Abstract:
A telecommunications outlet including a contact carrier and a plurality of contacts supported on the contact carrier, the contacts corresponding to tip and ring pairs, at least one of the contacts having a characteristic to improves signal transmission performance by providing internal compensation to balance signals by controlling resistive, inductive or capacitive characteristics along the contacts.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/771,535, filed Feb. 8, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     The invention relates generally to an enhanced performance connector and in particular, to a connector including a plug and outlet designed for enhanced performance.  
         [0003]     Improvements in telecommunications systems have resulted in the ability to transmit voice and/or data signals along transmission lines at increasingly higher frequencies. Several industry standards that specify multiple performance levels of twisted-pair cabling components have been established. The primary references, considered by many to be the international benchmarks for commercially based telecommunications components and installations, are standards ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A (/568) Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard and ISO/IEC 11801 (/11801), generic cabling for customer premises. For example, Category 3, 4 and 5 cable and connecting hardware are specified in both /568 and /11801, as well as other national and regional specifications. In these specifications, transmission requirements for Category 3 components are specified up to 16 MHz. Transmission requirements for Category 4 components are specified up to 20 MHz. Transmission requirements for Category 5 components are specified up to 100 MHz. The above referenced transmission requirements also specify limits on near-end crosstalk (NEXT).  
         [0004]     Often, telecommunications connectors are organized in sets of pairs, typically made up of a tip and ring connector. As telecommunications connectors are reduced in size, adjacent pairs are placed closer to each other creating crosstalk between adjacent pairs. To comply with the near-end crosstalk requirements, a variety of techniques are used in the art.  
         [0005]     Compensation for the modular jacks and plugs has been added using external elements such as a PCB, flex circuits, discreet components (i.e. resistors, capacitors). These previous methods add cost and complexity. As the bandwidth requirements increase due to higher signaling rates, such as 10GBASE-T Ethernet and beyond, components need to be improved.  
         [0006]     While there exist plugs and outlets designed to reduce crosstalk and enhance performance, it is understood in the art that improved plugs and outlets are needed to meet increasing transmission rates.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0007]     An embodiment of the invention is a telecommunications outlet including a contact carrier and a plurality of contacts supported on the contact carrier, the contacts corresponding to tip and ring pairs, at least one of the contacts having a characteristic to improve signal transmission performance by providing internal compensation to balance signals by controlling resistive, inductive or capacitive characteristics along the contacts.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a front view of an outlet in embodiments of the invention.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a contact carrier of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the contact carrier of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a front view of an outlet in alternate embodiments of the invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a contact carrier of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the contact carrier of  FIG. 5 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  is a front view of an outlet in alternate embodiments of the invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the outlet of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 9  illustrates contacts within the outlet of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an outlet in alternate embodiments of the invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of a plug mating with the outlet of  FIG. 10 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the contact carrier of  FIG. 10  on a circuit board.  
         [0020]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view a contact carrier in alternate embodiments.  
         [0021]      FIG. 14  is a perspective, partial cut-away view of a plug in embodiments of the invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 15  is a top view of the plug of  FIG. 13 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]      FIG. 1  is a front view of an outlet  100  in embodiments of the invention. As known in the art, the outlet includes eight contacts  102 . It is understood that the number of contacts may vary depending on application, and embodiments of the invention are not limited to eight contacts. As is known in the art, contacts are referred to as being in eight positions  1 - 8 , from one side of the outlet to the other. The contacts may be arranged in tip and ring pairs as is known in the art with, contacts  1 / 2 ,  3 / 6 ,  4 / 5  and  7 / 8  defining tip and ring pairs. Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to contacts in different positions.  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a contact carrier  104  of  FIG. 1 , depicting the first contact as  102   1 . In this embodiment crosstalk is reduced by altering features of the contacts  102 . One feature is the length of the contacts. In  FIG. 2 , contacts in positions  3  and  6  are shorter than the other contacts. Thus, contacts  3  and  6  do not extend as far in the mating region  106  above the top surface of contact carrier  104  where contacts from a plug make electrical contact with contacts  102 . Another feature is the angle of the contact with respect to an axis X parallel to the top surface of the contact carrier. Contacts in positions  4 ,  6  and  8  are at a first angle (e.g., 20.5 degrees) with reference to axis X. Other contacts in positions  2 ,  5  and  7  are at a second angle (e.g., 12 degrees) with reference to axis X. Another feature is the inclusion of a bend in the contact, such that the angle of the contact with reference to axis X decreases at the bend. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , contact in position  1  has a bend towards axis X.  
