High-frequency electrical connector

• US 9,831,588 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2013
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amphenol Corporation
• Original Assignee: Amphenol Corporation
• Inventors: Cohen, Thomas S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Luebke, Renee S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Baillargeon, Paul
• Application Number:
  US13/973,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20140057498A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,559 Days
• Field of Search: 43960705-60711, 439 79, 439701, 439626, 439660, 439497, 4396071, 439907, 439886, 439857
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/724 containing contact members forming a right angle
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/04 Pins or blades for co-operation with sockets
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/11 Resilient sockets carrying separate resilient parts H01R13/15
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/20 Pins, blades, or sockets shaped, or provided with separate member, to retain co-operating parts together
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6467 by cross-over of signal conductors
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6471 by special arrangement of ground and signal conductors, e.g. GSGS [Ground-Signal-Ground-Signal]
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6585 Shielding material individually surrounding or interposed between mutually spaced contacts
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6588 with through openings for individual contacts

Abstract

An electrical connector with improved high frequency performance. The connector has conductive elements, forming both signal and ground conductors, that have multiple points of contact distributed along an elongated dimension. The ground conductors may be formed with multiple beams of different length. The signal conductors may be formed with multiple contact regions on a single beam, with different characteristics. Signal conductors may have beams that are jogged to provide both a desired impedance and mating contact pitch. Additionally, electromagnetic radiation, inside and/or outside the connector may be shaped with an insert electrically connecting multiple ground structures and/or a contact feature coupling ground conductors to a stiffener. The conductive elements in different columns may be shaped differently to reduce crosstalk.

Claims

1. An electrical connector comprising a plurality of conductive elements disposed in a column, wherein:

each of the plurality of conductive elements comprises at least one beam having at least one contact region;

the plurality of conductive elements comprises a plurality of first conductive elements, the plurality of first conductive elements being arranged in a plurality of pairs of first conductive elements, each of the first conductive elements having a first width;

the plurality of conductive elements further comprises a plurality of second conductive elements, wherein each of the second conductive elements has a second width greater than the first width, and is disposed between adjacent pairs of the plurality of pairs of first conductive elements; and

each of the second conductive elements comprises a plurality of beams, wherein;

the plurality of beams comprises at least two longer beams and at least one shorter beam,

the shorter beam is disposed separate from the two longer beams,

each of the two longer beams and the shorter beam comprises a contact region facing a first direction,

distal portions of the two longer beams are independently movable, and

the plurality of beams are positioned such that when the electrical connector is mated to a mating electrical connector and the second conductive element makes contact with a corresponding conductive element in the mating connector, the shorter beam terminates a stub of the corresponding conductive element comprising a wipe region provided on the corresponding conductive element for the two longer beams.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of conductive elements disposed in the column form a plurality of coplanar waveguides, each of the coplanar waveguides comprising a pair of the plurality of pairs of first conductive elements and at least one adjacent second conductive element of the plurality of second conductive elements.

3. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein:

the electrical connector comprises a wafer, the wafer comprising a housing, the plurality of conductive elements being at least partially enclosed in the housing.

4. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein the housing comprises insulative material and lossy material.

5. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein:

for each second conductive element, the contact region of each beam of the plurality of beams of the second conductive element is on a distal portion of the beam, and

the contact regions of the beams of each pair of the plurality of pairs of first conductive elements and the contact regions of the two longer beams of an adjacent second conductive element are disposed in a line adjacent a mating face of the connector.

6. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein:

for each of the second conductive elements, the shorter beam is disposed between the two longer beams, the two longer beams comprising distal portions bent towards a center line of the shorter beam.

7. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein:

each of the plurality of first conductive elements comprises two beams.

8. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein:

the electrical connector comprises a housing,

each of the plurality of conductive elements comprises an intermediate portion within the housing and a contact portion extending from the housing, the contact portion comprising the at least one beam of the conductive element;

the intermediate portions of the plurality of conductive elements are configured with a first spacing between an edge of a second conductive element and an edge of an adjacent first conductive element;

the beams of the plurality of conductive elements are configured such that the beams of the first conductive elements have first regions and second regions, the first regions providing a spacing between a first conductive element and an adjacent second conductive element that approximates the first spacing and the second regions providing a spacing between the first conductive element and the adjacent second conductive element that is greater than the first spacing.

9. The electrical connector of claim 8, wherein:

the spacing that is greater than the first spacing provides a uniform spacing of contact regions along a mating interface of the connector.

10. The electrical connector of claim 9, wherein:

each of the first conductive elements comprises two beams.

22. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the first mating contact portion of the first conductive element is adapted to apply a spring force to the second mating contact portion of the second conductive element when the first electrical connector is mated with the second electrical connector.

