Process and apparatus for stripping insulated wires

Claim 1

A process for locally cutting the insulation sheath of an insulated wire at intervals, comprising the steps of: (a) locating said wire along a circulation path including clamping means and cutting means in succession, (b) moving said clamping means away from said cutting means while free from said wire and back toward said cutting means over a predetermined distance while actuated to grip said wire. (c) closing said cutting means over said wire by an extent sufficient to cut said sheath partially and rotating said cutting means about said wire to furrow a circular groove in said sheath, while maintaining said clamping means in actuated condition, (d) moving said clamping means away from said cutting means by an extent sufficient to break said sheath and back to its former position, (e) opening said cutting means and de-actuating said clamping means, (f) repeating steps (b) to (e) with optionally selected predetermined distances, whereby a continuous length of wire is produced whose insulation sheath is cut at a plurality of locations separated by said distances.

Claim 4

An apparatus for locally stripping an insulated wire, comprising: a frame; a stripping head mounted on said frame for rotation about an axis; a wire guide carried by said head coaxially with said axis; a drive motor operatively associated with said head for rotating said head about said axis; a set of knives carried by said axis to a position where they define a gap less than the diameter of a wire passage in said wire guide and away from said axis; and a unit for axially moving a wire projecting through said guide, comprising an axially movable member, motor means operatively connected to said axially movable member and adapted to move said axially movable member back and forth over controllable distances, motor controlled wire-clamping means carried by said axially movable member, and control means for successively actuating said clamping means for engaging said wire, energizing said motor means to move said clamping means and wire over a predetermined length, closing said knives and energizing said drive motor to cut the insulating material over a fraction of its thickness, stopping said drive motor, and energizing said motor means again to tension the wire and break the remaining thickness of the insulation material where partially cut by the knives.

Claim 5

An apparatus for locally stripping an insulated wire, comprising: a frame; a stripping head mounted on said frame for rotation about an axis; a wire guide carried by said head coaxially with said axis; a drive motor operatively associated with said head for rotating said head about said axis; a set of knives carried by said axis to a position where they define a gap less than the diameter of a wire passage in said wire guide and away from said axis; and a unit for axially moving a wire projecting through said guide, comprising an axially movable member, motor means operatively connected to said axially movable member and adapted to move said axially movable member back and forth over controllable distances, motor controlled wire-clamping means carried by said axially movable member, and control means for successively actuating said clamping means for engaging said wire, energizing said motor means to move said clamping means and wire over a predetermined length, closing said knives and energizing said drive motor to cut the insulating material over a fraction of its thickness, stopping said drive motor, and energizing said motor means again to tension the wire and break the remaining thickness of the insulation material where partially cut by the knives.