Solderless electrical connector

Claim 1

A solderless electrical connector for electrical conductors having cores of conductive material encompassed by insulation covers, said connector comprising a housing of dielectric material provided with a plurality of spaced pockets, each pocket having a base surface and an entry opposite thereto; and a plurality of electrical contact elements, one being fixedly disposed within each pocket and being adapted to simultaneously accommodate and make electrical contact with the conductors extending through the pocket entry, each contact element being of one piece construction and including a mating portion and a plurality of adjacent conductor-receiving termination portions, a corresponding segment of each portion being interconnected, each termination portion being provided with a separate entry for each conductor, said separate entry being aligned with the pocket entry, each termination portion including elongated sidewall sections arranged in opposed spaced relation and interconnected to one another by a floor section in supporting engagement with the pocket base surface, said sections substantially defining a channel having an open side forming said separate entry, at least one sidewall section of each termination portion being provided with a pair of longitudinally spaced jaw means extending from adjacent said floor section to substantially said separate entry and projecting toward the opposite sidewall section and cooperating therewith to form a pair of relatively spaced narrow passages extending substantially transversely of said channel and from the separate entry to substantially the floor section, said narrow passages opening to said separate entry and into which a segment of a single conductor is adapted to be positioned independently of any other conductor, the jaw means of each termination portion effecting rupturing of the insulation cover and making electrical contact with the core of the segment of a conductor disposed within the narrow passages.