Cable cutting and crimping

A fluid driven mechanism for cutting, crimping and the like comprising:

• transversely opposed jaw-like closable cutting blade means;
• two way fluid cylinder assembly means comprising cylinder means and rearwardly directed piston rod means, rearward extension and retraction of the piston rod means opening and closing the blades;
• bracket means spanning between a site at the exposed distal end of the piston rod means and the blade means;
• pivotal connector means pivotally joining the bracket means and the blade means along the length of the cylinder means in transverse offset relation to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder means;
• means for controlling fluid flow to, from and within the cylinder assembly means, said controlling means comprising spaced manual actuator means and manual safety means spaced one from the other such a distance as to require use of both hands by the operator in such a manner that one hand operates the actuator means while the other hand operates the safety means and neither hand can operate both, the controlling means further comprising means disabling the blade means when only one of the actuator means and the safety means is manually activated and means enabling the blade means when both the actuator means and the safety means are simultaneously manually activated.

A fluid driven mechanism having a longitudinal axis and solely held by the hands of the user for cutting, crimping and the like comprising:

• two way cylinder assembly means comprising cylinder means, piston rod means reciprocable piston means disposed within the cylinder means and attached to the piston rod means comprising an exposed portion of variable length projecting from the rear of the cylinder means;
• selective opposed closable first and second blade means for cutting, crimping and the like mounted forward of the cylinder assembly means, the first blade means being carried to one side and the second blade means to the other side of the longitudinal axis in the open condition;
• bracket means comprising first means pivotally connected to the exposed end portion of the piston rod means and further comprising second means pivotally connected to each blade means at a site directly transversely adjacent the cylinder means so that rearward extension and forward retraction of the piston rod means causes the blade means to transversely open and close respectively, whereby the overall axial length of the mechanism is substantially reduced under both conditions;
• control valve means exposed at the forward end of the cylinder means by which the flow of fluid to, from and within the cylinder assembly means is selectively controlled;
• first and second handles comprising the sole support structure for the mechanism and being disposed in generally parallel eccentric side-by-side spaced relation to the cylinder means, the handles being interiorly hollow with the hollow interior of one forming part of the influent fluid flow path and the hollow interior of the other handle forming part of the effluent fluid flow path;
• a first actuator interposed directly adjacent the first handle means between the first handle and the cylinder means requiring that a single hand of the user be used to simultaneously manually lift part of the weight of the mechanism and selective manipulation of the first actuator;
• a second actuator interposed between the second handle and the cylinder means requiring that a second hand of the user be used to simultaneously manually lift the remaining part of the weight of the mechanism and selective manipulation of the second actuator at the same time the first handle is also held by and the first actuator manipulated by the first hand of the user in order for the blade means to close;
• and
• means associated with the first and second actuators preventing closing of the blade means when one or both of the first and second actuators are in their rest positions and accommodating closing of the blade means only when the mechanism is entirely held in both hands both the first and second actuators are simultaneously manually actuated by the operator using each hand which causes the bracket means and the blade means to scissor pivot outwardly directly transversely adjacent the cylinder means.