TREA

Enhanced performance telecommunications connector

Follow

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6224423
  • Patent Number
    6,224,423
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, March 24, 1998
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 1, 2001
    23 years ago
Information
Abstract
A connector made up of a plug and outlet which, when mated, define four shielded quadrants, each of which houses a pair of contacts. Shield members within the plug overlap and shield members within the outlet overlap. In addition, shield members within the outlet overlap adjacent shield members in the plug when mated. Overlapping the shield members at each shield member junction provides enhanced shielding and reduced crosstalk.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The invention relates generally to telecommunications connectors and in particular to a telecommunications plug and outlet having enhanced performance characteristics.




2. Prior Art




Improvements in telecommunications systems have resulted in the ability to transmit voice and/or data signals along transmission lines at increasingly higher frequencies. Several industry standards that specify multiple performance levels of twisted-pair cabling components have been established. The primary references, considered by many to be the international benchmarks for commercially based telecommunications components and installations, are standards ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A (/568) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard and 150/IEC 11801 (/11801), generic cabling for customer premises. For example, Category 3, 4 and 5 cable and connecting hardware are specified in both /568 and /11801, as well as other national and regional specifications. In these specifications, transmission requirements for Category 3 components are specified up to 16 MHZ. Transmission requirements for Category 4 components are specified up to 20 MHZ. Transmission requirements for Category 5 components are specified up to 100 MHZ. New standards are being developed continuously and currently it is expected that future standards will require transmission requirements of at least 600 MHZ. To achieve such transmission rates, fully shielded twisted pair cable will be necessary in which each pair is individually wrapped in a foil or screen. In addition, all pairs are wrapped together in a layer of foil or screen.




The above referenced transmission requirements also specify limits on near-end crosstalk (NEXT). Telecommunications connectors are organized in sets of pairs, typically made up of a tip and ring connector. As telecommunications connectors are reduced in size, adjacent pairs are placed closer to each other creating crosstalk between adjacent pairs. To comply with the near-end crosstalk requirements, a variety of techniques are used in the art.




U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,311 discloses a shielded compact data connector designed to reduce crosstalk between contacts of the connector. Pairs of contacts are placed within metallic channels. When the connectors are mated, the channels abut against each other to enclose each pair in a metallic shield. One disadvantage to the design in U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,311 is that the metallic channels are joined at a butt joint; one surface abuts against the adjacent surface with no overlap. Since all components include some manufacturing tolerance, there is a potential for gaps between the shields thereby reducing the shielding effect. Another disadvantage is that wires having the foil removed can be exposed to each other at the rear of the connector thus leading to crosstalk. Thus, there is a perceived need in the art for a connector having improved pair shielding.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The above-discussed and other drawbacks and deficiencies of the prior art are overcome or alleviated by the enhanced performance telecommunications connector of the present invention. In one embodiment, the connector is made up of a plug and outlet which, when mated, define four shielded quadrants, each of which houses a pair of contacts. In another embodiment, the connector is made up of a plug and outlet which, when mated, define two shielded quadrants, each of which houses a pair of contacts. In a further embodiment of the present invention, a printed circuit board (PCB) connector is provided wherein the connector is made up of a plug and outlet which, when mated, define four shielded quadrants, each of which houses a pair of contacts. In this embodiment, the connector is particularly suitable for mounting onto a circuit board. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, an improved plug top cover is provided having a metallic latch subassembly which allows for a more direct electrical path from a plug cable screen to an outlet cable screen. In all of the embodiments described herein which set forth the improved connector of the present invention, the shield members within the plug overlap and shield members within the outlet overlap. In addition, shield members within the outlet overlap adjacent shield members on the plug when mated. Overlapping the shield members at each shield member juncture provides enhanced shielding and reduced crosstalk.




The above-discussed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




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





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of an assembled plug of one embodiment in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 2

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug top cover of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug bottom cover of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug contact carrier of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 6

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug of

FIG. 1

including termination caps;





FIG. 7

is another exploded, perspective view of the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 8

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 9

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 10

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 11

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 12

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 12A

is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 12B

is a perspective view of the alternative embodiment of the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 13

is a perspective view of one embodiment of the outlet;





FIG. 14

is an exploded, perspective view of the outlet of

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 15

is a cross-sectional view of the outlet core of

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 16

is an exploded, perspective view of the outlet top cover of

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 17

is an exploded, perspective view of the outlet bottom cover of

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 18

is an exploded, perspective view of the outlet contact carrier of

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 19

is an exploded, perspective view of the outlet of

FIG. 13

including termination caps;





FIG. 20

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the outlet of

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 21

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the outlet of

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 22

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the outlet of

FIG. 13

;





FIG. 23

is a perspective view of the outlet of

FIG. 13

mounted in a faceplate;





FIG. 24

is a perspective view of the plug of

FIG. 1

mated with the outlet of

FIG. 13

mounted in the faceplate;





FIG. 25

is a side view of the plug of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 26

is a cross sectional view taken along line


26


—


26


of

FIG. 25

;





FIG. 27

is a cross sectional view taken along line


27


—


27


of

FIG. 25

;





FIG. 28

is a side view of the plug of FIG.


1


and outlet of

FIG. 13

mated;





FIG. 29

is a cross sectional view taken along line


29


—


29


of

FIG. 28

;





FIG. 30

is a cross sectional view taken along line


30


—


30


of

FIG. 28

;





FIG. 31

is a cross sectional view taken along line


31


—


31


of

FIG. 28

;





FIG. 32

is a cross sectional view taken along line


32


—


32


of

FIG. 28

;





FIG. 33

is a perspective view of an assembled plug of a first alternate embodiment in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 34

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug and latch of

FIG. 33

;





FIG. 35

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug top cover of

FIG. 33

;





FIG. 36A

is a perspective view of the plug bottom cover of

FIG. 33

;





FIG. 36B

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug of

FIG. 33

including termination caps;





FIG. 37

is another exploded, perspective view of the plug of

FIG. 33

;





FIG. 38

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of FIG.


33


;





FIG. 39

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of

FIG. 33

;





FIG. 40

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of

FIG. 33

;





FIG. 41

is a perspective view of the assembly procedure for the plug of

FIG. 33

;





FIG. 42

is a perspective view of an outlet of a first alternate embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 43

is a perspective view of two plugs of

FIG. 33

mated with the outlet of

FIG. 42

mounted in the faceplate;





FIG. 44

is a perspective view of a plug of a second alternate embodiment in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 45

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug of

FIG. 44

;





FIG. 46

is an exploded, perspective view of the top cover and latch of the plug of

FIG. 44

;





FIG. 47

is a side view of the plug of FIG.


44


and the outlet of

FIG. 42

;





FIG. 48

is a cross sectional view taken along the line


48


—


48


of

FIG. 47

;





FIG. 49

is a perspective view of an outlet core suitable for use with a printed circuit board in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 50

is a perspective view of the core of the outlet of

FIG. 49

;





FIG. 51

is an exploded, perspective view of an outlet for use with a printed circuit board;





FIG. 52

is another perspective view of the outlet of

FIG. 51

;





FIG. 53

is a perspective view of the bottom contact carrier of the outlet of

FIG. 51

;





FIG. 54

is a perspective view of the top contact carrier of the outlet of

FIG. 51

;





FIG. 55

is a perspective view of the assembly of two printed circuit board outlet cores of

FIG. 49

onto a simplified printed circuit board;





FIG. 56

is a perspective view of the assembly of two printed circuit board outlets of

FIG. 49

onto a simplified printed circuit board;





FIG. 57

is a perspective view of plug


900


of

FIG. 44

mated with outlet


1000


of

FIG. 56

;





FIG. 58A

is another perspective view of plug


900


of

FIG. 44

mated with outlet


1000


of

FIG. 56

;





FIG. 58B

is a rear view of plug


900


of

FIG. 44

mated with outlet


1000


of

FIG. 56

;





FIG. 59

is a cross-sectional view taken along the line


59


—


59


of

FIG. 58B

;





FIG. 60

is a front view of outlet


1000


of

FIG. 51

;





FIG. 61A

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


61


A—


61


A of

FIG. 60

; and





FIG. 61B

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


61


B—


61


B of FIG.


60


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of an assembled plug, shown generally as


100


, in accordance with the present invention. The plug


100


includes a top cover


102


, a bottom cover


104


and a core


106


. The top cover


102


, bottom cover


104


and core


106


are all conductive to provide shielding as described herein. These conductive components may be made from metal, metallized plastic or any other known conductive material. Core


106


supports insulative (e.g. plastic) contact carriers


108


. Each contact carrier


108


includes two contacts


160


defining a pair. A boot


112


provides strain relief and is made from a pliable plastic or rubber. Also shown in

FIG. 1

is cable


10


entering boot


112


. A latch


114


is provided on the top cover


102


for coupling the plug


100


to outlet


300


as described herein.





