High frequency connector with kick-back
阅读说明:本技术 具有反冲件的高频连接器 (High frequency connector with kick-back ) 是由 J·维尼 于 2019-07-19 设计创作,主要内容包括:本文披露的实施例涉及具有在高频下提供改进性能的、短截线长度减小的高频连接器系统。第一连接器包括多个配合触点,这些配合触点被设计为有待电连接到与第二连接器相关联的第二多个配合触点。该第一连接器包括一个或多个弹性构件,使得当该第二连接器与该第一连接器配合时,该一个或多个弹性构件被压缩在第一连接器与该第二连接器之间。当初始配合时,该第一多个触点和该第二多个触点重叠第一距离,但是当连接器被放开时,该第一弹性构件将该第二连接器偏压远离该第一连接器,使得该第一多个触点和该第二多个触点重叠小于该第一距离的第二距离。(connectors include or more resilient members such that when the second connector is mated with the th connector, the or more resilient members are compressed between the th connector and the second connector, when initially mated, the and the second plurality of contacts overlap a th distance, but when the connectors are released, the resilient member biases the second connector away from the th connector such that the and the second plurality of contacts overlap a second distance that is less than the th distance.)
A connector of the type , comprising:
a mating interface adapted to be mated with a second connector pressed toward the connector in a mating direction, the mating interface including a plurality of mating contacts;
a resilient member adjacent to and positioned relative to the mating interface to be deformed by a second connector in the mating direction when mated with the connector,
a locking member positioned to engage a complementary locking member of the second connector,
wherein the locking member is positioned relative to the plurality of mating contacts such that the second connector is positioned relative to the plurality of mating contacts by the resilient member and the locking member.
2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the resilient member has a spring constant to produce a unmating force of at least 10N.
3. The connector of claim 1, wherein:
the connector includes a housing and a cage;
the plurality of mating contacts are retained within the housing;
the cage is disposed around the housing; and
the resilient member is held between the cage and the housing.
4. The connector of claim 3, wherein the cage includes a protrusion and the resilient member includes an elongated member at least partially wrapped around the protrusion.
5. The connector of claim 1, in combination with the mating connector,
wherein, when the connector is mated with the mating connector, the resilient member deforms such that the connector is continuously biased away from the mating connector such that the locking member engages with the complementary locking member and separation of the connector from the second connector is established by the locking member and the complementary locking member.
6. The connector of claim 1, wherein the plurality of mating contacts is an th plurality of mating contacts, and the second connector includes a second plurality of mating contacts;
the second plurality of mating contacts mate with the th plurality of mating contacts;
the stub lengths of the th and second pluralities of mating contacts at the mating interface are less than 2mm when separation of the connector and the mating connector is established by the locking member and the complementary locking member.
7. The connector of claim 6, wherein the th plurality of mating contacts and the second plurality of mating contacts overlap by a th length when the connector and the second connector are connected, and the th plurality of mating contacts and the second plurality of mating contacts overlap by a second length shorter than the th length when the connector is biased away from the second connector.
8. The connector of claim 1, wherein the resilient member is a spring clip.
9. The connector of claim 1, wherein the resilient member is an th resilient member and is positioned adjacent to a th side of the mating interface, and
the connector includes a second resilient member adjacent a second side of the mating interface, the second resilient member being positioned relative to the mating interface to be deformed by the mating connector in the mating direction when mated with the connector, wherein the second side is opposite the th side.
10. The connector of claim 9, wherein:
the connector includes a housing including a protrusion extending from the housing in a direction perpendicular to the mating direction;
the resilient member comprises an elongated metal member comprising a central portion and th and second end portions,
the central portion contacts the protrusion; and
the th and second end portions of the resilient member extend above the protrusion in a direction opposite the mating direction when the resilient member is in a rest state.
11. The connector of claim 10, wherein a cage secures the -th resilient member to the mating connector.
12. The connector of claim 10, wherein the -th locking member further comprises a locking tab having the -th flat surface facing the mating end of the second connector such that the -th flat surface engages the -th latch-receiving surface of the cage.
13. The connector of claim 10, wherein the locking member is an th locking member and the complementary locking member is a th latch receiving surface, the th latch receiving surface being constructed and arranged such that when the connector is mated with the second connector, the th locking member is urged toward the th latch receiving surface of the connector to engage the th latch receiving surface.
