Electrical connector system having a male terminal assembly including a compression limiting means - Patents.com

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an electrical connector system having a male connector assembly and a female connector assembly. The male connector assembly includes a male housing assembly and a male terminal assembly, the male terminal assembly including a male terminal, a spring member including at least one contact arm having a highly curved shape, and an openable jacket surrounding a substantial extent of the male terminal and the spring member. The male terminal assembly also includes a compression limiting means to prevent the contact arms from excessively deforming inwardly due to an external force. It is desirable to prevent excessive compression of the contact arms, as this may damage the contact arms and / or the spring member, thereby causing the male connector assembly to enter a failure mode that may render the entire connector system inoperable and unusable. The female connector assembly includes a female housing assembly and a female terminal assembly. The female housing assembly is designed to receive a portion of the female terminal assembly and the male terminal assembly in a connected state during operation of the electrical connector system.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Related Applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 63 / 286,072 and 63 / 286,080, both of which were filed on December 5, 2021, and are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Disclosure Fields The present disclosure relates to electrical connector systems, and more particularly to a relatively compact connector system having a male connector assembly and a female connector assembly. The male connector assembly includes a male housing assembly and a male terminal assembly having a male terminal, a spring member having at least one contact arm including a bent segment, and an openable enclosure jacket. The male terminal assembly also includes a compression limiting means for preventing the contact arms from excessive inward deformation due to an external force. It is desirable to prevent excessive compression of the contact arms, as this can damage the contact arms and / or the spring member, which can cause the male connector assembly to go into a failure mode that can render the entire connector system inoperable and unusable. [Background technology]

[0003] Over the past several decades, the number of electrical components used in automobiles and other on-road and off-road vehicles, such as pickup trucks, commercial vans and trucks, semi-trucks, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and sport utility vehicles (collectively, "automobiles"), has increased dramatically. Electrical components are used in automobiles for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, monitoring, improving, and / or controlling the vehicle's performance, emissions, safety, and providing comfort to the vehicle's occupants. Considerable time, resources, and energy have been expended in developing electrical distribution components that meet the various needs and complexities of the automotive market. However, conventional electrical distribution components suffer from various shortcomings.

[0004] Automobiles pose challenging electrical environments for both electrical components and connector assemblies due to several conditions, including but not limited to space constraints that make initial installation difficult, harsh operating conditions, wide ambient temperature ranges, long term vibration, thermal loading, and life spans, all of which can lead to component and / or connector failure. For example, incorrect installation of connectors, which typically occurs in the assembly plant, and connector dislodgment, which typically occurs in the field, are two significant failure modes for electrical components and automobiles. Each of these failure modes leads to significant repair and warranty costs. For example, the combined annual warranty accruals by all automobile manufacturers and their direct suppliers are estimated to be between $50 billion and $150 billion worldwide. Given this challenging electrical environment, significant time, money, and energy have been expended to find power distribution components that meet the needs of the market. The present disclosure addresses the shortcomings of conventional power distribution components. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present disclosure is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present disclosure relates to an electrical connector system having a male connector assembly and a female connector assembly. The male connector assembly includes a male housing assembly and a male terminal assembly having a male terminal, a spring member including at least one contact arm having a highly curved shape, and an openable jacket surrounding a substantial extent of the male terminal and the spring member. The male terminal assembly also includes a compression limiting means for preventing the contact arms from excessive inward deformation due to an external force. It is desirable to prevent overcompression of the contact arms because such overcompression may damage the contact arms and / or the spring member, which may cause the male connector assembly to enter a failure mode, rendering the entire connector system inoperable and unusable.

[0006] According to another aspect, a female connector assembly includes a female housing assembly and a female terminal assembly. The female housing assembly includes a sidewall configuration designed to receive the female terminal assembly, thereby facilitating mating of the male and female terminal assemblies. The female housing assembly also minimizes the possibility of a foreign object inadvertently contacting the female terminal assembly, resulting in a failure mode that may render the entire connector system inoperable or unusable.

[0007] Other aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers refer to like structure throughout. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. [Figure 1A] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a connector system in a connected state SC, showing a male connector assembly connected to a female connector assembly. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the connector system of FIG. 1A in a disconnected state SDC, showing the male connector assembly disconnected from the female connector assembly. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1C is an exploded view of the connector system of FIGS. 1A and 1B, showing a male connector assembly including a male terminal assembly, and a female connector assembly including a female terminal assembly. [Diagram 3] 3 is an exploded view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 2, showing the male terminal, the spring member, and the jacket. [Figure 4] 4A-4C are perspective views illustrating steps in a process for forming the male terminal of FIG. 3 from a blank. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the step shown in FIG. [Figure 5B]FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the step shown in FIG. [Figure 5C] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the step shown in FIG. [Figure 5D] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the step shown in FIG. [Figure 6A] FIG. 4 is a side view of the male terminal of FIG. [Figure 6B] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the male terminal of FIG. [Figure 7A] FIG. 4 is a front view of the male terminal of FIG. 3, showing a male terminal body including multiple contact arms. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of one contact arm shown in FIG. 7A. [Figure 8] 8 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7A. [Figure 9] FIG. 6B is a top view of the male terminal of FIG. 6A. [Figure 10] 10 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9. [Figure 11] 4A-4C are perspective views illustrating steps in a process for forming the spring member of FIG. 3 from a blank. [Figure 12A] 12A-12C are enlarged views showing steps of the formation process shown in FIG. [Figure 12B] 12A-12C are enlarged views showing steps of the formation process shown in FIG. [Figure 13A] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the spring member of FIG. [Figure 13B] FIG. 4 is a front view of the spring member of FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 4 is a top view of the spring member of FIG. 3. [Figure 15] 15 is a cross-sectional view of the spring member taken along line 15-15 of FIG. 14. [Figure 16] 4 is a perspective view of the spring member and male terminal of FIG. 3 in a disassembled state SDA. FIG. [Figure 17] 4 is a perspective view of the spring member and male terminal of FIG. 3 in a first sub-assembled state S1PA. FIG. [Figure 18] 4 is a perspective view of the spring member and male terminal of FIG. 3 in a second sub-assembled state S2PA. [Figure 19] 4A-4C are perspective views illustrating steps in a process for forming the jacket of FIG. [Figure 20a] 20A-20C are enlarged views showing steps of the formation process shown in FIG. 19. [Figure 20B] 20A-20C are enlarged views showing steps of the formation process shown in FIG. 19. [Figure 21] FIG. 4 is a side view of the jacket of FIG. 3 shown in the open position PO. [Figure 22] FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the jacket of FIG. [Diagram 23] FIG. 4 is a side view of the jacket of FIG. 3 shown in the closed position PC. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of the jacket taken along line 24-24 of FIG. 23. [Diagram 25] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 3 in a third sub-assembled state S3PA. [Figure 26] 4 is a perspective view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 3 in a fourth sub-assembled state S4PA. [Figure 27] FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 3 in a fully assembled SFA. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a rear perspective view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 27. [Figure 29A] FIG. 28 is an enlarged view of a first portion of the jacket attachment means shown in the fully assembled state SFA of FIG. 27. [Figure 29B] FIG. 28 is an enlarged view of a second portion of the jacket attachment means shown in the fully assembled state SFA of FIG. 27. [Figure 29C] FIG. 29 is an enlarged view of a third portion of the jacket coupling means shown in the fully assembled state SFA of FIG. 28. [Diagram 30] FIG. 28 is a rear view of the male terminal assembly in the fully assembled SFA of FIG. 27. [Diagram 31] 31 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 31-31 of FIG. 30. [Diagram 32] 32 is an enlarged view of a front portion of the male terminal assembly shown in FIG. 31. [Diagram 33] 32 is an enlarged view of a rear portion of the male terminal assembly shown in FIG. 31. [Diagram 34] FIG. 28 is a front view of the male terminal assembly in the fully assembled SFA of FIG. 27. [Diagram 35] 35 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 35-35 of FIG. 34. [Diagram 36] FIG. 3 is a side view of the male connector assembly of FIG. 2 shown in the uncoupled state SDC. [Figure 37] A cross-sectional view of the male connector assembly taken along line 37-37 of Figure 36. [Figure 38] FIG. 3 is a side view of the male connector assembly of FIG. 2 shown in a partially mated state SPC. [Figure 39] A cross-sectional view of the male connector assembly taken along line 39-39 in Figure 38. [Diagram 40] FIG. 38 is an enlarged view of the male connector assembly shown in the disengaged state SDC of FIG. [Diagram 41] FIG. 40 is an enlarged view of the male connector assembly shown in the partially mated state SPC of FIG. [Diagram 42] FIG. 3 is a top view of the male connector assembly of FIG. 2 shown in fully mated state SFC. [Diagram 43] A cross-sectional view of the male connector assembly taken along line 43-43 of Figure 42. [Diagram 44] FIG. 44 is an enlarged view of the male connector assembly shown in FIG. [Diagram 45] FIG. 43 is a side view of the male connector assembly in the fully mated state SFC of FIG. [Diagram 46] A cross-sectional view of the male connector assembly taken along line 46-46 of Figure 45. [Figure 47] FIG. 43 is a front view of the male connector assembly in the fully mated state SFC of FIG. [Figure 48] FIG. 43 is a perspective view of the male connector assembly of FIG. 42. [Figure 49] 44 is an enlarged view of a first portion of the jacket coupling means and a first portion of the male terminal retaining means in the fully coupled state SFC of FIG. 43. FIG. [Figure 50] 50 is an enlarged view of a first portion of the male terminal retaining means of FIG. 49. [Figure 51] 50 is an enlarged view of a second portion of the male terminal retaining means of FIG. 49. [Figure 52] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the female terminal assembly of FIG. 2. [Diagram 53] FIG. 53 is a front view of the female terminal assembly of FIG. 52. [Figure 54] Figure 1B is a top view of the female connector assembly. [Figure 55] A cross-sectional view of the female connector assembly taken along line 55-55 of Figure 54. [Figure 56] 56 is an enlarged view of a first portion of the female terminal retaining means of FIG. 55. FIG. [Figure 57] 56 is an enlarged view of a second portion of the female terminal retaining means of FIG. 55. FIG. [Figure 58] FIG. 2 is a side view of the connector system of FIGS. 1A and 1B shown in a partially connected state SPC. [Figure 59] FIG. 59 is a cross-sectional view of the connector system taken along line 59-59 of FIG. 58. [Figure 60] FIG. 2 is a side view of the connector system of FIGS. 1A and 1B shown in a connected state SC. [Figure 61] FIG. 61 is a cross-sectional view of the connector system taken along line 61-61 of FIG. [Figure 62] FIG. 2 is a side view of the connector system of FIGS. 1A and 1B shown in a connected state SC. [Figure 63] FIG. 63 is a cross-sectional view of the connector system taken along line 63-63 of FIG. [Fig. 64A] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a male terminal assembly, showing the male terminal, spring member, and jacket of a fully assembled SFA. [Figure 64B] FIG. 64B is an exploded view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 64A. [Figure 65A] FIG. 64B is a perspective view of a spring member of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 64A. [Figure 65B] FIG. 65B is a front view of the spring member of FIG. 65A. [Figure 65C] FIG. 65B is a top view of the spring member of FIG. 65A. [Figure 66] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a male terminal assembly, showing the male terminal, spring member, and jacket in a fully assembled SFA. [Figure 67] FIG. 67 is an exploded view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 66. [Figure 68] 68A-68C are perspective views illustrating steps in a process for forming the spring member of FIG. 67. [Figure 69A] 69 is an enlarged view showing steps in the process of forming the spring member shown in FIG. 68. [Figure 69B] 69 is an enlarged view showing steps in the process of forming the spring member shown in FIG. 68. [Figure 69C] 69 is an enlarged view showing steps in the process of forming the spring member shown in FIG. 68. [Figure 70a] FIG. 67 is a front perspective view of the spring member of FIG. 66. [Figure 70B] FIG. 67 is a rear perspective view of the spring member of FIG. 66. [Figure 70C] FIG. 67 is a side view of the spring member of FIG. 66. [Figure 71A] FIG. 71A is a cross-sectional view of the spring member taken along line 71A-71A of FIG. 70C. [Figure 71B] FIG. 71B is a cross-sectional view of the spring member taken along line 71B-71B of FIG. 70C. [Figure 72A] FIG. 68 is a perspective view of the spring member and male terminal of FIG. 67 in a first sub-assembled state S1PA. [Fig. 72B] FIG. 68 is a perspective view of the spring member and male terminal of FIG. 67 in a second sub-assembled state S2PA. [Figure 73] FIG. 67 is a side view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 66 shown in a fully assembled state SFA. [Figure 74]74 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 74-74 of FIG. 73. [Fig. 75A] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a male terminal assembly in a fully assembled SFA. [Fig. 75B] FIG. 75B is an exploded view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 75A, showing the male terminal, the spring member, and the jacket. [Figure 76] FIG. 75C is a front view of the male terminal of FIG. 75B, showing a male terminal body including multiple contact arms. [Figure 77] FIG. 77 is a perspective view of the male terminal of FIG. 76. [Figure 78] FIG. 77 is a side view of the male terminal of FIG. 76, showing the male terminal body. [Figure 79] 79 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the male terminal taken along line 79-79 of FIG. 78. [Figure 80] FIG. 79 is an enlarged side view of a contact arm of the male terminal of FIG. 78. [Figure 81] FIG. 77 is an enlarged front view of the contact arm of the male terminal of FIG. 76. [Figure 82] FIG. 75C is a perspective view of a spring member of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 75B. [Figure 83] FIG. 83 is a top view of the spring member of FIG. 82. [Figure 84] FIG. 83 is a side view of the spring member of FIG. 82. [Figure 85] 85 is a cross-sectional view of the spring member taken along line 85-85 of FIG. 84. [Figure 86] FIG. 75C is a perspective view of the spring member and male terminal of FIG. 75B in a disassembled state SDA. [Figure 87] FIG. 75C is a front view of the spring member and male terminal of FIG. 75B in a first semi-assembled state S1PA. [Figure 88] 88 is a cross-sectional view of the spring member and male terminal taken along line 88-88 of FIG. 87. [Figure 89] FIG. 75C is a perspective view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 75B in a second sub-assembled state S2PA. [Figure 90] FIG. 75C is a top view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 75B in a fully assembled SFA state. [Figure 91] 91 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 91-91 of FIG. 90. [Figure 92] FIG. 75C is a side view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 75B in a fully assembled state SFA. [Figure 93] 93 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 93-93 of FIG. 92. [Figure 94] FIG. 92 is an enlarged view of the male terminal assembly shown in FIG. 91. [Figure 95] 92 is an enlarged view of a first portion of the jacket coupling means of the male terminal assembly shown in FIG. 91. [Figure 96] FIG. 94 is an enlarged view of the male terminal assembly shown in FIG. 93. [Figure 97] FIG. 91 is a top view of the male terminal assembly shown in FIG. 90. [Figure 98] 98 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 98-98 of FIG. 97. [Figure 99] FIG. 91 is a front view of the male terminal assembly shown in FIG. 90. [Figure 100] 100 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 100-100 of FIG. 99. [Figure 101] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of a male terminal assembly, showing the male terminal, spring member, and jacket in a fully assembled SFA state. [Figure 102] FIG. 102 is a front view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 101. [Figure 103] 103 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 103-103 of FIG. 102. [Figure 104] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of a male terminal assembly, showing the male terminal, spring member, and jacket in a fully assembled SFA state. [Figure 105] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a seventh embodiment of a male terminal assembly in a fully assembled SFA state. [Fig. 106] FIG. 106 is an exploded view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 105, showing the male terminal, spring member, and jacket. [Figure 107] FIG. 107 is a perspective view of the spring member shown in FIG. 106. [Figure 108] FIG. 108 is a front view of the spring member of FIG. [Fig. 109] FIG. 108 is a side view of the spring member of FIG. [Figure 110] FIG. 106 is a front view of the male terminal assembly of FIG. 105. [Figure 111] 111 is a cross-sectional view of the male terminal assembly taken along line 111-111 of FIG. 110. [Figure 112] 112 is an enlarged view of a front portion of the male terminal assembly shown in FIG. 111. [Figure 113] FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle, an AC charging system, and a DC charging system, each of which has at least one charging coupler and at least one socket. [Fig. 114] FIG. 114 is a perspective view of the charging system of FIG. 113, with the charging couplers disconnected from the sockets, each including at least one male terminal assembly and at least one female terminal assembly. [Fig. 115] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery pack having multiple connector systems for electrically connecting components of the battery pack. [Fig. 116] FIG. 116 is a perspective view of a vehicle skateboard chassis including the battery pack of FIG. 115, as well as wheels and tires. [Fig. 117] FIG. 117 is a perspective view of a vehicle having the skateboard chassis and battery pack of FIG. 116. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of example in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present teachings may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and / or circuits are described at a relatively high level, without detailed descriptions, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present teachings.

[0010] Although the present disclosure includes several embodiments in many different forms, it should be understood that the present disclosure should be considered as an illustration of the principles of the disclosed method and system, and is not intended to limit the broad aspects of the disclosed concept to the illustrated embodiments. As will be understood, the disclosed method and system are capable of other different configurations, and some details can be modified without departing from the scope of the disclosed method and system. For example, one or more of the following embodiments can be consistently combined, in part or in whole, with other disclosed methods and systems. Thus, the drawings and detailed description should be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive or limiting.

[0011] The figures show seven embodiments of a connector system 10, 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010, 5010, 6010 or components thereof designed to mechanically and electrically couple one device or component to another device or component within an electrical power distribution system or environment. For example, a first device or component may be removably coupled to a second device or component via the connector system 10. The first device or component may be a current sourcing device or component such as a charging coupler 2 (see FIGS. 113-114), an alternator, a battery, or another power source, while the second device or component may be a current sinking device or component such as a socket 4 (see FIGS. 113-114), a radiator fan, a heated seat, an electrical power distribution component, or another current sinking component. In an exemplary embodiment, FIG. 113 discloses a diagram showing a vehicle 6, an AC charging system 3a, and a DC charging system 3b, each of which has at least one charging coupler 2 and at least one socket 4. The charging coupler 2 and the socket 4 are matched to each other such that an extent of the charging coupler 2 is received by the socket 4. In FIG. 114, the charging coupler 2 may include three male connector assemblies 50. Furthermore, the charging coupler 2 may also include two male connector assemblies as disclosed in PCT / US18 / 19787, PCT / US19 / 36010, or PCT / US21 / 43788. Additionally, the socket 4 may include three female connector assemblies 650. Additionally, socket 4 may include two female connector assemblies as disclosed in PCT / US18 / 19787, PCT / US19 / 36010, or PCT / US21 / 43788. When charging coupler 2 is connected to socket 4, (i) AC power can flow between male connector assembly 50 and female connector assembly 650, and (ii) DC power can flow between the male connector assemblies and the female connector assemblies (as disclosed in PCT / US18 / 19787, PCT / US19 / 36010, or PCT / US21 / 43788).Alternatively, one or more connector systems 10, 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010, 5010, 6010 may be utilized within a single device or component. Power distribution systems or environments including connector systems 10, 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010, 5010, 6010 may be installed within airplanes, skateboard vehicles 9, automobiles 6, military vehicles (e.g., tanks, troop carriers, lorries, troop carriers), buses, locomotives, tractors, boats, submarines, battery packs 8, 24 to 48 volt systems for high power, high current, and high voltage applications.

[0012] Various aspects of the first embodiment of the connector system 10 are described in more detail below. Generally speaking, the connector system 10 includes (i) a male connector assembly 50 and (ii) a female connector assembly 650. FIGS. 1-51 show various views and components of the male connector assembly 50. The first embodiment of the male connector assembly 50 is primarily comprised of (i) a male housing assembly 70 and (ii) a male terminal assembly 100 having a male terminal 101, a spring member 300, and a jacket 400. FIGS. 52-57 show various views of the first embodiment of the female connector assembly 650, which primarily includes (i) a female housing assembly 670, and (ii) a female terminal assembly 700. Finally, FIGS. 58-63 show the positional relationship and interaction between the male connector assembly 100 and the female connector assembly 650.

