Abstract:
A method for manufacturing a network jack is provided. The method includes steps of: a) providing a circuit board having a first side, plural first contacting areas along the first side, plural second contacting areas and an upper and a lower surfaces; (b) forming first bendable contacts on the plural first contacting areas by using a first riveting process; (c) forming second bendable contacts on the plural second contacting areas by using a second riveting process; and (d) bending each of the second bendable contacts by assembling an acting portion on the circuit board to make the second bendable contacts have at least two arranged directions, wherein the first bendable contacts and the second bendable contacts contact with an external plug and are fixed to the circuit board of the network jack by the first and the second riveting processes.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a CIP application of the parent application “Network Jack And Manufacturing Method Therefor” bearing on the Ser. No. 11/724,356 and filed on Mar. 14, 2007 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,498,529. The present invention relates to the network jack and the manufacturing method therefor, and more particular to that the contacts of the network jack are fixed to the circuit board of the network jack by a riveting process and the manufacturing method therefor. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In general, a network jack is applied to connect the computer to the internet. The conventional network jack has eight wire pins to electrically connect with the eight wires of a jumper. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which shows a diagram of the circuit board disclosed in FIG. 13 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,466 B1. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the circuit board  10  has four pairs of contacts  13 ,  14 ,  15 , and  16  mounted thereon. The pair of contact  13  has a first contact  131  and a second contact  132 , the pair of contact  14  has a third contact  141  and a fourth contact  142 , the pair of contact  15  has a fifth contact  151  and a sixth contact  152 , and the pair of contact  16  has a seventh contact  161  and an eighth contact  162 . The first contact  131 , the second contact  132 , the third contact  141 , the fourth contact  142 , the fifth contact  151  and the sixth contact  152  are arranged on the first, second third, fourth, fifth and sixth positions  1311 ,  1321 ,  1411 ,  1421 ,  1511  and  1521 , which are on the same line L 1  along the short-side  102  and perpendicular to the long-side  101 , and the seventh contact  161  and the eighth contact  162  are arranged on the seventh and eighth positions  1616  and  1621 , which are arranged on another line L 2 . It is to be noted that in order to simplify the similar illustrations for contacts  131 ,  132 ,  141 ,  142 ,  151 ,  152 ,  161  and  162 , only the illustration for the seventh contact  161  is described hereinafter. The seventh contact  161  has a fasten end  1611  and a free end  1612 . 
     The network jack disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,466 and other network jacks have some disadvantages. For example, the distance between the two contacts of the same pair of contacts is too small, so that the network jack could not afford the operating voltage higher than 800 volts. In addition, it is necessary to provide a push foot  1613  on the fasten end  1611  of the seventh contact  161  to mount the seventh contact  161 . Furthermore, the contacts in U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,466 are rectangular so that their flexibilities are not so good. Moreover, the conventional contacts are made of beryllium copper, which is a high-cost material. Additionally, the conventional contacts are formed by a punch and then mounted into the circuit board. Taking the seventh contact  161  as an example, after the seventh contact  161  is mounted onto the circuit board  10  with the push foot  1613 , the seventh contact  161  would be bent by a machine so as to form the three bending portions  1614 ,  1615  and  1616 . As above, the conventional manufacturing process of the network jack is complex. In addition, the contacts of some conventional network jacks are arranged randomly, such as the contacts shown in FIG. 16 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,466, so that it is difficult to assemble the relevant network jacks. 
     As mentioned above, a network jack and the relevant manufacturing method are thus highly desired if they are able to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional network jack, such as the narrow operating voltage range, the high cost, the complex manufacturing process and the delicate assembling required. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a network jack is provided. The method includes the steps of: a) providing a circuit board having a first side, a plurality of first contacting areas along the first side, a plurality of second contacting areas and an upper and a lower surfaces, wherein the plurality of first contacting areas are located between the plurality of second contacting areas and the first side; b) upwardly configuring a plurality of first contacts into the plurality of first contacting areas from the lower surface toward the upper surface to protrude the first contacts from the upper surface; and c) upwardly configuring a plurality of second contacts into the plurality of second contacting areas from the lower surface to the upper surface to protrude the second contacts from the upper surface. 
     Preferably, the first side and each of the plurality of second contacting areas have a respective distance therebetween and the respective distances different from one another. 
