Wafer connector with grounding clamp

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9991639-B2
Application number	US-201715847340-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2017
Priority date	Jul 10, 2013
Publication date	Jun 5, 2018
Grant date	Jun 5, 2018

Abstract

A wafer connector is disclosed in which a plurality of twin-axial wires are terminated to the tails of ground and signal terminals of the connector. Each twin-axial wire includes a pair of signal wires enclosed in a conductive sheath. A conductive grounding clamp is provided that contacts the sheaths of the twin-axial wires and holds them together as a unit to facilitate the attachment of the wires to the connector terminal tails. The clamp has two opposing halves that cooperatively define openings which receive the twin-axial wires and flat, interconnecting portions extending between the openings that provide contact points where the grounding clamp may be attached to the connector terminal tails.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A connector, comprising:
an insulative housing;
a plurality of first and second conductive terminals supported in spaced-apart order by the housing, each terminal including contact portions disposed at a first end thereof and tail portions disposed at a second end thereof, each contact portion being disposed along a mating end of the housing and each tail portion being disposed along a termination end of the housing;
a cable, the cable housing a plurality of wires;
a plurality of conductive sheaths enclosing a pair of wires of the plurality of wires; and
a grounding clamp disposed in the insulative housing, the grounding clamp including two opposing halves formed from a conductive material, the two opposing halves cooperatively defining a plurality of axially-oriented passages therebetween and extending axially therethrough, each passage receiving a pair of wires and an associated conductive sheath in a manner such that the halves make electrical contact with the sheaths and space adjacent wire pairs from each other.

2. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the two opposing halves are mirror images of each other.

3. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the insulative housing includes a portion which has an insulative material molded over the grounding clamp.

4. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the grounding clamp holds multiple wires together as a unit in a preselected spacing.

5. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the first terminal tail portions have a width that is no greater than a corresponding width of the grounding clamp valleys.

6. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the first terminal tail portions are wider than the second terminal tail portions.

7. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the first terminal tail portions have a length longer than the second terminal tail portions.

8. The connector of claim 1 , wherein the grounding clamp is disposed in the insulative housing rearwardly of the tail portions.

9. The connector of claim 8 , wherein the first terminal tail portions do not extend past a rearward edge of the grounding clamp.

10. The connector of claim 1 , wherein each half include at least one peak and one valley, the peaks and valleys respectively opposing each other.

11. The connector of claim 10 , wherein the halves cooperatively define contact portions of the grounding clamp for attaching the grounding clamp to the tail portions.

12. The connector of claim 10 , wherein adjacent first terminal tail portions are spaced apart from each other to define intervening spaces therebetween, the halve peaks being disposed in the intervening spaces.

13. The connector of claim 10 , wherein each half includes additional peaks and valleys.

14. The connector of claim 13 , wherein the opposing peaks of the halves cooperatively define axial passages therebetween, each axial passage being configured to receive a wire sheath therein.

15. The connector of claim 13 , wherein the halves are attached to each other at opposing valleys thereof.

16. The connector of claim 13 , wherein opposing valleys of the halves define spacers that space adjacent wire sheaths apart from each other in preselected spacings.

17. A cable connector assembly, comprising:
an insulative connector housing;
a plurality of conductive terminals supported by the housing, each terminal including ground and signal terminals arranged so that adjacent ground terminals are separated from each other by a pair of intervening signal terminals, the ground and signal terminals including tail portions disposed along a termination end of the housing;
a cable that encloses a plurality of wires, each wire being arranged in dedicated pairs, the wires of each dedicated pair being enclosed in a conductive sleeve, the sleeve ending at a termination end of the cable, the wires having free ends that extend past the cable termination end; and
a conductive clamp member disposed in the insulative connector housing, the clamp member including a plurality of axially-oriented passages which extend axially through the clamp member, each passage receiving a dedicated pair of wires and an associated conductive sleeve therein, the clamp member further including a plurality of flat portions disposed between adjacent passages;
whereby the clamp member makes electrical contact with the conductive sleeves and spaces adjacent wire pairs from each other, the flat portions contacting the ground terminal tail portions.

18. The cable connector assembly of claim 17 , wherein the clamp member further includes two halves, each half including peak and valley portions and wherein the peak portions of each half cooperatively define the passages, and the valley portions cooperatively define the flat portions.

19. The cable connector assembly of claim 17 , wherein the insulative connector housing includes a portion which has an insulative material molded over the clamp member.

20. The cable connector assembly of claim 17 , wherein the ground terminal tail portions being longer than the signal terminal tail portions.

Assignees

• Molex Llc

Inventors

• Resendez Javier
• Rost Michael
• Wanha Christopher
• Keyser Frank

Classifications

• H01R12/594

  for shielded flat cable · CPC title

• H01R13/6594

  the shield being mounted on a PCB and connected to conductive members · CPC title

• H01R13/6585 Primary

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

• H01R13/6593

  the shield being composed of different pieces · CPC title

• H01R13/648 Primary

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