Abstract:
An insulation displacement connector (IDC) having a body and a cap pivotably connected thereto. A wire channel is defined through the pivotable cap and has an insertion opening and an exit opening that provide separate ingress and egress openings for the wire channel. An insulated wire may be inserted into the wire channel via the insertion opening, and may exit the wire channel via the exit opening. Similarly, any insulation separated from the wire during use of the IDC is not trapped in the wire channel, but may easily be cleared therefrom via either the insertion or exit opening.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention is directed to an insulation displacement connector with a wire ejection feature.  
           [0003]    2. Background of the Invention  
           [0004]    An insulation displacement connector (IDC) typically has a wire channel for receiving an insulated wire. The wire channel typically has an insertion opening or port at one end, and is closed at the other end. A wire may thus be inserted in the opening, but will not extend or protrude out of the wire channel. Once the wire is inserted in the wire channel, a movable part of the IDC may be caused to move to bring the wire in contact with a terminal that cuts through the insulation of the wire and establishes a connection to the conductor of the wire. The insulation from the wire may break off or be separated from the conductor, and may become lodged in the wire channel. Before a new wire may be inserted in the wire channel, the loose insulation must be removed. One solution to that problem is to insert a thin probe into the wire channel to extract the loose insulation. However, the small size of the wire channel makes that task difficult because the probe cannot be easily maneuvered within the wire channel. It is also not practical to shake the IDC because it is usually mounted to or provided as part of some other structure.  
           [0005]    It is thus desirable to provide an insulation displacement connector that overcomes the above-described shortcomings of the prior art.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention is directed to an insulation displacement connector (IDC) having a body and a cap pivotably connected thereto. A wire channel is defined through the pivotable cap and has an insertion opening and an exit opening that provide separate ingress and egress openings for the wire channel. An insulated wire may be inserted into the wire channel via the insertion opening, and may exit the wire channel via the exit opening. Similarly, any insulation separated from the wire during use of the IDC is not trapped in the wire channel, but may easily be cleared therefrom via either the insertion or exit opening.  
           [0007]    When a wire is placed in the wire channel, the pivotable cap may be caused to pivot into releasable locking engagement with the body. A terminal provided as part of the IDC cuts through the insulation and makes physical contact with the conductor of the wire. Any insulation that may separate from the wire may be removed from the wire channel via either of the insertion opening or exit opening.  
           [0008]    The present invention also facilitates “daisy-chaining” a plurality of connectors together. A single wire may be routed through the wire channel of a first IDC, and may exit via the exit opening of that wire channel and pass to a wire channel of a second IDC. In that manner, a plurality of IDCs may be connected together.  
           [0009]    The IDC of the present invention may be provided as part of customer bridge, as part of an interconnection patch panel or terminal block, or in other devices, equipment, and structures, as is generally known in the art. It will be obvious to persons skilled in the art and from the disclosure provided herein that the present invention is not limited or otherwise defined by the application for which the IDC is used. Any application for which an IDC is suited may utilize the IDC of the present invention and benefit from its advantages.  
           [0010]    Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings, which are not to scale, are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    In the drawing figures, which are not to scale, and which are merely illustrative, and wherein like reference numerals depict like elements throughout the several views:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view of an insulation displacement connector constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and provided in a customer bridge;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a terminal block having a plurality of insulation displacement connectors constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a top view of the terminal block of FIG. 2;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is an end view of the terminal block of FIG. 2; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a side view of two insulation displacement connectors constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and connected together. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]    Referring now to the drawings in detail, the various embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed. With reference first to FIG. 1. an insulation displacement connector (IDC) constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is there depicted and is generally designated by reference numeral  10 . The IDC  10  may be fixedly or removably held in place in a customer bridge  100 , or other device or structure, as a routine matter of design choice. The customer bridge  100  includes a body  102  having a first connector  50  for receiving a telephone line wire pair  80  (e.g., typically a tip-ring pair) that is coupled to a central office, PBX or other communication device or system (not shown). In an exemplary embodiment, first connector  50  is a 645 type plug connector, or other art-recognized connector.  