FIG. 2

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug


100


. Latch


114


is made up of a latch body


116


secured to the top cover at fulcrum


118


. A lip


120


is provided on the bottom of the latch body


116


for engaging a groove formed in outlet


300


. This secures the plug


100


to the outlet


300


. An important feature of latch


114


is a latch extension


122


that couples the latch body


116


to the top cover


102


. The latch extension


122


is a pliable, arcuate member that flexes when pressure is applied to latch body


116


. Telecommunications plugs are often pulled through wall spaces during installation. The latch extension


122


reduces the likelihood that the plug


100


will be caught on other cables, wall comers, studs, etc. Top cover


102


includes a semi-circular groove


129


and bottom cover


104


includes a similar semicircular groove


129


that receive a circular lip


113


(

FIG. 7

) in boot


112


as described below. Two top cover latches


128


engage two bottom cover recesses


130


to secure top cover


102


to bottom cover


104


.




Plug core


106


includes a first planar shield


132


and a second planar shield


134


substantially perpendicular to the first planar shield


132


. Plug core


106


also includes side walls


136


. The top and bottom of each side wall


136


include a ridge


140


. Ridges


140


extend beyond side wall


136


and overlap an edge


142


of the top cover


102


and bottom cover


104


. Ridges


140


are shown as having a generally triangular cross section, but it is understood that different geometries may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. Ridges


140


serve to locate the core


106


within the top and bottom covers and overlap the edges of the top cover and bottom cover to provide better shielding than a butt joint. The second planar shield


134


also includes a ridge


144


on the top and bottom surfaces. As shown in

FIG. 2

central ridge


144


is triangular, however, it is understood that other geometries may be used without departing from the invention. Central ridge


144


engages channels


178


formed in top cover


102


and bottom cover


104


as described below with reference to

FIGS. 3 and 4

.




Two ribs


146


are formed on the inside surface of each side wall


136


and are parallel to and spaced apart from first planar shield


132


. Similar ribs are formed on each surface of the second planar shield


134


. Contact carrier


108


has a planar base


148


which rests on the first planar shield


132


. Base


148


includes two flanges


150


extending away from the base and a stop


152


adjacent to the flanges


150


. When the contact carrier is installed in the core


106


, flange


150


is placed under rib


146


to hold the contact carrier


108


to the first planar shield


132


. The contact carrier is slid into core


106


until stop


152


contacts the end of rib


146


. In this position, a second flange


156


is positioned beneath a nub


154


formed on the second planar shield


134


. The contact carrier


108


also includes a lip


158


that extends substantially perpendicular to the planar base


148


and beyond the edge of first planar shield


132


to prevent the contact carrier


108


from sliding out of the core


106


. Additional detail of the contact carrier


108


and contacts


160


are described below with reference to FIG.


5


. The inside of each side wall


136


and each side of second planar shield


134


also include a first ledge


149


and a second ledge


147


which are used to secure a termination cap to the plug core


106


as described below with reference to

FIGS. 6-10

.





FIG. 3

is an exploded, perspective view of the top cover


102


. The top cover includes a shield contact


164


which electrically connects the ground layer of cable


10


to the plug core


106


. Shield contact


164


is conductive and is preferably made from metal. Shield contact


164


has an arcuate portion


166


formed to generally follow the shape of cable


10


. Arcuate portion


166


includes barbs


168


that pierce the ground layer of cable


10


and the cable jacket. This electrically and mechanically connects the shield contact


164


to cable


10


. Shield contact


164


includes a pad


170


having two openings


172


formed therein for receiving two posts


176


formed in top cover


102


. The friction fit between posts


176


and openings


172


secures the shield contact


164


to top cover


102


. A tab


174


extends away from pad


170


and contacts the plug core


106


. A channel


178


is formed in the top cover


102


for receiving central ridge


144


on plug core


106


. This allows the central ridge


144


to be overlapped by the side walls of the channel


178


and provides better shielding than a conventional butt joint. A notch


162


is provided in the front face


103


of top cover


102


to receive the second planar shield


134


. The front face


103


of plug


102


also includes three recessed areas


163


that receive extensions on the front face


317


of outlet


300


as described below. Top cover


102


includes side wall recesses


139


for receiving rear extensions


137


on plug core


106


(

FIG. 6

) to create an overlap between the rear of plug core side wall


328


and the plug top cover. Top cover


102


also includes side walls


105


having a top side wall extensions


143


that engage outlet side wall recesses


343


(

FIG. 4

) to create overlap between the side walls


105


of the top plug cover


102


and the side walls


107


bottom plug cover


104


.





FIG. 4

is an exploded, perspective view of the bottom cover


104


. Bottom cover


104


is similar to top cover


102


in that both use shield contact


164


in the same manner. Bottom cover


104


also includes channel


178


for receiving central ridge


144


on second planar shield


134


. As noted above, this allows the central ridge


144


to be overlapped by the sides of the channel


178


and provides better shielding than a conventional butt joint. Notch


162


is provided in the front face


103


of bottom cover


104


to receive second planar shield


134


. Bottom cover


104


includes side walls


107


having side wall recess


139


, similar to those on top cover


102


, for receiving rear extensions


137


on side wall


136


. In addition, bottom cover


104


includes second side wall recesses


343


for receiving side wall extensions


143


on top cover


102


. The front face


103


of bottom cover


104


is similar to that of top cover


102


and includes recesses


163


for receiving extensions on the front face


317


of the outlet


300


. The front face


103


of bottom cover


104


also includes a lip


165


, interrupted by recess


163


, that overlaps the outside surface of the bottom wall


332


of outlet core


306


.





FIG. 5

is an exploded perspective view of a contact carrier


108


. The contact carrier includes two channels


186


, each of which receives a contact


160


. Each contact


160


has a generally planar body


180


, a contact end


182


and a termination end


183


. The termination end includes an insulation displacement contact


184


that pierces the insulation of individual wires in cable


10


to make an electrical contact with the wire as is known in the art. Installation of the wires in the insulation displacement contact


184


is described herein with reference to

FIGS. 8-10

. Each insulation displacement contact is angled relative to the longitudinal axis of body


180


at an angle of 45 degrees. As shown in

FIG. 1

, the plug


100


includes four contact carriers


108


, each having a pair of contacts


160


for a total of eight contacts.





FIG. 6

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug


100


including termination caps


186


. A termination cap


186


is provided for each pair of contacts


160


. As is known in the art, a termination cap forces wires onto an insulation displacement contact to pierce the insulation and electrically connect the wire and the insulation displacement contact. Termination cap


186


includes a first lip


188


and a second lip


190


that straddle ledges


149


and


147


on the plug core


106


. The first lip


188


and the second lip


190


have a beveled surface and first ledge


149


and second ledge


147


similarly include a beveled surface to facilitate installation of the termination cap


186


as disclosed below. Each termination cap


186


also includes two contact openings


192


for receiving the insulation displacement contacts


184


and a pair of wire openings


194


for receiving wires from cable


10


. The wire openings


194


are aligned with the insulation displacement contacts


184


in plug core


106


. The plug in

FIG. 6

is shown in the state as received by the customer. Termination caps


186


are positioned in the plug core


106


and retained in a first positioned. First lip


188


rests upon first ledge


149


to hold the termination cap


186


in a first position and second lip


190


is positioned beneath first ledge


149


to prevent the termination cap


186


from being inadvertently removed from the plug core


106


.





FIG. 7

is another exploded, perspective view of the plug


100


. As shown in

FIG. 7

, each termination cap


186


is in the first position by virtue of first lip


188


and second lip


190


straddling first ledge


149


. Boot


112


includes a cylindrical lip


113


that engages groove


129


formed in the top cover


102


and the bottom cover


104


. Slots


115


may be formed through the boot


122


and perpendicular to lip


113


to allow the lip


113


to expand during installation of the boot


112


and reduce the force needed to install and remove boot


112


.




The installation of the wires into the plug


100


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 8-12

. As shown in

FIG. 8

, cable


10


includes eight wires


198


. Each pair of wires


198


is encased by a wire pair shield


200


. Ground layer


196


is also housed within cable


10


and is pulled back over the outside jacket of cable


10


. Wires


198


are inserted into wire openings


194


in termination caps


186


. As described above, each wire opening


194


is aligned with an insulation displacement contact


184


and thus each wire


198


is positioned above an insulation displacement contact


184


. It is understood that boot


112


is placed over cable


10


prior to inserting wires


198


into termination caps


186


.

