Electrical connectors – With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in... – Having push-pull contacts spaced along only one planar side...
Patent
1997-07-31
1999-04-13
Nguyen, Khiem
Electrical connectors
With coupling movement-actuating means or retaining means in...
Having push-pull contacts spaced along only one planar side...
H01R 450
Patent
active
058937714
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a modular telephone plug for connection to a standard RJ-type jack.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically telephone cords are used to connect a telephone to either a wall terminal or to connect the telephone to its handset. These telephone cords may run inside or outdoors to establish necessary telephone communication. The actual telephone cords generally comprise a core having a plurality of tinsel ribbons wrapped helically thereabout. The tinsel conductors are covered with an insulative covering and then a plurality of the individual insulated conductors are typically jacketed with a plasticized polyvinyl chloride composition.
Usually, each end of the cord arrangement is terminated with a miniature modular plug to facilitate attachment to the jacks located in various telephone instruments and wall outlets. One end of the modular plug is adapted to receive a cord while the other end of the modular plug is adapted to be inserted into a jack to establish electrical connection between the core conductors within the plug and the contact elements in the form of wires in the jack. A typical modular plug can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,699,498 and 4,148,539.
As can be seen in FIGS. 1-3 of the attached drawings, a standard modular plug 10 includes a plastic housing 12. A first end 14 of the housing 12 has conductor receiving troughs 16 which communicate with a cord receiving opening 18 at the second end 20 of the plug 10. The first end 14 of the plug 10 includes receiving walls 22 which extend between and aid in defining the troughs 16.
As can be best seen in FIG. 3, the housing 12 incorporates a depressible tab 24 for locking the plug 10 within a jack 26. The tab 24 is formed with two, laterally spaced, detent members 28. These detent members 28 are adapted to engage the modular jack 26 thus locking the plug 10 in place. This prior art plug 10 and jack 26 connecting arrangement is satisfactory for intermittent household use. However, there presently exists a need to have testing plugs which will be used by a workman to test several jacks in a single given day. Repeatedly using a prior art plug constructed in the manner described above will inevitably lead to fatigue failure problems. For example, the tab 24 will tend to break off at its neck portion 30 if the plug 10 is used often.
Furthermore, as seen in FIG. 3, only a portion 32 of the plug 10 extends outward of the jack 26 when the plug is engaged. This presents grasping problems to workmen who often need to wear gloves which makes it difficult to grasp and pull a plug out of a jack if there is only a small portion of the plug extending beyond the jack. It is also often difficult to readily deflect the tab 24 which has only a small portion 34 extending beyond the jack 26.
Thus, the prior art technology has failed to provide a modular plug which can fit into a standard jack and yet is large enough to be easily held and removed by a worker who has gloved hands and which incorporates a reliable locking tab or clip that will not break even after repeated use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides for a durable modular telephone plug particularly adapted for use by workers who are testing telephone equipment or making necessary repairs to telephone equipment. The modular telephone plug is enlarged relative to a standard RJ-type modular plug to aid in grasping the same and incorporates a mechanically reliable locking arrangement.
More specifically, the invention is directed to a modular telephone plug having an elongated, preferably unitarily molded, dielectric housing with first and second longitudinally spaced ends. The first end is adapted to fit into a standard modular telephone jack, such as normally would be found in standard telephone equipment. The second end of the housing is spaced from the first end to enlarge a gripping zone associated with the modular plug. In addition, the second end is formed with an enlarged head portion that protrudes from the housing
REFERENCES:
patent: 3192499 (1965-06-01), West
patent: 3369214 (1968-02-01), Krumreich et al.
patent: 3617982 (1971-11-01), Hardesty
patent: 3639950 (1972-02-01), Lutz et al.
patent: 3699498 (1972-10-01), Hardesty et al.
patent: 3721939 (1973-03-01), Paugh
patent: 3789344 (1974-01-01), Brorein et al.
patent: 3874763 (1975-04-01), Hoover
patent: 4002392 (1977-01-01), Hardesty
patent: 4094571 (1978-06-01), Benjamin
patent: 4148539 (1979-04-01), Hardesty
patent: 4174879 (1979-11-01), Suverison
patent: 4245879 (1981-01-01), Buck
patent: 4373766 (1983-02-01), Johnston
patent: 4548455 (1985-10-01), Ezure
patent: 4607905 (1986-08-01), Vaden
patent: 4623210 (1986-11-01), Tsukakoshi
patent: 4626057 (1986-12-01), Knickerbocker
patent: 4647726 (1987-03-01), Blum
patent: 4682837 (1987-07-01), Thomas et al.
patent: 4871325 (1989-10-01), Maejima et al.
patent: 4950176 (1990-08-01), Cocco et al.
patent: 4979910 (1990-12-01), Revil et al.
patent: 5169329 (1992-12-01), Taguchi
patent: 5178552 (1993-01-01), Jinno et al.
patent: 5186649 (1993-02-01), Fortner et al.
patent: 5192225 (1993-03-01), Suzuki
patent: 5219300 (1993-06-01), Yagi et al.
patent: 5246380 (1993-09-01), Kodama
patent: 5254014 (1993-10-01), Yagi et al.
patent: 5292258 (1994-03-01), Sakurai
patent: 5295855 (1994-03-01), Walz
patent: 5308260 (1994-05-01), Johnston et al.
patent: 5308261 (1994-05-01), Kightlinger
patent: 5328390 (1994-07-01), Johnston et al.
patent: 5330366 (1994-07-01), Tsuji et al.
patent: 5348493 (1994-09-01), Power
patent: 5354212 (1994-10-01), Bartle et al.
patent: 5356304 (1994-10-01), Colleran
patent: 5382176 (1995-01-01), Norden
patent: 5382182 (1995-01-01), Shen et al.
patent: 5385484 (1995-01-01), Bartle et al.
patent: 5387135 (1995-02-01), Shen et al.
patent: 5391090 (1995-02-01), Power
patent: 5395268 (1995-03-01), Okada
patent: 5399107 (1995-03-01), Gentry et al.
patent: 5562475 (1996-10-01), Kern, Jr. et al.
Bressner Gorm
Kern, Jr. Joseph F.
Wu Jung-ming
Aines Manufacturing Corp.
Diederiks, Jr. Everett G.
Nguyen Khiem
LandOfFree
Modular telephone plug 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 telephone plug, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Modular telephone plug will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-222337