14. The connector of claim 13, wherein the second connector includes a second locking member received by the connector to mate the connector and the second connector, and the cage includes a second latch receiving surface such that when the connector is mated with the second connector, the second locking member is urged toward the second latch receiving surface of the connector to engage the second latch receiving surface.
15. The connector of claim 1, further comprising a second resilient member selectively connectable to the mating connector, wherein when the connector is mated with the second connector, the second connector deforms the second resilient member, the second resilient member continuously biasing the second connector into a locked position.
An interconnection system of the type 16, , comprising:
an th connector and a second connector configured to mate with the th connector, wherein the th connector and the second connector each include a th plurality of contacts and a second plurality of contacts and are configured to have a distance traveled,
wherein:
the th connector includes a th elastic member, an
The resilient member is constructed and arranged to bias the second connector away from the connector when the second connector is mated with the connector such that the th plurality of contacts and the second plurality of contacts overlap to provide a stub length that is shorter than the walking distance.
17. The interconnect system of claim 16, wherein:
the th connector includes a cage;
the cage includes a latch receiving surface that engages a locking member of the second connector when the second connector is mated with the th connector.
18. The interconnect system of claim 16, wherein the connector includes a th protrusion, the th resilient member being at least partially wrapped around the th protrusion.
19. The interconnect system of claim 16, wherein the -th resilient member is reversibly deformable to continuously bias the second connector away from the -th connector.
20. The interconnect system of claim 16, wherein the connector further includes a second resilient member constructed and arranged to bias the second connector away from the connector when the second connector is mated with the connector.
21, a connector assembly, comprising:
an th connector and a second connector, wherein of the th connector and the second connector comprise plugs on a cable assembly comprising a cable configured to operate at frequencies in excess of 15GHz, the second connector is constructed and arranged to be mated with the th connector, and the th connector comprises a latch receiving opening, and the second connector comprises a latch having a locking tab, wherein
The th connector further includes a th resilient member,
the resilient member is constructed and arranged to bias the second connector away from the th connector when mated with the th connector, thereby engaging the locking tab with the latch receiving surface.
22. The connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the cable comprises a shielded twinaxial cable.
23. The connector assembly of claim 22, wherein the -th connector includes a cage that includes the latch receiving surface and secures the -th resilient member to the -th connector.
24. The connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the th connector and the second connector each include a th plurality of contacts and a second plurality of contacts, the th plurality of contacts and the second plurality of contacts overlap a th length when the th connector and the second connector are connected, and the th plurality of contacts and second plurality of contacts overlap a second length shorter than the th length when the locking tab is engaged with the latch receiving surface.
25. The connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the second connector further comprises a second resilient member constructed and arranged to continuously bias the connector away from the second connector when the connector is mated with the second connector.
26, a method of operating an interconnect system, the interconnect system including a th connector and a second connector, wherein the th connector has mating contacts positioned to engage the mating contacts in the second connector, the method comprising:
inserting the second connector into the th connector, such that a resilient member is compressed between the th connector and the second connector,
releasing the second connector such that the resilient member presses the second connector away from the th connector;
engaging the latching feature of the th connector and the latching feature of the second connector such that the mating contacts of the th connector are positioned relative to the mating contacts of the second connector based on the positions of the latching features of the th connector and the second connector.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein:
inserting the second connector into the th connector includes frictionally contacting the mating contacts from the second connector with the mating contacts of the th connector in the th direction, and
the method further includes, after releasing the second connector, frictionally contacting the mating contacts from the second connector with the mating contacts of the th connector in a second direction opposite the direction.
28. The method of claim 26, wherein:
inserting the second connector into the th connector includes frictionally contacting the mating contacts from the second connector with the mating contacts of the th connector for a walking distance, and
engaging the latching feature of the th connector and the latching feature of the second connector includes positioning the mating contacts of the second connector relative to the mating contacts of the th connector, wherein stubs of the mating contacts of the th connector and the mating contacts of the th connector have stub lengths that are less than the walking distance.
29. The method of claim 26, wherein the walking distance is greater than 2mm and the stub length is less than 1.5 mm.
30. The method of claim 26, passing signals in excess of 15GHz through the th connector and the second connector.
Technical Field
The disclosed embodiments relate to improvements in latching plug connectors such as may be used in electrical systems.
