Single Pair Ethernet Couplers and Adapters

Abstract

The electric coupler comprises a first half shell and a second half shell and a first contact and a second contact, wherein the first contact and the second contact are held in the first half shell and the second half shell, wherein the first half shell is identical to the second half shell, and the first contact is identical to the second contact.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model generally relates to an electrical coupler and an adapter, and more particularly, to an electrical coupler and an adapter for a single-pair Ethernet system. Background Art

[0002] Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) structured cabling enables easier media access control, eliminates the risk of polarity reversal, and reduces overall termination work. It is expected that SPE cabling solutions will become a core part of building automation development, and expanded cabling solutions will be necessary to meet customer needs.

[0003] What is needed is a coupler device with two female ports that can connect two existing SPE plugs together, thereby turning two short communication cables into one long communication cable, and a fixed module that can accommodate the SPE coupler and provide the ability to install it into communication hardware with a Panduit Mini-Com mounting interface. Utility Model Content

[0004] The electric coupler comprises a first half shell and a second half shell and a first contact and a second contact, wherein the first contact and the second contact are held in the first half shell and the second half shell, wherein the first half shell is identical to the second half shell, and the first contact is identical to the second contact. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 is an isometric view of a communication channel.

[0006] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Figure 1 shows an exploded diagram of the communication channels.

[0007] Figure 3 is an exploded view of a Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) coupler.

[0008] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 Exploded bottom view of the SPE coupler.

[0009] Figure 5 yes Figure 3 Bottom view of the SPE coupler.

[0010] Figure 6 yes Figure 3 Front view of the SPE coupler.

[0011] Figure 7 is a rotated side view of an alternative embodiment of an SPE coupler.

[0012] Figure 8is an isometric view of a communication system.

[0013] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 Exploded view of the communication system.

[0014] Fig.10 yes Figure 8 A rotating exploded view of the communication system.

[0015] Fig.11 is an isometric view of a single-port coupler assembly.

[0016] Fig.12 yes Fig.11 Rotated isometric view of a single-port coupler assembly.

[0017] Fig.13 yes Fig.11 Exploded rear view of the single-port coupler assembly.

[0018] Fig.14 yes Fig.11 Rotated rear exploded view of the single-port coupler assembly.

[0019] Fig.15 is an isometric view of a two-port coupler assembly.

[0020] Fig.16 yes Fig.15 A rotated isometric view of a two-port coupler assembly.

[0021] Fig.17 yes Fig.15 Exploded rear view of the two-port coupler assembly.

[0022] Fig.18 yes Fig.15 Rotated rear exploded view of the two-port coupler assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Figure 1 is an isometric view of a communication channel 10 including two SPE cables 12 terminated to an SPE plug 14 connected by an SPE coupler 16. The communication channel 10 may be located in a cabinet, rack, zone enclosure, and other such infrastructure.

[0024] Figure 2 is an exploded view of the communication channel 10 with the SPE plug 14 removed from the SPE coupler 16 .

[0025] Figure 3 is an exploded view of SPE coupler 16 , which includes coupler housings 181 and 182 , contacts 201 and 202 , and shield wrap 22 . Figure 4is an exploded bottom view of the SPE coupler 16. The shield wrap 22 is shown in the open position. The coupler housings 181 and 182 are identical. The contacts 201 and 202 are identical. The contact 20 slides into the opening 24 of the coupler housing 18 until the bend 26 on the contact 20 meets the stop surface 28 on the coupler housing 18. The latch 30 on the coupler housing 181 is connected to the catch 32 on the coupler housing 182. Likewise, the latch 30 on the coupler housing 182 is connected to the catch 32 on the coupler housing 181. When the coupler housings 181 and 182 are assembled, the boss 34 fits within the recess 36 to help align the two housings.

[0026] The shielding wrap 22 is placed on top of the assembled coupler housing 18. When the shielding wrap 22 is placed on the assembled coupler housing 18, the louvers 38 on the crimping flange 40 snap into the windows 42 on the flange 44 of the shielding wrap 22. This action holds the shielding wrap 22 in a closed position. The shielding wrap 22 is designed to help meet the performance requirements specified in the IEC and TIA specifications. The wiper 46 on the shielding wrap 22 fits into the open slot 54 on the coupler housing 18 to meet the IEC size specifications. The wiper 46 on the shielding wrap 22 of the SPE coupler 16 makes contact with the SPE plug 14 to create a joint throughout the communication channel 10. The contacts 201 route the signal from the top wire of the SPE plug 141 to the top wire of the SPE plug 142 to create a continuous connection for an extended wiring solution. Likewise, contacts 202 route signals from the bottom conductors of SPE plug 141 to the bottom conductors of SPE plug 142 to create a continuous connection for an extended wiring solution.

[0027] Figure 5 is a bottom view of the SPE coupler 16. The latch 48 and stop edge 50 on the bottom of the coupler housing 18 of the SPE coupler 16 are designed to lock the SPE coupler 16 into any number of fixing modules designed to secure the SPE coupler 16 in place after implementation. These modules may be located in cabinets, racks, zone enclosures, and other such infrastructure.

[0028] Figure 6 is a front view of the SPE coupler 16. The grounding lug 52 is designed to interact with any number of fixed modules designed to secure the SPE coupler 16 in place after implementation and provide engagement throughout the communication system. The SPE coupler 16 is designed to meet the fixed connector size guidelines described in IEC 63171-1, which will allow proper insertion of the SPE plug 14.

