US2526180A - Electrican's pliers for reaming conduits and applying terminal nuts - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 17, 1950 LE GROS WHITE 2,525,180

ELECTRICIAN 'S PLIERS FOR REAMING CONDU ITS AND APPLYING TERMINAL NUTS Filed Feb. 7, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Le Gros Whize A TTORNEYS Oct. 17, 1950 LE 6 s WHITE 2,5 6,180 v ELECTRICIAN 'S PLI FOR REAMING CONDUITS AND APPLYING TERMINAL NUTS Filed'Feb. 7, 1948 1 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 17, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELEUTRICIANS PLIERS FOR REAMING CON- DUITS AND APPLYING TERMINAL NUTS I... Gros White, Dallas, Tex. Application February 7, 1948} Serial N 0. 6,929

6 Claims. (01. 7-4.5)

A further object of the invention is to provide,

improved electricians pliers having a roller or rotatable sleeve mounted on one jaw for insertion into the end of a tube, or the annular fastening on the end of such tube, and an element on the other jaw adapted to engage the outer periphery of a nut or washer screwed onto the end of the tube, whereby upon rotation of the pliers the nut or washer may be tightened orloosened,

and at the same time the flash or burr on the inner edge of the tube smoothed or reduced by the rolling action of the sleeve.

Still another object of the invention is to provide improved electricians pliers particularly arranged for easily and expeditiously tightening or loosening thenut and/or washer on the end of an electric cable or wiretube, which secure the end of the tube in the box and usually are so close to the side walls of the box as to be extremely diflicult of access and almost impossible to turn with ordinary pliers.

A further object of the invention is to provide'improved' electricians pliers which may be employed to ream the inner portion of the end of a tube such as" electrical conduit, or may be employed for trimming or smoothing the outer surface of such a tube. f

Yet another object of the invention is to provide improved electricians pliers having provision for cutting wire, and also having provision for stripping the insulation from electrical'wire;

An important object, of the invention is to'provide a combination tool for use as electricians pliers, the tool making provision for cutting wire, for stripping the insulation from electrical wire, for reaming the inside of tubes such as electrical conduit, for trimming or smoothingithe outsidjej of such tubes and for tightening and looseningj The invention will be more readily understood from" a reading of' the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein: V

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of electricians pliers constructed in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation of a modified form of the pliers in position on a nut secured on the end of a conductor tube within an outlet 7 box, which latter are shown in dotted lines,

Fig. 3 isa plan view of the pliers shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the jaws of the pliers shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the roller sleeve being illustrated in section,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of pliers constructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged isometric view of the nose end of the pliers shown in Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the pliers taken at right'an'gles to Fig. 5,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged, vertical, cross-sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 9 is an enlarged, vertical, cross-sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 5, and

Fig; 10 is a fragmentary view in side elevation illustrating the smoothing or trimming of the outside of a tube by means of the pliers illustrated in Fig. 5.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Serial No. 655,905, filed March 21, 1946, now abandoned.

In the drawings, the numerals l0 and Il, respectively, designate lever handles similar to those of the ordinary pliers now in'common use. The handle [0 is provided with a jaw 12, while the handle H is provided with a jaw [3. At the intersections of the jaws and the handles, the handles are reduced in thickness and. pivoted together by a pin 14 countersunk at its ends so as to lie flush with the sides of the handles. The jaws are cut away as indicated at l5 so as to. provide clearance for free swinging of said handles.

,The jaw I2 is formed at its outer end with alongitudinal reduced shank l6 integral therewith. A roller sleeve H is rotatably confined on g the shank by upsetting the outer end of the shank The jaw 13 is curved at its outer end to form 3 an inwardly directed bill IS, the end of which is beveled on each side to form a blunt lug 20. It will be observed that the lug stands opposite the inner end or base portion of the roller sleeve I1 and that the major portion of said sleeve extends outwardly beyond said lug.

In Fig. 2, I have illustrated in dotted lines several elements of an electric outlet box 2| and its component parts. These boxes are of different shapes and each has a side wall 22. It is customary to secure the end of a conductor tube 23 in an opening in the side wall of the box and to provide the tube with a coupling 24 which engages the outer side of said wall. The inner end of the tube is screw-threaded and receives a'nut washer 25 which is provided with notches 26. In order to fasten the tube in the box, it is necessary to screw the washer onto the tube against the bottom or transverse plate 21 which connects the side walls. The tube projects beyond the washer and receives a ribbed lock nut 28, which is screwed onto the tube so as to bind against the washer.

