JP4565673B2 - Connector with integrated PCB assembly - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to connectors, and more particularly to high speed shielded connectors having one or more integrated PCB assemblies.
[0002]
[Prior art and problems]
Connectors with insulating bodies and independent metal terminals are widely used, and many different structures are available. The normal manufacturing method for most connector structures involves stitching or insert molding the terminals in a suitable housing. The manufacturing process may further include a bending operation of the terminal tail portion, particularly for a right angle connector. High frequency connectors require additional requirements. In this regard, a controlled impedance terminal capable of selecting a ground shield is preferred. For this reason, it is known to divide and manufacture one part which accommodates the contact terminal which meshes and contacts with the contact terminal of the mating connector, and a separate part for the tail end. If a right angle structure is required, a separate shield case can be provided around each terminal in the connector. The operation of the connector manufactured by the above method is satisfactory, but the manufacturing cost is high.
[0003]
U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,014 shows another method for manufacturing a backplane connector using one or more PCB assemblies. Each of the PCB assemblies includes an insulating substrate, a spacer, and a cover plate, all of which are attached to each other. The insulating substrate is provided with a predetermined conductive path pattern, and a ground path is provided between the conductive paths. The conductive path has one end coupled to the female contact terminal and the other end coupled to the male contact terminal. Each cover plate is a conductive shield member.
[0004]
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,014, conductive paths are provided on the sides of the circuit board, all oriented in the same direction. Each cover plate / shield is inserted between adjacent substrates. Such an arrangement forms a plurality of individually shielded conductive paths, but forms a pair of impedance matched impedance paths through the connector in a twinax shape. Twinax connectors are often used in combination with twisted pair cables. Such twisted pair cables typically have multiple pairs of identical conductors twisted along the signal transmission length. Such a pair of conductors has signals on the two conductors as different pairs, and this conductor pair (which may be a plurality of twisted pairs) is housed in an outer copper shield net to form a cable. . Each twisted pair often has a separate drain line. The electromagnetic fluxes formed on the twisted pair of wires are equal in size and opposite in direction, so that they effectively cancel each other. Extending this idea to a pair of twinax connector contacts, this can be viewed as two closely spaced contact members encased in an outer (rectangular cross-section) ground shell. This is a relatively inexpensive method for maintaining the quality of the signal through the connection. This is sometimes referred to as a “balanced pair” connection. The use of such a twinax connection terminal is often related to the use of a cable, but a twinax connector can also terminate on the PCB. In this case, instead of twisting the cable, the connector can be mounted on a PCB having the same pair of lines that are usually placed close together as part of a multilayer structure.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,014 primarily discloses backplane coupling and does not disclose cable-to-cable or cable-to-board coupling.
[0005]
Published European Patent No. 0444243 discloses a cable connector formed from a plurality of shielded PCB assemblies. However, this connector does not use a mirror image PCB arrangement to form a twinax connector. In addition, this structure uses a metal shield that surrounds each PCB assembly.
[0006]
PCT Patent Application No. US96 / 11214, filed June 2, 1996, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, is a laminated module formed from a printed circuit board assembly and a cover, respectively. A board-to-board connector formed from is disclosed. This application discloses a board-to-board connector that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the connector of the present invention that solves this object, the connector terminal is connected to the conductive path or conductive trace of the PCB, and acts as a conductor lead of the connector. PCBs form electrically matched pairs of conductive traces by placing the traces in a substantially mirror image relationship.
In order to form a shield for a matched pair of conductive paths on the PCB, a ground path may be provided between the conductive paths on the first surface and a ground layer may be provided on the second surface opposite the first surface. it can.
[0008]
The cover may be formed of an insulating material and may hold one or more insulating substrates in an opposed relationship with conductive traces to form a conductive path alignment pair. The cover, along with one or more associated PCBs, can be assembled side-by-side in the housing to form a finished connector.
[0009]
The connector further comprises an insulating connector body that houses each of the one or more integrated PCB assemblies, and a metallized shield layer is provided on the outer surface of the connector body. This further reduces electromagnetic interference to the surroundings by such a connector. The connector body preferably has a structure for receiving and fixing the PCB module in an aligned state.
