U.S. patent application number 11/379712 was filed with the patent office on 2007-11-08 for high performance jack.
This patent application is currently assigned to Surtec Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to Chou-Hsing CHEN.
Application Number | 20070259571 11/379712 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38661736 |
Filed Date | 2007-11-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070259571 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHEN; Chou-Hsing |
November 8, 2007 |
HIGH PERFORMANCE JACK
Abstract
An electrical connector jack is provided including a body with a
support portion and a plug receiving portion defining an opening. A
circuit board is mounted to the support portion to position the
circuit board relative to the plug receiving portion. The circuit
board has interconnecting conductor circuit traces respectively
extending from spring contact termination locations. A plurality of
terminated spring contact conductors is provided with each
terminating at a respective one of the spring contact termination
locations, each of the terminated spring contact conductors having
a contact zone. A plurality of supported spring contact conductors
are supported by the body and extend therefrom. The supported
spring contact conductors each have a plug contact zone and a
terminated spring contact conductor zone. With contact of the plug
contact zone with a plug, the supported spring contact conductors
are respectively in contact with respective contact zones of the
terminated spring contact conductors providing a transmission path
from the plug to the circuit traces of the circuit board.
Inventors: |
CHEN; Chou-Hsing; (Liutu
Industrial Zone Keelung City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCGLEW & TUTTLE, PC
P.O. BOX 9227
SCARBOROUGH STATION
SCARBOROUGH
NY
10510-9227
US
|
Assignee: |
Surtec Industries, Inc.
Liutu Industrial Zone Keelung
TW
|
Family ID: |
38661736 |
Appl. No.: |
11/379712 |
Filed: |
April 21, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/676 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10S 439/941 20130101;
H01R 13/6658 20130101; H05K 2201/10189 20130101; H01R 13/6466
20130101; H01R 24/64 20130101; H05K 1/162 20130101; H05K 1/0228
20130101; H01R 13/6474 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
439/676 |
International
Class: |
H01R 24/00 20060101
H01R024/00 |
Claims
1. An electrical connector jack comprising: a body with a support
portion and a plug receiving portion defining an opening; a circuit
board mounted to said support portion to position said circuit
board relative to said plug receiving portion, said circuit board
having interconnecting conductor circuit traces respectively
extending from spring contact termination locations; and a
plurality of terminated spring contact conductors each terminating
at a respective one of said spring contact termination locations,
each of said terminated spring contact conductors having a contact
zone; a plurality of supported spring contact conductors supported
by said body and extending therefrom, said supported spring contact
conductors each having a plug contact zone and a terminated spring
contact conductor zone, wherein with contact of said plug contact
zone with a plug, said supported spring contact conductors are
respectively in contact with respective said contact zones of said
terminated spring contact conductors providing a transmission path
from said plug to said circuit traces of said circuit board.
2. An electrical connector jack according to claim 1, wherein: at
least one of said supported spring contact conductors and said
terminated spring contact conductors are positioned to form a
capacitance with a respective nonadjacent neighboring supported
spring contact conductor and terminated spring contact conductor
for compensating coupling at said plug contact zone between
adjacent supported spring contact conductors and terminated spring
contact conductors.
3. An electrical connector jack according to claim 2, wherein:
adjacent said spring contact termination locations are spaced apart
or offset on said circuit board.
4. An electrical connector jack according to claim 1, wherein:
adjacent said supported spring contact conductors and adjacent said
terminated spring contact conductors are shaped differently or
offset angularly or positionally to avoid coupling of adjacent said
supported spring contact conductors and adjacent said terminated
spring contact conductors.
5. An electrical connector jack according to claim 3, wherein:
adjacent said terminated spring contact conductors are offset to
avoid coupling with adjacent terminated spring contact
conductors.
6. An electrical connectorjack according to claim 1, wherein
contacting said terminated spring contact conductors and supported
spring contact conductors provide a conductive path from said plug
contact zone to a respective said spring contact termination
location and have a conductive path that is 6.2 mm or less.
