Abstract:
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to various designs of shielded connectors, systems using such connectors, and methods of improving connector connectivity. For example, in one embodiment, the present invention is a communication plug having plug sides, the communication plug comprising a plug housing and a plug shield. The plug housing and the plug shield forming a seam on the plug sides, wherein the seam has an oblique angle relative to a vertical axis of the communication plug. This feature may aid plug removal from a jack by helping to prevent the snagging of a jack tab by a plug seam.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/778,738, filed on Mar. 13, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to the field of communication connectors and more specifically to shielded communication connectors designed to reduce connector snagging/entrapment when said connector is mated with a corresponding connector. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Modular connectors such as RJ45 plugs and jacks have become widely used in network connectivity. Such connectors can now be found throughout places such as data centers, building and campus networks, and homes. In some instances, the modular plugs and jacks are designed as shielded connectors. This can improve the connectors&#39; electrical performance and is typically done by providing metallic (or otherwise conductive) shields around a plug and a corresponding jack. In case of the plug, the metallic plug shield may cover a portion of a plastic plug housing, forming seams between the plug shield and the plug housing along the sides of the plug. In case of the jack, a metallic shield may cover a portion of the jack housing with one or two metallic tabs extending into the jack&#39;s plug-aperture. This design allows the metallic shield of the plug and jack to form a conductive interface (via the contact between the plug shield and the metallic tabs of the jack) when the two connectors are mated. However, one potential drawback of such a design becomes sometimes apparent when one attempts to disengage a shielded plug from a shielded jack. 
     The seams, which extend along the sides of the shield plugs and are formed between the plug shield and the plug housing, provide a cavity (see cavity/gap  21  shown in  FIG. 4 ). When a shielded plug is mated with a shielded jack, the edges of the metallic tabs of the shielded jack come in contact with the cavities formed by seams on the sides of the plugs. Due to the backward-facing nature of the metallic tabs and their pivoting point relative to the seams when the plug is being inserted into the jack, the contact between the tabs and the seams usually does not pose an a problem with respect to mating. This is because continued mating pressure on the plug will usually cause the tabs to be pushed out of the cavities and make contact with the shielded portion of the plug. However, when a user attempts to disengage a plug, the resiliency and the design of some of the tabs may cause them to fall into the cavities formed by the seams, trapping the plug inside the jack. Such entrapment/snagging can cause a user to apply excessive force to remove a plug, damaging the plug, jack, or cabling in the process. Thus, there exists a continued need for improved shielded connectors. 
     SUMMARY 
     Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention are directed to various designs of shielded connectors, systems using such connectors, and methods of improving connector connectivity. 
     In one embodiment, the present invention is a communication plug having plug sides, the communication plug comprising a plug housing and a plug shield. The plug housing and the plug shield form a seam on the plug sides, wherein the seam has an oblique angle relative to a vertical axis of the communication plug. 
     In another embodiment, the present invention is a communication plug having plug sides, the communication plug comprising a plug housing and a plug shield, the plug housing having a first external surface and the plug shield having a second external surface. The first external surface and the second external surface abut each other forming a seam on the plug sides, wherein the seam has an oblique angle relative to a vertical axis of the communication plug. 
     In yet another embodiment, the present invention is a communication plug having plug sides, the communication plug comprising a plug housing and a plug shield. The plug housing and the plug shield form at least one seam on at least a portion of at least one of the plug sides, wherein the at least one seam has an oblique angle relative to a vertical axis of the communication plug. 
     In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a method of improving connector connectivity. The method includes the steps of providing a communication plug having plug sides, where the communication plug includes a plug housing. And covering at least a portion of the plug housing with a plug shield such that the plug housing and the plug shield form a seam on at least a portion of the plug sides, the seam being obliquely angled relative to a vertical axis of the communication plug. In additional embodiments this method can also include the step of mating the communication plug to a shielded communication jack having jack tabs. 
     In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a method of manufacturing a communication plug having sides. The method includes the steps of providing a plug housing. And covering at least a portion of the plug housing with a plug shield such that the plug housing and the plug shield form at least one seam on at least a portion of at least one of the plug sides, the at least one seam being obliquely angled relative to a vertical axis of the communication plug. 
     In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a communication system comprising a shielded jack and a shielded plug with sides. The shielded jack includes at least one shielding tab with a leading edge, where the leading edge includes a first portion and a second portion. The shielded plug includes a plug housing and a plug shield, the plug housing and the plug shield forming a seam on the plug sides. The seam has an oblique angle relative to a vertical axis of the communication plug such that at least at some portion of mating the plug with the jack the first portion of the leading edge and the second portion of the leading edge do not retain simultaneous contact with at least one of the plug housing and the plug shield. 
