Abstract:
A communication connector including a plurality of conductors each having a plug contact region and an opposing cable conductor termination region. The plurality of conductors are arranged in respective communication pairs. The communication connector includes a coupling zone between a first conductor of a first communication pair and a second conductor of a second communication pair. The coupling zone has at least one first conductive finger connected to the first conductor and at least one second conductive finger connected to the second conductor, each of the first conductive fingers are adjacent to at least one of the second conductive fingers.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of network communication jacks and, more specifically, to lead frame style modular network communication jacks. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    As the market for structured cabling and connectivity matures different connectivity products become more commoditized and therefore more sensitive to cost. With regard to communication jacks, one relatively low cost solution is a lead frame style jack having eight metal contacts within the jack corresponding to the 1-8 individual conductors making up four differential pairs. These eight metal contacts form plug interface contacts (PICs), insulation displacement contact terminals (typically insulation displacement contacts (IDCs)), and a connection section extending between the PICs and the IDCs. Such construction is often accomplished by using continuous metal leads extending from the PICs to the IDCs. Furthermore, in certain applications these same contacts can be used to compensate for unwanted crosstalk. Suitable crosstalk compensation interactions can be created between lead pairs by forming a section of one lead of a lead pair in near proximity to a section of another appropriate lead of another lead pair. Such design can eliminate the need for a circuit board within the jack with equivalent compensation elements. By obviating the need for a circuit board, jack manufacturing time and material costs may be reduced. 
         [0003]    However, notwithstanding the omission of a circuit board, other factors can influence the cost and complexity of a network jack. These can include the total number of sections where contacts must cross over one another, the materials used to coat the metal contacts, and the number of contact stamping reels needed for manufacture. Furthermore, these factors can become more significant in their importance as the jacks are manufactured to higher performance standards such as Category 6 (CAT 6) (250 MHz), Augmented Category 6 (CAT 6a) (500 MHz), and higher. Therefore, there is a need for a lead frame communication jack capable of high frequency electrical performance, such as for example CAT6 performance, while maintaining the inherent cost benefits of a lead frame jack design. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
         [0004]    The features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a work station system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a jack according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the jack contacts of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a first subset of the jack contacts of  FIG. 4  illustrating a first capacitive region or zone; 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a second subset of the jack contacts of  FIG. 4  illustrating a second capacitive region or zone; 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a third subset of the jack contacts of  FIG. 4  illustrating a third capacitive region or zone; 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a fourth subset of the jack contacts of  FIG. 4  illustrating a fourth capacitive region or zone; 
           [0013]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the jack contacts of  FIG. 4  as viewed from the IDC end of the contacts; 
           [0014]      FIG. 10  is a schematic of the jack contacts of  FIG. 4  according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the support sled of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0016]      FIGS. 12-17  are perspective views of assembly steps of contacts and support sled according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 18  is a bottom view of contacts and support sled of  FIG. 17 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 19  is a perspective view of an assembly step of the support sled with contacts and the jack housing of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 20  is a perspective view of a jack subassembly after the assembly step of  FIG. 19 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 21  is a section view taken along section line  21 - 21  in  FIG. 20 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 22  is a perspective view of the wire cap of  FIG. 3  connected to respective cable conductors; 
           [0022]      FIG. 23  is a perspective view of an assembly step connecting the wire cap subassembly of  FIG. 22  to the jack subassembly of  FIG. 20 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 24  is a perspective view of the jack according to an embodiment of the present invention after connection to a communication cable, particularly after the wire termination step illustrated in  FIG. 23 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 25  is a section view taken along section line  25 - 25  in  FIG. 24 ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 26  is a perspective view of the another embodiment of a support sled according to the present invention, with a contact gate in an open state; 
           [0026]      FIG. 27  is a perspective view of the support sled of  FIG. 26 , with a first set of contacts in place and the contact gate in closed state; 
           [0027]      FIG. 28  is a perspective view of the support sled of  FIG. 27 , with both the first set and second set of contacts in place and the contact gate in closed state; 
           [0028]      FIG. 29  is a perspective view of the another embodiment of contacts according to the present invention, particularly illustrating an orthogonal compensation network (OCN) in lead frame form; and 
           [0029]      FIG. 30  is a schematic view of the OCN lead frame of  FIG. 29 . 
