Patents by Inventor Michael Eugene Shirk
Michael Eugene Shirk has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Publication number: 20230361495Abstract: A contact assembly includes a contact positioner having a front slot configured to receive a card edge of a module circuit board of a pluggable module. An upper contact array is coupled to the contact positioner and includes upper contacts and an upper ground shield. The upper ground shield includes an upper ground panel extending along a first side of the upper contacts and an upper ground plate extending along a second side of the upper contacts parallel to and spaced apart from the upper ground panel with the upper contacts therebetween. The contact assembly includes a lower contact array coupled to the contact positioner having lower contacts and a lower ground shield with lower ground panel and a lower ground plate parallel to and spaced apart from the lower ground panel with the lower contacts therebetween.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 4, 2022Publication date: November 9, 2023Inventors: John Eugene Westman, Michael Eugene Shirk, Michael John Phillips, Sandeep Patel
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Patent number: 11735846Abstract: A stacked card edge connector for mating with stacked pluggable modules includes a housing configured to be mounted to a host circuit board and including inner and outer contact channels and inner and outer card slots configured to receive card edges of module circuit boards of the stacked pluggable modules. The stacked card edge connector includes an inner contact assembly received in the inner card slot and an outer contact assembly received in the outer card slot.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2021Date of Patent: August 22, 2023Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS GmbHInventors: Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk
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Publication number: 20230116615Abstract: A card edge connector includes a housing configured to be mounted to a host circuit board and having a card slot at the front configured to receive a card edge of a module circuit card of the pluggable module. A contact assembly is received in a cavity of the housing having cable contacts arranged in an upper contact set and lower contact set. An upper ground bus bar is electrically connected to terminating ends of the ground contacts of the upper contact set and a lower ground bus bar is electrically connected to the ground contacts of the lower contact set. A ground element is coupled to the upper ground bus bar or the lower ground bus bar and includes a board termination component configured to be terminated to the host circuit board to electrically connect the corresponding ground bus bar to the host circuit board.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 5, 2022Publication date: April 13, 2023Inventors: Nitish Balakrishnan, Michael John Phillips, Charles Jameson Valentine, Michael Eugene Shirk
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Patent number: 11626695Abstract: A contact assembly includes signal contact modules and ground contact modules arranged in a contact module stack. Each ground contact module includes a ground leadframe having a ground plate and a dielectric body holding the ground plate. The ground plate includes skewer pockets and spring fingers extending into the corresponding skewer pocket. The contact assembly includes ground skewers extending across the contact module stack. The ground skewers are received in corresponding skewer pockets. The spring fingers engage the ground skewers to electrically connect the ground plate to the ground skewers. Each ground plate is coupled to each of the ground skewers. The ground skewers electrically common each of the ground plates together.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2021Date of Patent: April 11, 2023Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS GmbHInventors: John Eugene Westman, Michael Eugene Shirk, Ashika Pandankeril Shaji
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Publication number: 20230025650Abstract: A stacked card edge connector for mating with stacked pluggable modules includes a housing configured to be mounted to a host circuit board and including inner and outer contact channels and inner and outer card slots configured to receive card edges of module circuit boards of the stacked pluggable modules. The stacked card edge connector includes an inner contact assembly received in the inner card slot and an outer contact assembly received in the outer card slot.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 23, 2021Publication date: January 26, 2023Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk
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Publication number: 20230028835Abstract: A contact assembly includes signal contact modules and ground contact modules arranged in a contact module stack. Each ground contact module includes a ground leadframe having a ground plate and a dielectric body holding the ground plate. The ground plate includes skewer pockets and spring fingers extending into the corresponding skewer pocket. The contact assembly includes ground skewers extending across the contact module stack. The ground skewers are received in corresponding skewer pockets. The spring fingers engage the ground skewers to electrically connect the ground plate to the ground skewers. Each ground plate is coupled to each of the ground skewers. The ground skewers electrically common each of the ground plates together.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 23, 2021Publication date: January 26, 2023Inventors: John Eugene Westman, Michael Eugene Shirk, Ashika Pandankeril Shaji
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Patent number: 11349237Abstract: A card edge connector includes a housing having upper and lower card slots receiving upper and lower module circuit cards of a pluggable module. The card edge connector includes a contact assembly having a contact positioner holding upper and lower contacts. A guide feature guides mating of the contact assembly in the housing. A latching feature latchably secures the contact assembly to the housing. The upper contacts are arranged in first and second upper contact arrays. The lower contacts are arranged in first and second lower contact arrays. Contact tails of the upper and lower contacts are positioned at the bottom of the housing for surface mounting to the host circuit board.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2021Date of Patent: May 31, 2022Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY SERVICES GmbHInventors: Christopher William Blackburn, John Eugene Westman, Michael Eugene Shirk, Michael David Herring, Zachary Galbraith
