Device for making a solderless, non-screwed and unstripped single or multiple contact at a terminal element

Claim 1

A terminal element adapted to be mounted in a terminal strip, said terminal strip having the capability of retaining a plurality of said terminal elements, said terminal element comprising: at least one pair of contacts made of resilient contact material, each said contact having a vertically extending slot with an open upper end for solderless, non-screwed and unstripped termination of at least one wire having insulation; each said contact including a transverse web containing said slot and disposed at approximately 45° to the axis of the wire inserted in said slot, each said slot being defined by sharp edges and having a width which, due to the inclined orientation between said inserted wire and said contact, is smaller than the size of the metal core of the inserted wire so that when said wire is inserted in said slot, the wire insulation is severed by said sharp edges and electrical contact is made between said wire and said contact; said transverse webs of said at lest one pair of contacts being in parallel relationship, each said contact having front and rear web portions extending from the respective ends of said transverse web, the front portion of one of said contacts and the rear portion of the other of said contacts being disposed in colinear relationship whereby the axial spacing of a pair of wires inserted into said slots of said pair of contacts is limited only by the wall thickness of said front and rear portions of said contacts; said front and rear web portions including a horizontally extending portion disposed above said respective slot upper end opening in overlying, spaced-apart relationship therewith for guiding the wire as it is inserted into said slot; and a connecting member below said slots at the lower end of said contacts for interconnecting said contacts.