Patent Publication Number: US-2019190191-A1

Title: Communications plug with improved cable manager

Description:
RELATED SUBJECT MATTER 
     This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of priority to, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/935,180, filed on Mar. 26, 2018 (now allowed), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/718,016, filed on Sep. 28, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,960,529), which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/622,425, filed on Feb. 13, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,799,985), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/215,658, filed on Mar. 17, 2014 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,961,219), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/272,649, filed on Oct. 13, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,702,444), which claims the benefits of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/454,043, filed on Mar. 18, 2011, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/393,982, filed on Oct. 18, 2010, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,445, issued on Nov. 2, 2004, is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In recent years, there has been a motivation to reduce communication cable diameters to reduce cost, improve appearance, increase cable flexibility and conserve valuable raw material resources. 
     The use of smaller conductor diameters, in particular 26, 28, and 30 AWG conductors for example, can reduce cable diameters and makes it desirable to have tighter conductor management to ensure continuity between the plug insulation piercing contacts (IPC&#39;s) and conductors of a communication cord/cable. In addition to the motivation for tighter conductor management, there is a benefit to greater mechanical retention of the cable jacket within the plug assembly. Maintaining this retention can be challenging as cable diameters decrease. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises, in one form thereof, a communication plug with a plug housing and a cable manager at least partially within the plug housing. The cable manager has a load bar which has a plurality of through holes. The cable manager further includes a first cable management section connected to the load bar via a first hinge, and a second cable management section connected to the load bar via a second hinge. 
     The present invention comprises, in another form thereof, a communication system including an item of communication equipment, and a communication plug connected to the communication equipment. The communication plug includes a plug housing and a cable manager at least partially with the plug housing. The cable manager has a load bar which has a plurality of through holes. The cable manager further includes a first cable management section connected to the load bar via a first hinge, and a second cable management section connected to the load bar via a second hinge. 
     The present invention comprises, in yet another form thereof, a method of manufacturing a communication cord including a twisted pair communication cable and at least one communication plug. The method includes the steps of: inserting the communication cable within a cable manager of the communication plug; linking a first cable management section of the cable manager to a second cable management section of the cable manager; and compressing the cable manager within a housing of the communication plug. 
     The present invention comprises, in yet another form thereof, a communication plug with a plug housing, and a cable manager at least partially within the plug housing. The cable manager includes a bridge section hingedly connected to a first cable management section and/or a second cable management section. The first cable management section and/or the second cable management section has a cable trough with a cable axis. The first cable management section has at least one first retention rib, and the second cable management section has at least one second retention rib opposed to the first retention rib(s). 
     The present invention comprises, in yet another form thereof, a method of manufacturing a communication cord having a twisted pair communication cable and at least one communication plug. The method includes the steps of molding a cable manager of the communication plug in an open position; folding the cable manager around an end of the communication cable; and inserting the cable manager and the communication cable into a housing of the communication plug. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a communication system. 
         FIG. 2  is a partially-exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention communication plug. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the communication plug of  FIG. 2  with the cable and cable manager partially inserted into the housing. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the cable manager of the communication plug of  FIG. 2  with the first and second cable management sections folded away from each other. 
         FIGS. 5 a  and 5 b    are perspective views of the cable manager of the communication plug of  FIG. 2  with the conductors of a cable being inserted into the load bar and the first and second cable management sections being folded away from each other. 
         FIG. 6 a    is a bottom view of the communication plug of  FIG. 2   
         FIG. 6 b    is a cross-sectional view of the communication plug of  FIG. 2 , taken along line A-A of  FIG. 6   a.    
         FIG. 7  is a partially-exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention communication plug with an alternate cable manager. 
         FIGS. 8 a  and 8 b    are perspective views of the cable manger of the communication plug of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the communication plug of  FIG. 7  taken along line  9 - 9 . 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention communication plug. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the communication plug of claim  10  taken along line  11 - 11 . 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the cable manager/strain relief collar of the communication plug of  FIG. 10  with the first and second cable management sections folded away from each other. 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the cable manger/strain relief collar of the communication plug of  FIG. 12  with the first and second cable management sections folded towards each other and enclosing the cable. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of a cable manager of a fourth embodiment of the present invention communication plug. 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view of the cable manger of  FIG. 14  with the conductors of a cable being inserted into the load bar. 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective view of a communication plug using the cable manger of  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional view of the communication plug of  FIG. 16  taken along line  17 - 17 . 