[0013] The seven various embodiments of connector system 10 provide a number of improvements over conventional connectors. With respect to the first embodiment, these improvements include: (i) male terminal body 104 including base portion 110 and at least one contact arm 180a-180d including portions 182a-182d that are substantially coplanar with base portion 110, (ii) male terminal body 104 including anti-rotation protrusions 114 that are configured to help prevent spring member 300 from rotating within receptacle 105, (iii) contact arms 180a-180d have geometric bend or fold portions 178a-178d that include free ends 190a-190d that do not abut the flat outer surfaces of spring arms 312a-312d when spring member 300 is positioned within receptacle 105, and (iv) contact arms 180a-180d are configured to be in ready-to-use position P, as discussed below. U, (v) the separate spring member 300 includes geometric bends or folds 320a-320d of the spring arms 312a, 312b; and (vi) means 314 for limiting compression of the contact arms 180a-180d that may lead to damage to the male terminal assembly 100. (vii) a spring member 300 including two spring arms 312a-312d, where one spring arm 312a has a width that increases, e.g., between two points along its length, while the second spring arm 312b has a width that decreases, e.g., between two points along its length; (viii) a jacket 400 including spring openings 434a, 434b formed in a front jacket segment 430, where the spring openings are configured to receive a portion of the spring member 300; and (ix) a jacket 400 including a configuration of deflection protrusions 418 configured to engage contact arms 180a-180d. While the foregoing list includes some of the numerous improvements included in the first embodiment of connector system 10, it should be understood that other improvements are disclosed herein and that any improvements disclosed herein are not necessary or essential to the configuration, operation, or functionality of the disclosed connector system 10. Other similar embodiments of the connector system 10 are disclosed in FIGS. 64A-74, which show alternative configurations of the spring members 1300 and 2300. As shown in FIG.

[0014] Various aspects of a fourth embodiment of a connector system 3010 are disclosed herein and illustrated in FIGS. 75-100. Specifically, the connector system 3010 includes (i) a male connector assembly 3050, and (ii) a female connector assembly 3650. FIGS. 75A-100 illustrate various views and components of the male connector assembly 3050. The fourth embodiment of the male connector assembly 3050 is primarily comprised of (i) a male housing assembly 3070 including substantially similar structures and components as disclosed above in connection with the first embodiment, and (ii) a male terminal assembly 3100 having a male terminal 3101, a spring member 3300, and a jacket 3400. This fourth embodiment of the male connector assembly 3050 is configured to interface with the female connector assembly 650 disclosed in connection with the first embodiment of the system 10. This fourth embodiment of the connector system 3010 provides a number of improvements over conventional connectors. Some of these improvements include: (i) a male terminal body 3104 including a base portion 3110 and at least one contact arm 3180a-3180d including a portion 3182a-3182d that is substantially coplanar with the base portion 3110; (ii) the contact arms 3180a-3180d have an inherent bend or fold that forms two contact points 3196a-3196d, 3198a-3198d with the spring member 3300; (iii) a male terminal body 3104 including anti-rotation protrusions 3114 configured to help prevent the spring member 3300 from rotating within the receptacle 3105, (iv) a separate spring member 3300 having corrugations formed on at least one of the spring arms 3312a-3312d, (v) the spring member 3300 including means for limiting compression 3314, and (vi) a jacket 3400 including deflection protrusions 3418. While the foregoing list includes some of the numerous improvements included in the fourth embodiment of the connector system 3010, it should be understood that other improvements are disclosed herein and that all improvements disclosed herein are not necessary or essential to the construction, operation, or functionality of the disclosed connector system 3010.Another similar embodiment of the connector system 3010 is disclosed in FIGS. 101-104, which shows alternative male terminal connecting members 4102,5102.

[0015] Various aspects of a seventh embodiment of a connector system 6010 are disclosed herein and are illustrated in FIGS. 105-112. Specifically, the connector system 6010 includes (i) a male connector assembly 6050, and (ii) a female connector assembly 6650. FIGS. 105-112 illustrate various views and components of the male connector assembly 6050. The seventh embodiment of the male connector assembly 6050 is primarily comprised of (i) a male housing assembly 6070 including substantially similar structure and components as disclosed above in connection with the first embodiment, and (ii) a male terminal assembly 6100 having a male terminal 6101, a spring member 6300, and a jacket 6400. This seventh embodiment of the male connector assembly 6050 is configured to interact with the female connector assembly 650 disclosed in connection with the first embodiment of the system 10. This seventh embodiment of the connector system 6010 provides a number of improvements over conventional connectors. Some of these improvements include: (i) a male terminal body 6104 including a base portion 6110 and at least one contact arm 6180a-6180d including a portion 6182a-6182d that is substantially coplanar with the base portion 6110; (ii) the contact arms 6180a-6180d having a unique bend or crease configuration that forms two contact points 6196a-6196d, 6198a-6198d with the spring member 6300; (iii) the male terminal body 6104 including an anti-rotation protrusion 6114 configured to help prevent the spring member 6300 from rotating within the receptacle 105; and (iv) a jacket 6400 including a deflection protrusion 6418. The above list includes some of the many improvements included in the seventh embodiment of the connector system 6010, but it should be understood that other improvements are disclosed herein, and that any improvement disclosed herein is not necessary or essential to the configuration, operation, or functionality of the disclosed connector system 6010.

[0016] First embodiment 1) Male Connector Assembly Male connector assembly 50 includes multiple components designed to be coupled to a separate device or component (e.g., charging coupler 2, radiator fan, heating sheet, power distribution component, or another current drawing component). Male connector assembly 50 is primarily comprised of (i) male housing assembly 70 and (ii) male terminal assembly 100 including male terminals 101, spring member 300, and jacket 400, with at least a substantial extent of male terminal assembly 100 residing within male housing assembly 70 during operation of connector system 10.

[0017] Male housing assembly 1A-2, 36-48, and 60-63, male housing assembly 70 includes (i) an interior configuration of sidewall 72, (ii) an exterior configuration of sidewall 76, (iii) a protrusion including a retention wall 90, and (iv) a male terminal retention means 94. Sidewall 72 interior configuration includes (i) a plurality of sidewalls 73a-73d including contact arm openings 76a-76d, and (ii) a front wall 74. Sidewalls 73a-73d and front wall 74 are integrally formed with one another and positioned to define a terminal receiving portion 75. Terminal receiving portion 75 is in a fully coupled condition S. FC In this fully coupled state S FC In this state, (i) contact arm openings 76a-76d receive a range of contact arms 180a-180d to allow mechanical and electrical connection between the contact arms and female terminal body 710, and (ii) front segment 430 of jacket 400 is positioned adjacent to the inner surface of front wall 74 of housing 70. In other words, connector assembly 50 is in a fully mated state S. FC , the extent of contact arms 180a-180d extend through contact arm openings 76a-76d.

[0018] The exterior configuration of sidewall 76 includes (i) two opposing sidewalls 78a, 78b that include a plurality of projections 80 and recesses 82, (ii) a curved bottom wall 78c extending between opposing sidewalls 78a, 78b, and (iii) a deformable top wall 78d having a female receiving opening 84 formed therethrough. Each of walls 78a-78d is spaced a housing distance D from the exterior surface of the interior configuration of sidewall 72. H (as shown in FIG. 46 ). C (i) Housing distance D H is occupied by the area of ​​female connector assembly 650, more specifically the area of ​​female housing assembly 670, (ii) recess 82 receives protrusion 697 formed in side wall 672 of female connector assembly 650, (iii) protrusion 80 is positioned within recess 698 formed in side wall 672 of female housing assembly 670, and (iv) female receiving opening 84 receives mating protrusion 699.

[0019] Wall P W Rearward of wall P (as shown in FIG. 43), the interior configuration of side wall 72 and the exterior configuration of side wall 80 merge into a single structure, the connector configuration of side wall 86. The connector configuration of side wall 86 is designed to enclose the rear extent of the male terminal assembly 100 and the wires coupled to the male terminal assembly 100. The male terminal retaining means 94 and the retaining wall 90 are spaced apart from wall P by a distance of approximately 10 mm. W and configured to secure the male terminal assembly within housing 70. Retention wall 90 is formed from protrusions extending inwardly from an inner surface of sidewall 86's connector configuration. Male terminal retention means 94 further includes (i) a retention body 96 and (ii) a retention opening 95 formed in a first extent of sidewall 86's connector configuration. Retention body 96 is a U-shaped structure designed to be positioned adjacent to sidewall 86's connector configuration first extent and includes fixation protrusions 97a, 97b and retention protrusions 98a, 98b. Fixation protrusions 97a, 97b are positioned near the ends of the legs that form the U-shaped structure, while retention protrusions 98a, 98b extend from an upper cross member that extends between the legs of the U-shaped structure.

[0020] Connector assembly 50 fully connected FC , (i) the locking tabs 426 of the jacket 400 are positioned forward of the retention wall 90, (ii) the retention body 96 is positioned adjacent a first extent of the connector arrangement in the side wall 86 and the locking projections 97a, 97b are positioned under an opposite second extent of the connector arrangement in the side wall 86, and (iii) the retention projections 98a, 98b extend into the retention openings 95 and are positioned rearward of the male terminal body 104. This structural configuration helps to prevent rearward movement of the male terminal assembly 100 while securing the male terminal assembly 100 within the housing 70. In fact, this combination ensures that a force of less than 200 Newtons will not dislodge the male terminal assembly 100 from the housing 70. The combination of recesses 698, 82 and protrusions 80, 697 form a system 10 that includes a keyed configuration such that the male connector assembly 50 can only mate with the female connector assembly 650 when the male connector assembly 50 is in a particular orientation relative to the female connector assembly 650.

[0021] The male housing assembly 70 is formed from a non-conductive plastic and is designed to protect and isolate the conductive male terminal assemblies 100 from accidental contact with foreign objects. In other embodiments, the male terminal retention means 94 may be replaced with any structure that performs a similar function and is disclosed in any application incorporated herein by reference. Some of these structures may include other types of mechanical / structural members or bodies that generate a biasing force on the male terminal assemblies 100, magnets, springs, or other types of retention means. In further embodiments, the housing 70 may include (i) a connector position assurance (CPA) assembly that includes readable or scannable indicia that meet USCAR specifications, including USCAR-12, USCAR-25, and USCAR-2, (ii) EMI shielding, (iii) additional layers of non-conductive and / or conductive material, and / or (iv) a larger footprint (e.g., charging coupler 2) to accommodate multiple male terminal assemblies 50. Other similar male housing assemblies are disclosed in applications incorporated herein by reference, and features of these housing assemblies may be incorporated into the male housing assembly 70 of the male connector assembly 50 disclosed herein.

[0022] b. Male terminal assembly 3-51 and 58-63 provide various views of the male terminal assembly 100. Referring to a first embodiment, the male terminal assembly 100 includes a male terminal 101, a spring member 300, and a jacket 400. In addition to these main structural components 101, 300, 400, the male terminal assembly 100 also includes a means for limiting compression 314. As discussed below, the means for limiting compression 314 may be formed from interactions between the main structural components 101, 300, 400, or may be included within a single component 101, 300, 400.

[0023] i. Means of limiting compression Unlike conventional male terminal assemblies, the male terminal assembly 100 disclosed herein includes a means for limiting compression 314. The means for limiting compression 314 is configured to limit the force of an external force F E The means for limiting compression 314 is designed to prevent the contact arms 180a-180d and spring arms 312-312d from excessively deforming or compressing the contact arms 180a-180d and spring arms 312-312d toward the center of the connector 50. It is desirable to prevent excessive deformation or compression of the contact arms 180a-180d and spring arms 312-312d, as this could damage the contact arms 180a-180d, the spring members 312a-312d, or the combination of the contact arms 180a-180d and the spring members 312a-312d to the point that the terminal assembly 100 is damaged and rendered inoperable and / or unusable. Thus, the means for limiting compression 314 reduces this potential failure mode of the terminal assembly 100. While it is beneficial to reduce this potential failure mode, the means for limiting compression 314 also reduces the normal or operational deformation D of the contact arms 180a-180d and spring members 312a-312d. NC It should be understood that the compression of the spring arms 312a, 312c and the contact arms 180a, 180c should not be impeded by the compression of the spring arms 312a, 312c. In this embodiment, the means for limiting compression 314 includes two separate combinations of limiting structures 315a, 315b, where a first combination of limiting structures 315a protects the spring arms 312b, 312d and the contact arms 180b, 180d. Each of these limiting structures 315a, 315b is discussed in more detail below.

[0024] ii. Male terminal In particular, FIGS. 6A to 10, 25 to 51, and 58 to 63 show the ready-to-use position P U 3 and 16-17 show the male terminal 101 in the ready-to-receive position P R4 and 5A-5D illustrate steps that may be taken to form a male terminal 101 from a blank piece of metal (e.g., copper). In particular, the process may include multiple (e.g., 53) steps of cutting and / or bending the metal blank. Through these steps, a male terminal 101 is formed that includes the structures described below. These structures include a male terminal connecting member 102 and a male terminal body 104. Specifically, the male terminal connecting member 102 is coupled to the male terminal body 104. In this embodiment, the male terminal connecting member 102 is a wire receiving portion 103 that has a U-shaped receptacle configured to receive a range of external structures (e.g., leads or wires) that connect the male terminal assembly 100 to a device (e.g., an alternator) external to the connector system 10. The wires are typically welded to the wire receiving portion 103. However, other methods of connecting the wire to the wire receiving portion 103 (e.g., forming the wire as part of the wire receiving portion 103) are also contemplated by the present disclosure. In other embodiments, the male terminal connecting member 102 may be a blade, a crimp, a circuit board connector (see FIG. 104), or any other type of connecting member 102 that mechanically and electrically couples the male terminal body 104 to an external device, component, or area.

[0025] 3-10 show that the male terminal body 104 includes a wall structure 106. The side wall structure 106 includes (i) a top wall 108a extending between S1 and S2, (ii) a first side wall 108b extending between S2 and S3, (iii) a bottom wall 108c extending between S3 and S4, (iii) a second side wall 108d extending between S4 and S5, and (iv) an inner spring wall 108e (see FIG. 7A) extending between S5 and S6. The combination of the side walls 108b, 108d, the top wall 108a, and the bottom wall 108c defines a first base surface P. B1 and the second base surface P B27A, the base or intermediate portion 110 does not have a continuous perimeter. In other words, the top wall 108a is not directly connected to either the second side wall 108d or the internal spring wall 108e. Furthermore, the internal spring wall 108e is not directly connected to another wall 108a-108c. However, due to the inclusion of the jacket 400, the configuration of the male terminal 101 may result in the male terminal 101 expanding during operation or use of the system 10. Nevertheless, the potential for expansion of the male terminal 101 may be mitigated in other embodiments by forming the base or intermediate portion 101 with a continuous perimeter, by directly connecting the top wall 108a to the second side wall 108d or the internal spring wall 108e, or by directly connecting the internal spring wall 108e to another wall 108a-108c.

[0026] The above-mentioned internal spring wall 108e is positioned within the base or intermediate portion 110 and includes a front surface 112 configured to be positioned adjacent to a rear surface of the spring member 300 (when the spring member is positioned within the male terminal body 104). The front surface 112 of the internal spring wall 108e is not coplanar, but has a staggered configuration. In other words, the internal spring wall 108e includes a recess that forms an anti-rotation protrusion 114. As shown in Figures 31 and 33, the anti-rotation protrusion 114 is configured to protrude outwardly from the spring member 300 when the spring member 300 is positioned within the male terminal body 104 (which is the position of the spring member 300 when the spring member 300 is in at least the first semi-assembled state S). 1PA10, the spring member 300 is configured to be positioned within an anti-rotation recess or spring arm gap 310a formed in the spring member 300 (which occurs when the spring member 300 is positioned within a male terminal body 104 located at the male terminal 101). It should be understood that the combination of anti-rotation protrusion 114 and anti-rotation recess 310a may be replaced with another structure or combination of structures designed to prevent rotation of the spring member 300 within the male terminal 101, or these structures may be omitted entirely. It should also be understood that the inner spring wall 108e may be replaced with a different structure or combination of structures designed to ensure that the spring member 300 is properly positioned (e.g., not forced backwards) within the male terminal 101, or this structure may be omitted entirely.

[0027] The side walls 108b, 108d, the top wall 108a, and the bottom wall 108c each define a second base surface P B2 The contact arm 180 includes the following structure / anti-structure extending forwardly therefrom: (i) at least one contact arm 180a-180d including two main portions 182a-182d and 178a-178d, and preferably a plurality of contact arms 180a-180d, (ii) support ribs 116a-116c, and (iii) contact arm gaps or voids 120a-120g positioned between any of the contact arms 180a, 180d and an adjacent support rib 116a-116c or an adjacent contact arm 180a, 180d, where the support rib 116a-116c has an overall length that is less than the overall length of the contact arms 180a-180d. This configuration forms multiple structures / anti-structures within side walls 108b, 108d, top wall 108a, and bottom wall 108c, which may include seven separate structures / anti-structures integrally formed (i.e., not separate) with one another. For example, bottom wall 108c includes (i) geometric bend or fold portion 178c, (ii) first, rear, or straight extent 182c of contact arm 180c, (iii) a portion of second support rib 116b, (iv) a portion of third support rib 116c, (v) fourth contact arm gap or void 120d, (vi) fifth contact arm gap or void 120e, and (vii) extent of base or middle portion 110.

[0028] The contact arm voids 120a-120g are formed in the walls 108a-108d and define the boundaries of the contact arms 180a-180d and the support ribs 116a-116c. For example, the second contact arm void 120b is positioned between the first support rib 116a and the second contact arm 180b, while the third contact arm void 120c is positioned between the second contact arm 180b and the second support rib 116b. The male terminal body 104 includes only three support ribs 116-116c. In other words, the male terminal body 104 lacks a support rib positioned adjacent the top wall 108a and the second side wall 108d. The body 104 lacks this support rib due to the configuration / formation of the internal spring wall 108e. The support ribs 116a-116c include three segments, including a first straight segment, a curved segment, and a second straight segment. The first and second straight segments are substantially coplanar with the associated walls 108a-108d. This configuration allows the support ribs 116a-116c to extend around the corners of the male terminal body 104.

[0029] The support ribs 116a to 116c are disposed on the base portion 100 (the second base surface P B2 ) along the first or rear extents 182a-182d of the contact arms 180a-180d, but not along the geometric bend or fold portion 178c of the contact arms 180a-180d. In other words, the tips 118a-118c of the support ribs 116a-116c are bent along the bend plane P corresponding to the bend 178c. BAs shown, the tips 118a-118c of the support ribs 116a-116c are not connected to one another or to any other structure. Thus, the length of the support ribs 116a-116c is determined by balancing: (i) if the ribs are too long, they will not provide adequate support to the contact arms 180a-180d and / or the jacket 400 at or near the tips 118a-118c of the support ribs 116a-116c, and (ii) if the ribs are too short, they will not provide adequate support to the contact arms 180a-180d and / or the jacket 400. Nevertheless, in other embodiments, the support ribs 116a-116c may be lengthened to extend along the entire contact arms 180a-180d and shortened to extend only along a portion of the first or rear extents 182a-182d of the contact arms 180a-180d, although additional support ribs may be added between the contact arms 180c and 180d or omitted entirely.

