Multiple function RJ connector with split internal housing opening cavity

Multifunctional RJ connector with separate inner shell opening hole

The present invention relates to a modular connector having a female socket and a removable male plug, and particularly relates to a multi-purpose modular connector.

The RJ-type modular connector usually includes an RJ-type female socket that is assembled to releasably accommodate an RJ-type male plug. RJ-type modular connectors are generally used in electronic telecommunication, data networking equipment, and computers. The female seat is usually a hollow box with an inner cavity and four inner surfaces. A latch groove is usually provided adjacent to one of the four inner surfaces. The plurality of contact points are located in the inner cavity and adjacent to one of the four inner surfaces. The inner surface is preferably an inner surface opposite to the inner surface provided with the latch groove. Each contact point is electrically connected to a corresponding telephone line, wire, printed circuit board lead or other system or device. An RJ-type modular connector is described in US Patent Nos. 4,978,317 to Pocrass, and is incorporated herein by reference.

The internal cavity of the female socket is assembled to accommodate the male plug. The male plug is usually box-shaped and has four outer surfaces, an open end, a sealed end, and an internal cavity. One of the four outer surfaces is provided with a plurality of wire grooves, wherein the open end, the inner cavity and each of the wire grooves are connected to each other. A foldable wire holder can be provided by any one of the four outer surfaces, and a flexible latch is usually located adjacent to and provided with the outer surface of the plurality of dividing grooves Opposite the outer surface.

In a typical configuration, a plurality of wires are inserted into the open end of the male plug. One end of each wire is located in a corresponding wire slot. The foldable cord holder is then compressed to firmly hold each wire in the male plug. The male plug is then inserted into the female socket, so that a ridge on the elastic latch is releasably received in the latch groove, and each wire contacts a corresponding contact terminal. The other end of each wire can also be individually connected to another male plug as described above. The above-mentioned method is to form a plurality of wires with male plugs at both ends.

An important limitation of the conventional RJ-type modular connector is that the modular connector is dedicated to a specific function. For example, RJ11 modular connectors are often used in communication applications. The RJ11 female socket usually contains up to six separate contact terminals, and the corresponding RJ11 male plug contains the same number of splitting grooves. In data network applications, RJ45 modular connectors are often used. The RJ45 female socket usually contains as many as eight separate contact terminals, and the corresponding RJ45 male plug contains the same number of splitting grooves. The RJ45 modular connector is specially designed for local area network (LAN) or Ethernet connection.

So far, if a specific device (such as a personal computer) requires both a communication modem and a network capability, the device is usually equipped with at least one RJ11 modular connector and at least one RJ45 connector. The demand for at least two different types of modular connectors has also increased the size of the device. Increasing the size of the device is not a desired design limitation, especially for handheld and laptop computers.

In order to help alleviate the limitations imposed by the prior art, the present invention provides an RJ-type modular connector including an RJ-type female socket and an RJ-type male plug. The RJ-type female socket is configured to accommodate the RJ-type male plug. The RJ-type female socket has an open plug accommodating end, and a printed circuit board in the open plug accommodating end. Both the top and bottom sides of the printed circuit board have contact terminals.

The RJ-type male plug has a separation hole. When the RJ-type male plug is inserted into the open plug receiving end of the RJ-type female socket, the separation hole is assembled to accommodate the printed circuit board of the RJ-type female socket. The separation hole has a pin on its opposite side. When the RJ-type male plug is inserted into the open plug-receiving end of the RJ-type female socket, the pins are assembled to contact the contact terminals of the printed circuit board.

The female seat 23 of the first embodiment is shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, FIG. 1D, FIG. 2B, and FIG. 2C. The male plug 24 of a first specific embodiment is shown in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C shows the male plug 24 inserted into the female socket 23. For the purpose of this description, the female socket and the male plug are both RJ type. However, other types of multi-purpose modular connectors also fall into the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The female socket 23 is usually a hollow box-like structure, and defines an open plug receiving end 25 and an internal cavity 26. The open plug receiving end 25 preferably includes latch grooves 31 and 32, and the latch grooves 31 and 32 are defined in an inner wall of the inner cavity 26.

