High Speed Bypass Cable Assembly

Abstract

A cable bypass assembly is disclosed for use in providing a high speed transmission line for connecting a board mounted connector of an electronic device to a chip on the device board. The bypass cable assembly has a structure that permits it, where it is terminated to the board mounted connector and the chip member, or closely proximate thereto, to allow signals to be transmitted at greater than 10 GHz with substantially lower loss than a traditional FR4 circuit board.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cable bypass assembly, comprising:
 a cage that defines a port;   a first connector positioned in the cage and including a first body with a card-slot, the first body supporting a plurality of terminals, each terminal of the plurality of terminals including a contact portion positioned in the card slot and a tail, wherein two terminals of the plurality of terminals are adjacent each other and form a first terminal pair;   a cable with a first end and a second end that defines a length, the cable including a pair of signal conductors disposed within an insulative body portion of the cable, the signal conductors extending in a spaced-apart relationship through the insulative body portion along the length, the cable further including a conductive shield extending over an exterior of the cable body portion and an insulative outer covering extending over the cable conductive shield, the first end being terminated directly to selected terminal tails of the first connector in a manner so that the pair of signal conductors are in electrical communication with a pair of signal terminal tails, and wherein the conductive shield is connected to a ground terminal adjacent the pair of signal terminals; and   a second connector connected to the second end, the second connector including a second body that supports a second pair of terminals, each terminal of the second pair of terminals including a contact portion and a tail portion, the tail portion of each terminal of the second pair of terminals connected to one of the signal conductors and the second connector further including a ground terminal connected to the ground shield.   
     
     
         2 . The cable bypass assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of terminals in the first connector are supported by two terminal assembly supports that align a portion of the terminals on both sides of the card slot so that in operation, during mating with an opposing mating connector the contacts portions on both sides of the card slot are deflected in opposing directions. 
     
     
         3 . The cable bypass assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the cable is configured to support a signaling frequency of at least 10 GHz. 
     
     
         4 . The cable bypass assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the second connector is configured to be press-fit into a circuit board adjacent a chip member. 
     
     
         5 . A cable bypass assembly, comprising:
 a cage that defines a port with a front opening;   a first connector positioned in the cage and including a first body with a card-slot, the first body supporting a plurality of terminals, each terminal of the plurality of terminals including a contact portion positioned in the card slot and a tail, wherein two terminals of the plurality of terminals are adjacent each other and form a first terminal pair;   a cable with a first end and a second end that defines a length, the cable including a pair of signal conductors disposed within an insulative body portion of the cable, the signal conductors extending in a spaced-apart relationship through the insulative body portion along the length, the cable further including a drain wire extending along the length, the first end being terminated directly to selected terminal tails of the first connector in a manner so that the pair of signal conductors are in electrical communication with a pair of signal terminal tails; and   a second connector connected to the second end, the second connector including a second body that supports a second plurality of terminals that form a second terminal pair, each terminal of the second terminals pair including a contact portion and a tail portion, the tail portion of each terminal of the second terminal pair connected to one of the signal conductors and the second connector further including a ground terminal connected to the drain wire.   
     
     
         6 . The cable bypass assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of terminals in the first connector are supported by two terminal assembly supports that align a portion of the terminals on both sides of the card slot so that in operation, during mating with an opposing mating connector the contacts portions on both sides of the card slot are deflected in opposing directions. 
     
     
         7 . The cable bypass assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the card slot is recessed a substantial distance from the front opening. 
     
     
         8 . The cable bypass assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the cable is configured to support a signaling frequency of at least 10 GHz. 
     
     
         9 . The cable bypass assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the second connector is configured to be press-fit into a circuit board adjacent a chip member. 
     
     
         10 . The cable bypass assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the second connector is configured to be connected directly to a chip member.