US2974414A - Cutting tool - Google Patents

Description

March 14, 1961 H. W. BOZEMAN, JR

CUTTING TOOL Filed March 23, 1960 CUTTING TOOL Hoyt W. Bozeman, Jr., Maplewood, Mo., assignor to James R. Kearney Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 23, 1960, Ser. No. 17,144 '4 Claims. c1. 30-272 This invention relates to tools for cutting compression connectors of the type described in United States Patent No. 2,707,775.

Present-day compression connectors manufactured in accordance with that patent are usually extruded and are, therefore, made of a highly malleable material which is ditficult to break. In the past, when it was desired to cut compression connectors off the line, a block was held against one of the flat sides of the connector parallel with the wires, and a wedge was then driven from the other flat side into the web separating the wires. Earlier models of compression connectors, when subjected to this kind of treatment, would break fairly easily in the web so that they could be removed. With the extrusion type of connector, however, the wedge had to be driven substantially through the entire web before the web would come apart. In view of the malleability of the connector, this operation was often accompanied by slippage or deformation which caused the wedge to deviate into the wire itself and cut it.

To overcome the disadvantages inherent in the old style cutting process, the present invention discloses a cutting tool which is guided by the main line wire itself and severs the connector in two places and in such a manner that the cut will always be closely adjacent to the wire but never into the wire itself.

These and other advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the attached drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cutter as it would appear just prior to performing a cutting operation;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the tool at the beginning of the cutting operation;

Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the tool at the beginning of the cutting operation;

Figure 4 is a detail transverse section on line 4-4 of Figure 2 showing a portion of the tool and a portion of the connector after the cut has been accomplished; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the standard hydraulically operated compression tool used for compression connectors and to which the cutters of this invention are applied.

Basically, the tool of this invention comprises a cutting die arranged to fit the die holder of a standard compression tool. The cutting die consists generally of a body portion on which are formed a pair of parallel wedgeshaped cutting blades with a vertical inner surface and a slanted outer surface. The vertical inner surfaces of the cutters are spaced apart by substantially the diameter of the main line wire from which the compression connector is to be cut. Movable guides are provided at each end of the cutting blades. These guides fit snugly over the main line wire and serve to keep the cutting blades lined up and centered with respect to the main line wire at all times.

Referring now to Figure l, the compression tool, generally shown at 10, is preferably a standard construction used for compression fittings. The particular construcatent '0 tion and operation of the tool are shown here only for purposes of illustration. The particular tool, shown in Figure 5, has a pairv of operating handles 14, one of which is oscillated to operate a pump in' the body portion of the tool 20, which in turn moves the movable jaw 18 toward an upper jaw 16 supported on the C-shaped head 12. The standard hydraulic tool of this general description is adapted to support a movable die 20, which is raised and lowered by the movable jaw 18 by manipulation of the handles 14. The movable die 20 has an upper concave surface shaped like a trough and conforming to the curvature of the lower surface 18 of the compression connector 30. The lower die 20 is connected to the movable jaw 18 by a suitable set screw, or the like, such as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The upper jaw 16 carries a fixed die holder, shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 and indicated as 32, which is received in a recess 34 (Figure 2) of the cutting die 36. In order to secure the cutting die to the die holder 32, there is provided a set screw 38. On the upper die 36 are cutting blades 40 formed on the lower side of a block like knife body 42. Each blade has a vertical inner surface 44 and a slanting or beveled outer surface 46. On the block 42 at each side thereof are wings or extensions carrying guide flaps 48 on pivot pins 50. Each of the guide flaps are secured together to swing in unison as pairs by tie pins 52. Each pair of wings, therefore, can be swung out into a position parallel with the body or block 42 of the cutting die 36, so as to facilitate placement of the cutting die on the line. Each pair of guide flaps will swing down during the cutting operation either by gravity or otherwise, so that each pair of guide flaps 48 straddles the main line wire 54 as they act to guide the cutting blades 40 during their travel into the connector material and to keep them aligned and centered with respect to the wire 54. As the cutting die 36 eats its way into the connector material when the connector is pressed against the cutting blades 40 by pressure from the movable die 24, the cutting die will eventually reach a position, such as that shown in Figure 4. As the movable die 24 is now retracted away from cutting die 36, the compression connector will fall off the main wire because there is nothing left to hold the crown 56 and the web 57 together. The crown portions 56 of the connector 30 will then either fall away from the wire 54 of their own accord, or else they can be easily knocked olf with pliers or a screwdriver. It will be noted that due to the guiding action of flaps 48, the cutter blades 40 will always remain centered with respect to wire 54 so that they cannot injure it.

Although one specific embodiment of the present invention has been described, it will be understood that the invention can be carried out in many different ways and it is not desired that it be limited to the specific embodiment shown.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A cutting die for removing compression connectors from a wire, comprising a body adapted to be attached to a compression tool, a pair of cutting blades mounted to project from said body, the surfaces of said blades facing each other being parallel and separated by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of said wire, and guide means mounted adjacent the ends of said cutting blades and extending farther away from said body in the direction of cutting than said cutting blades for aligning said wire with said cutting blades.

2. A cutting die for removing compression connectors from a wire, comprising a body adapted to be attached to a compression tool, a pair of cutting blades mounted to project from said body, the surfaces of said blades facing each other being parallel and separated by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of said wire, and guide means pivotally mounted adjacent the ends of said cutting blades and movable from a retracted positionin line with said blades to an attended position in fline with said blades in which said guidegmeans extend ,ffarther away from said body than said cutting'biades for aligning saidwire with said cutting blades;

and ,guide means cooperating with said cutting die :m'ounted adjacent the ends of said cutting blades and extending farther away from said body in the direction 'of cutting than .said cutting blades "for aligning said wire with said cutting blades.

i t. A cutting die for removing compression connectors froma wire, comprising a body adapted to be attached to a compression tool, a pair of cutting blades mounted to project from said body; the surfaces of said blades facing each other being parallel and separated by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of said wire, and guide means cooperating with said cutting die pivotally mounted adjacent the ends of said cutting blades and movable from a retracted position in line with said blades to an extended position in line with 'said blades in which said vguide means extend farther :away from said body than said cutting blades iorraligningzsaidwire with said cutting blades, 7 V. t

References Cited in=the fileoflthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 435,414 Fisher Sept. 2, 1890

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