Connector for high density ribbon cable

Claim 1

An electrical connector for insulation displacing termination of ribbon cable having conductors on predetermined close centerline spacing comprising: a housing having a mating face, an opposed cable receiving face, and at least one row of terminal receiving passages extending between said faces, a plurality of terminals received in respective passages, each terminal having a mating portion toward said mating face and a slotted plate toward said cable receiving face, said slotted plate comprising a conductor receiving portion, a base portion and a transition portion therebetween, said plate having a conductor receiving slot of selected depth passing through said conductor receiving portion and said transition portion and into said base portion, said conductor receiving portion extending beyond said cable receiving face and having mutually opposed outer edge surfaces which are spaced approximately as the predetermined centerline spacing of the conductors of the ribbon cable adapted to be terminated thereto, said base portion being wider than the conductor receiving portion and having mutually opposed outer edge surfaces which are spaced substantially greater than the predetermined centerline spacing of the conductors of the ribbon cable adapted to be terminated thereto, said base portion beginning approximately midway along the slot depth, said transition portion comprising outer edge surfaces which diverge from respective outer edge surfaces of said conductor receiving portion to respective outer edge surface of said base portion, at least a portion of the transition region extending above the cable receiving face, said transition portion adapted to receive on the diverging edges thereof an outer surface of insulation surrounding conductors adjacent to a conductor received in a respective slotted plate when a ribbon cable is terminated in the connector, whereby that portion of the transition region extending above the cable receiving face receives on the diverging edges thereof an outer surface of insulation surrounding adjacent conductors in the cable and normal contact force is maintained on a conductor received in the slot by strength imparted from said base portion when a ribbon cable is terminated to the connector.