Insulation-piercing connection arrangement for an electric wire

An insulation-piercing connection arrangement for an electric wire, the arrangement comprising:

• a conductive part having a slit having parallel edges and provided with an insulation-piercing inlet;
• an insulating housing in which said conductive part is received, said housing being provided with a wire-passing opening for passing a wire parallel to the insulation-piercing slit, and with a shank-passing opening for passing a removable shank forming a lever for operating the connection arrangement;
• an auxiliary wire-insertion part received in said housing and operable by said removable shank to press against one end of an electric wire to be connected in the slit, in such a manner that said wire end passes through said insulation-piercing inlet into said slit in a direction transverse to said wire until it occupies a position where the core of the wire is retained between the edges of the slit in electrical connection with said conductive part;
• the arrangement including the improvements whereby:
• said auxiliary insertion part is provided with an operating body having a shank-passing duct passing therethrough and said housing supports a fixed hole suitable for engaging a leading end of said removable shank when received in said shank-passing duct and acting as a thrust point therefor;
• said auxiliary insertion part carries a pusher for pushing against said wire;
• and
• said housing and said auxiliary insertion part include an insertion part guide device comprising wheels disposed on said insertion part to co-operate with two complementary guide grooves in the housing in such a manner as to impart pseudocircular motion to said auxiliary insertion part under lateral pressure from said shank passing through said duct and pressing into said fixed hole;
• thereby enabling said pusher to alternate, when a wire is connected by means of said arrangement, between an inclined, "admission", position in which said pusher allows an electric wire to be admitted through said opening over said insulation-piercing inlet, and an "insertion" position in which a pushing end of said pusher moves to beneath the level of said insulation-piercing inlet while pushing against said wire whose core is thus clamped between said parallel edges of said slit.