Patent Publication Number: US-7717749-B2

Title: Multiport RJ connector

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/921,056 filed Aug. 2, 2001 now abandoned entitled “MULTIPORT RJ CONNECTOR” which application is based on Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/222,710, filed Aug. 3, 2000, entitled “MULTIPORT RJ JACK CONNECTOR” and claims priority thereto. The entire disclosure of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/222,710 is incorporated by reference herein. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to RJ Connectors and, in particular, to a multiport RJ connector which is shielded to enable use at high frequencies (e.g., gigabit frequencies). 
   RJ Connectors are modular connectors used in telecommunications and data networks to interconnect equipment units. As the need for speed of such equipment increases, the frequencies of the signals employed in such equipment also increase. At the same time, there is a need to make the equipment more compact. The use of high frequencies combined with increased compactness of the equipment leads to increased problems of unwanted interactions between the signals carried by the connectors. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a more compact arrangement of RJ connectors and, more particularly, to provide a multiport RJ connector having improved shielding. 
   The foregoing and other objects are achieved in accordance with certain principles of the invention by a multiport connector, which comprises a housing having at least two aligned compartments, each compartment being structured and arranged to receive respective plugs. A multilayer printed wiring board separates the two compartments, the printed wiring board having circuit patterns on opposite sides of opposed non-conductive layers and a metal shielding layer intermediate the non-conductive layers. A first plurality of conductive contact fingers is disposed in one of the compartments, the first plurality of fingers having first portions for making electrical contact with one of the plugs and second portions for making contact with the circuit pattern on one of the non-conductive layers of the multilayer printed wiring board. A second plurality of conductive contact fingers is disposed in the other of the compartments, the second plurality of fingers having first portions for making electrical contact with the other one of the plugs and second portions for making contact with the circuit pattern on the other one of the non-conductive layers of the multilayer printed wiring board. 
   In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the conductive contact fingers are resilient such that the second portions make contact with the circuit patterns by spring action forcing the second portions into electrical contact with the respective circuit patterns. This feature, referred to herein as the edge connector feature because this arrangement functions similar to an edge connector, allows electrical contact to be made without any physical joining, such as by welding or the like. 
   In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the edge connector feature is employed in a single connector in which only one plurality of contact fingers is employed with the second portions of the contact fingers making contact with the circuit pattern on a printed wiring board by means of spring pressure. 
   Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a multiport connector in accordance with certain aspects of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the multiport connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a multilayer board used in the multiport connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a fragmented elevational view of the multilayer board of  FIG. 3  sandwiched between conductive fingers; 
       FIGS. 5(   a )- 5 ( g ),  FIGS. 6(   a )- 6 ( c ),  FIGS. 7(   a ) and  7 ( b ),  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9  are perspective views showing the component parts of the multiport connector of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , as well as the method of assembly of the component parts into the multiport connector; 
       FIG. 10  is a fragmented elevational view of a multilayer board and conductive fingers according to an alternative embodiment of the invention; and 
       FIG. 11  is a fragmented elevational view of an embodiment of the multiport connector of  FIGS. 1 and 2  which includes LEDs. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  show a multiport connector  10  in a stacked configuration which includes a plastic housing  12  having compartments for receiving RJ connector components, such as those disclosed in Ser. No. 09/492,895, filed Jan. 27, 2000 and entitled “RJ Jack With Integrated Interface Magnetics”, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
   More specifically, the compartments, which function as individual RJ connectors, are arranged in vertically aligned pairs of upper and lower compartments  14  and  16 , respectively, with each compartment being shaped and dimensioned to receive a conventional modular RJ plug  15  (only one of which is diagrammatically shown in  FIG. 2 ). Each component  14 ,  16  includes a plurality of resilient conductive contact fingers  18  which project upwardly at an angle towards the rear wall of the compartment for receiving and making contact with the modular plugs. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the opposing portions  18   a  of the fingers  18  make contact with a multilayer printed wiring board  20  having circuit patterns  22  on opposed external surfaces of non-conductive layers  23  which sandwich an internal metal shielding layer  24 . The shielding layer  24  serves to electrically shield the components in the upper and lower compartments  14  and  16  from each other. 
