Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US4781623?dq=7565338
Timestamp: 2014-09-24 01:23:55
Document Index: 525201201

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.\n14', 'art 22', 'art 22', 'art 20', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218', 'art 218']

Patent US4781623 - Shielded plug and jack connector - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsA plug and jack connector for multi-conductor cable is provided with shielding to attenuate EMI/RFI radiation passing into and out from the jack and/or plug and an arrangement for grounding electrostatic charge carried on the cable shield. The jack is designed for insertion into a printed circuit board...http://www.google.com/patents/US4781623?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US4781623 - Shielded plug and jack connectorAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS4781623 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 06/800,679Publication dateNov 1, 1988Filing dateNov 22, 1985Priority dateJan 16, 1984Fee statusLapsedAlso published asCA1273421A1, DE3650030D1, DE3650030T2, EP0224200A2, EP0224200A3, EP0224200B1Publication number06800679, 800679, US 4781623 A, US 4781623A, US-A-4781623, US4781623 A, US4781623AInventorsWalter M. Philippson, Robert J. Brennan, Terrence MeighenOriginal AssigneeStewart Stamping CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (9), Referenced by (19), Classifications (24), Legal Events (15) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetShielded plug and jack connectorUS 4781623 AAbstract A plug and jack connector for multi-conductor cable is provided with shielding to attenuate EMI/RFI radiation passing into and out from the jack and/or plug and an arrangement for grounding electrostatic charge carried on the cable shield. The jack is designed for insertion into a printed circuit board and includes a front housing part formed of electrically conductive material, an insulative rear housing part and a plurality of contacts having leads which are totally enclosed within the housing. The front housing part is the shielding member of the jack and is adapted to be grounded, such as by mounting on a chassis. The plug is of modular construction. Shield apparatus surrounds the plug to provide interference attenuation and extends into a cable shield terminating portion of the plug cavity to electrically engage a conductive ferrule applied around the cable which engages the cable shield to provide a path for grounding the cable shield. The shield apparatus of the plug is adapted to be electrically coupled to the front housing part of the jack to provide a path for grounding electrostatic charge in the cable shield.
What is claimed is: 1. A plug for terminating a cable having a plurality of conductors enclosed within an outer jacket, comprising:a housing assembly including a front housing part and a rear housing part separate from said front housing part; said front housing part having top, bottom and side walls defining a front interior cavity portion for receiving the cable conductors from which the outer jacket has been removed, and a plurality of contact-receiving slots formed in said bottom wall communicating with said conductor-receiving slots formed in said bottom wall communicating with said conductor-receiving cavity for receiving flat contact terminals adapted to electrically engage respective cable conductors; said rear housing part defining a rear interior cavity portion for receiving a terminal end region of the cable including the outer jacket thereof; and interference shielding means extending around the transverse circumference of at least said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof for attenuating interference radiation into and out from said plug, said interference shielding means including a forward shield sleeve extending around the transverse circumference of said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof, and a rear shield separate from said forward shield sleeve situated within said rear housing part and extending around said rear interior cavity portion, said rear shield electrically coupled to said forward shield sleeve. 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said front housing part comprises a unipartite member and said rear housing part comprises top and bottom housing parts coupled to each other, and further including means for connecting said front and rear housing parts to each other.
3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said rear shield comprises a rear shield assembly including top, bottom and side shields situated within said rear housing part and extending around said rear interior cavity portion defined thereby.
4. A plug and cable combination, comprising:a plug including, a housing assembly including a front housing part and a rear housing part separate from said front housing part; said front housing part having top, bottom and side walls defining a front interior cavity portion and a plurality of contact-receiving slots formed in said bottom wall communicating with said conductor-receiving cavity for receiving flat contact terminals; said rear housing part defining a rear interior cavity portion; interference shielding means extending around the transverse circumference of at least said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof for attenuating interference radiation into and out from said plug, said interference shielding means including a forward shield sleeve extending around the transverse circumference of said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof, and a rear shield separate from said forward shield sleeve situated within said rear housing part and extending around said rear interior cavity portion, said rear shield electrically coupled to said forward shield sleeve; and a cable including an outer jacket and a plurality of conductors enclosed within said outer jacket and having exposed portions extending beyond an end region of said jacket, said exposed conductor portions being situated within said front interior cavity portion in alignment with respective said contact-receiving slots, and said end region of said jacket being situated within said rear interior cavity portion; said interference shielding means surrounding at least said exposed conductor portions. 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said front housing part comprises a unipartite member and said rear housing part comprises top and bottom housing parts coupled to each other, and further including means for connecting said front and rear housing parts to each other.
