Electrical connector

Claim 1

AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR COMPRISING AN INTEGRAL PIECE OF THIN SHEET METAL FORMED TO PROVIDE A SLOT TYPE SOCKET FOR TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVING AND YIELDABLY FRICTIONALLY HOLDING A SPADE TERMINAL, SAID SOCKET CONNECTOR COMPRISING A FIRST SHEET METAL CONCAVO-CONVEX PORTION FORMING ONE SIDE OF SAID SOCKET AND HAVING INTEGRAL LATERALLY PROJECTING FLEXIBLE EARS THE ENDS OF WHICH ARE BENT TOWARD EACH OTHER IN SPACED CONVERGING RELATION WITH SAID FIRST PORTION SO AS TO FORM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID SOCKET, SAID SIDES OF SAID SOCKET AT ONE END THEREOF BEING FORMED TO DEFINE AN ENTRANCE OPENING THROUGH WHICH A SPADE TERMINAL MAY BE INSERTED INTO SAID SOCKET, SAID FIRST PORTION ALONG THE CENTER OF THE SOCKET LENGTHWISE THEREOF BEING OFFSET INWARDLY INTO SAID SOCKET AND COOPERATING WITH THE ENDS OF SAID EARS WHICH FORM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SOCKET AND EXTEND THE FULL LENGTH THEREOF TO GRIP AN INSERTED SPADE TERMINAL FOR YIELDABLY FRICTIONALLY HOLDING IT IN SAID SOCKET, THE INWARDLY OFFSET PORTION OF THE SIDE OF SAID SOCKET BEING PROVIDED WITH A CENTRAL DETENT FOR COOPERATION WITH A HOLE IN SUCH AN INSERTED TERMINAL, THE ENDS OF SAID EARS WHICH ARE BENT TOWARD EACH OTHER BEING ROUNDED OFF ALONG THE INNER EDGES THEREOF AND BENT INWARDLY OF THE SOCKET TOWARD THE CENTER THEREOF SO THAT THE NORMAL CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE ENDS OF SAID EARS AND THE INWARDLY OFFSET PORTION FORMING THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SOCKET IS LESS THAN THE THICKNESS OF AN INSERTED SPADE TERMINAL AND THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE SIDES OF SAID SOCKET AT THE EDGES THEREOF IS SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF SUCH A TERMINAL WHEREBY THE LATERAL EDGES OF THE LATTER HAVE A CLEARANCE WITH RESPECT TO BOTH SIDES OF SAID SOCKET, SAID CONNECTOR SOCKET HAVING PROVISIONS FOR CONNECTING A CURRENT CONDUCTOR THERETO, SAID SOCKET BEING FORMED AS A PAIR OF OPPOSED LATERALLY SPACED CHANNELS GENERALLY TRIANGULAR IN CROSS SECTION AND THE SIDES OF SAID SOCKET BEING FORMED SO THAT BOTH SIDES THEREOF HAVE APPROXIMATELY THE SAME FLEXIBILITY AND ARE DISPOSED ESSENTIALLY SYMMETRICALLY WITH RESPECT TO A SPADE TERMINAL FRICTIONALLY SECURED IN SAID SOCKET, AND MEANS COMPRISING A BOWED RIDGE IN THE CONCAVO-CONVEX PORTION PROJECTING INTO THE SOCKET AND COOPERATING WITH ONE OF SAID EARS TO PROVIDE A MORE STABLE GRIPPING EFFORT THEREBY ON AN INSERTED SPADE TERMINAL THAN THAT PROVIDED BY THE OTHER OF SAID EARS AND SAID DETENT.