CONNECTOR FOR HIGH-SPEED TRANSMISSION

A connector for high-speed transmission includes a housing, a column of contacts and a metal member in the contacts. The housing includes an opening portion to be fitted into an external communication partner. The contact has a contact portion in contact with the communication partner, a first linear portion extending rearward from a rear end of the contact portion, a second linear portion bent and extending from a rear end of the first linear portion and a terminal portion soldered to an external substrate. The metal member shorts the contact for ground and is bent so as to avoid contacts other than the contact for ground. The metal member has a bent portion bent in a U-shape across the contacts other than the contact for ground, and is connected to the first and/or the second linear portion of the contact for ground.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent application No. 202111289444.8 filed on Nov. 2, 2021, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a connector for high-speed transmission.

BACKGROUND

Various techniques have been proposed to reduce the crosstalk in a connector for high-speed transmission. For example, in the connector assembly described in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 5405582 (hereinafter referred to as “Patent Document 1”), a plurality of grounding terminals arranged across a high-speed signal terminal in a housing are connected by a bridge to reduce the electrical lengths of the grounding terminals on both sides of the bridge and avoid the occurrence of crosstalk.

However, the bridge of the connector assembly in Patent Document 1 is configured to be fixed so as to hold two grounding terminals laterally, and it has been desired to realize a technical means capable of reducing crosstalk by a simpler configuration.

The present disclosure has been made in view of such a problem, and one of main objects is to provide a connector for high-speed transmission capable of reducing crosstalk.

SUMMARY

In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a connector for high-speed transmission including: a housing with an opening portion into which a communication partner is fitted; a column of a plurality of contacts including a contact for ground; and a metal member which is disposed in the column of the contacts, shorts the contact for ground and is bent so as to avoid contacts other than the contact for ground. The contact has a contact portion in contact with the communication partner, a first linear portion extending rearward from a rear end of the contact portion, a second linear portion bent and extending from a rear end of the first linear portion and a terminal portion soldered to an external substrate at a tip end of the second linear portion. The metal member is disposed to extend between a contact at one end and a contact at the other end of the column of the plurality of contacts, has a bent portion bent in a U-shape across the contacts other than the contact for ground, and is connected to at least one of the first linear portion and the second linear portion of the contact for ground.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Hereinafter, some of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding elements and members are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, it should be noted that the shapes and sizes of the members shown in the drawings may not be consistent with the actual scale and ratio in order to appropriately enlarge, reduce or omit them for the purpose of facilitating explanation.

The first, second, etc., ordinal terms used below are merely distinguishing marks for distinguishing the same or corresponding components, and the same or corresponding components are not limited by the first, second, etc.

As used herein, “connect” or “couple” is a concept that includes not only the case where components are physically in direct contact with each other in the contact relationship between the components, but also the case where other configurations are interposed between the components and the respective components are in contact with the other configurations. In addition, the term “substantially” is used to include measurement errors.

(1) First Embodiment

As shown inFIG.1toFIG.4, a connector for high-speed transmission6according to the first embodiment is mounted on a circuit board S1and used. A header7of an optical transceiver5, which is a device of a communication partner, is fitted into a slot40of the connector for high-speed transmission6. A card edge which is a printed circuit board as an electrical interface is exposed at a tip end of the header7, and each PIN of the printed circuit board and each contact of the connector6are electrically connected by fitting into the slot40. The slot40, for example, corresponds to an “opening portion” defined in the claims. It is to be noted that, inFIG.1, a part of the optical transceiver5except for the header7is omitted to facilitate understanding.

In the following description, the mounting direction of the connector for high-speed transmission6with respect to the circuit board S1is referred to as a Z direction, a direction in which the optical transceiver5is fitted into the slot40of the connector for high-speed transmission6is referred to as an X direction, and a direction orthogonal to both the Z direction and the X direction is referred to as a Y direction. In addition, the +Z side which is the side of the connector for high-speed transmission6in the Z direction is appropriately referred to as an “upper side”, and the −Z side which is the side of the circuit board is appropriately referred to as a “lower side”. In addition, the +X side which is the side of the optical transceiver5in the X direction is appropriately referred to as a “front side”, and the −X side which is the side of the connector for high-speed transmission6is appropriately referred to as a “rear side”. In addition, the +Y side which is the left side as viewed from the +X side which is the side of the optical transceiver5is appropriately simply referred to as a “left side”, and the −Y side which is the right side as viewed from the +X side which is the side of the optical transceiver5is appropriately simply referred to as a “right side”.

