Cross connect terminal block

An interconnection system, comprising:

• an assembly having a base member and a silo, the silo having an upper contact receiving passageway and a lower contact receiving passageway, the silo being slidably mounted onto the base and reciprocally movable in a linear manner between an unterminated position and a terminated position;
• a pair of U-shaped terminals, each of the terminals being securable in the base to be received within the silo upon assembly of the silo to the base, each of the terminals including a base section and a pair of legs extending normally therefrom to define the U-shape, the legs including aligned wire receiving openings and aligned IDC termination slots extending from the openings, a third IDC termination slot is formed along a top of each terminal;
• and,
• a latching system for securing the silo to the base, the latching system comprising an opening on the silo with a resilient finger therein, the latching system further comprising two latching protrusions on the base, when the silo is in the unterminated position, the upper of the two latching protrusions is received within the opening on the silo thereby securing the silo in the unterminated position, when the silo is in the terminated position, the upper of the two latching protrusions engages the resilient finger and the lower of the two latching protrusions is received within the opening thereby securing the silo in the terminated position.

An interconnection system having a base, at least one IDC terminal mounted to the base and a silo being slidably mounted to the base over the terminal and having upper and lower passageways to effect termination of wires inserted into the passageways to the IDC terminal, the IDC terminal comprising:

• a front leg having a first wire receiving opening being aligned with one of the passageways when the silo is in an unterminated position and a first IDC slot extending from the wire receiving opening;
• a rear leg having a second wire receiving opening and a second IDC slot extending therefrom each being aligned with the first wire receiving opening and first IDC slot respectively, the second IDC slot being dimensioned to be larger than the first IDC slot;
• and,
• a base leg joining the front and rear legs to define a U-shape.