Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-26
2001-06-26
Gellner, Michael L. (Department: 2832)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
C439S108000, C439S607560
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250935
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector assembly for signal transmission which has two intermatable, plug and receptacle connector halves, and more particularly to an electrical connector for high-speed signal transmission which has a plurality of electrical contacts aligned in rows with a relatively small pitch.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An electrical connector assembly which is designed with intermatable connector halves for high- speed signal transmission is well known in the art. In this type of electrical connector, a plug connector half is designed with a plurality of plug contacts which are aligned on a convex feature provided in a housing while a receptacle connector half is designed with a plurality of receptacle contacts which are aligned on a concave feature provided in another housing. These plug and receptacle connectors are electrically connected to enable signal transmission when their respective housings are mated by inserting the convex portion of the plug connector into the concave portion of the receptacle connector and thereby the interconnecting corresponding pairs of plug and receptacle contacts. In this type of high-speed signal transmission connector, these electrical contacts are usually positioned with a relatively small pitch in the respective housings, so signal leak (i.e., crosstalk) between adjacent contacts is likely to happen. In addition, if there is a mismatch of impedance, then signal reflection is likely to occur. To prevent such problems, various methods are proposed.
One method is to provide a grounding plate in parallel with the rows of plug contacts which are aligned on opposites sides of the convex portion of the plug connector or in parallel with the rows of receptacle contacts which are aligned in the housing of the receptacle connector and to connect this grounding plate to a grounding pathway provided on a printed circuit board by using a special part.
However, in this method, the special part is designed especially for this grounding connection, so the provision of this special part increases the number of parts necessary for the production of the electrical connector, which is disadvantageous in reducing production cost. Beside this disadvantage, the existence of this special part, which is used solely for the electrical grounding of the electrical connector, creates an unwanted impedance characteristic. Moreover, a relatively long electrical pathway is required for connecting this special grounding part, which is provided in the electrical connector, to a grounding pathway which is provided on the printed circuit board. This long electrical pathway is a hindrance to any attempt which can be effected to improve the impedance characteristic of the electrical connector.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector which has an improved impedance characteristic without increasing the number of parts used.
The scope of the present invention includes not only an independent plug connector and an independent receptacle connector but also a set of a plug connector and a receptacle connector which are intermatable.
A plug connector according to the present invention comprises a plug housing, a plurality of signal plug contacts and a first grounding plate (e.g., the central grounding plate
13
of the embodiment described in the following section of this document). The plug housing includes a plug cavity, which opens in the direction for engagement with an intermatable receptacle connector. The signal plug contacts are aligned in lateral pairs, i.e., in two rows, in the plug cavity, these rows extending in the back-and-forth direction of the plug connector (an arbitrary direction which is defined in the following section for the purpose of description only). The first grounding plate extends between the lateral two rows of signal plug contacts also in the back-and-forth direction. In addition, the plug connector further includes a plurality of grounding plug contacts, which are provided substantially orthogonally to the first grounding plate, for partitioning the rows of signal plug contacts. The grounding plug contacts are in contact and electrical connection with the first grounding plate.
Preferably, the plug housing comprises lateral side walls, a base wall and a protrusion. The lateral side walls and the base wall define the plug cavity, and the protrusion protrudes from the base wall into the plug cavity, extending in the back-and-forth direction. Furthermore, each of the signal plug contacts and grounding plug contacts comprises a plug base portion (e.g., the base portion
15
of the following embodiment), which extends laterally, and a plug contact portion (e.g., the contact portion
16
of the following embodiment which extends from the plug base portion to the opening of the plug cavity. The signal plug contacts and grounding plug contacts are mounted in the plug housing with the plug contact portions extending along the lateral side faces of the protrusion and the plug base portions extending along the base wall laterally outward. Moreover, the first grounding plate is positioned inside the protrusion of the plug housing, extending in the back-and-forth direction, and the portions of the first grounding plate which are exposed from the protrusion of the plug housing are set in contact with the central portions of the grounding plug contacts. Furthermore, plug lead portions (e.g., the lead portions
18
of the following embodiment) are provided as extensions to the plug base portions of the signal plug contacts and grounding plug contacts, and the plug lead portions are exposed to outside from the base wall. These lead portions are used for surface mounting the plug connector onto a circuit provided on a printed circuit board which is designed for the plug connector.
With this construction, the possibility of crosstalk which may be observable between the lateral pairs of signal plug contacts is very small, so the signal transmission characteristic of the connector is kept in good condition. In this construction, a plurality of grounding plug contacts are provided to partition the signal plug contacts into groups, so a plurality of electrically grounding pathways can be also provided in the circuit of the printed circuit board, to establish a plurality of grounding connections to the first grounding plate in substantially short distance. Thereby, the possibility of crosstalk is further reduced, and improvement can be made in the impedance characteristic or high-frequency characteristics of the connector.
In addition, because the grounding plug contacts are provided as parts of the electrical contacts which are placed in the plug housing, there is no need of providing separate parts such as special contacts used in the prior art, for the connection of the grounding plate to the grounding pathways, which are provided on the printed circuit board. Therefore, the electrical connector according to the present invention requires a relatively small number of parts, so it can avoid unfavorable impedance characteristic, which may be otherwise generated by adding such separate parts.
Furthermore, a receptacle connector according to the present invention comprises a receptacle housing, a plurality of signal receptacle contacts and a lateral pair of second grounding plates (e.g., the lateral grounding plates
33
of the following embodiment). The receptacle housing includes a receptacle cavity, which is open in the direction for engagement with the plug connector. The signal receptacle contacts are aligned in lateral pairs, i.e., in two rows, in the receptacle cavity, and these rows extend in the back-and-forth direction. The second grounding plates extend also in the back-and-forth direction but outside the lateral two rows of signal receptacle contacts. In addition, the receptacle connector further comprises a plurality of grounding receptacle contacts, which partition the rows of signal receptacle contacts into groups. The grounding
Mochizuki Shoichi
Ono Yasuhiro
Gellner Michael L.
KEL Corporation
Lee Kyung S.
Usher Robert W. J.
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