US3611571A

US3611571A - Support wire stripping tool

Info

Publication number: US3611571A
Application number: US872616A
Authority: US
Inventors: William F Belling
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-10-30
Filing date: 1969-10-30
Publication date: 1971-10-12
Anticipated expiration: 1988-10-12

Abstract

A READILY APPLICABLE AND EXOENDITIOUSLY MANIPULABLE HAND TOOL WHICH LENDS INTSELF TO PRACTICAL USE IN THE TELEPHONE INDUSTRY. IT ENABLES THE USER TO CLEAVE AND STRIP OFF THE USUAL WEB ATTACHED, BUT SEVERABLE, SUPPORT WIRE OF A PLASTIC JACKETED TELEPHONE CABLE. AN ELONGATED HEAD HAS A SURFACE PROVIDED AT A REARWARD END WITH AN OFFSET T-SHAPED HANDLE. APPROPRIATE SLOT MEANS ACCOMMODATINGLY POCKETS THE COVERED SUPPORT WIRE AND ITS CABLE ATTACHING WEB. THE CLEAVING BLADE HAS A CUTTING EDGE BRIDGING THE SLOT MEANS AND COMES INTO PLAY AS THE TOOL IS PULLED ALONG THE CABE AND THE ATTACHED SUPPORT WIRE.

Description

Oct 1971 w. F. BELLING SUPPORT WIRE STRIPPING TOOL Filed Oct. 30, 1969 William E Belling INVIiNTOK.

United States Patent 61 fice 3,611,571 PatentedUct. 112, T9711 3,611,571 SUPPORT WIRE STRIPPING TOOL William F. Belling, 3214 S. 28th St., La Crosse, Wis. 54601 Filed Oct. 30, 1969, Ser. No. 872,616 Int. Cl. H02g 1/12 U.S. Cl. 30-280 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A readily applicable and expeditiously manipulable hand tool which lends itself to practical use in the telephone industry. It enables the user to cleave and strip off the usual web attached, but severable, support wire of a plastic jacketed telephone cable. An elongated head has a surface provided at a rearward end with an offset T-shaped handle. Appropriate slot means accommodatlngly pockets the covered support wire and its cable attaching web. The cleaving blade has a cutting edge bridging the slot means and comes into play as the tool is pulled along the cable and the attached support wire.

This invention relates to a hand tool which is expressly designed and is uniquely adapted for use in the telephone industry in that it enables a user to cleave and detach the web-attached support wire which constitutes a part of a telephone cable, more particularly, a plastic covered cable wherein a correspondingly covered support wire is joined to the cable by a severable web.

For background information it should be so pointed out at the outset of the description that the special purpose tool herein under consideration lends itself to reliable use and serviceability when the user is called upon to cope with the difficulty of severing and detaching the aforementioned cable support wire. The cable herein disclosed is representative of a type of cable which is used extensively in the telephone industry and which is characterized by a support wire which is commensurate in length with and spaced from the peripheral surface of a plastic covered cable and which is joined to the cable by way of an intervening attaching web. As is known it is necessary to remove the support wire so that the cable can be installed in buildings where numerous sharp bends and turns have to be made. It is virtually impossible to run this type of a cable from a pole to a building and then into and through a conduit with the support wire still attached to the jacket of the cable. Prior to the advent of the instant invention it has been necessary to use a knife of one type or another to remove the support wire. However and in so doing the knife cutting step is often objectionable in that it cuts into the telephone cable itself and damages the cable. The disclosed tool makes it practical and feasible to remove the support wire with no damage to the cable.

Briefly, the tool is preferably made of aluminum and embodies a rigid elongated body or head which may be of the shape shown in the drawings and which has a face which is of an area that the median lengthwise portion is adapted to be firmly attached to and progressively pulled and slid along the cable. This head has a forward end and a rearward end. The rearward end has a rigid rearwardly extending handle thereon. The head has an elongated open ended guideway in which the support wire and also the major part of the attaching web is retentively keyed. A web cleaving blade is secured to the aforementioned face and has a cutting edge which bridges the guideway.

More specifically the guideway is in the form of a keyhole shaped slot which embodies a cylindrical open-ended bore and a complemental radial slot. This slot opens at an outer lengthwise edge through a longitudinally centralized area of the aforementioned face. The handle is preferably T-shaped in plan and embodies a relatively short stout shank which is joined at its forward end to the rearward end of the head and has a cross-head joined to the rearward end of the shank and providing a pair of outstanding finger grips. The handle is suitably offset with respect to the plane of the aforementioned slotted face. It is balanced and so arranged that it enables the user to handle the tool with efficiency and reliability.

As will be hereinafter more fully appreciated the tool is simple, practical and durable in construction and functions with positive certainty to cleave and separate the supporting wire from the communications cable. It is easy to use and will function repeatedly and with requisite safety, is almost indestructible, well serves the purposes for which it has been devised and perfected.

