The invention relates to the field of terminal fittings, particularly to terminal fittings used in electrical connectors.
Currently, electrical connectors transmit power and signal through a contact interface typically comprising a female receptacle terminal and a male blade terminal. The terminals are made of a conductive base material such as a copper-based alloy. The base material has a plating layer deposited over at least the contacting portions of the terminal system. Plating materials include and are not limited to gold, silver, tin and nickel. In these terminal systems during mating and un-mating, the plating material has a tendency to wear away or get ploughed. This degradation increases insertion force and electrical resistance.
There exists a need for an improved terminal system having increased wear resistance.
An important factor to control in the design of an electrical terminal is the force required to mate the female receptacle terminal with a male blade terminal. This is especially important in connector arrangements comprising multiple female receptacle terminals configured to mate simultaneously with a corresponding number of male blade terminals, since the overall insertion force will be a multiple of the single insertion force required for a single set of male and female terminals. Another important factor is the repeatability of the insertion force over a number of mates and unmates, i.e. over a number of connection and disconnection cycles. In known electrical connectors, the inventors have identified that a significant amount of wear takes place when the male blade terminal is inserted into the female receptacle terminal. As this wear worsens over the use of the electrical connectors, the insertion force can become greater and/or less predictable over time. The inventors have devised a solution to this problem as outlined below.
According to an embodiment, there is provided a female receptacle terminal for an electrical connector, the female receptacle terminal comprising any or all of the following features: a receptacle with an insertion axis and an opening configured to receive a male blade terminal into the receptacle in an insertion direction along the insertion axis; a resilient contact beam extending from a top part of the receptacle towards an opposed bottom part of the receptacle; and at least one contact surface configured to engage with the male blade terminal during insertion of the male blade terminal into the receptacle, the at least one contact surface being provided on at least one of the resilient contact beam and the bottom part and comprising: a contact bump projecting into the receptacle in a transverse direction and having an outer shape which is curved both in the insertion direction and in a width direction of the receptacle; and a guide portion projecting into the receptacle in the transverse direction and having an outer shape which is linear in the width direction and parallel to the bottom part in a plane perpendicular to the insertion direction, the guide portion being positioned adjacent to the contact bump and closer to the opening than the contact bump such that, during insertion of a male blade terminal into the receptacle, the guide portion engages the male blade terminal before the contact bump.
By providing a contact surface having the above arrangement, a male blade terminal being inserted into the receptacle will first encounter the guide portion before moving towards its fully inserted position and encountering the contact bump. By arranging the guide portion to have an outer shape which is linear in the width direction and parallel to the bottom part in a plane perpendicular to the insertion direction, the guide portion can provide a line contact at an interface between the contact surface and the male blade terminal. This distributes the force across a significant proportion of the width of the male blade terminal. By arranging the contact bump to have an outer shape which is curved both in the insertion direction and in the width direction of the receptacle, a point contact interface is provided between the contact surface and the male blade terminal. In this way, as the male blade terminal is being inserted into the receptacle, it will engage the guide portion along a linear contact interface before engaging the contact bump at a point contact interface. The inventors have identified that this provides an advantageous distribution of pressure across the male blade terminal while reducing significant wear formations during mating, while still providing a good electrical connection via the contact bump once the male blade terminal has been fully inserted. Overall, this arrangement reduces the insertion force and reduces or eliminates wear of the terminal contact surfaces, thereby providing easy to assembly and more robust electrical connectors.
The at least one contact surface may comprise a top contact surface on the resilient contact beam. In such embodiments, the contact bump and the guide portion of the contact surface both project into the receptacle in a downward transverse direction, i.e. towards the bottom part of the receptacle. The resilient contact beam may extend along the insertion axis. The resilient contact beam may have a straight primary shape. The resilient contact beam may have a primary shape comprising a front portion which may extend towards the bottom part in the insertion direction. In such embodiments, the front portion flares outwards towards the opening to ease insertion of the male blade terminal. The resilient contact beam may further comprise a rear portion which may extend away from the bottom part in the insertion direction. The resilient contact beam may further comprise a beam apex which may be located between the front and rear portions. This may provide an advantageous arrangement in which the guide portion is provided by a bend in the resilient contact beam. Alternatively or in addition, the guide portion may be provided by an additional surface feature on the resilient contact beam.