       
    
    
       [0030]    Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention, in one form, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0031]    Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a communication system  64  including communication jack  62   a  installed to faceplate  66  at work station system  68 . Device  70  is connected to communication jack  62   a  by networking patch cord  72 . Device  70  may include, but is not limited to, a computer, telephone, printer, fax machine, gaming system, router, etc. Communication jack  62   a  is terminated to zone cable  74 . The opposite end of zone cable  74  is terminated with a RJ45 plug  76   a  (shown schematically in  FIG. 1 ). RJ45 plug  76   a  is plugged into communication jack  62   b  (shown schematically), which is located within distribution zone enclosure  80 . Horizontal cable  82  is terminated on one end to jack  62   b  and is terminated to jack  62   c  at the opposite end. Jack  62   c  is installed in patch panel  84   a  inside of telecommunication closet  86 . RJ45 patch cord  88  connects jack  62   c  to jack  62   d , which is installed in patch panel  84   b . Network cable  90  is terminated to jack  62   d  on one end, and RJ45 plug  76   b  on the opposite end. RJ45 plug  76   b  connects to networking device  92 . Networking device  92  may include, but is not limited to, a switch, router, server, etc. Channel system  64  is just one non-limiting example of an enterprise space four connector channel configuration using four communication jacks  62 . In other embodiments, the present invention is compatible with other channel configurations, including channels that occupy space within a datacenter. 
         [0032]    A fragmentary exploded view of work station system  68  is shown in  FIG. 2 . Communication jack  62  is terminated to zone cable  74  and is assembled to faceplate  94 . Faceplate  94  mounts to electrical box  96  by two screws  98 . Electrical box  96  is mounted to wall  100 . 
         [0033]    Referring to the drawings in more detail,  FIG. 3  shows one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, jack  62  includes a housing  102 , contacts  104 , a support sled  106 , and a wire cap  108 . Contacts  104  include individual contacts  104   1 - 104   8  which correspond to the 1-8 individual wires that typically connect to and make up the 4 differential pairs of an RJ45 jack. A magnified view of contacts  104 , according to one embodiment of the present invention, is shown in  FIG. 4 , with contact subsets shown in  FIGS. 5-8 . Initial crossover regions  110   12 ,  110   45 , and  110   78  respectively correspond to the regions where contact  104   1  crosses over contact  104   2 , contact  104   5  crosses over contact  104   4 , and contact  104   7  crosses over contact  104   8 , wherein each crossover occurs at particular crossover points  181 . An earlier crossover of contacts  104 , with respect to the distance from the PICs, may be advantageous because 1) it may reduce the relative amount of initial offending crosstalk at the PICs and plug contacts region; 2) it may increase the effective length of the compensation zone, allowing for more degrees of freedom relative to the coupling structures in the compensation zone; 3) it may brings the compensation zone closer to the point of contact between the plug contacts and the PICs; and 4) it may allow for greater turning. Note that the compensation zone may extend between and including the crossover points  181  and the IDCs. 
         [0034]    Preferably, the crossover regions  110  generally exist where contacts  104  bend around the front of the support sled  106 . More preferably, the particular crossover points  181  occur approximately at the apex of the bends of the contacts  104 . In one embodiment, the distance from the point of contact  105  of the plug contacts to the apex of the bends of contacts  104   2 ,  104   4 ,  104   6 , and  104   8  is approximately 0.250 inches; and the distance from the point of contact  105  of the plug contacts to the apex of the bends of contacts  104   1 ,  104   3 ,  104   5 , and  104   7  is approximately 0.290 inches. In another embodiment, the distance from the point of contact  105  of the plug contacts to the apex of the bends of contacts  104  ranges from 0.230 to 0.310 inches. The point of contact  105  of the plug contacts varies depending on the design of certain features of the jack and/or plug, but for a given design will have a predetermined position. 
         [0035]    To reduce the near end crosstalk (NEXT) effects and obtain CAT6 or higher performance, it is desirable that there be sufficient amount of coupling (primarily capacitive, and also inductive coupling) among certain pairs of contacts. These pairs are commonly referred to as X:Y pairs, wherein the X and the Y denote individual contact number. For example, contact pair 3:6 refers to a pair of  104   3  and  104   6  contacts. Typically, to reduce NEXT, the necessary coupling occurs between the 1:3, 3:5, 4:6, and 6:8 contact pairs. 
         [0036]    In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 4-8 , contacts  104   8 ,  104   6 ,  104   5 ,  104   4 ,  104   3 , and  104   1  are effectively coupled in regions  112  in a specific manner. This configuration may achieve CAT6 performance on all contact pairs. In particular, the total length of each contact and their proximity with respect to one another in the compensation zone allows: contact  104   8  to couple to contact  104   6  in zone  112   68  (C68); contact  104   3  to couple to contact  104   5  in zone  112   35  (C35); contact  104   1  to couple to contact  104   3  in zone  112   13  (C13); and contact  104   4  to couple to contact  104   6  in zone  112   46  (C46). All four of the coupling regions are shown together in  FIG. 4 , and individually in  FIGS. 5-8 . 
