Abstract
A wire containment cap includes a first side having a plurality of retainers for retaining wires, and a second side opposite the first side. Two sidewalls extend between the first side and the second side, and a support rib extends between the two sidewalls. The support rib includes two pair separators for separating wire pairs. In one embodiment, a plurality of sloped pair splitters is located between two of the retainers and includes a sharp point for cutting through insulation material on a pair of bonded wires. A communication jack assembly including a front portion and the wire containment cap is also described.
Claims
1. A wire containment cap comprising: an opening extending from a fist side of the wire containment cap to a second side of the wire containment cap; a spine extending from a top of the opening to a bottom of the opening; and a support rib intersecting the spine proximate to a center of the opening wherein support rib has two pair separators for separating a pair of wires, the pair separators extending from the support rib towards the first side of the wire cap.
2. The wire cap of claim 1 wherein the pair separators extend generally perpendicularly from the support rib.
3. The wire containment cap of claim 2 wherein the spine extends further towards the first side of the wire containment cap than does the support rib.
4. The wire containment cap of claim 3 wherein the spine extends towards the first side of the wire containment cap to substantially a same plane as the pair separators.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0009] FIG. 1 is a front upper right perspective view of a communication jack having a wire containment cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a front upper right partial-exploded view of the communication jack of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a front upper right perspective view of a wire containment cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a rear upper left perspective view of a wire containment cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a rear isometric view of a wire containment cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, showing cross-sections 6-6 and 7-7;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a wire containment cap taken across cross section 6-6 from FIG. 5, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a wire containment cap taken across cross section 7-7 from FIG. 5, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a wire pair alignment of opposite ends of a typical twisted pair cable with one example of an IDC terminal layout;
[0017] FIG. 9 illustrates diagrams 300 of six alternate IDC terminal layout arrangements along with the corresponding wire containment cap design for each of the arrangements. The diagrams 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and 312 merely provide examples of different terminal layouts for IDCs 1-8 and different wire containment cap designs, but these diagrams do not comprise all of the possible design options available;
[0018] FIG. 10 is an upper right perspective view of a wire containment cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 11 is a lower left perspective view of a wire containment cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] FIG. 1 is a front upper right perspective view of a communication jack 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The communication jack 100 includes a front portion 102 and a wire containment cap 104. The front portion 102 may include such components as plug interface contacts, a mechanism for coupling the jack to a plug, crosstalk compensation circuitry, and wire-displacement contacts to provide an electrical connection between the jack and a communication cable. Additional details on the wire containment cap 104 are described with reference to FIGS. 3-7, below.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a front upper right partial-exploded view of the communication jack 100 of FIG. 1. In the embodiment shown, the wire containment cap 104 is slidably mounted within the front portion 102. A retention clip 105 on the front portion 102 and a retention recess 108 on the wire containment cap 104 may be included to secure the wire containment cap 104 to the front portion 102. Other mounting and securing techniques may also be used.
[0022] FIGS. 3-7 illustrate the wire containment cap 104 in further detail, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The wire containment cap 104 includes a large opening in the back to allow a cable to be inserted, and allow the pairs to separate quickly as they transition toward IDC terminals. The opening consists of four individual quadrants with a spine 110 between pairs to minimize cable interaction. In addition to the retention recess 108 described above with reference to FIG. 2, the wire containment cap 104 includes a shoulder 106, a spine 110, two pair separators 112, a support rib 114 to support each pair separator 112, upper wire retainers 116, and lower wire retainers 118. FIGS. 3-7 illustrate additional details as well, such as a possible frame shape for the wire containment cap 104. In a preferred embodiment, the wire containment cap 104 is constructed of a plastic material, such as polycarbonate. Alternative materials, shapes, and subcomponents could be utilized instead of what is illustrated in FIGS. 3-7.
[0023] The shoulder 106 serves as a support and stopping mechanism to place the wire containment cap 104 in a correct physical position with respect to the front portion 102 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Alternative support and/or stopping mechanisms could also be used, such as one located on the front portion 102, or on the wire containment cap 104 in such a position that it abuts an interior location in the front portion 102, rather than the exterior abutment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0024] The pair separators 112 are supported by the spine 110 and support rib 114, and are positioned generally perpendicular to the support rib 114. The pair separators 112 are advantageous because when the wire pairs are aligned with the IDC terminals, at least one wire pair will typically have to flip over or under the other pairs on at least one end of a twisted pair cable. One reason this flip may occur is because the wire pair layout on one end of a twisted pair cable is a mirror image of the wire pair layout on the opposite end of the twisted pair cable. Another reason this flip may occur is because the Telecommunications Industry Association (“TIA”) standards allow structured cabling systems to be wired using two different wiring schemes. Finally, a flip may occur because not all cables have the same pair layout.
[0025] The relatively open design of the wire containment cap 104 shown in FIGS. 3-6 is due in large part to the spine 110 and support rib 114 being relatively thin. This open space allows a technician to more freely move wire pairs and individual wires within the wire containment cap 104 to make any required flips or bends. To complete the installation, the technician need only place wire pairs on the appropriate sides of the pair separators 112, secure individual wire pairs in the upper and lower wire retainers 116, 118, and attach the wire containment cap 104 to the front portion 102.
