Female electrical connector for home gateway with detection of the insertion of a male electrical connector

Abstract

This document relates to a female electrical connector (10) for an electrical device comprising a communication interface (20), having a plurality of conductive elements (131, 132, 133…), a set of said conductive elements, referred to as active elements, being intended to establish contact with the terminals of a male electrical connector (30) by inserting themselves into cavities, wherein at least one other conductive element (131, 136) – is movable between a rest position bringing it into contact with a fixed conductor (15), and an active position breaking said contact, and – has a width adapted to be brought into the active position by an element (35) of the body (31) of the male electrical connector (30) when it is inserted into the female electrical connector (10). Figure for the abbreviation: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: Female electrical connector for home gateway with detection of the insertion of a male electrical connector technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the detection of the presence of a female electrical connector in a male electrical connector. It is particularly applicable to telecommunications electrical devices and to the detection of the insertion of a connector into a corresponding socket, especially of the telephone type.

[0002] The electrical device can, for example, be a home gateway. A home gateway is a network device used to connect home devices (computers, smart TVs, etc.) to the Internet and other networks. It acts as an intermediary between the home network (generally a local area network or LAN) and the Internet (a wide area network or WAN). It can be located in a private residence or in an industrial setting to connect the company network to the Internet.

[0003] The home gateway combines several essential functions to manage connectivity and security of the home network.

[0004] This type may have a female electrical connector, or port, allowing the connection of optional peripherals, including telephone devices, fax machines, etc., as well as the associated circuits, or interfaces.

[0005] However, it appears that these telephone devices are being used less and less, as users generally opt for the use of a mobile telecommunications terminal. In many use cases, no device is connected to this electrical connector.

[0006] However, keeping the communication interface associated with this port active generates substantial power consumption. It must remain constantly active to manage incoming and outgoing communications, even when no device is connected.

[0007] Such energy loss is detrimental both to the home or business's electricity consumption associated with the gateway (and therefore to its budget) and to the overall environmental footprint. This issue is all the more important for a company that may have a fleet of equipment with such unused ports.

[0008] This type of situation can also appear with other types of electrical devices for which a communication interface consumes energy even though no device is connected to it.

[0009] There is therefore a need to detect the presence or absence of a device connected to a female electrical connector, or port.

[0010] A first approach consists of sending signals via the electrical connector and studying a response from a potentially connected device. Based on this response (or the absence of a response), the gateway can deduce whether or not the connected device is present.

[0011] However, such an approach requires software processing executed by the gateway: this processing also generates power consumption and, above all, requires that the gateway be in a state that allows it to perform this software processing. In other words, the gateway must be kept in an active state, or at least in a standby state in which the microprocessor is active.

[0012] Now, it is obviously advantageous to switch the gateways into deep sleep states when not in use: overnight or on weekends for a business, during the day on weekdays for a private residence, for a period planned by the user (absence, vacation, etc.). In such a state, the microprocessor is unable to perform the software processing described and therefore cannot detect the presence or absence of a device connected to this port.

[0013] Another approach was described in patent EP3167514. This describes a mechanism in which the insertion of a male electrical connector (for example of ADSL type) is inserted into a female electrical connector by testing the opening of an electrical circuit by the displacement of conductive elements of the female connector by the corresponding pads of the male connectors.

[0014] It has indeed been observed that certain elements, corresponding to wires in the cable connecting the gateway to the connected device, were not used. Generally, only two pairs of wires are used, whereas, depending on the connector type, 6 or 8 elements are present. The elements not used for signal transmission can then be used to detect the presence of the male electrical connector in the female electrical connector.

[0015] However, in order to reduce production and transport costs, some commercially available cables have male electrical connectors without terminals associated with the conductive elements not used for signal transmission. Consequently, the unused conductive elements can no longer be moved by the terminals of the male electrical connector when it is inserted into the female electrical connector. The mechanism proposed by patent EP 3,167,514 is therefore no longer able to detect the insertion, and thus the presence, of the male electrical connector.

[0016] Consequently, when connecting a telephone-type device to a gateway operating according to this principle, this connection will not be detected and the associated communication interface will remain in standby, preventing the telephone device from being functional.

