Abstract: A card edge connector for providing high-quality, high-speed interconnections between different printed circuit boards. The card edge connector includes a front housing holding a subassembly and providing a mating interface for the connector. The subassembly includes conductors held by a subassembly housing, and a subassembly shield on a side of the subassembly housing. A mating interface shield is coupled to the subassembly shield and extends beyond the subassembly shield into a wall of the front housing. The subassembly shield and mating interface shield may be coupled through compliant members such as spring fingers. The subassembly shield and mating interface shield may be in parallel planes with the mating interface shield offset away from the conductors though still electrically connected through the compliant members.

Abstract: Reliable electrical connectors that enable simple architectures for systems in which connections are made through an opening of a casing. A connector may have a housing with an inner portion and an outer portion at least partially surrounding the inner portion. The inner portion may have first and second mating interfaces. The connector may have conductive elements each with first and second mating ends disposed in the first and second mating interfaces respectively. Intermediate portions of the conductive elements may be held by the inner portion of the housing to provide sealed electrical paths between the first mating interface and the second mating interface. The outer portion may be mounted against the casing with the first mating interface inside and second mating interface outside. The outer portion may have a support member embedded therein to improve its strength for an improved seal to the casing.

Abstract: A configurable electrical connector. The electrical connector includes conductors held by a housing. Contact tails of the conductors extend from a mounting face of the housing therethrough. The mounting face of the housing includes a slot. In some embodiments, the slot exposes portions of ground conductors of the connector and receives a member coupled with the exposed portions of the ground conductors such that the electrical connector can meet high performance requirements. The member may be inserted into or molded in the slot. In some embodiments, the slot may or may not receive a member that is insulative when the electrical connector does not need to meet the high performance requirements. Such a configuration enables the same connector to be compatible with multiple performance protocols.

Abstract: An electrical connector that connects circuit boards in a coplanar manner. The electrical connector includes a frame comprising a plate, and two platforms extending above the plate and substantially parallel to each other. A housing of the electrical connector holding conductive elements is coupled to the plate of the frame such that a top surface of the housing is substantially flush with top surfaces of the two platforms. The platforms of the frame have threaded holes extending therethrough such that screws can be inserted to hold one of the two platforms of the electrical connector to a first circuit board and the other one of the two platforms of the electrical connector to a second circuit board that is substantially edge aligned to the first circuit board. Such a configuration enables connecting circuit boards of various thicknesses in a coplanar manner.

Abstract: A connector for use with high-speed signals. The connector includes a connector subassembly that includes conductive elements held in a row by an insulative member. Each conductive element includes a mating end, a mounting end opposite the mating end, and an intermediate portion extending therebetween. The conductive elements include ground conductors dispersed between pairs of signal conductors. The ground conductors are wider than the signal conductors at the intermediate portions, and have same widths as the signal conductors at the ends. For each ground conductor, the intermediate portion has first and second portions separated by a slot until joining each other at the mating end. The insulative member holds the conductive elements at least partially through the slots of the ground conductors. Such a configuration meets signal integrity requirements in connectors designed for 64 Gbps and beyond, while conforming to a standard that constrains mating and mounting interfaces.

Abstract: Connectors for use with high-speed signals. Mating connectors may include interlocking components that control the mated position of the connectors such that wipe distance can be reduced. These components may be compact such that they can be integrated into connectors with standardized exterior dimensions. They may be integrated into mating guides of the mating connectors. For one of the mating connectors, such a component may be a locking member disposed in and curving out of its guide such that the locking member mates with a matching feature of a component in the guide of the other connector. As the connectors are secured by these components, the conductive elements may be shorter than the lengths required by standards, which reduces the stub and therefore increases signal integrity. Such a configuration provides higher signal integrity at higher speeds, while conforming to standards that constrain mating and mounting interfaces.

Abstract: A connector for use with high-speed signals. The connector includes conductive elements held in a row by an insulative member, a shielding member stacked on the insulative member, and a lossy member stacked on the shielding member and electrically connecting the shielding member to selected ones of the conductive elements. Each conductive element includes a mating end and a mounting end opposite the mating end. The insulative member includes first and second edges extending parallel to the row. The first edge and second edge are closer to the mating ends and mounting ends of the conductive elements, respectively. The shielding member includes a portion projecting from the first edge to provide shielding to the conductive elements beyond the first edge of the insulative member. Such a configuration meets signal integrity requirements in connectors designed for 64 Gbps and beyond, while conforming to a standard that constrains mating and mounting interfaces.