         FIG. 18  is perspective view of a cable and cable manager of a fifth embodiment of the present invention communication plug with the conductors of the cable being inserted into the load bar of the cable manager. 
         FIG. 19  is a perspective view of the cable manager of  FIG. 18  with the first and second cable management sections folded away from each other. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is a plug that is suitable for use with a communication cable with 26-30 American Wire Gauge (AWG) conductors of the twisted pairs in the communication cable. Although the present invention is particularly shown in a CAT5E application it can be adapted to CAT6, CAT6A, and other applications. The present invention can also be adapted to larger and smaller conductor wire gauges. 
     The present invention can be used in a communication system  20  as shown in  FIG. 1 . Communication system  20  can include at least one communication cord  21  connected to equipment  22 . Equipment  22  is illustrated as a patch panel in  FIG. 1 , but the equipment can be passive equipment or active equipment. Examples of passive equipment can be, but are riot 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/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  20  can further include cabinets, racks, cable management and overhead routing systems, and other such equipment. 
     Communication cord  21  can include unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable  23  and more particularly a CAT5E cable for this application. However, the present invention can be applied to and/or implemented in a variety of communications cables shielded or unshielded, any of CAT5E, CAT6, CAT6A, CAT7, CAT7A and other twisted pair Ethernet cable, as well as other types of cables. Cord  21  can have its other end (not shown) terminated directly into similar equipment  22 , or alternatively, can be terminated in a variety of plugs  26  or jack modules  24  such as RJ45 type, jack module cassettes, and many other connector types, or combinations thereof. Further, cords  21  can be processed into looms, or bundles, of cables, and additionally can be processed into preterminated looms. 
     Cords  21  can be used in a variety of structured cabling applications including patch cords, zone cords, backbone cabling, and horizontal cabling, although the present invention is not limited to such applications. In general, the present invention can be used in military, industrial, telecommunications, computer, data communications, marine and other cabling applications. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 3  ( FIG. 3  is rotated 180° with respect to  FIG. 2 ) plug assembly  26  contains a cable manager  28  with an integrated load bar  30 , and plug housing  50 . Cable retention features are contained within cable manager  28 . The integrated load bar  30  has conductor holes  46  (see  FIGS. 4-5A ) with diameters that accommodate the 26-30 AWG insulated conductors  44  (shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B ) of the cable  23 , 
     The cable manager  28  includes features that allow for easier arrangement of cable conductors  44  and greater cable retention without the need of a separate strain relief collar and cable boot. The cable manager  28  is preferably a molded cable manager, and is preferably formed in an “open” configuration ( FIG. 4 ) allowing simple threading of the eight small conductors  44  shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B  into their appropriate load bar holes  46 . This direct access to the integrated load bar or bridge  30  is accomplished by molding the cable manager  28  with hinges  34 , providing the ability to collapse two cable management sections  10  and  11  of the cable manager  28  onto cable  23  as shown in  FIG. 2  for final insertion into the modular plug housing  50 . Plug housing  50  and plug contacts (within comb section of plug housing  50 ) are the same or similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,445. 
     Cable retention is accomplished by the interaction between the cable jacket and the cable manager  28 . Preferably, the cable manager contains ribs that compress the cable jacket, forming a strong interference fit and trapping the cable jacket between opposing ribs. The ribs are arranged in an array with a center that is, at least approximately, concentric with a cable axis of the cable manager. In one embodiment, ribs  36 A- 36 C, as shown in  FIG. 4 , provided on both cable management sections of the cable manager  28 , engage the jacket of the cable  23  when the cable manager  28  sections are folded over along the hinges  34 . Temporary latches  38  engage as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , preventing the cable  23  from backing out of the cable manager  28  during assembly of the plug assembly  26 . In one embodiment, as shown, the ribs  36 A are provided on a first cable management section  10  of the cable manager  28 , and the ribs/barbs  36 B and  36 C are provided on a second cable management section  11  of the cable manager  28 . Preferably, the ribs are arranged such that the centerlines of the ribs are spaced approximately circumferentially around the cable  23  when the cable management sections  10  and  11  of the cable manager  28  are collapsed around the cable  23 . The concentric ribs allow cable clamping while maintaining an approximately circular cross-section of the cable, and also maintains the relative positions of the conductors within the cable. Although ribs  36 A- 36 C do depress into the cable  23  jacket, the relative roundness of the cable can be generally maintained, along with the relative symmetry of the conductor pair arrangement. 