[0017] There is therefore a need to improve current proposals of the state of the art.

[0018] SUMMARY

[0019] One objective of this description is therefore to provide a method and a female electrical connector, for an electrical device such as a home gateway, enabling the detection of the presence or absence of a male electrical connector inserted into the female connector. This detection can be used to manage the standby mode of a communication interface of this device, associated with the female connector.

[0020] According to a first aspect, an object of the description can be implemented by a female electrical connector for an electrical device comprising a communication interface connected to said female electrical connector, the female electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements, a set of said conductive elements, referred to as active, being intended to establish contact with the terminals of a male electrical connector by inserting themselves into adapted cavities of said male electrical connector, in which at least one other conductive element: - is mobile between a rest position that brings it into contact with a fixed conductor so as to close an electrical circuit, and an active position that breaks said contact, and, - has a width suitable to be brought into active position by an element of the body of said male electrical connector when said male electrical connector is inserted into the female electrical connector.

[0021] According to preferred embodiments, an object comprises one or more of the following features which may be used separately or in partial combination with each other or in total combination with each other: - each active conductive element is extended by at least one leg intended to pass through the body of said female electrical connector to secure said conductive element to said body, in which said at least one other conductive element is extended by two legs whose spacing corresponds to the spacing between two legs extending active conductive elements. - the female electrical connector includes a detection circuit to put said communication interface into standby and / or wake up when said electrical circuit is closed. - said at least one other conductive element is located immediately before and / or after said active conductive elements - said communication interface is a telephone interface of a residential gateway

[0022] Another aspect concerns an electrical device comprising at least one female electrical connector as previously described. This electrical device could, for example, be a home gateway.

[0023] Another aspect relates to a method for detecting the presence of a male electrical connector inserted into a female electrical connector of an electrical device, said female electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements, wherein an insertion of said male connector results in: - bringing a set of said conductive elements, referred to as active elements, into contact with the terminals of said male electrical connector by inserting themselves into suitable cavities of said male electrical connector, and, - a displacement of at least one other conductive element from a rest position bringing it into contact with a fixed conductor so as to close an electrical circuit, to an active position breaking said contact, by the action of an element of the body of said male electrical connector, and, - detection of the presence of said male electrical connector by detecting the opening of said electrical circuit.

[0024] Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following description of one or more preferred embodiments, given by way of example and with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0025] The accompanying drawings illustrate examples of the invention:

[0026] Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a functional architecture in which a process and a female electrical connector can be included according to one or more embodiments.

[0027] Fig. 2 illustrates a female electrical connector according to one embodiment.

[0028] Figures 3a and 3b illustrate two examples of male electrical connectors.

[0029] Figure 4 illustrates the movement of the conductive detection elements during the insertion of a male electrical connector, according to one or more embodiments.

[0030] Figure [Fig. 5] illustrates two examples of active conductive elements according to embodiments.

[0031] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT METHODS

[0032] The proposed female electrical connector can be used for a home gateway as illustrated in [Fig.1],

[0033] The home gateway enables connectivity between devices 4, 5, 6, connected to a local network, LAN (for "Local Area Network") between themselves and with an Internet type network 3. The devices connected to the local network can be of different kinds: computers (laptops or desktops), mobile phones (for example "smartphone"), digital tablets, connected televisions, connected objects (loT for "Internet of Things"), etc.

[0034] The gateway (or more generally, the electrical device) 1 includes different communication interfaces associated with different connectivity technologies: fiber optic to Internet, Ethernet™, Wi-Fi to the local network, etc.

[0035] The gateway 1 also includes a communication interface 20 associated with a female electrical connector (or socket) 10, enabling the physical and logical connection of an external device 2, such as a telephone, via a cable. This cable has a male electrical connector 30 intended to be inserted into the female electrical connector 10 of the gateway 1. This interface is generally called FXS for "Foreign Exchange Subscriber".

[0036] Fig. 2 schematically represents such a female electrical connector 10, according to one embodiment.

[0037] It consists of a body, or casing, surrounding a cavity 12 in which are located a plurality of conductive elements, 13i, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136.

