EP1072068B1

EP1072068B1 - Telecommunications connector

Info

Publication number: EP1072068B1
Application number: EP00908324A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Denny Lo; Maxwell Yip; John A. Siemon
Original assignee: Siemon Co
Current assignee: Siemon Co
Priority date: 1999-01-22
Filing date: 2000-01-20
Publication date: 2004-03-31
Anticipated expiration: 2020-01-20
Also published as: DE60009400D1; WO2000044070A3; CN1490904A; CN1246937C; EP1072068A2; WO2000044070A2; NO20004716D0; DE60009400T2; ATE263444T1; CN1148844C; BR0004373A; NO20004716L; CN1294766A; JP2002535821A

Abstract

A connector made up of a plug (1900) and outlet (1800) which, when mated, define four shielded quadrants, each of which houses a pair of contacts. Shield members (1902) within the plug overlap and shield members (1802, 1804) within the outlet when mated. Overlapping the shield members at each shield member junction provides enhanced shielding and reduced crosstalk.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to telecommunications connectors and in particular to a telecommunications plug and outlet having enhanced performance characteristics. Improvements in telecommunications systems have resulted in the ability to transmit voice and/or data signals along transmission lines at increasingly higher frequencies. Several industry standards that specify multiple performance levels of twisted-pair cabling components have been established. The primary references, considered by many to be the international benchmarks for commercially based telecommunications components and installations, are standards ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A (/568) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard and 150/IEC 11801 (/11801), generic cabling for customer premises. For example, Category 3, 4 and 5 cable and connecting hardware are specified in both /568 and /11801, as well as other national and regional specifications. In these specifications, transmission requirements for Category 3 components are specified up to 16 MHZ. Transmission requirements for Category 4 components are specified up to 20 MHZ. Transmission requirements for Category 5 components are specified up to 100 MHZ. New standards are being developed continuously and currently it is expected that future standards will require transmission requirements of at least 600 MHZ. To achieve such transmission rates, fully shielded twisted pair cable will be necessary in which each pair is individually wrapped in a foil or screen. In addition, all pairs are wrapped together in a layer of foil or screen.
The above referenced transmission requirements also specify limits on near-end crosstalk (NEXT). Telecommunications connectors are organized in sets of pairs, typically made up of a tip and ring connector. As telecommunications connectors are reduced in size, adjacent pairs are placed closer to each other creating crosstalk between adjacent pairs. To comply with the near-end crosstalk requirements, a variety of techniques are used in the art.
U.S. Patent 5,593,311 discloses a shielded compact data connector designed to reduce crosstalk between contacts of the connector. Pairs of contacts are placed within metallic channels. When the connectors are mated, the channels abut against each other to enclose each pair in a metallic shield. One disadvantage to the design in U.S. Patent 5,593,311, disclosing a connector according to the preamble of claims 1-3, is that the metallic channels are joined at a butt joint; one surface abuts against the adjacent surface with no overlap. Since all components include some manufacturing tolerance, there is a potential for gaps between the shields thereby reducing the shielding effect. Another disadvantage is that wires having the foil removed can be exposed to each other at the rear of the connector thus leading to crosstalk. Thus, there is a perceived need in the art for a connector having improved pair shielding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-discussed and other drawbacks and deficiencies of the prior art are overcome or alleviated by the enhanced performance telecommunications connector of the present invention. A telecommunications outlet provide one-pair, two-pair and four-pair modularity, according to claims 1, 2 and 3. The outlet includes side walls and a vertical shield having ribs formed thereon. One-pair, two-pair and four-pair plugs include lips the interact with the ribs to control mating orientation of the plugs with the outlet.
The above-discussed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several FIGURES:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an outlet;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a portion of FIGURE 1;
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a one pair plug;
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a two pair plug;
FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the two pair plug;
FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a four pair plug;
FIGURE 7 is a top view of two, one pair plugs mounted in an outlet;
FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;
FIGURE 9 is a top view of a two pair plug mounted in an outlet;
FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIGURE 9;
FIGURE 11 is a top view of a four pair plug mounted in an outlet;
FIGURE 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIGURE 11;
FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of an alternate one pair plug;
FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of a portion of the one pair plug of FIGURE 13;
FIGURE 15 is a top view of an alternative plug and outlet;
FIGURE 16 is a cross sectional view taken along line 16-16 of FIGURE 15;
FIGURE 17 is an exploded perspective view of another alternative outlet;
FIGURE 18 is a bottom view of a cover of the outlet of FIGURE 17;
FIGURE 19 is a perspective view of the cover; and,
FIGURE 20 is a front view of the outlet of FIGURE 17.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an outlet 1800. Outlet 1800 provides one-pair, two-pair and four-pair modularity as described herein. Side walls 1318 and vertical shield 1310 include ribs 1316 for securing contact assemblies 1068 and 1070. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, sidewalls 1318 and both sides of vertical shield 1310 include ribs 1802 and 1804 positioned between and substantially parallel to ribs 1316. Ribs 1802 and 1804 provide for receiving one-pair, two-pair and four-pair plugs as described herein.