FIG. 1A shows a front view of the female socket 23 with the open plug receiving end 25. The RJ45 male plug has eight wires and is generally wider than the RJ11 with four wires.

Please refer to Figures 3B and 3C, and also refer to all previous illustrations. The female socket 23 includes a printed circuit board 3 in the internal cavity 26, and the printed circuit board 3 is on its top edge (or surface) and There are a plurality of contact pads 13 and 14 on the bottom edge (or surface). The printed circuit board 3 includes internal traces (not shown in the figure) from the contact pads 13 and 14 to the contact holes arranged in the rows 19, 20, 21 and 22. Each of the contact pads 13 and 14 is electrically coupled to at least one corresponding contact hole, and the at least one corresponding contact hole is located in one of the rows 19, 20, 21, and 22. The pins 7 are inserted into the contact holes defining the rows 19, 20, 21, and 22. The pins 7 are long enough to connect from the printed circuit board 3 to a printed circuit board (not shown in the figure) via the base 29 of the female socket 23, and the female socket 23 is connected to the printed circuit board via the pins 7 The circuit boards are closely matched. The present invention can be used for this. However, the present invention can also be used for RJ cover plates, such as cover plate 5 shown in Figure 6, and other products using RJ connectors.

FIG. 2A shows that a male plug 24 is inserted into the hole 26 through the open plug receiving end 25 of the female socket 23. The male plug 24 includes two sets of pins 10 and 11. When the male plug 24 is inserted into the open plug receiving end 25 of the female socket 23, the pins 10 and 11 are in contact with the contact pads 13 and 14 of the female socket 23. Any suitable and/or desired number of the pins 10 and 11 and the contact pads 13 and 14 may depend on the actual application. Therefore, the number of the pins and the contact pads is not limited by the illustration of the present invention.

Figure 2C shows that the male plug 24 is inserted into the female socket 23, and the pins 10 and 11 and the contact pads 13 and 14 of the printed circuit board 3 in the female socket 23 are closely matched and touched respectively. bump. The contact between the pins 10 and 11 and the contact pads 13 and 14 of the printed circuit board 3 in the female socket 23 has small movements and firmly touches. The various sizes of the pins and the contact pads are obvious to those skilled in the art, and the pins and the contact pads discussed above are only one possible embodiment.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 2C, a plurality of leads or pins 7 can extend from the female seat 23. The ends of the pins 7 extending outward from the socket 23 can be mounted by surface mounting, through-hole mounting, ball grid array mounting, or other methods. Appropriate methods to connect to each other or to other objects (such as a printed circuit board). As shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, a plurality of female sockets 23 can be coupled together or arranged in a common housing. In Fig. 7A and Fig. 7B, the upper two female sockets 23 have their pins 7 extending from the base adjacent to the back of the housing, so as not to extend from the base adjacent to the front of the housing. The pins 7 of the two female sockets 23 interfere with each other. We believe that the means for properly arranging all the pins 7 of the different female sockets 23 in the housing shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B can be achieved by the ability of learning skills.

Please refer to Figure 2A. The male plug 24 includes a spring latch 8, a plurality of pins 10 and 11, a top housing part 9, a bottom housing part 12, and a rear printed circuit board 15. The rear printed circuit board 15 has contact pads 34 and 35 on its top surface and bottom surface, respectively. The rear printed circuit board 15 may include any number of contact pads 34 and 35 on opposite sides, depending on the number of contact pads 34 and 35 that are feasible and suitable for practical applications. The male plug 24 defines an opening between the pins 10 and 11. When the male plug 24 is inserted into the opening 25 of the female socket 23, the size of the opening is to accommodate the printed circuit board 3. Each wire in a twisted cable can be connected to one or more contact pads 34 and 35. It is conceivable that any number of contact pads 34 and 35 and any number of wires in the twisted cable can be provided, depending on the suitability and/or need of the prior art.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show the female base 23 and a metal shield 6 surrounding the top and back of the female base 23. The metal shield 6 may include a metal sheet 2 extending from the metal shield 6. There is no shield covering the open plug receiving end 25 of the female socket 23. The open plug receiving end 25 allows the male plug 24 to slide into the female seat 23 and engage with the spring latch 8, and the spring latch 8 is received in an exhaust valve at the top of the open plug receiving end 25. The spring latch 8 preferably includes a latch piece 8 on the opposite side of the long axis of the spring latch 8. When the male plug 24 is inserted into the open plug receiving end 25 of the female socket 23, the latch pieces 8'are assembled along the top edge of the open plug receiving end 25 to engage the back edges of the ridges 31 and 32 . The spring latch 8 cooperates with the latch pieces 8 to engage with the ridges 31 and 32 so that the male plug 24 is seated on the open plug receiving end 25 of the female seat 23. The male plug 24 slides into the open plug receiving end 25, and the open plug receiving end 25 is assembled to receive the male plug 24. The male plug 24 is generally box-shaped. The male plug 24 can be an RJ11 type male plug, an RJ45 type male plug or other suitable and/or desired types of male plugs.