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Publication number: 20210265754Abstract: A card edge connector includes a housing having upper and lower card slots receiving upper and lower module circuit cards of a pluggable module. The card edge connector includes a contact assembly having a contact positioner holding upper and lower contacts. A guide feature guides mating of the contact assembly in the housing. A latching feature latchably secures the contact assembly to the housing. The upper contacts are arranged in first and second upper contact arrays. The lower contacts are arranged in first and second lower contact arrays. Contact tails of the upper and lower contacts are positioned at the bottom of the housing for surface mounting to the host circuit board.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 17, 2021Publication date: August 26, 2021Inventors: Christopher William Blackburn, John Eugene Westman, Michael Eugene Shirk, Michael David Herring, Zachary Galbraith
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Patent number: 10553971Abstract: A card edge connector includes a contact assembly received in a cavity of a housing. The contact assembly has a contact positioner holding upper and lower contacts. The contact positioner has an upper wall with upper contact channels holding mating beams of the upper contacts and a lower wall with lower contact channels holding mating beams of the lower contacts. A positioner card slot is defined between the walls receiving a card edge of a module circuit board. The upper wall has pre-load beams in the upper contact channels engaging the mating beams of the upper contacts to pre-load the upper contacts in an inward biasing direction and the lower wall has pre-load beams in the lower contact channels engaging the mating beams of the lower contacts to pre-load the lower contacts in an inward biasing direction.Type: GrantFiled: January 8, 2019Date of Patent: February 4, 2020Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATIONInventors: Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk, Randall Robert Henry
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Patent number: 10320102Abstract: A receptacle connector includes a contact assembly having a dielectric carrier holding contacts, which may be overmolded by the dielectric carrier. The receptacle connector includes a housing holding the contact assembly having a mating end mated with a plug connector and a mounting end mounted to the circuit board. The housing has first and second side walls and first and second end walls. The housing has a card slot open at the top for receiving the plug connector and a contact assembly cavity open at the bottom for receiving the contact assembly. The housing may have positioning ribs extending from the first and second side walls to position the contact assembly within the cavity and/or strengthening ribs extending across the cavity to connect the side walls at a location remote from the end walls.Type: GrantFiled: March 2, 2018Date of Patent: June 11, 2019Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATIONInventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry, Michael Eugene Shirk
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Publication number: 20180191093Abstract: A receptacle connector includes a contact assembly having a dielectric carrier holding contacts, which may be overmolded by the dielectric carrier. The receptacle connector includes a housing holding the contact assembly having a mating end mated with a plug connector and a mounting end mounted to the circuit board. The housing has first and second side walls and first and second end walls. The housing has a card slot open at the top for receiving the plug connector and a contact assembly cavity open at the bottom for receiving the contact assembly. The housing may have positioning ribs extending from the first and second side walls to position the contact assembly within the cavity and/or strengthening ribs extending across the cavity to connect the side walls at a location remote from the end walls.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 2, 2018Publication date: July 5, 2018Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry, Michael Eugene Shirk
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Patent number: 9935385Abstract: A receptacle connector includes a contact assembly having a dielectric carrier holding contacts, which may be overmolded by the dielectric carrier. The receptacle connector includes a housing holding the contact assembly having a mating end mated with a plug connector and a mounting end mounted to the circuit board. The housing has first and second side walls and first and second end walls. The housing has a card slot open at the top for receiving the plug connector and a contact assembly cavity open at the bottom for receiving the contact assembly. The housing may have positioning ribs extending from the first and second side walls to position the contact assembly within the cavity and/or strengthening ribs extending across the cavity to connect the side walls at a location remote from the end walls.Type: GrantFiled: August 8, 2016Date of Patent: April 3, 2018Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATIONInventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry, Michael Eugene Shirk
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Publication number: 20180040971Abstract: A receptacle connector includes a contact assembly having a dielectric carrier holding contacts, which may be overmolded by the dielectric carrier. The receptacle connector includes a housing holding the contact assembly having a mating end mated with a plug connector and a mounting end mounted to the circuit board. The housing has first and second side walls and first and second end walls. The housing has a card slot open at the top for receiving the plug connector and a contact assembly cavity open at the bottom for receiving the contact assembly. The housing may have positioning ribs extending from the first and second side walls to position the contact assembly within the cavity and/or strengthening ribs extending across the cavity to connect the side walls at a location remote from the end walls.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 8, 2016Publication date: February 8, 2018Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry, Michael Eugene Shirk
