Molex Corporation

Allied Corporation

Stephen A Sampson

Paul A Reisdorf

Jerry A Long

David L Brunker

Philip J Dambach

Paul Murphy

Rodger W Burke

Charles M Dahlem

Toshihiro Niitsu

Augusto P Panella

Daniel L Dawiedczyk

Burke J Crane

Joseph W Nelligan, Jr

Jack D Raymer, Ii

Timothy Scott Elo

Thor F Olson

Kenneth J Adamik

Michael Cheong

Philip J Danbach

Joseph W Nellington, Jr

A method and structure of an electrical connector is provided for tuning the impedance of the terminals in the connector. The connector includes a dielectric housing having a plurality of terminal-receiving passages. A plurality of terminals are shaped from sheet metal material, with each terminal having a contact portion at one end and a terminating portion at an opposite end. The contact portion has a contact area which engages a mating terminal of a complementary mating connecting device. The contact portion, except for the contact thereof, or the tail portion, is selectively trimmed to a given size to vary the plate area of the contact portion or the tail portion to adjust the impedance of the terminal. This may be done by removing sections of the contact portion from the contact edges or by forming holes in the contact portions. Alternatively, to adjust impedance, a drive shoulder of the terminal may be located at a position to lengthen or shorten the contact portion or tail portion.

Method and structure for tuning the impedance of electrical terminals

An electrical connector includes a dielectric housing having an forwardly projecting mating portion with a continuous or uninterrupted leading edge. A plurality of terminals are mounted on the housing with contact portions on at least one side of the forwardly projecting mating portion. A recess is formed adjacent the continuous leading edge of the mating portion in line with the contact portion of at least one of the terminals. The recess is deep enough to avoid at least initial engagement of the mating portion by a resilient contact of a mating connector.

Reduced mating force electrical connector

An electrical connector is adapted for mounting on a printed circuit board. The connector includes a dielectric housing having a mating face and a board-mounting face. At least one mounting post projects from the board-mounting face for insertion into a mounting hole in the printed circuit board. The mounting post is bifurcated lengthwise thereof and includes a relatively rigid leg of a substantially C-shaped cross section defining a slot extending longitudinally thereof. A relatively flexible leg includes a latch for latching engagement with the printed circuit board at the mounting hole. The flexible leg is sized for flexing movement substantially into the slot in the C-shaped rigid leg. Therefore, the C-shaped rigid leg provides an overstress protection for the flexible leg.

Board-mounted electrical connector

An electrical connector includes a dielectric housing having a conductor-receiving groove defined at least in part by a pair of side walls between which an elongated insulated conductor is receivable essentially normally of its length. An electrical contact has an insulation displacement termination section disposed in the groove. A pair of inwardly-directed wings are provided in the groove and spaced from and facing one another to provide a slot therebetween. The conductor is movable through the slot past free ends of the wings into insulation-displacement termination with the termination section of the contact. A pair of retention ribs face inwardly of the side walls of the groove essentially below the wings for embracing and thereby retaining the conductor terminated by the contact.

Electrical connector with improved conductor retention means

A panel mount system includes an electrical connector for mounting in an aperture in a panel. The connector has a mounting flange for interfacing with the panel, and a pair of cantilevered latch structures. Each latch structure includes a base arm projecting from the mounting flange and one locking arm deflectably cantilevered at one side of the base arm from an end thereof remote from the mounting flange. The locking arm extends angularly from the end of the base arm and from the one side thereof back towards the mounting flange. The other side of the base arm opposite the locking arm is substantially rigid. The maximum cross-sectional dimensions of one of the latch structures and its adjacent portion of the mounting aperture is different from the maximum cross-sectional dimensions of the other latch structure and its adjacent portion of the mounting aperture to provide polarization for the connector relative to the panel. The cross-sectional dimensions of the base arm adjacent the mounting flange is less than the adjacent portion of the mounting aperture to provide floating of the connector within the aperture relative to the panel.

Polarizing and/or floating panel mount for electrical connectors

An electrical optical fiber connector assembly includes a dielectric shroud having a receptacle for receiving a plug connector in position for mating with a complementary connector device. A metal latch is secured to the dielectric shroud and is interengageable with a complementary latch on the plug connector for latching the connector in the receptacle automatically in response to positioning the connector thereinto in a mating direction. An anti-overstress stop overlies the metal latch in a spaced relationship thereto to allow the metal latch to move into and out of engagement with the complementary latch only a limited degree to prevent overstressing the metal latch. A rib and slot engagement is provided between the connector and the shroud to prevent rotation of the connector about an axis perpendicular to the mating direction of the connector, to provide further anti-overstress protection for the metal latch.

Connector assembly having anti-overstress latch means

An insulation displacement terminal is provided for terminating a conductor of an insulated electrical wire. The terminal has a channel-shaped terminating section of a generally U-shaped cross-section provided by a pair of side walls joined by a base wall. A U-shaped distal end of the terminating section includes a conductor-receiving insulation displacing slot extending into each side wall generally parallel to the base wall. Reinforcing flanges extend along free edges of the side walls of the terminating section to prevent collapsing thereof when the conductor is forced into the slots.

Insulation displacement electrical terminal

A programmable input-output electrical connector is provided for electrically coupling a plurality of conductors with an electronic component having a plurality of circuits. The connector includes a dielectric housing. A programming multi-contact bus is mounted in the housing. The bus includes a plurality of spring contacts normally biased into engagement with respective circuits on the electronic component. The spring contacts are individually selectively movable to inoperative positions out of engagement with the circuits. Latch devices are operatively associated with the spring contacts for positively holding each spring contact individually in its inoperative position.

