Molex Corporation

Other

Kathleen A Sweeney

Richard A Nelson

Hazelton P Avery

Galen F Fromm

Kent E Regnier

Harold Keith Lang

Daniel B McGowan

Emanuel G Banakis

Gary Humbert

Daniel B McGowen

A connector assembly for connecting differential signal circuits on two different circuit boards has a connector housing formed from an insulative material with a conductive coating on the surfaces thereof and with cavities formed therein to receive terminal assemblies. Each internal cavity may have an elongated portion that extends transversely across the housing and a plurality of leg portions in communication with the elongated portion to define passages between opposite sides of the connector. Each cavity is suited for holding a terminal assembly having at least one pair of differential signal terminals. The terminals have opposing compliant tail portions, and interconnecting portions that are partially encapsulated by an insulative outer shell. Two shells are combined together to form a single terminal assembly. The terminal assemblies are identical in shape so that they may be inserted into any of the cavities of the housings, thereby imparting a measure of modularity to the connectors.

Board-to-board connector with compliant mounting pins

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 connector assembly for connecting to differential signal circuits on at least one circuit board may be of the docking type or the interposer type. A housing of the connector has transversely and longitudinally extending walls that define a plurality of cavities that extend completely through the housing. Terminal assemblies with at least one differential signal pair are received in the cavities with tail portions on at least one end of the differential pairs to connect to a circuit board. The connector housing has conductive surfaces and a plurality of ground terminal members are disposed along the transverse walls or the longitudinal walls, or both, for connecting to ground circuits in the circuit board. The ground terminal members each have a plurality of ground terminals, which are disposed along the walls at intermediate or diagonal positions relative to the differential signal pairs, such as adjacent to four differential signal pairs. Such placement of the ground terminal members also subdivides the differential signal pairs into groups or sets. This interstitial ground terminal arrangement also serves to keep the impedance at the connector-circuit board interface relatively uniform for high speed signals in the differential pairs.

High-speed differential signal connector with interstitial ground aspect

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.

Growing community of inventors

Naperville, IL, United States of America

Kathleen A Sweeney