   One of the compartments, in this case the lower compartment  16 , includes a toroid base unit  28 , which houses two sets of magnetic toroid units  28   a  and  28   b  ( FIG. 2 ) functioning as filters or transformers, one set for the upper compartment  14  and one set for the lower compartment  16 . 
   The contact between the fingers  18  and the printed circuit board  20  is a pressure contact, in which bumps  30  on the opposing portions  18  of the opposing fingers  18  (best shown in  FIG. 4 ) make contact with pads on the circuit patterns  22  on the opposite sides of the printed circuit board  20 . The opposing portions  18   a  with the protruding bumps  30  function as an edge connector ( FIG. 4 ); that is, the printed circuit board  20  is sandwiched between the respective fingers  18  in the upper and lower compartments  14  and  16  with electrical contact being established by pressure exerted by the fingers  18  in a manner similar to the functioning of a conventional edge connector. As in an edge connector, the pressure results from a spring force being exerted by the resilient fingers  18  on the circuit patterns  22 . This edge connector feature enables good electrical contact to be made between the fingers  18  and the circuit patterns  22  without the need for physical joining by soldering or the like. 
   The individual components and their assembly to form a multiport RJ connector will now be described. 
     FIGS. 5(   a ) to  5 ( g ) show the assembly of a set of contact fingers  18  to a contact pin assembly  34 . Referring to  FIG. 5(   a ), each of the fingers  18  initially form part of a lead frame  32  having tie bars  31 ( a ) and  31 ( b ) on opposite ends. Each of the lead frames  32  is subjected to a forming process, known as spoon contact forming, to first form the bumps  30  or depressions ( FIG. 5(   b )) and then a bending process, referred to as 30° forming, to bend the lead frame into a 30° angle ( FIG. 5(   c ). Other angles may be used with the angle of the bending being selected such as to optimize contacts force to this end. Additionally, rather than a single bend, multiple bends may be used. After the lead frame has been bent, the tie bar  31 ( a ) is severed from the lead frame  32 . Then the lead frame  32  is assembled with the contact pin block  34 . 
   The contact pin block  34  has a plurality of slots  35 ( a ) and  35 ( b ) on opposite sides  34 ( a ) and  34 ( b ) of the contact pin block  34  for receiving the contact fingers  18 . The spacing of the slots  35 ( a ) and the contact fingers  18  on the side  34   a  of the contact pin block assembly  34  (which is the side that receives the modular plug  15 , (FIG.  2 )), is such as to match the spacing of the contacts in the modular plug  15 . However, on the opposite side  34   b , the spacing of the slots  35 ( b ) and the contact fingers  18  is increased so as to reduce cross talk and facilitate connection of the contacts  18  to the printed circuit board  20 . After assembly of the lead frame  32  to the contact pin block  34 , the lead frame  32  is subjected to ultrasonic energy to ultrasonically melt the contact pin block  24  to secure the lead frame  32  to the contact block  34 . The tie bar  31 ( b ) is then severed from the lead frame  32  ( FIG. 5(   g )). 
   Assembly of a toroid base unit  28  is shown in  FIGS. 6(   a )- 6 ( c ). The toroid base unit  28  includes a rectangular plastic housing  29  for receiving one set  28   a  of the toroids ( FIG. 2) , which may be separated from a second set  28 ( b ) of toroids ( FIG. 2 ) by a metal separator  36  ( FIG. 6(   a )). Alternatively, the metal separator  36  may be omitted. The toroid base unit  28  is then assembled to a bottom plate  38  ( FIG. 6(   b )). The plate  38  includes a plurality of openings  37  for receiving depending conductive pins  39  depending from the bottom of the toroid base assembly  28  and holes  40  for receiving mounting posts  41  (only one of which is seen in  FIG. 6(   b )), also depending from the bottom of the toroid base assembly  28  The top ends of pins  39  are electrically connected to the toroid units and the bottom ends are connected to an external circuit (not shown). 
