阅读说明：本技术 具有可移除外部负载条的电连接器及其使用方法 (Electrical connector with removable external load bar and method of use ) 是由 罗伯特·W·苏利凡 于 2015-05-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请案针对于一种具有可移除外部负载条的电连接器及其使用方法。用于以太网电缆的电连接器具有具前部端壁的伸长空心外壳,所述前部端壁必须正确地装配于配合连接器中的开口内,其中所述前部端壁具有必须经切断以适合所述配合连接器的经加厚外部分,且其中所述经加厚部分是与所述壁整体形成,使得其在被切断时继续支撑所述壁。(The present application is directed to an electrical connector with a removable external load bar and method of use thereof. An electrical connector for an ethernet cable has an elongated hollow housing with a front end wall that must fit correctly within an opening in a mating connector, wherein the front end wall has a thickened outer portion that must be cut to fit the mating connector, and wherein the thickened portion is integrally formed with the wall so that it continues to support the wall when cut.)

1. A modular plug system, comprising:

a plug housing including a top surface, a bottom surface, and two opposing side surfaces, a front end and an opening opposite the front end, and a cavity extending from the front end to the opening of the rear end, the rear end having a plurality of openings extending through the front surface to the cavity;

a plurality of guide units in the cavity, the plurality of guide units positioned such that each of a plurality of wires engages a respective guide unit;

a cutting surface extending from a lower portion of the front end such that the cutting surface is below a lowest row of the openings, wherein the cutting surface is sized to receive two posts on the crimping device and the two posts are positioned on opposite sides of the cutting surface when the tool is engaged with the plug,

wherein each guide unit is aligned with a respective opening.

2. The modular plug system according to claim 1, wherein the guide unit is dimensioned such that the electrical wire is securely fixed in the plug cavity.

3. The modular plug system of claim 1, wherein the cutting surface has a sufficient thickness to remain connected to the front surface after a cutting device engages the cutting surface.

4. The modular plug system of claim 1, the openings being arranged in a single row.

5. The modular plug system of claim 1, said openings being arranged in two rows.

6. The modular plug system of claim 1, wherein the openings are arranged in more than two rows.

7. The modular plug system according to claim 1, wherein the openings in the front end are interconnected.

8. The modular plug system of claim 1, wherein the front opening is sized to engage a wire extending through each opening.

9. A modular plug according to claim 5, wherein wires passing through one opening in a load bar are guided by the guide unit to a corresponding opening in the front face of the modular plug.

10. The modular plug of claim 1 wherein the top of the cutting surface is coplanar with the top surface of the post.

11. A method of forming a modular connector, the method comprising the steps of:

forming a plug housing comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, and two opposing side surfaces, a front end and an opening opposite the front end, and a cavity extending from the front end to the opening of the rear end, the rear end having a plurality of openings extending through the front surface to the cavity;

forming a plurality of guide units in the cavity, the plurality of guide units positioned such that each of a plurality of wires engages a respective guide unit;

forming a cutting surface extending from a lower portion of the front end such that the cutting surface is below a lowest row of the openings, wherein the cutting surface is sized to receive two posts on the crimping device and the two posts are positioned on opposite sides of the cutting surface when the tool is engaged with the plug;

each guide unit is aligned with a respective opening.

12. The modular plug system of claim 11, wherein the guide unit is sized such that the wire is securely fixed in the plug cavity.

13. The modular plug system of claim 11, wherein the cutting surface has a sufficient thickness to remain connected to the front surface after a cutting device engages the cutting surface.

14. The modular plug system of claim 11, the openings being arranged in a single row.

15. The modular plug system of claim 14, said openings being arranged in two rows.

16. The modular plug system of claim 11, wherein the openings are arranged in more than two rows.

17. The modular plug system of claim 11, wherein the openings in the front end are in communication with each other.

18. The modular plug system of claim 11, wherein the front opening is sized to engage a wire extending through each opening.

19. A modular plug in accordance with claim 15, wherein wires passing through one opening in a load bar are guided by the guide unit to a corresponding opening in the front face of the modular plug.

20. The modular plug of claim 11, wherein the top of the cutting surface is coplanar with the top surface of the post.

21. An electrical connector plastic shell, comprising: an open rear end and an integral front end wall having a planar upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion of the front end wall being integrally thickened to project forwardly beyond the planar upper portion so that the shell does not conform to applicable industry standards, and the integrally thickened lower portion of the front end wall of the outer shell having a plurality of wire holes formed therethrough and arranged in two rows in parallel.

