Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/58—Means for relieving strain on wire connection, e.g. cord grip, for avoiding loosening of connections between wires and terminals within a coupling device terminating a cable
  • H01R13/5804—Means for relieving strain on wire connection, e.g. cord grip, for avoiding loosening of connections between wires and terminals within a coupling device terminating a cable comprising a separate cable clamping part
  • H01R13/5812—Means for relieving strain on wire connection, e.g. cord grip, for avoiding loosening of connections between wires and terminals within a coupling device terminating a cable comprising a separate cable clamping part the cable clamping being achieved by mounting the separate part on the housing of the coupling device
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/46—Bases; Cases
  • H01R13/514—Bases; Cases composed as a modular blocks or assembly, i.e. composed of co-operating parts provided with contact members or holding contact members between them
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/646—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00 specially adapted for high-frequency, e.g. structures providing an impedance match or phase match
  • H01R13/6473—Impedance matching
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/648—Protective earth or shield arrangements on coupling devices, e.g. anti-static shielding  
  • H01R13/658—High frequency shielding arrangements, e.g. against EMI [Electro-Magnetic Interference] or EMP [Electro-Magnetic Pulse]
  • H01R13/6591—Specific features or arrangements of connection of shield to conductive members
  • H01R13/6592—Specific features or arrangements of connection of shield to conductive members the conductive member being a shielded cable
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/648—Protective earth or shield arrangements on coupling devices, e.g. anti-static shielding  
  • H01R13/658—High frequency shielding arrangements, e.g. against EMI [Electro-Magnetic Interference] or EMP [Electro-Magnetic Pulse]
  • H01R13/6581—Shield structure
  • H01R13/6585—Shielding material individually surrounding or interposed between mutually spaced contacts

