MXPA00002852A - Category 5/25-pair protector - Google Patents

Abstract

A Category 5/25-pair circuit protection assembly for protecting telecommunication related equipment and the like from power and transient surges includes a two-piece interfitting housing which receives a main printed circuit board for mounting sockets therein, a plurality of individual miniature auxiliary printed circuit boards each for mounting a Category 5/circuit surge protector device, an exposed side connector device, and a protected side connector device. The housing is designed to fit into the same footprint as that of the conventional 66-M type terminal block. Each of the miniature auxiliary printed circuit boards is adapted to be plugged into the corresponding sockets mounted on the main printed circuit board so as to facilitate the individual replacement of damaged protector devices. Each of the exposed side and protected side connector devices may be of any one of a number of different types of connectors so as to provide versatility.

Description

CATEGORY CABLE PROTECTOR 5/25 PAIRS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to circuits for protection of telephones against voltage spikes, and more particularly relates to a circuit protection assembly having an interaxtable compartment of two. parts received by a main printed circuit board to be mounted on supports of the compartment, a plurality of auxiliary and miniaturized individual boards of printed circuits, each one to mount a protective device against voltage peaks of category 5 circuits and to connect in their respective support, an exposed-side connector device and a protected-side connector device to protect telecommunications-related equipment and the like with up to 25 pairs of cables. Although assemblies for protection of 25-pair circuits are known in the prior art to protect from telecommunication-related equipment up to 25 pairs of voltage spikes and surges, these surge protection devices do not comply with the current specification (# 568A ) for Category 5 of the Association of the Telecommunications Industry (TIA). This protection assembly for 25-pair circuits of the prior art is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,409 from R.H.

