Removable i/o device with integrated receptacles for receiving standard plugs

Abstract: A Type III PCMCIA communications card (10) for insertion in a slot in a host computer comprises a housing (50) including a top wall (56) and longitudinal, parallel side walls (52,54) depending from the top wall (56), the longitudinal side walls and top wall defining an internal cavity enclosed by a bottom cover panel (60). The housing further has a forward end, a rear margin (62) and a rear end surface, the rear margin of the housing defining at least one substantially longitudinally oriented receptacle (82,84,86) extending forwardly from the rear end surface and sized and configured to receive a standard RJ-type modular plug. A substrate (160), mounted within the cavity of the housing, supports electronic components for carrying out the communications function. The substrate has a rear margin (174) carrying a contact block (180) including a plurality of contact wires (230), each contact wire having a first portion connected to components on the substrate (160), and a second portion extending into the at least one receptacle (82,84,86), the second portion of the contact wire being shaped and positioned for engagement with a corresponding contact on the connector plug. A connector (34) provided at the forward end of the housing is adapted to be received by a corresponding connector within the slot of the host computer. The card has an overall height not exceeding approximately 10.5 mm, the communications card being directly connectable to a digital information system such as a LAN or a telephone line system utilizing standard RJ-type connectors.

Description: Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to removable input/output (I/O) devices of the type used with host systems such as desktop and portable personal computers, peripherals, and the like, for connecting the host system to an information transfer system. Background of the Invention As is well known, many of today's laptop, notebook, desktop and other computers, as well as computer peripherals and other electronic products, are designed to receive removable devices such as cards conforming to standards established by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) . These standards define the electrical and physical specifications of the card including the interfaces between the card and the port or slot into which the card is inserted. The specifications include a 16-bit PC Card interface and a 32-bit CardBus interface. The PCMCIA standards also specify three card form factors, called Type I, Type II and Type III. All three card types measure the same length (85.6 mm) and the same width (54.0 mm), and differ only in overall thickness. Thus, the Type I card has a thickness of 3.3 mm; the Type II card, 5.0 mm; and the Type III card, 10.5 mm. PCMCIA cards may be used for various purposes. For example, Type I cards are typically used for memory devices; Type II cards are typically used for I/O devices, as will be described below; and Type III cards are typically used to house rotating mass storage devices (disk drives). Presently, Type II cards are used principally as communication links, for example, for connecting the user of a host system such as a portable computer to an Ethernet LAN, as a data/fax modem for connecting the user to a subscriber telephone line system, or as a combined LAN and modem card. In one popular arrangement, an adapter cable is used to couple the relatively thin Type II card to the much larger, standard RJ-11 or RJ-45 receptacle of a telephone line or Ethernet network. A drawback of this arrangement is that one or more bulky adapter cables must be carried (in addition to the computer) by the computer user in order to connect the computer to a LAN or telephone line system thereby defeating at least to some extent the advantages afforded by portable computers; also, these adapter cables are often lost. Another disadvantage of adapter cables is that the connection between the thin card and the cable is inherently fragile mechanically and subject to losses of electrical contact with a consequent loss of data transfer. One solution to the problem of incompatibility between the PCMCIA Type II standard communications card and the RJ-type connector is to add to the rear end of the Type II card an enlarged housing enclosing a receptacle sized and configured to receive an RJ-type connector plug. The incorporation of such an RJ receptacle housing allows the 5mm Type II communications card to interface directly with a LAN or telephone system using an existing LAN or telephone cable with an RJ-11 or RJ-45 modular plug at each end. However, although this approach eliminates the need for a separate adapter cable assembly, the housing on the end of the card for receiving the RJ-type connector projects from the host system enclosure often requiring the removal of the card when transporting a portable computer in an