     Preferably, the method further includes a step d) of bending the second contacts to make each of which have at least one bend. 
     Preferably, the second contacts are bent toward respective directions being different from one another. 
     Preferably, the method further includes a step e) of mounting an assembly on the circuit board for bending the second contacts to make each of which have at least a specific direction. 
     Preferably, the method further includes a step f) of bending the first contacts. 
     Preferably, the steps b) and c) are performed by a riveting process. 
     Preferably, the first and the second contacts contact with an external plug. 
     In accordance with a further respect of the present application, a network jack is provided. The network jack includes a circuit board having an upper and a lower surfaces; and a plurality of contacts upwardly inserted into the circuit board from the upper surface toward the lower surface and protruding from the upper surface. 
     Preferably, the circuit board has at least one contacting area where the plurality of contacts are inserted thereto. 
     Preferably, the network jack further includes an acting portion mounted on the circuit board and bending at least one of the plurality of contacts. 
     Preferably, the plurality of contacts are cylindrical ones. 
     Preferably, the circuit board has a first side, a plurality of first areas along the first side and a plurality of second areas, the plurality of contacts have first and second contacts respectively inserted into the plurality of first and the plurality of second areas, the first side and each of the plurality of second areas have a respective distance therebetween and the respective distances are different from one another. 
     Preferably, each of the first and the second contacts has at least one bend, and the second contacts have respective directions being different from one another. 
     In accordance with a further respect of the present application, a method for configuring a plurality of contacts is provided. The method includes steps of: a) providing a circuit board having an upper and a lower surfaces; and b) upwardly inserting the plurality of contacts into the circuit board from the lower surface toward the upper surface to protrude the plurality of contacts from the upper surface. 
     Preferably, the method is used for manufacturing a network jack and further includes a step c) of bending the plurality of contacts by configuring a terminal assembly on the circuit board. 
     In accordance with a further respect of the present application, a method for configuring a plurality of contacts is provided. The method includes steps of: a) providing a circuit board having an upper and a lower surfaces; b) downward inserting the contact into the circuit board from the upper surface toward the lower surface to protrude a portion of the contact from the lower surface; and c) providing an upward force on the portion of contact for fixing the contact to the circuit board. 
     Preferably, the step c) is performed by a riveting process. 
     Preferably, the contact has an upper and a lower ends being opposite to each other, and the upward force is stressed on the lower end. 
     Preferably, the upward force is provided by a punch or a punching process. 
     The above contents and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed descriptions and accompanying drawings, in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a diagram of the circuit board in the prior art; 
         FIG. 2  shows a decomposition diagram of the network jack according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  shows the diagram of the printed circuit board shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4(A)  is the diagram showing the printed circuit board and the terminal base of the present invention, and  FIG. 4(B)  is the diagram showing side views of the circuit board and the terminal base respectively taken along the broken lines A-A′ and B-B′ as shown in  FIG. 4(A)  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5(A)  is the diagram showing the printed circuit board partially assembled with the terminal base of the present invention, and  FIG. 5(B)  is a diagram showing a sectional view of the circuit board partially assembled with the terminal base taken along the broken line C-C′ as shown in  FIG. 5(A)  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B)  are diagrams showing the pre-assembly and post-assembly of a plug portion, the terminal base and the circuit board according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7(A)  is a diagram showing the assembled network jack  20  and the internet plug  3 , and  FIG. 7(B)  is a diagram showing a sectional view of the assembling of the network jack and an internet plug taken along the broken line D-D′ as shown in  FIG. 7(A)  according to a preferred embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram showing the relevant mounting relationship among the sixth contact, the seventh contact and the eighth contact according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is the explosive diagram of the network jack according to an embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG. 10  is the appearance of the network jack according to the embodiment of the present application; 
         FIGS. 11 and 12  are the diagrams showing the assembling process of the circuit board and the terminal base according to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 13(A)  is a top view of the network jack shown in  FIG. 11  during the assembling process according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 13(B)  is a sectional drawing of the network jack along the G-G′ line shown in  FIG. 13(A) ; 
