Field of invention

The present invention relates to the cable stripper, and particularly an eco scrap cable stripper that has been developed so that copper cable can be separated from its insulation in a safe and environmentally friendly method.

Background to the invention

Removing insulation safely from copper cable so that the cable can be sold as scrap is normally achieved by using knives or other sharp objects. To strip longer lengths of electrical cable is slow, labour intensive and dangerous. Furthermore, the alternative method of burning the insulation off by means of a bonfire releases harmful chemicals into the atmosphere.

Existing hand held strippers are configured to remove the outer sheath only from the end of a cable. Commonly used cable strippers act similarly to a pair of pliers by gripping the cable as the user squeezes the handgrips together, which are pivotally connected to cable receiving jaws. The sheath is removed by pulling the stripper and the jaws along the length of cable, to remove insulation from an existing end section. The length of cable that can be stripped using this existing device is limited by the length and strength of the users' arm. Furthermore, existing handheld strippers can only adapt to a small range of cable sizes and the user may have to use multiple strippers to strip different sized cables.

The present invention sets out to provide an improved cable sheath-stripping tool, which alleviates the problems described above, by providing a tool that can safely and rapidly strip the sheath from a cable without the use of electrical power.

Statement of invention

According to a first aspect, there is provided a cable stripper comprising a main body having at least one cable receiving aperture and an adjustable cutting blade insertable in use through the main body into the or each aperture, wherein the or each cutting blade lies substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cable receiving aperture .

Preferably, the cable comprises a plurality of cable receiving apertures of different diameters.

Preferably, the or each cutting blade is self-tapping.

This allows the cable stripper to strip any size of cable and even obsolete sizes of cable. Preferably, the or each aperture has a chamfered or counter sunk entrance.

Chamfered/counter sunk entrances of the aperture assist the feeding of scrap cable through the aperture of the main body and makes the cable stripper usable with either hand.

Once the scrap cable has been fed past the adjustable cutting blade, simply pulling the blade will feed the scrap cable though .

Preferably, the cable stripper further comprises at least one oil reservoir within the main body with an opening into the aperture .

If necessary, the oil reservoir provides lubricant to prevent a cable from snagging or catching as it is being fed through the aperture of the main body during the stripping process.

Preferably, the cable stripper further comprises a securing means to secure the main body to a fixed surface. Securing means allows the device to be temporarily mounted on a fixed frame or a bench vice to improve the speed and safety of use of the device.

Preferably, the cable stripper is made from of a synthetic material such as nylon or plastic. Alternatively the cable stripper may be made from a metal material such as aluminium.

The cable stripper can be made from a wide range of suitable materials i.e. plastics, metals etc. and the colouring of the Eco Cable Stripper will reflect the current materials available .

The main body of the cable stripper may be may be made by a machining, injection or moulding process.

The cable stripper is made from a durable material so that it is usable both indoors and outdoors in a variety of environments .

The cable stripper is a safe, quick and easy way of removing insulation from copper cables. It is also safe and environmentally friendly and does not require a power supply or batteries.

The cable stripper has a number of pre-set apertures to accommodate the standard cable sizes. An adjustable cutting blade is incorporated in each cable-receiving aperture so that the cable stripper can be set to strip any non-standard cable size.

The cable stripper of the present invention enables cables to be stripped in a convenient, safe, labour saving and environmentally friendly way. The device removes the sheath as the cable moves through the device rather than relying on the user to move the device along the cable. The integral adjustable cutting blade allows the cutting depth of the tool to be adjusted according to the thickness of the insulated sheath to be removed, which allows for precision cutting. The tool is manually operated without the use of electrical power, which is cheaper and environmentally friendly.

Preferably the cable stripper is rectangular in shape but can be configured to many other shapes and forms.

More preferably, the cable stripper has between about four and six cable-receiving apertures.

Preferably each cable-receiving aperture corresponds to a standard cable size.

Preferably the adjustable cutting blade-receiving channel running is threaded to receive the adjustable cutting blade. A threaded channel allows the adjustable cutting blade to be screwed securely into the main body and the depth into which the blade extends into the cable-receiving aperture which can be adjusted or set to a pre-determined depth. Once the scrap cable has been feed past the adjustable cutting blade the insulation material and the copper are separated cleanly.

The cable stripper can be produced in a number of colours, dependant on the material that the cable stripper is made from.

The cable stripper safely, quickly and cleanly strips any size and length of cable.

The cable stripper provides a safe and environmentally friendly way of cleaning scrap cable.

The cable stripper is designed and constructed to strip standard sizes of cable or irregular cable sizes and is designed to strip all standard gauges of electrical cables, of their insulation, including steel wire armoured cable.

The cable stripper enables contractors to get a much better price for any scrap cable. The design of the cable stripper allows for convenient and efficient use by left handed or right handed people.

Brief description of drawings

One example of the invention will now be described by

referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein

Figure 1 shows the side design of a cable stripper constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 shows the cable stripper from above;

Figure 3 shows a cross section of the adjustable cutting blade in the body of the cable stripper; and

Figure 4 illustrates the operation of the cable stripper.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

The scrap cable is offered up to the body of the cable stripper (A) and to the nearest sized cable-receiving aperture (B) of the cable to be stripped, the cable to be stripped is guided into to the cutting blade (F) by the chamfered / counter sunk (C) entrance of part B. The self- tapping adjustable cutting blade is situated, in the counter sunk hole (D) the adjustable cutting blade is locked in place by the constriction (E) of the counter sunk hole (D) . If the cable is not of a regular size then the self- tapping adjustable cutting blade can be adjusted to accommodate the size of the cable.

The scrap cable (H) is pushed through cable-receiving aperture (B) past the cutting blade that cuts the insulation material, the cable is then pulled from the other side of the cable stripper (A) where the clean copper (I) is pulled through separated from the insulation (J) material, these can then be easily separated in to different containers for recycling.

Part (G) is an oil reservoir for lubricating cables that require any additional assistance when being stripped.

The cable stripper can be secured to a bench or a vice. Alternatively, the tool may have pre-drilled holes to allow the device to be screwed to a bench or other stable surface.

The above described embodiment has been given by way of example only, and the skilled reader will naturally appreciate that many variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the claims.