EP1696519A1

EP1696519A1 - A cable arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP1696519A1
Application number: EP05101455A
Authority: EP
Inventors: William Wong
Original assignee: High Performance Enterprise PLC
Current assignee: High Performance Enterprise PLC
Priority date: 2005-02-25
Filing date: 2005-02-25
Publication date: 2006-08-30

Abstract

A cable arrangement 10 comprises a multi-core cable 11. Connected at a first end of the cable 11 is a first connector arrangement 12. A second connector arrangement 13 is connected at the other end of the cable 11. The second connector arrangement 13 includes at a top part thereof a female molex connector 14, and at a bottom part thereof a male molex connector 15. Corresponding terminals of these connectors are electrically connected together, and to a respective core 20, 21, 22, 23 of the cable 11. When plural cable arrangements 10 are stacked together, there is an electrical path through the connectors to plural externally-connectable connectors, which may take any suitable form, e.g. male molex connectors.

Description

The invention relates to a cable arrangement, and in particular, although not exclusively, to a cable arrangement suitable for use in distributing power around a personal computer system.
A personal computer, particularly those known as tower computers or desktop computers, comprise a housing with a number of components mounted inside. A power supply unit (PSU) typically is mounted in a corner towards an upper portion of the housing. Components of the personal computer which needs to be powered are connected by power cabling to the PSU. The PSU receives a mains voltage from an external source via a cable, and includes a transformer to change the mains voltage into voltages needed by the various components of the personal computer. Different components of PCs need power supplies of different voltages, and also tend to have different connector requirements. Accordingly, it is usual for a PSU to be connected to each component of a PC which needs to be powered by a respective multi-core cable. However, this can result in the requirement for a large number of cables to be connected within the housing of the PC. The fact that the PSU tends to be situated in one corner of the housing tends to increase further the amount of cabling that is required to provide power to all of the components of the PC. As the number of components in a PC that require power increases, as is the current trend, the amount of cabling that is required to run from the PSU increases.
It is an aim of the invention to provide a cable arrangement which can help to reduce the amount of power supply cabling required in a PC, although the invention has broader application than this.
According to the present invention, there is provided a cable arrangement comprising:

a multi-core cable having first and second ends;
a first connector arrangement connected at the first end of the cable, the first connector arrangement comprising a first connector including plural terminals each electrically connected to a respective core of the cable, the terminals of the first connector being operable to mate with terminals of a corresponding external connector; and
a second connector arrangement connected at the second end of the cable, the second connector arrangement including a female connector and a male connector each being able to be mated with respective external connectors, each of plural terminals of the female connector being electrically connected directly to a corresponding terminal of the male connector and being electrically connected directly to a respective core of the cable.

As will be understood from the description of the embodiment below, a cable arrangement so constructed can allow multiple components within one region of a PC housing to be powered by the provision of a single multi-core cable between that area and a power supply unit, with the components then being connected by cable arrangements according to the invention. Thus, using a cable arrangement according to the invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of cabling needed to power various components of a PC.
Preferably the female connector is operable to mate with a connector having the same arrangement as the male connector, and the male connector is operable to mate with a connector having the same arrangement as the female connector. This allows multiple cable arrangements to be stacked, with a female connector of one cable arrangement mating with the male connector of the next arrangement. This can provide multiple cables each having an end with a connector operable to mate with terminals of a corresponding external connector from a single connector, e.g. on a power supply unit.
Alternatively or in addition, the first connector arrangement is operable to mate with a connector having the same arrangement as either the female connector or the male connector. In this way, multiple cable arrangements can be connected in a jumper fashion. This is particularly advantageous where there are plural components needing to be provided with a power supply which are located near to one another, since only one cable is necessary to link between those components and a power supply unit.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1A, 1B and 1C show bottom, side and top views respectively of a cable arrangement in a first embodiment of the invention;
Figures 2A and 2B show bottom and side views respectively of a cable arrangement in a second embodiment of the invention;
Figures 3A and 3B show bottom and side views respectively of a cable arrangement in a third embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 shows the cable arrangements of Figures 1, 2 and 3 stacked together; and
Figure 5 illustrates the Figure 1 cable arrangement connecting power to four devices in a jumper arrangement.