[0030] As best shown in FIGS. 6A-10, the contact arms 180a-180d are formed on the peripheral walls 108a-108d and extend from the base or intermediate portion 110 of the male terminal body 104. As shown in the figures, the multiple contact arms 180a-180d are not formed on a single wall 108a-108d. In other words, there is a one-to-one relationship between the number of peripheral walls 108a-108d and the number of contact arms 180a-180d. This one-to-one spacing allows the contact arms 180a-180d to be spaced apart from one another along the perimeter of the base portion 110, which helps ensure that other structures of the male terminal assembly 100 do not interfere with one another during use or operation of the system 10. Nevertheless, in other embodiments, each of the walls 108a-108d may include multiple (e.g., 2-50) contact arms 180a-180d. As discussed above, the support ribs 116a-116c are positioned in the spaces between the majority of the contact arms 180a-180c. The combination of the support ribs 116a-116c and the contact arms 180a-180c is maintained in at least a first semi-assembled state S. 1PAThe spring receiving portion 105 is configured to receive the spring member 300 therein.

[0031] 6A, 8, and 10, contact arms 180a-180d have initial or rearward extents 182a-182d extending from base or intermediate portion 110 (line C1) and geometric bend or fold portions 178a-178d. The geometric bend or fold portions 178a-178d include (i) second or upwardly sloping extents 184a-184d extending between the initial extents 182a-182d (line C2) and outer contact arm apexes 186a-186d (line C3) of contact arms 180a-180d, and (ii) third or downwardly sloping extents 188a-188d extending downwardly from the outer apexes 186a-186d (line C3) to forward-most extents providing free ends 190a-190d. The geometric bend or crease portions 178a-178d of contact arms 180a-180d are advantageous over the contact arm design shown in Figures 69-96 of PCT / US2019 / 036010 because the design helps to reduce (i) the insertion force due to the angled contact arm design (as opposed to a circular contact arm design) and (ii) potential bending or piercing of contact arms 180a-180d when male terminal assembly 100 is not directly matched for insertion with female terminal assembly 700.

[0032] Unlike conventional connectors, the disclosed contact arms 180a-180d have elongated first or rear extents 182a-182d that do not extend away from the base portion 110 at a uniform or substantially uniform outward inclination angle. In other words, as best shown in Figures 6A and 10, the outer surfaces 183a-183d of the first or rear extents 182a-182d of each contact arm 180a-180d are (i) substantially parallel to one another and (ii) substantially aligned with the outer surface 111 of the corresponding extent of the base portion 110. Less force is required to deform or displace the contact arms 180a-180d inwardly or toward the center of the male terminal 101 compared to conventional connectors lacking this elongated first or rear extent 182a-182d. The reduced force allows for an increased force to be required to displace the extent of the spring member 300 inwardly. It is beneficial to shift the structure that resists inward displacement from the contact arms 180a-180d to the spring arms 312a-312d because the insertion force F I Changes to the target insertion force F can be easily made by modifying the design and / or material composition of the spring member 300 rather than redesigning the terminal body 104. For example, a designer may insert a stiffer spring member 300 to maintain / maximize the current carrying capacity of the system 10. Alternatively, a change to the target insertion force F I If there are specific customer requirements that set a spring member 300 that meets those requirements, the designer can select a spring member 300 that meets those requirements without costly and time-consuming redesign of the male terminal body 104. This modularity and flexibility of the connector system 10 represents a significant improvement over the prior art because it reduces the number of product SKUs, increases the ability to meet customer demands without retooling or redesigning connectors, and / or limits testing and other steps required to utilize new / different connectors. The length of the first or rear extents 182a-182d determines the insertion force F required to insert the male terminal assembly 100 into the female terminal assembly 700. IIt should be understood that the angle may vary substantially. Also, in other embodiments, the contact arms 180a-180d may extend away from the base 110 at a uniform inward angle or a substantially uniform inward tilt angle. The inward tilt angle allows the male terminal assembly 100 to have an inwardly tapered design or configuration. In this alternative embodiment, the inwardly tapered design or configuration may be configured such that the outer diameter of wire C2 is 0.01% to 5% less than the outer diameter of wire C1.

[0033] 10, the second or upwardly angled regions 184a-184d are positioned at an outward angle alpha α from the lateral first or rearward regions 182a-182d, with the angle alpha α extending between the outer surface 183d of the first or rearward regions 182a-182d of the contact arms 180a-180d and the outer surface 185a-185d of the second or upwardly angled regions 184a-184d of the contact arms 180a-180d. The outward angle alpha α is between 115° and 170°, and preferably between 125° and 145°. Forward of the second or upwardly angled regions 184a-d, the contact arms 180a-d have third or downwardly angled regions 188a-d that extend downwardly from outer vertices 186a-d to free ends 190a-d. An exterior angle theta θ is defined between the exterior surfaces 185a-d of the second or upwardly angled regions 184a-d and the exterior or contact surfaces 189a-d of the third or downwardly angled regions 188a-d. The exterior angle theta θ is between 240° and 300°, and preferably between 255° and 285°. As with the previous discussion, other terminals whose disclosures are incorporated herein lack this configuration of acute upwardly angled segments and acute downwardly angled segments.

[0034] As discussed in more detail below, the third or downwardly angled areas 188a-188d, and particularly the contact surfaces 189a-189d, are configured to contact areas of the female connector assembly 650 upon insertion of the male terminal assembly 100 into the female terminal assembly 700. This interaction between these components causes the contact arms 180a-180d to flex or displace inwardly toward the center of the male terminal assembly 100 and the spring member 700. This inward flexing of the contact arms 180a-180d causes the spring member 700 to act as a wedge, helping to ensure that a proper mechanical and electrical connection is made between the contact arms 180a-180d and the female receptacle 702.

[0035] 7B, at least a portion of the outer edge or shoulder region 200a, 200b of the contact arms 180a-180d is coined, chamfered, or rounded 201a, 201b. The coined, chamfered, or rounded portion 201a, 201b of the outer edge 200a-200b may (i) extend along the entire length of the contact arms 180a-180d, (ii) extend along the entire length of the second and third regions 184a-184d, 188a-188d of the contact arms 180a-180d, or (iii) extend along a portion (e.g., half the length) of the second regions 184a-184d of the contact arms 180a-180d and a portion (e.g., half the length) of the third regions 188a-188d of the contact arms 180a-180d. Without forming the coined, chamfered or rounded portions 201a, 201b, the edges 200a, 200b of the contact arms 180a-180d may contact the inner surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700, and the straight versus curved configuration of the contact arms 180a-180d and the female terminal assembly 700 may prevent the centers of the contact arms 180a-180d from properly contacting the female terminal assembly 700. Preventing the centers of the contact arms 180a-180d from properly contacting the female terminal assembly 700 may likely reduce the current carrying capacity of the system 10. Additionally, omitting the coined, chamfered or rounded portions 201a, 201b may leave sharp edges on the contact arms 180a-180d, which may cause the contact arms 180a-180d to nick or mark the inner surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700. The nicks may gouge or damage the interior plating and / or surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700, thereby reducing the number of mating cycles that the system 10 can achieve without failing. In other embodiments, the outer edges or shoulder regions 200a, 200b of the contact arms 180a-180d may not be coined, chamfered, or rounded. Instead, the contact arms 180a-180d may be bent or material may be deposited on the contact arms 180a-180d to cause the outer surfaces of the contact arms 180a-180d to substantially match the curvature of the inner surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 6A-10, the contact arms 180a-180d are connected only to the base portion 110 of the male terminal body 104. This free end configuration of the contact arms 180a-180d allows the contact arms 180a-180d to expand in all directions. There are no support walls surrounding the contact arms 180a-180d because the contact arm openings or voids 120a-120g are interspersed between each pair of contact arms 180a-180d. This configuration of the male terminal assembly 100 is substantially different from the configuration disclosed in connection with the male terminal assemblies of PCT / US2019 / 36010. As discussed in PCT / US2019 / 36010, removing the sidewall configuration surrounding the contact arms 180a-180d may increase the failure rate of the male terminal assembly 100 because the sidewall configuration protects the contact arms 180a-180d. However, this increased failure rate is mitigated by the inclusion of jacket 400.

[0037] The male terminal 101 is typically formed from a single material (e.g., metal). Thus, the male terminal 101 is a one-piece male terminal 101 and has integrally formed features. To integrally form these features, the male terminal 101 is typically formed using a stamping process. However, it should be understood that other types of forming the male terminal 101 may be utilized, such as casting or using an additive manufacturing process (e.g., 3D printing). In other embodiments, the features of the male terminal 101 may not be formed from a single piece or may not be integrally formed, but may instead be formed from separate pieces that are welded together. It should be understood that in forming the male terminal 101, any number of contact arms 180a-180d (e.g., between 1-100) may be formed within the male terminal 101. Male terminal 101, male terminal body 104, contact arms 180a-180d, or ranges of contact arms 180a-180d may be plated or coated with a secondary material (e.g., nickel) that helps reduce corrosion, reduce insertion force, or improve electrical conductivity. Additionally, contact arms 180a-180d, or portions of contact arms 180a-180d, may have rounded or chamfered edges.

[0038] iii. Spring members 11 and 12A-12B illustrate steps that may be taken to form a spring member 300 from a blank piece of metal (e.g., spring steel, stainless steel). In particular, this process may include multiple (e.g., 17) steps of cutting and / or bending the metal blank. Once these steps are performed, the spring member 300 is formed to include a configuration of spring member side walls 304a-304d and rear spring wall 306. Each spring member side wall 304a-304d is comprised of (i) a first or curved spring section 308a-308d that extends from rear wall 306 (line S1) to an initial or straight base extent 316a-316d (line S2), and (ii) a spring arm 312a-312d that extends forward from the first or curved spring section 308a-308d (line S2) to a free end 330a-330d. The spring arms 312a-312d extend from the first or curved spring portions 308a-308d of the spring member 300 in a direction away from the rear spring wall 306 and terminate at front or free ends 330a-330d. The spring arms 312a-312d are not connected to one another but are separated by spring arm gaps 310a-310d. As such, the spring arm gaps 310a-310d are interspersed between the spring arms 312a-312d. The spring arm gaps 310a-310d aid in the expansion or contraction of the spring arms 312a-312d in all directions to facilitate mechanical coupling between the male terminal 101 and the female terminal assembly 700.

[0039] Unlike conventional spring members, the spring member 300 disclosed herein includes spring arms 312a-312d having a geometric shape that substantially matches the geometric shape of the associated contact arm 180a-180d. In other words, the spring arms 312a-312d include geometric bends or folds 320a-320d that substantially match the geometric bends or folds 178a-178d of the contact arms 180a-180d. In addition to the geometric bends or folds 320a-d, spring member 300 is unique because it includes: (i) a first or primary pair of spring arms including a top, primary or first spring arm 312a and a bottom or third spring arm 312c, and (ii) a second or secondary pair of spring arms including a first side spring arm, secondary spring arm or second spring arm 312b and a second side spring arm or fourth spring arm 312d. The geometries of the top and bottom spring arms 312a, 312c are substantially mirror images of one another, and the geometries of the first and second side spring arms 312b, 312d are substantially mirror images of one another. Additionally, the geometry of the spring arms in the first pair of spring arms (upper and lower spring arms 312a, 312c) does not match the geometry of the spring arms in the second pair of spring arms (side spring arms 312b, 312d).

[0040] The upper and lower spring arms 312a, 312c include (i) initial or straight base extents 316a, 316c, 322c that extend from the first or curved spring sections 308a, 308c (line S2) to the second or upwardly inclined extents 322a (line S3), and (ii) geometric bend or fold portions 320a, 320c that extend forward from the initial or straight extents 316a, 316c (line S3). The geometric bend or fold portions 320a, 320c include: (i) a second or upwardly inclined range 322a, 322c extending between the initial range 316a, 316c (line S3) and the outer apex 324a, 324c (line S4) of the spring arm 312a, 312c; (ii) a third or downwardly inclined range 326a, 326c extending downwardly from the outer apex 324a, 324c (line S4) to an over-compressed range 328a, 328c (line S5); and (iii) an over-compressed range 328a, 328c extending between the third or downwardly inclined range 326a, 326c (line S5) and a forward-most range providing the leading ends 330a, 330c. The geometric bends or folds 320a, 320c of the spring arms 312a, 312c are configured to complement the geometric bends or folds 178a, 178c of the contact arms 180a, 180c.

[0041] As shown in FIGS. 13A-15, the upper and lower spring arms 312a, 312c have (i) a first spring arm width W extending between the straight edge portions 336a, 336b. 1SA , (ii) a transition spring arm width, and (iii) a second spring arm width W extending between contact surface edges 338a, 338b. 2SA and (iv) the overcompression or third spring arm width W extending between the overcompression edges 340a, 340b. 3SA The curved spring sections 308a, 308c and linear regions 316a, 316c of the spring member 300 have a first spring arm width W 1SA and the downwardly inclined ranges 326a, 326c of the spring member 300 have a second spring arm width W 2SA and the overcompression ranges 328a, 328c have a third spring arm width W 3SA The upwardly inclined ranges 322a, 322c of the spring member 300 have a first spring arm width W1SA to second spring arm width W 2SA The transition width varies from

[0042] This configuration allows the majority of the fold portions 320a, 320c to have a width that substantially matches the width of the fold portions 178a, 178c. In that the male terminal assembly 100 is configured to contact the female terminal assembly 700, matching the width of the spring arms 312a, 312c and the contact arms 180a, 180c is beneficial because it limits the width required for the contact arm openings 414, 470 formed in the jacket 400 and the male terminal assembly 70. Additionally, by including additional material in the spring member 300 at a location substantially rearward of the fold portions 178a, 178c of the contact arms 180a, 180c, a designer can increase the force required to deform the spring arms 312a, 312c as compared to a spring member lacking this additional material. Nevertheless, it should be understood that in other embodiments, the width of the spring arms 312a, 312c may be constant along the entire length of the arms 312a, 312c, may have only two different widths, or may have more widths than the number disclosed.

[0043] Side spring arms 312b, 312d include (i) an initial or straight extent 316b, 316d extending from a first or curved spring section 308b, 308d (line S2) to a second or upwardly inclined extent 322b, 322d (line S2), and (ii) a geometric bend or fold portion 320b, 320d extending forward from the initial or straight extent 316b, 316d (line S3). The geometric bend or fold portion 320b, 320d includes: (i) a second or upwardly sloping area 322b, 322d extending between the initial area 316b, 316d (line S3) and the outer apex 324b, 324d (line S4) of the spring arm 312b, 312d; (ii) a third or downwardly sloping area 326b, 326d extending downward from the outer apex 324b, 324d (line S4) to a fourth area, jacket area, or jacket protrusion area 329b, 329d (line S6); and (iii) a jacket area 329b, 329d extending forward from the third or downwardly sloping area 326b, 326d (line S6) to a free end 330b, 330d. The geometric bends or folds 320b, 320d of the spring arms 312b, 312d are configured to complement the geometric bends or folds 178b, 178d of the contact arms 180b, 180d.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 13A-15, side spring arms 312b, 312d have (i) a fourth spring arm width W extending between straight area edges 332a, 322b. 4SA , (ii) a transition spring arm width, and (iii) a fifth spring arm width W extending between the front spring arm ends 334a, 324b. 5SA The curved spring sections 308b, 308d and the linear regions 316b, 316d of the spring member 300 define a fourth spring arm width W 4SA while the downwardly inclined regions 326b, 326d and jacket regions 329b, 329d of the spring member 300 have a fifth spring arm width W 5SA The upwardly inclined ranges 322b, 322d of the spring member 300 have a fourth spring arm width W 4SA to 5th spring arm width W 5SAThis configuration is beneficial for the same reasons discussed above in connection with the upper and lower spring arms 312a, 312c.

[0045] Unlike conventional springs, the disclosed spring member includes spring arms 312a-d having three unique or distinct widths. In this embodiment, the spring member 300 includes two spring arms 312a, 312b, where the width of one spring arm 312a increases between two points (e.g., 336a-336b, 340a-340b) along its length, and the width of the second spring arm 312b decreases between two points (e.g., 332a-332b, 334a-334b) along its length. Additionally, the spring member 300 has: (i) first and fourth spring arm widths W 1SA , W 4SA are equal; (ii) the second and fifth spring arm widths W 2SA , W 5SA are equal; (iii) the first and fourth spring arm widths W 1SA , W 4SA is the second and fifth spring arm width W 2SA , W 5SA (iv) a third spring arm width W 3SA are the first, second, fourth, and fifth spring arm widths W 1SA ,,W 2SA , W 4SA , W 5SA In other words, the widths of the curvilinear spring sections 308a-308d and the straight regions 316a-316d of the spring member 300 are substantially equal, the widths of the downwardly inclined regions 326a-326d are substantially equal, and the widths of the over-compressed regions 328a, 328c are not equal to (i.e., are greater than) the jacket regions 329b, 329d.

[0046] Unlike conventional spring members, the spring member 300 includes a first portion of the means for limiting compression 314. The first portion of the means for limiting compression 314 is a first set of limiting structures 315a, which includes (i) over-compression regions 328a, 328c, and (ii) the ends of adjacent side spring arms 312b, 312d. The over-compression regions 328a, 328c extend outwardly and laterally from the downwardly sloping regions 326a, 326c and define an over-compression region W that is greater than the other spring arm widths (e.g., first, second, fourth, and fifth). 3SA In fact, the overcompression width W 3SA is the inner surface width W extending between the inner surface 342a of the jacket areas 329b, 329d of the side spring arms 312b, 312d. IS As such, the outer edges 340a, 340b and over-compression areas 328a, 328c are positioned outside or beyond the inner surface 342a of the side spring arms 312b, 312d. Additionally, the outer edges 340a, 340b of the over-compression areas 328a, 328c are positioned outside or beyond the inner surface 346 of the linear areas 316b, 316d of the side spring arms 312b, 312d. E , the contact arms 180a, 180c are compressed to a maximum distance D as the front ends 330a, 330c contact the front spring arm edges 334a, 334b ​​of the side spring arms 312b, 312d. MC In this embodiment, the maximum compression distance D MC is less than 1.25 mm, preferably less than 1.0 mm, and most preferably less than 0.5 mm. The extent to which the contact arms 180a, 180c are deformed or compressed is defined as the maximum compression distance D MC 3, the contact arms 180a, 180c, the spring arms 312a, 312c, and the combination thereof, may prevent the arms 180a, 180c from compressing too far toward the center of the connector 50 (e.g., the maximum compression distance D MCThe first set of limiting structures 315a provides this advantageous feature, but it should be understood that the structures 315a are configured in a manner that ensures that normal or operational deformation (see FIG. 63) of the contact arms 312a, 312c and spring members 312a, 312c is not impeded. Specifically, the normal or operational deformation distance D NC (See Figure 63) is the maximum compression distance D MC Therefore, the deformation distance D during normal or operation is at least 5% and preferably 20% smaller than the NC is less than 1.20 mm, preferably less than 0.95 mm, and most preferably less than 0.4 mm. In other words, the compression distance at which the system 10 fails is less than the maximum compression distance D MC This is a distance greater than the distance when the system 10 is in the connected state S CN The normal or operational deformation distance D experienced by the system 10 when NC Greater than.

[0047] 15, the bent spring arm portion 320a includes second or upwardly inclined regions 322a-322d that extend from a lateral first or rearward region 316a-316d at an outward angle gamma γ, the angle gamma γ specifically extending between an outer surface 313a-313d of the first or rearward region 316a-316d of the spring arm 312a-312d and an outer surface 323a-323d of the second or upwardly inclined region 322a-322d of the spring arm 312a-312d. The outward angle gamma γ is an obtuse angle and is between 115° and 170°, preferably between 125° and 145°. An exterior angle delta δ is defined between the outer surfaces 323a-323d of the second or upwardly inclined regions 322a-322d of the spring arms 312a-312d and the outer surfaces 327a-327d of the third or downwardly inclined regions 326a-326d of the spring arms 312a-312d. The exterior angle delta δ is a reflex angle and is between 240° and 300°, preferably between 255° and 285°. An interior angle omega ω, which is complementary to the exterior angle delta δ, is defined between the inner surfaces of the second or upwardly inclined regions 322a-322d of the spring arms 312a-312d and the inner surfaces of the third or downwardly inclined regions 326a-326d of the spring arms 312a-312d. The interior angle omega ω is between 60° and 120°, preferably between 75° and 105°, and most preferably 80°. In other words, the interior angle omega ω is a "significantly acute angle" greater than 70° and less than 90°. As with the previous discussion of conventional connectors, including conventional terminals and / or connectors including conventional spring members, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein, it lacks the configuration of acute upward angled segments and acute downward angled segments and the resulting apex corresponding to both the exterior angle delta δ and the interior angle omega ω. Additionally, unlike conventional spring members, the side spring arms 312b, 312d include protruding jacket extents 329b, 329d of the spring member 300 having an inner surface 342b that is (i) positioned outside the periphery of the rear wall 306, and (ii) positioned inside the inner surface 346 of the linear extents 316b, 316d of the spring arms 312b, 312d.As shown in the figure, the inner surfaces of the upwardly inclined areas 322b, 322d and the downwardly inclined areas 326b, 326d are located outside the inner surface 346 of the straight areas 316b, 316d, and therefore the protruding jacket areas 329b, 329d are positioned inside these inner surfaces.

