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: 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 card edge connector for high bandwidth transmission. The connector may include a housing having a groove between two walls. The walls may include slots holding terminals of the connector. The terminals of the connector may each include a mating contact portion, a mounting contact portion opposite the mating contact portion, a bearing portion extending from the mounting contact portion and fixed in the housing, and a beam extending from the bearing portion. The beams may be configured to flex when the mating contact portions make contact with pads on a card. The terminals may each include a curved transition portion between the mating contact portion and the beam so as to prevent the beam from touching the card. The housing may include holes through the walls between mating contact portions of selected adjacent terminals. Such a configuration reduces impedance mismatch at the mating interface and therefore improve signal integrity.

Abstract: A miniaturized paddle card assembly that provides high-speed, high-performance transmission. The paddle card has two or more rows of contact pads for mating with complementary conductors, two or more rows of terminals for cable termination, and alternating dielectric layers and metal layers. The two or more rows of terminals are disposed on respective metal layers. Such a configuration enables conductive traces electrically connecting corresponding contact pads and terminals to be substantially straight, and therefore reduces the lengths of the conductive traces. It is also reduced that the size of the paddle card in both a lateral direction parallel to the rows and a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the lateral direction, without changing the thickness of the paddle card. With the paddle card assembly provided herein, the integrity of the signals transmitted therethrough can be maintained and/or improved at higher speed.

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 card edge connector for providing high-speed interconnections between different printed circuit boards. The card edge connector may include a plurality of wafers, each having a plurality of conductors. The conductors may include tails at one end and mating contact portions at an opposing end. The connector may have more rows of tails than columns of mating contact portions, so that the tails extend less distance from an edge of a PCB toward its center. The connector may be formed from multiple wafers of different sizes. Shorter wafers may have mating contact portions in columns and tails in rows. Taller wafers may have mating contact portions in the same column as a respective shorter wafer and tails in a row parallel to and offset from the row of tails of the respective shorter wafer.