Terminal arrangement for use in a push-in wire connector and push-in wire connector

Abstract

A terminal assembly (84; 132) for use in a push-in wire connector (10; 118; 120), comprising: a spring member (88; 136) having a foot (90; 138) having two opposing surfaces and connected at a first fold line to a first bent leg (92; 140) and at a second fold line to a second leg (94; 142) bent in the opposite direction to the first leg (92; 140), the foot (90; 138) having a pair of spaced-apart bands (96; 144), and wherein the first and second legs (92, 94; 140, 142) each comprise a spring finger (98; 146), and a busbar (86; 134) connected to the surfaces of the foot (90; 138), the busbar (86; 134) having a first surface (102; 150) and a second surface (104; 152) opposite the first surface (102; 150), wherein the spring finger (98; 146) of the first leg (92; 140) presses a first wire end into connection with the first surface (102; 150) of the busbar (86; 134), and the spring finger (98; 146) of the second leg (94; 142) presses a second wire end into connection with the second surface (104; 152) of the busbar (86; 134).

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal assembly for use in a push-in wire connector and a push-in wire connector. In push-in connectors, as already indicated by the name, the stripped ends of two or more wires or conductors are simply pushed into a connector. In addition to the insertion of the wires into the connector, no operations are required for clamping, crimping, bending, sliding of the insulation sheath or other manipulations of the connector to make the connection, which makes an insertion connector advantageous in terms of the time required for installation. Push-fit connectors often must perform several tasks such as electrically isolating the conductors from the environment, retaining the conductors in the connector, and providing good electrical conductivity between the conductors.The object of electrical insulation is usually achieved by a housing made of an electrically insulating material. The housing generally has a hollow interior. Via openings in the housing, the stripped ends of two or more electrical conductors can be inserted into the interior space. Within the housing, the stripped ends of the conductors are completely surrounded by the insulating housing.The object of providing an electrical conductivity is achieved by an electrically conductive short-circuiting member. The short-circuiting member, often referred to as a busbar, is arranged within the housing such that it can be connected to all conductors inserted into the housing. The short circuit member provides a conductive path between all the inserted conductors. Because the primary task of the bus bar is to provide conductivity, it is usually formed from a conductive material such as copper or a tin plated copper. However, a highly conductive bus bar does not provide good conductivity unless the conductors are held in fixed contact with the bus bar. Therefore, a spring member is usually provided which cooperates with the bus bar to firmly urge the conductors against the bus bar. Various arrangements of the spring member are possible, wherein it may be integrated in the housing, may be integrated in the busbar, or may be mounted as a separate component in the interior of the housing. In any event, the spring member urges all of the conductors into reliable mechanical and electrical connection with the shorting member.The object of retaining the conductors in the housing is achieved by a retaining member which presses against the ends of the inserted conductors and prevents the conductors from being pulled out of the housing in the axial direction. Like the spring member, the retaining member can also be integrated in the housing. Alternatively, the retaining member and the spring member may be configured as a combined unit in the housing. In any event, the retaining member retains the conductors and prevents accidental withdrawal of the conductors from the housing. In some embodiments, the retaining member may be released so that the conductors may be selectively removed from the housing without damaging components. In other embodiments, it is desirable that the conductors cannot be removed from the connector under any circumstances so that the retaining member is provided in a non-detachable manner. As mentioned above, the retaining member is often configured in combination with the spring member to apply a force that forces the inserted conductor into contact with the shorting member and prevents withdrawal of the conductor. A common configuration provides an elastic metal retaining member having spring fingers formed therein. When a conductor is inserted into the housing, it presses against a spring finger and bends it out of a rest position. The bending of the spring finger generates a compressive force against the conductor that forces the conductor into reliable contact with the bus bar. The spring finger is angled to allow the push-in of the conductor past the finger in one direction, but to inhibit the withdrawal of the conductor in the opposite direction due to the self-locking configuration of the spring finger. Pressing the spring finger against the conductor thus fulfils the two tasks of pressing the conductor against the busbar and preventing the conductor from being pulled out of the housing.Pressing the conductor against the bus bar requires, of course, a stable structure which resists the compressive force of the spring finger. A strong support for the bus bar may be provided by the spring member and / or the housing, and a problem may arise when the connector is used in connection with a stranded wire. Stranded wires tend to flatten or spread when subjected to the compressive force of the spring finger. Because the compressive and resistive forces of the spring finger are generated only upon flexure of the spring finger, spreading of the stranded wire reduces or cancels that flexure, so that the two tasks of the spring finger are not fulfilled. The present invention addresses this problem.Another problem with some conventional push-in wire connectors is that although they are configured to receive different numbers of wires, the connector housings are arranged to receive all incoming wires from the same direction. In other words, the openings in the connector housings are all aligned in the same direction. As wires approach the connector from other directions, the ends of at least some of them must be bent back 180° to allow the wire to be inserted into the connector. Therefore, an additional time is required for installing the connector. U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,238 A gives an example of such a plug connector. US 4 133 595 A, on the other hand, discloses an example of connectors whose wire openings are oriented in different directions.Other problems with existing push-in plug connectors are for example given by the fact that they are relatively voluminous. Therefore, they are difficult to install in narrow spaces. In addition, more material is required for manufacturing, thereby increasing the cost. A similar problem is presented by comparatively expensive metals used in the prior art connectors. Some connectors include complex contacts or terminals of copper or similar materials. These contacts are often formed from blanks by multiple bending or folding, so that multiple layers of material are often located one above the other. Already the blanks have complex shapes which require punching from a sheet metal, which in turn produces excessive amounts of waste. Material is wasted in many of these contact structures, thereby needlessly increasing the overall cost of the connector.JP S56-9676 U relates to a connector for round wires. EP 1 094 551 A1 relates to a terminal for electrically connecting an electrical contact element to a conductor wire. DE 12 40 573 A relates to screwless lister clamps. DE 85 23 263 U1 relates to a connection terminal for electrical devices. AT 378 628 B relates to a screwless connection clamp.The present invention solves these problems by the terminal assembly having the features of claim 1 and by the push-in wire connector having the features of claim 6.According to one embodiment, there is provided a push-in wire connector having an improved housing comprised of left and right housing portions permanently joined together. Each housing part has an opening oriented in one direction and a wire receiving box oriented in another direction. Each wire receiving box is arranged with the wire opening of the opposite housing part and thus in a different direction than the wire inlet opening of the housing part.A terminal assembly is mounted in the housing. The terminal assembly includes a spring secured to a bus bar. The spring includes spring fingers on opposite sides of the bus bar. The spring fingers are aligned with a wire opening and press against conductors inserted into the housing to press them into contact with the bus bar. The bus bar has an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface and the lower surface each define an entry edge, an exit edge, and at least one wire crossing axis extending from the entry edge to the exit edge. The leading edges of the upper and lower surfaces are located on opposite sides of the bus bar.The wires entering the connector through opposing openings overlap each other to provide a housing as short as possible. The terminal structure allows optimum use of metal materials, so that the costs of the plug connector are minimized. The bus bar is disposed at an angle of about 17 degrees to the axis of the wire input openings. Thus, the bus bar is partially disposed in the path of the wire and provides a projected / angled surface over which the wire must pass, the spring member urging the wire against the projected / angled surface. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the push-in connector of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken through the center in the longitudinal direction of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view of the right case. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the right case FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the right case. FIG. 6 is a right end view of the right housing part. FIG. 7 is a left end view of the right housing part. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 6. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10- 10 of FIG. 6. FIG. 11 is a side view of the left case. FIG. 12 is a plan view of the left case. FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the left housing part. FIG. 14 is a right end view of the left housing part. FIG. 15 is a left end view of the left housing part. FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line 16- 16 of FIG.. 14 FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line 17-17 of FIG. 14. FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line 18-18 of FIG. 14. FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken along line 19-19 of FIG. 14. FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a terminal assembly. FIG. 21 is an end view of the terminal assembly of FIG. 20. FIG. 22 is a side view of the terminal assembly. FIG. 23 is a view taken along line 23-23 of FIG. 22. FIG. 24 is a sectional view taken along line 24-24 of FIG. 21. Figure 25 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment similar to that of Figure 1 but having six wire openings. Figure 26 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment showing a push-in connector having three poles and two openings for a circuit. Fig. 27 is a sectional view through one of the poles of the connector of Fig. 26. FIG. 28 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a terminal assembly. FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view through the terminal assembly of FIG. 28 taken along line 29- 29 of FIG. 30. FIG. 30 is a side view of the bus bar in the terminal assembly of FIG. 28. FIG. 31 is a plan view of the bus bar of the terminal assembly of FIG. 28. Figure 32 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a housing part. FIG. 33 is an exploded perspective view of the housing part of FIG. 32. Fig. 34 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of a housing member. FIG. 35 is an exploded perspective view of the housing part of FIG. 34. Fig. 36 is a side view of the housing part of Fig. 34.Fig. 1 shows the push-in connector 10 of the present invention. The push-in connector has a housing indicated by the reference numeral 12. In this embodiment, the housing is formed of two parts and includes a right housing portion 14 and a left housing portion 16. A test probe port is formed adjacent the wire entry port.Details of the right housing part 14 are shown in FIGS. 2-10. As shown in FIG. 3, the housing generally has a lower left side portion that merges with a central portion that is in turn connected to an upper right side portion. The lower portion is formed by a generally U-shaped wall 18. The wall 18 is defined at the central portion by locking apertures 20A, 20B. The central portion includes a wire receiving box 22 having an end wall 24 and a U-shaped guide wall 26. These walls define a hollow chamber that receives the end of a wire inserted into the connector. The guide wall 26 slopes obliquely leftward downward as shown in FIG. 8 to assist in guiding an inserted wire into the box 22. The left end of the guide wall 26 terminates at an angled spring retaining surface 28. the upper surfaces of the guide wall form a pair of laterally spaced shoulders 30. As can be clearly seen in Figure 8, the wire receiving box 22 opens to the left in the figure or is oriented in that direction.As further shown in Fig. 8, an S-shaped external flange 32 is provided over the guide wall 26 and adjacent the upper shoulders of the U-shaped wall 18. This flange abuts against a corresponding flange of the left housing part, which is explained further below. The flange 32 merges with the upper portion which includes a generally oval shell 34. A second spring retaining surface 36 is provided in the left end of the shell, as best seen in Fig. 7. The right end of the tray is covered by an end wall 38. A wire entry opening 40 is defined by a wire tube 42. The inner end of the tube 42 is tapered as shown in Figure 8 and is adjacent a wire holding block 44. A test probe aperture 46 is defined by a test tube 48 (FIG. 6 ).Figs. 11-19 show details of the left case 16, and a main body portion 50 has a wire receiving box 52 projecting upward from the body portion. The wire receiving box has an end wall 54 (FIG. 16 ). An arcuate abutment portion 56 extends from the wire receiving box. An inner flange 58 is secured to the body portion 50 and the abutment portion 56. The inner flange is slightly recessed from the outer edges of the body and the abutment member as best seen in Fig. 14. The flange is formed somewhat S-shaped as shown in the side view of Fig. 11 to conform to the shape of the outer flange 32. A curved edge 60 extends