         [0018]    A second connector  60  is also provided as part of the customer bridge  100 . In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, second connector  60  is selectively removable from the customer bridge  100 , and includes a plurality of terminals  68  (one being shown in FIG. 1), each of which contacts a corresponding terminal (not shown) in first connector  50 . Electrical connection may thus be established between telephone line wire pair  80  and a multi-conductor cable  62  connected to second connector  60 . Two conductors  64 ,  66  provided as part of cable  62  are routed through the body  102  of customer bridge  100 , and each contactingly engage a separate terminal  30 ,  32  of the IDC  10 . Electrical connection from the telephone wire pair  80  to the terminals  30 ,  32  of the IDC  10  may thus be established. An electronic device (e.g., data communication, voice communication, etc.) may be connected to the IDC  10  and, via the various interconnections provided by the customer bridge  100 , to a central office, PBX or other communication device or system.  
         [0019]    The IDC  10  of the present invention will now be discussed in detail and with continued reference to FIG. 1. The IDC  10  comprises a body  40  and a cap  20  pivotably connected thereto via a living hinge  44 . Two terminals  30 ,  32  extend through the body  40  and are held securely therein. Each conductor  30 ,  32  is positioned in the body  40  with respect to the cap  20  so that a transverse channel  34 ,  36  defined in the cap  20 , passes freely over and about each terminal  30 ,  32  when the cap  20  is pivotably moved. The terminals  30 ,  32  include a cutting feature that cuts through the insulation of a wire and a connecting feature that establishes a physical connection between the terminal and the conductor of the wire. Such cutting and connecting features are generally known in the art and need not be described in detail herein.  
         [0020]    Two wire channels  22  are defined through the cap  20 , each providing a path through which a wire may be passed. The following discussion is directed to one wire channel  22  of the inventive IDC  10 , it being obvious to persons skilled in the art and from the disclosure provided herein that such discussion applies equally to both wire channels  22 , unless expressly stated to the contrary. The wire channel  22  has two substantially straight sections  23 ,  27  connected by a transition section  25 . The two substantially straight sections  23 ,  27  are preferably disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to each other. In a preferred embodiment, straight section  23  is longer than straight section  27 . An insertion opening  24  having a tapered section  21  is defined at an end of the wire channel  22  and preferably at an end of straight section  23 . As can be seen in FIG. 4, insertion opening  24  may have a generally circular shape, although other shapes may also provided, as a routine matter of design choice. An exit opening  26  is defined at an end of the wire channel  22  opposite of the insertion opening  24 , and preferably at an end of straight section  27 . As can be seen in FIG. 3, exit opening  26  preferably has a non-circular shape and has a generally expanding diameter when moving from the transition section  25  toward the exit opening  26  (see, e.g., FIG. 1).  
         [0021]    Two channels  34 ,  36  are defined through the cap  20  in a direction generally transverse to and intercepting the two wire channels  22 . The channels  34 ,  36  are sized and shaped so that they pass freely over and around a terminal  30 ,  32  provided in the base  40  (preferably, fixedly provided in the base  40 ) when the cap  20  is caused to pivot into and out of engagement with the body  40 , as discussed in more detail below. With a wire placed in the wire channel  22 , and with the cap  20  positioned as shown in FIG. 1, the cutting and connecting feature of the terminal  30 ,  32  will cut through the insulation of the wire and establish a physical contact with the conductor of the wire when the cap  20  is moved from the position of FIG. 1 to the position shown in the bottom of FIG. 5. The terminal  30 ,  32  thus displaces the insulation of the wire without the need for other tools (e.g., splice tools, wire cutters, etc.), and thereafter physically contacts the conductor.  
         [0022]    Although FIG. 1 depicts a customer bridge  100  having only one IDC  10 , more IDCs  10  constructed in accordance with the present invention may also be provided as part of the customer bridge  100 , as a routine matter of design choice.  