     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description, and any claims that may follow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a communication connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a detailed view of the communication connector of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of the communication connector of  FIG. 2  and its interaction with a tab of a corresponding connector. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1 , which shows a communication system  10  having a patch panel  16  with shielded RJ45 jacks  14  that connect to shielded plugs  20 . Shielded jacks  14  include jack tabs  12  which are preloaded to provide electrical bonding with the plug shield  22  (typically conductive, may also be metallic) that is on the plug housing  24  (which may be plastic or metallic) of the plug  20 . Although the communication system  10  is illustrated in  FIG. 1  as having a patch panel, alternative embodiments can include other active or passive equipment. Examples of passive equipment can be, but are not limited to, modular patch panels, punch-down patch panels, coupler patch panels, wall jacks, etc. Examples of active equipment can be, but are not limited to, Ethernet switches, routers, servers, physical layer management systems, and power-over-Ethernet equipment as can be found in data centers and or telecommunications rooms; security devices (cameras and other sensors, etc.) and door access equipment; and telephones, computers, fax machines, printers, and other peripherals as can be found in workstation areas. Communication system  10  can further include cabinets, racks, cable management and overhead routing systems, and other such equipment. 
       FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a plug in accordance with the present invention in greater detail. In this embodiment, the plug  20  includes a plug housing  24  and a plug shield  22 . The plug shield  22  is positioned partially over the plug housing  24 . Both of these components form seams (shield-to-plug interfaces)  25  along both sides of the plug  20  in the general area where the outer surface of the plug housing  24  abuts the outer surface of the plug shield  22 . The plug housing  24  and the plug shield  22  are designed such that the seams  25  have an oblique angle  28  relative to the vertical axis of the communication plug (represented by the Y-axis in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , i.e., vertical axis is approximately orthogonal to insertion axis X). In an embodiment, the oblique angle  28  is about 10 degrees. In another embodiment, the oblique angle  28  ranges from about 5 degrees to about 15 degrees. In yet another embodiment, the oblique angle  28  ranges from about 3 degrees to about 17 degrees. In still yet another embodiment, the oblique angle  28  ranges from about 3 degrees to about 45 degrees. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the interaction of the plug  20  with the tabs  12  of a shielded jack. While the seams  25  inherently have at least some gaps  23 , the angled design of the seams  25  helps prevent the leading edges  13  of the tabs  12  from falling into the gaps  23 . In particular, the angled seams  25  prevent the leading edges  13  of the tabs  12  from losing contact with the plug shield  22  before coming in contact with the plug housing  24 . In other words, when the plug  20  is being disengaged from a shielded jack, at least a portion  14  of the leading edges  13  pass over the gaps  23  to disengage the plug shield  22  and engage the plug housing  24 . Those portions of the leading edges  13  do not fall into the gaps  23  because at least some remaining portions  15  of the leading edges  13  are still in contact with the plug shield  22 , causing the tabs  12  to remain sufficiently deflected and preventing their fall into the gaps  23 . Once at least a portion of the leading edges  13  has passed over the gaps  23  and made contact with the plug housing  24 , the remainder of the leading edges  13  can pass over the gaps  23 , reducing or eliminating the risk of plug entrapment. Note that in the described embodiment the portion  14  generally refers to the upper section and/or half of the leading edge  13 , and the remaining portion  15  generally refers to the remaining section and/or half of the leading edge  13 . 
     The angled seams  25  may similarly be applied in an embodiment where a plug  20  mates with a shielded jack such that at least a portion  14  of the leading edges  13  does not contact the plug shield  22  in a mated state. In this embodiment, the continued contact of the remaining portion  15  of the leading edges  13  with the plug shield  22  help prevent the leading edges  13  from falling into the gaps  23 . Alternatively, if in a mated configuration at least a portion  14  of the leading edges  13  will remain in contact with the plug housing  24 , such contact will help prevent any remaining portion  15  of the leading edges  13  from falling into the gaps  23 . As a result, the risk of snagging or entrapment of the plug  20  within a shielded jack may be reduced and/or eliminated. 
     In an alternate embodiment, the present invention can be a jack which has a shield tab similar to tab  12 , except that the tab&#39;s leading edge is angled relative to the vertical (Y) axis; and the plug can have an approximately vertical transition between the housing and shield, or the housing/shield transition can be angled differently than the jack tab&#39;s leading edge. Note that the terms “seam” and “transition” may be used synonymously throughout. 
     In should be understood that while the plug shield  22  in the above-described embodiments is illustrated as having a unitary construction, the scope of the present invention extends to other plug shield designs which can include non-unitary designs. This includes examples where the plug shield may be separated into two or more portions. 
     It should also be understood that the seam is not required (but may) extend along the entire vertical length of the side of the communication plug. Furthermore, the seam can be present on one or more surfaces of the communication plug. Additionally, embodiments of the present invention can include configurations where the angle of the seam along a first side of the communication plug is different from the angle of the seam along the second side of the plug. 
     While the embodiment shown if an RJ45 plug, present invention can be applied to other communication plugs such as SFP, SFP+, QSFP, and other plug types. 
     Note that while this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, these embodiments are non-limiting (regardless of whether they have been labeled as exemplary or not), and there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. Furthermore, the described embodiments should not be interpreted as mutually exclusive, and should instead be understood as potentially combinable if such combinations are permissive. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention. It is therefore intended that claims that may follow be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations, and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.