     Final compression between the jacket of the cable  23  and the cable manager  28  is achieved when the cable manager  28  is inserted into the plug housing  50 .  FIG. 3  shows a partial insertion of the cable manager  28  and cable  23  into the plug housing  50 . The cable manager  28  contains deflection ramps  58 . As the molded cable manager  28  and cable  23  are inserted into the plug housing  50  the deflection ramps  58  engage the walls  53  of the plug housing  50 . This interaction forces the cable manager  28  to further close, compressing, and slightly deforming the cable  23 , and creating sufficient holding of the cable  23  between the ribs  36 A-C. The rib height is designed to depress into a depth of the cable jacket thickness but, coincidently, also prevent a significant disturbance to the pair twist and spacing of the twisted wire pairs in the cable. The rib height can depend on the overall cable diameter, jacket material, and/or thickness of the jacket, for examples. Cable manager  28  can include additional rib features  37 , although rib features  37  tend not to be as effective as concentric ribs  36 A- 36 C. 
       FIG. 6 a    is a bottom view of a plug according to one embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 6 b    is a cross-sectional view along line A-A of  FIG. 6   a.  Referring to  FIG. 6   b,  to prevent the cable  23  and cable manager  28  from backing out of plug housing  50 , cable manager latches  32  engage the plug housing  50  at lip  56  when cable manager  28  is fully seated within plug housing  50 . 
     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 7-9 , plug  60  includes plug housing  50  with a cable manager  62  at least partially within plug housing  50 . As with cable manager  28  of plug  26 , cable manager  62  includes a load bar/bridge section  64  (integrated load bar  30  comprises the bridge/load bar in cable manager  28 ) hingedly connected to a first cable management section  66  and a second cable management section  68 . Also similarly to cable manager  28 , the first cable management section  66  and the second cable management section  68  include cable troughs  70 A,  70 B with a cable axis  72 , First cable management section  66  has at least one first retention rib  74 , and second cable management section  68  has at least one second retention rib  76  opposed to ribs  74 . Ribs/barbs  74 ,  76  are arranged in an array on cable manager  62 , more particularly the array of ribs resides at least in part on cable troughs  70 A,  70 B, which array (collection of ribs  74 ,  76  in cable troughs  70 A,  70 B) has a center  78  ( FIG. 9 ) which is approximately concentric with a cable axis  72  of cable manager  62 . 
     Ribs  74 ,  76  are a frusto-pyramidal shape having a rectangular base at the corresponding cable trough  70 A or  70 B. Unlike the strain relief collar described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,445 which is generally molded in a closed position and requires pulling a cable through the strain relief collar, cable managers  28 ,  62  are molded in an open position and then folded around cable  23 . Such molding and folding of the cable manager provides more degrees of freedom when designing the ribs as the cable will not need to be pulled through the cable manager against the ribs. Consequently, effective ribs can be designed according to the present invention in a more varied way, and placed in the cable trough in a more varied fashion, including discontinuities in the longitudinal extent of the ribs, while still using a straight pull die for the molding of the cable managers. A straight pull die reduces the capital expense necessary to mold the plug. Sufficient pull test strain relief can be achieved for the plug assembly/cord, particularly with small diameter cables, while at the same time maintaining manufacturing efficiencies and relatively low costs for the plug assemblies/cords of the present invention. Plugs, according to the present invention, can sufficiently hold a small diameter cable without disturbing the twisted pairs in the cable in such a way that electrical performance is significantly reduced. Cable manager  62  can include alignment pins  75  and alignment guides  77  in respective sections  66  and  68 . 
     In another embodiment, according to the present invention, plug assembly  80  ( FIGS. 10-13 ), includes cable manager/strain relief collar, boot  84 , conductor divider  86 , load bar  88  and plug housing  50 , connected to cable  28 . Boot  84 , conductor divider  86 , load bar  88 , plug contacts, and plug housing  50  can be the same as, or similar to, that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,445. 