7. An electrical connector jack according to claim 1, wherein
contacting said terminated spring contact conductors and supported
spring contact conductors provide a conductive path from said plug
contact zone to a respective said spring contact termination
location and wherein pairs of conductive paths form part of
transmission lines and further comprising: a first/second crosstalk
compensation element providing a crosstalk compensation signal
between a first interconnecting conductor of one line and a second
interconnecting conductor of another line, said crosstalk
compensation element being applied at or closely adjacent to a
respective said termination location.
8. An electrical connector according to claim 7, further comprising
a second/first crosstalk compensation element providing a
second/first crosstalk compensation signal between a second
interconnecting conductor of said one line and a first
interconnecting conductor of said another line, wherein said
first/second crosstalk compensation element and said second/first
crosstalk compensation element are the only compensation element
connected between said first line and said second line on said
circuit board.
9. An electrical connector according to claim 7, further comprising
another crosstalk compensation element providing a second phase
crosstalk compensation signal between an interconnecting conductor
of said first line and an interconnecting conductor of said second
line.
10. An electrical connector according to claim 9, wherein said
another crosstalk compensation element providing a further
crosstalk compensation signal is applied less than 7.2 mm from a
termination location of the interconnecting conductor of said one
line and the interconnecting conductor of said second line.
11. An electrical connector according to claim 9, wherein each of
said interconnecting conductors is connected to another termination
location and said another crosstalk compensation element providing
a further crosstalk compensation signal is applied at two of said
another termination locations.
12. A connector jack according to claim 1, further comprising:
plural insulation displacement contacts wherein each of said
interconnecting conductors is connected to a respective another
termination location and each of said insulation displacement
contacts is terminated to a respective another termination
locations, said body cooperating with said insulation displacement
contacts to form wire receiving slots for terminating wires to said
insulation displacement contacts.
13. A connector jack according to claim 1, further comprising a
plug having plug contact blades wherein each said terminated spring
contact conductor is located near a plug contact blade.
14. A connector jack according to claim 1, wherein at least some of
each said terminated spring contact conductor are disposed tangent
to a rotation circle of the supported spring contact conductor.
15. A connector jack according to claim 1, where the terminal
element is almost parallel to a plug access axis.
16. A modular jack comprising: a body with a support portion and a
plug receiving portion defining an opening; a circuit board mounted
to said support portion to position said circuit board relative to
said plug receiving portion, said circuit board having
interconnecting conductor circuit traces respectively extending
from spring contact termination locations to contact termination
locations; a plurality of contact springs, each of said contact
springs being supported by said body; and a plurality of terminal
elements, each of said terminal elements being terminated to a
respective one of said spring contact termination locations, each
of said contact springs being brought into electrical contact with
a respective one of said terminal elements upon a plug being mated
in said plug receiving portion to define a signal path from a mated
plug blade through a respective said supported contact spring and a
respective said terminal element terminated to a respective one of
said contact termination locations.
17. A modular jack according to claim 16, wherein the jack mates
with a plug having plug contact blades wherein each said terminated
spring contact conductor is located near a plug contact blade
position of a mated plug.
18. A modular jack according to claim 16, wherein said terminal
element is disposed tangent to a rotation circle of the supported
spring contact conductor.
19. A modular jack according to claim 16, wherein the terminal
element is almost parallel to a plug access axis.
20. A modular jack according to claim 16, wherein each wherein non
adjacent contact springs are shaped to form a capacitor to
compensate an offending signal due to the crosstalk between plug
blades of a mated plug.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to electrical connectors such
as RJ style plug and jack connectors for communications systems and
more particularly to such connectors which attain a high level of
throughput transmission performance such as TIA (Telecommunications
Industry Association)/EIA (Electronic Industries Alliance) category
six performance (CAT 6) or higher.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The increasing Internet traffic and the increased complexity
and use of web applications has forced network providers and
network infrastructure managers to seek enhanced transmission
speeds for network equipment. The TIA/EIA set up a high-performance
cabling category to fulfill this requirement often referred to as
CAT 6.