Heidorn et al. Issued January 9, 1996, and assigned to the same assignee of the present invention. This patent 09 is incorporated herein by reference. In Figures 1 to 7, the 25-pair circuit protection assembly includes a two-piece interajustable compartment 12, a printed circuit board subassembly , an exposed side connector device 46, and a protected side connector device. A printed circuit board is mounted within the compartment, and is adapted to receive any number of circuit protective devices. Figures 1, 10, 11 and 16 illustrate schematic circuit diagrams of the various circuit protective devices. However, none of these various circuit protective devices can protect telephone communication equipment from voltage spikes and overvoltages and also meet the current TIA specification for category 5. The present invention represents improvements to the previously discussed patent 09, which does not comply With the TIA specification for category 5. Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention developed an improved circuit protection assembly for protecting telecommunications related equipment and the like with cables of up to 25 pairs and the like of voltage peaks and overvoltages, which comply with the specification TIA for category 5. In the present invention, the compartment was designed to be placed on the same support as that of a conventional type 66-M terminal block. A printed circuit board subassembly includes a main printed circuit board and is fixedly mounted inside the compartment, and is adapted to receive individual 25 overvoltage protective devices for category 5 circuits, to provide protection against power spikes and overvoltages. In addition, the printed circuit board subassembly includes a first terminal connector device disposed on the exposed side and a second terminal connector device disposed on the protected side. Each of the 25 overvoltage protective devices for category 5 circuits is mounted on an associated auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit board adapted to be connected to corresponding brackets mounted on the main printed circuit board, in order to facilitate individual replacement of devices damaged protectors. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the foregoing, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved assembly for circuit protection of 25 pairs of _i__l _____ l ______ ÉI__ category 5, which is relatively simple and economical to manufacture and assembly. It is an object of the present invention to provide a 25-pair category 5 circuit protection assembly, which includes a two-piece adjustable compartment for receiving a main printed circuit board for mounting brackets to the board, a plurality of circuit boards auxiliary and individual miniaturized printers to mount in each of them a protective device against overvoltages for category 5 circuits and to be connected in their respective connectors, an exposed side connector device and a protected side connector device. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a surge protector for circuits, which uses a one-of-a-kind construction of a main printed circuit board for mounting to the device a plurality of auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit boards, where each one possesses a protective device against overvoltages for circuits, in order to comply with the TIA specification for category 5. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a protective circuit assembly of 25 category 5 pairs which is characterized by a design that greatly facilitates the replacement of circuit protection devices against damaged surges in telephone communication equipment. In one embodiment of the present invention, a 25-part category 5 circuit protection assembly is provided to protect equipment related to telephone communication and the like from power surges and overvoltages, which includes a compartment formed of matching base and cover members . The base and deck members have members of external facing side walls. The members of side walls of the base member have notches to form a cavity. A main printed circuit board is disposed within the compartment cavity. A plurality of connector supports are mounted on the main printed circuit board that is inside the compartment cavity. A plurality of miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit boards are mounted on corresponding connector supports of the plurality of connector supports. A plurality of circuit protection devices against overvoltages are mounted on corresponding auxiliary miniaturized circuit boards of the plurality of auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit boards. An input side electrical connector is adapted to supply a first 25-pair cable to the main printed circuit board. An electrical connector on the output side is adapted to receive a second 25-pair cable from the main printed circuit board. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where like reference numbers indicate corresponding parts, where: Figure 1 is a front flat view of a conventional 66-M terminal block of the prior art. Figure 2 is a perspective view of a 25-pair category 5 circuit protection assembly constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the 25-pair category 5 circuit protection assembly of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a planar top view of Figure 2, without the cover member. Figure 5 is a top plan view of the main printed circuit board without the electrical components, illustrating the arrangement of the tip conductors. Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the main printed circuit board, illustrating the arrangement of annular conductors. Figure 7 is a lower plan view of the main printed circuit board assembly, illustrating the combined arrangement of the tip and annular conductors of Figure 5 and Figure 6. Figure 8 is an enlarged view of one of the printed circuit boards. miniaturized printed circuit boards that have a category 5 circuit protection device against overvoltages; and Figure 9 is a schematic circuit diagram of the circuit protective devices of the category against overvoltages of Figure 8. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY Referring now to the various views of the drawings in detail, an improved assembly for circuit protection of 25 category 5 pairs 10 constructed in accordance with FIGS. to the principles of the present invention. It can conveniently be mounted on the brackets of a conventional type 66-M 2 connector terminal block that has a 4-sided connector attached to a plug 5 (as illustrated in Figure 1) commonly used in equipment related to telephone and other communications. electronic applications. The improved circuit protection assembly 10 is used to protect sensitive equipment for communications comprising up to 25 pairs of wires (50 lines) of voltage spikes and overvoltage conditions, and which also meets the TIA specification for category 5. The Improved assembly for circuit protection 10 can be used as a network interface in a multitude of consumer applications, because it can accommodate a plurality of different input and output connectors. The improved circuit protection assembly 10 includes a molded compartment 12 made of a suitable plastic material, such as polycarbonate and the like, which is comprised of a base member 14 and a matching cover member 16. The cover member 16 can be secured and interlocking with the base member 14 by a pair of captive screws 18. When the cover member 16 is removed from the base member 14, the captive screws are designed to be retained in the cover member 16. The compartment 12 has a configuration in general rectangular, and is adapted to be mounted on the supports of the type 66-M terminal block by upper and lower mounting projections 20 and 22. The base and cover members 14 and 16 are provided with confronting external side wall members. and 26, respectively. The two sidewall members 24 of the base member 14 have notches to form a cavity 28 for receiving and containing a sub-assembly of printed circuit board 30. The printed circuit board subassembly 30 includes a main printed circuit board 32, a plurality (25) of card edges or connector supports 34, a plurality (25) of miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit boards 36, an input-side or exposed-side connector device 38, and an output-side or protected-side connector device 40. As illustrated in this particular embodiment, the device Input side connector 38 is preferably a 25-pair 110D connector block, such as those commercially available in AT & T. The output side connector block 40 is also preferably a 25-pair connector block 110D, which is the same as the input side connector block 38. Each of the connector blocks 110D 38, 40 has pins located on its bottom sides with the purpose of assembling by welding on opposite sides of the main printed circuit board 32, and possessing isolated displacement terminals to accept 25 pairs of discrete cables that are placed under pressure on the pins. It should be clearly understood that other types of connector devices for the exposed or protected side may include any number of pressure type terminal connectors, such as 66, Krone or BIX type.