Abstract: A connector for use with high-speed signals. The connector includes a connector subassembly having conductors disposed in groups and a shielding shell at least partially encircling each group. Each conductor includes a mating end and a mounting end opposite the mating end. The shielding shell includes openings that expose contact surfaces of the conductors at the ends. The shielding shell is formed by attaching a second shell part to a first shell part. The first shell part has plateaus and valleys, and the second shell part is attached to the first shell part at the valleys, such that tubular structures are formed. The shielding shell includes contact surfaces disposed on the same planes with the contact surfaces of the conductors at the ends, respectively. Such a configuration meets signal integrity requirements in connectors designed for 64 Gbps and beyond, while conforming to a standard that constrains mating and mounting interfaces.

Abstract: Surface mount card edge connectors and compact systems using such connectors are provided. A connector has a housing holding conductive elements with a mating face and a mounting face configured to face a side surface of a board. Each conductive element comprises a mating contact portion and a mounting tail extending beyond the mounting face and having an end surface configured to be mounted to a surface pad on a surface of the board. The connector has one or more board locks. Each board lock has a body portion disposed in the housing and a mounting portion having an end surface parallel to the end surfaces of the mounting tails of the conductive elements. Such a configuration enables connectors mounted to opposite sides of a board to be aligned such that a system with these connectors may be more compact.

Abstract: A card edge connector with reduced height that operates reliably. The connector has a housing with a slot extending toward a mounting face. An electronic card can be inserted into the slot until an edge of the card is in a seating plane. The connector has a latch pivotally connected to the housing which may be rotated to eject the card. A reinforcing member may be disposed in the latch with a foot extending between the edge of the card and the mounting face such that, when the latch is rotated, the foot may press against the edge of the card to eject the card. The reinforcing member is both mechanically stronger and thermally more conductive than the latch. Such a configuration enables the seating plane to be closer to the mounting face than that required to meet industry standards.

Abstract: A connector for use with high-speed signals. The connector includes conductive elements held in rows and a member between rows of conductive elements. The conductive elements have pairs of signal conductors and ground conductors disposed between the pairs of the signal conductors. The member has a lossy body and a conductive layer plated on the lossy body to electrically connect the ground conductors. The lossy body of the member has openings and/or protrusions disposed and sized such that the conductive layer plated on the lossy body provides shortened conductive paths between ground conductors in different rows. The member can be configured to tune the impedance at desired regions such as the mating region. Such a configuration meets signal integrity requirements in connectors designed for high speed transmission, while conforming to a standard that constrains mating and mounting interfaces.

Abstract: A card edge connector that is robust under various operating conditions of a system in which the connector is used. The connector has a housing holding terminals. The housing has a slot extending from a body to a tower disposed at an end of the body. The tower has an outer chamber and an inner chamber joining the out chamber and the slot. The outer and inner chambers comprising joined side walls. The side walls of the inner chamber are thicker than that of the outer chamber. A latch is pivotably disposed in the tower between a locked position and an unlocked position for retaining and releasing an electronic card inserted in the slot. The latch has a body and protrusions protruding from the body toward the slot. The latch body engages the side walls of the outer chamber. The protrusions engage the side walls of the inner chamber.

Abstract: A card edge connector that provides reliable performances while satisfying smaller dimensions required by industry standards. The connector has a housing holding terminals. The housing has a body, a tower narrower than the body, and a slot extending from the body to the tower. The tower has a tower body protruding from an end of the body of the housing and an extension protruding from the tower body away from the slot. The connector has a latch pivotably connected to the housing. The latch has a recess configured to receive the extension of the tower. The connector has a reinforcing member between the tower body and the extension. Such a configuration enables the tower and/or the latch to be narrower such that more components can be disposed in a system in which the connector is disposed, while strong enough to sustain various operating conditions of the system.