[0048] The spring member 300 is typically formed from a single material (e.g., metal). Thus, the spring member 300 has a one-piece construction with integrally formed parts. In particular, the following features are integrally formed: (i) the curvilinear spring sections 308a-308d, and (ii) the spring arms 312a-312d. To integrally form these features, the spring member 300 is typically manufactured using a die forming process, which mechanically and forcefully shapes the spring member 300. As discussed in more detail below and in PCT / US2019 / 036010, when the spring member 300 is formed from a flat metal sheet (as shown in FIGS. 11-12B ) and installed within the male terminal 101 (as shown in FIGS. 16-18 ), and exposed to high temperatures, the spring member 300 may attempt to return to a flat sheet and exert an outward spring thermal force F on the contact arms 180 a- 180 d of the male terminal 101. ST It should be understood, however, that other methods of forming spring member 300 may be utilized, such as casting or using additive manufacturing processes (e.g., 3D printing). In other embodiments, features of spring member 300 may not be formed from a single piece or may not be integrally formed, but instead may be formed from separate pieces that are welded together.

[0049] 1. From disassembled state to semi-assembled state Positioning of the spring member 300 in the male terminal 101 is performed over a number of steps or stages (see Figs. 16 to 18). Fig. 16 shows a state in which the spring member 300 is separated from the male terminal 101, and the spring member 300 and the male terminal 101 are in a disassembled state S. DA In this decomposition state S DA Then, the contact arms 180a to 180d are in the ready-to-receive position P R This receiving position PR 1, the receiving portion 105 has a first front dimension D that extends between the opposing free ends 190a, 190c of the contact arms 180a, 180c. 1F The external angle formed between the outer surface 111 of the male terminal body 104 and the straight line ranges 182a to 182d of the contact arms 180a to 180d is 90° to 181° (preferably 150° to 170°). A 33 to position the spring member 300 within the receptacle 105 of the male terminal body 104. When positioning the spring member 300 within the receptacle 105, the assembler must align the spring 300 with the body so that the anti-rotation projection 114 can be inserted into the spring arm gap 310a, as shown in FIG. 33. The assembler must apply sufficient force F to the spring 300 to position the spring member 300 within the receptacle 105 of the male terminal body 104. A In addition, when the rear wall 306 of the spring 300 is positioned adjacent to the inner spring wall 108e, the spring member 300 and the male terminal 101 are in the exploded state S DA to the first semi-assembled state S 1PA is transitioning to.

[0050] First semi-assembled state S 1PA 17, where spring member 300 is positioned within receptacle 105 of male terminal 101, but contact arms 180a-180d are not positioned adjacent spring arms 312a-312d. To proceed to the next assembly stage, the assembler applies a downward contact arm force F to all of contact arms 180a-180d. CA was applied to position arms 180a-180d adjacent to spring arms 312a-312d. This contact arm force F CA By applying the above, the contact arms 180a-180d are in the ready-to-receive position P R from ready-to-use position P U This ready-to-use position P U 1, the receiving portion 105 has a second front dimension D that extends between the opposing free ends 190a, 190c of the contact arms 180a, 180c. 2F and a second front dimension D 2F is the first front dimension D 1FFurthermore, the ready-to-use position P U In this ready-to-use position P 1 , the exterior angle formed between the outer surface 111 of the male terminal body 104 and the linear extents 182a-182d of the contact arms 180a-180d is approximately 170°-190°, preferably 180°. U 3, the spring member 300 and the male terminal 101 are moved to the first semi-assembled state S 1PA to the second semi-assembled state S 2PA In this second semi-assembled state S 2PA Now, the spring member 300 is positioned and held within the receptacle 105, ready for the next assembly stage. U It should be understood that spring member 300 should not be inserted into receptacle 105 while in the folded position because geometric bends or creases 320a-320d of spring member 300 would contact and engage free ends 190a-190d of contact arms 180a-180d. In other words, spring member 300 has an outer dimension D that extends between outer apexes 324a-324d of opposing spring arms. E and the spring member 300 has an outer dimension D E is the second front dimension D 2F , which prevents the spring member 300 from being inserted into the receptacle 105 without deforming the contact arms 180a-180d outward. R 1. Only when the spring member 300 is in the receptacle 105 of the male terminal body 104 should an attempt be made to insert the spring member 300 into the receptacle 105 of the male terminal body 104.

[0051] Another unique feature of the system 10 is that the male terminal 101 and the spring member 300 are in a second sub-assembled state S. 2PAFor example, the free ends 190a-d of the contact arms 180a-d do not abut the flat outer surfaces 313a-d of the spring arms 312a-d. Instead, the entire contact arms 180a-d are supported by the spring arms 312a-d, such that the system 10 does not have a substantial gap formed between the outer surfaces 313a-d of the spring arms 312a-d and the inner surfaces of the contact arms 180a-d. Eliminating the gap between these structures and positioning the spring arms 312a-d in this manner allows a majority of the outer surfaces 2313a-d of the spring arms 312a-d to underlie and abut the inner surfaces of the contact arms 180a-d. Manufacturing capacity and position P ready to accept male terminal body 104 R and ready-to-use position P U It should be appreciated that a slight / micro gap may be created between the outer surfaces 313a-313d of the spring arms 312a-312d and the inner surfaces of the contact arms 180a-180d due to the constraint of moving the spring arms 312a-312d from the outer surfaces 313a-313d to the inner surfaces of the contact arms 180a-180d. This positional configuration allows the disclosed system 10 to provide a spring bias force F of 0.01 to .... SB A spring force F is applied in a different way to the SB Specifically, the spring members 3300, 4300, 5300, 6300 in these other embodiments of the systems 3010, 4010, 5010, and 6010 exert a spring bias F at one (or possibly two) locations in a direction substantially perpendicular to the majority of the outer surface of the spring member 300. SB In contrast, the disclosed spring member 300 applies (i) a spring biasing force F SB at one (or possibly two) positions; and (ii) the spring force F SB is not applied in a direction substantially perpendicular to the majority of the exterior surface of the spring member 300.

[0052] iv. Jacket 19 and 20a-20b illustrate steps that may be taken to form a jacket 400 from a blank piece of metal (e.g., spring steel, stainless steel). In particular, this process may include multiple (e.g., 30) steps of cutting and / or bending the metal blank. Once these steps are performed, the jacket 400 is formed to have a clamshell configuration designed to (i) retain the spring member 300 within the receiver 105 and (ii) enhance the durability of the terminal assembly 100. The clamshell configuration of the jacket 400 is provided by a front segment 430 that is connected to a top segment 402 and a bottom segment 460 via hinges. As discussed below, the hinges allow the jacket 400 to be moved to a ready-to-receive position P. R and then in the ready-to-use position P U can be transformed into

[0053] The jacket 400 is configured to surround a majority of the male terminal body 104 and provide a contact arm deflection protrusion 418 configuration. The upper segment 402 and the lower segment 460 of the jacket 400 each include a wall configuration 404, 462 having a U-shaped configuration. In particular, the wall configuration 404 of the upper segment 402 includes (i) a top wall 406, and (ii) opposing side walls 408a, 408b. The opposing side walls 408a, 408b include (i) a number of fastening features 410 designed to secure the jacket 400 to the male terminal body 102, (ii) at least one contact arm deflection protrusion 420 configured to protect the front and / or rear extents of the contact arms 180a, 180b, 180d, (iii) a contact arm recess 424, and (iv) opposing locking tabs 426. In this embodiment, the securing mechanism 410 includes a plurality of recesses 412a-412d having internal apexes 413a-413d configured to contact the sidewalls of the male terminal body 104. Contact between the top segment 402 and the sidewalls of the male terminal body 104 ensures that a proper electrical connection is made between the jacket 400 and the male terminal body 104, thereby preventing the possibility of arcing due to an intermediate connection. In other embodiments, the plurality of recesses 412a-412d may be replaced with another means designed to secure the jacket 400 to the body 104 and prevent the possibility of arcing. This may include welding or forming the jacket as part of the male terminal body 102. The locking tab 426 is formed from an area of ​​the sidewalls 408a, 408b and is part of the male terminal retaining means 94. As discussed above, the locking tab 426 is used to secure the male connector assembly 50 in the mated state S. C 4. The jacket 400 is configured to be positioned in front of the retaining wall 90 of the male housing assembly 70 when in contact with the male terminal 101. The contact arm recess 424 extends upwardly from the lower edges of the opposing side walls 408a, 408b and is designed to ensure that the jacket 400 does not interfere with the operation or assembly of the male terminal 100. Adjacent to the contact arm recess 424 is a deflectable protrusion 420 which is positioned between the recess 424 and the rear extent of the male terminal 101.

[0054] The top wall 406 extends between opposing side walls 408a, 408b and includes (i) a securing feature 410, (ii) a contact arm opening 414, and (iii) a number of flexure protrusions 420. The contact arm opening 414 is disposed within the male terminal assembly when the male terminal assembly is in the assembled state S. A 180d. Adjacent the front and rear sides of the contact arm openings 414 are flexure protrusions 420. The flexure protrusions 420 extend at an outward angle from the jacket 400 (more specifically, the top wall 406) and have upper edges that are positioned below the apexes 186a-186d of the associated contact arms 180a-180d. The flexure protrusions 420 are configured to (i) absorb external impact forces F that may damage the contact arms 180a, 180b, 180d; IE4. The contact arms 180a-180d are designed to (i) help protect the contact arms 180a-180d from contact strain and (ii) ensure that they do not impede movement of the contact arms 180a, 180b, 180d during operation of the connector system 10. This embodiment includes (i) a first flexure protrusion 420 positioned (a) adjacent the contact arm opening 414 and (b) between a leading edge of the contact arm opening 414 and a front segment 430 of the jacket 400, and (ii) a second flexure protrusion 420 positioned (i) adjacent the contact arm opening 414 and (ii) between a trailing edge of the contact arm opening 414 and a rear extent of the jacket 400. The angle between the outer surface of the top wall 406 of the jacket 400 and the outer surface of the first flexible projection 420 is approximately equal to the angle formed between a plane parallel to the third portion 108a of the male terminal body 104 and the third or downwardly sloping extents 188a-188d of the contact arms 180a-180d. The angle between the outer surface of the top wall 406 of the jacket 400 and the outer surface of the second flexible projection 420 is approximately equal to the angle formed between a plane parallel to the top wall 108a of the male terminal body 104 and the second or upwardly sloping extents 184a-184d of the contact arms 180a-180d. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the flexible projection 420 may be formed in the male terminal housing 70, may be omitted, may be increased or decreased in length, or may include a peripheral support designed to support the outer edge of the flexible projection 420. In addition to these features, the securing mechanism 410 formed in the top wall 106 includes (i) an additional or top wall recess 412e, and (ii) a rear retention tab 416 designed to wrap around an area of ​​the male terminal to secure the jacket 400 to the body 104 (see Figures 28, 29A).

[0055] The front segment 430 of the jacket 400 includes (i) a front wall 432 having spring arm openings 434a, 434b formed therethrough, and (ii) a contact arm deflection protrusion 440 configured to protect a forward extent of the contact arms 180b, 180d. As described in more detail below, the spring arm openings 434a, 434b are configured to receive an extent of the spring member 400 (i.e., jacket extents 329b, 329d) to help prevent over-compression of the contact arms 180b, 180d. Similar to the upper segment 402 and the lower segment 462, the deflection protrusion 440 extends at an outward angle from the jacket 400 (more specifically, the extent of the front wall 432) to protect the contact arms 180a-180d from external impact forces F that may damage the contact arms 180a-180d. IE is designed to help protect against

[0056] The wall configuration 462 of the jacket 400 of the lower segment 460 includes (i) a bottom wall 466, and (ii) opposing side walls 468a, 468b. The bottom wall 466 extends between the opposing side walls 468a, 468b and includes (i) a contact arm opening 470, (ii) a contact arm deflection protrusion 480 configured to protect front and rear extents of the contact arm 180c, and (iii) a locking mechanism 410. The contact arm opening 470 is configured to be recessed from the male terminal assembly 180c when the male terminal assembly 180c is in the assembled state S. A 4. The contact arm openings 470 are configured to receive a range of contact arms 180a-180d when in their forward and rearward positions. The contact arm openings 470 are flanked at the front and rear by flexure projections 480. The flexure projections 480 extend at an outward angle from the jacket 400 (more specifically, the bottom wall 466) and act to protect the contact arms 180a-180d from external impact forces F that may damage the contact arms 180a-180d. IE1. The first flexure projection 480 is designed to help protect against the contact arms 180a-180d from the flexures 480. In this embodiment, (i) the first flexure projection 480 is positioned (a) adjacent the contact arm opening 470 and (b) between the leading edge of the contact arm opening 470 and the leading segment 430 of the jacket 400, and (ii) the second flexure projection 480 is positioned (i) adjacent the contact arm opening 470 and (ii) between the trailing edge of the contact arm opening 470 and the trailing extent of the jacket 400. The angle between the exterior surface of the bottom wall 466 of the jacket 400 and the exterior surface of the first flexure projection 480 is approximately equal to the angle formed between a plane parallel to the top wall 108c of the male terminal body 104 and the third or downwardly sloping extents 188a-188d of the contact arms 180a-180d. The angle between the outer surface of the bottom wall 466 of the jacket 400 and the outer surface of the second flexure projections 480 is approximately equal to the angle formed between a plane parallel to the bottom wall 108c of the male terminal body 104 and the second or upwardly angled extents 184a-184d of the contact arms 180a-180d. In addition to these flexure projections 480, the securing mechanism 410 formed in the bottom wall 106 includes a plurality of peripheral retention tabs 474 designed to wrap around the male terminal body 104 to secure the jacket 400 to the body 104 (see Figures 27 and 29C).

[0057] 1. From semi-assembled to fully assembled The male terminal assembly is placed in a third sub-assembly state S. 3PA to the fully connected state S FC The transition to the mated state S is accomplished in several steps or stages. C The male terminal assemblies are placed in a third sub-assembly state S before being transferred to 3PA FIG. 25 shows the jacket 400 separated from the male terminal 101, with the male terminal assembly 100 in a third semi-assembled state S. 3PA In this third semi-assembled state S 3PA Now, the jacket 400 is in the ready-to-receive position P R The assembler applies a rearward assembly force F AThe assembler applies a sufficient force F to position the jacket 400 over the male terminal body 104 and the spring member 300. When positioning the jacket 400 over the male terminal body 104 and the spring member 300, the assembler must align the spring arm openings 434a, 434b formed in the jacket 400 with the jacket areas 329b, 329d of the spring member 300. The assembler must apply a sufficient force F to the jacket 400 to position the jacket 400 over the male terminal body 104 and the spring member 300. A and positioned such that: (i) jacket areas 329b, 329d of spring member 300 are positioned within spring arm openings 434a, 434b, and (ii) deflection projection 440 is positioned adjacent third or downwardly angled areas 188b, 188d of contact arms 180b, 180d, the male terminal assembly 100 is in a third sub-assembled state S. 3PA to the fourth semi-assembled state S 4PA It has moved to.

[0058] Next, as shown in FIG. 26, the assembler applies a downward joining force F to the upper segment 402 and the lower segment 460 of the jacket 400. J 4, positioning the top wall 406 and bottom wall 466 adjacent the top wall 108a and bottom wall 108c of the male terminal body 104. After the side walls 108a, 108c, 406, 466 are positioned adjacent one another, the assembler must bend the retention tabs 416, 474 around the confines of the male terminal body 104. Once this is accomplished, the male terminal assembly 100 is in the assembled state S. A (See Figures 27 to 35.) In this assembled state S A Now, formation of the second set of restriction structures 315b is complete.

[0059] Unlike conventional connector assemblies, the disclosed male terminal assembly 100 includes a means for limiting compression 314. The means for limiting compression 314 further comprises a second combination of limiting structures 315b, which are formed from the interaction between structures contained in two separate components (i.e., the spring member 300 and the jacket 400). In other words, the second combination of limiting structures 315a is provided by positioning the jacket areas 329b, 329d of the spring member 300 within the spring arm openings 434a, 434b formed in the jacket 400 (see Figures 31-32). Here, an external force F is applied to the contact arms 180b, 180d. E , contact arms 180b, 180d will not be able to compress beyond the maximum compression distance D because the inner surface 342a of jacket areas 329b, 329d contacts the inner or inner compression edges 436a, 436b of spring arm openings 434a, 434b. MC The extent to which the contact arm can be deformed or compressed is the maximum compression distance D MC , the contact arms 180b, 180d, the spring arms 312b, 312d, and their combination, are prevented from being excessively (e.g., the maximum compression distance D MC The conductor is prevented from being deformed or pushed in (a distance greater than the axial length of the conductor).

[0060] Finally, as shown in FIGS. 36 to 42, the assembler applies a coupling force F to the male terminal assembly 100 to position the male terminal assembly 100 within the male housing assembly 70. C The assembler applies a coupling force F until the front wall 432 of the jacket 400 is positioned adjacent to the front wall 74 of the male housing assembly 70. C9, the male terminal assembly 100 is then applied to the male terminal assembly 100. When the connector assembly 50 reaches this stage, the contact arms 180a-180d are positioned within the contact arm openings 76a-76d of the male housing assembly 70 and the locking tabs 426 of the jacket 400 are positioned forward of the retention wall 90. With the male terminal assembly 100 in this position, the assembler applies a downward force to the retention body 96 to align the retention body 96 with the retention openings 95 and (i) position the retention projections 98a, 98b within the retention openings 95 and (ii) position the lock projections 97a, 97b below the extent of the connector configuration of the side wall 86. In this state, the male connector assembly 50 is in the fully connected state S. FC and is ready to mate with the female connector assembly 650.

[0061] 2) Female Connector Assembly The female connector assembly 650 comprises (i) a female housing assembly 670 and (ii) a female terminal assembly 700 .

[0062] a. Female housing assembly The female housing assembly 670 is designed to (i) receive the female terminal assembly 700, (ii) facilitate mating of the male terminal assembly 100 and the female terminal assembly 700, (iii) minimize the possibility of foreign objects accidentally contacting the female terminal assembly 700, and (iv) meet industry standards, such as USCAR specifications. The female housing assembly 670 includes a sidewall 672 having a configuration that substantially matches that of the female terminal assembly 700. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the female terminal assembly 700 has a rectangular shape, preferably a rectangular shape that matches the rectangular shape of the female terminal assembly 700. The sidewall 672 of the female housing assembly 670 also includes a plurality of protrusions 697 configured to be received by the recesses 82, and the protrusions 80 are configured to be received by the recesses 698. Finally, the female housing assembly 670 includes a mating protrusion 699 designed to interact with the female receptacle opening 84 of the male housing assembly 70. The female housing assembly 670 also includes a female terminal retention means 690 including (i) a retention body 692, (ii) a retention opening 694 formed in the sidewall 672 of the female housing assembly 670, and (iii) a terminal body projection receiving portion 961. The retention body 692 is a U-shaped structure including a retention projection 696 extending downwardly from an upper cross member that extends between the legs of the U-shaped structure. When the assembly 650 is in the fully coupled state S FC When in this position, (i) the retention body 692 is positioned adjacent to the side wall 672, (ii) the retention protrusion 696 extends into the retention opening 694 and is positioned rearward of the male terminal body 104, and (iii) the terminal body protrusion 713 is positioned within the protrusion receiving portion 691 of the terminal body.

