GB2359671A

GB2359671A - Cable skinner

Info

Publication number: GB2359671A
Application number: GB0004417A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lien-Huang Liu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-02-02
Filing date: 2000-02-24
Publication date: 2001-08-29
Also published as: DE20001824U1; FR2810464B3; FR2810464A3; GB0004417D0

Abstract

Cable skinner or stripper 10, which can be adjusted to different sizes of cables and insulation and can cut middle sections of skin off a continuous cable includes a main body 12 defining a cable receiving cavity (20), and a clamping member 14 reciprocably slidable thereinto to an extent determinable by the cable and held by locating means 16. Cutting member (18), which may have more than one cutter 80, 82, is adjustably mounted on the body 12 or, as shown, on clamping member 14. After the cable is clamped the device is rotated to skin the cable. In alternative embodiments the clamping member is held by screw means (16', Figure 7) and the main body is open on one side (26, Figures 8-10) to allow the cable to be introduced laterally into the cavity. Further cutting blades (84, 86) may be provided, one of which (86) is used to cut the insulation longitudinally between transverse, annular cuts so that a whole middle section of insulation can be removed. An end stop device (30-38, Figures 11, 12) may additionally be employed to accurately define the longitudinal extent of the insulation to be removed from the end of a cable.

Description

c.1 CABLE SKINNER BACKG OF THE INVEKFION 2359671 The present invention

relates to a hand tool which is able to,peel the insulating skin of a cable, and gore particular to a cable skinnex which can be easily operated topeel the skin of an end of a middle section of the cable.

U.S. Patent Nos. 4,955,131 and 4,945,788 disclosed two kinds 6f skinning tools for peeling a part of the insulating skin of a cable or a wire. Such skinning tQols have a maifi shortcoming, that is, the structure and operation of the skinning tools are quite complicated. AU.S. manufacturer-Ripley Company, Inc. has developed a simpler tool which in-eludes a simple elongated cylindrical tube, a sleeve f ixedat one end thereof and a blade, extending to interior of the sleeve. The blade serves to cut the skin of the cable extending into the tleeve. However, such tool cannot be adjusted so that when a user desires to use such tool to peel the skins of inultiple kinds of cables with differce diameters, the user must prepare and replace myltiple sizes of sleeves according to the diameters of the cables. Therefore, it is still inconvenient to use such tool.

Moreover, the tools disclosed by the prior art can only cut off the skin from one end of the cable so as to expose the copper wire to outer side. When a user desirps to cut off a patt of skin at the middIc section of a considerably long cable to expose the copper wi rp with the skins at two ends of the cable remaining, the conventional tools.wJll be difficult to perform such operatidn.

"MY OF TRE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to j provide a cable skinner which can be easily operated.

-I- 1 1 I t i s A further obi ect of the present invent ion to provide the above cable skinner which can be conveniently used to peel the skin of a middle section of a cable.

It is still a furtherobject of thepresent invention toprovide the above cable skinner which can he used to skin various kinds of cables with different dimeters.

It is still a further objdct of thepresent invention toprovide the above cable skinner which can set a length of the skin of a cablt to be peeled off.

According to the abOve objects, the cable skinner of the present invent io:q includes: amain body the center of whichisformed with a receiving cavity, aninnerwall of the receiving cavity being formed with a first engaging septiot; a first clamping mber disposed at a predetermined portion of the main body, the fir$t clamping meniber being reciprocally slidable in a predetetinined direction, a predetermined portion of the first clamping member being able to extend into. the receiving cavity; a first locating member disposed between the main body and the first clampingmember, the first locating member being disposed with at least oneengaging section able to engage wi th a predetermined portion of the first clamping member and restrict the sliding movement thereof; and a first cutting, member disposed at a predetermined portion of the first clampingmember, thefirst cutting member being movable along wi th the f i rs t clamping member to extend into the receiving cavi ty. The f i rs t cutt ing member is di sposed wi th at leas t one f i rs t cutt ing blade. After a cable is placed into the main body, a user can eas i ly directly push the first clamping member to clamp the cable on the first engaging section. Simply by means of rotating the first clamping xnember or the main body, the skin of the cable cap be cut off.

The present invention can be best understood through the following description and. accompanying drawings wherein..

BRIEF D2SCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS- Fig. 1 i a perspective assembled view of a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a pempective exploded view of---thef itst embodiment of the present invention; Figs. 3 to 6 are top views of the first embodime.nt of the present invention, showing that the first clamping member and he flirst cutting member are adjustqd; Fig. 7 is a perspective assembled vie of a second embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 8 is a perspective ass-embled view of a third embodiment Of the present invention; Figs. 9 and E1 are top views of thd third embodimerut of the present invention, showing that the skin of a middle sqction of a cable is cut; Fig. 11 is aperspective. exploded view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 12 is a perspective assembled view of the fourth emboftment of the present invention, DETAI1ED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMEM

Please first refer to Figs. 1 and 2. The cable skinner 10 of the present invention includes a main body 12, a first clamping member 14, a pai r of f i rs t locat ing members 16 di sposed between the main body 12 and the first clamping, member 14 and a first cutting member 19 disposed on the first clamping Aiember 14.

