Molded circuit board for ribbon cable connector

Abstract

A paddle board for a connector for one or two ribbon cables having closely spaced signal and ground wires, includes on one or both major surfaces a plurality of wire-terminating pads comprising conductive material along bottoms of wire-receiving grooves proximate the cable-proximate edge of the board, the grooves defined by serrate ridges. Circuit paths extend from the signal ones of the wire-terminating pads to terminal-connecting pads along one or both major surfaces at a connector-proximate edge of the board to be connected to signal terminals of the connector. Other circuit paths extend from ground ones of the wire-terminating pads to a ground bus which includes at least one ground circuit path extending to a ground terminal-connecting pad along the connector-proximate edge. The wires of each ribbon cable are soldered to the wire-terminating pads after being wiped into the grooves, and the ridges serve as integral wire alignment means. The paddle board is molded of plastic and then plated to define the pads and circuit paths, and can include molded through-holes which become plated, and can also easily have a shape molded to include other structural features such as cable-receiving recesses as desired. A solder strip can be placed transversely across the row of wire ends and melted by a transverse hot bar, with interruptions in the ridges defining a strip- and bar-receiving region.