SINGLE PIECE CAT 6/6A PLUGS

An RJ45 plug assembly has a housing and a communications cable to be inserted within. The communications cable has a plurality of twisted pairs of conductors. The housing has a plurality of sloped surfaces such that when conductors of the communications cable are straightened and aligned prior to insertion into the housing, the sloped surfaces route a first pair of conductors to a top of the housing and a second pair of conductors to a bottom of the housing.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of RJ45 plugs and more specifically to an RJ45 plug with a reduced number of parts to facilitate the termination process.

BACKGROUND

Companies are continuously looking for opportunities to improve RJ45 plugs by finding ways to make them easier and faster to terminate, reduce the overall number of pieces, and decrease manufacturing costs. RJ45 plugs typically feature multiple small pieces, and they are difficult to handle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,445 explains key features of these designs in detail. The piece part and labor costs associated with the plug assembly are a major portion of total patch cord costs. As such, there is a need for a reduced piece Cat6/6A plug design that allows for easier and faster termination, which also lends itself to automated assembly.

SUMMARY

An RJ45 plug assembly has a housing and a communications cable to be inserted within. The communications cable has a plurality of twisted pairs of conductors. The housing has a plurality of sloped surfaces such that when conductors of the communications cable are straightened and aligned prior to insertion into the housing, the sloped surfaces route a first pair of conductors to a top of the housing and a second pair of conductors to a bottom of the housing.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

FIG.1is a front isometric view of communication system10which includes cable end “B” plug assembly16, cable26, cable end “A” plug assembly18, cable28, and communication cables12connected to equipment14via jack30and jack32. Equipment14is illustrated as a patch panel inFIG.1, but the equipment can either be passive equipment or active equipment. Examples of passive equipment can be, but are not limited to, modular patch panels, punch down patch panels, coupler patch panels, wall jacks, etc. Examples of active equipment can be, but are not limited to, Ethernet switches, routers, servers, physical layer management systems, and power-over Ethernet (POE) equipment found in data centers and/or telecommunication rooms; security devices (cameras and other sensors, etc.) and door access equipment; and telephone, computers, fax machines, printers, and other workstation peripherals. Communication system10can further include cabinets, racks, cable management and overhead routing systems and other such equipment. Cable end “B” plug assembly16is terminated to cable26and mates with respective jack30in equipment14. Cable end “A” plug assembly18is terminated to cable28and mates with respective jack32in equipment14. Although jack30and jack32are shown as modular jacks, they can be punch down jacks or other types of jacks.

In the four-pair copper connector industry it is well known that the configuration of conductor pairs24on each end of a cable will differ. In this example, end “B” will refer to the configuration in which conductor pair244-5is on the top, and end “A” will refer to the configuration in which conductor pair243-6is on top. Conductor pairs24subscript denotes conductor numbers. All disclosed artwork is shown with cables routed to TIA568B with the understanding that a person knowledgeable in the plug termination field recognizes that the TIA568A wiring scheme can be achieved by rearranging the order of certain conductor pairs241-2and243-6.

FIG.2is an isometric view of end “B” of cable26prior to termination to cable end “B” plug assembly16.FIG.3is an isometric view of end “A” of cable28prior to termination to cable end “A” plug assembly18.

FIG.4is an isometric exploded view of cable end “B” plug assembly16and cable26. Cable end “B” plug assembly16includes cable end “B” plug housing20, boot38, and insulation piercing contacts (IPCs)40. Boot38is not necessary to the functionality of cable end “B” plug assembly16, but it can be utilized by customers for added strain relief and bend radius control.

FIG.5is a rear view of cable end “B” plug housing20. Cable end “B” plug housing20is designed to separate conductor pairs24without the use of additional components. Sloped surfaces34guide conductor pairs24to their respective tunnels36prior to termination. Tunnels36are oriented such that conductor pair244-5will route to the top and conductor pair2436will route to the bottom. Tunnels36subscript denotes conductor numbers. This orientation of tunnels36allows for no crossed conductor pairs24when terminating end “B” of cable26, which aids in electrical performance. For conductor pairs24to route to their correlating tunnels36, conductor pairs24need to be prepared and trimmed prior to insertion into cable end “B” plug housing20.

FIG.6is a top view of cable26prior to termination to cable end “B” plug assembly16where conductor pairs24have been arranged in sequence and trimmed to length.