[0003] Such high-performance cabling uses a format with RJ 45 jacks
and plugs. The agreed to format for the lines at such a connector
involves a line with a center pair of conductors at the connector
and a split pair of conductors at the connector. One conductor
contact of the split pair is on each side of the center pair
conductor contacts. When such an RJ 45 plug mates with an RJ 45
jack with signals at such high frequencies (as per the standard),
the split pair will suffer a significant Near End Cross Talk (NEXT)
problem from the other pairs.
[0004] It is known that electrical signals of one pair of
conductors may be coupled onto the other pair of conductors for
compensating or canceling crosstalk. JP 64 [1989] 20690 (JP '690)
discloses a modular telephone jack with a crosstalk prevention
function where a capacitor is installed within a housing. A printed
circuit board has traces connected to the capacitors and also
connected between insulation displacement contacts (IDCs) and
contact springs of the jack. In FIG. 4 an arrangement is shown
wherein the traces are used to form a capacitor, to counteract the
crosstalk. These traces cross each other with left to right
crossing. Discrete capacitors may also be connected between
transmission paths to compensate crosstalk (FIG. 3). JP '690 shows
the use of both discrete capacitors connected to interconnecting
traces of a circuit board to reduce crosstalk in jacks as well as
the positioning of the interconnecting traces of the circuit boards
providing capacitive interaction to reduce crosstalk.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,358 (US '358) discloses an electrical
connector that achieves high transmission performance (CAT 6) by
providing compensation stages for introducing predetermined amounts
of compensation between pairs of conductors. Two or more of such
compensation stages are provided. A first compensation stage adds a
compensation signal that is time delayed with respect to the other
compensation stages. In the first stage compensating crosstalk is
introduced between the pairs of a first predetermined magnitude and
phase in a given frequency. In a second stage, compensating
crosstalk is introduced between pairs that has a second magnitude
and phase in a given frequency. The first stage magnitude is larger
than the offending crosstalk and the second stage reintroduces the
offending crosstalk. US '358 uses multiple compensation stages to
compensate for phase issues because, at high frequencies,
compensating crosstalk cannot be introduced that is exactly
180.degree. out of phase with the offending crosstalk.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of the invention to provide a connector jack
that includes spring contacts with conductor pairs for plural lines
defining an RJ style contact interface for connection with an RJ
style plug and with interconnecting circuitry on a printed circuit
board and with crosstalk compensation provided to achieve high
levels of throughput and performance.
[0007] It is a further object of the invention to provide a
solution to the desire to provide a high performance jack where the
signal path between plug contact and the terminal (at which
compensation may be easily applied) is preferably limited to 6.2 mm
and to avoid shortening the spring contacts below 1.5 mm such that
the spring contacts have the proper strength under a predefined
deflection.
[0008] According to the invention, a modular jack is provided
comprising a body with a support portion and a plug receiving
portion defining an opening. A circuit board is mounted to the
support portion to position the circuit board relative to the plug
receiving portion. The circuit board has interconnecting conductor
circuit traces respectively extending from spring contact
termination locations. A signal path is provided from a mated plug
blade through a supported contact spring and a terminal element
terminated to the contact termination location.
[0009] The jack advantageously mates with a plug having plug
contact blades wherein each the terminated spring contact conductor
is located near a plug contact blade position of a mated plug. The
terminal element may advantageously be disposed tangent to a
rotation circle of the supported spring contact conductor.
[0010] According to another aspect of the invention, an electrical
connector jack is provided comprising a body with a support portion
and a plug receiving portion defining an opening. A circuit board
is mounted to the support portion to position the circuit board
relative to the plug receiving portion. The circuit board has
interconnecting conductor circuit traces respectively extending
from spring contact termination locations. A plurality of
terminated spring contact conductors are provided, each terminating
at a respective one of the spring contact termination locations.
Each of the terminated spring contact conductors has a contact
zone. A plurality of supported spring contact conductors are
supported by the body and extend therefrom. The supported spring
contact conductors each have a plug contact zone and a terminated
spring contact conductor zone. With contact of the plug contact
zone with a plug, the supported spring contact conductors are
respectively in contact with a respective contact zone of the
terminated spring contact conductors providing a transmission path
from the plug to the circuit traces of the circuit board.
