CA1140244A - Apparatus for interconnection of a multi- channel communication network - Google Patents

Abstract

APPARATUS FOR INTERCONNECTION OF A
MULTI-CHANNEL COMMUNICATION NETWORK

ABSTRACT
The present invention is directed to an apparatus inter-connecting a plurality of individual stations, such as telephone stations, to individual channels of a multi-channel communication network. Prior art apparatuses are either relatively complicated, having multiple panels at which manual switching may be necessary, or have required that connectors which are subjected to repeated mating cycles be made up in the field, thereby adversely affecting network reliability. The present invention provides a relatively simple termination module having a plurality of connector members each of which is identifiable with a given station and has a mating portion and a terminal portion. The mating portion of the connector members mate with any one of a plurality of relocatable connectors coupled to and identifiable with a given communication channel. The terminal portion of the connector members terminate the individual information transmission cables routed to the various stations. The connector members are configured and mounted so that their mating and terminal portions are accessible from one side of the module to facilitate field termination of the transmission cables and mating of the relocatable connectors with their respective connector members.

Description

~L140~4 APPA?ATUS FOR I~TE~CO~ECTIO~ OF A
l~ULTI-CHA~NEL C~ U~ICATION ~ETWORK
. . .

BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART
The present invention is directed generally to an interconnection apparatus for a manually programmable multi-channel communication network capable of linking a plurality of different information terminal locations wikhin an offlce building or the like. ~iore particularly, the invention relates to a mechanically programmable interconnection or "cross-connect" system for a telephone installation providing service to a multiple telephone service area. The invention is most advantageously employed in an environment where a large number of individual telephone instru-ments or handsets are located throughout a given service area.
In recent years, the telephone industry has made great strides in reducing the costs of telephone equipment and the expenses attendant to its instal-lation and maintenance. An area of particular concern has been the need to reducé the labor costs in initially arranging or "programming" and thereafter rearranging or "reprogramming" the numerous telephone numbers to different locations within a given service area. Accordinyly, modularized systems have been developed which reduce field wiring and simplify the procedures employed in installing or reprogramming the telephone system. One example of a prior art system intended to address these problems is that disclosed in United States Patent ~o. 3,869,582 owned by Allstate Insurance Company. The telephone system described in the Allstate patent generally includes a central distribution panel and one or more remote or "satellite" distribution panels which are permanently wired to the central distri-bution panel. Patchcords are used with both the central and satellite panels to enable physical rearrangement or relocation of the telephone numbers t~

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to different parts of the service area. While the Allstate system is an improvement over earlier installations and has met with some success, it is still relatively expensive, requiring multiple distribution panels, and often requires re-arrangement of patchcords at more than one location, which complicates the reprogramming procedure and increases the atten-dant reconnection costs, as well.
Another prior art system is disclosed in Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 356,222 filed on July 15, 1980 in the name of Arie Verhagen and assigned to Bunker Ramo Corporation, the assignee of this application. The Verhagen application dis-closes an interconnection or cross-connect approach wherein the incoming telephone lines are hard-wired or otherwise affixed to individual receptacle members and the station cables are field terminated to individual plug connectors. The Verhagen system represents a significant advance over the Allstate ap-proach, since it is extremely low cost, it saves space and only a single junction is required which can be serviced by relatively unskilled personnel. Nevertheless, it suffers from the dis-advantage that each of the station cables must be terminated inthe field to a connector which may be subjected to many mating cycles during its useful life. Such field terminable connectors are inherently less reliable than factory assembled terminations and their use increases the costs of initial installation.
Other electronic systems have been developed for electronic reprogramming of telephone systems but these require specific equipment to electronically enter the system as well as a trained operator skilled in working with computer software.
The present invention is directed to a novel inter-connection apparatus for use with a multi-channel telephone, data processing or other