     Cable manager/strain relief collar  82  includes a bridge section  90  hingedly connected to a first cable management section  92  and a second cable management section  94 . First cable management section  92  and a second cable management section  94  include cable troughs  96 A,  96 B, respectively, with a cable axis  98 . First cable management section  92  has at least one first retention rib  100 , and second cable management section  94  has at least one second retention rib  102 . Ribs  100 ,  102  are arranged in an array on cable manager  82 , more particularly the array of ribs resides at least in part on cable troughs  96 A,  96 B, which array (collection of ribs  100 ,  102  in cable troughs  96 A,  96 B) has a center  104  ( FIG. 11 ) which is approximately coincident with a cable axis  98  of cable manager  82 . 
     Relief slot  106  is located above latch  108  and allows for deflection of latch  108  during assembly to plug housing  50 . The clearance provided by relief slot  106  keeps material stresses within acceptable limits and creates a robust, repeatable interface between strain relief collar  82  and plug housing  50  such that engagement remains during cyclic or vibrational loading. 
     Strain relief collar  82  can be constructed of a polymer using an injection molding process.  FIG. 12  shows strain relief collar  82  in an open, as-molded, state; and  FIG. 13  illustrates cable manager  82  in a partially assembled state. As with cable managers  28  and  62 , orienting strain collar  82  as shown allows strain relief barbs/ribs  100 ,  102  and relief slot  106 , to align parallel to the molding draw direction. This allows strain relief collar  82  to be molded using a straight pull mold, which is significantly less expensive than incorporating complicated side actions or lifters in the manufacturing mold. Plastic hinges  110  allow strain relief collar  82  to be folded as required for plug assembly  80 . Strain relief collar  82  is held closed when locating clamp latch  112  engages pocket  114 . After assembly of strain relief collar  82  onto cable  23 , plug housing  50  and boot  84  slide to engage and compress strain relief collar  82 . Plug contacts are crimped to pierce the cable conductors, completing plug assembly  80 . 
     Because strain relief collar  82  wraps around cable  28  and does not slide onto the cable, ribs/barbs  100 ,  102  can be relatively tall in interference depth. Taller barbs  100 ,  102 , and a plurality of barbs  100 ,  102 , made possible by molding cable manager  82  in open orientation maximizes engagement to cable  23  and effectively mitigates risk of cable  23  sliding free from strain relief collar  82  due to pulling forces exerted onto cable  23 . 
     Any of plugs  26 ,  60  and/or  82  can be used in communication system  20 . 
     In another embodiment according to the present invention ( FIGS. 14-17 ) plug  156  includes cable manager  160  with an integrated load bar  168 , housing  161 , and eight insulation piercing contacts  171 . The integrated load bar  168  has conductor holes  163  to accommodate the smaller diameter conductors  129  of the 28 AWG cable  128 . Cable retention features, or radial barbs,  162 A and  162 B, protruding from the radial cable pockets or troughs  181 A and  181 B allow the cable manager  160 , when folded about hinges  166  and  167  (hinges are on both sides of the cable manager), to firmly grip cable  128 . Staggering the radial barbs  162 A and  162 B along the radial cable pockets  181 A and  181 B allow the cable jacket  131  to displace around the radial barbs  162 A and  162 B as shown  FIG. 17 . Cable  128  is compressed increasing the cable retention and preventing the cable  128  from being pulled out of the plug  156 . 
     To eliminate any functional plug failure in the event of a hinge  166  or  167  fracture after final assembly, interlocking alignment features  164  and  174  are used to align and minimize movement between the two halves  165 A and  165 B. Pocket features  172  are included to minimize sink marks forming during molding and double as mating pockets for additional alignment features  170 . A tapered hole feature  165  allows for easier alignment of conductors  129  into load bar holes  163 . Recessed pockets  172 ,  178  and  180  decrease mold sink issues by ensuring a more equal wall thickness throughout the part. Cable manager  160  includes a molded identification symbol  176  to ensure proper use of the correct cable manager  160  with the corresponding gauge cable. 
     In another embodiment according to the present invention, a 30 AWG version of cable manager  190  is shown in  FIGS. 18 and 19 . Cable manager  190  functions essentially identically to cable manger  160  but with the exception of smaller conductor holes  194  within load bar  192  and a smaller cable clamping diameter  200 A and  200 B. Cable manager  190  includes a molded identification symbol  198  to ensure proper use by the customer of the correct cable manager with the corresponding 30 gauge cable. Feature changes described above allow for a smaller 30 AWG cable  196  and conductors  197 . 
     Any of plugs  26 ,  60 .  82  and/or  156  can be used in communication system  20 . 
     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.