CN109273960B - Removable joint machining cartridge and clamping tool using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A removable connector processing cartridge and a clamping tool using the same. The connector processing cassette is detachably assembled in a tool body, wherein the tool body comprises a containing part and a driving part, the movement direction of the driving part defines a first axis, and the connector processing cassette comprises a body and a processing block. The body is detachably arranged in the accommodating part and is provided with a processing opening. The processing block is slidably disposed in the body along the first axis and has a connecting portion for detachably engaging with the driving portion of the tool body, so that the connecting portion is driven by the driving portion to slide the processing block along the first axis relative to the processing opening.

Description

Removable joint machining cartridge and clamping tool using the same

Case information

This application is a divisional application of patent application No. 201510670820.6 entitled "removable joint machining cartridge and clamping tool using the same", filed on 10/13/2015.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a connector processing cartridge and a clamping tool using the same, and more particularly, to a detachable connector processing cartridge for processing cable connectors and a clamping tool using the same.

Background

At present, cables are commonly used in signal transmission, such as transmission lines for transmitting signals of video, audio, data, etc. in television, telephone, computer equipment. To facilitate the connection of the cable to the required equipment, the end of the cable is usually connected to a connector, such as a network cable connector (RJ-45) of a computer equipment or a general telephone line connector (RJ-11). The splice and cable connections are typically secured to the cable splice with a special crimping tool to form a cable termination splice. Therefore, crimping clamp tools for cables of various specifications are commercially available, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,120, which discloses a structural design of a crimping tool for cables.

In addition, taiwan patent publication No. 534510 discloses a composite cable connector crimping tool capable of performing cable cutting, stripping of the outer insulation layer and crimping operations. However, the disclosed technique requires cutting, stripping and crimping of the cable at different parts of the tool. In addition to being inconvenient, the overall size of the disclosed cable terminal crimping tool is too large to be portable.

On the other hand, when the operator crimps cables with different specifications, it is necessary to prepare crimping clamp tools with various specifications, so that the crimping clamp tool can be simultaneously applied to cable splices with various different specific specifications. Therefore, in order to meet the connection and fixation between the cable connector and the cable of various specifications, the operator must prepare various special crimping and clamping tools in advance, which is a problem for the operator and the operator to carry about, and the cost of purchasing the tools is relatively increased. Therefore, how to design a clamping tool suitable for cables of different specifications and various machining operations is an important issue to satisfy the convenience requirement of operators in use, carrying and operation.

Disclosure of Invention

An objective of the present invention is to provide a detachable connector processing cartridge and a clamping tool using the same, which can be adapted to cables of different specifications and various processing operations, so as to meet the requirements of operators in use, carrying and operation.

To achieve the above objective, an embodiment of the present invention provides a connector processing cartridge detachably mountable to a tool body, wherein the tool body includes a receiving portion and a driving portion, a moving direction of the driving portion defines a first axis, and the connector processing cartridge includes a body and a processing block. The body is detachably arranged in the accommodating part and is provided with a processing opening. The processing block is slidably disposed in the body along the first axis, and the processing block has a connecting portion for detachably engaging with the driving portion of the tool body, such that the connecting portion is driven by the driving portion to slide the processing block relative to the processing opening along the first axis.

To achieve the above objective, another embodiment of the present invention provides a clamping tool, which includes a tool body and a connector processing cassette. The tool body comprises a first clamp handle, a second clamp handle, a containing part and a driving part. The second forceps handle is pivoted to the first forceps handle and can rotate relative to the first forceps handle. The accommodating portion is connected to the first handle. The driving portion is connected to the second handle and driven by the second handle, and the moving direction of the driving portion defines a first axis. The connector processing cassette comprises a body and a processing block. The body is detachably arranged in the accommodating part and is provided with a processing opening. The processing block is slidably disposed in the body along the first axis, and the processing block has a connecting portion for detachably engaging with the driving portion of the tool body, such that the connecting portion is driven by the driving portion to slide the processing block relative to the processing opening along the first axis.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a clamping tool in an idle state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a schematic view of the clamping tool in a processing state.

