WO1996024968A1

WO1996024968A1 - Electrical connector jack assembly for signal transmission

Info

Publication number: WO1996024968A1
Application number: PCT/US1996/001595
Authority: WO
Inventors: Venkat A. Raman; Peter L. Scheer
Original assignee: The Whitaker Corporation
Priority date: 1995-02-06
Filing date: 1996-02-06
Publication date: 1996-08-15

Abstract

A modular jack electrical connector assembly (2) suitable for conditioning the signals in unshielded twisted pair wires for use with network components is disclosed. The modular jack (2) comprises a conventional insulative housing (4) and an insert subassembly (6) including an insert molded front insert member (8) and a rear insert member (10). Contact terminals (12) for mating with a modular plug extend from the front insert member (8) and into the rear insert member (10). The rear insert member (10) also includes signal conditioning components such as common mode choke coils (38), filter circuits (40) and transformers (54) suitable for conditioning the twisted pair signals for use in applications such as for input to and output from IEEE 10 Base-T network components. The rear insert member includes an insert molded body (30) which stabilizes the position of the contact terminals (12) and leads (14) extending from the rear insert member (10) for attachment to external circuits, such as the external printed circuit board containing the interface processor for the specific application. The signal conditioning components can be mounted on a component printed circuit board (36) also encapsulated. Additional leads (50, 60, 70, 80) are connected to an exposed portion of the component printed circuit board to serve as ground and other connections. A shield (92) can also establish contact with the exposed portion of the component printed circuit board to establish a ground connection.

Description

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR JACK ASSEMBLY FOR SIGNAL TRANSMISSION

This invention relates to electrical connectors, such as modular jack assemblies used with twisted pair cable in telecommunications and networking applications. Furthermore, this invention is related to modular jack assemblies which include signal conditioning subassemblies for eliminating undesirable extraneous signals, such as high frequency noise, common mode noise and dc voltage from twisted pair lines before output by the modular jack assembly.

Twisted pair wires are simple and inexpensive and therefore perhaps the most commonly used type of cable for low voltage signal transmission. The most common use of twisted pair wires is in telephone circuits. Unused twisted pair telephone cable currently installed in buildings is however often adequate for applications other than telephone circuits, such as for local area networks. For example, IEEE 802.3 10 Base T (Twisted Pair Ethernet) local area networks and 4 and 16 Mbps token ring local area networks can -re unshielded twisted pair cable. For new installations, unshielded twisted pair cable is less expensive than coaxial cable or shielded twisted pair cable. Technicians also have significant twisted pair installation experience.

Use of twisted pair cable for many network applications requires signal conditioning or noise suppression. Common mode chokes, isolation transformers and filters, or some combination of one or more of these three, are often necessary. Chokes provide common mode rejection and impedance matching. The transformers provide dc isolation. LC filters can be used to filter out high frequency noise. Typically, these signal or line conditioning components and simple circuits are located on the network node or hub board to which the twisted pair cable is attached. Some form of standard modular jack or modular telephone jack is used to connect the cable to the node or hub printed circuit board. One specified interconnection for lOBase T networks, or the medium dependent interface connector, is an eight position modular jack, which is referred to as a RJ-45 jack. These signal conditioning or noise suppression components are conventionally located on the printed circuit board between the connector and the processor used in the hub, medium attachment unit, transceiver circuit, multiport repeater, node or other network unit. Transmit and receive lines can each require signal conditioning. A large number of processors are available for such applications. For example, the Intel 82504 can be used in the analog front end of a lOBase T node. These signal conditioning components can be discretely mounted on printed circuit boards or they can be manufactured as a separate subassembly which can then be mounted on a printed circuit board. These separate subassemblies can include chokes, chokes plus transformers, or they can be choke, transformer, filter subassemblies.

Although existing local area networks can require this type of signal conditioning or noise suppression, some form of signal conditioning is often necessary for other applications. For example, telephone circuits can require common mode chokes. For higher performance systems currently under consideration, such as 100 mbps local area networks, even more sophisticated signal conditioning or noise suppression will be necessary.

