Abstract:
A connector system with a printed wiring board to which a board mounted jack module is attached, and a back plane. The printed wiring board is attached almost perpendicularly to the back plane. Each jack attached to the wiring board has a rotatable end and when engaged with a corresponding plug, a fulcrum is created. The plug when rotated around the fulcrum point achieves a connection, and the ease of the snap-in and the hinging mechanism enable simple and reliable connections to be made. Also included on the jack is a label surface that is on the outward facing surface with all the cord connections occurring behind the label surface.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present patent application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/575,969, entitled, “HINGED CONNECTION SYSTEM”, being concurrently filed herewith and having a filing date of May 23, 2000,; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/577,274, entitled, “CONTACTS FOR HINGED CONNECTION SYSTEM”, being concurrently filed herewith and having a filing date of May 23, 2000,; to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/575,902, entitled, “CONNECTOR SYSTEM WITH RELEASABLE LATCH”, being concurrently filed herewith and having a filing date of May 23, 2000,; to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/577,275, entitled, “SNAP-IN MODULE SYSTEM”, being concurrently filed herewith and having a filing date of May 23, 2000,; to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/575,968, entitled, “SLIDING CABLE FIXTURE”, being concurrently filed herewith and having a filing date of all of May 23, 2000,; all of which have a common inventor and assignee and being incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to electrical connection systems, and more particularly, to modularized electrical connection systems. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the telecommunications industry, connecting systems comprising an array of insulation displacement contacts (IDC) are typically used in telephone company central offices for electrical connection between cables and cross-connect wiring. These electrical connection systems are used throughout the telecommunications industry in order to interconnect corresponding wires in two sets of wires. The predominant connecting systems for building terminal cross-connect systems are currently the modular RJ45 connector system and the  110  connection system or variations of these connection systems. The modular type connector systems use a plug and jack type interface for making connections. 
     The RJ45 version of a modular connector system is a 4-pair patch cord based connector system that cannot be broken down to smaller increments without wasting connector positions. A patch cord connection is made to a jack by deflecting a set of cantilevered spring wires in a jack with a mating set of fixed pressure contact surfaces in the plug, as the plug is pushed into the jack with a relatively low force. As the plug completes its insertion into the jack, it automatically latches with an audible click. By gripping the exposed back end of the plug, and depressing a lever, the latch can be released. The spring loaded wire contacts within the jack essentially push the plug out. The RJ45 modular systems have a panel with a flat front face which forms the connector plane. When a patch cord is installed, the cordage comes straight out from the panel. Cross-connect distribution rings bring the cordage back in along the face of the panel. Cables are connected to the RJ45 connectors in contacts having insulation displacement positions that are typically mounted either on the back of the connector plane, or on the back of modules that must be mounted into the connector plane, after cable termination. 
     The  110  Connector System is designed with insulation displacement connections for both the cable connections and the cross-connect or patching connections. Therefore, a patching connection can be made by terminating cross-connect wires in the contacts IDC slots, or by inserting patch cord blades into those same contact slots. 
     This Connector System forms a connector field that is front accessible, and is designed for wall mounting. Despite this design, the  110  system can be frame mounted, with the cables fed from the front in a manner similar to wall mounting. The cables can also be fed from the back of the frame. The front access is achieved by having a cross-connect field superimposed on a cable termination field; that is, superimposed on the cable routing. Cables are routed behind the wiring blocks, either in pre-mounted channels or between the rows of wiring block support legs. Cable ends are brought through their appropriate openings in the wiring block to the cable termination surface, and the exposed cable sheath is removed. The cable conductors are fanned out as twisted pairs to their appropriate termination ports in the index strips on the front face of a wiring block. 
     Connecting blocks, which include contacts having insulation displacement portions on two opposite ends, are brought down and snapped onto the index strip to form electrical connections between the contacts and conductors. The front surface formed by the connecting blocks is the cross-connect field. A designation strip is placed between alternate rows and is used to label the conductor terminations on the rows on either side of it. When a cross-connect field is intended for use with patch cords, 100 pair wiring blocks typically alternate with horizontal troughs, with patch cords from the upper 2 rows going into an upper trough, and patch cords from the lower 2 rows going into a lower trough. When a high percentage of patch cord positions are populated, the patch cord connectors present an unruly appearance and the labeling becomes very difficult to read, making cord location a time consuming process. 
     Patch cords in the  110  Connector System have contact blades that make connection by inserting into the top IDC slots of the contact elements. The IDC are designed to remove insulation as it makes contact, and achieve a high enough contact force to make a stable long term connection to unplated wire. Repeated insertions, of the patch cord blades, past this entrance geometry, with its high contact force, reduces the life of the patch cord blades protective plating. This contact force (about 2 pounds) holds the patch cord blade by friction and prevents it from sliding out by about a third of a pound per contact. The contact slots are tapered so any vibration or wiggling of the patch cord would cause the blades to slowly walk out of the slots, unless something else held them in place. 