The lower end of the base and cover members 14 and 16 is provided with a first short tubular extension 42 that functions as a conduit for passing through this a 25-pair cable that is provided by the telephone company, and that is terminated in the connector block 110D 38 on the input side on the main printed circuit board 32. The lower end of the base and cover members is also provided with a second short tubular extension 44 which functions as a conduit for passing a cable of the same. pairs from the connector block 110D 40 on the output side to the user. Each of the plurality of card edge or support connectors 34 is mounted on a central portion of the main printed circuit board 32. The support connectors 34 are similar to those commercially available from WinPoint America of Westfield., Indiana, USA, with part number 1521D-10-E-02. Each of the support connectors 34 includes a plurality of contacts for making an electrical connection with its corresponding board from among a plurality of auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit boards 36. The auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit boards 36 are designed to be assembled by plug to through a transverse channel 46 with the associated support connectors 34. Each of the plurality of miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit boards 36 has mounted thereon a single overvoltage protector circuit device 48 which functions in conjunction with the plurality of conductive connections. on the main printed circuit board 32, in order to comply with the TIA specification for category 5. The cross channels 46 are similar to those commercially available from WinPoint America, with the part number 201RA-10-S-2-01-G. In the Figure 9 of the drawings illustrates a schematic circuit diagram of the overvoltage protective circuit devices 48. As can be seen in Figure 9, the overvoltage protective circuit device 48 is comprised of four series 50, 52, 54 and 56 of rectifier diodes and a pair of voltage suppressors 58 and 60. The input side of the protective device 48 can be connected between two incoming telephone call transmission line wires applied on an input tip terminal 62 and an annular input terminal 64 that define an unprotected side. The output side of the protective device 48 can be connected between two individual telephone equipment cables to be protected applied on an output tip terminal 66 and an annular output terminal 68 defining a protected side. Each of the four series of diodes 50 to 56 is comprised of three (3) low capacitance diodes connected in parallel. The first series 50 is formed by three DI diodes connected in parallel, with their common cathodes connected to each other at a node A, and also connected to a first conductor guide 70. The common anodes of the DI diodes are also connected to each other in a node B, and also connected with a second conductor guide 72. The second series 52 is formed by three diodes D2 connected in parallel, with their common cathodes connected to each other at node C and further connected with a third conductor guide 74. The anodes common diodes D2 are also connected together at node B and with second conductor guide 72. Similarly, third series 54 is formed by three diodes D3 connected in parallel, with their common anodes connected to each other at node D, and also connected with the first conductive guide 70. The common cathodes of the diodes D3 are also connected to each other at the node E and also connected with a fourth conductive guide 76. The fourth series 56 is formed by three diodes D4 connected in parallel, with their common anodes connected to each other at node F and further connected to third conductor guide 74. The common cathodes of diodes D4 are also connected to each other at node E and with the fourth conductive guide 76. Each of the diodes DI to D4 in the respective series 50 to 56 may be similar to the type BAV21 having low capacitance.

The first voltage suppressor 58 has one end connected to the second conductive guide 72, and its other end connected to ground via a ground conducting guide 78. Similarly, the second voltage suppressor 60 has one end connected to the fourth conductive guide 76. , and its other end also connected to the conductive guide to ground 78. Each of the voltage suppressors 58 and 60 may be formed from a silicon avalanche suppressor.

(SAS), sidactor, gas tube or Zener diode. In the present preferred embodiment, voltage suppressors 58 and 60 are silicon avalanche suppressors similar to those of type 1.5 KE18CA. The arrangement for the 25 pairs of tip and ring conductors in the main printed circuit board 32 can be better understood by referring to Figures 5 to 7 of the drawings. In order to meet the near-end interference (NEXT) criteria, and the attenuation and return loss criteria of the TIA specification for category 5, the inventors determined that torque-pair impedance should be increased. In other words, the capacitance must be decreased to a reduced value between any two adjacent tip conductors and any two adjacent annular conductors of each of the 25 pairs. It was found that this can be achieved by increasing the spacing or distance between adjacent pairs of conductive tips and adjacent pairs of annular conductors. Accordingly, the one-of-a-kind pattern of the tip and ring conductors of the 25 pairs is formed on the main printed circuit board 32 as illustrated in Figures 5 to 7, to cooperate with the electrical components (support connectors 34 and miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit boards 36 that have a protective device against overvoltages 48) mounted on the main board, in order to comply with the TIA specification for the category 5. The plurality of tip conductors 80 were located on the upper side of the main printed circuit board 32, as shown in Figure 5. Each of the adjacent pairs of the tip conductors on the input side and on the Output side are positioned to be as far apart from each other as possible, but they remain parallel to each other and relatively straight. Similarly, the plurality of annular conductors 82 were located on the underside of the main integrated circuit board 32, as illustrated in Figure 6. Each of the adjacent pairs of annular conductors on the input side and the output side they are positioned to be as far apart from each other as possible, but they remain parallel to each other and relatively short. It will be appreciated that the underside of the main printed circuit board 32 is formed with an elongated ground conductor 84 for connecting the main integrated circuit board 32 to a common external ground bus (not shown). In addition, the combined arrangement of the 25 pairs of tip and annular leads 80 and 82 on the main printed circuit board of Figures 5 and 6 is illustrated in the Figure. From the above detailed description, it can be seen that the present invention provides a protection assembly for category 5 and 25-pair circuits to protect equipment related to telephone communication and the like from power surges and overvoltages, which includes a two-part compartment adjustable to receive the main printed circuit board for mounting mounting brackets thereon, a plurality of auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit boards for mounting a category 5 protective circuit device and for connecting to the respective brackets, an exposed side connector device and a protected side connector device. The compartment is designed to fit in the same support as that of a conventional type 66-M terminal block. In addition, each of the protected side and exposed side connectors can be formed from any of the various types of connectors, to provide versatility. Although it was illustrated and described what is currently considered the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be able to understand that various changes and modifications can be made, and that some of its elements can be replaced by equivalents, without departing from the scope of the invention. true scope of the present invention. In addition, various modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention, without departing from its central scope. Accordingly, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiment that is disclosed as the best embodiment contemplated for carrying out the present invention, but that the present invention includes all modalities that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (18)