FIG.7is a top view of cable end “B” plug housing20.FIG.8is a top view of end “B” of cable26terminated to cable end “B” plug assembly16.FIG.9is a section view of end “B” of cable26terminated to cable end “B” plug assembly16taken about line A-A inFIG.8. During the plug termination process, strain relief feature42on cable end “B” plug housing20rotates about living hinge44until catch46stops on edge48which secures strain relief feature42and traps cable26into cable end “B” plug assembly16. Recess50(FIG.7) on strain relief feature42is designed to accommodate the larger cable diameter of cable26to ensure enough pressure is applied to prevent removal of cable26after termination while still allowing strain relief feature42to rotate into its final position. Notch52on boot38is designed to engage with strain relief feature42as it is rotated into its final position during the termination process to prevent the removal of boot38from cable end “B” plug assembly16. Cable end “A” plug housing22has a strain relief geometry identical to cable end “B” plug housing20. IPCs40are designed with slots54to enable easy termination to both solid and stranded conductors. Support ribs56in cable end “B” plug housing20and cable end “A” plug housing22give added stability to IPCs40during the termination process by preventing IPCs40from rocking or rotating. The functionality of IPCs40is described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 9,640,924.

FIG.10is an isometric exploded view of cable end “A” plug assembly18and cable28. Cable end “A” plug assembly18includes cable end “A” plug housing22, boot38, IPCs40, and cable28. Boot38is not necessary to the functionality of cable end “A” plug assembly18, but it can be utilized by customers for added strain relief and bend radius control.

FIG.11is a rear view of cable end “A” plug housing22. Cable end “A” plug housing22is designed to separate conductor pairs24without the use of additional components. Sloped surfaces35guide conductor pairs24to their respective tunnels37prior to termination. Tunnels37are oriented such that conductor pair243-6will route to the top and conductor pair244-5will route to the bottom. Tunnels37subscript denotes conductor numbers. This orientation of tunnels37allows for no crossed conductor pairs24when terminating end “A” of cable28which aids in electrical performance. For conductor pairs24to route to their correlating tunnels37, conductor pairs24need to be prepared and trimmed prior to insertion into cable end “A” plug housing22.

FIG.12is a top view of cable28prior to termination to cable end “A” plug assembly18where conductor pairs24have been arranged in sequence and trimmed to length. Tunnels37on cable end “A” plug housing22are identical, but inversely staggered compared to tunnels36on cable end “B” plug housing20. For example, tunnel361in cable end “B” plug housing20and tunnel372in cable end “A” plug housing22are located at the same distance from the top face of the plug. As a result, IPCs40can be used in both cable end “B” plug assembly16and cable end “A” plug assembly18. The varying height IPCs40are arranged in a different order for cable end “B” plug housing20and cable end “A” plug housing22to accommodate the inversely staggered heights of tunnels36in cable end “B” plug housing20and tunnels37in cable end “A” plug housing22.

It should be reasonably understood by a person in the field of engineering plug design, the electrical performance of cable end “B” plug assembly16and cable end “A” plug assembly18can be adjusted by modifying pair to pair crosstalk through rational means including, but not limited to, changing surface area of IPCs40, moving tunnels36and tunnels37, and modifying the length of tunnels36and tunnels37for individual conductor pairs24.

The single piece Cat6/6A plug design can be used in shielded applications as well.FIG.13is an isometric view of cable end “B” shielded plug assembly60and cable end “A” shielded plug assembly62.FIG.14is a rotated isometric view of cable end “B” shielded plug assembly60and cable end “A” shielded plug assembly62.

FIG.15is a rear view of cable end “B” shielded plug housing64and cable end “A” shielded plug housing66. Cable end “B” shielded plug housing64and cable end “A” shielded plug housing66have the same functionality as cable end “B” plug housing20and cable end “A” plug housing22, but their geometry has been modified to accommodate shield wrap68and the larger diameter shielded cable. Shield wrap68incorporates the beneficial features of the shielded connector design described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,431,770.

FIG.16is an exploded view of cable end “B” shielded plug assembly60and cable end “A” shielded plug assembly62.FIG.17is a rotated exploded view of cable end “B” shielded plug assembly60and cable end “A” shielded plug assembly62. Cable end “B” shielded plug assembly60includes cable end “B” shielded plug housing64, IPCs40, shield wrap68, and boot70. Boot70is not necessary to the functionality of cable end “B” shielded plug assembly60, but it can be utilized by customers for added strain relief and bend radius control. Boot70has a larger opening for wider diameter shielded cable but has all the same functionality as boot38described above. Cable end “B” shielded plug assembly60utilizes the same IPCs40as Cable end “B” plug assembly16described above.

Cable end “A” shielded plug assembly62includes cable end “A” shielded plug housing66, IPCs40, shield wrap68, and boot70. Boot70is not necessary to the functionality of cable end “A” shielded plug assembly62, but it can be utilized by customers for added strain relief and bend radius control. Boot70could be utilized with cable end “B” plug housing20or cable end “A” plug housing22if a customer were terminating a larger diameter cable. Cable end “A” shielded plug assembly62utilizes the same IPCs40as cable end “A” plug assembly18described above. Slot72in shield wrap68is designed to help align and contact the drain wire of a shielded cable during the plug termination process. Flanges76of shield wrap68are formed in the manufacturing process to fit inside reliefs74in cable end “B” shielded plug housing64and cable end “A” shielded plug housing66to help secure shield wrap68in place.