Electrical connector having shrouded pin contacts

Claim 1

AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ADAPTABLE TO EMBODIMENT IN MINUTE SIZE IN WHICH A PLURALITY OF CLOSELY ADJACENT PIN TERMINALS MATE WITH A PLURALITY OF RESPECTIVELY ALIGNED TUBULAR SOCKET TERMINALS AND COMPRISING A FIRST INSULATION BODY HAVING A FORWARDLY AND A REARWARD FACE AND A PLURALITY OF CLOSELY ADJACENT PARALLEL BORES EXTENDING FROM THE FORWARD TO THE REARWARD FACE, ONE OF SAID PIN TERMINALS BEING MOUNTED IN EACH OF SAID BORES, EACH OF SAID PIN TERMINALS EMBODYING A FORWARD PIN PORTION WHICH IS COMPLETELY RECESSED WITHIN A FORWARD PORTION OF ITS RESPECTIVE BORE, SAID FORWARD BORE PORTION BEING LARGER IN DIAMETER THAN THE GREATEST DIAMETER OF THE PIN PORTION PROVIDING SUFFICIENT CLEARANCE IN SAID FORWARD BORE PORTION FOR RECEPTION OF A MATING PORTION OF A TUBULAR SOCKET TERMINAL, A SECOND INSULATION BODY OPERATIVELY ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID FIRST INSULATION BODY BY RELATIVE ADVANCEMENT OF THE TWO BODIES TO FINAL POSITION OF ENGAGEMENT, THE SECOND BODY HAVING A FORWARD FACE AND A REARWARD FACE, A PLURALITY OF BORES IN THE SECOND BODY ALIGNED WITH RESPECTIVE BORES IN THE FIRST BODY, ONE OF SAID TUBULAR SOCKET TERMINALS BEING MOUNTED IN EACH OF SAID BORES IN THE SECOND BODY, SAID SOCKET TERMINALS EACH HAVING A TUBULAR FORWARD INDIVIDUALLY UNCONFINED SOCKET PORTION WITH AN OPEN ENTRANCE AT ITS FORWARD END, SAID SOCKET PORTIONS BEING RELATIVELY RESISTANT TO LATERAL BENDING, AND SAID PIN PORTIONS BEING RELATIVELY YIELDABLE TO LATERAL BENDING, SAID PIN PORTION POSSESSING RELATIVELY MINOR COLUMNAR STRENGTH AND SAID SOCKET PORTIONS POSSESSING RELATIVELY MAJOR COLUMNAR STRENGTH, SAID PIN PORTIONS BEING INHERENTLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO POSSIBLE LATERAL MISALIGNMENT IN THEIR BORES, ANY LATERAL MISALIGNMENT OF THE PIN PORTIONS BEING LIMITED BY ENGAGEMENT OF THE PIN PORTIONS WITH THE WALL OF THEIR RESPECTIVE BORES, SAID PIN PORTIONS EACH HAVING A GENERALLY HEMISPHERICAL FORWARD END, SAID ENDS BEING FORMED INTEGRALLY WITH THE MATERIAL OF THE PIN PORTIONS, SAID SOCKET PORTION ENTRANCES BEING CHAMFERED FROM THE OUTSIDE DIAMETERS INWARDLY PROVIDING ANNULAR GENERALLY SHARP SINGLE TAPERED ENTRANCE RAMPS, ANY LATERAL ALIGNMENT NECESSARY BETWEEN A PIN PORTION END AND ITS MATING SOCKET PORTION UPON RELATIVE ADVANCEMENT OF TWO INSULATION BODIES BEING ACHIEVED BY THE WEDGING ACTION OF THE SOCKET ENTRANCE RAMP INTERVENING BETWEEN THE BORE WALL AND THE PIN END EXERTING A TRANSVERSE FORCE COMPONENT AGAINST THE HEMISPHERICAL END OF THE PIN PORTION, THE DIMENSIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAID PIN PORTION END, THE ENTRANCE RAMP AND THE ADJACENT WALL OF THE BORE BEING SUCH THAT IF THE SOCKET PORTION ENTERS THE BORE THE PIN PORTION IS FORCED TO ALIGN WITH THE SOCKET.