Shielded flat flexible cable connector with grounding

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9306304-B2
Application number	US-201414302954-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 12, 2014
Priority date	Jun 12, 2014
Publication date	Apr 5, 2016
Grant date	Apr 5, 2016

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses may provide for a grounding between a shield on a flat flexible cable and a printed circuit board. According to one embodiment, the pins of a connector include ground pins that contact both ground traces on the flat flexible cable and a shield on the flat flexible cable, further connecting the cable to a ground plane.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A connector to provide shielding to a flat, flexible cable, the connector comprising:
a plurality of electrically conductive signal pins;
a plurality of electrically conductive ground pins, each ground pin having a first ground contact to provide a first ground connection to a circuit board, and second, third, and fourth ground contacts located on spaced apart arms to provide respective second, third, and fourth ground connections to a cable, wherein two of the ground contacts are on one of the spaced apart arms; and
a housing to contain the signal pins and the ground pins.

2. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the first ground connection is to be to a circuit board and the second ground connection is to be to a cable.

3. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the second and third ground contacts face one another.

4. The connector of claim 1 , further comprising a lever connected to the housing to provide pressure on the pins to thereby secure their electrical connection to the cable.

5. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the spaced apart arms are spaced apart from one another such that they can grip a flat cable therebetween through contact with a conductive shield on the cable and with a ground line trace on the cable.

6. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the signal pins and ground pins are arranged in a ground pin, signal pin, signal pin, ground pin pattern.

7. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the connector is a back latch connector.

8. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the connector is a front latch connector.

9. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the connector is a side front latch connector.

10. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the signal pins do not provide a ground connection to a cable.

11. The connector of claim 1 , wherein each arm has a contact point with which to establish an electrical contact with an electrically conductive shield on a cable.

12. A system for shielding against unwanted electromagnetic interference, comprising:
a flat flexible cable having a plurality of signal traces, at least one ground trace, and a shield made of electrically conductive material overlying a substantial portion of the cable; and
a connector to provide a ground connection to the cable, the connector comprising
a plurality of signal pins;
a plurality of ground pins having a first ground contact to provide a ground connection to a circuit board, a second ground contact to provide a ground connection to the shield, and a third ground contact to provide a ground contact to the ground trace; and
a housing to contain the signal pins and the ground pins.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the signal pins and ground pins are arranged in a ground pin, signal pin, signal pin pattern.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein at least one arm has two contact points to provide two ground contacts to the cable.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the signal pins do not provide a ground connection to the cable.

16. The system of claim 12 , further comprising a Wi-Fi antenna or a wireless wide area network antenna.

17. The system of claim 12 , further comprising a printed circuit board having a ground plane.

18. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first ground contact and the second ground contact are arranged on opposite ends of a first arm, and wherein the third ground contact is on a free end of a second arm that is spaced apart from the first arm.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the first and second arms are spaced apart from one another such that they may grip the cable there between.

Assignees

• Chen Chung-Hao J
• Li Xiang
• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Chen Chung-Hao J
• Li Xiang

Classifications

• H01R13/62994

  Lever acting on a connector mounted onto the flexible or rigid printed circuit boards, flat or ribbon cables · CPC title

• H01R12/775 Primary

  Ground or shield arrangements · CPC title

• H01R12/79

  connecting to rigid printed circuits or like structures · CPC title

• H01R13/6471

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