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a one-pair plug 1900. One-pair plug 1900 includes shield side walls 1432 extending away from and substantially perpendicular to shield 1430. Each shield side wall 1432 includes a lip 1902 extending away from and substantially perpendicular to side wall 1432. Lip 1902 interacts with ribs 1802 and 1804 as described herein.
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a two-pair plug 2000. FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a portion of two-pair plug 2000. As shown in FIGURE 5, two-pair plug 2000 includes shield side walls 1432 extending away from and substantially perpendicular to shield 532. Shield 532 extends beyond shield side walls 1432. Each shield side wall 1432 includes a lip 2002 extending away from and substantially perpendicular to side wall 1432. Lip 2002 and shield 532 interact with ribs 1802 and 1804 as described herein.
FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of four-pair plug 2100. As shown in FIGURE 6, four-pair plug 2100 includes shield side walls 1432 extending away from and substantially perpendicular to shield 930. Shield 930 extends beyond shield side walls 1432. Each shield side wall 1432 includes a lip 2102 extending away from and substantially perpendicular to shield side wall 1432. Lip 2102 and shield 930 interact with ribs 1802 and 1804 as described herein.
FIGURE 7 is a top view of two one-pair plugs 1900 and 1900' mated in outlet 1800 in differing orientations. FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIGURE 7. As shown in FIGURE 8, a first one-pair plug 1900 is mated in outlet 1800 such that lip 1902 is positioned between rib 1804 and rib 1316. A further one-pair plug 1900' is mated in outlet 1800 such that lip 1902 is positioned between rib 1802 and rib 1316. The interference between lip 1902 and ribs 1802 or 1804 prevents vertical movement of the one-pair plug 1900. The interference between lip 1902 and sidewall 1318 and vertical shield 1310 prevents horizontal movement of the one pair plug 1900.
FIGURE 9 is a top view of a two-pair plug 2000 mounted in outlet 1800. FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIGURE 9. As shown in FIGURE 10, two-pair plug 2000 mates with outlet 1800 such that lip 2002 is placed between rib 1316 and rib 1802. Shield 532 is positioned between rib 1802 and rib 1804. The thickness and spacing of lip 2002, shield 532, rib 1802 and rib 1804 are to provide polarity keying. In other words, if one tried to plug the two-pair plug 200 in outlet 1800 in an orientation other than that shown in FIGURE 10, shield 532 would contact rib 1804 preventing mating.
FIGURE 11 is a top view of a four-pair plug 2100 mounted in outlet 1800. FIGURE 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIGURE 11. As shown in FIGURE 12, four-pair plug 2100 mates with outlet 1800 such that lip 2102 is placed between rib 1316 and rib 1802. Shield 930 is positioned between rib 1802 and rib 1804. The thickness and spacing of lip 2102, shield 930, rib 1802 and rib 1804 are set to provide polarity keying. In other words, if one tried to plug the four-pair plug 2100 in outlet 1800 in an orientation other than that shown in FIGURE 12, shield 930 would contact rib 1804 preventing mating.
FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of an alternate one-pair plug shown generally at 2200. Plug 2200 includes a bump 2202 formed on the surface of shield side wall 1432 as shown in FIGURE 14. The other side of plug 2200 may also include a similar bump 2202. The bump 2202 increases the width of the plug 2200 slightly so that when the plug 2200 is mounted in outlet 1800, the bump presses against either rib 1802 or rib 1804 to slightly deflect the side wall 1318. The dimension of bump 2202 is set so that the amount of deflection of side wall 1318 is such that the side wall 1318 maintains in an elastic range. The stress generated against wall 1318 is less than the side wall yield stress. By deflecting the side wall 1318 slightly, pressure is applied against the plug 2200 which generates a tight fit between the plug 2200 and the outlet 1800. Two-pair plug 2002 shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 may also include a bump on each shield side wall 1432. The four-pair plug 2100 may also include a bump on the outside shield side walls 1432 to deflect side walls 1318.
FIGURE 15 is a top view of an alternate plug 2300 mated with alternate outlet 2400. Some components are not shown for clarity. Plug 2300 has a modified front face as shown in FIGURE 16. As shown in FIGURE 16, the top edge of plug 2300 has a ledge 2302 which fits under the top edge 2402 of outlet 2400. The bottom edge of plug 2300 similarly has a ledge 2304 which fits above the bottom edge 2404 of outlet 2400. Ledges 2303 and 2304 allow for complete overlap of the plug face and the outlet face thereby improving shielding.
FIGURE 7 is an exploded, perspective view of another alternative outlet for mounting to a printed circuit board shown generally at 2500. Top 1308 is provided as an integral part of cover 1304. Core 1302 includes bottom 1306, vertical shield 1310, horizontal shield 1312 and contact tail shield 1314. Cover 1304 includes generally parallel side walls 1318, rear wall 1320 generally perpendicular to the side walls 1318 and top 1308. Making the top 1308 integral with the side walls 1318 and rear wall 1320 eliminates a seam between the top 1308, side walls 1318 and rear wall 1320 thereby improving shielding. The core 1302 and cover 1304 are in electrical connection and may be made from metal or metallized plastic.
Vertical shield 1310 includes a top edge 2502 and a generally rectangular tab 2504 extending away from top edge 2502. The top 1308 of cover 1304 includes a notch 2506 for receiving tab 2504 and a groove 2508 for receiving top edge 2502. In this way, the joint between the top 1308 and the vertical shield 1310 is formed at an overlap thereby improving shielding. FIGURE 18 is a bottom view of cover 1304 depicting notch 2506 and groove 2508. FIGURE 19 is a perspective view of cover 1304. FIGURE 20 is a front view of the assembled outlet 2500. As shown in FIGURE 20, the tab 2504 is received in notch 2506 to provide an overlap joint. The outlet 2500 utilizes ribs 1316, 1802 and 1804 on the side walls 1318 and on both sides of the vertical shield 1310 as described above with reference to FIGURES 1-12.
Horizontal shield 1312 includes projections 2510 formed on the top and bottom of the horizontal shield 1312 on both sides of the vertical shield 1310. The depicted projections 2510 are generally rectangular but may be any shape. Contact carriers 2512 include recesses 2514 which receive projections 2510 to position the contact carriers 2512 in the outlet 2500 during and after assembly.
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.

