SUITABLE COMMUNICATION PLUG CONNECTORS

This invention relates to electronic communication devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to connectors used to attach a communications line to a computer and which are compliant with one or more standards.

Telecommunications services have become an integral part of modern society. The number of telephones in the United States alone exceeds 150 million. Moreover, communications within an organization between people and machines further increases the size of the communications network. The vast majority of the communications devices now in use require a wired connection to a communications line. Such communications devices include, for example, telephones, facsimile machines, modems, and local area network (LAN) adapters. Wireless communications, however, are becoming more commonplace in many instances.

In order to conveniently attach a communications line to a communications device, standard connectors have been promulgated. The most popular of these connectors is known in the art as the RJ-xx series of connectors. Of the RJ-xx series of connectors, the RJ-11, RJ-12, and RJ-45 connectors are widely used. The RJ-11 connector comprises a six contact plug and a corresponding jack which is standardized in the industrialized world. The conventional six contact RJ-11 connector has the desirable attributes of having both low cost and high reliability.

The RJ-xx series of connectors, mostly the RJ-11 connector, is commonly used to attach a communications device such as a telephone, facsimile machine, or a modem (all of which may be integrated into a single device) to a communications line. Such devices are becoming smaller, so small that one or more dimensions of the customary RJ-11 jack, also referred to as a receptacle, is larger than a corresponding dimension of communications device. For example, communication devices which comply with the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA), also referred to as PC Card, standards have dimensions of about 2.1 inches by about 3.4 inches with a thickness of only 3.5mm, 5mm, 8mm, or 10.5mm. Such small communications devices cannot incorporate customary RJ-xx series receptacles but still require compatibility with RJ-xx series plugs in order to attach to a communications line.

US Patent no. 5,660,568 (Moshayedi) provides a communications card having a releasable adaptor which interconnects an electrical connector of a transmission media line to the communications card. The adaptor can assume an integrated attachment position within the communication card or be used to form an extension to the communications card to accommodate more restrictive socket configurations.

US Patent no. 5,660,568 (Moshayedi) discloses: A communications card comprising a recess in a face of the card for receiving an RJ-xx series plug, further comprising a channel formed in a wall of the recess to hold the biased clip of an RJ-xx plug received in the recess by receiving the arm of the clip of an RJ-xx series plug and engaging the ridge of the clip of the RJ-xx plug.

US Patent no. 5,477,418 (MacGregor et al.) provides a connector system for an add-in PC card wherein the connector is a RJ-type universal jack consisting of a socket and a plug. A carriage having a socket portion and a contact portion is mounted in a cavity in the card so that the carriage can slide in and out of the cavity between a first position within the cavity and a second position outside of the cavity with the socket is electrically connected to a printed circuit board.

U.S. Patent No. 5,183,404 to Aldous provides several schemes for providing a miniature RJ-11 compatible receptacle. Disadvantageously, many of the schemes set forth in Aldous leave the electrical contacts exposed to the surrounding environment. Thus, a user may come in contact with the electrical contacts of the plug, which in the U.S. may carry more than 80 volt. Further, since the contacts of the RJ-11 plug are exposed, the contacts may be inadvertently shorted together. Thus, the scheme included in the Aldous reference presents a danger of electrical shock and electrical short circuit. Moreover, some of the receptacle schemes disclosed in the Aldous reference are particularly prone to breakage and damage because of inherently weak structures.

Thus, it would be an advance in the art to provide a miniaturized communications connector which overcomes these drawbacks.

In view of the above described state of the art, the present invention seeks to realize the following objects and advantages.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a communications line receptacle for use with a miniaturized communications device wherein the electrical contacts are shielded or isolated from the surrounding environment.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a miniaturized communications line connector which is resistant to breakage and which can be stored out of the way when not being used.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a communications line receptacle which is readily replaceable if broken.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a communications card which can be readily adapted to meet various communications standards.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a communications card which can provide wireless communications.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide communications line receptacles which allow one or more RJ-xx series plugs to be connected to a communications card while the external dimensions of the communications card meet an established standard when not being used and also such that the communications line receptacles occupy minimal space in the communications card.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the description and claims which follow, or may be learned by the practice of the invention.

The present invention provides an apparatus for receiving an RJ-xx series plug and making electrical connection with at least two conductors on the plug and conveying any signals on the conductors to a communications device such as a telephone, facsimile machine, modem, local area network adapter, or some other device.

