Molex Corporation

Molex Incororporated

Galen F Fromm

Richard A Nelson

Hazelton P Avery

Kathleen A Sweeney

Daniel B McGowan

Kent E Regnier

Jay H Neer

Emanuel G Banakis

Scott D Sommers

Michael R Kamarauskas

Gary Humbert

Gary S Manchester

Daniel B McGowen

Huili Qiao

A board-mountable connector is provided. The connector includes a shield and an insulative housing with a tongue. Terminals are supported by the housing in two rows and the rows extend from a mating interface to a board mounting interface. The terminals may be mounted to the board via surface mount technology in two rows that are at about 0.4 mm pitch. The two rows of terminals are configured in a signal, signal, ground triangular configuration so as to provide a triangular terminal arrangement that extends from the mating interface to the mounting interface.

Method of mounting a connector

Impedance controlled electrical connector

A termination structure for mating a cable connector to a circuit board includes a plurality of associated sets of terminals, each terminal set including a pair of differential signal terminals and a ground reference terminal. Each associated set of terminals is arranged in triangular pattern through the connector in order to reduce the impedance through the connector, and the sets are fixed within modules or blocks that are engageable together to form a connector housing. The housing modules permit adjacent associated terminal sets to be easily inverted so that the ground reference terminals of alternating associated terminal sets are located along one row of the connector along with signal terminals of intervening terminal sets, while the ground reference terminals of intervening terminal sets are located along a second row of the connector, along with the signal terminals of alternating associated terminal sets.

High-density, impedance-tuned connector having modular construction

A connector uses a plurality of individual terminal assemblies to form a high-density connector. The terminal assemblies all have insulative body portions that support arrays of signal terminals and ground terminals or ground members. The terminals all have their own associated body portions which are supported by the insulative body portions and contact portions that extend out from a front, or mating face, of the assemblies. The terminal contact portions and include flexing portions formed therewith which are disposed between the terminal body and contact portions. The terminals further include insulative support members that are applied to the terminals and which serve to define the contact and flexing portions of the terminals. The support members are fixed within a carrier, such as a shroud member, which is not attached to any one portion of the connector. The support members permit the terminals and shroud to move as a single unit and flex in different directions, relative to the insulative body portions that support the terminals.

High-density connector assembly with flexural capabilities

A connector assembly is suitable for connecting circuit boards together. The connector assembly includes a series of ground and signal terminal sets assembled in composite wafers that may be held within a housing. The ground terminals include pairs of flat contact blades that are aligned together in abutting contact to form a column of ground contacts blades of double width, and the signal terminals are arranged in sets on opposite sides of the ground terminal blades and the signal terminals have general L-shapes that are arranged in sets of two pairs of contacts to form a cruciform pattern. One of the two connectors has solid L-shaped contacts, while the other of the two connectors has a pair of split contact arms that lie and extend in two different planes project from an associated terminal body in a manner so as to mate with the contact portions of the solid L-shaped contacts. The use of L-shaped contacts provides a redundant contact mating arrangement.

High-density connector assembly with improved mating capability

A high-density connector utilizes a plurality of terminal assemblies that are assembled together into a block, or single unit, to form a connector. Each terminal assembly of the connector utilizes a plurality of conductive terminals having contact portions for mating with an opposing connector, and body portions held within an insulative body portion of the assembly. The terminal assemblies support arrays of terminals arranged in a specific order of signal-ground-signal arrays. The terminal assemblies have at least two insulative housing portions that support the signal terminal arrays and an intervening ground terminal array, which may or may not be supported by an associated insulative housing. The ground members have a series of grounding tabs formed therewith with extend out from the plane of the ground members, on opposite sides thereof into contact with ground reference terminals of the signal terminal arrays. In this manner, a ground path is enabled between the signal terminal and ground terminal arrays.

Interstitial ground assembly for connector

Connector assemblies having cantilevered contact beams arranged in one or more arrays of terminals have their terminals fixed in place at a first point within insulative connector body portions. The terminals are fixed together by one or more support members within a hollow shroud, at a second point spaced apart from the first point. The present invention pertains to means for fixing the terminals and their support member to the outer shroud. In one embodiment, the shroud is square and has a series of slots formed in two opposing sidewalls. A key member has a plurality of biasing arms, or fingers that extend into the slots and into contact with the terminal support members. In a second embodiment of the inventions, the shroud is provided with a plurality of channels formed on the inner surfaces of two opposing sidewalls thereof. A retainer key is provided with a plurality of hook ends for engaging the shroud and spring arms that extend through openings into the shroud channels up against the ends of the support bar.

Flexural connector cover assembly mounting apparatus

An electrical connector includes an elongated dielectric housing having a central body portion with a front face, a rear face and at least three rows of terminal-receiving passages extending therebetween and including a top row, a middle row and a bottom row. A plurality of terminals are received in the passages and include top terminals received in at least some of the passages in the top row, middle terminals received in at least some of the passages in the middle row and bottom terminals received in at least some of the passages in the bottom row. All of the terminals have tail portions projecting rearwardly from the body portion beyond the rear face thereof. A pair of juxtaposed wire guide members include a top wire guide member having a top surface with wire-receiving channels for aligning a plurality of electrical wires with the tail portions of the top row of terminals. A bottom wire guide member has a bottom surface with wire-receiving channels for aligning a plurality of electrical wires with the tail portions of the bottom row of terminals. Guide channels are provided between the wire guide members for receiving a plurality of electrical wires aligned with the tail portions of the middle row of terminals.

Growing community of inventors

North Aurora, IL, United States of America

Galen F Fromm