Abstract:
A hybrid plug connector including an insulative housing defining a cavity to receive an optical fiber assembly therein, and a plurality of passageways to receive a plurality of terminals therein. A printed circuit board is located behind the terminals and connected to the terminals. An electrical cable is mounted to a rear portion of the circuit board. The whole optical fiber assembly is received within the housing and is somewhat back and forth moveable along a front-to-back direction for buffering for compliantly coupling with another optical fiber assembly built within the complementary receptacle connector when the plug connector is inserted into the complementary receptacle connector. A lens module is formed on the optical fiber assembly for collimating the light beams from the optical fibers.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of, and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/146,228 filed Apr. 10, 2015 and No. 62/193,492, filed Jul. 16, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated entirely herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a hybrid connector, and more particularly to a connector with the RJ45 configuration while further equipped with optical fiber device therewith so as to transmit both electrical and optical signals therein. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 8,708,754 discloses a hybrid connector with the regular RJ45 configuration to transmit both electrical and optical signals. Anyhow, only two optic fibers are available in such a design and no resilient force is provided for assuring coupling between the coupled optical fibers of the mated plug connector and the RJ connector. The optic fibers need a strict accurate/intimate alignment between the coupled fibers of a complementary receptacle connector. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a hybrid plug connector including an insulative housing defining a cavity to receive an optical fiber assembly therein, and a plurality of passageways to receive a plurality of terminals therein. A printed circuit board is located behind the terminals and connected to the terminals. An electrical cable is mounted to a rear portion of the circuit board. The optical fiber assembly includes a base block with therein a plurality of through holes and a plurality of upward grooves in alignment with the corresponding through holes in the front-to-back direction, respective. A lens module for collimating light beams is located around a front surface of the base block. A cap is pivotally mounted to the base block with a pair of resilient latches on two lateral sides and with a plurality of downward grooves aligned with the corresponding upward grooves in a vertical direction, respectively. A plurality of optical fibers are retained within the base block and the cap and intimately forwardly confront the lens module. The whole optical fiber assembly is received within the housing and is somewhat back and forth moveable along a front-to-back direction for buffering for compliantly coupling with another optical fiber assembly built within the complementary receptacle connector when the plug connector is inserted into the complementary receptacle connector. Notably, the lens module functions as a beam expander so as to avoid the strict accurate/intimate alignment between the coupled fibers of the complementary receptacle connector. 
         [0007]    Another object of the invention is to provide the optical fiber assembly includes a base block and at least one cap pivotally mounted thereon, a pair of through holes formed in the base block, a pair of mating sleeves disposed in the corresponding through holes, and each mating sleeve receive a front GRIN lens and a rear guide-in cylinder. Notably, the GRIN lens functions as a beam expander so as to avoid the strict accurate/intimate alignment between the coupled fibers of the complementary receptacle connector. 
         [0008]    Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the plug connector according to a first embodiment of the invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 1  with strain relief removed therefrom. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3(A)  is a front exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 2  with the electrical contact assembly assembled therein and the optical fiber assembly therefrom. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3(B)  is a rear exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 3(A) . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4(A)  is a front exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 3(A)  with the electrical contact assembly. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4(B)  is a rear exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 4(A) . 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a rear perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of the plug connector of  FIG. 1  with the cap is rotated to an open position. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a rear exploded perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 7(A)  is a rear exploded perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of  FIG. 6  with the cap is pivotally moved away from the base block. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7(B)  is a front exploded perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of  FIG. 7(A) . 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the optical fiber assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is another vertical cross-sectional view of the plug connector of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the plug connector of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of an anti-dust cover for use with the plug connector of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 12  is a front perspective view of the plug connector according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 13  is a front perspective view of the plug connector according to a third embodiment of the invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 14  is a front exploded front perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 13 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 15  is a rear exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 13 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 16  is a further front exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 14 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 17  is a rear exploded perspective view of the plug connector of  FIG. 15 . 
