US20140179152A1 - Multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure - Google Patents
Multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure Download PDFInfo
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- US20140179152A1 US20140179152A1 US13/726,443 US201213726443A US2014179152A1 US 20140179152 A1 US20140179152 A1 US 20140179152A1 US 201213726443 A US201213726443 A US 201213726443A US 2014179152 A1 US2014179152 A1 US 2014179152A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- modular jack
- face panel
- window opening
- engagement
- engagement structure
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R4/00—Electrically-conductive connections between two or more conductive members in direct contact, i.e. touching one another; Means for effecting or maintaining such contact; Electrically-conductive connections having two or more spaced connecting locations for conductors and using contact members penetrating insulation
- H01R4/26—Connections in which at least one of the connecting parts has projections which bite into or engage the other connecting part in order to improve the contact
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04Q—SELECTING
- H04Q1/00—Details of selecting apparatus or arrangements
- H04Q1/02—Constructional details
- H04Q1/13—Patch panels for monitoring, interconnecting or testing circuits, e.g. patch bay, patch field or jack field; Patching modules
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
- H01R13/73—Means for mounting coupling parts to apparatus or structures, e.g. to a wall
- H01R13/74—Means for mounting coupling parts in openings of a panel
- H01R13/741—Means for mounting coupling parts in openings of a panel using snap fastening means
- H01R13/745—Means for mounting coupling parts in openings of a panel using snap fastening means separate from the housing
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R24/00—Two-part coupling devices, or either of their cooperating parts, characterised by their overall structure
- H01R24/60—Contacts spaced along planar side wall transverse to longitudinal axis of engagement
- H01R24/62—Sliding engagements with one side only, e.g. modular jack coupling devices
- H01R24/64—Sliding engagements with one side only, e.g. modular jack coupling devices for high frequency, e.g. RJ 45
Definitions
- the present invention relates the mounting arrangement between a face panel and modular jacks and more particular, to a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure, which allows modular jacks to be installed respective mounting through holes of a face panel in one of a series of angular positions.
- optical fiber cables or electrical cables are extended from a server room in the building to modular jacks in the walls at different rooms and different floors of the building so that computers in each room of the building can be connected to the adjacent modular jacks by modular plugs of computer cables.
- racks are installed to support network switches, servers and other devices.
- the servers in one rack are electrically connected to a face panel of the respective rack.
- the face panels of all racks in the server room are electrically connected by network cables.
- patch cords When installing multiple network equipments in a limited server room, patch cords may have to be bent into a curved condition to reduce space occupation. However, a large angle bending of patch cords may break the core wires.
- the patch panel includes a patch panel frame and rack mounting plates.
- the frame forms a central section having a longitudinal width sized to fit within the network rack.
- the rack mounting plates are provided on opposite longitudinal ends of the central section and allow the panel to be mounted to a network rack.
- the central section includes two panel sections angled outwardly in an inverted V-shapes, and the central section has mounted thereon a plurality of cable connectors that receive cabling on the front side and the rear side of the patch panel frame. Each connector has a horizontal axis.
- angled patch panel simply allows module jacks to be arranged at right angles.
- the network cables can simply be extended in two directions.
- a server rack fitting the angled patch panel must be designed having an extended depth, increasing space occupation. Therefore, this design is not conducive for high-density installation.
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,839 discloses a patch panel assembly including an angle module having one or more RJ modules, one or more insulation displacement contact (IDC) modules and a printed circuit board. According to this design, all RJ modules keep the plug receiving holes thereof in one same direction after installation. When connecting RJ plugs of network cables from different directions to the RJ modules, the extending directions of the network cables have to be changed to fit the extending direction of the plug receiving holes of the RJ modules.
- IDC insulation displacement contact
- the present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure, which allows modular jacks to be installed respective mounting through holes of a face panel in one of a series of angular positions and, which is practical for use in a network equipment to have all network cables be properly arranged in different directions, avoiding network cable damage or tangled network cables.
- a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure comprises a face panel and a plurality of modular jacks.
