Abstract: Daughter card assembly including a circuit board and leading and trailing connectors mounted to the circuit board. The leading and trailing connectors have mating ends that face in different directions along a board plane. The daughter card assembly also includes a support wall that is coupled to the circuit board and extends orthogonal to the circuit board. The support wall has a wall opening therethrough. The trailing connector is positioned on the circuit board such that the mating end substantially aligns with the wall opening. The daughter card assembly also includes a retention shroud that projects from an exterior surface of the support wall. The retention shroud defines a shroud passage that aligns with the wall opening. The shroud and wall openings form a receiving passage for receiving at least one of the trailing connector or a corresponding cable connector that mates with the trailing connector.

Abstract: A connector assembly includes a housing, a plurality of contact modules received in the housing, and a pin spacer coupled to the contact modules. Each contact module has a plurality of contacts each including a pin extending from a bottom of the corresponding contact module. The pin spacer has a plurality of pin holes extending through the pin spacer. The pin holes receive corresponding pins for mounting to the circuit board. The pin spacer holds relative positions of the pins. The pin spacer has side edges at opposite sides of the pin spacer and lugs extending from the top of the pin spacer proximate to the sides of the pin spacer. The lugs block entry into a space defined between the bottoms of the contact modules and the top of the pin spacer.

Abstract: Power connector including a pair of discrete contact springs configured to electrically engage a conductive component. Each of the contact springs includes a contact body having opposite inner and outer side surfaces and a contact edge that extends between the inner and outer side surfaces. The contact body is shaped to form a spring base and a mating portion. The spring bases of the contact springs are joined by a locking feature. The locking feature includes a localized portion of at least one of the spring bases. The localized portion frictionally engages the other spring base to interlock the spring bases. Each of the mating portions extends from the corresponding spring base. The mating portions are separated by a receiving space and are configured to engage the conductive component when the conductive component is inserted into the receiving space.

Abstract: Daughter card assembly including a circuit board and leading and trailing connectors mounted to the circuit board. The leading and trailing connectors have mating ends that face in different directions along a board plane. The daughter card assembly also includes a support wall that is coupled to the circuit board and extends orthogonal to the circuit board. The support wall has a wall opening therethrough. The trailing connector is positioned on the circuit board such that the mating end substantially aligns with the wall opening. The daughter card assembly also includes a retention shroud that projects from an exterior surface of the support wall. The retention shroud defines a shroud passage that aligns with the wall opening. The shroud and wall openings form a receiving passage for receiving at least one of the trailing connector or a corresponding cable connector that mates with the trailing connector.

Abstract: A connector assembly includes a housing, a plurality of contact modules received in the housing, and a pin spacer coupled to the contact modules. Each contact module has a plurality of contacts each including a pin extending from a bottom of the corresponding contact module. The pin spacer has a plurality of pin holes extending through the pin spacer. The pin holes receive corresponding pins for mounting to the circuit board. The pin spacer holds relative positions of the pins. The pin spacer has side edges at opposite sides of the pin spacer and lugs extending from the top of the pin spacer proximate to the sides of the pin spacer. The lugs block entry into a space defined between the bottoms of the contact modules and the top of the pin spacer.

Abstract: An optical communication connector having a connector housing that includes opposite mating and loading sides and a housing cavity that extends therebetween. The optical communication connector also includes an optical module that is positioned within the housing cavity and a biasing element that is positioned between the optical module and the loading side in the housing cavity. The biasing element has a module end, a back end, and a resilient spring portion that extends between the module and back ends. The spring portion includes an elongated body having a plurality of flexible bend segments that wrap back-and-forth within a spring plane. The spring portion is compressible between first and second states during a mating operation between the optical module and an optical connector.

Abstract: Power connector including a pair of discrete contact springs configured to electrically engage a conductive component. Each of the contact springs includes a contact body having opposite inner and outer side surfaces and a contact edge that extends between the inner and outer side surfaces. The contact body is shaped to form a spring base and a mating portion. The spring bases of the contact springs are joined by a locking feature. The locking feature includes a localized portion of at least one of the spring bases. The localized portion frictionally engages the other spring base to interlock the spring bases. Each of the mating portions extends from the corresponding spring base. The mating portions are separated by a receiving space and are configured to engage the conductive component when the conductive component is inserted into the receiving space.

