Claims
- 1. A hand-held tool for cutting and stripping a telephone wire and attaching and electrically connecting jack connectors to said telephone wire, said hand-held tool comprising:
- a first hand-held jaw member,
- a second hand-held jaw member cooperating with said first hand-held jaw member and pivotably attached thereto at a top portion thereof, said jaw members cooperating with each other to define hand gripped open and closed positions,
- cooperating cutting members adjacently disposed upon said first and second jaw members for cutting and stripping telephone wire, when said telephone wire is inserted between said cutting members and when said jaw members are moved from said open to said closed position,
- a contoured aperture having a jack connector shape, disposed upon said first jaw member for placement of a jack connector containing said cut and stripped telephone wire, and
- means disposed upon said second jaw member for attaching and electrically connecting said telephone wire to said jack connector placed in said first jaw member, when said jaw members are moved from said open to said closed position, and
- said cooperating cutting members comprising;
- a unitary knife blade having a straight cutting edge, mounted on said first jaw member,
- a flat surface on said second jaw member for cooperating with the cutting edge of said unitary knife blade when moving from the said open to closed position, for severing a wire by cutting it through,
- a pair of wall surfaces in said first jaw member, perpendicular to said knife blade, defining a recess extending below the said cutting edge, for holding the wire perpendicular to the unitary blade for effecting a square cut of the wire by the blade and flat surface, and
- a knife blade, mounted on said second jaw member,
- a second pair of wall surfaces in said first jaw member perpendicular to said knife blade, and a wall surface perpendicular to said second pair, defining a recess for holding the wire perpendicular to the unitary blade for effecting a square cut of the wire by the blade and flat surface,
- said straight cutting edge and said second jaw member blades' cutting edges are opposed for cutting into said wire when moved from the said open to closed positon, and
- a rod, mounted on a bottom portion of one of the jaw members, distal from the unitary blade and from the jack connector placement means, and a mating face on the other jaw member for establishing a controlled gap between said straight cutting edge and said second jaw member blade's cutting edge when they are moved from the said open to closed position.
- 2. The hand-held tool of claim 1, further comprising:
- said means for attaching and electrically connecting said telephone wire to said jack connector comprising a pair of crimping hammers extending into said first jaw member and held on said second jaw member opposite said contoured aperture of said first jaw member by a clip on said second jaw member, said clip engaging each hammer so that they are drawn back by the second jaw member, from an extended position in the first member to a less extended postion, when the members are moved from the closed to open postion, said crimping hammers including a first hammer for mechanically forcing an attaching connector finger into engagement with said wire, and a second hammer for contact with electrical teeth terminals disposed in said jack connector, said second hammer forcing said electrical terminals of said jack connector to penetrate said telephone wire and become electrically connected thereto, when said jaw members are moved from said open to said closed position,
- said clip is oriented so that it will not prevent contact of the rod and its mating face when the jaw members are moved to the said closed postion.
- 3. The hand-held tool of claim 1, wherein said tool is housed in a package to form a kit.
- 4. The hand-held tool of claim 1 or 2, wherein said jaw members are pivotably connected at a top portion thereof by interlocking cam means for limiting said open position.
- 5. The hand-held tool of claim 4, further comprising a coil spring positioned about said rod for urging the jaw members from said closed position towards said open position.
Cross-Reference to Related Applications
This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 780,760, filed Sept. 27, 1985, now abandoned.
The invention pertains to telephone wire-cutting tools, and more particularly to a device for attaching and electrically connecting a jack to a telephone wire.
In recent times, organizations and individuals are installing their own telephones and other telecommunication equipment. Many of these telephones use a modular jack connector for easy installation. These modular jack connectors snap into wall outlets and the telephone base units. the telephone wires having these modular connectors come in standard lengths and can be purchased in most hardware and merchandising establishments.
In some instances, people desired longer cord lengths. Purchase of telephone wire of long length was possible, but until now, there was no commercially available tool for attaching the modular jack connectors to the wire.
The present invention features a kit having a quantity of modular jack connectors and a tool that cuts and strips the insulation from a telephone wire. A pair of crimping hammers are disposed on the tool for attaching and electrically connecting the modular jack connectors to a cut and stripped telephone wire.
With the above kit, organizations and individuals can now construct telephone wires of any desired length having a modular jack connector on each end for quick attachment to outlets and equipment.
This invention relates to a kit and device for mechanically attaching and electrically connecting modular jack connectors to a telephone wire.
The kit features a hand-held tool having means for cutting and stripping telephone wire as well as mechanically attaching and electrically connecting jack connectors to the cut and stripped wire.
A package for housing the aforementioned tool is provided in the kit, as well as a quantity of jack connectors having terminals for connecting to the color coded telephone wire.
The tool comprises a pair of first and second jaw members that are pivotable at a top portion. The jaw members resemble a nut-cracker or plier-type device. The jaw members are gripped in one hand of a user and squeezed to perform the necessary cutting, stripping and crimping operations. Two operating positions are defined: an open gripped position and a closed (squeezed) position.
The jaw members have cutting members adjacently disposed thereon, for cutting and stripping telephone wire, when the telephone wire is inserted therebetween and the jaw members are moved from the open to the closed position.
The tool also has a contoured aperture means for placing a jack connector in one of the jaw members. The placed connector contains the cut and stripped wire.
The other jaw member has means for attaching and electrically connecting the cut and stripped wire to the jack connector, when the jaw members are moved to the closed position. The attaching and connecting means includes a pair of adjacently disposed crimping hammers. One of the hammers forces an attaching finger into engagement with the wire from said jack connector. The other hammer contacts electrical terminals in the jack connector and forces them to penetrate the telephone wire, thus creating an electrical connection. Both hammers are actuated when the jaw members are squeezed to the closed position.
A spring disposed between the jaw members biases them towards the open position. A rod disposed between the jaw members limits the travel of the members towards the closed position.
One of the jaw members has a contoured surface for placement of the fingers of the user's hand. This contour facilitates the gripping of the tool by the fingers of the hand.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved tool or kit for attaching and electrically connecting a modular jack connector to a telephone wire.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tool or kit that cuts, strips, mechanically attaches and electrically connects a telephone wire to a modular jack connector.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 2398580 |
Mar 1979 |
FRX |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
780760 |
Sep 1985 |
|
Patent Grant
4713874
