Patch cords for reduced-pair ethernet applications having strain relief units that resist rotational loads and related strain relief units and connectors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9356439-B2
Application number	US-201414340635-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2014
Priority date	Sep 26, 2013
Publication date	May 31, 2016
Grant date	May 31, 2016

Abstract

Reduced-pair Ethernet patch cords include a twisted pair cable that has a pair of insulated conductors that are contained within a cable jacket. A connector is mounted on a first end of the cable. The connector includes a connector housing and a strain relief unit that is mounted on the cable at the interface between the cable and the connector housing. The strain relief unit includes a plurality of internal protrusions that contact the cable jacket.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A reduced-pair Ethernet patch cord, comprising:
a twisted pair cable that includes a pair of insulated conductors that are contained within a cable jacket;
a connector mounted on a first end of the cable, the connector including:
a connector housing having a front end and a cable receiving end opposite the front end that includes an aperture that receives the twisted pair cable; and
a strain relief unit including a plurality of internal protrusions that contact the cable jacket to apply a radial compressive force to the cable jacket around a circumference of the cable jacket,

wherein the twisted pair cable includes a single pair of insulated conductors,
wherein at least some of the internal protrusions are generally longitudinally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the connector, and
wherein the strain relief unit comprises a cable-gripping member that has a plurality of cantilevered arms that extend forwardly from a base toward the front end of the connector housing.

2. The reduced-pair Ethernet patch cord of claim 1 , wherein the strain relief unit comprises a compression member that includes a plurality of cantilevered arms that are configured to apply a radially compressive force on the cable-gripping member.

3. The reduced-pair Ethernet patch cord of claim 2 , wherein the protrusions comprise teeth that are provided on an interior surface of the cable-gripping member, and wherein the compression member is movably mounted in the twisted pair cable.

4. The reduced-pair Ethernet patch cord of claim 1 , wherein the protrusions are configured to create respective depressions in the cable jacket, and wherein the strain relief unit further comprises a compression member that is received within the aperture in the connector housing.

5. A patch cord, comprising:
a cable that includes a cable jacket that has at least one twisted pair of insulated conductors disposed therein;
a connector that has a housing mounted on a first end of the cable, the connector including a strain relief unit positioned at least partly within the housing, the strain relief unit including:
a cable-gripping member that includes a plurality of cantilevered arms that extend forwardly into a cable aperture in the rear of the housing that receives the cable, at least some of the cantilevered arms including at least one uneven surface that is positioned to contact the cable jacket;
a compression member that is configured to apply a compressive force against the cable-gripping member when the compression member and cable-gripping member are installed within the connector,

wherein the compression member includes at least two cantilevered compression arms that are at least partly received within the cable aperture.

6. The patch cord of claim 5 , wherein the compression member is configured to apply a radial force to the cable-gripping member.

7. The patch cord of claim 5 , wherein the uneven surface is configured to create a plurality of depressions in the cable jacket.

8. The patch cord of claim 5 , wherein the compression member comprises a cap that is mounted on a rear end of the housing.

9. The patch cord of claim 5 , wherein the interior surface of each of the cantilevered arms comprises an arcuate surface.

10. The patch cord of claim 9 , wherein the at least one uneven surface comprises a plurality of teeth.

11. The strain relief unit of claim 5 , wherein the patch cord includes at least one and no more than three twisted pairs of conductors.

12. A method of connectorizing a cable, the method comprising:
terminating a first conductor of a twisted pair of conductors of a communications cable into a first contact;
terminating a second conductor of a twisted pair of conductors of a communications cable into a second contact;
inserting end portions of the terminated first and second conductors and the first and second contacts into a connector housing;
sliding a strain relief unit along the communications cable and into a rear opening of the connector housing; and
compressing a cable-gripping member of the strain relief unit onto the communications cable,
wherein the cable-gripping member has at least one protrusion that is positioned to engage a jacket of the communications cable when the strain relief unit is installed in the connector housing so as to resist angular rotation of the cable, and
wherein the cable-gripping member includes a stop that prevents angular rotation of the cable-gripping member when the cable-gripping member is fully inserted within the connector housing.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the rear opening receives the communications cable, and wherein compressing a cable-gripping member of the strain relief unit onto the communications cable comprises sliding a compression member of the strain relief unit onto the cable-gripping member.

14. The reduced-pair Ethernet patch cord of claim 1 , wherein the base of the cable-gripping member extends at least halfway around a circumference of the twisted pair cable.

15. The reduced-pair Ethernet patch cord of claim 1 , wherein the compression member includes a plurality of cantilevered compression arms.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least one protrusion is a longitudinally extending protrusion.

17. The method of claim 1 , the connector further comprising a plurality of contacts that are terminated onto the respective insulated conductors, wherein each contact comprises a socket contact that has a hollow interior that receives a bare end portion of a respective one of the insulated conductors.

18. The method of claim 2 , the connector further comprising a plurality of contacts that are terminated onto the respective insulated conductors, wherein each contact comprises a socket contact that has a hollow interior that receives a bare end portion of a respective one of the insulated conductors.

19. A reduced-pair Ethernet patch cord, comprising:
a twisted pair cable that has first and second insulated conductors that are twisted together to provide a pair of twisted conductors, the twisted pair of conductors contained within a cable jacket and the twisted pair of conductors being the only insulated conductors within the cable jacket;
a connector mounted on a first end of the cable, the connector including:
a connector housing having a front end and a cable receiving end opposite the front end that includes an aperture that receives the twisted pair cable;
first and second socket contacts that are terminated onto the respective first and second insulated conductors, each socket contact comprising a hollow interior that receives a bare end portion of a respective one of the insulated conductors; and
a strain relief unit that includes a cable-gripping member that has a plurality of cantilevered arms that extend forwardly from a base toward the front end of the connector housing, at least some of the cantilevered arms including a plurality of internal protrusions that contact the cable jacket.

Assignees

• Commscope Inc

Inventors

• Keith Scott M
• Shih Yi-Teh

Classifications

• H01R2107/00

  Four or more poles · CPC title

• H01R2201/26

  for vehicles · CPC title

• H01R13/5816 Primary

  for cables passing through an aperture in a housing wall, the separate part being captured between cable and contour of aperture · CPC title

• H01R24/64

  for high frequency, e.g. RJ 45 · CPC title

• H01R13/5825 Primary

  the means comprising additional parts captured between housing parts and cable · CPC title