The main body 12 has an annular section the center of which is form.edwith a receiving cavity 20. The inner wall of the receiving cavi ty A- i s f ormed wi th a recess 22 and two planar f i rs t engaging sect ions 24 Wi th a certain length and width. he two f i rst engaging secti-ms 24 are adjacent to each other and ontain an inner angle of about 120 degrees opposite to the recess 22.

The first clamping member 14 is bar-shaped, having a certain length. The outer end of the first clamping member 14 is formedwith a handle 40 and the inner end thereof i's axially reciprocally slidably fitted with one side of the main MY 12 and ex-tendihg into the recss 22, A pairof second engaging sections 42 are formed at the inner end adiacent to the end of the receiving cavity 20. The second engaging sgctions 42 are planar and adj acent to each other, containing an itiner angle of 120 degrees opposite to the first engaging secti-ons 24. A depression 44 is disposed on upper face of the inner -end and forined-with a slat 440 passing through the inner end f rom upper f ace to lower f ace. Mul t iple e'hgaging groaves 46 are, formed on two sides of the mWIe section of the first clamping member 14.

Each first locaiing member 16 has an engaging block 60 andvia at insertion pin 64 pivotally connected with the riain tOy 12. A rear end of the first locating member 16 is formed with a reverse hook section 62. A pair of springs 66 are positioned between the engaging blocks 60 and fixing pins 68 fixed on thc. igain body 12. When not suffering external force, the springs 6.6 force the engaging blocks 60 to keep swinging ina f ixed direction and make the reverse hook section 62 engage in a corresponding engaging greove 46,.

The first cutting member 18 via a second locating member 81 which is a screw ' in Fig. 2) is fixed on the depression 44 of inner end of the first clamping member 14. BY means of the cooperative slot 440, the f i rst cutting member 18 can be, reciprocally moved on the depression 44 to a certain position and then fixed. The first cutting member 18 can be moved along with the first clamping member 14 with its- 'rear end extending into the receiving cavity 20. The rearendof the first cuttingmenibe-r 18 i fdrmedwitha firsVcutting blade 80. The blade sectionof the first cuttingblade80 is adjapent tQ the donnecting portions of the second engaginp, sections 42 and extends ttward the cetter of the receiving cayity 20 by a certain length in a directioA normal tb the axis of the receiving cavity 20. An auxiliary cutting blade 82 is formed at the rear end of the f i rs t cutting member 18 an& extends upward f rom the. rear end of the firs cutting blade 80 ( in a direction as shown inFig. 1), whereby the blade section of the auxiliaty cutting blade is parallel to the axis of the roceiving cavit 20.

Please refer to Figs. 3 to 6. When a user desires to cut off a part of the skin 90 of a cable 19 fromone end thereof, the user can f i Ts t f i t the, end qf the cabl e, 19 into the receiving cavi ty 20 and then pusIr the f i rs t cl amping member 14 forward to clamp the out er ci reumf etenco of the skin 00 of the cable 19 wi th the f i rs t and second engaging sections 24, 42 ( as shown in Fig. 4). At the same time, by means of the engagement between the first locatidg members 16 and the engaging grooves 46, the first clamping member 14 will not loosen. Then the user can adjust the first cutting member 18 to protfude by a certain length to Out against the circumference of the inner copper wire 92 of the c-able 19. Then the iiser can operate the main body 12 ia the handle 40 and spirally rotate the main body 12 about the cable 19 ( as shown in Fig. 5) so as to continuously cut the end of the skin 90 with the first cutting blade 80 and the auxiliary cutting blade 82 and gradually expose the inntr copper wire 92.. Final ly, the user can draw the cable 19 put of the receiving cavity 20 ( as shown in Fig. 6).

When the user desires to skin another cable with larger diameter, the user only needs to press the rear ends of the engaging blocks 60 of the f i rst locating members 16 and compress the springs 66 so as to release the first clamping member 14 for th-e other clamping ope rat ion. When the user desires to skin another cable with thicker skin, the user only needs to control the second locating member 81 so as to pasiry adjust the first blade 80 to protrude by an. optimal length.

In addition, in his embodiment, only one first clamping member 14 and one first cutting member 18 are provided. However, in actual application, the main body 12 can be alternatively also disposed with two second clampin members 14 and two first cutting members 18 which are spaced from eachother by a certain distance so as to. enhance the cutting effect. Alternatively, the first cuttingmember 18 is directly and independently di&posed on the main body 12 and spaced from the first clamping member 14 by a certain, distance. The first cutting membor 18 is reciprocally slidable with the blade thereof extending into the receiving cavity 20 and can be directly fixed by a screw ( not shown).