[0011] At least one of the supported spring contact conductors and
the terminated spring contact conductors may advantageously be
positioned to form a capacitance with a respective nonadjacent
neighboring supported spring contact conductor and terminated
spring contact conductor for compensating coupling at the plug
contact zone between adjacent supported spring contact conductors
and terminated spring contact conductors.
[0012] The adjacent spring contact termination locations may
advantageously be spaced apart or offset on the circuit board.
[0013] The adjacent supported spring contact conductors and
adjacent terminated spring contact conductors may advantageously be
shaped differently or offset angularly or positionally to avoid
coupling of the adjacent supported spring contact conductors and
the adjacent terminated spring contact conductors.
[0014] The adjacent terminated spring contact conductors may
advantageously be offset to avoid coupling with adjacent terminated
spring contact conductors.
[0015] Contacting the terminated spring contact conductors and
supported spring contact conductors provide a conductive path from
the plug contact zone to a respective spring contact termination
location and have a conductive path that is 6.2 mm or less.
[0016] With contact between the terminated spring contact
conductors and the supported spring contact conductors a conductive
path is provided from the plug contact zone to a respective spring
contact termination location. Pairs of conductive paths form part
of transmission lines.
[0017] A first/second crosstalk compensation element providing a
crosstalk compensation signal between a first interconnecting
conductor of one line and a second interconnecting conductor of
another line may advantageously be provided. A second/first
crosstalk compensation element providing a second/first crosstalk
compensation signal between a second interconnecting conductor of
the one line and a first interconnecting conductor of the another
line may advantageously be provided. Each crosstalk compensation
element may advantageously be applied at or closely adjacent to a
respective termination location.
[0018] Providing crosstalk compensation between lines at a location
close to the source of the crosstalk coupling is advantageous (see
U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 11/360,101 filed Feb. 23, 2006
and 11/369,257 filed Mar. 7, 2006, incorporated herein by
reference). Such an introduction of a crosstalk compensation signal
may be in the form of single compensating coupling applied along
the transmission paths as well as staged compensating coupling
applied along the transmission paths. Such single phase (one
location along the transmission paths) and multi-phase (plural
locations along the transmission paths) crosstalk compensation is
applied at a distance from the source of the crosstalk coupling.
The invention allows a minimization of the distance from the source
of the crosstalk coupling to the first or only crosstalk
compensation between paths of two transmission lines. This is done
while also providing good spring contact force for good plug
connection attributes.
[0019] The invention provides the spring contact function and the
terminal function by different elements. A conventional contact
spring, which could afford the predefined deflection requirement,
is used to contact both with the mated module plug (RJ type plug)
and the terminal element (terminated spring contact conductor). The
terminal element is used to pass the signal to a PCB. By locating
the terminal element very close to the plug contact point, it is
possible to reduce the signal path length between the plug and the
PCB terminal.
[0020] The design may advantageously locate the terminal element
almost tangent to the rotation circle of the supported contact
spring so that the deflection of the terminal element or the
supported contact spring is minimized.
[0021] The terminal element may be parallel to the plug access axis
so that the signal traveling length from the plug to PCB is reduced
when a plug is mated.
[0022] The terminal element may advantageously further form a
capacitor with the supported contact spring and neighboring
nonadjacent terminal elements and supported contact springs to
compensate the offending signal due to the crosstalk between plug
blades and adjacent supported spring contacts.