6. The combination of claim 4 where said rear shield comprises a rear shield assembly including top, bottom and side shields situated within said rear housing part and extending around said rear interior cavity portion defined thereby.
7. The combination of claim 4 wherein said cable further includes a conductive shield sheath situated between said jacket and conductors surrounding the latter, and wherein said combination further includes means for electrically coupling said interference shielding means and said cable shield sheath, said interference shielding means adapted to electrically engage an electrically grounded conductive part of a jack upon insertion of said plug into the jack to electrically ground said cable shield sheath.
8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said cable shield sheath includes a portion which is exposed in the area of the exterior of said jacket end region and wherein said coupling means include an electrically conductive ferrule-like member surrounding said jacket end region electrically engaging said exposed portion of said cable shield sheath, and wherein said interference shielding means are in electrical engagement with said ferrule-like member.
9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said rear shield comprises an assembly including separate top and bottom shields situated over and beneath said ferrule-like member respectively and separate side shields situated at respective sides of said ferrule-like member, said top, bottom and side shields being in electrical engagement with each other and electrically coupled to both said ferrule-like member and said forward shield sleeve.
10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said front housing part comprises a unipartite member and said rear housing part comprises top and bottom housing parts coupled to each other and enclosing a rear portion of said front housing part, said top and bottom shields situated in overlying relationship to respective inner surfaces of said top and bottom housing parts, at least one of said top and bottom shields electrically engaging said forward shield sleeve.
11. The combination of claim 4 further including a pre-load block having a conductor-positioning portion including a plurality of parallel partitions defining a plurality of conductor-receiving channels in which said exposed conductor portions are secured, said conductor-positioning portion of said pre-load block snugly fitting in said front interior cavity portion with said exposed conductor portions aligned with said contact-receiving slots.
12. The combination of claim 9 wherein each of said top and bottom shields has side spring fingers engaging respective upper and lower surfaces of said side shields, and wherein at least one of said top and bottom shields has front spring fingers in electrical engagement with said forward shield sleeve.
13. The combination of claim 9 further including means for connecting said front and rear housing parts to each other, said connecting means including a pair of slots formed in lateral sides of said front housing part and a rib formed on each of said side shields received in respective ones of said slots, said side shields being connected to said rear housing part.
14. A plug for teminating a cable having a plurality of conductors enclosed within an outer jacket, comprising:a housing assembly including a front housing part and a rear housing part; said front housing part having top, bottom and side walls defining a front interior cavity portion for receiving the cable conductors from which the outer jacket has been removed, and a plurality of contact-receiving slots formed in said bottom wall communicating with said conductor-receiving cavity for receiving flat contact terminals adapted to electrically engage respective cable conductors; said rear housing part defining a rear interior cavity portion for receiving a terminal end region of the cable including the outer jacket thereof; and interference shielding means extending around the transverse circumference of at least said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof for attenuating interference radiation into and out from said plug, said interference shielding means including a forward shield sleeve formed of conductive sheet metal extending around the transverse circumference of said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof, and a rear shield assembly including top, bottom and side shields situated within said rear housing part and extending around said rear interior cavity portion defined thereby. 15. A plug and cable combination, comprising: a plug including,a housing assembly including a front housing part and a rear housing part; said front housing part having top, bottom and side walls defining a front interior cavity portion and a plurality of contact-receiving slots formed in said bottom wall communicating with said conductor-receiving cavity for receiving flat contact terminals; said rear housing part defining a rear interior cavity portion; interference shielding means extending around the transverse circumference of at least said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof for attenuating interference radiation into and out from said plug, said interference shielding means including a forward shield sleeve formed of conductive sheet metal extending around the transverse circumference of said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof, and a rear shield assembly including top, bottom and side shields situated within said rear housing part and extending around said rear interior cavity portion defined thereby; and a cable including an outer jacket and a plurality of conductors enclosed within said outer jacket and having exposed portions extending beyond an end region of said jacket, said exposed conductor portions being situated within said front interior cavity portion in alignment with respective said contact-receiving slots, and said end region of said jacket being situated within said rear interior cavity portion; said interference shielding means surrounding at least said exposed conductor portions. 