Electrical connector having contact modules with differential pairs on both sides of a printed circuit board

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electrical connector of high density with lower profile.

2. Description of Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,566, issued to Kline et al. on May 31, 2005, discloses a backplane connector mounted on one side of a daughter card. However, there is no disclosure about how to arrange the connector on both sides of the daughter card to achieve a low profile.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,321, issued to Johnson et al. on Oct. 3, 1989, discloses a backplane connector in which contact pins extending from separate portions thereof are adapted to enter a circuit board from both sides. The connector has two connector portions mounted on opposite sides of a daughter card. However, a pair of pins are used to latch the two connector portions which increases the profile of the connector.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,415, issued to Wu on Dec. 16, 2003, discloses a high speed cable assembly in which two rows of contacts define a slot receiving a printed circuit board. However, the contact density is very limited.

Additionally, the contacts disclosed in latter two prior art references are prone to damage since the contacts are exposed to outside during most of the manufacturing processes of the connector.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cable assembly comprising a cable and an electrical connector connected to an end of the cable. The electrical connector further comprises a printed circuit board having a rear edge connected to the cable and a front edge opposite to the rear edge, a plurality of upper contact modules stacked along the front edge on a top side of the printed circuit board, and a plurality of lower contact modules stacked along the front edge on a bottom side of the printed circuit board. Each of the upper contact modules has at least one first conductor pairs for transferring signal differential pairs lined along a column perpendicular to the printed circuit board and a first insulator encapsulating a center portion of each first conductor of the first conductor pairs. Each first conductor of the first conductor pairs further comprises a front portion for mating with a complementary connector and a rear portion mounted onto the printed circuit board. Each of the lower contact modules has a plurality second conductor pairs for transferring signal differential pairs lined along a column perpendicular to the printed circuit board and a second insulator encapsulating a center portion of each second conductor of the second conductor pairs. Each second conductor of the second conductor pairs further comprises a front portion for mating with the same complementary connector and a rear portion mounted onto the printed circuit board.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector comprising a printed circuit board, a plurality of stacked upper contact modules mounted on a top side of the printed circuit board, and a plurality of stacked upper contact modules mounted on a bottom side of the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board has a front edge defining a plurality of first plated through holes disposed in a rear area and a plurality of second plated through holes disposed in a front area. Each of the upper contact modules has at least one first conductor pairs for transferring signal differential pairs lined along a column perpendicular to the printed circuit board and a first insulator encapsulating a center portion of each first conductor of the first conductor pairs. Each first conductor of the first conductor pairs further comprises a front portion for mating with a complementary connector and a rear portion mounted into corresponding first plated through hole of the printed circuit board. Each of the lower contact modules has at least one second conductor pairs for transferring signal differential pairs lined along a column perpendicular to the printed circuit board and a second insulator encapsulating a center portion of each second conductor of the second conductor pairs. Each second conductor of the second conductor pairs further comprises a front portion for mating with the same complementary connector and a rear portion mounted into corresponding second plated through hole of the printed circuit board.

Since the contact modules are disposed on opposite sides of the printed circuit board, the height of the electrical connector could be lowered and the space on opposite side of the printed circuit board is fully used to receive the conductor pairs and the cable end soldered onto the printed circuit board. Furthermore, the qualified impedance of the conductor pairs is easier to obtained since the rear portions of the conductor pair are disposed one adjacent to the other.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cable assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cable assembly shown in FIG. 1 except that a top conductive cover is removed away;

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the top conductive cover shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cable assembly shown in FIG. 1 except that a cable, a protecting insulator and conductive covers are removed;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the subassembly shown in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an upper contact module and an adjacent conductive plate with shown in FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a lower contact module and an adjacent conductive plate with shown in FIG. 5 ; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the engagement of the conductor and the printed circuit board.

Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a cable assembly 100 comprises a cable 10 and an electrical connector connected to an end of the cable 10 .

Referring to FIGS. 2-5 , the electrical connector further comprises a printed circuit board 12 having a rear edge connected to the cable 10 and a front edge opposite to the rear edge, a plurality of upper contact modules 21 stacked along the front edge on a top side 122 of the printed circuit board 12 , and a plurality of lower contact modules 22 stacked along the front edge on a bottom side 124 of the printed circuit board 12 . The cable 10 has a plurality of conductors (not shown) soldered onto opposite sides of the printed circuit board 12 , and then the soldered portions are over-molded with a protecting insulator 102 . Each of the upper contact modules 21 has a first conductor pairs 141 , 142 for transferring signal differential pairs lined along a column perpendicular to the printed circuit board 12 and a first insulator 152 encapsulating a center portion of each first conductor of the first conductor pairs 141 , 142 . Each first conductor 141 , 142 further comprises a front portion for mating with a complementary connector (not shown) and a rear portion 146 mounted onto the printed circuit board 12 . Each of the lower contact modules 22 has a second conductor pairs 143 , 144 for transferring signal differential pairs lined along a column perpendicular to the printed circuit board 12 and a second insulator 156 encapsulating a center portion of each second conductor 143 , 144 of the second conductor pairs. Each second conductor 143 , 144 further comprising a front portion for mating with the complementary connector and a rear portion 146 mounted onto the printed circuit board 12 .

Referring to FIGS. 5-7 , the electrical connector further comprises a first front housing 31 and a second front housing 32 . The first front housing 31 receives the front portions of the first conductors 141 , 142 of each upper contact modules and engages with the first insulators 152 . The second front housing 32 receives the front portions of the second conductors 143 , 144 of each lower contact modules 22 and engages with the second insulators 156 . The electrical connector further comprises a plurality of conductive plates 25 , 26 adjacent each upper contact module 21 and lower contact module 22 . Each of the conductive plates 25 , 26 has a plurality of front portions (not labeled) for mating with the complementary connector. The insulator 152 , 156 of each contact module 21 , 22 defines a recess (not labeled) to receiving the adjacent conductive plate 25 , 26 and the conductive plate 25 , 26 is fixed to said contact module 21 , 22 .

Referring to FIGS. 4 , 5 and 8 , the printed circuit board 12 defines a plurality of first plated through holes 123 disposed in a rear area receiving the rear portions 146 of the first conductors 141 , 142 and a plurality of second plated through holes 123 disposed in a front area receiving the rear portions 146 of the second conductors 143 , 144 . The first plated through holes 123 corresponding to an upper contact module 21 and the second plated through holes 123 corresponding to a lower contact module 22 are disposed in a line. The printed circuit board 12 defines a pair of holes 126 filled by plastic material of the protecting insulator 102 so that the printed circuit board 12 is firmly secured by the protecting insulator 102 .

The electrical connector further comprises a top conductive cover 104 and a bottom conductive cover 106 closed together. The top conductive cover 104 and the bottom conductive cover 106 define a cavity there between and the protecting insulator 102 , the printed circuit board 12 and the plurality of upper and lower contact modules 21 , 22 are received therein. The top conductive cover 104 forms a protrusion 105 including a rib 109 and two tabs 107 . The rib 109 forwardly abuts the first insulator 152 of each upper contact modules 21 . The stacked upper contact modules 21 are positioned between the two tabs 107 . The bottom conductive cover 106 forms a rib and two tabs (not shown) similar to the top conductive cover 104 . The top conductive cover 104 and the lower conductive 106 forms a plurality of block 108 (shown in FIG. 3 ) for abutting the protecting insulator 102 thereby firmly securing the protecting insulator 102 therein.

The disclosure is illustrative only, changes may be made in detail, especially in matter of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention.