Abstract:
An electrical connector for Ethernet cable, having an elongated hollow housing with a forward end wall which must correctly fit within the opening in a mating connector, in which the forward end wall has a thickened outer portion that must be sheared off to fit the mating connector, and in which the thickened portion is formed integral with the wall so that it continues to support the wall while being sheared off.

Description:
This application claims priority from my U. S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/959,189 filed Aug. 19, 2013. 
    
    
     PRIOR ART 
     My U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,237 
     This application of Robert W Sullivan describes and claims improvements over the inventions shown in my previously issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,237, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,996,224 and 6,105,229. The product patented there is a male type RJ45 connector, into which eight wires from a cable are inserted, and associated crimping and shearing tool. When the connector housing is crimped to secure the internal position of the wires, its internally contained electrical contact blades also assume the positions in which they will matingly engage the blades of corresponding contacts in the receptacle of an associated female RJ45 connector. For more than the past decade the eight-wire connector system disclosed in my referenced patents has been sold under my trademark EZ-RJ45 and used in ethernet cable systems throughout the world. The uniqueness and novelty of these items has not been challenged. 
     One important feature of the inventions shown in those patents is that the wires are arranged inside the connector in such a way as to minimize interference or cross-talk between data streams being transmitted on respective wire pairs. Another important feature is the method in which color-coded wires inserted into the connector are allowed to protrude out from its front end so that a technician may view the color coded wires to verify their correct relative positions before shearing off their protruding ends. A further feature of those inventions is the arrangement of the connector assembly and its associated crimping and shearing tool such that the driven engagement of metallic contacts into the wires inside the connector housing, and the shearing and cutting off of the protruding wire ends, is done concurrently with the crimping of the plastic connector to secure the wires in their places inside the connector. 
     As electrical components for high-speed data transmission are made smaller and smaller, the data rates, packets, frequencies, and speed increase, and the corresponding wires get larger and larger, it has become necessary to establish rigorous standards to ensure their proper performance. Precise configurations and dimensions are required by FCC regulations and other industry standards. A connector housing must be made of a moldable injected material which is sufficiently moldable and deformable, such as GE Lexan material, to capture and retain the wires inside it. At the same time, the housing must have sufficient rigidity to reliably support the wires and their associated contact blades in precisely correct positions, in order to mate with associated contact elements in the receptacle of a female RJ45 connector. A further requirement is that the moldable material utilized must meet a fire safety standard of the Underwriters Laboratory and other international physical, electrical, quality and performance testing standards. 
     Drawings of my previous patents show many important details of my EZ-RJ45 connector as it has been and is presently being sold, those figures being identical in all three of my three prior patents. For convenient reference, certain figures of my prior patents are reproduced here as follows: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 This Application 
                 U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,237 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 FIG. 1 
                 FIG. 8 
               
               
                   
                 FIG. 2 
                 FIG. 9 
               
               
                   
                 FIG. 3 
                 FIG. 5 
               
               
                   
