EP0130241B1

EP0130241B1 - A jaw tool with safety device for preventing any unintentional approaching of hands to the jaws

Info

Publication number: EP0130241B1
Application number: EP83200972A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Herbert C/O Intercable Di Mutschlechner
Original assignee: INTERCABLE DI HERBERT MUTSCHLECHNER
Current assignee: INTERCABLE DI HERBERT MUTSCHLECHNER
Priority date: 1983-06-30
Filing date: 1983-06-30
Publication date: 1987-04-15
Also published as: ATE26552T1; EP0130241A1; DE3370946D1

Abstract

Jaw tool of the type having expansions (6, 7) on the handles (1, 2) adjacent the jaws (3, 4) for preventing an operator's hand from exceeding such expansions, therebetween having segments (12), on which said expansions are at least partly sliding, for making up an obstacle to unintentional introduction of an operator's hand or fingers between the tool handles beyond such segments.

Description

This invention relates to a jaw tool as disclosed in the preamble of claim 1.
Pliers, pincers or cutting nippers, with an electrically insulating safety device preventing any unintentional approaching of an operator's hands to the metal portions of the jaws, are known (US-A-1 503 536). Still today pliers for operating under tensioning are used, having on the pliers' handles or handgrips a coating of suitable insulating material, and having on said handles adjacent to the jaws such bulges that an operator, when holding the pliers in his hand, cannot exceed with his fingers said bulges, and accordingly come unintentionally into contact or touch with the metal portion which, when the pliers operate on a circuit under tension, may give rise to fatal accidents.
Not related to electrical insulation, a pair of pruning nippers is known (US-A-2 721 386), which has a pair of fan-shaped guard plates on each side of the handle. These plates serve only to prevent the skin of the hand from being pinched between the special abutments which limit the degree to which the handles may be brought together.
The inventor has perceived that pliers of such a type are not free of a drawback. A drawback is that when electrically insulated pliers have the capability of a considerable opening, adjacent to the jaw pivoting point there is a quite wide opening that a finger may slip therebetween and thus come into contact or touch with the metal portion.
This invention is directed to overcome such a drawback of a known electrically insulated jaw tool in a simple and effective manner.
This object of the invention is achieved by the features of claim 1.
The invention proposes a jaw tool of the type having known enlarged portions on the handles adjacent to the jaws for preventing an operator's hand from exceeding from the outside such enlarged portions. According to the invention, segments are provided between such enlarged portions, said segments at least partly sliding in an opening of such an enlarged portion, for making up an obstacle to any unintentional touch of an operator's hand or fingers to the metal between the tool handles beyond such segments.
The invention will be anyhow more clearly understood from the following detailed description given by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view showing a jaw tool, particularly pliers, embodying the object of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a top view;
Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view with jaws widely spread apart.

Referring to the above figures of the accompanying drawing, the pliers shown therein comprise handles 1 and 2, which are covered with a suitable insulating material and extending at the top in jaws 3 and 4 pivoted to each other at 5.
As is also known, pliers of this type comprise enlarged portions 6 and 7 provided on the handles adjacent to the pivoting point, having the purpose that an operator's hand gripping said handles 1 and 2 is inhibited from exceeding the enlarged portions 6 and 7, unintentionally reaching into the zone of said jaws 3 and 4, the latter being not insulated.
It will be readily understood that, when such pliers can be entirely opened (see Fig. 4), that is the jaws can be substantially spread apart from each other, a zone 8 between the handle ends beyond said enlarged portions 6 and 7 is increasingly opened, and the wider is the jaw opening and the larger is said space or zone 8 so that under certain conditions of opening the operator's fingers inside of handles 1 and 2 may become introduced into said space or zone 8, thus approaching the lower portion 9 of the spread apart jaws, in a zone where the latter are not covered with insulating material (see Fig. 4).
Thus, it clearly appears that when operating, for example under tension, the risk of accidents may occur.
According to the present invention, openings respectively indicated at 10 and 11 (Fig. 3) are provided in said enlarged portions 6 and 7, preferably on either side of the pliers, in which openings a segment 12 of any suitable material is slipped in.
Such openings 10 and 11 and accordingly said segment 12 may be configurated as an arc of circle with center at 5, or said openings may be simply straight or rectilinear and said segment 12 may have a sufficient degree of flexibility to be arranged as an arc of circle in the free section and straight or rectilinear in the section inside said openings 10 and 11. The segment 12 may be blocked on one enlarged portion, for example enlarged portion 10, and freely slidable in enlarged portion 11, or may be freely slidable in both, being of a sufficient length that at maximum opening of the pliers it cannot exit from said openings 10 and 11.
It is also evident that after introduction of segment 12, the openings 10 and 11 can be closed at the outer end thereof, and anyhow the segments 12 can be mounted by standard techniques well known to those skilled in the art.
By this arrangement, it is evident that an operator's hand gripping the handles 1 and 2 (the operator often in practice holds a finger inside of handles 1 and 2), even at maximum opening of the jaws, as shown in Fig. 4, cannot unintentionally slide inside the handles beyond the segment 12, materially preventing any further approaching thereof to the dangerous zone 8.
It clearly appears that said segment 12 will be placed at such a distance from zone 8 as to meet the anti-accident rules. It is also evident that herein an embodiment has been described as relating to pliers, but that the invention is applicable to any jaw-type tool, such as nippers, cutting nippers and the like. It is also evident that the invention, although described with reference to the specific embodiment shown, is intended as extended to all of the possible changes or variants within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A jaw tool with handles (1, 2), coated with electrically insulating material, having adjacent to the jaws (3, 4) enlarged portions (6, 7) as guard bulges for preventing an operator's hand from exceeding said enlarged portions (6, 7) characterized in that between the enlarged portion (6 or 7) of the one handle and the enlarged portion (7 or 6) of the other handle an additional obstacle- segment (12) is provided which prevents the operator's hand from exceeding said segment (12) between the opened tool handles (1, 2), said segment (12) is provided in a sliding manner at least partly in an opening (11) of an enlarged portion (7).

2. A tool according to claim 1, characterized in that said segment (12) is secured to one enlarged portion (6 or 7) on one handle (1 or 2) and is freely slidable in the opening (11 or 10) of the enlarged portion (7 or 6) on the other handle (2 or 1).

3. A tool according to claim 1, characterized in that said segment (12) is freely slidable in openings (10 and 11) of the enlarged portions (6, 7) of both handles (1 and 2).

4. A tool according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that a rectilinear opening (10, 11) is provided and the segment (12) has a sufficient degree of flexibility to take a rectilinear pattern inside said opening (10, 11) and an arc of circle in the free section therebetween.

5. A tool according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the segment (12) and the respective opening (10, 11) are configurated as an arc of circle having its center at the tool pivoting point.

6. A tool according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that there are provided segments (12) on both sides of the jaw (Fig. 2).