Abstract:
A selectable compatibility electrical connector assembly has a high performance plug for mating with the jack to form a high performance electrical connection or to provide switching among various circuit elements to change the transmission characteristics of the assembly. The jack is adapted to receive low performance plugs and has a plug stop therein for limiting the depth of insertion of the low performance plug into the jack. The plug of the invention has an elongated notch in its front end which is designed to clear the plug stop for insertion of the plug to a depth greater than that of the low performance plug. The jack has first and second longitudinally offset latching stubs for latching both the low performance and the high performance plug at their proper insertion depth. An embodiment of the jack has a reciprocating switch assembly adapted to be actuated by the high performance plug when inserted to its proper depth in the jack.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to, and deals with subject matter similar to that of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,139,343; 6,168,472; and 6,056,568, of Jaime R. Arnett, filed Jan. 25, 1999, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,256 of Arnett; filed Apr. 15, 1999 and issued Jun. 13, 2000, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to a modular connector of the type used in telecommunications equipment. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Telecommunication equipment has benefited from the design of electrical plugs and jacks that provide easy connect/disconnect capability between electrical circuits within the telecommunications equipment and, for example, local network wiring. Such plugs and jacks are particularly popular in association with telephone sets, where they were first used, and, more recently, in association with a large variety of peripheral equipment that is connected to telephone lines. The modular plugs and jacks in use today have been standardized insofar as their performance specifications are concerned and also insofar as certain critical dimensions and structural features are concerned. The use of these devices has become so widespread that new houses and other buildings are prewired with jacks located throughout the various rooms as well as other strategic locations, to accommodate the communication equipment. Where large numbers of such connections are needed, it is typical practice to route the wires to a central location, such as a communication closet where, typically, the jacks are mounted on patch panels. Such an arrangement is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,439 of J. R. Arnett. In most installations, it is desirable that the jack be compact, and there have been numerous jacks designed to achieve this goal. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,442 of J. R. Arnett there is shown one such compact jack and plug arrangement which, together, constitute a compact electrical connector. The compact electrical connector shown in that patent includes a metallic lead frame mounted to a spring block. The lead frames comprise a number of flat elongated conductors, each terminating in a spring contact at one end and an insulation displacement connector at the other end. The insulation displacement connectors are folded around opposite side walls of the spring block and achieve compactness, and the spring contacts are folded around the front surface of the spring block for insertion into a jack frame. The front surface of the spring block includes a tongue-like projection which fits into one end of the jack frame and interlocks therewith. With the ever increasing numbers of peripheral equipment, and with concomitant increases in operating frequencies, such as required in digital data transmission, connector assemblies such as shown in the aforementioned Arnett &#39;442 patent, while enjoying a large amount of commercial success, do not function well in the higher frequency ranges. The use of such plugs and jacks is impaired by crosstalk within the components, especially in the plug, and as frequencies increase, so does the effect of crosstalk. Numerous arrangements have been proposed for reducing the effects of crosstalk overall by connectors having a minimum of crosstalk, or by connectors which add compensating crosstalk to the overall circuit, such as adding capacitance to the jack to nullify or compensate for the crosstalk in the plug. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,647 of W. J. Denkmann et al., there is shown an electrical connector for conducting high frequency signals in which the input and output terminals are interconnected by a pair of metallic lead frames mounted on a dielectric spring block. The lead frames, which are substantially identical to each other each comprises several flat elongated conductors, terminating in spring contacts at one end and insulation displacement connectors at the other end. The conductors are generally parallel and close to each other, but three conductors of one frame are arranged to overlap three conductors of the other frame in a crossover region. As a result, the crosstalk between the several conductors is reduced, due to the reversal in polarities caused by the crossovers. 
     Nevertheless, for a wide range of applications, an electrical connector having even less crosstalk would be desirable. Also, desirably, a connector capable of making other circuit connections for uses other than, or in addition to, crosstalk manipulation, would impart a degree of versatility to the connector not heretofore realized. In particular, the rate of data flow, which is continually being increased in the art today, causes the wiring parts to become, in effect, antennae which both broadcast and receive electromagnetic radiation, thereby, in effect, coupling different pairs of wires together, (crosstalk), thereby degrading the signal-to-noise ratio, and producing an increased error rate. Connectors which, in effect, nullify or at least reduce overall crosstalk, and yet which are usable over wide frequency ranges and which are capable of making other circuit connections, are desiderata to which the present invention is addressed. In order for wide frequency usage to be possible, it is desirable that at least some of the components of the connector be compatible with components of connectors in both the low and the high performance categories. 