   As seen in  FIG. 6 , the printed wiring board  20  is then assembled to the toroid base unit  28  by placing the printed wiring board  20  over the toroid base unit  28  with the conductive pins  41  in the toroid base unit, which are electrically connected to the toroid units, extending through corresponding holes in the printed wiring board  20 . The conductive pins  41  are then soldered to the circuit patterns  22 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 7(   a ) and  7 ( b ), the toroid base unit  28  with the printed wiring board  20  is then inserted into the housing  12 , as are the upper and lower contact pin block assemblies  34 . The contact pin block assemblies  34  are inserted into the upper and lower compartments  14  and  16  inverted from each other such that their portions  18   a  oppose each other and make a pressure contact with pads on the printed wiring board  20 . Thereafter, as shown in  FIG. 8 , a front metal shield  42  is put on the assembly followed by a rear metal shield  44  ( FIG. 9) . 
   It should be appreciated that, although  FIGS. 5(   a )- 5 ( g ),  6 ( a )- 6 ( c ) and  7 ( a ) and  7 ( b ) illustrate the assembly of components for one set of upper and lower compartments  14  and  16 , in practice, components will be assembled for the number of RJ Connectors required for a particular application (see, e.g.,  FIG. 1 , which shows four sets of RJ connectors, that is, eight RJ connectors). 
   It should also be appreciated that shielding is not only effected by the front and rear shields  42  and  44 , but also by the shielding layer(s)  24  of the printed wiring board(s)  20 . 
   Further, although the toroid assembly  28  has been shown and described as being in the lower compartment  16 , it may, instead, be in the upper compartment  14 . 
   Additionally, although the compartments  14 ,  16  are described as being vertically aligned, they may alternatively be aligned horizontally. 
   Further, although the edge connector feature has been illustrated and described as being used in connection with a multiport RJ connector, it may also be used for a single unit, as shown in  FIG. 10 , with a wall  46  or the housing in contact with one of the surfaces of the board  20 , while the other surface, i.e., the surface with a circuit pattern, is engaged by the bumps  30  of the contact finger portions  18   a  being pressed into contact with the circuit pattern by the spring force of the contacts  18 . 
   In co-pending application entitled “RJ Jack With Integrated Interface Magnetics”, U.S. Ser. No. 09/492,895, filed Jan. 27, 2000, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, an RJ Connector Jack design is disclosed that, instead of physically imbedding LEDs inside the connector at the front face of the jack, mounts the LEDs at the rear of the package. Means are provided, such as a transparent top wall, for coupling light from the LEDs, which are positioned at the rear of the connector, to the front panel of the connector. 
   As shown in  FIG. 11 , this feature may be incorporated in the multiport connector  10 . Light from LEDs (not shown) mounted at the rear of the connector  10  is directed to triangular shaped status indicators  50  and  52  located at the top portion of the connector&#39;s front face plate  42 . These indicators  50 ,  52  are comprised of the end portions of the light coupling structure and matching triangular shaped cut-outs in the sheet metal case  42 . Each two-port section  54  (i.e., each set of upper and lower compartments  14  and  16 ) is typically configured with one downward pointing triangular shaped indicator  50  at the top left portion of the section and one upward pointing triangular shaped indicator  52  at the top right portion of the section. Each two-port section  54  of the multiport connector  10  has the same arrangement. For each two-port section  54 , the downward pointing indicator  50  applies to the lower compartment  16 , while the upward pointing indicator  52  applies to the upper compartment  14 . Each indicator  50 ,  52  may be configured with a single or bi-colored rear mounted LED to provide a single or multitude of colored lights showing at the face plate triangle  50 ,  52  to indicate the operational status of that particular compartment. 
   Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.