Patent ID: 7344399

Claim:
An electrical connector ( 22 ) for connecting a flat electrical circuit ( 24 ) to a printed circuit board, comprising: a dielectric housing ( 26 ) having an opening ( 28 ) at a front portion ( 26 a ) thereof for receiving an end of the flat circuit; a plurality of terminals ( 32 , 38 ) mounted on the housing in a side-by-side array and spaced along the opening; an actuator ( 30 ) movably mounted for pivotal movement at a rear portion ( 26 b ) of the housing between an open position allowing the flat circuit to be inserted into said opening and a closed position biasing at least some of the terminals against the flat circuit, the actuator having a cam portion ( 30 a ) with first ( 30 b ) and second ( 30 c ) cam surfaces; some of said terminals comprising contact terminals ( 32 ) having flexible contact arms ( 32 c ), with opposed first and second edges, the first edge engageable by the first cam surface ( 30 b ) of the cam portion ( 30 a ) of the actuator ( 30 ) to bias the second edge of the contact arms into engagement with the flat circuit, and tail portions ( 32 b ) for connection to appropriate circuit traces on the printed circuit board; and some of said terminals comprising pivot/cam terminals ( 38 ) having pivot means ( 42 ) to mount the actuator for pivotal movement between said open and closed positions, and a cam surface ( 38 g ) for engaging the second cam surface ( 30 c ) of the cam portion of the actuator to provide a back-up for the cam portion as the first cam surface ( 30 b ) of the cam portion biases the flexible contact arms of the contact terminals against the flat circuit.