[0023] The various features of novelty which characterize the
invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed
to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better
understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and
specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the
accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which preferred
embodiments of the invention are illustrated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] In the drawings:
[0025] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a high-performance jack
according to the invention;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a top side view of the high-performance jack of
FIG. 1 with a cover part removed;
[0027] FIG. 3 is a side cutaway view of the high-performance jack
of FIG. 1;
[0028] FIG. 4 is a partially sectional view of the high-performance
jack of FIG. 1 shown with a RJ type plug in a connected (mated)
position showing the foreground, with the background not shown;
[0029] FIG. 5 is a partially sectional view of the high-performance
jack of FIG. 1 shown with a RJ type plug in a connected (mated)
position with the section taken in a different sectional plane than
that of FIG. 4 showing the foreground, with the background not
shown;
[0030] FIG. 6A is a view of one side of a circuit board used in the
embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0031] FIG. 6B is a view of the other side of the circuit board
used in the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0032] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a high-performance jack
according to another embodiment of the invention;
[0033] FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of the high-performance
jack of FIG. 7 shown with the cover removed;
[0034] FIG. 9 is a side cutaway view of the high-performance jack
of FIG. 7;
[0035] FIG. 10 is a partially sectional view of the
high-performance jack of FIG. 7 shown with a RJ type plug in a
connected (mated) position showing only one of each type of
supported spring contact conductor and one of each type of
terminated spring contact conductor (and not showing other spring
contact conductors in the background);
[0036] FIG. 11A is a view of the other side of the circuit board
used in the embodiment of FIG. 7; and
[0037] FIG. 11B is a view of the other side of the circuit board
used in the embodiment of FIG. 7.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0038] Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention
comprises a high-performance jack. A first embodiment is shown in
FIG. 1 with the high-performance jack generally designated 10. The
high-performance jack includes a jack body formed with a base part
12 connected to an insulation displacement contact (IDC) part 16
and a cover part 14. FIG. 2 shows the structure with the cover part
14 removed. The cover part 14 defines a plug opening 24 into which
a plug 32 may be inserted in a plug insertion direction (having a
plug insertion direction axis). The IDC part 16 provides support
for IDCs 18 terminated to a circuit board 35. The IDC part 16 has
slots 19 for terminating wires in the IDCs 28. This region may be
covered with a cover part 30 (FIG. 3).
[0039] The base part 12 supports the circuit board 35 and also
supports a plurality of supported spring contact conductors
designated 20 and 22. As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the
supported spring contact conductors 20 and 22 are fixed at one end
to the base part 12 and extend as a cantilever spring from the
fixed support point. The supported spring contact conductors 20 all
have the same shape and the supported spring contact conductors 22
all have the same shape. The shape of the sets of conductors 20
advantageously may be different from the shape of the supported
spring contact conductors 22. The spring contact conductors are
arranged with every other supported spring contact conductor 20, 22
being of the shape of supported spring contact conductor 20 and
every other supported spring contact conductor being the shape of
supported spring contact conductor 22. With this there is less
coupling between adjacent supported spring contact conductors 20
and 22. Additionally, as all of the nonadjacent neighboring
supported spring contact conductors 22 have the same shape, these
neighboring conductors 22 form capacitors based on some signal
coupling caused by the similar shape and position of the
nonadjacent supported spring contact conductors 22. As all of the
nonadjacent supported spring contact conductors 20 have the same
shape these form capacitors based on some signal coupling caused by
the similar shape/position of the nonadjacent supported spring
contact conductors 20. This can provide some compensation for
crosstalk that occurs. This crosstalk particularly occurs at the
plug contacts 33 and between adjacent supported spring contact
conductors 20 and 22 at a plug contact region 21 of the supported
spring contact conductors 20 and a plug contact region 23 of the
supported spring contact conductors 22.
[0040] As can best be seen in FIG. 3 two different types of
terminated spring contact conductors 40 and 42 are provided. Each
of the terminated spring contact conductors 40 and 42 terminate at
spring contact termination locations 34 on printed circuit board
35. These termination locations 34 are offset relative to adjacent
termination locations 34 providing less coupling between adjacent
spring contact conductors 40 and 42. Further, all of the terminated
spring contact conductors 42 have the same shape and all of the
terminated spring contact conductors 40 have the same shape. Based
on the offset and the shaping, a capacitance is formed between
nonadjacent neighboring terminated spring contact conductors 40. A
capacitance is also formed between nonadjacent neighboring
terminated spring contact conductors 42. This provides some
compensation for crosstalk that occurs between adjacent supported
spring contact conductors in the plug contact regions 21 and 23
(and that caused from the plug contacts 33).