22. The electrical connector plastic shell of claim 21, wherein one of the plurality of wire holes is located outside the two parallel rows.

23. The electrical connector plastic shell of claim 21, wherein the plurality of wire holes comprises an upper row of holes and a lower row of holes, and four pairs of wires are positioned to extend through the plurality of wire holes such that one of each pair of wires is located in one of the upper row of holes and the other of each pair of wires is located in one of the lower row of holes.

24. The electrical connector plastic shell of claim 23, wherein pairs of the wires comprise wires located in adjacent holes.

25. The electrical connector plastic shell of claim 21, wherein an upper surface of the integrally thickened lower portion comprises a guide groove adjacent the planar upper portion.

26. The electrical connector plastic shell of claim 21, further comprising a contact blade recess in the front end wall.

27. The electrical connector plastic shell of claim 26, wherein the plurality of wire holes comprises holes within an upper row and holes within a lower row, and wherein the holes within the upper row are larger than the holes within the lower row.

28. The electrical connector plastic shell of claim 21, wherein the wire holes are interconnected.

29. An electrical connector housing, comprising:

a) an open rear end; and

b) a unitary front end wall having a plurality of wire holes therethrough aligned in two parallel rows and alternately in a staggered orientation, the unitary front end wall of the connector housing comprising:

(i) a planar upper portion; and

(ii) a lower portion located adjacent to the plurality of wire holes, the lower portion being integrally thickened to project forwardly beyond the planar upper portion of the connector housing beyond the specifications of applicable industry standards.

30. An electrical connector shell according to claim 29, wherein one of the plurality of wire holes is positioned differently than the two parallel rows.

31. An electrical connector shell according to claim 29, wherein the plurality of wire holes comprises an upper row of holes and a lower row of holes, and four pairs of wires are positioned to extend through the plurality of wire holes such that one of each pair of wires is located in one of the holes of the upper row and the other of each pair of wires is located in one of the holes of the lower row.

32. An electrical connector shell according to claim 31, wherein the plurality of pairs of wires comprises wires located in adjacent holes.

33. An electrical connector shell according to claim 29, wherein the integrally thickened lower portion comprises an upper surface having a guide groove adjacent the planar upper portion.

34. The electrical connector shell according to claim 29, further comprising a contact blade recess in the front end wall.

35. An electrical connector shell as in claim 29 wherein the plurality of wire holes comprises holes within an upper row and holes within a lower row, and wherein the holes within the upper row are larger than the holes within the lower row.

36. An electrical connector shell according to claim 29, wherein the wire holes are interconnected.

37. An electrical connector shell for forming an electrical connector compatible with an industry standard compliant connector receptacle, the shell comprising a removable load bar integral with a front end wall of the shell, the load bar extending from a front wall of the connector shell such that the electrical connector shell has a configuration of: the industry standard receptacle is not met without removing the load bar.

38. An electrical connector shell according to claim 37, wherein the load bar further comprises an upper surface having a guide groove adjacent the planar upper portion.

39. A method of making an electrical connector, the method comprising:

selecting an elongated hollow plastic shell having an open rearward end and a generally continuous front end wall, a lower portion of said front surface of the front end wall being integrally thickened, and said front end wall including the thickened lower portion including a set of openings therethrough;

inserting the plurality of wires into the open rear end of the housing and through corresponding openings in the set of openings in the thickened front end wall so that the plurality of wires project forwardly beyond the front end wall; and

the thickened portion of the front end wall is trimmed away while the protruding end of the wire is flush with the remaining front end wall surface of the housing.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein inserting the plurality of wires through corresponding openings of the set of openings in the front end wall comprises inserting corresponding ones of the plurality of wires through two parallel rows of openings in the front end wall, the two parallel rows comprising an upper row and a lower row.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein inserting respective ones of the plurality of wires through two parallel rows of openings in the front end wall comprises inserting respective ones of the plurality of wires through respective openings in the upper row, the respective openings in the upper row being larger than the respective openings in the lower row.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein trimming the protruding end of the wire comprises trimming an electrically insulated wire.

