Abstract:
A modular jack assembly for connecting and switching computer network cables. The jack assembly includes at least one jack module with two sets of connectors for linking wires from cables to the module and at least one jack. The modules within jack assembly slide between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the two sets of connectors linked to cables are electrically connected to each other, allowing normal through signal transmission. In the second position, the electrical connection between the connector sets is broken and the plug contacts within each jack are linked to one of the sets of connectors, allowing pass-through connections, such as a cross-connection, to be made.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of modular jacks for use in the telecommunications industry. More specifically, this invention relates to a switching jack which allows selection of normal-through signal flow or pass-through signal flow for use in telecommunications network applications.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    When building or extending a Local Area Network (LAN) or other similar telecommunications environment, some ability to connect sets of cables is required. Often, this need arises when a backbone or horizontal cable is connected to a LAN segment. In this situation, the workstations of the LAN segment are cabled and the cables from these workstations are gathered together in a wiring enclosure. The backbone cable is also led into the same enclosure. The individual cables from the workstations are split into twisted pairs and the pairs of wires are connected with a set of insulation displacement connectors (IDCs) or other connectors. These connectors are electrically connected to a set of modular jacks according to industry wiring standards. The backbone is also broken into appropriate twisted wire pairs and connecting to a separate set of IDCs or other connectors. These second connectors are then linked to another set of modular jacks according to industry wiring standards. Links between the backbone cable and the workstation cables are made by connecting a backbone modular jack to a workstation modular jack with a cross-connect patch cable.  
           [0003]    This sort of LAN wiring arrangement can lead to confusion and management difficulties since every single network link in that particular wiring enclosure requires a cross-connect patch cable. Labeling and managing these cables can quickly become quite difficult with large or even moderately sized networks.  
           [0004]    To address these shortcomings, a different type of modular jack arrangement was created, called a normal through jack assembly. Normal through jack assemblies might include a pair of modular jacks, one of the modular jacks electrically linked to a first connector for connecting to a backbone cable, the other modular jack electrically linked to a second connector for connecting to a workstation cable, and circuitry connecting the two jacks. The circuitry connecting the jacks would provide electrical connectivity between the two sets of connectors linked to the jacks such that when no plug has been inserted in either jack, a direct connection between the connectors is maintained. This is referred to as the normal through condition. Changes to this normal condition may be required when a network user temporarily moves to a new workstation or when there is a problem with a port in a hub or router either downstream or upstream of the normal through jack assembly. When a plug is inserted into either jack, the normal through condition is broken and the connectors linked to that jack are electrically linked to the plug&#39;s conductors. Then the jack assembly can be used as a traditional cross-connect operation. This arrangement has the effect of reducing the number of cross-connect cables required to maintain the operational status of the network.  
           [0005]    Current normal through jacks use a variety of means to accomplish these normal and cross-connect functions. Prior art normal through jacks are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,074,801, 5,161,988, and 5,178,554. Issues regarding these jacks and other jacks have arisen with respect to durability, complexity of design and construction, and the ability to avoid signal degradation due to cross-talk at higher levels of data transmission speed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    One preferred embodiment of the present invention is a jack apparatus and method for connecting and switching network cables. The jack includes at least one jack module with two sets of connectors for linking wires from cables to the module and at least one jack. The modules within the jack slide between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the two sets of connectors linked to cables are electrically connected to each other, allowing normal through signal transmission. In the second position, the electrical connection between the connector sets is broken and the contacts within each jack are linked to one of the sets of connectors, allowing pass-through connections, such as a cross-connection, to be made through plugs received by the jacks.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the description, illustrate several aspects of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. A brief description of the drawings is as follows:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a normal through jack assembly containing three jack modules.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the jack assembly in FIG. 1.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a further front perspective view of the jack assembly in FIG. 1.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a further front perspective view of the jack assembly in FIG. 1 with a front cover and a rear cover removed and with portions of the housing of one of the jack modules removed.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the front circuit board, rear springs and rear spring holder of a single normal through jack module with illustrative circuit pathways shown on the circuit board.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a side view of the jack portions in FIG. 4.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the front cover for the jack assembly in FIG. 1.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 is front perspective view of the underside of the front circuit board in FIG. 5 with illustrative circuit pathways shown. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]    Referring now to FIGS.  1 - 8 , a normal through jack assembly  10  is shown which contains three normal through jack modules  20 . The three-module unit illustrated is one preferred embodiment. Single module units, and other densities of jacks are possible and may be desirable or required for a particular application. On the front of each module  20  are two jacks  22 ,  24  with plug openings  21  for receiving standard RJ-45 plugs in the direction of axes  19 . Use of other plug formats and different jacks  22 ,  24  for receiving those plugs is anticipated.  