The contact beam may have a bump apex which is rearward of the beam apex in the insertion direction. The bump apex may be located at least 0.05 mm rearward of the beam apex. The bump apex may be located preferably at least 0.1 mm rearward of the beam apex. For example, the bump apex may be at least 0.1 mm, at least 0.15 mm, at least 0.2 mm, at least 0.25 mm, at least 0.3 mm, or at least 0.35 mm rearward of the beam apex in the insertion direction. Such an offset can provide an advantageous distance over which the transition between the line contact provided by the guide portion and the point contact provided by the contact bump is realised. The beam apex may define a leading edge of the guide portion. The beam apex may have a part-cylindrical outer surface shape. The radius of curvature of the part-cylindrical outer surface shape may be from 0.2 mm to 2 mm, preferably from 0.2 mm to 1.2 mm.
The at least one contact surface may comprise a bottom contact surface on the bottom part. The guide portion may comprise a ramp. The ramp may have a front end which may be adjacent to the bottom part. The ramp may have a rear end which may be adjacent to a bump apex of the contact bump. By providing the guide portion as a ramp, the contact interface between the male blade terminal and the contact surface can transition gradually from a line contact at the front end of the ramp towards a point contact at the bump apex. The provision of a ramp may also allow the contact surface of the bottom part to be formed by a convenient manufacturing process such as by stamping.
An upper surface of the ramp may define a ramp angle in the insertion direction from the front end to the rear end which is substantially constant. The upper surface of the ramp may linearly increase in height from the front end to the rear end. The upper surface of the ramp may have a first width at the front end and may have a second width at the rear end. The first width may be greater than the second width. This may allow the contact interface between the male blade terminal and the bottom contact surface to transition gradually from a line contact at the front end of the ramp to a narrower line contact at the rear end of the ramp and thereby ease the transition to the point contact at the bump apex. The upper surface of the ramp may be tapered linearly from the first width to the second width. The first width may extend across at least 40% of a width of the bottom part, preferably at least 50% of the width of the bottom part. The ramp angle may be any suitable angle. In certain embodiments, the ramp angle is no greater than 20 degrees from the insertion axis.
The guide portion may be spaced from the contact bump. The guide portion may be contiguous with the contact bump. The guide portion may intersect a front region of the contact bump. The guide portion may intersect the front region at an intersection boundary at which the contact bump has a first gradient in the insertion direction and the guide portion has a second gradient in the insertion direction. The first and second gradients may be substantially the same. In other words, the guide portion may extend from the contact bump at a tangent to the contact bump at the intersection boundary. This may provide a smooth transition between the guide portion and the contact bump. The outer shape of the contact bump may be part-spherical.
The at least one contact surface may comprise a single contact surface in the form of a bottom contact surface provided on the bottom part, in accordance with any of the embodiments discussed above. The at least one contact surface may comprise a single contact surface in the form of a top contact surface provided on the resilient contact beam, in accordance with any of the embodiments discussed above. In certain arrangements, the at least one contact surface comprises both a bottom contact surface provided on the bottom part in accordance with any of the embodiments discussed above and a top contact surface provided on the resilient contact beam in accordance with any of the embodiments discussed above.
The female receptacle terminal may comprise a body having a connection section. The connection section may be configured for coupling to a conductor. The body may further comprise a contacting section which may be configured for providing an electrical connection to a mating male blade terminal. The contacting section may comprise the resilient contact beam. The female receptacle terminal may further comprise a covering. The contacting section of the body may be received within the covering to define the receptacle of the female receptacle terminal. In other embodiments, the female receptacle terminal may comprise a single unitary structure.
The contacting section of the body may further comprise a stationary beam. The stationary or fixed beam may extend in the insertion direction and may oppose the resilient contact beam. The stationary or fixed beam may define at least part of the bottom part of the receptacle. The contact surface on the bottom part may be provided on the stationary beam.
The bottom part of the receptacle may be defined at least in part by a bottom wall of the receptacle. Where the female receptacle terminal comprises a covering, the bottom wall of the receptacle may be defined by a bottom wall of the covering. The bottom contact surface may be provided on the bottom wall.
