Finger friendly twist-on wire connector

Abstract

A finger friendly twist-on wire connector having a spiral coil and an open end rigid shell secured to the spiral coil with the rigid shell having an outer surface with a circumferential band and a closed end supporting a finger cushion material integral to at least a portion of the outer surface of the rigid shell with the finger cushion material including a plurality of circumferentially spaced elongated ribs resiliently deformable in response to radially and tangential finger forces thereon as rotational finger forces are transmitted to the rigid shell through the finger cushion material to thereby inhibit finger fatigue and finger injury while allowing the user to maintain a feel of the wire engagement within the wire connector.

1 .- 15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . The method of making a friendly twist-on wire connector comprising:
 molding a rigid shell having a closed end and an open end;   securing a spiral coil in the rigid shell;   molding a plurality of ribs of resilient finger cushion material to an outer surface including a closed end of the rigid shell to form a cushioned finger-grasping region regardless of how the twist-on wire connector is grasped.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  including the step of molding a riblet of finger cushion material between adjacent ribs. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  including the step of molding a set of lobes of finger cushion material to the rigid shell of the twist-on wire connector. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16  including the step of molding a skirt of finger cushion material at least partially to the rigid shell. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16  including the step of molding integral rigid wings in the rigid shell and molding finger cushion material proximate the wings but not on the rigid wings.