Patent ID: 8731670

Claim:
A contact device comprising: a) an annular housing having an annular wall with inner and outer peripheral surfaces, a face plate formed integral with the annular wall and defining a central aperture for receiving a connector pin along a longitudinal pin insertion axis of the contact device, and a separate cover plate disposed opposite the face plate and defining a central aperture coaxially aligned with the central aperture of the face plate; and b) an annular contact spring disposed concentrically within the annular housing between the face plate and the cover plate and including a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart spring arms adapted and configured to make contact with a connector pin inserted through the central aperture of the face plate and the central aperture of the cover plate, wherein the annular contact spring includes a continuous annular spine with inner and outer peripheral surfaces, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the annular spine of the annular contact spring and the inner peripheral surface of the annular wall of the annular housing are mated with one another thereby providing electrically conductive connection between the outer peripheral surface of the annular spine of the annular contact spring and the inner peripheral surface of the annular wall of the annular housing, wherein each spring arm of the annular contact spring has a respective radially inwardly extending shoulder depending from the inner peripheral surface of the annular spine and a respective integrally formed, arcuately extending flexible finger extending from said radially inwardly extending shoulder, and wherein each spring arm of the annular contact spring extends between the face plate and the cover plate so that it extends in a circumferential direction relative to the inner and outer peripheral surface of the continuous annular spine; wherein each spring arm includes a radially inwardly contact pad extending at a terminal end of the flexible finger thereof for contacting the connector pin.