     Connecting blocks may have hemispherical buttons that match mating holes in the patch cords. By pulling on a patch cord, the side walls on the plug end flex as they slide over the connecting blocks buttons, a snap-on/snap-off type of latch is enabled and the plug end is disconnected. The force to overcome this latch and remove a 4-pair patch cord, with a straight pull, can be as high as 25 pounds. Removal can be effected by a side to side rocking of the patch cord. Because patch cord plugs are in close proximity to each other, removal of one patch cord can easily result in the dislodging of a neighboring patch cord. Therefore, technicians must be very deliberate and careful during cord tracing to avoid inadvertently dislodging a patch cord. Furthermore, the high friction on the connecting block&#39;s buttons can cause extensive wear of the surfaces so that the retention capability of the connecting blocks degrades after multiple insertions and removals. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electrical connector system that includes a printed wiring board, a plurality of jacks attached to the printed wiring board, and a backplane. The printed wiring board is attached almost perpendicularly to the back plane. Each jack attached to the wiring board has a rotatable end and when engaged with a corresponding plug, a fulcrum is created. The plug when rotated around the fulcrum point achieves a connection, and the ease of the snap-in and the hinging mechanism enable simple and reliable connections to be made. 
     In an exemplary embodiment, the jack on the printed wiring board includes a label surface on its outward facing surface and all cord connections occur behind this label surface. Thus, with all cordage behind the label surface, an unobstructed view of the label surface is provided, permitting fast and accurate identification of all jack terminations. 
     Advantageously, the printed wiring board provides the main structural support for the jacks and functions as trough side walls, in addition to conducting and modifying the electrical signals from the jacks to the cable connections at the back plane. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A more complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained from consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawings, in which: 
     FIGS.  1 ( a )- 1 ( e ) are schematic diagrams of a plug and a jack; 
     FIG. 2 is a side cross sectional view of a jack mounted on a printed wiring board support structure in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIGS.  3 ( a )- 3 ( c ) show multiple perspective views of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a side cross sectional view of a mated plug and jack; 
     FIG.  5 ( a ) is a partial, cross-sectional top view of a mated jack and a one pair patch cord plug in accordance with the present invention; and 
     FIG.  5 ( b ) is a partial, cross-sectional top view of a jack and a four pair patch cord plug in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The principal concept of the cross-connect system is based on having one end of a plug hooking onto a corresponding end of a jack to form a fulcrum. The plug then functions as a lever by rotating about that fulcrum until it mates with the jack. 
     A plug  100  is illustrated in FIG.  1 ( a ). The plug  100  includes a handle  105  on one end. When the plug  100  functions as a lever, the handle  105  serves as one end of that lever. The other end of that lever is the plug fulcrum section  120 . The plug  100  further includes a latch  110  that it is located proximate to the handle  105 . The latch extends somewhat perpendicularly from the plug  100 . A pair of contacts  115  are located between the latch  110  and the plug fulcrum section  120 . Cordage  125  is electrically connected to the contacts  115 . Although one pair of contacts  115  is shown in the plug  100 , it is understood that any plurality of contacts can be included within a plug  100 . 
     In one embodiment of the invention, cordage  125  exits plug  100  at plug fulcrum section  120 . As such, cordage  125  automatically heads toward a back plane (not shown) and is inside a trough (as detailed in FIGS.  2  and  3 ( a )-( c )). This keeps the immediate area clear of cordage  125 , thereby providing a much neater appearance and making it easier for the craftsperson to locate specific jack positions. Also, because the cordage  125  does not come straight out, it is much harder to affect the latch engagement when cordage  125  is manipulated for cord tracing, as an example. Latching in this configuration can be implemented using a snap action latch mechanism. 
     Referring now to FIG.  1 ( b ), a plug  130  can also have cordage  135  exit at a handle  140 . Since cordage  135  heads away from the back plane in this instance, care must be taken to keep cordage  135  from interfering with patch cord installation or removal. A wider trough may be required and a positive latch with a release mechanism may be required. The remaining illustrations and description employ a snap action latch, however, a positive latch with a release mechanism could also be used. 
     Referring now to FIGS.  1 ( c )- 1 ( e ), mating of plug  100  to a jack  145  is illustrated. As shown in the figures, jack  145  includes a corresponding latch  150 , corresponding contacts  155  and a jack fulcrum section  160 . Referring specifically to FIG.  1 ( c ), plug fulcrum section  120  engages jack fulcrum section  160 . The angle of engagement is sufficiently offset to prevent engagement of latch  110  with corresponding latch  150  and contacts  115  with corresponding contacts  155 . Engagement of the latches is prevented until the fulcrum sections  120  and  160  are fully engaged and the plug rotated towards the jack. In one embodiment, this offset angle or rotation angle is approximately 20°. Referring now to FIGS.  1 ( d ) and  1 ( e ), handle  105  is used as a lever to rotate plug  100  towards jack  145  until corresponding latch and contact connection is achieved. 
