WO2005027277A1

WO2005027277A1 - Patch cable sockets and adapters

Info

Publication number: WO2005027277A1
Application number: PCT/GB2004/003981
Authority: WO
Inventors: Simon Arthur Redmond Marden
Original assignee: Find Me Utp Limited
Priority date: 2003-09-17
Filing date: 2004-09-17
Publication date: 2005-03-24
Also published as: GB0321741D0; GB2399233B; GB2399233A

Abstract

An adapter has a plug portion and a socket portion, wherein the socket portion incorporates receiving means for receiving, in use, one plug end of a patch cable and at least one pair of electrical connection means adapted to mate with corresponding plug end electrical connection means to allow the passage of signals across the adapter when an operator engages said patch cable's plug end into the socket portion; the adapter comprises indicator means in electrical contact with at least one pair of electrical connection means which indicate to an operator when current is applied to said pair of electrical connection means; the adapter further comprises electrical connection means in circuit with said indicator means and configured to allow an operator to apply an external current to said pair of electrical connection means in order to activate the indicator means of said adapter and to activate a corresponding indicator means of a corresponding adapter when used at the other end of the patch cable; the adapter further comprises means for substantially preventing any movement of the receiving means relative to the indicator means; and the plug portion is so configured to allow it to be readily released by an operator from any mating socket in which the plug portion is inserted during use.

Description

PATCH CABLE SOCKETS ANDADAPTERS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to sockets and apparatus for receiving plug ends of patch cables. The invention relates in particular to sockets and adapters which facilitate the identification and location of a cable between corresponding sockets and adapters.

Background to the Invention

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cables are used to connect PC's to wall outlets and/or to connect patch panels to hubs or switches. Such cables come in a variety of standard cable lengths or, dependent upon the application, can be custom made.

A network, even a small one, will cause significant headaches for the person trying to isolate a single cable without needlessly taking it and others out of circuit to do so. There are also particular difficulties in identifying cables in a network because they are often tightly packed or difficult to access. By quickly and successfully identifying a particular cable, disruption could be minimised.

Traditionally, the cables would be colour coded, have identity tags or would be accompanied by a wiring diagram within the patch panel. However, due to constant updating and expansion demands, these traditional methods do not offer an optimal solution for the would-be identifier.

The closest prior published patent document to the present invention known to the applicant(s), WO02/052583 (BEJED Inc), discloses an adapter comprising an adapter having a socket in which a plug end of a patch cable may engage. The adapter has a separate socket and plug unit. The plug unit and the socket unit are connected via a flexible cable. Indicator means in the form of a light emitting diode (LED) protrudes from the rear end of the plug unit. Two metallic contacts extend perpendicularly from the surface of the unit around which a power source may be attached to power the LED. Electrical connection means are provided to join in circuit the LED of the adapter to the socket terminals and to a corresponding LED of a corresponding adapter when an appropriate patch cable joins the respective socket of the adapter and its corresponding adapter. When the metallic contacts are powered the LEDs of both the adapter and its corresponding adapter light up, thus identifying the cable.

This prior art adapter has the following drawbacks:

• the flexible cable connecting the plug unit and the socket unit allows the movement between these units and is likely to cause premature electrical connection failure.

• the presence of two units, one for the plug and another for the socket, multiplies the number of components required, renders the combination of these two units excessively large and difficult to handle, particularly in a patch room environment where permanent installation is often required. It would be particularly burdensome to insert this prior art adapter into a multi-port patch panel.

• The protruding aspect of the LED and the electrical contacts would also render this prior art system more prone to suffer damage, whether in transportation following their manufacture or in use.

The present invention also aims to offer an improvement to sockets generally such as patch panel sockets. Traditional patch panel sockets exist having indicator means such as an LED in proximity to the socket such that when a plug engages the socket and data is being sent down the cable the indicator means are activated. Such indicator means only enable an investigator to establish which cables are in use or which cables have power.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first broad independent aspect of the invention there is provided a socket, comprising: receiving means for receiving, in use, one plug end of a patch cable, at least one pair of electrical connection means adapted to mate with corresponding plug electrical connection means to allow the passage of signals across the socket when the operator engages the plug into the socket, indicator means in electrical contact with at least one pair of electrical connection means which indicate to an operator when current is applied to said pair of electrical connection means, activating means in circuit with said indicator means allowing the operator to apply current to said pair of electrical connection means in order to activate the indicator means of said socket and to activate a corresponding indicator means of a corresponding socket when used at the other end of the patch cable, and means for substantially preventing any movement of the receiving means relative to the indicator means.