Modular jack subassemblies incorporating chokes in a telephone jack housing are shown in U.S. Patent 5,015,204 and U.S. Patent 5,069,641. U.S. Patent 5,015,204 discloses a modular jack assembly in which jack leads are wound around a choke coil. U.S. Patent 5,069,641 discloses a modification of this other patent in which the choke coil and lead segments are soldered to a printed circuit board. This printed circuit board assembly is then encased in an insulating housing consisting of a base and a lid and having two internal chambers. The choke coil printed circuit board is mounted in one chamber which is separated by a separator from a chamber adapted to receive a modular plug. This latter device is assembled by inserting the choke coil printed circuit board subassembly in the housing and inserting the terminal leads through the bottom of the housing base. The contactor on the opposite end extends over the separator into the plug receiving chamber. A lid is then attached to encase the choke coil printed circuit board subassembly. Although this patent depicts only the use of a choke coil, it does suggest that chip inductors and chip capacitors, etc. could also be used. Although not addressed in U.S. Patent 5,069,641, adaptation of that approach to 10 Base T and Token Ring applications would in all likelihood require encapsulation of the components by insert molding or potting them prior to assembly in the housing, or by potting the printed circuit board subassembly after insertion in the housing chamber.

None of these prior art devices depict a modular jack assembly suitable for use in a broad range of network applications and suitable 'or use at frequencies such as those encountered in 10 Base T, token ring, or networks having even higher data rates, suc as proposed 100 Mhtz. networks. None of these devices show a network jack assembly in which chokes, chokes and transformers, or choke, transformer, filter combinations can be positioned in series with multiple leads in a modular jack. None of these devices depict a network jack assembly in which each of these multiple components can be precisely positioned and in which that precise positioning can be maintained over the life of the device to insure that consistent electrical performance can be achieved among multiple devices and over the life of a single device. None of these devices show a modular jack assembly in which the electronic components can be protected. None of these devices disclose a modular jack assembly which can be fabricated by positioning the components on a small printed circuit board, insert molding leads to be connected to this printed circuit board and then mating this subassembly with a modular jack housing having a profile for receiving a modular plug. An assembly having all of these features would be more easily assembled than, for example the assembly of U.S. Patent 5,069,641. The insert molded subassembly would stabilize the position of the leads, which would not have to be inserted in holes in the bottom of the housing to provide sufficiently precise positioning for lead placement in printed circuit board plated through holes or on surface mount pads.

In this invention, signal conditioning is included in a modular jack assembly which can be mounted on a network component interface card or printed circuit board. This invention conditions the signals carried by media, such as unshielded twisted pair wires, that would not otherwise be suitable for use with that network component. The modular jack assembly includes a housing having a cavity for receiving a conventional modular plug attached to the wires. In the preferred embodiments, this housing is a conventional housing suitable for use with unshielded twisted pair wires in conventional applications. An insert molded subassembly mates with the housing. This insert molded subassembly includes front and rear insert members. Contact terminals extend from the front insert member into the plug receiving cavity to mate with the modular plug. These contact terminals also extend from the front insert member into the rear insert member. Signal conditioning components, such as choke coils, transformers and LC filters can be encapsulated on a printed circuit board in the rear insert member which mates in a rear open ended channel on the modular jack housing. The rear insert member is insert molded so that molded plastic completely surrounds the portions of the contact terminals extending into the rear insert member. Leads for connecting the modular jack assembly to external circuits also extend from the rear insert member and are insert molded in the rear insert body. For example, printed circuit board leads can extend from the rear insert member in a footprint for connection to an external printed circuit board or interface card. The signal conditioning components are soldered directly to a component printed circuit board on which the signal conditioning components have been mounted and encapsulated. The component printed circuit board subassembly is inserted into two communicating slots in the rear insert body. Contact terminal ends and lead ends engage terminal pads on opposite sides of the component printed circuit board. In addition to standard footprint leads extending from the printed circuit board subassembly to an external printed circuit board, one or more additional leads can extend from the printed circuit board for ground connections and for additional connections which may b required. These additional leads extend from a portion of the component printed circuit board which extends beyond the insert molded body of the printed circuit board subassembly. These leads can be initially mounted on either the external printed circuit board or on the component printed circuit board and soldered to the other printed circuit board when the modular jack assembly is mounted on the external printed circuit board.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a printed circuit board mounted modular jack electrical connector assembly, including a signal conditioning insert member.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the embodiment of the modular jack connector shown in Figure 1 showing the signal conditioning insert member including signal conditioning components encapsulated in a block.

Figure 3 is a view of the component printed circuit board assembly and the body of the rear insert member in which the component printed circuit board assembly is mounted.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the body of the rear insert member in which the component printed circuit board is to be mounted.

Figures 5 and 6 are views showing the manner in which the insert subassembly of the first embodiment is mounted in a modular jack housing.

Figure 7 is a view, similar to Figure 3, showing a second embodiment.

Figure 8 is a view, similar to Figure 2 showing the second embodiment.

Figure 9 is a cross sectional view of a modular jack assembly according to the teachings of the present invention of an upgradeable modular jack assembly.

The two representative embodiments of this invention shown and described in detail herein include the basic elements of this invention, which can be incorporated in other configurations not specifically shown. These representative embodiments will be described with reference to specific applications, such as IEEE 802.3 lOBase T (twisted pair Ethernet) local area networks, but these applications are similarly intended to be only representative. Other applications including but not limited to telecommunications, local area networks, such as twisted pair token ring or twisted pair FDDI, or other twisted pair applications can also employ this invention. Although typically used with twisted pair cable, modular jacks can also be used with untwisted pair conductors, and this invention could also be suitable for improving the signal transmission performance of untwisted wires. Indeed this invention would be suitable for any application in which signal conditioning is required so that the signals transmitted by the cable could be utilized by the device to which it is attached. The signal conditioning which can be implemented by this invention is primarily related to the removal of noise, but the term signal conditioning as used herein is not to be so limited. Signal conditioning can include, but is not limited to, the removal of high frequency noise, common or differential mode noise, and signal conditioning can also include impedance matching and voltage isolation, cross talk suppression, step down and step up transformers and achieving Category 5 twisted pair cable performance. This invention can also be used to permit the substitution of unshielded twisted pair for shielded twisted pair conductors for applications such as token ring networks.

As shown in Figure 1 this invention takes the form of a modular jack 2. Modular jacks are a common interface for twisted wires. Although originally intended for use in telephone applications, modular jacks are now used in a number of applications, especially for twisted pair local area networks. Several different modular jack versj ->ns are available and this invention can be used with each. Six conductor or RJ-11 jacks are used in some applications and eight conductor or RJ-45 jacks are used in others, such as lOBase T applications. This invention can be used not only with modular jack configurations, but with similar jack configurations, such as the shielded data link jack supplied by AMP Incorporated. This invention can also be used with multi-gang modular jacks in which more than one six or eight position terminal array is mounted in one or more rows of a single housing, having more than one plug mounting cavity, to integrate a plurality of modular jacks into one assembly.

The representative modular assemblies each use an eight position or RJ-45 modular jack. Each modular jack 2 comprises a housing 4 with eight leads or terminals positioned side by side on the plug mating end of the modular jack and offset in a conventional staggered footprint at the rear end where the jack is mated with the external printed circuit board on which it is mounted.

