Tyco Electronics Corporation

The Whitaker Corporation

Dennis Leroy Kemmick

Robert Neil Whiteman, Jr

Wayne Samuel Davis

Edward John Bright

Brent Ryan Rothermel

Timothy Lee Kocher

Steven Lee Flickinger

Harold William Kerlin

Robert S Correll, Jr

Darrell Lynn Wertz

William Lamar Herb

William E Veith

David James Fabian

Randolph L Buchter

John L Broschard

Andrew Dewitt Balthaser

Karen Elizabeth Benjamin

Donald Eugene Dellinger

Francis P Morana

John Thomas Larkin, Jr

Robert Stewart Correll, Jr

Michael E Bowman

Kevin Lloyd Kennedy

A contact module assembly is provided for an electrical connector. The contact module assembly includes a lead frame having a plurality of terminals and a commoning member at least partially including an electrically conductive material. The commoning member has a plurality of tabs that are electrically connected to selected ones of the terminals, thereby electrically commoning the selected ones of the terminals. The commoning member can be configured with different patterns of the tabs to selectively configure the lead frame with different patterns of commoned terminals.

Electrical connector with programmable lead frame

A docking connector system has been provided that includes a plurality of interchangeable plug and header chicklets, or terminal modules. Each interchangeable plug and header chicklet includes a plurality of signal contact pairs with corresponding signal pins and a plurality of ground contacts with corresponding ground pins. The signal contact pairs are arranged in a pattern in which a ground contact is positioned between any two signal contact pairs in the same row. Further, a ground contact is positioned between any two signal contact pairs in the same column. The signal contact pairs in one row of the pattern are staggered relative to the signal contact pairs in an adjacent row of the pattern. That is, signal pairs in adjacent rows do not line up with each other. Each plug and header chicklet also includes a plurality of signal pins and a plurality of ground pins. Each signal pin is attached to a signal contact pair, while each ground pin is attached to a ground contact. The interchangeable plug and header chicklets may be positioned in a plug assembly or a header assembly, respectively. The plug assembly and the header assembly mate together such that electrical elements, including the signal contact pairs and ground contacts, of the plug assembly, interface, or contact, electrical elements of the header assembly.

Connector with staggered contact pattern

A receptacle for receiving a module and electrically connecting said module to a host circuit board mounted within a chassis of a host system, said chassis having a bezel opening which has an offset a certain distance above said host circuit board: (a) a housing having a front, a back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and side walls and defining a cavity for receiving a module, the bottom wall having a bottom opening to receive a receptacle connector, the front having a front opening to receive the module, the walls comprising a conductive material; (b) a plurality of elongated members extending down from the housing past the bottom wall and adapted for electrical connection to a host circuit board such that the walls are electrically connected to the host circuit board; and (c) at least one standoff extending down from the housing, the standoff being more toward the front of the housing than the rear, when the housing is mounted to the host circuit board, the standoff contacts the circuit board and causes the front of the housing to be raised above the rear of the housing, the front of the housing being raised above the host circuit board by a distance approximately the same as that of the offset.

Pluggable module and receptacle

A receptacle for a pluggable module includes a housing having a front, a back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and side walls and defining a cavity for receiving a module. The bottom wall has a bottom opening to receive a receptacle connector, and the front has a front opening to receive the module. The walls of the housing are made from a conductive material. A plurality of elongated members extend down from the housing past the bottom wall. The elongated members are adapted for electrical connection to a host circuit board such that the walls of the housing are electrically connected to the host circuit board.

An electrical connector (,) is arranged to releasably receive a pair of conductors (,) and electrically interconnecting the conductors to the terminals (,) of an acoustical speaker (,). The connector includes an insulating housing (,) and a single button (,) in sliding engagement with the housing (,). The button is slidable between a first position (,) where the conductors are held within the connector and electrically interconnected to the speaker terminals (,) and a second position (,) where the conductors (,) can be inserted into the connector or removed therefrom. A pair of contact members (,) are disposed in a cavity (,) within the housing (,). Each contact member includes a tail (,) extending therefrom through an opening (,) in the housing and is electrically interconnected to one of the terminals via a lead (,). Each contact member has a gripping portion (,) for receiving the conductor when the button is in its second position (,) and for electrically engaging the conductor when the button is in its first position (,).

Electrical connector for attaching conductors to speaker leads

A card reader,includes a base,and a cover,securable together to define a card-receiving cavity,and a plurality of right angle terminals,therein disposed in a terminal housing,. The base,defines a terminal-receiving section,of the terminal housing,and the cover,defines a terminal-securing section,of the terminal housing,, the two sections together defining terminal-receiving passageways,within which the bodies of the terminals,extend. Upon assembling the base,and cover,together, the terminals,are secured in position in the terminal-receiving passageways and the terminal contact surfaces,extend into the cavity,proximate the cover,, and a card 170 can be inserted into the cavity,with the contact pads,facing the cover

Card reader assembly

An electrical connector (16) associated with a component (10) is arranged to releasably receive a conductor (22, 24) and electrically interconnect the conductor to the component. The connector (16) includes a contact member (48) having a shank (62), a pair of first and second opposed beams (64, 66) extending from opposite edges of the shank upwardly into mutual pressing engagement and terminating in outwardly formed flanges (70) that are angled away from each other and from the shank (62). Conductor gripping portions (90, 92) are formed in the two flanges (70). By deflecting the beams (64, 66) the gripping portions (90, 92) are movable to an open position for receiving the conductor therein and movable to a closed position for gripping and electrically contacting the conductor.

Wire retention contact in an electrical connector

A PCMCIA receptacle connector 2 for use with a PCMCIA card includes a plurality of receptacle contact terminals 34 positioned in two rows of cavities 18 in a housing 12. Each of the cavities has two cavity sections 20, 28. Mating pin terminal are received through the first cavity section 20 and the contact terminals are inserted from the rear face 16 of the housing 12 into the second housing cavity 28, which has smooth interior walls 32. Each stamped and formed contact terminal 34 has a forward mating section 36, a central contact support section 48, and a rear conductor contact section 42 including surface mount solder tails 44. The contact support section 48 includes resilient spring members 50 in the form of edge stamped cantilever spring members that engage the interior smooth walls 32 of the second cavity section 28 to retain the contacts in the housing 12 and to properly position the mating contact section 36 and the solder tails 44.

Memory card receptacle connector and contact terminal

An electrical connector (10) is disclosed having a one piece housing (12), a plurality of cavities (18,20,22,24) in the housing, arranged in two vertical stacks (14,16) of four cavities each, and a contact (26,28,30,32) in each cavity. The cavities in each stack are separated by thin walls (48,50,52) of the housing. Each of the contacts has a contact end (68) for mating with a mating connector, and a tail (78) that exits from the contact at a right angle to the mounting surface (36) of the connector. Some of the contacts (28,30,32) have support members (94,96,98,100,102,104) that extend from the contact to engage the floor (53) of the cavity while the upper surface of the contact is in engagement with the ceiling (51) of the cavity. There is a bearing structure established from the tails (78) through the support members and the thin walls (48,50,52) to the top surface (34) of the connector housing. This permits installation of the connector (10) to a circuit board (112) by applying an insertion force directly to the top surface of the housing.

Growing community of inventors

Columbia, PA, United States of America

Dennis Leroy Kemmick