GB2488170A

GB2488170A - Telecommunications wiring block

Info

Publication number: GB2488170A
Application number: GB201102904A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerwin Frank Kaufhold
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-02-20
Filing date: 2011-02-20
Publication date: 2012-08-22
Also published as: GB201102904D0

Abstract

A telecommunications wiring block or strip having at its front (8) both permanent wiring connection points (9 & 11) (for connection to either telecommunications equipment or to customer lines) and jumper wire connection points (14 & 16) (for interconnecting between individual ports on each of a pair of wiring blocks or strips, in order to connect the customer lines with the telecommunications equipment). The wiring blocks may be mounted on a distribution frame. Permanent wire channels (10) pass through the wiring block from the rear to the front, so that permanent wire pairs can be pushed through the block from the rear and be terminated on the front face (8) on terminals (9 & 11). Jumper wire channels (15) pass through the wiring block from the side to the front (8), so that jumper wires can also be pushed through the wiring block and be terminated on the front face terminals (14 & 16) adjacent to the corresponding permanent wire connection terminals (9 & 11). Permanent wire guides (10) and jumper wire guides (15) exit the front face (8) of the wire guide one on top of the other. Permanent wire terminals (9 & 11) are electrically connected with jumper wire terminals (14 & 16), and are also positioned in pairs one on top of the other.

Description

Telecommunications Wiring Block or Strip This invention relates to a telecommunications wiring block or wiring strip.

In order to provide telecommunications services over a copper wire network it is necessary to connect the telecommunication equipment ports to the individual customer lines. This is achieved by using two sets of wiring blocks or wiring strips mounted on a distribution frame. One set is permanently connected to the telecommunications equipment while the other set is permanently connected to the customer lines. Service is provided by interconnecting individual ports on the two sets of blocks or strips using twisted pair jumper' wire. Each port on the wiring blocks or strips provides two metallic connection points. Twisted pair jumper wire may be connected to these connection points using a variety of means including insulation displacement connection, wire wrap or solder.

Each wiring block or wiring strip must provide two sets of connection points. One for the equipment port or customer line which is often referred to as the permanent wiring' and one for the jumper wire connection. In conventional block and strip designs the permanent wiring is terminated on the rear of the block or strip before the block or strip is physically mounted on the frame. As a consequence, remedying permanent wire misconnections or disconnections becomes extremely difficult as these connections are not visible from the front of the block.

In the case of high density blocks, managing the permanent wire slack during installation becomes a real issue because the block need to be turned 180 degrees to facilitate the connection of the permanent wiring on the back of the block. Once the permanent wire is connected, the block needs to be turned around again, so that the jumper connection field faces the front. All of the slack permanent wire needs to be pushed back into the frame space in an orderly manner to allow the physical mounting of the block. The springiness of the individual permanent wire pairs can make this task difficult when 100 or more wire pairs need to be pushed back into a confined space.

The jumper wiring is terminated on the front of the block. Hoflow tubes or other wire guide mechanisms are usually provided in the sides of the blocks or strips for wire management. These provide strain relief and guide the jumper wire to the correct connection point on the front of the block or strip.

Conventional wiring blocks or strips have a number of inherent limitations associated with the fact that the permanent wiring is connected on the back.

To overcome these problems, the present invention proposes a revised physical implementation of the wiring block or strip which presents both the permanent and jumper wiring connection points vertically on top of each other on the front of the wiring block or strip. A pair of vertically stacked wire guide channels is used to present the permanent and interconnect wiring to each set of wiring connection contacts on the front of the block.

The present invention allows the permanent wiring to be pushed from the rear through wire guides to the front of the block or strip, allowing the block or strip to be mounted in its final position before the permanent wiring is terminated. This speeds up the installation process and allows the slack of each permanent wire pair to be optimally adjusted before it is terminated. As the permanent wiring is now terminated on the front of the block or strip it can be easily visually inspected at any time giving substantial maintenance advantages. This invention also eliminates the need to push excess permanent wire slack back into the frame void creating neater wiring runs which improves installation efficiency.

The present invention provides a separate dedicated plane for the permanent wire guides and the jumper wire guides. This allows the jumper wire guides to cross the permanent wire guides in the horizontal plane, so that both can exit on the front of the block or strip in the same position in the horizontal plane but vertically displaced. As the wire termination contacts for the permanent wiring and jumper wiring are now presented on top of each other, wire connection contact assembles can be implemented with very small surface areas. This results in much improved electrical cross talk and high frequency transmission performance with respect to conventional wiring block and wiring strip contact arrangements.

The invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows the top view and front view of a layer of connections in a conventional wiring block or strip.

Figure 2 shows a top and front view of a slice through the permanent wiring section of a revised topology block or strip.

Figure 3 shows a top and front view of a slice through the interconnect or jumper wiring section of the same revised topology block or strip.

In Figure 1, connection points 3 at the rear of the block are used for the connection of the permanent wiring. Wiring connection points 4 on the front of the block are provided for the interconnection of the blocks using jumper wire. Wire guides 5 on the side of the block are used to guide the jumper wire to the associated connection points on the front of the block. Each connection point consist of two metallic contacts. The second contact 6 is shown in the front view 2.

Figure 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the block or strip which enables the permanent wiring to passed through the wiring block or strip so that the permanent wiring can be terminated on the front of the block or strip after it is mounted in its final position. The top view 7 shows the permanent wire guides 10 passing through the block enabling the permanent wire pairs to be pushed through the block from the rear and terminated on the front face on terminal 9 and 11. The front view 8 of this section through the block or strip shows the permanent wire channel 10 exiting below the jumper wire channel 15. The vertical position of these two wire channels relative to one another is arbitrary. Both implementations are possible and would work equally well.

Figure 3 shows a slice through the interconnect or jumper wiring section of this alternative embodiment of the block or strip. Top view 13 shows the jumper wire channel 15 exit above the permanent wire channel 10 in this embodiment of the invention. This enables ajumperwire pushed through wire channel 15 in the side of the block to exit at in the same position in the horizontal plane 13 as the associated permanent wire channel 10. This enables the close proximity connection of each of the permanent and jumper wire pairs. Wire termination contacts 9 and 14 and 11 and 16 are electrically interconnected.

Claims

Claims 1. A wiring block or strip which uses separate sets of wire guides in the vertical plane for the permanent wiring and the jumper wiring so as to enable the permanent wiring to pass through the block or strip from the rear while the jumper wiring is passed through wire guides in the side of the block or strip, so that the jumper wire and permanent wire pairs are presented on top of each other on the front of the block or strip, thereby allowing the permanent and jumper wire pairs to be terminated onto vertically stacked interconnected pairs of connection contacts on the front face of the block or strip.
2. A wiring block or strip according to claim 1 but rotated by 90 degrees so that the interconnect or jumper wiring is passed through the top face of the block or strip while the permanent wiring is passed through the block from the rear with both pairs of wire exiting next to each other on the front face of the block.
3. A wiring block or strip according to claim 1, in which the exit openings of the wire guides for the permanent wiring on the front face of the block are horizontally displaced with respect to the exit points of the interconnect or jumper wiring channel exit points so that the pairs of interconnected termination contacts are rotated at an angle to the vertical.
4. A wiring block or strip according to claim 2, in which the exit openings of the wire guides for the permanent wiring on the front face of the block are vertically displaced with respect to the exit points of the interconnect or jumper wiring channel exit points so that the pairs of interconnected termination contacts are rotated at an angle to the horizontal.