Patent Application
20220166157
The present disclosure generally relates to connector assemblies, particularly high density connector assemblies.
Quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) is a widely used interface for data center external IO connection applications. As the industry is moving toward a higher data rate per cable, the quad small form-factor pluggable double density (QSFP-DD) interface has been introduced to carry double the data capacity of a QSFP cable assembly.
In some cases, it may be desired to increase the data carrying capacity of a connector assembly by fitting more cables into a limited space available in the cable assembly. Since the overall size of the cable assembly interface is often standardized, it may be desired to position a higher density of cables within an available cross section space without changing the dimensions of a metal shell within which a QSFP or QSFP-DD interface is provided.
Various aspects and embodiments described herein relate to a connector assemblies and connectors.
Some aspects of the disclosure relate to a connector assembly including a housing having top and bottom housing portions assembled to each other and defining a housing cavity therebetween. The housing includes a mating end for mating with a mating connector and an opposite cable end for receiving one or more cables. The connector assembly includes first and second circuit boards disposed in the housing cavity. Each circuit board includes an upper surface and an opposing lower surface, and a front edge and a rear edge opposite the front edge.
The first circuit board is disposed closer to the cable end and farther from the mating end. The first circuit board includes a plurality of conductive front pads disposed on the lower surface proximate the front edge. The first circuit board further includes a plurality of conductive rear pads disposed on the upper and lower surfaces proximate the rear edge and electrically connected to the front pads. The rear pads form first and second rows of rear pads disposed on the upper surface, and third and fourth rows of rear pads disposed on the lower surface. The second circuit board is disposed closer to the mating end and farther from the cable end. The second circuit board includes a plurality of conductive front pads disposed on the upper and lower surfaces proximate the front edge. The second circuit board further includes a plurality of conductive rear pads disposed on the upper surface proximate the rear edge and electrically connected to the front pads. The front pads on the lower surface of the first circuit board faces, aligns with, and is electrically connected to, the rear pads on the upper surface of the second circuit board. The connector assembly further includes substantially flat first through fourth cables including a plurality of conductors. Uninsulated front ends of the conductors of the first through fourth cables terminate at the corresponding rear pads of the respective first through fourth rows of the rear pads of the first circuit board.
Other aspects of the disclosure relate to a connector including a housing having a mating end for mating with a mating connector and an opposite cable end for receiving a cable. The connector further includes first and second circuit boards disposed inside the housing. Each circuit board includes a plurality of conductive front pads disposed closer to the mating end of the housing and a plurality of conductive rear pads disposed closer to the cable end of the housing and electrically connected to the front pads. At least one front pad of the first circuit board faces, aligns with, and is electrically connected to, at least one rear pad of the second circuit board.
Some other aspects of the disclosure relate to a connector including a housing and a plurality of circuit boards disposed inside the housing. The housing defines an elongated opening therein having a smaller height and a larger width. At least one of the circuit boards extends through the opening. A combined thickness of the plurality of circuit boards is greater than the height of the opening.
These and other aspects of the present application will be apparent from the detailed description below. In no event, however, should the above summaries be construed as limitations on the claimed subject matter, which subject matter is defined solely by the attached claims.
The various aspects of the disclosure will be discussed in greater detail with reference to the accompanying figures where,
The figures are not necessarily to scale. Like numbers used in the figures refer to like components. However, it will be understood that the use of a number to refer to a component in a given figure is not intended to limit the component in another figure labeled with the same number.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration several specific embodiments. It is to be understood that other embodiments are contemplated and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure.
The connector assembly according to this disclosure may be a quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) connector assembly. In other embodiments, the connector assembly may be a quad small form-factor pluggable double density (QSFP-DD) connector assembly.
A connector assembly according to some embodiments as illustrated in
The housing (10) has a mating end (14) for mating with a mating connector (300) and an opposite cable end (15) for receiving one or more cables (50-53). As shown best in
Each circuit board (30,40) has an upper surface (31, 41) and an opposing lower surface (32, 42) and a front edge (33, 43) and a rear edge (34, 44) opposite the front edge as best shown in
The second circuit board (40) is disposed closer to the mating end (14) and farther from the cable end (15). The second circuit board (40) includes a plurality of conductive front pads (45) disposed on the upper and lower surfaces (41, 42) proximate the front edge (43). The front pads (45) are configured to engage terminals of a mating connector (300). The second circuit board further includes a plurality of conductive rear pads (46) disposed on the upper surface (41) proximate the rear edge (44). The plurality of conductive rear pads (46) are electrically connected to the front pads (45) e.g., via one or more conductive pathways or traces defined in the second circuit board (40). In some aspects of the disclosure, the front pads (35) on the lower surface (32) of the first circuit board (30) faces, aligns with, and is electrically connected to, the rear pads (46) on the upper surface (41) of the second circuit board (40).
The connector assembly (200) includes substantially flat first through fourth cables (50, 51, 52, 53). Each cable (50, 51, 52, 53) includes a plurality of conductors (54) terminated at the corresponding rear pads (36) of the first circuit board (30). As best shown in
In some aspects, as best seen in
In some cases, the conductor (57) may have a diameter not greater than 24 American Wire Gauge (AWG). In some other cases, the conductor may have a diameter not greater than 22 AWG, and in some other cases, the conductor may have a diameter not greater than 20 AWG.
In some aspects of the disclosure as illustrated in
In some embodiments, free ends (18, 19) of the top and bottom interior walls (16, 17) are spaced apart by a distance T1 along a direction orthogonal to the second circuit board (40). The first and second circuit boards (30, 40) may have a combined thickness T2, where T2>T1. In some other aspects, the free ends (18, 19) of the top and bottom interior walls (16, 17) generally face, and are aligned with, each other. The free ends (18, 19) define an opening (20) therebetween, the opening having a height equal to T1.
Some aspects of the disclosure relate to a connector (400) including a housing (10) and a plurality of circuit boards (30, 40) disposed inside the housing (10). In some embodiments, the housing may be made of metal. The housing (10) defines an elongated opening (20) having a smaller height (T1) and a larger width (W1) as can be best seen in
In some aspects, the plurality of circuit boards are stacked along a thickness direction (z) of the circuit boards. The circuit boards in at least one pair of adjacent circuit boards (30, 40), are offset relative to each other along a mating direction (y) of the connector. In an aspect as shown in
In some aspects, the plurality of circuit boards includes first (30) and second (40) circuit boards each having a plurality of electrically conductive pads (35, 36, 45, 46). As can be seen in
The housing (10) of the connector (400) has a mating end (14) for mating with a mating connector (300) and an opposite cable end (15) for receiving a cable (50). Each circuit board (30, 40) has a plurality of conductive front pads (35, 45) disposed closer to the mating end (14) of the housing (10) and a plurality of conductive rear pads (36, 46) disposed closer to the cable end (15) of the housing (10). The conductive rear pads (36, 46) are electrically connected to the front pads (35, 45) e.g., via one or more conductive pathways or traces defined in the circuit boards (30, 40). In some aspects, at least one front pad of the first circuit board (30) faces, aligns with, and electrically connected to, at least one rear pad of the second circuit board (40). In some other aspects, the front pads of the first circuit board (30) face, are aligned with, and are electrically connected to, the rear pads of the second circuit board (40).
Descriptions for elements in figures should be understood to apply equally to corresponding elements in other figures, unless indicated otherwise. Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations can be substituted for the specific Embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific Embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that this disclosure be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2020/052715 | 3/23/2020 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62833090 | Apr 2019 | US |
