Connector and patch panel for digital video and data

Claim 2

In a connector jack comprising a body, a cavity in said body for receiving a mating plug, and a plurality of generally parallel electrode fingers within said cavity constituting a first set of mutually electrically insulated fingers for connection through the jack to said plug, the fingers of said first set extending in a common plane rearwardly and into said cavity at an acute angle from one side of said cavity, wherein the improvement comprises a plurality of mutually electrically insulated contacts located near the bottom of the cavity, each of said contacts being arranged for electrical connection to a single corresponding finger of said first set when said plug is not present in said cavity and for disconnection of the fingers of said first set from the corresponding contacts when said plug is fully inserted in said cavity.

Claim 3

The connector jack of claim 1 wherein each of said contacts is on a finger of a second set of fingers.

Claim 4

In a connector jack comprising a body, a cavity in said body for receiving a mating plug, and a plurality of generally parallel electrode fingers within said cavity constituting a first set of mutually electrically insulated fingers for connection through the jack to said plug, wherein the improvement comprises a second set of a plurality of mutually electrically insulated fingers arranged for electrical connection to corresponding fingers of said first set when said plug is not present in said cavity and for disconnection of the fingers of said first set from the fingers of the second set when said plug is fully inserted in said cavity, and a plurality of pockets in said body at the rear of said cavity, with one finger of said first set and one finger of said second set in each of said pockets, said pockets laterally restraining and aligning the fingers in the pocket.

Claim 5

In a connector jack comprising a body, a cavity in said body for receiving a mating plug, and a plurality of generally parallel electrode fingers within said cavity constituting a first set of mutually electrically insulated fingers for connection through the jack to said plug, wherein the improvement comprises a second set of a plurality of mutually electrically insulated fingers arranged for electrical connection to corresponding fingers of said first set when said plug is not present in said cavity and for disconnection of the fingers of said first set from the fingers of the second set when said plug is fully inserted in said cavity, and a plurality of pockets in said body at the rear of said cavity, with one finger of said first set and one finger of said second set in each of said pockets, said pockets laterally restraining and aligning the fingers in the pocket.

Claim 6

The connector jack of claim 3 wherein each of said plurality of pockets which is occupied by fingers has one finger of the first set entering the pocket from the cavity and one finger of the second set entering from another side.

Claim 7

The connector jack of any of claim 4 wherein the tip of each of the fingers of said second set is formed in a small radius.

Claim 8

The jack of any of claims 1-4 wherein said cavity and said first set of fingers are adapted for use with a mating plug of the RJ-11 type.

Claim 9

The jack of any of claims 1-4 wherein said cavity and said first set of fingers are adapted for use with a mating plug of the RJ-45 type.

Claim 12

The device of claim 8 wherein the tip of each of the fingers of said second set is formed in a small radius.

Claim 13

A patch panel comprising a plurality of connector jacks in accordance with any of claims 1-4, 8 or 9.

Claim 14

The patch panel of claim 10 further comprising at least two additional connectors (D, E), wherein a plurality of said connector jacks (Ax, Bx) are arranged in pairs with the fingers of the first set of one of connector jack (Ax) of each pair connected to one of said additional connectors (D), the fingers of the first set of the other connector jack (Bx) of each pair connected to the other of said additional connectors (E), and the fingers (571) of the second set of one connector jack (Ax) of each pair being externally connected (Ix) to corresponding fingers (671) of the other connector jack (Bx) of said pair.

Claim 15

The connector jack of claim 10 wherein the tip of each of the fingers of said second set is formed in a small radius.

Claim 16

The connector jack of any of claims 2-4, 11, or 12 wherein the fingers of the first set are arranged to be moved away from the fingers of the second set by the insertion of a mating plug.