Local area network interface

• US 4,756,695 A
• Filed: 08/21/1987
• Issued: 07/12/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AMP Incorporated (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: AMP Incorporated (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Watts, Elvert S., Lane, David, Marsh, Edward K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Abrams, Neil
• Application Number:
  US07/088,633
• Time in Patent Office: 326 Days
• Field of Search: 339/17 LC, 339/17 L, 339/17 LM, 339/17 C, 339/17 R, 339/14 R, 339/143 R, 361/408, 361/413, 361/415, 439/59-62, 439/76, 439/79, 439/535, 439/607-610, 439/95-98
• US Class Current: 439/76.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/04 for network, e.g. LAN connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/62 Sliding engagements with one side only, e.g. modular jack coupling devices

Abstract

An assembly for interconnecting more than one interfacing device has a wall mountable box having cavities therein. The cavities have an open front face and at least a partially open rear face. Edge card connectors interconnectable to shielded or unshielded cable are insertable through the rear face of the wall box. A shielded cable connector portion is insertable through the front face and has an edge card mounted thereto having conductive traces interconnected to resilient terminals, the terminals accessible through the front mating face. An unshielded cable connector portion is insertable through the front mating face of a second cavity. The unshielded connector is mounted to a printed circuit board which is interconnectable with an edge card connector within the cavity. The shielded or unshielded connectors are disposed in the front mating face for interconnection with a mating shielded or unshielded connector.

Claims

1. A modular data connector performing as an interface to a local area network and being engagable with a complementary connector for interconnecting electronic components to the network, the modular connector being interconnectable to a multiconductor shielded data cable within the network via an edge card connector which is connected to the data cable, the modular connector comprising:

an insulating terminal support housing having a front mating face, a rear face, and a terminal support platform extending between the faces which positions a plurality of terminals onto the terminal support platform, each with resilient contact tongues adjacent the mating face, deflectable towards the terminal support platform when the mating face of the terminal support housing is interconnected with the complementary connector;

shield means surrounding the terminals and the terminal support housing; and

network interconnection means including an edge card secured to said housing, orthogonally disposed relative to the terminal support platform and orthogonally disposed relative to the front mating face, for establishing a connection between each terminal and a corresponding conductor in multiconductor shielded data cable, the edge card including data traces, each trace being electrically connected to a respective terminal.

2. The modular connector of claim 1 wherein the edge card further comprises ground traces being commoned to ground pads, the data and ground traces extending substantially to an edge of the edge card and aligned for interconnection to the edge card connector.

3. The modular connector of claim 2 wherein the terminals are interconnected to the data traces on the edge card by individual wires extending between the terminals and the traces.

4. The modular connector of claim 3 wherein the shield means includes a lower shield member surrounding the exterior of the terminal support housing and an upper shield member overlying the terminals.

5. The modular connector of claim 4 wherein the terminal support housing includes sidewalls upstanding from the platform and extending between the front and rear face, and the rear face is openly accessible to the terminals, and the upper and lower shield members include lips extending from rear edges thereof to substantially enclose the rear face of the terminal housing, the lips being profiled to leave a gap therebetween for the passage of the wires.

6. The modular connector of claim 5 wherein the shield means includes means for supporting the edge card thereto.

7. The modular connector of claim 6 wherein the supporting means comprises tab means struck from the upper and lower shield members, the edge card ground pads being electrically and mechanically affixed to the tab means.

8. A local area network outlet receptacle assembly for alternatively providing interconnection of electronic equipment to alternate local area network cabling systems, the first system employing a shielded cable including individual data communication conductors, the second system employing unshielded cable having twisted pair data communication conductors, the outlet receptacle assembly comprising:

a housing having at least two compartments therein, each having an open front face and a partially open rear face, the housing including shielding means substantially surrounding at least one of the compartments;

a printed circuit board edge card connector having a front edge card opening and a rear conductor receiving opening, the edge card connector having a plurality of terminals including resilient contact portions adjacent the front edge card opening for interconnection to an edge card and a plurality of wire connecting portions for electrical interconnection to either the shielded or unshielded cable conductors, the edge card connector being insertable through, and latched at the rear face of the compartment; and

a modular electrical connector mounted on a printed circuit board edge card, the electrical connector including a plurality of resilient contacts disposed at a front mating face for electrical interconnection with contacts of a complementary connector, the resilient contacts being electrically connected to circuit data traces on the edge card which extend substantially to an edge thereof, the electrical connector and printed circuit board edge card being insertable through the open front face of the housing and having latching means for securing the electrical connector within the housing, the printed circuit board edge card being insertable into the printed circuit board edge card connector to electrically connect the resilient contacts to the shielded or unshielded data communication conductors.

