Electrical connector systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016013594-A1
Application number	US-201414328776-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 11, 2014
Priority date	Jul 11, 2014
Publication date	Jan 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electrical connector that includes a housing configured to be coupled to a mating connector. The connector has signal contacts held in signal contact openings. The signal contacts are arranged in arrays of quad groups. Each of the quad group has a set of four contacts arranged in row pairs and column pairs. The signal contacts of each quad group are configured to carry relational signals with each other signal contact in the quad group. Each signal contact is configured to electrically couple to a signal contact of the mating connector. The connector also includes ground shields held in corresponding ground shield openings. The ground shields have walls surrounding a corresponding quad group of signal contacts and provides electrical shielding from adjacent quad groups of signal contacts. The ground shields have mating ends for mating with corresponding ground contacts of the mating connector.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electrical connector comprising:
a housing configured to be coupled to a mating connector, the housing having signal contact openings and ground shield openings therethrough; signal contacts held in the signal contact openings, the signal contacts arranged in an array of quad groups, each quad group having a set of four contacts arranged in column pairs and row pairs, the signal contacts of each quad group configured to carry relational signals with each other signal contact in the quad group, each signal contact having a mating end configured to electrically couple to a corresponding signal contact of the mating connector; and ground shields held in corresponding ground shield openings, the ground shields having walls surrounding a corresponding quad group of signal contacts and providing electrical shielding from adjacent quad groups of signal contacts, the ground shields having mating ends for mating with corresponding ground contacts of the mating connector.

2 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the electrical connector comprises a header connector, the housing defining a header housing having a first end and a second end, the header housing having end walls at the first and second ends, the endwalls defining a cavity therebetween, the cavity configured to receive the mating connector.

3 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the electrical connector comprises a receptacle connector, the housing defining a receptacle housing configured to hold a plurality of contact modules, each contact module including a first leadframe and a first dielectric frame surrounding the first leadframe, and a second leadframe and a second dielectric frame surrounding the second leadframe, the receptacle signal contacts each having a mating end extending forward of the corresponding first and second dielectric frame for mating with corresponding signal contacts of the mating connector.

4 . The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the ground shields form a ground box surrounding the corresponding quad group of signal conductors on four sides thereof.

5 . A header connector comprising:
a header housing having a first end and a second end, the header housing having endwalls at the first and second ends, the endwalls defining a cavity therebetween, the cavity configured to receive a receptacle connector, the cavity having signal contact openings and ground shield openings therethrough; header signal contacts held in the signal contact openings, the header signal contacts arranged in an array of quad groups, each quad group having a set of four contacts arranged in column pairs and row pairs, the header signal contacts of each quad group configured to carry relational signals with each other signal contact in the quad group, each header signal contact having a mating end configured to electrically couple to a corresponding receptacle signal contact of the receptacle connector; and header ground shields held in corresponding ground shield openings, the header ground shields having walls surrounding a corresponding quad group of header signal contacts and providing electrical shielding from adjacent quad groups of header signal contacts, the header ground shields having mating ends for mating with corresponding ground contacts of the receptacle connector.

6 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the walls of the header ground shields surround corresponding quad groups of header signal contacts on four sides.

7 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the header ground shields form a ground box surrounding the corresponding quad groups of the header signal contacts on four sides thereof.

8 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the header ground shields are C-shaped.

9 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the header ground shields are symmetrically arranged around corresponding quad groups of header signal contacts.

10 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the header ground shields form a ground box surrounding the corresponding quad group of header signal contacts.

11 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the header signal contacts of each of the quad groups are arranged in an array in rows and in columns, the walls of the header ground shields being arranged around an outer perimeter of the header signal contacts.

12 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the walls define longitudinal walls and lateral walls, the header signal contacts in each quad group being arranged in rows and columns, the longitudinal walls being spaced equidistant from the header signal contacts in the closest row, the lateral walls being spaced equidistant from the header signal contacts in the closest column.

13 . The header connector of claim 12 , wherein the walls define longitudinal walls and lateral walls, each header signal contact in each quad group being approximately equally spaced apart from the closest longitudinal wall and the closest lateral wall.

14 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the header signal contacts define cylindrical pins.

15 . The header connector of claim 5 , wherein the header signal contacts in each quad group are arranged in rows and columns such that each header signal contact is approximately equally spaced apart from an adjacent header signal contact in a neighboring row and an adjacent header signal contact in a neighboring column within the same quad group.

16 . A receptacle connector comprising:
a receptacle housing configured to hold a plurality of contact modules, the contact modules comprising receptacle signal contacts, each contact module includes a first leadframe and a first dielectric frame that surrounds the first leadframe, and a second leadframe and a second dielectric frame that surrounds the second dielectric frame, the receptacle signal contacts extending from mating ends extending forward of corresponding first and second dielectric frames for mating with header signal contacts; the receptacle signal contacts are arranged in column pairs and row pairs forming quad groups, each quad group comprising a set of four receptacle signal contacts configured to carry relational signals with each of the receptacle signal contacts in the quad group, the contact modules each comprising a ground shield having receptacle ground contacts extending therefrom, the receptacle ground contacts having walls surrounding a corresponding quad group of receptacle signal contacts and providing electrical shielding from each adjacent quad group of receptacle signal contacts.

17 . The receptacle connector of claim 16 , further comprising a first conductive shell configured to receive the first leadframe and a second conductive shell configured to receive the second leadframe, the first and second conductive shells each have slots receiving corresponding receptacle ground shields, the receptacle ground shields being electrically connected to the first and second conductive shells.

18 . The receptacle connector of claim 16 , wherein the first dielectric frame includes grooved portions along a surface thereof, the grooved portions configured to change a dielectric constant of the first leadframe.

19 . The receptacle connector of claim 18 , wherein at least one of the grooved portions is filled with a plug, the first dielectric frame comprising a first material having a first dielectric constant, the plug comprising a second material having a second dielectric constant higher than the first dielectric constant.

20 . The r

Assignees

• Tyco Electronics Corp
• Tyco Electronics Japan G K

Inventors

• Costello Brian Patrick
• Herring Michael David
• Behziz Arash
• Morgan Chad William
• Tracy Nathan Lincoln
• Aizawa Masayuki

Classifications

• H01R13/6588 Primary

  with through openings for individual contacts · CPC title

• H01R13/6586 Primary

  for separating multiple connector modules · CPC title

• H01R13/6585

  Shielding material individually surrounding or interposed between mutually spaced contacts · CPC title

• H01R13/6587

  for mounting on PCBs · CPC title

• H01R12/737

  Printed circuits being substantially perpendicular to each other (for printed connections H05K3/366) · CPC title