This combination of features is advantageous as the indicator means is less prone to damage. This is of particular significance in this field as these are often destined to be handled on a regular basis by operators, particularly in increasingly large networks where updating is almost constant and increasingly complex.

A further advantage of such a combination is that it allows patch cable plugs to be more rapidly and easily inserted into the socket.

According to a subsidiary aspect of the present invention there is provided an adapter, comprising: a socket according to the first aspect of the invention and a plug for mating with a socket, wherein a single housing is provided to house the electrical connection means which join plug terminals to socket terminals. One of the advantages of this particular configuration is that there are no flexible exposed cable portions connecting the socket and the plug as in the prior art. By having a single housing as opposed to having one housing for the plug and another for the socket as in the prior art, considerable savings in material and component assembly can be achieved. This is particularly beneficial since adapters of this kind are destined to be mass produced.

Having a single housing will reduce the required dimensions of the adapter. Being thus more compact, these adapters may be used as permanent fixtures in what are usually densely packed patch panels.

The adapters may also be more easily removable because they will function as a conventional plug which also has a single housing.

According to a second independent aspect of the present invention there is provided a socket, comprising: receiving means for receiving, in use, one plug end of a patch cable, at least one pair of electrical connection means adapted to mate with corresponding plug electrical connection means to allow the passage of signals across the socket when the operator engages the plug into the socket, indicator means in electrical contact with at least one pair of electrical connection means which indicate to an operator when current is applied to said pair of electrical connection means, activating means in circuit with said indicator means allowing the operator to apply current to said pair of electrical connection means in order to activate the indicator means of said socket and to activate a corresponding indicator means of a corresponding socket when used at the other end of the patch cable, wherein the activating means are metallic contacts external from the socket and extending along the outer surface of the socket.

This configuration is advantageous because the metallic contacts are less prone to failure particularly when activating them a large number of times due to them extending perpendicularly to the surface of the socket. The metallic contacts may more easily be activated by, for example, simply touching them with a charge rather than requiring a permanent plug connection. According to a further subsidiary aspect of the present invention there is provided a socket wherein the metallic contacts incorporate a hollow portion to receive appropriate electrical contacts for transmitting current to the socket.

Advantageously, electrical charging contacts can be quickly and repeatedly inserted into the hollow portions without undue strain on the metallic contacts.

According to a further subsidiary aspect of the present invention there is provided a socket wherein the socket has a translucent housing and the indicator means is a light emitting diode embedded into the socket.

Having the light emitting diode (LED) embedded is advantageous because it is, in effect, better protected. This will reduce any damage which would normally occur on the standard LED which protrudes from its fixture. This socket is advantageous because it has less exposed parts than the prior art.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure la shows a side cross-sectional view of an adapter;

Figure lb shows a rear cross-sectional view of an adapter;

Figure lc shows a top cross-sectional view of an adapter;

Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a patch panel embodiment according to the present invention. Detailed Description of the Invention

Throughout this description the term "patch cable" is to be interpreted broadly and extends to all cables joining electronic apparatus.

Figures la to lc present three different views of an adapter generally referenced 1 which is designed to be attached to an end of a standard RJ45 Category 5, Ethernet UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cable.

Whilst the invention is in the following section described in detail with reference to a Category 5 connector, the invention is not limited to this category but extends to other categories such as 5E or 6 which needn't specifically be described in detail for the purposes of this patent application.

Adapter 1 incorporates a single housing 2 forming a socket portion 3 and a plug portion 4. Socket portion 3 incorporates a receiving means 5 for receiving, in use, one plug end of a standard patch cable. The receiving means shields 8 electrical connection means such as that referenced 6 which allow the passage of signals across the adapter when the operator engages the plug into the socket. Electrical connection means 7 and 8 extend from standard socket terminals inside the socket and connect to an LED 9.