attache case or the like. Another approach to the elimination of the need for external adapter cables is a communications card that allows an RJ-type modular plug to be inserted directly into an aperture formed in a retractable access portion of a Type II communications card. Such an approach is disclosed, for example, in U.S. patent 5,183,404 issued February 2, 1993. Yet another approach to eliminating the need for adapter cables is disclosed in International Application No. PCT/US94/13106, published May 18, 1995 under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) as Publication No. WO 95/13633. Fig. 21 of this PCT publication shows a Type III card incorporating in the rear thereof a pair of RJ-xx series receptacles (specifically RJ-11 and RJ-45) for directly connecting the card to a LAN network and/or telephone line. An overall object of the present invention is to provide an improvement of the device disclosed in the aforementioned PCT publication. According to the present invention, there is provided, a communications device for interfacing between an RJ-type connector plug and a host system, the device being adapted to be received by a port in a host system for connecting the host system to a digital information transfer system and containing a substrate carrying circuit components and including a substrate forward margin and a substrate rear margin, said substrate forward and substrate rear margins carrying a plurality of terminals connected to circuit components on said substrate, the communications device including a multicontact connector including sixty-eight connector contacts arranged in two rows of thirty four connector contacts each, said connector contacts including contact leads, a plurality of said contact leads being connected to at least some of said plurality of substrate terminals at said substrate forward margin the multicontact connector being adapted to be received by a corresponding connector within a slot of the host system, wherein the communications device comprises a housing having longitudinal sides, a transverse front end and a rear portion, the substrate being enclosed within the housing, and the housing having a thickness dimension conforming substantially to the standards set by the PCMCIA for Type III cards the device being adapted to be directly connectable to the digital information transfer system utilising the RJ-type connector plug characterized in that the housing comprises a main housing part and a bottom cover panel, said substrate and said multicontact connector being disposed between said main housing part and said bottom cover panel, and the housing having a rear portion comprising a subassembly, said subassembly comprising at least one section moulded separately from the housing part including a receptacle sized and configured to receive an RJ-type connector plug, and having at least two contacts, said subassembly further comprising a contact block having at least two contact wires disposed at least partially within said receptacle, said at least two contact wires each having a first portion and a second portion, said subassembly being connected to said substrate such that said first portion of each of said contact wires is aligned with and makes electrical contact with one of the terminals on the rear margin of the substrate and said second portion of each of said contact wires is formed to be aligned with one of said at least two contacts in said RJ-type connector plug when said RJ-type connector plug is inserted in said receptacle. The main housing part and the at least one section may be permanently bonded, for example using an adhesive or using sonic welding along matching arcuate joined as surfaces. Said first portion of each contact wire may be soldered to a terminal on said substrate rear margin. The sub assembly may comprise at least two sections each including an opening. At least one of said openings may be configured to receive an RJ11 connector plug. One of said openings may be configured to receive an RJ11 connector plug and another of said openings may be configured to receive an RJ45 connector plug. The contact block may comprise a rearwardly projecting base a transverse vertical wall and posts joining the base and the wall. The base may have a lower planar recessed surface to which a rear margin of the bottom cover panel may be bonded. The main housing part may comprise longitudinal side walls depending from a top wall. The bottom cover panel may define upwardly extending side flanges nested with the side walls. The contact block is designed to minimise its encroachment on the adjacent printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). Thus, the forwardly extending solder tail of each contact wire is contained substantially within the longitudinal confines of the recess and is connected to the traces on the rear margin of the PCBA as close as practicable to the rear edge of the PCBA. After fabrication of the