         FIG. 14(A)  is a top view of the network jack after a further assembling according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 14(B)  is a sectional drawing of the network jack along the G-G′ line shown in  FIG. 14(A) ; 
         FIG. 14(C)  is a sectional drawing of the network jack along the F-F′ line shown in  FIG. 14(A) ; 
         FIG. 15  is the diagram showing a network jack according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 16(A) to 16(D)  are the diagrams showing the process of the contacts of the network jack being fixed on the circuit board; and 
         FIGS. 17(A) to 17(D)  are the diagrams showing the process of the contacts of the network jack being fixed on the circuit board. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 2 and 3 .  FIG. 2  shows a decomposition diagram of the network jack according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 3  shows the diagram of the printed circuit board shown in  FIG. 2 . The network jack  20  includes the printed circuit board  21 , the first contact  221 , the second contact  222 , the third contact  231 , the fourth contact  232 , the fifth contact  241 , the sixth contact  242 , the seventh contact  251 , the eighth contact  252 , and the terminal base  26 , wherein the printed circuit board  21  has an upper surface  2112  and a lower surface  2113 . The terminal base  26  includes the contact frame  261 , the first protrusion  262 , the second protrusion  263  and the third protrusion  264 . The first and second contacts  221  and  222  form a first contact pair  22 , the third contact  231  and the fourth contact  232  form a second contact pair  23 , the fifth contact  241  and the sixth contact  242  form a third contact pair  24 , and the seventh contact  251  and the eighth contact  252  form the fourth contact pair  25 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the printed circuit board  21  has the first location point  211 , the second location point  212 , the third location point  213 , the fourth location point  214 , the fifth location point  215 , the sixth location point  216 , the seventh location point  217  and the eighth location point  218 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the first contact  221  is mounted on the first location point  211 , the second contact  222  is mounted on the second location point  212 , the third contact  231  is mounted on the third location point  213 , the fourth contact  232  is mounted on the fourth location point  214 , the fifth contact  241  is mounted on the fifth location point  215 , the sixth contact  242  is mounted on the sixth location point  216 , the seventh contact  251  is mounted on the seventh location point  217 , and the eight contact  252  is mounted on the eight location point  218 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 , it is to be noted that the distance between the two contacts respectively mounted on the location points  217  and  218  in the present application would be greater than that of the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,466. Accordingly, the network jack  20  of the present application could be operated with the relatively higher voltage, such as 1000 volts. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , during the manufacturing process of the network jack  20 , the eighth contact  252  would be provided with a predetermined bending portion  2521  after mounted on the eighth location points  217  and  218 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 4(A) ,  4 (B),  5 (A) and  5 (B).  FIG. 4(A)  is the diagram showing the printed circuit board  21  and the terminal base  26 .  FIG. 4(B)  is the diagram showing the side views of the printed circuit board  21  and the terminal base  26 , respectively taken along the broken lines A-A′ and B-B′ as shown in  FIG. 4(A) .  FIG. 5(A)  is the diagram showing the terminal base  26  partially combined with the printed circuit board  21 .  FIG. 5(B)  is the diagram showing a sectional view of the circuit board partially assembled with the terminal base, taken along the broken line C-C′ as shown in  FIG. 5(A) . As shown in  FIG. 4(B) , the contact frame  261  further has a frame bending portion  2612  and a tunnel  2613 . The eighth contact  252  would be bent by the frame bending portion  2612  and have another bending portion  2522  (please refer to  FIG. 5(B) ) after the printed circuit board  21  is assembled with the terminal base  26  and the eighth contact  252  passes through the tunnel  2613 . The assembling process of the printed circuit board  21  and the terminal base  26  could be found in  FIGS. 4(B) and 5(B) . As shown in  FIG. 5(B) , the eighth contact  252  would have two bending portions  2521  and  2522  after the terminal base  26  is assembled with the printed circuit board  21 . The eighth contact  252  is bent by the frame bending portion  2612  and passes through the tunnel  2613 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the contact frame  261  has plural contact openings  2611 , and the first, second, third, fourth contacts (not shown therein), the fifth and sixth contacts  241  and  242  pass through the plural contact openings  2611 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , which are diagrams showing the assembling of a plug portion  60 , the terminal base  26  and the printed circuit board  21 . As shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the plug portion  60  includes the frame buckle  601  detachably assembled with the frame connecting portion  2614 , the first connecting portion  602  to be detachably connected with the first protrusion  262 , the second connecting portion  603  to be detachably connected with the third protrusion  264 . The terminal base  26  has a channel  267  for containing the protrusion  604 . The plug portion  60  could be assembled with the terminal base  26  via the protrusion  604  moving along the channel  267 . During the assembling of the plug portion  60 , the terminal base  26  and the printed circuit board  21 , the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth contacts  221 ,  222 ,  231 ,  232 ,  241  and  242  would be bent by the plug portion  60  (please refer to  FIG. 6B ). Therefore, during the manufacturing process of the present network jack  20 , no specific bending machine is necessary to make the first to sixth contacts  221  to  242  bend. Accordingly, the relevant bending cost in the prior art could be saved in the present application. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) .  FIG. 7(A)  is a diagram showing the assembled network jack  20  and the internet plug  3 .  FIG. 7(B)  is a diagram showing a sectional view of the assembled network jack  20  and the internet plug  3 , taken along the broken line D-D′ as shown in  FIG. 7(A) . As shown in  FIG. 7(B) , after the terminal base  26  is assembled with the printed circuit board  21 , the eighth contact  252  would have two bending portions  2521  and  2522 , the sixth contact  242  would have only one bending portion  2421 , and the seventh contact  251  would have bending portions  2511  and  2512 , as shown in  FIG. 8 , which is a diagram showing the relevant mounting relationship among the sixth contact  242 , the seventh contact  251  and the eighth contact  252 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1 ,  5  and  7 , in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,466, there is no supporting structure for the contacts  131 ,  132 ,  141 ,  142 ,  151 ,  152 ,  161  and  162 , so that the relevant durabilities are not so good when connected with an internet plug. Nevertheless, in the present application, the contact frame  261  could provide the support to the contacts  231 ,  232 ,  241 ,  242 ,  251 ,  252 ,  261  and  262 , so that the life-spans of the contacts in the present application are greater than those in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,466. 
     In the present application, the contacts  221 ,  222 ,  231 ,  232 ,  241 ,  242 ,  251  and  252  are circular, so that their durabilities would be better than the conventional rectangular contacts, the contacts could provide the transmission with less crosstalk noise and the contacts could have nice telecommunication properties. In addition, it is to be noted that no push manufacturing process would become simple and the cost could be saved. The first, second, third and fourth contacts  221 ,  222 ,  231  and  242  of the present application are made of phosphor bronze with 3.5%-10% stannum and 0.01%-1% phosphor by weight. The phosphor bronze is easily molded and there is 50 micro-inch aurum coated thereon. Since the circular contact has a better flexibility than that of the rectangular contact, which is the shape of the contact in U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,466, the contact of the present could be made by phosphor bronze instead of the expensive beryllium copper and then have the desired stress response. Since the cost of the phosphor bronze is less than that of the beryllium copper, the producing cost of the present network jack is less than that of the prior art. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , which are the explosive diagram of the network jack according to an embodiment of the present application and the appearance of the network jack according to an the embodiment of the present application. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the network jack  20  includes the printed circuit board  21 , the contacts  221 ,  222 ,  231 ,  232 ,  241 ,  242 ,  251  and  252 , the chips  90 , the terminal base  26 , the plug portion  60 , the cover  50  and the wiring map  40 . 
     In order to further illustrate the changes of the seventh contact  251  and the eighth contact  252  during assembling, the different side views of the network jack are provided. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 11 and 12 , which are the diagram showing the assembling process of the circuit board and the terminal base according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The network jack  20  includes the printed circuit board  21  and the terminal base  26  having a contact frame  261 . The contact frame  261  has a through  2613  and an opening  2611 . The printed circuit board  21  has two groups of contacting areas  254  and  253 . The first group of contacting areas  254  includes three pairs of location points, the first to sixth location points  211 - 216  shown  FIG. 3 , arranged along the side  2111  of the printed circuit board  21 . The second group of contacting areas  253  includes the seventh location point  217  and the eighth location point  218 . The distance between the seventh location point  217  and the side  2111  of the printed circuit board  21  is different from that between eighth location point  218  and the side  2111  of the printed circuit board  21 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 13(A) , which is a top view of the network jack shown in  FIG. 11  during the assembling process according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 13  (B), which is a sectional drawing of the network jack along the G-G′ line shown in  FIG. 13(A) . As shown in  FIG. 13 , the seventh contact  251  passes through the opening  2641 , and has a bending  2512 . 