The top part of the receptacle may be defined at least in part by a top wall of the receptacle. Where the female receptacle terminal comprises a covering, the top wall of the receptacle may be defined by a top wall of the covering. The covering may further comprise a stiffening beam formed in the top wall. The stiffening beam may be cantilevered from a point on the top wall and bent downwards towards the resilient contact beam. The stiffening beam may be configured to provide increased resistance to upward deflection of the resilient contact beam during mating. The stiffening beam may be configured to provide increased normal force provided by the resilient contact beam to provide superior electrical connection. The covering may further comprise a support beam formed in the top wall and located immediately above the stiffening beam. The support beam may be cantilevered from a point on the top wall and bent downwards towards the resilient contact beam. The support beam may be configured to further increase resistance to upward deflection of the resilient contact beam during mating. The support beam may be configured to further increase normal force provided by the resilient contact beam to provide superior electrical connection.
The at least one contact surface may comprise a conductive base material and may comprise a plating layer deposited over the conductive base material. The plating layer may be formed from any suitable material. For example, the plating layer may be a tin plating layer, a silver plating layer, or a gold plating layer.
The plating layer may have any suitable thickness. In some arrangements, the plating layer is a tin plating layer having a thickness of from 2.5 microns to 4.0 microns.
The conductive base material may be formed from any suitable electrically conductive material. The conductive base material may comprise copper. The conductive base material may comprise or consist solely of a copper alloy. The at least one contact surface may comprise an intermediate layer between the conductive base material and the plating layer. The intermediate layer may be formed from any suitable material. The intermediate layer may comprise nickel. In some arrangements, the intermediate layer may consist solely of nickel or a nickel alloy.
According to another embodiment, there is provided a female receptacle terminal for an electrical connector, the female receptacle terminal comprising any or all of the following features: a receptacle with an insertion axis and an opening configured to receive a male blade terminal into the receptacle in an insertion direction along the insertion axis; a resilient contact beam extending from a top part of the receptacle towards an opposed bottom part of the receptacle; and at least one contact surface configured to engage with the male blade terminal during insertion of the male blade terminal into the receptacle, the at least one contact surface being provided on at least one of the resilient contact beam and the bottom part and comprising: a guide portion projecting into the receptacle in a transverse direction and configured to engage the male blade terminal along a linear contact interface during insertion of the male blade terminal; and a contact bump projecting into the receptacle in the transverse direction and configured to engage the male blade terminal at a point contact interface when the male blade terminal is mated with the female receptacle terminal.
The guide portion may be positioned closer to the opening than the contact bump. In this way, during insertion of the male blade terminal into the receptacle, the guide portion may engage the male blade terminal before the contact bump. This may allow the contact surface to engage the male blade terminal at a linear contact interface before engaging the male blade terminal at a point contact interface.
According to another embodiment, there is provided a female receptacle terminal for an electrical connector, the female receptacle terminal comprising any or all of the following features: a receptacle with an insertion axis and an opening configured to receive a male blade terminal having a predefined tip shape into the receptacle in an insertion direction along the insertion axis; a resilient contact beam extending from a top part of the receptacle towards an opposed bottom part of the receptacle and having a contact bump projecting into the receptacle, and at least one contact surface configured to engage with the male blade terminal during insertion of the male blade terminal into the receptacle, wherein the resilient contact beam is configured such that during insertion of the male blade terminal into the receptacle, the contact bump engages the predefined tip shape at an initial contact interface having an angle of no greater than 20 degrees to the insertion axis.
In certain embodiments, the angle at the contact interface, or the “attack angle”, is no greater than 16 degrees to the insertion axis. In certain embodiments, the angle is no greater than 10 degrees to the insertion axis. For a given normal force acting on the male blade terminal from the at least one contact surface, the attack angle can be optimised so as to reduce or eliminate wear depending on the specific application of the electrical connector.
According to another embodiment, there is provided a female receptacle terminal for an electrical connector, the female receptacle terminal comprising any or all of the following features: a receptacle with an insertion axis and an opening configured to receive a male blade terminal into the receptacle in an insertion direction along the insertion axis; a resilient contact beam extending from a top part of the receptacle towards an opposed bottom part of the receptacle; and at least one contact surface configured to engage with the male blade terminal during insertion of the male blade terminal into the receptacle, the at least one contact surface being provided on at least one of the resilient contact beam and the bottom part and being configured to reduce wear of the male blade terminal during insertion.
