Abstract:
A patch cord connector for electrically and mechanically connecting a plurality of wires from a cable into a patch panel. The connector includes a housing having a cable entry aperture, a load bar retainable in the housing for arraying termination points of the plurality of wires into a predetermined configuration, and a printed circuit board having a first set of terminals for engaging the arrayed termination points of the plurality of wires and a second set of terminals for engaging the patch panel. The first and second sets of terminals are electrically connected by the printed circuit board. The housing includes a retention mechanism for retaining the cable and providing strain relief relative to the cable entry aperture and/or includes complementary support structure between the housing and the terminal to provide strain relief to the printed circuit board.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Patch cord connectors may be used to connect patch panels or other organizational devices in a particular network to specific inputs, outputs, or other such electrical apparatus. A particular example of application would be to use a patch cord having an appropriate connector at each end thereof to connect a pair of patch panels disposed on one or more cable management racks, as part of a sophisticated computer network for a business. 
     Existing connectors for such cables are prone to failure when they are being engaged or removed from particular applications due to stresses and strains that are applied to the connector in these processes. Network maintenance often requires rearrangement of particular electrical connections, and, as such, often requires multiple connector removals and engagements to obtain a newly desired network configuration. Those making the changes do not always grip the connectors properly for removal or application, either due to lack of time, lack of access, or for some other reason. Sometimes the network operators or maintenance persons will pull on a cable to disengage a connector from a patch panel for example. Sometimes such persons might remove or apply the connector from a direction not substantially perpendicular to the patch panel or other attached device. In any of the above cases, patch cord connectors are often subjected to stresses and strains that can have undesirable affects on the integrity and functionality of the electrical connections and electrical apparatus therein. 
     Pulling on a cord, rather than on the associated connector body, for example, can cause the wires housed within the cord or cable to detach from electrical components, such as a printed circuit board, in the connector body. Connector application or removal that is not substantially perpendicular to the device may result in stresses and strains being applied directly or indirectly to components internal to the connector body, such as the printed circuit board. Such stresses and strains may cause such internal components to fail. Thus, there is a need for a patch cord-type connector having resistance to failure despite frequent stresses and strains being placed on the connector body as the connector is applied or removed under real-world conditions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To address the above-described need, a novel strain-relief patch cord connector is described below. One embodiment of the invention is a patch cord connector for electrically and mechanically connecting a plurality of wires from a cable into a patch panel. The connector includes a connector housing having a cable entry aperture for the cable, a load bar retainable in the housing, the load bar for arraying termination points of the plurality of wires into a predetermined configuration, and a printed circuit board retainable in the housing, the printed circuit board having a first set of terminals for engaging the arrayed termination points of the plurality of wires and a second set of terminals for engaging the patch panel. The first and second sets of terminals are electrically connected by the printed circuit board. The housing includes a retention mechanism for retaining the cable and providing strain relief relative to the cable entry aperture. 
     Another embodiment of the invention is a patch cord connector for electrically and mechanically connecting a plurality of wires from a cable into a patch panel. The connector includes a connector housing having a cable entry aperture for the cable, a load bar retainable in the housing for arraying termination points of the plurality of wires to a predetermined configuration, and a printed circuit board retainable in the housing. The printed circuit board has a first set of terminals for engaging the arrayed termination points of the plurality of wires and a second set of terminals for engaging the patch panel. The first and second sets of terminals are electrically connected by the printed circuit board. The second set of terminals is engageable with the housing for providing strain relief to the printed circuit board. 
     Yet another embodiment of the invention is a terminal for a patch cord connector, the terminal for electrically and mechanically connecting with a printed circuit board at one end thereof and a patch panel at a second end thereof. The terminal includes an elongated conductive portion, a first contact portion for insertion into and electrical communication with the printed circuit board, an alignment post for insertion into the printed circuit board to prevent rotation of the terminal with respect thereto, and a second contact portion for insertion into an electrical communication with the patch panel. The elongated conductive portion includes a transverse notch therein disposed between the first and second contact portions. The notch accommodates complimentary structure from the connector housing to support the terminal within the housing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of a contact/printed circuit board arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a pair of perspective views of a base portion of the connector in accordance with an embodiment of the invention wherein one of the views shows the contact/printed circuit board assembly of FIG. 2 appropriately engaged with base portion; 
     FIG. 4 shows top, side elevational, and perspective views of a load bar in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 5 shows a pair of perspective views of a cap portion of a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the invention wherein one of the perspective views shows the load bar of FIG. 4 appropriately engaged therewith; 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Applicants claim, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), the benefit of priority of the filing date of Aug. 10, 1999, of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/148,039, filed on the aforementioned date, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an improved, inexpensive, 110-style patch cord connector with improved crosstalk performance, improved cable strain relief, and improved printed circuit board strain relief. 
     FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of the inventive patch cord connector. In particular, the connector  10  includes a housing having a base  12  and a cap  14  for mutually interengaging and protectably retaining interior components of the connector. The interior components include a printed circuit board/terminal assembly  16  and a load bar assembly  18 , both sandwiched between the cap and base. 
     FIG. 2 shows an electrically communicative printed circuit board/terminal assembly  16  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The assembly includes a printed circuit board (PCB)  20 , four staggered pairs of insulation displacement contacts (IDC&#39;s)  24 , and four staggered pairs of plug interface contacts (PlC&#39;s)  34  and  35 . The PCB is manufactured and formed in a known manner in which conductive traces are placed on a bottom side in a desired configuration to reduce instability and to enhance connector performance. The IDC&#39;s are aligned in a staggered configuration along at least two parallel rows at the proximal end  19  of the PCB  20 . The IDC&#39;s are of conventional form and are pressed into and secured within an IDC aperture  22  of the PCB  20  with a compliant pin  26  design while the IDC legs  28  extend upwardly from the compliant pin  26 . 
     In correspondence to the staggered configuration of the IDC&#39;s are two sets of novel PIC&#39;s, one having a high contact configuration  34 , and the other having a low contact configuration  35 . These high and low PIC&#39;s have elongated bodies  36  and are sequentially alternated along a distal edge  21  of the PCB  20  opposite that of the IDC&#39;s  24 . Such configuration enables superior connector performance in high speed data transmission environments. All the PlC&#39;s are secured to the PCB with a compliant pin  38  design and an additional alignment post  40  disposed adjacent the compliant pin to prevent the contacts  34  and  35  from rotating after being pressed into the PCB. Thus, both the PIC&#39;s and IDC&#39;s are inserted into the PCB from the same direction and are both primarily secured therein with a compliant pin design. Preferably, the compliant pin  38  of the PIC is disposed adjacent a proximal end of each PIC with the alignment post  40  disposed further from the proximal end in the direction of the distal end  42 . Located adjacent the alignment posts  40  of the PIC&#39;s, but further away from the proximal ends and closer to the distal ends are upper load transfer notches  44  and lower load transfer notch  46 . After all of the PIC&#39;s have been inserted into the PCB, the load transfer notches are aligned such that they form troughs on the upper and lower surfaces which may interface with other elements of the patch cord connector to transfer load forces and to prevent terminal movement. While the figures specifically depict an assembly having four pairs of staggered IDC&#39;s and PIC&#39;s, the invention is not limited to this particular configuration. 
     FIG. 3 shows an isolated connector base  12  as well as the connector base with the PCB/terminal assembly  16  fitted therein. The base holds the PCB/terminal assembly prior to termination and provides features for mating with a connector block/patch cord. After the PCB/terminal assembly has been assembled, it may be secured in the medial portion of the base and secured thereto by a pair of alignment and retention latches  54 , alignment notches  58 , support ribs  60 , and PCB assembly latch  62 . One of the latches  54  is disposed adjacent the IDC&#39;s and the other is disposed adjacent the PIC&#39;s. Alignment block apertures  56  are disposed to receive mating structure from the cap  14 . A load transfer rib  64  engages the trough formed by the lower notches  46  of the PIC&#39;s. A strain relief hump  66  is provided to compress the cable upon assembly. This prevents removal of the cable from the patch cord connector  10  and prevents the potential tear-away failure of the cable and wire conductors which may result thereby. While the strain relief hump  66  is disposed at the proximal end  48  of the base  12 , the connector block mating features are disposed at a distal end  50  thereof. These mating block features enable the patch cord to securely interface with a connector block using features similar to the 110-style system. Namely, the patch cord connector base  12  uses apertures  52  which accept spherical projections from the connector block and have latches which secure the patch cord connector thereto. 
