Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing (12) that carries a plurality of circuit boards (13) in a parallel, spaced-apart array. The circuit boards are of two different types. One type has a keying recess (60) that is keyed to a land (39) in the housing, and the other type has a keying recess (62) that is keyed to a web (40) in the housing.

Abstract: A shielded electrical connector for use with a cable (2) having a wire conductor (4) within a ground sheath (6) includes an interconnection device (10) having a front mating end (12) and a rear cable-connecting end (14). A conductive shield (20) is disposed on the interconnection device. The shield is manufactured as a one-piece metallic member having multiple panels (40, 50, 60, 70, 80) disposed in respective different planes around the interconnection device. The shield also has fingers (90) disposed at the cable-connecting end of the interconnection device. The fingers are circumferentially spaced-apart to define a cable exit (25) between the fingers. The fingers extend rearwardly to respective finger contact portions (92) which are arranged for engaging the ground sheath (6) when the cable is disposed in the cable exit.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing having cavities that can receive mating electrical connectors. The cavities are arranged as vertically aligned pairs. The housing holds visual indicators which are associated with the cavities. The visual indicators for each vertically aligned pair are arranged in a rectangular array with one visual indicator at each exterior corner of the vertically aligned pair. At least some of the visual indicators have leads which extend along a rear of the housing. These leads are installed in a retainer prior to installation of the visual indicators in the housing. The visual indicators and the retainer form a subassembly which can be installed on the housing as a unit.

Abstract: A modular plug electrical connector includes a housing and a circuit board having an array of circuit holes. Terminals in the housing have legs that extend into the circuit holes for electrical connection with the circuit board and mechanical retention of the circuit board to the housing. The circuit board carries contacts for terminating wires in a communications system. A stuffer cap has wire channels that receive the wires, and the stuffer cap is pivotable to urge the wires into engagement with the contacts. The wire channels are arranged in siamesed pairs that each receive a twisted wire pair.

Abstract: A modular plug electrical connector for terminating a plurality of communications wires which are associated as signal pairs in a communications system includes a dielectric housing having a cavity and a compensating insert which is mountable in the cavity. The compensating insert includes a dielectric substrate which carries conductive traces, and the traces are arranged to be connected to selected ones of the wires. The traces are routed on the substrate to provide capacitive coupling between selected signal pairs so as to compensate for crosstalk between the signal pairs, thereby reducing crosstalk in the connector.

Abstract: Crosstalk is reduced in a communications wiring system by an arrangement of circuit traces on a circuit board. The circuit board has circuit traces which are arranged for interconnecting terminals in first and second electrical connectors, wherein the terminals in each connector are associated as signal pairs in the communications wiring system. The circuit board also has at least one non-ohmic trace which is not electrically connected to any of the circuit traces on the board, or to ground. The non-ohmic trace is arranged closely adjacent to at least two of the circuit traces interconnecting different signal pairs so as to couple energy therebetween, whereby crosstalk between the at least two circuit traces is reduced.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing having a cavity which holds a pair of terminal inserts. Each of the terminal inserts includes a respective molding which holds a respective plurality of terminals. The moldings have respective latch arms which latchably secure the terminal inserts together to form a terminal insert subassembly which is inserted into the cavity as a unit. The latch arms have latch tabs which are cooperable with the housing to secure the terminal insert subassembly in the housing. The terminals in one of the terminal inserts are laterally staggered with respect to the terminals in the other of the terminal inserts.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing having a front face and a cavity which is open through the front face for receiving a mating electrical connector. The housing has a terminal support shelf and a wall which is spaced from the terminal support shelf to define a slot between the terminal support shelf and the wall. The slot extends in a longitudinal direction from an upstream end which is open through a rear of the housing to a downstream end which is open to the cavity. The slot has a laterally extending width. The housing carries terminals which extend longitudinally through the slot and which are arranged side-by-side along the width of the slot. The terminals are initially attached to a carrier strip. The terminals are inserted into the slot from the upstream end with the carrier strip leading the terminals through the slot and emerging from the downstream end of the slot, and the carrier strip is removed from the terminals after the terminals are installed in the housing.

Abstract: A lighting fixture 12 for use with fluorescent lamps 2 can be mounted in an opening in a suspended ceiling 4 or it can be supported below a ceiling. An integral ballast subassembly 14 is mounted on one end of the lighting fixture 12 on a ballast end support 64. Commoning lamp sockets 62 are mounted on a separate end support 84 on the opposite end of the lighting fixture 12. A ballast capable of energizing fluorescent lamps 2 in series is used so that the ballast subassembly need not be connected directly to the commoning lamp sockets 62. The end supports 64 and 84 can be mounted on opposite ends of a suspended ceiling opening 10 and a thin bonnet or hood 98 can then be positioned above the end supports 64, 84 after the ballast subassembly 14 is mounted at one end. The ballast subassembly housing 16 includes two separate compartments, with the ballast circuitry being housed in one compartment 28 and with the power wiring being positioned in the other compartment 30.

