Crosstalk suppressing connector

A connector which includes a housing and a plurality of contacts mounted on said housing, wherein said contacts extend longitudinally and are spaced laterally along most of their lengths, as seen in a plan view, wherein said contacts each have an average lateral width in a lateral direction which is greater than its thickness in a vertical direction, and wherein said plurality of contacts includes at least first and second pairs of contacts, where there is crosstalk between said first and second pairs of contacts, and wherein said connector is constructed to provide a capacitive coupling between contacts of a set of contacts that each includes a contact of each of said pairs, to at least partially cancel said crosstalk, wherein:

• one of said contacts (B) of said set has a lateral extension (110) that extends to a position overlying the other of said contacts (C) of said set, and including a layer (112) of dielectric material lying between said lateral extension and said other of said contacts of said set;
• one (A) of said plurality of contacts is an intermediate contact that lies laterally between said contacts (B, C) of said set;
• said lateral extension has a middle (128) that overlies said intermediate contact and an end portion (114) that overlies the other contact of said set, with said middle having less than half as much area overlying said intermediate contact as the area of said end portion which overlies said other of said contacts of said set.

An electrical connector which includes a housing with a plastic molded portion, and a plurality of largely longitudinally extending but laterally spaced elongated contacts, including first and second pairs of contacts, with said first pair including first initial and first secondary contacts and said second pair including second initial and second secondary contacts, wherein said first and second initial contacts of said first and second pairs extend largely parallel to each other and lie adjacent to each other along most of their lengths so there is high potential for crosstalk between them, and wherein a set of contacts that includes said first secondary contact and said second initial contact are capacitively coupled to minimize such crosstalk, wherein:

• said connector includes a local region of less than half the longitudinal length of any of said pairs of contacts, where one contact of said set has a laterally-extending portion with an overlapping part that lies facewise adjacent to but out of direct contact with the other contact of said set, which creates a capacitive coupling between contacts of said set;
• said first secondary contact and said second initial contact are first locally coupled contacts;
• along most of the lengths of said plurality of contacts within said connector, said contacts lie on a surface of an imaginary sheet that has opposite faces and extend parallel to each other, but in said local region said first locally coupled contacts have contact portions that lie facewise adjacent but on different faces of said imaginary sheet, and including an actual sheet of dielectric material occupying the position of said imaginary sheet and separating said facewise adjacent contact portions;
• portions of said contacts which lie in said local regions, as well as said actual sheet of dielectric material, are encapsulated in said plastic molded portion of said housing.

An electrical connector which includes a housing and a plurality of largely longitudinally extending but laterally spaced elongated contacts, including first and second pairs of contacts, with said first pair including first initial and first secondary contacts and said second pair including second initial and second secondary contacts, wherein said first and second initial contacts of said first and second pairs extend largely parallel to each other and lie adjacent to each other along most of their lengths so there is high potential for crosstalk between them, and wherein a set of contacts (B, C) that includes said first secondary contact and said second initial contact are capacitively coupled to minimize such crosstalk, wherein:

• said connector includes a local region (120) of less than half the longitudinal length of any of said pairs of contacts, where one contact (B) of said set has a lateral extension (110) with an overlapping part (114) that lies facewise adjacent to but out of direct contact with the other contact (C) of said set, which creates a capacitive coupling between contacts of said set, wherein said extension has a single primarily laterally extending middle part (128) and has an extension end (114) connected to said middle part and forming said overlapping part, with said extension end connected to the rest of said one contact only through said single middle part.