Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With mating connector which receives panel circuit edge
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-08
2002-11-26
Patel, Tulsidas (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With mating connector which receives panel circuit edge
C361S805000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06485309
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to interconnection systems. In particular, the present invention is related to virtual midplanes.
2. Description of Related Art
As data communication rates become higher and higher to meet demanding applications, interconnecting printed circuit boards (PCB) or cards in communication systems becomes more and more important. Signal transmission rate depends on a number of factors. One important factor is the length of the signal trace on the PCB. The shorter the length, the faster the signal can propagate. In addition, resistance and capacitance of the signal trace have impact on interconnecting system design. When the signal density is high, the interconnection of the signals for high speed applications becomes a challenge.
FIG. 1
shows a prior art interconnection system. For illustrative purposes, only two front cards are shown. The prior art system
100
includes two front cards
110
and
120
, a midplane
130
, and a rear card
140
.
The front cards
110
and
120
have signal traces
118
and
128
and front connectors
115
and
125
, respectively. The signal traces are terminated with contact points in the corresponding connectors. One objective of the interconnection system is to connect the signal traces
118
on the front card
110
to the corresponding signal traces
128
on the front card
120
. The connectors
115
and
125
are typically full-length connectors having as many contact points as necessary to accommodate the interconnecting of the signal traces on the front cards.
The midplane has mating connectors
132
and
134
to mate with the front card connectors
115
and
125
. The midplane
130
also has signal traces
138
running between the mating connectors
132
and
134
to form electrical connections for the contact points in the connectors
115
and
125
. The rear card
140
provides additional area for signal traces. The rear card
140
is interfaced to the midplane via a rear connector.
The prior art system
100
has a number of disadvantages. First, the full-length configuration of the connectors
115
and
125
reduces the routing flexibility on the front cards
110
and
120
and the midplane
130
. Second, the interconnecting signal trace lengths are long, resulting in higher propagation delay and lower speed. Third, there are two terminations at the two ports, resulting higher cost and additional delay due to additional capacitance and resistance. Fourth, the complexity and hardware cost for the midplane can be very high. The midplane may have many internal layers to accommodate all the interconnecting signals.
Therefore, there is a need to have an efficient technique for interconnecting cards in a high speed environment.
SUMMARY
The present invention is a method and apparatus for interconnection system. A first connector located on a first card provides first contacts for first signal traces on the first card. The first connector has a first housing enclosing the first contacts and a first extension portion. A second connector located on a second card provides second contacts for second signal traces on the second card. The second connector has a second housing enclosing the second contacts. The second connector is coupled to the first connector when the first and second housings are mated such that the first and second cards are substantially perpendicular to each other, the second card is aligned on the first extension portion. There is no need for an intermediate card and an additional connector.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first connector further has a first inter-card spacing portion to provide spacing between the first card and a third card positioned in a substantially parallel direction with the first card, and the second connector further has a second extension portion to provide alignment for the first card when the first and second connectors are coupled and a second inter-card spacing portion to provide spacing between the second card and a fourth card positioned in a substantially parallel direction with the second card.
The advantages of the invention include high signal transmission rates, increased interconnection reliability, high signal density, routing flexibility, balanced mechanical structure, and reduced overall mechanical stress.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
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Blakely , Sokoloff, Taylor & Zafman LLP
Nguyen Son V.
Patel Tulsidas
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