The receptacle may be configured to receive a male blade terminal with a predefined tip shape. The at least one contact surface may be configured to engage the predefined tip shape. The predefined tip shape may have a flat upper and/or flat lower contact surface. The surfaces of the predefined tip shape may be flat in the sense that they have no curvature along the width of the male blade terminal, i.e., they have no curvature in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the male blade terminal. The predefined tip shape may be tapered along a length of no greater than 1.5 mm. In certain embodiments, the predefined tip shape may be tapered along a length of no greater than 1.2 mm. As used herein, the term “tapered” means that the thickness of the male blade terminal gradually reduces in the height direction towards its nose or tip end. The distance over which the taper extends is defined as the dimension in the insertion direction from the extreme tip end to the point at which the thickness of the male blade terminal no longer reduces. This may be a point at which both the upper and lower contact surfaces of the male blade terminal are flat.
Also disclosed herein is a male blade terminal for an electrical connector, the male blade terminal comprising any or all of the following features: a conductive base material; a tin plating layer having a thickness of from 2.5 microns to 7 microns, preferably from 5 microns to 7 microns, and an intermediate layer between the conductive base material and the tin plating layer.
The male blade terminal may comprise a predefined tip shape as described above. The predefined tip shape may have a flat upper and/or flat lower contact surface. The surfaces of the predefined tip shape may be flat in the sense that they have no curvature along the width of the male blade terminal. The predefined tip shape may be tapered along a length of no greater than 1.5 mm. In certain embodiments, the predefined tip shape may be tapered along a length of no greater than 1.2 mm.
The conductive base material may be formed from any suitable electrically conductive material. The conductive base material may comprise copper. The conductive base material may be a copper alloy. The intermediate layer may comprise nickel. The intermediate layer may be formed from nickel or a nickel alloy. The intermediate layer may have a thickness of from 1.0 microns to 1.8 microns.
According to a further embodiment, there is provided an electrical connector comprising a female receptacle terminal in accordance with any of the embodiments discussed above, and a male blade terminal configured to be received in the receptacle.
According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of forming an electrical connection comprising any or all of the following steps: providing a female receptacle terminal, the female receptacle terminal comprising: a receptacle with an insertion axis and an opening configured to receive a male blade terminal into the receptacle in an insertion direction along the insertion axis; a resilient contact beam extending from a top part of the receptacle towards an opposed bottom part of the receptacle; and at least one contact surface configured to engage with the male blade terminal during insertion of the male blade terminal into the receptacle, the at least one contact surface being provided on at least one of the resilient contact beam and the bottom part; and inserting the male blade terminal into the receptacle, wherein the step of inserting is carried out by engaging the male blade terminal with the at least contact surface along a linear contact interface and subsequently engaging the male blade terminal with the at least one contact surface at a point contact interface.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof, presented by way of example only, and by reference to the drawings, in which:
As required, detailed embodiments of the disclosure are presented herein; however, and it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the disclosure.
The body 80 is formed in a longitudinal direction along the axis 35. The termination of the connecting portion 84 is generally positioned at the rear or first end of the body 80 and the contacting portion 82 is disposed at the front or second end of the body 80. The body 80 may be stamped and formed from a single piece of an electrically conductive material such as copper or any other copper-based alloy or similar material having comparable electrical conducting properties. In the illustrated arrangement, the connecting portion 84 is “U” shaped and comprises a first pair of wings 88 disposed adjacent the contacting portion 82 and a second pair of wing portions 89 positioned adjacent the first pair 88 of wing portions. The first pair 88 of wings can be used to secure a bare conductor portion of a cable (not shown) and the second pair 89 of wings can be used to secure an insulated portion of the cable.
The covering 30 may be stamped and formed from a flat plate and may include a periphery that is generally rectangular. The periphery may include a lower section 22 and a pair of side walls, extending from the lower section 22, and an upper section 24. In the arrangement of
The female receptacle terminal 10 comprises a resilient contact beam 100 extending from a top part of the receptacle towards a bottom part of the receptacle. In the illustrated arrangement, the top part is provided by the upper section 24 and the bottom part is provided by the lower section 22. As best shown in
At least one contact surface is provided to engage with the male blade terminal during insertion thereof into the receptacle. In the arrangement shown, a contact surface 103 is provided on the resilient contact beam 100. In particular, the contact surface is disposed on an underside of the resilient contact beam 100 so as to face a bottom part of the receptacle.
