Safety coupling with magnetic holder for network cables

Abstract

Safety coupling (100) for network cables, comprising: a first coupling part (10) comprising a first housing (11, 12), a first connector socket (13) received in the first housing (11, 12), a first rewiring board (14), and at least two first contact pin elements arranged on the first rewiring board (14), each having first contact pins (18, 19) and a first magnetic holding frame (15, 16) enclosing the first contact pins (18, 19); and a second coupling part (20) which has a second housing (21, 22), a second connector socket (23) received in the second housing (21, 22), a second rewiring board (24) and at least two second contact pin elements arranged on the second rewiring board (24), each having second contact pins (28, 29) and a second magnetic holding frame (25, 26) enclosing the second contact pins (28, 29); wherein a side wall of the first housing (11, 12), from which the first contact pins (18, 19) protrude outwards, and a side wall of the second housing (21, 22), from which the second contact pins (28, 29) protrude outwards, form a coupling contact plane in which the first magnetic holding frames (15, 16) and the second magnetic holding frames (25, 26) can mediate an electrical connection of the first contact pins (18, 19) and the second contact pins (28, 29) via a magnetic attraction force.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to a two-part coupling for network cables which is releasable repeatedly via a magnetic mechanism.GENERAL STATE OF THE ARTIn sensitive or highly frequented environments such as hospitals, schools, children's gardens, industrial plants or other places where cables are frequently inserted and removed or trip risk exists, robust plug housings and cables are needed in which the cables and the devices that may be plugged thereto are not damaged if the plug or cable is subjected to an abrupt pulling force, intentionally or unintentionally.Magnetic Ethernet cables are known from the prior art, which have a socket adapter cable and a plug extension cable (https: / / www.rosenberger.com / de / product / magnetic-rj45 / ). Such Ethernet cables each have self-plugging and locking magnetic plugs at the coupling point, ensuring a high number of plug cycles and a simple connection design, and are thereby suitable for applications in which connections and disconnections are frequently required.US 7,658,613 B1 discloses a cable connector having complementary magnetic arrangements and mating surfaces on its plug and socket to facilitate the connection and disconnection of the cable connector.US 2013 / 0017703 A1 discloses a detachable cable connector system having a connector plug having a conical element with a recessed groove and a socket allowing mating with the conically shaped connector plug. The electrical contacts are embedded in the plug.US 2015 / 0318638 A1 discloses a quick disconnect plug for power cables with magnetic holders.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOne of the ideas of the invention is to provide an improved coupling for network cables in which the risk of damage to the plug and / or the socket is reduced by frequent and / or improper unplugging of the network cables.According to one aspect of the present invention, a safety coupling for network cables comprises a first coupling part and a second coupling part. The first coupling part has a first housing, a first plug connector socket accommodated in the first housing, a first redistribution board and at least two first contact pin elements arranged on the first redistribution board, each having first contact pins and a first magnetic mounting frame enclosing the first contact pins. The second coupling part has a second housing, a second plug connector socket accommodated in the second housing, a second redistribution board and at least two second contact pin elements arranged on the second redistribution board, each having second contact pins and a second magnetic mounting frame enclosing the second contact pins.The first and second housings each have a side wall from which the first and second contact pins project outwardly, respectively. These two side walls form a coupling contact plane in which the first magnetic support frames and the second magnetic support frames can provide an electrical connection of the first contact pins and the second contact pins via a magnetic attractive force when the coupling parts on these side walls are brought into contact with each other.The magnetic mounting frames form a magnetic mechanism of the safety coupling which releases upon a certain tensile force-for example when someone is stinging or pulling on a network cable plugged onto the safety coupling.The tensile force required for releasing the magnetic mechanism can be selected by appropriate dimensioning and / or material selection of the magnetic mounting frames such that it is less than a typical force which is sufficient to forcibly disconnect a form-fitting connection of the network cable within the plug connector socket. This prevents devices from being damaged or network interfaces from being torn out. The network cable connection can easily be plugged together again after unintentional dropping and reused.In an optional implementation form of the security coupling according to the above aspect of the invention, the first connector socket and the second connector socket may each comprise RJ-45 Ethernet sockets.In a further optional implementation form of the safety coupling according to the above aspect of the invention, the two first contact pin elements can each have four first contact pins and the two second contact pin elements can each have four second contact pins.In another optional implementation form of the safety coupling according to the above aspect of the invention, the first magnetic support frames and the second magnetic support frames may each have the shape of a island or the shape of a rounded rectangle.In a further optional implementation form of the safety coupling according to the above aspect of the invention, the first housing can have first projections arranged on the side wall forming the coupling contact plane and the second housing can have second projections arranged on the side wall forming the coupling contact plane. In possible variants, the first projections can form a rectangular frame in a U-shape, which is open at one side at the top or at the bottom, and the second projections form a frame with recesses which is shaped in the opposite direction to the first projections.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe invention will be described in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of this invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate the embodiments of this invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. Other embodiments of this invention and many of the intended advantages of this invention will be readily understood as they become better understood by reference to the following detailed description. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to the same scale as each other. Like reference numerals designate like parts, respectively. FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a two-part network cable safety coupling according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the coupling portions of the two-part network cable safety coupling of FIG. 1.In the figures, like reference numerals designate like or functionally similar components, unless otherwise indicated. All directional terms such as "top", "bottom", "left", "right", "over", "under", "horizontal", "vertical", "rear", "front" and similar terms are used for explanatory purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments to the specific arrangements illustrated in the drawings.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONAlthough specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the specific embodiments shown and described may be replaced by a variety of alternative and / or equivalent implementations without departing from the scope of the present invention. In general, this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific embodiments described herein.FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a two-part network cable safety coupling 100. FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the coupling parts 10 and 20 of the two-part security coupling 100 for network cables of FIG. 1.Network cables within the meaning of the present invention are conductive data connections for data-technology coupling of nodes in a network. Network cables are used to establish physical connections between devices and to enable the transmission of data in the form of electrical signals. Network cables within the meaning of the present invention comprise, for example, twisted pair cables (twisted wire cables), e.g. twisted pair cables of the categories CAT5, CAT5e, CAT6 or CAT6a, coaxial cables and glass fibre cables.Such network cables have plug connectors at their ends, the design and contact assignments of which are designed according to predefined standards. Examples of such plug connectors are, for example, RJ plug connections (abbreviation RJ for "registered jack") for telecommunication cabling. A common type of RJ plug-in connection is, for example, RJ45.FIG. 1 shows the ends of two network cables 2 and 4, which each have plug connectors 1 and 3 on their side facing the safety coupling 100. The plug connectors 1 and 3 are each male plugs which can be inserted into female counterparts, i.e. the plug connector sockets 13 and 23 of the coupling parts 10 and 20 of the safety coupling 100. Connectors 1 and 3 may be, for example, fully-fitted eight-pole (8P8C) unshielded or shielded modular connectors of the "RJ-45" type. Accordingly, the receptacles 13 and 23 of the coupling portions 10 and 20 of the safety coupling 100, respectively, may be 8P8C modular receptacles of the "RJ-45" type.The coupling parts 10 and 20 are each designed in the same opposite direction, i.e. they each have a housing, for example made of plastic. The housings each have two housing parts--without limiting generality--an upper housing part 11 or 21 and a lower housing part 12 or 22, respectively. the two housing parts 11 and 12 or 21 and 22 can each be plugged onto one another, so that they receive the respective plug connector socket 13 or 23 in the middle and enable a plug connector 1 or 3 of a respective network cable 2 or 4 to be plugged in on a side wall.The connector sockets 13 and 23 are connected to a redistribution board 14 and 24, respectively, so that electrical connection pins of the connector sockets 13 and 23, respectively, are electrically coupled to respective metallization paths on the redistribution boards 14 and 24, respectively. The redistribution boards 14 and 24 electrically map a connection pattern of the connector sockets 13 and 23, respectively, to at least two spaced apart contact pin elements. For example, a contact pin element can have first contact pins 18, 19 and second contact pins 28, 29, respectively. In the case of a modular jack of the type "RJ-45" which has a connection pattern of eight electrical connection pins, the contact pin elements can have, for example, four first contact pins 18, 19 and second contact pins 28, 29, respectively. The contact pins 18, 19, 28, 29 can be arranged in a row, for example.Around the contact pins 18, 19 and 28, 29, respectively, a magnetic mounting frame 15, 16 and 25, 26, respectively, can be arranged. The contact pins 18, 19 and 28, 29 and the respective enclosing magnetic support frames 15, 16 and 25, 26 project outwardly from a side wall of the respective housing 11, 12 and 21, 22. These two side walls of the coupling parts 10 and 20 can be brought into contact with one another, so that a coupling contact plane is formed in which the magnetic mounting frames 15, 16 and 25, 26 adhere to one another via magnetic attraction forces and can thus provide a permanent electrical connection of the contact pins 18, 19 and 28, 29, respectively.For this purpose, the mounting frames 15, 16 and 25, 26 arranged in opposite directions in each case are magnetically poled in such a way that one of the opposing mounting frames projects outward with the magnetic north pole on the side wall of the respective housing 11, 12 and 21, 22 and the other of the opposing mounting frames projects outward with the magnetic south pole on the side wall of the respective housing 11, 12 and 21, 22. The magnetic mounting frames 15, 16 and 25, 26 can have, for example, the outer shape of a dione (semi-circles connected by parallel outer paths, as illustrated by way of example in FIGS. 1 and 2 ) or the shape of a rounded rectangle.The housing parts 11, 12 and 21, 22 are each formed with projections 17 and 27, respectively, as can be seen in the detail view of FIG. 2. The projections 17 and 27 of the coupling parts 10 and 20 are designed according to the Poka-Yoke principle in order to avoid unintentional errors in the handling of the two-part safety coupling 100. The geometric outer shape of the projections 17 and 27 is intentionally designed asymmetrically, so that they fit only in one direction and cannot be fitted together incorrectly.For example, the projections 17 of the first coupling part 10 form a rectangular frame in a U shape which is open at one side at the top or at the bottom. At the same time, the projections 27 of the second coupling part 20 form a frame with recesses shaped in the opposite direction to the projections 17, so that the first coupling part 10 can only be connected to the second coupling part 20 in one orientation direction, in that the U-shaped frame of the first coupling part 10 engages positively in the recesses formed by the projections 27.In the above detailed description, various features are grouped together in one or more examples or examples for the purpose of obscuring the disclosure. It is to be understood that the above description is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive. It is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Many other examples will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon consideration of the above description.The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. In the appended claims and the specification, the terms "containing" and "in which" are used as plain-language counterparts for the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein". Furthermore, "a" or "an" in the present case does not exclude a plurality.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedU.S. Pat. No. 7,658,613 B1

