Patent Application
20050148225
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a telecommunications patch jack and a bifurcated contact for same.
2. Background Art
In the telecommunications industry (including, for example, telephone and television broadcast), a patch jack assembly is used to connect two signal lines and to facilitate rerouting of the lines, if necessary. For example, a typical patch jack assembly includes a housing having a pair of parallel, substantially cylindrical, coaxial connections running therethrough. Each coaxial connection includes a center conductor and an outer conductor. The outer conductor is typically formed as part of the housing. Each connection runs from a rear port at a rear of the housing to a front port at a front of the housing. The rear ports are typically configured as BNC jacks, while the front ports are typically configured as WECo (Western Electric Company) or mini WECo jacks.
The rear BNC jacks are configured to receive the lines for which connection is desired. A spring arrangement within the housing provides a normally closed connection between the center conductor of each coaxial connection. Thus, the lines connected to the BNC jacks at the rear of the assembly will be electrically connected by the spring arrangement in the housing.
A typical configuration of the spring arrangement is a wishbone shaped spring having a central portion and two arms. The central portion is fixed to the housing. A distal end of each arm is configured to contact an adjacent central conductor of one of the coaxial connections. The distal ends are held against the central conductor by the restorative force of the spring. This configuration provides a conductive path between two central conductors to form the normally closed connection.
Each arm has a non-conductive actuator attached to it. A plug inserted into one of the front ports of the housing will engage the actuator and push the spring arm away from the central conductor (against the restorative force of the spring arm) causing the electrical connection to be broken. In a terminated variant, the spring arm is pushed into contact with a ground post, causing the central conductor of the other connection to be electrically connected to ground through a termination resistor. In a non-terminated variant, the spring arm is pushed away from the central conductor, but remains non-terminated or open-circuited.
Reliability of the connections made by the patch jack assembly is important. However, a shortcoming of conventional patch jack assemblies is found in the spring assembly. As seen in
Therefore, what is needed is a jack that produces an electrical connection that is less susceptible to failure.
An embodiment of the present invention provides an electrical contact pair including a substantially cylindrical first conductor and an elongated second conductor. The second conductor has a first end held in a fixed position relative to the first conductor and a second end movable relative to the first conductor. The second end is normally biased against the first conductor based on a spring-type resiliency of the second conductor. The second end is bifurcated.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a feed-through jack including a body having a first end and a second end, a substantially cylindrical conductor extending longitudinally through the body between a first jack at the first end and a second jack at the second end, and an actuator having a bifurcated contact configured to contact the substantially cylindrical conductor. The bifurcated contact is movable between a first position in electrical communication with the substantially cylindrical conductor and a second position electrically isolated from the substantially cylindrical conductor. A plug inserted into the first jack causes the bifurcated contact to move to the second position.
A still further embodiment of the present invention provides a patch jack including a body, first and second conductors, and a wishbone shaped actuator. The body has a first end and a second end. The first conductor extends longitudinally through the body between a first jack at the first end and a second jack at the second end. The second conductor extends longitudinally through the body between a third jack at the first end and a fourth jack at the second end. The wishbone-shaped actuator has first and second arms. Each arm has a bifurcated contact configured to contact a respective one of the conductors. Each of the arms has a first position in electrical communication with the respective conductor and a second position electrically isolated from the respective conductor. A plug inserted into the first jack causes the first arm to move to the second position. A plug inserted into the third jack causes the second arm to move to the second position.
In one patch jack embodiment, the connector housing is formed from zinc allow no. 3 per ASTM B240 with electroless nickel per AMS 2404C. The actuator and center conductors are made from beryllium copper per ASTM-B194/196/197 and are gold plated per MIL-G-45204. Dielectric insulators isolating the center conductors from the housing are formed from PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) per ASTM-D1710.
In a preferred embodiment, the bifurcated contact of the invention comprises a substantially V-shaped notch for engaging the first conductor. Using a bifurcated contact provides for multiple points of contact/engagement with the first conductor, increases Hertzian forces, reduces susceptibility to failure caused by contamination, and yields a more reliable connection.