The f i rs t locating member 16 of the above embodiment is mainly advantageous in that without any tool, the present invention can beQuickly adjusted tomeet the different diameters of various kinds of cables. Moreover, once the first clamping member 14 is located at a dosired position, no further locking operation is necessary. However, referring to Fig. 7, alternatively, a screw 16-f screwed on the main body 12 can be used instead of the f i rst locating member 16. The endof the screw l& canbe used to tighten the first clamping member 14 so as to freely release or fix the first clamping member 14. AI though by means of such measure, when the f i rs t clamping member 14 is pushed to a position abutting against the outer circumference of the cable, it is necessary to further lock the first clamping member 14, such structure is simpler and can lower the manufacturing cost.

Purthermore, the manner in which the screw 161' is used to fix the first clamping member 14 can be alternatively such as the arrangement between the second locating member 91 and the first cutting member 1. The first clamping member 14 can -be formed with a slot ( not shown 3 paral-lel to the moving direction thereof and the screw 161 is passed through the slort and then -screwed on the main body 12. This can also achieve a good looking offeet.

Please further refer to Figs. 8 to 10 A lateral wall of the main body 12 is formed with a split 26 and the main body 12 is additionally disposed with a third cutting member 94 and a fourth cutting inember 86. 7he lade' section of the third cutti-ng member 84 is normal to the axis of the receiving cavity 20 and the blade section of the fourth cutting -member 86 is parallel to the axis of the receiving cavity 20.

In usei the. blade section of the third cutting member 84 is slightly protruded into the receiving cavity 20. Then the middle section of a cable 19 is inserted f rom the split 26 into the receiving cavity 20. Then f irst clamping member 14 is pressed against the cable 19 with the blade ofthe third cutting member 84 thrusting into the skin 9G of the cable ( as shown in Fig. 9). Then the main body 12 is rotated to annularly cut the skin of the cable 19. The above operation is repeated gW then two annul-ar cats 94 are formed on the cable 19 at a certain interval. Then the user can first slightly release the cable 19 and then force the third cutting member 84 to retract and thenprotrude the fourth cutting member 86. Thereafter, the user can continuously up and down swing the handle 40 ( in a direction as shown in Fig. 8) so as to force the fourth cutting member 86 to continuously thrust through the skin 90 of the cable to form on the skin 90 one or several longitudinal cuts 96 parallel to the axis of the cable and between the two annular cuts 94. Then the user can easily peel the skin 90f between the two annular cuts 94.

In thi s embodiment, the f i rs t cut t ing member 86 and the f i rs t clamping member 14 are spaced f rom each other by 180 degrees, whereby when the fourth cutting member 86 forms the longitudinal cuts 96, it is esier to totally thrust through the skin 90 and a user can perform this operation in a more t rength-saving manner. By the same, measure, the fourth cutting raember 96 can be alternatively directly disposed on the first clamping ffie'mber 14 or directly combined with the first cutting membas 18 as an integral body and positioned between the two second engaging sections 42 ( not shown).

In addition, in te case! that the third and fourth cutting members 84, 86 or x)ther combi-ned cutting members are designed with the function of changing the angle contained by the blade section and the axi s of the cabl e, in use, the bl ade sect ion cat be pos i t ionO to contain an angle of 45 degrees with a-xis of the cable. 19. Acco-rdingly, when annually cutting the skin, the cross-section of the annular cut 94 can have a thrust pattern and the edge portion will not be too sharp. 'ffiis can avoid injuryof a user. Suchoperation me,asure is also applicable to the end edge or periphery of a tubular or rod body in addition to the cable 19.

P1tase further refet to Figs. 11 and 12 which show another embodiment of the present invention. In this embddiment, the main body 12 is disposed with an upward extending cylindrical body 30 having a shaf t hole 32 axi al ly pus s ing through the cyl indri cal body 30. The lower end of the shaft hole 32 communicates with the receiving cavity 20. A push rod- 34 is -axially reciprocally movably fitted in -the shaft hole 32. A screw 36 is screwed through the cylindrical body 30 to abut against and locate the push rod 34. The periphery of the push rod 34 is marked with scales arranged along the long axis thereof for indicating the distance between the receiving cavity 2.0 and the end of the push rod. 34 in the shaft hole 32.

Apcording to the above arrangement, a user can. previously set 111 a length of the push rod 34 extending -into th shaft hole 32. After the, first cutting member 18 removes the skin 90 -of the end of 4 c-able 19, the exposed copper wite 92 can extend into the cylindrical body 30. When the copper wire 92 abuts against the end of the push rod 31'51 the length of - the removed skin 90 of the cable pan be known f rom the s-ca4 mArked on the push rod 34.

