Claims
- 1. An electrical connector for use in a backplane assembly, comprising:a) an insulative shroud having a base and first and second side walls perpendicular to the base; b) a plurality of pin shaped signal contacts extending through the base of the insulative shroud, each signal contact having a contact portion disposed above the base between side walls and a tail portion extending below a bottom surface of the base, the pin shaped signal contacts being disposed in a plurality of parallel columns, each of said plurality of parallel columns of signal contacts extending from the first side wall to the second side wall; c) a plurality of shield plates, each shield plate being disposed between a pair of adjacent ones of said plurality of parallel columns of signal contacts and extending from the first side wall to the second side wall, each shield plate having a plurality of tail portions extending through the base of the insulative shroud and below the bottom surface of the base, and each shield plate further having a plurality of torsional contacts formed in a surface of the shield plate, each torsional contact attached to the shield plate at at least two locations on the contact.
- 2. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of shields has an end portion disposed within a slot in the first side wall and an opposing end portion disposed within a slot in the second side wall.
- 3. The electrical connector of claim 1 used in a backplane assembly comprising a backplane printed circuit board, wherein the tail portions of the pin shaped signal contacts and the shields are attached to the backplane printed circuit board.
- 4. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein each column of signal contact pins consists of eight signal contact pins.
- 5. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the torsional contacts formed in each of the plurality of plates has a contact portion bent out of a plane defined by the plate.
- 6. A backplane assembly comprising:a) a printed circuit board; b) a backplane connector mounted to the printed circuit board, the backplane connector comprising: i) an insulative member having a base and a first side wall and a second side wall; ii) a plurality of signal contacts attached to the insulative member, the signal contacts each having a contact portion, with the contact portions being disposed in a plurality of parallel columns, each of the plurality of parallel columns extending from the first side wall to the second side wall, the signal contacts each having a tail portion extending from the insulative member, the tail portions being electrically connected to the printed circuit board; iii) a plurality of shield plates having at least a first end and a second end, each shield plate being attached to the insulative member in parallel, and each being positioned between a pair of adjacent ones of said plurality of parallel columns of signal contacts, each of the shield plates being between and perpendicular to the first side wall and the second side wall, and each shield plate having a plurality of tail portions extending from the base of the insulative member, the shield plate tail portions being electrically connected to the printed circuit board.
- 7. The backplane assembly of claim 6 wherein the first end of each shield plate is embedded in the first side wall and the second end of each shield plate is embedded in the second side wall.
- 8. The backplane assembly of claim 6 wherein each shield plate has a plurality of shield contacts formed therein.
- 9. The backplane assembly of claim 8 wherein each shield contact comprises a spring member stamped in the plate.
- 10. The backplane assembly of claim 8 wherein each shield contact comprises a first elongated member and a second elongated member, with each of the first elongated members and the second elongated members having two ends, with one end of the first elongated members attached to the plate and the other end attached to the second elongated member and with one end of the second elongated member attached to the plate and the other end attached to the first elongated member.
- 11. The backplane assembly of claim 8 wherein there are at least five such shield contacts on each shield plate.
- 12. The backplane assembly of claim 11 wherein each shield contact includes elongated members disposed at an angle to each other.
- 13. The backplane assembly of claim 6 additionally comprising a daughter card mounted at a right angle to the printed circuit board, the daughter card having a daughter card connector mounted thereto and engaging the backplane connector, the daughter card connector comprising:a) a front insulative face having a plurality of holes, the holes being disposed in columns and a plurality of slots therein, the slots being between the columns of holes, with each slot extending the entire width of the face; b) wherein the plurality of signal contacts from the backplane connector fit within the holes and the plurality of shield plates from the backplane connector fit within the slots.
- 14. The backplane connector assembly of claim 13 wherein the daughter card connector comprises a plurality of wafers having a back opposite the front face and a support member, with each of the wafers being attached at the back to the support member and wherein the slots in the front face are formed by spaces between the wafers.
- 15. The backplane connector assembly of claim 14 wherein each wafer additionally comprises a shield plate, with each shield plate having an exposed region within a slot.
- 16. The backplane connector assembly of claim 13 wherein the daughter card connector additionally comprises a plurality of ground contacts located within the slots.
- 17. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein each torsional contact has a bend therein.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a divisional application of Ser. No. 08/797,537 filed Feb. 7, 1997, now Pat. No. 5,993,259.
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Number |
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