11. An electrical connector comprising:

a plurality of conductive elements disposed in a column, each of the plurality of conductive elements comprising a mating contact portion, a contact tail, and an intermediate portion between the mating contact portion and the contact tail, wherein;

the electrical connector is a first electrical connector;

a first mating contact portion of a first conductive element of the plurality of conductive elements comprises a first beam, a second beam, and a third beam, the first beam being shorter than the second beam and the third beam;

the first beam of the first mating contact portion comprises a first contact region adapted to make electrical contact with a surface of a second mating contact portion of a second conductive element of a second electrical connector at a first point of contact, wherein the first beam is adapted to exert a first force normal to a plane of the second mating contact portion when the first and second electrical connectors are mated;

the second beam of the first mating contact portion comprises a second contact region adapted to make electrical contact with the surface of the second mating contact portion of the second conductive element of the second electrical connector at a second point of contact, the second point of contact being farther from a distal end of the second mating contact portion than the first point of contact; and

the third beam of the first mating contact portion comprises a third contact region adapted to make electrical contact with the surface of the second mating contact portion of the second conductive element of the second electrical connector at a third point of contact, the third point of contact being farther away from the distal end of the second mating contact portion than the first point of contact, wherein the second beam and the third beam are adapted to exert a second force normal to the plane of the second mating contact portion when the first and second electrical connectors are mated, the second force being greater than the first force, and wherein the first contact region of the first beam, the second contact region of the second beam, and the third contact region of the third beam face a same direction such that the first force and the second force are normal to a common plane.

12. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein the first beam is disposed between the second beam and the third beam.

13. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein the first contact region comprises a first protruding portion, and the second contact region comprises a second protruding portion that protrudes to a greater extent than the first protruding portion.

14. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein the first mating contact portion of the first conductive element is adapted to be deflected by the second mating contact portion of the second conductive element by about 1/1000 inch when the first electrical connector is mated with the second electrical connector.

15. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein the second beam is about twice as long as the first beam.

16. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein the plurality of conductive elements further comprises a third conductive element disposed adjacent to the first conductive element, and wherein a third mating contact portion of the third conductive element comprises a fourth beam and a fifth beam, the fourth and fifth beams being roughly equal in length.

17. The electrical connector of claim 16, wherein a first combined width of the first, second, and third beams is greater than a second combined width of the fourth and fifth beams.

18. The electrical connector of claim 16, wherein the fourth beam of the third mating contact portion comprises a fourth contact region adapted to make electrical contact with a fourth mating contact portion of a fourth conductive element of the second electrical connector, and wherein the fifth beam of the third mating contact portion comprises a fifth contact region adapted to make electrical contact with the fourth mating contact portion of the fourth conductive element of the second electrical connector.

19. The electrical connector of claim 18, wherein the fourth beam of the third mating contact portion is disposed closer to the first mating contact portion than the fifth beam of the third mating contact portion, and wherein the fourth beam further comprises a sixth contact region adapted to make electrical contact with the fourth mating contact portion of the fourth conductive element of the second electrical connector, the sixth contact region being farther away from a distal end of the fourth mating contact portion than the fourth contact region.

20. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein the first conductive element is configured to be a signal conductor.

21. An electrical connector comprising:

a plurality of conductive elements disposed in a column along a column direction, each of the plurality of conductive elements comprising a mating contact portion elongated in a longitudinal direction, a contact tail, and an intermediate portion between the mating contact portion and the contact tail, wherein;

the electrical connector is a first electrical connector;

a first mating contact portion of a first conductive element of the plurality of conductive elements comprises a first beam, a second beam, and a third beam, the first beam being shorter than the second beam and the third beam;

the first beam of the first mating contact portion comprises a first contact region adapted to make electrical contact with a surface in a first plane of a second mating contact portion of a second conductive element of a second electrical connector at a first point of contact, wherein the first plane is parallel to both the column direction and the longitudinal direction;

the second beam of the first mating contact portion comprises a second contact region adapted to make electrical contact with the surface in the first plane of the second mating contact portion of the second conductive element of the second electrical connector at a second point of contact, the second point of contact being farther from a distal end of the second mating contact portion than the first point of contact; and

the third beam of the first mating contact portion comprises a third contact region adapted to make electrical contact with the surface in the first plane of the second mating contact portion of the second conductive element of the second electrical connector at a third point of contact, the third point of contact being farther away from the distal end of the second mating contact portion than the first point of contact, wherein the first contact region of the first beam, the second contact region of the second beam, and the third contact region of the third beam face the surface of the second mating contact portion of the second conductive element of the second electrical connector such that the first point of contact, the second point of contact and the third point of contact are in the first plane, and wherein the first contact region comprises a first protruding portion protruding from the first beam, and the second contact region comprises a second protruding portion protruding from the second beam, and the second protruding portion protrudes to a greater extent than the first protruding portion.