conductor element of an electrical connector, which is attached to the support sleeve, in a perspective longitudinal section;

[0132] FIG. 5 shows the prefabricated electric cable of FIG. 4 in a perspective illustration with an outer conductor element in a partial section;

[0133] FIG. 6 shows the prefabricated electric cable of FIG. 4 in a perspective illustration;

[0134] FIG. 7 shows the prefabricated electric cable of FIG. 4 in a plan view of the connector-side end of the support sleeve;

[0135] FIG. 8 shows the support sleeve and the outer conductor element of FIG. 4 in a lateral sectional illustration with the electric cable;

[0136] FIG. 9 shows the support sleeve and the outer conductor element of FIG. 8 in a perspective sectional illustration;

[0137] FIG. 10 shows a support sleeve according to a second embodiment of the invention with only one support region in a perspective illustration;

[0138] FIG. 11 shows the support sleeve of FIG. 10 in a mounted state within an outer conductor element without the electric cable in a lateral sectional illustration;

[0139] FIG. 12 shows a support sleeve according to a third embodiment of the invention with two conical end portions in a lateral view;

[0140] FIG. 13 shows an inventive connector arrangement;

[0141] FIG. 14 shows an inventive method for fabricating an electric cable; and

[0142] FIG. 15 shows an inventive apparatus for fabricating an electric cable.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0143] FIG. 1 shows a punched and bent part, preformed to produce a support sleeve 1, for attachment to an outer conductor shield 2 (compare for example FIG. 5) of an electric cable 3. The support sleeve 1 has a connector-side end 4 and a cable-side end 5.

[0144] The support sleeve 1 has a cable-side end portion 6, which is designed in such a way that it can be deformed by a deforming process, for example a crimping process below (indicated by arrows in FIG. 1), in such a way that, after the crimping process, the cable-side end portion 6 tapers in the direction of the cable-side end 5, as illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the cable-side end 5 of the support sleeve 1. In this case, the said crimping process can be provided in particular during the cable fabrication described below, preferably for attaching the support sleeve 1 to the outer conductor shield 2 of the electric cable 3, and/or during the attachment of an outer conductor element 7, described below, to the support sleeve 1.

[0145] In order to be able to generate the taper in the direction of the cable-side end 5, the cable-side end portion 6 of the support sleeve 1 has two incisions formed as notches 8, which, starting from the cable-side end 5, extend in the axial direction (along the center axis or longitudinal axis L) through the cable-side end portion 6. Any number of incisions or notches 8 can essentially be provided, possibly also only one incision or more than two incisions, for example three incisions, four incisions, five incisions or even more incisions. The cable-side end portion 6 of the support sleeve 1 can also be designed in the manner of a spring cage.

[0146] The cable-side end portion 6 of the support sleeve 1 extends over an axial length which corresponds to at least five percent (5%) of the total length of the support sleeve 1, preferably corresponds to at ten percent (10%) of the total length of the support sleeve 1, particularly preferably corresponds to at least twenty percent (20%) of the total length of the support sleeve 1, especially preferably corresponds to at least forty percent (40%) of the total length of the support sleeve 1, further preferably corresponds to at fifty percent (50%) of the total length of the support sleeve 1 and even further preferably corresponds to at least sixty percent (60%) of the total length of the support sleeve 1.

[0147] The cable-side end portion 6 of the support sleeve 1 can taper in the direction of the cable-side end 5 in such a way that the cable-side end 5 has a circular cross-section. Alternatively, an oval or elliptical cross-section can also be provided, for example, as illustrated in the exemplary embedment (compare in particular FIG. 3).

[0148] The support sleeve 1 illustrated in the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 9 has two support regions 9, 11. A first support region 9 is provided, which is arranged adjacent to the connector-side end 4 and has two half shells 10, which are U-shaped in cross-section and are arranged with their openings opposite one another (compare in particular FIGS. 5 and 7). A second support region 11 is formed adjacent to the cable-side end 5 and has a circular or oval cross-section. The first support region 9 is connected to the second support region 11 by means of two axial webs 30. The first support region 9 can essentially also be omitted, as illustrated in the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0149] FIGS. 4 and 5 show a prefabricated electric cable 3. The electric cable 3 has, for example, two inner conductors 12 or cable wires (compare in particular FIGS. 5 to 7), which are each sheathed by a dielectric 13 and preferably extend through the electric cable 3 in a twisted manner in the axial direction. The inner conductors 12 equipped individually with the dielectrics 13 can optionally be routed together in an insulation material 14 (also referred to as a “filler”). The inner conductors insulated with their respective dielectric 13 are surrounded by a cable foil (also referred to as “shielding foil” and not illustrated in more detail), around which the outer conductor shield 2 in turn extends. The cable sheath 15 is arranged around the outer conductor shield 2 (compare FIG. 13). The illustrated prefabricated electric cable 3 is stripped in certain regions at the cable end to be processed, in order to enable access to the inner conductors 12 and the outer conductor shield 2 for the cable fabrication.

[0150] The prefabricated electric cable 3 has the support sleeve 1 attached to the outer conductor shield 2. The outer conductor shield 2 is preferably folded back over the support sleeve 1. The extent of the outer conductor shield 2 is indicated by way of example in FIG. 8, wherein the electric cable 3 is faded out for simplicity.

