US Patent 7104849 Terminal and a method of forming it

A terminal (10) has opposite front and rear ends and a receiving plate with lateral edges. Front and rear connecting pieces (17A, 17B) project up from the lateral edges and then curve inwardly. The front connecting piece (17A) is shorter in a front-to-rear direction than the rear connecting piece (17B). The connecting pieces (17A, 17B) extend beyond the widthwise center of the receiving plate (15). Thus, the curved connecting pieces (17A, 17B) overlap when viewed in forward and backward directions. The connecting pieces (17A, 17B) have window holes (19A, 19B) for weakening. The provision of front and rear connecting pieces (17A, 17B) causes inserting force peaks at the front and rear when a mating tab-shaped terminal is inserted. As a result, a peak value is lowered to reduce the inserting force.