Although not particularly shown, the optical transceiver5has a stick shape in the present embodiment, and the header7protrudes from the end portion on the front side of the optical transceiver5. The upper side and the left and right sides of the header7are covered by a housing. As shown inFIG.2, first to eleventh pad columns are formed on the upper surface of the header7.

For example, as described in the PIN array table in the upper section ofFIG.7, in the present embodiment, the first to the eleventh PIN columns on the upper side of the header7are arranged as follows corresponding to the PIN array (Top) ofFIG.7. That is, a power line (PWR) is arranged in the first PIN of the left end, and a contact for ground GND is assigned to each of the second PIN which is number two, the fourth PIN which is number four, the fifth PIN which is number five, the sixth PIN which is number six, the seventh PIN column which is number seven, and the ninth PIN which is number nine from the left end, and the eleventh PIN which is number eleven of the right end. In addition, a contact for reception signal RX1and a contact for transmission signal TX1are assigned to the third PIN which is number three from the left end and the tenth PIN which is number two from the right end, respectively. A contact for low-speed control signal LS is assigned to the eighth PIN which is number eight from the left end.

In the present embodiment, the first to the eleventh PIN columns on the lower surface of the header7are arranged as follows corresponding to the PIN array (Bottom) ofFIG.7. That is, a contact for ground GND is assigned to each of the first PIN of the left end, the third PIN which is number three from the left end, the fifth and sixth PINs which are number five and number six from the left end, and the eighth and the tenth PINs which are number eight and number ten from the left end. In addition, a contact for reception signal RX2and a contact for transmission signal TX2are assigned to the second PIN which is number two from the left end and the ninth PIN which is number three from the right end, respectively. Further, a contact for low-speed control signal LS is assigned to each of the fourth PIN which is number four and the seventh PIN which is number seven from the left end.

As shown inFIG.1toFIG.3, the connector for high-speed transmission6has a housing100, contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) and contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11). As shown inFIG.4, the contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) and1b-k(k=1 to 11) are each formed by extending a rod-like metal piece forward and backward and bending it so as to bend a plurality of places, k (=11) contacts are arranged side by side by on the left and right, and correspond to the left end to the right end (number one to number eleven of the left end) of the PIN array shown inFIG.2, respectively. The contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) and contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11) correspond, for example, “the first column of contacts” and “the second column of contacts” defined in the claims, respectively.

As shown inFIG.2, the housing100has an upper housing100aand a lower housing100b, and these housings100a,100bare integrally molded, for example, by using plastic as a material in the present embodiment. The contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) of the upper section are supported by the upper housing100aand the contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11) of the lower section are supported by the lower housing100b. The upper housing100aand the lower housing100bcorrespond, for example, to the “upper plate portion” and the “lower plate portion” defined in the claims, respectively.

As shown in the abbreviated right-side view ofFIG.4, the contact1a-khas a tip end side contact portion11abent to form an arch shape inverted upside down, a linear portion12aextending rearward from a rear end of the tip end side contact portion11a, a linear portion13aextending downward from a rear end of the linear portion12a, and a substrate side contact portion14aextending rearward from a lower end of the linear portion13a. The substrate side contact portion14ais electrically connected to a corresponding pad on the substrate S1by soldering or the like.

Corresponding to the shape of the contact1a-k, the contact1b-khas a tip end side contact portion11bbent to form an arch shape, a linear portion12bextending from a rear end of the tip end side contact portion11btoward the rear side of contact1b-k, a linear portion13bbent downward from a rear end of the linear portion12band extending downward, and a substrate side contact portion14bbent forward from a lower end of the linear portion13band extending forward. The substrate side contact portion14bis also electrically connected to a corresponding pad on the substrate S1by soldering or the like.