FIG. 9

shows the wires


198


positioned in the wire openings


194


. Once the wires


198


are positioned in the termination caps


186


, force is applied to each termination cap


186


towards the plug core


106


in the direction shown by the arrows in

FIG. 9. A

single hand tool can be used to apply force to all four termination caps


186


at the same time to provide for easy installation.





FIG. 10

shows the termination caps


186


in a second position. First lip


188


and second lip


190


now straddle second ledge


147


to hold the termination cap


186


in the second position. In this state, the wires


198


positioned in wire openings


194


are driven onto insulation displacement contacts


184


. As is known in the art, the insulation displacement contacts


184


split the insulation on each wire


198


thereby making electrical contact between the wires


198


and the contacts


160


. An important aspect of the invention shown in

FIG. 10

is the use of a buffer zone


206


. The length of the first planar shield


132


and second planar shield


134


is such that a portion of the first planar shield


132


and the second planar shield extend beyond the rear of each termination cap


186


to establish a buffer zone


206


. Each wire pair rests in the buffer zone


206


. The buffer zone


206


is important because during installation, the wire pair shield


200


is removed so that individual wires can be inserted in wire openings


194


. Even assuming that the installer removed the exact recommended length of wire pair shield


200


, a small amount of exposed wire will create cross talk between adjacent pairs at frequencies of greater than 600 MHZ. In non-ideal installations, the installer will remove too much of the wire pair shield


200


. Thus, the buffer zone


206


reduces cross talk in ideal or non-ideal installations and enhances the connector performance. The buffer zone should have a length, measured from the rear of the termination cap


186


, greater than the length of exposed wire


198


(wire pair shield removed) in a worst case installation.




The next step in the installation process is the placement of top cover


102


and bottom cover


104


on plug core


106


as shown in FIG.


11


. Top cover


102


and bottom cover


104


each include projections


202


that engage similarly shaped recesses


204


on plug core


106


to secure the top cover


102


and bottom cover


104


to plug core


106


. In addition, top cover latches


128


engage bottom cover openings


130


to secure the top cover


102


to the bottom cover


104


. Barbs


168


on shield contacts


164


penetrate the ground layer


196


and the cable jacket to mechanically and electrically connect the shield connectors


164


to cable


10


. The final step in the plug assembly is securing the boot


112


to the plug. As shown in FIG.


12


, the boot


112


is snapped onto the top and bottom covers. Lip


113


on the inside surface of boot


112


engages the groove


129


formed in top cover


102


and bottom cover


104


.





FIG. 12A

is a perspective view of the plug in an alternative embodiment. As can be seen in

FIG. 12A

, boot


112


includes two L-shaped channels


197


which receive post


124


formed on the top cover


102


and post


126


formed on the bottom cover


104


(FIG.


12


B). Boot


112


is secured to the top cover


102


and bottom cover


104


by placing posts


124


and


126


in channels


197


and rotating the boot


112


.





FIG. 13

is a perspective view of an outlet


300


for use with plug


100


. The outlet


300


includes a top cover


302


, a bottom cover


304


and a core


306


. The top cover


302


, bottom cover


304


and core


306


are all conductive to provide shielding as described herein. These conductive components may be made from metal, metallized plastic or any other known conductive material. Core


306


supports insulative contact carriers


308


. Each contact carrier includes contacts


310


. An optional door


311


is also provided to prevent contamination (e.g. dust) from entering outlet


300


.




Top cover


302


includes a pair of resilient arms


312


having notches


314


formed therein. Notches


314


receive the edge of a faceplate as will be described below with reference to FIG.


23


. Another notch


315


is formed on the bottom of outlet core


306


for receiving another edge of the faceplate. Notches


314


and


315


lie in a plane that is at an oblique angle relative to the front face


317


of outlet


300


. When mounted in a faceplate, this directs the outlet towards the ground and provides for a gravity feed design. The gravity feed reduces the bend angle of the cable connected to plug


100


and reduces the likelihood that the cable will be bent beyond the minimum bend radius and cause signal degradation or loss. Alternatively, notches


314


and


315


may lie in a plane parallel to the front face


317


of outlet


300


. A member


316


connects the ends of resilient arms


314


and includes a recess


318


on a front face thereof. Recess


318


receives one edge of an identification icon


324


(shown in FIG.


14


). The identification icon


324


rests on support surface


320


and engages a recess


322


. Both support surface


320


and recess


322


are formed on the outlet core


306


.





FIG. 14

is an exploded, perspective view of outlet


300


. Top cover


302


includes top cover latches


128


that engage bottom cover openings


130


as described above. Outlet core


306


is generally rectangular and includes side walls


328


, top wall


330


and bottom wall


332


. A first planar shield


334


extends from the rear of the outlet core and terminates within the interior of the outlet core


306


as will be described below. Second planar shield


336


extends the entire length of the outlet core


306


but includes an open region for receiving plug


100


and overlapping the second planar shield


134


in plug


100


. Side walls


328


include grooves


338


for receiving first planar shield


132


of plug


100


. Side walls


328


and second planar shield


336


include ribs


340


for securing contact carriers


308


to outlet core


306


. Second planar shield


336


includes shield extensions


342


having a reduced thickness and extending away from and parallel to second planar shield


336


. As will be described below in detail, shield extensions


342


overlap the edges of second planar shield


134


when the plug


100


is mated with outlet


300


. Second planar shield


336


also includes a ridge


337


on its top and bottom for engaging channels


178


formed in the outlet top cover


302


and the outlet bottom cover


304


. In addition, side walls


328


and second planar shield


336


extend beyond the front face


317


of outlet


300


and engage recesses


163


formed in the front face


103


of the outlet


100


. Top wall


330


extends beyond the front face


317


of outlet


300


and overlaps the front face


103


of plug top cover


102


. Lip


165


on plug bottom cover


104


overlaps bottom wall


332


.




Door


311


includes two arms having inwardly facing pins


364


that are received in holes


366


on outlet core


306


. A pair of slots


368


are formed on the inside surface of door


311


for receiving the first planar shield


336


in outlet core


306


. An identification icon


370


can be mounted to the front of door


311


as described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/652,230, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.





FIG. 15

is a cross-sectional view of outlet core


306


along line


15


—


15


of FIG.


14


. As shown in

FIG. 15

, the first planar shield


336


and second planar shield


338


include shield extensions


342


′ that overlap the ends


133


and


135


of the first planar shield


132


and second planar shield


134


in plug


100


. Shield extensions


342


′ have a thickness that is less than the thickness of the first planar shield


336


or the second planar shield


338


. Hooks


344


on the top and bottom of outlet core


306


engage openings


346


in the top cover


302


and the bottom cover


304


.





FIG. 16

is an exploded, perspective view of top cover


302


. Top cover


302


includes the shield contact


164


described above with reference to plug


100


. Top cover


302


additionally includes projections


348


to support the shield contact


164


due to the different geometry of the outlet


300


. Top cover


302


includes recesses


303


along a top wall


301


and a side wall


307


for receiving extensions


327


on the outlet core


306


(FIG.


19


). Side walls


307


include projections


309


that are received in recesses


313


on bottom cover


304


. A channel


178


is provided on top wall


301


for receiving ridge


337


on second planar shield


336


.





FIG. 17

is an exploded perspective view of bottom cover


304


. Bottom cover


304


includes the shield contact


164


described above with reference to plug


100


. Bottom cover


304


additionally includes projections


348


to support the shield contact


164


due to the different geometry of the outlet


300


. Recesses


303


are formed on the bottom cover bottom wall


323


and side wall


321


and receive extensions


327


(

FIG. 19

) on the side walls


328


of outlet core


306


. Side walls


321


further include recesses


313


for receiving projections


309


on top cover


302


. A channel


178


is provided on bottom wall


323


for receiving ridge


337


on second planar shield


336


.





FIG. 18

is an exploded, perspective view of contact carrier


308


. The contact carrier is insulative and includes a generally rectangular housing


352


having a pair of slots


354


formed therein for receiving contacts


350


. The slots


354


are formed through one surface of housing


352


so that a portion of the contact


350


extends beyond the surface of the housing


352


as shown in FIG.


14


. The contact


350


includes an insulation displacement contact


356


at one end for piercing the insulation of a wire and making electrical contact. Insulation displacement contact


356


is angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the contact


350


at an angle of 45 degrees. Contact


350


also includes a spring portion


358


that extends beyond the surface of the housing


352


as shown in FIG.