[0010]
According to another feature of the present invention, the PCB module comprises a structure that holds a flexible conductor, such as a wire or cable, in a position to be secured relative to a trace on the PCB. The cover can be provided with such a holding structure.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
1 and 2 show a manufacturing process of a right angle connector according to the present invention, in which a standard manufacturing method of a printed circuit board (PCB) is used.
[0012]
FIG. 1A shows an insulating substrate 16, which is made of, for example, a normal flat PCB (printed circuit board) material provided with a plurality of parallel conductive signal paths. The conductive grounding path 10 can be provided between adjacent lines 11. The outermost conductive grounding path 10 is provided with a ground contact terminal 7 and can be connected to a grounding part through a printed board to which a connector is to be attached. The manufacturing method of the insulating substrate 16 having the plurality of parallel conductive paths 10 and 11 is widely known in the printed circuit board manufacturing field and need not be described here.
[0013]
Each of the conductive paths 11 is connected to the substrate contact terminal 7, and the substrate contact portion 15 extends beyond the circuit substrate 16. The substrate contact portion 15 is shown as a press-fit terminal, but can be replaced with a suitable solder tail terminal. The other end of the conductive path 11 is connected to a suitable contact terminal 4. Terminals 4 and 7 are secured on suitable solder pads formed at the ends of trace 11. This can be done by conventional surface mount soldering techniques.
[0014]
The insulating spacer 17 can be provided with a first series of openings 24 for accommodating the contact terminals 4 and a second series of openings 25 for accommodating at least part of the substrate contact terminals 7. The concave portion 2 of the module 1 is formed on the joining surface of adjacent layers or laminations. That is, the recess 2 is partitioned by, for example, the circuit board 16, the edge of the opening 24 or the opening 25, and the cover 18. This allows the contacts to be fixed on the substrate by conventional surface mounting or other bonding techniques.
[0015]
An insulating cover 18 provided with a completely metallized ground layer 9 according to the selection covers the circuit board 16. The cover 18 and the spacer 17 are preferably combined in a single molded member.
[0016]
FIG. 1B shows one integrated PCB assembly, which is attached to the member shown in FIG. 1A, that is, an insulating spacer 17 and attached to the insulating spacer 17. It is formed from an insulating substrate 16 to which an insulating cover plate 18 is attached. The first series of openings 24 in the insulating spacer 17 form a recess 2 in which the receptacle terminal 4 is arranged to receive a contact terminal of a mating connector (not shown). Note that the receptacle terminal 4 shown in FIG. 1A can be replaced with a pin or a noncontact contact terminal.
[0017]
As described above, instead of providing the spacer and the cover plate 18, only the cover plate can be provided, and a concave portion suitable for the cover plate can be formed to accommodate the contact terminal 4 and the substrate contact terminal 7. Such a recess acts for the same purpose as the openings 24 and 25 of the spacer 17 shown in FIG. Instead of this, although not desirable from the viewpoint of cost, it is possible to provide such a recess in the substrate 16.
[0018]
FIG. 2 shows a plurality of integrated PCB modules that are arranged parallel to the sides and inserted into the connector body 19 as shown in FIG. The connector body 19 can be made of any insulating material and can be provided with a metallized inner surface to increase the shielding effect. The connector body 19 is provided with a suitable guide protrusion 23 and one or more guide extensions 22 so that the assembled connector can be properly connected to a mating connector (not shown).
[0019]
As in the normal case, one or a plurality of arrangements and fixing posts 21 that can be accommodated in the holes of the printed circuit board to which the connector is connected are provided on the bottom of the connector body 19.
The connector body 19 is provided with a lead-in hole 20 corresponding to each contact terminal 4. Each of the drawing holes 20 is suitable for receiving a counterpart pin terminal of a counterpart connector (not shown). The lead-in holes 20 are arranged in rows and columns as indicated by arrows c and r.
[0020]
Referring to FIG. 3, the PCB assembly 30 includes an insulating substrate 31 formed from a material commonly used for PCB formation. The insulating substrate 31 is, for example, a resin-impregnated fiber material having a thickness of 0.4 mm, which is commercially available under the name FR4. A plurality of signal traces 32 are formed on the first surface of the substrate 31 by a normal PCB technique. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, each trace 32 extends from the first portion of the substrate 31 near the front edge to the second region of the substrate 31 such as the bottom edge as shown in FIG. The trace 32 has a contact pad at each end, and a metal terminal can be fixed thereto by a normal surface mounting technique using solder or the like. A plurality of ground or shield traces 33 are also provided on the substrate 31. The shield trace 33 is preferably disposed between each circuit trace 32. Terminals such as contact terminals 34 are attached to the first end of each trace 32, and connector attachment side terminals 35 are attached to the second end of each circuit trace 32. An additional shield or ground layer 36 may be provided on the remainder of the substrate 31. The ground terminal 37 is fixed to the ground layer 36 in alignment with the terminal 35.