[0004] US 2013 / 0017703 A1

[0005] US 2015 / 0318638 A1

[0006] Cited Non-Patent Literaturehttps: / / www.rosenberger.com / de / product / magnetic-rj45 /

[0003]

Claims

A security coupling (100) for network cables, comprising: a first coupling part (10), which has a first housing (11, 12), a first plug connector socket (13) accommodated in the first housing (11, 12), a first redistribution board (14) and at least two first contact pin elements arranged on the first redistribution board (14), each having first contact pins (18, 19) and a first magnetic mounting frame (15, 16) enclosing the first contact pins (18, 19); and a second coupling part (20), which has a second housing (21, 22), a second plug connector socket (23) accommodated in the second housing (21, 22), a second redistribution board (24) and at least two second contact pin elements arranged on the second redistribution board (24), each having second contact pins (28, 29) and a second magnetic mounting frame (25, 26) enclosing the second contact pins (28, 29); wherein a side wall of the first housing (11, 12) from which the first contact pins (18, 19) project outwards and a side wall of the second housing (21, 22) from which the second contact pins (28, 29) project outwards form a coupling contact plane in which the first magnetic mounting frames (15, 16) and the second magnetic mounting frames (25, 26) can provide an electrical connection of the first contact pins (18, 19) and the second contact pins (28, 29) via a magnetic attraction force.The security coupling (100) of claim 1, wherein the first connector receptacle (13) and the second connector receptacle (23) are each RJ-45 Ethernet receptacles.The safety coupling (100) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the two first contact pin elements each comprise four first contact pins (18, 19) and the two second contact pin elements each comprise four second contact pins (28, 29).The safety coupling (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first magnetic support frames (15, 16) and the second magnetic support frames (25, 26) each have the shape of a island or the shape of a rounded rectangle.The safety coupling (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first housing (11, 12) has first protrusions (17) arranged on the side wall forming the coupling contact plane and the second housing (21, 22) has second protrusions (27) arranged on the side wall forming the coupling contact plane.The safety coupling (100) according to claim 5, wherein the first protrusions (17) form a rectangular frame having a U-shape open at one side at the top or the bottom, and the second protrusions (27) form a frame having recesses formed diametrically opposite to the first protrusions (17).

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