     After further assembling the printed circuit board  21  with the terminal base  26 , the shapes of the seventh and eighth contacts  251  and  252  are further changed. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 14(A) , which is a top view of the network jack after a further assembling according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 14(B) , which is a sectional diagram of the network jack along the G-G′ line shown in  FIG. 14(A) . As shown in  FIG. 14(B) , the contact frame  26  includes a protrusion  2642  and a stop surface  2643 . During the assembling process, the contact  251  would pass through the opening  2641  and form the bending portion  2511  by the protrusion  2642  and the stop surface  2643 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 14(C) , which is a sectional diagram of the network jack along the F-F′ line shown in  FIG. 14(A) . As shown in  FIG. 14(C) , the contact frame  261  includes the tunnel  2613  containing the eighth contact  252 . After assembling the terminal base  26  and the printed circuit board  21 , the eighth contact  252  would have the bending portion  2521  and  2522  by the contact frame  261 . In addition,  FIG. 15  shows the diagram of the network jack  20  after the terminal base  26  is assembled to the printed circuit board  21 . As shown in  FIG. 15 , the seventh and eighth contacts  251  and  252  would have different directions and have different distances from the side  2111  of the printed circuit board  21 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 16(A) to 16(D) , which are the diagrams showing how the contacts of the network jack of the present invention are fixed on the circuit board. As shown in  FIG. 16(A) , the holding device  271  catches the contact  272  which will be fixed to the printed circuit board  21  through the opening  219 . The opening  219  can refer to any one of the location points  211 - 218  or be located at any appropriate position on the printed circuit board  21 . As shown in  FIG. 16(B) , the contact  272  has an upper end  2721  and the lower end  2722 , and the contact  272  is inserted into the printed circuit board  21 , i.e. the opening  219 , by the holding device  271  from the upper surface  2112  toward the lower surface  2113 . After the inserting process, the portion  2723  of the contact  272  will protrude from the lower surface  2113 . As shown in  FIG. 16(C) , the protruded portion  2723  will be stressed with an upper force so that the contact  272  will be upward inserted through the opening  219  from the lower surface  2113  toward the upper surface  2112 . Preferably, the upper force is provided by the punch  273  punching the lower end  2722  of the contact  272 , which is a riveting process. By the riveting process, the lower end  2722  of the contact  272  will have a conformation change and the contact  272  will be fixed to the printed circuit board  21  as shown in  FIG. 16(D) . 
     In another embodiment, the contact  272  is upward inserted into the opening  219  of the printed circuit board  21  from the lower face  2113  toward the upper surface  2112  as shown in  FIGS. 17(A) to 17(B) . Then the upper force stressed on the lower end  2722  is also provided by the punch  273  so that the contact  272  will be fixed to the printed circuit board  21  as shown in  FIGS. 17(C) to 17(D) . In addition, the holding device  271  can be applied in the riveting process of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 17(B) to 17(D)  to provide an additional support and/or a reacting force for the contact  272  during the riveting process. The fixed contacts can further be processed by the bending procedures as above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention. 
     In view of aforesaid discussions, the present invention provides a network jack having a circuit board with a contact pair parallel to another contact pair, a terminal base able to bend contacts during the assembling of the terminal base and the circuit board, and a contact frame able to bend the contacts during the assembling of the plug portion and the terminal base. In addition, the present invention also provides a network jack having two groups of contacts, where the first group contacts are arranged along a side of the network jack and the respective distances between each of the second group contacts and the side of the network jack are various. Since the present network jack and the relevant manufacturing method are able to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional network jack, such as the narrow operating voltage range, the high cost, the complex manufacturing process and the delicate assembling required, the present invention is extremely suitable for being used in the industrial production. 
     Moreover, since fixing the contract into the circuit board of the present invention needs no additional supports by additionally configuring any element, e.g. the push foot mechanism or the lateral protrusion, on the contact, the present invention is clearly advantageous over the conventional network jack. Further, the contacts of the present invention are directly bent by the acting portion which has an immobile structure so that the bending of the contacts is easily and accurately controlled. Through such distinguishable features, the fixing process while manufacturing the network jack not only could be substantially simplified, but also the manufacturing costs could be decreased accordingly. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.