In the drawings, reference numerals are reused for like elements.
Referring to Figure 1, a cable arrangement 10 comprises a multi-core cable 11. Connected at a first end of the cable 11 is a first connector arrangement 12. A second connector arrangement 13 is connected at the other end of the cable 11. The second connector arrangement 13 includes at a top part thereof a female connector 14, and at a bottom part thereof a male connector 15. As can be seen in Figure 1A, the male connector 15 includes first to fourth pins 16. As can be seen in Figure 1C, the female connector 14 includes first to fourth female terminal parts 17. These are operable to receive corresponding pins.
The pin terminals 16 are electrically connected to respective ones of the male terminal parts 17. The pin terminals 16 correspond with respective ones of the female connector parts 17. That is, the female connector 14 is able to be mated with a male connector 15 of a cable arrangement 10 which is substantially identical. This allows plural cable arrangements 10 to be stacked one on another. Thus, when plural cable arrangements 10 are stacked together, there is an electrical path through the connectors. In this embodiment, the female connector 14 of the second connector arrangement 13 is a female molex connector, and the male connector 15 of the second connector arrangement 13 is a male molex connector.
The cable is 150 mm long. The cable 11 includes first to fourth cores 20, 21, 22, 23. Each of the cores 20 to 22 is electrically connected directly to one of the pins 16, and thus is electrically connected directly also to a respective one of the female terminals 17. The cores 20 to 23 also connect the terminals of the second connector arrangement 13 to corresponding terminals (not shown) in the first connector arrangement 12.
The first connector arrangement 12 may take any suitable form. In the embodiment of figure 1, the first connector arrangement 12 comprises a male molex connector. Accordingly, it includes first to fourth pins (not shown), which are operable to be connected into corresponding female terminals of a female molex connector (not shown). It also includes first and second arms 12a, 12b. The arms 12a, 12b are attached to the body of the connector 12 at the cable end, and operate to apply a force away from anything that the connector is mated with when pressure is applied to force the arms together.
Thus, the cable arrangement 10 includes three connectors, namely the male molex connector 12, the female molex connector 14 of the second connector arrangement 13, and the male molex connector 15 of the second connector arrangement 13.
A second embodied cable arrangement 25 is illustrated in figures 2A and 2B. Figure 2A is a bottom view, and figure 2B is a side view, of the cable arrangement 25.
The cable 11 and the second connector arrangement 13 are the same as those shown in and described with reference to Figures 1A, 1B and 1C above. In place of the first connector arrangement 12, the second cable arrangement 25 includes a male serial ATA (SATA) connector 26. The form of the male SATA connector 26 is conventional, so is not described in detail here.
A third embodied cable arrangement 30 is shown in Figures 3A and 3B, which show bottom and side views respectively. The third cable arrangement 30 has a cable 11 and a second connector arrangement 13 which are the same as the corresponding components of the Figures 1 and 2 cable arrangements 10, 25. However, in place of the male molex connector 12 of Figure 1 and the male SATA connector 26 of Figure 2, the third cable arrangement 30 includes a floppy disk drive connector 31.
Two example uses in which the cable arrangements of Figures 1 to 3 can be used will now be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5.
Referring firstly to Figure 4, a stacked cable arrangement 50 includes the first cable arrangement 10, the second cable arrangement 25 and the third cable arrangement 30. The female molex connector 14 of the third cable arrangement 30 is exposed. Accordingly, it is operable to receive a male molex connector. The male molex connector 15 of the second connector arrangement 13 of the third cable arrangement 30 is mated with the female molex connector 14 of the second cable arrangement 25. The male molex connector 15 of the second connector arrangement 13 of the second cable arrangement 25 is mated with the female molex connector 14 of the first cable arrangement 10. The male molex connector 15 of the second connector arrangement 13 of the first cable arrangement 10 is exposed, so is operable to be connected with a female molex connector.
Since the terminal pins of the male molex connector of each of the first, second and third cable arrangements 10, 25, 30 is electrically connected directly to the corresponding terminal in the female molex connector 14 of the second connector arrangement connector 13 of that cable arrangement 10, 25, 30, there is an electrical path between each terminal pin of the male molex connector 15 of the first cable arrangement 10 and the corresponding terminal in the female molex connector 14 of the third cable arrangement 13. Also, since the cores 20-24 of the first second and third cable arrangements 10, 25 and 30 are electrically connected to the terminals forming part of the molex connectors in the second connector arrangement 13 of the respective cable arrangements 10, 25, 30, each of the cores of each of the cables 11 is connected to the corresponding core of each of the other cable arrangements 10, 25, 30. The cable arrangement 50 can provide a power supply to devices of three different connector types from a single female molex connector. In particular, by inserting the male connector at the bottom end 14 of the first cable arrangement 10 into the female molex connector providing a power supply, each of the connectors 12, 26 and 31 are provided with electrical power.
It will be appreciated that, using plural ones of the cable arrangements 10, 25 or 30, power can be provided to a number of PC components equal to the number of cable arrangements but from a single molex connector. Also, because of the construction of the cable arrangements, the single connector used to source power can be male or female.
An alternative arrangement is illustrated in Figure 5. Here, first to fourth PC component devices 51, 52, 53 and 54 are powered via a power cable 55. In particular, one end (not shown) of the power cable 55 is connected to a power supply unit (not shown). At the other end is a male molex connector 56. The male molex connector 56 mates with a female molex connector 57 of a fourth cable arrangement 58, which is the same as the Figure 1 cable arrangement 10. A male molex connector 59 is directly in line with the female molex connector 57, as with the male and female connectors 14 and 15 of the second connector arrangement 13 of the first cable arrangement 10. The male molex connector 59 mates with a female molex connector 60 forming part of the first PC component 51, thus providing it with an electrical connection with the power supply connected through the power cable 55.
A first connector arrangement at the other end of the cable of the fourth cable arrangement 58 includes a male molex connector 61. This mates with a female molex connector 62 forming part of a second connector arrangement of a fifth cable arrangement 64. The female molex connector 62 is electrically connected directly to a male molex arrangement 63 forming part of the fifth cable arrangement 64. The male molex connector 63 of the fifth cable arrangement 64 connects into a female molex connector 65 forming part of the second PC component 52. Thus, the second PC component 52 is provided with electrical power via the power cable 55 and the fourth cable arrangement 58. Electrical power drawn by the second PC component 52 does not pass through the first PC component 51, but instead passes through only the power cable 55 and the fourth cable arrangement 58.
A sixth cable arrangement 72 includes a second connector arrangement 67, which is interposed between a female molex connector 68 forming part of the third PC component 53 and a male molex connector 69, which is formed at an opposite end of the cable of the fifth cable arrangement 66. By connection of a male molex connector 70 at a first connector part of the sixth cable arrangement 72 into a female molex connector 71 of the fourth PC component 54, power is supplied to all of the PC components 51 to 54 via a single power cable 55.
Assuming that the power connectors 60, 65, 68 and 71 of the PC components 51 to 54 are located close to one another, the length of the fourth, fifth and sixth cable arrangements 58, 64 and 66 can be relatively short, e.g. 150 mm. In most circumstances, the sum of the lengths of the fourth, fifth and sixth cable arrangements 58, 64 and 66 and the power cable 55 will be substantially less than the total length of power cable which would otherwise be required to connect the relevant PC component 52 to 54 to the power supply. Thus, with the arrangement of Figure 5, there is a substantial reduction in the total length of cabling required to provide power to the first to fourth PC components 51 to 54.
As well as the potential cost savings resulting from this, a reduction in the amount of cabling can also result in a cleaner wiring arrangement within a housing of a PC, which in return can result in reduced thermal build up. It can also provide for more simple maintenance and the relatively straightforward addition of further PC components.
The same advantages apply also to the arrangement of Figure 4.
In another embodiment (not shown), a cable arrangement, for instance any of the Figures 1 to 3 arrangements, is supplemented with an additional connector. In particular, cores of an additional cable are connected to crimp terminals that connect the cores 21-24 of the cable 11 to the first connector arrangement 12. In this way, two cables are connected to the connector 12, 25 or 30. A further connector is connected at the other end of the additional cable, thereby providing an additional connector with the addition of only a small amount of hardware.

Claims

A cable arrangement comprising:
a multi-core cable having first and second ends;

a first connector arrangement connected at the first end of the cable, the first connector arrangement comprising a first connector including plural terminals each electrically connected to a respective core of the cable, the terminals of the first connector being operable to mate with terminals of a corresponding external connector; and

a second connector arrangement connected at the second end of the cable, the second connector arrangement including a female connector and a male connector each being able to be mated with respective external connectors, each of plural terminals of the female connector being electrically connected directly to a corresponding terminal of the male connector and being electrically connected directly to a respective core of the cable.
A cable arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the male connector is operable to mate with a connector having the same arrangement as the female connector, and the female connector is operable to mate with a connector having the same arrangement as the male connector.
A cable arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the first connector arrangement is operable to mate with a connector having the same arrangement as either the male connector or the female connector.