           [0029]      FIG. 18  is a rear perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of the plug connector of  FIG. 13  with the cap is rotated to an open position. 
           [0030]      FIG. 19  is a rear exploded perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of  FIG. 18 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 20  is a further rear exploded perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of  FIG. 18 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 21  is further front exploded perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of  FIG. 18 . 
           [0033]      FIG. 22  is a rear exploded perspective view of the optical fiber assembly of  FIG. 21 . 
           [0034]      FIG. 23  is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the plug connector of  FIG. 13  along line  23 - 23 . 
           [0035]      FIG. 24  is another horizontal cross-sectional view of the plug connector of  FIG. 13  along line  24 - 24 . 
           [0036]      FIG. 25  is a vertical cross-sectional view of the plug connector of FIG. 13  along line  25 - 25 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 26  is another cross-sectional view of the plug connector of  FIG. 13  along line  26 - 26 . 
           [0038]      FIG. 27  is another cross-sectional view of the plug connector of  FIG. 13  along line  27 - 27 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0039]    Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0040]      FIGS. 1-11  show a plug connector  10  of the first embodiment for mating with a receptacle connector. The plug connector  10  includes an insulative housing  12  forming an optical mating port  14  and an electrical mating port  16  stacked with each other in a vertical direction. A receiving cavity  15  is formed in the housing  12  and communicates with the optical mating port  14  and the electrical mating port  16 . A resilient latch  18  is unitarily formed on the housing  12  beside the optical mating port  14  and opposite to the electrical mating port  16  in the vertical direction. A plurality of passageways  20  extending along a front-to-back direction, are formed in the housing  12  around the electrical mating port  16 . The contour of the housing  12  is compliant with the RJ-45 receptacle connector. 
         [0041]    An optical fiber assembly  30  includes a base block  32  forming a plurality of through hole  34  extending along the front-to-back direction therein and a plurality of grooves  36  dimensioned diametrically larger than the through holes  34  and located behind and communicatively aligned with the corresponding through holes  34 . A pair of locking pegs  40  are formed on two opposite lateral sides of the base block  32 . A cap  42  is pivotally mounted to the base block  32  and rotatable about the pivotal axis  44 . A plurality of slots  38  are formed in an undersurface of the cap  42  and aligned with the corresponding grooves  36  in a front-to-back direction, respectively. A pair of deflectable latches  46  are formed on two opposite lateral sides of the cap  42  for locking into the corresponding locking openings  13  in the housing  12 . A pair of locking holes  48  are formed within two opposite lateral sides for engagement with the locking pegs  40  of the base block  32 . A metallic plate  52  is attached to a rear end face of the cap  42  with a pair of kicker springs  54  thereon. 
         [0042]    An optical ribbon  56  includes a plurality of multimode optical fibers  58  side by side arranged with one another therein. Each of the optical fibers  58  includes an inner core  57  and an outer coating  59  which may include a multilayer of cladding, buffer and jacket, wherein the inner core  57  is delicately received within the through hole  34  while the exposed outer coating  59  is received within the corresponding groove  36  and the corresponding slot  38  successively. In this embodiment the base block  32  includes a recessed region  33  to receive therein a lens module  35  which is embedded therein via an insert molding process and functions as a beam expander so as to avoid the strict accurate/intimate alignment between the coupled fibers of the plug connector and the receptacle connector. Understandably, a front tip of the inner core  57  may not directly touch the corresponding lens unit  37  (with a convex surface thereon) of the lens module  35  but with a tiny gap filled with the optical index match gel so as to assure the efficient optical transmission between the optical fiber  58  and the lens unit  37 . It is also noted that the apex of the convex surface of each lens unit  37  does not extend beyond the front surface  31  of the base block  32  but recessed within the recessed region  33  so as to avoid dust contamination due to incautious touching In this embodiment, an alignment post  80  and an alignment aperture  82  are located by two lateral sides of lens module  35  so as to mate with the corresponding alignment aperture and alignment post of the complementary receptacle connector for obtaining the accurate coupling. Understandably, this one alignment post and one alignment aperture arrangement is to share the same corresponding structure around the lens module for both the plug connector and the complementary receptacle connector. Anyhow, either the both two alignment posts or both two alignment apertures may replace this one alignment post and one alignment aperture structure as shown in the second embodiment, if sharing is not a concern. 