[0038] In this example, 6 conductive elements are shown. However, the number may vary depending on the type of connector. For example, RJ1x connectors (for "Registered Jack") have 6 conductive elements, while RJ45 and RJ48 connectors have 8 conductive elements...

[0039] The cavity 12 is designed to receive a male electrical connector 30, or plug. In particular, it has a profile that corresponds to that of the male connector. At the end of its travel, a device (not shown in the figures) locks and holds the male connector in position. A specific action is then required to remove the male connector, which cannot normally be accidentally disconnected.

[0040] Figures 3a and 3b illustrate two embodiments of male electrical connectors with 6 terminals ([Fig.3a]) or 8 terminals ([Fig.3b]).

[0041] The male connector 30 adapted to the base 10 can be inserted into the cavity 12, which causes certain conductive elements 13i, 132, 133, 134... to come into contact with conductive terminals 33b 332, 333 of the male connectors.

[0042] More specifically, during insertion, the conductive elements of the base are opposite the cavities 32b, 322, 323... of the male connector in which these conductive terminals can be located. When the male electrical connector 30 is at the end of race the terminals are in contact with the conductive elements of the base (or female electrical connector) 10.

[0043] These conductive elements can be metal strips, for example. They can be flexible and / or mounted in a movable manner so as to be able to move between two extreme positions. This movement ensures good contact with the terminals of the male connector.

[0044] These conductive elements can be held in place, or secured by means of tabs 14u, 14ib, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146a, 146b which are inserted into the body (lower part in [Fig. 2]) of the base and pass through it. They can also be soldered to the printed circuit board positioned on the body of the base.

[0045] Conventionally, only a portion of the conductive elements are used for signal transmission. Generally, this set of conductive elements used, called "active", is located in the center of the connector.

[0046] In the example of [Fig.2], these active conducting elements correspond to the central conducting elements 132, 133, 134, 135.

[0047] These active conductive elements are intended to come into contact, each, with an associated terminal of the male connector when the latter is inserted into the base 10.

[0048] The legs 142, 143, 144, 145 of these active conductive elements allow electrical contact between them and the communication interface 20 associated with the base 10. Thus, when the male connector is inserted, there is an establishment of conductor continuity between the communication interface and the cable corresponding to the male connector.

[0049] Furthermore, at least one other conductive element 13i, 136, referred to as "detection" element(s), is provided for the detection of the presence of a male electrical connector 30 inserted into the female electrical connector 10. This at least one other conductive element is distinct from the set of active conductive elements: as they are not used for the transmission of signals, they can be used for the detection of the presence of the male connector.

[0050] According to one embodiment, these other conductive elements 13i, 136s are located at the ends of the base 10 insofar as the active conductive elements are located in the center of the base: they are therefore located immediately before and / or after the active conductive elements.

[0051] The conductive detection element(s) 13i, 136 (i.e. used for presence detection) are mobile between a rest position putting it in contact with a fixed conductor 15, so as to close an electrical circuit, and an active position breaking this contact.

[0052] Preferably, these conductive sensing elements have an elasticity characteristic designed to return them to the rest position in the absence (and during removal) of a male connector.

[0053] In addition, the conductive sensing element(s) 13i, 136 have a width adapted to be brought into active position by an element 35 of the body of the male electrical connector 30 when the latter is inserted into the female electrical connector 10.

[0054] As illustrated in [Fig. 2], the width of these conductive sensing elements is greater than that of the active conductive elements. This width can correspond to the distance between the opposite edges of two successive active conductive elements.

[0055] Fig. 5 illustrates two examples of active conductive elements 132, 133, with respective pins 142, 143, and an example of a sensing conductive element 13i and respective pins 14a, 14ib.

[0056] In this example, the conductive detection elements take the form of a flexible blade folded on itself, terminated at each of its ends with identical strands, forming legs, identical to two of the active conductive elements.

[0057] Of course, other embodiments are possible. For example, the conductive detection elements may have widths corresponding to three active elements, or extend on either side of the extensions of the legs, etc.