subassembly comprising the PCBA and contact block, the recesses defined by the contact block facilitate inspecting of the integrity of the solder joints connecting the contact wire tails to the PCBA and provide sufficient space to permit resoldering if necessary. Brief Description of the Drawings Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become evident from the detailed description below when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device in accordance with the present invention for connecting a host system and an information transfer system, at least the rear portion of the device substantially conforming to the Type III PCMCIA thickness standard and incorporating receptacles for receiving standard connector plugs of the RJ and "slim D-sub" types; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a front elevation view of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a rear elevation view of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is an exploded, perspective view of the device of Fig. 1 showing the major components thereof; Fig. 8 is a transverse, cross section view of the device of the present invention, as seen along the line 8-8 in Fig. 3; Fig. 9 is a side elevation view, in cross section, of the rear portion of the device of Fig. 1, as seen along the line 9-9 in Fig. 6, showing details of one of the RJ-type connector receptacles and an associated contact block; Fig. 10 is a side elevation view, in cross section, similar to Fig. 9, showing an RJ-type modular plug inserted in its associated receptacle; Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a subassembly of the device of Fig. 1, the subassembly including an electronic component substrate and a contact block and slim D-sub receptacle mounted along the rear margin of the substrate; Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a subassembly of the device of Fig. 1, the illustrated subassembly comprising a receptacle body and mating contact block; Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a specific embodiment of a contact block that may be utilized in the present invention; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a specific embodiment of a receptacle body that may be utilized in the present invention; Fig. 15 is a another perspective view of the receptacle body shown in Fig. 14; and Figs. 16-19 are perspective views of receptacle bodies in accordance with alternative embodiments of the invention. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments It should be noted that terms such as "top", "bottom", "upper", "lower", "vertical", "horizontal", and the like, are used herein only to facilitate the description of the structure of the card illustrated; it will be evident that the card may be used in any orientation. Although it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the removable I/O device of the present invention has broad utility, being usable with a wide variety of standard connector systems including both communication connector systems (for example, telephone and LAN) and non-communication connector systems (for example, video, coax, BNC, and so forth), the description of the invention will focus primarily on removable PCMCIA communication cards connectable to RJ-type standard modular connectors as a specific, exemplary context for the invention. By "RJ-type" standard modular connectors is meant RJ-11, RJ-45, and like modular connectors used, for example, for telephone line and LAN operations. Referring to Figs. 1-6, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprising a PCMCIA card 10, conforming to the PCMCIA interface standard, and combining the functions of an Ethernet LAN adapter and a telephone line modem. The card 10 also supports various cellular wireless communication standards as will be described below. There is also shown (in Fig. 1) a host system 12, such as a desktop or portable computer, or computer peripheral, having a PCMCIA card port 14 for receiving the card 10. The card 10 includes opposed, parallel, forward and rear ends 16 and 18, respectively, and parallel, longitudinal sides 20 and 22. The card 10 further has a top exterior surface 24 and a bottom exterior surface 26. The top surface 24 has a planar rear surface portion 28 parallel with the bottom surface 26 and a sloping or curved forward portion 30. It will be evident that the forward portion 30 of the top exterior surface 24 need not be sloped or curved; the entire top surface 24 of the card may simply comprise a flat surface extending forwardly from and coplanar with the planar rear surface portion 28. In accordance with the physical standards established for all PCMCIA cards, the card 10 has a length of about 85.6 mm and a width of about 54.0 mm. The parallel top and bottom exterior surfaces 28 and 26 define an overall card thickness of about 10.5 mm in accordance with the Type III PCMCIA card form factor. In the specific embodiment under