below the body part. Two arms 62 extend forwardly from the rim 60. The arms terminate in outwardly directed hooks 64.When the housing parts are joined together, the inner flange 58 fits into the outer flange 32 of the right housing part, the outer flange abutting against the end surfaces of the abutting part and the body part. The rim 60 and arms 62 fit into the right housing U-shaped wall 18. The hooks 64 slide into the locking apertures 20A, 20B to engage the ends of the wall 18 and hold the two housing parts together.A U-shaped cutout 66 (FIG. 15 ) is defined in an end wall of the main body portion. Directly above the cutout 66, a wire entry opening 70 is provided which extends through the main body portion. The interior of the body includes a tapered ring 72 defining the inner end of the wire opening. The right end face of the ring defines a spring retaining surface 74 A wire retaining block 76 is secured to the upper edge of the tapered ring 72. The wire retaining block 76, the upper portion of the ring 72, the wire receiving box 52, and the end wall 54 define a hollow chamber that receives the end of a wire inserted into the connector. Below the internal flange there are provided a central rib 78 and two angular spring retaining ribs 80. The ribs 80 are connected to the shoulders 82. The shoulders and the wire retaining block 76 assist in positioning the bus bar, as will be described further below.In Figs. 20-24, a terminal assembly 84 is shown. The terminal assembly includes a bus bar 86 supported on a spring member 88. The spring member includes a leg 90 connected at a first fold line to a first upwardly directed leg 92 and at a second fold line to a second downwardly directed leg 94. The foot includes a pair of spaced apart straps 96. The straps have openings (not shown) to receive rivets of the bus bar as described further below. Each leg 92, 94 includes a U-shaped slot defining a spring finger 98. The spring finger is integrally connected at one end to the leg and has an opposite free end 100. As shown in FIGS. 22 and 24, the spring fingers 98 are bent out of the plane of the legs 92, 94. The free end 100 may also be slightly angled with respect to the remainder of the finger to provide an optimum angle for printing against a wire inserted under the spring finger 98. The spring member 88 is preferably formed of an elastic material such as stainless steel.The spring finger 98 installed in the housing faces the wire entry opening 40 so that a wire inserted into the right housing part hits the spring finger and moves it upward as the wire enters the housing. The free end of spring finger 98 presses against the conductor, thereby preventing withdrawal of the conductor from the housing and forcing the conductor into reliable connection with the upper surface of bus bar 86. A spring finger 98 is similarly disposed opposite the wire entry opening 70. A wire inserted into the opening 70 of the left housing part strikes spring fingers 98 and presses the latter downwards. The free end of spring finger 98 retains the conductor in the housing and forces it into engagement with the lower surface of the bus bar.Details of the bus bar 86 will be described below. The bus bar 86 is a generally rectangular member of tin plated copper. The bus bar 86 defines a thickness between an upper surface 102 and a lower surface 104. Note that the terms "upper" and "lower" are merely for the purpose of illustrating the configuration, and do not refer to the actual orientation of the installed bus bar. The upper surface of the bus bar 86 further defines an entry edge 106A, an exit edge 108A, and a wire crossing axis extending from the entry edge to the exit edge. The leading edge is understood here to mean the edge of the busbar which is first crossed by a conductor entering the housing, while the trailing edge is understood to mean the edge of the busbar which is last crossed by an entering conductor. The wire extends along the wire crossing axis due to the structure of the housing and the position of the bus bar in the housing. The lower surface of the bus bar 86 correspondingly defines an entry edge 106B, an exit edge 108B, and a wire intersection axis extending from the entry edge to the exit edge. It should be noted that the leading edges 106A, 106B are located on opposite sides of the bus bar 86.The bus bar 86 is secured to the foot 90 of the spring member 88 by rivets 112 which extend into the apertures of the foot described above. The rivets 112 on the top surface 102 may be formed by bending a portion of the bus bar accordingly. It should be appreciated that other methods of securing the bus bar to the spring member may also be used, such as crimping, bonding, etc. Alternatively, the bus bar may not be fixed to the spring at all. Instead, it may be supported by the housing.As shown in FIGS. 22 and 24, the bus bar includes a wire receiving pocket 114 extending below each surface and on each wire crossing axis. In addition, a wire pressing protrusion 116 extends over each surface on