Patent ID: 7101187

Claim:
A rotatable electrical connector for providing a tangle free electrical connection between a cable having a modular male plug and a device having a modular female jack, the rotatable electrical connector comprising: a) a male subassembly comprising: a modular plug comprising a plurality of electrically conducting members disposed in an electrically insulating member, said plurality of electrically conducting members each having a first terminal end for contacting the modular female jack of the device and a second terminal end; and a first printed circuit board comprising a plurality of conductive pads disposed on a first surface facing said modular plug and a plurality of concentric circular conductive traces disposed on a second surface, each of said plurality of concentric circular conductive traces in electrical communication with a corresponding one of said plurality of conductive pads; wherein said modular plug is secured to said first surface of said first printed circuit board and said second terminal end of each of said plurality of electrical conducting members is in electrical communication with a corresponding one of said plurality of conductive pads; b) a female subassembly comprising: a modular jack comprising a plurality of electrically conducting members disposed in an electrically insulating member, said plurality of electrically conducting members each having a first terminal end for contacting the modular male plug of the cable and a second terminal end; a second printed circuit board comprising a first plurality of conductive pads disposed on a first surface facing said modular jack and a second plurality of conductive pads disposed on a second surface, each of said first plurality of conductive pads in electrical communication with a corresponding one of said second plurality of conductive pads; and at least one multi-pin block secured to said second surface of said second printed circuit board, said at least one multi-pin block comprising a plurality of resilient electrically conducting elements, wherein each of said plurality of resilient electrically conducting elements is in electrical communication with a corresponding one of said plurality of concentric circular conductive traces of said first printed circuit board and with a corresponding one of said second plurality of conductive pads of said second printed circuit board; wherein said modular jack is secured to said first surface of said second printed circuit board and said second terminal end of each of said plurality of electrical conducting members is in electrical communication with a corresponding one of said first plurality of conductive pads; c) an axle extending substantially perpendicularly to said second surface of said first and said second printed circuit board, said axle rotatably connecting said male subassembly and said female subassembly; and d) a housing enclosing said male subassembly and said female subassembly.