Separable, surface-mating electrical connector and assembly

Claim 1

An electrical connector for connecting an electrical circuit-bearing substrate with a multi-wire flexible electrical cable having a plurality of parallel conductors across its width, the connector comprising: a connector housing in the form of a parallelipiped having a ramp joining a first face and a second face by truncating one corner of the connector housing, the parallelipiped having an internal cavity, the internal cavity accessed through an opening in a third face of the connector housing opposite to the first face of the connector housing, the internal cavity also accessed through an angled chute in a fourth face opposite to the second face of the connector housing, the angled chute to such dimensions to permit passage of a multi-wire flexible cable into the internal cavity, the angle of the ramp and the angle of the chute being about the same as measured with respect to the third face of the connector housing, and the distance from the third face to the chute on the fourth face corresponding to the distance from the third face to the ramp on the second face; a terminal block positioned within the internal cavity and adapted for attachment to one end of a flexible cable; an array of electrical contacts supported by the terminal block, one end of the contacts protruding from the terminal block and extending through the opening in the third face for engagement with the electrical circuit-bearing substrate, the other end of the contacts protruding from the terminal block for attachment with one end of the multi-wire flexible cable; whereby a plurality of such connector housings could be located adjacent one another so that the ramp of one such connector housing acts to guide and support the flexible cable of another such connector housing.