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a high speed connector.
• the present invention relates to a connector that provides for controlled impedance and allows for quick and easy replacement of components.
• Interconnection of integrated circuits to other circuit boards, cables or electronic devices is known in the art. Such interconnections typically have not been difficult to form, especially when the circuit switching speeds (also referred to as signal transmission times) have been slow when compared to the length of time required for a signal to propagate through a conductor in the interconnect or in the printed circuit board. As signal transmission times continue to increase with modern integrated circuits and related computer technology, the design and manufacture of interconnects that can perform satisfactorily has grown more difficult.
• Connectors have been developed to provide the necessary impedance control for high speed circuits, i.e., circuits with a transmission frequency of at least 5 GHz. Although many of these connectors are useful, there is still a need in the art for different and more economical connector designs that provide for easy component replacements.
• the present invention pertains to a connector assembly designed to provide controlled impedance to maintain signal and ground integrity, and to allow for quick and easy assembly and disassembly for replacing components or for modifying or upgrading with different components, hi this way, the present invention provides economic advantages to the consumer in that only the selected component in the connector assembly needs to be replaced instead of replacing the entire assembly.
• the present invention provides a carrier for use with an electrical connector assembly.
• the carrier comprises an insulating housing and means for securing the terminated cable assemblies.
• the carrier further comprises a means for managing the terminated cable assemblies, hi one exemplary embodiment, means for securing and means for managing the terminated cable assemblies are integrated.
• the housing includes a front vertical wall, laterally extending top and bottom walls, at least one set of carrier clip holes disposed on at least one of the top and bottom walls, and means for fastening a header to the housing.
• the present invention provides another carrier for use with an electrical comiector assembly.
• the carrier comprises an insulating housing having a front vertical wall and laterally extending top and bottom walls.
• the front vertical wall has an interior and an exterior surface.
• the housing also has at least one latch and at least one set of carrier clip holes, both disposed on at least one of the top and bottom walls.
• the carrier further comprises at least one clip having a back and plurality of ribs extending from the back.
• the clip is disposed in the housing such that the ribs mate with the carrier clip holes in the housing, i another exemplary embodiment, the carrier further comprises at least one cross-clip having at least one interference shoulder and a plurality of organizers.
• the cross-clip is disposed in the housing such that the interference shoulder rests against at least one of the top and bottom walls of the housing.
• the header As discussed in detail below, the header, with its plurality of signal pins and ground blades, tends to be susceptible to damage, ha the event that a header does become damaged or needs to be upgraded or modified, the connector assembly can be quickly disassembled so the header can be replaced. And, the connector assembly has been designed to allow for quick and easy replacement of the shielded electrical cable, if desired.
• Figure 1 is an isometric view of an exemplary carrier in accordance with one aspect of the present invention
• FIGS. 2A and 2B are isometric views of an exemplary housing used in the carrier in accordance with another aspect of the present invention.
• Figures 3A and 3B are isometric views of a carrier containing terminated cable assemblies in accordance with another aspect of the present invention.
• Figure 4 is an isometric view of an exemplary terminated cable assembly that can be used in conjunction with the present invention;
• Figure 5 is an isometric view of an exemplary header that can be used in conjunction with the present invention.
• Figure 6 is a perspective view of an exemplary high speed electrical connector assembly in a partially unassembled stage, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention.
• Figure 1 shows one embodiment of carrier 2 having housing 10 and means for securing and managing terminated cable assemblies, which can be mechanical devices that are used to hold and to maintain order in the terminated cable assemblies to minimizing their entanglement.
• Figure 1 shows one means for securing and managing the terminated cable assemblies, which includes clip 4 and cross-clip 6.
• the carrier can be made by any conventional means, such as by injection molding.
• FIGS 2A and 2B show isometric views of the housing made from insulating material.
• H ousing 1 0 c ontains a g enerally v ertically-extending front w all 12 h aving interior surface 12a and exterior surface 12b.
• the front wall is formed to include a plurality of pin insertion apertures 12c arranged in rows and columns, hi between the pin insertion apertures are blade insertion apertures 12d and supports 12e, which are disposed on interior surface 12a.
• the supports aid in the alignment of the terminated cable assemblies described below.
• the housing also includes pair of laterally- extending top and bottom walls 14 and 16 respectively, each optionally having a series of guides 14a and 16a. Side walls 18, with guides 18a, also form part of the housing.
• FIG. 2A one means to fasten the header to the housing is a latching device 22, i.e., a device in which mating mechanical parts engage to fasten but usually not to lock the header to the housing.
• Figures 3 A and 3B show two different views of the carrier with terminated cable assemblies 30 mounted therein. These figures best show how means for securing and means for managing the terminated cable assemblies (i.e., the combination of clip 4 and cross-clip 6) function in conjunction with housing 10.
• the clip has a plurality of ribs 4b extending laterally from back 4a, optional snapping features 4c on the end ribs and optional finger tab 4d on at least one side of the back to aid in the assembly and disassembly of the clip from the carrier clip holes 20 disposed in housing 10.
• the number of ribs 4b matches the number of holes 20, although it is within the scope of the present invention to have a different number of ribs than holes, e.g., less ribs than holes.
• the length of the clip as measured from back 4a to the end of ribs 4b is about the same length as that of the housing from the top wall 14 to the bottom wall 16 such that when the clip is attached to top wall 14 of the housing through holes 20, snapping feature 4c extends from bottom wall 16.
• the clip is typically an integrally molded piece of insulating material.
• Cross-clip 6 includes a plurality of organizers 6b, and at least one end 6c.
