US4790764A — Electrical power terminal for circuit boards

Claim 1

Independent Claim 175 words

An electrical terminal for electrically connecting a power supply contact (35) to a circuit board (50), the terminal comprising a body section (11) having mounting pins (14) extending from walls (12, 13) of the body section (11) and a contact portion (18), the mounting pins (14) have compliant sections (15a, 15b) which frictionally engage holes (30) of the circuit board (50), the contact portion (18) connects the power supply (35) to the terminal, a positive electrical connection is thereby effected, the electrical terminal being characterized in that: the body section (11) has a rectangular annular configuration which has the mounting pins (14) extending from bottom edges of the walls (12, 13), and the contact portion (18) extends from an upper edge of the wall (13) opposite the mounting pins (14), the contact portion (18) has a vertical section (19) which has a resilient tongue (21) extending therefrom, the vertical section (19) and the tongue (21) form a male contact portion and cooperate to be inserted into and resiliently engage a female power supply contact (35).

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 175 words

An electrical terminal for electrically connecting a power supply contact (35) to a circuit board (50), the terminal comprising a body section (11) having mounting pins (14) extending from walls (12, 13) of the body section (11) and a contact portion (18), the mounting pins (14) have compliant sections (15a, 15b) which frictionally engage holes (30) of the circuit board (50), the contact portion (18) connects the power supply (35) to the terminal, a positive electrical connection is thereby effected, the electrical terminal being characterized in that: the body section (11) has a rectangular annular configuration which has the mounting pins (14) extending from bottom edges of the walls (12, 13), and the contact portion (18) extends from an upper edge of the wall (13) opposite the mounting pins (14), the contact portion (18) has a vertical section (19) which has a resilient tongue (21) extending therefrom, the vertical section (19) and the tongue (21) form a male contact portion and cooperate to be inserted into and resiliently engage a female power supply contact (35).

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 27 words

An electrical terminal set forth in claim 1 characterized in that the terminal is stamped and formed from a metal sheet having desirable conductive and spring characteristics.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 64 words

An electrical terminal as set forth in claim 2 characterized in that the vertical section (19) has radiussed edges (19a) and the tongue (21) has an arcuate contact surface (21a) to allow for easier insertion of the power contact (35) onto the contact portion (18) as well as to provide increased contact area between the contact portion (18) and the power supply contact (35).

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 32 words

An electrical terminal as set forth in claim 3 characterized in that the tongue (21) is bent such that the arcuate contact surface (21a) is essentially parallel to the vertical section (19).

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 48 words

An electrical terminal as set forth in claim 4 characterized in that a free end of the tongue (21) has projections (23) normally extending therefrom to engage the vertical section (19), thereby preventing the tongue (21) from taking a permanent set due to overstress of the tongue (21).

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 51 words

An electrical terminal as set forth in claim 5 characterized in that a projection (55) is provided on the vertical section (19) proximate the free end of the tongue (21), the projection (55) guides the contact to an outside surface of the tongue (21) ensuring proper insertion of the contact (35).

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 85 words

An electrical terminal as set forth in claim 1 characterized in that upper lances (24) are provided adjacent the contact portion (18) enabling terminals (10) to be placed in a dielectric housing (40) having a bottom wall (32), the bottom wall (32) has an opening (31) which allows insertion of the terminals, such that lances (24) resiliently engage the bottom wall (32) as the body sections (11) engage recesses (60) of a bottom section of the housing (40), thereby preventing vertical movement of the terminals.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 65 words

An electrical terminal as set forth in claim 7 characterized in that a lower lance (25) is provided on the terminals below the upper lances (25), the lance (25) contacts a side wall (33a) of opening (31) as a projection (34) of the housing (40) resiliently engages the contact portion (18), the cooperation of lance (25) and projection (34) prevents lateral movement of the terminal.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 122 words

An electrical terminal for electrically connecting a power supply contact to a circuit board, the terminal comprising: a rectangular annular body section having mounting pins and a contact portion extending therefrom; the mounting pins extend from walls of the body section and have compliant sections which frictionally engage holes of the circuit board; the contact portion extends from a respective wall of the body section, in the opposite direction as the mounting pins, the contact portion is provided to cooperate with the power supply contact; and resilient means extend from the contact portion of the terminal, the resilient means have a fixed end which is integral with the contact portion, and a free end which is positioned away from the contact portion.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 122 words

An electrical terminal for electrically connecting a power supply contact to a circuit board, the terminal comprising: a rectangular annular body section having mounting pins and a contact portion extending therefrom; the mounting pins extend from walls of the body section and have compliant sections which frictionally engage holes of the circuit board; the contact portion extends from a respective wall of the body section, in the opposite direction as the mounting pins, the contact portion is provided to cooperate with the power supply contact; and resilient means extend from the contact portion of the terminal, the resilient means have a fixed end which is integral with the contact portion, and a free end which is positioned away from the contact portion.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 31 words

An electrical terminal as recited in claim 9 wherein the contact portion is in the shape of a flat tab male contact portion for reception into a female power supply contact.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 27 words

An electrical terminal as recited in claim 10 wherein the resilient means are lances which cooperate with a terminal housing to maintain the terminals in the housing.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 31 words

An electrical terminal as recited in claim 9 wherein the contact portion is in the shape of a female contact portion for reception of a flat tab male power supply contact.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 40 words

An electrical terminal as recited in claim 12 wherein the resilient means is a resilient tongue which extends from the contact portion, the tongue and the contact portion cooperate to be inserted into and resiliently engage a female power supply.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 23 words

An electrical terminal as recited in claim 9 wherein the contact portion has a vertical section which has the resilient means extending therefrom.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 41 words

An electrical terminal as recited in claim 14 wherein the resilient means is a resilient tongue, the resilient tongue and the vertical section form a male contact portion and cooperate to be inserted into and resiliently engage a power supply contact.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 53 words

An electrical terminal as recited in claim 15 wherein the vertical section has radiussed edges and the tongue has an arcuate contact surface to allow for easier insertion of the power contact onto the contact portion as well as to provide increase contact area between the contact portion and the power supply contact.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1991-12-13	1992-06-13	1992-12-13	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1995-12-13	1996-06-13	1996-12-13	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1999-12-13	2000-06-13	2000-12-13	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Electrical power terminal for circuit boards

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