[0021]
The arrangement hole 39 is preferably arranged in the substrate 31. The arrangement hole 39 has a plated through hole, and is electrically connected to a ground layer 38 (FIG. 6) extending over almost the entire back surface of the substrate 31. A small via hole forming a plated through hole (not shown in FIG. 3) is placed in each of the ground paths 33, and the ground path 33, shield layer 36, and back shield layer 38 shield the signal trace 32 and associated terminals. A structural part can be formed. If a shield is not required or if a certain range of shield is desired, one or more of the shield structures 33, 36, 38 can be omitted.
[0022]
As schematically shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the contact terminal 34 comprises a dual beam contact having a base 40 formed as a single punch member and provided with a pair of opposed upstanding portions 41. An arm 42 forming a spring portion extends cantilevered from each of the upright portions 41 to form an insertion shaft for a mating terminal such as a pin from a pin header, for example. Such an engagement pin engages with a contact portion 43 disposed at an end portion of each cantilever arm 42. The contact terminal has a mounting portion such as a flat member 44, which can be fixed to the end of the circuit trace 32 typically by solder 46. This soldering can be done by conventional surface mounting or other bonding techniques. Obviously from the above description, the cantilevered arm 42 and the contact portion 43 form a contact mesh or pin insertion shaft that is substantially parallel to the plane of the substrate 31 but offset from the surface supporting the conductive trace 32. To do.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 6, the preferred form of the connector mounting terminal 35 includes a press-fit portion 48 and a board mounting portion 49. The board mounting part 49 includes a substantially flat base 50, and a top tongue piece 52 facing upward is arranged along the top edge. A pair of opposing side tongues 53 also face upward from the base 50. The mounting portion 49 is held on the circuit trace 32 by a solder fillet 54, and in this case, it is also formed by a normal surface mounting technique. As shown in FIG. 6, it is preferable that the top tongue piece 52 is separated in a state in which the top tongue piece 52 is in close proximity to the vicinity of the top face of the side tongue piece 53 or is finely formed on the top face.
[0024]
7 and 8 show an insulating cover / spacer member 56 that is preferably molded from a suitable polymeric insulating material. The cover includes a plurality of contact recesses 57 formed along one edge. Each of the recesses 57 has a contact preload rib 58. A large central recess 59 can also be formed in the cover. A second plurality of terminal recesses 60 are formed along the second edge of the cover.
Further, the arrangement boss 62 is formed integrally with the cover, and is formed in a size and shape that is accommodated in the arrangement hole 39 of the substrate 31 with a predetermined gap. The cover further includes an upper rim 63 that extends from the rear of the cover to a position near the recess 57. A bottom rim or support member 64 is formed on a portion of the bottom surface of the cover. The cover 56 further comprises a top arrangement and mounting ribs 65 which are preferably in the form of dovetail ribs as shown. A similar but shorter mounting and placement rib 66 is located at the bottom edge of the cover. The surfaces 67a and 67b form a substrate mounting surface on which the substrate 31 is disposed. As the surfaces 67a and 67b, an adhesive or a film (not shown) coated with an adhesive on both surfaces can be disposed from the surface 67a to the surface 67b.
[0025]
One type half of the twinax contact module is formed as a module with a PCB 56 and a cover 56. FIG. 9A is a perspective view showing a state in which the cover 56 of the column terminal module 69 is substantially transmitted. In order to easily show the arrangement of elements on the substrate 31, the conductive traces and terminals are shown as solid lines, not dotted lines, with respect to the cover 56. The PCB assembly 30 is arranged in the vertical direction by upper and lower rims or mounting members 63 and 64, and is arranged along the longitudinal direction by an arrangement boss 62 (see FIG. 9B). The contact terminal 34 is disposed in the contact recess 57, and the connector mounting terminal 35 is disposed in the recess 60. The adhesive on the surfaces 67a and 67b or a film coated with the adhesive holds the PCB assembly and the cover 56 together.
