COMMUNICATION PLUG HAVING A PLURALITY OF COUPLED CONDUCTIVE PATHS

• US 20140273629A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommScope Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CommScope Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Canning, Michael W., Larsen, Wayne D., Schumacher, Richard A., Hashim, Amid I.
• Granted Patent: US 8,894,447 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 439/607.36
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 11/284 comprising means for preventing corrosion, e.g. covers, enclosures filled with gel
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6461 Means for preventing cross-talk
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6463 using twisted pairs of wires
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6469 on substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6581 Shield structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6585 Shielding material individually surrounding or interposed between mutually spaced contacts
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6586 for separating multiple connector modules
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/66 Structural association with built-in electrical component coupling devices having concentrically or coaxially-arranged contacts H01R24/38
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2107/00 Four or more poles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/04 for network, e.g. LAN connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/28 Coupling parts carrying pins, blades or analogous contacts and secured only to wire or cable
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/64 for high frequency, e.g. RJ 45
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 25/00 Coupling parts adapted for simultaneous co-operation with two or more identical counterparts, e.g. for distributing energy to two or more circuits supported only by co-operation with a counterpart H01R31/00; with a holder adapted for supporting apparatus to which its counterpart is attached H01R33/88

Abstract

Patch cords include a communications cable that has a first conductor and a second conductor that form a first differential pair, and a third conductor and a fourth conductor that form a second differential pair and a plug that is attached to the communications cable. The plug includes a housing that receives the communications cable, first through fourth plug contacts that are within the housing, and a printed circuit board. The printed circuit board includes first through fourth conductive paths that connect the respective first through fourth conductors to respective ones of the first through fourth plug contacts. The plug further includes a first conductive shield that extends above a top surface of the printed circuit board that is disposed between the first differential pair and the second differential pair.

Claims

1. A patch cord comprising:

a communications cable that includes at least a first conductor and a second conductor that form a first differential pair, and a third conductor and a fourth conductor that form a second differential pair; and

a plug that is attached to the communications cable, the plug comprising;

a housing that receives the communications cable;

a first plug contact, a second plug contact, a third plug contact and a fourth plug contact that each are at least partially within the housing;

a printed circuit board that is at least partly within the housing, the printed circuit board including a first conductive path that connects the first conductor to the first plug contact, a second conductive path that connects the second conductor to the second plug contact, a third conductive path that connects the third conductor to the third plug contact, and a fourth conductive path that connects the fourth conductor to the fourth plug contact, and

a first conductive shield that extends above a top surface of the printed circuit board that is disposed between the first differential pair and the second differential pair.

2. The patch cord of claim 1, wherein the communications cable further includes a fifth conductor and a sixth conductor that form a third differential pair, and a seventh conductor and an eighth conductor that form a fourth differential pair, and wherein the plug further includes a second conductive shield that extends below a bottom surface of the printed circuit board and that is disposed between the third differential pair and the fourth differential pair.

3. The patch cord of claim 2, wherein the first through fourth conductors terminate into the top side of the printed circuit board and the fifth through eighth conductors terminate into the bottom side of the printed circuit board.

4. The patch cord of claim 2, wherein the plug further comprises a conductive crosstail that is mounted in a back end of the housing, the conductive crosstail including a first fin that forms the first shield, a second fin that forms the second shield, and a third fin and a fourth fin.

5. The patch cord of claim 4, wherein a notch is provided in a back edge of the printed circuit board, and wherein the conductive crosstail is received within the notch so that the first fin of the crosstail forms the first shield that extends above the top surface of the printed circuit board and the second fin of the crosstail forms the second shield that extends below the bottom surface of the printed circuit board.

6. The patch cord of claim 4, wherein the first fin and the second fin extend farther forwardly in the housing than do the third fin and the fourth fin.

7. The patch cord of claim 4 wherein a thickness of the printed circuit board is approximately equal to the thickness of the third fin plus twice the thickness of an insulation layer on the first conductor.