Further embodiments, features, and advantages of the present inventions, as well as the structure and operation of the various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.
The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number generally identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.
Overview
While specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the pertinent art that this invention can also be employed in a variety of other applications.
An embodiment of the present invention provides an electrical contact pair including a substantially cylindrical first conductor and an elongated second conductor. The contact pair can be used, for example, in a variety of telecommunications, video, and RF (radio frequency) applications. For example, the contact pair can be used in a communications jack, a patch jack such as the 75 Ohm High Frequency, Dual Coaxial, Normal-Thru Mini-WECo Patch Jack, available from Trompeter Electronics, Inc. of Westlake Village, Calif., under part numbers J314MW (non-terminated) and J314MWT (terminated), or a digital cross-connect assembly of the type used, for example, in telephone central offices.
The second conductor has a first end held in a fixed position relative to the first conductor and a second end movable relative to the first conductor. The second end is normally biased against the first conductor based on a spring-type resiliency of the second conductor. The second end is bifurcated via a substantially V-shaped notch for engaging the first conductor. A portion of the V-shaped notch can be wider than a diameter of the first conductor, so as to rest on either side of the conductor. However, in one embodiment, the V-shaped notch has a widest point that is smaller than the diameter of the first conductor. Using the bifurcated end allows for an increased force or stress (e.g., Hertzian stress or force) between the first and second conductors and an increase in electrical performance and reliability.
Electrical Contact Pair
It is to be appreciated that first and second conductors 202 and 204 can be made of any material that allows communication of signals through the conductors, such as metal, alloys, or the like. In a preferred embodiment, first conductor 202 and second conductor 204 are made from beryllium copper per ASTM-B194/196/197 and are gold plated per MIL-G-45204.
As depicted in
Referring back to
Bifurcated portions 208A and 208B can be biased towards each other and towards first conductor 202 based on the resilient nature of second conductor 204. The biasing can produce a force or stress between bifurcated contact 208 and first conductor 202 during interaction of first conductor 202 and second conductor 204. Thus, through use of bifurcated contact 208, interaction between first conductor 202 and second conductor 104 can have increased force and/or stress (e.g., Hertzian stress or force) and/or improved electrical performance.
Spring or Actuator Assembly
Each arm 302 and 304 of spring assembly 300 includes a second conductor 204 and a non-conductive contact or actuator 308 (e.g., a plastic ramp, or the like). Non-conducting contact or actuator 308 is positioned on arms 302 and 304 to interact with a plug 600 (described below with reference to
It an exemplary embodiment, second conductor 204 is formed from a thin strip of beryllium copper. In this embodiment, bifurcated contact 208 can have a notch width A of approximately 0.043 inches, a width B of approximately 0.100 inches, a length C of approximately 0.060 inches and a thickness D of approximately 0.006 inches.
Patch Jack
In the embodiment shown, first conductor 202A includes first and second sections 420 and 422. First and second sections 420 and 422 are coupled at point 424 via soldering, crimping, or the like. First section 420 passes through a dielectric material 426 in body 402, and second section 422 passes through a dielectric material 428 in body 402 near jack 412. Dielectric material 428 can be held in place using a retaining ring 430, or the like. Similarly, first conductor 202B passes through a dielectric 432 in body 402 near fourth port 414, which can he held in place using a retaining ring 434, or the like.
It is to be appreciated that, although shown as two different lengths, the conductive paths through body 402 formed by first conductors 202A and 202B can be the same length, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art. These variations and others are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
It is to be appreciated that although a patch jack is shown and described, this is an exemplary embodiment that can include electrical contact pair 100. Many other jacks known or developed in the future can also include electrical contact pair 100, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the instant invention. For examples, jacks can have only one first conductor 202 or multiple pairs of first conductor 202. Therefore, a number of second conductors 204 will be dictated by an application including electrical contact pair 100. All other known and future developed jacks are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