1. CLAIMS 1. An assembly for circuit protection to protect equipment related to telecommunications and the like from power and voltage overloads, comprising: a compartment formed of matching base and cover members, where the base and deck members have side wall members confronted, wherein the members of side walls of the base member have notches to form a cavity; a main printed circuit board disposed within the compartment cavity; a plurality of support connectors mounted on the main printed circuit board disposed within the compartment cavity; a plurality of miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit boards, wherein each of the plurality of miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit boards is mounted on a corresponding connector from among the plurality of support connectors; a plurality of overvoltage protective circuit devices, wherein each of the plurality of overvoltage protective circuit devices is mounted on a corresponding board among the plurality of auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit boards; an input side electrical connector device for supplying first 25 pairs of wires to the main printed circuit board; and an output side electrical connector device for receiving a second 25 pairs of wires from the main printed circuit board.
2. 2. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 1, wherein the input connector electrical device includes a connector block 110D.
3. 3. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 2, wherein the electrical connector device on the output side includes a connector block 110D.
4. 4. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 1, wherein the compartment is adapted to fit in the support of a conventional type 66-M terminal block.
5. 5. A circuit protection assembly as specified in claim 1, further comprising a card edge connector mounted on each of the plurality of miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit boards, and including a plurality of contacts for connecting with a corresponding board from among the plurality of auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit boards.
6. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 1, wherein the main printed circuit board includes a plurality of tip and annular conductors formed on an upper side thereof and a plurality of tip and annular conductors formed in its lower side, where each of the plurality of tip conductors is separated from the other in parallel relation and which is relatively straight to improve the connection between them, where each of the plurality of annular conductors is separated from the other in relation to each other. parallel and that is relatively straight to improve the connection between these.
7. 7. A circuit protection assembly as specified in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of overload circuit protective devices includes voltage suppressing devices and four series of diode devices.
8. 8. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 7, wherein each of the four series of diode devices includes three diodes connected in parallel, and the voltage suppressing device includes a pair of silicon avalanche suppressors.
9. 9. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 1, wherein each of the individual diodes of the four series of diode devices has low capacitance.
10. 10. An assembly for circuit protection to protect equipment related to telecommunications and the like from power and voltage overloads, comprising: a compartment device formed of matching base and cover members; a main printed circuit board device disposed within the compartment device; supporting connector devices mounted on the main printed circuit board device; auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit board devices operatively associated with the support connector device; protective circuit devices against overvoltages operatively associated with the miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit board device; an input side electrical connector device for supplying first 25 pairs of wires to the main printed circuit board; and an output side electrical connector device for receiving a second 25 pairs of wires from the main printed circuit board.
11. 11. A circuit protection assembly as specified in claim 10, wherein each of the input side electrical connecting devices includes a 110D connector block.
12. 12. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 10, wherein each of the electrical connectors on the output side includes a connector block of 110D.
13. 13. A circuit protection assembly as specified in claim 10, wherein the compartment is adapted to fit in the support of a conventional type 66-M terminal block.
14. 14. A circuit protection assembly as specified in claim 10, further comprising a card edge connector mounted on each of the plurality of miniaturized auxiliary printed circuit boards, and including a plurality of contacts for connection purposes. with a corresponding board from among the plurality of auxiliary miniaturized printed circuit boards.
15. 15. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 10, wherein the main printed circuit board includes a plurality of tip and annular conductors formed on an upper side thereof and a plurality of tip and annular conductors formed in its lower side, where each of the plurality of tip conductors is separated from the other in parallel relation and which is relatively straight to improve the connection between them, where each of the plurality of annular conductors is separated from the other in relation to each other. parallel and that is relatively straight to improve the connection between these.
16. 16. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of overload circuit protective devices includes voltage suppressing devices and four series of diode devices.
17. 17. A circuit protection assembly as specified in claim 16, wherein each of the four series of diode devices includes three diodes connected in parallel, and the voltage suppressing device includes a pair of silicon avalanche suppressors.
18. 18. An assembly for circuit protection as specified in claim 17, wherein each of each of the diodes of the four series of diode devices has low capacitance.