     The aforementioned related applications and patent of Jaime R. Arnett, the present inventor, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, deal with selectable compatibility connectors, plugs, and jacks wherein a connector assembly of a plug and a jack, which are designed to operate together as a high performance connector, but which automatically introduce capacitance into the connection circuit when used as a component or components of a low performance connector to alter the crosstalk performance and transmission loss characteristic thereof. The terms “high” and “low” are terms of art and relate to several connector parameters, chief among which is crosstalk, as will be discussed more fully hereinafter. It is desirable, for optimum performance, that the plug and the jack operate together in the desired frequency range. Thus a low performance jack should operate with a low performance plug, and a high performance jack should operate with a high performance plug. 
     In greater detail, the plug shown in those applications has mounted therein a printed wiring board which is movable in longitudinal translation in a pair of guiding slots. On one surface of the wiring board, or PWB, are a plurality of spaced capacitance contact pads, the number being dependent upon the number of leads to which it is desired to add capacitance. The wire leads in the plug which, as in normal practice, wrap around the nose of the plug, have contact portions which bear against the surface of the PWB, and against the capacitance pads of the PWB in a second position thereof, or simply against the non-conducting surface of the board in a first position thereof. The plug further includes a spring member which bears against the end of the PWB remote from the plug nose, and functions to bias the PWB toward the first, non-capacitance engaging position. Actuator means, such as stand-offs from the PWB, function to engage a portion of the jack where the jack is a low performance component when the plug is inserted therein, thus moving the PWB to the capacitance engaging position to introduce capacitance into the circuit for crosstalk compensation and to alter the transmission loss characteristic in the low performance mode. Thus the high performance plug of the invention can be used with a low performance jack. 
     The second component of the high performance connector of these applications is a jack which has mounted therein a PWB which is movable in longitudinal translation in a pair of guiding slots. As is the case with the plug of the invention, the PWB has on one surface thereof a plurality of closely spaced capacitance contact pads, the number being dependent upon the number of leads to which it is desired to add capacitance. The wire leads in the jack have contact portions which bear against the surface of the PWB and, in a second position, against the capacitance pads thereon, or against a non-conducting portion of the PWB in a first position. The PWB, which as pointed out before, is movable relative to the jack, and more particularly, to the wire leads therein, is biased by a spring member within the jack housing to the first or non-capacitance introducing position which is the desired position for the high performance jack. The PWB has spaced actuator stand-offs mounted thereon which, as will be explained hereinafter, are pushed by the nose portion of a low performance plug to move the PWB to the second position, thereby introducing capacitance into the connector circuit. The jack is provided with first and second spaced slots which receive the stand-offs of the high performance plug of the invention, thereby preventing them from actuating the PWB in the plug. By the same token, the plug has recesses in the sides of the housing thereof which provide clearance for the stand-offs on the PWB of the jack, thereby preventing the high performance plug of the invention from actuating the PWB of the jack. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,256 of Arnett, there is shown a connector assembly in which a stationary PWB (printed wiring board) mounted in the plug has a plurality of capacitance contact pads thereon and the wire leads of the plug have contact portions which are movable into contact with the pads by means of movable buttons, for example. When the plug is inserted into a low performance jack, the buttons, or other means, force the leads in the plug into contact with the capacitance pads for a low performance connector configuration. When the plug is inserted into a high performance jack, the leads remain in their non-contacting orientation and form, with the jack, a high performance connection. 
     The connector arrangement of the Arnett application is primarily aimed at crosstalk compensation. However, and as pointed out in that application, the arrangement can be used to introduce or remove various circuit elements performing other functions than, or in addition to, crosstalk compensation. In the rapidly growing high performance connector usage, it is desirable that the connectors, i.e., jack and plug, be adaptable to other uses such as switching various circuits or circuit elements into and out of the connector circuit, which still maintaining compatibility of both plug and jack with low performance connector elements. 
     The plug and jack of the foregoing applications are characterized by each having a printed wiring board that is movable in translation, as discussed. It is also possible, if not in the interests of cost, desirable, to have similar selectable compatibility electrical connector assemblies in which the components, i.e., the plug and jack, having stationary printed wiring boards or other circuitry, and it is to such arrangements that the present invention is directed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The connector assembly of the present invention, comprising a jack and a plug, is characterized by selectable compatibility and is designed to introduce automatically connection of at least some of the conductive leads within the connector to other circuit elements, including switching elements for example, when the high performance plug of the connector is introduced into the high performance jack thereof On the other hand, both jack and plug are compatible with a standard low performance plug or standard low performance jack respectively. 