14


. When the plug and outlet are mated, the contacts


110


in plug


100


contact the spring portion


358


of contacts


350


in outlet


300


and deflect the spring portion


358


towards housing


352


. The spring portion


358


is biased against contact


110


and ensures good electrical contact between the plug


100


and outlet


300


. Housing


352


includes shoulder


360


that contacts rib


340


on outlet core


306


to secure the contact carrier


308


to the outlet core


306


.





FIG. 19

is an exploded, perspective view of the outlet


300


. Termination caps


186


are used to install wires onto the insulation displacement contacts


356


. Termination caps


186


are identical to those described above with reference to the plug


100


. Outlet


300


includes first ledges


149


and a second ledges


147


formed on the side walls


328


and second planar shield


336


. As described above with reference to plug


100


, the termination cap


186


is held in a first position by first lip


188


and second lip


190


straddling first ledge


149


. Wire openings


194


receive wires


198


and are aligned with insulation displacement contacts


356


. As described above, side walls


328


include extensions


327


on the top, bottom and rear side thereof for engaging recesses


303


on outlet top cover


302


and outlet bottom cover


304


.




The installation of the wires into the outlet


300


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 20-22

. As shown in

FIG. 20

, cable


10


includes eight wires


198


. Each pair of wires


198


is encased by a wire pair shield


200


. Ground layer


196


is also housed within cable


10


and is pulled back over the outside jacket of cable


10


. Wires


198


are inserted into wire openings


194


in termination caps


186


. As described above, each wire opening


194


is aligned with an insulation displacement contact


356


and thus each wire


198


is positioned above an insulation displacement contact


356


.





FIG. 21

shows the wires


198


positioned in the wire openings


194


. Once the wires


198


are positioned in the termination caps


186


, force is applied to each termination cap


186


towards the outlet core


306


in the direction shown by the arrows in FIG.


21


. As discussed above with reference to plug


100


, a single tool can apply force to all four termination caps at once.

FIG. 21

shows the termination caps


186


in a second position. First lip


188


and second lip


190


now straddle second ledge


147


to hold the termination cap


186


in the second position. In this state, the wires


198


positioned in wire openings


194


are driven onto insulation displacement contacts


356


. As is known in the art, the insulation displacement contacts


356


split the insulation on each wire


198


thereby making electrical contact between the wires


198


and the contacts


350


. The outlet


300


also includes a buffer zone


206


similar to that described above with reference to plug


100


. A portion of first planar shield


336


and the second planar shield


338


extend past the termination caps


186


to provide the buffer zone


206


having the advantages described above with reference to plug


100


.




The next step in the installation process is the placement of top cover


302


and bottom cover


304


on outlet core


306


as shown in FIG.


22


. The opening


346


in both the top cover


302


and the bottom cover


304


is placed over a respective hook


344


. The top cover


302


and the bottom cover


304


are then rotated towards each other and top cover latches


128


engage bottom cover openings


130


to secure the top cover


302


to the bottom cover


304


. Barbs


168


on shield contacts


164


penetrate the ground layer


196


and the jacket of cable


10


to mechanically and electrically connect the shield contacts


164


to the cable


10


.





FIG. 23

is a perspective view of the outlet


300


mounted in a faceplate


400


. As shown in

FIG. 23

, the opening of the outlet


300


is at an angle relative to the faceplate. This angle is established by notch


314


on the outlet top cover


302


and notch


315


on the outlet core


306


lying in a plane at an oblique angle relative to the face


317


of the outlet As noted previously, this creates a gravity feed orientation in which the cable connected to a plug mated with outlet


300


is angled towards the floor thereby reducing the bend on the cable. This reduces the likelihood that the cable will be bent below the minimum bend radius. The identification icon


324


also serves as a lock securing the outlet


300


in the faceplate


400


. To install the outlet


300


in the faceplate


400


, the resilient arms


312


are deflected until both notch


314


and notch


315


are aligned with the edge of the faceplate opening. At this point, arms


312


return to their original position. When the identification icon


324


is positioned in recess


318


and recess


322


, this prevents the arms


312


from deflecting towards outlet core


306


and thus locks the outlet


300


in position in the faceplate


400


.

FIG. 24

is a perspective view of the plug


100


mated with the outlet


300


. Lip


120


engages recess


326


to secure plug


100


to outlet


300


. In an alternative embodiment, the outlet


300


can also be mounted in a flat configuration in which the face of the outlet is parallel to the faceplate


400


as described above.




The present invention provides an enhanced telecommunications plug and outlet in which each pair of contacts is individually shielded. No two separate shield members are joined at a butt joint, but rather all significant junctions between separate (non-integral) shield members include some form of overlap.

FIGS. 25-32

illustrate the overlapping shield joints.

FIG. 25

is a side view of plug


100


.

FIG. 26

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


26


—


26


of FIG.


25


and shows the overlap between various plug shield members.

FIG. 27

is a cross sectional view taken along line


27


—


27


of FIG.


25


. Outlet


300


is similar to plug


100


in that top cover


302


and bottom cover


304


includes channels


178


for receiving ridges


337


on second planar shield


336


. The top cover


302


and bottom cover


304


include recesses


303


for receiving extensions


327


on outlet core side walls


326


. Extensions


309


on outlet top cover


302


are received in recesses


313


in outlet bottom cover


304


.





FIG. 28

is a side view of the plug


100


mated to the outlet


300


and

FIGS. 29-32

are cross-sectional views taken along FIG.


28


.

FIG. 29

illustrates the overlap between shield members in the outlet core and plug core. As shown in

FIG. 29

, second planar shield member includes an offset rib


207


along its edge that overlaps shield extension


342


. The offset rib


207


also provides a keying function so that the plug can only be installed in outlet


300


in one orientation. Similarly, first planar shield


132


includes an offset rib


209


on its edge for engaging channel


338


which also provides keying.

FIG. 30

illustrates the overlap between the outlet core, the outlet top cover and the outlet bottom cover.

FIG. 31

is a cross sectional view of the junction between the plug and the outlet showing how the outlet top wall


319


and outlet side walls


328


overlap the front face


103


of the plug


100


.

FIG. 32

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


32


—


32


of

FIG. 28

showing the bottom cover lip


165


which extends under outlet core bottom wall


332


. Accordingly, each contact carrier is enclosed in a quadrant where all shield joints have some overlap and the amount of shielding between pairs is enhanced as compared to a shield arrangement using butt joints.





FIG. 33

is a perspective view of an assembled plug of a first alternative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, shown generally as


500


. Plug


500


is similar to plug


100


but includes two pairs of contacts, instead of four pairs of contacts. The plug


500


includes a top cover


502


, a bottom cover


504


and a core


506


. The top cover


502


, bottom cover


504


and core


506


are all conductive to provide shielding as described herein. These conductive components may be made from metal, metallized plastic or any other known conductive material. Core


506


supports insulative (e.g. plastic) contact carriers


508


. Each contact carrier


508


includes two contacts


510


defining a pair. A boot


512


provides strain relief and is made from a pliable plastic or rubber. Also shown in

FIG. 33

is cable


514


entering boot


512


. A latch


516


is provided on the top cover


502


for mechanically connecting the plug


500


to outlet


700


and electrically connecting the cable ground layer to the outlet


700


as described herein.





FIG. 34

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug


500


. Latch


516


is conductive (e.g. metal) and is made up of a latch body


518


secured to the top cover


502


at latch engaging pawl


570


and latch engaging post


572


. A portion of the latch body


518


comprises a latch extension


524


for engaging an opening


740


formed in outlet


700


. In addition to securing the plug


500


to the outlet


700


, latch extension


524


allows for electrical contact from the cable ground layer to outlet core


706


in the outlet


700


. Top cover


502


includes a semi-circular groove


526


and bottom cover


504


includes a similar semi-circular groove


526


that receives a circular lip


513


(

FIG. 37

) in boot


512


as described below. Two top cover latches


528


engage two bottom cover recesses


530


to secure top cover


502


to bottom cover


504


.




Plug core


506


includes a planar shield


532


. Plug core


506


also includes side walls


534


. The top portion


536


and bottom portion


538


of the side walls


534


serve to locate the core


506


within the top cover


502


and bottom cover


504


and overlap the edges of the top cover


502


and bottom cover


504


to provide better shielding than a butt joint. Two ribs


552


are formed on the inside surface of each side wall


534


and are parallel to and spaced apart from planar shield


532


. Contact carrier


508


has a planar base


542


which rests on the planar shield


532


. Base


542


includes two flanges


544


extending away from the base


542


wherein flange


544


has an incline portion


545


at one end and a stop


547


at the opposite end. When contact carrier


508


is installed in the core


506


, flange


544


is placed under rib


552


to hold the contact carrier


508


to the planar shield


532


. The contact carrier


508


is slid into the core


506


until stop


547


contacts the end of rib


552


. In this position, a tab


546


is provided so that when contact carrier


508


is slid into core


506


, tab


546


contacts a similarly shaped recess in planar shield


532


and positions contact carrier


508


in core


506


. The contact carrier


508


also includes a lip


603


(shown in

FIG. 36B

) that extends substantially perpendicular to planar base


542


and beyond the edge of planar shield


532


to prevent the contact carrier


508


from sliding out of core


506


.




