Electrical connector assembly comprising an array of elongated electrical contacts

An electrical connector assembly comprising:

• a connector housing having a front end and a receiving cavity that opens to the front end, the receiving cavity being sized and shaped to receive a mating connector therein that is inserted into the receiving cavity along a central axis of the connector housing;
• a contact array of electrical contacts disposed within the receiving cavity, the electrical contacts having corresponding elongated bodies that extend generally parallel to the central axis;
• and
• a movable guard configured to be slidably held by the contact array within the receiving cavity, the movable guard comprising a dielectric sheet that extends transverse to the central axis and has an array of thru-holes, each of the thru-holes being shaped by a corresponding inner edge of the dielectric sheet, the thru-holes including clearance thru-holes and frictional thru-holes, wherein the inner edges of the frictional thru-holes engage corresponding electrical contacts of the contact array, the inner edges of the frictional thru-holes and the corresponding electrical contacts generating frictional forces to hold the movable guard at a forward position within the receiving cavity, the clearance thru-holes being shaped relative to corresponding electrical contacts of the contact array such that the corresponding electrical contacts are permitted to move freely therethrough when the clearance thru-holes are aligned with the corresponding electrical contacts, the movable guard configured to slide along the central axis from the forward position to a deeper position within the receiving cavity when engaged by the mating connector, wherein the inner edge for each of the frictional thru-holes forms at least one projection that extends toward and engages the corresponding electrical contact.