Electrical connectors – With vitreous-type envelope – Having bayonet-coupling contact
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-15
2001-03-20
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With vitreous-type envelope
Having bayonet-coupling contact
C439S465000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06203376
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to cable connectors, and more particularly to cable connectors used in high speed applications with a strain relief means integrated into the connector structure.
Many connectors are known in the art for connecting cables to backplane assemblies. Most of these connectors are assembled from numerous components and include contact terminals, ground plates and housings. The contact terminals and ground plates and their points of connection to the cables are maintained in different planes, as exemplified by the connector construction described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,831, issued Jul. 29, 1986. The different planes of these termination points increases the difficulty in welding or soldering the cable leads to the termination tails of the connector and thereby increases the cost of manufacturing these connectors. Also, this double-plane arrangement lends itself to increased electrical interference between signal wires of the cable in the form of crosstalk. Additionally, prior art connectors utilize the strain relief members that are separately attached to the cables aft of and spaced apart from the connector body.
The present invention is directed to an improved cable connector that overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved cable connector with enhanced electrical performance characteristics for use in cable wafer connector applications.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a connector for connecting a series of cables to an array of conductive pins in which the individual wires of the cables are maintained and terminated in the same plane and in which the signal wires thereof are flanked by ground wires so as to enhance the electrical performance of the connector.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a cable with connector assembly that enclosed a plurality of conductive pin contacts to which a number of individual wires are terminated, the wire terminations being effected in substantially the same plane to enhance the electrical performance thereof, the cables being spaced together by a cable positioning member, the connector assembly further having a housing that is molded over the positioning member.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an integrated cable connector having a plurality of signal and ground contacts maintained in a preselected spacing within an insulative connector housing, the contacts having tail portions that are maintained in alignment with each other in a preselected, single plane, the connector including a series of cables having individual signal and ground wires that one respectively terminated to the tail portions, the cables being held in a preselected spacing by a clamping member that is integrally molded to the connector housing and which serves as a strain relief for the cables exiting the connector housing.
In accordance with these objects, the present invention provides in one principal aspect an improved wafer connector structure having a connector body portion that supports, on one side thereof, a plurality of signal contacts and on another side thereof, a ground shield. The signal contacts and ground shield have tail portions that extend rearwardly of the connector body portion. In the preferred embodiment, the tail portions of the ground contacts are flat in their extent and lie in a common plane, while the tail portions of the ground signal shield are also flat and further are bent so that they lie in the same place as the signal contact tail portions. This coplanarity simplifies the process of attaching the cable wires to the tails.
The tail portions of the signals and ground contacts are arranged in an alternating fashion so that, if desired, each signal contact or pair of signal contacts may be surrounded by a ground tail portion so as to reduce the likelihood of crosstalk from occurring in the connector. In another important aspect of the present invention, the cable wire connection area is overmolded to extend the connector housing from its body portion over the cable ends. A cable spacer is provided in the form of a clamp or retainer that holds the cables in a preferred spacing for cable stripping and termination.
This cable clamp also provides strain relief during the overmolding process and in the completed connector. The cable clamp takes the form of a two-piece insert that is applied to the cables and, in this regard, has grooves formed therein that receive the cables. The clamp is inserted, after attachment to the cables, into the mold and after termination of the wires to the tail portions. The extension of the connector housing is then molded over it, and the termination points of the cable wires, thereby joining the separate cable clamp and the contact assembly together into an integral connector body.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearly understood through consideration of the following detailed description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4580869 (1986-04-01), Demurjian
patent: 4602831 (1986-07-01), Lockard
patent: 4615578 (1986-10-01), Stadler et al.
patent: 4767352 (1988-08-01), Pretchel
patent: 4860445 (1989-08-01), Jones
patent: 4976628 (1990-12-01), Fedder
patent: 5038001 (1991-08-01), Koegel et al.
patent: 5281762 (1994-01-01), Long et al.
patent: 5287618 (1994-02-01), Koegel et al.
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patent: 5632634 (1997-05-01), Soes
patent: 5806179 (1998-09-01), Hassanzadeh
Magajne Michael F.
Miskin Michael
Seamands Ed
Gushi Ross
Molex Incorporated
Paumen Gary
Tirva A. A.
Yesukevich Robert A.
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