The present disclosure relates to a connector module and a signal transmission cable, particularly a connector module and a signal transmission cable having at least one insulation sheet.
To avoid short-circuits between the circuit connection board and the external shell of the connector module or to enhance the structural strength of the welding part of the circuit connection board, curing agents (such as PE and PVC) may be used to form an isolation mold on the circuit connection board. After arranging the curing agents, the curing agent will improve the structural strength of the welding part for connecting the circuit connection board and cable. Besides, the curing agent with conductive insulation further protects the circuit components or conducting parts on the circuit connection board to avoid short circuits with the shell or other conductors.
Although padding with the curing agents is convenient and easy to apply, the implementation and processes are complex to unify. For example, the position for using the curing and the quantity or quality of the curing agent are easily varied during each production. The covered area, the volume, and the thickness of the curing agent on the circuit connection board are difficult to control, so the quality is unstable. Besides, defects such as bubbles in the cured agent also affect isolation performance. Therefore, producing products with uniform quality is difficult, affecting product yield.
Moreover, filling the curing agent only improves mechanical properties, and the electrical demand of the circuit connection board is not considered. Especially in high-frequency signal transmission, varied electrical parameters (such as dielectric coefficient) cause a more severe impact on the product's function. For example, when designing a circuit for a connector module, the impedance matching among components and/or connecting wires should be well evaluated and modified to achieve better impedance matching and transmission effects. Therefore, the dielectric coefficient of mediums around the circuit affects the impedance, especially in high-frequency signal transmission. For example, when considering air as the surrounding medium for designing the circuit, the curing agent covered the circuit components and/or conductive wires results in impedance shift (such as the change of the capacitance and/or inductance value) to causing the mismatch of impedance among the components on the circuit connection board. Specifically, the dielectric coefficient of the curing agent differs from that of air (e.g., the dielectric coefficient of PE or PVC is approximately 3 to 4 times larger than air). Accordingly, the mismatched impedance will affect the transmission efficiency of the connector module when transmitting high-frequency signals.
Even considering the curing agent as the surrounding medium for designing the circuit, the impedances also vary due to the different arrangements of the curing agent. Because the impedances influenced by the curing agent cannot be evaluated, there are errors or shifts between the actual and estimated impedance values. The mistakes or shifts of impedances cause the circuit impedances to be unable to match. Accordingly, the mismatched impedance affects the transmission efficiency of the connector module during the transmission of high-frequency signals.
The circuit's mismatched impedances cause reflection, crosstalk, and/or attenuation of the transmission signal. Therefore, the connector module's transmission efficiency decreases. When the transmission signal's frequency increases, the problem becomes significant. Therefore, the produced product cannot meet standard specifications or experience instability or interruption in transmitting high-frequency signals.
Therefore, the main issues in the technical field are how to maintain impedance matching while improving the structural strength and insulation protection of the product and avoid problems such as signal reflection, crosstalk, and/or attenuation that affect transmission efficiency when transmitting high-frequency signals.
One object of the present disclosure is to improve the structure strength and insulation protection of the connector module's circuits.
One objective of the present disclosure is to eliminate the impedance mismatch of the connector module during high-frequency transmission, which is caused by the surrounding medium of the connector module's circuit.
The present disclosure provides a connector module for connecting a cable. The connector module comprises a connector, a circuit adapter board, a shell, and a first insulation sheet. The connector has at least one terminal pin and a housing. The circuit adapter board is configured to connect with at least one terminal pin electrically and at least one cable wire. The shell is configured to cover the circuit adapter board and at least a portion of the housing. The first insulation sheet is arranged over the first surface of the circuit adapter board and located in the shell. The first insulation sheet has an inner concave structure, forming a space between the first and the first surface.
The present disclosure provides a signal transmission cable. The signal transmission cable comprises a cable and a connector module arranged in a cable terminal. The connector module comprises a connector, a circuit adapter board, a shell, and a first insulation sheet. The connector has at least one terminal pin and a housing. The circuit adapter board is configured to connect with at least one terminal pin electrically and at least one cable wire. The shell is configured to cover the circuit adapter board and at least a portion of the housing. The first insulation sheet is arranged over the first surface of the circuit adapter board, the first surface of the circuit adapter board, and located in the shell. Wherein the first insulation sheet has an inner concave structure to form a space between the first insulation sheet and the first surface. Wherein at least one cable wire is electrically connected through the circuit adapter board to at least one terminal pin of the connector.