- the face panel comprises a front face layer, a row of modular jack mounting holes cut through the front face layer, and multiple modular jack engagement structures respectively disposed adjacent to the modular jack mounting holes.
- the modular jacks are respectively mounted in the modular jack mounting holes of the face panel, each comprising an IDC housing and a face panel engagement structure disposed around the IDC housing for engagement with one modular jack engagement structure of the face panel.
- the IDC housing comprises a tilted modular plug insertion hole located at a front side thereof and exposed outside the front face layer of the face panel. Further, the IDC housing is configured to fit the configuration of the modular jack mounting holes so that each modular jack is selectively mountable in one modular jack mounting hole in one of a series of angular positions.
- the face panel comprises a back lining layer fixedly mounted at a back side of the front face layer.
- the front face layer of the face panel comprises an elongated slot.
- the back lining layer comprises a plurality of window openings kept in communication with the elongated slot. Each window opening is combined with a part of the elongated slot to form one respective modular jack mounting hole.
- the IDC housings of the modular jacks can made in a square shape, rectangular shape, circular shape or any of a variety of other geometric shapes, and the window openings of the face panel can be formed of two openings that are overlapped together and biased relative to each other at a predetermined angle for accommodating the IDC housings of the modular jacks in one of a series of angular positions.
- the window opening is formed of two square or rectangular holes that are overlapped together and biased at a 45 or 90 degree angle relative to each other.
- each modular jack engagement structure of the face panel comprises a plurality of hook rods located at the back side of the back lining layer adjacent to around one window opening; each face panel engagement structure of the IDC housing of each modular jack comprises a plurality of hook grooves disposed at the peripheral walls thereof for engagement with the hook rods of one modular jack engagement structure of the face panel.
- the window openings of the face panel are composite window openings; each face panel engagement structure of the IDC housing of each modular jack comprises a plurality of retaining blocks located at opposing top and bottom walls thereof and forced into engagement with an outer surface of the back lining layer of the face panel around one composite window opening, and two transverse locating ribs respectively located at two opposing sidewalls thereof and stopped at an inner surface of the back lining layer around the respective composite window opening.
- FIG. 1 is an elevational assembly view of a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is an exploded view, in an enlarged scale, of a part of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a part of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing illustrating different shapes of window openings of the back lining layer of the face panel of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 6 is an elevational view of one modular jack of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. 6 when viewed from another angle.
- FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing illustrating an application example of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 9 is an exploded view of an alternate form of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 10 is a sectional assembly view of FIG. 9 .
- a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention comprising a face panel 10 , and a plurality of modular jacks 20 mounted in the face panel 10 in a row.
- the face panel 10 comprises a front face layer 101 made of a metal material, and a back lining layer 11 made out of a plastic material using a molding technique and fixedly attached to the back side of the front face layer 101 .
- the front face layer 101 of the face panel 10 is punched to provide an elongated slot 12 .
- the back lining layer 11 comprises a row of equally spaced window openings 13 corresponding to the elongated slot 12 of the front face layer 101 for receiving the modular jacks 20 that extend in F-R direction (see FIG. 2 ), and a plurality of modular jack engagement structures for securing the modular jacks 20 in the respective window openings 13 and the elongated slot 12 .
- each modular jack engagement structure comprises opposing top and bottom hook rods 14 and 15 respectively perpendicularly extended from the back wall of the back lining layer 11 at top and bottom sides of each respective window opening 13 .
- Each modular jack 20 comprises an IDC (Insulation Displacement Connection) housing 21 , an IDC terminal block (not shown) mounted in the IDC housing 21 , a plurality of IDC terminals (not shown) mounted in the IDC terminal block and respectively electrically connected with respective core wires of a network cable (not shown).
- the cross section of the IDC housing 21 is configured to fit the combined shape of each window opening 13 and the elongated slot 12 .
- the IDC housings 21 of the modular jacks 20 and the window opening 13 have a rectangular cross section.
- this configuration is simply an example but not a limitation.