[0026]
10A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XA-XA in FIG. 9A and shows the contact terminal 34 disposed in the contact recess 57. FIG. The terminal 34 is disposed so that the contact portion 43 abuts on the preload rib 58 and a required urging force is applied to the cantilever spring arm 42 in advance.
FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view taken along line XB-XB in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10B, the substrate 31 is disposed in a substantially vertical position by the rims 63 and 64.
As shown in FIG. 10C, each connector mounting terminal 35 has a mounting portion accommodated in the corresponding recess 60. When the board mounting terminal is of a type that can apply a relatively large axial force, such as a press-fit terminal, the surface 68 (FIG. 8B) of the recess 60 abuts the upright tongue piece 52 of the terminal. It is beneficial in that it is arranged.
FIG. 10C and FIG. 12 (described later) are views substantially along the XC-XC line in FIG.
FIG. 10D is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line XD-XD in FIG. 9 and shows the arrangement of ground terminals 37 in the same manner as the terminal 35 shown in FIGS. 9 and 12 (described later). .
FIG. 9B is a view of the rear end portion of the module 69, and the mounting portion of the placement boss 62 and the terminal 37 is indicated by a dotted line.
[0027]
11A and 11B show enlarged views of the connector contact 34 disposed in the recess 57 of the cover 56. FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG in FIG. 11B, and shows the arrangement of the preload ribs 58 with respect to the contact portion 43. FIG.
[0028]
FIG. 12 shows the interaction between the cover 56 and the substrate coupling terminal 35 when a downward force F acts on the top edge of the module 69. This downward force is transmitted to the pressing surface 68 formed on the top surface of the recess 60 by the cover. As a result, the vertical insertion force used to press the press-fit portion 48 into the hole T directly acts on the upper tongue piece 52 and the side tongue piece 53. In this way, the shear stress generated at the solder joint between the terminal base 50 and the circuit trace 32 is minimized. Thereby, loosening or separation of the terminal 35 is prevented. This is achieved at least in part by positioning the surface 68 to engage the tongue piece 52 before the rim 63 exerts a vertical force against the upper edge of the substrate 31. The One way to achieve this is to provide a slight initial gap between the rim 63 and the adjacent edge of the substrate 31. Furthermore, the cover is formed so that the majority of the insertion force acts directly on the terminals, and the stress at the terminal / conducting path interface is minimized. The disclosed structure is configured to withstand the required press-fit pin insertion force of 35-50 Newtons per pin.
[0029]
FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line HH in FIG. 13B, and shows a connector housing 70 having a top wall 72, a bottom wall 76, and a front wall 78. The top wall 72 includes a plurality of placement slots, for example, dovetail slots 73. One or more guide ridges 74 may be formed on the top surface of the top 72. The bottom 76 also includes a placement slot, for example a dovetail 77. The front wall 78 includes a plurality of openings 79. A shield can be added by metallizing the preferred face of the housing 70. FIG. 13D shows a bottom view of the housing 70 of FIG.
[0030]
FIG. 14A is a front elevational view of a retractable surface plate 80 having a plurality of inclined retractable portions 84 arranged in a grid. Each of the retracting portions 84 extends to the pin insertion port 85. A plurality of sleeves or hollow bosses 86 extend from the rear surface of the face plate 80 and are shaped and sized to be placed and retained in an opening 79 formed in the front wall 78 of the housing 70. If the inner surface of the housing 70 is fully metallized, it is desirable to use a separate pull-in plate. However, the housing 70 can be integrally molded with a pull-in plate at a site where selective metallization or non-metallization is employed.
[0031]
FIG. 15 shows a printed circuit board module formed to form a connector having a shielded pair of terminals. The module 30 shown in the lower part of FIG. 15 is almost the same as the module shown in FIG. 9A, and the dotted line indicates the cover 56 disposed on the opposite side of the cover adjacent to the PCB 31 (FIG. 10C). The arrangement of the structural part on the side part is shown. For clarity, the traces 32, 33 are shown as solid lines rather than dotted or imaginary lines. The members forming the module 30 are the same as those described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 12 and need not be further described. The PCB module 30 ′ is the same as the module 30, and therefore the same reference numerals are given to the same members. Module 30 'differs from module 30 in that the members of this module are arranged in a mirror image relationship with respect to line L.