[0063] The sidewalls 672 of the female housing assembly 670 extend beyond the top surface of the female terminal assembly 700 to allow for the formation of a male compression means 674 within the confines of the sidewalls 672. As shown, the male compression means 674 is a ramp or beveled surface 676 that extends from the outermost edges 673 of the sidewalls 672 to the top edge 700a of the female terminal assembly 700. In the disclosed embodiment, the ramp or beveled surface 676 extends from each of the outermost edges 673 and has a substantially linear configuration. However, it should be understood that the ramp or beveled surface 676 may extend from only a portion of the outermost edges 673. The male compression means 674, shown as a ramp or beveled surface 676, is configured to be ... DC From the state separated from the female terminal assembly 700, the connected state S C 6. The contact arms 180a-180d are designed to compress the contact arms 180a-180d so that the contact arms 180a-180d are moved to a position within the female terminal assembly 700 (see FIGS. 1 and 58-63). S and the sidewall distance D S is the rearmost edge distance D extending between opposite points on the rearmost edge 678 of the inclined or sloped surface 676 RE And the rear edge distance D RE is the receiving distance D extending between opposing points on the inner surface 704 of the receptacle 702 of the female terminal assembly 700. R That is all. In particular, the sidewall distance D S is the receiving distance D R 0.1 to 15% larger than the rear edge distance D RE is the receiving distance D R In other words, the inclined or beveled surface 676 is angled relative to the outer surface of the sidewall 672 and / or the inner surface 704 of the receptacle 702 of the female terminal assembly 700. In particular, the interior angle chi χ extending between the inner surface of the inclined or beveled surface 676 and the outer surface of the sidewall 672 is between 0.1° and 10°.

[0064] The inclined or sloped surface 676 is made from a polymer or plastic material and as such has a lower coefficient of friction than the coefficient of friction associated with a metal surface. In other words, a first friction value is created when a region of the male terminal assembly 100 (e.g., contact arms 180a-180d) engages with a male terminal compression means 674 formed from a non-metallic material (e.g., plastic). In an alternative embodiment, a second friction value would be created when a region of the male terminal assembly 100 (e.g., contact arms 180a-180d) engages with a male terminal compression means formed from a metallic material (e.g., copper). When comparing friction values ​​from the disclosed embodiment with those of the alternative embodiment, it should be understood that the first or friction value from the disclosed embodiment is less than the second or friction value of the alternative embodiment.

[0065] A lower coefficient of friction reduces the force required to insert the male terminal assembly 100 into the female terminal assembly 700. This is beneficial for the following reasons: (i) Industry specifications, including USCAR 25, have a minimum insertion force F I However, there is a requirement that the spring force F must not exceed 45 Newtons for class 2 connectors and 75 Newtons for class 3 connectors. Also, (ii) the larger spring force F SB By using the insertion force F I 7. It is desirable to increase the contact arm length of the male terminal assembly 700 so as to ensure that the contact arms of the male terminal assembly 700 remain in contact with the inner surface 704 of the receptacle 702 of the female terminal assembly 700. Additionally, the connector system 10 provides a method for maintaining the connector in the disconnected state S while meeting Class 2 / Class 3 USCAR specifications without the need for lever assistance. DC to connection status S C This low coefficient of friction is beneficial because the connector system 10 can be moved to a lower position by using a lever assist. Eliminating the lever assist reduces the size, weight, and manufacturing costs of the connector system 10. It should be appreciated that to further reduce the coefficient of friction, the ramp or beveled surface 676 may be coated with a substance that reduces this coefficient, or the ramp or beveled surface 676 may be made from a material that has an even lower coefficient of friction.

[0066] The configuration of the male connector 50 and the female connector 650 allows the connector system 10 to be in a disconnected state S DC to connection status S C For example, when a region of the male terminal assembly 100 (e.g., contact arms 180a-180d) is in sliding engagement with the male terminal compression means 674, a first force F may be applied to move the male terminal assembly 100. I1 is required to move the male terminal assembly 100 when the area (e.g., contact arms 180a-180d) of the male terminal assembly 100 is positioned within the female terminal receiving portion 702. I2 Comparing these forces, the second force F I2 is the first force F I1 It should be appreciated that the distance between the male terminal assembly 100 and the female terminal assembly 700 is less than 0.01 mm. This is beneficial because it provides strategic feedback to the user that the male terminal assembly 100 is properly seated within the female terminal assembly 700. In effect, this strategic feedback is conveyed to the user as the male terminal assembly 100 is being pulled into the female terminal assembly 700.

[0067] To minimize the possibility of the male connector assembly 50 being inadvertently disconnected from the female connector assembly 650, the female connector assembly 650 may include an optional non-deformable female CPA structure designed and configured to interact with the male CPA structure when the connector assemblies 50, 650 are mated together. The non-deformable female CPA structure is integrally formed with the sidewall 672 of the female housing assembly 670. Further details regarding the structure and / or function of the female CPA structure are disclosed in PCT / US2019 / 036070, PCT / US2020 / 049870, and PCT / US2021 / 033446, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0068] b.Female terminal The female terminal assembly 700 of the female connector assembly 650 is comprised of (i) a female terminal connecting member 701, and (ii) a female terminal body 710. Specifically, the female terminal connecting member 701 is coupled to the female terminal body 710. In this embodiment, the female terminal connecting member 701 is a wire receiving portion, which has a blade-shaped structure configured to receive a range of structures (e.g., leads or wires) that connect the female terminal assembly 700 to a device (e.g., an alternator) external to the connector system 10. The wires are typically welded to the wire receiving portion. However, other methods of connecting the wires to the wire receiving portion (e.g., forming the wires as part of the wire receiving portion) are also contemplated by the present disclosure. In other embodiments, the female terminal connecting member 701 may be a crimp connection, a circuit board connector, have a U-shaped configuration, or any other type of connecting member 102 that mechanically and electrically connects the female terminal body 710 to an external device, component, or area.

[0069] The female terminal body 710 of the female connector assembly 650 includes a sidewall 712 having an inner surface 704, the sidewall 712 having a receiving distance D extending between opposing points of the inner surface 704 of the sidewall 712. R As discussed above, the receiving portion distance D R (i) Side wall distance D S and (ii) the rearmost edge distance D RE or more. Furthermore, the receiving portion distance is 0.1% to 15% less than the distance of the male terminal assembly extending between the outermost extents of the opposing contact arms 180a-180d. By forming the terminal receptacle 702 having a receiving portion distance shorter than that of the male terminal assembly, the contact arms 180a-180d are reliably compressed when the male terminal assembly 100 is inserted into the female terminal assembly 700. This compression of the male terminal assembly compresses the spring member 300. Therefore, the spring member 300 applies an outward biasing force F to the contact arms 180a-180d. SBAdditionally, contact arms 180 a - 180 d remain in reliable contact with inner surface 704 of terminal receptacle 702 , facilitating electrical and mechanical coupling between male terminal assembly 100 and female terminal assembly 700 .

[0070] The female terminal assembly 700 is typically formed from a metal, preferably a highly conductive metal such as copper. The female terminal assembly 700 may be plated or coated with Ni-Ag. In other embodiments, the sidewall 712 may be made from a different material and / or the female terminal assembly 700 may not be plated or coated with Ni-Ag. Once the female terminal assembly 700 is manufactured, it may be coupled to a wire, part, component, or device via the female terminal connection member 701.

[0071] 3) Connecting the connector system The connector system 10 is in a disconnected state S DC to partial connection state S PC 5, where the contact arms 180a-180d of the male connector assembly 50 contact the beveled or angled surface 676 of the female connector assembly 650. The beveled or angled surface 676 gently and smoothly compresses the contact arms 180a-180d until they can easily slide into contact with the inner surface 704 of the female receptacle 702. This process is described in more detail in PCT / US2019 / 36070, which is incorporated herein by reference. Once the male connector assembly 50 is mated with the female connector assembly 650, the connector system 10 is in a partially connected state S PC to connection status S C A force is applied to the CPA that interacts with a range of external components, if any, and the installer can scan the range of the CPA visible through an opening in the housing, as described in PCT / US2020 / 049870.

[0072] 4) Characteristics and functions of terminals Figure 61 shows the connection state S C1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of male connector assembly 50 mated to female connector assembly 650 at 6010. While the following disclosure will be discussed in relation to a first embodiment of system 10, it should be understood that the disclosure applies equally to all embodiments of systems 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010, 5010, and 6010. As discussed above, the outermost extent or diameter of contact arms 180a-180d is slightly larger than the inner diameter of female terminal body 710. As such, when these components are mated together, spring member 300 is compressed. This compression of spring member 300 creates a wedge effect or outward biasing force F against contact arms 180a-180d in a direction away from the interior of spring member 300. SB produces.

[0073] The male terminal body 104, including the contact arms 180a-180d, may be formed from a first material, such as copper, a high conductivity copper alloy (e.g., C151 or C110), aluminum, and / or another suitable conductive material. The first material preferably has a conductivity greater than 80% of the IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard, i.e., an empirically derived standard value for the conductivity of commercially available copper). For example, C151 typically has a conductivity of 95% of standard pure copper according to the IACS. Similarly, the conductivity of C110 is 101% of the IACS. In certain operating environments or technical applications, it may be preferable to select C151 because it has desirable anti-corrosion properties for high stress and / or harsh weather applications. The first material of the male terminal body 104 is C151, which according to the ASTM B747 standard is reported to have a modulus of elasticity (Young's modulus) of approximately 115-125 gigapascals (GPa) at room temperature and a terminal coefficient of expansion (CTE) of 17.6 ppm / °C (20-300°C) and 17.0 ppm / °C (20-200°C).

[0074] The spring member 300 may be formed from a second material, such as spring steel, stainless steel (e.g., 301SS, 1 / 4 hardness), and / or another suitable material having a stiffness (e.g., as measured by Young's modulus) and elasticity greater than the first material of the male terminal body 104. The second material preferably has a lower electrical conductivity than that of the first material. The second material also has a Young's modulus of about 193 GPa at room temperature and a terminal coefficient of expansion (CTE) of 17.8 ppm / °C (0-315°C) and 16.9 ppm / °C (0-100°C). For contemplated high voltage applications, the cross-sectional area of ​​the copper alloy forming the first connector is balanced with the electrical conductivity of the selected copper alloy. For example, if a copper alloy having a lower electrical conductivity is selected, the contact arms 180a-180d formed therefrom will have a larger cross-sectional area to adequately conduct electricity. Similarly, selecting a first material that has a higher electrical conductivity may allow for contact arms 180a-180d to have a relatively small cross-sectional area while still meeting electrical conductivity specifications.

[0075] In an exemplary embodiment, the CTE of the second material may be greater than the CTE of the first material. That is, the CTE of the spring member 300 is greater than the CTE of the male terminal body 104. Thus, when the assembly of the male terminal body 104 and the spring member 300 is subjected to a high voltage and high temperature environment typical for use with the electrical connector described in this disclosure, the spring member 300 expands relatively more than the male terminal body 104. Thus, the outward force F exerted by the spring member 300 on the contact arms 180a-180d of the male terminal body 104 is SB increases with increasing temperature, which is hereafter referred to as the thermal spring force F. ST It is called.

[0076] Applications of the present disclosure, such as for use in charging couplers, are suitable for deployment in Class 5 automotive environments such as those found in passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Class 5 environments are often found under the hood of vehicles such as alternators, where the ambient temperature is 150° C. and routinely reaches 200° C. When copper and / or highly conductive copper alloys are exposed to temperatures above about 150° C., the alloy becomes malleable and loses mechanical resilience. That is, the copper material softens. However, the steel from which the spring member 300 is formed retains its hardness and mechanical properties when exposed to similar conditions. Thus, when both the male terminal body 104 and the spring member 300 are exposed to high temperatures, the first material of the male terminal body 104 softens while the structural integrity of the spring member 300 formed from the second material is maintained, thereby reducing the force applied by the spring member 300 to the softened contact arms 180a-180d in the fully connected position S. FC In this manner, the softened contact arms 180a to 180d are more effectively displaced outward relative to the interior of the male terminal body 104.

[0077] The male terminal body 104, the spring member 300, and the female terminal body 710 are configured to maintain electrical conductivity and mechanical engagement while withstanding high temperatures and thermal cycling. Additionally, the male terminal body 104 and the female terminal body 710 may undergo thermal expansion as a result of high temperatures and thermal cycling, which may increase the outward force F exerted by the male terminal body 104 on the female terminal body 710. SB The configuration of the male terminal body 104, the spring member 300, and the female terminal body 710 is such that the connector system 10 is in the connection position P C The outward connection force between them increases while withstanding thermal expansion due to thermal cycling at room temperature.

[0078] Based on the above exemplary embodiment, the Young's modulus and CTE of the spring member 300 are greater than the Young's modulus and CTE of the male terminal body 104. Thus, when the male terminal body 104 is used in a high power application that exposes the connector system 10 to repeated thermal cycling at high temperatures (e.g., about 150° C.), (i) the male terminal body 104 becomes malleable and loses some mechanical elasticity, i.e., the copper material of the male terminal body 104 softens, and (ii) the spring member 300 becomes less malleable or loses less mechanical stiffness compared to the male terminal body 104.

[0079] Thus, utilizing a mechanically cold-formed spring member 300 (e.g., utilizing a mold forming process), when the spring member 300 is exposed to high temperatures, the spring member 300 will at least attempt to return to an uncompressed state, which occurs prior to insertion of the male terminal assembly 100 into the female terminal assembly 700, and preferably to its original flat state (which occurs prior to forming of the spring member 300). In doing so, the spring member 300 will exert a generally outward thermal spring force F along the entire length of the contact arms 180a-180d (not just at discrete points). ST (See "F" in Figure 61. ST This thermal spring force F ST is dependent on the local temperature conditions, including hot and / or cold, in the environment in which the system 10 is installed. Thus, the spring bias force F SB and thermal spring force F ST The combination of these forces gives a composite force F RSB 7, which ensures that the outer or contact surfaces 189a-189d of the contact arms 180a-180d contact the inner surface 704 of the female terminal body 710 to ensure electrical and mechanical connection when the female terminal assembly 700 is inserted into the female terminal 700 and during operation of the system 10. Furthermore, when subjected to repeated thermal cycling events, the male terminal assembly 100 resists the resultant outward spring force S applied to the female terminal assembly 700 during repeated operation of the system 10. RBF This will maintain and / or increase

[0080] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 61, in the connection state S CIn this case, the male terminal assembly 100 provides 360° compliance to the female terminal assembly 700 and applies a sufficient amount of outward biasing force F SB is applied by the male terminal assembly 100 to the female terminal assembly 700 to primarily ensure electrical and mechanical connection in all four directions. This attribute allows the elimination of keying and / or other features designed to ensure a desired orientation of the components during connection. The 360° compliance attribute of the system 10 also helps maintain mechanical and electrical connection under severe mechanical conditions, such as vibration. In a conventional blade or fork type connector having 180° compliance, i.e., connection only on two opposing sides, vibration can cause harmonic resonances that can cause the 180° compliant connector to vibrate with greater amplitude at certain frequencies. For example, when a fork type connector experiences harmonic resonances, the fork type connector can open. It is undesirable to open a fork type connector while electrical current is flowing because electrical arcing can occur if the fork type connector is mechanically separated momentarily from its associated terminal. Arcing can have significant adverse effects on not only the 180° compliant terminal, but the entire electrical system of which the 180° compliant terminal is a component. However, the 360° compliance feature of the present disclosure can prevent catastrophic failure that can be caused by strong vibrations and electrical arcing.

[0081] 5) Alternative Embodiments of Male Connector Assembly 64A-65C show a second embodiment of a spring member 1300 that can be used in place of the spring assembly 300 shown and described above. Since substantially most of the structures featured in this embodiment of the system 1010 are similar to those featured in the first embodiment of the system 10, it should be understood that the reference numbers shown in the drawings may be omitted from the specification for brevity, with similar structures being similarly numbered. For example, the disclosure related to male terminal 101 is not repeated here, but applies to male terminal 1101 as if repeated herein. In other words, the omission of a reference number from the specification or a particular disclosure of the function of that structure does not limit the disclosure of this application. Instead, reference should be made to the disclosure of similar structures discussed in another section of this application or in other applications incorporated herein by reference.

[0082] In this second embodiment of the system 1010, the extent of the means for limiting compression 314 from the first embodiment of the system 10 has been replaced with an alternative extent of the means for limiting compression 1314. In particular, the second combination of limiting structures 315b (i.e., the jacket areas 329b, 329d of the spring member 300 and the spring arm openings 434a, 434b formed in the jacket 400) has been replaced with an alternative combination of structures 1315b (i.e., the contact areas 1331b, 1331d). Here, the contact areas 1331b, 1331d disclosed in this embodiment 1010 replace the jacket areas 329b, 329d from the first embodiment of the system 10. In this embodiment, the contact arms 1180b, 1180d are provided with an external force F. E , the front ends 1330b, 1330d contact each other, and the contact arms 1180b, 1180d are compressed to an alternative maximum distance D AMC The extent to which the contact arms 1180b, 1180d are deformed or compressed is defined as an alternative maximum compression distance D AMC By limiting the distance to the center of the connector 1050, the contact arms 1180b, 1180d, the spring arms 1312b, 1312d, and the combination thereof may be prevented from being excessively (e.g., the alternative maximum compression distance D AMCThe alternative maximum compression distance D in this embodiment is AMC is the maximum compression distance D MC , but still, the external force F E In other words, the compression distance at which the system 1010 fails is smaller than the alternative maximum compression distance D AMC This is larger than the maximum compression distance D MC and the system 1010 is in a connected state S CN 13. This design of terminal assembly 1100 may be more desirable than the first embodiment of terminal assembly 100 because the means for limiting compression 1314 is contained entirely within a single structure (i.e., spring member 1300), which may improve the durability and lifespan of system 1010.

[0083] 66-74 show a third embodiment of a spring member 2300 that can be used in place of the spring assembly 300 shown and described above. It should be understood that substantially most of the structures featured in this embodiment of the system 2010 are similar to those featured in the first embodiment of the system 10, and therefore the reference numbers shown in the drawings may be omitted from the specification for convenience and brevity, as similar structures are similarly numbered. For example, the disclosure related to the male terminal 101 is not repeated here, but applies to the male terminal 2101 as if repeated herein. In other words, the omission of reference numbers from the specification or a specific disclosure of the function of that structure does not limit the disclosure of this application. Instead, reference should be made to the disclosure of similar structures discussed in another section of this application or in other applications incorporated herein by reference. In this embodiment, the geometric bend or fold portions 320a-320d and the means for limiting compression 314 from the first embodiment of the system 10 are replaced by a contact arm support 2350 and a compression tab 2370. In particular, the contact arm support 2350 includes (i) forward curved regions 2351a-2351d extending between the straight regions 2316b, 2316d (line S3) of the spring member 300 and the vertical regions 2353a-2353d (line S4), and (ii) vertical regions 2353a-2353d extending forward from the forward curved regions 2351a-2351d (line S4) and terminating at free ends 2330a-2330d.

