Electric connector

Claim 1

An electric connector comprising a pair of mating parts adapted to be coupled to each other, and contact elements disposed in the housings of said mating parts having same shape and dimensions, each of said contact elements having a main body in the form of a channel and a plate-like member upwardly and rearwardly extending from the forward end of the bottom wall of said main body, the rearward end of said main body forming a connecting section for an electric wire to be terminated, the outer surface of the forward portion of the bottom wall of said main body forming a planar contacting section, a portion of the bottom wall of the channel-shaped main body between the connecting section and the planar contacting section being cut and pushed out to provide a latching tongue, the side walls of the portion of the channel-shaped main body the bottom wall of which forms the planar contacting section being provided with latching protrusions outwardly embossed, said plate-like member being provided with an upwardly convex spring contact, the contact element being inserted into a contact element groove of the housing of one of said mating parts so that said planar contacting section of the contact element is exposed to the exterior of the groove and said convex spring contact of the contact element faces to the bottom wall of the groove, the latching tongue engaging a latching protrusion of said one housing and the outwardly embossed latching protrusions of said connector element engaging the inner wall of the contact element groove thereby fixing the contact element in place in the contact element groove and substantially resisting angular movement of said planar contacting section relative to the housing, the contact element being inserted into a contact element groove of the housing of the other mating part so that said convex spring contact of the contact element is exposed to the exterior of the groove, the latching tongue engaging a latching protrusion of said other housing and the outwardly embossed latching protrusions of said connector element engaging the inner wall of the contact element groove thereby fixing the contact element in place in the contact element groove and substantially resisting angular movement of said planar contacting section relative to said housing, whereby said outwardly convex spring contact of the contact element in the other mating part can make contact with said planar contacting section of the contact element in the one mating part and the convex spring contact of the contact element in said one mating part makes press contact with the bottom wall of the contact element groove in the housing of said one mating part, when said mating parts are coupled to each other.