         [0017]    Mounted to the rear of each module  20  are connection locations  23 ,  25 . In the illustrated embodiment, connection locations  23 ,  25  are configured as upper and lower rows  27 ,  29  of insulation displacement connectors (IDCs)  26 ,  28  respectively. IDCs  26 ,  28  are multi-wire connector blocks. Use of alternative connector types for linking cables to jack assembly  10  is anticipated.  
         [0018]    Jack modules  20  each contain a switch for providing selective circuit pathways between pairs of connection locations  23 ,  25  in a normal through condition, and each jack  22 ,  24  and a respective connection location  23 ,  25  in a pass-through or cross-connect condition. In the normal through condition, each one of jacks  22 ,  24  is preferably electrically isolated from the rest of the circuit. In the pass-through condition, the electrical path between the pairs of connection locations  23 ,  25  is broken. In the preferred embodiment, when the normal through condition is broken, a jack  22  is connected to one of rear connectors  26 , and a jack  24  is connected to one of rear connectors  28 .  
         [0019]    Front cover  32  provides an opening  68  sized to allow the front of each module  20  to be accessible from the front of jack assembly  10 . The rightmost jack module  20  in FIG. 1 is shown more deeply inserted into jack assembly  10  than the other two modules  20 . In this position, the rightmost module  20  is in non-normal through mode. The other two modules  20  are shown fully extended and are in normal through mode. Front cover  32  also provides a labeling surface  30  where indicia of devices connected to jacks  22 ,  24  may be placed.  
         [0020]    Referring now to FIG. 2, additional details of jack assembly  10  may be seen. From this view, it can be seen that front cover  32  fits on rear cover  36  and is removably held in place on rear cover  36  by deformable tabs  38 . Different arrangements for removably attaching front cover  32  on the jack assembly are anticipated. Upper and lower IDCs  26 ,  28  comprise eight individual connection points  40  per IDC  26 ,  28 . Jack assembly  10  is intended to work with standard twisted pair data cables which consist of eight wires in four twisted pairs. Each IDC connection point  40  electrically connects to one of those wires and includes an outer housing and an inner conductor. Jack assembly  10  is configured to accept one such data cable per module at upper connector row  27  and one such data cable per module at lower connector row  29 . Back plane  34  of jack assembly  10  serves as a mounting board for connectors  26  and  28 . Back plane  34  is preferably a circuit board linking connectors  26 ,  28  with contacts used in the switching function of jack assembly  10 . As shown, back plane  34  is a single board common to each switching jack module  20 . Back plane  34  is mounted to rear cover  36  in any convenient manner, such as snaps, fasteners or other attachment methods.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 illustrates some further aspects of the front of jack assembly  10 . Within each of jacks  22 ,  24 , a series of front spring contacts  42  can seen. Spring contacts  42  are sized and positioned to mate with and make electrical contact with the contacts of standard RJ45 plugs inserted into jacks  22 ,  24 . Eight spring contacts  42  are mounted within each jack  22 ,  24  and each of these spring contacts  42  is linked electrically with an IDC connection point  40  in IDCs  26 ,  28  in connector rows  27 ,  29  on the back of jack assembly  10  when a jack module  20  is in a non-normal through position. Further details regarding the method of electrically linking spring contacts  42  and IDCs  26 ,  28  will be described below.  
         [0022]    Referring now to FIGS.  4 - 7 , front cover  32  and rear cover  36  have been removed to show more details of jack modules  20 . In addition, outer module housing  46  has been removed from the rightmost module  20 . Spring contacts  42  within each jack  22  and  24  are held in a contact holder  50 , and extend into slidable circuit board  48 . Spring contacts  42  of jack  22  are electrically connected to circuit pathways or tracings  56  at via holes  58  on slidable circuit board  48 . Each module  20  is contained within an outer module housing  46 . These outer module housings  46  include lower module surfaces  44 . When jack assembly  10  is fully assembled, lower module surfaces  44  rest on shelf  70  inside front cover  32 . Front lip  72  of lower module surface  44  is engaged by inside ledge  74  of opening  70  to prevent module  20  from being removed from jack assembly  10 , when front cover  32  is in place. Mounted on back plane  34  are upper circuit board spring contacts  52  and lower circuit board spring contacts  54 . Spring contacts  52 ,  54  are held by holder  35 . Eight upper spring contacts  52  and eight lower spring contacts  54  are mounted to the back plane  34  for each module. Each upper spring contact  52  is electrically connected to an IDC  26  in upper connector row  27  and each lower spring contact  54  is electrically connected to an IDC  28  in lower connector row  29  through tracings or circuit pathways  59  on back plane  34 .  
