Cable preparation tool with jacket removal spur

Abstract

A cable stripping tool having a clamping jaw and an opposed stripping jaw that cooperate with one another to define a channel therebetween. At least one of the clamping and stripping jaws being movable relative to the other between an open and a closed position. A cutting element is positioned in the channel and projecting outwardly from the stripping jaw. A spur movably coupled to one of the clamping and stripping jaws is normally urged toward an engaged position wherein the spur extends into the channel. In operation, the stripping tool is rotated about an end portion of a cable gripped between the clamping and stripping jaws in a first direction to cut portions of the cable, and in a second direction, opposite the first direction, wherein the spur engages a portion of the cable to be removed for separating the cut portion from the remainder of the cable.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to provisional patent application 60/508,623 filed on Oct. 3, 2003 and titled “Cable Preparation Tool With Jacket Removal Spur”. The disclosure of the provisional application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to cable stripping tools and is more particularly directed to a cable stripping tool having a spur engageable with an outer layer of a cable for separating a portion of the cable from the remaining cable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cable stripping tools for preparing an end portion of a cable for termination are known. Typically, prior art stripping tools for use with coaxial cables, include a pair of opposing jaws moveable relative to one another. Usually, one of the jaws includes a pair of spaced apart stripping blades for cutting portions of a cable gripped between the jaws. To cut through an outer layer of the cable, the stripping tool is rotated thereabout while the striping blades are engaged with the cable. The jaws are typically moveable between an open and closed position and are normally biased towards the closed position.

Upon completion of the cutting process, the stripping tool is drawn along the cable in an axial direction with the jaws in the closed position to strip the cut portion of the cable away from the remaining cable. This exposes a terminal end portion of the cable in a condition suitable to attach a connector thereto.

A difficulty occurs with coaxial cables that are corrugated or have an outer layer formed to, or bonded with an adjacent layer. With these cables, stripping can be difficult because cut portions of the cable are not easily removed. Accordingly, prior art cable stripping tools are not effective.

Based on the foregoing, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a cable stripping tool that improves upon, or overcomes the problems and drawbacks associated with prior art cable stripping tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention resides in a cable stripping tool having a clamping jaw and a stripping jaw. The clamping and stripping jaws cooperate to define a channel therebetween for receiving a portion of a cable during a stripping operation. At least one cutting element is positioned in the channel and extends outwardly from the stripping jaw for cutting a layer forming part of a cable to be stripped.

A spur is coupled to one of the clamping and stripping jaws and is normally urged toward an engaged position wherein the spur extends into the channel to contact an outer surface of a cable positioned in the channel.

In operation, the present invention cable stripping tool is used to remove a portion of a cable positioned in the channel defined between the clamping and stripping jaws. In a cutting process, the stripping tool is rotated in a first direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cable for cutting portions of the cable. When the tool is rotated in the first direction, the spur is moved to and retained in a disengaged position through contact with a portion of the cable disposed in the channel. The tool is then rotated in a second direction opposite the first direction, wherein the spur engages an outer layer of the cable and rotates the portion of cable to be removed relative to the remainder of the cable thereby separating the portion of cable to be removed from the remaining cable in a cork-screw like manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the cable stripping tool of the present invention showing the jaws in the closed position.

FIG. 2 is a bottom side view of the cable stripping tool of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is sectional view of the cable stripping tool of FIG. 1 taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the cable stripping of the present invention showing the jaws in the open position.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a cable shown after it has been stripped by the cable stripping tool according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a corrugated cable shown after it has been stripped by the cable stripping tool of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a stripping jaw cartridge of the cable stripping tool of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational cross section of the stripping jaw cartridge of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational cross section of another embodiment of a stripping jaw cartridge according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a stripping tool in accordance with the present invention is referred to generally by the reference numeral 10 and is adapted for stripping an end portion of a cable to prepare the cable for termination. The stripping tool 10 includes a pair of opposing jaws which include a stripping jaw generally referred to by the reference numeral 12 and a clamping jaw generally referred to by the reference numeral 14. A pair of levers or handles 16 and 18 are pivotally coupled one to the other for movement about an axis A-A. The handles 16, 18 support the jaws 12 and 14 respectively, for movement between an open and closed position.

