WO1997023021A1

WO1997023021A1 - Test port jack for network interface device

Info

Publication number: WO1997023021A1
Application number: PCT/US1996/019650
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Scott Woolf; Harry Milton Capper; William Joseph Garver
Original assignee: The Whitaker Corporation
Priority date: 1995-12-15
Filing date: 1996-12-12
Publication date: 1997-06-26
Also published as: AU1684497A

Abstract

A jack (50) for a NID module (10) for enabling testing of the interconnected circuits of premise wiring tip and ring wires (26, 28) to circuits of a telephone service provider. Circuits of a circuit element (34) interconnect premise wiring terminals (38, 40) and contacts (30) of service provider circuits, to associated ones of paired contacts (54, 56) of the jack (32), and the contacts are exposed within a plug-receiving cavity of the jack for connection to contacts of a plug during test and otherwise shunted together for in-service use by shunt contacts (60). Each pair of jack contacts (54, 56) is commoned by engagement of the contact arms (76) with a shunt contact (60) mounted along the plug-receiving cavity of the jack during normal operation, and the pair is moved out of engagement with a shunt contact upon insertion of a plug (100) into the jack (50).

Description

TEST PORT JACK FOR NETWORK INTERFACE DEVICE

The present invention relates to the field of network interface devices, and more particularly to customer-accessible test port jacks thereof.

Network interface devices provide limited access by a subscriber or customer for testing by the subscriber of the subscriber premises wiring, at a telephone junction box where the subscriber premises wiring is connected to circuits of the telephone service provider. Such junction boxes are also fully accessible to service personnel of the telephone company after installation. One such network interface device is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,979,209 for a plurality of subscribers, wherein an enclosure includes a primary lid extending over the entire enclosure and securable by service personnel, and a secondary lid over the subscriber-accessible portion of the enclosure securable by the subscribers; such enclosures commonly provide access to the subscriber-accessible portion by service personnel but the subscriber-accessible portion remains secured against unauthorized person. Individual modules within the subscriber-accessible portion are disclosed to include individual security covers such that each subscriber module is secured against access by the other subscribers.

The individual subscriber module includes a test port or jack electrically connected to both the premises wiring and the subscriber-dedicated circuits of the telephone service provider, such as wires extending to a distribution cable, enabling the subscriber to remove the port cover and insert the plug of a telephone or other test device to discover the location of a fault disrupting the subscriber's service. Successful connection of the telephone or test device indicates that the fault lies in the premises wiring and thus is the responsibility of the subscriber, whereas an unsuccessful connection of the telephone or test device indicates that the fault lies in the circuits of the telephone service provider. The performance of such testing by the subscriber enables the subscriber to first determine the location of the fault prior to arranging with the telephone company for a service call, thus saving subscriber the expense of a telephone company service call when the fault lies in the premises wiring. In U.S. Patent No. 5,420,920 and U.S. Patent

Application Serial No. 08/442,032 filed May 16, 1995, is disclosed a subscriber module having a test port or jack in which pairs of contacts are interconnected by a dedicated plug inserted thereinto to complete circuits between the telephone cable and the premises wiring for regular in-service use. When the dedicated plug is removed during an investigation of a fault, another plug joined to a telephone unit is insertable by the subscriber to again complete the circuits to determine the presence or absence of a fault in the telephone company wiring. The dedicated plug of the module is adapted to seal the jack cavity when in position, protecting the contacts exposed in the jack, and is joined to the module by a lanyard when removed from the jack. Conductors of the premise wiring are easily terminatable by insulation displacement techniques to terminals using a stuffer cap, with the terminals connected to first contacts of the jack contact pairs by circuit board traces, while second contacts of the pairs are connected by other board traces to conductors connected to the distribution cable.

It is desirable to provide the NID module having a jack permitting testing, with integral means enabling the electrical connection of the conductors of the premise wiring through a simplified procedure.

The NID module includes a module housing to which are affixed a pair of wire carriers at respective wire termination sections, and terminals associated with the wire carriers connected to certain contacts of a test port jack all mounted to a circuit element secured within the housing. The w re carrier terminals become connected to tip and ring wires of a subscriber premise wiring cable, and the circuit element further includes other contacts connected to circuits of the telephone service provider, as well as to additional contacts of the jack. Completing the circuits between the premise wiring cable and the service provider, a pair of shunt contacts within the jack interconnect the pairs of the certain and additional contacts within the jack in an operating or in-service position. Upon insertion of a plug into the jack, all the certain and additional contacts are moved out of engagement with the shunts and into engagement with contacts of the plug to permit testing by a telephone unit connected to the plug.

