Keystone jack for digital communication networks

• US 5,885,111 A
• Filed: 01/13/1998
• Issued: 03/23/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Shiunn Yang Enterprises Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Shiunn Yang Enterprises Company Limited
• Inventors: Yu, Chin-Chun
• Primary Examiner(s): Stephan, Steven L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Standig, Barry
• Application Number:
  US09/006,179
• Time in Patent Office: 434 Days
• Field of Search: 439/676, 439/941
• US Class Current: 439/676
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6467 by cross-over of signal conductors
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/64 for high frequency, e.g. RJ 45
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 439/941 Crosstalk suppression

Abstract

An improved modular jack, and more particularly to a keystone jack for use on digital communication networks intends to effectively avoid short circuits and the production of noise and crosstalk in signal transmission. The jack is equipped with a wire mounting plate having four receiving grooves on the top face and four on the bottom face thereof some of which are crossly oriented at their ends so as to permit 8 or more wire contact pieces to be mounted separately thereto and crossly placed without contact at all. A retaining board is integrally engaged with the top face of the wire mounting plate and the combination is forced into a receiving recess of a jack housing having a horizontal extension to support the bottom face of the wire mounting plate so as to fix the 8 wire contact pieces respectively in place. Then a wire limiting cap having a horizontally defined cable insertion hole is engaged with the jack housing so as to permit a cable to be vertically led into the jack with its 8 wires connected to the horizontal wire contact pieces.

Claims

1. An improved keystone jack for use in a digital communication network, comprising a jack housing, a wire mounting plate, a retaining board, a horizontal wire limiting cap and a plurality of metallic wire contact pieces;

said jack housing having a connector for receiving an external plug means of a communication equipment, and a horizontal extension projected a distance from the bottom of front edge of the connector,

a receiving recess being defined on said connector at the intersection of said connector and said horizontal extension;

a plurality of parallel slots being disposed on said connector and right above said receiving recess for separately retaining said wire contact pieces in place;

a locking cavity being defined on either side of said receiving recess and next to said parallel slots,

on each vertical side of a front face of said connector being disposed a locking cavity and at the bottom of said horizontal extension being disposed a locking means at each side thereof;

said wire mounting plate having a top face and a bottom face on which being disposed a plurality of receiving grooves for placement of a plurality of said wire contact pieces equally;

a plurality of equally spaced ditches being defined on one lateral side of said wire mounting plate; and

a number of joining rods being disposed on said top face of said wire mounting plate;

half of said ditches further communicating with said receiving grooves on the top face of said wire mounting plate,

another half of said ditches being in communication with said receiving grooves on said bottom face of said wire mounting plate;

said receiving groove on said top face for housing said first wire contact pieces being shorter than said receiving grooves on said bottom face for placement of said second wire contact pieces, defining a plurality of toes on the opposite side of said wire mounting plate;

said ditches and their corresponding receiving grooves on the top and bottom faces of said wire mounting plate being arranged in such a manner that a number of pairs of said metallic wire contact pieces on the top and bottom face of said mounting plate being cross oriented at their ends without contact with each other by preventing wires of a cable from being disposed in crowded manner on the same face with part of their ends selectively crossed;

each said receiving groove on the top face of said wire mounting plate ending up with said first slot, and

each said receiving grooves on the bottom face of said wire mounting plate terminating with said second slots;

said first and second slots being alternately disposed on the lateral side of the wire mounting plate, opposite to the lateral side with said ditches;

said wire retaining board having a bottom board and a vertical partition wall disposed on said bottom board which conforming to said wire mounting plate in shape and having a number of ditches on one lateral side in conformance to said ditches on said wire mounting plate;

on each end of said vertical partition wall being disposed an axial securing member having a hooked end engaged with said locking cavity respectively of said connector in assembly;

said first and second wire contact pieces all having a wire cutting terminal at one end and a vertically erected and bent portion at the other end that being received in spaced manner in said ditches of both said wire mounting plate and said wire retaining board;

said first and second wire contact pieces being placed in said receiving grooves on said top and bottom face of said wire mounting plate respectively with said wire cutting terminals located in said first slots and said second slots respectively;

said bottom board of said wire retaining board having a number of fixing holes in correspondence to said joining rods of said wire mounting plate so as to permit said wire retaining board and said wire mounting plate to be integrally fixed together after said wire contact pieces being mounted onto said wire mounting plate and engaged with said receiving grooves;

said assembled wire retaining board and said wire mounting plate being partially led into engagement with said receiving recess in assembly and being supported in place by said horizontal extension;

said wire limiting cap having a top lid having a smoothly rounded recess horizontally defined thereon for passage of a cable having a plurality of wires packed therein;

at the edge of said top lid of said wire limiting cap adjacent said rounded recess being provided with a pair of symmetric hooked ends;

at the bottom of said wire limiting cap being provided with a pair of hooked extensions in alignment with said hooked ends of said top lid so as to permit said wire limiting cap to be engaged with said vertical partition wall of said wire retaining board and locking means defined at the sides of said horizontal extension when said wire limiting cap being snapped into engagement with said jack housing;

a wire urging means housed in said wire limiting cap having a row of upper abutment fingers and a lower abutment fingers that are in close contact against said wire cutting terminals of said first and second wire contact pieces when said wire limiting cap being secured to said jack housing, resulting in said wires of a cable disposed in said two rows of said first and second slots being cut and exposed by said wire cutting terminals and electrically contacted with said metallic wire contact pieces as a result of said wire limiting cap being forced into engagement with said jack housing;

said wire contact pieces received in said receiving grooves respectively on said top face and bottom face of said wire mounting plate being arranged in such a manner that some of said wire contact pieces on said top face and some of said wire contact pieces on said bottom face being cross oriented at their ends without contact so as to reduce noise and crosstalk in signal transmission.

2. The improved keystone jack as claimed in claim 1 wherein said slots on the front edge of said horizontal extension of said jack housing and said slots on said wire retaining board and said first and second slots on said wire mounting plate have two different lengths and are alternately placed so as to permit consecutive wires of a cable to be located in said slots far apart, resulting in preventing said wires of an inserted cable from accidental contact with each other to cause short circuiting in operation.