SDL connector
Encyclopedia
Electrical connector
An electrical connector is an electro-mechanical device for joining electrical circuits as an interface using a mechanical assembly. The connection may be temporary, as for portable equipment, require a tool for assembly and removal, or serve as a permanent electrical joint between two wires or...
in which the signal
Signal (electrical engineering)
In the fields of communications, signal processing, and in electrical engineering more generally, a signal is any time-varying or spatial-varying quantity....
pins are surrounded by a metal shield
Electromagnetic shielding
Electromagnetic shielding is the process of reducing the electromagnetic field in a space by blocking the field with barriers made of conductive and/or magnetic materials. Shielding is typically applied to enclosures to isolate electrical devices from the 'outside world' and to cables to isolate...
. The connector was designed by AMP (now Tyco
Tyco International
Tyco International Ltd. is a highly diversified global manufacturing company incorporated in Switzerland, with United States operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey...
) and is available with a range of pins (4 to 16). It also features a locking mechanism and is available in differently keyed plugs that correspond to the proper socket.
It has been used by several different products, most notably on the original IBM Model M keyboard with a detachable cable, and on HP HIL
HIL bus
The HP-HIL , not to be confused with the HP-IL, is the name of a computer bus used by Hewlett-Packard to connect keyboards, mice, trackballs, digitizers, tablets, barcode readers, rotary knobs, touchscreens, and other human interface peripherals to their HP 9000 workstations...
devices (such as keyboards and mice). The connector was also used by AMF for their line of Accuscore automatic scoring systems for bowling. Some of the SDL connectors are still manufactured but are no longer common on consumer electronic devices.