         [0023]    Referring now to FIG. 5, illustrative electrical pathways  56 ,  62  are shown. Electrical pathway  56  extends from via holes  58  to contact pad  60 . Each of the leftmost group of eight via holes  58  is electrically connected with a circuit pathway  56  to a contact pad  60  on the upper surface of slidable circuit board  48 . Upper spring contacts  52  are positioned on top of and are in physical contact with the upper surface slidable circuit board  48  at free ends  53 . When a module  20  is in a non-normal through position, each of the upper spring contacts  52  are in physical contact with and electrically connected to a contact pad  60 , thus completing an electrical circuit between contacts  42  of jack  22  and rear IDCs  26  of upper connector row  27 .  
         [0024]    Referring now to FIG. 8, on the underside of slidable circuit board  48  is a similar arrangement. Each of the rightmost group of eight via holes  59  is electrically linked with a circuit pathway  57  to contact pads  61  on the lower surface of slidable circuit board  48 . Lower spring contacts  54  are positioned beneath and are in physical contact with the lower surface of slidable circuit board  48  at free ends  55 . When a module  20  is in a non-normal through position, each of the lower spring contacts  54  are in physical contact with and electrically connected to a contact pad  61 , thus completing an electrical circuit between contacts  42  of jack  24  and rear IDCs  28  of lower connector row  29 .  
         [0025]    Also on top of slidable circuit board  48  are normal contact pads  64 . Normal circuit pathways or tracings  62  and normal via holes  66  are also provided. As shown in FIG. 5, when a module  20  is in the normal through position, upper spring contacts  52  are physically in contact with and electrically connected to normal contact pads  64 , located on top slidable circuit board  48 . Normal contact pads  64  are electrically connected to via holes  66  by normal circuit pathways  62 , and via holes  66  extend through slidable circuit board  48 . As shown in FIG. 8, on the underside of slidable circuit board  48 , via holes  66  are electrically connected to normal contact pads  65  by normal circuit pathways  63 . When a module  20  is in the normal through position, lower spring contacts  54  are physically in contact with and electrically connected to normal contact pads  65 , and thus to via holes  66 . In this normal through position, each IDC  26  in upper connector row  27  is electrically connected to an IDC  28  in lower connector row  29 .  
         [0026]    During use, module housing  46 , spring contacts  42  and circuit board  48  slide longitudinally in the direction of insertion/removal of a plug in either of plug openings  21  in each module  20 . The sliding movement causes switching of the circuit pathways in jack assembly  10 , such that either a normal through or non-normal through pathway(s) is provided with respect to spring contacts  52 ,  54 . Insertion of a plug in either jack  22 ,  24  causes both IDCs  26 ,  28  to be disconnected from one another and for each IDC  26 ,  28  to be connected to a jack  22 ,  24 .  
         [0027]    While each module  20  includes side-by-side jacks  22 ,  24 , vertically stacked jacks are also possible.  
         [0028]    At higher data transmission rates, it is not uncommon for cross talk between electrical pathways inside a jack to interfere with or degrade signal quality. Spacing the switching springs  52 ,  54  from the spring contacts  42  helps reduce cross-talk in jacks  22 ,  24 . Preferably, upper spring contacts  52  and lower spring contacts  54  do not directly oppose one another through the circuit board  48 . Because of the lateral offset of the contacts above and below slidable circuit board  48 , contact pads  60  and  64  on the upper surface of slidable circuit board  48  are also laterally offset from contact pads  61  and  65  on the lower surface of slidable circuit board  48 . These lateral offsets allow signal pathways within jack assembly  10  to be physically separated so as to help reduce the effects of cross-talk.  
         [0029]    It is to be appreciated that module  20  can be moved from the normal position to the pass-through position at the same time as a plug is inserted, or before or after. If desired, a lock  80  (see FIG. 1) could be provided to lock module  20  in position. Lock  80  can be any convenient structure, such as a flexible tab that can selectively engage the remaining housing structure to hold module  20  in the selected position.  
         [0030]    The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the design and use of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.