Integrated connector apparatus and methods

• US 8,764,493 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2012
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pulse Electronics Incorporated (Yageo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pulse Electronics Incorporated (Yageo Corporation)
• Inventors: Renteria, Victor H., Gutierrez, Aurelio J., Mahlerbe, William, Hurd, Gary L., Machado, Russell L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilman, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US13/437,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20120196456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 439/620.01, 439/676, 439/76.1
• US Class Current: 439/676
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/70 Coupling devices
• 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 13/6658 on printed circuit board H01R13/6666 - H01R13/6691 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/719 specially adapted for high frequency, e.g. with filters
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/7193 with ferrite filters
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/64 for high frequency, e.g. RJ 45
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0233 Filters, inductors or a magnetic substance
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/18 Printed circuits structurally associated with non-printed electric components H05K1/0201, H05K1/023, H05K1/0243, and H05K1/16 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/1003 Non-printed inductor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/1006 Non-printed filter
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10189 Non-printed connector
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10515 Stacked components
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10537 Attached components
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10568 Integral adaptations of a component or an auxiliary PCB for mounting, e.g. integral spacer element
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/2036 Permanent spacer or stand-off in a printed circuit or printed circuit assembly pattern for applying drops or paste H05K2203/0545

Abstract

An electrical connector mountable on a printed circuit board. In one embodiment, the electrical connector comprises an insulative housing comprising one or more electronic components, a plurality of electrical conductors in signal communication with the electronic components and adapted to interface with a plug and a plurality of terminals in signal communication with the one or more electronic components. In one aspect, the plurality of terminals are adapted to interface with one or more externally mounted electronic components on the printed circuit board thereby filtering signals passing between the electrical conductors and the printed circuit board, with the externally mounted electronic components mounted within the footprint of the electrical connector. Methods of manufacture for the aforementioned electrical connector and business methods are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A connector assembly, comprising:

a connector housing comprising a vertically oriented plug receiving recess, and an electronic component receiving recess;

a conductor terminal insert, the conductor terminal insert comprising a plurality of conductor terminals residing at least partly within the vertically oriented plug receiving recess and the electronic component recess, and an insulating header portion having a bottom surface associated therewith; and

a plurality of electronic components residing within the electronic component receiving recess and arranged substantially above the bottom surface of the insulating header portion and in a substantially coplanar fashion;

wherein at least a portion of the conductor terminals have a notched end configured to facilitate the termination of the electronic components with respective ones of the conductor terminals; and

wherein the vertically oriented plug receiving recess defines a plug receiving direction, the plug receiving direction being substantially orthogonal with the coplanar arrangement of the electronic components.

2. A telecommunications network apparatus, comprising:

an external printed circuit board (PCB); and

at least one connector assembly configured to be mounted to the external PCB, the connector assembly comprising;

an electronic component receiving recess having an open bottom, the electronic component receiving recess configured to receive and substantially house one or more externally mounted electronic components disposed on the external PCB when the connector assembly is mounted thereto;

one or more magnetic components mounted within the electronic component receiving recess;

a vertically oriented connector port configured to have a plurality of electrical conductors disposed therein, the plurality of electrical conductors configured to interface with a plug and be in signal communication with the one or more magnetic components; and

one or more terminals extending from a bottom portion of the connector assembly and in signal communication with at least one of the one or more magnetic components and/or the one or more externally mounted electronic components.

3. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 2, wherein the connector assembly further comprises an organizer comprising an insulative insert, and wherein the plurality of electrical conductors are disposed within the insulative insert.

4. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 3, wherein the vertically oriented connector port is configured to receive the insulative insert such that the vertically oriented connector port is inaccessible from the electronic component recess when the insulative insert is received within the vertically oriented connector port.

5. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 4, wherein the insulative insert comprises one or more locking features configured to interface with one or more receiving elements on the connector assembly.

6. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 5, wherein the insulative insert is configured to separate the vertically oriented connector port from the electronic component recess when the one or more locking features are engaged with the one or more receiving elements.

7. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 2, wherein the connector assembly is further configured to have a unitary body.

8. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the one or more terminals are distributed throughout the unitary body so that individual ones of the one or more magnetic components are substantially equidistant from its respective terminal.

9. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 7, wherein the unitary body is substantially L-shaped.

10. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more externally mounted electronic components comprise one or more chip-like electronic components, and the one or more magnetic components comprise wound inductive devices.

11. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 2, wherein the electronic component receiving recess has a depth sufficient to permit mass termination of a termination end of the one or more terminals without damaging the one or more magnetic components.

12. The telecommunications network apparatus of claim 2, wherein none of the one or more magnetic components and/or the one or more electronic components are disposed between the vertically oriented connector port and the external PCB when the connector assembly is mounted to the PCB, thereby providing a low-profile connector assembly.

13. A connector assembly configured to be mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB), the connector assembly comprising:

a substantially L-shaped unitary housing comprising a vertically oriented plug receiving recess and an electronic component receiving recess;

a conductor terminal insert, the conductor terminal insert comprising a plurality of conductor terminals residing at least partly within the vertically oriented plug receiving recess and the electronic component receiving recess; and

a plurality of internally mounted electronic components disposed within the electronic component receiving recess and arranged in a substantially coplanar fashion;

wherein the vertically oriented plug receiving recess is configured to have a plug receiving direction that is substantially perpendicular to the PCB when the connector assembly is mounted thereto;

wherein the electronic component receiving recess defines an open cavity configured to receive one or more externally mounted electronic components disposed on the PCB when the connector assembly is mounted thereto; and

wherein none of the internally and/or externally mounted electronic components are disposed between the vertically oriented plug receiving recess and the PCB when the connector assembly is mounted thereto, thereby providing a low-profile connector assembly.

14. The connector assembly of claim 13, wherein the conductor terminal insert comprises an insulating header portion having a bottom surface associated therewith, and wherein the one or more internally mounted electronic components are arranged adjacent to and substantially above the bottom surface of the insulating header portion.

15. The connector assembly of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of conductor terminals have a notched end configured to facilitate a termination of the one or more internally mounted electronic components with respective ones of the plurality of conductor terminals.

16. The connector assembly of claim 13, wherein the electronic component receiving recess comprises a depth, the depth configured to permit the one or more internally mounted electronic components to be mass terminated to the plurality of conductor terminals without damaging the one or more internally mounted electronic components.

17. A connector assembly configured to be mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB), comprising:

a vertically oriented plug receiving port configured to interface with a plug;

an electronic component receiving recess comprising a cavity having an open bottom, the electronic component receiving recess configured to receive one or more externally mounted electronic components disposed on to the PCB when the connector assembly is mounted thereto;

a plurality of internally mounted electronic components disposed within the electronic component receiving recess and arranged in a substantially coplanar fashion;

a plurality of electric conductors disposed at least partly within the vertically oriented plug receiving port and the electronic component receiving recess, the plurality of electric conductors configured to be in signal communication with the one or more internally mounted electronic components; and

a first plurality of terminals in signal communication with the one or more internally mounted electronic components, the plurality of terminal pins configured to interface with the one or more externally mounted electric components disposed on the PCB when the connector assembly is mounted thereto;

wherein the first plurality of terminal pins are configured to extend from the electronic component receiving recess so that individual ones of the one or more internally mounted electronic components are disposed substantially equidistant from its respective terminal and thereby symmetrically balance the one or more internally mounted electronic components and thereby ensure uniform electrical performance.

18. The connector assembly of claim 17, further comprising a second plurality of terminals extending therefrom and not terminated to any of the one or more internally mounted electronic components.

19. The connector assembly of claim 17, further comprising a third plurality of terminals comprising two rows of off-set terminals extending from a bottom edge of the connector assembly.

20. The connector assembly of claim 17, wherein the first, second, and third plurality of terminals have co-planar termination ends configured to permit mass termination of the first, second, and third plurality of terminals.

21. The connector assembly of claim 17, wherein the connector assembly further comprises an insulative insert configured to retain the plurality of electrical conductors disposed at least partly within the vertically oriented plug receiving port and the electronic component receiving recess.