[0084] Unlike the first two embodiments of the male terminal assemblies 100, 1100 disclosed herein, the spring arms 2312a-2312d do not have a geometric shape that substantially matches the geometric shape of the associated contact arm 2180a-2180d. As such, the spring arms 2312a-2312d do not have outer surfaces 2313a-2313d that underlie and abut a majority of the inner surface of the associated contact arm 2180a-2180d. Instead, the free ends 2330a-2330d of the spring arms 2312a-2312d are positioned under the apexes 2186a-2186d of the bent or folded portions 178a-178d of the contact arms 180a-180d. This configuration forms a gap G (having a right-angled triangular shape) between the upwardly inclined region 233a, the vertical regions 2353a-2353d of the spring arms 2312a-2312d, and the straight regions 2316a-2316d of the spring arms 2312a-2312d. As with the first two embodiments of the systems 10, 1100, the free ends 2190a-2190d of the contact arms 2180a-2180d do not abut the flat outer surfaces 2313a-2313d of the spring arms 2312a2-2312d. Other structures, functions, or positional relationships will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art based on FIGS. 66-74.

[0085] The spring member 2300 disclosed in this embodiment replaces the previous version of the means for limiting compression 314, 1314 with a structure that is fully integrated into the spring member 2300. Here, the means for limiting compression 2314 is formed from a combination of a compression tab 2370 and the edges 2332a-2332b, 2334a-2334b of adjacent spring arms 2312a-2312d. The compression tab 2370 includes (i) lateral projections 2371a-2371b extending outwardly from the forward curved regions 2351a, 2351c (lines S5, S6) and terminating at outer surfaces 2373a-2373b, and (ii) substantially vertical, orthogonal wings 2375a-2375b extending outwardly from the straight regions 2316b, 2316d (lines S7, S8) and terminating at outer surfaces 2376a-2376b. In other words, the means for limiting compression 2314 in this embodiment includes (i) a first set of limiting structures 2315a, i.e., the lateral protrusions 2371a-2371b and the edges 2334a-2334b of adjacent side spring arms 2312b, 2312d, and (ii) a second set of limiting structures 2315b, i.e., the substantially vertical wings 2375a-2375b and the edges 2332a-2332b of adjacent side spring arms 2312a, 2312c.

[0086] The outer surfaces 2373a-2373b of the lateral projections 2371a-2371b are positioned outside or beyond the inner surfaces 2346 of the opposing linear regions 2316b, 2316d. In other words, the length between the outer surfaces 2373a-2373b of the lateral projections 2371a-2371b is the inner surface linear width W extending between the inner surfaces 2346 of the opposing linear regions 2316b, 2316d. ILS The contact arms 2180a and 2180c are subjected to an external force F E When the force of the lateral projections 2371a-2371b is applied, the inner surfaces 2372 of the lateral projections 2371a-2371b contact the front spring arm edges 2334a, 2334b of the side spring arms 2312b, 2312d (specifically, the edges of the front curved regions 2351b, 2351d of the side spring arms 2312b, 2312d), thereby compressing the contact arms 2180a, 2180c to the maximum compression distance D MC In this embodiment, the maximum compression distance DMC is less than 1.25 mm, preferably less than 1.0 mm, and most preferably less than 0.85 mm. The extent to which the contact arms 2180a, 2180c are deformed or compressed is defined as the maximum compression distance D MC By limiting the distance to the center of the connector 2050, the contact arms 2180a, 2180c, the spring arms 2312a, 2312c, and the combination thereof, can prevent the arms 2180a, 2180c from being excessively (e.g., maximum compression distance D MC This helps prevent the material from being deformed or pushed in too far (a distance greater than 10 mm).

[0087] The outer surfaces 2376a-2376b of the substantially vertical wings 2375a-2375b are positioned outside or beyond the inner surfaces 2346 of the opposing linear sections 2316a, 2316c. In other words, the length between the outer surfaces 2376a-2376b of the substantially vertical wings 2375a-2375b is equal to the inner surface linear width W extending between the inner surfaces 2346 of the opposing linear sections 2316a, 2316c. ILS The contact arms 2180b and 2180d are subjected to an external force F E 2, the inner surfaces 2374 of the substantially vertical wings 2375a-2375b contact the linear extent edges 2332a, 2332b of the upper and lower spring arms 2312a, 2312c (specifically, the linear extent edges 2316a, 2316b of the side spring arms 2312b, 2312d), thereby compressing the contact arms 2180b, 2180d to the maximum compression distance D MC In this embodiment, the maximum compression distance D MC is less than 1.25 mm, preferably less than 1.0 mm, and most preferably less than 0.85 mm. The extent to which the contact arms 2180b, 2180d are deformed or compressed is defined as the maximum compression distance D MC By limiting the distance to the center of the connector 2050, the contact arms 2180b, 2180d, the spring arms 2312b, 2312d, and the combination thereof, can prevent the arms 2180b, 2180d from being excessively (e.g., maximum compression distance D MC This helps prevent the material from being deformed or pushed in too far (a distance greater than the

[0088] Fourth embodiment 1) Male Connector Assembly 75A-100 show a fourth embodiment of a male terminal assembly 3100 including a male terminal 3101 and a spring member 3300 that can be used in place of the male terminal 101 and spring member 300 shown and described above. It should be understood that most of the structures covered in this embodiment of the system 3010 are similar to the first embodiment of the system 10, and therefore the reference numbers shown in the figures may be omitted from the specification for brevity, as similar structures are similarly numbered. For example, the disclosure related to the jacket 400 is not repeated here, but applies to the jacket 3400 as if repeated herein. In other words, the omission of a reference number from the specification or a particular disclosure of the function of that structure is not intended to limit the disclosure of this application. Instead, reference should be made to the disclosure of similar structures discussed in another section of this application or in other applications incorporated herein by reference. Similar to the first embodiment, this fourth embodiment of the male connector assembly 3050 includes multiple components designed to be coupled to a separate device or component (e.g., a charging coupler 2, a radiator fan, a heating sheet, a power distribution component, or another current drawing component). The male connector assembly 3050 is primarily comprised of (i) a male housing assembly 3070 and (ii) a male terminal assembly 3100 including male terminals 3101, a spring member 3300, and a jacket 3400, such that at least a substantial extent of the male terminal assembly 3100 resides within the male housing assembly during operation of the connector system 10.

[0089] Male terminal assembly 75A-100 provide various views of the male terminal assembly 3100. While most of the structure included in the fourth embodiment of the male terminal body 3104 is similar to the first embodiment of the male terminal body 104, substantial changes are made between the configuration of the contact arms 180a-180d, 3180a-3180d. As such, the following disclosure focuses on this alternative configuration of the contact arms 3180a-3180d. The contact arms 3180a-3180d have initial or rear extents 3182a-3182d extending from a base or intermediate portion 3110 (line C1) and bent or fold portions 3178a-3178d. Bend or fold portion 3178a-3178d includes a first layer of contact arms 3180a-3180d directly overlapping a second layer of contact arms 3180a-3180d, where (i) second or upwardly sloping extents 3184a-3184d extend between initial extents 3182a-3182d (line C2) of contact arms 3180a-3180d and outer vertices 3186a-3186d (line C3), and (ii) third or downwardly sloping extents 3188a-3188d extend from outer vertices 3186a-3186d (line C3) in a rounded or curved manner. (iii) fourth or rearward extension range 3192a-3192d extends rearward and upward from forward-most range 3190a-3190d (line C4) to inner vertices 3193a-3193d (line C5), and (iv) fifth or vertical range 3194a-3194d extends inwardly from inner vertices 3193a-3193d (line C5), preferably substantially perpendicular to the midpoint of inner vertices 3193a-3193d. These areas and vertices provide contact arms 3180a-3180d with a bent or folded configuration such that third areas 3188a-3188d overlap with fourth areas 3192a-3192d and outer vertex 3186a overlaps with inner vertices 3193a-3193d.Further, the crimped configuration of the contact arms 3180a-3180d forms (i) front spring contact segments 3196a-3196d positioned within fourth or rearward extension ranges 3192a-3192d near the forward-most ends or noses 3190a-3190d, and (ii) intermediate spring contact segments 3198a-3198d that are part of fifth or vertical ranges 3194a-3194d.

[0090] The bent or creased configuration of the contact arms 3180a-3180d provides the connector system 3010 with several advantages over previous designs. For example, the design includes vertical extents 3194a-3194d that support the outer apexes 3186a-3186d of the contact arms 3180a-3180d. This added support increases the durability of the contact arms 3180a-3180d over the design of the contact arms 3180a-3180d shown in PCT / US2019 / 036010, i.e., the design shown in Figures 69-86, which is advantageous due to the smaller size of the contact arms 3180a-3180d. Furthermore, the inclusion of the front spring contact segments 3196a-3196d and the middle spring contact segments 3198a-3198d reduces the compressive force F applied to the spring arms 3312a-3312d when the male terminal assembly 3100 is inserted into the female terminal assembly 700. COM Additionally, the configuration of the third or downwardly sloping extents 3188a-3188d is beneficial over the contact arm design shown in Figures 69-96 of PCT / US2019 / 036010 because it helps to (i) mitigate the insertion force due to the sloping contact arm design (as opposed to a circular contact arm design) and (ii) potential bending or piercing of the contact arms 3180a-3180d when insertion of the male terminal assembly 3100 is not directly aligned with the female terminal assembly 700.

[0091] 77-79, unlike conventional connectors, the disclosed contact arms 3180a-3180d have elongated initial or rear extents 3182a-3182d that do not extend away from the base portion 3110 at a uniform or substantially uniform outward tilt angle. In other words, as best shown in FIG. 79, the outer surfaces 3183a-3183d of the initial or rear extents 3182a-3182d of each contact arm 3180a-3180d are (i) substantially parallel to one another and (ii) substantially parallel to the outer surface 3111 of the corresponding extent of the base portion 3110. Less force is required to deform or displace the contact arms 3180a-3180d inwardly or toward the center of the male terminal 3101 as compared to conventional connectors lacking the elongated initial or rear extents 3182a-3182d. This reduction in force can increase the force required to inwardly displace a range of spring members 3300. Shifting the structure that resists inward displacement from contact arms 3180a-3180d to spring arms 3312a-3312d can reduce the insertion force F by changing the design and / or material composition of spring members 3300 rather than redesigning terminal body 3104. I This is beneficial because it allows the designer to easily change the target insertion force F. For example, the designer can insert a stiffer spring member 3300 to maintain / maximize the current carrying capacity of the system 3010. Alternatively, the target insertion force F I If there are specific customer requirements that dictate the spring member 3300's insertion force, the designer can select a spring member 3300 that meets those requirements without costly and time-consuming redesign of the male terminal body 3104. This modularity and flexibility of the connector system 3010 represents a significant improvement over the prior art because it reduces the number of product SKUs, increases the ability to meet customer requirements without reconfiguring or redesigning the connector, and / or limits testing and other procedures required to utilize new / different connectors. The length of the initial or rear extents 3182a-3182d determines the insertion force F required to insert the male terminal assembly 3100 into the female terminal assembly 3700. IIt should be understood that the angle may vary substantially. Also, in other embodiments, the contact arms 3180a-3180d may extend away from the base 3110 at a uniform inward angle or a substantially uniform inward tilt angle. The inward tilt angle allows the male terminal assembly 3100 to have an inwardly tapered design or configuration. In this alternative embodiment, the inwardly tapered design or configuration may be configured such that the outer diameter of wire C2 is 0.01% to 5% less than the outer diameter of wire C1.

[0092] As shown in Fig. 80, forward of the lateral initial or rear extents 3182a-3182d, the second or upwardly sloping extents 3184a-3184d are positioned at an outward angle sigma σ defined between the outer surfaces 3183a-3183d of the initial or rear extents 3182a-3182d of the contact arms 3180a-3180d and the outer surfaces 3185a-3185d of the second or upwardly sloping extents 3184a-3184d of the contact arms. The outward angle sigma σ is between 115° and 170°, preferably between 125° and 145°. Forward of the second or upwardly angled extents 3184a-3184d, the contact arms 3180a-3180d have third or downwardly angled extents 3188a-3188d that extend downwardly from outer apexes 3186a-3186d to forward-most leading ends or noses 3190a-3190d. An exterior angle lambda λ is defined between outer surfaces 3185a-3185d of the second or upwardly angled extents 3184a-3184d and outer surfaces or contact surfaces 3189a-3189d of the third or downwardly angled extents 3188a-3188d. The exterior angle lambda λ is between 240° and 300°, and preferably between 255° and 285°. As discussed above, other terminals whose disclosures are incorporated herein lack this configuration of sharp upward angled segments, sharp downward angled segments, and the resulting multiple vertices.

[0093] As will be described in more detail below, the third or downwardly angled areas 3188a-3188d, and particularly the contact surfaces 3189a-3189d, are configured to contact areas of the female connector assembly 650 upon insertion of the male terminal assembly 3100 into the female terminal assembly 700. This interaction between these components causes the contact arms 3180a-3180d to deflect or displace inwardly toward the center of the male terminal assembly 3100 and the spring member 700. This inward deflection of the contact arms 3180a-3180d causes the spring member 700 to act as a wedge, helping to ensure that a proper mechanical and electrical connection is made between the contact arms 3180a-3180d and the female receptacle 702.

[0094] As shown in Figures 91 and 94, the front spring contact segments 3196a-3196d and middle spring contact segments 3198a-3198d of the contact arms 3180a-3180d are positioned generally parallel to the inner surfaces 3181a-3181d of the initial or rear extents 3182a-3182d of the contact arms 3180a-3180d. 94, this configuration provides (i) a first gap G1 (substantially triangular in side view) formed between the inner surface of both contact arms 3180a-3180d and the spring member 3300, and between the vertical extent 3194a and the rear extent 3182a of contact arm 180a, and (ii) a second gap G2 (substantially triangular in side view) formed between the inner surface of both contact arms 3180a-3180d and the spring member 3300, and between the vertical extent 3194a and the fourth extent 3192a or the front spring contact segment 3196a-3196d of contact arm 3180a. In this way, the vertical extent 3194a engages the outer spring arm surface 3313a at a substantially orthogonal angle, preferably at an orthogonal angle. This configuration is advantageous over the configuration shown in Figures 3-8 of PCT / US2018 / 019787. This is because the assembler of the male terminal assembly 3100 does not need to apply significant force to deform most of the contact arms 3180a-3180d outward to accommodate the spring member 3300. This necessary deformation is best shown in FIG. 6 of PCT / US2018 / 019787 based on the configuration of spring arms 31 and contact arms 11. The configuration disclosed herein is beneficial because the performance of the connector system 3010 does not change over time due to material creep. In other words, the connector system 3010 does not have a limited useful life because the spring member 3300 is not under constant tension prior to use of the system 3010.

[0095] 81, at least a portion of the outer edge or shoulder regions 3200a, 3200b of the contact arms 3180a-3180d are coined, chamfered, or rounded. By rounding the outer edges 3200a, 3200b, the outer surfaces of the contact arms 3180a-3180d, at least the apexes 3186a-3186d, match the curvature of the inner surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700. The coined, chamfered or rounded outer edges 3200a-3200b may (i) extend along the entire length of the contact arms 3180a-3180d, (ii) extend along the entire length of the second and third extensions 3184a-3184d, 3188a-3188d of the contact arms 3180a-3180d, and (iii) extend along a portion (e.g., half the length) of the second extents 3184a-3184d of the contact arms 3180a-3180d and a portion (e.g., half the length) of the third extents 3188a-3188d of the contact arms 3180a-3180d. Without coining, chamfering, or rounding any portion of the outer edges 3200a, 3200b of the contact arms 3180a-3180d, the edges 3200a, 3200b of the contact arms 3180a-3180d would contact the inner surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700, and the straight versus curved configuration of the contact arms 3180a-3180d and the female terminal assembly 700 sufficiently prevents the centers of the contact arms 3180a-3180d from contacting the female terminal assembly 700. Failure of the centers of the contact arms 3180a-3180d to properly contact the female terminal assembly 700 would result in an undesirable reduction in the current carrying capacity of the system 3010. Additionally, omitting coining, chamfering, or rounding will likely leave the contact arms 3180a-3180d with sharp edges that may cause the contact arms 3180a-3180d to scratch or mark the inner surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700. Scratches may result in a reduction in the number of mating cycles that the system 10 can achieve without failure, as scratches may strip and damage the interior plating and / or surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700, potentially causing arcing or significant electrical degradation of the system 3010.In other embodiments, the outer edges or shoulder regions 3200a, 3200b of the contact arms 3180a-3180d may not be coined, chamfered, or radiused. Instead, the contact arms 3180a-3180d may be curved, or material may be deposited on the contact arms 3180a-3180d to cause the outer surface of the contact arms 3180a-3180d to substantially match the curvature of the inner surface 704 of the female terminal assembly 700.

[0096] As shown in Figures 76-79 and 88, the contact arms 3180a-3180d are not connected to any structure other than extending from the base portion 3110. This free end configuration of the contact arms 3180a-3180d allows the contact arms 3180a-3180d to expand in all directions. There are no support walls surrounding the contact arms 3180a-3180d because there are contact arm openings or voids 3280a-3280d interspersed between each pair of the contact arms 3180a-3180d. This configuration of the male terminal assembly 3100 is substantially different from the configuration disclosed in connection with the male terminal assemblies of PCT / US2019 / 36010. As discussed in PCT / US2019 / 36010, removing the sidewall structure surrounding the contact arms 3180a-3180d may increase the failure rate of the male terminal assembly 3100 because the sidewall structure protects the contact arms 3180a-3180d. However, this increased failure rate is mitigated because the jacket 3400 is configured to replace the function of the support walls. The configurations disclosed herein are beneficial because they allow for the replacement of expensive copper structures with less expensive and more robust structures.

[0097] The male terminal 3101 is typically formed from a single material (e.g., metal). Thus, the male terminal 3101 is a one-piece male terminal 3101 and has integrally formed features. To integrally form these features, the male terminal 3101 is typically formed using a stamping process. However, it should be understood that other types of forming the male terminal 3101 may be utilized, such as casting or using an additive manufacturing process (e.g., 3D printing). In other embodiments, the features of the male terminal 3101 may not be formed from a single piece or may not be integrally formed, but may instead be formed from separate pieces that are welded together. It should be understood that in forming the male terminal 3101, any number of contact arms 3180a-3180d (e.g., between 1-100) may be formed within the male terminal 3101. The male terminals 3101, the male terminal bodies 104, the contact arms 3180a-3180d, or regions of the contact arms 3180a-3180d may be plated or coated with a secondary material (e.g., nickel) that helps reduce corrosion, lower insertion force, or improve electrical conductivity. Additionally, the contact arms 3180a-3180d, or portions of the contact arms 3180a-3180d, may have rounded or chamfered edges.

[0098] b. Spring member As best shown in Figures 82-86, 88, 93 and 98, the spring member 3300 includes an arrangement of spring member side walls 3304a-3304d and a rear spring wall 3306. Each spring member side wall 3304a-3304d is comprised of (i) a first or curvilinear spring section 3308a-3308d, and (ii) a second section or spring arm 3312a-3312d. The curvilinear spring sections 3308a-3308d extend between the rear spring wall 3306 and the spring arms 3312a-3312d and position the spring arms 3312a-3312d substantially perpendicular to the rear spring wall 3306. In other words, a substantial extent (if any) of the outer surface of the spring arms 3312a-3312d are substantially perpendicular to the outer surface of the rear spring wall 3306. As shown in Figures 12-15, the spring arms 3312a-3312d extend from the first or curved spring sections 3308a-3308d of the spring member 3300 in a direction away from the rear spring wall 3306 and terminate at free ends 3330a-3330d. Because the spring arms 3312a-3312d are not connected, spring arm slits 3310a-3310d are formed between the spring arms 3312a-3312d of the spring member 3300. The spring arm slits 3310a-3310d aid in the expansion of the spring arms 3312a-3312d in all directions to facilitate mechanical coupling between the male terminal assembly 3100 and the female terminal assembly 4100.