Fig. 2A and 2B are schematic structural views of the processing block of the connector processing cassette in a rest position.

Fig. 3A and 3B are schematic structural views of the other side of the processing block of the connector processing cassette in the idle position.

Fig. 4A and 4B are schematic views of the processing block of the connector processing cassette of fig. 2A and 2B in a processing position.

Fig. 5A and 5B are schematic views of the processing block of the connector processing cassette of fig. 3A and 3B in a processing position.

FIG. 6A is a combination diagram of the crystal connector and the cable before being pressed together.

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating a crimping process of the crystal plug and the cable according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7A is a schematic view of the assembly of the receptacle of the tool body and the connector processing cartridge of the present invention on one side.

FIG. 7B is a schematic view of the tool body with the receptacle on the other side and the adapter processing cartridge assembled together.

Detailed Description

For a better understanding of the features, content, and advantages of the invention, as well as the advantages achieved, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the embodiments, which is provided in the accompanying drawings, wherein the drawings are for illustrative purposes and are not necessarily the actual form after the practice of the invention, and the drawings are not necessarily to scale, nor should they be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

Fig. 1A is a schematic view of a clamping tool in an idle position according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 1B is a schematic view of a working position of the clamping tool in a machining state shown in fig. 1A. Referring to fig. 1A and 1B, the clamping tool 10 of the present invention includes a tool body 100 and a removable joint processing cartridge 200. The tool body 100 includes a first handle 110, a second handle 120, a receiving portion 130, and a driving portion 140. Referring to fig. 1A, the second handle 120 is pivotally connected to an end of the first handle 110 and can rotate relative to the first handle 110 in a pivoting direction between the positions shown in fig. 1A and 1B. The receiving portion 130 is connected to the first handle 110 and has a receiving opening 131 for receiving the connector processing cassette 200, and the driving portion 140 is connected to the second handle 120. When the second handle 120 is rotated toward the first handle 110 (from the position pivoted in fig. 1A to fig. 1B), the second handle 120 drives the driving portion 140 to move in a moving direction (e.g., upward direction), wherein the moving direction of the driving portion 140 defines a first axis L1. The driving portion 140 is driven by the second handle 120 to move the connector processing cassette 200 to process the cable and the connector. When the operator rotates the second handle 120 toward the first handle 110 in the pivoting direction, the driving portion 140 is driven by the second handle 120 to drive the joint processing cassette 200, and the clamping tool 10 enters the processing state from the idle state.

Fig. 2A and 2B are structural views of the connector processing cassette of fig. 1A, and fig. 3A and 3B are structural views of the other side of the connector processing cassette of fig. 2A and 2B. Referring to fig. 2A and 2B and fig. 3A and 3B, the connector processing cassette 200 includes a body 210 and a processing block 220. The body 210 includes a sliding groove 212 disposed in the body 210 along the first axis L1, so that the processing block 220 is slidably disposed in the sliding groove 212 of the body 210 along the first axis L1. The connector processing cassette 200 of the present embodiment is detachably mounted to the tool body 100, so that an operator can selectively fit the appropriate connector processing cassette 200 into the receiving opening 131 of the receiving portion 130 of the tool body 100 to process cable and connector connectors according to the processing of cable connectors of different specifications. In other words, the clamping tool with the detachable connector processing cassette of the present invention can be applied to the processing operation of various cable connectors, thereby reducing the operation and carrying troubles of operators, and reducing the cost of purchasing tools. In the present embodiment, the cable connector is exemplified by a network cable or a crystal connector (RJ-45 or RJ-11) of a telephone line, but not limited thereto.