Background
The electrical connectors are designed to facilitate a physical connection between two conductors to allow electrical signals to pass between the two conductors some electrical connectors include or more latches that engage with complementary features on the corresponding mating connector when the connectors are mated, the latches and complementary features engage to ensure that the connectors do not inadvertently disconnect.
Disclosure of Invention
According to embodiments, a connector includes a mating interface adapted to be mated with a second connector to be pressed toward the connector in a mating direction, the mating interface including a plurality of contacts, a resilient member adjacent the mating interface, the resilient member positioned relative to the mating interface to be deformed by the second connector in the mating direction when mated with the connector, and a locking member positioned to be engaged with a complementary locking member of the second connector, the locking member positioned relative to the plurality of mating contacts such that the second connector is positioned relative to the plurality of mating contacts by the resilient member and the locking member.
In another aspect , the connector is implemented as the portion of an interconnection system that includes a 0 th connector and a second connector configured to mate with the 1 th connector, wherein the th and second connectors each include a th plurality of contacts and a second plurality of contacts and are configured to have a step distance, wherein the th connector includes a th resilient member, and the th resilient member is constructed and arranged to bias the second connector away from the th connector to provide a stub length that is shorter than the step distance when the second connector is mated with the th connector such that the th and the second plurality of contacts overlap.
In yet another aspect, a connector is embodied within a connector assembly comprising a connector and a second connector, wherein of the 0 connector and the second connector comprises a plug on cable assembly comprising a cable configured to operate at frequencies in excess of 15GHz, the second connector being constructed and arranged to be mated with the th connector, and the th connector comprising a latch receiving opening, and the second connector comprising a latch having a locking tab, wherein the connector step comprises a th resilient member, the th resilient member being constructed and arranged for biasing the second connector away from the th connector when mated with the th connector, thereby engaging the locking tab with the latch receiving surface.
According to another aspect, a connector may be used in a method of operating an interconnection system including a th connector and a second connector, wherein the th connector has mating contacts positioned to engage with mating contacts in the second connector, the method including inserting the second connector into the th connector such that a resilient member is compressed between the th connector and the second connector, releasing the second connector such that the resilient member presses the second connector away from the th connector, engaging a latching feature of the th connector and a latching feature of the second connector such that the mating contacts of the th connector are positioned relative to the mating contacts of the second connector based on positions of the latching features of the th connector and the second connector.
It should be understood that the foregoing concepts and the additional concepts discussed below may be employed separately or in any suitable combination because the disclosure is not limited in this respect steps, other advantages and novel features of the disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of various non-limiting embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Drawings
The figures are not drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:
fig. 1 is a perspective view of a representative cable connector including a high frequency connector according to embodiments;
fig. 2 is a top, front, left perspective view of a connector according to embodiments, wherein its housing is made transparent;
fig. 3 is a side view of the mating interface between the connector of fig. 2 and a mating plug connector with
FIG. 4A is a front view of the connector of FIG. 1 prior to mating with a corresponding second connector;
FIG. 4B is a front view of the connector of FIG. 1 when mated with the corresponding second connector of FIG. 4A;
fig. 5A is a front schematic view of a mating connector in an initial mating position before the second connector is biased away from the th connector;
fig. 5B is a front schematic view of the mating connector of fig. 5A in a locked position after the second connector is biased away from the th connector;
fig. 6A is a side schematic view of the mating connector of fig. 4A in an initial mating position;
FIG. 6B is a side schematic view of the mating connector of FIG. 6A in a locked position;
FIG. 7A is a partial close-up view of the mating connector of FIG. 4A in an initial mating position;
FIG. 7B is a partial close-up view of the mating connector of FIG. 4B in a locked position;
FIG. 8A is a front left top perspective view of the resilient member being attached to the connector;
FIG. 8B is a front left top perspective view of the cage being lowered over the connector to complete the connector, and
fig. 8C is a front left top perspective view of the completed connector.
Detailed Description
The inventors have recognized and appreciated that improved performance of the connector may be achieved with a "kicker" that urges mating connectors apart so that the mating position of the connectors is set by a locking mechanism on the connectors.
A "stub" is a conductive branch of a signal path that is open at the end.A stub is undesirable because the signal energy propagating along the signal path will split at the branch, such that a portion of the energy propagates along the stub.A signal energy is reflected back toward the signal path at the end of the stub, where it mixes with and interferes with the desired signal.