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Patent number: 9748681Abstract: A ground contact module includes a ground leadframe and a ground dielectric body. The ground leadframe has ground contacts extending between corresponding mating ends and terminating ends with transition portions therebetween. The ground dielectric body holds the ground leadframe and has a low loss layer overmolded over the ground leadframe and encasing the transition portions of the ground contacts. The ground dielectric body has lossy wings received in pockets in the low loss layer. The lossy wings are electrically coupled to corresponding ground contacts and are manufactured from lossy material capable of absorbing electrical resonance propagating through the contact module stack. The lossy wings are separate and discrete from the low loss layer and are attached to the at least one low loss layer in proximity to the corresponding ground contacts. Each lossy wing is electrically coupled to only one of the ground contacts.Type: GrantFiled: May 31, 2016Date of Patent: August 29, 2017Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATIONInventors: Bruce Allen Champion, Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk
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Patent number: 9640915Abstract: An electrical connector includes an array of conductors held within a housing and a ground tie bar extending across the conductors. The conductors include signal conductors and configurable conductors, the latter being selectively configurable between a ground state and a signal state to define a ground conductor and a signal conductor, respectively. The ground tie bar includes a stem and plural ground fingers extending therefrom. The ground fingers align with associated configurable conductors to engage and electrically connect to the configurable conductors. The ground tie bar is programmable to selectively remove at least one ground finger from the ground tie bar. A respective configurable conductor is in the ground state when engaged by the associated ground finger, and is in the signal state when the associated ground finger is removed from the ground tie bar to increase a number of the signal conductors in the array of conductors.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2015Date of Patent: May 2, 2017Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATIONInventors: Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk, Thomas de Boer
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Patent number: 9559465Abstract: An electrical connector assembly may include a plurality of signal isolating barriers. Each of the plurality of signal isolating barriers may be positioned around a group of board contacts proximate to a board connecting interface. Each of the plurality of signal isolating barriers isolates the group of the plurality of board contacts from other groups of the plurality of board contacts.Type: GrantFiled: July 29, 2014Date of Patent: January 31, 2017Assignee: TYCO ELECTRONICS CORPORATIONInventors: Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk, Bruce Allen Champion, Linda Ellen Shields
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Publication number: 20170018880Abstract: An electrical connector includes an array of conductors held within a housing and a ground tie bar extending across the conductors. The conductors include signal conductors and configurable conductors, the latter being selectively configurable between a ground state and a signal state to define a ground conductor and a signal conductor, respectively. The ground tie bar includes a stem and plural ground fingers extending therefrom. The ground fingers align with associated configurable conductors to engage and electrically connect to the configurable conductors. The ground tie bar is programmable to selectively remove at least one ground finger from the ground tie bar. A respective configurable conductor is in the ground state when engaged by the associated ground finger, and is in the signal state when the associated ground finger is removed from the ground tie bar to increase a number of the signal conductors in the array of conductors.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 13, 2015Publication date: January 19, 2017Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk, Thomas de Boer
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Publication number: 20160036165Abstract: An electrical connector assembly may include a plurality of signal isolating barriers. Each of the plurality of signal isolating barriers may be positioned around a group of board contacts proximate to a board connecting interface. Each of the plurality of signal isolating barriers isolates the group of the plurality of board contacts from other groups of the plurality of board contacts.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 29, 2014Publication date: February 4, 2016Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk, Bruce Allen Champion, Linda Ellen Shields
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Patent number: 8684765Abstract: A connector assembly that includes a receptacle connector and a light pipe. The connector is configured to receive a removable device inserted along a longitudinal axis. The connector has a side surface that extends along a plane defined by the longitudinal axis and a vertical axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The connector includes a ledge and a positive stop that project laterally outward from the side surface. The ledge has a ledge surface that joins the side surface. The light pipe extends substantially along the longitudinal axis. The light pipe has an inward-facing surface that is substantially flat throughout and abuts the side surface of the connector. The light pipe rests upon the ledge surface and the positive stop is positioned on the side surface to block the light pipe from moving in at least one direction along the longitudinal axis.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2008Date of Patent: April 1, 2014Assignee: Tyco Electronics CorporationInventors: Michael Eugene Shirk, Michael J. Phillips, David S. Szczesny
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Patent number: 8670236Abstract: A cage assembly is provided for receiving a pluggable module. The cage assembly includes a cage having a front end, a mounting side, and an internal compartment. The front end is open to the internal compartment of the cage. The internal compartment is configured to receive the pluggable module therein through the front end. A heat sink is mounted to the mounting side of the cage. The heat sink has a module side that is configured to thermally communicate with the pluggable module. An electromagnetic interference (EMI) gasket extends along at least a portion of an interface between the mounting side of the cage and the module side of the heat sink.Type: GrantFiled: August 3, 2011Date of Patent: March 11, 2014Assignee: Tyco Electronics CorporationInventors: David Szczesny, Michael Eugene Shirk