Patent ID: 7789694

Claim:
A modular connector for terminating an insulated cable, the insulated cable having a jacket encasing a plurality of insulated wires, the modular connector comprising: a connector body having two substantially parallel side walls, a top, a bottom, a front wall, and a rear wall that is substantially parallel to the front wall; and a plurality of conductive contact blades, each contact blade comprising at least one piercing point; wherein an internal cavity is defined within the connector body, the internal cavity comprising (i) a rearward chamber for receiving a portion of the insulated cable via an opening defined in the rear wall and (ii) a plurality of substantially parallel passages for receiving respective ones of the plurality of insulated wires, each of the parallel passages extending from the rearward chamber of the internal cavity to a respective one of a plurality of openings defined in the top of the connector body through which a free end of each of the insulated wires protrudes prior to being sheared off; wherein each of the plurality of parallel passages intersect the rearward chamber at an angle parallel to a longitudinal axis of the connector; wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of parallel passages curves upward from the rearward chamber to the top of the connector body; and wherein a plurality of slots are defined in the connector body, each slot being open to the front wall and to the top, each slot being substantially parallel to the side walls, each slot being configured to receive a respective one of the contact blades inserted in a direction along the longitudinal axis of the connector, each slot having an opening to a respective one of the parallel passages such that a respective at least one piercing point pierces a respective insulated wire when a respective contact blade is fully inserted.