US Patent 7462924 Electrical connector with elongated ground contacts

In an electrical connector, cross talk between signal contacts in adjacent linear columns and rows may be reduced by changing the size of the lead portions of the contacts extending within a leadframe housing. For example, the height of the ground contact lead portions may be increased to further isolate signal contacts in adjacent columns from interfering electrical fields. The height of the signal contact lead portions may be decreased in order to accommodate the larger ground contact lead portions without increasing the overall size of the connector. Smaller signal contact lead portions may reduce the overall length differential between signal contacts in a differential pair, thereby minimizing signal skew.