[0032]
FIG. 16 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a pair of modules 30, 30 ′ arranged in a back-to-back relationship to form a fully shielded pair of modules, the pair of modules being side-to-side It is possible to form a connector with a similar module by arranging in the relationship. In this arrangement, the back shield layers 38, 38 'of the PCBs 31, 31' are arranged adjacent to each other to form a shielded pair of modules. The modules 30 and 30 'are inserted into the housing 70 (FIG. 13), or, if necessary, a conductive adhesive layer is provided on the adjacent outer surface of the shield layers 38 and 38' so that the relationship shown in FIG. Can hold. In the shielded pair module shown in FIG. 16, the dimension X indicates the centerline distance between the terminals 34, 34 ', which generally forms the contact pitch between the terminals. Dimension A represents the overall thickness of the shielded pair of modules. As shown, the dimension A is twice the thickness of one of the PCB modules 30, 30 '. The dimension A is preferably selected so that the terminal pitch X of adjacent ones of the shielded pair of modules is maintained. Referring to FIG. 17, a required terminal pitch X can be formed by arranging a spacer 90 having a thickness indicated by dimension B between modules 30 and 30 ′.
[0033]
FIG. 18 is a rear view of a completed 5 × 6 connector (row × column) formed by juxtaposing three shielded pairs of modules side by side in housing 70. Has been. Each module 90 has a pair of juxtaposed PCB modules 31, 31 ', on which press-fit terminals (for example, terminals with shields) 37, 37' are mounted. Each PCB module 31, 31 'is held by an associated insulating cover 56, 56'. These covers 56, 56 'have dovetail ribs 65, 65' attached to dovetail slots 73 in the housing. Dotted square portions 92 indicate the arrangement of the terminals 34, 34 'and correspond to the arrangement of the openings 85 in the face plate 80 (FIG. 14). A contact pitch X between adjacent columns on the intermating face of the connector is also formed in the board mounting interface of the terminal 37. Each of these shielded pair modules 90 supports five shielded pairs of terminals and terminal leads in a 5 × 6 arrangement as shown in FIG.
[0034]
FIG. 19 is a rear view of a connector that is substantially similar to that described in International Application No. PCT / US96 / 11214 filed on July 2, 1996. In this arrangement, the PCB module 30 is arranged in the connector housing 70, and all of the PCB assemblies 30 are arranged in the same way, for example with the cover 56 on the left and the PCB 31 on the right. As a result, each terminal of the connector is completely electrically isolated from everything else in the connector. For comparison, FIGS. 21A, 21B and 21 show a connector embodying one aspect of the present invention. FIG. 21A shows a back view of one form of a twinax connector having a shielded pair of terminals and terminal leads. This arrangement is essentially different from that shown in FIG. 18 in that the relative positions of the covers 56, 56 'and the PCBs 31, 31' are reversed. In this connector, the covers 56 and 56 'are arranged in a relationship in which the rear part and the rear part are juxtaposed, and the PCBs 31 and 31' form the outer surface of the module, whereby a terminal pair module 91 is formed. In this arrangement, each of the signal and ground traces 32, 32 'and 33, 33' are arranged in a mirror image relationship on the inner surface of the PCB 31, 31 'and the outer shield layers 38, 38' are arranged outward. . Such an arrangement forms a twinax pair 93 of terminals that are substantially parallel and have substantially the same electrical properties through the conductors. These pairs are indicated by dotted box 93 for the leftmost module 91. The connector shown in FIG. 21B is almost the same as that shown in FIG. 21A, and instead of the two covers 56 and 56 ′, the PCB 31 and the opposite PCB 31, which are opposed to each other using a single insulating member 57. The difference is that 31 'is held. In each of the modules 91, the outer surface of the insulating member 57 is formed in substantially the same manner as the inner surfaces of the covers 56 and 56 '. FIG. 21 schematically illustrates the arrangement described above with respect to FIG. Instead of a contact using two PCBs, a single multilayer PCB 31 ″ can be used, the PCB module having a substantially continuous central shield layer disposed in the center, with signal and shielding traces on the PCB 31 ″. Mirror images are formed on opposite sides.
