Patent ID: 6908331

Claim:
An insulation stripping connector for providing an electrical connection to a wire, comprising a body; a pair of outer legs extending away from said body in a first direction, each of said outer legs having a first end attached to said body and a second end distal to said body; and a pair of inner legs extending toward said body in a second direction, which is generally opposite said first direction, to form a wire slot therebetween, each of said inner legs being joined to a corresponding one of said outer legs at said second end thereof, and each of said inner legs terminating at a free end which is spaced from said body and from said outer legs, each of said inner legs and each of said outer legs being sufficiently flexible in order to enable said wire slot to open in response to the insertion of a wire into said wire slot, at least one of said outer legs being notched in the vicinity of said first end thereof so as to form a region of reduced width at said first end of said at least one outer leg, said region of reduced width creating a pivot point for said at least one of said outer legs while increasing its flexibility, whereby said wire slot opens wider in order to accommodate a large range of wire sizes, wherein said free ends of said inner legs are movable between a first position, in which said free ends abut each other, and a second position, in which said free ends are spaced apart from each other; wherein said free ends of said inner legs move from said first position to said second position in response to insertion of a wire in said wire slot; wherein each of said outer legs has an inboard side proximate to said wire slot and an outboard side opposite said inboard side; wherein each of said inner legs has an inboard side proximate to said wire slot and an outboard side opposite said inboard side; wherein one of said outer legs has a first stop extending from said inboard side thereof toward said outboard side of an adjacent one of said inner legs, and the other of said outer legs has a second stop extending from said inboard side thereof toward said outboard side of the other of said inner legs, said first stop defining the limit of said second position of said adjacent one of said inner legs and said second stop defining the limit of said second position of said other of said inner legs; and wherein at least one of said stops is adjacent said region of reduce width.