Patents by Inventor Michael John Phillips

Michael John Phillips 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).

  • Patent number: 10770836
    Abstract: A plug connector includes a housing having a front and a rear, a first end and a second end opposite the first end, and a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The housing has a mating end at the front for mating with a mating connector. The housing has a latch pocket at the first end. The plug connector includes plug contacts held by the housing provided proximate to the mating end for mating with the mating connector. The plug connector includes a latch received in the latch pocket having a main body and a latch beam extending from the main body. The latch beam includes a dual tip latch including a first tip latch and a second tip latch both configured to be received in a same latch opening of the mating connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Randall Robert Henry, James Charles Shiffler, Michael John Phillips
  • Patent number: 10763624
    Abstract: A receptacle connector includes a contact module assembly and a front housing receiving the contact module assembly. The contact module assembly includes first and second contact modules and a ground bus insert. The contact modules include dielectric frames holding contact leadframes including signal contacts and ground contacts. The first and second contact modules are stacked side by side with the ground bus insert therebetween. The ground bus insert includes ground conductors electrically connected together. The ground conductors include first and second side rails electrically connected to corresponding first and second ground contacts. The front housing has a receptacle slot receiving the signal contacts and ground contacts positioned to mate with the plug connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Randall Robert Henry, Michael John Phillips
  • Publication number: 20200194932
    Abstract: A plug connector includes a housing having a front and a rear, a first end and a second end opposite the first end, and a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The housing has a mating end at the front for mating with a mating connector. The housing has a latch pocket at the first end. The plug connector includes plug contacts held by the housing provided proximate to the mating end for mating with the mating connector. The plug connector includes a latch received in the latch pocket having a main body and a latch beam extending from the main body. The latch beam includes a dual tip latch including a first tip latch and a second tip latch both configured to be received in a same latch opening of the mating connector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventors: Randall Robert Henry, James Charles Shiffler, Michael John Phillips
  • Patent number: 10680363
    Abstract: A card edge connector assembly includes a card edge connector having a housing defining a card slot and holding contacts to electrically connect to a pluggable module and a host circuit board. The card edge connector assembly includes a guide cover having a main body including a first side wall between first and second end walls. The main body defines a center cavity receiving the housing and the pluggable module. The guide cover has a first alignment channel between the center cavity and the first end wall and a second alignment channel between the center cavity and the second end wall. The alignment channels are configured to receive alignment posts of the pluggable module prior to the card slot receiving the pluggable module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry
  • Patent number: 10651575
    Abstract: A card edge connector assembly includes a card edge connector having a housing defining a card slot receiving a paddle card of a pluggable module having a base mounted to a host circuit board holding contacts in the card slot to electrically connect to the paddle card. Support hardware is coupled to the housing having a base including a cavity receiving the card edge connector and a support beam extending from the base having a pocket receiving the pluggable module. The support beam has a support surface configured to support the pluggable module independent of the card edge connector. The support hardware has a latch coupled to the support beam latchably coupled to the pluggable module to secure the pluggable module in the support hardware electrically coupled to the card edge connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Randall Robert Henry, Michael John Phillips
  • Publication number: 20200136286
    Abstract: An electrical connector that includes a housing with an interior cavity configured to receive a card. Electrical contacts are secured across a wall of the housing within the interior cavity and are configured to matingly receive corresponding electrical contacts of the card. The plurality of electrical contacts secured across the wall of the housing are the only electrical contacts of the electrical connector. Each of the plurality of electrical contacts includes a mating interface and the mating interface of each of the plurality of electrical contacts is co-planer. Additionally, the housing includes a card slot opening and each of the plurality of electrical contacts are arranged on one side of the card slot opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Inventors: Belgie Brian McClelland, II, Jason M'Cheyne Reisinger, Arash Behziz, Michael David Herring, Eric David Briant, Michael John Phillips, Michael Joseph Tryson
  • Publication number: 20200076107