[0099] The disclosed spring member 3300 in this embodiment includes a centering means 3380. The disclosed centering means 3380 does not rely on outwardly extending lateral protrusions, but instead relies on corrugations 3382a-b formed in at least one, and preferably two, opposing spring arms 3312b, 3312d. As best shown in FIG. 36, the corrugations 3382a-b are positioned near the free ends 3330b, 3330d and extend between lines S3 and S4. The corrugations 3382a-b are designed to fit between the front spring contact segments 3196b, 3196d and the middle spring contact segments 3198a-3198d of the contact arms 3180b-3180d. Positioning the pleats 3382a-b between the contact end segments 3196a-d, 3198a-d reduces movement of the spring member 3300. Reducing movement of the spring member 3300 is desirable as it helps ensure consistent and reliable performance of the system 3010.

[0100] The spring member 3300 disclosed in this embodiment replaces previous versions of the means for limiting compression 314, 1314, 2134 with a structure that is fully integrated into the spring member 3300. The means for limiting compression 3314 is best seen in Figures 82-86, where the means for limiting compression 3314 is formed from a combination of a compression tab 3370 and edges 3332a-2332b, 3334a-3334b of adjacent spring arms 3312a-3312d. The compression tab 3370 includes (i) lateral projections 3371a-3371b extending outwardly from the linear extents 3316b, 3316d (lines S5, S6) and terminating at the outer surfaces 3373a-3373b, and (ii) substantially vertical wings 3375a-3375b extending outwardly from the linear extents 3316b, 3316d (lines S7, S8) and terminating at the outer surfaces 3376a-3376b, where the lateral projections 3371a-3371b are (i) positioned forward of the substantially vertical wings 3375a-3375b and (ii) positioned above / below the extent of the centering means 3380 (e.g., pleats 3382a-3382b). In other words, the means for limiting compression 3314 in this embodiment includes (i) a first set of limiting structures 3315a, i.e., the lateral protrusions 3371a-3371b and the edges 3334a-3334b of adjacent lateral spring arms 3312b, 3312d, and (ii) a second set of limiting structures 3315b, i.e., the substantially vertical wings 3375a-3375b and the edges 3332a-3332b of adjacent lateral spring arms 3312a, 3312c.

[0101] The outer surfaces 3373a-3373b of the lateral projections 3371a-3371b are positioned outside or beyond the inner surfaces 3346 of the opposing pleats 3382a-3382b. In other words, the length between the outer surfaces 3373a-3373b of the lateral projections 3371a-3371b is the inner surface linear width W extending between the inner surfaces 3346 of the opposing pleats 3382a-3382b. ILS The contact arms 3180a and 3180c are subjected to an external force F EWhen the force is applied, the inner surfaces 3372 of the lateral projections 3371a-3371b contact the front spring arm edges 3334a, 3334b of the side spring arms 3312b, 3312d, compressing the contact arms 3180a, 3180c to a maximum compression distance D MC In this embodiment, the maximum compression distance D MC is less than 1.25 mm, preferably less than 1.0 mm, and most preferably less than 0.85 mm. The extent to which the contact arms 3180a, 3180c are deformed or compressed is defined as the maximum compression distance D MC By limiting the distance to the center of the connector 3050, the contact arms 3180a, 3180c, the spring arms 3312a, 3312c, and the combination thereof, may be prevented from excessively compressing the arms 3180a, 3180c toward the center of the connector 3050 (e.g., maximum compression distance D MC This helps prevent the material from being deformed or pushed in too far (a distance greater than the

[0102] The outer surfaces 3376a-3376b of the substantially vertical wings 3375a-3375b are positioned outside or beyond the inner surfaces 3346 of the opposing linear sections 3316a, 3316c. In other words, the length between the outer surfaces 3376a-3376b of the substantially vertical wings 3375a-3375b is equal to or greater than the inner surface linear width W extending between the inner surfaces 3346 of the opposing linear sections 3316a, 3316c. ILS The contact arms 3180b to 3180d are subjected to an external force F E , the inner surfaces 3374 of the substantially vertical wings 3375a-3375b contact the linear extent edges 3332a, 3332b of the upper and lower spring arms 3312a, 3312c (specifically, the edges of the linear extents 3316a, 3316b of the side spring arms 3312b, 3312d), thereby compressing the contact arms 3180b-3180d to the maximum compression distance D MC In this embodiment, the maximum compression distance D MC The range in which the contact arms 3180b to 3180d are deformed or pressed is defined as the maximum compression distance D MCBy limiting the distance to the center of the connector 3050, the contact arms 3180b, 3180d, the spring arms 3312b, 3312d, and the combination thereof, may be prevented from excessively compressing the arms 3180b, 3180d toward the center of the connector 3050 (e.g., maximum compression distance D MC This helps prevent the material from being deformed or pushed in too far (a distance greater than the

[0103] The spring arms 3312a-3312d are generally planar and positioned substantially perpendicular to the outer surface of the rear wall 3306. This configuration is beneficial over previously disclosed spring arms that extend outward at an angle because it simplifies insertion force calculations, reduces the size of the terminal assembly 3100, and provides better centering of the spring members, among other advantages that will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on this disclosure. Unlike the spring arms 31 disclosed in Figures 4-8 of PCT / US2018 / 019787, the free ends 3330a-3330d of the spring arms 3312a-3312d do not have curved end components. However, with the small pleats 3382a-3382b, the spring arms 3312a-3312d have a substantially flat outer surface. This configuration is beneficial because it ensures that the force associated with the spring 3300 is applied substantially perpendicular to the ends of the male terminal body 3104. In contrast, the curvilinear parts of the spring arms 31 disclosed in Figures 4-8 of PCT / US2018 / 019787 are not forced in this manner.

[0104] In alternative embodiments not shown, the spring member 3300 may include recesses and associated reinforcing ribs. As discussed in PCT / US2019 / 036010, these changes to the configuration of the spring member 3300 change the forces associated with the spring 3300. In particular, the spring bias force S BFis the amount of force applied by the spring member 3300 to resist inward deflection of the free ends of the spring member 3300 when the male terminal assembly 3100 is inserted into the female terminal assembly 700. Specifically, this inward deflection occurs during insertion of the male terminal assembly 3100 because the extent of the male terminal body 3104 is slightly larger than the interior of the female receptacle 704. Thus, when the male terminal assembly 3100 is inserted into the female terminal assembly 2430, the extent of the outer surface is forced toward the center of the male terminal. This inward force against the outer surface displaces the free ends 3330a-3330d of the spring member 3300 inward (i.e., toward the center). The spring member 3300 exerts a wedge effect or spring biasing force S F , which resists this inward displacement. In other embodiments, the spring arms 3312a-3312d may be coupled to other structures to limit their expansion or compression in all directions. The number and width of the individual spring arms 3312a-3312d and openings may vary. Furthermore, the widths of the individual spring arms 3312a-3312d are typically equal to one another. However, in other embodiments, one of the spring arms 3312a-3312d may be wider than the other spring arms.

[0105] 2) Alternative Embodiments of Male Connector Assembly 101-104 show third and fourth embodiments of male terminal connecting members 4102, 5102 that can be used in place of male terminal connecting members 102, 1102, 2102, 3102, or 6102 shown and described herein. It should be understood that most of the structures featured in these embodiments of system 4010, 5010 are similar to those featured in the fourth embodiment of system 3010, and therefore the reference numbers shown in the figures may be omitted from the specification for brevity, with similar structures being similarly numbered. For example, the disclosure related to male terminal 3101 is not repeated here, but applies to male terminals 4101, 5101 as if repeated here. In other words, the omission of reference numbers from the specification or from a particular disclosure of the function of that structure does not limit the disclosure of this application. Instead, reference should be made to the disclosure of similar structures that may be discussed in another section of this application or in other applications incorporated herein by reference. In this embodiment, the male terminal connecting member 3102 has been replaced with male terminal connecting members 4102, 5102.

[0106] Seventh embodiment 106-112 show a seventh embodiment of a male terminal assembly 6100 including a racket 6400 and a spring member 6300 that can be used in place of the jacket 3101 and spring member 3300 shown and described above. It should be understood that a substantial majority of the structures featured in this embodiment of the system 6010 are similar to those of the fourth embodiment of the system 3010, and therefore the reference numbers shown in the figures may be omitted from the specification for brevity, with similar structures being similarly numbered. For example, the disclosure related to the male terminal 101 is not repeated here, but applies to the male terminal 6101 as if repeated herein. In other words, the omission of a reference number from the specification or a particular disclosure of the function of that structure does not limit the disclosure of this application. Instead, reference should be made to the disclosure of similar structures discussed in another section of this application or in other applications incorporated herein by reference. Similar to the fourth embodiment, this seventh embodiment of the male connector assembly 6050 includes multiple components designed to be coupled to a separate device or component (e.g., a charging coupler 2, a radiator fan, a heating sheet, a power distribution component, or another current drawing component). The male connector assembly 6050 is primarily comprised of (i) a male housing assembly 6070 and (ii) a male terminal assembly 6100 including a male terminal 6101, a spring member 6300, and a jacket 6400, such that at least a substantial extent of the male terminal assembly 6100 resides within the male housing assembly during operation of the connector system 6010.

[0107] 1) Spring parts 107-109, the spring member 6300 includes a configuration of spring member side walls 6304a-d and a rear spring wall 6306. Each spring member side wall 6304a-d is comprised of (i) a first or curved spring section 6310a-d, and (ii) a second section or spring arm 6312a-d. The curved spring sections 6310a-d extend between the rear spring wall 6306 and the spring arms 6312a-d and position the spring arms 6312a-d substantially orthogonal to the rear spring wall 6306. In other words, the outer surfaces 6313a-d of the spring arms 6312a-d are substantially orthogonal to the outer surface of the rear spring wall 6306. 107 and 109, the spring arms 6312a-6312d extend from the first or curvilinear spring sections 6310a-6310d of the spring member 6300 in a direction away from the rear spring wall 6306 and terminate at a free end 6318. The spring arms 6312a-6312d are not connected to one another such that spring arm gaps 6320a-6320d are formed between the spring arms 6312a-6312d of the spring member 6300. The spring arm gaps 6320a-6320d aid in the expansion of the spring arms 6312a-6312d in all directions, which facilitates mechanical coupling between the male terminal 6101 and the female terminal assembly 700.

[0108] The spring arms 6312a-d are generally planar and positioned such that the outer surfaces 6313a-d of the spring arms 6312a-d are substantially perpendicular to the outer surface of the rear wall 6306. Unlike the spring arms 31 disclosed in Figures 4-8 of PCT / US2018 / 019787, the free ends 6318 of the spring arms 6312a-d do not have curvilinear components. Instead, the spring arms 6312a-d have substantially flat outer surfaces 6313a-d. This configuration is beneficial because it ensures that the force associated with the spring member 6300 is applied to the front spring contact segments 6196a-d and middle spring contact segments 6198a-d of the contact arms 6180a-d. In contrast, the curvilinear components of spring arm 31 disclosed in Figures 4-8 of PCT / US2018 / 019787 do not apply force in this manner.

[0109] In alternative embodiments not shown, the spring member 6300 may include recesses and associated reinforcing ribs. As discussed in PCT / US2019 / 036010, these changes to the configuration of the spring member 6300 change the force generated or applied by the spring member 6300. In particular, the spring bias force F SB is the amount of force exerted by the spring member 6300 to resist inward deflection of the free end 6318 of the spring member 6300 as the male terminal assembly 6100 is inserted into the female terminal assembly 700. Notably, this inward deflection occurs during insertion of the male terminal assembly 6100 due to the fact that the extent of the exterior surface of the male terminal body 6104 is slightly greater than the interior of the female receptacle 702. Thus, as the male terminal assembly 6100 is inserted into the female terminal assembly 700, the extent of the exterior surface is forced towards the center of the male terminal 6101. This compressive force F on the exterior surface of the male terminal body 6104 COM The spring member 6300 exerts an outward spring bias F SB, resisting this inward displacement. In other embodiments, the spring arms 6312a-6312d may be coupled to other structures to limit their expansion in all directions. The number and width of the individual spring arms 6312a-6312d and openings may vary. Additionally, the widths of the individual spring arms 6312a-6312d are typically equal to one another. However, in other embodiments, one of the spring arms 6312a-6312d may be wider than the other spring arms.

[0110] 2) Jacket 111-112, the jacket includes (i) an upper segment 6402, a front segment 6430, and a lower segment 6460. Unlike the other embodiments of the jackets 400, 3400 disclosed herein, the front segment 6430 of the jacket 6400 includes a front wall 6432 with a spring arm limiter 6450. The spring arm limiter 6450 extends inward from the inner surface of the front wall 6432a and is designed to interact with the spring arms 6312a, 6312c. An external force F is applied to the contact arms 6180a, 6180c. E When the spring arm limit 6450 is applied, the inner surfaces of the forward extents of the spring arms 6312a, 6312c contact the outer surface 6451a of the spring arm limit 6450, causing the contact arms 6180a, 6180c to compress to a maximum distance D MC In this embodiment, the maximum compression distance D MC is less than 1.25 mm, preferably less than 1.0 mm, and most preferably less than 0.5 mm. The extent to which the contact arms 6180a, 6180c are deformed or compressed is defined as the maximum compression distance D MC By limiting the distance to the center of the connector 6050, the contact arms 6180a, 6180c, the spring arms 6312a, 6312c, and the combination thereof, can prevent the arms 6180a, 6180c from being excessively (e.g., maximum compression distance D MC This helps prevent the material from being deformed or pushed in too far (a distance greater than the

[0111] System Related Information Systems 10, 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010, 5010, and 6010 are T4 / V4 / D2 / M2 compliant, where Systems 10, 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010, 5010, and 6010 meet and exceed: (i) T4 is exposure of the system to 10-150°C; (ii) V4 is severe vibration; (iii) D2 is a 200k mile durability; and (iv) M2 is less than 45 Newtons of force required to connect a male terminal assembly 100, 1100, 2100, 3100, 4100, 5100, 6100 to a female terminal assembly 700, 1700, 2700, 3700, 4700, 5700, 6700. In addition to being T4 / V4 / D2 / M2 compliant, the Systems 10, 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010, 5010, and 6010 are Push, Click, Tag, Scan (PCTS) compliant, and more information regarding this standard is disclosed in PCT / US2020 / 049870.

[0112] It should be understood that the male terminal assemblies 100, 1100, 2100, 3100, 4100, 5100, 6100 and female terminal assemblies 700, 1700, 2700, 3700, 4700, 5700, 6700 disclosed herein have specifications for transport at a rise in ambient temperature (RoA) of 55° C. or 80° C. with 80% derating: (i) where the circumference of the male terminal assemblies 100, 1100, 2100, 3100, 4100, 5100, 6100 is 8 mm and the circumference of the female terminal assemblies 700, 1700, 2700, 3700, 4700, 5700, 6700 is 16 mm; 2100 amperes per second. Additionally, system 10 meets USCAR-20 mile durability, has a contact mating force between 10 Newtons and 30 Newtons, preferably 15 Newtons, and may be greater than the mating force, has an unmating force between 10 Newtons and 30 Newtons, meets 31G vibration criteria, and is ISL / TPA compatible. While meeting USCAR specifications, the greatly increased current carrying capacity provides a significant advantage over prior art connectors. Connector systems 10, 1010, 2010, 3010, 4010, 5010, and 6010 also meet applicable USCAR-38 specifications.

[0113] It should be understood that alternative configurations of the means for limiting compression 314, 1314, 3314, 4314, 5314, 6314 are contemplated by the present disclosure. For example, in other embodiments, the means for limiting compression 3314 may be (i) a protrusion extending outwardly from the spring arm and received in an opening in the jacket, (ii) a structure extending from one sidewall of the jacket to an opposing sidewall of the jacket and configured to interact with an inner surface of the spring member, (iii) contact arm noses configured to interact with each other, (iv) structures extending across a contact opening formed in the jacket and positioned in a gap formed between the spring member and the contact arm, (v) interaction between opposing spring arms or contact arms, (vi) interaction between the jacket and either the spring arm or contact arm, (vii) interaction between a housing assembly and either the contact arm or spring arm, or (viii) any combination of these structures. It should also be understood that these compression tabs are not designated as centering means 3380 herein. However, the compression tabs may be extended to provide centering means. Additionally, alternative male terminal housings are also contemplated by the present disclosure. For example, the housing may include any number (e.g., 2-30, preferably 2-8, most preferably 2-4) of male terminal assemblies 100, 1100, 2100, 3100, 4100, 5100, 6100) that may be positioned within the housing. Additionally, there are alternative configurations of female terminal assemblies. For example, the housing may include any number (e.g., 2-30, preferably 2-8, most preferably 2-4) of female terminal assemblies that may be positioned within the housing. Additionally, the female connector assembly may be reconfigured to receive these multiple male terminal assemblies into a single female terminal assembly. It should also be understood that the male terminal assemblies 100, 1100, 2100, 3100, 4100, 5100, 6100 may have any number of contact arms (e.g., 2 to 100, preferably 2 to 50, and most preferably 2 to 8) and any number of spring arms (e.g., between 2 and 100, preferably between 2 and 50, and most preferably between 2 and 8).As discussed above, the number of contact arms does not have to be equal to the number of spring arms, for example, there may be more contact arms than spring arms, or alternatively, there may be fewer contact arms than spring arms.

[0114] Materials and Disclosures Incorporated by Reference PCT application numbers PCT / US2022 / 037508, PCT / IB2022 / 057772, PCT / US2021 / 057959, PCT / US2021 / 047180, PCT / US2021 / 043788, PCT / US2021 / 043686, PCT / US2021 / 033446, PCT / US2020 / 050018, PCT / US2020 / 049870 Nos. 16 / 194,891, and 63 / 286,072 and 63 / 286,080, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety and made a part hereof.

[0115] SAE Specification: J1742_201003 entitled "Connections for High Voltage On-Board Vehicle Electrical Wiring Harnesses-Test Methods and General Performance Requirements" with a last revision dated March 2010, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made a part hereof.

[0116] ASTM specifications include: (i) D4935-18, entitled "Standard Test Method for Measuring the Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness of Planar Materials," and (ii) ASTM D257, entitled "Standard Test Methods for DC Resistance or Conductance of Insulating Materials," each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety and made a part hereof.

[0117] and / or the EOS / ESD Association Specification: ANSI / ESD STM11.11 Surface Resistance Measurements of Static Dissipative Planar Materials,” each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety and made a part hereof.

[0118] DIN Specifications - Connectors for Electronic Equipment - Tests and measurements - Part 5-2: Current-carrying capacity test; Test 5b: Current - temperature derating) IEC 60512-5-2:2002), each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made a part hereof.

[0119] USCAR specifications: (i) SAE / USCAR-2, Revision 6, last revised in February 2013, having ISBN: 978-0-7680-7998-2; (ii) SAE / USCAR-12, Revision 5, last revised in August 2017, having ISBN: 978-0-7680-8446-7; (iii) SAE / USCAR-21, Revision 3, last revised in December 2014; (iv) SAE / USCAR-25, Revision 2, last revised in March 2016, having ISBN: 978-0-7680-8319-4. 3, (v) SAE / USCAR-37, revised in August 2008 and having ISBN: 978-0-7680-2098-4, and (vi) SAE / USCAR-38, revised in May 2016 and having ISBN: 978-0-7680-8350-7, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made a part hereof.

[0120] Other standards, including Federal Test Standards 101C and 4046, are each fully incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this specification. Although several embodiments have been shown and described, numerous modifications are envisioned without significantly departing from the spirit of the disclosure, and the scope of protection is limited only by the appended claims. For example, the overall shape of the components may be modified to a triangular prism, a pentagonal prism, a hexagonal prism, an octagonal prism, a sphere, a cone, a tetrahedron, a rectangular prism, a dodecahedron, an icosahedron, an octahedron, an ellipsoid, or other similar shapes, etc.

[0121] As used herein, the following terms shall generally be understood to mean the following: a. "High power" means (i) a voltage between 20 volts and 600 volts, regardless of current, or (ii) a current of 80 amps or more, regardless of voltage. b. "High current" means currents of 80 amps or more, regardless of voltage. c. "High voltage" means a voltage between 20 volts and 600 volts, regardless of current.

