Cushioned Handle for Wire Cutting and Seating Tool

The present invention relates in general to tools, such as impact tools of the type employed in the telephone industry for inserting one or more wires into electrical terminals of connector blocks of telephone office mainframes, and is particularly directed to a new and improved tool handle configuration, the butt end of which contains an internally ribbed, shock-absorbing sleeve of elastically deformable material, overlying a structurally rigid handle casing made of structurally robust (e.g., hard plastic) material.

The telephone industry currently offers its craftspersons a variety of impact tool configurations for cutting and seating telephone wires in terminal blocks mounted to telephone office mainframe units. Non-limiting examples of documentation describing a variety of such impact tools include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,195,230, 4,696,090, 4,567,639, and 4,241,496 and the patents cited therein. A typical mechanically operated impact tool has a generally longitudinal handle from which a wire-gripping and cutting head extends. The interior of the handle houses an axially translatable hammer element, which is biased by a compression spring to strike the cutting head, and cut a wire that has been inserted into a wire capture and gripping end region of the cutting head.

To operate the impact tool, the craftsperson firmly grips the tool's handle and pushes it by hand against a wire in a terminal receptacle. This moves a hammer release element within the handle into alignment with the hammer travel path, so that an impact force stored in a main compression spring is mechanically released against the hammer. This rapidly propels the hammer toward and into impact with the cutting head, causing the end of the wire to be cut and become seated in the terminal. Because the force imparted by the impact tool to the wire terminal is leveraged against and thereby imparts a recoil shock to the craftsperson's hand, frequent repeated use of the tool may lead to hand and wrist fatigue.

In accordance with the present invention, this potentially harmful rebound shock problem is substantially alleviated by a new and improved tool handle configuration containing an internally ribbed cushioning sleeve of elastically deformable material, such as soft rubber, that overlies at least the butt end of the structurally rigid handle casing in which an impact mechanism may be housed.

The structurally rigid casing may comprise molded hard plastic, or the like, having an interior hollow bore sized to accommodate a mechanism, such as a wire seating and/or cutting mechanism. The outer cushioning sleeve is formed, as by molding, such that interiormost portions of its interior surface are effectively conformal with the outer surface of the rigid casing. This ensures a snug, glove-like non-slip surface for the craftsperson to securely seize and grip the handle and operate the tool.

The butt end of the rigid casing has a substantially flat exterior surface that is abutted by a plurality of spaced apart shock-dampening or cushioning ribs that are formed into the butt end of the interior surface of the outer cushioning sleeve. The spaces between the ribs are sized to accommodate flexure of the outer cushioning sleeve, and thereby absorb shock, such as the rebound shock of an impact hammer force, that would otherwise be imparted to the craftsperson's hand in the course of operation of the tool. The spaces between the ribs may be devoid of material or they may contain compressible material such as open cell foam rubber.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one-half of a cushioned tool handle configuration in accordance with the invention, as may be employed for a craftsperson's tool for seating and/or cutting a wire;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of one half of the rigid handle casing of the cushioned tool handle configuration of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a half section of an internally ribbed, shock-absorbing sleeve that overlies the handle casing of FIG. 2.

Attention is now directed to FIGS. 1-3, which diagrammatically illustrate one half of an embodiment of a cushioned handle configuration in accordance with the invention, that may be incorporated in a craftsperson's tool, such as an impact tool for seating and/or cutting a wire, as described above. The other half of the handle is mirror-configured to that shown and joined therewith by suitable fasteners, such as screws, to provide a unitary handle architecture.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the cushioned tool handle comprises a housing or casing 10 of rigid material, such as hard neoprene plastic, as a non-limiting example, having an interior hollow bore 11 that is sized to accommodate therein a mechanism, such as wire seating and/or cutting impact mechanism. At least the butt end 12 of the handle casing 10 is surrounded by an outer cushioning layer or sleeve 20 of elastically deformable, grip enhancing material, such as high friction soft rubber.

The outer cushioning sleeve 20 is formed (e.g., molded) such that interiormost portions of its interior surface 21 are generally conformal with the exterior surface 13 of the casing 10, thereby providing a very snug, glove-like non-slip surface for the craftsperson to securely seize and grip the tool. A forwardmost end 22 of the outer cushioning sleeve 20 may be flared to define a user thumb-protection barrier.

In the non-limiting handle configuration of FIGS. 1-3, a generally circular aperture 14 is formed in the butt end 12 of the handle casing 10 to provide access to the interior bore 11. A similar aperture 23 is formed in the butt end 24 of the outer cushioning sleeve 20. It should be observed however, that the handle 10 may be configured without such an aperture, in which instance, a corresponding aperture would not be formed in the butt end of the outer cushioning sleeve.

The butt end 12 of the hollow casing 10 has a substantially flat exterior surface region 15 that is generally transverse to the axial dimension 16 of the handle 10. This flat surface region 15 is abutted by interiormost surfaces 25 of a plurality of shock-dampening or cushioning ribs 26 formed into the butt end 24 of the interior surface 21 of the outer cushioning sleeve 20. In the non-limiting example of FIGS. 1-3, the interior ribs 26 of the cushioning sleeve 20 are shown as being generally parallel to each other and transverse to the axial dimension 16 of the handle. It should be observed, however, that the dampening ribs may be oriented in other directions, such as extending radially from the center of the butt end of the handle.

The interior cushioning ribs 26 are separated from one another so as form spaces or pockets 27 therebetween. These spaces are sized to accommodate flexure of the outer cushioning sleeve 20, and thereby absorb a force or such associated with the use of the tool, such as the rebound shock of an impact hammer force, thereby protecting the craftsperson's hand in the course of operation of the tool.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spaces 27 between the interior ribs 26 of the cushioning sleeve 20 are devoid of material, thereby allowing compression and flexure of the ribs as they dampen a force, such as an impact mechanism's hammer rebound shock. However, the spaces 27 may contain compressible material such as, but not limited to, open cell foam rubber, which may serve as an integrated constituent part of the shock-absorbing rib architecture of the butt end of the cushioning layer 20.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing description of the invention, the above-referenced rebound shock problem and resultant hand and wrist fatigue associated with the use of a craftsperson's tool, such as an impact tool, is substantially alleviated by providing the tool handle with an internally ribbed cushioning sleeve of elastically deformable material, such as soft rubber, that overlies at least the butt end of the handle casing in which an impact mechanism may be housed. Because of its configuration and soft rubber material, the internally ribbed surface of the outer cushioning sleeve readily absorbs a force, such as the rebound force of an impact mechanism hammer, that would otherwise be transmitted through the handle in the course of operation of the tool, and thereby provides shock protection for the craftsperson's hand.

While I have shown and described an embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it is to be understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications as known to a person skilled in the art, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.