Female blade terminal

An electrical female blade terminal assembly including a female blade terminal having a front cage structure, which includes a plurality of longitudinally extending parallel beam portions and is adapted to slidably receive a male blade terminal, and a rear connector structure for connection to a further conductive member;

• and a tubular shroud adapted to be positioned over the cage structure in surrounding relation to the beam portions;
• characterized in that:
• the shroud has a seamless tubular cross-sectional configuration;
• and
• the cage structure includes front and rear annular collar portions defining front and rear radially outer annular seating surfaces to seat the shroud, the beam portions extend between the collar portions, and the radially outer surfaces of the beam portions are radially recessed with respect to the annular seating surfaces of the collar portions.

An electrical female blade terminal comprising:

• a rear connector structure for electrical connection to a further conductive member;
• and
• a front annular cage structure adapted to slidably receive a male blade terminal and including front and rear annular collar portions and a plurality of parallel, circumferentially spaced beam portions extending longitudinally between the collar portions, and having a thickness less than the thickness of the collar portions;
• radially inner surfaces of the beam portions being flush with radially inner surfaces of the collar portions and radially outer surfaces of the beam portions being radially recessed with respect to radially outer surfaces of the collar portions.

A method of forming an electrical female blade terminal comprising the steps of:

• providing a flat piece of conductive sheet material of a given thickness and having an elongated reduced thickness portion extending transversely of the piece proximate but spaced rearwardly from a front edge of the piece to leave a front end strip of said given thickness;
• forming a plurality of longitudinally extending parallel slits in and extending across the reduced thickness portion to define a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending beam portions of reduced thickness extending across the reduced thickness portion;
• and
• forming the front end of the piece into an annular cage structure sized to slidably receive a male blade terminal with the front end strip forming an annular collar at the front end of the piece and the reduced thickness beam portions extending rearwardly from the annular collar and spaced circumferentially about the cage structure.

A method of forming an electrical female blade terminal comprising the steps of:

• providing a piece of conductive sheet material of a given thickness and having an elongated reduced thickness portion extending transversely of the piece proximate a front end of the piece;
• forming a plurality of longitudinally extending parallel slits in and extending across the reduced thickness portion to define a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending beam portions of reduced thickness extending across the reduced thickness portion;
• forming the front end of the piece into an annular cage structure sized to slidably receive a male blade terminal with the beam portions spaced circumferentially about the cage structure;
• providing a shroud of tubular configuration;
• and
• positioning the shroud over the cage structure in surrounding relation to the beam portions.