The insulation sheet is arranged to protect the circuit adapter board. The insulation sheet covered by the shell also improves the structural strength of the circuit adapter board. In addition, the inner concave structure of the insulation sheet provides a surrounding medium for the circuit components on the circuit adapter board. The dielectric coefficient of the surrounding medium made by the insulation sheet is selectable and/or adjustable. Therefore, the dielectric coefficient of the circuit components can be estimated or controlled. A stable medium with a controllable dielectric coefficient will prevent the design errors of the circuit adapter board, which are caused by shifting the estimated impedance. The impedance matching will fit the original design, and the signal transmission efficiency will not be affected by the surrounding medium of the circuit adapter board during high-frequency transmission.
The accompanying drawings help describe various aspects of the present invention. To simplify and highlight the contents, conventional structures or elements may be drawn in a simple schematic way or omitted. For example, a number of elements may be singular or plural. These accompanying drawings are provided merely to explain these aspects and not to limit them.
Any reference to elements using terms such as “first” and “second” herein generally does not limit the number or order of these elements. Conversely, these names are used herein as a convenient way to distinguish two or more elements or element instances. Therefore, it should be understood that the terms “first” and “second” in the requested item do not necessarily correspond to the same names in the written description. Furthermore, it should be understood that references to the first and second elements do not indicate that only two elements can be used or that the first element needs to precede the second element. Open terms such as “include,” “comprise,” “have,” “contain,” and the like used herein mean including but not limited to.
The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to direct or indirect electrical coupling between two structures. In indirect electrical coupling, one structure may be coupled with another through a passive element, such as a resistor, a capacitor, or an inductor.
In the present invention, terms such as “exemplary” or “for example” are used to represent “giving an example, instance, or description.” Any implementation or aspect described herein as “exemplary” or “for example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of the present invention. The terms “about” and “approximately” as used herein concerning a specified value or characteristic are intended to represent within a value (for example, 10%) of the specified value or characteristic.
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Specifically, the connector 110 can be a plug or a socket. A plug refers to a male connector or pin as a male contact to insert a socket. On the other hand, a socket refers to a female connector, a holder, or an opening socket that is used for setting male contacts. Usually, a person skilled in the art will know that the plug and the socket can be equivalently exchanged and/or substituted without affecting the implementation of the present disclosure. On the other hand, the connector 110 of the present disclosure corresponds to various specifications. For example, connector 110 of the present disclosure may be a USB, HDMI, DP, or other connector configured to transmit high-frequency signals, but it is not limited.
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In the embodiment, the first insulation sheet 140 isolates shell 130 and at least one conductive portion of the circuit adapter board 120. At least one conductive portion of the circuit adapter board 120 includes the grounding and non-grounding portions. The first insulation sheet 140 is, preferably, used to isolate the shell 130 from the non-grounding portion. Specifically, shell 130 may be coupled to the grounding portion. Therefore, the first insulation sheet 140 prevents the non-grounding portion of the conductive portion on the circuit adapter board 120 from directly contacting shell 130 and causing a short-circuit problem. The first insulation sheet 140 doesn't need to block the grounding portion on the circuit adapter board 120 from coming into contact with the shell 130. The area to be blocked by the first insulation sheet 140, such as whether to isolate the grounding portion on the circuit adapter board 120 with the shell 130 or other grounding parts, can be determined based on design requirements or grounding requirements. Accordingly, the shape and size of the first insulation sheet 140 are free to be adjusted to make the first insulation sheet 140 easy to produce or install.
