Hermaphroditic interconnect system

摘要

An electrical interconnect system employs electrical connectors in which the contacts are identical for both the male and the female side of the connection. Contacts are arranged in a linear header and multiple header pairs are arranged in a dielectric matrix or grid. The grid is an external dielectric frame capable of providing load bearing and geometry requirements. This arrangement results in a cost-effective construction that features very high electrical bandwidth capabilities and an extremely rugged product.

主权项

1. An electrical connector comprising:
a first element; and a second element that mates with the first element; wherein each of the elements includes headers each with a header body and electrical contacts in the header body; and wherein for one of the elements the headers of that element are mounted face to face, and for the other of the elements the headers of that element are mounted back to back; and wherein the headers are substantially identical to one another, with the header bodies of all of the headers having a substantially identical body cross-sectional shape, and with the electrical contacts of all of the headers having a substantially identical placement relative to the respective header bodies, in a view perpendicular to the cross-sectional body shape.