One method of using the female socket 23 and the male plug 24 is to connect multiple phones that require RJ-type connectors to multiple devices.

FIG. 3C shows that the printed circuit board 3 is supported in the female base 23, that is, the printed circuit board 3 is adhered to a housing 18 by soldering the pins 7 to the printed circuit board 3. Other means to make it sticky can be considered, but welding is an efficient means. In order to help the female base 23 to closely match the printed circuit board of a user's product, the pins 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D can all be arranged alternately or in a horizontal row. Figure 3C only shows some pins 7, and the female socket 23 can be easily configured with up to twenty pins 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

In order to remove the male plug 24 from the female seat 23, the end of the spring latch 8 adjacent to the open plug receiving end 25 is pushed into the open plug receiving end 25, whereby the ridges 31 and 32 are removed from the The latch piece 8'of the spring latch 8 is disengaged. The end of the spring latch 8 opposite to the latch piece 8'is then pushed toward the male plug 24 to ensure that the latch piece 8'of the spring latch 8 removes the ridge 31, whereby the male plug 24 can be removed from the female socket The open plug receiving end 25 of 23 is withdrawn.

Please refer to FIG. 4 and all the above illustrations. Another embodiment of the female socket 23 includes an internal cavity 26. The internal cavity 26 has a printed circuit board 36 disposed on one of the internal holes 26. The printed circuit board 36 has one or more so-called magnetic elements 38. The magnetic elements 38 are fixed to the printed circuit board 36 to form a so-called magnetic force. The one or more magnetic elements 38 can be connected to one or more pins 7 through the printed circuit board 36 in any suitable and/or desired manner.

The one or more magnetic elements 38 covered in the internal cavity 26 of the female base 23 are electronic devices used in local area networks, for example, used for voice and data transmission in Internet telephones in the local area network, or Used for connection of computers, servers, network devices...etc.

The female socket 23 can be of a suitable and/or desired length, depending on the one or more magnetic elements 38 and the printed circuit board 36 accommodated in the internal cavity 26 of the female socket 23. As shown in FIG. 4, although the aforementioned so-called magnetic force is contained in the inner cavity 26, the magnetic force may be contained in a housing part 18 and then sequentially contained in the inner cavity 26.

Each specific embodiment of the above-mentioned female socket 23 may include light-emitting diodes 1A, 1B, 17A, and/or 17B as appropriate and/or desired. Each light-emitting diode can be electrically connected to one or more contact pads 13 and 14 and/or pins 7 as appropriate and/or desired.

Please refer to FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B and all the above illustrations. An alternative embodiment of the male plug 24 is shown in FIGS. 5A to 5B, and the male plug 24 is shown in FIG. 2A. One of the specific embodiments of the plug 24 including the contact pads 34 and 35 followed by the printed circuit board 15 has been deleted and replaced by the extension of the pins 10 and 11. The pins 10 and 11 extend to the outside of the male plug 24.

Each embodiment of the male plug 24 shown in FIGS. 2A and 5A to 5B may include one or more elongated holes 39. When the male plug 24 is inserted into the open plug accommodating end 25 of the female socket 23, each elongated hole 39 is fitted to accommodate a corresponding mating protrusion 40 (shown in the dashed line in FIG. 2B). The mating protrusion 40 is disposed in the inner cavity 26 of the female seat 23. When the male plug 24 is inserted into the open plug receiving end 25 of the female socket 23, the elongated hole 39 and the mating protrusion 40 are assembled to assist in aligning and maintaining the pins 10 and 11 and the contact pads 13 and 14 Individual counterpoint.

