Connector for high electrical power applications

An electrical connector for connecting together the associated bare end portions of two sets of insulated high-voltage transmission conductors (4;

• 4′), comprising:
• (a) a sectional connector housing (1) including two corresponding sections (12;
• 12′) each containing a through chamber (C) having a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration;
• (b) preassembly frame means including a pair of rigid generally-rectangular preassembly frames (11) each comprising:
• (1) first (13) and second (14) generally-planar rectangular vertical end walls;
• (2) connecting means (15-18) rigidly connecting together said end walls in parallel spaced relation, said first and second end walls containing a plurality of first (50) and second (14a) aligned openings;
• (3) a plurality of insulation sleeves (26) mounted in and arranged orthogonally of said second openings, respectively, said insulation sleeves having first ends that protrude outwardly of said send end wall, whereby the associated set of conductors may be respectively introduced successively through said first openings and through said insulation sleeves with the bare end portions of the conductors protruding beyond the associated second frame wall;
• (4) clamping means (30) for clamping the conductors of the associated set in said first openings, respectively, whereby said preassembly frame and the associated conductors may be inserted longitudinally second-end-first into the section chamber toward an inserted position in which said frame first wall is adjacent a first end of the housing section, and said frame second end wall is adjacent a second end of the housing section, such that said insulation sleeve first ends and the conductor bare end portions extend from said housing section second end wall;
• (5) a plurality of electrical contacts (2) connected with the protruding bare end portions of said conductors, respectively;
• and
• (6) frame fastening means (32, 34) for fastening said preassembly frame in said inserted position to said housing section, thereby to define a conductor-assembled section;
• (c) coding means (27) carried by the adjacent protruding first ends of said insulation sleeve of each conductor-assembled housing section for permitting only authorized conductor-assembled housing sections to be arranged collinearly in a connected position with their second ends in contiguous engagement, said coding means comprising:
• (1) a plurality of longitudinal coding slots (27a) carried by the protruding portions of the insulation sleeves of one conductor-assembled section;
• and
• (2) a plurality of longitudinal coding ribs (27b) carried by the protruding portions of the insulation sleeves of the other conductor-assembled section for cooperation with said coding slots;
• (3) said second openings (14a) and the adjacent external circumferential surfaces of said insulation sleeves having corresponding non-circular configurations, thereby to permit rotation of each of said insulation sleeves between selected coding positions relative to the associated second frame wall, the external surface of each of said second end walls (14) being provided with visual markings (28) which indicate the rotational coding relationship of each of said insulation sleeves about its longitudinal axis relative to the associated second end wall;
• and
• (d) housing section connecting means (39, 45) for connecting together the adjacent second ends of a pair of authorized housing sections, thereby to produce electrical engagement between the contacts on corresponding conductors of said authorized conductor-assembled sections.