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communication installation~ Because of its unique assemblage of components, the apparatus is extremely low cost, and is mechanically programmable and reprogrammable by a simple manual technique easily completed on-site by relatively unskilled personnel.
In addition, the modular design of the present invention also facilitates the installation of the apparatus in the field and reduces space require-ments by as much as 30% over the prior art systems.
Generally, ~he interconnection or cro~s-connect apparatus of the present invention includes a termination module having a plurality of connector members each of which is matable with any one of a plurality of relocatable connectors which, in turn, are coupled to and identified with individual communication channels. The connector members include a mating portion adapted to receive the relocatable connectors and a terminal portion adapted to terminate the information transmission cables or "station cables" which are routed to the various discrete physical location of "stations"
within the network service area. In accordance with an important feature of the invention, the mating and terminal portlons of the connector members are accessible from one side of the module thereby facilitating the termination of the various station cables and mating of the relocatable connectors.
As will be apparent from the following disclosure, the communication network is programmed or repro-grammed simply by mating the "channel identified"relocatable connector members with the "station identified" connector members.
An important aspect of the invention is the provision of a modularizecl interconnection apparatus which facilitates installation of the cross-connect system, reduces space requirements and minimizes manufacturing and installation costs.
A still further aspect of the invention is the provision of an interconnection apparatus whi~h facilitates and simplifies the reprogramming of the communi-cation network.
A further aspect of the invention is the provision of a manually programmable telephone or other communication system having a cross-connect module located at a single locus within the service area, the individual components of the module being ruggedly constructed to withstand the repeated mating cycles incident to the periodic reprogramming of the system.
Another aspect of the invention is the provision of a termination module and a connector member having a configur-ation to permit installation, use and servicing of the cross-connect apparatus from a one side of the termination module, even after it is mounted to a wall or other supporting surface.
The invention is particularly directed toward apparatus for interconnecting the individual telephone lines of a telephone system to the individual telephone stations at different locations within the area serviced by the system. The apparatus comprises a termination module adapted for mounting to a support surface and including a plurality of connector members each being identi-fiable with a given station and having generally U-shaped con-tact elements with spaced legs. One of the legs defines a mating portion and the other of the legs defines a terminal por-tion. The mating portions each are formed as a discrete com-ponent of a plug and receptacle connector means for use with and including means to readily releasably receive any one of a plurality of individual compatible relocatable connectors coupled to and identifiable with a given telephone line. The terminal portions have an insulation-piercing member to field terminate information transmission cables associated with the various stations. Both the mating and terminal portions of the con-nector members are accessible from one side of the termination module to facilitate field termination of the information trans-2~4 mission cables and mating of the relocatable connectors withtheir respective connector members.
The novel features which are believed to be character-istic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
The invention itself, however, together with further aspects and attendant advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a schematic representation illustrating the use of the interconnection system of the present invention with a conventional multiphone telephone installation;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodi-ment of the present invention showing its modular construction;
FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the modular cross-connect shown in FIGURE 2;
FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;
FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4; (shown in the sheet of drawings containing Fig. 2);
FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the modular cross-connect ~ -4a-l~V244 shown in FIGURE 2, but with some modi~ication to provide ad-ditional functions; (shown in the sheet of drawings containing Fig. 2) FIGURE 7 is an enlarged plan view showing in greater detail the interconnextion of the second and third connector members; (shown in the sheet of drawings containing Fig. 1) FlGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIGURE 7 illustrating details of the construction of a second connector member suitable for use in the present inven~
tion; (shown in the sheet of drawings containing Fig. 1) FIGURE 9 is a plan view of another preferred embodi-ment of the present invention, showing a modified modular con-struction; and FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIGURE 9.
In FIGURE 1 the interconnection apparatus of the present invention, designated generally as 10, is shown as it might be used in a multi-telephone installation. The invention will be described in the context of such a telephone installatie..
but those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be used in data processing or other multi-channel communi-cation networks. The telephone installation shown in FIGURE 1 includes incoming telephone trunk lines 12, transmission or station cables 14 and a plurality of telephone handsets 16 each positioned within a specific location or station 18. The telephone installation also includes a switching means 20, such.
as a private automatic branch exchange (PABX), which provides an interface between the incoming trunk lines and the intercon-nection apparatus. The switching means, however, is not essen-tial, and the incoming trunk lines 12 may be coupled directlyto the inter-connection apparatus 10 as described below.