In the present embodiment, the tip end side contact portions11a,11bcorrespond, for example, to the “contact portion” defined in the claims, and the linear portions12a,12bcorrespond, for example, to “the first linear portion” defined in the claims. In addition, the linear portions13a,13bcorrespond, for example, to “the second linear portion” defined in the claims, and the substrate side contact portions14a,14bcorrespond, for example, to the “terminal portion” defined in the claims.

It is to be noted that, in the attached drawings, letter (G) is appropriately added to the contacts1a-k,1b-kin contact with the contact for ground GND, and letter (S) is appropriately added to the contacts1a-k,1b-kin contact with the contact for signal SIG to distinguish them.

As shown inFIG.3andFIG.4, the connector for high-speed transmission6of the present embodiment has a metal member10adisposed on the upper side of the contacts1a-kin the left and right (Y direction) between a contact at one end (for example,1a-1) and a contact at the other end (for example,1a-11) of the column of contacts1a-k.

In addition, as shown inFIG.4, the connector for high-speed transmission6has a metal member10bdisposed on the lower side of the contacts1b-kin the left and right (Y direction) between a contact at one end (for example,1ab-1) and a contact at the other end (for example,1b-11) of the column of contacts1b-k.

Materials similar to general conductors such as copper (Cu), copper alloy, aluminum (Al), gold (Au) or the like can be used as the material of the metal members10a,10b.

The metal member10ahas base portions10a-21,10a-22,10a-23,10a-24electrically connected to contacts for ground1a-kconnected to the PINs for ground among the first to the eleventh PIN arrays of the upper section (Top) of the table shown inFIG.7, and bent portions10a-1,10a-2,10a-3bent upward so as to form a shape in which a “U” shape is inverted upside down to avoid contacts for signal1a-kother than these contacts for ground. More specifically, as shown inFIG.3andFIG.5, in the present embodiment, the metal member10ahas such a shape that it is in contact with the contacts1a-2(G),1a-4(G) to1a-7(G),1a-9(G) and1a-11(G) on their upper surfaces by the base portions to electrically connect them, and avoids contact so as to be electrically disconnected from the contacts1a-3(S),1a-8,1a-10(S) by the bent portions separated upward.

More specifically, the base portion10a-21is electrically connected to the contact1a-2(G) on its upper surface, the base portion10a-22is electrically connected to the contact1a-4(G), contact1a-5(G), contact1a-6(G) and contact1a-7(G) on their upper surfaces, the base portion10a-23is electrically connected to the contact1a-9(G) on its upper surface, and the base portion10a-24is electrically connected to the contact1a-11(G) on its upper surface.

The base portions10a-21and10a-22are connected to the bent portion10a-1and extend in the column direction (±Y direction) from the bent portion10a-1. The base portions10a-23,10a-24are connected to the bent portion10a-3and extend in the column direction (±Y direction) from the bent portion10a-3. The base portion10a-23is also connected to the bent portion10a-2, thereby, extending in the column direction (−Y direction) from the bent portion10a-2.

The first bent portion10a-1is separated from the contact1a-3(S) that transmits the reception signal RX1, the second bent portion10a-2is separated from the contact1a-8that transmits the low-speed signal LS, and further, the third bent portion10a-3is separated from the contact1a-10(S) that transmits the transmission signal TX1. It is to be noted that, since the contact1a-1is located outside (+Y) to the left of the metal member10a, it does not come into contact with the metal member10a.

The width, thickness and arrangement location of the metal member10aare described in detail later.

In addition, the metal member10bhas base portions10b-20to10b-24electrically connected to the contacts for ground1b-kconnected to the PINs of the GNDs among the first to eleventh PIN columns of the lower section (Bottom) of the table shown inFIG.7, and bent portions10b-1to10b-4bent in an approximate “U” shape downward to avoid contacts for signal other than these contacts for ground1b-k. The base portions10b-20,10b-21are connected to the bent portion10b-1and extend in the column direction (±Y direction) from the bent portion10b-1. The base portion10b-21is also connected to the bent portion10b-2. The base portions10b-22,10b-23are connected to the bent portion10b-3and extend in the column direction (±Y direction) from the bent portion10-3. The base portion10a-22is also connected to the bent portion10b-2. The base portion10b-24is connected to the bent portion10b-4and extends in the column direction (−Y direction).

