MODULAR CONNECTOR SYSTEM
A connector assembly includes a subsidiary circuit board, connectors, and an interposer assembly. The subsidiary circuit board includes opposite sides. The connectors are mounted to the opposite sides of the subsidiary circuit board and are electrically coupled with the subsidiary circuit board. The connectors are configured to mate with mating connectors. The interposer assembly is joined with the subsidiary circuit board. The interposer assembly includes a dielectric housing and elongated contacts that extend between opposite outer ends along a vertical axis and are held by the housing. The interposer assembly mates with the subsidiary circuit board and is configured to mate with a main circuit board such that the outer ends of the contacts electrically couple the connectors mounted to the subsidiary circuit board with the main circuit board.
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The invention relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to a connector system that is capable of mating with several mating connectors.
Known connector systems include several connectors within a connector cage. The connector cage typically is a conductive body that is electrically coupled with an electric ground reference. The connector cage may include ports that are shaped to receive mating connectors. The connectors located in the connector cage are located within the ports such that these connectors mate with the mating connectors when the mating connectors are inserted into the ports. The connector cage may shield the connectors from electromagnetic interference.
Some of these known connector systems provide two or more of the connectors in the connector cage in a vertically stacked arrangement. For example, a pair of the connectors may be disposed above and below one another with the lower connector mounted to a circuit board and the upper connector coupled with the lower connector. By way of example only, the upper and lower connectors may be included in a single, unitary common housing with separate mating interfaces that mate with the mating connectors. The common housing of the connectors can be mounted to a circuit board. The connector cage of the system also may be mounted to the same circuit board.
Typically, the connectors in the cage include contacts that mate with and electrically couple with corresponding contacts of the mating connectors. The contacts of the connectors in the cage may extend from the mating interfaces of the connectors to the circuit board to which the housing of the connectors is mounted. Alternatively, the contacts may be electrically coupled with the circuit board via one or more additional conductive components. In either case, conductive signal paths for the contacts may extend from the mating interfaces of the connectors to the circuit board to electrically couple the mating connectors with the circuit board when the mating connectors mate with the connectors in the connector cage.
The signal paths for the contacts in the upper connector of the connector cage may be significantly longer than the signal paths for the contacts in the lower connector. For example, the distances that data signals must travel through the connectors to the circuit board may be greater for the upper connector than for the lower connector. In connector systems where relatively high data rates are used to communicate data using the connectors, the increased distance that the signals must pass may increase cross-talk in the signals.
A need exists for connector systems that include multiple connectors capable of relatively high speed data communication while reducing cross-talk among or between contacts or signal paths associated with the connectors.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONIn one embodiment, a connector assembly is provided. The connector assembly includes a subsidiary circuit board, connectors, and an interposer assembly. The subsidiary circuit board includes opposite sides. The connectors are mounted to the opposite sides of the subsidiary circuit board and are electrically coupled with the subsidiary circuit board. The connectors are configured to mate with mating connectors. The interposer assembly is joined with the subsidiary circuit board. The interposer assembly includes a dielectric housing and elongated contacts that extend between opposite outer ends along a vertical axis and are held by the housing. The interposer assembly mates with the subsidiary circuit board and is configured to mate with a main circuit board such that the outer ends of the contacts electrically couple the connectors mounted to the subsidiary circuit board with the main circuit board.
In another embodiment, another connector assembly is provided. The connector assembly includes a connector cage, a subsidiary circuit board, a connector, an interposer assembly, and a push block. The connector cage includes a port that is configured to receive a mating connector into the connector cage. The connector cage is adapted to be mounted to a main circuit board. The subsidiary circuit board is disposed within the connector cage between the ports. The connector is mounted to and electrically coupled with the subsidiary circuit board. The connector is disposed within the port of the connector cage and is configured to mate with the mating connector to electrically couple the mating connector with the subsidiary circuit board. The interposer assembly is mounted to the subsidiary circuit board and is configured to mate with the main circuit board. The interposer assembly includes contacts that are configured to mate with and electrically couple the subsidiary circuit board with the main circuit board. The push block is disposed between the subsidiary circuit board and the connector cage. The push block receives a loading force that is applied to the connector cage and transfers the loading force to the interposer assembly to mate the interposer assembly with the main circuit board.
