Insulation piercing electrical clamp connector

Claim 1

An electrical clamp connector comprising: a body cap portion being formed of a single piece of molded insulating material and having a cap clamping side, a cap outer surface, and an oblong oversize bolt hole extending therethrough from the outer surface of said body cap portion to the clamping surface of said body cap portion; a body base portion formed of a single piece of molded insulating material and having a base clamping side constituted by a planar surface, a base outer surface, a chimney on and projecting away from the planar surface clamping side of said body base portion, opposite the base outer surface thereof, and having a remote end, and said body base portion having a length equal to the distance from said base outer surface to said remote end of said chimney, a bolt hole having a length approximately equal to the length of said body base portion and extending through said body base portion from the remote end of the chimney approximately to the outer surface of said body base portion, the bolt hole through said body base portion including an oversize unthreaded bore section and a threaded bore section, said unthreaded bore section extending through the chimney from the remote end thereof and having a length at least equal to the distance from said remote end to said base clamping side, and said threaded bore section having a length not greater than the distance from said bore clamping side to said base outer surface and having threads, formed solely in the insulating material of said body base portion, beginning and ending between the base clamping side and outer surface of said body base portion, whereby forces imparted to the threaded base portion are not directly imparted to the chimney; said body cap portion and said body base portion being positionable, when said clamp is assembled, so that the clamping sides approximately parallel to and face each other with the bolt holes of each portion in approximate axial alignment and with the remote end of the chimney lying within the oblong oversize bolt hole of said cap portion; a bolt having a shank with a bolt head at one end thereof and a threaded portion at the other end thereof, said bolt being positionable, when said clamp is assembled, so that the shank extends into said bolt holes with the bolt head pressing against said cap body portion at the outer surface thereof and with the threaded end thereof in threaded engagement solely with the threads of the threaded bore section of said base body portion; at least two conductor receiving channels being formed between the clamping sides of said body portions when said clamp is assembled so as to receive a conductor therein and to mechanically secure and clamp to each said conductor when said clamp is tightened by said bolt upon assembly; and at least one bridging member of electrically conductive material mounted on at least one of said clamping sides and communicating with said channels so as to engage and electrically connect the conductors clamped therein.