A pair of spaced apart cutting and stripping elements or blades 20 and 22 are mounted to the stripping jaw 12 and project outwardly therefrom for cutting an outer jacket and one or more layers a cable to be stripped when the cable is positioned between the closed stripping and clamping jaws 12 and 14 respectively. The stripping jaw 12 and clamping jaw 14 cooperate to define a channel 34 therebetween for receiving a portion of a cable therein during a stripping operation. As shown in FIG. 3, a spring 23 urges the handles 16 and 18 away from each other and thereby the stripping and clamping jaws 12 and 14 respectively towards the closed position.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the stripping jaw 12 is partially defined by a replaceable jaw cartridge indicated generally at 28, which is releasably retained within a recess 30 defined by the handle 16. The jaw cartridge 28, best shown in FIG. 7, comprises a generally rectangular block of dielectric plastic material. In the illustrated embodiment, the jaw cartridge 28 includes an outwardly extending tab 32 at an edge thereof for engaging an opening 33 defined by the handle 16. The tab 32 and opening 33 cooperating to secure the jaw cartridge 28 to the handle 16. Preferably, the replaceable jaw cartridge 28 is snappingly retained in the recess 30 of the handle 16. The channel 34 is defined by the jaw cartridge 28 and opens upwardly through an abutment surface 36. The channel 34 has a predetermined radius to allow a cable to be positioned therein. The jaw cartridge 28 is replaceable with various different jaw cartridges for stripping different sizes or types of cables.

Referring to FIG. 7, the cutting and stripping blades 20 and 22 are mounted in fixed position on the jaw cartridge 28 within the channel 34 and are preferably formed from metal and are imbedded within the jaw cartridge 28. However, the invention is not limited in this regard as the blades 20 and 22 could be formed from other materials suitable for cutting a cable. The blades 20 and 22 have edge portions exposed within the channel 34 for cutting portions of a cable disposed therein. The blades 20 and 22 are spaced apart relative to each other along a longitudinal axis of the channel 34 and positioned such that the cutting edge of each of the blades is disposed substantially perpendicular to the length of the channel 34. The cutting edge of the blade 20 defines a central notch 38 for receiving a central conductor 62 of a cable 60 to be stripped. (See FIG. 5). The cutting edge of the blade 22 is approximately parallel to the cutting edge of the blade 20 and spaced from the bottom of the channel 34 a distance substantially equal to the thickness of an outer insulation jacket 68 of the cable 60.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the spur 46 includes a first leg 48 and a second leg 50 angularly positioned with respect to one another. As shown in FIG. 8, the first and second legs 48 and 50 of the spur 46 are substantially perpendicular one to the other, however, the present invention is not limited in this regard. The spur 46 is mounted on a pin 52 for pivotal movement between an engaged position (shown in solid lines in FIGS. 8 and 9) wherein a sharp tip 44 of the first leg 48 extends through the opening 40 and into the channel 34 for engagement with the outer jacket 68, 114 of the cable 60 and corrugated cable 110 respectively, and a disengaged position (shown in broken lines in FIGS. 8 and 9) wherein the tip 44 of the spur 46 is located outside of the channel 34. In the disengaged position, the spur 46 is located in a recess 54 defined by the jaw cartridge 28 where the tip 44 of spur does not engage the cable 60. A spring 58 is disposed in a spring cavity 63 defined by the jaw cartridge 28 and positioned between a surface 61 of the jaw cartridge 28 and the second leg 50 of the spur 46 for biasing the spur 46 towards the engaged position.

FIG. 9 shows an alternate embodiment of the jaw cartridge 28 wherein a torsion spring 62 is coupled to the spur 46 for biasing the spur towards the engaged position.

Although, the spur 46 is shown coupled to the jaw cartridge 28, and thereby the stripping jaw 12, the invention is not limited in this regard as the spur could be mounted to the clamping jaw 14 in other embodiments of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a downwardly facing abutment surface 66 at a forward end of the handle 18 engages an abutment surface 36 on the jaw cartridge 28 when the jaws of the tool 10 are in the closed position. The clamping jaw 14 also defines a groove 68 formed in the forward end portion of the handle 18. As shown, the groove 68 has an inverted generally V-shape cross-section and extends transversely through the handle 18 generally parallel to the cable channel 34 for retaining a cable in the channel 34.