Recesses


550


are provided in planar shield


532


to receive ribs


736


on the side walls of outlet


700


and provide an overlap between the side walls of outlet


700


and planar shield


532


. The inside of each side wall


534


also includes a first ledge


556


and a second ledge


554


which are used to secure a termination cap


558


as described below with reference to

FIGS. 36-39

.





FIG. 35

is an exploded, perspective view of the top cover


502


and latch


516


. The latch


516


includes a shield contact


560


which electrically connects the ground layer of cable


514


to the outlet core


706


of outlet


700


. Shield contact


560


is conductive and is preferably made from metal. Shield contact


560


has an arcuate portion


562


formed to generally follow the shape of cable


514


. Arcuate portion


562


includes barbs


564


that pierce the ground layer of cable


514


and the cable jacket. This electrically and mechanically connects the shield contact


560


to cable


514


. When latch


516


is coupled with top cover


502


, arcuate portion


562


fits underneath neck


573


of top cover


502


. When assembled, arcuate portion


560


is positioned within the interior of the plug


500


and the remainder of latch


516


is positioned outside of the plug


500


. Latch


516


includes a first receiving opening


566


and a second receiving opening


568


formed within the latch body


518


. First opening


566


is for receiving a pawl


570


formed in top cover


502


and second opening


568


is for receiving a post


572


formed in top cover


502


. Post


572


includes a neck portion


574


and a head portion


576


. First receiving opening


566


has a slot


567


and second receiving opening


568


has a slot


569


for engaging the neck


571


of pawl


570


and neck


574


of post


572


, respectively. Latch


516


is engaged with top cover


502


by aligning first receiving opening


566


with the chamfered surface of pawl


570


and aligning the second receiving opening


568


with the head portion


576


of post


572


and then sliding the latch


516


in the direction toward post


572


so that neck


571


of pawl


570


slidably engages with slot


567


and neck


574


of post


572


slidably engages with slot


569


. Top cover


502


also includes a nub


578


positioned beneath latch


516


. Projections


582


engage a similarly shaped recesses


584


in side walls


534


. Nub


578


is formed on top cover


502


beneath body portion


518


to limit travel of the latch


516


towards the top cover


502


. Top cover


502


includes side recesses


583


for receiving and engaging with side walls


534


, wherein the recesses


583


include a ridge having an incline portion


588


(

FIG. 36A

) and a land


590


(FIG.


36


A), wherein side walls


534


are received on the ridge portion and the incline portion of said ridge causes side walls


534


to ride onto the land thereby coupling the two together in an overlapping manner.





FIG. 36A

is a perspective view of the bottom cover


504


. Bottom cover


504


includes a recess


585


similar to recess


583


in top cover


506


wherein recess


585


comprises a ledge


586


, a ledge incline


588


and a land


590


for receiving side walls


534


of core


506


. Side walls


534


are received at ledge


586


and side walls


534


ride on ledge incline


588


to land


590


. This allows the side walls


534


to be overlapped by recess


584


of the bottom cover


504


. Bottom cover


508


also includes a projection


582


for engaging similarly shaped recess


584


in each of side walls


534


. Bottom cover includes side walls


596


having side wall recess


598


with a shoulder portion, similar to those on top cover


506


, for receiving side walls


534


thereby allowing overlapping of the side walls


534


and the bottom cover


508


when side walls


534


abut the shoulder portion. Bottom cover


504


may include a lip


165


as described above with reference to plug


100


to overlap the bottom of outlet


700


.





FIG. 36B

is an exploded, perspective view of the plug


500


including termination caps


558


. A termination cap is provided for each pair of contacts. As is known in the art, a termination cap forces wires onto an insulation displacement contact to pierce the insulation and electrically connect the wire and the insulation displacement contact. Termination cap


558


includes a first lip


600


and a second lip


602


that straddle ledges


554


and


556


on the plug core


506


. The first lip


600


and second lip


602


have a beveled surface and first ledge


556


and second ledge


554


similarly have a beveled surface to facilitate installation of the termination cap


558


as disclosed below. Each termination cap


558


also includes a contact opening


604


for receiving the insulation displacement contacts


184


(shown in

FIG. 5

) and a pair of wire openings


606


for receiving wires from cable


514


. The wire openings


606


are aligned with the insulation displacement contacts


184


(FIG.


5


). The plug in

FIG. 36B

is shown in the state as received by the customer. Termination caps


558


are positioned in the plug core


506


and retained in a first position. First lip


600


rests upon first ledge


556


to hold the termination cap


558


in a first position and second lip


602


is positioned beneath first ledge


556


to prevent termination cap


558


from being inadvertently removed from the plug core


506


.





FIG. 37

is another exploded, perspective view of the plug


500


. As shown in

FIG. 37

, each termination cap


558


is in the first position by virtue of first lip


600


and second lip


602


straddling first ledge


556


. Boot


512


includes a cylindrical lip


513


that engages groove


526


in the top cover


502


and the bottom cover


504


.




The installation of the wires into the plug


500


will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 38-41

. As shown in

FIG. 38

, cable


514


includes four wires


608


. Each pair of wires


608


is encased by a wire pair shield


610


. Ground layer


612


is also housed within cable


514


and is pulled back over the outside jacket of cable


514


. Wires


608


are inserted into wire openings


606


in termination caps


558


. As described above, each wire opening


606


is aligned with an insulation contact


184


and thus each wire is positioned above an insulation displacement contact


184


(shown in FIG.


5


). It is understood that boot


512


is placed over cable


514


prior to inserting the wires into termination caps


558


. Once the wires are positioned in the termination caps


558


, force is applied to each termination cap towards the plug core


506


in the direction shown by the arrows in

FIG. 38. A

single hand tool can be used to apply force to all two termination caps


558


at the same time for easy installation.





FIG. 39

shows the termination caps


558


in a second position. First lip


600


and second lip


602


now straddle second ledge


554


to hold the termination cap


558


in the second position. In this state, the wires


608


positioned in wire openings


606


are driven onto insulation displacement contacts


184


. As is known in the art, the insulation displacement contacts


184


split the insulation on each wire


608


thereby making electrical contact between the wires


608


and the contacts


160


. An important aspect of the invention shown in

FIG. 39

is the use of a buffer zone


614


. The length of the planar shield


532


extend beyond the rear of each termination cap


558


to establish a buffer zone


614


. Each wire pair rests in the buffer zone


614


. The buffer zone


614


is important because during installation, the wire pair shield


610


is removed so that individual wires can be inserted in wire openings


606


. Even assuming the installer removed the exact recommended length of wire pair shield


610


, a small amount of exposed wire will create cross talk between adjacent pairs at frequencies of greater than 600 MHZ. In non-ideal installations, the installer will remove too much of the wire pair shield


610


. Thus, the buffer zone


614


reduces cross talk in ideal or non-ideal installations and enhances the connector performance. The buffer zone


614


should have a length, measured from the rear of the termination cap


558


greater than the length of exposed wire


608


(wire pair shield removed) in a worst case installation.




The next step in the installation process is the placement of the top cover


502


and bottom cover


504


on plug core


506


as shown in FIG.


40


. Top cover


502


and bottom cover


504


each include projections


582


that engage similarly shaped recesses


584


on plug core


506


to secure the top cover


502


and bottom cover


504


to plug core


506


. In addition, top cover latches


528


engage bottom cover openings


530


to secure the top cover


502


to the bottom cover


504


. Latch


516


is secured to top cover


502


by aligning pawl


570


with first receiving opening


566


and slidably engaging neck


571


with slot


567


wherein slot


567


is integrally connected with first receiving opening


566


. During the engagement of the latch


516


to the top cover


502


, post


572


is received in second receiving opening


568


whereby the neck


574


of post


572


is slidably engaged with slot


569


. Latch


516


is shown in

FIG. 40

in a first position in which latch body


518


abuts against the head portion


576


of post


572


by virtue of latch


516


being constructed of a resilient material and due to the interlocking of neck


571


with slot


567


. Shield contact


560


of latch


516


is disposed under neck


616


of top cover


502


so that shield contact


560


engages cable


514


. Barbs


564


on shield contact


560


penetrate the ground layer


612


and the cable jacket to mechanically and electrically connect the shield contact


560


to cable


514


. The final step in the plug assembly is securing the boot


512


to the plug


500


. As shown in

FIG. 41

, the boot


512


is snapped onto the top and bottom covers. Lip


513


on the inside surface of boot


512


engages the groove


526


formed in top cover


502


and bottom cover


504


.





