PORTABLE IN-LINE CUTTING TOOL WITH STABILIZER
An in-line portable, hand held hydraulic cutting tool having a handle assembly and a working head assembly is provided. The handle assembly has a tool frame portion and a neck portion. The working head assembly has a pair of jaw members joined so that they are movable relative to each other and held in place by a locking pin. Each jaw member has a cutting blade secured to or directly formed into the jaw member. A stabilizer can be secured to or directly formed into one or both jaw members. The one or more stabilizers are aligned with a respective cutting blade such that during a cutting operation at least an edge of the stabilizer engages an object being cut to limit rotation of the object during the cutting operation.
This application is a continuation of co-pending application Ser. No. 16/378,992, filed Apr. 9, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/655,460 filed Apr. 10, 2018 both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND FieldThe present disclosure relates to cooperating jaws and hydraulic tools having cooperating jaws. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to hydraulic, hand-held cutting tools and jaw heads for such cutting tools that include conductor, cable or wire stabilizers that limit rotation of a conductor, cable or wire during a cutting operation or the cutting action.
Description of the Related ArtHand-held hydraulic tools are well known in the art. These tools use cooperating jaws that are hydraulically pressed together with great force to cut materials such as electrical conductors. These tools may be battery-powered to allow mobility and portability for the user. These tools typically employ a locking pin that holds the jaws together for the cutting operation. The locking pin is removed to release the jaws. When cutting large diameter (or gauge) conductors, cables or wires or cutting conductors, cables or wires with a steel core, the conductor, cable or wire may rotate during a cutting operation, which may decrease the efficiency of the cut and/or the life cycle of the cutting edges of the cutting blades of the cutting tool.
SUMMARYThe present disclosure provides exemplary embodiments of portable, hand held hydraulic cutting tools. For example, the cutting tool may be an in-line portable, hand held hydraulic cutting tool having an in-line handle assembly and a working head assembly. The handle assembly has a tool frame portion and a neck portion. The working head assembly has a pair of jaw members joined so that they are movable relative to each other and held in place by a locking pin. Each jaw member has a cutting blade secured to or directly formed into the jaw member. A stabilizer can be secured to or directly formed into one or both jaw members. The one or more stabilizers are aligned with a respective cutting blade such that during a cutting operation at least an edge of the stabilizer engages an object being cut to limit rotation of the object during the cutting operation.
In one exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure includes a working head assembly for an in-line hydraulic cutting tool. The working head assembly includes a first jaw member, a second jaw member, at least one stabilizer, a spring member and a locking pin. The first jaw member has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The distal end portion includes a first cutting blade, and the proximal end portion includes a first pivot point member having a first aperture therethrough. The proximal end portion is adapted to be operatively coupled to a neck of the cutting tool. The second jaw member has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The distal end portion includes a second cutting blade, and the proximal end portion includes a second pivot point member having a second aperture therethrough. The first pivot point member may be for example a tang having the first aperture, and the second pivot point member may be for example a clevis having the second aperture, where the clevis receives the tang so that the first aperture can align with the second aperture. The proximal end portion is adapted to be operatively coupled to a neck of the cutting tool. The at least one stabilizer is coupled to or formed into the distal end of the first jaw member or the second jaw member and positioned in alignment with the first or second cutting blade such that during a cutting operation of the cutting tool at least an edge of the at least one stabilizer engages an object being cut to limit rotation of the object being cut. The spring member has a first end attached to the proximal end portion of the first jaw member and a second end attached to the proximal end portion of the second jaw member. The locking pin passes through the first and second apertures when the first and second apertures are aligned to operatively couple the first jaw member to the second jaw member. The first pivot point member, the second pivot point member and the pin form a pivot point about which the first and second jaw members can rotate.
In another exemplary embodiment, the working head assembly includes a first jaw member, a second jaw member, a first stabilizer, a second stabilizer, a spring member and a locking pin. The first jaw member has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The distal end portion includes a first cutting blade. The proximal end portion includes a first pivot point member having a first aperture therethrough. The proximal end portion is adapted to be operatively coupled to a neck of the cutting tool. The second jaw member has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The distal end portion includes a second cutting blade. The proximal end portion includes a second pivot point member having a second aperture therethrough. The proximal end portion is adapted to be operatively coupled to a neck of the cutting tool. The first stabilizer is coupled to the first jaw member. The first stabilizer is aligned with the second cutting blade such that during a cutting operation of the cutting tool at least an edge of the first stabilizer engages an object being cut to limit rotation of the object being cut. The second stabilizer is coupled to the second jaw member. The second stabilizer is aligned with the first cutting blade such that during a cutting operation of the cutting tool at least an edge of the second stabilizer engages an object being cut to limit rotation of the object being cut. The spring member has a first end attached to the proximal end portion of the first jaw member and a second end attached to the proximal end portion of the second jaw member. The locking pin can pass through the first and second apertures when the first and second apertures are aligned to operatively couple the first jaw member to the second jaw member and form a pivot point about which the first and second jaw members can rotate.
