US2783669A - Hand-operated crimping tool - Google Patents

Description

March 5, 1957 o. D. SCARBOROUGH I 2,783,669

' HAND-OPERATED CRIMPING TOOL Filed June 25, 1954 so s2 5 4 53 50:

v INVENTOR.

O. D. Scmzaogoueu United States Patent HAND-OPERATED CRIMPING TOOL 0. Scarborough, Hastings, Nelm, assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Application June 25, 1954, Serial No. 439,496 3 Claims. (Cl. 81-15) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

This invention relates to crimping tools and more particularly to a hand-operated crimping tool for indenting the sides of a sleeve or tube over an elongated concentric member to secure the sleeve or tube and the concentric member together against longitudinal separatron.

A number of crimping tools are known which are used for crimping the ferrules of electrical terminals to electrical conductors without the necessity of making solder joints. In most of these crimping tools the jaws of the crimping head are limited in their compressive'direction only by their actual engagement whereby the ferrule of the electrical terminal can be compressed to the extent of the power applied to the handles. Consequently sharp jaws are avoided to prevent a cutting action of the jaws in the ferrule. Where such crimping tools are used merely to secure a flexible tube over an electrical conductor, and particularly where the tube is plastic, great care must be exercised to prevent severing the'tube.

In the present invention a crimping tool having plierslike handles has a means thereon to limit the approach of the jaws at a predetermined position. The'jaws are detachable and each has staggered projections thereon directed toward the companion jaw with the projections of each jaw also staggered with respect to the projections of the companion jaw. The top plane of all the projections of one jaw passes through the top plane of all the projections of the other jaw such that a tube encased concentric member compressed between the jaws will have a plurality of deformed indentations therein securing the tube to the concentric member against longitudinal separation. This tool is particularly useful in crimping plastic sleeves or tubes over bare or insulated electrical conductors, or in crimping metal sleeves over insulated conductors. It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a hand-operated crimping tool for indenting sleeve or tubular members over inner enclosed members to secure them against longitudinal separation.

These and other objects, advantages, features, and uses will be more apparent as the description proceeds when considered with the accompanying drawing, in which;

Fig. l is a side elevational view of the crimping tool of this invention;

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are top, side, and end elevational views, respectively, of a three-tooth replaceable jaw for the crimping tool;

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are top, side, and end elevational views, respectively, of a four-tooth replaceable jaw for the crimping tool;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of the threetooth companion jaws shown crimping a tubular sleeve on an electrical conductor; and

Fig. 9 is a view of a short section of an electrical conductor showing a tubular sleeve crimped thereon.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a crimping tool of the hand-operated pliers type having a pair of handles 10 and 11 pivoted at 12 by a rivet, or the like. pivotal movement in both directions by a flat stop bar member 13 pivoted to the handle 11 at 14 by a rivet, or the like. 15 therein on the end opposite the pivot 14 through which slot is slidably passed a rivet 16, or the like, fixed to the handle 10. The positions of the rivets 14 and 16 are each substantially equal in distance from the handle pivot 12. The handles. 10 and 11 are limited in pivotal movement by the limit of the rivet 16 in the slot 15. The bar member 13 may have the elongated slot 15 con: stricted at 17, where desirable, to cause the rivet 16 to frictionally pass through the constriction for the purpose of yieldably holding the tool in the crimped condition, as will later becomeclearer. The handles may be, and preferably are, biased outwardly by a spring 18.

Each handle has a short extension forward of the pivotal point 12 to pivot a short lever thereon, the handle 10 pivotally connecting a lever 20 at 21 by a rivet, or

the like, and the handle 11 pivotally connecting a lever 22 at 23. The levers 20 and 22 are each pivotally coupled at 24 and 25, respectively, by rivets, or the like, to a pair of plates 26 to produce a force multiplying linkage between the handles 10 and 11 to the forward jaw ends of the levers 20 and 22, represented by reference characters 27 and 28. Where desirable, the levers 20 and 22 may be produced in two parts and selectively coupled by riveting in the slightly displaced ports 29 to throw the jaw ends in or out as is well recognized in the art and illustrated in the tool construction in the patent to R. C. Swengel, issued on November 26, 1946, and bearing the PatentNo. 2,411,838. As may be well un derstood from the above description, movement of the handles 10 and 11 toward one another will cause movement of the jaw ends 27 and 28 to approach one another. 7

