Electrical system having means for accommodating various distances between pc boards thereof mounting the means

An electrical system comprising:

• a number of printed circuit boards;
• a same number of electrical connectors;
• and
• a half number of extenders, each extender being engageable with either electrical connectors, each extender including an insulative body defining at least one slot and at least one terminal module engageably received in the at least one slot of the insulative body, the at least one terminal module having an insulative base and a plurality of terminals assembled to the insulative base prior to assembling to the insulative body, at least one extender having a height different from the others;
• the printed circuit boards, the electrical connectors and the extenders being provided in sets, each set including two printed circuit boards, two electrical connectors respectively mounted onto said two printed circuit boards and one extender located between and electrically engaging with said two electrical connectors, there being at least one set, of which the two printed circuit boards are spaced from each other by the electrical connectors and the extender thereof a distance different from a distance between the two printed circuit boards of another set.

An electrical extender adapted for mating with electrical connectors respectively mounted on a first and a second printed circuit boards and for separating the first printed circuit board a predetermined distance from the second printed circuit board, the electrical extender comprising:

• an insulative body defining two identical mating ports in an upper surface and a lower surface thereof, respectively;
• and
• a terminal module including an insulative base and a plurality of signal terminals and a grounding plate respectively attached to opposite surfaces of the dielectric base, the terminal module being assembled to the insulative body with opposite ends thereof extending into respective mating ports of the insulative body;
• wherein the mating ports of the insulative body are engageable with a same electrical connector.

An extender for use between two connectors, comprising:

• an insulative housing defining two opposite mating ports for receiving said two connectors therein;
• a slot disposed along a longitudinal direction of the housing and in communication with the mating ports;
• a terminal module extending through said slot, said terminal module including an insulative base with first and second opposite surfaces thereon, a grounding blade essentially covering most portions of said first surface, and a plurality of juxtaposed signal terminals disposed on the second surface,
• said base further including at least one biasing bar integrally extending therefrom in the longitudinal direction to interfere with the housing and retain the terminal module in the slot;
• wherein
• said biasing bar is located on said first surface and outside said grounding blade, and said base defines a plurality of passageways in alignment with said biasing bar in a transverse direction perpendicular to the first surface for forgiving deformation of said biasing bar.