High density integrated backplane assembly

A backplane assembly for a card cage for a plurality of electrical interconnections of circuits of circuit cards with electrical conductors extending into the card cage at an input/output interface, the circuit cards being receivable into a card-receiving region of the card cage along pairs of card guides extending through the card-receiving region from a card-receiving opening of the card cage, the input/output interface including an array of electrical input/output connectors, the backplane assembly positioned between the card-receiving region and the input/output interface and comprising:

• a forward wall member dimensioned to traverse the rearward end of the card-receiving region within the card cage and including an array of card connectors mounted thereon to mate with corresponding connectors of a plurality of circuit cards, with said card connectors so positioned with respect to respective said pairs of card guides to mate with complementary connectors along leading ends of respective said circuit cards during card insertion;
• a rearward wall section at least supporting said array of input/output connectors thereon and joined to said forward wall section by a plurality of struts being affixable proximate peripheral edges of said forward and rearward wall sections and spacing them a selected distance apart;
• and
• interconnection circuitry disposed between said forward and rearward wall sections defining an array of circuits, with said interconnection circuitry affixed therebetween to define a subassembly manipulatable as a unit during card cage assembly,
• said card connectors each containing an array of first terminals extending from outer contact sections exposed to be mated with terminals of said connectors of said circuit cards to pin-shaped first inner contact sections connected with corresponding circuits of said interconnection circuitry at connection arrays of a first region, and said input/output connectors each containing an array of second terminals therein extending from outer contact sections exposed to be connected with external input/output conductors to pin-shaped second inner contact sections connected to respective circuits of said interconnection circuitry at connection arrays of a second region;
• said interconnection circuitry being defined by a plurality of flexible circuit elements adjacent one another, each said flexible circuit element including pin-receiving holes for all first inner contact sections in a first portion thereof and including pin-receiving holes for all second inner contact sections in a second portion thereof, with all said first and second inner contact sections extending through said pin-receiving holes of all said flexible circuit elements aligned therewith;
• each said flexible circuit element at least including selected circuits defined thereon extending from termini at selected pin-receiving holes of said first portion to termini at selected pin-receiving holes of said second portion, whereby selected said pin-shaped first and second inner contact sections extending through said selected pin-receiving holes are electrically connected to said selected circuits upon soldering, and others of said pin-shaped first and second inner contact sections remain isolated from said selected circuits, and whereby all said first and second inner contact sections are terminated to associated circuits on said flexible circuit members,
• whereby many said first terminals of said card connectors are electrically connected to corresponding second terminals of said input/output connectors by discrete circuits in a compact interconnection arrangement having high circuit density and with said first terminals and corresponding second terminals free of any need to be physically aligned with each other.