Another contact surface may instead, or additionally, be provided on the bottom part of the receptacle. In the arrangement shown, a contact surface 113 is provided on a topside of the bottom part of the receptacle, more particularly on a stationary or fixed beam 110 of the female receptacle terminal 10. The stationary beam 110 may extend from the body 80 and be configured to be slidably received by the covering 30 when the connecting portion 82 of the body 80 is inserted therein. In this way, contact surfaces 103, 113 may be provided at one or both sides of the receptacle in order to engage a male blade terminal received by the receptacle.
As shown in
As shown in
A retention beam 40 may be formed in the covering 30. In the arrangement shown, the retention beam 40 extends in an outwardly direction and is bent and cantilevered from the upper section 24 of the covering 30. The covering 30 may also comprise a stiffening beam 50 formed from the middle wall 26 in order to provide an additional support to the resilient contact beam 100. The covering 30 may also comprise a support beam 52 stacked on top of the stiffening beam 50 in order to provide additional support to the resilient contact beam 100. This provides increased resistance to deflection during mating and increases the normal force. By using higher tensile strength material in the covering 30, the normal force can be further increased.
The front portion 100a extends towards the bottom part in the insertion direction M. In the arrangement shown, the front portion 100a is disposed at a free end of the cantilevered contact beam 100 and extends towards the stationary beam 100 in the insertion direction M. In other words, the resilient contact beam 100 has a front portion 100a that is sloped downwards, towards the stationary beam 110, with respect to the insertion direction M.
The rear portion 100b extends away from the bottom part of the receptacle in the insertion direction M. In the embodiment shown in
The beam apex 100c connects the front portion 100a and rear portion 100b. As shown in
In an equilibrium position of the resilient contact beam 100, i.e., when it is not being displaced by any male blade terminal, the front portion 100a may slope upwards from the beam apex 100c towards the opening 20 at any suitable angle with respect to the insertion axis 35, for example from 5 degrees to 70 degrees, and the rear portion may extend upwards from the beam apex 100c in the insertion direction M at any suitable angle, for example from 2 degrees to 30 degrees. In the illustrated arrangement, the front portion 100a extends at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the insertion axis 35 and the rear portion 100b extends at an angle of approximately 10 degrees to the insertion axis 35. In the arrangement shown, the front portion 100a is closer to the opening 20 than the rear portion 100b.
The contact surface 103 of the resilient contact beam 100 comprises a contact bump 105. The contact bump 105 projects into the receptacle and has an outer shape which is curved both in the insertion direction M and in a width direction of the receptacle. That is to say, the contact bump is non-linear in both the insertion direction M and in the width direction, which is perpendicular to the insertion direction M and parallel to the plane of the bottom part of the receptacle. In the arrangement shown, the contact bump 105 has an at least part spherical surface. In other arrangements, the surface may be at least part ellipsoidal or ovoidal.
The contact bump 105 may have a bump apex 106 which is located rearward of the beam apex 100c in the insertion direction M. The bump apex 106 may be provided as the outermost point on the contact bump 105 with respect to the rear portion 100c. In other words, the bump apex 106 is the point on the surface of the contact bump 105 that is at a maximum perpendicular distance from the outer surface of the rear portion 100a of the resilient contact beam 100. The bump apex 106 may be located at least 0.25 mm rearward of the beam apex 100c. Preferably, the bump apex 106 is located at least 0.35 mm rearward of the beam apex 100c.
The contact surface 103 may also comprise a guide portion 101. In the arrangement shown, the guide portion 101 projects into the receptacle and has an outer shape which is linear in the width direction and parallel to the bottom part of the receptacle in a plane perpendicular to the insertion direction M. In other words, the guide portion 101 has no curvature in the width direction and is not tilted about the insertion axis 35.
The beam apex 100c may define a leading edge of the guide portion 101. In the arrangement shown, the beam apex 100c has a part-cylindrical outer surface shape. The radius of curvature of the part-cylindrical surface shape is preferably from 0.2 mm to 2 mm, more preferably from 0.2 mm to 1.2 mm. The guide portion 101 may be positioned closer to the opening 20 than the contact bump 105. In this way, during insertion of a male terminal blade into the receptacle via the opening 20, the guide portion 101 engages the male blade terminal before engaging the contact bump 105.