Modular jack 2 has a conventional plug mating cavity 16 at the front end of the housing 4 and a rearwardly facing open ended channel 20 at the rear end of the housing 4. This modular jack 2 is a right angle or side entry jack in which the plug mating cavity 16 and the channel 20 extend between the upper surface of the housing 4 and a lower surface that is positioned on top of an external printed circuit board. This plug mating cavity 16 is dimensioned to receive an eight position modular plug, which is of conventional construction and is therefore not shown. The modular jack housing 4 is also of conventional construction. The same housing used for the modular jack depicted in U.S. Patent 5,362,257 is also used in the modular jack 2 depicted herein. It should be noted that the same housing could also be used for a six position jack configura ion. Although one of the advantages of this invention is that it can be used with a conventional housing, the invention is not limited to use with this conventional housing. For example this invention could be used with a housing in which the plug mating cavity was oriented perpendicular to the printed circuit board (a top entry configuration) instead of the right angle position (side entry configuration) of the disclosed embodiments. This invention can also be used with multi-gang modular jacks in which more than one six or eight position terminal array is mounted in one or more rows of a single housing, having more than one plug mounting cavity, to integrate a plurality of modular jacks into one assembly. An insert subassembly 6 is used to position the leads or terminals in the housing 4. The insert subassembly 6 comprises a front insert member 8 and a rear insert member 10. Contact terminals 12 are positioned in the front insert member 8 and extend into the rear insert member 10. Leads 14 extend from the opposite end of the rear insert member 10 to form an electrical interconnection with external circuits. In the preferred embodiments of this invention, these external circuits are located on an external printed circuit board 90 on which the modular jack 2 is mounted.

The contact terminals 12 and the leads 14 employed in the preferred embodiments are stamped and formed leads. These stamped and formed leads are fabricated from a conventional spring metal, such as phosphor bronze, and plated in the same conventional manner used with prior art modular jacks using stamped and formed leads. The contact terminals 12 and the leads 14 are positioned in a mold where the front insert member 8 and the rear insert member 10 are formed by insert molding plastic around the contact terminals 12 and the leads 14. As part of this insert molding operation, front insert body 34 and rear insert body 30, are simultaneously formed as part of the same operation. These bodies, which encapsulate portions of the contact terminals 12 and the leads 14, can be fabricated from a thermoplastic, suitable for injection molding. A liquid crystal polymer, such as Vectra manufactured by Hoechst Celanese, can be used.

The insert subassembly 6 can be positioned in the housing 4 by partially inserting the insert subassembly 6 into the rear of the housing 4. As shown in Figure 5, the housing has an open ended channel 20 located at the rear end opposite from the plug mating cavity 16. This rear channel 20 is open at the back and along the bottom of the housing. The channel 20 communicates with the front plug mating cavity 16. As shown in Figure 2, a comb 18, including a plurality of slots for separating the side by side contact terminals 12, is located between the rear channel 20 and the plug mating cavity 16.

To position the insert subassembly 6 in the housing 4, the contact terminals 12 are bent downwardly to occupy a position, shown in Figure 5, in which they will engage contacts on a modular plug positioned in the plug mating cavity 16. The portions of the contact terminals extending between the front insert member 8 and the rear insert member 10 are then bent substantially at right angles. The front insert member 8 is then inserted into the housing 4 and the individual contact terminals 12 extend into the slots formed in the comb 18. A groove extends from the rear channel 20 into the plug mating cavity 16. The front insert member 8 fits into this groove and this interfitting engagement keeps the contact terminals 12 in position. The rear insert member 10 is partially inserted into the open ended rear channel 20. Snap latches 32 on the exterior of the insert molded rear insert body 30 then engage housing latches in the housing rear channel 20 to hold the rear insert member in place. To this point the description of the fabrication and assembly of the modular jack 2, to the extent relevant to this invention, is substantially the same as the fabrication and assembly of the modular jack depicted in U.S. Patent 5,362,257.