         [0037]    With respect to the coupling regions  112 , desired capacitance may be attained because of the long interlocking finger-like nature of the design with both the metal contacts and plastic dielectric of the support sled  106  being interwoven together to increase the effective capacitance. A reverse isometric view of contacts  104  is shown in  FIG. 9  which illustrates secondary crossover regions  114   12  and  114   78  for contact pairs 1:2 and 7:8, respectively. These crossover regions can be used for further tuning of the jack, such as for example, NEXT tuning. Placement of the crossover regions  114   12  and  114   78  can vary and can impact relative magnitude of compensation and/or crosstalk to reach the desired electrical performance. In the illustrated embodiment, contact pair 3:6 does not require a crossover in region  110  or  114  since contact  104   3  wraps around contacts  104   4  and  104   5  in region  116 , minimizing or eliminating the need for any crossover in contact pair 3:6. 
         [0038]    In certain designs, coupling occurring in the IDC region between contact pairs 3:4 and 5:6 may be a significant source of crosstalk. Contact  104   3 &#39;s wrap-around in the IDC region (represented by self-inductance L3 in  FIG. 10 ) enables contact  104   3  to be adjacent to contact  104   6  and eliminates the 3:6 split contact pair around the 4:5 contact pair in the IDC area and wire cap  108 . The layout of the presently described embodiment has crosstalk in region  116  primarily between 3:4 and not 5:6 contact pairs. This is shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . 
         [0039]    Turning to individual contact pair combinations, for contact pair combinations 3:6-7:8 and 3:6-1:2, crossover regions  110   12  and  110   78  include contacts  104   1 ,  104   2 ,  104   7 , and  104   8 ; and crossover regions  114   12  and  114   78  include contacts  104   1 ,  104   2 ,  104   7 , and  104   8 . Referring to contact pair combination 3:6-7:8, crossover in region  110   78  enables contacts  104   6  and  104   8  to be within close proximity of each other and be coupled in the coupling region for compensation, followed by the crossover in region  114   78 . Similarly, for contact pair combination 3:6-1:2, crossover in region  110   12  enables contacts  104   3  and  104   1  to be within close proximity of each other and be coupled in the coupling region for compensation, followed by the crossover in region  114   12 . 
         [0040]    Turning to  FIG. 11 , support sled  106  preferably includes rib elements  118  that maintain separation between contacts  104  in the jack&#39;s assembled state. Rib elements  118  reduce the risk of electrical shorts and high potential failures while at the same time controlling the dielectric between contacts  104  to control the magnitude of capacitance between the various contacts. Additional features which may reduce the risk of electrical shorts and high potential failures at or around the crossover regions  110  are disclosed in another embodiment discussed below. Fragmentary contacts  104  are shown as hidden lines to illustrate the initial crossover regions  110  as they bend around mandrel  120  of support sled  106 . 
         [0041]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, to assemble communication jack  62 , contacts  104   2 ,  104   4 ,  104   6 , and  104   8  are placed onto support sled  106  ( FIGS. 12 and 13 ). A forming tool bends contacts  104  around mandrel  120  as shown in  FIG. 14 . Next, contacts  104   1 ,  104   3 ,  104   5 , and  104   7  are placed onto support sled  106  ( FIGS. 15 and 16 ). A forming tool bends contacts  104 , as shown in  FIG. 17 , to create a sled subassembly  122 . A bottom view of contacts  104  assembled to sled  106  is shown in  FIG. 18 . Contacts  104  are shown as crosshatched members to give them contrast against sled  106  and ribs  118 , for clarification. Preferably, rib elements  118  exist between all contacts  104  that are sufficiently close to where high potential failures or electrical shorts may be of concern. In a preferred embodiment, contacts  104  of the sled subassembly  122  are constructed using two contact reels. One contact reel contributes contacts  104   1 ,  104   3 ,  104   5 , and  104   7  and the other contact reel contributes contacts  104   2 ,  104   4 ,  104   6 , and  104   8 . Sled subassembly  122  is inserted into housing  102  until latch feature  123  ( FIG. 17 ) of support sled  106  engages pocket  124  to create jack subassembly  126  ( FIGS. 20 and 21 ). A section view of jack subassembly  126  is shown in  FIG. 21  to illustrate the relative positioning of contacts  104  within housing  102  as well as to show how the lateral positioning of PICs is controlled by slotted comb elements  128  of housing  102 . 
