High speed, high density direct mate orthogonal connector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11817657-B2
Application number	US-202217894944-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 24, 2022
Priority date	Jan 27, 2020
Publication date	Nov 14, 2023
Grant date	Nov 14, 2023

Abstract

A direct mate orthogonal connector for a high density of high speed signals. The connector may include right angle leadframe assemblies with signal conductive elements and ground shields held by a leadframe housing. High frequency performance may be achieved with members on the leadframe that transfer force between a connector housing, holding the leadframe assemblies, and a portion of the leadframe housing holding the signal conductive elements and the shields near their mounting ends. Core members may be inserted into the housing and mating ends of the conductive elements of ground shields may be adjacent the core members, enabling electrical and mechanical performance of the mating interface to be defined by the core members. The core members may incorporate insulative and lossy features that may be complex to form as part of the connector housing but may be readily formed as part of a separate core member.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electrical connector comprising:
a housing comprising a plurality of grooves and a plurality of separators;
a plurality of leadframe assemblies disposed on opposite sides of the plurality of separators of the housing, the plurality of leadframe assemblies each comprising a shield; and
a plurality of core members each comprising a feature engaging one groove of the plurality of grooves, the plurality of core members each electrically connecting the shields of the leadframe assemblies disposed on opposite sides of a corresponding separator.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein:
the plurality of core members comprise conductive material and insulative material selectively overmolded with insulative material, and
for each core member, the feature engaging the one groove of the plurality of grooves comprises an insulative feature.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2 , wherein:
for each core member, the feature engaging one groove of the plurality of grooves comprises a conductive feature.

4. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein:
every other separator of the plurality of separators comprises a forward edge shaped with a feature that one core member of the plurality of core members engages.

5. The electrical connector of claim 4 , wherein:
the plurality of core members each comprises a complementary feature engaging the feature that the forward edge of the every other separator of the plurality of separators are shaped with.

6. The electrical connector of claim 5 , wherein:
the plurality of core members comprise conductive material and insulative material selectively overmolded with insulative material, and
for each core member, the complementary feature is conductive.

7. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein:
the plurality of separators are spaced from each other by a distance that corresponds to a row-to-row pitch.

8. An electrical connector, comprising:
a plurality of mating ends;
a plurality of mounting ends opposite the plurality of mating ends; and
a housing comprising front and rear, top and bottom, and two sides, the front of the housing comprising a cavity that exposes the plurality of mating ends, the bottom comprising an organizer that the plurality of mounting ends extending therethrough, the rear and two sides of the housing each comprising a screw receiver extending to and open at the bottom, the rear of the housing comprising a recess, the screw receiver of the rear disposed adjacent the recess and comprising a sloped surface.

9. The electrical connector of claim 8 , wherein:
the bottom of the housing comprises a lower-most surface and a recessed surface from the lower-most surface by a distance, and
the electrical connector comprises a compressible shield disposed on the recessed surface of the bottom of the housing.

10. The electrical connector of claim 9 , wherein:
the compressible shield extends beyond the lower-most surface of the bottom of the housing.

11. The electrical connector of claim 8 , wherein:
the housing comprises a front portion and a rear portion having complementary features such that the front portion and the rear portion are held together.

12. The electrical connector of claim 11 , wherein:
the front portion comprises the front and top of the housing, and
the rear portion comprises the rear, bottom and two sides of the housing.

13. The electrical connector of claim 11 , wherein:
the front portion comprises a plurality of separators aligned in the front and offset from each other in the rear.

14. The electrical connector of claim 11 , wherein:
the front portion comprises a plurality of separators aligned in the bottom and offset from each other in the top.

15. A leadframe assembly, comprising:
a plurality of conductive elements, each of the plurality of conductive element comprising a mating end, a mounting end opposite the mating end, and an intermediate portion extending between the mating end and the mounting end, the mating ends of the plurality of conductive elements aligned in a first row, the mounting ends of the plurality of conductive elements aligned in a second row parallel to the first row;
a leadframe assembly housing holding the intermediate portions of the plurality of conductive elements; and
a shield separated from the plurality of conductive elements by the leadframe assembly housing, the shield comprising a plurality of mounting ends aligned in a third row that is parallel to and offset from the second row.

16. The leadframe assembly of claim 15 , wherein:
the shield comprises a plurality of mating ends aligned in the first row.

17. The leadframe assembly of claim 15 , wherein:
the plurality of mounting ends of the shield are offset from the mounting ends of the plurality of conductive elements in a direction parallel to the second row.

18. The leadframe assembly of claim 15 , wherein:
the intermediate portions of the plurality of conductive elements are bent so as to provide first segments parallel to the mating ends and second segments parallel to the mounting ends.

19. The leadframe assembly of claim 18 , wherein the leadframe assembly housing comprises
a first portion holding the first segments of the plurality of conductive elements and
a second portion holding the second segments of the plurality of conductive elements.

20. The leadframe assembly of claim 19 , wherein:
the shield has features complementary to features of the first portion of the leadframe assembly housing and features of the second portion of the leadframe assembly housing, respectively, such that the shield is attached to the first portion of the leadframe assembly housing and the second portion of the leadframe assembly housing.

Assignees

• Fci Usa Llc

Inventors

• Ellison Jason John
• Johnescu Douglas M
• Hull Gregory A
• Lauermann Mark E
• Martin Scott
• De Geest Jan
• Carbaugh Scott
• Minich Steven E
• Gray Mark R
• Copper Charles
• Tanis William

Classifications

• H01R13/6587 Primary

  for mounting on PCBs · CPC title

• H01R12/716

  Coupling device provided on the PCB · CPC title

• H01R13/502

  composed of different pieces (H01R13/514 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01R13/6477

  by variation of dielectric properties · CPC title

• H01R12/724

  containing contact members forming a right angle · CPC title