[0029] Figure 76 is a rotating side view of an alternative embodiment of an SPE coupler 60. The SPE coupler 60 will be assembled and operated in the same manner as the previously described SPE coupler 16. The SPE coupler 60 includes a coupler housing 62, a contact 20 (not shown) and a shielding package 64. This alternative embodiment shows that the coupler housing 62 can be made so that a latch 68 and a stop edge 70 can be positioned on the top, bottom or both of the coupler housing 62 to lock the SPE coupler 60 into any number of fixed modules, which are designed to be used to fix the SPE coupler 60 in place after implementation. This allows the SPE coupler 60 to be installed upward or downward. These modules can be located in cabinets, racks, regional housings, and other such infrastructures. The SPE coupler 60 also demonstrates alternative engagement by showing the following structure: the grounding feature 66 on the shielding package 64 can be placed on the side surface of the shielding package 64 to interact with any number of fixed modules and provide engagement throughout the communication system, and the fixed module is designed to be used to fix the SPE coupler 60 in place after implementation.

[0030] Figure 8 is an isometric view of a communication system 110 including an SPE cable 112 terminated to an SPE plug 114, a single-port coupler assembly 118, a two-port coupler assembly 120, and communication hardware 122. Figure 8 The communication hardware 122 is illustrated as a patch panel, but examples of possible communication hardware may be, but are not limited to, modular patch panels, wall panels, surface mount boxes, Mini-Com interface adapters, etc.

[0031] Fig. 9 is an exploded view of the communication system 110 . Fig.10is a rotated exploded view of the communication system 110. The single-port coupler assembly 118 includes the SPE coupler 116 and the single-port Mini-Com adapter 124. The two-port coupler assembly 120 includes the SPE coupler 116 and the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126. The single-port Mini-Com adapter 124 and the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 have provisions for mounting the Mini-Com port opening 128 on the communication hardware 122. The recesses 130 on the single-port Mini-Com adapter 124 and the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 are placed on the bosses 132 of the communication hardware 122; the single-port Mini-Com adapter 124 and the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 are then rotated forward until the corner cutouts 134 contact the positioning geometry 136 on the communication hardware 122, and the latches 137 on the communication hardware 122 hook onto the rear edges 138 of the single-port Mini-Com adapter 124 and the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 to hold the single-port Mini-Com adapter 124 and the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 in place during use.

[0032] Fig.11 is an isometric view of the single-port coupler assembly 118 . Fig.12 is a rotated isometric view of the single port coupler assembly 118. The single port Mini-Com adapter 124 has a pocket 40 and a notch 142 to accommodate mounting into a surface mount box and other such equipment.

[0033] Fig.13 is a rear exploded view of the single-port coupler assembly 118 . Fig.14 is a rotated rear exploded view of the single port coupler assembly 118. The latch 144 on the SPE coupler 116 locks into the recess 146 of the single port Mini-Com adapter 124. The support ribs 148 on the single port Mini-Com adapter 124 help to hold the SPE coupler 116 in place after assembly. If the single port Mini-Com adapter 124 is made of a die cast material, the grounding rib 150 on the single port Mini-Com adapter 124 is designed to contact the grounding tab 152 on the SPE coupler 116 to produce a fully engaged component. This will also allow the single port Mini-Com adapter 124 to fully engage with the communication hardware 122 when the communication hardware 122 is designed for STP applications.

[0034] Fig.15 is an isometric view of the two-port coupler assembly 120 . Fig.16is a rotated isometric view of the two-port coupler assembly 120. The two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 has a pocket 154 and a notch 156 to accommodate mounting into a surface mount box and other such equipment.

[0035] Fig.17 is a rear exploded view of the two-port coupler assembly 120 . Fig.18 is a rotated rear exploded view of the two-port coupler assembly 120. The two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 is designed to fit within the space of two Mini-Com jack ports and will allow three SPE couplers 116 to be installed, which provides greater SPE cable density (in the same space) than using two single-port Mini-Com adapters 124. Figure 8 ). The latches 144 on the SPE coupler 116 lock into the recesses 158 of the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126. The support ribs 160 on the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 help hold the SPE coupler 116 in place after assembly. If the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 is made of a die-cast material, the grounding ribs 162 on the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 are designed to contact the grounding tabs 152 on the SPE coupler 116 to create a fully engaged component. This will also allow the two-port Mini-Com adapter 126 to fully engage with the communication hardware 122 when the communication hardware 122 is designed for STP applications.

[0036] Although exemplary embodiments are described above, these embodiments are not intended to describe all possible forms of the present invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are descriptive rather than restrictive, and it should be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additionally, the features of various implementation embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electric coupler, comprising: a first half shell and a second half shell; as well as a first contact and a second contact, the first contact and the second contact being held in the first half shell and the second half shell, wherein the first half shell is identical to the second half shell and the first contact is identical to the second contact, wherein each of the first half shell and the second half shell has a latch protruding from a rear surface of the half shell adjacent to a first side of the shell and a snap located on a second side of the shell, wherein the first side is opposite to the second side, and further wherein the latch of the first half shell is configured to engage the snap of the second half shell, and the latch of the second half shell is configured to engage the snap of the first half shell.

2. The electrical coupler of claim 1, wherein: The first contact is rotated 180° relative to the second contact.

3. The electrical coupler of claim 1, wherein: Each of the first contact and the second contact has a first 90° bend and a second 90° bend.

4. The electrical coupler of claim 1 further comprising a shield wrap surrounding the first shell half and the second shell half.

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