Referring now to FIGURES 2-4, the inter-connection `-t 5 Z4~

or cross-connect apparatus 10 is shown to include a termination module 11 having multi-circuit connectors 22, connector members 24 and ~ -5a-~6--relocatable connectors 28r The multi-circuit connectors 22 are preferably ribbon type contact connectors, although other suitable connector designs will be apparent to those s~illed in the art. The ribbon type contact connectors are adapted to receive and couple with incoming trunk lines or, as in the illustrated installation, with connectorized cable 30 carrying the output circuits of the switching means 20~
Connectors 22 are preferably mounted to a panel or submodule 31 which may be assembled in the factory prior to installation in the fieldO As mentioned below, however, in the use of an alternative embod-iment, the need for suh-module 31 may be eliminated.
The connector members 2~ are also preferably assembled in sub~modules 32, which may take the form shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, and each is identi-fied on the sub-module by some indicia (i.e., the illustrated numerals 01, 02, etc.) representing the various stations within the telephone service area. The station indicia may conveniently be applied by use of an adhesive strip 35 which is affixed to sub-module 31 after the station cables 1~ have been terminated. The preferred structure of the second connector members comprises a gen-erally U-shaped contact element 33 having a mating portion 3~ and a terminal portion 37. The mating portion 34 preferably includes a receptacle means formed of a dielectric shell 39 having one or more apertures 36 housing an active contact member 38 and configured to mate directly with any of the relocatable connectors 28. The terminal portion 37 is adapted to terminate the station cable 1~
and includes a field terminable contact member such as the slotted insulation-piercing head ~0 which extends into recess ~2 of the sub-module 32. The sub-modules 32 are assem~led and mounted onto the front side 15 of module 11 with the mating an~
terminal portions 3~ and 36 accessible from the ` 1~40Z44 front side 15~ In the preferred form as illustrated in the drawings, the mating portions 34 are disposed inside of the terminal portions 37 on the outwardly facing surface of module 32D The number of sub-modules employecl will be clependent upon the numberof stations within the telephone installation and the anticipated expansion of the install~tion, i anyO
In accorclance with the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGU~ES 1-4, interconnecting means are utilized to provide a connectorized junc-tion between the multi-circuit connectors 22 and the second connector members 24. Conductors 26 are hard-wired or otherwise permanently affixed to the ribbon connectors 22 and, at thei~ distal or free ends, to the relocatable connectors 28. Of course, each of the conductors 26 has a length sufficient to reach the connector member posi-tioned farthest from sub-module 31. Since the interconnecting means may be assembled and pre-wired to the ribbon connectors at the factory, more reliable manufacturing techniclues can be employed to provide a more rugged and durable assembly. In addition, space savings can be effected since factory assembly procedures can be more readily adapted to miniaturized circuitry and terminations.
As shown in FIGURE~ 7 and 8, the relocatable con-nectors 28 mate directly with mating portion 34 of the connector member and bear indicia representing the multi-circuit connector with which it is coupled and the individual line therein. In this manner, the third connector membexs are identifiable with individual communication channels.
The relocatable connectors 28 may be con-structed from any of a variety o different conventional "patch-plug" designs well kno~n to those skilled in the art. Although a factory assemblecl construction is preferred, other less rugge~, field assembled constructions may also be `- . 11~0244 utilized. For $xample, the connector disclosed in Canadian Patent 1,101,091 issued May 12, 1981 to Bunker Ramo Corporation.
Means are also provided to route the various cables and conductors used in the cross-connect 10. For example, the station cable 14 are routed through a central channel 44 and are dressed through apertures 46 in the sidewalls of the channel.
Similarly, the interconnecting conductors 26 are dressed through a comb-like element 48 at the edge of sub-module 30 and into an upper channel 50 mounted above channel 44. Again, the conduc-tors 26 are dressed through apertures 52 in the sidewalls of channel 50. By selecting the appropriate apertures 46 and 52, the wiring of the entire cross-connect is ordered and more easily serviced. FIGURE 5 illustrates the use of comb element 48 which is used in the convential and well-known manner to take up any unwanted slack in the conductors 26. Upper channel 50 is removably mounted to channel 44 and may be retained in assembled position by clips 45, screws or other conventional fastening means.
As is evident from the drawings, the sub-modules 31 and 32 and the routing channels 44 and 50 are all pre-assembled to main module 11 and can be mounted as an integral assembly in the field. Since all of the operational components of the apparatus are accessible from one side of the module, once mounted the installation is completed simply by first coupling the incoming trunk lines to ribbon connectors 22, terminating the individual station cables to the terminal portions 40 of the connector members 24, and then mating the relocatable connecto s and second connector members as required.
A modified form of the cross-connect module of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURE 6 and designated generally as 10'. Module 10' includes connectors 22 and con-nector members 24, 114~4~
.
g anc' interconnecting means ?5 desc.-,ibed above.
In addition, means are provicded to couple the circuitry of module 10' with that of another cross-connect module 13, thereby enabling the interconnection of incoming lines 12 to any of the connector members 2~ on mo~ule 13. As z result, the number of stctions serviced by the cross-connect system of the present invention i.s unlim-ited. Specifically, module 10' includes at least one sub-module 60 havincJ transfer connectors 61 identical in confiyuration with the mating- portion of the connector member 2~. These transfer con-nectors are wirecl by conductors 63 to an inte.r-module connector 62 which is preferably a ribbon connector like those employed as multi-circuit conductors 22. Using a suitably connectorized c?ble assembly 6~, the inter-module connector 62 and, in turn, the transfer connectors 61 are coupled to the con-nectors 22 of module 13. Thus, by mating the re-locatable connectors 28 with one of the transfer connectors, incoming line 12 to module 10' may be eoupled with any of the stations associated with module 13. This unique assemblaye of components permits simple and expeditious modifieation of the cro~s-connect system to accommodate an expanded service area for the communication network.
i.ioclule 10' also includes 2 multiplier module 70 which inclucles a plurality of multi-plying connectors 72. The multiplying connectors aceept one or more reloeatable connectors and are coupled to the eonnecto~ members of one or more stations ~Dy means of patchcords or the like. Ac-cordingly, one or more channel identifiers may be associated with a plurality of station.q.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention is illustratec1 in FIGURES 9 and 10. In accordance with this embodiment, the mnlti-circuit connectors 22 and relocatable connectors 2~ are afisembled to opposite ends of a multi-conductor cab]e. The connectors 22 may then mate with a telephone switching device or directly with incominy trunk lines, and the need for a sub-module 31 is completely eliminated.
FIGU~E~ 9 and 10 show the termination module 80 with front side ~1 and back side ~3, the front side haviny a plurality of sub-modules 32, each in turn supporting a plurality of connector members 24. The cable assembly 82 is routed via channels ~4 to the mid-area of the module 80 at which point the individual line conductors 26 are dressed through channels 50 to the appropriate connector member 2A. Similarly, the station cables 1~ are routed throuyh the lower channels ~ lodule 80 also employs the preferred arrangement of ~u~-modules 32 and routing channels 4~ and 50, with the routing channels disposecl on both sides of the sub-modules.
Due to the unique structure of the present invention, when the module 10 or 80 is mounted to a supporting surface, the connector members 24, and their mating and terminal portions 34 and 37 respectively, are all accessible from the front side of the module.
Those skilled in the art will recoynize that the entire termination module, 10 or 80 as the case may be, can be fabricated by various plastic molding techniques, and the lower chan-nels 50 and other components, such as modules 32, might also be fabricated with it in a single molding operation.
Of course, it should be understood that various changes and modifications to the preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from -the spirit and scope of the present invention and without ~eminishing its attendant advantages. It is, therefore, intended that such ch~nges and modifications be covered by the followincj claims.