More specifically, as shown inFIG.6, in the present embodiment, the metal member10bhas such a shape that it is in contact with the contacts1b-1(G),1b-3(G),1b-5(G),1b-6(G),1b-8(G) and1b-10(G) from the lower surfaces to electrically connect them, and avoids contact so as to be electrically disconnected from the contacts1b-2(S),1b-4,1b-7,1b-9(S) by being separated downward. More specifically, the base portion10b-20is in contact with and electrically connected to the contact1b-1(G) from its lower surface, the base portion10b-21is in contact with and electrically connected to the contact1b-3(G) from its lower surface, the base portion10b-22is in contact with and electrically connected to the contacts1b-5(G) and1b-6(G) from their lower surfaces, the base portion10b-23is in contact with and electrically connected to the contact1b-8(G) from its lower surface, and further, the base portion10b-24is in contact with and electrically connected to the contact1b-10(G) from its lower surface. In addition, the first bent portion10b-1is separated downward from the contact1b-2(S) that transmits the reception signal RX2, the second bent portion10b-2is separated downward from the contact1a-4that transmits the low-speed signal LS, the third bent portion10b-3is separated downward from the contact1a-7that transmits the low-speed signal LS, and the fourth bent portion10b-4is separated downward from the contact1a-9(S) that transmits the transmission signal TX2. It is to be noted that, since the contact1b-11is located outside (−Y side) to the right of the metal member10b, it does not come into contact with the metal member10b. It is to be noted that, inFIG.6, the metal member10bis drawn by inverting the top and bottom (Z direction) from the actual arrangement to facilitate explanation.

The width, thickness and arrangement location of the metal member10bare also described in detail later.

The metal members10a,10bcan be attached to the GND contact, for example, by laser welding, solder connection, conductive resin connection, bump connection, ACF connection, conductive rubber, etc.

Hereinafter, the effect of crosstalk reduction by these metal members10a,10bis described in detail based on several graphs displaying the simulation results. Here, a series of graphs shown inFIG.7toFIG.11,FIG.13,FIG.15, andFIG.21toFIG.23all show the relationship between the signal speed and the crosstalk signal intensity with the vertical axis as decibel (dB) and the horizontal axis as frequency (GHz).

The graphs ofFIG.7show an example of the result of performing simulation on the improvement effect of impedance in the present embodiment where the metal members10a,10bare provided (with GND connection) compared to a conventional example where the metal members10a,10bare not provided (without GND connection). The same graphs are an example of the result of simulating the near end crosstalk (Near End X (Cross) Talk; hereinafter simply referred to as “NEXT”) and the far end crosstalk (Far End X (Cross) Talk; hereinafter simply referred to as “FEXT”) for the signal line (TX1, number ten from the left) in the PIN array of the upper section and the signal line (TX2, number nine from the left) of the PIN array of the lower section.

As shown inFIG.7, TX1, which is number ten from the left of the upper section, and the TX2, which is number nine from the left of the lower section, are close to each other, so there is no significant difference in crosstalk with or without GND connection regarding the NEXT and the FEXT.

On the other hand, the graphs ofFIG.8, similarly, show an example of the result of performing simulation on the improvement effect of impedance in the present embodiment where the metal members10a,10bare provided (with GND connection) compared to a conventional example where the metal members10a,10bare not provided (without GND connection), and are an example of the result of simulating the NEXT and the FEXT for the signal lines separated from each other in the PIN array of the upper section, that is, the RX1which is number three and the TX1which is number ten from left.

FromFIG.8, it is known that regarding the NEXT, the signal intensity in the case of “with GND connection” is generally lower than the signal intensity of twice that of “without GND connection”, and in particular, it is greatly decreased at 8 to 9 GHz, from this, a significant improvement in crosstalk can be seen in the case of the present embodiment. Also, regarding the FEXT, there is a frequency band indicating a downward spike with a low signal intensity in the case of “without GND connection” at about 7 GHz or less, but it is lower in the case of “with GND connection” at the peak point, and the signal intensity is greatly decreased at 8 to 9 GHz and its peripheral frequency bands. From this, it can be said that there is an improvement in crosstalk in the case of the present embodiment.