As best shown in
The contact bump 115 may have a bump apex 116. The bump apex 106 may be provided as the outermost point on the contact bump 115 with respect to the surface of the stationary beam 110. In other words, the bump apex 116 is the point on the surface of the contact bump 115 that is at a maximum perpendicular distance from the planar surface of the stationary beam 110.
The contact surface 113 may also comprise a guide portion 111. In the arrangement shown, the guide portion 111 projects into the receptacle and has an outer shape which is linear in the width direction and parallel to the bottom part of the receptacle in a plane perpendicular to the insertion direction M. In other words, the guide portion 111 has no curvature in the width direction and is not tilted about the insertion axis 35.
As best shown in
At least part of the guide portion 111 may overlap with the axial extent of the contact bump 115. In particular, a ramped portion of the guide portion 111 may overlap with the contact bump 115. In the arrangement shown, the rear end 111b of the ramp 111 is located at a position at least 20% along the axial extent of the contact bump 115 in the insertion direction M. In other examples, the rear end 111b of the ramp 111 may be located at a position at least 30 percent or at least 40 percent along the axial extent of the contact bump 115 in the insertion direction M. With reference to
In the vertical direction of
The bump apex 116 of the stationary beam 110 may be axially offset (i.e., offset in the direction of the insertion axis 35) from the bump apex 106 of the resilient contact beam 100 by any suitable distance according to the above-mentioned factors. The offset may be in the insertion direction or in the removal direction along the insertion axis 35. In the arrangement shown in
A front end of the stationary beam 110, that is, the end closest to the opening 20, may have a chamfered edge 90. At least one of the contact surfaces 103, 113 of the female receptacle terminal 10 comprises a conductive base material and a plating layer deposited over the conductive base material. In one embodiment, the plating layer comprises tin, preferably having a thickness of from 2.5 microns to 4 microns. The plating layer is preferably formed by a matte plating process. The conductive base material may comprise copper or a copper alloy and a nickel intermediate layer may be formed between the conductive base material and the plating layer. The plating layer may preferably be coated in a lubricating layer.
The main difference between this arrangement and that of
In
As shown in
Outer contact surfaces of the tip 302 are configured to contact the contact surfaces 103, 113 of the female receptacle terminal. Although not shown in the figures, the male blade terminal 300 is preferably of the type having a rectangular or square cross section such that a top surface 305 is configured to contact the first contact surface 103 of the female receptacle terminal, and a bottom surface 306 opposite the first surface is configured to contact a second contact surface 113. The predefined tip shape may have a flat upper and/or flat lower contact surface. The surfaces of the predefined tip shape may be flat in the sense that they have no curvature along the width of the male blade terminal, i.e., they have no curvature in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the male blade terminal and perpendicular to the height direction of the male blade terminal. Specifically, the upper and lower contact surfaces may be linear in the width direction and parallel to one another in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the male blade terminal.
The steepest slope of the surfaces 305, 306 is made at the extremity of the male blade terminal 300 shown in
In the illustrated arrangement, the male blade terminal 300 comprises a conductive base material 310, which may comprise copper or a copper alloy. A plating layer 314, preferably comprising tin, is provided on at least part of the outer surface of the tip 302. The male blade terminal 300 further includes an intermediate layer 312, preferably comprising nickel. The intermediate layer 312 is disposed between the conductive base material 310 and the plating layer 314. A lubricating layer may also be provided on the plating layer.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In some prior arrangements, the first contact between a male blade terminal and the female receptacle terminal occurs at a point contact interface near the end face of the male blade terminal, i.e., where the surface slope is greater. This can cause a higher shear stress on the contact surfaces, leading to an increased pile up of plating material on the male blade terminal, eventually resulting in increased wear and an associated increase in insertion force for subsequent mating operations and/or unpredictable insertion force.
By arranging the female receptacle terminal and male blade terminal according to this disclosure, the normal force is distributed across the surface 305, 306 of the male blade terminal 300 at the point of first contact, thereby reducing the degradation of the contact surfaces. However, at the shallower or flat portions of the male blade terminal (i.e., towards the right of the male blade terminal 300 in
With reference to
In
Various modifications, whether by way of addition, deletion and/or substitution, may be made to all of the above described embodiments to provide further embodiments, any and/or all of which are intended to be encompassed by the appended claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2021/058559 | 9/20/2021 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63081076 | Sep 2020 | US |