[0058] This particular arrangement allows for pins 14a, 14ib, and 146a, 146b respectively, whose spacing corresponds to the spacing between two pins extending from active conductive elements. Thus, all the pins are spaced regularly, in the same way as if the base contained only active conductive elements.

[0059] Thus, it is possible to provide conductive sensing elements on bases according to the prior art. Indeed, it is not necessary to modify the bases, and the various conductive elements can be inserted into the base using the provided tabs and holes, since the spacing can remain the same. It is therefore sufficient to replace one or more conductive elements with one or more conductive sensing elements.

[0060] When a suitable male connector is inserted into the female connector, an element 35 of the body 31 of the male electrical connector 30 comes into contact with the sensing conductive element(s) 13i, 136. The translational movement causes the conductive element(s) to deflect and move to the active position when the male connector is at the end of its travel. At the beginning of this movement, contact with the fixed conductor 15 is broken, thus opening an electrical circuit.

[0061] Depending on the type of male connector, the element 35 brought into contact with the sensing elements may correspond to - a lower part of a partition between the cavities ([Fig.3b]), or - a lower part of a side partition of said male electrical connector ([Fig.3a]).

[0062] These elements 35 correspond to the hatched parts in figures 3a and 3b.

[0063] This embodiment allows the same base 10 to be compatible with male connectors of type RJ1x ([Fig. 3a]) or RJ45 ([Fig. 3b]). In each of the two cases, a different element of the connector body will come into contact with the conductive sensing elements with which it is aligned.

[0064] Generally, any element 35 of the body 31 of the male connector can be used to cooperate with the appropriate width of the sensing conductive elements, in order to bring them into the active position.

[0065] The width is thus adapted to both allow the same orifices to be kept in the body 11 of the base 10 and to allow contact with elements 35 of the male connector during its insertion.

[0066] Fig. 4 also illustrates the movement of the conductive sensing elements during the insertion of the male electrical connector.

[0067] Figure 4 illustrates a configuration prior to this insertion. The arrow indicates the translation of element 35 of the male connector body during its insertion into the base 10.

[0068] This translation will cause contact against the conductive elements 13b 136. Due to the inclination of these and the mobile or flexible mounting, the end which is in contact with the fixed conductor 15 is moved downwards, causing the electrical contact to break, and, consequently, the opening of an electrical circuit.

[0069] The opening of the electrical circuit can be easily detected, which then allows the presence of a male electrical connector in the socket 10 to be detected. It can then be assumed that a third-party device, 2, is connected and that the communication interface 20 must be kept active or awake. Otherwise, the communication interface can be put into standby mode to limit energy consumption.

[0070] Thus, a detection circuit 21 can be provided to put the communication interface 20 into standby mode when the electrical circuit is closed. This detection circuit 21 can be a component integrated into the communication interface 20, or an external component.

[0071] According to one embodiment, the entire device (or home gateway) 1 can be put into standby and woken up.

[0072] According to one embodiment, the closed circuit comprises two conductive detection elements, each of which may preferably be on either side of the elements active conductors. According to another embodiment, the circuit comprises a single conductive sensing element and an active but not used conductive element for signal transmission.

[0073] In the embodiment example of [Fig.4], the closed circuit comprises two conductive elements 13i, 136 on either side of active conductive elements not shown.

[0074] A first conductive element 13i is connected to a high voltage VCc- The second conductive element 136 is connected to earth, via a resistor.

[0075] When the circuit is closed, the detection circuit 21 sees a high voltage VCc across the resistor. When the circuit is open, there is no longer any voltage applied across the resistor or the detection circuit. The detection circuit then sees a voltage of 0V, forced by the resistance to earth.

[0076] According to another embodiment, the first conductive element 13i is connected to earth via the resistor while the second conductive element 136 is connected to the high voltage VCc-

[0077] As seen in this example, it is sufficient for only one of the detection conductive elements 13b 136 to be out of contact with the fixed conductor 15 for the circuit to be opened and for the presence of the male connector to be detected.

[0078] The method and the female electrical connector are designed to operate independently of the presence or absence of terminals in the cavities 32b, 322, 323..., located opposite the conductive detection elements during insertion. This is because the latter are actuated not by a terminal but by the body of the male connector. Consequently, the method and the female connector are compatible with male connectors having all terminals, and with low-cost male connectors having terminals only for the useful conductive elements.