- the IDC housings 21 of the modular jacks 20 can made having a square cross section; the window openings 13 can star shaped, each formed of two square holes 13 a and 13 b that are overlapped together and biased at a 45 degree angle relative to each other. Thus, there are 8 installation directions for selection.
- the IDC housings 21 of the modular jacks 20 can made having a rectangular cross section; the window openings 13 can be respectively formed of two rectangular holes 13 c and 13 d that extend across each other at right angles.
- the IDC housings 21 of the modular jacks 20 can made in a square shape, rectangular shape, circular shape or any of a variety of other geometric shapes, and the window openings 13 can be formed of two openings that are overlapped together and biased relative to each other at a predetermined angle for accommodating the IDC housings 21 of the modular jacks 20 in one of a series of angular positions.
- the IDC housing 21 of each modular jack 20 defines a tilted modular plug insertion hole 22 at the front side thereof.
- the tilted modular plug insertion hole 22 of the installed modular jack 20 is exposed to the outside the face panel 10 for the insertion of a modular plug (not shown).
- tilted means that the tilted modular plug insertion hole 22 is not at the vertical line V, it defines with the horizontal line H a predetermined contained angle ⁇ .
- the IDC housing 21 of each modular jack 20 comprises opposing top and bottom walls and two opposing sidewalls, two first hook grooves 23 respectively located at the opposing top and bottom walls thereof, and two second hook grooves 24 respectively located at the opposing sidewalls thereof.
- the IDC housing 21 of each modular jack 20 comprises a face panel engagement structure disposed between the front side F (in direction toward the face panel) and rear side R (opposite to the front side) thereof for engagement with one modular jack engagement structure of the face panel 10 . Further, the IDC housing 21 defines a first axial direction extending from its front side toward its rear side (in parallel to the horizontal line H), and a second axial direction extending along the tilted modular plug insertion hole 22 and defining with the first axial direction a contained angle.
- the IDC housings 21 of the modular jacks 20 can be selectively mounted in the window openings 13 of the back lining layer 11 and the elongated slot 12 of the front face layer 101 of the face panel 10 in one of a series of angular positions for enabling respective mating modular plugs 90 to be inserted into the tilted modular plug insertion hole 22 of the modular jacks 20 in the face panel 10 at different angles.
- the IDC housing 21 of each modular jack 20 can be selectively mounted in one window opening 13 of the back lining layer 11 and the elongated slot 12 of the front face layer 101 of the face panel 10 in a first position where the IDC housing 21 has its top wall facing down, its bottom wall facing up and its first hook grooves 23 respectively kept in engagement with the opposing top and bottom hook rods 14 and 15 of the respective modular jack engagement structure and the tilted modular plug insertion hole 221 kept extending obliquely upward, or in a second position biased from the first position at 90-degree angle where the IDC housing 21 has its opposing top wall facing leftward and its bottom wall facing rightward and its second hook grooves 24 respectively kept in engagement with the opposing top and bottom hook rods 14 and 15 of the respective modular jack engagement structure and the tilted modular plug insertion hole 223 kept extending obliquely leftward, or in a third position biased from the second position at 90-degree angle where the IDC housing 21 has its opposing top wall facing down and its bottom wall facing
- the IDC housings 21 of the modular jacks 20 are made having a square cross section and the window openings 13 are star shaped and respectively formed of two square holes 13 a and 13 b that are overlapped together and biased at a 45 degree angle relative to each other, as shown in FIG. 5 , the modular jacks 20 can be installed in the face panel 11 in one of a large number of angular positions.
- the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure comprises a face panel 100 , and a plurality of modular jacks 200 mounted in the face panel 100 in a row.
- This alternate form is substantially similar to that shown in FIGS. 1-8 with the exception that the window openings 130 of the face panel 100 are composite window openings; the IDC housing 210 of each modular jack 200 comprises a plurality of retaining blocks 211 located at opposing top and bottom walls thereof, and two transverse locating ribs 212 respectively located at two opposing sidewalls thereof.
- the retaining blocks 211 are forced into engagement with the outer surface of the back lining layer 110 around the composite window opening 130 , and the transverse locating ribs 212 are stopped at the inner surface of the back lining layer 110 around the composite window opening 130 (see FIG. 10 ).