         [0043]    An electrical assembly  60  is located below the optical fiber assembly  30  in the vertical direction and includes a printed circuit board  62  with a plurality of terminals  64  connected to a front region and a plurality of wires  66  connected to the rear region. A retaining clip  70  is adapted to be inserted into a corresponding slot  68  in the housing  12  along the vertical direction. The wire  66  is connected to the printed circuit board  62  via the corresponding blade  69  with a lance structure piercing into the wire  66  and a compressing/compliance end extending into the a corresponding through hole in the printed circuit board. In this embodiment, the plug connector  10  is further optionally equipped with a anti-dust cover  90  having a cubic piece which is similar to the complementary receptacle connector with a receiving cavity  94  forwardly open to an exterior and compliant with the contour of the plug connector. Similar to the complementary receptacle connector, the anti-dust cover  90  includes a locking surface  92  to abut against a corresponding latching surface  19  of the latch  18  of the plug connector  10  so as to attach the anti-dust cover  90  upon the plug connector  10  for protecting the lens module  35  which is exposed forwardly to an exterior. Anyhow, different from the complementary receptacle connector, the anti-dust cover  90  is not equipped any contacts and the five other surface except the front surface is fully sealed without openings for extension of the contacts or any mounting posts extending therefrom away from the receiving cavity  94 . 
         [0044]    During assembling, the electrical assembly  60  is forwardly inserted into the receiving cavity  15  from a rear side of the housing  12  to have the corresponding terminals  64  exposed in the electrical mating port  16 , and the optical fiber assembly  30  is forwardly inserted into the receiving cavity  15  from the rear side of the housing  12  to have the front end of the base block  32  slightly protruding out of the front face of the housing  12  so as to have the lens module  35  forwardly communicable with an exterior in the front-to-back direction. At the same time, the deflectable latches  46  are locked within the corresponding locking opening  13  to prevent backward movement of the optical fiber assembly  30  in the receiving cavity  15 . On the other hand, the kicker spring  54  rearwardly abuts against the retainer clip  70  so as to urge the whole optical fiber assembly  30  forwardly. Understandably, the base block  32  and the associated cap  42  are adapted to be back and forth slightly moveable along the front-to-back direction due to the kicker spring  54 , thus resulting in buffering thereof. Therefore, the optical fiber assembly  30  is allowed to be slightly back and forth moveable along the front-to-back direction in the housing  12  during coupling to the corresponding complementary connector. 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIG. 12 , the plug connector  100  of the second embodiment includes the similar structures with the first embodiment. The plug connector  100  is provided two alignment posts  102  at the two lateral sides of the corresponding optical fibers, respectively. 
         [0046]      FIGS. 13-27  show a plug connector  110  of the third embodiment for mating with a receptacle connector. The plug connector  110  includes an inslulative housing  112  forming an optical mating port  114  and an electrical mating port  116  stacked with each other in a vertical direction. A receiving cavity  115  is formed in the housing  112  and communicates with the optical mating port  114  and the electrical mating port  116 . A resilient latch  118  is unitarily formed on the housing  112  beside the optical mating port  114  and opposite to the electrical mating port  116  in the vertical direction. A plurality of passageways  120  extending along a front-to-back direction, are formed in the housing  112  around the electrical mating port  116 . The contour of the housing  112  is compliant with the RJ-45 receptacle connector. 