Similarly, the graphs ofFIG.9also show an example of the simulation result of comparing a conventional example without a GND connection and the present embodiment with a GND connection. But in the present example, it is an example of the result of simulating the NEXT and the FEXT for the signal lines separated from each other in the PIN arrays of the upper section and the lower section, that is, the TX1which is number ten from the left of the upper section and the RX2which is number two from the left of the lower section.

Similar to the case ofFIG.8, it has been found that improvement in crosstalk can be seen in the case of the present embodiment for both the NEXT and the FEXT.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, since there are metal members10a,10bthat are respectively disposed on the upper side and lower side of the contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) and the contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11) respectively supported by the upper housing100aand the lower housing100bof the housing100, and have bent portions bent to avoid the contacts other than the contacts for ground while shorting the contacts for ground, a connector for high-speed transmission6with a simple configuration and reduced crosstalk is provided.

About the Sizes and Arrangement Locations of the Metal Members

1) The Width of the Upper Metal Member

The width Wa of the upper metal member10ais preferably 1.0 mm to 2.5 mm.

InFIG.10, an example of the result of simulating crosstalk in the case of Wa=1.0 mm and the case of Wa=2.5 mm is shown. The NEXT and the FEXT have been simulated for the TX2which is number nine from the left of the lower section and the TX1which is number ten from the left of the upper section, the TX1which is number ten from the left of the upper section and the RX1which is number three from the left of the upper section, and the TX1which is number ten from the left of the upper section and the RX2which is number two from the left of the lower section, respectively.

From the result shown inFIG.10, it can be seen that the impedance characteristics generally do not change much at width 1.0 mm and width 2.5 mm, but in the case of the TX1and the RX1, a significant difference can be seen in both a low-speed region and a high-speed region outside the region of 8 GHz to 18 GHz for the NEXT. From this, it can be said that it is desirable to select 2.5 mm as the width Wa of the upper metal member10a.

2) The Width of the Lower Metal Member

The width Wb of the lower metal member10bis preferably 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm.

FIG.11is an example of the result of simulating crosstalk in the case of Wb=0.5 mm and the case of Wb=1.0 mm. NEXT and FEXT have been simulated for the TX2and the TX1, the TX2and the RX2, and the TX2and the RX1, respectively.

From the graphs ofFIG.11, it can be seen that in the case of the TX2and the RX1, peaks of 7 to 8 GHz have been improved in both the NEXT and the FEXT, so it is desirable to select 0.5 mm as the width Wb of the lower metal member10b.

3) The (Front and Rear) Position of the Metal Member

As for the arrangement positions of the upper metal member10aand the lower metal member10bin the front-rear (X) direction, an arbitrary position can be selected between the upper linear portion12aand the lower end of the linear portion13ain the up-down (Z) direction shown inFIG.12for the upper metal member10a, and the lower metal member10bcan be arbitrarily set between the lower linear portion12band the lower end of the linear portion13bin the Z direction shown inFIG.12.

The upper metal member10ais preferably disposed near the middle of the upper linear portion12a, and the lower metal member10bis preferably disposed near the middle of the lower linear portion12b. In this case, the upper metal member10aand the lower metal member10bare disposed so as to be almost opposed via the upper linear portion12aand the lower linear portion12bin-between.

When the NEXT and the FEXT are simulated for the TX1and the TX2, the TX1and the RX1, and the TX1and the RX2, respectively, at the installation positions of the metal members of P1inFIGS.4and P2inFIG.12, as shown in the graphs respectively indicated by the symbols P2,P1inFIG.13, the noise value due to crosstalk in the frequency band of 8 GHz or more is generally lower at the substantially center of the upper linear portion12aand the position P1(FIG.4) on the lower surface of the lower linear portion12bwhich is almost directly below the upper linear portion12athan the lower ends of the linear portions13a,13band the position P2(FIG.12) in front of the linear portions13a,13b. It can be judged that it has good characteristics.

4) The Number of the GNDs Connected.

