Insulation displacement contact for flat cable

Claim 2

An insulation displacement terminal having a slot formed between two members, the slot having side edges parallel to the centerline of the slot for establishing an insulation displacement termination to a wire encased in insulation and inserted laterally of its axis into the slot, each said member having a sharp point defined by converging inner and outer sloped edges at one end for penetrating the insulation surrounding said wire, where the lateral distance between said points is between 1 and 1.5 times the diameter of said wire and the slope of the inner sloping edge relative to the centerline of the slot is less than the slope of the outer sloping edge relative to the centerline of the slot, whereby the resultant force, normal to the centerline of the slot, tending to open the slot as the inner and outer sloping edges engage insulation surrounding the wire is reduced so that the tendency of the two members to spread apart as a result of engagement of the insulation with the inner and outer sloping edges is lessened whereby the slot edges make a more reliable contact with a wire upon insertion therein.

Claim 3

The terminal of claim 1 wherein an edge section of each member extends transversely relative to a plane containing the slot to increase the stiffness of the terminal.

Claim 4

The terminal of claim 1 wherein the slope of the outer edge is at least twice the slope of the inner edge.

Claim 5

An electrical connector assembly for establishing insulation displacement contacts with a plurality of wires in a flat cable having insulation surrounding the wires to form cylindrical crests, concentric with the wires, on the outer surface of the cable, the electrical connector assembly comprising: a clamp having cylindrical grooves conforming to the shape of the cylindrical crests on the outer surface of the cable and apertures intersecting each groove; and terminals each having an insulation displacement slot between two arms the arms being insertable through the apertures, each arm having a sharp point on its end, where the two sharp points are spaced apart by a distance which is less than the diameter of said grooves while being approximately equal to one and one half times the diameter of the wires, so that the sharp points engage the cylindrical crests of a cable position within the clamp.

Claim 6

An electrical connector assembly for establishing insulation displacement contacts with a plurality of wires in a flat cable having insulation surrounding the wires to form cylindrical crests, concentric with the wires, on the outer surface of the cable, the electrical connector assembly comprising: a clamp having cylindrical grooves conforming to the shape of the cylindrical crests on the outer surface of the cable and apertures intersecting each groove; and terminals each having an insulation displacement slot between two arms the arms being insertable through the apertures, each arm having a sharp point on its end, where the two sharp points are spaced apart by a distance which is less than the diameter of said grooves while being approximately equal to one and one half times the diameter of the wires, so that the sharp points engage the cylindrical crests of a cable position within the clamp.

Claim 7

The electrical connector assembly of claim 4 wherein each arm has inclined knife edges on each side of the sharp point for penetrating the insulation forming the cylindrical crests on the cable.

Claim 8

An electrical connector assembly for establishing insulation displacement terminations to wires in a cable, the cable having a plurality of relative larger wires and a plurality of relative smaller wires positioned within a common insulative web, the centerline spacing between adjacent relatively smaller wires being less than the centerline spacing between adjacent relatively larger wires, cylindrical crests, concentric with the wires, being formed on the outer surface of the common insulative web, the electrical connector assembly including: a cable clamp for holding the cable in a flat configuration with the centerlines of all of the wires being in the same place for insulation displacement termination: an insulation housing attachable to the cable clamp; first and second terminals positioned within the insulative housing, each terminal having a slotted plate extending from the insulative housing, the width of the second terminal slotted plate being less than the width of the first terminal slotted plate so that the second terminal slotted plates can fit between the more closely spaced relatively smaller wires, the length of each slotted plate being substantially equal, the second terminal slotted plate therefore being more flexible than the first slotted plate, the second slotted plate having sharp insulation piercing points on either side of a slot extending inwardly from the end of the second terminal slotted plate defined by inner and outer sloping edges the sharp insulation piercing points being spaced apart a distance of about 1 to 1.5 times the diameter of the wire to be terminated therebetween, so as to initially engage the corresponding cylindrical crest at a relatively steep angle to initiate penetration of the common insulative web in such a manner as to reduce the tendency of the slot in the second slotted plate to become enlarged prior to engagement with the relatively smaller second wires.

Claim 9

An electrical connector assembly for establishing insulation displacement terminations to wires in a cable, the cable having a plurality of relative larger wires and a plurality of relative smaller wires positioned within a common insulative web, the centerline spacing between adjacent relatively smaller wires being less than the centerline spacing between adjacent relatively larger wires, cylindrical crests, concentric with the wires, being formed on the outer surface of the common insulative web, the electrical connector assembly including: a cable clamp for holding the cable in a flat configuration with the centerlines of all of the wires being in the same place for insulation displacement termination: an insulation housing attachable to the cable clamp; first and second terminals positioned within the insulative housing, each terminal having a slotted plate extending from the insulative housing, the width of the second terminal slotted plate being less than the width of the first terminal slotted plate so that the second terminal slotted plates can fit between the more closely spaced relatively smaller wires, the length of each slotted plate being substantially equal, the second terminal slotted plate therefore being more flexible than the first slotted plate, the second slotted plate having sharp insulation piercing points on either side of a slot extending inwardly from the end of the second terminal slotted plate defined by inner and outer sloping edges the sharp insulation piercing points being spaced apart a distance of about 1 to 1.5 times the diameter of the wire to be terminated therebetween, so as to initially engage the corresponding cylindrical crest at a relatively steep angle to initiate penetration of the common insulative web in such a manner as to reduce the tendency of the slot in the second slotted plate to become enlarged prior to engagement with the relatively smaller second wires.