consideration, the forward end 16 of the card may have a thickness of about 5 mm matching that of a Type II card. (As is known, a Type III card port (such as the port 14) can accommodate two stacked Type II cards.) Disposed along the forward end 18 of the card 10 is a multicontact connector 34 designed to be removably coupled to a corresponding multipin connector (not shown) within the slot 14 in the host system 12. The connector 34 is made of molded plastic and, in accordance with the PCMCIA standard, includes sixty eight (68) contacts arranged in two rows of thirty four (34) contacts each. The connector contact and pin assignments are established by the PCMCIA interface standard. The connector 34 further includes a rear transverse face 40 from which contact leads 42 project (Fig. 7). Referring now also to Figs. 7-15, the card 10 is basically defined by a molded plastic housing 50 including longitudinal side walls 52 and 54 depending from a top wall 56. The walls 52, 54 and 56 define a central cavity 58 enclosed by a bottom sheet metal cover panel 60 having a rear margin 62 configured to define a pair of tabs 64, and upwardly extending side flanges 66 and 68 nested within the side walls 52 and 54 of the plastic housing 50 (Fig. 8). The housing 50 includes a front, molded plastic main housing part 70 and a separately molded, rear plastic receptacle body 72. The main housing part 70 and receptacle body 72 are permanently bonded, for example, by an adhesive or by sonic welding, along matching, arcuate joinder surfaces 74 and 76. The separate molding of the main housing part 70 and the receptacle body 72 facilitates manufacture. The receptacle body 72, in the embodiment illustrated, includes four (4) sections 80, 82, 84 and 86 defined by longitudinally extending vertical walls 88, 90, 92, 94 and 96 and top wall 98. Sections 82, 84 and 86 comprise receptacles sized, configured and oriented to closely receive standard RJ-type modular connector plugs in a generally longitudinal insertion direction. Thus, by way of example and not limitation, each receptacle 82 and 84 is designed to receive a standard RJ-11 modular plug for direct connection to a telephone line for data/fax modem transmissions while the receptacle 86 is designed to receive a standard RJ-45 modular plug for direct connection to a LAN system. Although the RJ-45 plug is wider than the RJ-11 plug, the heights of these standard plugs are identical. The receptacle 84 can directly receive the RJ-11 plug on the end of an existing telephone line cable while the receptacle 82 can function as a pass-through and thus can be used, optionally, for connection to a modular telephone by means of an adapter telephone line having an RJ-11 modular plug on each end. By way of example, a conventional RJ-11 modular plug 100 for insertion in the receptacle 82 is shown in Figs. 1 and 10. As is well known, the modular plug 100 includes a main rectangular body 102 having parallel top and bottom faces 104 and 106 and contact pins 108 connected to a multiconductor telephone cable 110 whose other end (not shown) has an identical RJ-11 modular plug. The standard plug 100 also includes a spring retention clip 112 having bilateral, transverse abutment surfaces 114. The sizes and configurations of the receptacles 82, 84 and 86 are identical except that, as already noted, the width of the receptacle 86, which receives an RJ-45 modular plug, is greater than that of the receptacles 82 and 84 which each receive an RJ-11 plug. Accordingly, taking the receptacle 82 as typical of the three RJ receptacles of the preferred embodiment, the receptacle 82, which is defined by side walls 90 and 92 and top wall 98, has a modular plug access opening 120 along the rear end surface 18 of the card and an open or cutout bottom 122 having a T-shaped configuration. The side walls 90 and 92, at their lower ends, include inwardly directed flanges 124 and 126 defining ledges 128 and 130, respectively. The ledges 128 and 130, in conjunction with the top wall 98, define a channel 132 for receiving the main body 102 of the modular plug 100. The top wall 98 has an interior horizontal surface 134 including a plurality (six, in the case of receptacle 82) of uniformly spaced-apart, longitudinally extending grooves 136 for receiving the end portions of contact wires, as will be described below. The representative receptacle 82 further includes an integrally molded pair of lugs 138 and 140 projecting inwardly from the flanges 124 and 126, respectively. As seen in Figs. 14 and 15, for example, the inwardly directed flanges 124 and 126, together with the lugs 138 and 140, define the T-shaped opening or cutout 122 in the bottom of the receptacle 82. The lugs 138 and 140 are positioned for engagement by the abutment surfaces 114 on the retention clip 112 of the associated RJ modular plug 100. Thus, in a well known fashion, the abutment surfaces 114 on the retention clip 112 interact with the lugs 138 