As for the number of GND connections by the metal members10a,10b, in addition to the case where all the GNDs are connected as shown inFIG.3, only a part of the GNDs may be connected like the metal members10a-a,10a-bshown inFIG.14. The metal member10a-ahas a bent portion10a-a1, and a base portion10a-a21and a base portion10a-a22connected to the bent portion10a-a1and extending in the column direction (±Y direction) from the bent portion10a-a1. The base portion10a-a21and the base portion10a-a22are respectively electrically connected to respective upper surfaces of the contacts1a-11(G) and1a-9(G) by contacting them, and the bent portion10a-a1is separated from the contact1a-10(S). Similarly, the metal member10a-bhas a bent portion10a-b1, and a base portion10a-b21and a base portion10a-b22connected to the bent portion10a-b1and extending in the column direction (±Y direction) from the bent portion10a-b1. The base portion10a-b21and the base portion10a-b22are respectively electrically connected to respective upper surfaces of the contacts1a-2(G) and1a-4(G) by contacting them, and the bent portion10a-b1is separated from the contact1a-3(S).

However, as can be seen from the simulation result shown in the graphs inFIG.15, the noise value due to crosstalk is generally lower when all the GNDs are connected than when only a part of the GNDs are connected, and especially a remarkable difference is seen in the frequency band of about 8 GHz or more. From this, it can be judged that it has good characteristics.

5) The Number of Pairs of the Metal Members

The number of pairs of the metal members10a,10bis not limited to one pair as shown inFIG.4, and a plurality of pairs may be provided as shown inFIG.16, for example. However, although it is not shown in particular, it is known that the difference between the two is small when crosstalk is simulated, and from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost, etc., it can be said that the number of pairs of the metal members10a,10bis preferably one pair.

6) The Heights of the Bent Portions of the Metal Members

InFIG.17, an example of the simulation result of impedance characteristics in the case where the height (distance from the opposing contact surfaces) h of each bent portion in the metal members10a,10bis changed between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm. As shown inFIG.17, the value of impedance is lowered too much when the metal member is very close to the contact, such as h=0.1 mm, but it is shown that the difference in the impedance characteristics is small when the height h of the bent portion is between 0.2 mm and 0.5 mm, and it is known that an arbitrary value can be selected between this numerical value range.

(2) Second Embodiment

In the above-mentioned first embodiment, cases where the metal members10a,10bare applied to a single-ended transmission type connector are taken and explained, but the above-mentioned metal members are not limited to this, and crosstalk can be further reduced even when they are applied to a differential transmission type (Deferential Signaling type) connector. Hereinafter, an application example for a differential transmission type is explained below while referring to the drawings.

The detailed configuration including the shape, size of the housing, the slot into which the optical transceiver15of the communication partner is fitted, and the contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) and the contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11) in the connector for high-speed transmission16according to the present embodiment are substantially the same as the connector for high-speed transmission6of the first embodiment, so the detailed explanation is omitted, and the differences from the first embodiment are mainly explained in the following.

Since the connector for high-speed transmission16is a differential transmission type, the PIN arrangement of the optical transceiver15in the slot is different from the above-mentioned first embodiment. As shown inFIG.18, in the present embodiment, the first to the eleventh PIN arrays on the upper side and the lower side are arranged as follows.

In the case of the upper side, a ground GND is assigned to each of the first PIN at the left end, the fourth to eighth PIN columns from the left end and the PIN column at the right end. A reception signal RX1-nis assigned to the second PIN which is number two from the left end, a reception signal RX1-pis assigned to the third PIN which is number three from the left end, a transmission signal TX1-nis assigned to the ninth PIN which is number nine from the left end, and a transmission signal TX1-pis assigned to the tenth PIN which is number ten from the left end.

Similarly, regarding the lower side, a ground GND is assigned to each of the first PIN at the left end, the fourth to eighth PIN columns from the left end and the PIN column at the right end. A reception signal RX2-nis assigned to the second PIN which is number two from the left end, a reception signal RX2-pis assigned to the third PIN which is number three from the left end, a transmission signal TX2-nis assigned to the ninth PIN which is number nine from the left end, and a transmission signal TX2-pis assigned to the tenth PIN which is number ten from the left end.