In the embodiments described above, the first stabilizer can be coupled to the first jaw member by releasably securing the first stabilizer to the first jaw member, or by directly forming the first stabilizer into the first jaw member. Further, the stabilizers described herein can be positioned in alignment with the respective cutting blade so that the edge or surface of the stabilizer engages the object after rotation the object exceeds a threshold angle, where the threshold angle may be in the range of about 15 degrees and about 25 degrees.
The present disclosure also provides exemplary embodiments of working head assemblies for in-line hydraulic cutting tools that include improved cutting blades. In one exemplary embodiment, a working head assembly includes a first jaw member, a second jaw member, a spring member and a locking pin. The first jaw member has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The distal end portion includes a first cutting blade having a cutting edge with a thickness in the range from about 0.03 inches to about 0.05 inches. The proximal end portion includes a first pivot point member having a first aperture therethrough. The proximal end portion is adapted to be operatively coupled to a neck of the cutting tool, the proximal end portion. The second jaw member has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The distal end portion includes a second cutting blade having a cutting edge with a thickness in the range from about 0.03 inches to about 0.05 inches. The proximal end portion includes a second pivot point member having a second aperture therethrough. The proximal end portion is adapted to be operatively coupled to a neck of the cutting tool. The spring member has a first end attached to the proximal end portion of the first jaw member and a second end attached to the proximal end portion of the second jaw member. The locking pin can pass through the first and second apertures when the first and second apertures are aligned to operatively couple the first jaw member to the second jaw member. The first pivot point member, the second pivot point member and the pin form a pivot point about which the first and second jaw members can rotate.
The various advantages aspects and features of the various embodiments of the present disclosure and claimed herein should become evident to a person of ordinary skill in the art given the following enabling description and drawings. The aspects and features disclosed herein are believed to be novel and other elements characteristic of the various embodiments of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The drawings are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale unless otherwise indicated. The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the invention despite depicting a presently preferred embodiment of the invention. The following enabling disclosure is directed to one of ordinary skill in the art and presupposes that those aspects of the invention within the ability of the ordinarily skilled artisan are understood and appreciated.
The figures depict embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein, wherein:
The present disclosure will be shown and described in connection with portable, battery-powered, in-line, hand-held hydraulic cutting tools. However, the portable, battery-powered, hand-held hydraulic cutting tool may be a pistol grip or other type grip portable, battery-powered, hand-held hydraulic cutting tool. For ease of description, the portable, battery-powered, hydraulic cutting tools according to the present disclosure may also be referred to as the “tools” in the plural and the “tool” in the singular. The conductors, cables, wires or other objects to be cut by the tool of the present disclosure may also be referred to as the “conductors” in the plural and the “conductor” in the singular. In addition, as used in the present disclosure, the terms “front,” “rear,” “upper,” “lower,” “upwardly,” “downwardly,” and other orientation descriptors are intended to facilitate the description of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein and are not intended to limit the structure of the exemplary embodiments or limit the claims to any particular position or orientation.
Referring to
The pump 28, motor 30, fluid reservoir 32, controller 34 and hydraulic drive conduit system 36 are located within the grip portion 24 of the tool frame 22. The tool 10 may also include a camera 42, seen in block form in
The battery 40 is removably connected to one end of the grip portion 24 of the tool frame 22. In another embodiment, the battery 40 could be removably mounted or connected to any suitable position on the tool frame 22. In another embodiment, the battery 40 may be affixed to the tool 10 so that it is not removable. The battery 40 shown is a rechargeable battery, such as a lithium ion battery, that can output a voltage of at least 16 VDC, and preferably in the range of between about 16 VDC and about 24 VDC. In the exemplary embodiment shown in
Continuing to refer to
The grip portion 24 of the tool frame 22 includes one or more operator controls, such as switches 48 and 50, which can be manually activated by an operator. Grip portion 24 also includes a trigger lock 25. The grip portion 24 of the tool frame 22 may include a hand guard or hilt 52 that can protect an operator's hand while operating the tool 10. The hilt 52 may include a light 54, e.g., an LED, that is operatively connected to the controller 34 such that when a switch 48 or 50 is actuated the light 54 activates to illuminate the working area of the working head assembly 60. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one of the switches (e.g., switch 48) may be used to activate a piston (not shown) associated with the hydraulic drive system 36 to activate the working head assembly 60 such that the work head assembly moves toward a cutting position. The other switch (e.g., switch 50) may be used to retract the piston so that the working head assembly 60 moves to a home (or open) position, shown in
The tool 10 may include a poppet valve 56, seen in block form in
In the exemplary embodiment shown in
In an exemplary embodiment, the working head assembly 60 includes a pair of cooperating jaw members; a first jaw member 70 and second jaw member 100. As shown on
Referring to
As shown in the exemplary embodiment of
Using the clevis, tang and pin type configuration described herein (or the tongue-and-groove type configuration) allows the working head assembly 60 to maintain the forces acting on the jaw members 70 and 100 symmetrically as well as reduces the stress on the jaw members, so as to allow a smaller, lighter weight design of the working head assembly 60. Specifically, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, prior art jaws are designed as hermaphroditic pairs. As such, similar to a pair of ordinary scissors attempting to cut a piece of cardboard, the forces and tolerances lead to binding and bending and other problems from the asymmetric application of forces. With the clevis, tang and pin type configuration (or the tongue-and-groove type configuration), all of the forces are symmetrically applied to the jaws. In addition, this configuration allows for tighter tolerances to further enhance performance of the operating jaw members 70 and 100.