As described above, in order to detachably arrange the connector processing cartridge 200 in the tool body 100 and to drive the connector processing cartridge 200 to perform the cable connector processing operation by operating the tool body 100, in the present embodiment, the main body 210 of the connector processing cartridge 200 is detachably arranged in the accommodating portion 130 of the tool body 100, and the processing block 220 slidably arranged on the sliding groove 212 of the main body 210 and the driving portion 140 of the tool body 100 have an interlocking relationship. Specifically, the processing block 220 of the present embodiment is provided with a connecting portion 222, and the connecting portion 222 is detachably engaged with the driving portion 140 of the tool body 100. The connecting portion 222 is driven by the driving portion 140 to slide the processing block 220 along the first axis L1 (as shown in fig. 1A and 1B). That is, when the second handle 120 rotates towards the first handle 110, the second handle 120 drives the driving portion 140 to drive the connecting portion 222 of the processing block 220 to move upward, and further drives the processing block 220 to slide upward along the first axis L1 for performing the cable joint processing operation, so that the clamping tool enters the processing state from the rest position shown in fig. 1A to the processing position shown in fig. 1B. As a preferred embodiment, the driving part 140 may be a driving block, the connection part 222 of the processing block 220 may be a slot, and the driving part 140 is engaged in the slot 222. The processing block 220 is driven by the driving portion 140 to slide in the sliding groove 212 in a reciprocating manner along the first axis L1.

Fig. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of the connector processing cassette of fig. 2A and 2B in a processing position. Fig. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams illustrating the connector processing cassette of fig. 3A and 3B in a processing position. Referring also to fig. 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, to enable machining of the cable connector, the body 210 is provided with a machining opening 214 therein. The tooling block 220 includes at least one tooling structure 224 corresponding to the tooling opening 214. In operation, the connecting portion 222 is driven by the driving portion 140 to slide the processing block 220 along the first axis L1 in the sliding groove 222 relative to the processing opening 214, and when the processing block 220 is driven to the working position by the driving portion 140, the processing structure 224 at least partially overlaps the processing opening 214. In this way, when the processing block 220 is driven to the working position by the driving portion 140, the processing structure 224 can process the cable connector that has been inserted into the processing opening 214, such as performing a pressing operation or a cutting operation on a connection terminal of a telephone line or a network line.

Further, the processing structure 224 of the present embodiment includes, for example, a first processing structure 224A and a second processing structure 224B, wherein the first processing structure 224A is a crystal connector pressing structure located on one side of the body 210 (as shown in fig. 3A, 3B, 5A and 5B), and the second processing structure 224B is, for example, a cutting structure located on the other side of the body 210 (as shown in fig. 2A, 2B, 4A and 4B). As shown in fig. 4A and 4B and fig. 5A and 5B, in the present embodiment, when the processing block 220 is driven to the working position by the driving portion 140, the crystal joint pressing structure is overlapped with one side portion of the processing opening 214, and the cutting structure completely covers the other side of the processing opening 214.

Referring to fig. 6A and 6B, the first processing structure 224a of the present embodiment in the form of a crystal joint crimping structure may include two press-piece structures, and the crimping operation is performed by the two press-piece structures simultaneously. One of the pressing structures P1 is used to press against the crystal connector body, and the other pressing structure P2 is disposed between the pressing structure 224a and the cutting structure 224b, and is used to press the electrode sheet of the crystal connector to the core wire of the cable so as to electrically connect the two. Referring to fig. 6A and 6B, when the processing block 220 is driven to the working position by the driving portion 140, the first processing structure 224a having the crystal joint pressing structure overlaps with a portion of the processing opening 214. At this time, the pressing block P1 of the first processing structure 224a overlapped with the portion of the processing opening 214 will press against a pressing structure 52 previously disposed on the crystal connector 50 and force it to be fractured and deformed, and the fractured and deformed pressing structure 52 portion will press against the outermost insulation material of the cable 60 to fix the cable 60 in the crystal connector 50. Thus, the crystal connector 50 can be firmly fixed to the end of the cable 60 by holding the outer layer of the cable 60 by the crystal connector 50 itself. In addition, another pressing block structure P2 pushes up the electrode sheet 54 of the crystal connector 50 to pierce the insulation sheath of the core wire 62 of the cable 60, so that the electrode sheet 54 is electrically connected to each core wire 62 of the cable 60 for transmitting signals.