43. The method of claim 39, further comprising urging a metal contact blade into conductive engagement with respective ones of the plurality of wires.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein urging a metal contact blade into conductive engagement with respective ones of the plurality of wires comprises: while shearing off the thickened portion of the front end wall and the protruding end of the wire, a metal contact blade is urged through and into conductive engagement with the insulative coating of each of the plurality of wires.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising crimping the connector housing while urging a metal contact plate into conductive engagement with respective ones of the plurality of wires and shearing off thickened portions of the front end wall and protruding ends of the wires.

Technical Field

The present invention is directed to an electrical connector.

Background

This application of Robert W Sullivan (Robert W Sullivan) describes and claims improvements to the invention shown in my previously issued U.S. patent No. 6,017,237 and patents No. 5,996,224 and 6,105,229. The product patented in that patent is a male RJ45 connector into which eight wires from a cable and associated crimp and shear tools are inserted. When the connector housing is crimped to fix the internal position of the wire, the electrical contact blades contained within it also assume a position in which they will matingly engage the blades of corresponding contacts in the receptacle of the associated female RJ45 connector. Over the past decade, the eight wire connector system disclosed in my referenced patent has been sold under my trademark EZ-RJ45 and is used throughout the world in ethernet cable systems. The uniqueness and novelty of these items has not been challenged.

An important feature of the invention shown in that patent is that the wires are arranged inside the connector in a manner so as to minimize interference or crosstalk between the data streams transmitted on the respective wire pairs. Another important feature is the method in which the color-coded wires inserted into the connector are allowed to protrude outwardly from their front ends so that a technician can view the color-coded wires to verify their correct relative positions before cutting their protruding ends. Yet another feature of the invention is the arrangement of the connector assembly and its associated crimping and shearing tools such that the driven engagement of the metal contact into the wire inside the connector housing and the severing and severing of the protruding wire end occur while the plastic connector is crimped to secure the wire in its position inside the connector.

As electrical components for high speed data transmission are made smaller and smaller, data rates, packets, frequencies and speeds increase, and corresponding wires become larger and larger, it has become necessary to establish stringent standards to ensure proper performance thereof. FCC regulations and other industry standards require precise construction and dimensions. The connector housing must be made of an injection moldable material (e.g., GE Lexan material) that is sufficiently moldable and deformable to capture and retain the wires inside. At the same time, the housing must be sufficiently rigid to reliably support the wires and their associated contact blades in precisely the correct position for mating with the associated contact elements in the receptacle of the female RJ45 connector. Yet another requirement is that the formable materials utilized must meet underwriter laboratories fire safety standards and other international physical, electrical, quality and performance testing standards.

The drawings of my prior patent, which are identical in all three of my three prior patents, show many important details of my EZ-RJ45 connector as it is sold and currently being sold. For ease of reference, the specific figures of my prior patent are reproduced herein as follows:

there are other important details shown in the drawings of my prior patent that are not fully reproduced here but are to be understood.

The connector 20 as shown in figure 5 of my prior patent (reproduced here as figure 3) has an elongated hollow plastic housing 22. The insulated electrical wires 16 enter their open rear ends 24 and extend in a guided path inside and through the housing. Within the housing, a metal contact plate 36 having a sharpened lower end is ready to pierce the insulation of the corresponding wire and make a secure electrical contact with the corresponding wire. The upper jaw 50 of the associated crimp and shear tool has a downward projection 56 that will drive the metal contact plate 36 downward into the correct position so that its front edge matingly engages a corresponding contact (not shown) in the receptacle of the female RJ45 connector. The ends of the wires 16 will not engage any contacts in the female receptacle.

As shown in figure 4 of the present application, figure 6 of my prior patent, the crimp and shear tool has a lower jaw 70 that will provide support under the housing 22 during the crimp and shear operation. Fig. 1 and 2 of the present application show a control tab 30 extending longitudinally below the housing 22. The forward ends of the control tabs 30 must meet shape and size standards specified by the FCC standard in order to properly position the connector within the receptacle of a female connector (not shown). The outer end portion of the control tab 30 also provides a small anvil 42 at the front end of the housing 22 against which six of the protruding wire ends are sheared and cut when the crimp and shear tool 50 is pressed downwardly.

