Electrical connector having improved panel mounting means and an improved releasable contact construction

Claim 1

A panel-mountable electrical connector part comprising: a housing, first and second pairs of resilient wings provided on opposite sides of said housing, each pair of wings comprising a stop wing and a snap-in wing projecting from said housing towards one another with the outward end portion of said snap-iN wing projecting through an aperture provided in said stop wing, said stop wing being provided with bearing surfaces at its outward end for resiliently bearing against the entry side of a panel when the connector part is mounted therein and said snapin wing being provided with a locking lip having bearing surfaces for resiliently bearing against the opposite side of the panel, the stop wing bearing surfaces being provided extending the entire length of the locking lip bearing surfaces as well as extending beyond both outer edges thereof in a direction parallel to the panel and lateral to the housing, said snap-in wing being deflectable towards said housing and said locking lip being shaped so as to cause deflection of said snap-in wing during panel insertion sufficient to permit passage of said locking lip and its bearing surfaces through the panel opening for bearing against the opposite side of the panel after return of the snap-in wing to its undeflected position, said stop wing having a central opening through which the outward end portion of said snap-in wing projects to permit manual inward deflection thereof from the entry side of the panel, said stop and snap-in wings being further constructed and arranged with said stop wing projecting outwardly beyond said snap-in wing so that the stop wing baring surfaces extend to a position spaced from said housing which is large relative to that of the snap-in wing bearing surfaces provided on said locking lip.