Communications jack with jackwire contacts mounted on a flexible printed circuit board

• US 9,601,873 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2016
• Issued: 03/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commscope Inc of North Carolina (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Commscope Inc of North Carolina (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fitzpatrick, Brian J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Prasad, Chandrika
• Application Number:
  US15/156,477
• Publication Number:
  US 20160261074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 308 Days
• Field of Search: 439/676, 439/941
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6461 Means for preventing cross-talk
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6464 by adding capacitive elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6466 on substrates, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB]
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6467 by cross-over of signal conductors
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6469 on substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/00 Two-part coupling devices, or either of their cooperating parts, characterised by their overall structure contact members H01R13/02; securing contact members in or to a base or case or insulating of contact members H01R13/40; bases or cases H01R13/46; means for supporting coupling part when not engaged H01R13/60; means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts or for holding them in engagement H01R13/62; means for preventing, inhibiting or avoiding incorrect coupling H01R13/64
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/64 for high frequency, e.g. RJ 45
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0228 Compensation of cross-talk by a mutually correlated lay-out of printed circuit traces, e.g. for compensation of cross-talk in mounted connectors balanced signal pairs H05K1/0245
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0239 Signal transmission by AC coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/147 at least one of the printed circuits being bent or folded, e.g. by using a flexible printed circuit H05K1/148 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/162 incorporating printed capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10189 Non-printed connector

Abstract

Communications jacks include at least first through third jackwire contacts and a flexible substrate that has a first finger and a second finger. The first jackwire contact and the third jackwire contact are each mounted on the first finger and the second jackwire contact is mounted on the second finger.

Claims

1. A communications jack, comprising:

at least one flexible substrate that has a first cantilevered finger and a second cantilevered finger; and

a first jackwire contact that is mounted on both the first cantilevered finger and the second cantilevered finger.

2. The communications jack of claim 1, wherein a first end of the first jackwire contact is received within an aperture of the first finger and a second end of the first jackwire contact is received within an aperture of the second finger.

3. The communications jack of claim 1, wherein the at least one flexible substrate comprises a single flexible substrate that includes both the first and second cantilevered fingers.

4. The communications jack of claim 1, wherein the at least one flexible substrate comprises a first flexible substrate that includes the first cantilevered finger and a second flexible substrate that includes the second cantilevered finger.

5. The communications jack of claim 4, wherein a gap is provided between the first and second flexible substrates, and wherein the first jackwire contact spans the gap.

6. The communications jack of claim 3, wherein the single flexible substrate comprises a flexible printed circuit board.

7. The communications jack of claim 1, wherein the at least one flexible substrate further includes a third cantilevered finger, and the communications jack further includes a second jackwire contact that is mounted on both the first cantilevered finger and the third cantilevered finger.

8. The communications jack of claim 7, further comprising a third jackwire contact that is mounted between the first jackwire contact and the second jackwire contact.

9. The communications jack of claim 8, wherein the at least one flexible substrate further includes a fourth cantilevered finger and a fifth cantilevered finger, wherein the third jackwire contact is mounted on both the fourth and fifth cantilevered fingers.

10. The communications jack of claim 9, wherein the first jackwire contact and the second jackwire contact are substantially aligned in a first row, and wherein the third jackwire contact is substantially aligned with a fourth jackwire contact in a second row that is offset from the first row.

11. The communications jack of claim 1, wherein the communications jack comprises an RJ-45 jack that further includes second through eighth jackwire contacts, and wherein the first and second cantilevered fingers are part of a plurality of cantilevered fingers included on the at least one flexible substrate, wherein each of the second through eighth jackwire contacts is mounted on two of the plurality of cantilevered fingers.

12. An RJ-45 communications jack, comprising:

a housing having a plug aperture;

a flexible printed circuit board that extends into the plug aperture;

first through eighth jackwire contacts mounted to extend upwardly from the flexible printed circuit board, wherein each of the first through eighth jackwire contacts includes a plug contact region that is above the flexible printed circuit board and has first and second ends that are located below the flexible printed circuit board.

13. The RJ-45 jack of claim 12, wherein the flexible printed circuit board includes a plurality of cantilevered fingers, and wherein each of the first through eight jackwire contacts is mounted on one or more of the cantilevered fingers.

14. The RJ-45 jack of claim 13, wherein a first of the cantilevered fingers includes two of the first through eight jackwire contacts mounted thereon.

15. The RJ-45 jack of claim 14, wherein a second of the cantilevered fingers only has one of the first through eight jackwire contacts mounted thereon.

16. An RJ-45 communications jack, comprising:

a housing having a plug aperture;

at least one flexible printed circuit board that extends into the plug aperture,

wherein the at least one flexible printed circuit board includes a first plurality of forwardly-extending cantilevered fingers that are cantilevered towards a front of the plug aperture, and the at least one flexible printed circuit board further includes a plurality of rearwardly-extending cantilevered fingers that are cantilevered towards a back of the plug aperture.

17. The RJ-45 jack of claim 16, further comprising a first jackwire contact that is mounted through a first of the plurality of forwardly-extending cantilevered fingers and through a first of the plurality of rearwardly-extending cantilevered fingers.

18. The RJ-45 jack of claim 17, further comprising a second jackwire contact that is mounted through the first of the plurality of forwardly-extending cantilevered fingers and through a second of the plurality of rearwardly-extending cantilevered fingers.

19. The RJ-45 jack of claim 17, wherein the plurality of forwardly-extending cantilevered fingers and the plurality of rearwardly-extending cantilevered fingers are part of a single flexible printed circuit board.

20. The RJ-45 jack of claim 17, wherein the plurality of forwardly-extending cantilevered fingers are part of a first flexible printed circuit board and the plurality of rearwardly-extending cantilevered fingers are part of a second flexible printed circuit board.