Electrical connector for armored cables

Claim 1

An electrical connector that establishes a reliable electrical connection between two armored cables that each carry multiple conductors, said connector being suitable for operation in an environment of combustible and corrosive fluids under high pressure, comprising: an elongated hollow housing formed of a rigid structural material that is located between and axially aligned with the cables, a pair of insulating bodies that each surround the portion of one of said cables that projects into said housing, said insulating bodies each having a plurality of internal passages arrayed in a side-by-side fashion and which each receive and closely surround one of said conductors, insulating means formed of a resilient material disposed in abutting relationship between said pair of insulating bodies, said insulating means locating a stripped end of each of the conductors within a central portion of said housing with associated pairs of the conductors of each of the armored cables disposed in a generally axially aligned array, electrical socket contacts secured within said insulating means, said socket contacts each having oppositely facing electrical connecting recesses that receive the stripped free ends of one axially aligned pair of the conductors and have a wall intermediate said recesses that is impermeable to an axial flow of fluids therethrough, said insulating means being in a close-abutting relationship with said conductors and said socket contacts to provide a fluid seal therebetween and maintaining said side-by-side array of said conductors, means for permanently mechanically securing each of the stripped conductor ends in a reliable electrical connection with an associated one of said socket contacts, and adhesive means for sealing said insulating bodies to said conductors, said housing having internal cavities configured to surround said pair of insulating bodies and said insulating means closely to eliminate open cavities within said housing, and said housing being non-cylindrical and having a low maximum height.