each of the wire crossing axes. The pockets 114 and the protrusions 116 may be formed by stamping the bus bar, creating a pocket on one surface and a corresponding protrusion on the other surface of the bus bar. As shown, the pockets 114 and the protrusions 116 form a serpentine path for the conductor that it must travel over the face of the bus bar. This configuration helps the spring finger 98 to retain the conductors in the housing. The pockets 114 at least partially surround the conductor on three sides to prevent spreading of a stranded wire. Further details of this construction are provided in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11 / 763,096, filed July 14, 2007.FIG. 2 shows the assembled plug connector and illustrates how the individual parts cooperate. As noted above, the right housing outer flange 32 fits over the left housing inner flange 58 and abuts the abutment portion 56 and the left housing body portion 50. The hooks 64 hold the two housing parts together. The spring member 88 is held fixed between the housing parts. The bus bar 86 is laterally held on the left side by the holding block 76 and on the right side by the holding block 44. The shoulders 82 and 30 prevent upward or downward movement of the bus bar. The spring member upwardly directed leg 92 is captured between the right housing portion spring retaining surface 36 and the left housing portion spring retaining ribs 80. The downwardly directed leg 94 is captured between the right housing portion spring retaining surface 28 and the left housing portion spring retaining surface 74.The use, operation and function of the plug connector will be described below. The stripped end of a wire is inserted into the wire entry opening 40 of the right housing part. It engages the spring finger 98 of the leg 92 and urges the finger upwardly as it is further inserted into the housing. The end of the conductor eventually enters the wire receiving box 52 of the left housing part, thereby anchoring it in position and preventing spreading of a stranded wire. The stripped end of a second wire is inserted into the wire capture opening 70 of the left housing part. It engages the spring finger 98 of the leg 94 and urges the finger downwardly as it is further inserted into the housing. The end of the conductor enters the wire receiving box 22 of the right housing part, thereby anchoring it in position and preventing spreading of a stranded wire.Note that the wire input ports and the bus bar are arranged such that the bus bar is arranged at an angle of about 17° to the axes of the wire ports. That is, the bus bar is disposed at an angle of about 17° and therefore interferes with the path of movement of the wire by providing a projected / angled surface over which the wire must pass as the spring member forces the wire into the projected / angled surface. This improves the holding force of the spring and the electrical contact between the busbar and the conductor. The bus bar is disposed between the lower edge of the opening 40 and the line tangent to the upper edge of the opening 70. Accordingly, the conductors contact the bus bar on opposite sides. This allows efficient use of the bus bar material with the conductors overlapping each other to allow for a shorter length of the housing. By forming the wire opening in one housing part and the receiving box in the other housing part, a more compact structure of the housing can be provided. The structure of the housing also makes it possible to dispense with a cover for the rear ends, i.e. the wire input ends, of the housing parts. This is because the terminal assembly is held between the housings, so that no separate holding cover is required.Figure 25 shows a six opening version of a push-in circuit connector 118. The structure of the housing and the terminal is substantially identical to that of the previously described embodiment, but the means are duplicated to provide two additional wire apertures in each housing and two additional spring fingers on top and bottom of the spring member.Figures 26 and 27 show another alternative embodiment. This is a push-in connector 120 having three poles and two openings for a circuit. The structure of the poles is identical to that of the embodiment of Fig. 1, and a left case 122 and a right case 124 are provided. Each housing part has a wire entry opening 126 and a wire receiving box 128 opposite the wire entry opening of the other housing part. The electrical terminal 130 is substantially identical to that of the terminal 84, and three separate terminals 130 are provided, each of which receives two wires. This plug connector thus provides separate connections between three wire pairs. The poles are spaced apart from each other at an angle of 120° in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis. This arrangement allows the placement of three separate poles in a compact construction. Further details of the angular arrangement are described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11 / 774,858, filed