and 140 to lock the modular plug 100 into the receptacle 82 when the plug 100 is fully inserted, with the retention clip 112 projecting downwardly through the bottom opening 122 as best seen in Fig. 10. To minimize the depth of the receptacle 82, the lugs 138 and 140 are positioned at the rear extremity of the receptacle immediately adjacent the plug access opening 120. With reference to Fig. 15, the walls 92 and 94 include lower surfaces 142 and 144, respectively, defining recesses 146a and 148a for receiving the tabs 64 along the rear margin 62 of the bottom cover panel 60. Disposed within the cavity 58 defined by the housing 50 is a substrate in the form of a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) 160 having top and bottom surfaces 162 and 164 carrying integrated circuits and other electronic components, such as the components 166 shown schematically in Figs. 7, 8 and 11. The PCBA 160 has longitudinal side margins 168 and 170 captured between the side walls 52 and 54 on the housing 50 and the flanges 62 and 64 of the bottom cover panel 60 (Fig. 8). As seen in Fig. 7, the card connector 34 is mounted along a forward margin 172 of the PCBA 160, the leads 42 from the connector 34 being soldered to a terminal section along the forward margin 172. With reference to Figs. 7 and 9-13, the PCBA 160 has a rear margin 174 along which is mounted a connector contact block 180 having three sections 182, 184 and 186 corresponding to the RJ connector receptacles 82, 84 and 86, respectively. The section 182 of the contact block 180 is representative of the RJ connector contact block sections. The contact block 180 may be supplied in tape and reel form and, using pick-and-place and surface mount technologies, connected to traces on the top surface 162a of the PCBA 160 along the rear margin 174 thereof (Fig. 11). The contact block 180, preferably molded from plastic as a single piece, comprises a rearwardly projecting base 188, a transverse vertical wall 190, and posts 192 joining the base 188 and wall 190. The base 188 has a lower planar, recessed surface 194 to which the rear margin 62 of the bottom cover panel 60 is bonded. The vertical wall 190 of the contact block 180 has a lower extremity comprising a planar, horizontal PCBA abutment surface 196 engaged by and bonded to the upper surface of the rear margin 174 of the PCBA 160. Locating pins 198 projecting from the abutment surface 196 are received by corresponding holes 200 in the PCBA 160 and serve to precisely position the contact block 180 relative to the PCBA. The portion of the wall 190 corresponding to representative section 182 of the contact block 180 has an upper part including a plurality of parallel, longitudinally oriented, equally spaced apart, contact wire guide slots 202. Generally, the portions of the wall 190 of the contact block sections 182 and 186 associated with the RJ-11 receptacles are provided with six (6) slots to accommodate up to as many contact wires, while the portion of the wall associated with the RJ-45 receptacle has eight (8) slots. Below the slots 202 is a recess 204 extending upwardly from the PCBA abutment surface 196. Each slot 202 communicates with the associated recess 204 via a vertical contact wire retention aperture 206. As best seen in Fig. 15, the receptacle body vertical walls 90, 92 and 94 have front edges 210, 212 and 214 configured to be closely received by notches 216, 218 and 220 in the wall 190 and posts 192. Further, the base 188 of the contact block 180 has a pair of upstanding projections 222 adapted to be received by apertures 224 in the receptacle body 72. When the receptacle body 72 and the contact block 180 are in their final, assembled configuration (Fig. 12), the slots 202 in the contact block wall 190 and the grooves 136 in the interior surface 134 of the top wall 98 of the receptacle body 72 are in longitudinal alignment. Thus, generally speaking, there will be a corresponding groove 136 for each slot 202. Each contact block section 182, 184 and 186 carries a plurality of contact wires. For example, the representative section 182 carries contact wires 230 each comprising a horizontal solder tail 232 soldered to a trace along the upper surface of the rear margin 174 of the PCBA 160; a vertical run 234 extending through one of the contact wire retention apertures 206 into a corresponding slot 202; and a horizontal portion 236 extending forwardly from the slot 202. A terminal portion 238 of the contact wire 230 is bent rearwardly as best seen in Figs. 9, 10 and 13 from the horizontal portion 236 to form an angled spring biased contact for engagement by a corresponding contact pin 108 on the associated RJ modular plug 100, all as well known in the art. A rear extremity 240 of each contact wire 230 is captured by the corresponding groove 136 in the top wall 98 of the receptacle body 72 to stabilize its position and prevent damage to it upon insertion of the modular plug 