- the invention allows the user to install the modular jacks in the face panel in one of a series of angular positions to keep the tilted modular plug insertion holes of the respective modular jacks in different directions for the installation of respective mating modular plugs in different directions.
- all the network cables can be properly arranged in different directions, avoiding network cable damage or tangled network cables.
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Abstract
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates the mounting arrangement between a face panel and modular jacks and more particular, to a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure, which allows modular jacks to be installed respective mounting through holes of a face panel in one of a series of angular positions.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- When arranging a local area network in a building, optical fiber cables or electrical cables are extended from a server room in the building to modular jacks in the walls at different rooms and different floors of the building so that computers in each room of the building can be connected to the adjacent modular jacks by modular plugs of computer cables.
- In the server room, racks are installed to support network switches, servers and other devices. The servers in one rack are electrically connected to a face panel of the respective rack. The face panels of all racks in the server room are electrically connected by network cables.
- However, with increase in office business and office personnel and rapid development of network communication technology, some problems may follow. The existing capacity of the network equipment in the server room may be insufficient to meet the needs of the company. However, adding extra network equipment to expand the capacity requires much server room installation space. Using small sized network equipment can save server room space.
- When installing multiple network equipments in a limited server room, patch cords may have to be bent into a curved condition to reduce space occupation. However, a large angle bending of patch cords may break the core wires.
- To avoid over-bending of patch cords U.S. Pat. No. 6,866,541 discloses an angled patch panel with cable support bar for network cable racks. According to this design, the patch panel includes a patch panel frame and rack mounting plates. The frame forms a central section having a longitudinal width sized to fit within the network rack. The rack mounting plates are provided on opposite longitudinal ends of the central section and allow the panel to be mounted to a network rack. The central section includes two panel sections angled outwardly in an inverted V-shapes, and the central section has mounted thereon a plurality of cable connectors that receive cabling on the front side and the rear side of the patch panel frame. Each connector has a horizontal axis. According to this design, angled patch panel simply allows module jacks to be arranged at right angles. When connecting module plugs of network cables to the module jacks at the angled patch panel, the network cables can simply be extended in two directions. Further, a server rack fitting the angled patch panel must be designed having an extended depth, increasing space occupation. Therefore, this design is not conducive for high-density installation.
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,839 discloses a patch panel assembly including an angle module having one or more RJ modules, one or more insulation displacement contact (IDC) modules and a printed circuit board. According to this design, all RJ modules keep the plug receiving holes thereof in one same direction after installation. When connecting RJ plugs of network cables from different directions to the RJ modules, the extending directions of the network cables have to be changed to fit the extending direction of the plug receiving holes of the RJ modules.
- The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure, which allows modular jacks to be installed respective mounting through holes of a face panel in one of a series of angular positions and, which is practical for use in a network equipment to have all network cables be properly arranged in different directions, avoiding network cable damage or tangled network cables.
- To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure comprises a face panel and a plurality of modular jacks. The face panel comprises a front face layer, a row of modular jack mounting holes cut through the front face layer, and multiple modular jack engagement structures respectively disposed adjacent to the modular jack mounting holes. The modular jacks are respectively mounted in the modular jack mounting holes of the face panel, each comprising an IDC housing and a face panel engagement structure disposed around the IDC housing for engagement with one modular jack engagement structure of the face panel. The IDC housing comprises a tilted modular plug insertion hole located at a front side thereof and exposed outside the front face layer of the face panel. Further, the IDC housing is configured to fit the configuration of the modular jack mounting holes so that each modular jack is selectively mountable in one modular jack mounting hole in one of a series of angular positions.
- Further, the face panel comprises a back lining layer fixedly mounted at a back side of the front face layer. The front face layer of the face panel comprises an elongated slot. The back lining layer comprises a plurality of window openings kept in communication with the elongated slot. Each window opening is combined with a part of the elongated slot to form one respective modular jack mounting hole.