July 9, 2007.FIGS. 28 and 29 show an alternative embodiment of an electrical connection arrangement 132. This terminal is substantially similar to terminal 84, but is different in the relationship between the bus bar and the spring. The terminal assembly 132 includes a bus bar 134 supported on a spring member 136. The spring member includes a foot 138 connected to an upwardly directed leg 140 and a downwardly directed leg 142. The foot includes a pair of spaced apart straps 144. A U-shaped slot in each leg defines a spring finger 146. The spring finger has a free end 148.The bus bar 134 has an upper surface 150 and a lower surface 152. As before, the terms "top" and "bottom" are used for explanatory purposes only. As shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, the upper surface 150 of the bus bar 134 further defines a leading edge 154A and a trailing edge 156A. Again, the leading edge is to be understood as the edge of the busbar which is first crossed by a conductor entering the housing part, while the trailing edge is to be understood as the edge of the busbar which is last crossed by an entering conductor. The lower surface of the bus bar 152 defines a leading edge 154B and a trailing edge 156B, respectively. It should be noted that leading edges 154A and 154B are located on opposite sides of the bus bar.The bus bar 134 is secured to the foot 138 of the spring member 88 by rivets 158 that extend into apertures in the foot.As shown in FIGS. 28-31, the bus bar includes a wire receiving pocket 160 extending below each surface. Also provided is a wire pressing projection 162 extending over each surface. The pockets 160 and the protrusions 162 may be formed by stamping the bus bar, creating a pocket on one surface and a corresponding protrusion on the other surface. The pocket on one face is aligned with the protrusion on the other face to provide the faces generally symmetrically.Figures 32 and 33 show an alternative embodiment of the housing. This is a two-piece snap-fit housing 164 generally of the configuration shown in Figs. 1-19 but having a different locking arrangement. A left housing part 166 and a right housing part 168 are provided. The left housing portion has an upper wire entry opening 170 and a wire receiving box 172. The right housing portion has a wire entry opening 174 and a wire receiving box 176 opposite the upper wire entry opening 170 of the other housing portion. The wire entry openings are oriented in opposite directions. The electrical terminal 132 fits inside the housing part. At the top of the left housing portion is a latch plate 178 having an upwardly directed hook 180. The plate fits through a latch 182 on the right housing part so that the hook 180 can be connected to the latch to hold the housing parts together. A corresponding latch plate 184 is provided near the left housing portion where it can be connected to a latch 186 on the lower side of the right housing portion.Another alternative embodiment of a housing is indicated by the reference numeral 188 in Figs. 34-36. This housing is similar to that of Figs. 1-19 in that it has upper and lower openings 190, 192 and wire receiving boxes 194, 196. However, instead of the snap fit described above, the housing 188 includes upper and lower housing halves 198,200 that are ultrasonically welded along bond surfaces 202. This provides a particularly compact construction. The electrical terminal 132 fits inside the housing. As shown in FIG. 35, the interior of the lower case half has a seat 204 for holding the bus bar at a leg portion of the terminal. Shoulders 206 between the seat 204 hold the downwardly directed leg 142 of the spring 136, while a top wall 208 holds the upwardly directed leg 140. Similar surfaces in the upper housing 198 serve to hold the terminal in position.List of reference characters10, 118, 120 Push-in connector 12, 164, 188 14, 124, housing 168, 198 16, 122, first housing part 166, 200 second housing part 18 wall, U-shaped wall 20A, 20B 22, 52, 128, 172, 176, locking apertures 194, 196 wire receiving box 24, 38, 54 end wall 26 guide wall, U-shaped guide wall 28, 74 spring retaining surface 30, 82, 206 shoulders 32 outer flange 34 oval shell 36 second spring retaining surface 40, 70, 126, 170, 174, 190, 192 wire entry aperture 42 wire tube, tube 44, 76 wire retaining block, retaining block 46 test probe aperture 48 test tube 50 main body part, body part 56 arcuate abutment part, abutment part 58 inner flange 60 curved edge, edge 62 two arms 64, 180 hooks 66 U-shaped cutout, Cutout 72 ring 78 central rib 80 spring retention ribs 84, 132 terminal assembly 86, 134 bus bar 88, 136 spring member 90, 138 leg 92, 140 first leg 94, 142 second leg 96, 144 bands 98, 146 spring fingers 100, 148 free end 102, 150 first surface 104, 152 106A, 106B, second surface 154A, 154B 108A, 108B, leading edge 156A, 156B trailing edge 112, 158 rivets 114, 160 wire receiving pocket, pockets 116, 162 wire pressing protrusion, protrusions 130 electrical terminal 178, 184 latch plate 182, 186 latch 202 connection surfaces 204 seat 208 wall