    Abstract: A contact includes a main body having a top, a bottom, a first side and a second side. The contact includes a terminating end extending from the main body and a mating beam extending from the main body opposite the terminating end. The mating beam has a root at the main body and a tip opposite the root. The mating beam has an elongated coupling base between the root and the tip. The elongated coupling base has a bottom surface configured to face a mating contact being generally parallel to the mating contact between the root and the tip.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2018
    Publication date: March 5, 2020
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry, Timothy Robert Minnick, Justin Dennis Pickel, Liang Huang
  • Patent number: 10581190
    Abstract: A contact includes a main body having a top, a bottom, a first side and a second side. The contact includes a terminating end extending from the main body and a mating beam extending from the main body opposite the terminating end. The mating beam has a root at the main body and a tip opposite the root. The mating beam has an elongated coupling base between the root and the tip. The elongated coupling base has a bottom surface configured to face a mating contact being generally parallel to the mating contact between the root and the tip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignees: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION, TYCO ELECTRONICS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry, Timothy Robert Minnick, Justin Dennis Pickel, Liang Huang
  • Patent number: 10574002
    Abstract: A lead frame module includes a lead frame including ground conductors and signal conductors interleaved with the ground conductors side-by-side. The ground and signal conductors have transition portions extending between mating ends and terminating ends. A dielectric holder supports the lead frame and at least partially surrounds the transition portions of the ground and signal conductors. The dielectric holder has a first side and a second side with wells in the first side open to the transition portions of the ground conductors. A printed metal layer is formed in situ on the first side of the dielectric holder and at least partially fills the wells and engages the ground conductors in the wells to electrically connect to the ground conductors. The printed metal layer electrically connect a plurality of the ground conductors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Randall Robert Henry, Michael Joseph Tryson, Michael John Phillips
  • Patent number: 10553971
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Michael Eugene Shirk, Randall Robert Henry
  • Patent number: 10547142
    Abstract: A plug connector includes a housing having a latch pocket holding a latch including a main body and a latch beam. The latch beam includes a latch hook received in a latch opening of a mating connector. An actuator is operably coupled to the latch to move the latch to a released position. The actuator includes a push button and a pull tab separate from the push button and movable in a rearward pulling direction relative to the push button. The latch hook is rotated from a latched position to the released position when the push button is actuated and when the pull tab is pulled in the rearward pulling direction without loading the latch against the mating connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Randall Robert Henry, Michael John Phillips
  • Publication number: 20200014137
    Abstract: A receptacle connector includes a housing having a mating end for mating with a plug connector and a mounting end for mounting to a circuit board. The housing has side walls and end walls with contacts in contacts arrays along both side walls. The contacts have mating ends and terminating ends. The housing has a card slot open at the mating end for receiving plug connector defined by interior surfaces of the side walls. The mating ends of the contacts are exposed in the card slot for mating electrical connection with the plug connector. The housing has alignment tabs extending inward into the card slot from the interior surface for aligning the plug connector within the card slot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Publication date: January 9, 2020
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry
  • Patent number: 10530100
    Abstract: A communication connector includes a wafer stack including ground wafers and signal wafers arranged in a stacked configuration. Each signal wafer includes a dielectric frame holding a signal leadframe including a plurality of signal contacts. Each ground wafer includes a dielectric frame holding a ground leadframe including ground plates connected by tie bars and rail slots therethrough. The communication connector includes ground rails separate from the ground wafers and being plugged into the wafer stack to electrically connect to corresponding ground wafers. The ground rails have rail tabs received in corresponding rail slots being coupled to ground plates of corresponding ground wafers. Each rail tab extends through at least one signal wafer to provide electrical shielding for signal contacts of the at least one signal wafer. Each rail tab is coupled to at least two different ground wafers to electrically connect the at least two different ground wafers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Randall Robert Henry, Michael John Phillips, Bruce Allen Champion
  • Publication number: 20190387644
    Abstract: A connector, comprises: a cage having a chamber having a top wall; a radiator mounted on the top wall of the chamber; an elastic clip fixing the radiator on the top wall of the chamber and having a first side and a second side opposite to the first side in a lateral direction of the chamber; a first latch on the cage and having a slot; a second latch on the cage and having a slot; a first hook on the first side of the elastic clip engaged into the slot of the first latch from an outer side of the first latch; and a second hook on the second side of the elastic clip engaged into the slot of the second latch from an inner side of the second latch far away from the first latch and facing the first latch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2019