The stripping tool 10 also includes a clean-out member 24 having an elongated portion mounted to the handle 18. Operating the handles 16 and 18 to move the stripping and clamping jaws 12 and 14 to the open position causes an end portion 25 of the clean-out member 24 to sweep through an opening 50 defined by the jaw cartridge 28 and into the channel 34 between the blades 20 and 22 for dislodging any material separated from a cable 60 and remaining in the channel 34 between the blades 20 and 22.

The coaxial cable 60 shown in FIG. 5 shows an end portion of the cable after being stripped using a stripping tool embodying the present invention. The cable 60 has a metallic central conductor 62 coaxially surrounded by an inner layer of electrical insulating material 64. A layer of braided wire 66 coaxially surrounds the insulation material 64. An outer jacket 68 also of insulating material coaxially surrounds the braided wire 66.

As shown in FIG. 6, an end portion of the corrugated cable 110 is shown after being stripped using a stripping tool 10 of the present invention. The corrugated cable 110 has a metallic central conductor 62 coaxially surrounded by an inner layer of dielectric material 64. A corrugated outer conductor 112 coaxially surrounds the dielectric material 64 and the conductor 62. A corrugated outer layer or jacket of electrical insulating material 114 coaxially surrounds the outer conductor layer 112.

In operation, the stripping tool 10 is used to strip an end portion of a cable such as the corrugated cable 110 as follows. An end portion of the cable 110 to be stripped is inserted into the tool 10 shown in FIG. 4, such that the cable is generally aligned with and received in the channel 34 and above the clean-out member 24. The cable 110 may be positioned with its free end disposed relative to the plane of a sidewall of the handle 16 to gauge the length of conductor 62 to be exposed. The stripping and clamping jaws 12 and 14 are then allowed to close on the cable 110 in response to closing force exerted by the spring 23. The clamping jaw 14 forces the cable 110 downwardly against the blades 20 and 22 and toward seating engagement within the channel 34. If necessary, squeezing pressure may be manually applied to the forward ends of the stripping and clamping jaws 12 and 14 to fully close the jaws and cause the cutters 20 and 22 to cut into the cable 110. When the cable end portion is fully seated within the channel 34, the tool 10 is rotated in a first direction about the cable 110 substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the cable. The finger receiving opening 26 defined at the rear end of the handle 16 can be used to rotate the tool 10 to form annular cuts in the cable 110. During rotation of the tool 10 in the first direction, the spur 46 is contacted by an outer surface of the outer jacket 114 of the cable 110 and moved thereby into the disengaged position wherein the spur 46 is located in the recess 54 defined by the jaw cartridge 28.

Upon completion of the above-described cutting operation, the tool 10 is rotated in a second direction opposite the first direction wherein the tip 44 of the spur 46 engages a portion of the outer layer 114 of the corrugated cable 110. The continued rotation of the tool 10 in the second direction rotates the outer jacket 114 and associated layers of the cut portion of the cable relative to the remainder of the corrugated cable 110 separating the portion of the cable to be removed from the remaining cable. While being rotated in the second direction, the tool 10 can be also drawn along the length of the corrugated cable 110 away from the remaining cable with the stripping and clamping jaws 12 and 14 in the closed position for separating the portion of the corrugated cable 110 to be removed including the outer layer 114 from the outer conductor 112 and the dielectric material 64 from the end portion of the cable. Removal of these portions of the corrugated cable 110 exposes a terminal end portion of the conductor 62 and portions of the dielectric material 64 and the outer conductor 112 leaving the cable end portion in a condition in which it appears in FIG. 6. When stripping the corrugated cable 110, rotating the tool 10 in the second direction thereby engaging the spur 46 with the outer layer 114 of the cable 110 causes the outer layer 114 to separate from the uncut portion of the cable in a cork screw like manner.

In the engaged position, the sharp tip 44 of the spur 46 can pierce the outer jacket 114 of the cable 110 for securely engaging the outer jacket and facilitating the separation of the outer jacket from the outer conductor 112 of the cable.

The above described stripping procedure and use of the spur 46 is not limited to corrugated cable such as that shown in FIG. 6. For example, often coaxial cable like the cable 60 shown in FIG. 5 has an outer layer 68 that is formed over the braided conductor 66 causing a secure bond therebetween. In this case, the cable stripping tool 10 having a spur 46 engageable with the outer layer 68 of the cable is also very useful for stripping an end portion of the cable 60 for installing a connector thereon.