100. As best seen in Figs. 9, 10 and 12, the contact block 180 is designed to minimize its encroachment on the adjacent printed circuit board assembly 160. Thus, the forwardly extending solder tail 232 of each contact wire 230 is contained substantially within the longitudinal confines of the recess 204 and is connected to the traces on the rear margin 174 of the PCBA 160 as close as practicable to the rear edge of the PCBA. After fabrication of the subassembly shown in Fig. 11, the recesses 204 facilitate inspection of the integrity of the solder joints connecting the contact wire tails 232 to the PCBA and provide sufficient space to permit resoldering if necessary. Compact design is also afforded by bending the wire 230 forwardly to form the horizontal wire portion 236 and then rearwardly at an appropriate angle to provide a sufficiently long and therefore compliant rearwardly extending terminal portion 238. It will be seen that the portions of the contact wire 230 forward of the contact block 180 do not interfere with the PCBA or any of the devices carried thereby. The rear end 18 of the card 10 also includes an opening 250 configured to receive a slim D-sub plug for coupling the host system 12 to a cellular telephone permitting wireless communications. A mating slim D-sub connector body 252, positioned to receive the slim D-sub plug, is mounted on the rear margin 174 of the PCBA adjacent the contact block in alignment with the opening 250. It will thus be seen that the present invention successfully unites standard connectors and particularly RJ-type modular connectors, with the standard Type III PCMCIA card architecture without violating the constraints of either standard. Further, by providing an open bottom in the receptacle, the retention clip, in the fully inserted position of the modular plus is permitted to project outwardly from the lower, horizontal outer surface of the card. Accordingly, the 10.5mm height of the Type III card can incorporate a receptacle conforming to the FCC RJ connector standards. At the same time, by placing the lugs at the rear extremity of the receptacle, the depth of the receptacle has been minimized, extending longitudinally, at most approximately 12mm, so that encroachment on adjacent PCBA space is minimized. It will be evident that although it is preferable to orient the receptacles so as to receive the associated plugs in a longitudinal insertion direction, the orientation of the receptacles can be varied so as to receive the mating plugs in a direction that departs from longitudinal to some extent, so long as the upper and lower faces of the plug are maintained substantially parallel with the upper and lower exterior surfaces of the receptacle-defining, rear portion of the device. It further will be obvious that the receptacle body may be provided with various connector receptacle combinations besides the illustrated combination comprising an RJ-11 modem receptacle, an RJ-45 Ethernet receptacle, an RJ-11 pass-through and a slim D-sub connector receptacle. Alternatively, by way of example, the receptacle body could include an RJ-11 modem and pass-through receptacles; or a LAN RJ-45 receptacle only; and so forth. Further, the receptacle body can be adapted to connect the card to any one or more of a plurality of data or information transfer systems, U.S. and/or foreign. Thus, by way of example and not limitation, Fig. 16 shows a receptacle body 260 incorporating a mini-DIN connector receptacle 262; Fig. 17 depicts a receptacle body 264 housing a BNC/coax connector 266; Fig. 18 shows a receptacle body 268 supporting a D-sub connector 270; and Fig. 19 shows a receptacle body 272 including a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or IEEE-1394 connector 274. A particular receptacle body may thus incorporate any one or a combination of the standard connectors shown or other standard connectors of the many types known in the relevant industries, all within the Type III card form factor and particularly the 10.5mm height limitation. It will also be seen that the combination of the plastic housing and bottom cover panel together define a frameless card enclosure thereby maximizing the usable PCBA surface area. While the present invention has been described with reference to particular illustrative embodiments, the invention is not intended to be restricted to those embodiments but only by the appended claims. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the described embodiments, or substitute equivalents for the various elements described and shown, without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, it will be evident that the critical dimension is the cross section of the card, which cross section should not exceed the PCMCIA standards. The card length could be made somewhat longer than the PCMCIA card length of 85.0mm although this is less desirable since additional length might project excessively from the host system.

