Connector Assembly Shielding via Conductive Gasket Ground Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connector systems face signal loss and degradation due to insufficient shielding, particularly at the mating interface, and struggle with increased density and reduced size, which complicates ground contact connections and affects performance.
Innovation Solution
The use of a conductive gasket between the contact modules and header ground contacts provides a direct ground path, eliminating electrical stubs and ensuring efficient shielding through a conductive gasket that engages both the shield body and header ground contacts, thereby enhancing signal integrity and reducing interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ground contacts are connected with overlapping ends to create electrical stubs, then ground connection is achieved, but signal degradation occurs at the mating interface
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the harmful overlapping ends of ground contacts that create electrical stubs. By redesigning the ground contact configuration to eliminate the stub-forming overlap, the patent removes the source of signal degradation while maintaining effective ground connection through the conductive gasket and shield body structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive gasket serves as an intermediary element between the shield body and the header ground contacts. This mediator provides a direct ground path that eliminates the need for overlapping ground contact ends, thereby removing the electrical stub problem while ensuring reliable grounding at the mating interface.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If shielding is added to reduce interference, then signal integrity improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the shielding function with the housing structure. The shield body is integrated into the receptacle assembly housing, combining structural support and electromagnetic shielding into a single component. This integration provides effective interference reduction without adding separate shielding components, thereby avoiding increased device complexity.
3Reliability
If electrical stubs are present at the mating interface, then ground path is established, but shielding effectiveness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the electrical stubs created by overlapping ground contact ends. By eliminating the overlapping configuration, the patent removes the discontinuities that reduce shielding effectiveness while maintaining the ground path through the conductive gasket and shield body integration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively reduces signal degradation and interference, improving the electrical performance and density of connector systems without increasing size, by ensuring a reliable ground path and eliminating electrical stubs at the mating interface.
Implementation Method 1
The conductive gasket is configured to provide a ground path between the at least one of the contact modules and a ground contact of the header assembly
Implementation Method 2
The contact modules have a shield body that provides electrical shielding along the signal contacts
Data Source
AI summary
A connector assembly includes contact modules each having a dielectric frame and contacts held by the dielectric frame. The contacts are arranged along a contact plane within the frame. The dielectric frame includes frame members connected by connecting segments. The frame has windows between the frame members located between adjacent contacts. Holders support corresponding contact modules. The holders are electrically grounded. The holders each have a support wall and tabs that extend outward from the support wall. The contact modules are coupled to the holders such that the tabs are received in the windows to provide shielding within the contact modules. The holders are coupled together such that the contact modules are stacked together with the tabs of at least some of the holders that extend into the contact module held by the adjacent holder and across the contact plane defined by the contact module of the adjacent holder.