Backward compatible multichannel connector
AssigneeThales Defense & Security, Inc.
InventorsHaidong Wang, Douglas Bell, Steven Kutchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A connector includes a housing configured to accommodate a plurality of contact pins, the housing including a plurality of contact pin locations, wherein the plurality of contact pin locations include a first set of contact pin locations designated for a first channel and a second set of contact pin locations designated for a second channel, a first set of contact pins disposed at the first set of contact pin locations, the first set of contact pins configured to carry a first signal associated with the first channel, and a second set of contact pins disposed at the second set of contact pin locations, the second set of contact pins configured to carry a second signal associated with the second channel.
Claims9
A connector, comprising:
- a housing configured to accommodate a plurality of contact pins, the housing including a plurality of contact pin locations, wherein the plurality of contact pin locations include a first set of contact pin locations designated for a first channel and a second set of contact pin locations designated for a second channel;
- a first set of contact pins disposed at the first set of contact pin locations, the first set of contact pins being configured to carry a first signal associated with the first channel;
- and
- a second set of contact pins disposed at the second set of contact pin locations, the second set of contact pins being configured to carry a second signal associated with the second channel,
- wherein the housing comprises a first alignment position and a second alignment position,
- wherein mating the connector with a single channel connector at the first alignment position connects the first channel to the single channel connector, and
- wherein mating the connector with the single channel connector at the second alignment position connects the second channel to the mated single channel connector.
A method of using a connector having a housing configured to accommodate a plurality of contact pins, the housing including a plurality of contact pin locations, wherein the plurality of contact pin locations include a first set of contact pin locations designated for a first channel and a second set of contact pin locations designated for a second channel, the method comprising:
- transmitting a first signal over a first set of contact pins disposed at the first set of contact pin locations;
- and
- transmitting a second signal over a second set of contact pins disposed at the second set of contact pin locations,
- wherein the housing comprises a first alignment position and a second alignment position, and wherein the method further comprises:
- connecting the first channel to a single channel connector by mating the connector with the single channel connector at the first alignment position;
- and
- connecting the second channel to the single channel connector by mating the connector with the single channel connector at the second alignment position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.