Claims: A PCMCIA communications device [10] for interfacing between an RJ-type connector plug [100] and a host system [12], the device being adapted to be received by a port in a host system for connecting the host system to a digital information transfer system and containing a substrate [160] carrying circuit components [16b] and including a substrate forward margin [172] and a substrate rear margin [174], said substrate forward and substrate rear margins carrying a plurality of terminals connected to circuit components on said substrate, the communications device including a multicontact connector [34] including sixty-eight connector contacts arranged in two rows of thirty four connector contacts each, said connector contacts including contact leads, a plurality of said contact leads being connected to at least some of said plurality of substrate terminals at said substrate forward margin [172] the multicontact connector being adapted to be received by a corresponding connector within a slot of the host system, wherein the communications device comprises a housing having longitudinal sides, a transverse front end and a rear portion, the substrate being enclosed within the housing, and the housing having a thickness dimension conforming substantially to the standards set by the PCMCIA, for Type III cards the device being adapted to be directly connectable to the digital information transfer system utilising the RJ-type connector plug characterized in that the housing comprises a main housing part [70] and a bottom cover panel [60], said substrate [160] and said multicontact connector [34] being disposed between said main housing part [70] and said bottom cover panel [60], and the housing having a rear portion comprising a subassembly [72, 180], said subassembly comprising at least one section [72] molded separately from the housing part [70] including a receptacle [82] sized and configured to receive an RJ-type connector plug [100], and having at least two contacts, said subassembly further comprising a contact block [180] having at least two contact wires [230] disposed at least partially within said receptacle, said at least two contact wires each having a first portion [232] and a second portion [238], said subassembly being connected to said substrate such that said first portion [232] of each of said contact wires is aligned with and makes electrical contact with one of the terminals on the rear margin of the substrate and said second portion [238] of each of said contact wires is formed to be aligned with one of said at least two contacts in said RJ-type connector plug when said RJ-type connector plug is inserted in said receptacle. The PCMCIA communications device of claim 1, wherein the main housing part [70] and the at least one section [72] are permanently bonded. The PCMCIA communications device of claim 2, wherein the main housing part [70] and the at least one section [72] are permanently bonded by an adhesive or sonic welding. The PCMCIA communications device of claim 3, wherein the main housing part [70] and the at least one section [72] are permanently bonded by an adhesive or sonic welding along matching arcuate joinder surfaces [74, 76]. The PCMCIA communications device of any preceding claim, wherein: said first portion [232] of each of said contact wires is soldered to a terminal on said substrate rear margin. The PCMCIA communications device of any preceding claim, wherein the contact block [180] and the at least one section [72] are assembled together to form said subassembly. The PCMCIA communications device of any preceding claim, wherein: said subassembly comprises at least two sections each including an opening [82, 86]. The PCMCIA communications device of any preceding claim, wherein: at least one of said openings [82] is configured to receive an RJ-11 connector plug. The PCMCIA communications device of any preceding claim, wherein: one [82] of said openings is configured to receive an RJ-11 connector plug and another [86] of said openings is configured to receive an RJ-45 connector plug. The PCMCIA communications device of any preceding claim, wherein the contact block [180] comprises a rearwardly projecting base [188] a transverse vertical wall [190] and posts [192] joining the base [188] and wall [190]. The PCMCIA communications device of claim 10, wherein the base [188] has a lower planar recessed surface [194] to which a rear margin of the bottom cover panel [60] is bonded. The PCMCIA communications device of any preceding claim, wherein the main housing part [70] comprises longitudinal sidewalls [52, 54] depending from a top wall [56]. The PCMCIA communications device of claim 12, wherein the bottom cover panel [60] defines upwardly extending said flanges [66, 68] nested within the side walls [52, 54].

Inventors: LAITY IAN A, LAITY, IAN A.
Applicants: XIRCOM INC, XIRCOM, INC.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: H01R24
IPC codes: H01R27, H01R13, G06F3, H01R31