Corresponding to the above-mentioned PIN array, the shape in the metal member is also different from the shape in the first embodiment. That is, as shown inFIG.19, the metal member20aprovided in the connector for high-speed transmission16of the present embodiment has base portions20a-21to20a-23and bent portions20a-1and20a-2, and is arranged on the left and right (Y direction) above respective linear portions12aof the column of contacts1a-k. The base portions20a-21to20a-23are in contact with and electrically connected to the contacts1a-kconnected to the ground GNDs from the upper surfaces among the first to the eleventh PIN columns, and the bent portions20a-1and20a-2aare respectively bent upward so as to form a shape in which a U-shape is inverted upside down to avoid the contacts1a-kother than the contacts1a-kconnected to the ground GNDs. The base portions20a-21,20a-22are connected to the bent portion20a-1and extend in the column direction (±Y direction) from the bent portion20a-1, the base portion20a-22is also connected to the bent portion20a-2, and the base portion20a-23is connected to the bent portion20a-2and extends in the column direction (−Y direction).

More specifically, as shown inFIG.19, the metal member20ais in contact with the contacts1a-1(G),1a-4(G) to1a-8(G) and1a-11(G) from the respective upper surfaces to electrically connect them by the base portions20a-21to20a-23. On the other hand, the bent portion20a-1is separated upward from the contacts1a-2(S),1a-3(S), and the bent portion20a-2is separated upward from the contacts1a-9(S),1a-10(S), thereby, contact is avoided so that these contacts are electrically disconnected. Further more specifically, the first bent portion20a-1is separated from the contacts1a-2(S),1a-3(S) that transmit reception signals RX1-n,RX1-p, respectively, and the second bent portion20a-2is separated from the contacts1a-9(S),1a-10(S) that transmit the transmission signals TX1-n,TX1-p.

The material of the metal member20aand the mounting method to the first to the eleventh PIN arrays are similar to the metal member10aof the above-mentioned first embodiment.

Next, the metal member20bmounted on the side of the contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11) is explained.

As shown inFIG.20, the metal member20bprovided in the connector for high-speed transmission16of the present embodiment has base portions20b-21,20b-22,20b-23and bent portions20b-1,20b-2, is arranged to extend to the left and right (±Y direction) on the lower surfaces of respective linear portions12bof the column of contacts1b-k, and is in contact with and electrically connected to the contacts1b-kconnected to the contacts for ground GNDs on the lower surfaces by the base portions20b-21,20b-22,20b-23. The bent portions20b-1,20b-2are arranged to be separated from other contacts1b-kexcluding the contacts for ground GNDs so as to avoid these other contacts and bent downward in an approximately “U” shape. The base portions20b-21,20b-22are connected to the bent portions20b-1and extend in the column direction (±Y direction). The base portions20b-22are also connected to the bent portion20b-2in the column direction (−Y direction), and the base portion20b-23is connected to the bent portion20b-2and extends in the column direction (−Y direction).

More specifically, the metal member20bis in contact with the contacts1b-1(G),1b-4(G) to1b-8(G) and1b-11(G) on the respective lower surfaces of these contacts to electrically connect them by the base portions20b-21,20b-22,20b-23, the bent portion20b-1is arranged to be separated below from the contacts1b-2(S),1b-3(S),1b-9(S) and1b-10(S), thereby, mutual contact is avoided so that these contacts1b-2(S),1b-3(S),1b-9(S) and1b-10(S) are electrically disconnected. Further more specifically, the first bent portion20b-1is separated from the contacts1b-2(S),1b-3(S) that transmit the reception signals RX2-n,RX2-p, respectively, and the second bent portion20b-2is separated from the contacts1b-9(S),1b-10(S) that transmit the transmission signals TX2-n,TX2-p, respectively.

The material of the metal member20bthe mounting method to the first to the eleventh PIN arrays are also similar to the metal member10bof the above-mentioned first embodiment.

It is to be noted that, since the connector for high-speed transmission16is a differential transmission type, both the optical transceiver15of the communication partner and the circuit board S2to which the contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) and contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11) are connected are different from those in the first embodiment. The header17of the optical transceiver5is fitted into the slot40, the substrate side contact portions14a,14bof the contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) and the contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11) are connected, for example, by welding to the contacts of the external circuit board S2with corresponding wiring.