         [0025]     This arrangement of the contacts improves signal transmission performance by providing internal compensation to balance signals by adjusting the contacts to maximize resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) along contacts  102 . For example, adjusting the length, adding bends, adjusting the spacing of the contacts is performed to compensate for crosstalk within the outlet. Further, the cross sectional size of the contacts, the cross sectional shape of the contacts and/or the conductivity of the material used in one or more of the contacts may be varied to alter resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) of contacts  102 .  
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is a front view of an outlet  200  in embodiments of the invention. As known in the art, the outlet includes eight contacts  202 . It is understood that the number of contacts may vary depending on application, and embodiments of the invention are not limited to eight contacts. As is known in the art, contacts are referred to as being in eight positions  1 - 8 , from one side of the outlet to the other. The contacts may be arranged in tip and ring pairs as is known in the art with, contacts  1 / 2 ,  3 / 6 ,  4 / 5  and  7 / 8  defining tip and ling pairs.  
         [0027]     Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to contacts in different positions.  FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a contact carrier  204  of  FIG. 4 , depicting the first contact as  202   1 . In this embodiment crosstalk is reduced by altering features of the contacts  202 . One feature is the length of the contacts. In  FIG. 5 , contacts in positions  3  and  6  are shorter than the other contacts. Thus, contacts  3  and  6  do not extend as far in the mating region  206  above the top surface of contact carrier  104  where contacts from a plug make electrical contact with contacts  102 . Another feature is the angle of the contact with respect to an axis X parallel to the top surface of the contact carrier. As shown in  FIG. 6 , contacts in positions  4 ,  6  and  8  are at a first angle (e.g., 20.5 degrees) with reference to axis X. Other contacts in positions  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  5  and  7  are at a second angle (e.g., 12 degrees) with reference to axis X.  
         [0028]     This arrangement of the contacts improves signal transmission performance by providing internal compensation to balance signals by adjusting the contacts to maximize resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) along contacts  202 . For example, adjusting the length, adding bends, adjusting the spacing of the contacts is performed to compensate for crosstalk within the outlet. Further, the cross sectional size of the contacts, the cross sectional shape of the contacts and/or the conductivity of the material used in one or more of the contacts may be varied to alter resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) of contacts  202 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 7  is a front view of an outlet  300  in alternate embodiments of the invention. As known in the art, the outlet includes eight contacts  302 . It is understood that the number of contacts may vary depending on application, and embodiments of the invention are not limited to eight contacts. As is known in the art, contacts are referred to as being in eight positions  1 - 8 , from one side of the outlet to the other. The contacts may be arranged in tip and ring pairs as is known in the art with, contacts  1 / 2 ,  3 / 6 ,  4 / 5  and  7 / 8  defining tip and ring pairs. Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to contacts in different positions.  
         [0030]      FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the outlet of  FIG. 7 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , contacts in positions  4  and  5  are moved to be closer together along axis Y than other adjacent contacts. The axis Y is parallel to the side of the outlet  300  and extends parallel to the  8  contacts  302 .  FIG. 9  illustrates contacts within the outlet of  FIG. 7 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , contacts  302  in positions  3  and  6  are moved back relative to the remaining contacts towards a rear wall  306  of outlet  300 . Further, contacts  302  in positions  3  and  6  are moved upwards relative to the remaining contacts towards a top wall  308  of the outlet  300 . The positioning of contacts  302  may be varied to alter resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) of contacts  302 . Further, the cross sectional size of the contacts, the cross sectional shape of the contacts and/or the conductivity of the material used in the contacts may be varied to alter resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) of contacts  202 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an outlet  400  in embodiments of the invention. As known in the art, the outlet includes eight contacts  402 . It is understood that the number of contacts may vary depending on application, and embodiments of the invention are not limited to eight contacts. As is known in the art, contacts are referred to as being in eight positions  1 - 8 , from one side of the outlet to the other. The contacts may be arranged in tip and ring pairs as is known in the art with, contacts  1 / 2 ,  3 / 6 ,  4 / 5  and  7 / 8  defining tip and ring pairs.  