FIG. 42

is a perspective view of an assembled outlet of a first alternative embodiment, shown generally as


700


wherein outlet


700


is for use with plug


500


. Outlet


700


is similar to outlet


300


except that second planar shield


336


is replaced by vertical shield


732


. The outlet


700


includes a top cover


702


, bottom cover


704


and a core


706


. The top cover


702


, bottom cover


704


, and core


706


are all conductive to provide shielding as described herein. These conductive components may be made from metal, metallized plastic or any other known conductive material. Core


706


supports insulative contact carriers


708


. Each contact carrier includes contacts


710


. An optional door


711


is also provided to prevent contamination (e.g. dust) from entering outlet


700


.




Top cover


702


includes a pair of resilient arms


712


having notches


714


formed therein. Notches


714


receive the edge of a faceplate as described with reference to FIG.


23


. Another notch


715


is formed on the bottom of outlet core


706


for receiving another edge of the faceplate. Notches


714


and


715


lie in a plane that is at an oblique angle relative to the front face


717


of outlet


700


. When mounted in a faceplate, this directs the outlet toward the ground and provides for a gravity feed design. The gravity feed reduces the bend angle of the cable connected to plug


500


and reduces the likelihood that the cable will be bent beyond the minimum bend radius and cause signal degradation or loss. Alternatively, notches


714


and


715


may lie in a plane parallel to the front face


717


of outlet


700


. A member


716


connects the ends of resilient arms


714


and includes a recess


718


on a front face thereof Recess


718


receives one edge of an identification icon


724


(shown in FIG.


43


). The identification icon


724


rests on support surface


720


and engages a recess


722


. Both the support surface


720


and recess


722


are formed on the outlet core


706


.




The top cover


702


and bottom cover


704


of

FIG. 42

are described herein with reference to

FIGS. 14-16

. The outlet core of

FIG. 42

is generally rectangular and includes side walls


726


, top wall


728


, and bottom wall


730


. One notable difference between outlet


300


of FIG.


13


and outlet


700


of

FIG. 42

is a vertical planar shield


732


extending the entire length of outlet core


706


thereby dividing core


706


into a left and a right half for providing enhanced performance by isolation of the contact pairs. Each half is designed to receive a two-pair plug


500


of FIG.


33


. Side walls


726


and vertical shield


732


include ribs


736


for engaging recesses


550


in planar shield


532


to create overlapping shield members.




An important feature of outlet


700


is the formation of opening


740


in outlet core


706


. Opening


740


is designed to receive latch extension


524


of plug


500


and serves to lock plug


500


to outlet


700


. Latch extension


524


is guided into opening


740


and as shown in

FIG. 47

, the underside of top wall


728


of outlet core


706


includes a lip


1200


(

FIG. 59

) for engaging opening


568


in latch extension


524


. As latch extension


524


is inserted into opening


740


, a beveled surface


1202


of the lip permits the latch extension


524


to slidably engage with the outlet core


706


by locking the latch extension


524


with a shoulder portion


1204


of the lip


1200


. To release the plug


500


, the latch


516


is pressed towards the top cover


502


to disengage opening


568


from lip


1200


. In a similar fashion to outlet


300


of

FIG. 13

, the top cover


702


, bottom cover


704


and core


706


of outlet


700


have overlapping joints to better isolate and shield the contact pairs so that enhanced performance results.





FIG. 43

is a perspective view of two plugs


500


of

FIG. 33

mated with outlet


700


. In

FIG. 43

, outlet


700


is mounted in a faceplate


800


. The opening of outlet


700


is at an angle relative to the faceplate. This angle is established by notch


714


on the outlet top cover


702


and notch


715


on the outlet core


706


lying in a plane at an oblique angle relative to the face


717


of the outlet. As noted previously, this creates a gravity feed orientation in which the cable connected to a plug mated with outlet


700


is angled towards the floor thereby reducing the bend on the cable. This reduces the likelihood that the cable will be bent below the minimum bend radius. The identification icon


724


also serves as a lock securing the outlet


700


in the faceplate


800


. To install the outlet


700


in the faceplate


800


, the resilient arms


712


are deflected until both notch


714


and notch


715


are aligned with the edge of the faceplate opening. At this point, arms


712


return to their original position. When the identification icon


724


is positioned in recess


718


and recess


722


, this prevents the arms


712


from deflecting towards outlet core


706


and thus locks the outlet


700


in position in the faceplate


800


. In this embodiment, the use of two-pair plugs


500


in outlet


700


occupies the same amount of space as the use of one four-pair plug


100


in outlet


300


, Advantageously, the user may select whether to insert one or two plugs


500


in outlet


700


without the need for concern about whether said installation will require additional space.





FIG. 44

is a perspective view of an assembled plug of a second alternative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, shown generally at


900


. Plug


900


mates with outlet


700


and is generally similar to plug


100


described herein but includes a space in the first planar shield for accommodating vertical shield


732


in outlet


700


. The plug


900


includes a top cover


902


, a bottom cover


904


and a core


906


. The top cover


902


, bottom cover


904


and core


906


are all conductive to provide shielding as described herein. These conductive components may be made from metal, metallized plastic or any other known conductive material. Core


906


supports insulative (e.g. plastic) contact carriers


908


. Each contact carrier


908


includes two contacts


910


defining a pair. A boot


912


provides strain relief and is made from a pliable plastic or rubber. Also shown in

FIG. 44

is a cable


914


entering boot


912


. A latch


916


is provided on the top cover


902


for coupling the plug


900


to the outlet


700


of FIG.


42


and described herein.





FIG. 45

is an exploded, perspective view of an alternative plug


900


. Plug


900


is similar to plug


100


in that it includes four pairs of contacts. The first planar shield


930


(i.e. horizontal) includes an opening for receiving the vertical shield


732


in outlet


700


. Latch


916


is made up of a latch body


918


secured to the top cover at latch engaging pawl


920


. Latch


916


includes a latch extension


922


for engaging opening


740


formed in outlet


700


. In addition to securing the plug


900


to outlet


700


, latch extension


922


provides for electrical contact from the cable ground layer to the outlet core


706


. Top cover


902


includes a semi-circular groove


924


and bottom cover


904


includes a similar semi-circular groove


924


that receives a circular lip in boot


912


(shown generally at


513


on boot


512


in

FIG. 37

) as described herein. Two top cover latches


926


engage two bottom recesses


928


to secure top cover


902


to bottom cover


904


.




Plug core


906


includes a planar shield


930


. Formed in planar shield


930


are recesses


909


(similar to recess


550


) to receive ribs


736


in the outlet


700


to which plug


900


is mated. Plug core


906


also includes side walls


932


. The top and bottom of each side wall


932


include a ridge


934


. Ridges


934


extend beyond side wall


932


and overlap an edge


936


of the top cover


902


and bottom cover


904


. Ridges


934


are shown as having generally triangular cross section, but it is understood that different geometries may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. Ridges


934


serve to locate the core


906


within the top and bottom covers and overlap the edges of the top and bottom cover to provide better shielding than a butt joint. A center shield


938


is provided within the core


906


. Center shield


938


is parallel to side walls


932


. The center shield


938


also includes a ridge


940


on the top and bottom surfaces. As shown in

FIG. 45

, central ridge


940


is triangular, however, it is understood that other geometries may be used without departing from the invention. Central ridge


940


engages channels


942


formed in top cover


902


and bottom cover


904


.




