MULTI-CONDUCTOR CABLE CONNECTOR WITH INTEGRAL GROUNDING BUS

摘要

A connector (100) for connecting to ribbon cable (122) corresponding to the SFF-8049 specification. The connector (100) includes a plurality of ground contacts (132) having an insulation displacement end (134) that are positioned within a retainer plate (106) so that the insulation displacement end of the ground contacts (132) pierce the insulation surrounding every other conductor (124) of the ribbon cable (122) which comprise the grounded conductors forming the ground bus. Signal contacts (130) having an insulation displacement end (134) and a mating end are positioned within a body of the connector so that the insulation displacement end can be positioned through the retainer plate (106) in an orientation where they will be able to engage with signal conductors within the ribbon cable (122). The plurality of ground contacts (132) are configured to have tabs to engage with selected signal contacts (130) so that grounded signal conductors within the ribbon cable (122) can be connected to the ground bus in the connector (100). The signal contact (130) further includes a mating end (140) which is positioned within an opening (142) in the base (102) of the connector (100) that is suitable for receiving the pins of a mating connector or pin array.