         [0042]    Turning now to  FIGS. 22-25 , to terminate communication jack  62  to network cable  74  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the first step is orienting wire conductors  130  into their respective apertures  132  of wire cap  108 . Conductors  130  are then cut flush to face  134  as shown in  FIG. 22  to create a wire cap subassembly  136 . Conductor pairs  138  are staggered in wire cap  108  to control the amount of crosstalk created in the wire cap region. For example, conductor pairs  138   78  and  138   36 , wherein said conductor pairs correspond to jack contact pairs 7:8 and 3:6, may be offset from each other in a non-collinear manner in order to control the relative amount of crosstalk between these pairs. This holds true for the other adjacent pairs 3:6 to 4:5 and 4:5 to 1:2 in wire cap  108 . Wire cap subassembly  136  is then pressed down onto jack subassembly  126  ( FIG. 23 ). Barb features  140  may be integrated into support sled  106  and provide the necessary strain relief for networking cable  74 . The completed termination of communication jack  62 , according to the described embodiment, is shown in  FIGS. 24 and 25 . IDCs  142  pierce the insulation of conductors  130  to create an electrical bond between contacts  104  and metal wires of conductors  130 . Latch feature  144  of wire cap  108  may be used to secure wire cap subassembly  136  to jack subassembly  126 . Conductors  130  can alternatively be trimmed to a predetermined length and extended into gap  180  to improve near end crosstalk performance as required. 
         [0043]    In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, sled  141  includes a hinging mandrel arm  145 , as shown in  FIG. 26 . To assemble the sled  140  and contacts  104 , contacts  104   2 ,  104   4 ,  104   6 , and  104   8  are first inserted and bent around the first mandrel  137  of the sled  141  in a similar manner as previously described. Hinging mandrel arm  145  is then closed as shown in  FIG. 27 . Shelf  146  engages latch  147  to lock hinging mandrel arm  145  in a closed position. Contacts  104   1 ,  104   3 ,  104   5 , and  104   7  are then inserted into the sled  140  in a similar manner as previously described, and bent around hinging mandrel arm  145 , as shown in  FIG. 28 . Hinging mandrel arm  145  may improve manufacturability by providing a plastic surface on which to bend contacts  104   1 ,  104   3 ,  104   5 , and  104   7 . Additionally, adding a substrate between contacts in crossover regions  110  may help reduce the risk of electrical shorts and high potential failures. 
         [0044]    In yet another embodiment of the present invention, contacts  190  employ a crosstalk compensation technique (OCN technique) disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/563,079, entitled “Single Stage Compensation Network for RJ45 Jacks Using an Orthogonal Compensation Network,” filed on Nov. 23, 2011, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Contacts  190  are represented by the schematic shown in  FIG. 30 . The near end crosstalk compensation according to the currently described embodiment is particularly shown for the 3:6-4:5 contact pair combination. The approximate 180 degrees out of phase compensation (with respect to the plug crosstalk) can be achieved with distributed compensation capacitance for 3:6-4:5 contact pairs. This compensation occurs along the coupled lengths of the compensation zones in four areas  160 ,  162 ,  164  and  166 , corresponding schematically to C35 and C46 (which are shown on  FIG. 30  as discrete capacitors, but are in fact distributed elements as indicated). Elements  160  and  162  include distributed capacitance between contacts  150   3  and  150   5  along the length of the compensation zone (from the nose&#39;s crossover to the IDC region), while  164  and  166  include distributed capacitance between contacts  150   4  and  150   6 . The mutual inductance between contacts  150   4  and  150   6  is mainly from the coupled element  166  (between self inductances L4 and L6 corresponding to self inductances of contacts  104   4  and  104   6 , respectively) and the mutual inductance between contacts  150   3  and  150   5  is mainly from the coupled element  160  (mutual inductance between L3 and L5 corresponding to self inductances of contacts  104   3  and  104   5 , respectively). The mutual inductances  160  and  166  are coupled with capacitor  168  (the capacitance between contacts  150   3  and  150   6 , particularly between plates  168 A and  168 B) to create a compensation vector at the same stage, or position, as a separate compensation vector produced by the capacitive coupling C35 and C46. Contacts  150   3  and  150   6  are contacts from the same differential conductor pair. The two compensating signals (vectors) effectively couple to produce single-stage compensation. The remaining conductor pairs  150   1  and  150   3  and  150   6  and  150   8 , have distributed compensation capacitance  170  (C13) and  172  (C68), respectively, for NEXT tuning for pair combinations 1:2-3:6 and 3:6-7:8. Other components of a jack such as, but not limited to, a housing, a sled, and a wire cap can be modified to suitably conform to the contact set  190  for embodiments which employs said contact set. Additionally, the OCN technique can be applied to other pair combinations as desired. 
         [0045]    While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.