Electrical connectors – Including or for use with tape cable – With shield – ground conductor or ground commoning means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-25
2001-02-27
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Including or for use with tape cable
With shield, ground conductor or ground commoning means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193545
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a cable connector adapted to terminate/connect an electrical cable, particularly a flat ribbon cable comprising plural parallel signal and grounding conductors separated and housed by insulative material.
2. The Prior Art
Electrical connection between different electronic devices for signal transmission, such as that between a central processing unit and a peripheral device of a computer, is usually obtained by using electrical cables connected therebetween. There are different types of cables available on the market including flat ribbon cables which comprise a plurality of separate conductors for allowing simultaneous transmission of signals. Since a flat ribbon cable may comprise tens or hundreds of signal and/or grounding conductors, securing the flat ribbon cable to a cable connector requires individual connection of each of the conductors to a corresponding conductor in the cable terminator. To efficiently and effectively secure the flat ribbon cable to the cable connector, an insulation displacement connection (IDC) technique is usually employed. The IDC technique involves providing a sharpened edge or end on the conductor in the cable connector/terminator which forcibly pierces the insulation of the cable thereby establishing a physical contact with the conductor of the cable. Examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,190,952, 4,508,401, 4,596,428 and 4,749,371.
As the operational speed of computer central processing units increase, the frequency of signals transmitted through the flat ribbon cable is dramatically increased and significant electromagnetic interference between two adjacent conductors in the flat ribbon cable frequently occurs. Such a phenomenon is commonly referred to as “cross-talking” which adversely affects signal transmission quality and thus the stability of data transmission.
It is thus desirable to have a cable connector for terminating/connecting a flat ribbon cable which effectively suppresses the cross-talk problem encountered in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector which provides a better arrangement of individual wires of a cable for suppressing cross-talking and ensuring an acceptable signal transmission quality.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector having grounding means properly arranged for providing an electrical shielding which protects signal transmitting conductors of a cable from being interfered with by other conductors or external devices.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a cable connector which simultaneously provides a grounding potential to all the parts in a cable that require grounding thereby providing the cable with excellent shielding property.
To achieve the above objects, in accordance with the present invention, a cable connector adapted to connect a flat cable having plural parallel and alternately arranged signal conductors and grounding conductors retained in position with insulative material, comprises an insulative pin carrier defining a plurality of holes therein each receiving a conductive pin. The holes are arranged in two rows and the pins are alternately received in the two rows. The two rows are separated by a partition along which a groove is defined for receiving two conductive grounding plates therein. A cover is attached to the pin carrier and the flat cable is interposed therebetween. Each of the pins is provided with a bifurcated end to complete the insulation displacement connection of the corresponding signal conductor of the flat cable thereby establishing electrical connection therebetween. The first conductive grounding plate comprises a plurality of bifurcated projections to electrically connect with the grounding conductors of the flat cable in the insulation displacement fashion. The second conductive grounding plate, which is electrically connected to the first grounding plate, comprises at least one bifurcated projection corresponding to and electrically connected with at least one of the signal conductors which is to be provided with a grounding potential in an insulation displacement fashion. The cover is provided with an inner surface defining a plurality of recesses for respectively accommodating the signal and grounding conductors of the flat cable therein.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4027941 (1977-06-01), Narozny
patent: 4095862 (1978-06-01), Hatch
patent: 4641904 (1987-02-01), Kosugi et al.
patent: 5161987 (1992-11-01), Sinisi
patent: 5902147 (1999-05-01), Jochen et al.
patent: 5967832 (1999-10-01), Ploehn
patent: 6033238 (2000-03-01), Fogg et al.
patent: 6077105 (2000-06-01), Jochen et al.
Hsu Kuei-Chang
Lee George
Tsai Yen-Chao
Chung Wei Te
Hon Hai - Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.
Sircus Brian
Webb Brian S.
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