Electrical connector with terminal retaining means

A receptacle-type electrical connector (1) for connecting conductors of a wire to pin terminals of a complementary connector comprises a dielectric housing (10) defining an array of terminal passageways (11) therein and corresponding receptacle terminals (30) assembled in the terminal passageways. The housing has front and rear faces and having front and rear openings (11b, 11c). A dam (13) is formed in each terminal passageway. A wedge (13a) rearwardly extends from the dam thereby defining a retaining gap (13b) in the passageway (11). Each terminal includes a base (30a). The base (30a) has a pair of first resilient arms (31) extending from a front portion thereof and adapted for engaging with a pin terminal of the complementary connector, a pair of second resilient arms (32) extending from a middle portion thereof, and tongue (34) projecting forward for being securely retained within the gap. The housing further forms a plurality of cantilevered flaps (12) extending forwardly from the rear face toward the front face, and a retaining space (12d) is defined at a front of each flap for retaining an anchoring foot (35) of the terminal. A cutout is positioned in the front portion of the base to increase resiliency of the first resilient arms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more
 particularly to an electrical connector with terminal retaining means for
 reliably and quickly positioning terminals therein.
 2. Description of Prior Art
 A variety of mating connectors employ pairs of interengaging terminals for
 connecting conductive wires to other circuit elements through the mated
 connectors. The terminal pairs may be pin and socket terminals.
 Conventionally, terminals are assembled in an array of passageways of a
 dielectric housing of the connector. Each terminal is inserted into a
 corresponding passageway along a longitudinal axis of the passageway and
 retaining means integrally formed on the terminal securely retain the
 terminal therein.
 Properly retaining the terminals in position within the passageways of such
 housings is problematic. Instability of the terminals results in terminal
 movement within the housing, particularly in transverse or angular
 directions with respective to the longitudinal axes of the passageway.
 Transverse or angular movement of a terminal causes terminal-to-terminal
 misalignment between complementary connectors, which may damage one or
 both of the mating terminals thereby resulting in partial or incomplete
 electrical connection. It is readily understood that pin and receptacle
 terminals must be properly positioned, stabilized and centered in order to
 accurately mate with corresponding receptacle and pin terminals. Such
 positioning is becoming more critical with the increasing miniaturization
 of electrical connectors.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,969 (hereinafter referred to as the '969 patent)
 discloses an electrical connector adapted for connecting a conductor of an
 electrical wire to a terminal of a mating connector. The '969 patent
 discloses a pair of elongate slots defined in a wall by a cavity of a
 dielectric housing. The terminal is provided with a free end portion which
 can be tightly received within the slots. By this arrangement, the
 terminal inserted into the cavity is prevented from transverse or angular
 movement. However, the structure of both the cavity and terminal is
 complicated.
 In addition, when the engaging area of a mating pair of terminals
 increases, the force between the increases correspondingly. Therefore,
 larger terminals having larger contacting areas experience larger forces
 during mating. Thus, reduction of these forces during mating between
 larger terminals is desired.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 An objective of this invention is to provide an electrical connector with
 terminal retaining means for reliably and quickly positioning terminals
 therein.
 Another objective of this invention is to provide an electrical connector
 terminal which provides a mating force in a controlled range when engaging
 with a corresponding mating terminal.
 To achieve these object, an electrical connector for connecting conductors
 of a conductive wire to a terminal of a complementary connector comprises
 a dielectric housing having an array of terminal passageways defined
 therein and a terminal inserted in each passageway. The housing has front
 and rear faces, and the passageways are defined between said front and
 rear faces and have front and rear openings. A dam is formed in each
 terminal passageway. A wedge rearwardly extends from the dam thereby
 defining a retaining gap in the passageway. Terminals are assembled in the
 terminal passageways and include a base. The base has a pair of first
 resilient arms extending upward from a front portion of the base and
 adapted for engaging with a pin terminal of the complementary connector, a
 pair of second resilient arms extending upward from a middle portion of
 the base for clamping the conductor of the wire, a pair of third resilient
 arms extending upward from a rear portion of the base for clamping the
 insulation of the wire, and a tongue projecting forward from a front edge
 of the front portion of the base and being securely retained within the
 gap. The housing further forms a plurality of cantilevered flaps extending
 forward from the rear face toward the front face, and a retaining space is
 defined at a front of each flap for retaining an anchoring foot of the
 terminal. In a second embodiment, a cutout divides the mating portion into
 two sections for reducing the normal force between the receptacle terminal
 and the mating terminal.