16. A plug and cable combination, comprising;a plug including, a housing assembly including a front housing part and a rear housing part; said front housing part having top, bottom and side walls defining a front interior cavity portion and a plurality of contact-receiving slots formed in said bottom wall communicating with said conductor-receiving cavity for receiving flat contact terminals; said rear housing part defining a rear interior cavity portion; interference shielding means surrounding at least said exposed conductor portions and extending around the transverse circumference of at least said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof for attenuating interference radiation into and out from said plug; a cable including an outer jacket and a plurality of conductors enclosed within said outer jacket and having exposed portions extending beyond an end region of said jacket, said exposed conductor portions being situated within said front interior cavity portion in alignment with respective said contact-receiving slots, and said end region of said jacket being situated within said rear interior cavity portion, said cable further including a conducting shield sheath situated between said jacket and conductors surrounding the latter, said cable shield sheath including a portion which is exposed in the area of the exterior of said jacket end region; means for electrically coupling said interference shielding means and said cable shield sheath including an electrically conductive ferrule-like member surrounding said jacket end region electrically engaging said exposed portion of said cable shield sheath, said interference shielding means being in electrical engagement with said ferrule-like member; and said interference shielding means including a forward shield sleeve formed of conductive sheet metal extending around the transverse circumference of said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof, and a rear shield assembly situated within said rear housing part and extending around said rear interior cavity portion defined thereby, said rear shield assembly electrically engaging both said ferrule-like member and said forward shield sleeve, said rear shield assembly including separate top and bottom shields situated over and beneath said ferrule-like member respectively and separate side shields situated at respective sides of said ferrule-like member, said top, bottom and side shields being in electrical engagement with each other and electrically coupled to both said ferrule-like member and said forward shield sleeve. 17. A plug and cable combination, comprising:a plug including, a housing assembly including a front housing part and a rear housing part; said front housing part having top, bottom and side walls defining a front interior cavity portion and a plurality of contact-receiving slots formed in said bottom wall communicating with said conductor-receiving cavity for receiving flat contact terminals; said rear housing part defining a rear interior cavity portion; interference shielding means surrounding at least said exposed conductor portions and extending around the transverse circumference of at least said front housing part over the exterior of said top, bottom and side walls thereof for attenuating interference radiation into and out from said plug; a cable including an outer jacket and a plurality of conductors enclosed within said outer jacket and having exposed portions extending beyond an end region of said jacket, said exposed conductor portions being situated within said front interior cavity portion in alignment with respective contact receiving slots, and said end region of said jacket being situated within said rear interior cavity portion, said cable further including a conducting shield sheath situated between said jacket and conductors surrounding the latter, said cable shield sheath including a portion which is exposed in the area of the exterior of said jacket end region; means for electrically coupling said interference shielding means and said cable shield sheath including an electrically conductive ferrule-like member surrounding said jacket end region electrically engaging said exposed portion of said cable shield sheath, said interference shielding means being in electrical engagement with said ferrule-like member; and a pre-load block having a conductor-positioning portion including a plurality of parallel partitions defining a plurality of conductor-receiving channels in which said exposed conductor portions are secured, said conductor-positioning portion of said pre-load block snugly fitting in said front interior cavity portion with said exposed conductor portions aligned with said contact-receiving slots. Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 655,696 filed Sept. 28, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,837, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 612,722 filed May 21, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,901 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 570,806 filed Jan. 16, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,459.
Conventional jacks of this type, such as those available from Virginia Plastics Company of Roanoke, Va., generally comprise a one-piece plastic housing having a longitudinal cavity adapted to receive the modular plug. Asssociated with the housing are a plurality of jack contacts adapted to engage the straight edges of the plug contacts when the plug is inserted into the jack receptacle. Each jack contact is held by slots or grooves formed in the jack housing and includes a portion which extends along the rear housing wall and projects below the bottom of the jack housing for insertion into the printed circuit board and a portion which extends through a slot formed through the jack housing top wall into the jack receptacle for engagement with the edge of a respective contact of the plug.
Jacks of this type are not entirely satisactory for several reasons. For example, the jack contacts are exposed externally of the jack both at the rear as well as at the top wall thereof thus subjecting the contacts to possible damage during use. Moreover, portions of the jack contacts tend to be pushed out or become loosened from the slots or grooves which hold them in place.
