Low insertion force electrical connector

Claim 1

A pin and socket combination for a low insertion force electrical connector comprising: a pin contact having a cylindrical body with a tapered forward end terminating in a nose, said tapered forward end having a longitudinally arcuate configuration extending from the nose of the pin contact to the cylindrical body thereof, said cylindrical body being joined to said tapered forward end by a blended radius, the longitudinally extending surface of said cylindrical body being parallel to a center axis of the pin contact; a socket contact having a cylindrical body with at least two forwardly extending spring beams of arcuate cross-section, said beams tapering forwardly and inwardly to define a generally circular entrance for said pin contact; the inner forward edges of said beams at said entrance being tapered and joined to the inner surfaces of said beams by blended radii; the ratio of the length of each said beam to the outside diameter of said socket contact cylindrical body being between 2 and 5; the ratio of the diameter of said circular entrance of said socket contact to the diameter of said pin contact cylindrical body being at least 0.7 when said pin contact is removed from said socket contact; said tapered forward end of said pin contact having a shape bounded by surfaces of revolution generated about the X axis by the equations: X.sup.2 + 0.690X + 27.563 Y.sup.2 - 27.444 = 0 and X.sup.2 + 0.690X + 22.563 Y.sup.2 - 22.444 = 0 where the X axis coincides with the longitudinal axis of said pin contact and the Y axis is perpendicular to said longitudinal axis; and the engaging surface of at least one of said contacts having a finish smoother than 32μ inch.