Two ribs


944


are formed on the inside surface of each side wall


932


and are parallel and spaced apart from planar shield


930


. Similar ribs are formed on each surface of center shield


938


. Contact carrier


908


has a planar base


946


which rests on the planar shield


930


. Base


946


includes two flanges


948


extending away from the base and a stop


950


adjacent to the flanges. When the contact carrier is installed in the core


906


, flange


948


is placed under rib


944


to hold the contact carrier


908


to the planar shield


930


. The contact carrier is slid into core


906


until stop


950


contacts the end of rib


944


. In this position, a tab


952


is provided so that when contact carrier


908


is slid into core, tab


952


contacts a similarly shaped recess in planar shield


930


and positions contact carrier


908


in core


906


. The contact carrier


908


also includes a lip


954


that extends substantially perpendicular to the planar base


946


and beyond the edge of planar shield


930


to prevent the contact carrier


908


from sliding out of core


906


. The inside of each side wall


932


and each side of center wall


938


also include a first ledge


956


and a second ledge


958


which are used to secure a termination cap to the plug core


906


. Similar to the bottom cover


904


, a channel (not shown) is formed in the top cover


902


for receiving ridge


940


of center shield


938


on plug core


906


. The front face


903


of plug


900


also includes three recessed areas


960


that receive extensions on the front face


717


of outlet


700


as described herein. Top cover


902


includes side wall recesses for receiving rear extensions on plug core


906


to create an overlap between the rear of plug core side wall


932


and the plug core top cover (not shown). As shown with respect to plug


100


of

FIGS. 3 and 4

, plug


900


also contains similar overlapping between wall extensions (not shown) on the side walls


962


of the top cover


902


and the outlet side wall recesses which engage each other to create overlap between the side walls


962


of the top plug cover


902


and the side walls


964


of the bottom cover


904


. Bottom cover


904


and top cover


902


include projections


961


to engage similarly shaped recess


963


in side walls


932


of core


906


.




Bottom cover


904


is similar to top cover


902


. Bottom cover also includes a channel


942


for receiving ridge


940


on center shield


938


. As noted above, this allows the central ridge


940


to be overlapped by the sides of the channel


942


and provides better shielding than a conventional butt joint. Bottom cover


904


includes side walls


964


having side wall recesses


966


for receiving side wall extensions (not shown) on top cover


902


. The front face


903


of the bottom cover


904


is similar to that of top cover


902


and includes recesses


960


for receiving the vertical planar shield


732


of the outlet


700


whereby front face


903


of plug


900


engages with the vertical planar shield


732


in an overlapping manner. The front face


903


of bottom cover


904


also includes as lip


968


, interrupted by recess


960


, that overlaps the outside surface of the bottom wall


730


of the outlet core


706


.




Contact carrier


908


includes two channels


970


, each of which receives a contact


972


. Each contact


972


has a generally planar body, a contact end and a termination end (as shown in FIG.


5


). The termination end includes an insulation displacement contact that pierces the insulation of individual wires in cable


914


to make an electrical contact with the wire as is known in the art. Installation of the wires in the insulation displacement contact is described herein with reference to

FIGS. 8-10

. Each insulation displacement contact is angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the contact body at an angle of 45 degrees. As shown in

FIG. 44

, the plug


900


includes four contact carriers


908


, each having a pair of contacts


972


for a total of eight contacts.





FIG. 46

is an exploded, perspective view of the top cover


902


and latch


916


. Latch


916


includes a shield contact


974


which electrically connects the ground layer of cable


914


to the outlet core


706


of outlet


700


. By employing the latch assembly of

FIG. 46

, a more direct electrical path from the cable ground layer to the outlet core


706


is realized in accordance with the present invention. Shield contact


974


is conductive and is preferably made from metal. Shield contact


974


has an arcuate portion


976


formed to generally follow the shape of cable


914


. Arcuate portion


976


includes barbs


978


that pierce the ground layer of cable


914


and the cable jacket. This electrically and mechanically connects the shield contact


974


to cable


914


. When latch


916


is coupled to top cover


902


, arcuate portion


976


fits underneath neck


980


of top cover


902


. Neck


980


is generally semi-circular in shape but is within the scope of this invention that neck


980


may have other forms but preferably neck


980


and shield contact


974


have similar shapes so that proper coupling between the two results when the latch


916


is engaged with the top cover


902


. Latch


916


includes a first opening


982


, a second opening


984


having a slot


986


integrally connected thereto, and a pair of third openings


988


. First opening


982


is for receiving pawl


990


formed in top cover


902


and second opening


984


is for receiving post


920


formed in top cover


902


. Post


920


includes a neck


992


and a head


994


. Integrally connected to second opening


984


is a slot


986


for engaging neck


992


of post


920


. Latch


916


is engaged with top cover


902


by aligning head


994


of post


920


with second opening


984


and aligning pawl


990


with first opening


982


and sliding the latch


916


in the direction toward post


920


so that neck


992


of post


920


slidably engages with slot


986


and pawl


990


is disposed within first opening


982


. Top cover


902


also includes a pair of nubs


996


formed on top cover


902


wherein the latch body


918


contacts nubs


996


when the latch body


918


is pressed towards the top cover


902


. Openings


988


engage lips


1200


formed in housing


700


as described above.




The enhanced telecommunications plug of FIG.


44


and outlet of

FIG. 42

provide individually shielding of each pair of contacts. Overlapping between the components that shield each pair of contacts is provided thereby resulting in better shielding of the pairs of contacts than would result the junctions between the components were conventional butt joints.

FIGS. 47-48

illustrate the overlapping of components.

FIG. 47

is a side view of plug


900


and outlet


700


.

FIG. 48

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


48


—


48


of FIG.


47


and shows the overlap between various plug shield members and the outlet


700


. Ribs


736


on outlet side wall


726


serve to secure plug


900


to outlet core


706


. Ribs


736


serve to engage recesses


909


formed in planar shield


930


of plug


900


to allow planar shield to slidably enter outlet core


706


and be securely coupled to outlet core


706


. Ribs


340


are formed on outlet side walls


726


and on vertical planar shield


732


of outlet core


706


to hold the contact carriers


708


. In accordance with the present invention, each contact carrier is enclosed in a quadrant where all shield joints have some overlap and the amount of shielding between pairs is enhanced as compared to a shield arrangement using butt joints. The vertical planar shield


732


of outlet


700


and the planar shield


930


of plug


900


create the four quadrant system shown in

FIG. 48

, wherein each contact carrier is enclosed in a separate quadrant having the enhanced shielding characteristics disclosed herein.





FIG. 49

is a perspective view of an alternative outlet


1000


which is suitable for mounting on a printed circuit board. Outlet


1000


includes a top


1008


, bottom


1004


, sides


1002


, rear cover


1005


. The top


1008


, bottom


1004


, sides


1002


and rear cover


1005


are all conductive to provide shielding as described herein. These conductive components may be made from metal, metallized plastic or any other known conductive material. Outlet


1000


supports insulative contact carriers


1012


. Each contact carrier


1012


includes contacts


1014


.




The outlet


1000


is generally rectangular and includes a vertical planar shield


1010


which extends substantially the entire length of outlet


1000


thereby dividing outlet


1000


into a left and aright half. Vertical planar shield


1010


serves to isolate the contact pairs and thereby enhance the performance of the connector. Each half is designed to receive a two-pair plug


500


of FIG.


33


. While the description of outlet


1000


makes reference to plug


500


, it is understood that outlet


1000


may be used to mate with plug


900


in a similar manner. Side walls


1002


and vertical planar shield


1010


include ribs


1016


for engaging recess


550


formed in planar shield


532


of plug


500


to create an overlap between the outlet and plug shield members.




An important feature of outlet core


1000


is the formation of opening


1032


in the outlet


1000


. Opening


1032


is created by hood


1028


having four sides and positioned on top


1008


. Opening


1032


is designed to receive latch extension


524


of plug


500


and serves to lock plug


500


to outlet


700


. Latch extension


524


is guided into opening


1032


and as shown in

FIG. 59

, the underside of hood


1028


includes a lip portion


1200


for engaging latch extension


524


. As latch extension


524


is inserted into opening


1032


, the beveled surface


1202


of the lip permits the latch extension


524


to slidably engage with the outlet


1000


by locking the latch extension


524


with the shoulder portion


1204


of the lip. Top


1008


of outlet


1000


includes a lip


1022


to engage similarly shaped recess


1024


in rear cover


1005


.





FIG. 50

is a perspective view of the bottom of outlet


1000


. Bottom


1004


includes a rear stepped portion


1034


extending outwardly. Sides


1061


of rear stepped portion are an extension of side wall


1002


and center


1062


of the stepped portion is an extension of the vertical shield


1010


. Sides


1061


and side walls


1002


have a lip


1036


to that overlaps a ridge


1040


formed on rear cover


1005


. Sides


1061


also contain a recess


1066


to engage inner shield


1056


of rear cover


1005


(as shown in FIG.


51


).




Extending from the bottom


1004


of core


1000


are a pair of posts


1044


for securing the outlet


1000


to a circuit board. Posts


1044


are shown as being generally triangular in shape however it is within the scope of the invention that other shaped are suitable. Also shown in

FIG. 50

is an insulating film


1046


having first openings


1048


for receiving posts


1044


and second openings


1050


for receiving contacts


1052


.





