Patent ID: 7488222

Claim:
An electrical connector, comprising: (a) an electrically insulative housing having a surface and a plurality of cavities, wherein each of the cavities has a bottom portion, defined by the surface, that is open to the environment around the electrical connector; and (b) a plurality of power contacts, each of the plurality of power contacts being disposed in one of the plurality of cavities and comprising: a first panel; a second panel opposing and spaced apart from the first panel, wherein the first and second panels are mechanically coupled to each other; a first contact beam mechanically coupled to the first panel and extending generally from the first panel in a first direction; a second contact beam mechanically coupled to the second panel and extending generally from the second panel in the first direction; the first and the second contact beams each having an inwardly angled contact section capable of being pressed toward each other by a receptacle contact having substantially parallel panels positioned in a mating connector when the connector is mated with the mating connector to define an air flow path between the first and second contact beams that extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the housing surface; and a plurality of contact terminals extending from the first or second panels in a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction.