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.

Abstract: An electrical device includes an organizer having a dielectric body including an upper surface and a lower surface supporting ends of cables having signal wires and having conductors on the upper surface and on the lower surface being electrically connected to corresponding signal wires. The electrical device includes an impedance control body separate and discrete from the dielectric body and coupled to the dielectric body of the organizer. The impedance control body has an upper pad on the upper surface covering the conductors and signal wire on the upper surface and a lower pad on the lower surface covering the conductors and signal wires on the lower surface. The impedance control body has a connecting tab passing through a void in the organizer between the upper pad and the lower pad.

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.

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.

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.

Abstract: A connector assembly includes a cage member having a plurality of walls defining a module cavity for a pluggable module. The walls include a top wall, a bottom wall and side walls extending between the top and bottom walls. The side walls extend to a bottom edge at the bottom wall and include mounting pins extending from the bottom edge that each have a press-fit portion configured to be press fit in a plated via of a circuit board. The bottom wall has a generally planar bottom surface facing the circuit board and a generally planar top surface facing the module cavity. The bottom wall includes a locating feature extending below the bottom surface and having a datum surface configured to engage the circuit board. The datum surface is a predetermined distance from the top surface to set a position of the top surface relative to the circuit board.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Abstract: An electrical device includes an organizer having a dielectric body including an upper surface and a lower surface supporting ends of cables having signal wires and having conductors on the upper surface and on the lower surface being electrically connected to corresponding signal wires. The electrical device includes an impedance control body separate and discrete from the dielectric body and coupled to the dielectric body of the organizer. The impedance control body has an upper pad on the upper surface covering the conductors and signal wire on the upper surface and a lower pad on the lower surface covering the conductors and signal wires on the lower surface. The impedance control body has a connecting tab passing through a void in the organizer between the upper pad and the lower pad.

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 contact assembly includes contacts arranged upper and lower rows. The housing has a cavity receiving the contact assembly and a mating end including a slot open to the cavity and configured to receive a circuit card. The insert is received in the cavity and is movable in the cavity between a forward position and a retracted position. The insert is manufactured from a dielectric material and supports the mating ends of the contacts in the forward position. The mating ends are released from the insert in the retracted position and the mating ends are more exposed to air when the insert is in the retracted position.

Abstract: A lead frame module of an electrical connector includes a ground lead frame, signal conductors, a dielectric holder, and a ground plate. The ground lead frame includes multiple ground conductors and a tie bar that extends between and connects the ground conductors. The signal conductors are interleaved with the ground conductors. The signal conductors have jogged segments that extend across the tie bar around an outer side of the tie bar without engaging the tie bar. The dielectric holder at least partially surrounds the signal conductors and the ground lead frame to secure the signal conductors relative to the ground lead frame. The ground plate is disposed along an interior side of the dielectric holder and engages an inner side of the tie bar, which is opposite the outer side, to electrically connect the ground plate to the ground lead frame.

Abstract: A card edge connector includes a housing and a contact assembly. The housing has a cavity, a card slot and a chamber adjacent the card slot. The card slot receives a card edge of a module circuit board of a pluggable module. The contact assembly has a contact holder, first contacts held by the contact holder, and a contact positioner. The contact positioner is forward of the contact holder and located in the chamber for receiving mating ends of the first contacts. The contact positioner is movable in the chamber relative to the contact holder and the housing between an inward position and an outward position. The contact positioner moves the mating ends of the first contacts outward from the card slot as the contact positioner is moved from the inward position to the outward position.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A card guide module includes first and second rail assemblies mounted to a host circuit board proximate to a card edge connector. The rail assemblies each include a rail body having a base mounted to the host circuit board and a track extending from the base receiving a circuit card. The rail assemblies each include a positioning member held in the track having a side positioning arm engaging a corresponding side of the circuit card to position the circuit card relative to the card edge connector. The first and second side positioning arms are configured to locate the circuit card therebetween.

Abstract: A connector system includes a first connector and a second connector. The first connector includes a plug housing that holds a circuit card. The plug housing includes a tongue portion extending to a mating end of the plug housing. The circuit card protrudes beyond the mating end. The plug housing includes a rail disposed along an outer surface of the tongue portion. The second connector includes a receptacle housing that defines a card slot configured to receive the circuit card of the first connector therein. The second connector includes a shell mounted to the receptacle housing. The shell protrudes beyond a mating end of the receptacle housing to define a receptacle that receives the tongue portion of the plug housing therein. The shell defines a guide channel configured to receive the rail of the plug housing therein as the tongue portion enters the receptacle.

Abstract: A connector system includes a first connector and a second connector. The first connector includes a plug housing that holds a circuit card. The plug housing includes a tongue portion extending to a mating end of the plug housing. The circuit card protrudes beyond the mating end. The plug housing includes a rail disposed along an outer surface of the tongue portion. The second connector includes a receptacle housing that defines a card slot configured to receive the circuit card of the first connector therein. The second connector includes a shell mounted to the receptacle housing. The shell protrudes beyond a mating end of the receptacle housing to define a receptacle that receives the tongue portion of the plug housing therein. The shell defines a guide channel configured to receive the rail of the plug housing therein as the tongue portion enters the receptacle.

Abstract: A latch for latching a connector to a device includes a body comprising a hub, an actuator extending from the hub, a latch pin extending from the hub and a return spring extending from the hub, the actuator and/or the latch pin. The latch pin is movable between a latched position and an unlatched position, wherein the latch pin is configured to latch the connector to the device when the latch pin is in the latched position. The actuator is configured such that movement of the actuator moves the latch pin between the latched position and the unlatched position. The return spring is configured to bias the latch pin to the latched position. The actuator, the latch pin and the return spring are integrally integrally formed as a single, unitary body.