Flat cable connectors

Claim 2

A connector for a flat cable having longitudinally extending parallel conductive cores, comprising: two insulative clamping members, respective clamping faces formed on said members, a line of apertures extending through one of said members from its clamping face, fixing means tightenable to draw said members together around said cable so that said clamping faceS define between them a clamping recess having a cross-section corresponding to said cable and within which said cable is tightly gripped with its cores extending across respective apertures, an insulative contact support, electrical piercing contacts fixed in said support, a row of contact tines projecting from said support at spacings corresponding to said apertures said tines being part of said piercing contacts and each having a projecting length greater than the axial lengths of said apertures in said member, means for attaching said support to said connector with said tines passing through said apertures and penetrating into said cable and in electrical contact with said cores, and electrical connection terminals on said contact support individually united with respective piercing contacts.

Claim 3

A connector as set forth in claim 1, wherein said clamping faces are formed with parallel grooves of part-cylindrical cross-section, and said apertures open into the bases of said grooves between the ends thereof.

Claim 4

A connector as set forth in claim 1, wherein each piercing contact provides two projecting tines lying in respective rows of tines and having cutting edges aligned with the longitudinal direction of the cable cores, said one clamping member having two parallel rows of apertures and said connection terminals comprising pins positioned eccentrically on said piercing contacts.

Claim 5

A connector for a flat cable having longitudinally extending parallel cores, comprising: two insulative clamping members, respective clamping faces formed on said members, two parallel lines of apertures extending through one of said members and opening into its clamping face, fixing means tightenable to clamp said members together one each side of said cable with said cable clamped in a recess formed between said faces and conforming in cross-section to the cross-section of the cable whose cores each extend across the ends of two apertures one from each line, an insulative contact support, electrical piercing contacts fixed in said support, two rows of contact tines projecting from said support at spacings corresponding to the spacing between said apertures of the two lines each piercing contact providing one contact tine in each of said rows and each of said tines having a projecting length greater than the axial length of each of said apertures, two aligned tapered ends formed on the respective tines of each piercing member, aligned linear cutting edges extending in the longitudinal direction of said cable being formed by the tips of said tapered ends, means for drawing said support against said connector with said tines passing through respective apertures and penetrating into said cable to complete electrical circuits between said piercing contacts and said cable cores, and electrical connection terminals on said support individually attached to respective piercing contacts.

Claim 6

A connector for a flat cable having longitudinally extending parallel cores, comprising: two insulative clamping members, respective clamping faces formed on said members, two parallel lines of apertures extending through one of said members and opening into its clamping face, fixing means tightenable to clamp said members together one each side of said cable with said cable clamped in a recess formed between said faces and conforming in cross-section to the cross-section of the cable whose cores each extend across the ends of two apertures one from each line, an insulative contact support, electrical piercing contacts fixed in said support, two rows of contact tines projecting from said support at spacings corresponding to the spacing between said apertures of the two lines each piercing contact providing one contact tine in each of said rows and each of said tines having a projecting length greater than the axial length of each of said apertures, two aligned tapered ends formed on the respective tines of each piercing member, aligned linear cutting edges extending in the longitudinal direction of said cable being formed by the tips of said tapered ends, means for drawing said support against said connector with said tines passing through respective apertures and penetrating into said cable to complete electrical circuits between said piercing contacts and said cable cores, and electrical connection terminals on said support individually attached to respective piercing contacts.

Claim 7

A connector as set forth in claim 4, in which each piercing contact is provided with three tines comprising two end tines having aligned cutting edges and an intermediate tine offset laterally of a line berween said two end tines, each of said tines terminating in a chisel end having a slant face disposed on the side of the tine remote from the medial plane of the three tines, and the intermediate tine having a cutting edge which extends parallel to the cutting edges of said end-tines.

Claim 8

A connector as set forth in claim 4, in which said electrical projecting terminals comprise pins projecting from the side of the contact support remote from said projecting tines, and said pins are individually integral with respective piercing contacts and are eccentrically formed thereon and lie in two parallel rows with the pins in one pin row staggered with respect to the pins in the other pin row.

Claim 9

A connector for a flat cable having longitudinally extending parallel cores, comprising: two insulative clamping blocks, respective parallel grooved clamping faces formed on said blocks, an insulative block contact suppOrt, electrical piercing contacts fixed in said support, aligned contact tines projecting from said support and having projecting lengths greater than the thickness of one of said clamping blocks which is apertured to received said contact tines, fixing means to clamp said clamping blocks together one each side of said cable with said parallel grooved clamping faces contiguous with opposite surfaces of said cable and with said cores extending across the ends of said apertures, means tightenable to hold said support in engagement with said apertured clamping block with the projecting tines extending therethrough and in electrical contact with cores of the cable, linear cutting edges formed on the ends of said tines and aligned in the longitudinal direction of the cable, and contact pins formed on said piercing contacts and projecting from said support on the side opposite said contact tines.

Claim 10

A connector for a flat cable having longitudinally extending parallel cores, comprising: two insulative clamping blocks, respective parallel grooved clamping faces formed on said blocks, an insulative block contact suppOrt, electrical piercing contacts fixed in said support, aligned contact tines projecting from said support and having projecting lengths greater than the thickness of one of said clamping blocks which is apertured to received said contact tines, fixing means to clamp said clamping blocks together one each side of said cable with said parallel grooved clamping faces contiguous with opposite surfaces of said cable and with said cores extending across the ends of said apertures, means tightenable to hold said support in engagement with said apertured clamping block with the projecting tines extending therethrough and in electrical contact with cores of the cable, linear cutting edges formed on the ends of said tines and aligned in the longitudinal direction of the cable, and contact pins formed on said piercing contacts and projecting from said support on the side opposite said contact tines.

Claim 11

A connector as claimed in claim 7, in which said piercing contacts each provide at least two tines having their cutting edges linearly aligned with one another and formed by the tips of wedge-shaped end portions, and each piercing contact is frictionally held in said support block.

Claim 12

A connector as claimed in claim 7, in which said piercing contacts are made from a stiff flat metal strip blank having a symmetrical arrangement of parallel sharp tines formed by one end portion and an asymmetrically arranged contact pin formed by the other end-portion.

Claim 13

A connector as claimed in claim 7, in which said fixing means comprise hollow internally threaded bolts which are tightenable in bolt holes at the ends of one of the clamping blocks, and said tightenable means for holding the support against said apertured clamping block comprises threaded bolt means which are received within said internally threaded bolts.