The lighter weight design of the jaws 70 and 100 is also achieved, at least in part, on some embodiments by the provision of one or more “pockets” or areas where the cross section of each jaw member 70 and 100 is thinner in a desired shape. For example, in the embodiment shown, the first jaw member 70 has pockets 84 on one or both sides of the jaw member 70, and the second jaw member 100 has pockets 118 on one or both sides of the jaw member. These pockets 84 and 118 not only serve as weight reduction pockets but can also absorb stress in a more uniform manner across the operative portions of the jaw members 70 and 100. One of ordinary skill in the art armed with the present specification can design the pockets of any suitable size and shape depending on the material of construction and overall design of the jaws through routine experimentation in order to achieve one or more of the advantageous features of the weight reduction pockets.
In addition, as shown in
While a generally I-shaped configuration with a predefined taper, e.g., a 6-degree taper, is shown for portions of the jaw members, one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciated that any suitable configuration that lessons the weight and/or improves the fabrication of the jaw members 70 and 100 while not compromising strength should be understood to be within the scope of the present application. One of ordinary skill in the art would readily appreciate that during a working operation of the jaw members 70 and 100 of the working head assembly 60, the proximal end portion 76 or 106 of each jaw member 70 or 100, respectively, typically receives more stress so that the proximal end portions of the jaw members 70 and 100 are preferably fabricated to be thicker. Further, tapering along the length or a portion of the length of the jaw members 70 and 100 as described herein facilitates a uniform distribution of the forces on applied to the jaw members. One of ordinary skill in the art armed with the present disclosure can configure jaw members 70 and 100 with the tapering and/or pockets described herein in a manner to achieve one or more of the uniform stress distribution and weight reduction features described based on the ultimate design and material of construction of the jaw members.
Referring now to
In addition, in the exemplary embodiment shown, each raised tab 86 and 120 are sized and configured to mate with a respective tab notch 130 provided in an inner surface of a yoke 132 of the neck portion of the handle assembly 20. When the raised tabs 86 and 120 are positioned in their respective tab notches 130 the bores 82, 114 and 116 are aligned so that the sleeve 150 and locking pin 160 can connect the jaw members 70 and 100 to the yoke 132, and allows one roller 134, seen in
As noted above, the working head assembly 60 is releasably secured to the neck portion 26 of the handle assembly 20 via the locking pin 160. As shown in
When the raised tabs 86 and 120, seen in
As noted above, as shown in
Various embodiments of the present disclosure lend themselves to the provision of additional advantageous features. For example, the tool 10 may make use of a trigger lock 25, seen in
Turning now to
In the exemplary embodiments shown in
In the embodiment shown in
The operation of one exemplary embodiment of the stabilizers 210 will be described with reference to
The operation of another exemplary embodiment of the stabilizers 210 will be described with reference to
Referring now to
The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. The description of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modification, alternatives and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and are intended to fall within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A working head assembly for a hydraulic cutting tool, the working head assembly comprising:
- a first jaw member operatively coupled to a neck of the cutting tool, the first jaw member having a first cutting blade that includes a first cutting edge;
- a second jaw member operatively coupled to the neck of the cutting tool, the second jaw member having a second cutting blade that includes a second cutting edge; and
- at least one stabilizer coupled to or formed into the first jaw member or the second jaw member such that the at least one stabilizer is spaced away from the first or second cutting edge and fixed in position relative to the respective first jaw member or second jaw member, the at least one stabilizer extends laterally from one of the first or second jaw member and is positioned in alignment with one of the first or second cutting blade such that during a cutting operation of the cutting tool the at least one stabilizer contacts an object being cut by the first and second cutting blades to limit rotation of the object relative to the first and second cutting blades.
2. The working head assembly according to claim 1, wherein the at least one stabilizer includes an object contacting surface configured to contacts the object after rotation of the object relative to the first and second cutting blades exceeds a threshold angle.