The modular jack assembly of the preferred embodiments of this invention differ from that depicted in U.S. Patent 5,362,257 because active signal conditioning circuitry is included in this assembly. The signal conditioning circuitry employed with this invention can include a wide variety of components which are encapsulated on the printed circuit board 36. These signal conditioning components are encapsulated by potting the components with epoxy or by mounting the components in a separate enclosure mounted on the printed circuit board or by covering the components with a conformal coating. These components can be encapsulated prior to inserting the component printed circuit board into the rear channel of the modular jack housing or a potting material may be injected after insertion of the component printed circuit board subassembly into the rear channel. The signal conditioning components and the printed circuit board could also be placed in a mold and plastic could be insert molded around the signal conditioning components. These encapsulated components are shown in the form of a block 48 in the representative embodiments depicted herein. These signal conditioning components can include choke coils, transformers and LC filter as well as other signal conditioning components such as capacitors, ferrite beads and transient suppression diodes. This list of signal conditioning components is not intended to be all inclusive. The signal conditioning circuitry for which this invention is to be used is also not limited to circuitry which can be used to remove noise, although that is one significant application of this invention.

In each representative embodiment of this invention, one or more signal conditⁱoning components are connected between corresponding contact terminals 12 and leads 14 or between corresponding pairs of contact terminals and leads. In many applications, multiple components are used. Three significant configurations should be enumerated. The first configuration is a choke only configuration in which a choke is connected between associated pairs of conductors. Additional signal conditioning can be achieved with a second configuration in which transformers are added. In a third configuration, LC filter circuits are added to form a choke-transformer-filter circuit. The signal conditioning components are mounted on a signal conditioning printed circuit board 36 encapsulated as previously described. Figures 3 and 4 show the two components of the rear insert 10 used in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2. In addition to the encapsulated block 48 of signal conditioning components, or the conformal coating 108 covering and protecting the components, the component printed circuit board subassembly has a plurality of traces and terminal pads 46 which are located on both sides of the printed circuit board 36. Side by side pads 46 are shown adjacent the front edge on one surface of the printed circuit board 36. A single pad is shown adjacent to the rear edge of the printed circuit board in Figure 3. In addition to connecting contact terminals and leads to signal conditioning components, traces on opposite sides of the printed circuit board, corresponding to specific pairs can crossover to improve the cross talk performance of the connector assembly.

This printed circuit board subassembly can be inserted into the rear insert body 30. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the rear insert body has two communicating slot sections. The front slot section 38 is adjacent the front of the rear insert body 30 (at the bottom as viewed in Figures 3 and 4) . This front slot section 38 communicates with a rear slot section 40. The width of the rear slot section 40 is greater than the width of the front slot section 38. Grooves 39 extend through both slot sections 38 and 40. The contact terminals 12 and the leads 14 are insert molded in the rear insert body 30 and contact terminal ends 42 and lead ends 44 extend into the front slot 38. The preferred method of fabricating these contact terminal ends 42 and lead ends 44 is to insert mold continuous stamped and formed terminals in the insert molded body 30. Initially these terminals extend continuously through the front slot section 38. A punch is then used to sever the initially continuous terminals to define contact terminal ends 42 and lead ends 44. As shown in Figure 4, the ends 42 and 44 are spaced apart by a distance less than the width of the grooves 39 and protrude into the slot 38 past the edges of the grooves 39. As shown in Figure 3, the printed circuit board 36 is inserted into the grooves 39 and into the communicating slot sections 38 and 40. The contact terminal ends 42 and the lead ends 44 will then engage corresponding terminal pads 46 upon insertion of the component printed circuit board subassembly into the slots in the rear insert body 30.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the component printed circuit board is connected to the external printed circuit board 90 by leads 14 positioned in a standard modular jack footprint. This embodiment employs eight leads in a conventional offset and staggered footprint. Figure 2 shows the completed insertion of the component printed circuit board subassembly into the aligned slots 38 and 40. The width of the rear slot section 40 is sufficient for insertion of component blocks 48 located on both sides of the printed circuit board. Contact is established by the terminal ends 42 and 44 with the circuit board pads 46. The contact terminal ends 42 and the lead ends 44 are deflected because the spacing between the ends 42 and 44 is initially less than the thickness of the printed circuit board, including the pads 46 on each side. A resilient contact is thus maintained.

The embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 includes an additional lead joining one or more traces or pads on the component printed circuit board 36 to circuits on the external printed circuit board 90. The embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2 employs an additional lead 50 which connects a ground plane on the component printed circuit board 36 with a ground plane on the external printed circuit board 90. This external lead 50 includes a resilient clip section 52 which can be inserted on the edge of the component printed circuit board 36 to establish contact with a ground pad on the top of the component printed circuit board 36. Clip section 52 engages the top and bottom of the printed circuit board with the upper section of clip 52 engaging a ground pad or a portion of the ground plane on the top of the component printed circuit board 36. The external lead 50 also includes a shank 54 extending between the resilient clip section 52 and a through hole lead section 56 at the lower end of the lead 50. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the shank 54 is bent at right angles so that the through hole section 56 can be positioned closer to the other leads 14. Although this right angle bend serves to reduce the amount of printed circuit board real estate on the external board, it should be understood that some applications will not require this right angle bend. It should also be understood that the external lead 50 can be first connected to either the component printed circuit board 36 or to the external printed circuit board 90. For example, the clip 52 can be positioned in engagement with the component printed circuit board 36 and this additional lead can be soldered to the external printed circuit board 90 at the same time that the leads 14 in the standard footprint are soldered to the external board 90. Alternatively, the external lead 50 can be first soldered to the external printed circuit board and subsequently clipped to the component printed circuit board 36 at the time the modular jack assembly is mounted on the external printed circuit board.

Figures 5 and 6 show that the rear insert member 10 has been formed at right angles relative to the front insert member 8 prior to mating the insert subassembly 6 with the modular jack insulative housing 4. The contact terminal segments 12 which extend between the front insert member 8 and the rear insert member 10 have all been bent at right angles to form the insert subassembly 6 into this configura ion. In this configuration, the rear insert subassembly 6 can be mated with the housing 4 by partially inserting the insert subassembly 6 into the open ended rear channel 20. Since the depth of the rear insert member 10 is a function of the size, shape and number of signal conditioning components used for the specific application of this invention, the rear of the housing should be open ended and the rear insert member will not necessarily be encased in the housing 4.

A second embodiment is shown in Figures 7 and 8. This embodiment is a shielded modular jack assembly. Figure 7 shows the insert subassembly 6 where the rear insert member 10 is formed in a similar manner as described earlier. The rear insert body 30 has a front slot section 38. Rather than have a rear slot section, the rear insert body 30 has arms 100 which extend rearwardly from the front slot section 38. Grooves 102 extend along the arms 100 and into the front slot section 38 to guide a printed circuit board into proper position. The formation of the insert subassembly and the use in conjunction with the housing 4 is the same as was described earlier.

The printed circuit board 36 to be received in the rear of the insert subassembly has traces and terminal pads 46 therealong to engage the contact terminal ends 42 and the lead ends 44. The circuit board 36 has signal conditioning components therealong which are also connected to the traces 46 on the printed circuit board 36 in a similar manner as was described earlier. Rather than being secured in a block 48, the components are protected in a conformal coating 108. The conformal coating can be applied to protect the signal conditioning components and also the connections of the components to the traces 46. The printed circuit board 36 also has a ground pad 110 which extends along one length of the printed circuit board 36. The printed circuit board 36 also has a central ground plane 112 which extends all the way through the middle of the component printed circuit board 36. The ground plane 112 is electrically connected to the ground pad 110 by through hole vias. The ground plane 112 prevents crosstalk between traces and terminal pads 46, and between the contact ends 42 and the lead ends 44, on either side of the printed circuit board 36.

Figure 8 shows the fully assembled modular jack assembly with the shield 114 which at least partially surrounds the housing 4. The shield 114 has a tab 116 along an opening through which the circuit board 36 extends. The tab 116 engages the ground pad 110 to provide a ground path from the printed circuit board 36, through the shield 114, and to the printed circuit board 90 by way of mounting leg 96.

