Patent ID: 8002573

Claim:
An electrical connector for connecting a bus bar member to a multi-wire conductor ( 11 ) circumferentially enclosed by a layer of insulation ( 10 ), comprising: (a) a hollow bus bar member ( 1 ) containing an open-ended horizontal chamber (C) for longitudinally receiving one end of the insulated conductor, said bus bar member being bent from electrically-conductive sheet metal and having a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration including a pair of vertical spaced side walls ( 1 a , 1 b ), and horizontal top ( 1 c ) and bottom ( 1 d ) walls containing opposed first ( 3 ) and second ( 4 ) openings, respectively; (b) a horizontal printed circuit board ( 2 ) including a plurality of conductors mounted on an insulation base panel; (c) said bus bar member further including a horizontal fifth wall ( 1 d ′) extending from the lower edge portion of one of said vertical side walls between said horizontal bottom wall and said printed circuit board, said fifth wall being seated on said printed circuit board in electrical engagement with at least some of said conductors, said fifth wall being soldered to said printed circuit board, said fifth wall containing a third opening ( 4 ′) opposite and aligned with said first and second openings: and (d) a vertical insulation-piercing electrically-conductive contact screw ( 8 ) having a threaded body portion extending through and threadably connected with said first opening ( 3 ), said contact screw being vertically axially displaceable between retracted and fully penetrating positions relative to said bus bar member, said contact screw body portion terminating at its lower end in a pointed first end portion ( 9 ) that, during longitudinal displacement of said contract screw from said retracted position toward said fully penetrating position, is operable to successively: (1) pierce an adjacent first portion of the insulation layer; (2) extend diametrically through the multi-wire conductor; (3) pierce a diametrically opposed second portion of the insulation layer; and (4) extend into said second ( 4 ) and third ( 4 ′) bus bar wall openings; wherein said printed circuit board contains a fourth opening ( 12 ) receiving said contact screw pointed end portion when said contact screw is in said fully penetrating position.