Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Insulation cutter
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-19
2001-07-31
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Insulation cutter
C439S676000, C439S456000, C439S404000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267617
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a low-current outlet for use in computing or in telephony. Such an outlet, e.g. of the RJ45 type, generally comprises an outlet base provided with a pluggable socket containing a plurality of (usually eight) contact pins. By means of a plug, it is possible to connect to the contact pins. Naturally, the pluggable socket is situated at the front of the outlet. At the rear of the outlet, a connection cable is generally connected to insulation-displacement contacts which are naturally angularly positioned perpendicularly to the conductor wires on which the insulation is to be cut and displaced.
In order to connect the conductor wires of the connection cable, devices exist for stowing and organizing said wires and for fixing them to the insulation-displacement contacts of the outlet base. In general, such a device are in the form of a cap that can be mounted on the outlet base. A typical example of an organizer cap is in the form of a comb through which the conductor wires of the connection cable are caused to pass. The comb consists of an aligned row of wire feed-through channels disposed side by side. Therefore, it is relatively difficult and laborious to thread the wires into their respective wire feed-through channels because it is almost obligatory to thread all of the wires in the same operation. The conductor wires must therefore be disposed side-by-side in aligned manner in a precise order that is distinguished by different wire colors. The operator in charge of connecting the connection cable to the outlet in question must therefore perform this laborious positioning task before it is possible to insert the wires into the organizer cap. Once this complicated operation has been performed, the organizer cap is mounted laterally onto the insulation-displacement contacts of the outlet base by exerting a push force on the cap so as to engage the wires into the respective insulation-displacement contacts. Once the organizer cap has been pushed in to its maximum engagement position, it is guaranteed that the insulation on all of the conductor wires will have been cut through to the cores of the wires by the insulation-displacement contacts. The conductor wires are thus wired simultaneously.
As mentioned above, the use of such organizer caps is relatively laborious because of the difficulty encountered in threading all of the conductor wires into their respective wire feed-through channels. In addition, it should be noted that the cap configuration in the form of a comb having wire feed-through channels in parallel alignment causes any traction applied to the connection cable or to the outlet to be exerted directly on the cores of the conductor wires wedged in the insulation-displacement contacts. Any high traction applied to the cable or to the outlet causes the cores of the wires to slide in the insulation-displacement contacts, or even causes the conductor wires to be severed.
That problem can be encountered in particular in the outlet described in Document EP-0 735 612. That outlet conventionally comprises an outlet base and an organizer cap. The outlet base is provided with two rows of four insulation-displacement contacts which point upwards, when the outlet is positioned as it is to be installed in a wall. The two rows of contacts are offset vertically and horizontally one relative to the other, so that they are disposed in the manner of terraces. In addition, the cap also defines two rows of guide holes for the eight wires from the cable to be connected. The two rows of four holes open out in offset manner so that it is possible to insert the wires into the insulation-displacement contacts of the outlet base. In that outlet, as in the conventional outlets of the prior art, the cap is mounted onto the base laterally, i.e. perpendicularly to the plug-in axis along which the outlet is plugged. As a result, it suffers from the above-mentioned problem of the wires being torn out when traction is applied to the cable because they extend substantially rectilinearly to the outlet.
An object of the present invention is to remedy the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art by defining a low-current outlet having an organizer cap with which it is simpler to install the various conductor wires, and in which the connection performed by the organizer cap is stronger in that any traction applied to the cable is not passed on to the cores of the wires engaged in the insulation-displacement contacts.
For this purpose, the present invention provides a low-current outlet comprising:
an outlet base provided with contact pins to which a plug can be connected by engaging it along a given plug-in axis; and
an organizer cap that can be mounted on the outlet base, which cap, on being fixed to the base, establishes the electrical contact between the conductor wires of a connection cable and the contact pins of the base, the cap being provided with wire guides making it possible to position the wires in three dimensions repetitively and separately so that they are connected electrically to the contact pins on fixing the cap to the base;
said low-current outlet being characterized in that the cap can be mounted onto the low-current outlet from the rear and along said plug-in axis.
Unlike prior art outlets in which the cable, which always comes from the rear of the outlet, is mounted laterally into the outlet base by means of the organizer cap, in the present invention, the cable is brought into the outlet base in the same direction as the insulation-displacement contacts, which requires folding or changing the direction of the wires in the organizer cap so as to bring them perpendicular to the insulation-displacement contacts.
Advantageously, each wire guide serves to guide one pair of wires, said guides being disposed in a polygonal geometrical configuration. Thus with the organizer cap of the invention, the various conductor wires are installed in pairs in the organizer cap, which greatly facilitates this operation. In general, there are four of said wire-pair guides for a conventional cable comprising four pairs of wires, and they are disposed in a rectangular configuration. Thus, the various pairs of conductor wires are separated in three dimensions.
According to an advantageous characteristic, each wire-pair guide comprises a common guide duct that is common to the pair of wires, and two locking channels for respective ones of the wires of the pair. In which case, the common guide ducts may extend substantially along said plug-in axis, and the locking channels may extend substantially perpendicularly to said plug-in axis.
As a result, the common guide duct and each of the two locking channels make an angle such as to form an edge on which the respective wire forms a locking fold. Thus, the conductor wires can be firstly pulled fully through the common guide duct, and then folded over into their respective locking channels, thereby forming the locking folds at the edges that form the transitions between the common guide duct and the respective locking channels. The locking folds guarantee firstly that the wires are pulled fully through the organizer cap so that the shielding of the connection cable or of the individual pairs of wires extends to as close as possible to the organizer cap, and secondly that the wires are held stationary permanently in the organizer cap. The locking folds thus perform two functions. In addition, since the electrical contact with the insulation-displacement contacts is established in the locking channels, any traction on the connection cable is not passed on at the insulation-displacement contacts, but instead at the locking fold which forms a stop for the folded-over wire. Folding over the wires prior to connecting them also makes it possible for the cap to be mounted on the base from the rear, which is easier than mounting it laterally.
In addition, in order to lock the wires permanently in their respective channels, the locking channels are provided with retaining means such as lugs for holding the locked wires in their respecti
Infra
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Ta Tho D.
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