Stripper Tool For Sheathed Cable

Abstract

A stripper tool is provided for cutting an outer sheath of an electrical cable. Inside the sheath is parallel spaced apart insulation covered wires and a core member containing an uncovered ground wire between the insulation covered wires. The sheath has spaced apart curved sides conforming to the covered wires. The tool has spaced apart first and second jaw members adapted to be pressed together. The jaw members have cutting edges that receive a portion of the cable along its length. The cutting edges define an opening configured to cut the sheath and the core without significantly cutting the insulation on the wires or the unsheathed ground wire when the jaw members are pressed together to form the opening. The portion of the sheath is then removed in one continuous process.

1 . A tool for cutting and stripping a sheath from an electrical cable, the electrical cable having a spaced pair of insulated power conducting wires, a ground wire disposed between the insulated wires and a sheath surrounding the wires, the tool comprising:
 a) a pair of levers having jaw, boss and handle portions;   b) a pivot joining the boss portions to enable relative movement of the levers about the pivot between open and closed portions;   c) the jaw portions each having blade sections for coactively circumferentially severing such sheath when the levers are moved from the open to the closed position;   d) each blade section having a set of three aligned cutting parts of a cutting edge, spaced end ones of the cutting parts being contoured to completely sever such sheath from side portions of such sheath toward a sheath central portion containing such ground wire, a raised middle cutting part between the spaced end ones of the set of three cutting parts for cutting the sheath central portion; and   e) the cutting parts together forming a cable wire receiving opening when the levers are in the closed position, the cable receiving opening being of a configuration smaller than the configuration of such sheath the tool is designed to cut such that such sheath is circumferentially severed when the levers are moved from the open to the closed position to cut such sheath.   
   
   
       2 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the raised middle cutting part is arcuate with end portions curving toward a longitudinal axis of the tool. 
   
   
       3 . The tool of  claim 1 , wherein the raised middle cutting part is substantially straight and substantially parallel with respect to a longitudinal axis of the tool.