Channel outlet

Claim 1

A channel outlet electrical connector assembly, comprising: channel-housing means including cover means and base means, said cover means having spaced openings therealong, means maintaining said cover means and said base means together; channel outlet means disposed in said channel-housing means at each of said openings and including terminal-housing means and cover member means of rigid insulative material, said terminal-housing means having power terminal-receiving cavities and a ground terminal-receiving cavity therein, a front section of each of the terminal-housing means disposed in respective spaced openings of said cover means of said channel-housing means and having apertures therethrough leading to the respective terminal-receiving cavities, means provided by said channel outlet means and said channel-housing means securing said channel outlet means in the respective spaced openings of said cover means; power terminal means respectively disposed in said power terminal-receiving cavities and ground terminal means disposed in said ground terminal-receiving cavity, said power terminal means and said ground terminal means have conductor-terminating means including slots therein positioned adjacent an inner end of said terminal-housing means, wherein insulated electrical conductors are respectively terminated in said conductor-terminating means upon said conductors being pushed into the respective slots so that the slotted conductor-terminating means cut through the insulation and electrically connect with the electrical conductor, said power terminal means having receptacle section means in alignment with respective apertures, said ground terminal means having spring contact means extending along said ground terminal-receiving cavity toward the aperture in alignment therewith and ground contact means extending substantially parallel with respect to said conductor-terminating means of said ground terminal means, said apertures in alignment with said receptacle section means and said spring contact means being offset from the respective conductor-terminating means of said power terminal means and said ground terminal means so that the electrical conductors terminated in the respective conductor-terminating means are positioned to the side of the respective apertures; means provided by said terminal means and said terminal-housing means securing said power terminal means in said power terminal-receiving cavities and said ground terminal means in said ground terminal-receiving cavity opposite outer surfaces of said terminal-housing being formed with depressed open channels therein, a strap member extending across the mouth of each of the channels intermediate its ends, said cover member having a plurality of spaced leg members extending from the rim thereof to respectively slide along the channels when the cover is moved to close the housing, said legs having protruding wedge-shaped portions engageable with the strap members to latch the cover in place, said cover member means having an opening through which said ground contact means extends and electrically connects with said base means.