[0151] The prefabricated electric cable 3 furthermore has an outer conductor element 7 of an electric connector 16 (compare FIG. 3), which is attached, preferably crimped, to the support sleeve 1. As can be seen particularly clearly in FIGS. 8 and 9, the outer conductor element 7 has at least one stop region for at least one end-face stop 17 of the support sleeve 3. In the exemplary embodiment, the stop region is formed as an internal shoulder 18. Multiple shoulders 18 for multiple stops 17 of the support sleeve can also be provided, as shown. At least one web projecting into the interior of the outer conductor element 7 can essentially also be provided in order to form the at least one stop region. The support sleeve 1 can therefore abut against the shoulders 18 or against the stop region of the outer conductor element 7 with form fit.

[0152] The outer conductor element 7 furthermore has a crimp region (indicated by means of two arrows in FIG. 8) for crimping the outer conductor element 7 to the cable-side end portion 6 of the support sleeve 1. In this case, the outer conductor shield 2 can be squeezed between the support sleeve 1 and the outer conductor element 7. The cable-side end portion 6 of the support sleeve 1 is preferably designed as a crimp region for attaching the support sleeve 1 to the outer conductor shield 2 and/or for attaching the outer conductor element 7 to the support sleeve 1.

[0153] As a result of the tapering design of the cable-side end portion 6 of the support sleeve 1, a sufficiently stable and electrically suitable connection between the outer conductor element 7 and the support sleeve 1 can also take place in the event of an (e.g. tolerance-related) imprecise positioning of a crimping tool.

[0154] Owing to the advantageous combination of the internal shoulder(s) 18 of the outer conductor element 7 and the tapering cable-side end portion 6 of the support sleeve 1, which advantageously cooperates with the crimp region of the outer conductor element 7, a form-fitting connection between the support sleeve 1 and the outer conductor element 7 can be produced overall, in which air pockets are advantageously prevented on the one hand and the outer conductor shield 2 advantageously extends between the outer conductor element 7 and the support sleeve 1 on the other. According to the invention, a particularly good mechanical connection and an optimized electrical connection, in particular without impedance jumps, can be provided.

[0155] As can be seen in particular in FIGS. 4 to 6, the first support region 9 of the support sleeve 1 is particularly advantageously suitable for being crimped to the two inner conductors 12 of the electric cable 3, which have an “oblong” cross-sectional extent or an oval/elliptical extent. The second support region 11, on the other hand, can be advantageously suitable for connection to the predominantly circularly formed outer conductor element 7.

[0156] An alternative support sleeve 1, in which a first support region 9 is omitted, is illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. The invention is also advantageously suitable for use with a support sleeve 1 with only one support region 11. An exemplary extent of the outer conductor shield 2 is indicated in FIG. 11.

[0157] A further embodiment of an inventive support sleeve 1 is illustrated in FIG. 12. The support sleeve 1 shown in FIG. 12 has a connector-side end portion 19, which tapers in the direction of the connector-side end 4 of the support sleeve 1. A central portion 20 extends between the connector-side end portion 19 and the cable-side end portion 6. However, the two end portions 4, 19 can also be arranged adjacent to one another. A corresponding outer conductor element 7 can preferably have two crimp regions in order to be crimped to the cable-side end portion 6 and/or to the connector-side end portion 19 of the support sleeve 1. A suitable form fit between the outer conductor element 7 and the support sleeve 1 can thus be produced.

[0158] FIG. 13 shows a connector arrangement 21, comprising the electric cable 3 and an electrical connector 16 to be connected to the illustrated cable end. The electrical connector 16 has a plastic housing (illustrated merely by way of example), in which the already described outer conductor element can be inserted and latched. To this end, a primary securing means (not illustrated) and optionally a secondary securing means 23 for locking the primary securing means can be provided. The plastic housing can have latching means 24 for latching to a complementary mating connector (not illustrated). The inner conductor(s) 12 of the electric cable 3 are connected, in particular crimped, to inner conductor contacts 25 of the connector 16. The already described support sleeve 1 is attached to the outer conductor shield 2 of the electric cable 3. The outer conductor shield 2 is furthermore folded back over the support sleeve 1 (only partially illustrated for better illustration).

[0159] A method for fabricating an electric cable 3 within the context of the present invention is indicated in FIG. 14. According to a first method step S1, a support sleeve 1 having a connector-side end 4 and a cable-side end 5 is attached to the outer conductor shield 2 of an electric cable 3. According to a second method step S2, the outer conductor shield 2 can then be folded back over the support sleeve 1. According to a third method step S3, an outer conductor element 7 of an electrical connector 16 can then be pushed axially over the support sleeve 1 and crimped to the support sleeve 1.

[0160] Of course, further method steps (not illustrated) can also be provided during the fabrication of the electric cable 3.

[0161] The method can be executed as a computer program product with program code means on a control device 26 of an apparatus 27 for fabricating an electric cable 3.

[0162] An apparatus 27 for fabricating an electric cable 3 is illustrated in FIG. 15, which apparatus should be seen as merely exemplary and highly schematic. The apparatus 27 has a sensor device 28 for detecting the axial position of the support sleeve 1 arranged within the outer conductor element 7 of the electrical connector 16 and attached to the outer conductor shield 2 of the electric cable 3.

[0163] The apparatus 27 furthermore comprises a deforming tool (crimping tool 29 below), which can be positioned axially, and the control device 26 for determining an intended axial crimping position for the crimping tool 29. The control device 26 is preferably configured to determine the crimping position based on the axial position of the support sleeve 1, detected by means of the sensor device 28, in such a way that the outer conductor element 7 can be crimped to the support sleeve 1 by means of the crimping tool 29, at least in the region of a cable-side end portion 6 tapering in the direction of the cable-side end 5 of the support sleeve 1.

[0164] While the invention has been described with reference to various preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt to a particular situation or application of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed but rather, that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims, either literally or under the Doctrine of Equivalents.