Discrete wire interconnections for connector blocks

Claim 1

In a connector block capable of being interconnected by discrete wires, the improvement comprising: first and second rows of electrical contacts along opposite sides of said block having resilient contacts on opposite sides of a central cavity of said block and tail portions in the form of slotted plates projecting outwardly of said block, said block including two rows of supporting flanges provided with aligned grooves facing the spaces defined between adjacent flanges, the slotted plates of said contacts bridging across the spaces between adjacent flanges and the side margins of said slotted plates being received in the aligned grooves, said block further including first and second rows of columnar projections defining elongated wire aligning passageways in alignment with adjacent wire gripping jaws of said slotted plate contacts, said projections further including wire gripping ribs in said passageways for gripping wires aligned along said passageways and terminated to said wire gripping jaws, said projections further including keeper means preventing removal of wires inserted along said passageways, said projections further including wire aligning elongated channels aligned with said wire receiving passageways of the opposite rows of projections, whereby wires aligned in said channels span transversely across said block and are terminated to wire receiving jaws of slotted plate contacts adjacent said opposed row of projections and are gripped by said ribs in said wire receiving passageways.