Claims
- 1. An electrical connector assembled from wafers, comprising:a) a shield plate having an upper surface and a lower surface, the shield plate having a plurality of contact tails extending therefrom, the contact tails connected to the shield plate through a portion bent to raise the contact tail above the plane of the shield plate; b) a first dielectric housing molded on the shield plate, the first dielectric housing having a cavity and a plurality of openings extending from the cavity and the first dielectric housing also encapsulating the bent portions attaching the contact tails to the shield plate; c) a plurality of signal contacts, each of the signal contacts having a contact tail, a contact region and an intermediate portion joining the contact tail and the contact region, the plurality of signal contacts inserted into the first dielectric housing, with the intermediate portions in the cavity, the contact regions in one of the plurality of openings and the contact tails extending from the first dielectric housing; and d) a second dielectric housing molded substantially over the cavity, thereby securing the shield, the first dielectric housing and the signal contacts together as a wafer, whereby the contact tails of the shield plate and the signal contacts are secured.
- 2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the shield plate has a raised portion forming a recess below the upper surface, the raised portion having a hole therein providing a first portion of the first dielectric housing above the raised portion and providing a second portion of the first dielectric housing in the recess and in the hole, thereby securing the first portion and the second portion.
- 3. The electrical connector of claim 2 wherein the connector has a face adapted to mate to a second connector and the raised portion is along the edge of the plate at the face.
- 4. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the shield plate has a raised portion and the first dielectric housing includes recessed areas in the floor of the cavity whereby air spaces are provided between the signal contacts and the raised portion of the shield plate.
- 5. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein the connector has a face adapted to mate to a second connector and the shield plate has a plurality of slots in the edge adjacent the face, with the front housing having an opening therein exposing the slot and portion of the shield plate away from the face.
- 6. An electrical connector made from a plurality of wafers, comprising:a) a shield plate with an upper surface and a lower surface, the plate having raised portions in the upper surface thereby forming recesses in the lower surface; b) a first insulative housing molded on the upper surface of the shield plate and the lower surface of the shield plate in the recesses, the insulative housing having a cavity therein; c) signal contacts inserted into the cavity, each having a mating portion, a tail and an intermediate portion joining the mating portion and the contact tail; and d) insulative material placed in the cavity to secure the signal contacts to the first housing, while leaving the mating portions and the tails of the signal contacts exposed, wherein the wafers are stacked side by side with the first insulative housing provided in the recess of one wafer adjacent the exposed mating portions of the signal contacts in an adjacent wafer, and wherein the shield plate has a plurality of attachment features therein and molding the first insulative housing comprises molding insulation over a first portion of the attachment features and placing insulative material in the cavity comprises molding a second insulative housing around a second portion of the attachment features.
- 7. An electrical connector made from a plurality of wafers, comprising:a) a shield plate with an upper surface and a lower surface, the plate having raised portions in the upper surface thereby forming recesses in the lower surface; b) a first insulative housing molded on the upper surface of the shield plate and the lower surface of the shield plate in the recesses, the insulative housing having a cavity therein; c) signal contacts inserted into the cavity, each having a mating portion, a tail and an intermediate portion joining the mating portion and the contact tail; and d) insulative material placed in the cavity to secure the signal contacts to the first housing, while leaving the mating portions and the tails of the signal contacts exposed, wherein the wafers are stacked side by side with the first insulative housing provided in the recess of one wafer adjacent the exposed mating portions of the signal contacts in an adjacent wafer, wherein portions of the shield plate are bent at right angles to the plate to form slots and a contact elements adjacent the slots, and wherein the molding a first insulative housing leaves each of the contact elements exposed.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional of copending U.S. Ser. No. 09/769,868 filed Jan. 25, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,543 B1.
US Referenced Citations (13)