Distributor strip comprising a plurality of double terminal posts allowing non-stripped connection of electrical conductors

Claim 1

A distributor strip, comprising: a plurality of terminal post means for non-stripped connection of electrical conductors; said terminal post means being held in socket portions at upper longitudinal sides of an insulating member; a plurality of upwardly open receptacle chamber means for accommodating surge arrestors in said insulating member; said chamber means being separated by partitions in an upper part of the insulating member and arranged side by side along the insulating member; contact springs connected to the terminal post means at side walls of the receptacle chamber means proximate to the connected terminal post means; portions of a grounding rail projecting into the plurality of receptacle chamber means and between the contact springs lying at opposite sides of the grounding rail; an integral portion of each contact spring projecting into the receptacle chamber means formed by an approximate right-angle bend relative to an integral inverted U-shaped portion such that a free leg is formed situated proximate to a floor of the chamber means and lying beneath the arrestor when the arrestor is inserted, a leading edge of the free leg contacting the grounding rail when surge arrestors are not present in the respective receptacle chamber means, and the U-shaped portion being positioned such that one side of the U-shaped portion is biased by an inserted overvoltage arrestor; and a length of the free leg being dimensioned such that after insertion of an overvoltage arrestor with an associated solder ring between the grounding rail and a corresponding contact spring, a distance between said leading edge and the grounding rail being less than a thickness of the solder ring.