                 FIG. 4 
                 FIG. 6 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     There are also other important details shown in drawings of my prior patent that are not fully replicated here, but understood. 
     Connector  20  as shown in FIG. 5 of my prior patents (reproduced here as  FIG. 3 ) has an elongated hollow plastic housing  22 . Insulated wires  16  enter its open rearward end  24  and extend in guided pathways inside and through the housing. Within the housing metal contact plates  36  having sharpened lower ends are poised to pierce the insulation of and make firm electrical contact with corresponding wires. The upper jaw  50  of an associated crimping and shearing tool has a downward protrusion  56  that will drive the metal contact plates  36  down into the correct position for their forward edges to matingly engage corresponding contacts, not shown, in the receptacle of the female RJ45 connector. The ends of wires  16  will not engage any contacts in female receptacle. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4  of this application [FIG. 6 of my prior patents] the crimping and shearing tool has a lower jaw  70  which provides support underneath the housing  22  during a crimping and shearing operation.  FIGS. 1 and 2  of this application show a control tab  30  which extends lengthwise underneath the housing  22 . The forward end of of control tab  30  must meet shape and dimension standards prescribed by FCC standards in order to correctly position the connector within the receptacle of a female connector (not shown). The outer end portion of the control tab  30  also provides a small anvil  42  at the forward end of housing  22  against which six of the protruding wire ends are sheared and cut when the crimping and shearing tool  50  is pressed downward. 
     In my EZ-RJ45 as shown in my previous patents the front end wall of housing  22  is largely closed but has openings  42  for the eight wires to protrude. There are also slots or grooves in the front end wall that are partially occupied by the contact blades  36 , but the lateral edges of the blades  36  at the forward end of the housing do not extend to the front face of the housing. Instead, they are recessed back from the front end surface. This is necessary to allow the the contact blades of a female receptacle (not shown) to be guided into those slots or grooves for making face-to-face contact with the lateral edges of contact blades  36 . The mating contacts of the female receptacle (not shown) are protruding contact blades which will enter those slots or grooves to complete the electrical circuitry of the connector. The bared ends of wires  16  after they are cut do not engage any contacts in the female connector. 
     When tool  50 ,  70 , is actuated for the crimping and shearing operation its cutting blade  60  wipes the front end of housing  22 . In my EZ-RJ45 connector as shown in my prior patents six of the eight protruding wires  16 —wires numbers 2 through 7—are freely floating over the anvil  42  and are reliably cut off in concert by the crimping and shearing tool  50 ,  70 . The reason for this is that the connector control tab  30  must have exactly correct dimensions in order to precisely fit within a receptacle whose shape and dimensions are prescribed by an FCC or industry standard. The control tab  30  is wide enough to provide a supporting anvil only for wires 2-7. It has therefore been a practice in the field for the technicians using my EZ-RJ45 system to finish cutting off the ends of wires 1 and 8 by hand, after the connector housing has been crimped and the other wires have already been cut off. The wires used in my EZ-RJ45 connector are typically of the AWG size 24 in CAT 5 cable, with a proven data transmission rate per respective standards. 
     As shown in my prior patents, openings  44  through which the eight wires  16  will protrude are in a lower portion of the forward end face of housing  20 . The slots or grooves for the contact blades are in the upper area of the front end wall of connector housing  20 , and there is a vertical separation between the horizontal row of openings  44  for the wires and the slots or grooves for the contact blades  36 . 
     PRIOR ART also includes Taiwan Patent No. CN2854844Y, U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,447 issued in 1997, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,359 issued in 2005. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     It is necessary for the contact blades, not shown, of a female RJ45 connector to precisely mate with the forward edges of contact blades  36 . The field experience and complaints with my EZ-RJ45 connector system have shown a need for improved performance. The operation of the shearing and crimping tool  50 ,  70 , often tends to cause a distortion in the plastic housing  20 , so that the wires and contacts are not maintained precisely in their desired dimensionally stable positions. There are several different forces that contribute to this result:
         1. sliding contact force overcoming friction for seating blades  36 ;   2. insulation displacement force IDC. This is the force it takes to push the gold connector contact blades  36  into the wire insulation plastic coating and mate with the copper wires.   3. cut wire force—the shearing force needed to cut the wires 2-7;   4. any dullness of the cutting blade exacerbates the problem.   5. since the blade  60  as shown in my prior patents is free-floating, any misalignment of the blade also exacerbates the problem.
 
All of these forces tend to push, twist, and deform the connector housing in an undesired manner. This may lead to an FCC non-compliant connector that has to be discarded, causing loss of time and money.
       