         [0047]    An optical fiber assembly  130  includes a base block  132  forming a pair of parts spaced from each other with a channel  131  therebetween and respectively equipped with a pair of through holes  134  extending along the front-to-back direction therein and a plurality of grooves  136  dimensioned diametrically smaller than the through holes  134  and located behind and communicatively aligned with the corresponding through holes  134  in the front-to-back direction. A pair of locking pegs  140  are formed on two opposite lateral sides of the base block  132 . A pair of pivots  144  are formed on two opposite lateral sides of the base block  132  in front of the pair of locking pegs  140 , and an additional pivot  144  is formed within the channel  131 , wherein all three pivots  144  are aligned together along a transverse direction. A pair of ceramic/glass mating sleeves  133  is snugly received/retained within the corresponding pair of through holes  134 , respectively. A front GRIN lens  137  and a rear guide-in glass cylinder  135  are commonly received within each of the mating sleeves  133  and aligned with each other along the front-to-back direction, wherein the rear guide-in glass cylinder  135  forms a passage  139  to receive an inner core of the optical fiber (illustrated later). Understandably, the interface between the GRIN lens  137  and the guide-in glass cylinder  135  may extend at an angle of eight degrees. A pair of holes  129  are formed in a front face of the base block  132  for receiving a corresponding pair of alignment posts of the mated receptacle connector (not shown). 
         [0048]    A pair of caps  142  are pivotally mounted to the base block  132  and rotatable about the corresponding pivots  144  with the corresponding apertures  141  receiving the pivots  144 , respectively. In each cap  142 , a slot  138  is formed in an undersurface of the cap  142  and aligned with the corresponding grooves  36  in a front-to-back direction, respectively. A pair of deflectable latches  146  are respectively formed on the outer lateral sides of the corresponding caps  142  for locking into the corresponding locking openings  113  in the housing  112 . A pair of locking holes  148  are formed within the outer lateral sides of the corresponding caps  142  for engagement with the locking pegs  140  of the base block  132 . A metallic plate  152  is attached to a rear end face of the pair of caps  142  with a pair of kicker springs  154  thereon. Notably, the metallic plate  152  can be made by two pieces each attached to the corresponding cap  142 . 
         [0049]    An optical ribbon  156  includes a pair of single mode optical fibers  158  side by side arranged with each other therein. Each of the optical fibers  158  includes an inner core  157  enclosed within an outer buffer  159  which further is enclosed within an outer jacket  155  wherein the inner core  157  is delicately received within the corresponding guide-in passage  139  with the front tip intimately confronting the corresponding GRIN lens  137 , the outer buffer  159  is received within the corresponding groove  136 , and the outer jacket  155  is received within the corresponding slot  138 . 
         [0050]    An electrical assembly  160  is located below the optical fiber assembly  130  in the vertical direction and includes a printed circuit board  162  with a plurality of terminals  164  connected to a front region and a plurality of wires  166  connected to the corresponding blade or IDCs  167  (Insulation Displacement Contact) on the rear region. A retaining clip  170  is adapted to be inserted into a corresponding slot  168  in the housing  112  along the vertical direction. 
         [0051]    During assembling, the electrical assembly  160  is forwardly inserted into the receiving cavity  115  from a rear side of the housing  112  to have the corresponding terminals  164  exposed in the electrical mating port  116 , and the optical fiber assembly  130  is forwardly inserted into the receiving cavity  115  from the rear side of the housing  112  to have the front end of the base block  132  slightly protruding out of the front face of the housing  112  so as to have the GRIN lens  137  forwardly communicable with an exterior in the front-to-back direction. At the same time, the deflectable latches  146  are locked within the corresponding locking opening  113  to prevent backward movement of the optical fiber assembly  130  in the receiving cavity  115 . On the other hand, the kicker spring  154  rearwardly abuts against the retainer clip  170  so as to urge the whole optical fiber assembly  130  forwardly until the shoulders  147  abut against the stepped structures  149  of the housing  112 . Understandably, the base block  132  and the associated cap  142  are adapted to be back and forth slightly moveable along the front-to-back direction due to the kicker spring  154 , thus resulting in buffering thereof. Therefore, the optical fiber assembly  130  is allowed to be slightly back and forth moveable along the front-to-back direction in the housing  112  during coupling to the corresponding complementary connector.