Abstract: An electrical connection assembly for providing a variety of input/output connections between electrical conductors and connectors. An electrical path is established between insulation displacement contacts positioned on a printed circuit board and one or more connectors connected to the board. The insulation displacement contacts are pre-arranged on the board in accordance with the board circuitry to provide a desired input/output arrangement. The conductors are terminated at the insulation displacement contacts on the board in a simple manner without a complex assembly and pre-arrangement of the conductor wires.

Abstract: The current invention addresses a device to improve manufacturing of an outer shell modular connector which comprises overmold connectors. Each overmold connector comprises a circuit board to facilitate electrical connections. However, since each overmold connector provides multiple contact surfaces for specific electrical connections, the orientation of each circuit board with respect to the overmold connector is crucial for predetermined electrical connections. The outer shell modular connector in turn encases a number of the overmold connectors. The overmold connectors must be placed in a predetermined position and orientation within the outer shell modular connector so as to achieve desirable electrical connections. The predetermined orientation between the circuit board and the overmold connector is ascertained by a pair of polarization keys of the current invention.

Abstract: A wire management adapter for organizing wires for presentment to a connector include a member having an array of grooves at the leading edge thereof. In one aspect, guideways are provided for positioning the wires of a cable for receipt within the grooves. The guideways accept both standard and coaxial conductors. A pocket carries a clip with insulation displacement tines to contact the braid of the coaxial conductor. In a second aspect, the member has alternating arrays of shallow and deeper grooves on each surface. The shallow and deeper grooves on each surface communicate with each other via a groove in the leading edge of the member. The shallow and deeper grooves on each surface register with the respective deeper and shallow grooves on the other surface.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a housing and a plurality of terminals secured within the housing for mounting a mating connector or an electronic module or the like having a plurality of electronic leads disposed thereon to a printed substrate. A first contact beam is cantilevered from a base portion and has a distal end, while a second contact beam is similarly cantilevered from a base portion and also has a distal end wherein a gap is formed between the distal ends of the contact beams. The leads of the mating connectors or the like are inserted into the gap for contacting engagement with the contact beams. A gap adjustment integrally connected to the base portion provides for simple adjustment of the size of the gap between the contact beams.

Abstract: An anti-electrostatic discharge electrical connector assembly (10) includes a housing (12, 18), a plurality of terminals (14, 20) supported in the housing, and a grounding system (36) for electrically connecting at least a group of the terminals to ground when the connector (10) is not fully mated to a mating connector. In the preferred embodiment, the grounding system (36) includes a printed circuit board (26) that is in contact with the terminals (20) and has a grounding area thereon, a conductive grounding bar (48) that is biased into contact with the grounding area (38), and a camming system (54, 60) for moving the grounding bar away from the grounding area when the connector assembly is substantially fully mated with a mating connector or interface. When the assembly (10) is connected to a mating connector or interface, ally electrostatic discharges will be passed to ground through the terminals, the grounding area and the ground bar.

Abstract: An improved connector for an electronic module of the type that has a number of leads positioned on an underside adjacent to at least one edge thereof includes a housing having a socket opening that is sized and configured to accept an electronic module, and a plurality of terminals mounted to the housing. Each of the terminals has a first leg portion that includes a cam surface that is constructed and arranged to be engaged by an edge of an electronic module during insertion to control insertion force and distance, and a second leg portion that is connected to the first leg portion and has a contact surface for contacting at least one lead on an underside of the electronic module. An elastomeric absorber is positioned between the second leg portion and the housing for biasing the second leg portion upwardly against the underside of the electronic module when the electronic module is fully inserted into said connector.

Abstract: A connector assembly 10 includes a receptacle 12 and a pin header 14 adapted to mate with the receptacle. A row of resilient enhancement contacts 18 extend through a backplane 16 and is held in place in fixed relation to the receptacle. The receptacle and pin header each comprise an insulative body portion 20, 19, respectively. The receptacle 12 comprises contact pins extending through body portion 20 and arranged in three rows of thirty-two pins per row (3.times.32). The pin header 14 likewise comprises contact pins extending through body portion 19 and arranged in three rows of thirty-two pins per row. The pin header 14 includes a row of contact strips 24 disposed on an outer surface of body portion 19. The contact strips are preferably of uneven lengths to provide for stage mating between the contact strips 24 and corresponding enhancements pins 18.

Abstract: A connector device comprises a housing having an internal storage space for inserting one or more storage devices therein. A shallow guide member is coupled along one of the inner side walls of the housing to define upper and lower storage spaces within the housing without substantially interrupting the overall storage space of the housing. A connector section coupled to one end of the housing has upper and lower contact arrays disposed respectively in the upper and lower storage spaces. At least one of the contact arrays is adapted to interchangeably connect to either a memory card or a hard disk drive package. A single hard disk drive package may be connected to the connect device, thereby occupying the entire storage space of the house, or alternatively, a memory card may be inserted into each of the upper and lower storage spaces. The connector device may further comprise upper and lower ejection mechanisms for ejecting storage devices from the respective storage spaces.

Abstract: A retention system for retaining a connector housing to a substrate includes a pair of slotted arms extending from the housing and a wedge-shaped abutment member having a camming surface and a latching surface thereon. One leg of an L-shaped clip is insertable into a channel defined by the slotted arms. The top edge of this leg of the clip is notched to form a tab. The clip is deflectable by the camming surface as the leg advances into the channel until the latch bar on the clip snaps into latching engagement with the latching surface on the abutment member, thereby to secure the clip to the housing.The second leg of the clip is bent to underlie the connector housing when the clip is attached thereto.

Abstract: An electrical connector, comprising a housing provided with contact elements having connecting pins extending outside the housing having a connecting end for connecting electrical wiring, and a body made of plastically deformable synthetic material with parts which extend between the connecting pins. After the body has been fitted over the connecting pins, one or more of the parts of the body extending along the connecting pins is or are plastically deformed in such a manner that a barrier is produced to prevent the removal of the body.

Abstract: The present invention relates to connector hold-downs for mechanically attaching a connector to a circuit board and, specically, to hold-downs that can be secured by solder to plated holes through circuit boards.

Abstract: This invention relates to connector assemblies for electrically and mechanically connecting one printed circuit board to another and, in particular to connector assemblies having blade-like terminals engaging cantilever beam terminals for electrically and mechanically connecting one printed circuit board to another. The present invention uses a passive latch to increase the withdrawal force without significantly increasing the insertion force of the terminals in connectors in the connector assemblies.