The second processing structure in this embodiment is a cutting blade 224b for cutting off an excess cable core portion. Therefore, when the processing block 220 is driven to the working position by the driving part 140, the second processing structure 224b having the cutting structure moves along the first axis L1 until the other side of the processing opening 214 is completely covered, and at this time, the second processing structure 224b can cut the cable core wire 62 protruding out of the crystal joint 50 as shown in fig. 6A. In a preferred embodiment, the second processing structure 224B can also cut off a protrusion 56 of the crystal connector 50, and cut off the cable core 62 in the protrusion 56 (as shown in fig. 6B, which is a schematic diagram showing the protrusion of the crystal connector and the cable therein being cut off according to an embodiment of the present invention), so that the core transmitting signal in the crystal connector 50 is just flush with the cut surface. In the present invention, the position of the second processing structure 224b relative to the crystal joint 50 can be adjusted according to the portion to be cut, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, in order for the processing block 220 to process the cable connector in a stable operating environment, the connector processing cassette 200 must be stably received in the receiving opening 131 of the receiving portion 130 of the tool body 100. FIG. 7A is a schematic view showing the assembly of one side of the accommodating portion of the tool body and the connector processing cassette according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7B is a schematic view showing the assembly of the other side of the accommodating portion of the tool body and the connector processing cassette according to the present embodiment. Referring to fig. 7A and 7B, the receptacle 130 of the tool body 100 and the body 210 of the connector processing cassette 200 are respectively provided with a first holding portion 132 and a second holding portion 216. The second holding portion 216 is disposed on the body 210 of the connector processing cassette 200 opposite to the first holding portion 132, and can be engaged with or abutted against the first holding portion 132 of the accommodating portion 130 to fix the connector processing cassette 200 in the tool body 100. It should be noted that the cooperation between the first holding portion 132 and the second holding portion 216 not only allows the connector processing cassette 200 to be stably disposed in the accommodating portion 130 of the tool body 100, but also provides the advantage of facilitating the disassembly and assembly of the operator, thereby increasing the operation efficiency of the operator.

In particular, in order to allow the connector processing cartridge 200 to be firmly held and positioned in the receiving opening 131 of the receiving portion 130 of the tool body 100 and to be easily removed from the tool body 100 for replacement of a connector processing cartridge of another connector specification, the second holding portion 216 includes a stop structure 216a protruding from a partial periphery of the body 210, wherein the stop structure 216a can abut against the receiving portion 130 on a second axis L2 perpendicular to the first axis L1, for example. In addition, the second holding portion 216 may further include a first hook 216b and a second hook 216c respectively disposed on two sides of the body 210 along the first axis L1. The first hook 216b and the second hook 216c extend away from the stop structure 216a in the direction of the second axis L2 and can be engaged with the accommodating portion 130. In a preferred embodiment, the accommodating portion 130 has a first surface 130a and a second surface 130b opposite to the first surface 130a, and when the stopping structure 216a abuts against one of the first surface 130a and the second surface 130b of the accommodating portion 130, the first hook 216b and the second hook 216c are engaged with the other of the first surface 130a and the second surface 130b of the accommodating portion 130. In other words, when the stopping structure 216a and the accommodating portion 130 abut against one surface of the accommodating portion 130, the first hook 216b and the second hook 216c can be engaged with the periphery of the other surface of the accommodating portion 130, so as to firmly clamp the terminal processing cartridge 200 in the accommodating portion 130 of the tool body 100.

Referring again to fig. 7A and 7B, to allow for the right-handed and left-handed operators to operate the clamping tool 10 of the present invention, the fitting processing cartridge 200 of the present invention may be assembled into the tool body 100 from the first face 130a of the receptacle 130, and may also be assembled into the tool body 100 from the second face 130B of the receptacle 130. In detail, since the second handle 120 of the present invention is pivotally connected to the first handle 110 and rotates relative to the first handle 110, the first handle 110 can be defined as a fixed handle, and the second handle 120 can be defined as a movable handle. Therefore, when a right-handed worker is operating the clamping tool 10, the joint machining cartridge 200 may be fitted into the tool body 100 from the second face 130b of the accommodating portion 130 (as shown in fig. 7A). Thus, a right-handed worker can hold the cable connector to be processed with the left hand and hold the clamping tool 10 with the right hand, wherein the first clamp handle 110 is held against the thumb and palm of the right hand, and the second clamp handle 120 is held with the four fingers of the right hand, so as to apply force to the second clamp handle 120 and further process the cable connector.