Figure 9 illustrates an alternate embodiment according to the teachings of the present invention wherein all parts are identical except for the front and rear insert members 8,10. In this embodiment, the front and rear insert members 8,10 have substantially the same shapes as described hereinabove, but they are manufactured as separate parts. The molded portion of the front insert member 8 is a substantially rectangular volume having a wedged shaped interference member 202. The contact terminals 12 are molded into the front insert member 8 and extend therethrough. In this embodiment, the contact terminals 12 have a longer length extending out of the molded portion, the extra length being away from the plug mating cavity 16 end of the front insert member 8. The contact terminals 12 toward the plug mating cavity 16 end are bent back as in the previous embodiments. The terminals 12 engage the comb 18 and are positioned for mating with the modular plug in the plug mating cavity 16. The contact terminals 12 away from the plug mating cavity 16 end of the front insert member 8 are termed the contact terminal ends 42 and are bent to have a semicircular configuration. The semicircular configuration creates a forward lead end 200 at a contact terminal end 42 distal from the molded portion of the front insert member 8 and a rearward lead end 201. The rear insert member 10 comprises the leads 14 that extend therethrough to become lead ends 44. In this embodiment, the leads 14 have a longer length, the length being apparent at the lead ends 44. The lead ends 44 are bent to form a semicircular configuration. The semicircular configuration of the lead ends 44 forms a forward lead end 200 and a rearward lead end 201 similar to the terminal contact ends 42. The front and rear insert members 8,10 are positioned relative to each other as taught in the previous embodiments. When the front and rear insert members 8,10 are so positioned the contact terminal ends 42 and the lead ends 44 oppose each other.

The component printed circuit board 36 is inserted in between the ends 42 and 44. The length of the ends 42 and 44 provide sufficient resilience to permit entry of the component printed circuit board 36. The material of the ends 42 and 44 is sufficiently stiff to assure reliable contact between the ends 42 and 44 and the terminal pads 46. Advantageously, the lead ends 200 and 201 on the ends 42 and 44 of this

provide for retraction and reentry of the component printed circuit board 36 as needed for repair or upgrade. The wedge shaped interference member 202 provides a positive stop for the insertion of the component printed circuit board 36.

The embodiments depicted herein represent different examples of this invention intended primarily for network interface applications. This invention can however by used in other embodiments and for other applications, and the claims presented herein are not limited to the specific embodiments chosen as representative examples. In some cases, specific alternatives have been mentioned. For example, this invention could be used in top entry jacks, in jacks or connectors other than modular jacks, and for jacks which are not mounted on printed circuit boards. Other modifications and alterations can however be employed. For example, through hole and surface mount solder joints or solderless press fit pins can be used to connect the printed circuit board ground to the signal conditioning ground and the shield. There are also several alternative methods of assembling that can be used. The signal conditioning circuit board can be inserted into the insert subassembly before or after it is inserted into the housing. In another embodiment the terminals and leads can be soldered to the signal conditioning printed circuit board instead of using the resilient contact between terminals and leads with the pads on the signal conditioning printed circuit board. If the terminals and leads are soldered to the signal conditioning printed circuit board, the signal conditioning printed circuit board can be insert molded at the same time that the terminals and leads are insert molded resulting in a single piece insert subassembly. These specific alternatives are also intended to be representative and not exclusive.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A modular jack electrical connector (2) comprising: a housing (4) having a modular plug receiving cavity (16) extending into the housing (4) from a front face and an open ended rear face; a plurality of contact terminals (12) positioned in the modular plug receiving cavity (16) to establish an electrical connection with a modular plug inserted into the cavity, the contact terminals (12) also extending from the modular plug receiving cavity (16) to the open ended rear housing face; a component printed circuit board (36) , at least partially insertable into the open ended rear housing face, the component printed circuit board having at least one signal conditioning component (98) mounted thereon, the contact terminals (12) being in electrical contact with the component printed circuit board (36) and electrically connected to corresponding signal conditioning components (98) ; and a plurality of leads (14) , at least a portion of the leads being in electrical contact with the component printed circuit board (36) and electrically connected to corresponding signal conditioning components (98) , and extending from the open ended rear housing face for connection to external circuits; the connector being characterized in that at least the terminals (12) and the leads (14) are mounted in insert members (34,30) holding the respective terminals (12) and leads (14)in position, each insert member (34, 30) being insertable into the open ended rear housing face and being atable with the housing (4) .

2. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the terminals (12) and leads (14) are respectively insert molded in first and second housing members (34, 30) .

3. The electrical connector of claim 2 wherein at least one (30) of the first and second insert members includes a slot section (38) into which the component printed circuit board (36) extends.

4. The electrical connector of claim 3 wherein the terminals (12) extend from a first insert member (34) to a second insert member (30) including the slot section (38) into which the component printed circuit board (36) extends.

5. The electrical connector of claim 4 wherein the terminals (12) and the leads (14) extend into the slot section (38) and the terminals (12) and leads (14) engage opposite sides of the component printed circuit board (36) positioned between the terminals (12) and leads (14) in the slot section (38) .

6. The electrical connector of claim 5 wherein the ends of the contact terminals (12) and the ends of the leads (14) are formed by punching continuous members extending into the slot section (38) .

7. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the open ended rear face is defined by a rearwardly facing channel (20) , the component printed circuit board (36) and the insert members (34, 30) being insertable into the channel (20) into mating engagement with the housing (4) .

8. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the component printed circuit board (36) is positioned in an insert member (30) having grooves (102) for receiving the component printed circuit board, the insert member (30) being open on the rear to provide clearance for the components (98) .

9. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the signal conditioning components (98) on the component printed circuit board condition the signals carried by unshielded twisted pair wires for input to and output from network components used in one of the networks of the group including IEEE lOBase-T networks, twisted pair token ring networks, twisted pair FDDI networks and networks with transmission rates on the order of 100 Mhtz.

10. A modular jack assembly comprising a housing, front and rear insert members, a plurality of contact terminals, and a plurality of leads, wherein the improvement comprises: the front insert member has a contact terminal end having forward and reverse lead-ins and the rear insert member has a lead end having forward and reverse lead- ins.

11. A modular jack electrical connector (2) comprising a housing portion (4) having a plug receiving opening (16) therein, with first contact sections (12) being positioned adjacent to said plug opening (16) and said second contact sections (14) being positioned adjacent to a mounting face thereof, said first and second contact sections (12,14) being electrically connected to a printed circuit board (36) having signal conditioning components thereon, said connector being characterized in that said housing (4) includes a printed circuit board receiving are (39) therein for receiving said board (36), with portions (42,44) of said first and second terminals (12,14) being disposed adjacent said slot for contacting said board upon receipt therein.

12. The connector of claim 11 characterized in that at least the terminals (12) and the leads (14) are mounted in insert members (34,30) holding the respective terminals (12) and leads (14)in position, each insert member (34, 30) being insertable into the open ended rear housing face and being matable with the housing (4).

13. The electrical connector of claims 11 or 12 wherein the terminals (12) and leads (14) are respectively insert molded in first and second housing members (34, 30).

14. The electrical connector of claim 12 wherein at least one (30) of the first and second insert members includes a slot section (38) into which the component printed circuit board (36) extends.

15. The electrical connector of claim 14 wherein the terminals (12) extend from a first insert member (34) to a second insert member (30) including the slot section (38) into which the component printed circuit board (36) extends.

16. The electrical connector of claim 15 wherein the terminals (12) and the leads (14) extend into the slot section (38) and the terminals (12) and leads (14) engage opposite sides of the component printed circuit board (36) positioned between the terminals (12) and leads (14) in the slot section (38) .

17. The electrical connector of claim 11 wherein the signal conditioning components (98) on the component printed circuit board condition the signals carried by unshielded twisted pair wires for input to and output from network components used in one of the networks of the group including IEEE lOBase-T networks, twisted pair token ring networks, twisted pair FDDI networks and networks with transmission rates on the order of 100 mhtz.