The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the form disclosed. Obvious modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. The embodiments described were chosen to best illustrate the principals of the invention and practical applications thereof to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A cable stripping tool comprising:

a clamping jaw and opposed stripping jaw;

said clamping and stripping jaws cooperating with one another to define a channel therebetween, at least one of the clamping and stripping jaws being movable relative to the other between an open and a closed position;

a cutting element positioned in the channel and projecting outwardly from said stripping jaw;

a spur movably coupled to one of said clamping and striping jaws, said spur being normally urged toward an engaged position wherein the spur extends into the channel.

2. The cable stripping tool according to claim 1 further comprising first and second handles pivotally coupled one to the other, said clamping jaw coupled to said first handle and said stripping jaw coupled to said second handle, said first and second handles operable for moving said clamping and stripping jaws between said open and closed positions.

3. The cable stripping tool according to claim 2 further comprising biasing means coupled to said first and second handles urging said clamping and stripping jaws toward said closed position.

4. The cable stripping tool according to claim 1 wherein said spur further comprises a tip portion disposed in the channel when said spur is in said engaged position, said tip portion for engaging an outer layer of a cable to be stripped.

5. The cable stripping tool according to claim 2 wherein said stripping jaw further comprises a jaw cartridge releasably coupled to an end portion of said second handle, said jaw cartridge having said at least one cutting element mounted thereto.

6. The cable stripping tool according to claim 5 wherein said spur is mounted to said jaw cartridge.

7. The cable stripping tool according to claim 1 wherein said spur is movable to and retainable in a disengaged position via contact with a portion of a cable disposed in said channel when said stripping tool is rotated relative to the cable in a first direction substantially perpendicular to the length of the cable.

8. The cable stripping tool according to claim 7 wherein said spur engages a portion of said cable to be removed when said stripping tool is rotated relative to said cable in a second direction substantially opposite said first direction, said spur for separating said portion of said cable to be removed from a remainder of said cable.

9. The cable stripping tool according to claim 2 wherein said cable stripping tool further comprises a stripping element spaced apart from said cutting element and mounted to said stripping jaw.

10. The cable stripping tool according to claim 9 further comprising a clean-out member mounted to one of the first and second handles for dislodging material removed from a cable and lodged between said cutting element and said stripping element.

11. A cable stripping tool for simultaneously removing a plurality of layers of material from the end portion of a cable comprising:

a pair of opposing jaws including a clamping jaw and a stripping jaw, said stripping jaw having a cutting element and a stripping element spaced apart and mounted in a fixed position thereon;

said clamping and stripping jaws being movable between open and closed positions relative to each other and defining a channel therebetween;

first and second handles pivotally coupled one to the other, said clamping jaw being coupled to said first handle and said stripping jaw being coupled said second handle, said first and second handles operable for moving said clamping and stripping jaws between said open and closed positions;

a spur having a tip portion normally biased toward an engaged position wherein the tip portion is engageable with an outer surface of a cable positioned in the channel.

12. The cable stripping tool according to claim 11 further comprising biasing means coupled to said first and second handles urging said clamping and stripping jaws toward said closed position.

13. The cable stripping tool according to claim 11 wherein said stripping jaw further comprises a jaw cartridge releasably coupled to an end portion of said second handle, said jaw cartridge having said cutting and stripping elements mounted thereto.

14. The cable stripping tool according to claim 14 wherein said spur is mounted to said jaw cartridge.

15. The cable stripping tool according to claim 11 wherein said spur is movable to and retainable in a disengaged position via contact with a portion of a cable disposed in said channel when said stripping tool is rotated relative to the cable in a first direction substantially perpendicular to the length of the cable.

16. The cable stripping tool according to claim 15 wherein said spur engages a portion of said cable to be removed when said stripping tool is rotated relative to said cable in a second direction substantially opposite said first direction, said spur for separating said portion of said cable to be removed from a remainder of said cable.

17. The cable stripping tool according to claim 11 further comprising a clean-out member mounted to one of the first and second handles for dislodging material removed from a cable and lodged between said cutting element and said stripping element.