Modular plug wire aligner

Details Modular plug wire aligner Modular plug wire aligner

2001-06-04

2003-02-25

Bradley, P. Austin (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

Contact comprising cutter

Insulation cutter

Reexamination Certificate

active

06524128

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to modular electrical plugs, and more particularly to a modular plug having performance properties which will be in compliance with Category 6 standards.
The present invention also relates to plug-cable assemblies of a multi-conductor cable with a plug at one end terminating the cable and a plug or other electrical connector terminating the other end of the cable, and to plug-cable assemblies which include a load bar operative with the end of a multi-conductor cable coupled with a plug housing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In view of the continual desire to increase the transmission rate of data through electrical cables, new performance standards are being promulgated for modular electrical connectors. Connectors having characteristics in compliance with this standard will be known as Category 6 connectors, or Cat 6 connectors for short.
Although existing modular connectors such as jacks and plugs, e.g., those having characteristics in compliance with the immediate lower standards (Category 5), might be found to be in compliance with Category 6 standards as well, it is advantageous to develop new modular connectors designed specifically to comply with Cat 6 standards.
Cat 6 modular jacks and plugs are intended to be used in data communication networks to enable the flow of information at higher transmission rates than currently available with known modular connectors, including Cat 3 and Cat 5 connectors. However, data transmitted at high rates in multi-pair data communication cables has an increased susceptibility to crosstalk, which often adversely affects the processing and integrity of the transmitted data. Crosstalk occurs when signal energy “crosses” from one signal pair to another. The point at which the signal crosses or couples from one set of conductors to another may be 1) within the connector or internal circuitry of the transmitting station, referred to as “near-end” crosstalk, 2) within the connector or internal circuitry of the receiving station, referred to as “far-end crosstalk”, or 3) within the interconnecting cable.
Near-end crosstalk (“NEXT”) is especially troublesome in the case of telecommunication connectors of the type specified in sub-part F of FCC part 68.500, commonly referred to as modular connectors. The EIA/TIA (Electronic/Telecommunication Industry Association) of ANSI has promulgated electrical specifications for near-end crosstalk isolation in network connectors to ensure that the connectors themselves do not compromise the overall performance of the unshielded twisted pair (UTP) interconnect hardware typically used in LAN systems. It is expected that electrical specifications for Cat 6 plugs will also be promulgated in the near future.
Reference is made to the prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,647 (Rohrbaugh et al., incorporated by reference herein) which describes Cat 5 modular plugs including a management bar or load bar for receiving the conductors in separate conductor-receiving channels. Inter-conductor capacitance in the plugs is reduced by offsetting adjacent conductors, i.e., vertically spacing adjacent conductors from one another, such that the conductor-receiving channels, and thus the conductors, ate arranged in two planar arrays spaced one above the other. The offset conductors help to lower the plug's internal capacitance.
When certain wire types are used with current modular plug designs, inconsistencies in plug electrical performance have been found when there is a lack of control in the manner in which twisted pairs of wire conductors are loaded into the management or load bar of the plug. The amount of twists and pitch of the twisted pairs are critical elements to the consistency of the electrical performance between plugs of the same design. Wire pairs which become straightened or become intermingled with other wire pairs without a controlled configuration suffer from increased crosstalk. The current process of manually loading the wires into a load bar provides insufficient control over the amount of twists or the organization of the wires making the transition from the multi-conductor cable to the load bar.
The prior art load bar illustrated in
FIG. 1
herein, includes first (or rearward), second (or intermediate) and third (or forward) longitudinally adjoining portions, the third portion being situated below the contact-receiving slots and each portion having a different transverse cross sectional form, although the load bar housing is a unitary member. At a top level two channels are formed from a longitudinal indentation or trough on an upper surface of the rearward portion, a shaped cavity or bore in the intermediate portion and a longitudinal indentation or trough on an upper surface of the third portion. A groove is provided in the first and second portions to receive a conductive strip and hold the conductive strip between the channels in the first level and thereby correct an impedance problem arising from the horizontal separation of the conductors received in the channels in this level. At a bottom level two channels are formed from a respective longitudinal indentation on a lower surface of the first portion, a shaped cavity in the second portion and a respective indentation on an upper surface of the third portion. The conductive strips may be strips of metallic material such as copper, strips of conductive plastic, strips of insert molded plastic surrounding a metal strip or an electroplated strip of plastic, i.e., plastic overlaid with metal.
This prior art load bar is a two-level 8-position component, wherein each of the channels for conductors
3
and
6
of pair #
3
are defined at a first or upper level by a longitudinal indentation or trough extending on an upper surface of a first portion and extending partially into the second portion, a shaped cavity or bore extending through the remainder of the second portion and an indentation or trough extending through the remainder of the second portion and an indentation or trough extending on the upper surface of the third portion. Similar conductive strip retaining means are provided for retaining a conductive strip between the two channels in the upper level. Each of two additional channels for receiving conductors
4
and
5
of conductor pair #
1
are defined at a second or bottom level by a shaped cavity or bore extending through the first and second housing portions and an aligned indentation or trough extending on the upper surface of the third portion. These channels are preferably arranged between the channels in the first level in a transverse direction of the housing. Further, two additional pairs of channels for the conductors of pairs #
2
and #
4
are situated in the second or bottom level. These channels are also formed by shaped cavities or bores extending through the first and second housing portions and aligned indentations or troughs extending on the upper surface of the third portion.
A terminal blade for the above-described modular plug comprises a flat conductive member having a first portion having an upper edge surface adapted to contact a contact of a mating electrical connector, a second portion adjoining the first portion and having a narrow length than the first portion and a third portion adjoining the second portion and having insulation-piercing tines. A notch is defined in the upper surface to partition the upper surface into two sections, each defining a side of the notch.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved modular plugs and modular plug-cable assemblies including the same.
It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved modular plugs and modular plug-cable assemblies including such new modular plugs in compliance with Category 6 standards.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new device, called a wire aligner herein, for use with a load bar in a modular plug-cable assembly which will control the amount of twist of the wires pairs

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Modular plug wire aligner does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Modular plug wire aligner, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Modular plug wire aligner will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3137488