The jaw ends 27 and 28 have a pair of replaceable jaw members 30 thereon each secured by a cap screw 32. The structure of the jaws is more particularly shown in Figs. 2 to 7, inclusive, Figs. 2, 3, and 4 showing a three-tooth crimping jaw and Figs. 5, 6, and 7 showing a four-tooth crimping jaw. Using jaw member 30 as an example in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the body of the jaw 30 is U-shaped at 35 and has an opening 36 through one leg thereof for passage of the attaching cap screw 32. The jaw ends 27 and 28 of the tool fit within the U-shape recess or opening 35 of each jaw member 30. The base portion of the jaw member 30 has a fiat face 37 with three projecting teeth 38, 39, and 40 thereon. Teeth 38 and 40 are in line along one edge of the jaw 30 and near respective opposite ends. Tooth 39 is positioned along the opposite edge of the jaw 30 and centrally thereof to provide a staggered arrangement of the teeth. The teeth are all of the same extent and are illustrated herein as having substantially sharp corners which is preferable but not necessary. As seen in Fig. 3, the extent of the teeth inwardly toward the center of the face 37 is short of the center leaving a central path through the teeth of predetermined width dependent on the tube size to be crimped. The jaw members 30 are used in pairs, the arrangement of the jaw members with the base face portions 37 facing each other, as they are supported in the tool, bringing the tooth 39 of one block between the teeth 38 and 40 of the companion block. The teeth of one jaw are thus complementally spaced with respect The handles 10 and 11 are limited in their The bar member 13 has an elongated slot jaw member 30' which is attachable to each of the jaw ends 2'7 and 28 in the same manner as the jaw member 30. The jaw member 30 is provided with four teeth on the base portion thereof arranged in staggered relationship to each other in such manner that the teeth of one jaw, like the jaw members 30, are complementally spaced with respect to the teeth of the other jaw when assembled in the tool although any desirable number of teeth may be used to meet certain crimping requirements.

In Fig. 8 an electrical conductor 50 isshown having a plastic tube 51 crimped thereon with the jaw members 30, for example, forced to their extreme crimpingconditions. The conductor and tube are positioned in be-- tween the jaw members 30 along the path between the teeth such that in the crimped condition the teeth indent the'wall of the tube into the conductor. The tool will yieldably hold in the crimped condition, when necessary, by the friction means 16, 17. When the crimpis released the tube indentations remain in thetube and conductor which unite the conductor and tube against longitudinal separation. While there may be a partial retur'nof the indented portions, the indentations are made sufficiently deep to unite the conductor and tube in the settled state. The conductor and tube combination is shown in Fig. 9 after being removed from the crimping tool, looking downwardly. The teeth 38 and 40 made the indentations 52 and 53, respectively, and the tooth 39'made the indentation 514.

In the operation of the crimping tool iti-s only necessary to place the open jaw members 30, for example, over a tube to be crimped with the handles 10 and 11 extending laterally therefrom. The handles are brought together to their limit which closes the jaw members over the tube to the position shown in Fig. 8. The force on the handles is released and the tool removed. This crimping exercise can be carried out at different places along the tube, as desired. Jaw members of four or more teeth may be used in the tool to increase the number of indentations made. Since the jaw members are.

limited in their approach, the tube is indented only and other to a predetermined approach limit, each jaw having a plurality of teeth extending outwardly therefrom in'the direction of the companion jaw with the teeth lying in each of two rows across: the jaw with the edges of the teeth along one row adjacent the edges along the other row being separated a predetermined amount providing a path in which elongated concentric members to be crimped may partia'lly'lie, said teeth of one jaw being complementally spaced with respect to the teeth of the companion jaw so that said jaws when forced to their approach limit will have the end plane of the teeth of one jaw pass the end plane of the teeth of the companion jaw with the teeth of one jaw in spatial relation with respect to the teeth of the companion jaw whereby chordwise indentations may be impressed in the walls of concentric members. i i V 2. A crimping tool as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said teeth are of square configuration whereby in the crimping operation a plurality of V-shaped indentations are impressed chordwise in the, concentric members. v

.3. A crimping 'tool for securing elongated concentric members against longitudinal separation comprising, a

-. pair of pivoted handles each having a jaw supporting portionthereon, a detachable jaw on each jaw supporting portiomeach detachable jaw having a plurality of rows of upstanding teeth thereon arranged to extend into the area between the teeth of the companion jaw in lateral spatial relation, said rows of teeth on each jaw being arranged in staggered relationship to each other and providing an open path therebetween with the teeth of one jaw being complementally spaced with respect to the teeth of the other jaw so that the teeth of one jaw will be extendable into the areas'between the teeth of the companion jaw with the rows of teeth in alignment whereby elongated concentric members lying partially in said open path compressed between said detachable jaws by said pivoted handles will be indented by chordwise depressions arranged in staggered relationship to each other in the walls thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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