Abstract:
The electrical wire connection strip includes a bottom housing portion and an upper housing portion that are slidably connected to one another. The electrical wire connection strip is connectable to additional electrical wire connection strips to form a segmented electrical wire connection block or strip, where each segment can be designated to accept a certain wire gauge size.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of electric power distribution, and particularly to an electrical wire connection block which enables quick connection of power distribution cables. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Transformers are key components presently in electric power distribution networks. Generally, electric power is distributed from electrical substations at high voltage typically in excess of 6,000 volts to minimize losses. Transformers are required to reduce the voltage down to lower levels, such as 120 volts, for local distribution to commercial and residential customers. 
     A transformer commonly used for this purpose is housed in a steel cabinet on a concrete platform or pad at ground level. The transformer itself includes primary and secondary coils housed in an oil-filled transformer well, the oil being provided to keep the coils cool. Typically, studs, to which cables or conductors can be attached, protrude laterally outward from the transformer through the wall of the transformer well. 
     The studs are insulated from the wall of the transformer well by an insulating bushing or seal, which must be impermeable to the oil filling the transformer well. There are usually two to six studs for attaching incoming cables to the primary side, and three to four studs for attaching outgoing cables to the secondary side. Typically, there are a minimum of three studs required on the secondary side, one for each of two phases and one for a return or ground cable. 
     Transformers of this type may be used to deliver electric power to a relatively small number of end consumers. To supply each such consumer, one cable from each of the studs on the secondary side of the transformer is required. Typically, then, a number of cables are connected to each of the studs, one for each of the consumers being served. 
     Transformer connectors are used to attach the individual cables to the studs. One of the most commonly used transformer connectors is spade connector. A spade connector has a female connection end which is screwed onto a transformer stud through the screw threads on both of the stud and the spade connector. Each cable end encapsulated in a cable end lug is screwed onto the spade connector by a set of screws through one of the cable adapting ports of the spade connector. 
     With these traditional spade connectors, when a transformer needs to be replaced because it is no longer functioning, an electrician has to disconnect each of the cables, usually from three to thirty cables, before the spade connector can be taken off from the stud by rotating the spade connector around the stud. Moreover, each disconnected cable has to be grounded immediately for safety reasons. After the old transformer is replaced by a new transformer and the spade connectors are connected onto the studs of the new transformer, each one of the disconnected cables then has to be bolted onto the spade connector again. 
     Furthermore, the cable end lug closest to the stud on the spade connector are relatively difficult to access. To reach a set of bolt and nut for a cable end lug axially closest to the stud along the cable, the electrician must reach in toward the stud over a number of cables. Even worse, the inner set bolts may not be readily visible, forcing the electrician to work blindly. Moreover, as the three or four studs are often arranged one above the other on the wall of the transformer well, the electrician may often be required to reach between two layers of cables to adjust the blot of a cable attached close to a stud. Still further, bolts might have become corroded causing extreme difficulty in removing the cables. 
     It is apparent that this is a lengthy and labour intensive process. It usually takes from about two and half hours to about three hours to change a transformer that carries thirty electrical cables, mainly because the time required for disconnecting and connecting the cables to the spades. 
     Thus, an electrical wire connection strip solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An electrical wire connection strip includes a bottom housing portion and an upper housing portion that are slidably connected to one another. The electrical wire connection strip is connectable to additional electrical wire connection strips to form a segmented electrical wire connection block or strip, where each segment can be designated to accept a certain wire gauge size. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the electrical wire connection strip according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of an upper housing block and a lower housing block according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of an upper housing portion according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows a rear view of the upper housing portion according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of the lower housing portion according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  shows an exploded view of an exemplary fastener according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  shows a screw driver for fastening the fastener shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8A  shows a side view of a stopper according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 8B  shows a plurality of stoppers inserted in the wire openings according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the electrical wire connection strip  5  includes a lower housing portion  10  and an upper housing portion  15  that slidably engages the lower housing portion  10 . A fastener  30  extends through the upper housing portion  15  for fastening the strip  5  to desired electrical equipment or another electrical wire connection strip  5 . The electrical wire connection strip  5  includes a plurality of first wire entry slots  20  and a plurality of second wire entry slots  25  that can be formed by infrastructure assembly aperture  490 . The upper housing portion  15  includes a plurality of upper blocks  35 . The lower housing portion  10  includes a plurality of lower housing blocks  40 , each of which are configured to slidably engage a respective upper housing block  35 , as described in detail below. 