Conventional connectors designed for connection to printed circuit boards are not completely satisfactory for another important reason. Thus, digital-based electronic equipment, such as computers, are a major source of electromagnetic (EMI) and radio frequency (RFI) intererence emission. Such interference has become a problem at least in part due to the reduction in size of components and printed circuit boards, the increased speed at which data is being transmitted, and the movement away from metal and towards plastic as the material from which the plug housings are formed. Plastic materials generally lack the shielding capabilities which are inherent in metal housings. The increased growth in the use of printed circuit boards has aggravated the situation by creating potentially serious problems with EMI and RFI and this, in turn, has had a direct influence on household use of radios, televisions etc., and other electrical appliances.
In order to prevent or at least substantially reduce the emission of interference causing electromagnetic and radio frequency radiation from multi-conductor cable used in digital-based electronic equipment and to provide at least some protection from interference-causing signals radiated from external equipment, cables have conventionally been provided with "shielding" in the form of a continuous sheath of conductive material situated between the outer insulation jacket of the cable and the insulated conductors, which sheath surrounds and encloses the conductors along their length. The shield can be formed of any suitable conductive material such, for example, as thin Mylar having a surface coated with aluminum foil or thin conductive filaments braided into a sheath construction. The cable shield acts to suppress or contain the interference-causing electromagnetic and radio frequency signals radiating outwardly from the cord conductors and, conversely, to prevent such high frequency signals generated by external equipment from causing interference in the conductors.
The applicability of modular type connector to digital-based electronic equipment has in the past been limited by the geometry of the electronic equipment and conventional plugs and jacks. Such equipment often comprise components which include a plurality of printed circuit boards stacked one over the other in closely spaced overlying relationship. For example, a computer may have printed circuit boards stacked one over the other with adjacent boards being spaced no more than one-half inch from each other. Since a typical printed circuit baord has a thickness of about 0.060 inches and the pin portions of a jack connected to the board should protrude about 0.060 inches below the bottom of the board to permit effective soldering connections, an inter-board space of only about 3/8 inch would be available to accommodate a jack for receiving a plug. Indeed, this dimension may be even somewhat less where the jack is enclosed within an insulating sleeve to prevent electrical engagement with the jack pin portions protruding from the bottom of the next adjacent printed circuit board.
A modular plug connector and jack assembly is available from Amp Corp. under the designation Data Link wherein the outer surfaces of the plug receptacle entrance end of the jack is enclosed within a cap-like member of conductive sheet metal having contact projections which extend around the front of the jack and into the receptacle entrance. The cap-like member has pin portions adapted to be connected to ground through a printed circuit board. The plug housing is surrounded by a conductive collar which extends through the cord-receiving opening of the plug to terminate the cord shield. When the plug is inserted into the jack receptacle, the contact projections extending into the receptacle engage the shield terminating collar. This arrangement is not entirely satisfactory since the EMI/RFI shielding for the plug and the electrical engagement of the shield terminating collar of the plug to ground the same are not sufficient and reliable under all circumstances. Moreover, the location of the contact projections within the plug receptacle of the jack restricts the extent to which the profile of the jack can be reduced.
Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improved connectors which provide good conductor managment for facilitating the termination of multi-conductor cable.
Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, these and other objects are attained by providing a connector including a jack and modular type plug. The jack is designed for insertion into a printed circuit board and includes a front housing part formed of electrically conductive material and rear housing parts formed of insulative material. The front housing part forms a receptacle for receiving the plug and completely surrounds the plug to act as interference shielding means. The front housing part of the jack is also adapted to be electrically coupled to cable shield terminating means of the plug when the plug is inserted into the jack to provide means for grounding the cable shield.
Two embodiments of the plug are disclosed, the first being adapted to terminate cables having a relatively large number of conductors, e.g., more than ten, and the second being useful for terminating cables having a lesser number of conductors. The first embodiment has an extended rear section which provides space for the conductors to be properly sequencad when loading the pre-load block. The plug shielding means include an exposed forward shield sleeve and a rearward shield assembly including interengaging top, bottom and side shields enclosed within a rear housing part and surrounding the cable shield terminating portion of the plug cavity. The rearward shield assembly is electrically coupled both to the forward shield sleeve and to the conductive ferrule which itself engages the cable shield. The forward shield sleeve is in turn adapted to engage the conductive front housing part of the jack upon insertion of the plug into the jack to thereby ground the cable shield. In the second embodiment, the shield apparatus comprises a shield sleeve having an integral strip which extends rearwardly into the cable shield terminating portion of the plug cavity for engaging the ferrule secured to the cable.
