Electric wire connector assembly

Claim 1

A DEVICE FOR MECHANICALLY SECURING TOGETHER A PLURALITY OF WIRES IN A BUNDLE, THE DEVICE HAVING A RELATIVELY LIMITED AXIAL LENGTH CAPABLE OF ACCOMMODATING BUNDLES OF DIAMETERS WHICH VARY OVER A RELATIVELY WIDE RANGE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: A HELICALLY COILED SPRING MEMBER DEFINING AN AXIS AND PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF RESILIENTLY DILATABLE CONVOLUTIONS EXTENDING AXIALLY FROM AN ENTRANCE END TO AN OPPOSITE END, SAID CONVOLUTIONS HAVING: A HELICAL GROOVE-PRESSING EDGE CONFRONTING SAID AXIS, THE RADIUS OF SAID EDGE WITH RESPECT TO SAID AXIS BEING OF MAXIMUM VALUE ADJACENT SAID ENTRANCE END AND OF MINIMUM VALUE ADJACENT SAID OPPOSITE END, SAID RADIUS DIMINISHING, IN THE AXIAL DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID ENTRANCE END, FROM SAID MAXIMUM VALUE TO SAID MINIMUM VALUE, RELATIVELY STEEPLY AT A FIRST LOCATION ADJACENT SAID ENTRANCE END AND THEN MORE GRADUALLY AT A SECOND LOCATION AXIALLY BETWEEN SAID FIRST LOCATION AND SAID OPPOSITE END, THE RESILIENCE OF SAID CONVOLUTIONS BEING SUCH AS TO ALLOW ONLY LIMITED DILATION OF EACH SUCCESSIVE CONVOLUTION AS THE BUNDLE ADVANCES AXIALLY THROUGH SAID OPENING AND THE RATE OF CHANGE OF SAID RADIUS BEING GREAT ENOUGH SO THAT EACH SUCCESSIVELY SMALLER CONVOLUTION WILL TEND TO PRESS SAID EDGE INTO THE WIRES FURTHER THAN A PRECEDING LARGER CONVOLUTION UNTIL THE SPRING MEMBER IS SUFFICIENTLY INTERLOCKED WITH THE WIRES BY A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF SAID CONVOLUTIONS TO PRECLUDE UNWANTED REMOVAL OF THE DEVICE FROM THE BUNDLE AND THE FORCE REQUIRED TO DILATE THE NEXT SUCCESSIVE SMALLER CONVOLUTION AND PASS THE BUNDLE THERETHROUGH BECOMES GREAT ENOUGH SO THAT SAID NEXT CONVOLUTION SERVES AS A POSITIVE STOP MEANS TO PRECLUDE FURTHER AXIAL ADVANCEMENT OF THE BUNDLE, AND A HOUSING OF RELATIVELY RIGID INSULATING MATERIAL, SAID HOUSING HAVING A CAVITY CONTAINING SAID SPRING MEMBER, THE CAVITY HAVING A CONFIGURATION GENERALLY COMPLEMENTARY TO THE EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION OF SAID SPRING MEMBER WITH THE RELATIVE DIMENSIONS OF THE CAVITY AND THE SPRING MEMBER ALLOWING AT LEAST THE LARGEST CONVOLUTION TO BE FIXED WITHIN THE HOUSING AND PROVIDING A CLEARANCE SPACE BETWEEN THE HOUSING AND THE SUCCESSIVE SMALLER CONVOLUTIONS.

Claim 2

A DEVICE FOR MECHANICALLY SECURING TOGETHER A PLURALITY OF WIRES IN A BUNDLE, THE DEVICE HAVING A RELATIVELY LIMITED AXIAL LENGTH CAPABLE OF ACCOMMODATING BUNDLES OF DIAMETERS WHICH VARY OVER A RELATIVELY WIDE RANGE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: A HELICALLY COILED SPRING MEMBER DEFINING AN AXIS AND PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF RESILIENTLY DILATABLE CONVOLUTIONS EXTENDING AXIALLY FROM AN ENTRANCE END TO AN OPPOSITE END, SAID CONVOLUTIONS HAVING: A HELICAL GROOVE-PRESSING EDGE CONFRONTING SAID AXIS, THE RADIUS OF SAID EDGE WITH RESPECT TO SAID AXIS BEING OF MAXIMUM VALUE ADJACENT SAID ENTRANCE END AND OF MINIMUM VALUE ADJACENT SAID OPPOSITE END, SAID RADIUS DIMINISHING, IN THE AXIAL DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID ENTRANCE END, FROM SAID MAXIMUM VALUE TO SAID MINIMUM VALUE, RELATIVELY STEEPLY AT A FIRST LOCATION ADJACENT SAID ENTRANCE END AND THEN MORE GRADUALLY AT A SECOND LOCATION AXIALLY BETWEEN SAID FIRST LOCATION AND SAID OPPOSITE END, THE RESILIENCE OF SAID CONVOLUTIONS BEING SUCH AS TO ALLOW ONLY LIMITED DILATION OF EACH SUCCESSIVE CONVOLUTION AS THE BUNDLE ADVANCES AXIALLY THROUGH SAID OPENING AND THE RATE OF CHANGE OF SAID RADIUS BEING GREAT ENOUGH SO THAT EACH SUCCESSIVELY SMALLER CONVOLUTION WILL TEND TO PRESS SAID EDGE INTO THE WIRES FURTHER THAN A PRECEDING LARGER CONVOLUTION UNTIL THE SPRING MEMBER IS SUFFICIENTLY INTERLOCKED WITH THE WIRES BY A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF SAID CONVOLUTIONS TO PRECLUDE UNWANTED REMOVAL OF THE DEVICE FROM THE BUNDLE AND THE FORCE REQUIRED TO DILATE THE NEXT SUCCESSIVE SMALLER CONVOLUTION AND PASS THE BUNDLE THERETHROUGH BECOMES GREAT ENOUGH SO THAT SAID NEXT CONVOLUTION SERVES AS A POSITIVE STOP MEANS TO PRECLUDE FURTHER AXIAL ADVANCEMENT OF THE BUNDLE, AND A HOUSING OF RELATIVELY RIGID INSULATING MATERIAL, SAID HOUSING HAVING A CAVITY CONTAINING SAID SPRING MEMBER, THE CAVITY HAVING A CONFIGURATION GENERALLY COMPLEMENTARY TO THE EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION OF SAID SPRING MEMBER WITH THE RELATIVE DIMENSIONS OF THE CAVITY AND THE SPRING MEMBER ALLOWING AT LEAST THE LARGEST CONVOLUTION TO BE FIXED WITHIN THE HOUSING AND PROVIDING A CLEARANCE SPACE BETWEEN THE HOUSING AND THE SUCCESSIVE SMALLER CONVOLUTIONS.