Patent ID: 7604510

Claim:
A high speed transmission connector comprising: a plurality of signal contact pairs, said signal contact pairs being arranged in a parallel array, and each of said signal contact pairs including a pair of signal contacts comprising a balanced transmission line; a plurality of ground contacts, each of said ground contacts being arranged between two of said signal contact pairs arranged in said parallel array, said plurality of signal contact pairs and said plurality of ground contacts being alternately arranged relative to each other; and an electro-insulating body supporting said plurality of signal contact pairs and said plurality of ground contacts in a mutually insulated arrangement; wherein each of said signal contacts of said plurality of signal contact pairs is provided with a contacting section at one longitudinal end for a conductive contact with a corresponding signal contact of a counterpart connector, a board connecting section at another longitudinal end for a connection with a conductor on a circuit board, and an attaching section between said contacting section and said board connecting section for an attachment to said body; wherein all of board connecting sections of said signal contacts of said plurality of signal contact pairs are disposed in parallel along a first lateral surface of said body and extend to positions at an equal distance from said first lateral surface; wherein said pair of signal contacts of said plurality of signal contact pairs are individually covered, at least partially, by materials having dielectric constants different from each other, in certain regions, each region being defined between said board connecting section and said attaching section of each signal contact; wherein the signal contacts of each signal contact pair are supported with the respective contacting sections and attaching sections opposed and aligned in a transverse direction of said body so as to form a mirror image of each other; and wherein said regions between said board connecting sections and said attaching sections, as well as said board connecting sections, of the signal contacts of each signal contact pair are offset in a direction perpendicular to the transverse direction; wherein each of said plurality of ground contacts is provided with a pair of contacting sections at one longitudinal end for a conductive contact with a corresponding ground contact of a counterpart connector, a pair of board connecting sections at another longitudinal end for a connection with a grounding potential on a circuit board, and an attaching section between said contacting sections and said board connecting sections for an attachment to said body; and wherein all of board connecting sections of said ground contacts are disposed respectively along said first lateral surface and a second lateral surface of said body, opposite to said first lateral surface.