In addition, the cylindrical body 30 is formed with a chip escaping notch 38, whereby the skin chip 90 cut off bY the first cutting member 18 and upward moved along the-upper end face of the first cutting blade 80 can drop froit t-h6 chip escaping notch 38, Thisprevents the skin chip fromobstructing the popper wire 92 from extending into the cylind-rical body 30.

The abovo, embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intdnded to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from t-he spirit of the present invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. Cable skinner comprising:

a main body the center of which is formed with a receiving cavity, an inner wall of the receiving cavity being formed with a first engaging section; a f i rs t clamffing membet di sposed at a predetermined port ion of the main body, the first clamping member being recip-rocally slidable in a predetermined direction, a predetermined portion of the first clamping member being able to extend into the receiving cavity; a first locating member disposed between themainbodyand the firs clAmping member, the first locating member being disposed with at least one engaging section able to engage with a predetermined portion of the first clwTingmember and restrict the sliding movement thereof; and a f i rst cutting member disposed at a predetermined PO-rt ion of the cable skinner, the first cutting member being disposed with at least one first cutting blade, the first cutting member being movable in a predetermined direction to extend the first cutting blade into the receiving cavity.

2. Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the firsi cutting member is disposed on the main body.

3. Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first cutting member is disposed on the first clamping member and movable on the first clamping member in a predetermined direction.

4. Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body is 1 1 annular and the first engaging section is a plane with a predetermined length land width.

5. Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body is angular and the innerwall thgreof is formedwith twoplanar first engaging secions respettively having a predetermined length and width.

6. Cable skinner as claimed in claim 5, wherein the two first engaging sectiots are adjacent to each other at predetermined portions and contain a predetermined angle.

7. Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body is formed with a split between the first engaging section and the first clamping member, whereby a cable can be inserted trot the split into the receiving' cavity..

Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body is disposed with a second cutting member which is movable in a predetermined direction to extend a predetermined portion thereof into the receiving cavity, the gecond eutting member being spaced from the first clamping member by a certain d-1 s tance.

9. Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mAin body is disposed with a second clamping member which is movable in a predetermined direction and spaced from the first cuttingmember by a certain distance, a second cutting member being disposed on the second clamping member and movable along therewith to extend a predetermi ned portion of the second cutting member into the receiving cavity.

1O.Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1,, wherein the first cutting member is. rotatable in a predetermined direction so as to change the angle contained by the first cutting blade and the axis of the receiving caviy.

11.Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein a third Cutting, member is disposed on the-main body and spaced from the first cutting member by a certain distance, the thiro cutting member having a cut t ing blade, containing a predetermined angle with the axis of the re-ceiving cavity.

12.Cble skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein an "ter periphery of the first clamping member is disposed with s-everal engaging grooves and the first locating member has n reverse hook section corresponding to the engaging grooves, whereby the first 19cating member is pushed 'by a spring to engage the reverse hook section into a corresponding engaging groove.

13.Cable skinner as claimed in clai-m 1, wherein the first cutting member is movable on the first clamping member and is fixed by a second locating member.

14.Ca,ble skinner as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second locating mmber is a screw connected between the main body and a predetermined pQrtion of the first clamping member.

15.C4ble skinner as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second locating member is a screw and the fixst cutting member is formed wi-th a slot through which the screw is passed.

16.Cable skinner as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second locating member is a screw and the first clamping member is formed with a slot through which the screw is passed.

17.Cable skirmer as clai-med in claim 1, wherein the first clamping member is disposed with a second engaging section at an end of the end of the first clamping member extending into the receiving ca,vi ty.

18.Cable skinner as claimeo in claim 17, wherein the. second engaging sectioa is opposite to the first engaging secti-on and is a plane having a predetermined length and width.

19.Cable skinnt a cl&imed in clai 1, wherein the firs,t cutting blade ha a predetermined length and the bjade section tliereof extends in a direction parallel to the sliding direction of the first clamping member.

20.Cable skinner as claimed -in claim 19, wherein the blade section of the first cuttingblade extenas to the center of the receiving cavity.

21.Cable skinner as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first cutting member i s ddi t ional ly di sposed wi th an auxi 1 i ary cut t ing bl ade which has a predetermined length and extends in g direction normal to, the extending di-rection of the blade section of the first cutting blade.

22.Cable skinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body is disposed with a cylindrical body, oneendof the cylindrical body comicating with the receiving cavity, the other end thereof being disposed a push rod movable along the axis of the cylindrical body.

23.Cable skinner as claimed in claim 22, wherein the cylindrical body is formed with a chip-escaping notqb adjacent to a predetermined portion of the first cutting member.