     FIG. 4 shows a load bar assembly  18  for organizing and positioning the individual conductors. The wire twists  70  from the cable  68  may be pulled close to the point of IDC termination in order to substantially reduce crosstalk and improve connector performance. In particular, each wire is inserted into appropriate wire holes according to color identification  74  located on the bottom face of the load bar  69 . Once the wires  70  are inserted, their twists can be pulled close to the point of IDC termination, an important feature for category  6  performance. Once organized, the wires can then be bent downward, opposite the color identification, thereby securing the twist position. Trimming is performed on a trimming surface  72  of the load bar  69 , and the cut wires point toward the top surface of the cap, away from the PCB. The load bar  69  includes dielectric wire separation ribs  76  between each wire to eliminate the possibility of short circuits caused by the inadvertent touching of exposed wires. After organizing and trimming the wires, the load bar is positioned prior to termination. By matching up the color identifications on the load bar and the cap, positioning is completed by pressing the pieces together. Alignment latches  78  facilitate insertion of the load bar assembly  18  into the cap  14 . 
     FIG. 5 shows the preferably integrally molded connector cap  14  for providing cable retention, facilitating termination, polarizing the connector block mating, and, in conjunction with the connector base  12 , securing all the components of the connector  10  together. FIG. 5 shows the cap  14  in isolation, as well as with the load bar assembly  18  of FIG. 4 pressed and snap-fitted into the cap. The cable  68 , which encloses multiple wire conductors  70 , is secured into a slot or aperture  93  formed in a cable retention wall  92  near the proximal end  80  of the cap. Disposed between the cable retention wall and the proximal end of the cap are a plurality of alignment latches  90  which interface with corresponding latch structure  54  on the base  12  to integrally secure the patch cord connector housing. Disposed adjacent the distal end  82  of the cap are a plurality of alignment posts or bosses  86  which interface with alignment block apertures  56  disposed on the base  12  to ensure proper orientation and alignment. Alignment ribs  88  also ensure proper positioning of the load bar assembly  18  in the cap  14 . The distal end of the cap also includes polarizing features  96  for connector block mating, and the connector blocks mate with patch cords using features that are similar to the 110-system. In particular, the patch cord connector cap has apertures  84  which accept spherical projections on the connector block. The cable retention wall  92  is located directly behind the load bar  69  and incorporates a pinch point or interference fit at the slot or aperture  93  that prevents the cable or cable jacket from falling out of position prior to termination. Importantly, load transfer rib  94  transfers strain from the interior components to the housing, thereby reducing failure situations under loaded conditions. 
     Returning to FIG.  1  and its exploded view of the patch cord connector, the relative position and orientation of the various components of the patch cord connector  10  can be seen. The cap  14  and base  12  form an exterior housing for the PCB/terminal assembly  16  and load bar assembly  18 , and the housing includes a cable entry  67  for permitting the cable  68  to pass into the housing. In particular, once the IDC&#39;s and PIC&#39;s are secured to the PCB by use of the compliant pins thereon, the PCB/terminal assembly  16  may be snap-locked into the base  12 . Upon completing this action, the lower load transfer notches  46  receive a load rib  64 , which is an integrally formed part of the base  12  in the trough which they have formed. This important feature of the present invention enables the base and cap, when assembled into a housing, to bear the insertion and retraction forces exerted upon the PlC&#39;s when inserted and removed from the connector block. After the load bar assembly  18  has been snapped into the cap  14 , final assembly may be initiated. The alignment latches  90  and alignment posts  86  of the cap are positioned over the respective and corresponding elements on the base  12  and are then snap-locked together. Upon doing so, the cap load transfer rib  64 , which is integrally formed with the cap  14 , engages the upper load bearing notches  44  on the plurality of PIC&#39;s and becomes disposed in the troughs which they have formed. 
     The base and cap load ribs are preferably sized to be accepted in the load transfer notches or trough formed by the plurality thereof in a slight interference manner. As a result, one can see that the compliant pin  38  and alignment post  40  disposed at the proximal end of the PIC&#39;s are protected from bearing the loads of insertion and removal. The load rib/trough combination transfers the load to the base/cap housing assembly such that the body of the patch cord connector bears all of the insertion and removal loads. As a consequence, durability and reliability of the connector are substantially increased. 
     While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention and its broader aspects. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. The invention is described in the following claims.