Experience has shown that the tool is so designed and balanced that the handle enables the user to slide the tool evenly along the cable separating support wire and cable with virtually no damage to the cable itself. The keyhole type track or guideway lines the cable up so that the separation of the support wire from the cable is neat and even making it possible to expeditiously take care of the severing and stripping job outside of a building, much to the advantage of all concerned.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing a fragmentary portion of the aforementioned telephone cable, showing the tool and how it is constructed and used and with a portion of the support wire severed and ready for expeditious separation.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the tool by itself and on a suitably enlarged scale.

'FIG. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view taken approximately on a plane of the line 33 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the indicating arrows.

FIG. 4 is a transverse or cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the vertical line 44 of FIG. 3.

The conventional type cable is denoted in FIG. 1 by the numeral 6 and is characterized, as usual by the communication core or cable 8 and the plastic or equivalent insulation jacket 10. The support wire is denoted at 12 and the covering therefor is denoted at 14. The attaching or connecting web is denoted at 16 and normally is joined integrally at 18 to a lengthwise peripheral surface of the cable covering.

The attachable and detachable hand tool is of onepiece construction and is preferably but not necessarily made of moldable aluminum. The body portion of the tool 20 is of elongated block-like form and is designated as an elongated head 22. It has a substantially fiat or planar bottom face 24 which rests with requisite nicety on the cable covering 10 in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The opposed top surface 26 may be slightly convex if desired. The over-all configuration is of elongated ovate form and the forward end is denoted at 28 and the rearward end at 30. The T-shaped offset handle is denoted at 32 and has a suitably stout shank 34 joined to the rearward end and terminating in outstanding fingergrips 36 which facilitate catching hold of the tool and moving it step-by-step in a seemingly obvious manner. The openended guideway, sometimes referred to as a guide track, cbmprises a keyhole-shaped slot wherein the bore or hole proper is denoted at 38 and opens through the

respective ends

28 and 30. The slot 40 opens into the bore and also opens centrally through the face 24-. This face is provided rearwardly of the forward end and forwardly of the rearward end with a groove to accommodate an insertable and removable cleaving blade which is denoted at 42 and is fitted in place and held by screws 44 and is provided with a cutting edge 46 which bridges the mouth of the slot.

The over-all tool is constructed as shown in the views of the drawing and as used in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A special purpose hand tool for cleaving and stripping off the severable support wire of a plastic-covered telephone cable comprising a rigid elongated head having a surface which is adapted to be oriented with and progressively slid along the covered surface of said cable, said head having forward and rearward ends and said rearward end having rigid handle means, said head having a guideway in which said support wire is cooperatively retentively but releasably keyed, and a cleaving blade coordinated with said surface and having a cutting edge bridging and coacting with said guideway, said guideway comprising a keyhole-shaped slot which embodies a cylindrical bore and a complemental radial slot, said slot opening at an outer lengthwise edge through a longitudinally central area of said surface.

2. The tool defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein said handle means is T-shaped in plan and embodies a relatively short stout shank joined at its forward end to the rearward end of said head, and a cross-head joined to the rearward end of said shank and providing a pair of like outstanding fingergrips, whereby to facilitate handling and steadily dragging the over-all tool along and into contact with the covering of said cable.

3. The tool defined in and according ot claim 2, and wherein said blade is superimposed upon and accessibly and removably affixed to said face, said blade being spaced from the respective forward and rearward ends of said slot and the cutting edge being transverse to and cross- 151g a portion of the slot intermediate the ends of said s 0t.

4. A special purpose hand tool for cleaving and stripping oif the web-attached but severable support wire of a plastic-covered telephone cable comprising a rigid elongated head having a face which is adapted to be firmly seated upon and progressively slid along the webattached covered surface of said cable, said head having forward and rearward ends and said rearward end having rigid rearwardly extending handle means, said head having a keyhole-shaped guideway formed therethrough and embodying a straight through cylindrical bore opening at its ends through the forward and rearward ends of said head, and a complemental slot opening along an inner edge into the companion bore and opening along an outer edge through a centralized longitudinal area of said face.

5. The tool defined in and according to claim 4, and wherein said handle means is T-shaped in plan and embodies a relatively short stout shank .joined at its forward end to the rearward end of head and a cross-head joined to the rearward end of said shank and providing a pair of like outstanding fingergrips, whereby to facilitate handling and steadily dragging the over-all tool along and into contact with the covering of said cable.

6. The tool defined in and according to claim 5, and wherein said blade is superimposed upon and accessibly and removably aflixed to said face, said blade being spaced from the respective forward and rearward ends of said slot and the cutting edge being transverse to and crossing a portion of the slot intermediate the ends of said slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,062,310 5/1913 Waite 30-280 X 3,109,332 11/1963 Rando 8l9.5

ROBERT C. R'IORDON, Primary Examiner R. V. PARKER, JR., Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 81-95 C; 3090.4