Male electrical terminal with anti-overstress means
AssigneeMolex Incorporated
InventorRupert J. Fry
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A male electrical terminal is stamped and formed from sheet metal material and includes a rear terminating portion and a front mating portion. The mating portion is formed by at least three forwardly extending cantilevered beams to allow inward flexing movement of the beams relative to each other. The beams are formed with inwardly tapered free ends positioned and configured relative to each other such that each inwardly tapered free end is engageable with an edge of at least another inwardly tapered free end when any beam is over-flexed inwardly to provide complementarily interengaging anti-overstress means between the beams.
Claims11
In a male electrical terminal stamped and formed from sheet metal material and including a rear terminating portion and a front mating portion, the mating portion being formed by at least three cantilevered beams extending forward from said rear portion to allow inward flexing movement of the beams relative to each other, wherein the improvement comprises anti-overstress portions formed at the free ends of the cantilevered beams positioned and configured relative to each other such that a surface of each anti-overstress portion is engageable with a longitudinally extending edge of at least another anti-overstress portion when any beam is over-flexed inwardly to provide complementarily interengaging anti-overstress means between the beams.
In a male electrical terminal which includes a rear terminating portion and a front mating portion, the mating portion being formed by at least three forwardly extending cantilevered beams to allow inward flexing movement of the beams relative to each other, wherein the improvement comprises anti-overstress portions formed at the free ends of the cantilevered beams positioned and configured relative to each other such that a surface of each anti-overstress portion is engageable with the surface of at least another anti-overstress portion when any beam is over-flexed inwardly to provide complementarily interengaging anti-overstress means between the beams.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.