[0035]
FIGS. 22A and 22B schematically show electrical differences between a connector of the type shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B and a connector of the type shown in FIG.
Referring to FIG. 22A, a pair of terminals 94 that are engaged with each other are electrically separated by a common shield S. On the other hand, in FIG. 22B, the pair of terminals 94 engaged with each other are individually shielded. In either case, the electrically matched pairs are interconnected and maintain a substantially twinax relationship through this connection.
[0036]
The above description corresponds to a connector attached to a printed circuit board. FIG. 23A shows an arrangement for the cable connector. FIG. 23A shows a cover 100 for use with a circuit board of the type generally described above. The upper part of the cover 100 is substantially the same as the cover 56 shown in the above embodiment. Dovetail ribs 165 and 166 are provided on the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and these ribs are formed so as to be accommodated in corresponding dovetail grooves in the housing such as the housing 70 of FIG. The printed circuit board has a plated through hole for accommodating the arrangement lug 162. The placement ribs 163 and 164 are the same as the placement rims or ribs 63 and 64 shown in FIG. 8A and serve to place the PCB in the same manner. The PCB assembly provided in the cover 100 is different from that described above in that the press-fit terminals 35 and 37 are not present.
[0037]
The cover 100 includes a holding structure portion 102 that holds a flexible lead formed from, for example, a plurality of independent wires. The holding structure 102 has an opening 104 for receiving a cable. A suitable strain relief means or member for preventing the occurrence of distortion can be provided at the position of the opening 104 to effectively hold the cable.
The retaining structure 102 preferably has a plurality of route assignment pegs 106 useful for separating individual wires attached to the PCB. Such individual wires are schematically indicated by dotted lines 108 in FIG. The ends of the wires 108, 109 can be soldered to contact pads on the PCB that coincide with the recesses 110 in the cover 100. Following soldering of the wires 108 and 109 to the PCB, the PCB is assembled to the cover 100 and each wire 108 is placed between the pegs 106. If the cable (not shown) has one or more drain lines, which can also be represented by lines 109, these drain lines are connected to the shield structure of the printed circuit board, such as traces 33 and layers 36, 38, for example. For example, it can be soldered to a coupling portion at a suitable position such as a position corresponding to the position of the press-fit shield terminal 37 in the above-described embodiment. For a twinax cable connector, the shielded pair of modules uses two covers 100, one of which is mirrored with respect to the other. Each twisted wire pair is connected to a corresponding trace on the printed circuit board.
If each twisted wire pair has an independent drain, the drain wire can be coupled to a suitable shield trace 33.
[0038]
24 to 26 show typical cable connector members. The connector shown is a twinax connector, but other structures are possible by changing the relative placement and layout of the modules. In this connector, two mirror image-related PCBs 31 and 31 'are arranged in a relationship in which the back portion and the back portion are juxtaposed, and the shield layers are arranged adjacent to each other. A signal wire 108 is attached to one of the conductive signal traces 32 of each PCB 31, 31 'along the bottom edge of each PCB. In a twinax connector, the lead from each twisted pair is attached to a corresponding signal trace on each of the PCBs 31, 31 '. When the drain or shield 109 exists in the cable, it can be fixed to the shield part 36. Attaching various wires to the PCB can be done by conventional methods such as soldering or brazing.
[0039]
As described above, the shield trace 33 and the shield part 36 are connected to the shield layers 38 and 38 ′ by the plated via hole 112 and the plated arrangement hole 39. The covers 100 and 100 'are fixed on the respective PCBs 31 and 31'. The holding part of each cover surrounds the end of the wire attached to the PCB 31, 31 '. The holding part has pegs 106, which perform strain relief and wire support functions.
[0040]
The PCBs 31, 31 'are held together by a conductive adhesive, or when the module is assembled in the housing 70 as shown in FIG. 25, the dovetail slots 73, 165' corresponding to the dovetail ribs 165, 165 ' 77 can be held in close contact with each other. A plurality of modules are placed in a molded plastic housing 70 whose inner surface can be metallized to form an additional shield. Face plate 80 is attached to housing 70 to form the complete right angle cable connector shown in FIG.
[0041]
27 to 29 show substantially the same members as those shown in FIGS. 24 to 26 except that the PCBs 33 and 33 'are formed so that the cable connection ends are provided not at the bottom edge but at the rear edge of the PCB. . The insulating covers 100 and 100 'are changed correspondingly, and the cable holding portions 102 and 102' are arranged at the rear edge of the PCB. The cover has a peg 106 and provides support, knitting and strain relief functions. The covers 100 and 100 'can be integrally fixed to the engaging edge portion and the holding portion along the PCB by, for example, an adhesive, a solvent, or heat welding.
[0042]
Then, as shown in FIG. 28, the module is inserted into the housing 70 and held in the housing as described above. As shown in FIG. 29, a plurality of modules are inserted into a housing 70 in a side-by-side relationship, and a face plate 80 is mounted on the housing to form a completed straight connector.
The above-described structure forms a connector with excellent high speed characteristics at a relatively low manufacturing cost.
[0043]
Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment shown in the various figures, other similar embodiments may be used or to perform functions similar to the present invention without departing from the invention. Obviously, the above-described embodiments can be modified or added. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to any one of the embodiments, but is formed with a width and a range according to the description of the scope of claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIGS. 1A and 1B are explanatory views for explaining a technology applicable to a wide range of connectors according to an embodiment of the present invention together with FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 1A is an exploded perspective view of the PCB module, and FIG. Perspective view.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a module and a connector body in which a plurality of PCB modules shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of a PCB assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic plan view showing a mounting state of contact terminals on the PCB assembly shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a part of a contact terminal mounting portion.
6 is a schematic side view showing a mounting state of a connector mounting side terminal on the PCB assembly shown in FIG. 3;
7 is a schematic elevation, side and bottom view of an insulating cover forming a tandem terminal module for use with the PCB assembly shown in FIG. 3;
8 is a side view on the opposite side of the insulating cover of FIG. 7 and a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII.
9 is a schematic elevation and side view illustrating a terminal module formed from the PCB assembly shown in FIG. 3 and the insulating cover shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG.
10 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines XA-XA, XB-XB, XC-XC, and XD-XD in FIG. 9;
11 is an enlarged explanatory view of a part of the column terminal module shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, and (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG of (B).
12 is an explanatory diagram when the column terminal module shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is attached to a substrate. FIG.
13 is an explanatory diagram of a connector housing that houses a plurality of column terminal modules shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG.
14 is an explanatory diagram of a housing retracting plate shown in FIG. 13, wherein (B) is a sectional view taken along line (B)-(B) of (A).
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of two PCB assemblies in a mirror image relationship.
FIG. 16 is a generalized cross-sectional view of two PCB assemblies juxtaposed in a back-to-back relationship to form a matched pair or twinax conductive path.
FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a shielded pair of modules shown with the PCB assembly spaced apart.
FIG. 18 is a rear view of an assembled connector having a plurality of shielded pairs of PCB assemblies.
FIG. 19 is a rear view of the assembled connector with individually shielded signal paths.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the placement of PCBs to form a shielded connector.
FIG. 21 is a view showing the arrangement of another PCB similar to FIG. 20;
22 is a schematic circuit diagram of the arrangement shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, respectively. FIG.
FIG. 23 is an explanatory view of a cover used for the cable connector, and (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of (A).
FIG. 24 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a twinax type right angle cable connector module.
25 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the connector module shown in FIG. 24 in a state where the connector module is assembled and placed in a position to be inserted into the connector housing.
FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a completed right angle cable connector.
FIG. 27 is an exploded perspective view of a twinax type straight cable connector module.
FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing a state in which the module shown in FIG. 27 is assembled and arranged at a position to be inserted into the connector housing.
FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a completed straight cable connector.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,69 ... Module, 2, 57, 59, 60, 110 ... Recessed part, 4, 7, 34, 35, 37, 94 ... Terminal, 9, 36, 38 ... Ground layer, 10, 11 ... Conductive path, 15 ... Board contact portion, 16, 31, 33 ... Board, 17, 90 ... Spacer, 18, 100 ... Cover, 19 ... Connector body, 20 ... Lead-in hole, 21 ... Post, 22 ... Extension, 23 ... Projection, 24, 25, 79, 85, 104 ... opening, 30, 90 ... PCB assembly, 32, 33 ... trace, 38 ... shield layer, 39 ... placement hole, 40, 50 ... base, 41 ... upright part, 42 ... arm, 43 ... Contact part 44 ... Flat member 46 ... Solder 48 ... Press fit part 49 ... Mounting part 52,53 Tongue piece 54 ... Solder fillet 56 ... Cover / spacer member 57 ... Insulating member 58,65 , 66, 165 166, 163, 164, 165 ... rib, 62 ... boss, 63, 64 ... rim, 67a, 67b, 68 ... face, 69, 91 ... terminal module, 70 ... housing, 72 ... top wall, 73, 77 ... slot, 74 ... Projection, 76 ... Bottom, 78 ... Front wall, 79 ... Opening, 80 ... Plate, 84 ... Retraction part, 86 ... Sleeve, 102 ... Holding structure, 106 ... Peg, 108, 109 ... Wire, 112 ... Via Hall, 162 ... Rug.

Claims (14)

A housing;
A circuit module mountable within the housing, the circuit module extending from a first region of the module to a second region of the module, and a pair of substantially parallel signals disposed within the module A conductor and at least two electrical contact terminals each electrically connected to one of the signal conductors in the first region, the plurality of signal conductors being arranged substantially symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal plane of the module; Each of the conductors has a circuit trace disposed on a circuit board included in the module, whereby the plurality of conductors form a substantially mirror image of each other with respect to the longitudinal plane.
Electrical connector. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the trace is a printed trace. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the module comprises at least two circuit boards, each of the traces being disposed on one of the circuit boards, each of the circuit boards being substantially flat and parallel to each other. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein circuit traces are disposed on opposite sides of a single circuit board. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein each of the conductors is covered with a pair of shield conductors on a side portion thereof substantially over the length thereof. 6. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein the signal conductor and the shield conductor comprise circuit traces on the circuit board, and the module further comprises at least one metal shield layer disposed between the signal conductor traces. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein the module further comprises a pair of opposing shield layers, each shield layer being disposed on one of the two opposing outer surfaces of the module. The module includes a pair of spaced circuit boards supported in opposing relations, each signal conductor having a circuit trace disposed on one of the opposing faces, and the module supporting a common of both of the circuit boards. The electrical connector according to claim 1, further comprising a support member. The module further comprises a pair of support members arranged in a side-by-side relationship, each of these support members supporting one of the circuit boards, or the module is arranged in a side-by-side relationship. A pair of circuit boards each having an outwardly facing surface, the signal conductors are provided with circuit traces, each circuit trace is disposed on one of the outwardly facing surfaces, and further includes a pair of support members, Each support member is disposed proximate to one of the outwardly facing surfaces, or comprises at least one additional circuit module mounted to the housing, the additional circuit module comprising a first said circuit module and The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein the electrical connector is substantially similar. A first circuit board having a circuit trace disposed thereon, the circuit trace extending from a first area of the circuit board to a second area spaced from the first area of the circuit board;
  A second circuit board having a second circuit trace disposed therein, the second circuit trace extending from a first region of the second substrate to a second region spaced from the first region of the second substrate; The two circuit traces are in a mirror image relationship that is substantially separated from the first circuit trace.
  The module for electrical connectors according to claim 3. In order to electrically shield the conductive traces, it further comprises a substantially flat shield structure, or the first substrate and the second substrate each comprise a circuit board having two main sides, wherein one of the circuit traces Is arranged on the main side 1 of each circuit board, and the shield layer is arranged on the main side opposite to each circuit board, and the circuit board has the shield layer of each board in a back-to-back relationship or 11. The module according to claim 10, wherein the modules are arranged in an opposed relationship, or the first and second substrates include both sides of a circuit board. The module according to claim 10, further comprising a common support member that holds the first and second substrates in the substantially opposed relationship, wherein the support member includes a structure portion for mounting the module in the housing. A plurality of circuit modules, the modules having at least one pair of shielded conductive traces, each of the pair of traces being disposed on a different module;
  A means for mounting a plurality of modules in a side-by-side relationship,
  The electrical connector according to claim 1 provided. Each module includes a cover member for holding the circuit module, and the cover includes a holding structure portion that holds the wire in the vicinity of the second region of the circuit module, and the holding structure portion is integrated with the cover. The module of claim 13 formed.

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