In one embodiment, only two plug-engageable contacts are provided in the jack, that are connectable to the service provider circuits. Two interconnect contacts are mounted along the bottom of the plug- receiving cavity that are electrically connectable to the tip and ring terminals and to the premise wiring. During in-service operation the plug-engageable contacts are biased against the respective interconnect contacts along the cavity bottom, while during testing upon insertion of a plug of a telephone unit into the plug- receiving cavity, the plug engages and deflects the plug-engageable contacts from their in-service position and establishes connections with contacts of the plug. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a jack arrangement in an NID module that requires no plug to interconnect the premise wiring- associated contacts and the service-provider-associated contacts. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures of which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the module having a test port jack therein and showing one pair of subscriber wires in a terminated position in a wire carrier;

FIGURE 2 is an isometric view of a subassembly containing the jack of the present invention; FIGURE 3 is an isometric exploded view of the jack of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the jack with part of the housing broken away;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views illustrating the shunted or in-service position of the jack contacts and a representative plug inserted for test; and

FIGURE 7 is an isometric view of an alternate embodiment with the housing wall broken away to reveal a pair of contacts in engagement with interconnect contacts for in-service operation while adapted to be disengaged upon insertion of a plug during testing.

Module 10 is shown in FIG. 1 to include a module housing 12 having a test port portion 14 with a cover 16, and further having a pair of wire termination regions 18,20. Wire carriers 22,24 are affixed to respective wire termination regions 18,20 of the module, and are pivotable upwardly for insertion of subscriber tip and ring wires 26,28 thereinto and then pivotable downwardly to terminate the wires to insulation displacement contacts (FIG. 2) . The second wire carrier portion provides for interconnection of a second subscriber line for the same customer. Also seen are a pair of contact posts 30 depending from beneath the test port portion for interconnection to circuits of the telephone service provider (such as conductors of the telephone company distribution cable, not shown) to contacts of the jack. The wire carrier arrangement is disclosed in greater detail in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08/573,336 filed December 15, 1995 and assigned to the assignee hereof. In FIG. 2 is shown a subassembly 32 comprising circuit board 34 having assembled thereto the test port jack 50 having a jack housing 52 and contacts 54,56 therewithin secured to circuit board 34. Also affixed to circuit board 34 are contact posts 30 and pairs of terminals 36,38 associated with subscriber cables extending to premise wiring and having pairs of tip and ring wires 26,28. All of terminals 36,38 and contact posts 30 and contacts 54,56 are electrically connected to circuits of circuit board 34, and all together are utilized in interconnecting subscriber premise wiring to service provider circuits, or in testing same. Jack 50 is disposed in a large through cavity of the module housing to expose the entrance to plug-receiving cavity 58 of the jack, covered by cover 16 in FIG. 1 that includes a manually engageable tab 40 facilitating removal for testing. Module housing 12 also defines a shallow recess into the bottom face 42 of module housing 12 for receipt of the circuit board, securing it therein such as with a plurality of latches. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate test port jack 50 of the present invention, having housing 52 and four contacts 54,56 to be housed therewithin along with two shunt or interconnect contacts 60. Body sections 62 of the contacts are disposed within respective grooves 64 of jack housing 52, with retention sections 66 force fit through apertures extending through housing bottom 68. Ends 70 of contacts 54,56 extend from housing 52 and are soldered in through-holes 72 of board 34. Shunt contacts 60 may be mounted in similar fashion to circuit board 34, not needing circuits thereof for shunting or interconnection purposes; shunt contacts 60 may be force fit into shunt-receiving apertures 90 (FIGS. 5 and 6) instead of being affixed to the circuit board. The four contacts 54,56 are associated in adjacent pairs, with contacts 54 of each pair connected to terminals 36 or to terminals 38 and thus to the tip and ring wires 26,28; and the others to contacts 30 and thus to the service provider circuits. Jack housing 52 is affixed to board 34 by retention posts 74 that snap-fit into mounting holes 44 of board 34.

Contacts 54,56 include elongate cantilever beam contact arms 76 extending to contact sections 78 at free ends 80 thereof that when jack 50 is fully assembled within subassembly 32 will be biased against the shunt contacts 60 in pairs to be interconnected to each other, or shunted, during in-service use to complete the circuits of premise wiring to service provider circuits, and will be moved out of shunt engagement to engage contacts of a plug inserted into plug-receiving cavity 58 during test, again completing the premise wiring-to- provider circuits. In FIGS. 4 and 5 may be seen the in-service relationship of contacts 54,56 and shunt contacts 60, while in FIG. 6 is seen the test condition of the jack, having a plug 100 in plug receiving-cavity 58. During normal telephone service operation, contact sections 78 of each contact pair 54,56 are seen to be biased against commoning sections 82 of the shunt contacts 60, thus completing the circuits between the premise wiring and provider circuits. When a subscriber desires to ascertain the location of a wiring fault, a telephone unit is brought to the NID and its plug 100 inserted into plug-receiving cavity 58. Upon full insertion into the cavity, the plug engages contact arms 76 and deflects them from engagement with shunt contacts 60 thereby interrupting the previously defined circuit and then reestablishing a complete circuit by means of contact members 102 exposed on the plug housing 104 connected to circuits of the telephone unit (not shown) . When body sections 62 of contacts 54,56 are disposed within respective grooves 64 in the jack housing 52, the free ends 80 of the contact arms extend into portions 84 of the grooves along the cavity bottom 86. A rib 88 extends between adjacent ones of the groove portions 84, and shunt-receiving apertures 90 in the housing bottom intersect adjacent ones of the groove portions 84 and at least extends partially into the rib 88 therebetween, with the commoning sections 82 of the shunt contacts traversing the grooves associated with the pair of contacts with which the shunt contacts are associated, upon insertion of the shunt contacts into the shunt-receiving apertures 90.

