Patent Application
20080064266
Referring to
Referring again to
Referring to
The external EMI/RFI shield 30 preferably includes an upper latch 32 and a lower latch 34. The external EMI/RFI shield 30 may be attached to the internal housing 40 using the upper latch 32 and the lower latch 34 or any other suitable connectors, or the internal housing 40 may be press-fitted into the external EMI/RFI shield 30. However, the EMI/RFI shield 30 and the internal housing 40 may be attached to each other by any other suitable method. The external EMI/RFI shield 30 is preferably attached to the circuit board 70 by mounts 36. The external EMI/RFI shield 30 is preferably made of a conductive material, for example, metal, to shield the modular jack 10 from external electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI) and to contain internal electromagnetic radiation and radio frequency signals within the modular jack 10. The upper latch 32 may function as the ground path between the modular jack 10 and a shield of the modular plug 60, if the modular plug 60 and cable are shielded.
The internal housing 40 is preferably made of an electrically insulating material, for example, a plastic. The internal housing 40 preferably includes an upper channel 42 and a lower channel 44 arranged to receive the upper latch 32 and the lower latch 34 of the external EMI/RFI shield 30, respectively. A protrusion 46 extends inwardly and along the sides of the internal housing 40 to define the bottom of the lower channel 44. As described below, the protrusion 46 extends into a groove 56 of the sled 50 (shown in
Referring to
The present invention is not limited to the above arrangement of the contacts 52 within the contact array 51. The contacts may be of any suitable shape, or held within the sled 50 in any other suitable manner. For example, the contacts 52 may have a bellows or rams-head shape.
As described below, the contact terminals 52c may make contact with at least one additional component 90 mounted to the sled 50, as opposed to directly contacting the lands 72 on the circuit board 70.
Instead of having the contact terminals 52c contact the lands 72 on the circuit board 70, the contact terminals 52c can engage terminals (not shown) within the housing 20 that are electrically connected to a circuit in or on the circuit board 70. This arrangement, however, has the drawback of increasing the stub length by the length of the terminals in the housing 20. Alternatively, the contact terminals 52c may contact with conductive portions of the sled 50 which contact the lands 72.
Referring to
The lower latch 34 of the external EMI/RFI shield 30 extends along the lower channel 44 of the internal housing 40. A protruding portion 34a of the lower latch 34 protrudes away from an inner surface of the lower channel 44 and toward the interior of the socket. As described below, the protruding portion 34a engages with the front edge 54a of the bump 54 when the sled 50 is fully inserted into the internal housing 40.
The sides 50c of the sled 50 are guided into the lower channels 44 of the internal housing 40 with the bumps 54 engaging the lower latches 34. As the sled 50 is inserted into the housing 20, the protruding portions 34a of the lower latches 34 contact and slide over the tapered rear edges 54b of the bumps 54. Upon complete insertion of the sled 50, the protruding portions 34a of the lower latches 54 snap away from the inner surface of the lower channels 44 and engage the front edges 54a of the bumps 54. The contact of the protruding portions 34a of the lower latches 34 with the front edges 54a of the bumps 54 lock the sled 50 into the internal housing 40. The sled 50, and thus the contact array 51, is securely inserted into the socket of the modular jack 10. The sled 50 is locked in the internal housing 40 until the protruding portions 34a of the lower latches 34 are forced toward the inner surfaces of the lower channels 44 so as to not engage the front edges 54a of the bumps 54.
The above latching arrangement is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The upper latch 32 and the lower latch 34 may be replaced with more or less latches, and one or more of the latches may secure the sled 50 in the housing 20. Alternatively, the latches may be provided on the internal housing 40 as opposed to the external EMI/RFI shield 30. Furthermore, latches may be provided on the sled 50 with corresponding mating portions on the housing 20. The present invention may utilize any system or structure that securely holds the sled 50 in the housing 20.
The gaps between the sides 50c of the sled 50 and the lower latches 34 located within the lower channels 44 are preferably just wide enough for the prongs 84 to be inserted therein. The prongs 84 are inserted into the gaps until the free ends 84a of the prongs 84 contact the front edges 54a of the bumps 54. When the free ends 84a of the prongs 84 contact the front edges 54a of the bumps 54, the protruding portions 34a of the lower latches 34 are forced towards the inner surfaces of the lower channels 44 such that the protruding portions 34a of the lower latches 34 no longer engage the front edges 54a of the bumps 54. At the same time, the hooks 86 on the inner surfaces of the prongs 84 extend into the slots 55 formed within the sides 50c of the sled 50. The hooks 86 engage the front edges of the slots 55. The tool 80 is then pulled away from the opening in the housing 20 with the hooks 86 securely engaging the front edges of the slots 55. The sled 50 is then slid out of the socket through the opening of the housing 20. Thus, the sled 50 is quickly and easily removed from the modular jack 10 without disassembling the housing 20 or removing the housing 20 from the circuit board 70.
The present invention is not limited to the tool described above and may utilize any tool or other unlocking device that is able to remove the sled 50 from the housing 20. The tool may be arranged to “unlock” the sled 50 from the housing 20, i.e., the sled 50 cannot be removed from the housing 20 without the use of the specially adapted tool. The sled 50 may also be inserted into the housing 20 without being “locked” in the housing 20, and, in such a case, this facilitates removal of the sled 50 from the housing 20.
Referring to additional preferred embodiment shown in
As described above, the contact terminals 52c may make contact with the at least one additional component 90 mounted to the sled 50, as opposed to directly contacting the lands 72 on the circuit board 70. Accordingly, the at least one additional component 90 is arranged between the contacts 52 on the sled 50 and the lands 72 on the circuit board 70.
These additional components have far higher failure, repair, and rejection rates than their passive counterparts. The ability to easily inspect and diagnose a bad additional component and then to simply replace with a new additional component by inserting a new sled 50′ leads to substantial time and cost savings.
The at least one additional component 90 can also include a mechanical switch. For example, a circuit contained in or on the circuit board 70 can have a first arrangement when the sled 50′ is inserted into the opening of the modular jack 10 and can have a second arrangement when a modular plug 60 is inserted into the opening of the modular jack 10. Additionally, unwanted electrical potential may be shunted to ground upon mating the modular plug 60 with the modular jack 10, hence creating a mechanical ESD jack.
The location and number of contacts 52 in the contact array 51 may also be easily reconfigured by removing or rearranging the existing contacts 52 in the contact array 51. The configuration of the contact array 51 may also be changed by merely substituting a sled 50 with a different contact array 51 configuration.
A modular jack 10′ according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention may be ganged in-line, as shown in
The modular jack 10 may also include an LED (not shown) to indicate the line status of modular jack 10. The LED may be located on the sled 50 or on the housing 20 of the modular jack 10.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.
