Patent 7722365 was granted and assigned to Denso on May, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
In a connector, a connector terminal has a first portion partially supported by a connector housing to be parallel to a wiring board, a second portion exposed outside the housing to be parallel to the board and located closer to the board than the first portion, a joint portion having a first end joined to the first portion and a second end exposed outside the housing and joined to the second portion, and a contact portion soldered to a corresponding land of the board. The first portion of a first terminal is located farther from the board than the first portion of a second terminal. The joint portions of the first and second terminals are located at different distances from the housing. The joint portion of the first terminal is supported by the housing between the first portions of the first and second terminals.