Ideal Industries, Inc.

Bruce P Konen

Bruce Hartranft

Scott Huff

Benjamin David Swedberg

Robert W Van Naarden

Robert F Pierson

Jason R Lieving

Bruce W Hartranft

A handheld cable cutter is provided with two handles, a stationary cutting blade, and a rotatable cutting blade pivotally connected to the stationary cutting blade. One of the handles is movable such that movement of the movable handle toward and away from the other, stationary handle drives the rotatable cutting blade toward the stationary cutting blade. The stationary handle includes an enlarged, integral stabilizing base which rests upon a support surface when the movable handle is actuated to cut a cable.

Handheld cable cutter with stabilizing base

A cable cutter for attachment to a power drill has a housing, first and second cutting blades and a drive assembly releasably engageable with the chuck of the drill. The drive assembly includes a worm mounted on a drive and a worm gear and a drive gear mounted on a main shaft. The worm and worm gear are in engagement, as are the drive gear and one of the cutting blades. The housing includes a main plate and an end cap secured to the main plate, with the end cap receiving the drive gear and defining a cut away portion adjacent to the stationary blade to allow the movable blade to pass through the cut away portion for direct engagement with the drive gear. The end cap defines a counterbore facing the main plate, with the counterbore receiving a bearing supporting one of the ends of the main shaft.

Drill powered cable cutter

A strip length scale for a wire stripper has a receiving portion, a channel aligned with the receiving portion and gradation markings along the length of the channel. Numerical markings next to the gradation marking correspond with the length of the channel. The channel receives the bare conductor portion of a stripped insulated wire. The receiving portion of the strip length scale receives the insulated wire portion of the stripped insulated wire. An abutment at the junction of the channel and receiving portion locates the end of the insulation accurately.

Wire stripper with strip length scale

A cable cutter for attachment to a power drill has a housing, first and second cutting blades connected to the housing for movement relative to one another and a drive assembly releasably engageable with the chuck of the drill and operatively engaged with at least one of the cutting blades. The drive assembly includes a worm mounted on a drive shaft, a worm gear and a drive gear mounted on a main shaft, and a segment gear formed on one of the cutting blades. The worm and worm gear which are in engagement, as are the drive gear and segment gear. The main shaft is supported in the housing by three bearings. A torque arm is attached at one end to the housing and adapted at its other end to engage the handle of the drill. A reversible stabilizing handle attaches to the housing to allow the user to securely grip the housing during cutting operations.

A wire stripper has a pair of elongated frames pivotably joined together by a pivot pin and defining handles and jaws. The handles are covered by sleeves which include thumb wells which cover the ends of the pivot pin. A mechanical interlock is provided between the handles and the sleeves. The sleeves have slots for receiving the handles. The slots are offset so the front and rear surfaces of opposite sleeves are coplanar. The sleeves have a core and cushion grip overmolded on the core. A molding projection on the core allows precise placement of the core in a mold during formation of the cushion grip. A spring biases the frames to an open position. A locking member can be set by a sliding motion toward the handle end to hold the handles in a closed position. A curved shoulder on the edge of a handle wipes across a screw hole opening in the opposite jaw to provide a screw cutting function with a slicing action.

Soft-grip wire stripper

A wire stripper has a pair of elongated frames pivotably joined together by a pivot pin and defining handles and jaws. The handles are covered by sleeves which include thumb wells which cover the ends of the pivot pin. A mechanical interlock is provided between the handles and the sleeves. The sleeves have slots for receiving the handles. The slots are offset so the front and rear surfaces of opposite sleeves are coplanar. The sleeves have a core and cushion grip overmolded on the core. A molding projection on the core allows precise placement of the core in a mold during formation of the cushion grip. A spring biases the frames to an open position. Legs of the spring are fastened to the sleeves.

A fish tape assembly has a handle slidably mounted on a case formed by a pair of case halves. The periphery of the case has a gap formed therein. The handle has an exterior grip and shoe with a web extending from the shoe through the gap in the case to an interior belt. The belt is continuous around the full circumference of the case to provide increased strength and a shield that precludes a fish tape inside the case from inadvertently popping out through the gap. The handle has a passageway for the tape. The passageway includes a pair of laterally disposed posts that prevent the tape from popping out of the passageway.

Fish tape handle with retention feature

A fish tape assembly includes a generally circular case, a fish tape and a winder. The fish tape has an inner end, an outer end and a main section. The inner end is fastened in the interior of the case to an anchor and an eyelet is formed at the outer end. A winder is slidable around the perimeter of the case. The toe of the winder is engageable with the fish tape to push it back into the case. A notch in the winder traps the eyelet to prevent the outer end of the tape from entering the case.

Fish tape having a thumb winder

Poke saw handle

Fish tape handle

A hand-held wire stripper comprising a first elongated member, a second elongated member and a spacer. The first elongated member has a handle portion and a jaw portion. The second elongated member has a handle portion and a jaw portion. The second elongated member is pivotably connected to the first elongated member which allows the jaw portion of the first elongated member and the jaw portion of the second elongated member to move between an opened position and a closed position. The jaw portion of the first elongated member has a cutting surface for cutting an electrical wire, at least one semi-circular notch for stripping an electrical wire and a gripping surface for gripping an electrical wire. The jaw portion of the second elongated member has a gripping surface for gripping an electrical wire. The spacer has a gripping surface for gripping an electrical wire. The spacer is attached to the end of the jaw portion of the first elongated member or the end of the jaw portion of the second elongated member.

Hand-held wire cutter with enlarged gripping surface

A wood boring drill bit assembly includes a cast cutting head body having a front cutting portion, a rear connecting portion and a central longitudinal axis extending from the front portion to the rear portion. A stem extends axially rearward from the rear connecting portion. A pair of helically-shaped wings extend from the front cutting portion in opposed radial directions along the longitudinal axis. Each wing has an axially forward surface, a side surface, a trailing surface, and a machined cutting edge. The cutting head body has a tapered surface extending from the side surface of each wing to the rear connecting portion near the stem to allow for smooth retraction of the cutting head body from a drilled hole.

Wood boring drill bit

A hand tool such as a wire stipper or pliers has two elongated members pivotably connected at a joint with a pair of facing jaws on one side of the joint and a pair of handles on the other side of the joint. The handles are ergonomically designed for user comfort. One of the handles is curved about a variable radius on one side only of the handle. The other handle has a complex curvature about centers on both sides of that handle. The handles are covered with sleeves that extend on the outside of the handle from the end to the pivot joint.

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Aurora, IL, United States of America

Bruce P Konen