 These and additional objectives, features, and advantages of the present
 invention will become apparent after reading the following detailed
 description of the preferred embodiment of the invention taken in
 conjunction with the appended drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a receptacle connector 1 comprises a dielectric
 housing 10 forming a front face 10a and rear face 190b. An array of
 terminal passageways 11 is defined between the front and rear faces 10a,
 10b. Each upper passageway 11 is symmetrically arranged with a
 corresponding lower passageway 11. Each passageway 11 has an open ceiling
 11a forward a top or a bottom side (not labeled) of the housing 10 exposed
 to an outside which is partially covered by a flap 12 cantilevered forward
 from the rear face 10b. The flap 12 forms a block 12a having an inclined
 face 12b and a biasing face 12c. A retaining space 12d is defined between
 the biasing face 12c and a free end of the flap 12. Each passageway 11
 defines front and rear openings 11b, 11c for receiving a receptacle
 terminal 30 (only one terminal 30 being assembled therein for simplicity)
 and defines a front opening 11b and a rear opening 11c. A dam 13 is formed
 near the front opening 11b. A wedge 13a rearwardly extends from the dam 13
 thereby defining a retaining gap 13b in the passageway 11.
 Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the receptacle terminal 30 includes an elongate
 base 30a. A pair of first resilient arms 31 extends upward from a front
 portion of the base 30a and defines a receiving space 31a therebetween for
 receiving the corresponding pin terminal (not shown) of a complementary
 connector. The receiving space 31a aligns with the front opening 11b of
 the passageway 11. A pair of second resilient arms 32 extends upward from
 a middle portion of the base 30a. The second resilient arms 32 are for use
 in clamping a conductor of a wire (not shown). A pair of third resilient
 arms 33 extends upward from a rear portion of the base 30a for clamping
 the insulation of the wire. A tongue 34 projects forward from a front edge
 of the base 30a. An anchoring foot 35 rearwardly extends from the front
 portion of the base 30a.
 As shown in FIG. 3, when the receptacle terminal 30 is inserted into the
 passageway 11 from the rear opening 11c, the anchoring foot 35 slides over
 the inclined face 12b to push the flap 12 outward. The anchoring foot 35
 is finally retained within the retaining space 12d after the anchoring
 foot 35 passes the biasing face 12c. Meanwhile, the tongue 34 is securely
 received in the gap 13b whereby an angular movement of the receptacle
 terminal 30 is hindered. The flap 12 resumes its original position and the
 receptacle terminal 30 is securely positioned within the passageway 11.
 FIGS. 9 and 11, an electrical connector with receptacle terminals 30' in
 accordance with of a second embodiment of the present invention is shown.
 The second embodiment of both the connector and the receptacle terminals
 has an increased length in comparison with the first embodiment, resulting
 in each receptacle terminal 30' having a longer elongated base 30a'. A
 pair of first resilient arms 31' extends upward from a front portion (not
 labeled) of the base 30a' and defines a receiving space 31a' therebetween
 for receiving a corresponding pin terminal (not shown). A pair of second
 resilient arms 32' extends upward from a middle portion of the base 30a'
 for clamping a conductor of a wire. The second resilient arms 32' are
 stamped with a rib 320' at a middle portion of a lower face thereof to
 increase the strength of the arms. A pair of third resilient arms 33'
 extends upward from a rear portion of the base 30a' for clamping the
 insulation of the wire. A tongue 34' extends forward from a front edge of
 the front portion of the base 30a'. In addition, a cutout 36' is defined
 in the front portion of the base 30a', and an anchoring foot 35' is
 stamped downwardly from an edge facing the cutout 36', and generally
 positioned between the tongue 34' and the cutout 36', wherein the cutout
 36' is communicative with another cutout 38' which is formed after 3the
 anchoring foot 35' has been downwardly stamped out.
 As shown in FIG. 11, when the receptacle terminal 30' is inserted into the
 passageway 11' from the rear opening 11c', the anchoring foot 35' first
 slides over the inclined face 12b'. The anchoring foot 35' is finally
 retained within the retaining space 12d' after the anchoring foot 35'
 passes the biasing face 12c'. The tongue 34' is securely received in the
 gap 13b' whereby an angular movement of the receptacle terminal 30' is
 hindered. The flap 12', which is pushed outward by the anchoring foot 35'
 during the assembling process, resumes its original position after the
 receptacle terminal 30' is securely positioned within the passageway 11c'.
 The cutout 36' moves past the inclined face 12b' to a position on the
 upper face 12e' during this process.
 In the second embodiment, since the first resilient arms 31' have a
 relatively large longitudinal dimension, a relatively large force is
 required to insert/withdraw the pin into/from the receiving space 31a'.
 Such a large insertion force unfavourably affects the mating and unmating
 of the connector with the complementary pin connector, and thus the
 service life of the receptacle/pin terminals and the connector system may
 be shortened. The cutout 36' with the communicating cutout 38' is formed
 to make the first resilient arms more resilient, allowing the lengthened
 connector of the second embodiment to perform better and to last longer. A
 ring shaped recess might also be used in place of the cutout 36'.
 While the present invention has been described with reference to a specific
 embodiment, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to
 be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications to the
 present invention can be made to the preferred embodiment by those skilled
 in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the
 invention as defined by the appended claims.