In my EZ-RJ45 as shown in my prior patent, the front end wall of the housing 22 is mostly closed but has an opening 42 for eight wires to protrude. There is also a slot or recess in the front end wall that is partially occupied by the contact blade 36, but the lateral edges of the blade 36 at the front end of the housing do not extend to the front of the housing. But rather, it is recessed rearwardly from the front end surface. This is necessary in order to allow the contact blades of a female socket (not shown) to be guided into the slots or grooves for face-to-face contact with the lateral edges of the contact blades 36. The mating contacts of the female receptacle (not shown) are protruding contact blades that will enter the slot or groove to complete the electrical circuit of the connector. The bare ends of the wires 16 after they are cut do not engage any contacts in the female connector.

When the tool 50, 70 is actuated to perform the crimping and shearing operations, its cutting blade 60 wipes across the forward end of the housing 22. In my EZ-RJ45 connector as shown in my prior patent, six of the eight protruding wires 16, wire numbers 2-7, are free to float over the anvil 42 and are crimped off in reliable unison with the shear tools 50, 70. The reason for this is that the connector control tabs 30 must be of the exact correct size to fit precisely within the receptacle whose shape and size are dictated by the FCC or industry standards. The control tab 30 is wide enough to provide a supporting anvil for the wires 2 to 7 only. It is therefore common practice in the art for a technician to use his EZ-RJ45 system to manually complete the task of severing the ends of the wires 1 and 8 after the connector housing has been crimped and the other wires have been severed. The wires used in my EZ-RJ45 connectors are typically the AWG size 24 of CAT 5 cable, which has a reliable data transmission rate in accordance with the corresponding standard.

As shown in my prior patent, openings 44 through which eight wires 16 will project are in a lower portion of the front end face of the housing 20. The slots or grooves for the contact blades are in the upper region of the front end wall of the connector housing 20 and there is a vertical spacing between the horizontal rows of openings 44 for the wires and the slots or grooves for the contact blades 36.

The prior art also includes chinese patent No. CN2854844Y, U.S. patent No. 5,601,447 issued in 1997, and U.S. patent No. 6,905,359 issued in 2005.

It is necessary that the contact blades (not shown) of the female RJ45 connector mate precisely with the front edges of the contact blades 36. Field experience and complaints with my EZ-RJ45 connector system have shown a need for improved performance. The operation of the shear and crimp tooling 50, 70 often tends to cause the plastic housing 20 to twist such that the wire and contact are not accurately maintained in their desired dimensionally stable positions. There are several different forces that can lead to this result:

1. a sliding contact force against the friction of the seating blade 36;

2. insulation displacement force IDC. This is the force it takes to push the gold connector contact blade 36 into the wire insulating plastic coating and mate with the copper wire.

3. Cutting wire force-the shear force required to cut the wires 2 to 7;

4. any dullness of the cutting blade exacerbates the problem.

5. Any misalignment of the blades is also aggravated by the fact that the blades 60 are free floating as shown in my prior patent.

All of these forces tend to push, twist and deform the connector housing in an undesirable manner. This can result in FCC non-qualified connectors that need to be discarded, resulting in loss of time and money.

Since my product requires manual cutting of the wires 1 and 8, it would also be desirable to cut and shear all eight of the wires by crimp and shear tools to avoid the additional manual work step of the technician.

Disclosure of Invention

The first principal concept of my invention is to use wires with thicker insulation of AWG size 23 and to keep each twisted pair in its twisted state as close as possible to the pair of metal contacts that will conductively engage their respective wires in order to improve the electrical performance and data transmission rate of the connector.

The second principal concept of my invention is to provide a thickened front end wall (outer load bar or reinforcement). The outer dimensions of the connector housing must be limited to comply with legal and industrial standards, and larger wires necessarily require a reduction in the amount of plastic material forming the connector housing. The external load bar (or stiffener) mechanically supports both the connector housing and the wires contained therein, and is then severed along with the protruding wire ends in order to allow the male connector to properly mate with the associated female connector.

A third main feature of my invention is a method which not only allows the outer ends of protruding wire pairs to protrude from the front of the connector for color comparison purposes, but also allows the wires to be pulled and tensioned in their still twisted condition and brought as close as possible to their respectively associated contact blades before they are severed. This approach helps improve the quality of the electrical performance and increases the data transmission rate.