FIG. 5 is a rear elevation view of the assembled plug and terminated cable end portion
Front housing 16 is a rigid, unipartite member formed of a suitable dielectric material, such as polycarbonate, by conventional injection molding techniques, and has a rectangular transverse cross-section defined by substantially planar top and bottom walls 40 and 42 and planar side walls 44 and 46, a closed forward end 38, and an open rearward entrance end 48. The walls of front housing 16 define a longitudinally extending cavity 50 which opens in a entrance opening 52. The conductor-positioning portion 92 of pre-load block 24 in which the conductors 14 of cable 12 have been pre-loaded, as described below, is inserted through entrance opening 52 into cavity 50.
A shallow rearwardly facing shoulder or step 58 extends around the transverse circumference of the front housing 16 in a plane immediately rearward of contact slots 54. A plurality (five shown) of key slots 60 are formed in the top wall 40 which open onto the forward end 38 of housing 16. The key slots 60 are spaced from each other by certain non-equal inter-slot distances which correspond to the spacing between keys provided on the jack, described below, to prohibit electrical contact between the plug and jaok contacts if the wrong plug is inserted into the jack. Three transversely spaced recesses 62 are formed in each of the top and bottom walls for receiving the ends of spring fingers formed in the forward shield sleeve 26. A pair of latches 64 and 66 having respective latching surfaces 68 for releasably locking the plug 10 to a jack are integrally connected to the forward end regions of side walls 44 and 46 and extend rearwardly therefrom. Transversely aligned vertical locking slots 74 and 76 are formed in respective side walls 44 and 46 of front housing 16 for locking the housing 16 to the rear housing 18 as described below.
The cable 12 in the illustrated embodiment is a multi-conductor round cable comprising a plurality of insulated conductors 14 surrounded by a jacket 84. A radiation shield 86 comprising a sheath formed of braided conductive filaments, a metal-coated film, or other suitable conductive sheath, is provided between the jacket 84 and the conductors 14 to surround the latter as is conventional. A drain wire 88 may also be provided as is conventional. In terminating the cable, terminal length of the jacket 84 is stripped from the cable to expose the cable shield 86 and drain wire 88. Shorter terminal lengths of the shield 86 and the drain wire 88 are then removed to expose end portions of the insulated conductors 14 while short lengths 86a and 88a of the shield 86 and drain wire 88 remain exposed. The exposed lengths 86a and 88a of shield 86 and drain wire 88 are then folded over the outside of jacket 84 to overlie the same. A ferrule 90 formed of conductive material, such as tin plated phosphor bronze, is then crimped over the end of the jacket 84 so as to secure the ferrule 90 to the cable jacket 84 and sandwich the exposed folded lengths 86a and 88a of the shield and drain wire between the ferrule and the cable jacket. In this manner the ferrule is reliably electrically connected to the cable shield and drain wire.
The exposed end portions of the insulated conductors 14 must be inserted into the cavity 50 of front housing 16 in a manner such that the proper conductors are precisely aligned with corresponding slots 54 in order to achieve a proper and reliable connection with plug contacts 36 when the latter are driven into the slots. To facilitate such insertion, a pre load block 24, best seen in FIGS. 1 and 11, is provided. The pre-load block also advantageously provides strain relief for the exposed lengths of conductors 14 extending from the ferrule 90 into the housing cavity 50. Referring to FIG. 11, the pre-load block 24 is formed of rigid plastic and comprises a forward conductor-positioning section 92 adapted to be inserted within the conductor-receiving portion of cavity 50 of front housing 16 and a rearward strain-relief section 94 which remains outside of front housing 16 and which is subsequently enclosed within the rear housing 18. The conductor-positioning section 92 comprises a platform 93 having a forward portion 93a whose width is substantially equal or slightly smaller than the transverse dimension of cavity 50 of front housing 16 and a rearward portion 93b whose width dimension diminishes in the rearward direction. A series of transversely spaced, longitudinally extending partitions 95 are provided at the forward end of the forward portion 93a of platform 93 which define a plurality of channels 96 between them into which the ends of respective conductors 14 are secured. As seen in FIG. 11, each channel 96 has an outer entrance region 96a of a width less than the diameter of a conductor 14 and an inner region 96b of a circular cross-section substantially matching that of the conductor. To insert a conductor 14 into a respective channel 96, it is pressed through the outer entrance region 96a whereupon it is received in a secure fashion in the inner region 96b. The conductors 14 are initially inserted into channels 96 with a slight overlap which is subsequently sheared off so that the conductors extend the full length of each channel and terminate in a plane which is flush with the forward edge of platform 93. The rearward portion 93b of platform 93, as noted above, has a width which diminishes in the rearward direction and provides space for arranging the conductors in the proper sequence in an orderly manner one next to the other. Walls 97 bound the sides of platform 93 of conductor-positioning section 92. Walls 97 increase in height from a minimum at the forward end of the forward portion 93a of platform 93 to a constant maximum dimension D along the sides of the rearward portion 93b, the dimension D being substantially equal to or slightly less than the height of cavity 50 of front housing 16. Since the width of the forward platform portion 93a is substantially equal to the transverse dimension of cavity 50, it is seen that the forward conductor-positioning section 92 will be snugly received in the cavity 50 of front housing 16. The partitions 95 are spaced so that channels 96 defined between them are precisely aligned with respective plug contact-receiving slots 54. The conductors 14 inserted in the channels 96 will therefore be precisely aligned with slots 54 in position to be terminated by the plug contacts 36.