Claims

A terminal assembly (84; 132) for use in a push-in wire connector (10; 118; 120) comprising: a spring member (88; 136) having a leg (90; 138) having two opposing faces and connected at a first fold line to a first bent leg (92; 140) and at a second fold line to a second bent leg (94; 142) bent in an opposite direction to the first leg (92; 140), the leg (90; 138) having a pair of spaced straps (96; 144), and wherein the first and second legs (92, 94; 140, 142) each comprise a spring finger (98; 146); and a bus bar (86; 134) connected to the faces of the leg (90; 138), the bus bar (86; 138); 134) has a first surface (102; 150) and a second surface (104; 152) opposite the first surface (102; 150), wherein the spring finger (98; 146) of the first leg (92; 140) presses a first wire end into connection with the first surface (102; 150) of the busbar (86; 134), and the spring finger (98; 146) of the second leg (94; 142) presses a second wire end into connection with the second surface (104; 152) of the busbar (86; 134).The terminal assembly (84; 132) of claim 1, characterized in that the first surface (102; 150) and the second surface (104; 152) of the bus bar (86; 134) each include a wire receiving pocket (114; 160) and a wire pressing protrusion (116; 162).The terminal assembly (84; 132) of claim 2, characterized in that the wire receiving pockets (114; 160) and the wire pressing protrusions (116; 162) of the first and second surfaces (102, 104; 150, 152) are stamped in the bus bar (86; 134).The terminal assembly (84; 132) of claim 3, characterized in that a portion of the first surface (102; 150) of the bus bar (86; 134) extends at an angle with respect to the base (90; 138), and that a portion of the second surface (104; 152) of the bus bar (86; 134) extends at an angle with respect to the base (90; 138).The terminal assembly (84; 132) of claim 2, characterized in that at least a portion of the wire receiving pocket (114; 160) of the first surface (102; 150) forms the wire pressing protrusion (116; 162) of the second surface (104; 152) and that at least a portion of the wire receiving pocket (114; 160) of the second surface (104; 152) forms the wire pressing protrusion (116; 162) of the first surface (102; 150).A push-in wire connector (10; 118; 120) having a terminal assembly (84; 132) according to any one of claims 1-5, comprising: a housing (12; 164; 188) having an interior space and at least first and second wire input ports (40, 70; 170, 174; 190, 192) through which wire ends can be inserted into the housing (12; 164; 188), the wire input port (40, 70; 170, 174; 190, 192) each defining an axis, the axes of the ports being spaced apart from each other and the first and second wire input ports (40, 70; 170, 174; 190, 192) being oriented in opposite directions; and a terminal assembly (84; 132) mounted in the interior space of the housing (12; 164; 188), the first surface (102; 150) of the bus bar (86; 134) defines a first leading edge (106A, 154A) at which a wire inserted into the first wire entry opening (40; 170, 190) first intersects the first surface (102; 150) of the busbar (86; 134), and wherein the second surface (104; 152) defines a second leading edge (106B; 154B) at which a wire inserted into the second wire entry opening (70; 174; 192) first intersects the second surface (104; 152) of the busbar (86; 134), wherein the first and second leading edges (106A, 106B; 154A, 154B) are located on opposite sides of the busbar (86; 134), and wherein the first leg (92; 140) of the spring member (88; 136) is adjacent the first leading edge (106A; 154a) and the second leg (94; 142) are adjacent the second leading edge (106B; 154B).The push-in wire connector (10, 118, 120) of claim 6, characterized in that the housing (12; 164; 188) includes a first test aperture spaced from and extending in the same direction as the first wire entry aperture (40; 170, 190) and a second test aperture spaced from and extending in the same direction as the second wire entry aperture (70; 174; 192).The push-in wire connector (10, 118, 120) of claim 6, characterized in that the housing (12; 164; 188) includes a first wire receiving box (52; 128; 176; 196) for receiving a first wire end inserted into the connector (10, 118, 120) through the first wire input opening (40; 170, 190), and a second wire receiving box (22; 128; 172; 194) for receiving a second wire end inserted into the connector (10, 118, 120) through the second wire input opening (70; 174; 192).The imprinting wire connector (10, 118, 120) of claim 6, characterized in that a portion of the first surface (102; 150) of the busbar (86; 134) extends at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the first wire input opening (40; 170, 190), and a portion of the second surface (104; 152) of the busbar (86; 134) extends at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the second wire input opening (70; 174; 192).

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