Similarly, when a left-handed operator is operating the clamping tool 10, the connector processing cassette 200 may be assembled into the tool body 100 from the first surface 130a of the receiving portion 130 (as shown in fig. 7B). Thus, a left-handed operator can hold the cable connector to be processed with the right hand and hold the clamping tool 10 with the left hand, wherein the first clamp handle 110 is held against the palm and thumb of the left hand, and the second clamp handle 120 is held with the four fingers except the thumb of the left hand, so as to apply force to the second clamp handle 120 and further process the cable connector.

To achieve the above purpose, the first hook 216b and the second hook 216c of the second holding portion 216 are asymmetrically disposed along the first axis L1 on two sides of the main body 210. In addition, the first holding portion 132 of the accommodating portion 130 includes a first card slot 132a, a second card slot 132b, a third card slot 132c and a fourth card slot 132 d. The first engaging groove 132a and the third engaging groove 132c are disposed on an inner side of the accommodating portion 130 relative to the first axis L1, and the second engaging groove 132b and the fourth engaging groove 132d are disposed on the other inner side of the accommodating portion 130 relative to the first axis L1. The first engaging groove 132a and the fourth engaging groove 132d are located at the same height of the accommodating portion 130, and the second engaging groove 132b and the third engaging groove 132c are located at the same other height of the accommodating portion 130. Further, the first and second card slots 132a and 132b are recessed by a depth from the surface of the second face 130b of the accommodating portion 130 in the direction of the second axis L2, and the third and fourth card slots 132c and 132d are recessed by a depth from the surface of the first face 130a of the accommodating portion 130 in the direction of the second axis L2.

With the above structure, when the body 210 of the connector processing cassette 200 is assembled into the accommodating portion 130 from the second surface 130b along the direction of the second axis L2 (as shown in fig. 7A), the first hook 216b and the second hook 216c are respectively engaged with the first slot 132a and the second slot 132b, and finally engaged with the first surface 130a of the accommodating portion 130, while the stopping structure 216a is engaged with the second surface 130b of the accommodating portion 130. Similarly, when the body 210 of the terminal processing cassette 200 is assembled into the accommodating portion 130 from the first surface 130a along the second axis L2 (as shown in fig. 7B), the first hook 216B and the second hook 216c are respectively engaged with the fourth hook 132d and the third hook 132c, and finally engaged with the second surface 130B of the accommodating portion 130, while the stopping structure 216a is engaged with the second surface 130B of the accommodating portion 130. Thus, the connector processing cassette 200 can be easily inserted into the accommodating portion 130 from the first surface 130a or the second surface 130b of the accommodating portion 130 of the tool body 100 as required, so that an operator who is operated by either a left hand or a right hand can hold the clamp tool 10 of the present invention by his or her dominant hand to perform cable connector processing.

In summary, in the clamping tool of the present invention, the connector processing cartridge is detachably disposed on the tool body, so that an operator can selectively assemble an appropriate connector processing cartridge on the tool body to perform processing operations for cable connectors of different specifications, and thus the clamping tool can be applied to processing operations for cable connectors of various specifications without preparing a specific clamping tool for each cable connector of different specifications, thereby reducing the operation and carrying troubles of the operator and reducing the cost for purchasing the tool.

In addition, the clamping tool of the present invention can perform the pressing and cutting operations on the cable connector at the same time. Therefore, the clamping tool of the present invention can firmly combine the connector body with the outer layer of the cable, electrically connect the electrode plate of the connector body with the core wire for transmitting signals in the cable, and cut off the redundant cable at the same time only in one operation stroke.

In addition, the cooperation of the first and second holding portions of the present invention not only allows the connector processing cartridge to be stably disposed in the accommodating portion of the tool body, but also provides the advantage of convenient disassembly and assembly for the operator, thereby satisfying the requirements of the operator in use and operation.