     Since my present product requires hand cutting of wires 1 and 8, it would also be desirable to have all eight of the wires cut and sheared by the crimping and shearing tool, to avoid an extra hand working step by the technician. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The first main concept of my present invention is using wires having thicker insulation, of AWG size 23, and keeping each twisted pair in its twisted state as close as possible to the pair of metal contacts that will conductively engage its respective wires, in order to improve the electrical performance and data transmission rate of the connector. 
     A second main concept of my invention is to provide a thickened front end wall (External Load Bar, or Stiffener). The outer dimensions of the connector housing must be limited to comply with legal and industry standards, and the larger wires necessarily require a reduction in the amount of plastic material forming the connector housing. The External Load Bar (or Stiffener) mechanically supports both the connector housing and the wires it contains, and is then sheared off along with the protruding wire ends in order to allow the male connector to properly mate with an associated female connector. 
     A third main feature of my present invention is a method which not only allows the outer ends of the protruding wire pairs to project from the front of the connector for color comparison purposes, but also allows the wires to be pulled and tightened in their still-twisted condition and brought as close as possible to their respectively associated contact blades before being sheared off. This method helps to improve the quality of electrical performance and to increase the data transmission rate. 
     According to my present invention, holes for the protruding wires, as well as slots or grooves for the contact blades, are provided in the thickened front end wall in generally the same way as shown in my prior parents. However, the thickened portion of the front wall (External Load Bar), which does include the area where the horizontal openings for the protruding wires are formed, does not include the slots or grooves that will receive the contact blades of a female receptacle. 
     When the modified crimping and shearing tool of my new invention cuts off the protruding ends of the wires it simultaneously shears off the unwanted thickness of the front end wall (External Load Bar or Stiffener). The Stiffener or Load Bar is formed INTEGRAL WITH the forward end wall of the housing. Therefore, when the blade acts to cut off the STIFFENER or LOAD BAR, that Stiffener or Load Bar continues to provide a stabilizing support for the front end wall of the housing UNTIL THE ACTION OF THE CUTTING BLADE IS FULLY COMPLETED and the Stiffener or load Bar has become fully severed from the connector housing. 
     With this thickened or stiffener portion of the front end wall, the housing  22  better supports both the wires, and the slots or grooves for receiving the contacts blades, before, during, and after the wires are cut off. 
     Thus in shearing off the exposed ends of the wires, I now at the same time cut off the thickened or stiffener part of the end wall, still leaving a thin front end wall for the connector housing that is sufficient to maintain the correct spatial locations of both the wires  16  and the contact blades  36 . The connector then fits correctly within its allotted space in an associated female receptacle or terminal board. 
     In other words, by thickening the front end wall of housing  22 , I now make the connector initially too long to fit within its prescribed space in a receptacle or panel board. But by cutting off the excess thickness of the front wall while the connector housing is being crimped and the contacts  36  are being forced into their conductive engagement with the associated wires  16 , I reduce the connector housing length so that it does correctly fit, and also improves the end result of correctly terminating the connector. 
     I provide horizontal guideways inside the connector housing  22  to permit two horizontal rows of four wires each, in a staggered relationship, to be inserted into and through the connector. The holes or openings in the front end wall of housing  22  are then in two separate rows, four in each row. Adjacent holes then tend to slightly overlap or merge into each other. 
     Another and related feature of my present invention is modifying the crimping and shearing tool so that it very positively cuts off all the protruding wire ends concurrent with the crimping operation. I accomplish this by adding a pair of short posts to the lateral ends of the lower jaw  70  of crimping tool  50 ,  70 . These posts together with the control tab  30  then provide an expanded and adequate anvil surface  42  for cutting off all of the wire ends that are encased in plastic; first the four in the upper horizontal row, and then the four in the lower horizontal row. 
     A still further feature of the present invention is that I also provide a set of guides to control downward movement of the cutting blade, and a groove extending laterally across the upper surface of the External Load Bar adjacent to the front wall of the connector housing, to guide the edge of cutting blade  60  when the blade is pushed down in its cutting action. 
     The objective of these improvements is to provide a connector that is suitable for use with CAT 6, CAT 6A and other ethernet cable and future larger wires and standards, in order to reliably operate at a data transmission rate of ten gigahertz and future transmission rates and applications. 
    
    
     
