Shielded ribbon cable electrical connector assembly and method

A shielded electrical connector assembly comprising,

• A) a ribbon cable having a plurality of electrical conductors spaced along the width of the cable and a grounding shield surrounding the cable;
• B) a connector having first and second spaced faces and including a cable clamp surrounding one end of the cable, the cable clamp including two opposed clamp bars with one bar having a concave surface engaging one side of the ribbon cable and the other bar including a convex surface overlying the concave surface and engaging the other side of the ribbon cable and connections joining the ends of the bars together outwardly of the cable to clamp the cable between the bars, said connector including a connector block at said first connector face, said block defining at least one row of cavities extending along the block and opening through said first face, disconnect terminals located in said cavities, each terminal including a terminal tail extending out of the cavity, a first circuit board having a first edge adjacent the connector block and a second edge adjacent the cable clamp, circuitry on said board extending between said edges and including contact pads at said edges, the tails of said terminals in said connector block being connected to pads at said first board edge, the conductors in said cable being connected to contact pads at said second board edge, a spacer overlying the circuit board, a connector ground plate on a side of the spacer away from the circuit board and including a contact tongue extending into the cable clamp between the clamp bars and in engagement with the grounding shield surrounding the cable conductors and a contact member located adjacent the disconnect terminals in the connector block, and an overmolded plastic body surrounding the end of the cable, the cable clamp, the circuit board, the spacer, the ground plate and said connector block away from said front face;
• and
• C) a contact header adapted to be mounted on a second circuit board, the header including a body, at least one row of header terminals extending from said body for electrical engagement with said disconnect terminals in said connector block when the connector and header are mated, terminal tails extending outwardly from the header terminals including ends adapted to form electrical connections with contact pads on the second circuit board and a header ground plate overlying said header terminals and terminal tails and including a contact adapted to engage ground circuitry in the second circuit board and a contact element adapted to engage said contact member when the header and connector are mated to thereby form a ground electrical connection extending from ground circuitry in the second circuit board through the header ground plate, the connector ground plate to the cable shield.

The method of making a shielded ribbon cable connector comprising the steps of:

• A) providing a connector block having a first face, at least one row of cavities extending along the first face, and a disconnect terminal in each cavity with a terminal tail extending outwardly of the block away from the first face;
• B) providing a ribbon cable having a plurality of conductors and a ground shield surrounding the conductors;
• C) attaching a cable clamp to an end portion of the cable by positioning a first clamp bar with a concave surface against one side of a cable and a second clamp bar having a convex surface against the opposite side of the cable and moving the bars together to bend the cable between the bars to a U-shape;
• D) attaching conductors at the end of the cable to contact pads extending along one edge of a circuit board and attaching the terminal tails to contact pads extending along an opposite edge of the circuit board to form electrical connections joining the conductors and the terminals;
• E) positioning a ground shield having a tongue at one end and a contact finger at the opposite end on a spacer and positioning the spacer on one side of the circuit board with the shield away from the circuit board, the tongue extending between the clamp bars and in contact with the ground shield and the contact finger overlying the connector block;
• and
• F) forming an overmolded plastic body surrounding the end of the cable, the cable clamp, the circuit board, the spacer and the ground plate and a part of the connector block away from the first face.