- Further, the IDC housings of the modular jacks can made in a square shape, rectangular shape, circular shape or any of a variety of other geometric shapes, and the window openings of the face panel can be formed of two openings that are overlapped together and biased relative to each other at a predetermined angle for accommodating the IDC housings of the modular jacks in one of a series of angular positions.
- Further, in one example of the present invention, the window opening is formed of two square or rectangular holes that are overlapped together and biased at a 45 or 90 degree angle relative to each other.
- Further, in one example of the present invention, each modular jack engagement structure of the face panel comprises a plurality of hook rods located at the back side of the back lining layer adjacent to around one window opening; each face panel engagement structure of the IDC housing of each modular jack comprises a plurality of hook grooves disposed at the peripheral walls thereof for engagement with the hook rods of one modular jack engagement structure of the face panel.
- Further, in another example of the present invention, the window openings of the face panel are composite window openings; each face panel engagement structure of the IDC housing of each modular jack comprises a plurality of retaining blocks located at opposing top and bottom walls thereof and forced into engagement with an outer surface of the back lining layer of the face panel around one composite window opening, and two transverse locating ribs respectively located at two opposing sidewalls thereof and stopped at an inner surface of the back lining layer around the respective composite window opening.
- Other advantages and features of the present invention will be fully understood by reference to the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference signs denote like components of structure.
-
FIG. 1 is an elevational assembly view of a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is an exploded view, in an enlarged scale, of a part ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A ofFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a part of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention. -
FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing illustrating different shapes of window openings of the back lining layer of the face panel of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention. -
FIG. 6 is an elevational view of one modular jack of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention. -
FIG. 7 corresponds toFIG. 6 when viewed from another angle. -
FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing illustrating an application example of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention. -
FIG. 9 is an exploded view of an alternate form of the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention. -
FIG. 10 is a sectional assembly view ofFIG. 9 . - Referring to
FIG. 1 , a multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising aface panel 10, and a plurality ofmodular jacks 20 mounted in theface panel 10 in a row. - Referring to
FIGS. 2 , 3 and 4, theface panel 10 comprises afront face layer 101 made of a metal material, and aback lining layer 11 made out of a plastic material using a molding technique and fixedly attached to the back side of thefront face layer 101. In this embodiment, thefront face layer 101 of theface panel 10 is punched to provide anelongated slot 12. Theback lining layer 11 comprises a row of equallyspaced window openings 13 corresponding to theelongated slot 12 of thefront face layer 101 for receiving themodular jacks 20 that extend in F-R direction (seeFIG. 2 ), and a plurality of modular jack engagement structures for securing themodular jacks 20 in therespective window openings 13 and theelongated slot 12. Thewindow openings 13 and theelongated slot 12 are combined together, forming a plurality of modular jack mounting holes. Further, each modular jack engagement structure comprises opposing top andbottom hook rods back lining layer 11 at top and bottom sides of eachrespective window opening 13. - Each
modular jack 20 comprises an IDC (Insulation Displacement Connection)housing 21, an IDC terminal block (not shown) mounted in theIDC housing 21, a plurality of IDC terminals (not shown) mounted in the IDC terminal block and respectively electrically connected with respective core wires of a network cable (not shown). The cross section of theIDC housing 21 is configured to fit the combined shape of eachwindow opening 13 and theelongated slot 12. In this embodiment, the IDC housings 21 of themodular jacks 20 and thewindow opening 13 have a rectangular cross section. However, this configuration is simply an example but not a limitation. - As shown in
FIG. 5 , the IDC housings 21 of themodular jacks 20 can made having a square cross section; thewindow openings 13 can star shaped, each formed of twosquare holes modular jacks 20 can made having a rectangular cross section; thewindow openings 13 can be respectively formed of tworectangular holes modular jacks 20 can made in a square shape, rectangular shape, circular shape or any of a variety of other geometric shapes, and thewindow openings 13 can be formed of two openings that are overlapped together and biased relative to each other at a predetermined angle for accommodating the IDC housings 21 of themodular jacks 20 in one of a series of angular positions. - Referring to