[0041] Based on the shape and position of the spring contacts 20,
22, 40 and 42, with a RJ type plug 32 in a contact position,
inserted into the opening 24 (shown in FIGS. 4 and 5), each of the
contacts 20 is moved into electrical contact with a contact 40
whereby a contact surface 25 electrically contacts a contact
surface 47 to provide a transmission signal path. In a similar
manner with a plug 32 inserted in the contact position, each spring
contact 22 is moved into electrical contact with a spring contact
42 whereby a contact surface 27 electrically contacts a contact
surface 44 to provide a transmission signal path. The movement of
the supported spring contact conductors 20, 22 is based on the
shape of these and the insertion direction of the plug to provide
each the supported spring contact conductors 20, 22 with a rotation
circle or movement path. The terminal spring contacts 40 and 42 is
advantageously supported almost tangent to or tangent to the
respective rotation circle. The terminal spring contacts 40 and 42
may be almost parallel to the plug access or insertion axis.
[0042] With this construction, the overall transmission signal path
from the plug contact zone 23 to the termination locations 34 on
the circuit board may be made short. The supported spring contacts
20, 22 and to some degree the terminated spring contacts 40 and 42
contribute to the plug contact force required. Transmission paths
of determined coupling and length may be advantageously provided
without jeopardizing the spring contact force which is required for
proper mating with the plug 32.
[0043] FIGS. 6A and 6B respectively show a first and second side of
the circuit board 35. The circuit board 35 has the termination
locations 34 for each of the transmission paths numbered 1 through
8. The circuit board 35 has interconnecting conductor circuit
traces 37 respectively extending from spring contact termination
locations 34 to IDC termination locations 39. The conductors are
provided to present transmission paths from spring contact
conductors 40 and 42 to the IDCs 18. Two transmission paths
together provide a transmission line. In this case, the paths 1 and
2 form a transmission line, the paths 3 and 6 form a transmission
line, the paths 4 and 5 form a transmission line and the paths 7
and 8 form a transmission line. The split paths 3 and 6 are on each
side of the paths 4 and 5, presenting crosstalk coupling problems
at the plug and in the plug contact zone. Other crosstalk occurs
between adjacent plug contacts and in adjacent supported spring
contact conductors 20 and 22 in the plug contact zone. A first
compensation element 46 is provided on the circuit board for
compensation between the transmission paths 4 and 6 respectively of
the transmission lines 3, 6 and 4, 5. A first compensation element
86 is provided on the circuit board for compensation between the
transmission paths 8 and 6 respectively of the transmission lines
3,6 and 7, 8. A first compensation element 13 is provided on the
circuit board for compensation between the transmission paths 1 and
3 of respectively of the transmission lines 3,6 and 1, 2. These
first compensation elements 46, 86 and 13 are advantageously
connected to the termination locations 34 of the respective
transmission paths, providing the compensation at a short distance
from the location the crosstalk is introduced.
[0044] FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment according to the
invention with a high-performance jack generally designated 50. The
high-performance jack 50 includes a jack body formed with a base
part 52 (see FIG. 8) connected to an insulation displacement
contact (IDC) part 56 housing IDCs 58 and a cover part 54. The IDC
part 56 has slots 66 for terminating wires to IDCs. FIG. 8 shows
the structure with the cover part 54 removed showing the base part
52 supporting a plurality of supported spring contact conductors
designated 60 and 62. As can be seen in FIG. 10, the supported
spring contact conductors 60 and 62 are fixed at one end to the
base part 52 and extend as a cantilever spring from the fixed
support point. The supported spring contact conductors 60 all have
the same shape and the supported spring contact conductors 62 all
have the same shape with the shape of the sets of conductors 60
different from the shape of the supported spring contact conductors
62. The spring contact conductors 60, 62 are arranged alternating
between supported spring contact conductors 60 and 62 providing
less coupling between adjacent supported spring contact conductors
60 and 62. Additionally, as all of the nonadjacent neighboring
supported spring contact conductors 62 have the same shape, these
neighboring conductors form capacitors. The same is the case with
the nonadjacent neighboring supported spring contact conductors 60
to provide some compensation for crosstalk that occurs (at the plug
contacts and between contact conductors at a plug contact regions
61 and 63).