[0079] The described mechanism allows the existing stock of male connectors to be reused and requires only a minor modification to the female connectors. It thus provides an additional functionality to electrical devices placed on the market, while remaining compatible with devices that can be connected.

[0080] In other words, the only modification to be made to the base is the creation of the "double" conductive element. This proposal makes it possible to solve the problems of detecting the insertion of "low-cost" male connectors without having to put into production a new mold for the mechanical housing of the base and without having to modify the printed circuit board of the affected products.

[0081] The detection of the presence of the male connector is ensured by simply detecting an open electrical circuit, which can be achieved by simply measuring an electrical voltage. This type of detection circuit can operate independently of the state of the electronic circuits of the electrical device 1, and of The communication interface 20. These can notably be in a standby state. Inserting a male connector can then be used to trigger the wake-up of the communication interface 20, or even of the device 1.

[0082] Thus, the communication interface, or even the entire device 1, can be put into standby mode when a male electrical connector is not detected as present (or inserted) and woken up when a male electrical connector is detected as present (or inserted).

[0083] Furthermore, such a detection circuit does not add mechanisms that generate additional energy costs. On the contrary, it is energy-neutral, in addition to being economically inexpensive.

[0084] Of course, the present invention is not limited to the examples and embodiments described and illustrated, but is defined by the claims. In particular, it is susceptible of numerous variations accessible to those skilled in the art.

Claims

Demands

1. Female electrical connector (10) for an electrical device comprising a communication interface (20) connected to said female electrical connector (10), the female electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements (13i, 132, 133...), a set of said conductive elements, referred to as active, being intended to make contact with terminals of a male electrical connector (30) by being inserted into cavities (32b 322 323) adapted to said male electrical connector, in which at least one other conductive element (13i, 136) - is movable between a rest position bringing it into contact with a fixed conductor (15) so as to close an electrical circuit, and an active position breaking said contact, and - has a width adapted to be brought into the active position by an element (35) of the body (31) of said male electrical connector (30) when said male electrical connector is inserted into the female electrical connector (10).

2. Female electrical connector according to the preceding claim, wherein each active conductive element is extended by at least one leg intended to pass through the body of said female electrical connector (10) to secure said conductive element to said body, wherein said at least one other conductive element is extended by two legs the spacing of which corresponds to the spacing between two legs extending active conductive elements.

3. Female electrical connector according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a detection circuit for putting said communication interface (20) into standby and / or waking up when said electrical circuit is closed.

4. A female electrical connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one other conductive element (13i, 136) is located immediately before and / or after said active conductive elements

5. Female electrical connector according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said communication interface is a telephone interface of a residential gateway.

6. Electrical device comprising at least one female electrical connector according to one of the preceding claims.

7. A method for detecting the presence of a male electrical connector (30) inserted into a female electrical connector (10) of an electrical device, said female electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements (131, 132, 133...), wherein an insertion of said male connector (30) results in - a contact of a set of said conductive elements, called active, with terminals (33b 332333, 334 ) of said male electrical connector (30) by inserting into cavities (32b 322, 323, 324) adapted to said male electrical connector, and, - a displacement of at least one other conductive element (13i, 136) from a rest position bringing it into contact with a fixed conductor (15) so as to close an electrical circuit, to an active position breaking said contact, by the action of an element (35) of the body of said male electrical connector (30), and, - a detection of the presence of said male electrical connector (30) by the detection of the opening of said electrical circuit.

8. A method according to the preceding claim, further comprising putting a communication interface of said electrical device into standby mode when said male electrical connector is not detected as present, and / or waking up said communication interface when said male electrical conductor is detected as present.

9. A method according to any one of claims 7 or 8, wherein said element (35) of the body of said male electrical connector corresponds to a lower part of a partition between said cavities or a lower part of a lateral partition of said male electrical connector.

10. A method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein said male electrical connector does not have terminals in the cavities (32i, 326; 32b, 322, 327, 328) corresponding to said at least one other conductive element (13i, 136)