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Cable Assembly
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The present invention relates to cable attachment and in particular to an assembly allowing a fine cable to be securely attached to a small device.
A number of mechanisms exist for attaching cables to devices or apparatus. Large diameter cables can include reinforcing members to provide extra strength. For example, a so-called steel wire armoured cable can be used to supply electrical power to a piece of equipment in a factory. Robust steel wires are wound around the inner core of the cable just beneath the outer sheath. This provides mechanical protection against, for example, impaction, as may occur in an industrial setting. However, given the size and nature of such cables and devices it is relatively easy to provide a strong attachment.
Problems can arise when trying to attach a fine cable to a device, because of the physical size of the cable and the device. Such problems arise for both fine electrical cables and also for optical fibre cables. Further difficulties can arise if that attachment needs to be strong in order to withstand a significant load. Even further difficulties can arise if the device to which the cable is to be connected is delicate, in order to prevent those loads being transferred to and damaging the device or the connections to the device.
The present invention provides an assembly which provides a strong attachment between a fine cable and a device.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an assembly for securely connecting a cable to a device. The assembly can include a cable having a signal carrier and a plurality of reinforcements running along a longitudinal axis of the cable. The assembly can include a first member having a tapered aperture therethrough. The assembly can further include a second member having an aperture therethrough which receives at least the signal carrier of the cable. The second member can be tapered and
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can be configured to mate within the tapered aperture to form a mating region which receives free ends of the plurality of reinforcements. The first member and second
member can be fixed together with the free ends of the reinforcements trapped therebetween by an adhesive.
Trapping the plurality of reinforcements of the cable using a tapered member in a tapered aperture and fixing them using an adhesive has been found to provide a strong attachment mechanism having a reproducible and reliable strength. Further, the tapered second member greatly facilitates constructing the assembly as it helps to splay and evenly distribute the reinforcements. Furthermore, the aperture through the tapered member can receive the signal carrier of the cable to allow a connection to be established with the device.
The signal carrier can be an electrical conductor or plurality of electrical conductors.
The signal carrier can be an optical conductor or plurality of optical conductors. The or each optica...