The connector cage 106 is a conductive body that includes a top wall 108, several opposing side walls 110, a rear wall 112, and a bottom wall 114. A dividing or separator plate 118 is disposed between adjacent pairs of the side walls 110 to form upper and lower ports 116. One or more of the side walls 110 may include retention slots 208, 210 (shown in
The connector assembly 102 includes a subsidiary circuit board 120 to which two connectors 122, 124 are mounted. By way of non-limiting example only, the connectors 122, 124 may be mounted to surfaces of the subsidiary circuit board 120 or through-hole mounted to the subsidiary circuit board 120. The connectors 122, 124 are shown in a stacked arrangement with one connector 122 located above the other connector 124 along a vertical axis 132 of the connector assembly 102. For example, the connectors 122, 124 are stacked above one another in groups or pairs in the illustrated embodiment. Such an embodiment may be referred to as a vertically stacked modular connector assembly. Alternatively, the connectors 122, 124 may be mounted side-by-side along a lateral axis 138 of the connector assembly 102. The connectors 122, 124 are electrically coupled with the subsidiary circuit board 120. For example, the connectors 122, 124 may include contacts 130 that are electrically joined with conductive traces (not shown) extending along and/or through the subsidiary circuit board 120. The number of connectors 122, 124 shown mounted to the subsidiary circuit board 120 in
The subsidiary circuit board 120 is positioned within the connector cage 106 between the top wall 108 and the main circuit board 104. The subsidiary circuit board 120 is disposed between the ports 116 along the vertical axis 132 of the connector assembly 102. The subsidiary circuit board 120 may be located between the ports 116 such that the connectors 122, 124 are aligned with different ports 116 and positioned to mate with the mating connectors (not shown) that are inserted or loaded into the ports 116 to electrically couple with the mating connectors.
An interposer assembly 134 is coupled with the subsidiary circuit board 120. The interposer assembly 134 may be mounted to and electrically coupled with the subsidiary circuit board 120. For example, the interposer assembly 134 may include signal contacts and ground contacts 200, 202 (shown in
As described below, the interposer assembly 134 may arrange the signal and ground contacts 200, 202 (shown in
A push block 136 is provided within the connector cage 106 between the subsidiary circuit board 120 and the connector cage 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the push block 136 is located on top of the side 126 of the subsidiary circuit board 120 between the side 126 and the top wall 108 of the connector cage 106. The push block 136 also is shown as being located behind the connector 122 between the connector 122 and the rear wall 112 of the connector cage 106 and between adjacent side walls 110, with one of the side walls 110 not shown in
The push block 136 prevents the loading force from damaging or altering the structure of one or more components of the connector assembly 102. For example, the push block 136 may have a height dimension 142 (shown in
The housing 300 includes the tab 214 projecting from the side 312 in a direction parallel to the lateral axis 138. Alternatively, the tab 214 may project from a different side 302, 304, 306, 308, 314 and/or in a different direction. The tab 214 may be received in the retention slot 210 (shown in
The housing 300 includes contact channels 318, 320 that extend from the side 302 toward the side 304. In one embodiment, the contact channels 318, 320 extend through the housing 300 from the side 302 to the side 304. As shown in
The signal and ground contacts 200, 202 are disposed within the contact channels 318, 320. The signal and ground contacts 200, 202 extend between an outer end 322 and a lower end 324 which may simply be termed opposite outer ends. The outer ends 322, 324 may differ from one another or be substantially the same. For example, in the embodiment shown in
The outer ends 322, 324 of the signal contacts 200 are interconnected by a body section 404. The body sections 404 of the signal contacts 200 have approximately constant width dimensions 406 in directions parallel to the lateral axis 138 in the illustrated embodiment. The outer ends 322, 324 of the ground contacts 202 are interconnected by a body section 408. The body sections 408 of the ground contacts 202 have approximately constant width dimensions 410 in directions parallel to the lateral axis 138 in the illustrated embodiment. The body sections 408 of the ground contacts 202 may have greater width dimensions 410 than the width dimensions 406 of the signal contacts 200.