FIGS. 6 and 7 , theIDC housing 21 of eachmodular jack 20 defines a tilted modularplug insertion hole 22 at the front side thereof. After installation of onemodular jack 20 in one respective window opening 13 of theback lining layer 11 and theelongated slot 12 of thefront face layer 101 of theface panel 10, the tilted modularplug insertion hole 22 of the installedmodular jack 20 is exposed to the outside theface panel 10 for the insertion of a modular plug (not shown). The so-called “tilted” means that the tilted modularplug insertion hole 22 is not at the vertical line V, it defines with the horizontal line H a predetermined contained angle θ. - Further, in this embodiment, the
IDC housing 21 of eachmodular jack 20 comprises opposing top and bottom walls and two opposing sidewalls, twofirst hook grooves 23 respectively located at the opposing top and bottom walls thereof, and twosecond hook grooves 24 respectively located at the opposing sidewalls thereof. - That is, the
IDC housing 21 of eachmodular jack 20 comprises a face panel engagement structure disposed between the front side F (in direction toward the face panel) and rear side R (opposite to the front side) thereof for engagement with one modular jack engagement structure of theface panel 10. Further, theIDC housing 21 defines a first axial direction extending from its front side toward its rear side (in parallel to the horizontal line H), and a second axial direction extending along the tilted modularplug insertion hole 22 and defining with the first axial direction a contained angle. - Referring to
FIG. 8 andFIGS. 6 and 7 again, the IDC housings 21 of themodular jacks 20 can be selectively mounted in thewindow openings 13 of theback lining layer 11 and theelongated slot 12 of thefront face layer 101 of theface panel 10 in one of a series of angular positions for enabling respective matingmodular plugs 90 to be inserted into the tilted modularplug insertion hole 22 of themodular jacks 20 in theface panel 10 at different angles. For example, the IDC housing 21 of each modular jack 20 can be selectively mounted in one window opening 13 of the back lining layer 11 and the elongated slot 12 of the front face layer 101 of the face panel 10 in a first position where the IDC housing 21 has its top wall facing down, its bottom wall facing up and its first hook grooves 23 respectively kept in engagement with the opposing top and bottom hook rods 14 and 15 of the respective modular jack engagement structure and the tilted modular plug insertion hole 221 kept extending obliquely upward, or in a second position biased from the first position at 90-degree angle where the IDC housing 21 has its opposing top wall facing leftward and its bottom wall facing rightward and its second hook grooves 24 respectively kept in engagement with the opposing top and bottom hook rods 14 and 15 of the respective modular jack engagement structure and the tilted modular plug insertion hole 223 kept extending obliquely leftward, or in a third position biased from the second position at 90-degree angle where the IDC housing 21 has its opposing top wall facing down and its bottom wall facing up and its first hook grooves 23 respectively kept in engagement with the opposing top and bottom hook rods 14 and 15 of the respective modular jack engagement structure and the tilted modular plug insertion hole 222 kept extending obliquely downward, or in a fourth position biased from the third position at 90-degree angle where the IDC housing 21 has its opposing top wall facing rightward and its bottom wall facing left wall and its second hook grooves 24 respectively kept in engagement with the opposing top and bottom hook rods 14 and 15 of the respective modular jack engagement structure and the tilted modular plug insertion hole 224 kept extending obliquely rightward. If the IDC housings 21 of themodular jacks 20 are made having a square cross section and thewindow openings 13 are star shaped and respectively formed of twosquare holes FIG. 5 , themodular jacks 20 can be installed in theface panel 11 in one of a large number of angular positions. - In an alternate form of the present invention, as shown in
FIG. 9 , the multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure comprises aface panel 100, and a plurality ofmodular jacks 200 mounted in theface panel 100 in a row. This alternate form is substantially similar to that shown inFIGS. 1-8 with the exception that thewindow openings 130 of theface panel 100 are composite window openings; theIDC housing 210 of eachmodular jack 200 comprises a plurality of retainingblocks 211 located at opposing top and bottom walls thereof, and two transverse locatingribs 212 respectively located at two opposing sidewalls thereof. When mounting theIDC housing 210 of onemodular jack 200 in one composite window opening 130 of theback lining layer 110 of theface panel 100, the retaining blocks 211 are forced into engagement with the outer surface of theback lining layer 110 around thecomposite window opening 130, and the transverse locatingribs 212 are stopped at the inner surface of theback lining layer 110 around the composite window opening 130 (seeFIG. 10 ). - In conclusion, the invention allows the user to install the modular jacks in the face panel in one of a series of angular positions to keep the tilted modular plug insertion holes of the respective modular jacks in different directions for the installation of respective mating modular plugs in different directions. When the invention is used in a network equipment, all the network cables can be properly arranged in different directions, avoiding network cable damage or tangled network cables.
- Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
Claims (22)
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US13/726,443 US8747150B1 (en) | 2012-12-24 | 2012-12-24 | Multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure |
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US13/726,443 US8747150B1 (en) | 2012-12-24 | 2012-12-24 | Multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure |
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US20140179152A1 true US20140179152A1 (en) | 2014-06-26 |
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US13/726,443 Expired - Fee Related US8747150B1 (en) | 2012-12-24 | 2012-12-24 | Multidirectional modular jack and face panel mounting structure |
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US20230176290A1 (en) * | 2021-01-18 | 2023-06-08 | Sterlite Technologies Limited | Converged enclosure |
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US20150093942A1 (en) * | 2013-10-02 | 2015-04-02 | Kinnexa, Inc. | Structure of connector combination |
US9640898B1 (en) * | 2015-02-11 | 2017-05-02 | NetSuite Inc. | System and method for efficient coupling of cabling in a multi-cable rack-mounted environment |
CN107123892B (en) * | 2016-02-25 | 2020-04-17 | 黄英良 | Electrical connection device |
USD797545S1 (en) * | 2016-09-22 | 2017-09-19 | Crestron Electronics, Inc. | Wall mounted jack panel |
USD799934S1 (en) * | 2016-09-22 | 2017-10-17 | Crestron Electronics, Inc. | Wall mounted receptacle |
US10871619B2 (en) * | 2017-01-30 | 2020-12-22 | Senko Advanced Components, Inc. | Cassette assembly for a plural of fiber optic receptacles |
US11276955B2 (en) * | 2020-01-06 | 2022-03-15 | Ciena Corporation | Double-blind mating pluggable-modules holder |
US11226452B2 (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2022-01-18 | Google Llc | Dual polarity optical fiber adaptor with protruding tab and patch panel |
US11169345B1 (en) | 2020-05-11 | 2021-11-09 | Google Llc | Sliding tray for fiber optic panel assembly |
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US5129842A (en) * | 1991-04-08 | 1992-07-14 | Digital Equipment Corporation | Modular patch panel |
US6537106B1 (en) * | 1998-06-05 | 2003-03-25 | Adc Telecommunications, Inc. | Telecommunications patch panel with angled connector modules |
US6866541B2 (en) * | 2001-07-26 | 2005-03-15 | Panduit Corp. | Angled patch panel with cable support bar for network cable racks |
US6736670B2 (en) * | 2001-11-16 | 2004-05-18 | Adc Telecommunications, Inc. | Angled RJ to RJ patch panel |
US7094095B1 (en) * | 2005-02-25 | 2006-08-22 | Panduit Corp. | Stair-stepped angled patch panel |
US7762839B2 (en) | 2008-12-22 | 2010-07-27 | Surtec Industries, Inc. | Patch panel assembly |
-
2012
- 2012-12-24 US US13/726,443 patent/US8747150B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20190008075A1 (en) * | 2017-06-30 | 2019-01-03 | Quanta Computer Inc. | Arc shape front panel |
US20230176290A1 (en) * | 2021-01-18 | 2023-06-08 | Sterlite Technologies Limited | Converged enclosure |
US11960133B2 (en) * | 2021-01-18 | 2024-04-16 | Sterlite Technologies Limited | Converged enclosure |
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