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Applicants: Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., TE Connectivity Corporation
    Inventors: WenYu Liu, Hongqiang Han, Jiwang Jin, Xinbo Liu, Michael John Phillips
  • Publication number: 20190372256
    Abstract: A card edge connector assembly includes a card edge connector having a housing defining a card slot and holding contacts to electrically connect to a pluggable module and a host circuit board. The card edge connector assembly includes a guide cover having a main body including a first side wall between first and second end walls. The main body defines a center cavity receiving the housing and the pluggable module. The guide cover has a first alignment channel between the center cavity and the first end wall and a second alignment channel between the center cavity and the second end wall. The alignment channels are configured to receive alignment posts of the pluggable module prior to the card slot receiving the pluggable module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Publication date: December 5, 2019
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry
  • Patent number: 10470313
    Abstract: A contact assembly includes a contact array having contacts with transition portions between mating and terminating portions with contact tails extending to tips. The contact assembly has a dielectric contact holder holding the transition portions. The contact assembly has a solder ball module defining a board interface to a host circuit board. The solder ball module has a gathering housing with contact channels extending between a top and a bottom receiving contact tails of corresponding contacts. The gathering housing has solder balls arranged at the bottom at each contact channel being electrically connected to the tips of the contact tails and being configured to be reflow soldered to circuits of the host circuit board to electrically connect the contacts to the host circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry, Michael Joseph Tryson
  • Patent number: 10454194
    Abstract: A card edge connector assembly includes a card edge connector having a housing defining a card slot and holding contacts to electrically connect to a pluggable module and a host circuit board. The card edge connector assembly includes a plug guide having a main body including end walls and a side wall defining a cavity receiving the housing of the card edge connector and the pluggable module. The plug guide has first and second alignment channels receiving alignment posts of the pluggable module prior to the card slot receiving the pluggable module to guide mating of the pluggable module with the card edge connector. The plug guide has an exterior being received in a panel opening of a panel. The plug guide including a panel latching feature latchably securing the plug guide to the panel independent of the host circuit board and the card edge connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Charles Jameson Valentine, Nitish Balakrishnan
  • Patent number: 10454203
    Abstract: An electrical connector system includes a receptacle connector having a housing, a contact assembly held in the housing and an insert movably received in the housing and supporting the contact assembly. The housing has a cavity and a mating end including a slot receiving a circuit card. The contact assembly is received in the cavity and includes contacts. Each contact has a base fixed in the cavity and a mating end movable relative to the base between an undeflected position and a deflected position. The insert is received in the cavity and is movable in the cavity between a forward position and a retracted position. The insert holds the mating ends of the contacts in the undeflected positions when in the forward position. The insert engages the contacts and forces the contacts to the deflected positions when in the retracted position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry
  • Patent number: 10439311
    Abstract: A receptacle connector includes a housing having a mating end for mating with a plug connector and a mounting end for mounting to a circuit board. The housing has side walls and end walls with contacts in contacts arrays along both side walls. The contacts have mating ends and terminating ends. The housing has a card slot open at the mating end for receiving plug connector defined by interior surfaces of the side walls. The mating ends of the contacts are exposed in the card slot for mating electrical connection with the plug connector. The housing has alignment tabs extending inward into the card slot from the interior surface for aligning the plug connector within the card slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael John Phillips, Randall Robert Henry
  • Patent number: 10418734
    Abstract: A straddle mount connector includes a housing and a contact assembly received in a cavity of the housing between a mating card slot and a host board slot. The contact assembly has a contact organizer having upper and lower contact channels in a top wall and a bottom wall, respectively receiving upper and lower contacts and engaging corresponding upper and lower locating features. The upper and lower contacts are electrically connected to a host board and a mating card. The contact assembly is loaded into the cavity such that upper and lower blocking surfaces of the housing block the upper contacts in the upper and lower contact channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignees: TE CONNECTIVITY CORPORATION, TYCO ELECTRONICS JAPAN G.K.
    Inventors: Randall Robert Henry, Katsuhiko Kobayashi, Michael John Phillips