Electrical Connector with Ground Bus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016006182-A1
Application number	US-201414321416-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 1, 2014
Priority date	Jul 1, 2014
Publication date	Jan 7, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electrical connector includes a housing having a front and a rear. The housing including a slot defined through the front that is configured to receive a mating connector therein. Signal contacts are held in the housing. The signal contacts are arranged within the slot to mate with the mating connector. Ground contacts are held in the housing and interspersed among the signal contacts. The ground contacts are arranged within the slot to mate with the mating connector. A ground bus includes a base and multiple sets of projections extending from the base. Each set including at least two projections that engage the same corresponding ground contact at spaced-apart locations. The sets of projections are connected via the base to create a ground circuit between the ground contacts that are engaged by the ground bus.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electrical connector comprising:
a housing having a front and a rear, the housing including a slot defined through the front configured to receive a mating connector therein; signal contacts held in the housing, the signal contacts being arranged within the slot to mate with the mating connector; ground contacts held in the housing and interspersed among the signal contacts, the ground contacts being arranged within the slot to mate with the mating connector; and a ground bus that includes a base and multiple sets of projections extending from the base, each set including at least two projections that engage the same corresponding ground contact at spaced-apart locations, the sets of projections connected via the base to create a ground circuit between the ground contacts engaged by the ground bus.

2 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the signal contacts and the ground contacts are arranged in a row along a lateral axis, the base of the ground bus extending parallel to the lateral axis and separated from the row of signal and ground contacts by a gap, the projections extending across the gap to engage each of the ground contacts in the row without engaging the signal contacts.

3 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein each set of projections includes a front projection and a rear projection that is in-line with the front projection along a contact axis, the front projection being disposed closer to the front of the housing than the rear projection and configured to engage the corresponding ground contact at an engagement location more proximate to a mating interface of the ground contact than an engagement location between the rear projection and the ground contact, the mating interface configured to engage the mating connector.

4 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the base of the ground bus is planar and the projections are cantilevered deflectable fingers being stamped and bent out of the plane of the base to extend from a common side of the base.

5 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the base of the ground bus has a front edge and a rear edge, the projections being cantilevered deflectable fingers having a fixed end and an opposite free end, the projections in each set having fixed ends disposed proximate to each other, the free end of one of the projections in each set being proximate to the front edge, the free end of another projection in each set being proximate to the rear edge.

6 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein each ground contact includes a mating interface and a mounting interface, the mating interface being configured to engage the mating connector, the mounting interface being configured to engage a circuit board, the projections of each set engaging the corresponding ground contact at multiple locations along the ground contact between the mating and mounting interfaces to shorten an effective ground path length of the ground contacts.

7 . The electrical connector of claim 6 , wherein the projections of the ground bus each include a contact interface that is configured to engage the corresponding ground contact, each set of projections includes a front projection that engages the ground contact at a front engagement location and a rear projection that engages the ground contact at a rear engagement location, wherein the effective ground path length of the ground contacts is shortened to a first length between the mating interface of the ground contact and the front engagement location, a second length between the front and rear engagement locations, and a third length between the rear engagement location and the mounting interface of the ground contact.

8 . The electrical connector of claim 6 , wherein each set of projections of the ground bus engages the corresponding ground contact at predetermined locations between the mating interface and the mounting interface to increase a resonance frequency of the electrical connector to above 12 GHz.

9 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the housing defines a right angle housing, the housing being configured to be mounted to a circuit board such that the slot receives the mating connector in a direction parallel to the circuit board.

10 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the signal and ground contacts are arranged in an upper row above the slot and a lower row below the slot, the ground bus is a first ground bus that engages the ground contacts in the upper row, and the electrical connector further comprises a second ground bus that engages the ground contacts in the lower row.

11 . The electrical connector of claim 10 , wherein the ground contacts in the upper row are longer than the ground contacts in the lower row, each set of projections of the first ground bus engaging the corresponding ground contact in the upper row at engagement locations spaced apart by a first distance, each set of projections of the second ground bus engaging the corresponding ground contact in the lower row at engagement locations spaced apart by a second distance, the first distance being greater than the second distance.

12 . The electrical connector of claim 10 , wherein the base of the first ground bus is disposed above the upper row, and the second bus includes a base that is disposed below the lower row.

13 . An electrical connector comprising:
a housing having a top and a bottom, the bottom being configured to be mounted to a circuit board, the housing having a front and a rear opposite the front, the housing defining a slot through the front configured to receive a mating card module therein and configured to hold the mating card module parallel to the circuit board; signal contacts and ground contacts held in the housing, the signal contacts arranged in pairs, at least one ground contact being disposed between each pair of signal contacts, each of the signal contacts and ground contacts having a mating arm that extends into the slot and is configured to engage the mating card module; each of the signal contacts and ground contacts having a mounting arm that extends at an angle from the mating arm and is configured to be terminated to the circuit board; and a ground bus that includes a base and multiple sets of projections extending from the base, each set including at least two projections that engage the same corresponding ground contact at spaced-apart locations, the sets of projections connected via the base to create a ground circuit between the ground contacts engaged by the ground bus.

14 . The electrical connector of claim 13 , wherein the projections in each set engage the corresponding ground contact at spaced-apart locations along an intermediate portion of the ground contact that is between the mating arm and the mounting arm.

15 . The electrical connector of claim 13 , wherein the ground contacts are configured to be electrically commoned at a distal end by engagement of the mating arms to corresponding ground pads of the mating card module, the ground contacts configured to be electrically commoned at a proximal end by engagement of the mounting arms to corresponding ground pads of the circuit board, the ground contacts being electrically commoned between the distal and proximal ends by engagement of the ground contacts to the corresponding projections of the ground bus to shorten an effective ground path length of the ground contacts.

16 . The electrical connector of claim 15 , wherein each set of projections of the ground bus includes a front projection that engages the corresponding ground contact at a front

Assignees

• Tyco Electronics Corp

Inventors

• Patel Sandeep

Classifications

• H01R13/6471 Primary

  by special arrangement of ground and signal conductors, e.g. GSGS [Ground-Signal-Ground-Signal] · CPC title

• H01R13/652 Primary

  with earth pin, blade or socket · CPC title

• H01R12/732

  Printed circuits being in the same plane · CPC title

• H01R13/6597

  the conductive member being a contact of the connector · CPC title

• H01R12/724

  containing contact members forming a right angle · CPC title