Abstract: A high density edge connector that provides robust operation and good signal integrity. The connector is configurable to have sections tailored for high speed signals, which may be differential, or low speed signals. The connector may be assembled from signal terminals and ground terminals, either of which may be mounted within an insulative housing of the connector at any location along a row aligned with a slot of a mating interface. Shield members or lossy members may optionally be included for high speed segments, either or both of which may be electrically coupled to the ground terminals. Insertion and retention force may be limited, despite a dense array of contacts pressing on a card inserted into the connector by shaping the portions of the signal or ground contacts that act as beams generating that force. Such force may be limited with twists in the beams and/or splitting the beam portions.

Abstract: A floating connector is provided. The connector has a mating interface configured to move so as to align with a mating component. The connector has a housing having the mating interface. Conductors held by the housing may have mating contact portions adjacent the mating interface for connecting to the mating component when inserted into the mating interface. The connector may have a frame configured to be fixed to a board to which the connector is mounted. The housing is configured to be movable in the frame. The connector may have elastic positioning members disposed between the housing and the frame, such that the elastic positioning members enable the housing to move within the frame for properly aligning the mating interface with a mating component and bias the housing to return to an initial position when the mating component is removed.

Abstract: A connector configured to connect densely disposed cables to a board. The connector may include two or more rows of terminals held by a housing such that the two or more rows of terminals are at a same height with respect to a board that the connector would be mounted to. Such a configuration enables the connector to fit into a space limited by, for example, another component mounted to the board. The terminals may include first contact portions configured to be mounted onto a surface of the board when pressure is applied to the terminals so as to avoid the use of materials that may cause undesired shorting such as soldering materials. The terminals may include second contact portions configured to receive the cables. The second contact portions of ground terminals of a same row may be connected by a strip configured to contact shields of cables attached to the row.

Abstract: Plug connectors for use with high speed signals. The connector includes an insulative housing having a base portion and a tongue portion extending from the base portion, and conductive terminals held by the housing. Each conductive terminal has a mating portion held on a side of the tongue portion, a tail portion extending out of the housing, and an intermediate portion held in the base portion. The conductive terminals comprise signal terminals and ground terminals. A shielding member is disposed in the housing and includes features configured to provide shielding to signal terminals and electrically connect ground terminals. The shielding member also includes features configured to improve impedance consistency along conduction paths. Such a configuration meets signal integrity requirements in connectors designed for higher frequencies, while conforming to a standard that constrains mating and mounting interfaces.

Abstract: Electrical connectors for use with high speed signals that tolerate manufacturing variations. A connector includes conductive elements disposed in first and second rows, a spacer disposed between the first and second rows of conductive elements, and a housing holding the conductive elements and the spacer. Each conductive element includes a mating end and a mounting end opposite the mating end and extending out of the housing. The spacer comprises first members contacting the conductive elements at first locations. The connector includes a second member disposed in the spacer and having projections extending beyond the spacer to contact selected conductive elements at second locations. Gaps between the spacer and the first and second rows of conductive elements may be controlled by a difference between lengths of the second member and the spacer, which provides high signal integrity despite variations in manufacturing the connector.

Abstract: An electrical connector assembly including an electrical connector and a shell partially surrounding an insulative housing of the electrical connector. The insulative housing has a mating face with a socket formed therein. The socket can receive a first printed circuit board of a first electronic device such as a solid state drive (SSD). The shell includes a die cast body that has an outer shell and an inner shell separated by a slot. The inner shell includes an opening and the insulative housing is disposed within the opening. The slot receives an edge of a housing of the first electronic device. The shell includes features attached to a second electronic device such as a second printed circuit board (e.g., a motherboard). The shell includes a latching mechanism movably mounted to the body. Such configuration enables a robust and reliable electrical connection between the first electronic system and the second electronic system.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides an electrical connector. The electrical connector comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of terminals disposed in the insulative housing. The insulative housing comprises a top face, a bottom face opposite to the top face, and a plurality of side faces extending between the top face and the bottom face. A corner portion between at least two adjacent side faces of the side faces is formed as a chamfered surface. Such a configuration reduces the dimension of the electrical connector, enables a more compact arrangement of components on the electronic system, and enables the dimension of the electronic system to be reduced, such that the entire assembly, including the electrical connector and the electronic system, can be manufactured at a lower cost and can be more compact and more lightweight.