3. The working head assembly according to claim 2, wherein the threshold angle is about 15 degrees.
4. The working head assembly according to claim 1, wherein the at least one stabilizer is coupled to the first jaw member or the second jaw member by releasably securing the at least one stabilizer to the first jaw member or the second jaw member.
5. The working head assembly according to claim 1, wherein the at least one stabilizer is formed into the first jaw member or the second jaw member by forming the at least one stabilizer with the first jaw member as a single piece or forming the at least one stabilizer with the second jaw member as a single piece.
6. The working head assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first jaw member is pivotably coupled to the second jaw member.
7. A working head assembly for a hydraulic cutting tool, the working head assembly comprising:
- a first jaw member operatively coupled to a neck portion of the cutting tool and having a first cutting blade that includes a first cutting edge;
- a second jaw member operatively coupled to the neck portion of the cutting tool and having a second cutting blade that includes a second cutting edge, the second jaw member being pivotably coupled to the first jaw member; and
- at least one stabilizer coupled to or formed into the first jaw member or the second jaw member such that the at least one stabilizer is spaced away from the first or second cutting edge and fixed in position relative to the respective first jaw member or second jaw member, the at least one stabilizer extends laterally from one of the first or second jaw member and is positioned in alignment with one of the first or second cutting blade such that during a cutting operation of the cutting tool when an object being cut by the first and second cutting blades rotates to or beyond a threshold angle relative to the first and second cutting blades the at least one stabilizer contacts the object to limit further rotation of the object.
8. The working head assembly according to claim 7, wherein the at least one stabilizer is coupled to the first jaw member or the second jaw member by releasably securing the at least one stabilizer to the first jaw member or the second jaw member.
9. The working head assembly according to claim 7, wherein the at least one stabilizer is formed into the first jaw member or the second jaw member by forming the at least one stabilizer with the first jaw member as a single piece or forming the at least one stabilizer with the second jaw member as a single piece.
10. The working head assembly according to claim 7, wherein the at least one stabilizer includes an object contacting surface configured to contact the object after rotation of the object relative to the first and second cutting blades to or beyond the threshold angle.
11. The working head assembly according to claim 7, wherein the threshold angle is about 15 degrees.
12. A working head assembly for an in-line hydraulic cutting tool, the working head assembly comprising:
- a first jaw member operatively coupled to a neck of the cutting tool and having a first cutting blade that includes a first cutting edge;
- a second jaw member operatively coupled to the neck of the cutting tool and having a second cutting blade that includes a second cutting edge;
- a first stabilizer coupled to or formed into the first jaw member such that the first stabilizer is spaced away from the first cutting edge and fixed in position relative to the first jaw member, the first stabilizer extends laterally in a first direction from the first jaw member and is aligned with the second cutting blade such that during a cutting operation of the cutting tool the first stabilizer contacts an object being cut by the first and second cutting blades to limit rotation of the object relative to the first and second cutting blades; and
- a second stabilizer coupled to or formed into the second jaw member such that the second stabilizer is spaced away from the second cutting edge and fixed in position relative to the second jaw member, the second stabilizer extends laterally in a second direction from the second jaw member and is aligned with the first cutting blade such that during a cutting operation of the cutting tool the second stabilizer contacts the object being cut by the first and second cutting blades to limit rotation of the object relative to the first and second cutting blades.
13. The working head assembly according to claim 12, wherein the second direction of the second stabilizer is opposite the first direction of the first stabilizer.
14. The working head assembly according to claim 12, wherein the first stabilizer is coupled to the first jaw member by releasably securing the first stabilizer to the first jaw member.
15. The working head assembly according to claim 12, wherein the second stabilizer is coupled to the second jaw member by releasably securing the second stabilizer to the second jaw member.
16. The working head assembly according to claim 12, wherein the first stabilizer is formed into the first jaw member by forming the first stabilizer with the first jaw member as a single piece.
17. The working head assembly according to claim 12, wherein the second stabilizer is formed into the second jaw member by forming the second stabilizer with the second jaw member as a single piece.
18. The working head assembly according to claim 12, wherein the first stabilizer includes an object contacting surface configured to contact the object after rotation of the object relative to the first and second cutting blades exceeds a threshold angle.
19. The working head assembly according to claim 18, wherein the threshold angle is about 15 degrees.
20. The working head assembly according to claim 12, wherein the second stabilizer includes an object contacting surface configured to contact the object after rotation of the object relative to the first and second cutting blades exceeds a threshold angle.
21. The working head assembly according to claim 20, wherein the threshold angle is about 15 degrees.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 23, 2022
Publication Date: Dec 15, 2022
Inventor: Peter Matthew Wason (Derry, NH)
Application Number: 17/893,433