In accordance with the invention, shielding means are provided whioh completely surround the plug for attenuating EMI/RFI radiation into and out from the plug. Moreover, the shielding means serve to electrically terminate the cable shield 86 and drain wire 88 to provide a path to ground through the jack as described below. The shielding means include the forward shield sleeve 26, the rearward top and bottom shield 28 and 30 and the rearward side shields 32 and 34.
The assembly of plug 10 will now be described. The partial assembly of the pre-load block and associated cable and conductors into the front housing around which the forward shield sleeve has been positioned with the conductors terminated by contacts 36 has been described above. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 21, the bottom shield 30 is fitted into the bottom housing part 22 with the posts 120 being received in openings 137. The side shields 32 and 34 are then fitted into the bottom housing part 22 with the posts 120 being received in openings 137. The main shield wall 138 of each side shield 32, 34 passes adjacent to the inner surfaces of each locking member 102 while the L-shaped locking portions 140 are situated outwardly and forwardly thereof. The side spring fingers 130 of the bottom shield engage the bottom surfaces of the main shield walls 138. The partial assembly of the shielded front plug housing with the cable loaded block is then positioned into the bottom housing. In this connection the locking slots 74 provided in the sides of the front housing receive the ribs 142 of side shields 32 and 34 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 21 so that the front housing sub-assembly is coupled to the rear housing through the side shields 32 and 34 which are connected to the posts 120. The bottom of ferrule 90 engages the bottom shield 30 and the cable 12 passes over recess 108. The front spring fingers 128 of bottom shield 30 overlap and engage the rea part of the bottom wall of forward shield sleeve 26 as best seen in FIG. 6. The top shield 28 is then positioned over the assembly with openings 122 aligned with openings 137 of the side shields and top housing part 20 is applied so that posts 118 are received in openings 122 and 136 of top shield 28 and side shields 32 and 34. The locking members 102 of the bottom housing part engage shoulders in openings 104 of the top housing part to lock the housing parts together. In this manner the side spring fingers 130 of the top shield engage the top surfaces of the main shield walls 138. The top of ferrule 90 is engaged by the top shield 28 and the cable 12 passes through the openings defined by recesses 106 and 108. The rear shield assembly 28,30, 32 and 34 completely surrounds the ferrule 90.
It is seen from the foregoing that the plug 10 is completely shielded by the shield means comprising the forward shield sleeve 26 and the rearward shield assembly 28, 30, 32 and 34 which completely surround both the forward portion as well as the rearward cable shield terminating portion of the plug. In this manner EMI/RFI radiation passing into and out from the plug is reliably attenuated. Moreover, the shielding means also function as means for terminating the cable shield and/or drain wire. Thus, a continuous electical path is provided for the cable shield 86 and/or drain wire 88 through ferrule 90, the rearward shield assembly 28, 30, 32 and 34 which are electrically engaged to each other and to ferrule 90, and forward shield sleeve 24 which is electrically engaged to rearward shielding assembly as described above. The forward shield sleeve 24 is adapted to be electrically coupled to a grounded electrically conductive part of a jack housing when the plug is inserted into the jack to thereby provide a path for grounding electrostatic charge in the cable shield and/or the drain wire.