Abstract: Electrical connector 10 is used to terminate individual wires 6, 8 in two twisted wire pairs 2, 4. The connector includes an insulated housing with terminals 50 located in terminal receiving cavities 34 in the housing. The terminals 50 are inclined relative to parallel wire receiving channels 34 and paired terminals 50 for terminating individual wires of a the same twisted wire pair, 2 or 4 are spaced closer together than adjacent intermediate terminals associated with different wire pairs. Pairing inclined terminals 50 increases the coupling between wires in the same wire pair and increasing the spacing between terminals of different wire pairs reduces the capacitive cross talk between adjacent wire pairs. High frequency performance of the electrical connector 10 is thereby increased. A central cavity between terminal pairs increases the effective dielectric constant to further reduce crosstalk.

Abstract: An insert subassembly for an electrical connector includes a lower terminal insert and an upper terminal insert. The lower terminal insert includes a lower insulative member which carries a plurality of terminals which have exposed portions at a rear of the lower insulative member. The exposed portions extend downwardly to provide leads for the connector. The upper terminal insert includes an upper insulative member having support surfaces which confront the exposed portions of the terminals of the lower terminal insert to provide support for the exposed portions when the leads are engaged with a circuit board.

Abstract: An electrical connector which is mountable on a circuit board includes a housing (10) having a board-mounting face (13), a channel (38) which opens into the housing from the board-mounting face, and a pair of grooves (36, 37) which extend from the channel in respective opposite directions parallel to the board-mounting face. A boardlock (20) has a pair of oppositely extending wings (24) which are mounted in the grooves, a body which extends through the channel, and a base (22) which is engageable with the circuit board. The channel (38) and the pair of grooves (36, 37) are open to a side of the housing for receiving the boardlock in a direction parallel to the board mounting face (13). The boardlock resides completely within a lateral outline of the housing.

Abstract: An electrical contact facilitates making a soldered connection between an insulated wire conductor and a circuit board. The contact includes a tubular contact body having a hollow interior. One end of the contact body has an insulation piercing edge which promotes penetration of the contact body through the insulation of the wire conductor and into the conductive core when the wire conductor is pressed against the edge of the contact body. The other end of the contact body is solderable to a circuit board. The hollow interior permits solder to be drawn by capillary action through the contact body and into the wire conductive core.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing having a base and first and second parallel walls which are connected to the base. The first and second walls are spaced-apart to define a slot therebetween. The first wall has a thickness and an open portion which exposes the slot through the thickness of the first wall. The second wall has a thickness and an apertured portion which exposes the slot through the thickness of the second wall. The open portion is complementary to non-apertured portions of the second wall, and the apertured portion is complementary to non-open portions of the first wall. Multiple electrical connectors can be stacked by nesting the non-apertured portions of each connector in the open portion an adjacent connector, and nesting the non-open portions of each connector in the apertured portion of another adjacent connector.

Abstract: A connector includes a contact insert, at least one contact, and a housing. The contact is mounted to the contact insert. The contact includes a mounting portion coupled to the contact insert and a beam portion having a length. The housing is engageable with the contact insert. The housing includes a first portion adapted to deflect the beam portion and a second portion adapted to contact the beam portion at a pivot point along the length of the beam portion.

Abstract: An electrical connector for terminating flat cable of the type having a plurality of signal and ground conductors in parallel alignment comprises a housing which holds a plurality of signal contacts and a ground bus. Each of the signal contacts has a signal conductor termination slot configured for insulation displacement termination of a respective said signal conductor. The ground bus has a plurality of ground conductor termination slots each configured for insulation displacement termination of a respective said ground conductor, and at least one bypass slot configured to permit at least one of said signal conductors to pass through said ground bus without termination thereto. The signal conductor termination slots, the ground conductor termination slots and the at least one bypass slot are arranged such that the plurality of signal and ground conductors reside in a common plane in the connector after termination thereto.

Abstract: A board mount for an electrical transformer is provided by a unitary body having a wire termination section and a boardlock. The body is mountable to a transformer bobbin with an end of a transformer wire being terminated in the wire termination section and with the boardlock extending externally of the bobbin. The transformer can be electrically and mechanically mated with a circuit board by inserting the boardlock into a hole in the circuit board.

Abstract: A tooling assembly (10) having complementary die sections. Die section (12) includes a face portion (14) having a tooling insert (16) mounted therein. Insert (16) includes an impression configuration (20) formed therein. Flow device assemblies (40) are in communication with impression configuration (20). Flow device assemblies (40) are variably rotatably mounted in die section (12) and are operatively connected to respective flow device actuation assemblies (60). Activation of flow device assemblies (60) can be performed manually, or automatically by, for example, respective conventional motors (90). Motors (90) may be electrical motors each with a driving mechanism attached to a respective flow control device (60). Activation of a flow device actuation assembly (60) causes a respective flow device assembly (40) to rotate and to thereby change its posture of communication with respect to impression configuration (20).

Abstract: A socket contact has a generally tubular base defining a longitudinal axis and beams extending from the base at spaced-apart locations around the base. The beams converge to define a pin reception zone between the beams. At least one of the beams has a tapered portion which progressively narrows as the beam extends longitudinally from the base, and a non-tapered portion having a lateral dimension which remains constant as the beam extends longitudinally. The length of the tapered portion and the degree of taper can be selected to provide desirable spring characteristics for the beam.

Abstract: An electrical connector for interconnecting first and second memory cards to a mother board includes a housing having a pair of card-receiving slots. The housing carries sets of signal contacts and ground contacts. Each of the ground contacts has a pair of contact arms which extend into respective ones of the slots for electrically connecting with both the first memory card and the second memory card.