According to my invention, the hole for projecting the wire and the slot or groove for contacting the blade are provided in the thickened front end wall in substantially the same manner as shown in my prior patent. However, the thickened portion of the front wall (outer load bar) including the region in which the horizontal opening for protruding the electrical wire is formed does not include a slot or groove that would receive the contact blade of the female socket.

When my new invention modified crimp and shear tool severs the protruding end of the wire, it simultaneously severs the undesirable thickness of the front end wall (external load bar or reinforcement). The stiffener or load bar is integrally formed with the front end wall of the housing. Thus, when the blade is acting to sever the stiffener or load bar, the stiffener or load bar continues to provide stabilizing support to the front end wall of the housing until the action of the cutting blade is fully completed and the stiffener or load bar has completely broken away from the connector housing.

With this thickened or stiffener portion of the front end wall, the housing 22 better supports both the wires and the slots or grooves for receiving the contact blades before, during and after the wires are severed.

Thus, when cutting the exposed end of the wire, i now simultaneously cut through the thickened or stiffener portion of the end wall, leaving a thin front end wall of the connector housing sufficient to maintain the correct spatial position of both the wire 16 and the contact blade 36. The connector then fits correctly within its allocated space in the associated female receptacle or terminal block.

In other words, by thickening the front end wall of the housing 22, i now initially make the connector too long to fit within its defined space in the socket or panel. But by severing the excess thickness of the front wall as the connector housing is crimped and the contacts 36 are forced into their conductive engagement with the associated wires 16, i reduce the connector housing length so that it fits properly and also improves the end result of properly terminating the connector.

I provide horizontal guide paths inside the connector housing 22 to permit two horizontal rows of four wires, each in a staggered relationship, to be inserted into and through the connector. The apertures or openings in the front end wall of the housing 22 are then in two separate rows of four apertures or openings in each row. Adjacent holes then tend to slightly overlap or merge into each other.

Another and related feature of my invention is to modify the crimping and shearing tool so that it cuts all protruding wire ends with great certainty while the crimping operation is in progress. I achieve this by adding a pair of short struts to the lateral ends of the lower jaw 70 of the crimping tools 50, 70. These posts and control tabs 30 then provide an enlarged and sufficient anvil surface 42 for severing all wire ends encased in plastic; the four wire ends in the upper horizontal row are severed first, and then the four wire ends in the lower horizontal row are severed.

It is a further feature of the present invention i also provide a set of guides to control the downward movement of the cutting blade and a groove extending transversely across the upper surface of the outer load bar adjacent the front wall of the connector housing to guide the edge of the blade 60 as it is pushed downward in its cutting action.

It is a goal of these improvements to provide a connector suitable for use with CAT 6, CAT 6A and other ethernet cables and future larger wires and standards to reliably operate at data transmission rates of 10 gigahertz as well as future transmission rates and applications.

Drawings

Figures 1 to 4 provide an identical copy of certain figures in my prior patent which are necessary to provide a proper basis for describing my invention.

FIG. 5 is a front end elevational view of my modified connector housing and external load bar showing an empty connector unloaded with wires;

FIG. 6 is an elevational cross-section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5 showing an empty connector housing with an external load bar on a front end wall thereof;

fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the connector housing loaded with the electrical wires;

FIG. 8 is a drawing similar to FIG. 7, but with the addition of schematic indications showing how the crimping and shearing operations and the separation of the external load bar from its wrapped wire will occur;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view showing the accompanying loading of insulated wires still held packaged therein and protruding therefrom by the external load bar after it has been separated from the connector housing and still retains it; and

fig. 10 is a front end elevation of the loaded connector housing with the external load bar cut to expose the bare end of the insulated wire.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the modified connector housing 122 has a thickened stiffener 100 (otherwise referred to as an external load bar) formed as an integral lower portion of its front end wall 128. The horizontal row of four upper apertures 145 and the horizontal row of four lower apertures 144 are formed through the solid material of the stiffener. As best seen in fig. 5, the holes of the rows are staggered and tend to mix or merge together. Stiffener 100 has a planar bottom surface identified by numeral 104. During a shearing operation, the stiffener 100 will rest on that bottom surface 104, which in turn will rest on the anvil. Below the lower hole 144 there is a thin layer of plastic material forming the bottom surface 104.

On the front wall of the housing 122, as best seen in fig. 5, there is an upper vertical region 132 above the stiffener 100 in which is located a slot or groove 130 for contacting the blade 36. Eight of these slots are provided to receive eight contact plates 36. The cross-sectional view of fig. 6 shows one contact blade 36 occupying a corresponding slot or groove 130.

As shown in fig. 6, a bottom wall of the connector housing 122 is designated 124 and a bottom surface thereof is designated 126. When the connector is loaded with electrical wires, it will be in a suitable guide path that extends the length of the hollow connector housing and will also extend through the holes 144, 145 and project outwardly from the front side of the stiffener 100.

Since fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view, it shows one of the contact blades 36 occupying a corresponding one of the slots 130.

As also indicated in fig. 6, the plastic material of the stiffener 100 is integrally formed with the front end wall 128 of the housing 122. This is extremely important because when stiffener 100 and its contained wrapped wire are severed, the stiffener continues to mechanically support front end wall 128 until the shear is completely complete.

As shown in fig. 6, the upper surface of the stiffener 100 has a small groove 102 immediately adjacent to the planar upper face 132 of the connector housing. The purpose of the groove is to guide the action of the cutting blade 60 when the reinforcement and wire end are to be cut.

Referring now to fig. 7, the connector housing is shown when loaded with insulated wires. The wires 16 are drawn from the incoming cable for a length sufficient to protrude from the front side of the strength member 100 by a gripping length of at least several inches. This allows the technician to pull the wires taut prior to performing the crimping and cutting operations. The tightness of the wires inside the connector housing improves the electrical performance of the connector.

Fig. 8 reproduces the loaded housing of fig. 7 on a smaller scale to provide space to schematically illustrate how crimping and shearing will occur. A hand tool 300 above the housing drives arrows 301, 302 and 303 downward. Arrow 301 represents the crimping of the plastic housing in the manner shown in my prior patent. Arrow 302 represents a blade driver that drives all of blades 36 into electrical engagement with the corresponding contact blades. And arrow 303 represents cutting blade 60 that will sever both stiffener 100 and its wrapped wire. The block 42 shown in the lower left corner of the drawing represents an anvil that supports the bottom surface 104 of the stiffener 100 and which the blade 60 will engage at the end of its cutting stroke.

As shown in fig. 9, the stiffener 100, after separation from the front wall 128 of the housing, still leaves it protruding from its front side via the load of the insulated electrical wires 16. Which is then no longer needed and can be disposed of.

As shown in fig. 10, removal of the stiffener 100 leaves a bare front wall 128 in which the bare end of the insulated wire is clearly visible. The wire ends do not protrude and must not protrude otherwise there is a risk of electrical engagement with the female connector. This must not be tolerated in order to achieve the proper electrical function of the connector. Removal of the stiffener returns the size and shape of the housing 122 to industry and FCC standards for proper mating with a female RJ45 connector.

Method of operation

As described above, the modified connector housing of the present invention is made as an integrally formed part of the reinforcement or the external load bar. Four pairs of insulated wires are inserted into and through the housing 122 and through the upper and lower apertures 144, 145 in the stiffener. The wire pairs are guided in such a way that one wire of each pair protrudes through the upper aperture 145 and the other wire of each pair protrudes through the adjacent lower aperture 144.

Before cutting the reinforcement and wrapped wire ends, the technician will check the color coding of the wire to verify its correct position. The technician then preferably pulls the wire pairs by pulling the protruding ends of each of the wire pairs. The purpose of this is to bring each wire pair inside the connector as close as possible to the respectively associated contact blade. This is essential to maximize the electrical performance of the connector.

I have modified i crimp and shear tools 50, 70 to provide two small legs that extend the ends of anvil 42 so that all eight wires will be cut in a single pass of cutting blade 60. The reinforcement rests directly on the anvil without a space between its bottom surface and the anvil. There is a significant thickness of plastic material under the bottom row of holes. When the shearing occurs, blade 60 first cuts all of the wires in the upper row 145 and then cuts all of the wires in the lower row 144.

After the cut is complete, the stiffener, which is now detached from the front wall 128, may be disposed of. The connector housing 122 is then moved into mating engagement with the associated female receptacle, thereby engaging the contact pins of the female receptacle with the contact blades 36. Performance testing may then be performed if needed or desired.

Although i have described my invention in detail for the purposes of complying with the requirements of the patent statutes, it is to be understood that i's scope of protection is to be determined solely by reference to the claims that follow.