         [0032]     Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to contacts in different positions. As shown in  FIG. 10 , all contacts  402  have a bend that directs the contact towards axis X ( FIG. 11 ). Contacts  402  in positions  4 ,  6  and  8  are have a higher angle with reference to axis X than contacts  402  in positions  1 - 3 ,  5  and  7  which have a smaller angle with reference to axis X. Axis X is parallel to the top surface of contact carrier  404 .  FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of a plug  406  mating with outlet  400 . The bends in the contacts  402  permit the contacts  402  to maintain consistent physical and electrical contact with contacts  408  in plug  406  in mating region  426  above top surface of the contact carrier  404 . The bends also provide a uniform displacement of the contacts  402  when plugs having different dimensions are mated with outlet  400 . Accordingly, in the mated state, the contacts  402  are in predicted positions regardless of the size of the plug  406  or insertion depth of the plug  406  into outlet  400 . This allows for control of crosstalk between contacts  402  as the location of the contacts in the mated state does not vary.  FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the contact carrier  404  of  FIG. 10  on a circuit board  410 .  
         [0033]     This arrangement of the contacts improves signal transmission performance by providing internal compensation to balance signals by adjusting the contacts to maximize resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) along contacts  402 . For example, adjusting the length, adding bends, adjusting the spacing of the contacts is performed to compensate for crosstalk within the outlet. Further, the cross sectional size of the contacts, the cross sectional shape of the contacts and/or the conductivity of the material used in one or more of the contacts may be varied to alter resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) of contacts  402 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of an exemplary termination of wires to an outlet in embodiments of the invention.  FIG. 13  depicts an exemplary connector housing  701 , patch cord  700  and twisted pair cable  707 . Cable  707  includes four twisted pairs of wires  708 . It is understood that embodiments of the invention may be used with cables having a different color code and the invention is not limited to cables having four twisted pairs of wires. The patch cord  700  includes a plug housing dimensioned to mate with existing modular outlets. The plug housing may be an RJ-45 type plug, but may have different configurations.  
         [0035]     Connector  701  contains a substrate  703  which establishes an electrical connection between the jack assembly  702  and termination block  705 . Wire termination connections  704  (e.g., insulation displacement contacts) are positioned in the termination block  105 . The substrate  703  may be a printed circuit board, flexible circuit material, etc. having traces therein for establishing electrical connection between the jack assembly  702  contacts and termination block  705  termination connections  704 . Termination block  705  may be a S310 block available from The Siemon Company. Substrate  703  may include compensation elements for tuning electrical performance of the plug  100  (e.g., NEXT, FEXT). In alternate embodiments, the jack assembly contacts  702  and IDC connections  704  are part of a lead frame, eliminating the need for substrate  703 .  
         [0036]     The jack assembly  702  includes a contact carrier with contacts  720 . The contacts  720  may use one or more of the geometries described above with reference to  FIGS. 1-12  to improve signal transmission performance by providing internal compensation to balance signals by adjusting the contacts to maximize resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) along contacts  720 .  
         [0037]     For example, adjusting the length, adding bends, adjusting the spacing of th-e contacts is performed to compensate for crosstalk within the outlet. Further, the cross sectional size of the contacts, the cross sectional shape of the contacts and/or the conductivity of the material used in one or more of the contacts may be varied to alter resistive, inductive, capacitive characteristics (including signal phase delay) of contacts  720 . The contacts  720  extend from the rear wall of the contact carrier rather than the bottom (as shown in  FIGS. 1-12 ), but still may include similar features to improve signal transmission performance.  
         [0038]      FIG. 14  is a perspective, partial cut-away view of a plug  500  in embodiments of the invention. Plug  500  includes a plug housing  501  and plug contacts  502  arranged in eight positions across the plug  500 . Contacts  502  include an insulation displacement portion  503  for making electrical contact with individual wires as known in the art. The plug contacts  502  engage contacts in the outlets discussed above with reference to  FIGS. 1-13 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , the contacts  502  include extension  504 . The extensions form increased surface area for the contacts and overlap in order to alter capacitive and/or inductive (e.g., reactive) interaction between contacts  502 . In  FIG. 14 , contacts in positions  1 ,  3 ,  6  and  8  include extensions  504  to increase capacitive coupling between contacts  1  and  3  and contacts  6  and  8 , respectively. It is understood that other contacts may include extensions and embodiments of the invention are not limited to  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 15  is a top view of the plug of  FIG. 14 . In alternate embodiments, the contacts  502  include openings to alter capacitive and/or inductive (e.g., reactive) interaction between contacts  502 . The openings may be formed uniformly across all contacts  502 , or may be formed in a subset of contacts  502 .  
         [0039]     The embodiments of the invention discussed above improve the transmission performance (both signal and noise characteristics) of the RJ45 jack and/or plug by adding internal compensation within the components. The various wire forms adjust the magnitude and phase of the signals within the jack and this compensation improves overall signal integrity of the component.  
         [0040]     While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.