       DRAWING SUMMARY 
         FIGS. 1 through 4  are provided as exact copies of certain figures in my prior patents, which is necessary in order to provide a proper basis for describing my present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a front end elevation view of my modified connector housing and External Load Bar, showing the empty connector not loaded with wires; 
         FIG. 6  is an elevational cross-section taken on Line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 5  showing the empty connector housing with the External Load Bar on its forward end wall; 
         FIG. 7  is a side elevational view of the connector housing loaded with wires; 
         FIG. 8  is a view like  FIG. 7 , but additionally with schematic indications showing how the crimping and shearing operation, and the separation of the External Load Bar with its encased wires, will be done; 
         FIG. 9  is a side elevational view showing the External Load Bar after it has been separated from the connector housing, and still retains its accompanying load of the insulated wires which still remain encased in it and protrude from it; and 
         FIG. 10  is a front end elevation of the loaded connector housing after the External Load Bar has been shorn off, exposing the bare ends of the insulated wires. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the modified connector housing  122  has a thickened Stiffener  100  (otherwise known as the External Load Bar) formed as an integral lower part of its front end wall  128 . A horizontal row of four upper holes  145  and a horizontal row of four lower holes  144  are formed through the solid material of the Stiffener. As best seen in  FIG. 5 , the holes of the rows are staggered, and tend to blend or merge together. Stiffener  100  has a flat bottom surface identified by numeral  104 . During the shearing operation, stiffener  100  will be supported from that bottom surface  104 , which will in turn rest upon an anvil. There is a thin layer of plastic material underneath the lower holes  144 , which forms the bottom surface  104 . 
     On the front wall of housing  122  as best seen in  FIG. 5 , there is an upper vertical area  132 , above the Stiffener  100 , where the slots or grooves  130  for contact blades  36  are located. There are eight of these slots to accommodate the eight contact plates  36 . The cross-section view of  FIG. 6  shows one contact blade  36  occupying the corresponding slot or groove  130 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the bottom wall of connector housing  122  is designated  124  and its bottom surface as  126 . When the connector is loaded with wires, they will be in suitable guideways extending the length of the hollow connector housing, and will also extend through the holes  144 ,  145 , and protrude outward from the front side of the Stiffener  100 . 
     Since  FIG. 6  is a cross-section view, it shows one of the contact blades  36  occupying a corresponding one of the slots  130 . 
     As also indicated in  FIG. 6 , the plastic material of Stiffener  100  is formed integral with front end wall  128  of housing  122 . That is extremely important, because when the Stiffener  100  and the encased wires it contains are sheared off, the Stiffener continues to mechanically support the front end wall  128  until the shearing is fully complete. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the upper surface of Stiffener  100  has a small groove  102  that is immediately adjacent the flat upper face  132  of the connector housing. The purpose of that groove is to guide the action of cutting blade  60  when the stiffener and wire ends are to be sheared off. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 7  which shows the connector housing when loaded with insulated wires. Wires  16  are unsheathed from an incoming cable with a length sufficient to protrude at least several inches of gripping length from the front side of Stiffener  100 . This allows the technician to pull the wires tight before doing the crimping and shearing operation. Tightness of the wires inside the connector housing improves the electrical performance of the connector. 
       FIG. 8  reproduces the loaded housing of  FIG. 7  on a smaller scale, to provide space to schematically illustrate how the crimping and shearing will be done. A hand tool  300  above the housing drives arrows  301 ,  302 , and  303  downward. Arrow  301  represents the crimping of the plastic housing, in the manner shown in my prior patents. Arrow  302  represents the blade driver, that drives all of the blades  36  into electrical engagement with the corresponding contact blades. And arrow  303  represents the cutting blade  60  that will shear off both the Stiffener  100  and its encased wires. A block  42  shown in the lower left corner of the drawing represents an anvil that supports the bottom surface  104  of the Stiffener  100 , and that the blade  60  will engage at the end of its cutting stroke. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , the Stiffener  100  after separation from front wall  128  of the housing still retains its load of insulated wires  16  protruding from its front side. It is then no longer needed, and may be disposed of. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , removal of the Stiffener  100  has left the bare front wall  128  in which the bared ends of the insulated wires are clearly visible. The wire ends do not and must not protrude, or there would be a risk of electrical engagement with the female connector. To accomplish the appropriate electrical function of the connector, that must not be tolerated. Removal of the Stiffener brings the size and shape of the housing  122  back to the industry and FCC standard, so as to correctly mate with a female RJ45 connector. 
     METHOD OF OPERATION 
     As described above, the modified connector housing of the present invention is made with the Stiffener or External Load Bar as an integrally formed part of it. Four pairs of insulated wires are inserted into and through the housing  122 , and through the upper and lower holes  144 ,  145 , in the Stiffener. The manner of guiding the wire pairs is such that one wire of each pair protrudes through an upper hole  145 , and the other wire of each pair protrudes through the adjacent lower hole  144 . 
     Before shearing the Stiffener and encased wire ends the technician will check the color coding of the wires to verify their correct locations. He then preferably stretches each of the wire pairs by pulling its protruding ends. The purpose of that is to bring each wire pair, inside the connector, as close as possible to the respectively associated contact blades. This is essential to maximize the electrical performance of the connector. 
     I have modified my crimping and shearing tool  50 ,  70 , to provide two small posts that extend the ends of anvil  42 , so that all eight of the wires will be cut in a single pass of the cutting blade  60 . The Stiffener sits directly on the anvil, with no space between its bottom surface and the anvil. There is a measurable thickness of plastic material below the bottom row of holes. When the shearing takes place, the blade  60  first cuts all of the wires in the upper row  145 , and then all wires in the lower row  144 . 
     After the shearing is done the Stiffener—which is now detached from the front wall  128 —may be disposed of. Connector housing  122  is then moved into mating engagement with an associated female receptacle, bringing the contact prongs of the female receptacle into engagement with the contact blades  36 . Performance tests, if necessary or desired, may then be conducted. 
     Although I have described my invention in detail in order to comply with requirements of the patent laws, it will be understood that the scope of my protection is to be adjudged only in accordance with the appended claims.