Programmable input-output electrical connector

An insulation displacement termination system is provided for an input-output electrical connector which includes a dielectric housing having a top face and a bottom face with a terminal-receiving passage therebetween. At least one terminal includes an insulation displacement section generally at the bottom face of the housing for termination to an insulated electrical conductor through a lower mouth of the passage in the bottom face of the housing. The terminal includes a contact section projecting through an open upper end of the passage generally in the top face of the housing for engaging a complementary mating electrical component. The terminal is configured for insertion into the terminal-receiving passage through the lower mouth thereof. Complementary interengaging abutment means are provided between the insulation displacement section of the terminal and the housing to define a stop-limit position of the terminal and to provide support for the insulation displacement section during termination to the insulated electrical conductor. Complementary interengaging latch means are provided between the contact section of the terminal and the housing within the passage for holding the terminal in the passage.

Insulation displacement termination system for input-output electrical

An electrical terminal is interposed between first and second opposing conductive surfaces. The terminal includes an intermediate support portion and first and second spring contact portions projecting from the intermediate support portion for respectively engaging the first and second opposing conductive surfaces. Complementary interengaging latches are provided between at least one of the first and second spring contact portions and the intermediate portion for holding the one spring contact portion out of engagement with the respective conductive surface. The electrical terminal is disclosed mounted within a connector housing by a floating mount to afford limited movement of the terminal relative to the connector housing.

An electrical connector is provided for electrically coupling a plurality of conductors of different configuration with an electronic component. A plurality of insulation displacement terminals and a plurality of surface terminating terminals are provided for use with the connector assembly. A common housing mounts the electronic component and has channels for locating a plurality of discrete insulated conductor wires and a surface area for interfacing with a substrate having a plurality of surface conductors thereon. The housing includes a plurality of first receptacles for selectively receiving the insulation displacement terminals for termination to the insulated conductor wires and electrically coupling the wires to the electronic component, and a plurality of second receptacles for, alternatively, receiving the surface terminating terminals in termination with the conductors on the substrate and electrically coupling the conductors to the electronic component. Therefore, the common housing, in combination with either the insulation displacement terminals or the surface terminating terminals, can be used to electrically couple either discrete insulated conductor wires or surface conductors, respectively, to the electronic component.

Input-output electrical connector

A snap eyelet is provided for securely mounting an electrical connector housing to a circuit board and for completing electrical connection between a conductive shield on the housing and a ground circuit on the circuit board. The snap eyelet is constructed to avoid an initial deflection of the board engaging structure during mounting onto the electrical connector housing. In particular, the snap eyelet includes a cylindrical shank dimensioned to be slidably inserted upwardly into a mounting aperture of the connector housing. The bottom end of the shank include flanges which engage a bottom surface of the connector housing when the shank is inserted upwardly into the mounting aperture of the housing. The top end of the shank is provided with tabs that are deflectable into engagement with the top surface of the connector housing for securely engaging the shank therein. Deflectable board engaging beams extend from the bottom of the shank and are dimensioned to snap into engagement with the circuit board adjacent an aperture therein.

Snap eyelet for mounting and grounding an electrical connector to a

A connector assembly for blind mated back plane interface connections of optic fibers with active optical devices includes a shroud mounted in a back plane panel within which are received a receptacle assembly mated to connector modules. The modules, each associated with a cable of a plurality of optical fibers, subdivide the mated fibers into separately connected groups to avoid expensive tolerance requirements. The receptacle includes a housing and shims for precisely locating the active optical devices relative to the ends of the optic fibers. The interface connections are shielded from interference by conduction between the receptacle housing, a fiber termination ferrule and a rear housing and strain relief portion of each connector module.

Fiber optic connector assembly

An improved fiber optic connector assembly for connecting the ends of optical fibers to OED lenses is provided by a plug connector including a front mating end and a corresponding number of fiber receiving channels. Each channel includes an enlarged generally cylindrical portion adjacent the front end wherein the optical fiber end is coaxially positioned. The plug connector is mateable with a receptacle connector including a housing having a plug receiving socket with a front opening and a rear wall. The rear wall includes a corresponding number of spaced interface apertures aligned with each OED lens. A plurality of tubular projections coaxially aligned with and surrounding each aperture extend forwardly into the plug-receiving socket. As the plug connector is inserted into the socket, the tubular projections are received within the enlarged portions of the fiber receiving channels surrounding the fiber ends and the ends of the optical fibers are guided by the tubular projections into abutting coaxial alignment with the apertures and lenses, respectively. In a preferred embodiment, the receptacle connector housing is formed of die cast zinc to provide a shielded fiber optic link connector assembly for connecting a CPU to peripheral equipment which is characterized by reduced or eliminated EMI emissions. In an especially preferred embodiment, a shielded connector assembly including an integral switch feature is provided.

Shielded fiber optic connector assembly

An improved fiber optic connector assembly which includes an optoelectronic device, a housing to receive the optoelectronic device, said housing having an opening to receive therethrough a plug which mounts an optic fiber. The plug is electrically insertable into the housing through the opening in alignment with the optoelectronic device. A resilient door is provided the housing which normally covers and is biased against the opening when the plug is not inserted in the housing. The door is movable away from the opening in response to the insertion of the plug therethrough.

Growing community of inventors

Downers Grove, IL, United States of America

Stephen A Sampson