The LED may be entirely or partially embedded into the socket portion 3 which may be made of plastics and translucent to allow the advantageous dispersion of light so as to enable the operator to easily view the identification means supplied by the LED when activated.

Within the scope of the present invention, the LED may be substituted by other indicating means such as a sound emitting or a vibrating device should these be practical in a given application.

Two metallic contacts 10 and 11 extend along the outer surface of socket portion 3 so as to readily resist any bending force applied onto the metallic contacts. As can be clearly seen in Figure 1A, the metallic contacts may comprise a hollow tunnel such as that referenced 12 extending through the metallic contact suitable to receive appropriate electrical contacts for transmitting current to the socket.

Metallic contacts 10 and 1 1 may be in use contacted by appropriate powering means such as a button battery to apply current to the circuit of the electrical connection means 7 and 8, the LED of the adapter, along electrical conducting wires of a standard patch cable and to corresponding electrical connection means and LED of a corresponding adapter located at the opposite end of a patch cable (not illustrated in the figure).

Normal electrical connection means are provided between their socket terminals through the socket portion and terminating by standard electrical contacts such as that referenced 12 located as part of the plug portion and facilitating the transmission of signals from the adapter to a standard socket when plugged into during use.

A standard latching arm 13 is also envisaged as part of the adapter. Naturally the invention is not limited to the adapter having to incorporate this latching arm and will include, in its scope, adapters with or without such a latching mechanism.

Figure 1C also best illustrates how the electrical connection means are internal to housing 2 and thus advantageously protected and substantially immobilised within the housing.

Figure 2 schematically shows three patch panel sockets 14, 15 and 16. These sockets function in a similar manner to the sockets of the kind disclosed with reference to Figure 1. Each of these sockets has a receiving means 17 inside which electrical terminals such as that referenced 18 are visible. Two of these terminals 18 are in circuit with an LED such as that referenced 19 and which is in this embodiment fixed to a panel (not illustrated in the figure).

When a standard patch cable 29 is plugged at end 20 into receiving means 17 and at end 21 into a further socket 22, an electrical connection is established between socket 22 and socket 14. LED 19 is in circuit with two activating means such as that referenced 23 so that when activated a current lights up LED 19 and LED 24 thus allowing its operator to identify the specific physical cable location.

Whilst in the previous embodiment, the activating means were illustrated as metallic contacts against which a battery or other powering means could be applied, the activating means may be a switch drawing its power from a readily available power source such as the grid at an acceptable voltage to allow an operator by simply pressing the switch to activate both LED's 19 and 24.

Claims

1. An adapter having a plug portion and a socket portion, wherein:

the socket portion incorporates receiving means for receiving, in use, one plug end of a patch cable and at least one pair of electrical connection means adapted to mate with corresponding plug end electrical connection means to allow the passage of signals across the adapter when an operator engages said patch cable's plug end into the socket portion;

the adapter comprises indicator means in electrical contact with at least one pair of electrical connection means which indicate to an operator when current is applied to said pair of electrical connection means;

the adapter further comprises electrical connection means in circuit with said indicator means and configured to allow an operator to apply an external current to said pair of electrical connection means in order to activate the indicator means of said adapter and to activate a corresponding indicator means of a corresponding adapter when used at the other end of the patch cable;

the adapter further comprises means for substantially preventing any movement of the receiving means relative to the indicator means; and

the plug portion is so configured to allow it to be readily released by an operator from any mating socket in which the plug portion is inserted during use.

2. An adapter, having a plug portion and a socket portion according to Claim 1, wherein said plug portion mates with a socket and a single housing is provided to house the electrical connection means which join plug portion terminals to socket portion terminals.

3. An adapter, having a plug portion and a socket portion according to any preceding Claim, wherein the activating means are metallic contacts external from the socket and extending along the outer surface of the socket.

4. An adapter, having a plug portion and a socket portion according to claim 3, wherein the metallic contacts incorporate a hollow portion to receive appropriate electrical contacts for transmitting current to the socket.

5. An adapter, having a plug portion and a socket portion according to any preceding Claim, wherein the adapter has a translucent housing and the indicator means is a light emitting diode embedded into the socket.

6. An adapter substantially described with reference to and as illustrated in any appropriate combination of the accompanying text and drawings.