Electrical connector having ground bus bar

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9401570-B2
Application number	US-201414526690-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 29, 2014
Priority date	Oct 29, 2014
Publication date	Jul 26, 2016
Grant date	Jul 26, 2016

Abstract

An electrical connector includes a housing, signal contacts and ground contacts, and a ground bus bar. The housing has a first side wall and a second side wall that define a socket at the front end of the housing. The socket is configured to receive a mating connector therein. The signal and ground contacts are held in the housing and interspersed along at least one of the first or second side wall. The signal and ground contacts extend into the socket to mate with corresponding mating signal contacts and mating ground contacts, respectively, of the mating connector. The ground bus bar is coupled to the housing at the first side wall of the socket. The ground bus bar includes spring contacts that extend into the socket and are configured to engage corresponding mating ground contacts of the mating connector to electrically common the mating ground contacts.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector comprising:
a housing having a front end and an opposite rear end, the housing having a first side wall and a second side wall defining a socket at the front end, the socket being configured to receive a mating connector therein;
signal contacts and ground contacts held in the housing along at least one of the first or second side wall, the signal contacts and the ground contacts interspersed across a width of the housing, the signal contacts and the ground contacts extending into the socket to engage corresponding mating signal contacts and mating ground contacts, respectively, of the mating connector; and
a ground bus bar coupled to the housing at the first side wall of the socket, the ground bus bar including spring contacts that extend into the socket and are configured to engage corresponding mating ground contacts of the mating connector to electrically common the mating ground contacts, the spring contacts aligning with the ground contacts such that one of the spring contacts and a corresponding ground contact that aligns with the one spring contact engage a same mating ground contact of the mating connector at different, spaced-apart connection points.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the housing defines a slot in the first side wall at the front end of the housing, the ground bus bar being disposed within the slot, the spring contacts of the ground bus bar extending from the slot into the socket.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2 , wherein the slot in the first side wall is spaced apart from the socket, the spring contacts extending from the slot into the socket through a front opening of the socket.

4. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the ground bus bar includes a planar base having a width, the spring contacts extending from the base at spaced apart locations along the width of the base such that the spring contacts engage corresponding mating ground contacts but do not engage the mating signal contacts interspersed with the mating ground contacts.

5. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the ground bus bar includes a planar base that has a front edge and a rear edge, the spring contacts are cantilevered with a fixed end at the front edge of the base and a free end in the socket, the spring contacts extending rearward towards the rear end of the housing.

6. The electrical connector of claim 5 , wherein the spring contacts extend from the front edge of the base along an interior surface of the first side wall of the socket, the spring contacts configured to deflect towards the interior surface upon engaging the corresponding mating ground contacts, the spring contacts configured to apply a biasing force on the corresponding mating ground contacts to retain engagement with the mating ground contacts.

7. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the housing extends along a mating axis between the front and rear ends, the spring contacts and the ground contacts having respective mating portions configured to engage the mating ground contacts of the mating connector, the mating portions of the spring contacts of the ground bus bar being offset from the mating portions of the ground contacts along the mating axis such that the mating portions of the spring contacts are located more proximate to the front end of the housing than a proximity of the mating portions of the ground contacts to the front end of the housing.

8. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the ground bus bar coupled to the housing at the first side wall of the socket is a first ground bus bar and the electrical connector further includes a second ground bus bar coupled to the housing at the second side wall of the socket, the first ground bus bar configured to engage a first set of mating ground contacts of the mating connector, the second ground bus bar configured to engage a different, second set of mating ground contacts of the mating connector.

9. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the ground bus bar creates a ground circuit between the corresponding mating ground contacts engaged by the spring contacts of the ground bus bar.

10. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the signal contacts are arranged in pairs, each pair of signal contacts separated from a nearest pair of signal contacts by at least one of the ground contacts.

11. The electrical connector of claim 1 , wherein the housing extends along a mating axis between the front and rear ends, the one spring contact engaging the corresponding mating ground contact of the mating connector at a first connection point, the corresponding ground contact engage the same mating ground contact at a second connection point, the first connection point being disposed between the front end of the housing and the second connection point along the mating axis.

12. The electrical connection of claim 1 , wherein the housing extends along a mating axis between the front and rear ends, the spring contacts aligning with the ground contacts along the mating axis, the spring contacts being spaced apart from the corresponding ground contacts along the mating axis such that the spring contacts do not engage the ground contacts.

13. A connector system comprising:
an electrical connector including a housing having a front end and an opposite rear end, the housing having a first side wall and a second side wall defining a socket at the front end, the housing holding signal contacts and ground contacts along at least one of the first or second side wall, the signal contacts and the ground contacts interspersed across a width of the housing and extending into the socket, the electrical connector further including a ground bus bar coupled to the housing at the first side wall of the socket, the ground bus bar having spring contacts that extend into the socket, the spring contacts aligning with the ground contacts; and
a mating connector including a holder having an interface region, the holder holding mating signal contacts and mating ground contacts along at least one outer surface of the holder at the interface region, the mating signal contacts and the mating ground contacts interspersed across a width of the holder,
wherein, as the electrical connector and the mating connector are mated, the interface region of the mating connector is received in the socket of the electrical connector, the mating ground contacts of the mating connector engaging both the spring contacts of the ground bus bar and the ground contacts such that one of the mating ground contacts engages a corresponding spring contact at a first connection point and engages a corresponding ground contact that aligns with the spring contact at a second connection point that is spaced apart from the first connection point, the mating signal contacts of the mating connector engaging the signal contacts of the electrical connector.

14. The connector system of claim 13 , wherein the housing defines a slot in the first side wall at the front end of the housing, the ground bus bar being disposed within the slot, the spring contacts of the ground bus bar extending from the slot into the socket.

15. The connector system of claim 13 , wherein the ground bus bar includes a planar base having a width, the spring contacts extending from the base at spaced apart locations along the width of the base such that the spring contacts engage corresponding mating ground contacts of the mating connector but do not engage the mating signal contacts interspersed with the mating ground contacts.

16. The connector system of claim 13 , wherein the mating co

Assignees

• Tyco Electronics Corp

Inventors

• Phillips Michael John
• Henry Randall Robert

Classifications

• H01R13/648 Primary

  Protective earth or shield arrangements on coupling devices {, e.g. anti-static shielding}   (coaxially arranged shields H01R24/38) · CPC title

• H01R13/6583

  with separate conductive resilient members between mating shield members · CPC title

• H01R13/6585 Primary

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

• H01R12/724

  containing contact members forming a right angle · CPC title

• H01R31/08

  Short-circuiting members for bridging contacts in a counterpart · CPC title