The apparatus includes a body, also referred to as a body means. A recess, or recess means, is provided on the body. In some embodiments the recess means preferably includes an open first end and a closed second end. In other embodiments, the recess means preferably includes open first and second ends. The recess means preferably has dimensions such that the plug is closely received therein. A means is also provided for releasably engaging the plug such that the plug is releasably held in the recess.

At least first and second electrical conductors are provided in the recess. Each of the electrical conductors are positioned such that they have electrical continuity with the electrical contacts in the plug when the plug is received into the recess. A means for conveying any electrical signal present on the electrical contacts to the communications device is also provided.

A replaceable direct access arrangement unit allows the communications card to be interfaced with telephone systems, or other communications systems, which may each require adherence to a different standard. When necessary, a user merely replaces an existing direct access arrangement unit with another direct access arrangement unit which is compatible with the wired telephone system or the wireless communications system that is available to the user.

Also preferably included with the recess means is an expandable means for isolating the contacts in the plug from electrical continuity with an object in a surrounding environment such that passage of current from one or more of the electrical contacts to an object present in the surrounding environment is prevented. The expandable means is located at the second end of the recess and is preferably a stretchable membrane. The expandable means expands to accommodate a plug received in the recess and tends to return, and can be returned by a user, to a position within the thickness of the body when not being used so the apparatus assumes a compact configuration.

Embodiments of the present invention include receptacle modules which receive an RJ-xx series plug. One preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a means for holding the body which receives the RJ-xx series plug. The means for holding the receptacle body or the receptacle module can be easily installed in and removed from the communications device by the user. The present invention allows the body to be retracted into and extended from the communications device while still allowing easy removal and replacement of the body making up the receptacle module. Another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes means for pivotally rotating the body into and out of the communications device such that the body is substantially entirely within the communications device when not being used and the body is rotated to a position where the recess which receives the plug is accessible to the user when desired.

In order to better appreciate how the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a lap top computer with a communications card partially inserted therein and an embodiment of the present invention ready to be coupled to the communications card.
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of a communications card in accordance with the present invention having an RJ-xx series receptacle placed directly in the end thereof.

As is evident to those skilled in the art, advances in technology are allowing many different electrical devices to be made smaller than was contemplated just a few years ago.

Represented in Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a lap top computer 8. In order to meet the demand for devices utilized with such lap top computers without adding any significant weight or bulk, devices such as a modem card 118 (shown partially withdrawn from the lap top computer 8) which complies with the PCMCIA (also known as PC Card) standards have been produced. Significantly, while most lap top computers are generally note book size (about 8.5 inches by about 11 inches) or smaller, the need for further miniaturization of devices such as the modem card 118 will increase as computing devices of all kinds continue to shrink.

The lap top computer 8 represented in Figure1 includes a PCMCIA compliant socket 124. The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) promulgates the PCMCIA standard which has gained wide acceptance in the industry. It is preferred that the PCMCIA compliant socket adhere to PCMCIA standard pertaining to Type I, Type II, and Type III cards. The preferred standards specify the physical, electrical and environmental parameters which compliant devices must meet. The system and method of the present invention described herein are preferably compatible with the PCMCIA Card Services Specification 2.1 and Card Services Specification 2.1 as well. This standard and the accompanying specifications are well-known in the art and PCMCIA release 2.1, PCMCIA Card Services Specification 2.1, and Card Services Specification 2.1, PCMCIA Standard Release 2.1, and all releases promulgated thereafter. (including the PC Card standard (1995)), are now all incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It is to be understood that the present invention can be utilized with other PCMCIA specifications and standards which are now available or which become available in the future as well as with other similarly instructive standards which are now available in the industry or which become available in the future. Examples of such other specifications and standards include the CardBus PC Card standard which is also now incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Further information regarding the implementation of these standards can be obtained from the publication Anderson, D. & Shanley, T., CardBus System Architecture (1996) (published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company) which is also now incorporated herein in it entirety

The modem card 118 shown in Figure 1 can also represent numerous other communication devices, for example, a local area network adaptor, voice mail device, telephonic communication device, or a facsimile device. Indeed, with the continuing trend of miniaturizing such devices, all of these devices may be combined into one card the size of the modem card 118 represented in Figure 1. All of these devices are examples of those intended to come within the scope of the meaning of the term "communication device" as used herein. Even further, other devices which require communication with one or more additional devices which are now available or which may become available in the future are intended to also come within the meaning of the term communication device as used herein.