9. The outlet receptacle assembly of claim 8 wherein the housing is comprised of insulative material and overplated with conductive material to substantially shield the entire housing.

10. The outlet receptacle assembly of claim 9 wherein the housing has two compartments, said compartments being defined by an upper wall, a middle wall and a lower wall with sidewalls integrally connecting the walls, shield means further comprising a conductive plate being latchably attachable to the housing rear face having a resilient clip which retains a shielded braid of the shielding cable against the conductive housing.

11. The outlet receptacle assembly of claim 10 wherein the upper and middle walls have vertically aligned U-shaped slots opening outwardly from a rear edge thereof, and the lower and middle walls have vertically aligned U-shaped slots opening outwardly therefrom, the slot on the lower wall being laterally offset from the slot on the upper wall, whereby the shielded cable can be resiliently held in either set of U-shaped slots by the clip.

12. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the one conductive clip commons the cable shield to the housing, the clip having an opening through which the unshielded cable extends.

13. An assembly performing as an interface to a local area network which includes shielded data cable, the interface being connectable to electrical equipment via a hermaphroditic electrical connector which has an insulated housing including hermaphroditic latching members, the hermaphroditic connector having a first plurality of contact terminals mounted therein with resilient contact tongue portions extending towards a mating face of the hermaphroditic connector and wire terminating portions disposed towards a rearward portion of the hermaphroditic connector, the hermaphroditic connector further comprises shielding members disposed on the interior of the insulative housing and in a surrounding relationship with the contact terminals, the shielding members also having a first combination of upper and lower shielding contact portions extending to the mating face, extending above and below the contact terminals, the assembly comprising:

an insulative outlet member having at least one compartment therein, the compartment having an open front face;

a modular connector member comprising an insulative body portion having a second plurality of contact terminals contained therein, the second plurality of terminals having resilient contact tongue portions matable in an overlapping hermaphroditic relationship with the resilient contact tongue portions of the first said terminals, and conductor connecting portions, a second combination of shielding members disposed around the second plurality of terminals, said second shielding members having contact portions matable with the contact portions of the first said shielding members, and an edge card mounted to the second combination of shielding members, the edge card having circuit traces disposed thereon, said traces being electrically interconnected to said conductor connecting portions of said second plurality of terminals;

means for mounting said hermaphroditic connector to the assembly in a latched and electrically connected configuration with the modular connector, including an adapter insert which latchably attaches the modular connector to the open front face of the compartment, the adapter insert including complementary latching means for matably connecting the hermaphroditic electrical connector thereto; and

an edge card connector, connectable with said edge card, having means for interconnecting said edge card traces to the individual wires of the shielded electrical cable.

14. The assembly of claim 13 wherein the compartments include partially open rear faces profiled to receive said edge card connectors.

15. The assembly of claim 14 wherein the compartment includes first shielding means in a surrounding relationship.

16. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the outlet member comprises an insulative housing which is conductively plated forming said shielding means.

17. The assembly of claim 15 further comprising second shielding means surrounding said adapter insert, the first and second shielding means being commoned together.

18. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the adapter insert is insulative material overplated with conductive material.

19. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the lower shield member includes a resilient tab biased against the second shielding means of the adapter insert.

20. The assembly of claim 13 wherein the adapter insert latching means includes a T-bar and a T-slot which is latchable to a respective T-slot and T-bar of a matable hermaphroditic connector.