[0045] As can best be seen in FIG. 9 two different types of
terminated spring contact conductors 80 and 82 are provided. Each
of the terminated spring contact conductors 80 and 82 terminate at
spring contact termination locations 34 on printed circuit board
75. These termination locations 34 are offset relative to adjacent
termination locations 34 providing less coupling between adjacent
spring contact conductors 80 and 82. Further, all of the terminated
spring contact conductors 82 have the same shape and all of the
terminated spring contact conductors 80 have the same shape. In
this embodiment with the offset of the termination locations 34,
the basic shape of the spring contact conductors 80 and 82 is the
same. Based on the offset, a capacitance is formed between
nonadjacent neighboring terminated spring contact conductors 80 and
a capacitance is formed between nonadjacent neighboring terminated
spring contact conductors 82. This provides some compensation for
crosstalk that occurs between adjacent supported spring contact
conductors plug contact region 61 and plug contact region 63 (and
compensation for crosstalk that occurs between plug contacts).
[0046] Based on the shape and position of the spring contacts 60,
62, 80 and 82, with a plug 32 in a contact position, inserted into
the opening 64, each of the contacts 60 is moved into electrical
contact with a contact 80 whereby a contact surface 65 electrically
contacts a contact surface 84 to provide a transmission signal
path. In a similar manner with a plug 32 inserted in the contact
position, each spring contact 62 is moved into electrical contact
with a spring contact 82 whereby a contact surface 67 electrically
contacts a contact surface 86 to provide a signal transmission
signal path. The movement of the supported spring contact
conductors 60, 62 is based on the shape of these and the insertion
direction of the plug to provide each of the supported spring
contact conductors 60, 62 with a rotation circle or movement path.
The terminal spring contacts 80 and 82 is advantageously supported
almost tangent to or tangent to the respective rotation circle. The
terminal spring contacts 80 and 82 may be almost parallel to the
plug access or insertion axis.
[0047] With this construction, the overall transmission signal path
from the plug contact zone 61, 63 to the termination locations on
the circuit board may be made short. The supported spring contacts
60, 62 and to some degree the terminated spring contacts 80 and 82
contribute to the plug contact force required. Transmission paths
of determined coupling and length may be advantageously provided
without jeopardizing the spring contact force which is required for
proper mating with the plug 32.
[0048] FIGS. 11A and 11B respectively show a first and second side
of the circuit board 75. The circuit board 75 has the termination
locations 34 for each of various transmission paths numbered 1
through 8. The circuit board 75 has interconnecting conductor
circuit traces 37 respectively extending from spring contact
termination locations 34 to IDC termination locations 39. The
transmission paths numbered 1 to 8 are from spring contact
conductors 60 and 62 to the IDCs 58. Two transmission paths
together provide a transmission line. In this case, the paths 1 and
2 form a transmission line, the paths 3 and 6 form a transmission
line, the paths 4 and 5 form a transmission line and the paths 7
and 8 form a transmission line. The split paths 3 and 6 are on each
side of the paths 4 and 5, presenting problems as to crosstalk
coupling at the plug and in the plug contact zone. Other crosstalk
occurs between adjacent plug contacts and in adjacent supported
spring contact conductors 60 and 62 in the plug contact zone. A
first compensation element 46 is provided on the circuit board for
compensation between the transmission paths 4 and 6 respectively of
the transmission lines 3,6 and 4, 5. In this embodiment another
first compensation element 53 is provided on the circuit board for
compensation between the transmission paths 5 and 3 respectively of
the transmission lines 4, 5 and 3, 6. A first compensation element
86 is provided on the circuit board for compensation between the
transmission paths 8 and 6 respectively of the transmission lines
3,6 and 7, 8. A first compensation element 13 is provided on the
circuit board for compensation between the transmission paths 1 and
3 of respectively of the transmission lines 3,6 and 1, 2. These
first compensation elements 46, 53, 86 and 13 are advantageously
connected to the termination locations 34 of the respective
transmission paths, providing the compensation at a short distance
form the location the crosstalk is introduced.
[0049] While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown
and described in detail to illustrate the application of the
principles of the invention, it will be understood that the
invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such
principles.
* * * * *