Patent ID: 7153173

Claim:
An electrical connector for electrically connecting a first conductive part of a first article with a second conductive part of a second article, said electrical connector comprising an electrically conductive contact member that comprises: two contact member sidewalls extending parallel to one another with a space therebetween; a connecting part adapted to be mechanically and electrically connected to the first conductive part of the first article; a contacting part adapted to electrically contact the second conductive part of the second article; a flexible elastic part that extends between and interconnects said connecting part and said contacting part and includes a U-shaped curved portion between said connecting part and said contacting part, and that is elastically flexed into an elastically preloaded condition and is further elastically deflectable when said contacting part is pressed, so that said contacting part is movably supported by said flexible elastic part so as to be movable against an elastic bias force exerted by said flexible elastic part; and a holding member, as a part of said contact member, that protrudes into said space from one of said contact member sidewalls toward another of said contact member sidewalls, and that physically contacts said elastic part at a holding location between said U-shaped curved portion and said contacting part so as to restrain said elastic part in said elastically preloaded condition to prevent said elastic part from unflexing and relaxing out of said elastically preloaded condition; wherein at least all of an extent of said flexible elastic part extending from said holding location to said U-shaped curved portion is completely and continuously received and enclosed in said space between said contact member sidewalls; and wherein said flexible elastic part has a width between said contact member sidewalls such that said flexible elastic part closely fits in said space between said contact member sidewalls so as to be laterally guided and constrained between and directly by said contact member sidewalls.