• interference shoulder 6d Located on end 6c is interference shoulder 6d, and optionally a plurality of interlocking apertures 6e. If two ends 6c are used, the second end may or may not include the interference shoulder or the interlocking apertures.
• the width of the cross-clip as measured from one end to the other, or if two ends are not used, from one end to the last organizer furthest away from the end, is about the same as the distance from top wall 14 to bottom wall 16 of the housing. As shown in Figure 3B, the cross-clip slides over the terminated cable assemblies 30 until interference shoulder 6d on end 6c abuts top wall 14 of the housing.
• ribs 6b segregates rows 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, and 30e from one another and the interlocking apertures, if used, are aligned with carrier clip holes 20 on the housing 10. If two ends 6c are used, the interference shoulder on the second end would abut bottom wall 16 of the housing. Once the cross-clip has been installed so that the interference shoulder stops against at least one of the top or bottom walls, clip 4 is then installed such that ribs 4b slide into holes 20 on the housing and back 4a of the clip rests on top wall 14. If two clips are used, the second clip rests on bottom wall 16 of the housing.
• each of the four internal rib 4 i.e., excluding the two end ribs
• each of the four internal rib 4 separates columns 30v, 30w, 30x, 30y, and 30z of terminated cable assemblies.
• Figure 3B shows an array of five columns and five rows of terminated cable assemblies, any number of columns and rows can be used and the designation of the column and the row are arbitrary, i.e., a column can be a row. With this design, a user can easily replace terminated cable assembly by removing clip 4 and cross-clip 6 and then removing the individual cable.
• Figure 4 shows one exemplary embodiment of a terminated cable assembly that can be used in conjunction with the carrier.
• Terminated cable assembly 30 are conventional in design, except that each termination device 34 includes contact beam 36 on the top surface 34b for making electrical contact with the ground blades in the header, discussed below.
• Electrical cable 32 is attached to termination device 34 through the use of solder openings 38.
• the type of electrical cable used in this invention can be a single wire cable (e.g. single coaxial or single twin axial) or a multiple wire cable (e.g. multiple coaxial or multiple twin axial or twisted pair cables).
• the terminated cable assemblies are inserted into housing 10 such that front face 34a of termination devices 34 abuts interior surface 12a of the front vertical wall of the housing 10.
• Female contacts 40 lies along the longitudinal axis of the termination device and aligns with pin insertion apertures 12c of the front vertical wall of the housing.
• T op w all guide 14a and bottom wall guide 16a also help position the first and last termination device in the column.
• Figure 5 shows an exemplary pin header 60 that can be used in the present invention.
• the header includes vertical front wall 62, having interior surface 62a and exterior surface 62b, and laterally extending top and bottom walls 64 and 66 respectively.
• the vertical front wall is formed to include a plurality of pin insertion windows for signal pins 70 and a plurality of blade insertion windows for ground blades 68.
• the header is mated with the carrier 2 such that exterior surface 62b of the header is in contact with exterior surface 12b of the housing so that signal pins 70 and ground blades 68 slide through pin insertion apertures 12c and blade insertion apertures 12d respectively to mate with female contacts 40 and ground contacts 36 respectively of the terminated cable assembly.
• Another useful pin header that can be used in the present invention is disclosed in US Patent No. 6,146,202 (Ramey et al.), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
• FIG. 4 shows that termination device 34 contains contact beam 36, it is within the scope of the present invention to place the contact beam on the ground blade 68 in the header or on both termination device 34 and ground blade 68.
• Figure 6 shows a partially assembled high speed connector used in conjunction with printed circuit board (PCB) 80.
• terminated cable assemblies 30 are attached to one side of the carrier while header 60 is attached on the other side.
• the header further includes means for fastening to the carrier.
• the means for fastening is retaining clip 72 having tab 72a and clip end 72b. In use, tab 72a of the retaining clip slides under latching device 22 on housing 10 to hold the header to the carrier.
• means for fastening the header to the carrier is done through the use of sufficiently high friction force between the ground blades in the header to the termination device.
• the header could be fastened to the carrier through sufficiently high friction force between the signal pins in the header and the female contacts in the terminated cable assemblies.
• FIG. 6 shows several retaining clips 72 used with several latching devices 22 on the top wall of the housing, similar retaining clips and latching device combinations can be used on the bottom wall of the housing. Also, any number of header and carrier combinations can be used together even though two are shown.
• PCB 80 On PCB 80 is mounted a plurality of connector modules 90 assembled in socket 92. The PCB, connector module, and socket are all in electrical communication the each other. If desired, optional male guides 94 can be added to socket 92 to help guide the socket into the header.
• the header would contain complimentary female guides (not shown).
• Useful connector modules and sockets are disclosed in US Patent No. 6,146,202 (Ramey et al). As one skilled in the art will recognize, to complete the electrical circuit, the header/carrier/terminated cable assembly is mated to the socket. Although the above description recites a particular sequence to assemble the high speed connector, one skilled in the art will recognize that different assembly sequences can be used.

Landscapes

• Details Of Connecting Devices For Male And Female Coupling (AREA)
• Connector Housings Or Holding Contact Members (AREA)
• Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)
• Mechanical Coupling Of Light Guides (AREA)
• Paper (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=32506192

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Families Citing this family (51)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (20)

• 2002
  • 2002-12-12 US US10/317,690 patent/US6780069B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2003
  • 2003-10-28 JP JP2004560301A patent/JP4362448B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-10-28 CN CNB2003801057717A patent/CN100481633C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-10-28 DE DE60330907T patent/DE60330907D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-10-28 AT AT03779307T patent/ATE454729T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-10-28 WO PCT/US2003/034018 patent/WO2004055946A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2003-10-28 AU AU2003284989A patent/AU2003284989A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-10-28 EP EP03779307A patent/EP1570549B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (3)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events