Background Art At present, in the sector of the construction of electrical systems, to cut the elements protecting electric cables, it is common practice to cut said elements, to the required length starting from pieces of predefined length, using a manually operated hack saw. In practice, the piece is forced with one hand against a support surface, and with the other hand the hack saw is operated. Given the operating procedures, the cut that is accomplished lacks precision and produces separate parts that present an irregular profile, at times provided with sharp portions, which could injure the operator should he/she inopportunely come in contact therewith.

Moreover, the cutting operations thus performed are awkward to conduct for said operator and require an excessive time to complete.

It should further be noted that, in such sectioning operations, the operator could inadvertently come in contact with the cutting blade, with consequent injuries which are especially hazardous for the fingers, which are in direct contact with the piece to be cut.

Description of Invention Claim 1 described an innovative device for cutting work piece, in particular for cutting plastic elements for protecting electric cables. The device comprises a support frame for at least a circular cutting saw, and for a slide supporting the piece,

which defines at least a bearing surface for said piece and is movable, relative to said frame, to allow to bring the piece itself towards and against said cutting blade and obtain the cutting of said piece. Further provided are means for retaining the piece on said movable slide. Said means for retaining the piece comprise means for engaging the piece which can be actuated manually to lock said piece against the corresponding bearing surface of the slide for supporting the piece.

In this way, since there is no direct contact of the hands with the piece to be cut, there is no risk of injury for the operator and, moreover, the piece can be locked on the slide and, hence, an extremely rapid cutting operation can be conducted.

The secondary claims expose other advantageous aspects of the present cutter.

Description of the Drawings The invention, in its technical characteristics and in its different advantageous aspects, shall become more readily apparent from reading the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which represent an embodiment provided purely by way of non limiting example, in which: -Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of cutter, in particular for cutting ducts or the like; -Figure 2 shows a side view of the present cutter; -Figure 3 shows a front view of the present cutter; -Figures 4 and 5 show side views of the upper part of the cutter, illustrating different work positions.

Description of the Illustrative Embodiments In accordance with the figures of the accompanying drawings, it is apparent that the present embodiment of a device 10 for cutting work pieces, in particular for cutting plastic elements 12 for protecting electric cables, comprises a support frame 14 for at least a circular cutting blade 16, and for a slide 18 supporting the piece 12 which presents at least a bearing surface 20 for said piece 12. Said slide 16 is

movable longitudinally, relative to the frame 14, to allow to bring the piece 12 towards and against said cutting blade 16, in order to obtain the cutting of the piece 12 itself.

According to the present embodiment, means able to retain the piece 12 on said movable slide are provided which, advantageously, comprise means 22 for engaging the piece which can be actuated manually to thrust the piece 12 against the corresponding bearing surface 20 of the slide 18. In this way, the need for the operator to have his/her hands in contact with the piece 12, with consequent risks of injury, is avoided while obtaining the capability of achieving a rapid locking of the piece to be cut on the slide 18, attaining high production rates.

Moreover, according to the present device, also the longitudinal motion of the slide is obtained by manually acting on the slide 18. The bearing surface 20 of the piece is substantially horizontal and said means 22 for engaging the piece engage, superiorly, said piece 12, forcing it downwards.

As said figures show, said engagement means 22 comprise a plurality of parallel blades 23 having a free extremity for engaging the piece 12, which blades 23 are longitudinally distanced from each other, to allow the engagement of pieces or ducts 12 with different widths.

Said blades 23 further present an intermediate split 25 for the passage of the cutting blade 16.

The cutting blade 16 is rotatorily connected, by means of a respective actuation motor 19, to said frame 14, in a point underlying said bearing surface 20 of the piece 12. The blade 16 extends upwards, to interfere with the piece 12, passing through a slit 24 which opens longitudinally, in the slide 18 in transversely asymmetrical position.

Further provided, supported on said slide 18, are pieces 26 for supporting said means 22 for engaging the piece 12, which allow to move said engagement means 22 between a raised disengagement position and a lowered position for engaging the piece 12.

Said means for supporting the engagement means 22 comprise an arm 26

which directly supports said engagement means 22. The arm 26 is engaged, in a swivelling or pivoting manner, to the extremity of a column element 28 extending upwards from said slide 18.

Further provided are means acting to maintain, during the engagement and disengagement motion, said means 22 for engaging the piece 12 oriented in the same direction, i. e. in the vertical direction.

Said means for maintaining the orientation of the engagement means comprise a first and a second parallel rods 30,32 whose respective extremities are pivotingly engaged to said column element 28 and to a portion 34 that bears said engagement means 22, which portion 34 is, in turn, pivotingly engaged (in 36) to said swivelling support arm 26.

Further provided are means 38 able elastically to thrust said support means 26 in a normal raised position, in which said engagement means 22 are disengaged from the piece 12. The elastic thrust means, disengaged, are connected between said slide 18 and said arm 26 and are in the form of a cylinder 38 having in its interior a pressurised fluid, which serves as an elastic means.

