Abstract: A hinged mounting bracket used in conjunction with a telephone wire connecting block for termination of telephone circuit wires. The mounting bracket accepts modular connectors to form any size connecting block. The hinged bracket consists of two pieces, a bracket base and a front flap which receives the modular connectors. In one preferred embodiment, the front flap is coupled to the base by a hinge which enables the bracket to rotate open so that the rear of the modular connectors may be easily accessed. Access to the rear of the connectors at a time after the bracket has been mounted provides additional flexibility in all types of wiring schemes in that the front side of the connecting block may be kept from becoming overly congested. In a preferred application of the invention cable termination are made to the rear of connector modules and the cables enter the bracket through apertures in the base portion of the bracket.

Abstract: An insulation displacement connecting (IDC) terminal that allows wires to be parked in a retaining region thereof prior to being terminated within and IDC portion of the terminal. The retaining region of the terminal is generally a rounded longitudinal slot having a width which is slightly less than the outermost diameter of a conductor to be inserted into the terminal. The terminal which is designed with large fiat spring contacts located about a central slot, includes an IDC portion, which cuts into the insulation of the wire to establish contact. A slight gap in a top portion of the retaining region pulls apart and allows for insertion of a wire into the slot of the retaining region. The spring contacts of the terminal pull together and the gap is narrowed once the wire enters the retaining region, thus, preventing the wire from escaping through the gap. The spring contacts then close on the wire where it remains parked until such time as the wire is terminated within the IDC portion of the terminal.

Abstract: A mounting arrangement between connector modules of a double-sided modular connecting block and polarity sensitive current and voltage limiting circuit protection devices. Connector modules having multiple pairs of insulation displacement connecting (IDC) terminals are insertable into a mounting bracket to form the double-sided connecting block. Exclusionary posts are selectively molded into a front and rear side of the connector modules and correspond to each pair of terminals. The posts on the front of a connector module align and mate with a cavity included on a front-mounted current and voltage limiting protection device. Similarly posts molded in a different location on the rear side of the connector module align and mate with a cavity included in a rear-mounted protection module. The corresponding posts and cavities create an exclusionary key and slot interface which prevents circuit protection devices of improper polarity from being inserted within the wrong side of a connector module.