8. The patch cord of claim 6, wherein a thickness of the printed circuit board is approximately equal to the thickness of the third fin plus twice the thickness of an insulation layer on the first conductor plus twice the thickness of a shield that surrounds the first and second conductors.

9. The patch cord of claim 4, wherein the third fin and the fourth fin each include a widened section adjacent the printed circuit board.

10. A communications plug, comprising:

a first conductive path electrically connecting a first input of the plug and a first output of the plug;

a second conductive path electrically connecting a second input of the plug and a second output of the plug, wherein the first and second conductive paths comprise a first differential pair of conductive paths for transmitting a first information signal;

a third conductive path electrically connecting a third input of the plug and a third output of the plug; and

a fourth conductive path electrically connecting a fourth input of the plug and a fourth output of the plug, wherein the third and fourth conductive paths comprise a second differential pair of conductive paths for transmitting a second information signal,

wherein a first section of the first conductive path and a second section of the second conductive path are configured to have generally the same instantaneous current direction and are positioned to both capacitively and inductively couple with each other.

11. The communications plug of claim 10, wherein the amount of capacitive coupling is at least half the amount of the inductive coupling.

12. The communications plug of claim 10, further comprising a flexible printed circuit board, wherein the first section of the first conductive path is on a first side of the flexible printed circuit board and the second section of the second conductive path is on a second side of the flexible printed circuit board that is opposite the first side.

13. The communications plug of claim 10, wherein the ratio of the capacitive coupling between first section of the first conductive path and the second section of the second conductive path to the inductive coupling between first section of the first conductive path and the second section of the second conductive path is selected to provide a local maximum in a return loss spectrum for the first differential pair of conductive paths.

14. The communications plug of claim 12, wherein a third section of the third conductive path and a fourth section of the fourth conductive path are configured to have generally the same instantaneous current direction and are positioned to both capacitively and inductively couple with each other.

15. A communications plug, comprising:

a housing having a plug aperture;

a flexible printed circuit board that is at least partly mounted within the housing;

a first conductive path electrically connecting a first input of the plug and a first output of the plug;

a second conductive path electrically connecting a second input of the plug and a second output of the plug, wherein the first and second conductive paths comprise a first differential pair of conductive paths;

wherein the first conductive path includes first and second conductive trace sections on the flexible printed circuit board that are immediately adjacent to each other and that have generally the same instantaneous current direction such that the first and second conductive trace sections self-couple and cause a localized increase in inductance, and

wherein the first conductive trace section is on a first side of the flexible printed circuit board and the second conductive trace section is on a second side of the flexible printed circuit board that is opposite the first side, and

wherein the first and second conductive trace sections are configured to both inductively and capacitively couple with each other.

16. The communications jack of claim 15, wherein the first conductive trace section comprises a spiral.

17. The communications jack of claim 16, wherein the spiral at least partially overlaps the second conductive trace section.

18. The communications jack of claim 15, wherein an amount of capacitive coupling between the first conductive trace section and the second conductive trace section is at least half an amount of inductive coupling between the first conductive trace section and the second conductive trace section.

19-30. -30. (canceled)

31. A communications plug, comprising:

a housing;

a flexible printed circuit board mounted in the housing, the flexible printed circuit board having a first conductive path and a second conductive path that form a first differential pair of conductive paths and a third conductive path and a fourth conductive path that form a second differential pair of conductive paths;

a first plug contact that is electrically connected to the first conductive path;

a second plug contact that is electrically connected to the second conductive path, the second plug contact being immediately adjacent to the first plug contact;

a third plug contact that is electrically connected to the third conductive path;

a fourth plug contact that is electrically connected to the fourth conductive path;

wherein a section of the first conductive path is on a first side of the flexible printed circuit board and a section of the second conductive path is on a second side of the flexible printed circuit board that is opposite the first side, and

wherein the section of the first conductive path and the section of the second conductive path are configured to inductively couple to provide a first offending inductive crosstalk circuit.

32. The communications plug of claim 31, wherein the section of the first conductive path and the section of the second conductive path partially overlap but do not completely overlap.

33-34. -34. (canceled)