In the application example of the embodiment, similar to the first protrusion portion 143, the first insulation sheet 140 may have a second protrusion portion 144. The second protrusion portion 144 covers at least one wire (W) of the cable (C) set on the circuit adapter board 120. It should be noted that the term “cover” can be referred to as the means for covering in a contact or non-contact manner. More specifically, an example of contact manner can be that the second protrusion portion 144 is directly pressed with at least one wire (W) and/or applies compressive stress to at least one wire (W) set on the second contact pad group (P2). The second promotion portion, 144, provides a better insulation performance to isolate at least one wire (W) and the shell 130. The compressive stress, provided by the second protrusion portion 144, makes at least one wire (W) and the contact pad of the second contact pad group (P2) stabler and tighter. When the cable receives tension, the second protrusion portion 144 can make the wire more stable to avoid poor contact problems such as solder detachment. On the other hand, regarding an example of a non-contact manner, the second promotion portion 144 is located above the second contact pad group (P2). The second promotion, portion 144, provides insulation protection to at least one wire (W) set on the second contact pad group (P2). In summary, similar to the first promotion portion 143, the function of insulation and structural strengthening is carried out through the second promotion portion 144, the medium surrounding each contact pad of the second contact pad group (P2), and at least one wire (W) of the cable (C) is maintained as air. Therefore, compared to the usage of the curing agent, the dielectric coefficient of the medium surrounding each contact pad of the second contact pad group (P2) and at least one wire (W) of the cable (C) is easier to estimate and less to change. Therefore, impedance matching while transmitting high-frequency signals is also easier to fit with the original design. Proper impedance matching can improve the efficiency of high-frequency signal transmission.
The embodiment's space(S) can be filled with any medium. Specifically, when designing the impedance matching of the circuits, the dielectric coefficient of the medium filled in the space(S) will be considered an important parameter during the design process. Importantly, estimating the dielectric coefficient of the medium in the space(S) is a straightforward process. For example, if the medium in the space(S) is air, the dielectric coefficient of air can be used as a parameter for impedance matching design. On the other hand, the space(S) can be filled with curing agents or other materials with known dielectric coefficients, and the dielectric coefficients of curing agents or other fillers can be used as parameters for impedance matching design. In this embodiment, due to the space's fixed range, size, and shape (S), the dielectric coefficient of the filled curing agent is easy to estimate and can be controlled. Therefore, impedance matching for the circuit design can be achieved in practical products with low errors.
In summary, the circuit adapter board 120 components are covered by the first insulation sheet 140. The first insulation sheet 140 can be treated as an inner layer for insulation between the circuit adapter board 120 and the shell 130. The first insulation sheet 140 will eliminate errors caused by factors such as the production methods or the coated curing agent and/or process differences between the operator to coat the curing agent without affecting the structural strength. From the aspect of electrical properties, the inner concave structure 142 of the first insulation sheet 140 creates the space(S) between the first insulation sheet 140 and the circuit adapter board 120. The dielectric coefficients of the medium surrounding the circuit components in the space(S) are fixed and not easily changed. Therefore, the dielectric coefficients surrounding the circuit components are controllable and predictable. In the circuit design process, an easily estimated dielectric coefficient helps the impedance matching fitted in actual products with low errors. Especially in high-frequency signal transmission, good impedance matching will reduce signal attenuation during signal transmission. Therefore, the transmission efficiency and stability are improved.
Referring
An application example of the embodiment is shown in
In the embodiment, the cable (C) wires are organized and welded to the circuit adapter board through the branching structure (D). The outer shell of the connector module 100 and/or the connector module 200 is configured to wrap with the branching structure to enhance the overall integrity of the signal transmission cable and improve the durability and stability of the signal transmission cable while transmitting signals.
By setting the first and/or second insulation sheets disclosed in the above embodiments, various circuit components on the circuit adapter board can be well insulating protected. From a physical aspect, the shell improves the structural strength of the connector module and the signal transmission cable by wrapping the insulation sheet(s) and the circuit adapter board to integrate with the connector's housing. From the signal transmission aspect, the insulation sheet's inner cavity structure provides a homogenized medium with the regulated dielectric around the circuit components on the circuit adapter board. The dielectric coefficient of the homogenized medium can be estimated or controlled. The controllable dielectric coefficient of the medium prevents the dielectric coefficient of the surrounding medium of the circuit components from deviating from the original design. Also, it prevents the impedance matching of the actual product from matching or having errors with the original design. Therefore, the transmission efficiency and stability are improved.
The previous description of the present invention is provided to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make or implement the present invention. Various modifications to the present invention will be apparent to a person skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the examples described herein but is in accord with the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features of the invention herein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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112204130 | Apr 2023 | TW | national |