US Patent 7848115 Systems for electrically connecting circuit board based electronic devices

In one exemplary embodiment, a system for supplying electrical connectivity to one or more circuit board based devices includes a backplane and at least one module. The backplane includes a mounting surface having a plurality of modular power connectors. The at least one module includes an interface portion, a power connection portion, and a circuit board. The power connection portion is configured to connect with the corresponding one of the plurality of modular power connectors. The circuit board includes a plurality of power-related electrical contacts and a plurality of data-related electrical contacts. At least one of the plurality of power-related electrical contacts is connected with the power connection portion, and at least one of the plurality of data-related electrical contacts is connected with the interface portion. The backplane is configured to connect with a power supply, such that the power supply supplies power to the at least one module through one of the modular power connectors when the at least one module is connected with the corresponding modular power connector.