The above-mentioned specific embodiments provide an RJ-type modular connector with very flexible design. Different from providing two separate female sockets and two separate male plugs (a set of power supply credits and one set for LAN connection), the present invention allows a single female socket and a single male plug to be used for both purposes. For example, the female socket 23 can be electrically connected to a printed circuit board of an electronic device, such as a motherboard of a computer including a logic processor. The computer may further include a fixed disk drive, a removable disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM, a display and/or a printer. A first set of contact pads (such as contact pads 13) can be electrically connected to electronic components on the motherboard supporting a first function, such as an Ethernet connection for a network user. A second set of contact pads (such as contact pads 14) can be electrically connected to a second Ethernet connection for another user in a local area network. However, any number of the first set of contact pads 13 and the second set of contact pads 14 can be used, depending on the specific application that is suitable and/or desired.

The female base 23 may include integrated magnetic elements 38 that provide at least one of the following: electrical isolation, conversion to reduce local area network signal distortion, and electromagnetic interference reduction and control. The magnetic elements 38 are accommodated in the side wall of the female seat 23 and connected to the pins 7. These pins can be glued to another printed circuit board of an end user.

As discussed above, the magnetic components 38 can be electronic devices for local area networks. Alternatively, the magnetic components 38 may include an input/output module and a processor (or any other suitable and/or desired central processing unit) to control, analyze, maintain, and distribute high-speed data packets. It is conceivable that the central processing unit can be used to read, write and process data packets, thereby removing the load of these functions from the microprocessor or central processing unit that is matched with the female socket 23 or connected to the plug 24.

The specific embodiment of the female base 23 shown in FIGS. 1A to 1D, 2B, and 4 includes the printed circuit board 3, and the printed circuit board 3 is horizontally located in the inner cavity 26 or Near the center of the internal cavity 26. However, it is conceivable that the printed circuit board 3 can be fixed in different positions and different positions in the inner cavity 26. For example, another specific embodiment of the female base 23 as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C includes the printed circuit board 3 vertically located in the inner cavity 26 near the center of the inner cavity 26. This specific embodiment of the female seat 23 may also include one or more mating protrusions 40.

Another specific embodiment of the female base 23 shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C includes the printed circuit board 3 vertically located in the inner cavity 26 near the left inner surface of the inner cavity 26. This specific embodiment of the female seat 23 may also include one or more mating protrusions 40.

Another specific embodiment of the female base 23 shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C includes the printed circuit board 3 vertically located in the inner cavity 26 close to the right inner surface of the inner cavity 26. This specific embodiment of the female seat 23 may also include one or more mating protrusions 40.

Another specific embodiment of the female base 23 shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C includes the printed circuit board 3 vertically located in the inner cavity 26 close to the bottom inner surface of the inner cavity 26.

Finally, another specific embodiment of the female base 23 as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C includes the printed circuit board 3 vertically located in the inner cavity 26 close to the top inner surface of the inner cavity 26 . The specific embodiment of the female socket 23 shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C can also include a long and narrow opening 40 located above the open plug receiving end 25. When the male plug 24 is inserted into the inner hole 26 of the female socket 23 through the open plug receiving end 25, the elongated opening 40 is used to receive a plug that is arranged in the male plug 24 and is spaced from the top surface of the male plug 24Itprojections42. The combination of the elongated mouth 40 and the protrusion 42 can be used in any specific embodiment of the connector between the female socket 23 and the male plug 24 discussed herein.

Through the detailed description of the preferred embodiments above, it is hoped that the characteristics and spirit of the present invention can be described more clearly, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by the preferred embodiments disclosed above. On the contrary, the purpose is to cover various changes and equivalent arrangements within the scope of the patent for which the present invention is intended. For example, when each specific embodiment of the female socket shown in the figure has the contact pads 13 and 14 on the opposite side or surface of the printed circuit board 3, it is conceivable that the printed circuit board 3 of the present invention is combined It is not limited to only having the contact pads 13 and 14 on one side or surface of the printed circuit board 3.