For example, stubs may be present in an electrical connector when a mating contact shaped as a beam is mated with a mating contact shaped as a pad. The connector cannot be manufactured so that the beam will reliably contact the end of the pad. Rather, the connector is designed such that the beams mate with the pads at a distance offset from the ends that exceeds the variation in beam-to-pad positioning that occurs during connector use. This positioning ensures that the beam and pad are still engaged even with the maximum positioning variation. However, the portion of the pad between its distal tip and the point of contact with the beam remains a stub.
, during the mating sequence, it is desirable for the conductive elements of each conductor to make initial contact before the connectors are fully mated and for the conductors to slide distances along each other before the connectors are fully mated the distance between the position of the th contact of the conductors and the position of the connection when the conductors are finally mated is referred to as the distance walked or wiping contact length, but for the purposes of this disclosure it will be referred to as the distance walked.
Since many modern connectors operate at signal frequencies in that range, the stub lengths are long enough to cause significant interference to signals at the connector operating frequency.
However, the connector is not actively pressed at as far as the kick will separate the connector into a controlled position where the stub length is less than the walking distance.
in some embodiments, the kickback can be implemented as or more resilient elements between the connectors. the connector can include a mating interface adapted to mate with the second connector when the second connector is pressed in the mating direction toward the mating interface. the connector can include at least a th resilient member adjacent the mating interface, the th resilient member being positioned relative to the mating interface such that the resilient member deforms in the mating direction when the two connectors are pressed at .
In embodiments, the mating ends of the respective connectors are brought up during mating of the connector to the second connector, the contacts of the connector make initial contact with the contacts of the second connector when the connector and the second connector are up, the contacts of the connector make frictional contact along the contacts of the second connector as the connectors are mated, and at least locking members of the connector make initial contact with the housing of the second connector.
As the connectors mate, the locking member may continue to slide while the locking member head is in contact with the components of the second connector until the locking member reaches the window in the locking component of the second connector.
As will be described in further , when the user releases the two connectors, the second connector is then biased in a direction opposite the mating direction by at least resilient members between the connectors so that the th and second connectors can be separated slightly.
The contacts of the th connector overlap the contacts of the second connector by a th length when the connectors are in an initial mating position before the second connector is moved by the resilient member when the connectors are separated by the bias from the resilient member, the th contact is in frictional contact with the second contacts in a direction opposite the mating direction until the connectors enter a locking position when the locking surface encounters the latch receiving surface, the th contact and the second contacts overlap by a second overlap length that is shorter than the th length in the locking position, thereby reducing the remaining short cross-sectional length of the second contacts.
In embodiments of the connector, the connector includes at least a first and a second resilient member, in embodiments, the projection of the housing of the first connector extends from the housing in a direction perpendicular to the mating direction, the first resilient member is an elongated member at least partially wrapped around the projection, in embodiments , the resilient member is secured to the connector by the cage such that the resilient member is retained between the cage and the housing, the elongated member may include a central portion flanked by a first end portion and a second end portion, when the resilient member is in a rest state prior to being reversibly deformed by the second connector, the first end portion and the second end portion of the resilient member extend above the projection in a direction opposite the mating direction, when the second connector is mated with the first connector, the second connector presses the resilient member in the mating direction such that the central portion is reversibly deformed in the mating direction, due to the resilient nature of the resilient member, when the second connector is latched, the resilient member releases the resilient member from the second connector receiving surface such that the resilient member is reversibly deformed in the mating direction.
The kickback component may generate a force at least as great as , e.g., at least 20N, with the connector unmating force being defined as a force sufficient to cause the th and second connectors to move opposite the mating direction while in the mated position for purposes of this disclosure the desired force may be generated by selecting a spring constant of the resilient member forming the kickback piece in embodiments the force commonly applied by the resilient member may be less than or equal to 50N, less than or equal to 40N, less than or equal to 30N, less than or equal to 20N, less than or equal to 10N, or less than or equal to 5N in embodiments the force may be greater than or equal to 5N, greater than or equal to 10N, greater than or equal to 20N, greater than or equal to 30N, greater than or equal to 40N, or greater than or equal to 50N, combinations of the above ranges also being possible (e.g., greater than or equal to 5N and less than or equal to 50N).
