Abstract: The electrical connector of the present invention is equipped with contacts that are secured in a housing. The contacts are formed to have a pair of spring members surrounding a contact receiving opening. The housing has contact receiving cavities for accommodating each contact. Each contact receiving cavity is contoured to have a base wall, a mating contact receiving opening passing through the base wall and a rail projecting from the base wall, the rail extending along the base wall on opposite sides of the mating contact receiving opening. During contact insertion the spring members grip the rail to angularly orient the contact within the contact receiving cavity.

Abstract: The present invention provides a plug 2 and receptacle 100 each having shells 6,104. When the connectors 2,100 are engaged, the shell 104 of the receptacle 100 slides in contact with the shell 6 of the plug 2. The steps 152 of the shell 104 are positioned beneath the steps 14 of the shell 6, so that openings 118 and 34 formed in the respective steps 152 and 14 are aligned with each other when the connectors are completely engaged with each other. During the process of engagement, the claws 32 of the latching arms 10 move along the steps 152, advance into the openings 118 by the action of the plate springs 47, to latch the plug and receptacle together. To disengage, the release sections of the latching arms 10 are pressed whereupon the engaging members 30 open so that the claws 32 exit the openings 118.

Abstract: An electrical terminal 1 is provided that is formed by being stamped and bent from a metal plate. This terminal is equipped with a pair of opposing first electrical wire accommodating slots 4 that are respectively formed in a pair of opposing first plate parts 3a and 3b, and a pair of opposing second electrical wire accommodating slots 8 that are respectively formed in opposing second plate parts 7. The pair of second plate parts 7 are formed by a pair of plate parts that are bent from both side edges of a flat plate part 12 that extends from one of the first plate parts 3a, with these plate parts being bent substantially at right angles relative to the flat plate part 12, so that the pair of second electrical wire accommodating slots 8 formed in the second plate parts 7 and the pair of first electrical wire accommodating slots 4 formed in the first plate parts 3a and 3b are arranged substantially at right angles.