FIG. 51

is an exploded, perspective view of outlet


1000


. Rear cover


1005


comprises an outer shield


1054


and an inner shield


1056


which is substantially parallel to outer shield


1054


. Between outer shield


1054


and inner shield


1056


is center shield


1058


which is integrally connected to outer shield


1054


and inner shield


1056


. Center shield


1058


is substantially perpendicular to outer shield


1054


and inner shield


1056


. Rear cover


1005


provides for electrical shielding between top contacts


1068


and bottom contacts


1070


. Together with the planar shield of the plug to be mated with outlet


1000


and the center member


1062


of the rear stepped portion


1034


effective, continuous shielding is provided between pairs of contacts within outlet


1000


. A quadrant system is presented in accordance with the present invention whereby each pair of contacts is provided in a quadrant electrically shielded from the other contact pairs by the outlet


1000


of the present invention and the overlapping structural seams therein. Outer shield


1054


includes recess


1024


for receiving similarly shaped lip


1022


of the top


1008


. Outer shield


1054


also includes two ridges


1040


for overlapping lip


1036


for in side walls


1002


and extensions


1061


. Inner shield


1056


has a central ridge


1060


for engaging a similarly shaped recess


1065


of center member


1062


of rear stepped portion


1034


and shield


1010


. When rear cover


1005


is inserted into outlet


1000


overlapping between the seams of the rear cover


1005


and the outlet


1000


results whereby each pair of contacts


1014


is enclosed in a quadrant where all shield joints have some overlap and the amount of shielding between pairs is enhanced as compared to a shield arrangement using butt joints. Also shown in

FIG. 51

is a top contact assembly


1068


and a bottom contact assembly


1070


. Contact


1014


within contact carrier


1012


is positioned so that the contact is substantially perpendicular to the contact carrier


1012


when contact


1014


is travels downward through each quadrant defined by the overlap between rear cover


1005


and





FIGS. 52

is a further exploded perspective view of outlet


1000


illustrating the rear of the outlet


1000


and the perpendicular bend of contacts


1014


. A horizontal shield


1071


is provided within outlet


1000


for engaging the planar shield of the plug (e.g. planar shield


932


of plug


900


). As shown in

FIG. 59

, horizontal shield


1071


at one end has a recess


1086


to engage the inner shield


1056


and at the other end has a lip


1088


to engage a similarly shaped recess


1090


in the planar shield of the plug and has a recess


1092


to engage a similarly shaped lip


1094


in the planar shield. Recess


1072


in contact carrier


1012


is for engaging rib


1018


in the outlet core


1000


to allow contact carrier


1012


to slidably enter outlet core


1000


and be securely coupled to outlet core


1000


.

FIG. 53

is a perspective view of bottom contact assembly


1070


. Bottom contact assembly


1070


includes a contact carrier


1012


with recess


1072


and contact


1014


disposed within channel


1074


. Bottom contact assembly


1070


further includes a shelf


1076


. Contact


1014


is bent down over shelf


1076


and directed downward whereby each contact is angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the contact body at an angle of about 90°.

FIG. 54

is a perspective view of top contact assembly


1068


. Top contact assembly


1068


includes a contact carrier


1012


with recess


1072


and contact


1014


disposed within channel


1074


. Top contact assembly


1068


further includes an extended shelf


1078


. Contact


1014


is bent down over shelf


1078


and directed downward whereby each contact is angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the contact body at an angle of about 90°.





FIG. 55

is a perspective view of a pair of outlets


1000


of

FIG. 49 and a

simplified printed circuit board


1080


having a series of openings


1082


to receive the contacts


1014


of outlet


1000


and a series of second openings


1084


to receive posts


1044


of outlet


1000


. To mount outlet


1000


on printed circuit board


1080


, contacts


1014


and posts


1044


are aligned with first openings


1082


and second openings


1084


, respectively and then each is inserted into the respective opening. Insulating film


1046


(shown in

FIG. 49

) on the bottom


1004


of outlet


1000


rests between the outlet


1000


and the printed circuit board


1080


to prevent an electrical short.

FIG. 56

is a perspective view of a pair of outlets


1000


mounted onto a simplified circuit board


1080


.

FIG. 57

is a perspective view of plug


900


of

FIG. 44

mated with outlet


1000


of FIG.


49


. As shown in

FIG. 59

, latch extension


922


of plug


900


is inserted into opening


1032


of outlet core


1000


. The underside of hood


1028


of outlet


1000


includes a lip portion for engaging latch extension


922


. As latch extension


922


is inserted into opening


1032


, the beveled surface of the lip permits the latch extension to slidably engage with the outlet core


1000


by locking the latch extension


922


with the shoulder portion of the lip (as shown in FIG.


59


).





FIGS. 58-61

illustrate the overlapping of components between plug


900


when it is mated with outlet


1000


.

FIG. 58A

is another perspective view of plug


900


mated with outlet


1000


.

FIG. 58B

is a rear view of plug


900


mated with outlet


1000


.

FIG. 59

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


59


-


59


of FIG.


58


B and shows the overlap between the structural components of plug


900


and outlet


1000


. Also, shown is the engagement of latch extension


922


with the lip portion of opening


1032


of outlet core


1000


. An important aspect of the present invention is that this engagement between the latch extension and the outlet core provides a more direct electrical path from the ground layer of the cable


514


to the outlet core


1000


.




Outer shield


1054


and inner shield


1056


effectively shield the top and bottom contacts


1068


and


1070


. Horizontal shield


1071


and planar shield


932


of plug


900


overlap and the horizontal shield


1071


and the inner shield


1056


overlap to shield the top contacts


1068


from the bottom contacts


1070


. Top


1008


of the outlet


1000


and the outer shield


1054


overlap also to effectively shield the contacts.





FIG. 60

is a front view of outlet


1000


.

FIG. 61B

is a cross-section taken along line


61


B—


61


B of FIG.


60


and shows the overlap between outer shield


1054


, inner shield


1056


and center shield


1058


of the rear cover


1005


and the side walls


1002


and vertical shield member


1010


. This overlap provides for the enhanced shielding protection of each contact pair in the respective shielded quadrant.

FIG. 61B

is a cross-section taken along line


61


A—


61


A of

FIG. 60

showing the shielding overlap in accordance with the present invention.




While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.



Claims
  • 1. A telecommunications connector for mounting on a printed circuit board, the connector comprising:a conductive housing hag a top, bottom, side walls joining said top and bottom, and a rear having an outer shield, an inner shield and a center shield joining said outer shield and said inner shield, said top, bottom, side walls and rear being in electrical contact, a vertical shield extending between said top and bottom; a horizontal shield positioned between said top and bottom and between said sidewalls, said horizontal shield and said vertical shield defining four quadrants, each of said four quadrants containing contacts corresponding to a tip and ring pair; wherein a first edge of said horizontal shield contacts said inner shield; and a plurality of said contacts extend beyond the bottom of said conductive housing, a first set of said contacts being positioned between said outer shield and said inner shield, a second set of said contacts being positioned between said inner shield an said bottom.
  • 2. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said side walls are integral with said top.
  • 3. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said top is integral with said vertical shield.
  • 4. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said horizontal shield is integral with said vertical shield.
  • 5. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said horizontal shield is integral with said side walls.
  • 6. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said outer shield is integral said center shield.
  • 7. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said inner shield is integral with said center shield.
  • 8. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said top joins said rear at an overlap joint.
  • 9. The telecommunications connector of clam 1 wherein said side walls join said rear at overlap joints.
  • 10. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said vertical shield joins said rear at an overlap joint.
  • 11. The telecommunications connector of claim 1 wherein said horizontal shield joins said rear at an overlap joint.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/007,313 filed Jan. 15, 1998.

US Referenced Citations (12)
Number Name Date Kind
4337989 Asick et al. Jul 1982
4659163 Althouse et al. Apr 1987
4682836 Noorily et al. Jul 1987
4990094 Chandler et al. Feb 1991
5376021 Rodrigues et al. Dec 1994
5509824 Rodrigues et al. Apr 1996
5518421 Davis May 1996
5564949 Wellinsky Oct 1996
5593311 Lybrand Jan 1997
5605469 Wellinsky et al. Feb 1997
5634817 Siemon et al. Jun 1997
5895292 Affeltranger Apr 1999
Foreign Referenced Citations (8)
Number Date Country
0 268 441 A2 May 1988 EP
0 517 180 A1 Dec 1992 EP
0 755 100 A2 Jan 1997 EP
WO8707441 Dec 1987 WO
WO8911169 Nov 1989 WO
WO9208261 May 1992 WO
WO9209119 May 1992 WO
WO 9848488 Oct 1998 WO
Continuation in Parts (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/007313 Jan 1998 US
Child 09/047046 US