Claims

A telecommunications connector comprising an outlet (1800) having four pairs of outlet contacts, said outlet having a pair of sidewalls (1318) and a vertical shield (1310) positioned between said sidewalls, characterized in that :
said sidewalls each including a first rib (1802) extending from said sidewall and a second rib (1804) extending from said sidewall substantially parallel to and below said first rib, said vertical shield (1310) including a first rib (1802) and a second rib (1804) extending from said vertical shield on both sides of said vertical shield ;

a one pair plug (1900) having two plug contacts for a tip and ring pair, said one pair plug including a generally planar shield (1430) having a contact carrier supporting said plug contacts positioned adjacent said shield, said shield (1430) including shield side walls (1432) extending substantially perpendicular to said shield and a shield lip (1902) extending outwardly, substantially perpendicular to said shield side wall;

said shield lip (1902) being positioned above said first rib (1802) when said plug is mounted in said outlet in a first position such that said plug contacts engage a first pair of said outlet contacts;

said shield lip (1902) being positioned below said second rib (1804) when said plug is mounted in said outlet in a second position such that said plug contacts engage a second pair of said outlet contacts.
A telecommunications connector comprising an outlet (1800) having four pairs of outlet contacts, said outlet having a pair of sidewalls (1318) and a vertical shield (1310) positioned between said sidewall and a two pair plug (2000) having four plug contacts for two tip and ring pairs, characterized in that:
said sidewalls each including a first rib (1802) extending from said sidewall and a second rib (1804) extending from said sidewall substantially parallel to and below said first rib, said vertical shield (1310) including a first rib (1802) and a second rib (1804) extending from said vertical shield on both sides of said vertical shield;

said two pair plug including a generally planar shield (532) and contact carriers supporting said plug contacts positioned adjacent said shield, said shield (532) including shield side walls (1432) extending substantially perpendicular to said shield and a shield lip (2002) extending outwardly, substantially perpendicular to said shield side wall; said two pair plug mating with said outlet in first position such that said plug contacts engage a first pair and a second pair of said outlet contacts in which said shield is positioned between said first rib (1802) and said second rib (1804) and said shield lip (2002) is positioned above said first rib (1802) ;

said two pair plug mating with said outlet in second position such that said plug contacts engage a third pair and a fourth pair of said outlet contacts in which said shield is positioned between said first rib (1802) and said second rib (1804) and said shield lip (2002) is positioned above said first rib.
A telecommunications connector comprising an outlet (1800) having four pairs of outlet contacts, said outlet having a pair of sidewalls (1318) and a vertical shield (1310) positioned between said sidewalls and a four pair plug (2100) having eight plug contacts for four tip and ring pairs, characterized in that:
said sidewalls each including a first rib (1802) extending from said sidewall and a second rib (1804) extending from said sidewall substantially parallel to and below said first rib, said vertical shield (1310) including a first rib (1802) and a second rib (1804) extending from said vertical shield (1310) on both sides of said vertical shield;

said four pair plug including a generally planar shield (930) and contact carriers supporting said contacts positioned adjacent said shield, said shield (930) including shield side walls (1432) extending substantially perpendicular to said shield and a shield lip (2102) extending outwardly, substantially perpendicular to said shield side wall;

said four pair plug mating with said outlet in a single position in which said shield is positioned between said first rib (1802) and second rib (1804) and said shield lip (2102) is positioned above said first rib (1802).
The telecommunications connecter according to claim 1, wherein :
said one pair plug includes a bump (2202) on said shield side wall (1432) , said bump (2202) contacting one of said outlet sidewalls (1318).
The telecommunications connector according to claim 2, wherein :
said two pair plug includes a bump (2202) on said shield side wall (1432), said bump (2202) contacting one of said outlet sidewalls (1318).
The telecommunications connector according to claim 3, wherein :
said four pair plug includes a bump (2202) on said shield side wall (1432), said bump (2202) contacting one of said outlet sidewalls (1318).