<p>1A, 1B, 17A, 17B. . . Light-emitting diode</p><p>13, 14, 34, 35. . . Contact pad</p><p>15. . . Rear printed circuit board</p><p>18. . . Shell part</p><p>19, 20, 21, 22. . . List</p><p>2. . . Metal sheets</p><p>twenty three. . . Female seat</p><p>twenty four. . . Male plug</p><p>25. . . Open plug receiving end</p><p>26. . . Internal cavity</p><p>29. . . Base</p><p>3. 36. . . A printed circuit board</p><p>31, 32. . . Latch slot</p><p>31, 32. . . Ridge</p><p>38. . . Magnetic element</p><p>39. . . Narrow hole</p><p>40. . . With projections, long and narrow mouth</p><p>42. . . Protrusion</p><p>5. . . Cover</p><p>52. . . Cable</p><p>6. . . Metal shield</p><p>7, 10, 11. . . Pin</p><p>8. . . Spring latch</p><p>8'. . . Latch</p><p>1D, 5B. . . Section line</p>

Figure 1A shows a schematic diagram of the open plug receiving end with the shield adhered to the female socket of a first embodiment, which shows a printed circuit board fixed to the inside of the female socket of the first embodiment The space between the top inner surface and the bottom inner surface of the cavity.

FIG. 1B is a side view of the female seat of the first embodiment with an outer shell shield in FIG. 1A.

Fig. 1C is a schematic diagram showing the open plug receiving end of the female socket of the first embodiment without the shield adhered in Fig. 1A.

Fig. 1D shows a cross-sectional view along the section line 1D-1D in Fig. 1A.

Fig. 2A shows a first embodiment of the male plug assembled to be inserted into the open plug receiving end of the female socket of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1A.

FIG. 2B shows another cross-sectional view of the female seat of the specific embodiment in FIG. 1D.

Fig. 2C is a cross-sectional view of the male plug of the first embodiment in Fig. 2A inserted into the open plug receiving end of the female socket of the first embodiment in Fig. 2B.

FIG. 3A is a rear view of the printed circuit board in FIG. 1A being fixed to an inner housing module, and the inner housing module can be integrated into the female base in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3B is a top view of the printed circuit board in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C is a side view of the printed circuit board in FIG. 3A being fixed to the inner housing module.

FIG. 4 is another side view of the female base in FIG. 1D and another printed circuit board disposed on the female base including integrated components.

FIG. 5A shows an end view of the male plug of the second embodiment inserted into the open plug receiving end of the female socket of the first embodiment.

Fig. 5B shows a cross-sectional view along the section line 5B-5B in Fig. 5A.

Fig. 6 shows a wall plate, a female base of the first embodiment (similar to the female base of Fig. 1A but fitted to be fixed to the cover) and the female base of Fig. 2A A perspective view of the coupling of the male plug of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show a front view and a side view of a plurality of female seats of the first embodiment in a common housing.

FIG. 8A shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a female socket and a male plug designed to be inserted into the female socket, and the female socket has a vertical printed circuit board near the center of the hole.

Fig. 8B and Fig. 8C show the front view and side view of the female seat in Fig. 8A.

Figure 9A shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a female socket and a male plug designed to be inserted into the female socket. The female socket has a vertical printed circuit board at the interval adjacent to the left inner surface of the hole .

Fig. 9B and Fig. 9C show the front view and side view of the female seat in Fig. 9A.

Figure 10A shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a female socket and a male plug designed to be inserted into the female socket. The female socket has a vertical printed circuit board at the interval adjacent to the right inner surface of the hole .

10B and 10C show the front view and side view of the female seat in FIG. 10A.

Figure 11A shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a female socket and a male plug designed to be inserted into the female socket. The female socket has a horizontal printed circuit adjacent to the bottom inner surface of the hole. plate.

11B and 11C show the front view and side view of the female seat in FIG. 11A.

Fig. 12A shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a female socket and a male plug designed to be inserted into the female socket. The female socket has a horizontal printed circuit adjacent to the top inner surface of the hole. plate.

Fig. 12B and Fig. 12C show the front view and side view of the female seat in Fig. 12A.