Patent Publication Number: US-2007105450-A1

Title: Connecting module

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No. 094138663 filed in Taiwan, Republic of China on Nov. 4, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of Invention  
      The invention relates to a connecting module and, in particular, to a stacked connecting module.  
      2. Related Art  
      Accompanying the development of the technology, the electronic and the information product, such as a computer system, has widely spread. However, the computer system constructed with few computers or apparatuses is insufficient for providing the convenient information service. Moreover, accompanying the fast development of internet technology, it is the trend of the information age to retrieve information from many distributed computers and apparatuses rapidly through the network. In this case, the computers and the apparatuses distributed around the world are connected through the network.  
      As mentioned above, the computer system usually employs a connecting module to connect to internet or the related electronic apparatus through the network. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional connecting module  10  for connecting to the network apparatus has a plurality of connectors  11 , which are stackedly and slidingly assembled with each other. Each connector  11  includes a plurality of jacks  111 , and each jack  111  is used to couple with a plug  12  of at least one connecting line for transmitting signals. The jack  111  and the plug  12  must be manufactured within standard specifications.  
      The stacked connectors  11  may misalign (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) when applying an external force to pull the plug  12  away from the jack  111  along a direction D. Since there is no fastener disposed between the stacked connectors  11 , the connecting structure of the stacked connectors  11  may be damaged and thus generate a gap  101  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ) when the environmental condition changes or a stress is applied. The damaged connecting structure may lead to the poor contact between the plug  12  and the jack  111 , which results in the bad signal transmission quality.  
      Therefore, it is an important subject to provide a connecting module with a fastened structure to ensure the signal transmission quality.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In view of the foregoing, the invention is to provide a connecting module with a reinforced structure so as to ensure the signal transmission quality.  
      To achieve the above, a connecting module of the invention includes a first connector and a second connector. The first connector has at least one first jack, which correspondingly receives an external plug, and at least one first fastener. The second connector has at least one second jack, which correspondingly receives an another external plug, and at least one second fastener. The first connector connects to the second connector by the first fastener and the second fastener.  
      In the invention, the first connector of the connecting module further includes a block portion corresponding to a part of the second connector. The part of the second connector contacts against the block portion, so that the block portion can stop the relative sliding between the first connector and the second connector. Herein, the connectors are stacked with each other.  
      As mentioned above, the connecting module of the invention utilizes at least one fastener for connecting the stacked connectors with each other. The fastener can be disposed between the adjacent connectors. In this case, the first fastener is a recess or a protrusion and the second fastener is correspondingly a protrusion or a recess. The recess and the protrusion are disposed on the opposite surfaces of the connectors, respectively. The connectors are connected with each other by, for example, fastening the recess to the protrusion. The fastener disposed between the adjacent connectors can avoid the warp of the connector or the gap between the connectors. In addition, the connecting module of the invention includes at least one block portion for stopping the stacked connectors sliding relatively, so that the misalignment of the conventional connectors caused by the external force for assembling or disassembling the plugs can be prevented. Therefore, the connecting structure of the connecting module with the fastener is reinforced to ensure the signal transmission quality. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below illustration only, and thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing the conventional connecting module having misaligned connectors;  
       FIG. 2  is an elevation diagram showing the conventional connecting module having a gap;  
       FIG. 3  is an elevation diagram showing a connecting module according to an embodiment of the invention; and  
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional diagram of the connecting module along the line A-A of  FIG. 3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      A connecting module according to an embodiment of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.  
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , a connecting module  20  according to an embodiment of the invention includes a first connector  211  and a second connector  212 . The first connector  211  and the second connector  212  are stacked and assembled by relatively sliding.  
      At least one first jack  2112  corresponding to an external plug is disposed on the first connector  211 , and at least one second jack  2122  corresponding to another external plug is disposed on the second connector  212 . The openings of the first jack  2112  and the second jack  2122  have the same direction. In practice, the connecting module  20  is not limited in the invention and may be composed by stacking by more than two connectors  211 ,  212 . Besides, the first connector  211  and the second connector  212  may respectively have a plurality of jacks  2112  and  2122  for coupling with corresponding external plugs. In this embodiment, the jacks  2112  and  2122  are manufactured within the specification of RJ-11, RJ-12 or RJ-45.  
      In the embodiment, a first fastener  221  is disposed on the first connector  211  and a second fastener  222  is disposed on the second connector  212 . In this case, the second fastener  222  is disposed opposite to the first fastener  221 . The first fastener  221  and the second fastener  222  are respectively disposed opposite to the first jack  2112  and the second jack  2122 .  
      In the embodiment, the first fastener  221  is a trapezoid recess and the second fastener  222  is correspondingly a trapezoid protrusion, which can be contained in the first fastener  221 . Since the shapes of the first fastener  221  and the second fastener  222  are compatible, the first connector  211  and the second connector  212  are connected with each other by sliding the second fastener  222  into the first fastener  221 .  
      The first fastener  221  is wedged with the second fastener  222  to prevent the gap between the first connector  211  and the second connector  212  caused by the warped connectors. Additionally, the first connector  211  is assembled or disassembled with the second connector  212  by relatively sliding the second fastener  222  and the first fastener  221 .  
      In this case, the first fastener  221  and the first connector  211  can be integrally formed as a single unit, and the second fastener  222  and the second connector  212  can be integrally formed as a single unit. Additionally, the elevational shape of the first fastener  221  or the second fastener  222  can has a trapezoid, circular, rectangular, polygonal or irregular profile.  
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional diagram of the connecting module  20  along the line A-A of  FIG. 3 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , the first connector  211  further includes a block portion  23  for stopping the first connector  211  sliding along a direction, which is the sliding direction for assembling the second connector  212  and the first connector  211 . Additionally, a part  2121  of the second connector  212  contacts against the block portion  23  when the second connector  212  has slidingly assembled with the first connector  211 . Therefore, the block portion  23 , such as a hook, not only can ensure the first connector  211  and the second connector  212  free from easily disassembling, but also can prevent the first connector  211  and the second connector  212  from misalignment caused by an external force.  
      In summary, the connecting module of the invention utilizes at least one fastener for connecting the stacked connectors with each other. The fastener can be disposed between the adjacent connectors. In this case, the fastener is a recess or a protrusion, which are disposed on the opposite surfaces of the connectors. The connectors are connected with each other by the recess and the protrusion. Since, the recess is wedged with the protrusion, the warp of the connectors or the gap between the connectors can be prevented. In addition, the connector can also include a block portion to eliminate the misalignment of the conventional connectors caused by the external force for assembling or disassembling the plugs. This can be carried out by stopping the stacked connectors sliding relatively with the block portion. Therefore, the connecting structure of the connecting module with the fastener is reinforced to ensure the signal transmission quality.  
      Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.