Electrical connector and method of interconnecting flat power cables

Abstract

A tap or splice connector especially useful for a pair of dual conductor flat power cables includes two pairs of upper and lower structures which are applied to the stacked in-line cables side-by-side and then enclosed in a housing. The upper and lower structures each have a transverse array of cable-engaging wave-shaped bosses alternating with wave-receiving relief recesses when pressed together, so that the waves press strips of both cables in upper and lower arrays into the opposing recesses thus exposing conductor edges of the strips for electrical connection. Outer surfaces of the structures are then staked to urge the metal thereof laterally and tightly against the conductor edges adjacent thereto. The cables may first be prepared by punching medial slots thereinto at the interconnection site; the structures when applied are spaced from each other; and the housing covers include axial wall sections which extend between the side-by-side structures and through the cable slots, assuring isolation of the circuits. The structures preferably are self-locking upon being staked to secure the upper and lower structures to each other and to the cables. The housing covers may have opposed integral resilient cable-clamping sections to compensate for cable thickness differences.