[0122] Headings and sub-headings, if any, are used for convenience only and are not limiting. The word "exemplary" is used in the sense of serving as an example or illustration. To the extent terms such as include, have, and the like are used, such terms are intended to be as inclusive as the terms comprising, having, and comprise when used as transitional terms in the claims. Relative terms such as first and second may be used to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying an actual relationship or order between the entities or actions.

[0123] Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, one or more aspects, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, configuration, the configuration, another configuration, some configurations, one or more configurations, subject technology, disclosure, the disclosure, other variations, and the like are for convenience and do not imply that the disclosure associated with such phrases is essential to the subject technology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Disclosures related to such phrases may apply to all configurations, or to one or more configurations. Disclosures related to such phrases may provide one or more examples. Phrases such as an aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects, and vice versa, as is the case with other phrases described above.

[0124] Many modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the disclosure. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are merely illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. 1. An electrical connector assembly for use in a power distribution assembly, the connector assembly comprising: a male connector assembly including a male housing assembly and a male terminal assembly; The male terminal assembly comprises: a male terminal body including a receptacle and at least one contact arm having a bent portion defining an apex of the contact arm; a spring member having at least one spring arm configured to underlie the contact arm; With a retractable jacket, means for limiting excessive compression of the at least one contact arm due to an external force to prevent damage to the male terminal assembly; Fully assembled (S ＦＡ ), (i) the spring member is positioned within the receptacle of the male terminal body, the spring arm being located below the contact arm, and (ii) the male terminal body and a majority of the spring member are within the jacket. Electrical connector assembly.

2. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein said openable jacket has a contact arm opening with at least one deflection protrusion disposed on a side of said opening.

3. The fully assembled state (S ＦＡ 3. The electrical connector assembly of claim 2, wherein an apex of said contact arm extends above an upper edge of said flexible projection.

4. 3. The electrical connector assembly of claim 2, wherein an outer surface of said deflectable projection is substantially parallel to a contact surface of said contact arm.

5. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one spring arm includes a bent portion defined by an upwardly inclined area and a downwardly inclined area of ​​said spring arm.

6. 6. The electrical connector assembly of claim 5, wherein an interior angle of the bent portion of the at least one spring arm is defined between an inner surface of the upwardly inclined area and an inner surface of the downwardly inclined area, the interior angle being between 60° and 120°.

7. 7. The electrical connector assembly of claim 6, wherein the interior angle of the bent portion of the at least one spring arm is between 75° and 105°.

8. 7. The electrical connector assembly of claim 6, wherein said included angle of said bent portion of said at least one spring arm is 80 degrees.

9. 7. The electrical connector assembly of claim 6, wherein said internal angle of said bent portion of said at least one spring arm is significantly acute.

10. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one spring arm of the spring member is a first spring arm including both a straight portion having a first width and a folded portion having a second width, the first width being greater than the second width.

11. 11. The electrical connector assembly of claim 10, wherein the spring member includes a second spring arm including a fold portion having a third width, the third width being greater than the second width of the first spring arm.

12. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the male terminal body includes a wall configuration including an internal spring wall having an anti-rotation protrusion, the anti-rotation protrusion configured to be positioned within an anti-rotation recess formed in the spring member.

13. 13. The electrical connector assembly of claim 12, wherein said anti-rotation recess is formed between a pair of spring arms of said spring member.

14. The terminal assembly is in the fully assembled state (S ＦＡ 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein when in position 10, said at least one contact arm includes a free end that does not abut against the flat outer surface of said spring arm.

15. The receptacle of the male terminal body is in a ready-to-receive position (P Ｒ ), and the receptacle has a first front dimension when the male terminal body is in a ready-to-use position (P Ｕ 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein said connector has a second front dimension when in said first position, said second front dimension being smaller than said first front dimension.

16. 16. The electrical connector assembly of claim 15, wherein the spring member includes two opposing spring arms, each spring arm having a bent portion defining an apex of the spring arm, an outer dimension of the spring member defined between the apexes of the spring arms, the outer dimension of the spring member being greater than the second front dimension of the receptacle of the male terminal body.

17. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the male terminal body includes a base portion having an outer surface, and the at least one contact arm includes a linear extent having an outer surface that is coplanar with the outer surface of the base portion.

18. 10. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, further comprising a female connector assembly including a female housing assembly and a female terminal assembly.

19. The male connector assembly and the female connector assembly are in a connected state (S Ｃ 20. The electrical connector assembly of claim 18, wherein said male terminal body, said spring member and said jacket are operably coupled to one another by a mating spring, and a forward extent of each of said male terminal body, said spring member and said jacket are received in said female terminal assembly.

20. 1. An electrical connector assembly for use in a vehicle power distribution assembly, the connector assembly comprising: a male connector assembly including a male housing assembly and a male terminal assembly; The male terminal assembly comprises: a male terminal body including a receptacle, a base portion, and at least one contact arm extending from the base portion; a spring member including at least one spring arm configured to underlie the contact arm; a compression limiting means configured to limit excessive compression of the at least one contact arm and the at least one spring arm; With a retractable jacket, and a compression limiting means configured to limit excessive compression of the contact arm and the spring arm. Completely bonded state (S ＦＣ (i) the spring member is positioned within the receptacle of the male terminal body and the spring arm is located below the contact arm; (ii) the male terminal body and a majority of the spring member are within the jacket; and (iii) the spring member, the male terminal body, and the jacket are positioned within the male housing assembly. Electrical connector assembly.

21. 21. The electrical connector assembly of claim 20, wherein the openable jacket has a contact arm opening with at least one deflection protrusion disposed on a side of the opening.

22. The fully assembled state (S ＦＡ 22. The electrical connector assembly of claim 21, wherein an apex of said contact arm extends above an upper edge of said flexible protrusion.

23. 22. The electrical connector assembly of claim 21, wherein an outer surface of the deflection projection is substantially parallel to a contact surface of the contact arm.

24. 22. The electrical connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the at least one spring arm includes a bent portion formed by an upwardly inclined area and a downwardly inclined area of ​​the spring arm.

25. 25. The electrical connector assembly of claim 24, wherein an interior angle of the bent portion of the at least one spring arm is defined between an inner surface of the upwardly inclined area and an inner surface of the downwardly inclined area, the interior angle being between 60° and 120°.

26. 26. The electrical connector assembly of claim 25, wherein the interior angle of the bent portion of the at least one spring arm is between 75° and 105°.

27. 26. The electrical connector assembly of claim 25, wherein the included angle of the bent portion of the at least one spring arm is 80 degrees.

28. 26. The electrical connector assembly of claim 25, wherein the interior angle of the bent portion of the at least one spring arm is significantly acute.

29. 22. The electrical connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the at least one spring arm of the spring member is a first spring arm including both a straight portion having a first width and a folded portion having a second width, the first width being greater than the second width.

30. 30. The electrical connector assembly of claim 29, wherein the spring member includes a second spring arm including a fold portion having a third width, the third width being greater than the second width of the first spring arm.

31. 22. The electrical connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the male terminal body includes a wall configuration having an internal spring wall including an anti-rotation protrusion, the anti-rotation protrusion configured to be positioned within an anti-rotation recess formed in the spring member.

32. 33. The electrical connector assembly of claim 32, wherein said anti-rotation recess is formed between a pair of spring arms of said spring member.

33. The terminal assembly is in the fully connected state (S ＦＣ 34. The electrical connector assembly of claim 33, wherein when in position 10, said at least one contact arm includes a free end that does not abut the flat outer surface of said spring arm.

34. The receptacle of the male terminal body is in a ready-to-receive position (P Ｒ ), and the receptacle has a first front dimension when the male terminal body is in a ready-to-use position (P Ｕ 22. The electrical connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the connector has a second front dimension when in said first position, the second front dimension being smaller than said first front dimension.

35. 35. The electrical connector assembly of claim 34, wherein the spring member includes two opposing spring arms, each spring arm having a bent portion defining an apex of the spring arm, an outer dimension of the spring member defined between the apexes of the spring arms, and the outer dimension of the spring member is greater than the second front dimension of the receptacle of the male terminal body.

36. 22. The electrical connector assembly of claim 21, wherein the base portion includes an outer surface, and the at least one contact arm includes a linear extent having an outer surface that is coplanar with the outer surface of the base portion.

37. 22. The electrical connector assembly of claim 21, further comprising a female connector assembly including a female housing assembly and a female terminal assembly.

38. The male connector assembly and the female connector assembly are in a connected state (S Ｃ 23. The electrical connector assembly of claim 22, wherein said male terminal body, said spring member and said jacket are operably coupled to one another by a mating spring, and a forward extent of each of said male terminal body, said spring member and said jacket are received in said female terminal assembly.

39. The male terminal body includes a plurality of contact arms, the spring member includes a plurality of spring arms, the number of contact arms being equal to the number of spring arms, and a single spring arm is in the fully coupled state (S ＦＣ 21. The electrical connector assembly of claim 20, wherein in said first contact, said second contact is located under a single contact arm.

40. 1. An electrical connector assembly for use in a power distribution assembly, the connector assembly comprising: a male connector assembly including a male housing assembly and a male terminal assembly; The male terminal assembly comprises: a male terminal body including a receptacle, a base portion, and a contact arm extending from the base portion; a spring member including: (i) a primary spring arm located beneath the contact arm and having a front portion including an over-compression area; and (ii) a pair of secondary spring arms located on either side of the primary spring arm and positioned a distance from the over-compression area of ​​the primary spring arm; The fully assembled state (S ＦＡ ), (i) the spring member is positioned within the receptacle of the male terminal body, the primary spring arm is located below the contact arm, and (ii) an external force (F Ｅ ) is applied to the contact arm, both the contact arm and the primary spring arm are compressed inward; and (iii) an additional external force (F Ｅ ) is applied to the contact arm, further inward compression of the primary spring arm is inhibited by the over-compression area that causes the primary spring arm to contact the upper edge of the secondary spring arm, thereby preventing over-compression of the male terminal assembly. Electrical connector assembly.

41. Further comprising an openable jacket, The male terminal body and the majority of the spring member are in the fully assembled state (S ＦＡ ) in the jacket, 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein the openable jacket has a contact arm opening with at least one flexure protrusion disposed on a side of the opening.

42. The contact arm has a bent portion that defines a vertex of the contact arm, and in the fully assembled state (S ＦＡ 42. The electrical connector assembly of claim 41, wherein an apex of said contact arm extends above an upper edge of said flexible protrusion.

43. 42. The electrical connector assembly of claim 41, wherein an outer surface of the deflection projection is substantially parallel to a contact surface of the contact arm.

44. 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein the primary spring arm includes a bent portion formed by an upwardly angled area of ​​the primary spring arm and a downwardly angled area of ​​the primary spring arm.

45. 45. The electrical connector assembly of claim 44, wherein an interior angle of the bent portion of the primary spring arm is defined between an inner surface of the upwardly angled area and an inner surface of the downwardly angled area, the interior angle being between 60° and 120°.

46. 46. ​​The electrical connector assembly of claim 45, wherein the interior angle of the bent portion of the primary spring arm is between 75° and 105°.

47. 46. ​​The electrical connector assembly of claim 45, wherein the included angle of the bent portion of the primary spring arm is 80 degrees.

48. 46. ​​The electrical connector assembly of claim 45, wherein the interior angle of the bent portion of the primary spring arm is significantly acute.

49. 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein the primary spring arm has both a straight portion having a first width and a folded portion having a second width, the first width being greater than the second width.

50. 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein the male terminal body includes a wall configuration having an internal spring wall including an anti-rotation protrusion, the anti-rotation protrusion configured to be positioned within an anti-rotation recess formed in the spring member.

51. 51. The electrical connector assembly of claim 50, wherein the anti-rotation recess is formed between the primary spring arm and one of the secondary spring arms of the spring member.

52. The receptacle of the male terminal body is in a ready-to-receive position (P Ｒ ), and the receptacle has a first front dimension when the male terminal body is in a ready-to-use position (P Ｕ 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein said connector has a second front dimension when in said first position, said second front dimension being smaller than said first front dimension.

53. 53. The electrical connector assembly of claim 52, wherein the spring member includes a pair of primary spring arms, each primary spring arm having a bent portion defining an apex of the spring arm, an outer dimension of the primary spring member defined between the apexes of the spring arms, the outer dimension of the primary spring member being greater than the second front dimension of the receptacle of the male terminal body.

54. 53. The electrical connector assembly of claim 52, wherein each of the second spring arms has a bent portion defining an apex of the spring arm, an outer dimension of the secondary spring member being defined between the apexes of the spring arms, the outer dimension of the secondary spring member being greater than the second front dimension of the receptacle of the male terminal body.

55. 54. The electrical connector assembly of claim 53, wherein each of the second spring arms has a bent portion defining a vertex of the spring arm, an outer dimension of a secondary spring member defined between the vertices of the spring arms, and the outer dimension of the secondary spring member is substantially equal to the outer dimension of the secondary spring member.

56. 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein the base portion of the male terminal body has an outer surface, and the contact arms of the male terminal body include linear extents having outer surfaces that are flush with the outer surface of the base portion.

57. 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein said male terminal body includes a support rib extending from said base portion, said support rib having a length less than a length of said contact arms of said male terminal body.

58. 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein the over-compression area includes opposed flanges extending outwardly from a free end portion of the primary spring arm.

59. 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein each of the second spring arms includes a protruding area having one of the upper edges positioned a distance from the over-compression area of ​​the primary spring arm, the protruding area being located forward beyond the over-compression area of ​​the primary spring arm.

60. Further comprising an openable jacket, The fully assembled state (S ＦＡ 60. The electrical connector assembly of claim 59, wherein in said second spring arm of said spring member, said protruding area is received in an opening formed in said openable jacket.

61. The male terminal body includes a plurality of contact arms, the spring member includes a plurality of primary spring arms and a plurality of secondary spring arms, the number of contact arms being equal to the total number of the primary and secondary spring arms, and the fully assembled condition (S ＦＡ 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, wherein in said first and second contacts, a single spring arm is located under a single contact arm.

62. 41. The electrical connector assembly of claim 40, further comprising a female connector assembly including a female housing assembly and a female terminal assembly.

63. The male connector assembly and the female connector assembly are in a connected state (S Ｃ 63. The electrical connector assembly of claim 62, wherein said male terminal body, said spring member and said jacket are operably coupled to one another by a mating spring, and a forward extent of each of said male terminal body, said spring member and said jacket are received in said female terminal assembly.

64. 1. An electrical connector assembly for use in a power distribution assembly, the connector assembly comprising: a male connector assembly including a male housing assembly and a male terminal assembly; The male terminal assembly comprises: a male terminal body including a receptacle, a base portion, and at least one contact arm extending from the base portion; a spring member including at least one spring arm configured to underlie the contact arm, the at least one spring arm including a front portion having a jacket projection area; an openable jacket including a spring arm opening; Fully assembled (S ＦＡ ), (i) the spring member is positioned within the receptacle of the male terminal body, and the primary spring arm is located below the contact arm, (ii) the male terminal body and a majority of the spring member are within the jacket, and (iii) an external force F Ｅ (iv) when an additional external force (F Ｅ ) is applied to the contact arm, further inward displacement of the primary spring arm is constrained by direct contact between the inner surface of the jacket projection area of ​​the at least one spring arm and an inner compressed edge of the spring arm opening, thereby preventing excessive displacement of the male terminal assembly. Electrical connector assembly.

65. 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein said jacket projection area includes an inner surface in direct contact with an inner compressed edge of said spring arm opening, thereby preventing damage to said male terminal assembly.

66. 66. The electrical connector assembly of claim 65, wherein said jacket projection area defines a forward most portion of said spring member.

67. 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein said at least one spring arm includes a bent portion formed by an upwardly angled extent of said primary spring arm and a downwardly angled extent of said primary spring arm.

68. 68. The electrical connector assembly of claim 67, wherein an interior angle of the bent portion of the primary spring arm is defined between an inner surface of the upwardly angled area and an inner surface of the downwardly angled area, the interior angle being between 60° and 120°.

69. 69. The electrical connector assembly of claim 68, wherein the interior angle of the bent portion of the primary spring arm is between 75° and 105°.

70. 69. The electrical connector assembly of claim 68, wherein the included angle of the bent portion of the primary spring arm is 80 degrees.

71. 69. The electrical connector assembly of claim 68, wherein the interior angle of the bent portion of the primary spring arm is significantly acute.

72. 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein the primary spring arm has both a straight portion having a first width and a folded portion having a second width, the first width being greater than the second width.

73. 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein the male terminal body includes a wall configuration having an internal spring wall including an anti-rotation protrusion, the anti-rotation protrusion configured to be positioned within the anti-rotation recess formed in the spring member.

74. 74. The electrical connector assembly of claim 73, wherein said anti-rotation recess is formed between a pair of spring arms of said spring member.

75. The male terminal body is in the receiving ready position (P Ｒ ), the receptacle of the male terminal body has a first front dimension, and the male terminal body is in a ready-to-use position (P Ｕ 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein when in said first position, said receptacle has a second frontal dimension, said second frontal dimension being smaller than said first frontal dimension.

76. 76. The electrical connector assembly of claim 75, wherein the at least one spring arm of the spring member includes a pair of primary spring arms, each primary spring arm having a bent portion defining an apex of the spring arm, an outer dimension of the primary spring member defined between the apexes of the spring arms, and the outer dimension of the primary spring member is greater than the second front dimension of the receptacle of the male terminal body.

77. 76. The electrical connector assembly of claim 75, wherein the at least one spring arm of the spring member further includes a pair of secondary spring arms, each secondary spring arm having a bent portion defining an apex of the spring arm, an outer dimension of the secondary spring member defined between the apexes of the spring arms, and the outer dimension of the secondary spring member is greater than a second front dimension of the receptacle of the male terminal body.

78. 76. The electrical connector assembly of claim 75, wherein the at least one spring arm of the spring member further includes a pair of secondary spring arms, each secondary spring arm having a bent portion defining an apex of the spring arm, an outer dimension of the secondary spring member defined between the apexes of the spring arms, and the outer dimension of the secondary spring member being substantially equal to the outer dimension of the secondary spring member.

79. 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein the base portion of the male terminal body has an outer surface, and the contact arms of the male terminal body include a linear extent with an outer surface that is coplanar with the outer surface of the base portion.

80. 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein said male terminal body includes a support rib extending from said base portion, said support rib having a length less than a length of said contact arms of said male terminal body.

81. 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein the at least one spring arm includes a first spring arm that includes the jacket protrusion area and a second spring arm having a front portion that includes an over-compression area, the first spring arm having an upper edge on a side of the second spring arm and positioned a distance from the over-compression area.

82. 82. The electrical connector assembly of claim 81, wherein the over-compression area includes opposed flanges extending outwardly from a free end portion of the second spring arm.

83. 82. The electrical connector assembly of claim 81, wherein said jacket projection range of said first spring arm is located forward of said second spring arm and beyond said over-compression range.

84. The male terminal body includes a plurality of contact arms, the spring member includes a plurality of spring arms, the number of the contact arms is equal to the number of the spring arms, and a single spring arm is in the fully assembled state (S ＦＡ 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein said first and second contacts are positioned at least partially beneath said single contact arm.

85. 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, further comprising a female connector assembly including a female housing assembly and a female terminal assembly.

86. The male connector assembly and the female connector assembly are in a connected state (S Ｃ 86. The electrical connector assembly of claim 85, wherein said male terminal body, said spring member and said jacket are operably coupled together by a mating spring such that a forward extent of each of said male terminal body, said spring member and said jacket are received within said female terminal assembly.

87. the at least one spring arm of the spring member includes (i) a first pair of spring arms having a front portion that includes a jacket protrusion area; and (ii) a second pair of spring arms having a front portion that includes an over-compression area, the second pair of spring arms being in opposing relationship; 65. The electrical connector assembly of claim 64, wherein said first pair of spring arms are oriented at a 90 degree angle relative to said second pair of spring arms.

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