As used herein, the term "data utilization device" is intended to include all digital computing devices which are adaptable to receive data or instructions via a communications medium. Perhaps the most common current example of such a device is the personal compute.

A plug, which is compatible with the RJ-xx series industry standard, is indicated generally at 10 in figure 1, 2, and 3. The RJ plug 10 includes a block 11 which has a first face 16 into which a plurality of electrical contacts 20 are recessed. The electrical contacts 20 are connected to wires (not explicitly represented in Figure 1) contained within a cable 14 which lead to the communications network, to another communications device, or some other device. A biased clip 12, which is integrally molded as part of the block 11, is used to hold the plug 10 in a corresponding receptacle.

Detailed information regarding the RJ-xx, series of connectors can be found in the publication found at Title 47 (Telecommunications), Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I (Federal Communications Commission), Subchapter B (Common Carrier Services), Part 68 (Connection of Terminal Equipment to the Telephone Network), Subpart F (Connectors), Section 68 . 500 (1992) which is now incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Figure 1 represents an arrangement of the present invention embodied in a receptacle module generally represented at 100. The receptacle module 100 includes a male coupling 112 which provides both physical and electrical connections to a corresponding female coupling 120 provided in the modem card 118. It will be appreciated that many different structure available in the industry provide equivalent functions to the male coupling 112 and the female coupling 120.

The receptacle module 100 includes a body 102 which can preferably be fabricated from a plastic material using techniques known in the art but can also be fabricated musing any suitable materials and techniques now available or which may become available in the future. Two recesses, are formed in the body 102. The inclusion of two recesses 106 desirably allows accommodation of two communication lines by the receptacle module 100.

Figure 2. provides a perspective view of a communications card generally designated 340. The communications card 340 follows the PCMCIA (also referred to as PC Card) Type III standard for dimensions and configuration. The height of a PCMCIA Type III card is still not great enough to allow a standard RJ-xx series receptacle to be mounted therein. A T-shaped cutout 328 is removed from the housing of the communications card 340. The T-shaped cutout 328 accommodates a biased clip 12 and a ridge 18 present on a plug 10. The shape of the T-shaped cutout 328 engages the biased clip 12 and the ridge 18 to hold the plug 10 in place. The communications card has two receptacles, each generally designated at 326. Preferably, one of the receptacles 326 is an eight conductor RJ-45 receptacle, which is called for in some computer network standards, and the other of the receptacles 326 is an RJ-11 receptacle. As can be seen in Figure 2, the PCMCIA Type III PC card 340 includes an upper surface 350 and a lower surface 352 which form a portion of the housing for the communication card 340. Also represented in Figure 2 is a connector 338 which can be used to make a connection to another communication device as is known in the art.

A cover 342 shields the T-shaped cutouts 328 and the receptacles 326. The cover 342 is preferably a thin membrane-like material which is attached to, or integral with, the upper surface. 350 The cover can preferably be fabricated from a material having a thickness in the range from about .001 inch to about .050 inches thick such that the card 340 maintains compliance, or substantial compliance, with the pertinent PCMCIA card physical thickness standard. It is also within the scope of the present invention to fabricate the cover 342 from an elastic material. Moreover, the cover 342 can be structured to straddle the entire upper surface 350 of the PC Card 340, or just a portion of the upper surface 350, as deemed best for the particular application of the invention.

- I It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present invention provide structures and methods for making operative connection between one or more RJ plugs and a communications card which does not require excessive space inside of the communications card to be devoted' to empty space reserved to receive an RJ plug thus allowing more space to be devoted to electronic components.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides many different communications line receptacles for use with a miniaturized communications device wherein the electrical contacts are shielded from the surrounding environment and which is resistant to breakage and which can be moved out of the way when not being used. The present invention also provides communications line receptacles which are easily replaceable if broken. Moreover, the embodiments of the present allow more space within the communications card to be devoted to other components, such as active electrical components. The present invention also provides communications cards which can be readily adapted to meet various communications standards and which can provide wireless communications. Furthermore, the present invention also provides that one or more RJ-xx series plugs can be connected to a communications card while the external dimensions of the communications card meet an established standard when the card is not being used and also such that the communications line receptacles occupy minimal space in the communications card.

The present invention may be embodied in other specifie forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.