     In greater detail, the jack of the invention has an apertured front face and a substantially hollow interior, in common with prior art jacks. The plug of the invention has a front end insertable into the apertured jack, and a cantilevered latching arm for latching the plug within the jack, wherein conductors in the front end of the plug make contact with spring contact conductors in the jack, as in the prior art. In contrast to a standard low performance jack, which has a pair of latching stubs in the aperture at the front face, the latching stubs of the jack of the invention are longitudinally offset from one another, with a first stub being located at the front face of an extension on the jack, and a second stub spaced laterally and longitudinally offset into the jack interior from the first stub. Also, within the interior of the jack are first and second plug stops which are also spaced laterally and longitudinally offset from one another. The spacing between the first stub and first plug stop is substantially equal to the spacing between the second stub and second plug stop. 
     A standard low performance plug has latching members on either side of the latching arm, for engaging at least one of the latching stubs at a first penetration depth, however, the plug of the invention has a latching member on only one side of the arm, and the arm itself has a clearance cutaway on the other side thereof. When the plug of the invention is inserted into the jack of the invention, the cutaway area clears the first latching stub and insertion can continue until the latching member engages the second latching stub at a second penetration depth. The front end of the plug has a clearance notch which allows the plug to pass the first plug stop, and a second, shorter notch which engages the second plug stop. On the other hand, when a low performance plug is inserted into the jack, it engages the first latching stub and first plug stop and thus is prevented from moving as far into the jack as the plug of the invention, but far enough to engage the spring contacts. 
     Within the interior of the jack are the spring contacts which are engageable by the front or nose of the plug, either low performance or high performance. However, the high performance plug of the invention moves farther into the jack and engages and displaces the spring contacts, moving them into engagement with circuit elements, such as a PWB or capacitance pads contained within the jack, or into contact with leads going to circuit elements exterior of the jack. 
     In a second embodiment of the invention, the spring contacts are normally in contact with circuit elements, such as capacitance pads, and the jack of the invention is thus configured to function as a low performance jack when a low performance plug, which engages but does not displace the spring contacts, is inserted therein. However, when a high performance plug is inserted, it penetrates deeper into the jack, thereby displacing the spring contacts and moving them out of contact with the circuit elements, e.g., capacitance pads, and into contact with other circuit elements, as explained in the foregoing. Thus the jack automatically changes from a low performance jack reception of low performance plugs to a high performance jack when the high performance plug of the invention is inserted therein and latched thereto. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the plug of the invention engages a plunger or switch button, thereby activating a switch to introduce other circuit elements into circuit with the connector. 
     The numerous principles and features of the present invention, as well as the structural details thereof, will be more readily understood from the following detailed description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art connector assembly; 
     FIG. 1 a  is a plan view of the connector plug of the assembly of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the prior art connector jack of the assembly of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the jack frame of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 a  is a front elevation view of the jack frame of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 b  is a side elevation view of the jack frame of FIG. 4 a;    
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of the connector plug of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of a prior art connector assembly; 
     FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of the plug of the present invention mated to a prior art jack frame; 
     FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view of a prior art connector plug mated to the jack frame of the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic plan view of the connector plug of the invention mated to the jack frame of the invention; 
     FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic elevation view partially in cross-section of a prior art plug mated to the jack frame of the invention; 
     FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic elevation view partially in cross-section of the plug of the invention mated to the jack frame of the invention; 
     FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic elevation view of a second embodiment of the jack frame of the invention; 
     FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic elevation view in partial cross-section of the jack frame of FIG. 12 as modified; 
     FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic elevation view partially in cross-section of another embodiment of the jack frame of the invention with a prior art plug inserted therein; and 
     FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic elevation view partially in cross-section of the jack frame of FIG. 14 with the plug of the invention inserted therein. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 depicts a prior art wall plate  11  such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,442 of Arnett, which has openings  12  therein for receiving up to six modular jacks  13 . As shown in the Arnett patent, jack  13  comprises a jack frame  14  and a connector  16  of insulating material which, together, constitute modular jack  13 . As can be seen in FIG. 2, connector  16  comprises a spring block member  17  and a cover member  18  both of suitable insulating material and which is insertable into a rear opening of jack frame  14 . Spring block  17  has a wire frame  19  mounted thereon, the leads of which curve around the nose  21  of the spring block  17  and depend at an angle therefrom to form a plurality of spring contacts  22 , which mate with contact members  23  in the plug  24 , also of insulating material, when it is inserted into the front opening  26  of jack frame  14  and locked by means of trigger or latching arm  25 . Cantilevered latching arm  25  is shown in FIG. 1 a , which is a plan view of plug  24 , inverted relative to FIG.  1 . In the discussion to follow, in order to avoid confusion, the surface upon which the latching arm is mounted shall be referred to as the top surface, although in actual practice it is usually the bottom surface of the plug. Arm  25  has first and second latching shoulders  31  and  32 , which, when plug  24  is inserted in jack  13 , engage first and second latching stubs  33  and  34 , thereby holding plug  24  within jack  23 . The front end of plug  24  has first and second notches  36  and  37  which form shoulders for engaging plug stops within the jack frame  14  (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) to limit forward travel of the plug. The contact members  23  are each connected to an individual wire in cable  27 , and the spring contacts  22  are each connected to an individual wire  28  which may be part of a cable, not shown, or which may lead to individual apparatus, not shown. The plug  24  and the jack  13  may form connections for a number of wires such as, for example, four or eight, depending upon the particular application. Wire frame  19  is shown in FIG. 2 as having eight wires, and, hence, eight spring contacts  22 , while plug  24  is shown, for convenience, as having only four contact members. It is to be understood that FIG. 2 does not depict a specific connector hook-up, but is intended to illustrate the relationship of the various parts or components of the connector module. FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the prior art jack  13 , showing the opening  26 , latching stubs  33  and  34  and plug stops  38  and  39 , which, as will be apparent hereinafter, are rearwardly spaced from the front face  41  of jack  13 . A slotted wall  42  serves to align and hold the spring contacts  22 . The shoulders of notches  36  and  37  on plug  24  are adapted to engage stops  38  and  39  to prevent the plug  24  from penetrating too far into jack  13 . The arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 2 has been modified in numerous ways, as pointed out hereinbefore, in efforts to improve, for example, the near end crosstalk (NEXT) performance, achieve greater compactness, or to facilitate the operation of connection/disconnection in usage. In all such cases, the actual connect/disconnect operation of the apparatus is basically the same, even where the plugs or jacks have been modified extensively for whatever reason. In other words, the industry standards have to be met. The present invention is a connect system which is intended to extend the performance range of operation but which complies with industry standards to the extent that the plug and jack of the invention are compatible with existing plugs and jacks, and which, automatically introduce capacitance or other circuit elements into the circuitry upon sensing that either the plug or the jack is being used with a pre-existing prior art jack or plug. Thus, the plug and jack of the present invention exhibit “backward compatibility.” 
     “Backward compatibility” is, at present, being explored in the prior art, and proposals exist for achieving it. In a monograph entitled “Connectors With Accessed Quality For Use In D.C., Low Frequency Analogue, And In Digital High Speed Data “Applications, ” IEC 61076-X-Y, issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission, there are shown several suggested arrangements for achieving compatibility among plus and jacks. Most of the jacks and plugs therein disclosed rely upon switching, either manually or automatically, between two different wiring schemes, whereas the present invention, as will be apparent hereinafter, relies upon the introduction or removal of capacitance or other current elements from the component or components of the connector system, or, in one embodiment, the actuation of a switch to alter the circuit characteristics. 
     FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b  are front and side elevation views respectively of the jack frame  46  of the present invention. As will be apparent hereinafter, the principles of the invention are embodied in modifications to the plug  24 , jack frame  14  and connector  16 , which together make up jack  13 . Jack frame  46 , which is a substantially hollow body, has a face  47  from which an extension  48  protrudes, and an opening  49 . As will be more clearly seen and discussed hereinafter, a first latching stub  51  is substantially flush with the front face  53  of extension  48 , and a second latching stub  52  is rearwardly spaced from stub  51 . Similarly, first and second plug stops  54  and  56  are longitudinally spaced from each other, although the spacings are not clearly shown in FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b.    