     As illustrated in FIG.  1 ( c ), corresponding latch  150  further includes a label surface  165 . One of the advantages of the cross connect system is that label surface  165  is positioned frontward as shown below and the resulting connection is implemented behind or below label surface  165 . This implementation maximizes the area in the cross connect field that can be devoted to either the label or trough space. This advantage is shown in more detail with respect to FIGS.  2  and  3 ( a )- 3 ( c ). 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the preferred embodiment of a cross connect system  400  is displayed. Specifically, FIG. 4 displays in detail the cross connect system  400  in the board mounted jack module configuration where the jack  410  is connected onto the printed wiring board  480 . The cross connect system  400  consists of a jack  410 , plug  415 , and printed wiring board  480 . 
     A jack  410  is a 4-pair jack that has a label surface  440  and jack contacts  445 . Jack  410  further includes a fulcrum point  450 . Jack  410  further includes a first arc surface  490 , concentric with fulcrum point  450 , which engages a mating surface  490  on plug  415  for rotatably connecting plug  415  with jack  410 . Jack  410  further includes a second arc surface or guide surface  495 , also concentric with fulcrum point  450 , which engages with a mating surface  495  on plug  415  only after plug  415  has started rotating into engagement with jack  410 . This second arc surface  495  keeps plug  415  constrained to a well controlled arc trajectory engagement path as plug  415  engages with jack  410 . 
     Referring still to FIG. 4, plug  415  includes a handle  455 , plug contacts  460 , a latch  465 , a rounded hook  470  and an anti-snag rib  475  that prevents the plug hook from snagging on cables as the jack is installed or removed. 
     As illustrated in FIGS.  5 ( a ) and  5 ( b ), the jacks of the present invention permit connections with plugs of different sizes, varying from 1-pair to 4-pair. Referring to FIG.  5 ( a ), a jack  500  has at least one 4-pair connection site  510 . Jack  500  includes a partitioning wall  520  after every 4-pair connection sites  510 . Partitioning walls  520  prevent plugs from crossing over and making connections to contacts in 2 jacks simultaneously. Each 4-pair connection site further includes guide walls  530 . Each site  510  can accommodate a single plug  540 , a 4-pair plug  550 , as shown in FIG.  5 ( b ), or any pair size in between. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, a cross sectional view of a printed wiring board utilizing the board mounted jack module with the cross connect system is shown. Cross connect system  200  has a backplane printed wiring board  210  and at least one printed wiring board  220  connected to board  210  using support structures  230  and edge card connectors  240 . Connection blocks  250  with insulation displacement contacts for example are attached to board  210  to permit connections with conductors of cables that go to, for example, equipment or wall jacks (not shown). Specifically, a jack  260  is connected to board  220 . Importantly, jack  260  has a label surface  265  that faces away from board  210 . 
     Also, additional printed wiring boards (see FIG. 2) can be connected parallel to each other and sticking out from the backplane. FIG. 2 illustrates two parallel printed wiring boards  220  connected to the backplane  210  at an angle of approximately 90 degrees, i.e. approximately perpendicular to the backplane  210 . However, these printed wiring boards can be connected to the backplane at a 10 degree angle (not shown). Attaching the printed wiring board at a 10 degree angle provides for easier manipulation of the jack and plug. In addition, it makes for improved viewing of the label on the end of the jack surface, because the person viewing label is more often reading labels that are below eye level. 
     Similar to FIG.  1 ( e ), the connection between a plug and the jack  260  is made below the label surface  265 . If cross connection system  200  further utilizes a scheme where cordage exits at a fulcrum end  275  towards the backplane  210  and into a trough  270 , then the only visible object beyond label surface  265  is the relatively small handle of the plug. This is clearly shown in FIGS.  3 ( a )- 3 ( c ). 
     Specifically, FIG.  3 ( a ) shows a perspective view of a cross connect system  300  with a mated plug and jack  310 . The jack is connected to the board  220 . When the plug mates with this jack, the cordage  320  exits away from label surface  330  and into a trough area  340 . Such placement of cordage  320  of the mated plug and jack  310  provides a very neat appearance, and leaves the label surface  330  clearly viewable. 
     Referring now to FIG.  3 ( b ), a bottom up view of FIG.  3 ( a ) and FIG.  3 ( c ) is shown and a close up view of mated plug and jack  310  is provided. As is shown in FIG.  3 ( b ), the mated plug and jack  310  are connected to the board  220 , with the cordage  320  exiting away from the label surface  330  and into the trough  340 . This uniform exiting of the cordage  320  provides for a neat appearance with cordage only exiting one end of the board  220 . Also, as is shown, the label surface  330  is not obstructed, except for the minor presence of the handle  350  of the mated plug and jack  310 . 
     FIG.  3 ( c ) also shows that label surface  330  is unobstructed except for the minor presence of handle  350  of mated plug and jack  310 . Advantageously, an easy to read label surface is invaluable during cord tracing and other such activities. 
     Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. In particular, the amount of printed wiring boards that are employed may be varied. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. Details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of all modifications which will come within the scope of the appended claims is reserved.