Connector With Intersecting Contact Portions For Skew Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connectors face challenges in impedance matching between contacts forming differential pairs, leading to skew issues due to varying contact shapes, which complicates high-speed signal transmission.
Innovation Solution
The connector design includes a housing and contacts with intersecting portions that intersect both the mating and pitch directions, allowing for identical shapes of signal contacts within differential pairs, thereby positioning contact and terminal portions differently in the pitch direction to suppress skew.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If contacts are arranged with different shapes to fit various positions, then the connector can accommodate different contact configurations, but impedance matching between differential pair contacts becomes difficult and skew is introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the signal contacts within each differential pair have identical shapes and structures, while allowing different contact groups to have different configurations. This ensures that locally (within each differential pair), impedance matching is maintained through uniform contact geometry, while globally the connector can still accommodate various contact arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses asymmetry in the overall contact arrangement where contact portions are positioned at different locations relative to terminal portions, but maintains symmetry within each differential pair. The intersecting portions create an asymmetric layout that allows flexible positioning while keeping differential pair contacts symmetric and identical in shape.
2Adaptability or versatility
If contact portions are positioned at different locations relative to terminal portions, then the connector can support various contact arrangements, but it becomes difficult to maintain identical shapes for signal contacts in differential pairs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intersecting portions that extend in directions intersecting both the mating direction and the pitch direction, adding a third dimensional aspect to the contact structure. This allows contact portions to be positioned at different locations while maintaining identical shapes by using the additional spatial dimension provided by the intersecting portions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If signal contacts have different shapes, then the connector can accommodate various signal transmission requirements, but skew is easily introduced between differential pair contacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent ensures that within each differential pair, both signal contacts have identical shapes and structures, maintaining local uniformity for reliable differential signaling. At the same time, different differential pairs can have different configurations to meet various signal transmission requirements, achieving adaptability without compromising reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A connector is mateable with a mating connector along a mating direction. The mating connector includes a plurality of mating contacts. The connector comprising a plurality of contacts which are held by a housing. Each of the contacts has a contact portion, a terminal portion and an intersecting portion. The terminal portion is positioned at a position different from a position of the contact portion in a pitch direction perpendicular to the mating direction. The intersecting portion is positioned between the contact portion and the terminal portion. The intersecting portions intersect both the mating direction and the pitch direction in a plane which is defined by the mating direction and the pitch direction. The contacts include at least a plurality of first contacts and a plurality of second contacts. The contact portions of the second contacts are positioned apart from the contact portions of the first contacts in a predetermined direction perpendicular to both the mating direction and the pitch direction. The first contacts include signal contacts which constitute at least one differential pair. The signal contacts of the differential pair have shapes same as each other.