     FIG. 5 is an inverted plan view of the plug  61  of the present invention in which it can be seen that the cantilevered latching arm  62  only has one latching shoulder  63  which, as will be discussed more fully hereinafter, is adapted to latch to latching stub  52  in jack frame  46 . The other side  64  of arm  62  is straight, i.e. without latching means, and extends substantially parallel to the plug centerline. Also, that portion of the arm  62  from the centerline to the edge of side  64  is narrower than from the centerline to the other edge  66 . The narrower portion allows arm  62  to pass into aperture  49  of jack frame  46  without engaging latch stub  51 . This action will be clearly understood from FIGS. 6,  7 ,  8 , and  9  and the discussion thereof. Plug  61  has an elongated notch  60  forming a shoulder  65  adapted to engage plug stop  56  to limit rearward movement of plug  61 . Plug  61  also has a standard notch  37  forming a shoulder  40  for engagement with plug stop  54  in jack frame  46 . Both jack  13  and jack frame  46  have rearward openings  70 . 
     FIGS. 6 through 9 are diagrams of, respectively, a prior art jack  13  mated with a prior art plug  24 , a prior art jack  13  mated with the plug  61  of the invention, the jack frame  46  of the invention mated with a prior art plug  24 ; and the jack frame  46  of the invention mated with the plug  61  of the invention. It is to be understood that FIGS. 6 through 9 are intended to show, diagrammatically, the actions of the latching stubs and plug stops in each of the four arrangements, and are not intended to be precise depictions of the several components. 
     FIG. 6 diagrams the relationship between prior art jack  13  and prior art plug  24 , which is inserted therein. It can be seen that when plug  24  is fully inserted, the plug stops bear against the shoulders formed by notches  36  and  37  to prevent further rearward movement of plug  24 . At the same time, latching shoulders  31  and  32  engage latching stubs  33  and  34  to prevent the plug from being pulled out of jack  13 . Thus, both forward and rearward movement of plug  24  are effectively prevented. 
     The diagram of FIG. 7 illustrates the compatibility of the new plug  61  of the invention with a prior art jack  13 , thereby creating a low performance connection. When the plug  61  is inserted into jack  13 , its rearward movement is arrested, and further rearward movement prevented, by shoulder  40  engaging plug stop  38 . At the same time, latching shoulder  63  latches to latching stub  33  to prevent the plug  61  from being pulled out of the jack  13 . Thus plug  61  functions in the same manner as plug  24  in FIG. 6 as a low performance plug. 
     FIG. 8 depicts a prior art generally low performance plug  24  inserted into the jack frame  46  of the invention. It can be seen that rearward movement is limited by the shoulder of notch  36  engaging elongated plug stop member  56 , and reverse movement is prevented by latching shoulder  31  engaging latching stub  34 . As a consequence, plug  24  does not penetrate all the way into the jack frame  46 , but, as will be seen clearly hereinafter, it does penetrate sufficiently into jack frame  46  to make the desired contact with the contact springs  22  to create a low performance connection. 
     The connector  45  of the invention, comprising both jack frame  46  and plug  61  inserted therein is shown in FIG.  9 . Plug  61  is insertable into jack frame  46  until shoulder  65  engages plug stop  56  and shoulder  40  engages plug stop  54 . At the same time, or, rather, in the position, latching shoulder  63  latches to latch stub  52 . The cutaway straight side  64  of latching arm  62  does not, as shown, engage latching stub  51 . If side  64  had a latching shoulder corresponding to shoulder  63 , when that shoulder passed over stub  51  an installer might be misled into thinking the connection was complete, even though the plug  61  had not been inserted sufficiently far into jack frame  46  for plug stops  54  and  56  to engage plug  61 . Thus, with the elimination of such latching shoulder, such as erroneous indication is prevented. As can be seen in FIG. 9, plug  61  travels farther into jack frame  46  than does prior art plug  24 , as seen in FIG.  8 . As will be apparent hereinafter, this additional travel alters the circuitry of jack frame  46  to produce a high performance connection, or to achieve other switching or circuitry changes. 
     FIGS. 10,  11 , and  12  are partially diagrammatic, partially cross section views in elevation FIGS. 10 and 11 of which correspond, respectively, to the arrangements shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. From FIGS. 8 and 9 it can be seen that plug  61  penetrates farther into jack frame  46  than does prior art, or low performance, plug  24 , and FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate the effect of these differences in penetration. In FIG. 10 it can be seen that plug  24  when fully inserted, bears against spring contacts or wires  22 , by means of standard blade  66 , to complete electrical connection between wires  67  of cable  27 , and to move contact  22  away from a sloped bearing surface  68  on an upper projecting block  69 . A lower projecting block  71  projects upward from the floor of jack frame  46 , as viewed in FIG.  10  and has an array of capacitance pads  72  on, for example, a printed wiring board  73 . The terms “upper” and “lower” and “upward” are not intended to be limiting, but simply conform to the views shown as a matter of convenience. Although capacitance pads  72  (only one of which is shown) are instrumental in altering the electrical characteristics of the connector  45  of the invention, it is to be understood that PWB  73  may have other, different, circuitry and components, depending on the particular function assigned to connector  45 . In addition, it is to be understood that PWB  73  may be replaced by individual circuit elements on the top surface of projection  71 . Further, where connections to elements external to the connector  45  are made, the leads from the circuitry within connector  45  are not shown, to avoid confusion. Such leads are well within the purview of those skilled in the art, and may take any of a number of forms or configurations. 
     As can be seen in FIG. 11, the greater depth of penetration of plug  61  into jack frame  46 , as was discussed with respect to FIG. 9, causes spring wires  22  to be pushed down to make contact with capacitance pads  72  or PWB  73  on lower projection  71 . Pads  72  or the circuitry on PWB  73 , when contacted by spring wires  22 , alter the electrical characteristics of the connector  45  to produce a high performance plug, for example. As pointed out hereinbefore, the connector  45  is quite versatile in that it can be adapted to other uses besides the reduction of crosstalk. FIG. 12 shows one such adaptation in a second embodiment of the invention wherein sloped surface  68  has a circuit element or elements  74  thereon. Element  74  may comprise individual circuit elements such as capacitance pads or it may comprise a printed wiring board having capacitance pads, resistors, or the circuitry thereon. The jack frame  46  of FIG. 12, as shown, with spring wires or connectors bearing against element  74 , may function as a low performance jack, for example. When a low performance, i.e., prior art plug is inserted therein, blade  66  contacts specially configured spring conductor  76 , which is in contact with circuit element  74 , sufficient to establish electrical continuity, but not sufficient to remove spring conductor  76  of electrical contact with element  74 . Thus, jack frame  46  functions as a low performance jack. However, when the high performance plug  61  of the invention is inserted in jack frame  46 , the action shown in FIG. 11 takes place and jack frame  46  switches to a high performance jack frame configuration, thereby making a high performance connector. FIGS. 10 through 13 also illustrate the versatility available utilizing the principles of the invention. Elements  73  through  74  may have any of a number of possible circuit arrangements, and may be used singly or collectively, i.e. both elements  74  and  73  may be present, or only one or the other. The plug  61  and jack frame  46  can be regarded as an automatic switching arrangement which produces a wide range of electrical characteristics. 
     FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate an alternative switching arrangement wherein projection  69  of jack frame  46  has a bore  77  which contains the shaft  78  of a switch actuating plunger  79  having headed ends  81  and  82  and a biasing spring  83  for maintaining the plunger in the position shown in FIG.  14 . Mounted in the rear of jack frame  46  by suitable means is a circuit board or PWB  84  having circuit elements  86 , e.g. capacitance pads, thereon. A spring contact member  87  extends into the space between head  81  and board  84 , as shown. When, as is shown in FIG. 14, a lower performance plug  24 , is inserted into jack frame  46 , it depresses spring contact or conductor  22  in the same manner as shown in FIG.  10 . However, plug  24  does not penetrate into jack housing  46 , see FIGS. 8 and 10, far enough to contact the headed end  82  of switching plunger  79 , and the switch remains unactuated. When, on the other hand, the plug  61  of the invention is inserted into jack frame  46 , the nose portion of latching arm  61  bears against headed end  82  of plunger  79  and forces it toward the rear, compressing spring  83 . Headed end  81  bears against spring contact  87  and forces it into contact with circuit element  86 . Connecting leads  88  and  89  are intended to represent, schematically, a means by which the switch comprising contact member  87  and circuit elements  86  can be connected to external circuitry. Although not shown, spring contacts  22  and PWB  73  can be connected to the external circuitry also, as was pointed out hereinbefore. Instead of spring  83 , spring contact  87  can be made to bear against headed end  81  to supply the biasing force. Thus when the nose portion of latching area  62  presses against headed end  82 , the biasing force of spring contact  87  is overcome and plunger  79  forces contact  87  into contact with circuit element  86 . 
     The connector  45  of the invention as disclosed in the foregoing, has a broad range of possible applications as a result of its versatility. There are, basically, no moving parts, except the plug  61  (or plug  24 ) relative to the jack frame  46 , and the spring wires  22 , except for the switch arrangement of FIGS. 14 and 15. Thus the connector of the invention is both simple and economically manufactured. 
     In conclusion, it should be noted that it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiment without substantial departure from the principles and scope of the present invention. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein as within the scope of the present invention, as set forth hereinafter.