Abstract: An electrical connector assembly includes a cage having an upper wall, a lower wall, and side walls that extend from the upper wall to the lower wall. The side walls have exterior sides. The cage includes an interior cavity and a divider that extends between the side walls and divides the interior cavity into at least two internal compartments. The cage includes a front end that is open to the internal compartments. The side walls have front edges at the front end. The internal compartments are configured to receive pluggable modules therein through the front end. An electromagnetic interference (EMI) cover is mounted to the divider such that the EMI cover is engaged with and electrically connected to the divider. The EMI cover includes a flap that wraps around the front edge of a corresponding side wall. The flap overlaps and engages the exterior side of the corresponding side wall.

Abstract: A card edge connector is provided for mounting to a printed circuit board (PCB). The card edge connector includes a housing having a mating side, a mounting side, and a card slot that extends into the mating side. The card edge connector also includes first and second contacts held by the housing. The first and second contacts include mounting segments that extend outwardly from the mounting side of the housing. The mounting segments include mounting interfaces. The mounting segments of the first and second contacts are configured to be electrically connected to corresponding contact pads on the PCB at the mounting interfaces. The mounting interface of the first contact is offset from the mounting interface of the second contact in a direction generally away from mounting side of the housing.

Abstract: An electrical connector assembly includes a cage having an upper wall, a lower wall, and side walls that extend from the upper wall to the lower wall. The side walls have exterior sides. The cage includes an interior cavity and a divider that extends between the side walls and divides the interior cavity into at least two internal compartments. The cage includes a front end that is open to the internal compartments. The side walls have front edges at the front end. The internal compartments are configured to receive pluggable modules therein through the front end. An electromagnetic interference (EMI) cover is mounted to the divider such that the EMI cover is engaged with and electrically connected to the divider. The EMI cover includes a flap that wraps around the front edge of a corresponding side wall. The flap overlaps and engages the exterior side of the corresponding side wall.

Abstract: An optical communication connector having a connector housing that includes opposite mating and loading sides and a housing cavity that extends therebetween. The optical communication connector also includes an optical module that is positioned within the housing cavity and a biasing element that is positioned between the optical module and the loading side in the housing cavity. The biasing element has a module end, a back end, and a resilient spring portion that extends between the module and back ends. The spring portion includes an elongated body having a plurality of flexible bend segments that wrap back-and-forth within a spring plane. The spring portion is compressible between first and second states during a mating operation between the optical module and an optical connector.

Abstract: A card edge connector is provided for mounting to a printed circuit board (PCB). The card edge connector includes a housing having a mating side, a mounting side, and a card slot that extends into the mating side. The card edge connector also includes first and second contacts held by the housing. The first and second contacts include mounting segments that extend outwardly from the mounting side of the housing. The mounting segments include mounting interfaces. The mounting segments of the first and second contacts are configured to be electrically connected to corresponding contact pads on the PCB at the mounting interfaces. The mounting interface of the first contact is offset from the mounting interface of the second contact in a direction generally away from mounting side of the housing.

Abstract: High-speed backplane connectors systems for mounting a substrate that are capable of operating at speeds of up to at least 25 Gbps, while in some implementations also providing pin densities of at least 50 pairs of electrical connectors per inch are disclosed. Implementations of the high-speed connector systems may provide ground shields and/or ground structures that substantially encapsulate electrical connector pairs, which may be differential electrical connector pairs, in a three-dimensional manner throughout a backplane footprint, a backplane connector, and a daughtercard footprint. These encapsulating ground shields and/or ground structures prevent undesirable propagation of non-traverse, longitudinal, and higher-order modes when the high-speed backplane connector systems operates at frequencies up to at least 30 GHz.

Abstract: High-speed backplane connectors systems for mounting a substrate that are capable of operating at speeds of up to at least 25 Gbps, while in some implementations also providing pin densities of at least 50 pairs of electrical connectors per inch are disclosed. Implementations of the high-speed connector systems may provide ground shields and/or ground structures that substantially encapsulate electrical connector pairs, which may be differential electrical connector pairs, in a three-dimensional manner throughout a backplane footprint, a backplane connector, and a daughtercard footprint. These encapsulating ground shields and/or ground structures prevent undesirable propagation of non-traverse, longitudinal, and higher-order modes when the high-speed backplane connector systems operates at frequencies up to at least 30 GHz.