Turning to the drawings, specific non-limiting embodiments are described in more detail. It should be understood that the various systems, components, features and methods described with respect to these embodiments may be used alone and/or in any desired combination, as the present disclosure is not limited to only the specific embodiments described herein.
While specific connector shapes, cable thicknesses, cable shapes, cable numbers, and configurations are depicted, it should be understood that fig. 1 is merely representative.
Fig. 1 is an example of a cable assembly that terminates in a plug connector that may be used with a kickback as described herein, hi this example, the plug connector has a mating interface formed as a printed circuit board with contact pads on or both surfaces.
Fig. 2 is a th or receptacle connector according to embodiments the
In the illustrated embodiment, the
The
In the illustrated embodiment, two resilient members are shown. Each resilient member is formed from an elongated member that has been bent into a shape that will deform and generate a spring force. The resilient member may be formed of any material that will elastically deform, but preferably not yield, when compressed during connector mating. Many metals may be suitable for this purpose.
The
The resilient member may be secured to
FIG. 3 shows a side view of the mating interface of
As can be seen, the central portion 302 of the
The elastic member's end portion 304 and second end portion 306 wrap around the
Fig. 4A illustrates portion of the mating sequence when a user presses the
Fig. 4A shows a mating interface on the
During mating, the user may press
As shown in FIG. 3, the initial insertion depth has the deepest possible mating distance between the two connectors, as the housings for the two connectors mechanically block any further mating depth, then the user may stop pressing the connectors at , without an external force pressing the connectors at , the spring force stored in the resilient member may then kick the
In the mated configuration of fig. 4B, the connector mates with the pads of
Fig. 5A-5B and 6A-6B illustrate how the mated position of fig. 4B is established and how the resilient member operates to reduce the stub length fig. 5A shows the connector with the side wall of the cage in place, step , fig. 5A shows the connector from the side containing the locking feature, which is opposite the side illustrated in fig. 4A.
In fig. 5A, the th and
As can be seen in FIG. 5A, when
The
In contrast, fig. 5B and 6B illustrate a configuration in which the relative positions of the
Regardless of the precise configuration of the projections, as they extend at least partially into the
Fig. 6A and 6B show how the stub lengths are reduced, fig. 6A is a cross-section of the mating interface in the configuration of fig. 5A, in this cross-section, the locking
The
In contrast, fig. 6B illustrates the mating interface in the configuration of fig. 5B. As can be seen in that configuration,
The mating contacts of
The mating contacts from
The contact position in the configuration of fig. 6B is shown by reference line 606B the distance between reference line 606B and
As a comparison of FIGS. 6A and 6B, it is shown that when the user has mated the two connectors and released the two connectors, there is no longer a force holding the two connectors in the fully inserted position, at which point the resilient members exert a spring force to partially unmate the second connector due to the spring constant of the
FIGS. 7A and 7B provide enlarged views of the locking interface between two connectors according to
Fig. 8A-8C illustrate an exemplary method of assembling a connector according to embodiments
According to some embodiments , the connector is inserted into the second connector such that the resilient member is compressed between the two connectors, then the user releases the connectors such that the resilient member biases the second connector away from the connector, causing the locking surface of the second connector to engage the latch receiving surface of the connector, movement of the connectors away from each other changes the relative positions of the th contact and the second contact, thereby reducing the stub length.
In embodiments, the final stub length for the locking position can be 5mm, less than or equal to 4mm, less than or equal to 3mm, less than or equal to 2mm, less than or equal to 1.5mm, less than or equal to 1mm in embodiments, the stub length can be greater than or equal to 1mm, greater than or equal to 1.5mm, greater than or equal to 2mm, greater than or equal to 3mm, greater than or equal to 4mm, or greater than or equal to 5 mm.
In some embodiments, the initial distance traveled by the connector when it enters the initial locked position can be up to 10mm, up to 9mm, up to 8mm, up to 7mm, up to 6mm, up to 5mm, up to 4mm, up to 3mm, or up to 2mm in various embodiments embodiments the initial distance traveled can be greater than or equal to 2mm, greater than or equal to 3mm, greater than or equal to 4mm, greater than or equal to 5mm, or greater than or equal to 6mm, greater than or equal to 7mm, greater than or equal to 8mm, greater than or equal to 9mm, or greater than or equal to 10 mm.
It should be understood that while specific male and female connectors are described, the present disclosure is not directed exclusively to regarding individual ones of the two connectors, or even does not necessarily describe the connectors as separate entities.