Hereinafter, the effect of crosstalk reduction by the metal members20a,20bin the present embodiment is described in details based on the simulation results.

The graphs ofFIG.21show an example of the simulation result on the improvement effect of crosstalk by the present embodiment where the metal members20a,20bare provided (with GND connection) compared to a conventional example where the metal members20a,20bare not provided (without GND connection). The same graphs are an example of the result of simulating the NEXT and the FEXT for the signal line (the TX1-nwhich is number nine and the TX1-pwhich is number ten from left) in the PIN array of the upper section and the signal line (the TX2-nwhich is number nine and the TX2-pwhich is number ten from left) in the PIN array of the lower section.

As shown inFIG.21, since the TX1-nand TX1-pof the upper section and the TX2-nand TX2-pof the lower section are close to each other, similar to the above-mentioned first embodiment, there is no significant difference in crosstalk with or without GND connection regarding both the NEXT and the FEXT.

On the other hand, the graphs inFIG.22, similarly, show another example of the simulation result on the improvement effect of crosstalk performed for the present embodiment in which the metal members20a,20bare provided (with GND connection) compared to a conventional example in which the metal members20a,20bare not provided (without GND connection), and are an example of the result of simulating the NEXT and the FEXT for the signal lines separated from each other in the PIN array of the upper section, that is, RX1-nwhich is number two and the RX1-pwhich is number three, and the TX1-nwhich is number nine and the TX1-pwhich is number ten from left.

FromFIG.22, it has been found that regarding both the NEXT and the FEXT, merely except for the region of 12 to 15 GHz and the region of 25 GHz or more, the signal intensity in the case of “with GND connection” is significantly lower than that in the case of “without GND connection”, and it can be seen that there is a significant improvement in crosstalk in the case of the present embodiment

Similarly, the graphs inFIG.23also show another example of the simulation result comparing the present embodiment with GND connection to the conventional example without GND connection. But in the present example, it is an example of the result of simulating the NEXT and the FEXT for the signal lines separated from each other in the PIN arrays of the upper section and the lower section, that is, the TX1-nwhich is number nine and the TX1-pwhich is number ten from left in the upper section, and the RX2-nwhich is number two and the RX2-pwhich is number three from left in the lower section.

Similar to the case ofFIG.22, it has been found that a general improvement in crosstalk can be seen in the case of the present embodiment regarding both the NEXT and the FEXT.

Also in the second embodiment, the shapes and sizes, such as the widths, the thicknesses, the distance from each contact to the bent portion, and the arrangement positions, the number of pairs, the distinction between continuous/discontinuous, and the like of the metal members20a,20bare substantially the same as the above-mentioned first embodiment. For this reason, detailed explanations are omitted.

Thus, the differential transmission type connector for high-speed transmission16of the present embodiment is also provided with the metal members20a,20barranged on the upper side and the lower side of the contacts1a-k(k=1 to 11) and the contacts1b-k(k=1 to 11) and having bent portions bent to avoid contacts other than the contacts for ground while shorting the contacts for ground, so that the crosstalk can be further reduced with a simple configuration.

Modification Example

Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, the following modifications may be added to this embodiment.

In the above embodiment, an aspect in which the metal members10a,10b, or20a,20bare provided in pairs is described, but it is not limited to this, and crosstalk can be reduced even in the case where only one of them is provided without form a pair.

Further, a case where the number of the contacts1a-kand1b-kis eleven is taken up in the above embodiment, but it is not limited to this, and of course the present disclosure can be applied even in the case where there are ten or less or twelve or more.

Further, regarding the PIN array, an example in which four to five GND contacts are arranged between transmission and reception has been taken, but this number is not essential, and a smaller number of GND contacts may be arranged, and a larger number of GND contacts may be arranged.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, these are provided for easy understanding of the disclosure, and the claims of the present disclosure are not limited thereby.

A person skilled in the art can implement the present disclosure by various modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure, for example, by incorporating the features of one Example into another Example, yet another Example can be obtained. A person skilled in the art can make various modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements in accordance with the spirit of the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the claims.