Furthermore, the clamp tool of the present invention is compatible with the operation modes of the left-handed and right-handed operators, so that the left-handed or right-handed operators can conveniently hold the clamp tool of the present invention by the hands of the left-handed or right-handed operators to perform the cable joint processing operation.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope defined by the claims.

Claims (31)

1. A cartridge for processing a connector, the cartridge being detachably fitted in a tool body, wherein the tool body includes a receiving portion having an opening and a driving portion, the cartridge comprising:

(a) a cartridge body to be detachably fitted into the opening of the accommodating portion of the tool body; and

(b) a processing block slidably disposed in the cassette body, the processing block having an engagement member detachably engaged with the driving portion of the tool body

Wherein the cartridge body includes first and second hooks asymmetrically disposed at both sides of the cartridge body and configured to engage with a surface of the tool body, so that the cartridge body is detachably fitted into the opening of the accommodating part located at the tool body.

2. The cassette of claim 1, wherein the cassette body further comprises a stop structure.

3. The cassette of claim 2, wherein the first and second catches extend away from the stop structure.

4. The cassette of claim 3, wherein the first and second hooks engage the receiving portion when the cassette is fitted into the opening of the receiving portion when the stopper structure abuts against the receiving portion to fix the cassette in the receiving portion of the tool body.

5. A cartridge for processing a connector, the cartridge being detachably mountable in a tool body, wherein the tool body includes a driving portion and a receiving portion having an opening therein, the cartridge comprising:

(a) a cartridge body to be detachably fitted into the opening of the accommodating portion of the tool body; and

(b) a processing block slidably fitted into the cassette body, the processing block having an engagement member detachably engaged with the driving portion of the tool body;

wherein the engagement member is configured to engage the drive such that the engagement member is pushable and pushable by the drive along a drive axis, rather than being retained along an axis perpendicular to the drive axis, and

the cartridge body comprises a first hook and a second hook, and the first hook and the second hook are asymmetrically arranged on two sides of the cartridge body and are constructed to be meshed with the surface of the tool body.

6. The cassette of claim 5, wherein the engagement component comprises a receiving groove configured to engage a corresponding drive block of the drive portion.

7. A clamping tool, comprising:

(a) a tool body comprising:

(i) a forceps handle; and

(ii) an accommodating portion having an opening, the opening having a first and second engaging groove on a first surface of the accommodating portion, and a third and fourth engaging groove on a second surface of the accommodating portion; and

(b) the clamping box body comprises a first hook part and a second hook part which are asymmetrically arranged on two sides of the clamping box body, so that the first hook part and the second hook part are respectively positioned at the same height as the first clamping groove and the third clamping groove or respectively positioned at the same height as the second clamping groove and the fourth clamping groove, and the clamping box body can be inserted into the opening from any side of the tool body.

8. A method of assembling a re-assemblable gripping tool, the method comprising:

(a) selecting a removable cartridge corresponding to the selected connector type, the removable cartridge being a single cartridge that can crimp the cable, drive electrode pads, and cut the core wires of the cable; and

(b) inserting the removable cartridge into a tool body.

Wherein inserting the cartridge comprises removably engaging a slidable block of the cartridge with a slidable drive portion of the tool body, and

wherein inserting the cartridge further comprises removably engaging hooks asymmetrically disposed on both sides of the cartridge with a surface of the tool body.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising removing a first removable cassette from the tool body prior to inserting the selected removable cassette into the tool body.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein selecting a removable cassette comprises selecting a cassette having a different dimensional tooling configuration than the first removable cassette.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein inserting the cassette further comprises engaging a cassette holder to a tool body holder to removably secure the cassette in the tool body.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein inserting the cassette further comprises aligning the cassette in the tool body.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein inserting the cassette further comprises inserting the cassette until a stop structure of the cassette holder abuts a first surface of the tool body.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein inserting the cassette further comprises inserting the cassette until a catch of the cassette holder engages a second surface of the tool body spaced apart from the first surface of the tool body.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein inserting the cartridge comprises aligning a slidable block of the cartridge with a slidable drive portion of the tool body.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein removably engaging said slidable block of said cassette with said slidable drive portion of said tool body comprises engaging such that said slidable block of said cassette slides driven by linear movement of said slidable drive portion of said tool body.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein removably engaging said slidable block of said cassette with said slidable drive portion of said tool body comprises engaging a drive block with a catch so that when said cassette is in said tool body, said drive portion is retained from disengagement from said slidable block along a drive axis.