Referring now to FIGS. 12-18 wherein one embodiment of a jack in accordance with the invention for use with plug 10 is illustrated, the jack generally designated 200 comprises a housing 212 and a plurality of jack contacts 214 having pin portions 202 arranged in a pattern adapted to be received in corresponding receptacles of a socket in a printed circuit board, and contact portions 204 adapted to engage corresponding contacts 36 of the plug 10 of FIGS.1-11. The contacts may include a ground contact adapted to engage and electrically ground a forward shielding and grounding part 218 of housing 212 which is formed of electrically conductive material.
The shielding and grounding part 218 is formed of an electrically conductive material which provides good EMI/RFI shielding. For example, the housing part 218 can be die cast of zinc which is then tin plated or be molded of ABS with an aluminum flake filling or of an alloy resin available from Mobay Chemical Corp. of Pittsburgh, Pa. under the trademark Bayblend. Forward housing 218 has a substantially rectangular, sleeve-like configuration including opposed top and bottom walls 228 and 230 and opposed side walls 232. The walls extend from a front surface 234 of part 218 which constitutes the front surface of jack housing 212. The top and side walls 228 and 232 extend to a rear surface 236 of housing part 218. A relatively large rectangular top notch 238 is centrally formed in top wall 228 opening onto the rear surface 236 at a wider top notch portion 238a. A smaller side notch 240 is formed in the rear end of each of the side walls 232. Bottom wall 230 extends for a substantial distance and terminates at a rear surface 242 situated at a substantially central region of the receptacle 226 as best seen in FIG. 5.
Referring to FIGS. 12, 17 and 18, jack contacts 214 are formed of suitable conductive material, such as phosphor bronze which is selectively gold plated at their contact regions. The contacts 214 are preferably photoetched from relatively thin sheet material. Two groups of jack contacts are provided as best seen in FIG. 17, one group, designated 214a configured to fit in the channels 282 terminating at surfaces 284 and one group, designated 214b, configured to fit in the channels 282 terminating at surfaces 286. The jack contacts each include the pin portion 202 and the contact portion 204, the contact portion 204 of contacts 214b being somewhat longer than the contact portions 204 of contacts 214a.
The construction described above advantageously provides the jack with an unusually low profile while complying with requirements specified by govermental regulations and satisfying the other objectives of the invention as described below. Guidelines specify that the minimum height of a jack receptacle for a modular plug connector be about 0.260 inches and that the minimum height of the connector be about 0.255 inches. Given the design objective discussed above that the available space between adjacent printed circuit boards into which the jack must fit is about 0.375 inches, it is seen that the total height of the jack extending above and below the modular plug connector cannot exceed about 0.115 inches. To this end, the height of receptacle 226 of jack 200 is about 0.260 inches with the height or thickness of the top and bottom walls 228 and 230 of housing part 218 being about 0.030 and 0.070 inches respectively.
Moreover, the shielding provides a path for grounding electrostatic charge in the cable shield 86 and/or drain wire 88. Thus, as the plug 10 is inserted into jack 200, the conductive forward shield sleeve 26 of plug 10 engages the forward shielding and grounding housing part 218 of jack 200 to provide electrical communication therebetween. The integrity of the electrical engagement between shield sleeve 26 and housing part 218 is ensured by the action of spring fingers 82 of the forward shield sleeve 26 which engage the inner top and bottom surfaces of the conductive housing part 218 and flex inwardly so as to maintain a constant outward force against the housing part 218. In this manner, the cable shield 86 and/or drain wire 88 are grounded through a path including the ferrule 90 (which engages shield and drain wire portions 86a and 88a), rearward top and bottom shields 28 and 30, overlapping forward shield sleeve 26 and front jack housing part 218 which is grounded by suitable mounting on a chassis. The forward housing part 218 may also be grounded by other means, such as by providing one or more ground contacts which engage the housing part 218 which are coupled to a grounded socket or connector at or in the printed circuit board. When it is desired to remove the plug 10 from jack 200 it is only necessary to squeeze the latches 64 and 66 inwardly to disengage surfaces 68 and 246.
The plug 10' includes a front housing 16' into which a preload block 24' in which the conductors 14' of cable 12' have been positioned is inserted, the conductors 14' being terminated by plug contacts 36'. A ferrule 90' is crimped over the cable 12' to electrically engage exposed, folded back portions 86a' of the shield 86' of cable 12'. The preload block 24' does not include a widening portion for arranging the conductors in view of the smaller number of conductors. Nor does the preload block include a rearward ferrule-receiving portion. Rather, the strain relief function is performed by the rear housing 18' which is of a one-piece construction. The rear and front housings are connected to each other by means of a locking projection 330 formed at the rear of front housing 16' which is received in a locking opening 332 formed in the rear housing 18'.