As shown in the figures, on said slide 18, in correspondence with a rear area of said slit 24 for the passage of the cutting blade, a covering section bar 40 is provided, which extends starting from the extremity for fastening said column element 28 to the slide 18 and which defines a passage for the blade 16 projecting from said slit 24.

The aforementioned thrust piston 38 is connected inferiorly to the upper surface of said protective section bar 40.

Manual engagement means 42,44 are provided, connected to said arm 26 for supporting said means 22 for engaging the piece 12.

Said manual engagement means comprise a first and a second grip handles 42,44 in correspondence whereto are provided respective pushbuttons 46, which must be activated simultaneously, thereby enhancing safety, to actuate the rotation of the saw 16.

Said grip handles 42,44 are fastened at the extremity of a cross element 48

connected to the free extremity of said longitudinal support arm 26.

Further provided is a clear screen 50 for protecting the cutting area. Said clear protective screen 50 is supported by said support arm 26, through its longitudinal portion 52, and has a forward portion 51, extending downwards, to protect, together with the upper longitudinal portion 52, the operator against any scrap or chip which may be produced in correspondence with the cutting area.

Inferiorly to said blade 16, a seat 54 for the collection of dusts and shavings is provided, which seat is delimited by a bottom wall 62 having inclined edge areas 62'for conveying the waste products towards the central part of the bottom 62 for receiving the waste products.

Means 56 are provided for aspirating the dusts and the like which are produced in the cutting area.

Said aspirating means comprise an aspirating tube 58 connected to an accumulation bin 60, said aspirating tube 58 having its inlet in correspondence with the bottom 62 of said seat 54 for collecting the dusts.

This waste accumulation bin 60 is connected in a removable manner, by means of elastic belts 64 provided at the extremities of corresponding attachment hooks 66, to said frame 14 and presents wheel 68 for autonomous ground support, which enable easily to empty or replace the bin 58.

The frame 14 presents respective swivelling wheels 15 for ground based support. The present cutting device can thus be easily moved also thanks to a large handle 72 for moving the device, which extends from the forward edge of said slide 18.

The collection bin 58 is housed in a space 70, recessing within the frame 14 which is accessible from the rear for extracting and replacing the bin 60.

As the figures show, the blade is actuated by a motor 19 supported by said frame 14 and fastened inferiorly to an upper plate 14'of said support frame 14.

For guiding said piece-holding slide 18 relative to said frame 14, said slide 18 has a first and a second longitudinal rods 181 which are slidingly connected to sliding bushings 141, fastened to the frame 14.

The sliding bushings 141, fastened to the frame 14, serve as checking means for extreme portions 182 for fastening and supporting said sliding rods 181 to said slide 18 defining limit stop means, in the two opposite longitudinal directions, for said slide 18.

Said sliding bushings 141 for the guide rods 181 of the slide 18 are mounted on the upper plate 14'of said support frame 14, inferiorly whereto is provided the seat for said motor of the saw 18.

From each side of said slide 18, in correspondence with the bearing area of the piece 12, a respective"L"shaped section bar extends; only one of said section bars, indicated with the numerical reference 74, being shown in the figures. The section bar 74 allows to sustain elongated pieces which are positioned transversely to the slide 18.

The section bar 74 for sustaining elongated pieces is fastened to said slide 18 in a pivoting manner, to be folded back parallel to the slide 18 when not in use.

The lateral support section bars 74 extend starting from a forward block 75, for the transverse support of the piece 18, and have a graduated measuring scale not shown in the figures.

The cutting operations, performed with the aid of the present cutter, are briefly as follows.

Starting from a raised position of said organ 22 for engaging the piece (as shown for instance in Figure 2), the operator acts, on handles 42 and 44, to thrust downwards the arm 26, placing the lower extremities of the engagement means 22 in bearing contact against the piece 12 located on the front part of the slide 18 (as shown in Figure 4). In this condition the slide 18 is in a back position.

To cut the piece 12, starting from said back position of the slide 18 (shown in Figure 4), acting always on the handles 42 and 44, said slide 18 is thrust forward (as shown in Figure 5), towards an advanced position, thereby causing the piece 12 to interfere with the cutting blade 16, thus achieving the cutting of the piece itself.

In the present case, given the shape of said piece 12, to obtain the cut it is sufficient for the blade to interfere only with the bottom thickness of the same

piece. Otherwise, if pieces with greater thickness were to be cut, it would be easy to provide a cutting blade 16 that projects farther from said slide 18. According to an additional embodiment, not shown in the accompanying figures, the horizontal thrust which is manually imparted to the slide 18 could be exerted through the engagement means 22 and through the piece 12 itself.

The present cutter, though conceived for cutting elements for protecting electric cables, could nonetheless be employed for cutting any kind of piece.

The invention thus conceived can be subject to numerous modifications and variations, without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept.

Moreover, all components can be replaced with technically equivalent elements.