Hermaphroditic L. I. F. mating electrical contacts

Claim 1

A low insertion force mating electrical contact structure comprising: a pair of hermaphroditic terminals, each terminal including a base and two cantilevered contact beams unitary with and extending forwardly from said base, each said contact beam having a rear end adjacent said base and an opposed front end, said beams each including a plurality of bends such that said beams are disposed generally on opposite sides of a central plane, each beam further including: a front cam surface adjacent the front end angularly aligned to said central plane; a front contact surface intermediate said front cam surface and said rear end spaced from said central plane and defined on a surface of said beam facing toward the central plane; a rear cam surface angularly aligned to said central plane intermediate said front contact surface and said rear end; and a rear contact surface intermediate said rear cam surface and said base extending parallel to and spaced from said central plane and defined on a surface of said beam facing away from the central plane, each terminal thereby including a pair of opposed front contact surfaces spaced at a first distance apart and a pair of opposed rear contact surfaces spaced at a second distance apart which is greater than said first distance apart, whereby, as the pair of terminals are mated, the front cam surfaces of each terminal slidingly engage the rear cam surfaces of the other terminal and the front contact surfaces of each terminal are gradually deflected away from the central plane from said first distance apart to said second distance apart until a final mated position is achieved wherein the front contact surfaces of each terminal are electrically engaged on the rear contact surfaces of the other terminal to provide four independent points of electrical contact between the mated terminals.