Balance high density 110 IDC terminal block

Details Balance high density 110 IDC terminal block Balance high density 110 IDC terminal block

2002-01-18

2004-05-04

Patel, Tulsidas C. (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

Contact comprising cutter

Insulation cutter

C439S941000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06729899

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to devices for interfacing with high frequency data transfer media and, more particularly, to insulation displacement contact (“IDC”) devices, such as those that are used as interface connectors for Unshielded Twisted Pair (“UTP”) media, that advantageously compensate for and reduce electrical noise.
2. Background Art
In data transmission, the signal originally transmitted through the data transfer media is not necessarily the signal received. The received signal will consist of the original signal after being modified by various distortions and additional unwanted signals that affect the original signal between transmission and reception. These distortions and unwanted signals are commonly collectively referred to as “electrical noise,” or simply “noise.” Noise is a primary limiting factor in the performance of a communication system. Many problems may arise from the existence of noise in connection with data transmissions, such as data errors, system malfunctions and/or loss of the intended signals.
The transmission of data, by itself, generally causes unwanted noise. Such internally generated noise arises from electromagnetic energy that is induced by the electrical energy in the individual signal-carrying lines within the data transfer media and/or data transfer connecting devices, such electromagnetic energy radiating onto or toward adjacent lines in the same media or device. This cross coupling of electromagnetic energy (i.e., electromagnetic interference or EMI) from a “source” line to a “victim” line is generally referred to as “crosstalk.”
Most data transfer media consist of multiple pairs of lines bundled together. Communication systems typically incorporate many such media and connectors for data transfer. Thus, there inherently exists an opportunity for significant crosstalk interference.
Crosstalk can be categorized in one of two forms. Near end crosstalk, commonly referred to as NEXT, arises from the effects of near field capacitive (electrostatic) and inductive (magnetic) coupling between source and victim electrical transmissions. NEXT increases the additive noise at the receiver and therefore degrades the signal to noise ratio (SNR). NEXT is generally the most significant form of crosstalk because the high-energy signal from an adjacent line can induce relatively significant crosstalk into the primary signal. The other form of crosstalk is far end crosstalk, or FEXT, which arises due to capacitive and inductive coupling between the source and victim electrical devices at the far end (or opposite end) of the transmission path. FEXT is typically less of an issue because the far end interfering signal is attenuated as it traverses the loop.
Characteristics and parameters associated with electromagnetic energy waves can be derived by Maxwell's wave equations. In unbounded free space, a sinusoidal disturbance propagates as a transverse electromagnetic wave. This means that the electric field vectors are perpendicular to the magnetic field vectors lying in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the wave. As a result, crosstalk generally gives rise to a waveform shaped differently than the individual waveform(s) originally transmitted.
Unshielded Twisted Pair cable or UTP is a popular and widely used type of data transfer media. UTP is a very flexible, low cost media, and can be used for either voice or data communications. In fact, UTP is rapidly becoming the defacto standard for Local Area Networks (“LANs”) and other in-building voice and data communications applications. In a UTP, a pair of copper wires generally form the twisted pair. For example, a pair of copper wires with diameters of 0.4-0.8 mm may be twisted together and wrapped with a plastic coating to form a UTP. The twisting of the wires increases the noise immunity and reduces the bit error rate (BER) of the data transmission to some degree. Also, using two wires, rather than one, to carry each signal permits differential signaling to be used. Differential signaling is generally more immune to the effects of external electrical noise.
The non-use of cable shielding (e.g., a foil or braided metallic covering) in fabricating UTP generally increases the effects of outside interference, but also results in reduced cost, size, and installation time of the cable and associated connectors. Additionally, non-use of cable shielding in UTP fabrication generally eliminates the possibility of ground loops (i.e., current flowing in the shield because of the ground voltage at each end of the cable not being exactly the same). Ground loops may give rise to a current that induces interference within the cable, interference against which the shield was intended to protect.
The wide acceptance and use of UTP for data and voice transmission is primarily due to the large installed base, low cost and ease of new installation. Another important feature of UTP is that it can be used for varied applications, such as for Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, ATM, EIA-232, ISDN, analog telephone (POTS), and other types of communication. This flexibility allows the same type of cable/system components (such as data jacks, plugs, cross-patch panels, and patch cables) to be used for an entire building, unlike shielded twisted pair media (“STP”).
At present, UTP is being used for systems having increasingly higher data rates. Since demands on networks using UTP systems (e.g., 100 Mbit/s and 1200 Mbit/s transmission rates) have increased, it has become necessary to develop industry standards for higher system bandwidth performance. Systems and installations that began as simple analog telephone service and low speed network systems have now become high speed data systems. As the speeds have increased, so too has the noise.
The ANSI/TIA/EIA 568A standard defines electrical performance for systems that utilize the 1 to 100 MHz frequency bandwidth range. Exemplary data systems that utilize the 1-100 MHz frequency bandwidth range include IEEE Token Ring, Ethernet10Base-T and 100Base-T. EIA/TIA-568 and the subsequent TSB-36 standards define five categories, as shown in the following Table, for quantifying the quality of the cable (for example, only Categories
3
,
4
, and
5
are considered “datagrade UTP”).
TABLE
Characteristic
Category
specified up to (MHz)
Various Uses
1
None
Alarm systems and other non-critical
applications
2
None
Voice, EIA-232, and other low speed
data
3
 16
10BASE-T Ethernet, 4-Mbits/s Token
Ring, 100BASE-T4, 100VG-
AnyLAN, basic rate ISDN.
Generally the minimum
standard for new installations.
4
 20
16-Mbits/s Token Ring. Not widely
used.
5
100
TP-PMD, SONet, OC-3 (ATM),
100BASE-TX. The most popular
for new data installations.
Underwriter's Laboratory defines a level-based system, which has minor differences relative to the EIA/TIA-568′s category system. For example, UL requires the characteristics to be measured at various temperatures. However, generally (for example), UL Level V (Roman numerals are used) is the same as EIA's Category
5
, and cables are usually marked with both EIA and UL rating designations.
UTP cable standards are also specified in the EIA/TIA-568 Commercial Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard, including the electrical and physical requirements for UTP, STP, coaxial cables, and optical fiber cables. For UTP, the requirements currently include:
Four individually twisted pairs per cable
Each pair has a characteristic impedance of 100 Ohms+/−15% (when measured at frequencies of 1 to 16 MHz)
24 gauge (0.5106-mm-diameter) or optionally 22 gauge (0.6438 mm diameter) copper conductors are used
Additionally, the EIA/TIA-568 standard specifies the color coding, cable diameter, and other electrical characteristics, such as the maximum cross-talk (i.e., how much a signal in one pair interferes with the signal in another pair—through capacitive, inductive, and other types of coupling). Since this functional property is measured as how many decibels (dB) quieter the induced signal is

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