     As shown in detail in  FIGS. 2-3 , each upper housing block  35  includes an upright base portion  45  with first and second flanges  50   a  and  50   b  extending from a lower end of opposing sides of the base portion  45 . Each flange  50   a ,  50   b  includes a horizontal support surface  55  and an upright sidewall  60 . A sleeve  70 , having a sleeve bore  72  defined therethrough, extends, e.g., slidably, from an upper end of the base portion  45 . The wire coupling bore  72  can be sized for a specific gauge of wire to prevent the user from misuse of the connector such as by, e.g., increasing the number of wires in the same slot. Sleeve opening  79   a  in sleeve  70  can align or intersect with wire entry slot  20  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) enabling electrical connection of wire entering through the wire entry slot  20 . It should be noted that sleeve bore  72  extends within sleeve  70  in a first direction, while sleeve opening  79   a  extends within sleeve  70  in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. 
     Each lower housing block  40  includes opposing first and second arms  85   a ,  85   b , which slidably engage first and second flanges  50   a  and  50   b  respectively. The second entry slot  25  is defined by a first groove  65   a  in the upper housing block  35  and a second groove  75   a  in the lower housing block  40 . As shown more clearly in  FIG. 4 , the first groove  65   a  extends along a bottom surface of the base portion  45  of the upper housing block  35 . A wall  65   b  is disposed within first groove  65   a . Referring back to  FIG. 2 , the second groove  75   a  extends along an upper surface of the lower housing block  40 . A wall  75   b  can be disposed within the second groove  75   a . The second groove  75   a  aligns with the first groove  65   a  when the upper and lower housing blocks are engaged. 
     As shown more clearly in  FIG. 4 , a bridge  90  connects adjacent upper housing blocks  35  of the upper housing portion  15 . Each bridge  90  between adjacent upper housing blocks  35  includes an aperture  95  defined therethrough for receiving a fastener. Thus, the upper housing portion  15  can include a plurality of fasteners to further secure the lower and upper housing portions. An attachment bore  105  is defined at an end of the upper housing portion  15  for receiving the fastener  30  for fastening the strip to an adjacent connection strip or desired electrical equipment. 
     As shown more clearly in  FIG. 5 , a bridge  110  connects adjacent lower housing blocks  40  of the lower housing portion  10 . Each bridge  110  between adjacent lower housing blocks  40  includes an aperture  115  defined therethrough for receiving the fastener extending through a corresponding bridge  90  of the upper housing portion  15 . 
     The fastener  30  can be any suitable fastener. For example, the fastener  30  can be a screw, as shown in  FIG. 6 , including a groove  400  defined on a surface head of the screw, a threaded shaft  410 , and a tip  420 . Although the screw shown in  FIG. 6  has a hexagonal head, the head of the screw can have a circular shape, or any other suitable shape. The hexagonal head is suitable for the sleeve bore  72  when the sleeve bore  72  is configured to have a smaller diameter, as shown in  FIG. 2 . The circular head is suitable for the sleeve bore  72  when the sleeve bore  72  is configured to have a larger diameter, as shown in  FIG. 3 . The fastener can be formed of metal and/or plastic. For example, the head can be plastic and the shaft can be metal. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , a screw driver  80  can be provided to fasten the fastener  30 . The screw driver  80  can have a gear tooth fastening mechanism with a circular base  300  and a fastener shaft  310  extending from the base  300 . The fastener shaft can have a tapered driver end  330 . The base  300  can be formed from a plastic material. The fastener shaft  310  can be formed from metal. 
     A stopper  500  can be inserted into the first wire entry slots  20  and/or the second wire entry slots  25 .  FIG. 8A  illustrates an exemplary stopper that can be used. The stopper  500  can include a stopper head  510  and a stopper shaft  520  extending from the stopper head  510 .  FIG. 8B  illustrates the slots of the wire opening  430  adhered to each other. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.