In applying the washer and nut, it is necessary to first screw the washer onto the tube and owing to the proximity of the side wall 22, it is practically impossible to use an ordinary pair of pliers, and therefore, workmen, as a rule, employ a screw driver and a hammer to tighten this nut. This is particularly laborious and unsatisfactory if the box is inverted and fastened in a ceiling. In using the pliers herein set forth, the lever handles are opened sufiiciently to insert the roller sleeve in the end of the tube and engage the lug 20 in one of the notches 26. The workman then merely has to rotate the pliers in order to tighten the washer. The roller forms a rotating bearing and rolls around the inner surface of the tube. This rolling action will smooth or reduce any inwardly projecting flash or rough metal on the inner end of said tube.

When the nut 25 has been fastened, the pliers are removed, and the nut 28 is then screwed onto the end of the tube. The jaws are opened so that the roller sleeve I! may be inserted in the nut and the end of the tubing and lug 20 engaged with the ribbed outer surface'of said nut. The nut may then be conveniently tightened by rotating the pliers. In Fig. 2, I have shown a slightly modified form, in which the jaws i2 and I3 are disposed at an angle to the lever handles Ii] and II, which makes the pliers more convenient for overhead work; otherwise the construction is the same. V

In Figs. through of the drawings, is illustrated a modified form of the invention which is preferable, in certain respects, to the first form described. This modified form constitutes more of a combination tool and is capable of carrying out more functions, especially in the electrical trade, than said first form.

This modification, similarly to the first form, includes lever handles 31] and 3!, the handle 33 being provided with a jaw 32 disposed at an angle thereto, while the handle 31 is provided witha jaw 33 also disposed at an angle to the latter handle or lever. The disposition of the jaws 32 and 33 at an angle with respect to the handles- 3| and 30 make the pliersof the offset or gooseneck variety whereby more inaccessible locations may be reached. At the intersections of the jaws and the handles, the latter are reduced in thickness and pivoted together by a suitable pin 34 countersunk at its ends so as to lie flush with the sides of the handles, The jaws are cutaway 4 as indicated at 35 to provide clearness for free swinging of said handles.

The jaw 33 is formed similarly to the jaw I2 and provided with a reduced diameter, circular shank 36 upon its outer end. A roller sleeve 31 is rotatably confined on the shank 36 by upsetting the outer end 38 of the latter. The inner portion 39 of the jaw 33 between the roller 3'! and the cutaway 35, is substantially square in cross section with rounded edges and provides a shoulder 40 against which the inner end of the sleeve 31 rides, and which projects laterally beyond the periphery of said sleeve.

The opposite jaw 32 has a wedge-shaped or knife edge contour or cross section, the apex of the wedge. being faced toward the jaw 33 as illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. When the pliers are in a closed position, the apex 41 of the jaw 32 bears against the opposed face or side of the inner portion 39 of the jaw 33. With this structure, wire and other objects may be cut by closing the pliers with said wiredisposed between the apex and the portion 39. Since this cutting portion is disposed relatively close to the center of the pivot pin 34, a shearing or cutting action of considerable magnitude and force may be applied by means of these pliers.

Along the outer portion of the jaw 32, the apex 4| is cut away or flattened at 42, the plane of the flattened portion or face 42 being below, or away from the jaw 33 as compared to the plane of the cutting edge 4 I. Thus, when the pliers are closed, as illustrated in Fig. 10, a space or clearance is provided between the face of the sleeve 3! and the face 42. If desired, this face may be made substantially equal to the diameter of eight gauge electrical wire, and one use of this feature is the stripping of insulation from such electrical wire. By compressing or grasping the wire, with the insulation thereon, between the roller 31 and the face 42, and closing the pliers, the face 42 is caused to shear through said insulation which is relatively soft. The pliers may then be revolved around the wire so as to shear the insulation on all sides, and moved longitudinally with respect to the wire whereby the insulation is stripped therefrom. The. clearance between the face 42 and the roller 3! may arbitrarily be set at the diameter of commercial eight gauge electrical wire since this is the heaviest gauge ordinarily used. Lighterigauges' of wire may be stripped equally well since the face 42 will be forced to shear nearly all the. way through the insulation of even sixteen gauge Wire, and the small annulus of insulation remaining is easily parted when the pliers are moved longitudinally along the wire. It is pointed out that the flattened face 42 prevents injury to the conductor itself and thus makes for a more desirable stripping function.