The interlocking system comprising the locking interface and the resilient member biasing the connectors into the locked position may also be a separate system from the physically described embodiments of the two connectors. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the teachings provided can be applied to connector shapes and systems other than those specifically outlined herein, and the present disclosure should not be limited to the described structures and shapes.
While the depicted and described embodiment shows th and second resilient members, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that any number of resilient members may be used as long as the resilient member(s) are capable of generating the necessary de-mating force to bias the connector into the locked position.
The improved electrical performance of the described connector is expected to operate at frequencies in excess of 15 GHz. However, frequencies below 15GHz are also envisaged. At frequencies of 10-15GHz, the connector is expected to have an impedance variation of less than + -5%.
Various aspects of the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings, for example, aspects described in embodiments may be combined in any way with aspects described in other embodiments.
Thus, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than that shown, which may include performing acts simultaneously, even though these acts are shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.
further, actions are described as being made by a "user" it should be understood that a "user" need not be a single individual, and in embodiments, actions attributable to a "user" may be performed by an individual team and/or a combination of individuals and computer-aided tools or other mechanisms.
While several embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the functions, and/or obtaining the results and/or the advantages of therein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.
However, the kickbacks described herein may be used with right angle connectors and/or with connectors that are attached to a board using other techniques, such as press-fit or BGA attachment.
The techniques described herein may be used with other styles of connectors , including backplane and mezzanine connectors, as well as other connectors configured to join two printed circuit boards.
As an example of another variation, in embodiments the resilient member is described as a spring clip, however, a coil spring, a block of resilient material, or any other structure capable of generating a spring force may alternatively or additionally be used.
it should be understood that embodiments are shown in which the resilient member is attached to the receptacle and the latch is attached to the plug these features may be on either or both of the mating connectors.
While this mode of operation is common, the present invention is not limited to embodiments in which the plug is pushed toward the receptacle, as the techniques described herein work regardless of which component is fixed and which component is moving.
As another example, locking
More , one skilled in the art will readily recognize that all of the parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary, and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the teachings of the present invention are used.
As used herein in the specification, the indefinite articles " (a and an)" should be understood to mean "at least " unless expressly indicated to the contrary.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, "or" should be understood to have the same meaning as "and/or" as defined above, e.g., "or" and/or "should be interpreted as being inclusive, e.g., of at least elements of a plurality of elements or a list of elements, but also containing or more elements, and optionally including additional unlisted items when dividing the plurality of items in the list only terms explicitly indicated to the contrary, e.g.," only 0 "or" exactly 1 "or" consisting of … … "when used in the claims, refer to containing exactly elements of the plurality of elements or list of elements , in general terms of" either "," "," only of … … ", or" exactly of "… …", the term "or" as used herein should be interpreted merely as an indicative alternative to an item (e.g., "either 3556 or" if used exclusively in 36 ", but not used in the other words," or "3683" has the ordinary meaning of … … ".
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase "at least " referring to a list of or more elements should be understood to mean at least elements selected from any or more elements in the list of elements, but not is intended to encompass at least 3 elements of each and all elements specifically listed within the list of elements, and does not exclude any combination of elements in the list of elements this definition also allows for the optional presence of elements other than the elements specifically identified in the list of elements, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified, in addition to the phrase "at least 4" thus, as a non-limiting example, in embodiments, "at least of A and B" (or equivalently, "at least of A or B", or equivalently, "at least of A and/or B") may mean that at least : is absent and that no more than A is included (or that at least 35468 a is included in addition to the optional elements, and that in addition to 354642, optionally, at least 354642 is included in addition to , optionally, and that in addition to , optionally, at least 35466, including at least 35466, and optionally, in addition to , and , optionally, including at least , in addition to , and , optionally, and , including at least one other elements.
It should also be understood that, in any methods claimed herein that include more than steps or actions, the order of the steps or actions of the method is not limited to as to the order in which the steps or actions of the method are recited, unless explicitly indicated to the contrary.
In the claims, as well as in the description above, all transitional phrases such as "comprising", "including", "carrying", "having", "containing", "involving", "holding", "consisting of … …" and the like are to be understood as open, i.e. to mean including but not limited to. As described in the united states patent office patent examination program manual, section 2111.03, only the transitional phrases "consisting of … …" and "consisting essentially of … …" should be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively.
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