Electrician's wire stripping tool

Claim 2

A tool for stripping insulation from multiple conductor electrical cable comprising: A. handle means adapted to be grasped in the palm of a hand and including a pair of arms pivotally connected at one end for opening and closing pincer movement, B. a transverse groove in the inside edge of one of said arms adjacent the free end thereof, C. longitudinally extending flat cable stripping blade means disposed overlying said groove, 1. the cutting edge of said blade being spaced from the bottom of said groove, and 2.

Claim 3

said blade being disposed at an angle from about 45° to 60° from the plane including the longitudinal axes of the arms, D. smooth cable hold-down means on the inside edge of the other of said arms adjacent the free end thereof, overlying said groove and spaced from said blade means when said arms are in closed position, E. an internal longitudinal channel in said other arm adjacent the free end thereof, one end of said channel opening into said free end, F. a longitudinally reciprocable knife blade holder disposed in said channel for reciprocation therein partially through said open end, G. a flat knife blade in said blade holder, H. a longitudinal slot in said other arm overlying said channel over part of its length, and I. thumb actuating means associated with said blade holder and extending through said longitudinal slot for extending and retracting said holder and knife blade, said thumb actuating means being within normal reach of the thumb of the hand grasping the handle means, whereby the insulation may be stripped from one side of a cable and folded back and cut from the

Claim 4

said blade being disposed at an angle from about 45° to 60° from the plane including the longitudinal axes of the arms, D. smooth cable hold-down means on the inside edge of the other of said arms adjacent the free end thereof, overlying said groove and spaced from said blade means when said arms are in closed position, E. an internal longitudinal channel in said other arm adjacent the free end thereof, one end of said channel opening into said free end, F. a longitudinally reciprocable knife blade holder disposed in said channel for reciprocation therein partially through said open end, G. a flat knife blade in said blade holder, H. a longitudinal slot in said other arm overlying said channel over part of its length, and I. thumb actuating means associated with said blade holder and extending through said longitudinal slot for extending and retracting said holder and knife blade, said thumb actuating means being within normal reach of the thumb of the hand grasping the handle means, whereby the insulation may be stripped from one side of a cable and folded back and cut from the

Claim 5

other side without disengaging the tool from the hand. 2. A tool according to claim 1 further characterized in that further wire insulation stripping blade means are provided adjacent the pivotal connection of the handle means, said further blade means comprising: A. a pair of opposed complementary flat mirror image wire stripping blade members each secured to an outer face of one of said arms adjacent the inside edges thereof, B. an inner straight edge on each of said blade members, said edges abutting when the arms are in closed position, C. at least one semi-circular cutting edge in each of said blade members, said cutting edges forming a circular aperture when the arms are in closed position, and D. a transverse channel in the inside edge of each of said arms in longitudinal alignment with said semicircular cutting edges.

Claim 6

A tool according to claim 1 further characterized in that: A. said first named handle arm includes a tubular portion, B. said transverse groove is disposed in a generally cylindrical solid stripping blade support member fit with a slide fit in said tubular portion for rotational movement therein, and C. fastening means are provided for securing said blade support member at any of several different rotational positions.

Claim 7

A tool according to claim 1 further characterized in that: A. said first named handle arm includes a cable stripping blade support member, B. said transverse groove is formed in said support member, C. said support member includes a pair of flat coplanar recesses on opposite sides of said groove, D. said recesses include a further pair of flat deeper coplanar recesses immediately adjacent to the opposite edges of said groove, E. the ends of said flat cable stripper blade are supported in said deeper recesses spanning said groove, F. a blade retainer overlies said blade and is supported in said first named recesses, and G. fastening means are provided for securing said blade retainer to said blade support member.

Claim 8

A tool according to claim 1 further characterized in that: A. said thumb actuating means is disposed on one side of a separate linkage retractor member disposed for reciprocable movement in said longitudinal channel, B. said knife blade and blade holder each include a hole therethrough, and C. a linkage pin is carried by the opposite side of said retractor member extending through the holes in said blade and blade holder to reciprocate them together responsive to the thumb actuator.

Claim 9

A tool according to claim 5 further characterized in that: A. said linkage and retractor member is formed from resilient material, B. said member is formed with a central bow whereby said thumb actuator and linkage pin are under compressive force in the assembled tool, C. said thumb actuator includes a pair of longitudinally spaced apart transverse shoulders and said longitudinal slot through which the thumb actuating means extends includes a pair of spaced apart transverse recesses engageable in sequence with said shoulders upon reciprocation of the actuating means, whereby said knife blade may be locked in retracted and extended positions.

Claim 10

A tool according to claim 2 further characterized in that each of said further wire stripping blade members includes a plurality of semi-circular cutting edges of differing diameters corresponding to commonly used wire gauges.