Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – Within distinct housing spaced from panel circuit arrangement
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-31
2001-08-07
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
Within distinct housing spaced from panel circuit arrangement
C439S676000, C439S496000, C439S493000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270358
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a low-voltage male connector designed to be plugged into a low-voltage female connector having a plurality of flexible pins serving to come into contact with the male connector so as to establish electrical contact between the male connector and the female connector. The type of connector particularly concerned by the present invention is often designated by the term “RJ45” that is encountered frequently in the fields of computing, telephony, etc. and that use low-voltage currents.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The male connector of the RJ45 type is known to receive a cord made up of four pairs of twisted conductor wires that are fixed to respective insulation-displacement contacts in the RJ45 male connector. For that purpose, the RJ45 male connector is provided with eight insulation-displacement contacts, each of which has a spike onto which a respective conductor wire can be pushed so as to cut through its insulating covering, thereby making contact with the core of the wire.
Originally, the RJ45 male contact was designed to receive cables in the form of ribbons of parallel conductor wires to be pierced by insulation-displacement contacts spaced apart at the same pitch. Later, because of the high levels of crosstalk between the wires, ribbons of parallel wires were replaced with the above-mentioned twisted pairs. However, the use of twisted pairs makes connecting the cables much more difficult because the pairs must be placed manually in the RJ45 connector. Electrical contact between the male connector and the female connector equipped with flexible contact pins can be established directly on the insulation-displacement contacts lined up in the form of a ribbon like the conductor wires, or else on pins which are connected electrically to the insulation-displacement contacts, and which have contact zones suitable for coming into contact with the flexible contact pins of the female connector. When electrical contact is established directly on the insulation-displacement contacts lined up in the form of a ribbon, the pitch of the contacts of the male connector must be identical to the pitch of the contacts of the female connector with standardized gaps (ISO 88 77). If it is desired to use pairs whose wires are larger, an offset is caused between the insulation-displacement contacts and the wires, making it impossible to connect them.
In addition, since the contacts must have a very short pitch, inductive coupling is generated. In terms of crosstalk, it is essential to compensate that inductive coupling by appropriately crossing over the pins of the male connector that make the connection between the insulation-displacement contacts and the flexible pins of the female connector. Therefore, the RJ45 connector, and particularly the pins that make the contact between the insulation-displacement contacts and the pins of the female connector are particularly complicated to design and to assemble, which gives rise to a manufacturing cost that is high.
In the prior art, Document EP-0 899 833 (D1) describes a jack plug made up of two interfittable housings enclosing a blade support on which eight blades are mounted. At one of their ends, the blades form contacts at one of the housings, while at the other end, close to the other housing, they form insulation-displacement contacts (IDCs).
There is no printed circuit in that plug. The electrical connection is established entirely by the blades.
Document EP-0 901 201 (D2) describes a connector in which a printed circuit board is provided with insulation-displacement contacts (IDCs).
That printed circuit is also provided with contact pins on which the electrical contact is made.
In that connector, the circuit serves to provide conductor tracks for reducing crosstalk, but it does not provide electrical contacts.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the connector in Document D1 is a male connector having rigid contacts, while the connector in Document D2 is a female connector having flexible contacts.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to mitigate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art by defining a low-voltage male connector that has low inductive coupling, that can accommodate wires of relatively large section, and that is extremely simple to make.
To this end, the present invention provides a low-voltage male connector designed to be plugged into a low-voltage female connector having a plurality of flexible pins serving to come into contact with the male connector so as to establish electrical contact between the male connector and the female connector, said male connector being provided with insulation-displacement contacts, each of which serves to receive a respective conductor wire, the electrical connection between the flexible pins of the female connector and the insulation-displacement contacts being established by a printed circuit provided with conductor tracks, each of which connects a respective insulation-displacement contact to a respective pin. The electrical contact with the flexible pins of the female contact is thus established directly on the printed circuit and not on separate pins, as it is in Document EP-0 901 201. The use of a printed circuit is particularly advantageous because it makes it easy to cross over the conductor tracks which are conventionally formed in an RJ45 connector by crossing over the contact pins of the male connector. In a printed circuit, tracks can be crossed over simply by means of vias causing the tracks to go from one of the conductor planes of the printed circuit to its other conductor plane. In addition, the inductive coupling that is induced because the contacts are very close together is easy to compensate for crosstalk by means of an improved circuit having inductive and capacitive elements for compensating crosstalk. The printed circuit thus offers the advantage of making it easy to cross over the tracks and to provide elements enabling the induced coupling to be compensated.
In addition, the printed circuit may serve as a support for fixing the insulation-displacement contacts. Thus, it is easy to spread out the insulation-displacement contacts over the printed circuit so as to facilitate wiring.
According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the present invention, the printed circuit is provided with contact zones serving to come into sliding contact with the flexible pins as the male connector is plugged into the female connector, whose flexible pins flex and change angular position, said zones being provided on a rounded or angled portion of the printed circuit. Thus, the printed circuit advantageously serves as a point of electrical contact with the flexible pins of the female connector. It should be noted that the flexible pins of the female connector undergo a change in angular position of about 15° on plugging into the male connector, so as to provide electrical contact by means of the resilient action of the female pins on the contact zones of the male connector. Thus, the point of contact between each of the pins of the female connector and the respective contact zone of the male connector is a sliding contact. In order to prevent the pins from wearing by friction due to repeated connections, it is preferable or even necessary for the points of contact of the female pins with the contact zones of the male connector to be rounded so as to offer a surface quality that reduces abrasion. As a result, during plugging in, the point of contact of the flexible pins of the female connector is displaced over the rounded surface defined by the contact zones of the printed circuit. By providing these rounded contact zones directly on the printed circuit, it is possible to avoid having to provide an additional piece for performing this function.
In a first embodiment, the printed circuit comprises a rigid substrate, said rounded portion being provided on an edge of said substrate, e.g. by forming or stamping. In a variant, the printed circuit comprises a rigid substrate, said angled portion being obtai
Infra+
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Ta Tho D.
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