[0026] FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram 200 illustrating the wire pair alignment of opposite ends of a typical twisted pair cable. The example shown is an IDC terminal layout designed to match a typical twisted pair cable when that cable is wired with the more commonly used 568-B wiring scheme. In diagram 202 and diagram 204, the wire pairs are aligned according to the 568-A wiring scheme. Under 568-A, the green wire pair of the twisted pair cable should be terminated to IDC terminal (1,2), the orange wire pair should be terminated to IDC terminal (3,6), the blue wire pair should be terminated to IDC terminal (4,5), and the brown wire pair should be terminated to IDC terminal (7,8). Diagram 202 illustrates the 568-A alignment of the wire pairs on one end of the twisted pair cable where the blue wire pair and the brown wire pair must be flipped in order to terminate those wire pairs to the appropriate IDC terminals. Diagram 204 illustrates the 568-A alignment of the wire pairs on the other end of the twisted pair cable shown in diagram 202. The wire layout in diagram 204 is a mirror image of the wire pair layout in diagram 202 and therefore different pairs are flipped. Diagram 204 shows the green wire pair and orange wire pair being flipped in order to terminate those wire pairs to the appropriate IDC terminal.
[0027] Diagram 206 and diagram 208 illustrate wire pairs aligned according to the more commonly used 568-B wiring scheme. Under 568-B, the alignment of the blue wire pair and the brown wire pair should not change from 568-A but the orange wire pair should now be terminated to IDC terminal (1,2) and the green pair should now be terminated to IDC terminal (3,6). Diagram 206 illustrates the 568-B alignment of the wire pairs on one end of the twisted pair cable where the wire pairs are matched to the IDC terminals and no wire pair flipping is necessary. Diagram 208 illustrates the 568-B alignment of the wire pairs on the other end of the twisted pair cable shown in diagram 206. The wire layout in diagram 208 is a mirror image of the wire pair layout in diagram 206 and therefore wire pairs are flipped. Diagram 208 shows the green wire pair being flipped with the orange wire pair and the blue wire pair being flipped with the brown wire pair in order to terminate those wire pairs to the appropriate IDC terminals.
[0028] Referring back to FIGS. 3-7, the pair separators 112 are employed to minimize the interaction of wire pairs when they need to be flipped as described above. The separators 112 help to ensure that the wire pairs will only cross each other top to bottom or side to side, but not a combination of both.
[0029] The upper and lower wire retainers 116, 118 are positioned to present the terminated wires to the front portion 102, preferably in a perpendicular orientation to IDC terminals that may be included as part of the front portion 102. In the illustrated embodiment, each wire retainers 116, 118 includes an inner portion and an outer portion (wire restraining features), with an intermediate portion through which the IDC terminals may make electrical contact with the wire by piercing insulation on the wire to make a metallic contact. The inner and outer portions in essence serve as bridge supports on either end of the wire to allow the wire insulation to be pierced when the wire containment cap is pressed into the front portion 102. The wire retainers 116, 118 are preferably spaced at regular intervals to allow for consistent pair-to-pair separation. When utilized in combination with the spine 110, pair separators 112, and support rib 114, improved electrical performance may be realized.
[0030] In typical operation, an installer may place a cable having an outer jacket diameter up to 0.310″ into the rear of the wire containment cap 104 and separately route each twisted wire pair (blue, green, orange, and brown) as appropriate. As a result, the wire termination process is simplified and electrical performance is improved over typical jacks. The outer jacket diameter may vary from one application to the next, depending on the particular standards in place, for example. Typical maximums are 0.250″ for Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) and 0.310″ for Shielded Twisted Pair (STP).
[0031] Wire containment cap 104 shown in FIGS. 3-7 was generally designed around an IDC terminal layout substantially similar to the IDC terminal layout in FIG. 8. However, the techniques for wire pair separation utilized by wire containment cap 104 can be utilized generally to separate wire pairs in communication jacks with a variety of IDC terminal layout arrangements.
[0032] FIG. 9 illustrates diagrams 300 of six alternate IDC terminal layout arrangements along with the corresponding wire containment cap design for each of those arrangements. The diagrams 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and 312 merely provide examples of different IDC terminal layouts and wire containment cap designs, but these diagrams do not comprise all of the possible design options available.
[0033] FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate an alternative wire containment cap 400. In this alternative embodiment, the wire containment cap 400 includes a plurality of wire retainers 402 that each flex to allow a wide range of wire sizes to be inserted and held in place after insertion. A small barb on each of the wire retainers 402 retains the wires so that they may be clipped to remain in position until installation. This allows the same connector assembly to be used for multiple wire sizes, thereby improving ease of installation for the technician. The wire containment cap 400 also includes a plurality of sloped pair splitters 404 that assist in maintaining a constant number of twists on the cable end of a wire pair. Each sloped pair splitter 404 terminates in a relatively sharp edge between neighboring wire retainers 402. This sharp edge can cut through insulation material holding bonded pairs together, allowing the wires to be placed into the wire retainers 402 without untwisting and pulling the wires apart by hand.
[0034] While certain features and embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the invention encompasses all modifications and enhancements within the scope and spirit of the following claims.