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Co., Ltd.High-speed cable assemblyUS7210965 *Apr 18, 2006May 1, 2007Cheng Uei Precision Co., Ltd.Cable connector assemblyUS7442072 *Jun 20, 2005Oct 28, 2008FciCable connector and method of assembling a cable to such a cable connectorUS7845983 *May 10, 2007Dec 7, 2010Harada Industry Co., Ltd.Circuit board built-in connector and catcherUS7942588 *Apr 14, 2009May 17, 2011RadiallHybrid multi-contact connectorUS8692725Dec 19, 2008Apr 8, 2014Harada Industry Co., Ltd.Patch antenna device* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification439/670, 439/676International ClassificationH01R13/658, H01R13/502, H01R4/24, H01R12/79, H01R24/62, H01R12/70, H01R12/50, H01R12/72, H01R13/516, H01R13/652Cooperative ClassificationH01R24/62, H01R12/724, H01R12/79, H01R12/7023, H01R13/516, H01R4/24, H01R13/652, H01R23/72, H01R23/6873, H01R13/65802European ClassificationH01R23/02B, H01R13/658BLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMar 5, 2001ASAssignmentOwner name: BANK ONE, NA, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, ILLINOISFree format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:INSILCO TECHNOLOGIES, INC.;REEL/FRAME:011566/0659Effective date: 20000825Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:SIGNAL TRANSFORMER CO., INC., STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION, INSILCO HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, STEWART CONNECTOR SYSTEMS, INC., & EYELETS FOR INDUSTRY, INC., PRECISION CABLE MANUFACTURING CORPORATION, INSILCO INTERNATIONAL, EFI METAL FORMING, INC. & SIGNAL CARIBE, INC.;REEL/FRAME:011837/0244Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SIGNAL TRANSFORMER CO., INC.;STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION;INSILCO HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT COMPANY;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:011566/0603Owner name: BANK ONE, NA, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT ONE BANK ONEFree format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:INSILCO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. /AR;REEL/FRAME:011566/0659Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:SIGNAL TRANSFORMER CO., INC., STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION, INSILCO HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, STEWART CONNECTOR SYSTEMS, INC., & EYELETS FOR INDUSTRY, INC., PRECISION CABLE MANUFACTURING CORP;REEL/FRAME:011837/0244Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SIGNAL TRANSFORMER CO., INC. /AR;REEL/FRAME:011566/0603Jan 2, 2001FPExpired due to failure to pay maintenance feeEffective date: 20001101Oct 29, 2000LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesMay 23, 2000REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedFeb 12, 1999ASAssignmentOwner name: FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF CHICAGO, THE, ILLINOISFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:CITICORP USA, INC.;REEL/FRAME:009748/0537Effective date: 19981124Feb 4, 1998ASAssignmentOwner name: CITICORP USA, INC., NEW YORKFree format text: NOTICE OF ADMENDMENT TO SUBSIDIARY PATENT;ASSIGNOR:STEWART CONNECTOR SYSTEMS, INC.;REEL/FRAME:008930/0910Effective date: 19970703Apr 29, 1996FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Mar 27, 1995ASAssignmentOwner name: STEWART CONNECTOR SYSTEMS, INC., PENNSYLVANIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:007417/0119Effective date: 19950309Dec 19, 1994ASAssignmentOwner name: CITICORP USA, INC., NEW YORKFree format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:007244/0082Effective date: 19941121Dec 15, 1994ASAssignmentOwner name: STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION, NEW YORKFree format text: RELEASE AND REASSIGNMENT;ASSIGNOR:BANKERS TRUST COMPANY;REEL/FRAME:007251/0327Effective date: 19941121May 29, 1993ASAssignmentOwner name: BANKERS TRUST COMPANY, NEW YORKFree format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:006535/0299Effective date: 19930330May 1, 1992FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Jan 5, 1989ASAssignmentOwner name: BANKERS TRUST COMPANY, A NY BANKING CORP.Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION, A DE CORP.;REEL/FRAME:004997/0714Owner name: STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION, A DE CORP.Free format text: LICENSE;ASSIGNOR:WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.;REEL/FRAME:005003/0225Effective date: 19881212Owner name: WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION, A DE CORP.;REEL/FRAME:005003/0197Mar 2, 1987ASAssignmentOwner name: STEWART STAMPING CORPORATION, A CORP. 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