Claims (9)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Apparatus for interconnecting the individual tele-phone lines of a telephone system to the individual telephone stations at different locations within the area serviced by the system, said apparatus comprising: a termination module adapted for mounting to a support surface and including a plurality of connector members each being identifiable with a given station and having generally U-shaped contact elements with spaced legs, one of said legs defining a mating portion and the other of said legs defining a terminal portion, the mating portions each being formed as a discrete component of a plug and receptacle connector means for use with and including means to readily releasably receive any one of a plurality of individual compatible relocat-able connectors coupled to and identifiable with a given tele-phone line, and the terminal portions having an insulation-piercing member to field terminate information transmission cables associated with the various stations; and both said mating and terminal portions of said connector members being accessible from one side of said termination module to facilitate field termination of the information transmission cables and mating of the relocatable connectors with their respective connector members.

2. The interconnecting apparatus of claim 1 wherein said telephone system includes switching means for receiving and interfacing with telephone trunk lines, and wherein the relocat-able connectors terminate a plurality of telephone line con-ductors, the relocatable connectors and their respective tele-phone line conductors comprising one end of a cable assembly, the other end of said assembly being coupled to the output of said switching means.

3. The interconnecting apparatus of claim 1 wherein said telephone system includes switching means for receiving and interfacing with incoming telephone trunk lines, and wherein said termination module includes a plurality of multi-circuit connect-ors adapted to couple with the output of said switching means, each said multi-circuit connector having a plurality of telephone line conductors connected thereto and terminating in said reloc-atable connectors for mating with said connector members.

4. The interconnecting apparatus of claim 1 wherein said connector members are mounted on at least one sub-module assembled to said termination module, and said mating and termin-al portions of said connector members are disposed on an out-wardly facing surface of said sub-module, said sub-module also bearing indicia representing the respective stations within the telephone service area, each of the individual indicia being aligned adjacent one of the connector members.

5. The interconnecting apparatus of claim 1 wherein each said connector member contact element is generally U-shaped.

6. The interconnecting apparatus of claim 5 wherein the leg of said U-shaped contact element comprising the terminal portion of said connector member includes an insulation-piercing slotted head for field termination of the information trans-mission cable.

7. The interconnecting apparatus of claim 5 further including multiplier means permitting interconnection of one incoming communication channel with a plurality of said con-nector members, whereby an individual channel may be associated with more than one station within said network.

8. The interconnecting apparatus of claim 5 wherein said relocatable connectors and their respective channel con-ductors comprise one end of a cable assembly, the other end of said assembly being coupled to communication trunk lines.

9. The interconnecting apparatus of claim 5 wherein said termination module includes a plurality of multi-circuit connectors adapted to receive and couple with communication trunk lines, each said multi-circuit connector having a plurality of communication channel conductors connected thereto and terminating in said relocatable connectors for mating with said connector members.