High performance, small form factor connector with common mode impedance control
First Claim
1. An electrical connector, comprising:
- a housing comprising;
a front face;
a lower face;
a cavity with an opening in the front face shaped to receive a mating connector; and
a plurality of conductive contact elements, each contact element comprising;
a contact tail extending through the lower face,a mating portion; and
an intermediate portion connecting the contact tail and the mating portion,wherein;
the plurality of contact elements are positioned in a row with the mating portion of each contact element in the row projecting into the cavity along a surface of the cavity;
contact elements in a first subset of the plurality of contact elements in the row each has a first width;
contact elements in a second subset of the plurality of contact elements in the row each has a second width, smaller than the first width;
contact elements in the second subset are disposed in a plurality of pairs; and
two contact elements in the first subset are positioned adjacent each pair of contact elements in the second subset;
the mating portions and the contact tails of the plurality of contact elements in the row are spaced on a uniform pitch; and
the intermediate portions of the plurality of contact elements are disposed on a non-uniform pitch such that the intermediate portion of each contact element of the second subset in a pair is closer to the intermediate portion of a contact element of the first subset than to the intermediate portion of another contact element of the second subset in the pair.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for improving electrical performance of a connector. The techniques are compatible with the form factor of a standardized connector, such as an SFP connector or stacked SFP. The resulting connector has reduced insertion loss for high speed signals. Such techniques, which can be used separately or together, include shaping of conductive elements within the connector while still retaining the same mating contact arrangement. Changes may be made at the contact tail portions or in the intermediate portions where engagement to a connector housing occurs. The techniques also include the incorporation of lossy bridging members between conductive elements designated to be ground conductors. For connectors according to the stacked SFP configuration, multiple bridging members may be incorporated at multiple locations within the connector.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An electrical connector, comprising:
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a housing comprising; a front face; a lower face; a cavity with an opening in the front face shaped to receive a mating connector; and a plurality of conductive contact elements, each contact element comprising; a contact tail extending through the lower face, a mating portion; and an intermediate portion connecting the contact tail and the mating portion, wherein; the plurality of contact elements are positioned in a row with the mating portion of each contact element in the row projecting into the cavity along a surface of the cavity; contact elements in a first subset of the plurality of contact elements in the row each has a first width; contact elements in a second subset of the plurality of contact elements in the row each has a second width, smaller than the first width; contact elements in the second subset are disposed in a plurality of pairs; and two contact elements in the first subset are positioned adjacent each pair of contact elements in the second subset;
the mating portions and the contact tails of the plurality of contact elements in the row are spaced on a uniform pitch; and
the intermediate portions of the plurality of contact elements are disposed on a non-uniform pitch such that the intermediate portion of each contact element of the second subset in a pair is closer to the intermediate portion of a contact element of the first subset than to the intermediate portion of another contact element of the second subset in the pair. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An electrical connector, comprising:
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a housing comprising; a front face; a lower face; a cavity with an opening in the front face shaped to receive a mating connector; and a plurality of conductive contact elements, each contact element comprising; a contact tail extending through the lower face, a mating portion; and an intermediate portion connecting the contact tail and the mating portion, each of the plurality of contact elements being positioned in a row with the mating portion of the contact element projecting into the cavity along a surface of the cavity, wherein; the contact elements in the row comprise a first subset and a second subset; contact elements of the second subset are disposed in a plurality of pairs; two contact elements of the of the first subset are positioned adjacent each pair of contacts of the second subset; the mating portions and the contact tails of the contact elements within the row are spaced on a uniform pitch; and the intermediate portions of the plurality of contact elements are disposed within the row on a non-uniform pitch such that the intermediate portion of each contact element of the second subset in a pair of the plurality of pairs is closer to the intermediate portion of a contact element of first subset than to the intermediate portion of another contact element of the second subset in the pair. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An electrical connector, comprising:
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a housing comprising; a front face; a lower face; a cavity with an opening in the front face shaped to receive a mating connector; and a plurality of conductive contact elements, each contact element comprising; a contact tail extending through the lower face, a mating portion; and an intermediate portion connecting the contact tail and the mating portion, each of the plurality of contact elements being positioned in a row with the mating portion of the contact element projecting into the cavity along a surface of the cavity, wherein; the contact elements in the row comprise a first subset and a second subset; contact elements of the second subset are disposed in a plurality of pairs; two contact elements of the first subset are positioned adjacent each pair of contacts of the second subset; the mating portions of the contact elements within the row are spaced on a uniform pitch; and the intermediate portions of the plurality of contact elements are sized and positioned within the row such that each pair of the plurality of pairs provides a common mode impedance between 20 and 40 ohms. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification