High reliability sliding power connector

A power connector, comprising:

• an insulative housing;
• a plurality of connector terminals held within the insulative housing, each of the plurality of connector terminals comprising:
• a conductive base;
• a plurality of contact fingers integral with the conductive base, wherein each of the plurality of contact fingers comprises a contact surface at a distal end;
• and
• wherein:
• the contact surfaces of the plurality of contact fingers of the plurality of connector terminals face in a first direction;
• the insulative housing comprises a tab adjacent to and offset in the first direction from the distal ends of at least a portion of the plurality of contact fingers;
• the insulative housing comprises a plurality of tracks configured to guide a bus bar to slide relative to the plurality of connector terminals;
• the plurality of tracks are elongated in a sliding direction;
• the plurality of connector terminals are disposed in a first and a second row;
• the first row is spaced from the second row in the sliding direction;
• and
• the plurality of contact fingers of the connector terminals in the first row are offset from the plurality of contact fingers of the second row in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction.

A method for pre-loading contact fingers in a connector comprising at least one connector terminal and an insulative housing, wherein the at least one connector terminal comprises at least one conductive base and a plurality of contact fingers arranged in a plurality of groups of parallel contact fingers integral with and extending from a conductive base of the at least one conductive base, the plurality of groups of parallel contact fingers comprising a first group of parallel contact fingers and a second group of parallel contact fingers, each of the plurality of contact fingers having a contact surface and a rest state with respect to the at least one conductive base, and the insulative housing comprises a track elongated in a direction from a first side to a second side of the insulative housing, the track comprising a first lead-in portion at the first side having a first tapered surface for guiding an edge of a bus bar and a second lead-in portion at the second side for guiding the edge of the bus bar, and a plurality of tabs comprising a first tab at the first side of the insulative housing having a tapered surface that is parallel to and aligned with the first tapered surface of the track and a second tab at the second side of the insulative housing having a tapered surface that is parallel to and aligned with the second tapered surface of the track, the method comprising:

• inserting the at least one connector terminal into the insulative housing such that each tab of the plurality of tabs contacts the distal ends of a respective group of the plurality of groups of parallel contact fingers;
• further inserting the at least one connector terminal into the insulative housing such that the plurality of contact fingers are deflected in a direction from the rest state towards the at least one conductive base as a result of contact with the plurality of tabs;
• and
• securing the plurality of connector terminals to the insulative housing with contact surfaces of the plurality of contact fingers of the at least one connector terminal exposed through at least one opening in the insulative housing and facing in a first direction such that the plurality of contact fingers of the plurality of connector terminals are retained in a state deflected from their respective rest states.

A sliding power connector, comprising:

• a housing comprising a track elongated in a sliding direction and configured to guide an edge of a bus bar;
• a plurality of power connector terminals mounted in the housing, wherein each of the plurality of power connector terminals comprises a plurality of contact fingers, and each of the plurality of contact fingers comprises a contact surface thereon;
• wherein:
• at least a first power connector terminal of the plurality of power connector terminals is offset from a second power connector terminal of the plurality of power connector terminals in the sliding direction;
• at least a portion of the first power connector terminal is aligned with at least a portion of the second power connector terminal in the sliding direction;
• the plurality of contact fingers of the first power connector terminal are offset from the plurality of contact fingers of the second power connector terminal in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction;
• and
• the contact surfaces of the plurality of contact fingers of the first power connector terminal are positioned to make wear tracks on a bus bar sliding in the track that are interspersed with and offset, in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction, from wear tracks on the bus bar made by the contact surfaces of the plurality of contact fingers of the second power connector terminal.