Molex Corporation

David Schmidgall

Kent E Regnier

Harold Keith Lang

Emanuel G Banakis

Richard A Nelson

Javier Resendez

Yew Teck Yap

Compression connectors and methods are provided that are suitable for mating a flat flexible circuit and a printed circuit board. A mounting assembly secures a locking compression assembly to the printed circuit board. Pliable compression springs mounted on rotatable levers engage the top surface of the flexible circuit and force the flexible circuit down onto an interposer, which in turn forces the interposer down onto the printed circuit board. Stop plates are biased towards the rotatable levers to hold the levers in the closed position. Latch members engage the stop plates to keep the connector closed.

Compression connector with compressing, mounting and locking assemblies

A compression connector for connecting the conductor pads of a flat flexible cable to the conductor pads of a printed circuit board. The connector includes a carrier plate which carries a hardboard, the flexible circuit and an interposer through the use of extending peg portions extending from one side of the plate. The peg portions extend beyond the interposer for receipt within positioning openings of the printed circuit board to position the flexible circuit and interposer for electrical connection to the conductor pads of the printed circuit board. A cage structure is secured to the printed circuit board having a top wall covering the positioning openings as well as the conductor pads of the printed circuit board. An actuator having a tension spring mounted thereon is slidably carried on the opposite side of the carrier plate. The actuator is movable between a first position corresponding to a disengaged position and a second position corresponding to an engaged position. The extending peg portions may be placed in the positioning openings with the actuator in its first position and the actuator can then be moved to its second position, causing the top wall of the cage structure to engage with and compress the spring and thereby provide compression force against the flexible circuit, interposer and conductor pads of the printed circuit board to effect appropriate mechanical and electrical connections.

Compression connector for connecting a flat flexible circuit to a printed circuit board

A connector assembly is provided with opposing and interengageable first and second connector components. Each of the two components preferably includes upper and lower housing formed from an insulative material, with cavities formed therein that receive terminal assemblies. The upper and lower housings are formed with internal cavities that extend in different directions. These cavities are aligned together when the upper and lower housings are assembled together to define a plurality of internal cavities that extend through the first and second connector components. Each cavity contains a terminal assembly with differential signal terminals. The terminals have contact portions, tail portions and interconnecting portions that are partially encapsulated by an insulative outer shell. The exterior surfaces of the connector components are plated with a conductive material so that the connector components serve as grounds for the differential signal terminals.

High-speed differential signal connector particularly suitable for docking applications

An electrical connector is provided for straddle mounting at an edge of a circuit board. The connector includes a dielectric housing defining a slot for receiving the edge of the board. A plurality of terminals are mounted on the housing and include contact portions for connection to the circuit traces on the board. A flexible gripping arm is integral with the housing at one side of the slot for yieldably engaging the circuit board upon insertion of the board into the slot. A ground tab extends from a shielding plate on the mating face of the connector through the housing adjacent to the slot for contacting a ground pad on the circuit board.

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Wood Dale, IL, United States of America

David Schmidgall