The outer ends 322 include the portions of the signal and ground contacts 200, 202 that protrude from the body sections 404, 408 of the signal and ground contacts 200, 202. For example, the outer ends 322 of the signal and ground contacts 200, 202 may include the sections of the signal and ground contacts 200, 202 that have substantially identical dimensions and that protrude from one of the sides 302, 304, 306, 308, 312, 314 of the interposer assembly 134. Alternatively, the outer ends 322 of the signal and ground contacts 200, 202 may differ from one another. The outer ends 324 of the signal and ground contacts 200, 202 extend from the body sections 404, 408 in an opposite direction than the outer ends 202. As shown in
In each of the rows 500-510 shown in
The signal and ground contacts 200, 202 also are arranged in several columns 514-520 in the pattern shown in
The housing 300 of the interposer assembly 134 includes lateral interior walls 522 that extend between the opposite sides 312, 314. The lateral interior walls 522 are oriented approximately parallel to one another and to the front and rear sides 306, 308 of the interposer assembly 134. As shown in
The housing 300 shown in
The location or arrangement of the signal contacts 200, ground contacts 202 and one or more portions of the housing 300 may reduce cross-talk and/or electromagnetic interference in the interposer assembly 134. For example, the lateral interior walls 522 located between the ground contacts 202 and adjacent pairs 512 of the signal contacts 200 in directions parallel to the transverse axis 310 may increase the coupling between the signal and ground contacts 200, 202. The coupling between the signal and ground contacts 200, 202 may be energy coupling, capacitive coupling, and/or inductive coupling. Increasing the coupling between the signal and ground contacts 200, 202 using the dielectric lateral interior walls 522 may increase an electric impedance characteristic of the interposer assembly 134. For example, increasing the coupling between the contacts 200, 202 via the lateral interior walls 522 may increase an electric capacitive characteristic of the interposer assembly 134. As a result, cross-talk between the signal contacts 200 may be reduced. Providing ground contacts 202 between the pairs 512 of signal contacts 200 in directions parallel to the lateral axis 138 may reduce electromagnetic interference in the interposer assembly 134. For example, the ground contacts 202 may be coupled with an electric ground reference of the main circuit board 104 (shown in
The push block 136 includes tabs 612, 700 (shown in
The push block 136 includes crossing interior walls 614, 616. The interior wall 614 is oriented approximately parallel to the vertical and lateral axes 132, 138 (shown in
The interior walls 614, 616 and/or the sides 604-610 receive the loading force applied along the direction of the arrow 140 (shown in
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Dimensions, types of materials, orientations of the various components, and the number and positions of the various components described herein are intended to define parameters of certain embodiments, and are by no means limiting and merely are example embodiments. Many other embodiments and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Further, the limitations of the following claims are not written in means—plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted based on 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless and until such claim limitations expressly use the phrase “means for” followed by a statement of function void of further structure.
Claims
1. A connector assembly comprising:
- a subsidiary circuit board including opposite sides;
- connectors mounted to the opposite sides of the subsidiary circuit board, the connectors electrically coupled with the subsidiary circuit board and configured to mate with mating connectors; and
- an interposer assembly joined with the subsidiary circuit board, the interposer assembly including a dielectric housing and elongated signal and ground contacts extending between opposite outer ends along a vertical axis and held by the housing, the signal contacts arranged in pairs with the pairs and the ground contacts disposed on opposite sides of lateral interior walls of the housing and the signal contacts in the pairs separated from each other by transverse interior walls of the housing, wherein the interposer assembly mates with the subsidiary circuit board and is configured to mate with a main circuit board such that the outer ends of the contacts electrically couple the connectors mounted to the subsidiary circuit board with the main circuit board.
2. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the pairs of the signal contacts that are adjacent to one another along a lateral axis of the interposer assembly are separated from one another by a single ground contact.
3. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the pairs of signal contacts that are adjacent to one another along a transverse axis of the interposer assembly are separated from one another by a single ground contact, the pairs of signal contacts that are adjacent to one another along a lateral axis of the interposer assembly separated from one another by a different single ground contact.
4. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the signal contacts within each of the pairs of signal contacts are separated from one another by the transverse interior walls of the housing along a transverse axis of the interposer assembly and the pairs of signal contacts are separated from the ground contacts by air gaps along a lateral axis of the interposer assembly.
5. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the signal contacts are separated from the ground contacts by an air gap along a lateral axis of the interposer assembly and separated from the ground contacts by the lateral interior walls of the housing along the transverse axis of the interposer assembly.
6. The connector assembly of claim 1, further comprising a connector cage configured to be mounted to the main circuit board, the connector cage comprising ports adapted to receive the mating connectors, wherein the subsidiary circuit board, the connectors mounted to the subsidiary circuit board, and the interposer assembly are disposed within the connector cage such that the connectors mounted to the subsidiary circuit board mate with the mating connectors loaded into the ports.
7. The connector assembly of claim 6, further comprising a push block disposed within the connector cage between the subsidiary circuit board and the connector cage, the push block receiving a loading force applied to the connector cage and transferring the loading force to the contacts of the interposer assembly to mate the contacts with the main circuit board.
8. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the contacts in the interposer assembly electrically couple to the connectors mounted to the subsidiary circuit board and the mating connectors with the main circuit board via the subsidiary circuit board.
9. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the connectors is mounted to one of the opposite sides of the subsidiary circuit board and at least one other of the connectors is mounted to the other of the opposite sides of the subsidiary circuit board.
10. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing of the interposer assembly extends between a mating side and a mounting side, the mating side engaging the subsidiary circuit board, the mounting side engaging the main circuit board when the interposer mates with the main circuit board.
11. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the contacts in the interposer assembly are elongated contacts that mate with and extend between the subsidiary circuit board and the main circuit board when the interposer assembly mates with the main circuit board.
12. A connector assembly comprising:
- a connector cage including a port that is configured to receive a mating connector into the connector cage, the connector cage adapted to be mounted to a main circuit board;
- a subsidiary circuit board disposed within the connector cage between the ports;
- a connector mounted to and electrically coupled with the subsidiary circuit board, the connector disposed within the port of the connector cage and configured to mate with the mating connector to electrically couple the mating connector with the subsidiary circuit board;
- an interposer assembly mounted to the subsidiary circuit board and configured to mate with the main circuit board, the interposer assembly comprising contacts that are configured to mate with and electrically couple the subsidiary circuit board with the main circuit board, the contacts including a ground contact and pairs of signal contacts, the signal contacts within each of the pairs separated from each other by a portion of the housing and separated from the ground contact by an air gap along a lateral axis of the interposer assembly; and
- a push block disposed between the subsidiary circuit board and the connector cage, the push block receiving a loading force applied to the connector cage and transferring the loading force to the interposer assembly to mate the interposer assembly with the main circuit board.
13. The connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the connector cage includes a top wall, a rear wall, and opposing side walls joined with one another, the push block disposed between the subsidiary circuit board and the top wall, between the side walls, and between the connector mounted to the subsidiary circuit board and the rear wall.
14. The connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the push block includes a tab that engages the connector cage and secures the push block to the connector cage.
15. The connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the push block and the connector are mounted to a common side of the subsidiary circuit board, the push block having a height dimension along a vertical axis between the subsidiary circuit board and the connector cage that is larger than a height dimension of the connector mounted to the subsidiary circuit board.
16. The connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the pairs of signal contacts that are adjacent to one another along the lateral axis of the interposer assembly are separated from one another by a single ground contact.
17. The connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the pairs of signal contacts that are adjacent to one another along a transverse axis of the interposer assembly separated from one another by a single ground contact, the pairs of signal contacts that are adjacent to one another along the lateral axis of the interposer assembly separated from one another by a different single ground contact.
18. (canceled)
19. The connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the signal contacts are separated from the ground contact by the housing along a transverse axis of the interposer assembly.
20. The connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the connector is mounted to a first side of the subsidiary circuit board and another connector is mounted to an opposite second side of the subsidiary circuit board.
21. A connector assembly comprising:
- a subsidiary circuit board including opposite sides;
- connectors mounted to the opposite sides of the subsidiary circuit board, the connectors electrically coupled with the subsidiary circuit board and configured to mate with mating connectors;
- an interposer assembly joined with the subsidiary circuit board, the interposer assembly including a dielectric housing; and
- elongated contacts disposed in the housing of the interposer assembly, the contacts extending between opposite outer ends, the contacts including ground contacts and pairs of signal contacts, the signal contacts separated from the ground contacts by an air gap along a first axis of the interposer assembly and separated from the ground contacts by the housing along a second axis of the interposer assembly, wherein the interposer assembly mates with the subsidiary circuit board and is configured to mate with a main circuit board such that the outer ends of the contacts electrically couple the connectors mounted to the subsidiary circuit board with the main circuit board.
22. The connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the signal contacts within each of the pairs of signal contact are separated from one another by the housing.
23. The connector assembly of claim 21, further comprising a connector cage having a port configured to receive a mating connector that mates with at least one of the connectors and a push block disposed between the subsidiary circuit board and the connector cage, the push block including a tab that engages the connector cage and secures the push block to the connector cage, wherein the push block is positioned within the connector cage to receive a loading force applied to the connector cage and transfer the loading force to the interposer assembly.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 8, 2009
Publication Date: Mar 10, 2011
Applicant: TYCO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION (BERWYN, PA)
Inventors: JOHN EUGENE WESTMAN (HARRISBURG, PA), BRIAN KEITH MCMASTER, JR. (MECHANICSBURG, PA), MICHAEL WARREN FOGG (HARRISBURG, PA)
Application Number: 12/555,403
International Classification: H01R 12/00 (20060101);