Connector for a chip carrier unit

A connector for mounting a chip carrier unit in an electronic circuit comprising an electrically insulating body having a bottom, side walls upstanding from the bottom, and a plurality of openings spaced in the bottom around a common axis. and a plurality of resilient, electrically conductive contacts disposed in respective body openings to resiliently engage terminal means on opposite sides of a chip carrier unit inserted into the connector along the common axis, the connector body having ramp surfaces on the side walls facing the common axis and inclined relative to the common axis to face away from the bottom of the body, characterized in that the body side walls have a plurality of guide slot portions of V-shaped cross section therein in selected locations relative to respective body openings, and in that the contacts comprise wire members of substantially round cross section each having one end secured in a respective body opening to permit relatively low force cantilever spring deflection of the contacts for accommodating the chip carrier unit therebetween, each contact having a bent portion of the round wire cross section at an opposite end slidable along a narrow line of engagement with an adjacent side wall ramp surface extending along the direction of incline in the ramp surface, having a bowed portion of the round wire cross section intermediate the contact ends bowed away from the adjacent side wall ramp surface to slidably engage the terminal means on the chip carrier unit along a narrow line of engagement extending in the direction of insertion of the chip carrier unit into the connector to permit selected flattening of the bowed contact portion and said sliding of the opposite contact end on the adjacent side wall ramp surface for providing simple beam spring deflection of the contact with relatively much greater force to resiliently engage the terminal means with more precisely predetermined contact forces, and each contact having an additional portion of the round wire cross section location between the contact bowed portion and said one contact end disposed in centered engagement with the body side wall within a respective guide slot portion of V-shaped cross section to guide and facilitate pivoting of the bowed contact portion relative to said centered engagement.