Electrical connector with right angle terminal pins

Abstract

An electrical connector has a connector body. A pin block disposed in the connector body supports a plurality of terminal pins that are arranged in horizontal rows that are vertically spaced with the terminal pins in each row being laterally spaced from each other. The terminal pins have contact portions projecting out a forward end of the pin block and tail portions projecting out a rearward end of the pin block. The tail portions of the terminal pins in an uppermost row of the plurality of terminal pins have straight tail portions. The connector body has a socket at a forward end, an intermediate retainer section holding the pin block and a tail guard at a rearward end for protecting the projecting tail portions of the terminal pins. The tail guard has a top wall that includes an aft portion that is behind pin block and that is raised to accommodate elastic bending of the straight tail portions of the terminal pins in the uppermost row upward to an inclined position by a sufficient amount so that the subsequent over bending of the straight tail portions downwardly in situ forms an acute angle in the straight tail portions thus providing perpendicular tail ends for connection to a printed circuit board while maintaining a low profile of the intermediate retainer section that houses the pin block and the socket.