18. The method of claim 8, wherein removably engaging said slidable block of said cassette with said slidable drive portion of said tool body comprises inserting a drive block into a corresponding pocket that mates with said drive block.

19. The method of claim 8, wherein inserting the cartridge comprises removably engaging a slidable block of the cartridge with a slidable drive portion of the tool body, the slidable block of the cartridge and the slidable drive portion of the tool body being slidable along a drive axis, and wherein inserting the cartridge comprises inserting the cartridge along an axis transverse to the drive axis.

20. A method of assembling a re-assemblable gripping tool, the method comprising:

(a) removing a first cassette secured in a tool body from the tool body;

(b) selecting a second cassette; and

(c) inserting the second cartridge into the tool body after removing the first cartridge; and

(d) securing the second cartridge into the tool body.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein removing the first cassette comprises removing a first cassette corresponding to a first connector type, and wherein inserting the second cassette into the tool body comprises inserting a second cassette corresponding to a second connector type.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising selecting the first cassette having a first size connector opening, and wherein selecting the second cassette comprises selecting the second cassette having a different connector opening than the first cassette.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein inserting the second cassette further comprises engaging a second cassette holder to a tool body holder to removably secure the second cassette in the tool body.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein inserting the second cartridge comprises engaging a slidable block of the second cartridge with a slidable drive portion of the tool body.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein inserting the second cassette further comprises inserting the second cassette until a stop structure of the second cassette holder abuts the first surface of the tool body.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein inserting the second cassette further comprises inserting the second cassette until a catch of the second cassette holder engages a second surface of the tool body spaced apart from the first surface of the tool body.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein inserting the second cartridge comprises removably engaging a slidable block of the second cartridge with a slidable drive portion of the tool body.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein removably engaging said slidable block of said second cassette with said slidable drive portion of said tool body comprises engaging such that said slidable block of said second cassette slides driven by linear movement of said slidable drive portion of said tool body.

29. The method of claim 20, wherein inserting the second cartridge comprises removably engaging a slidable block of the second cartridge with a slidable drive portion of the tool body, the slidable block of the second cartridge and the slidable drive portion of the tool body being slidable along a drive axis, and wherein inserting the second cartridge comprises inserting the second cartridge along an axis transverse to the drive axis.

30. A method of assembling a re-assemblable gripping tool, the method comprising:

(a) selecting a removable cartridge corresponding to the selected connector type; and

(b) inserting the removable cartridge into a tool body;

wherein inserting the cartridge comprises removably engaging a slideable tooling block of the cartridge to a slideable drive of the tool body;

wherein removably engaging a slidable tooling block of the cartridge to the slidable drive portion of the tool body comprises engaging a drive block and a catch slot such that when the cartridge is in the tool body, the drive portion is retained from disengaging from the slide block along a drive axis; and is

Wherein inserting the cartridge further comprises removably engaging hooks asymmetrically disposed on both sides of the cartridge with a surface of the tool body.

31. A method of assembling a re-assemblable gripping tool, the method comprising:

(a) selecting a removable cartridge corresponding to the selected connector type; and

(b) inserting the removable cartridge into a tool body;

wherein inserting the cartridge comprises removably engaging a slideable tooling block of the cartridge to a slideable drive of the tool body;

wherein removably engaging a slideable tooling block of the cartridge to a slideable drive portion of the tool body comprises inserting a drive block into a corresponding receiving channel conforming to the drive block; and

wherein inserting the cartridge further comprises removably engaging hooks asymmetrically disposed on both sides of the cartridge with a surface of the tool body.

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