Granted Patent B2

US 8,075,348 · App. 12/763,410 · Granted Dec 13, 2011

Abstract

Claims (33)

1. A cable-connector assembly, comprising:

a trunk cable comprising a plurality of subunits, each of the subunits comprising a plurality of twisted pairs of conductors and a shield circumferentially surrounding the plurality of twisted pairs; and

a connector attached to each end of the cable, each of the connectors including a contact for each of the conductors of the cable.

2. The cable-connector assembly defined in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of subunits comprises either 4 or 6 subunits.

3. An extension trunk cable-connector assembly comprising:

a cable including a plurality of subunits, each of the subunits comprising a plurality of twisted pairs of conductors;

a jack attached to one end of the cable; and

a plug attached to an opposite end of the cable;

wherein each of the jack and the plug includes a contact for each of the conductors of the cable.

4. The assembly defined in claim 3 , further comprising features that enable connectivity and/or integrity of the subunits to be tracked.

5. The assembly defined in claim 3 , wherein the plurality of subunits comprises either 4 or 6 subunits.

6. A datacommunication interconnection system,

comprising:

an extension trunk cable-connector assembly as defined in claim 3 and further comprising:

a trunk cable-connector assembly comprising:

a second cable including a plurality of second subunits, each of the second subunits comprising a plurality of twisted pairs of conductors;

a plug attached to one end of the second cable and connected with the jack of the extension trunk cable; and

a plurality of RJ-45 connectors attached to respective ones of the second subunits at an opposite end of the second cable.

7. The system defined in claim 6 , wherein the plurality of RJ-45 connectors are jacks mounted in a housing.

8. The system defined in claim 6 , wherein the plurality of RJ-45 connectors are plugs broken out of the cable.

9. The system defined in claim 6 , wherein the plurality of RJ-45 connectors are performance-rated as at least Category 6A connectors.

10. A datacommunication connector unit, comprising:

a housing;

a printed wiring board mounted within the housing;

a plurality of RJ-45 jacks mounted on the printed wiring board and accessible from one side of the housing; and

a backplane connector mounted to the printed wiring board and electrically connected to the RJ-45 jacks, the backplane connector being accessible from a second side of the housing;

in combination with a cable-connector assembly, comprising:

a trunk cable comprising a plurality of subunits, each of the subunits comprising a plurality of twisted pairs of conductors and a shield circumferentially surrounding the plurality of twisted pairs; and

a connector attached to each end of the cable, each of the connectors including a contact for each of the conductors of the cable, the connector of the cable-connector assembly being connected with the backplane connector of the connector unit.

11. The connector unit defined in claim 10 , wherein the housing includes first and second opposed side walls, and wherein the RJ-45 jacks are mounted to be accessible through the first side wall, and the backplane connector is mounted to be accessible through the second side wall.

12. The connector unit defined in claim 10 , wherein the plurality of RJ-45 jacks performance-rated as at least Category 6A jacks.

13. The connector unit defined in claim 10 , wherein the backplane connector is a plug.

14. The connector unit defined in claim 10 , wherein the backplane connector is a jack.

Assignments (13)