Patent ID: 8166623

Claim:
A method of connecting a pin to a housing of a connector with a connect force, which is less than a disconnect force to disconnect the pin from the housing, said method comprising: providing the housing with a bore and a housing groove, said housing groove comprising a bottom surface and a release surface that forms an angle to the bottom surface, wherein said angle between said bottom surface and said release surface is between 5° and 89°; providing a coil spring for use with the housing, said coil spring comprising a major axis, a minor axis, and a passage in between two coil sections; providing the pin with a longitudinal axis, a tapered end, and a pin groove comprising a groove bottom surface and a load surface that forms an angle to the groove bottom surface, which is less than ninety degrees; wherein the connect force is controlled by the major axis of the coil spring having a concave orientation to the longitudinal axis of the pin before the pin and the housing are moved relative to one another in a first direction to connect the pin to the housing; wherein the disconnect force is controlled by the angle of the release surface to bottom surface and the angle of the load surface to the groove bottom surface cooperating to force the major axis of the coil spring to rotate from a first position relative to the longitudinal axis to a second position relative to the longitudinal axis upon moving the pin and the housing relative to one another in a second direction, which is opposite the first direction, to disconnect the pin from the housing; and wherein the disconnect force is at least one time greater than the connect force.