The shunt contact includes an upper edge 92 containing a recess 94 adapted to receive thereinto a top portion 96 of rib 88 into which the shunt-receiving aperture 90 extends, whereby the shunt contact upper edge 92 extends to top portions of the adjacent ones of the groove portions 84 to assuredly engage the spring arm contact sections 78 adjacent the free ends 80 thereof, while the top portion 96 of rib 88 remains uninterrupted by shunt-receiving aperture 90 and continuous across the cavity bottom 86 facilitating deflection of the contact arms 76 during assembly of the shunt contacts 60 into the jack housing 52 by protecting the free ends against snagging, with the upper surfaces of the top rib portions 96 preferably being rounded.

Another embodiment of test port jack 150 is shown in FIG. 7. While housing 152 is similar to the jack housing 52 of FIGS. 1 to 6, only two plug-engageable contacts 154,156 are utilized instead of four, associated with the tip and ring circuits respectively of the telephone service provider. A pair of additional contacts 158,160 are mounted in the housing bottom similarly to contacts 60 of FIGS. 1 to 6. However, instead of interconnecting contacts 154,156 to each other during in-service use, each additional contact 158,160 is electrically connected to one of the tip and ring wires of the subscriber's premise wiring. During in-service operation, plug-engageable contacts 154,156 are biased in engagement with additional contacts 158,160 respectively, and are interconnected with a respective circuit to complete an in-service tip or ring circuit. Each additional contact 158,160 needs only to • extend upwardly to the top of one groove portion 162 (or slightly therebeyond) to assure engagement by a contact section 164 of a contact 154,156. As with shunt contacts of FIGS. 1 to 6, additional contacts preferably are force-fit into slots extending into the bottom face 166 of jack housing 152 and need only traverse one groove 162 along the cavity bottom to be engaged by an end of a respective plug-engageable contact 154,156.

Variations and modifications may occur with respect to the embodiment disclosed herein that are within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A jack assembly for a connector module for a network interface device for interconnecting conductors of subscriber premise wiring to conductors of distribution cable, the module being of the type having a jack defining a test port, terminals to be terminated to conductors of the premise wiring and contacts to be terminated to distribution cable conductors, a circuit element interconnecting the terminals and contacts, and a module housing, the jack being characterized by: a jack housing affixed within said module housing, at least one pair of contacts secured therein having contact arms exposed in a plug-receiving cavity of the jack housing and contact sections at least exposed outwardly of said housing for electrical connection to conductors defining circuits, and a shunt contact associated with each said contact pair mounted along said cavity bottom and having a commoning section proximate said contact sections of said contact arms of said contact pair, said contact arms of each said pair extending to contact sections proximate a bottom of said plug- receiving cavity in spring biased engagement with said commoning section of a respective said shunt contact upon full jack assembly, and said contact arms being deflectable out of engagement therewith upon full insertion into said plug-receiving cavity by a plug, whereby said shunt contact commons the contacts of each pair upon jack assembly, and the contact arms are deflectable out of engagement with said shunt contact upon plug insertion.

2. The jack assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said shunt contacts are mounted to another member and extend through said cavity bottom upon full assembly of said jack assembly.

3. The jack assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said jack housing is mountable to said other member.

4. The jack assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said other member is a circuit element.

5. The jack assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said contacts include body sections disposed within respective grooves in said jack housing, said free ends of said contact arms extend into portions of said grooves, a rib extends between adjacent ones of said grooves, said shunt-receiving apertures in said housing bottom intersect adjacent ones of said grooves and at least extends partially into said rib therebetween, with said commoning sections of said shunt contacts traversing said grooves associated with said pair of contacts with which said shunt contacts are associated upon insertion of said shunt contacts into said shunt-receiving apertures.

6. The jack assembly as set forth in claim 5 wherein said shunt contact includes an upper edge containing a recess adapted to receive thereinto a top portion of a respective one of said ribs into which said shunt-receiving aperture extends, whereby said shunt contact upper edge extends to top portions of said adjacent ones of said grooves upon full insertion into a respective said shunt-receiving aperture, to assuredly engage said spring arm contact sections adjacent said free ends thereof, while said top portion of said one of said ribs remains continuous across said cavity bottom facilitating deflection of said contact arms during assembly of said shunt contacts into said jack housing.