The face 42 is also extremely advantageous for reaming the inside of pipes or metal tubes such as the pipe conduits normally employed for electrical' wiringfl. Since'insulated .wire is usually drawn through said conduit after it has been cut, it is highly desirable to remove the burr normally caused by the cutting of the pipe or tube so asv to avoid damage to the insulation of the electrical wire when it'is so passed through the end of the tube. ;To accomplish this desirable result, the. jaw 32 maybeinserted into the interior of thepipe so as to bring the face 42 to bear upon theburr which'is tobe removed. The roller. 3'! then clamped ag ainst the annulus of the pipe by-closing the pliers, and the latter rotated around the tube so as to cause the face 42 2. Pliers including, a pair of pivoted lever handles havingjaws, one of the jaws presenting a'surface of relatively small curvature to the opposite jaw, the opposite jaw being wedge-shaped with its apex facing the first jaw, a portion of the apex of the second jaw being provided with a knife edge abutting the first jaw when the pliers trimmed or smoothed by reversing this process and inserting the roller 31 into the interior of the pipe. The pliers thus willbe positioned as illustrated in Fig. wherein the pipe P is shown in dotted lines. Again, ,upon rotation of the plication, the roller 31 is inserted into the interior I of the tube or washer nut, and the outer end of the face 42 is engaged within the notch of said nut. The pliers may then be revolved to tighten or loosen said nut much in the same manner as previously described in connection with the first form of the invention.

In this manner, an improved combination tool is provided with provision for being made for cutting wire and similar objects, for severing the insulation upon electrical wire and stripping said insulation from the conductor, for removing burrs from the inside or outside of pipe and fortightening washers or washer nuts of the character described. f a

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and. various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope ofthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Pliers including, a pair of pivoted lever handles having jaws, one of the jaws presenting a surface of relatively small curvature to the opposite jaw, the opposite jaw being wedge-shaped with its apex facing the first jaw, a portion of the apex of the second jaw abutting the first jaw when the pliers are closed, and a portion of the apex of the second jaw being spaced from the first jaw when the pliers are closed.

are "closed, and a portion of the apex of the sec- 0nd jaw being flattened and spaced from the first jaw when the pliers are closed. I

3. Pliers including, a pair of pivoted lever handles having jaws, a roller sleeve rotatably mounted on one jaw, the opposite jaw being wedge-shaped and having its apex stepped, the roller being spaced from the apex when the jaws are closed.

4. Pliers including, a pair of pivoted lever handles having jaws, a roller sleeve rotatably mounted on the outer end of one jaw, the opposite jaw being stepped and having a knife edge engaging the inner end of the first jaw when the pliers are closed and having a flattened portion opposite and spaced from the roller when the pliers are closed. 7

5. Pliers including, a pair of pivoted lever handles having jaws, a roller sleeve rotatably mounted on the outer end of one jaw, the inner portion of the jaw projecting laterally beyond the periphery of the sleeve toward the opposite jaw, a knife edge on the inner portion of the opposite jaw adapted to abut the inner portion of the first jaw when the pliers are closed, and 'a blunt edge on the outer end of the second jaw opposite the sleeve and spaced therefrom when the pliers are closed. 1 a

6. Pliers including, a pair of pivoted lever handles having jaws, an elongate shank onthe outer end of one jaw, an elongate sleeve rotatably confined on the shank, and a knife edge on the opposite jaw facing. the'first jaw and engaging the inner end of the latter jaw when the pliers are closed, the outer portion of the second jaw opposite the sleeve being flattened to form a blunt edge spaced from the sleeve when the pliers are closed.

LE GROS WHITE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 644,932 Miller Mar. 6, 1900 2,233,046 Bowles Feb. 25, 1941

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