         [0023]    An exemplary operation of the inventive IDC  10  will now be discussed with continued reference to FIG. 1 and with additional reference to FIG. 5. IDC  10  is typically used to provide a connection between a first electronic device or system (not shown) and second electronic device or system via the telephone wire pair  80 . The terms electronic device and electronic system are used herein in an exemplary fashion and are intended to refer generally to any type of electronic hardware that may be connectable to any other type (or to the same type) of electronic hardware via virtually any interconnection method and using virtually any interconnection equipment and hardware. A wire  70  (see, e.g., FIG. 5) may be inserted in the IDC  10  via the insertion opening  22 . As the wire  70  is inserted, the tapered section  21  directs the wire  70  into the wire channel  22  and into straight section  23 . If the wire  70  is intended to connect to a single IDC  10 , as depicted in FIG. 1, the wire  70  is not caused to exit the wire channel  22 , but preferably inserted until a leading end of the wire encounters the transition section  25 . Once the wire  70  is positioned in the wire channel  22 , the cap  20  may be caused to pivot from the position depicted in top of FIG. 5 to the position depicted in the bottom of FIG. 5. With the cap  20  in that position (e.g., the bottom of FIG. 5), terminal  30  is in physical contact with the conductor of the wire  70 . While a single wire  70  has previously been discussed, the inventive IDC  10  has two wire channels  22  and can thus simultaneously accommodate two wires, with the forgoing description applying equally to both wires.  
         [0024]    In FIG. 5, the cap  20  of the IDC  10  depicted in the top of the figure is positioned out of engagement with the base  40 , or in a generally open position. In that position, the terminals  30 ,  32  do not intersect the wire channel  22  (see, e.g., FIG. 1), and an insulated wire  70  may be freely inserted into the wire channel  22 . The cap  20  may be selectively pivotable between the positions depicted in the top and bottom of FIG. 5 (i.e., between an open and a closed position, respectively). To secure the cap  20  in either of the open or closed position, a latch  28  on the cap  20  has a latch surface  46  that engages a first latch surface  45  on the base  40  when the cap  20  is in the open position (top of FIG. 5), and that engages a second latch surface  42  on the base  40  when the cap  20  is in the closed position (bottom of FIG. 5). The latch  28  is selectively deflectable so that the latch surface  46  may be disengaged from the second latch surface  42 , and the cap  20  selectively pivoted from the closed position to the open position.  
         [0025]    In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, a plurality of IDCs  10  constructed in accordance with the present invention may be connected together (i.e., daisy-chained). For that embodiment, a wire  70  inserted into the wire channel  22  of a first IDC  10  passes through that wire channel  22  and onto a second IDC  10 ′ and into the wire channel  22  of that IDC  10 ′. The exit opening  26  of the wire channel  22  enables such connections, which are not available with prior art IDCs. It will be obvious to persons skilled in that art that more than two IDCs  10  may be daisy-chained, and that FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment of one application of the IDC  10  of the present invention.  
         [0026]    Referring next to FIGS.  2 - 4 , a plurality of IDCs  10  constructed in accordance with the present invention are depicted inserted in a terminal block  200 . The terminal block  200  provides the structure for arranging and holding a plurality of IDCs  10  so that a plurality of connections may be made at a convenient location in the Central Office, communications equipment closet, or wherever the terminal block  200  is installed. The terminal block  200  includes a base  202  having a plurality of apertures defined therethrough (not shown) that are sized and shaped to permit a terminal  30 ,  32  of an IDC  10  to freely pass therethrough. With the IDC  10  in place in the terminal block  200 , as depicted in FIG. 2, for example, a wire may be connected to each terminal  30 ,  32 , similar to the connection to those terminals described in connection with FIG. 1. The other features and advantages provided by the inventive IDC  10 , as described above in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, are also provided in the IDCs  10  provided in the terminal block of FIGS.  2 - 4 , and thus need not be described in detail again.  
         [0027]    While the various embodiments of the present invention have been described herein referring to an insertion opening and an exit opening of the wire channel, such terms are not intended to limit or otherwise define the scope or spirit of the present invention. A wire may be inserted into either end of the wire channel, as a routine matter of design choice. In addition, the material from which the inventive IDC  10  is constructed is a routine matter of design choice, as is the gauge of the wire that may be used in connection with the IDC  10 . Consequently, the dimensions of the wire channel  22 , insertion opening  24 , transition part  25 , and exit opening  26 , are all matters of design choice, and do not limit the scope and spirit of the present invention.  
         [0028]    Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.