21. An electrical connector assembly performing as an interface to a local area network which includes shielded data cable, the interface being connectable to electrical equipment via a matable hermaphroditic electrical connector which has an insulated housing including hermaphroditic latching members, the hermaphroditic connector having a first plurality of contact terminals mounted therein with resilient contact tongue portions extending towards a mating face of the hermaphroditic connector and wire terminating portions disposed towards a rearward portion of the hermaphroditic connector, the hermaphroditic connector further comprises shielding members disposed on the interior of the insulative housing and in a surrounding relationship with the contact terminals, the shielding members also having a first combination of upper and lower shielding contact portions extending to the mating face, extending above and below the contact terminas, the assembly being characterized in that:

the interface connector is profiled as a modular connector member comprising an insulative body portion having a second plurality of contact terminals contained therein, the second plurality of terminals having resilient contact tongue portions matable in an overlapping hermaphroditic relationship with the resilient contact tongue portions of the first said terminals, a second combination of shielding members disposed around the second plurality of terminals, said second shielding members having contact portions matable with the contact portions of the first said shielding members, and a printed circuit board mounted to the second modular connector member, the printed circuit board having circuit traces disposed thereon which are electrically interconnected to said second plurality of terminals at a first end and electrically interconnected to conductive elements at a second end, the conductive elements being profiled for matable interconnection with a complementary connector interconnected to the shielded data cable;

and in that the assembly includes means for mounting said hermaphroditic connector to the interface in a latched and electrically connected configuration with the modular connector, including adapter means which latchably attaches the modular connector thereto, and which includes latching means which are complementary with the hermaphroditic latching members for matably connecting the hermaphroditic electrical connector to the interface in a mated and registered relationship.

22. The assembly of claim 21 characterized in that the latching means includes a T-bar and a T-slot which is latchable to a respective T-slot and T-bar of a matable hermaphroditic connector.

23. The assembly of claim 21 characterized in that the printed circuit board is an edge card and the conductive elements are edge traces, the edge card being profiled for interconnection to an edge card connector.

24. In an electrical connector assembly performing as an interface to a local area network which includes shielded data cable, electrical equipment being connectable to the interface via a matable hermaphroditic electrical connector which has an insulative housing including hermaphroditic latching members having a complementary T-bar and T-slot, the hermaphroditic electrical connector having a first plurality of terminals mounted therein with resilient contact tongue portions disposed adjacent to a mating face of the hermaphroditic electrical connector and wire terminating portions disposed towards a rearward portion of the hermaphroditic electrical connector, the hermaphroditic electrical connector further comprises first shield means disposed on the interior of the insulative housing and in a surrounding relationship with the terminals, the shield means also having first upper and lower shield contact portions extending to the mating face, extending above and below the terminals, the electrical connector assembly comprising:

(a) a shielded electrical connector subassembly comprising;

(i) an insulative body portion having a terminal supporting platform with sidewalls upstanding from the platform, thereby defining an open upper face;

(ii) a second plurality of terminals contained within the insulative body portion arranged in side-by-side registration along the platform, the second plurality of terminals having resilient contact tongue portions matable in an overlapping hermaphroditic relationship with the resilient contact tongue portions of the first said terminals;

(iii) a second shield means disposed around, and secured to, the insulative body member in at least a partially surrounding relationship with an exterior of the insulative body portion and the open upper face, thereby shielding the second plurality of terminals, said second shield means having second shield contact portions matable with the first shield contact portions of the first said shield means;

(iv) means for interconnecting the second resilient contact tongue portions to individual conductors of the shielded data cable; and

(v) means for commoning the second shield means with a shielding braid of the shielded data cable; and

(b) insulative outlet means including a front mating face and a rear connector receiving face, the front mating face of the outlet means comprising a latching mechanism, including a T-slot and T-bar which are complementary with the respective T-bar and T-slot of the hermaphroditic electrical connector, the rear connector receiving face including latching means for receiving the shielded electrical connector subassembly from the rear of the outlet means, thereby disposing the second resilient contact tongue portions in a mating disposition adjacent to the front mating face of the outlet means, and in juxtaposition relative to the latching mechanism providing a matable complementary connection with the hermaphroditic electrical connector, whereby, when the T-bar and the T-slot of the hermaphroditic electrical connector are in latched condition with the respective T-slot and T-bar of the outlet means, the first and second resilient contact tongue portions are in an overlapping and electrically mated condition.