Electrical wire connector

Claim 1

An electrical wire connector comprising: a hollow, open-topped, insulating body having a base wall and a pair of generally parallel side walls extending generally perpendicularly from said base wall, a flat plate, wire connector element formed of a copper alloy with a plurality of wire connecting slots, said wire connector element being retained in said body perpendicular to said side walls and said base wall generally centrally of the length of said body for electrical connection of a plurality of insulated wires, a U-shaped wire cut-off and strain relief element of a metal having a hardness greater than that of said wire connector element, said wire cut-off and strain relief element having a base passing between the base wall of said body and said wire connector element and end walls parallel to said flat plate wire connector element, one of said end walls being sharpened along its top edge in alignment with at least one of said wire connecting slots in said wire connector element and the second end wall comprising at least one leg projecting transversely into the path of a wire from each wire connecting slot to the end of said insulating body adjacent said second end wall to engage the insulation on the wire and thereby to strain relieve the wire, and an insulating cover formed to telescope with said body, said cover having means to carry a wire into each said connector element slot and to cooperate with said sharpened end wall of said wire cut-off and strain relief element to sever at least one wire extending through said connector upon telescoping of said cover and said body fully together, said body and cover being formed with complementry latch members to retain said body and cover in an open position to permit one wire for each wire connecting slot in said wire connector element to be inserted through said connector between said body and cover and to retain said body and cover in a crimped position with said cover and body fully telescoped together.