Knife assembly for insulation stripping tools

An insulation-stripping pliers-type tool (1) for stripping a layer of insulation from an insulated conductor, comprising:

• (a) a pair of handle members (8, 13) pivotally connected for displacement about a first pivot axis between open, intermediate and closed positions;
• (b) a pair of clamping jaws (7, 57) operable by said handle members between open and closed positions when said handle members are operable from said open position to said intermediate position, said clamping jaws in said closed position being operable to clamp therebetween the end of an insulated conductor introduced longitudinally between said clamping members;
• (c) a pair of rectangular knife cassettes (4, 10) each having a cutting device (5, 15) thereon, each of said knife cassettes containing a longitudinal groove (40, 41) defining a pair of parallel spaced outer side walls (4a, 10a);
• (d) a pair of pivotally connected knife carrier members (3, 16) supporting said knife cassettes with said cutting devices extending opposite each other, each of said knife carrier members including a flat portion (3a, 16a), and a pair of parallel spaced longitudinally-extending inner side walls (26, 27) extending normal to said flat portion, said knife cassette outer side walls being adjacent and parallel with the outer surfaces of said carrier member inner side walls, respectively;
• (e) a mechanism (21, 22) for releasably fastening said knife cassettes with the associated carrier members, respectively, said knife carrier members being relatively operable from an open separated position to a closed cutting position when said handle members are displaced from said open position to said intermediate position, said cutting devices being operable when said knife carrier members are in said closed position to sever a length of the insulation layer of the conductor clamped by said clamping jaws;
• and
• (f) means (9) for longitudinally displacing said knife carrier members, when said carrier members are in said closed cutting position, in a direction to strip the severed insulation length from the conductor;
• (g) said cassette fastening mechanism including a generally U-shaped resilient wire member arranged longitudinally between said carrier member inner side walls, said wire member having a pair of leg portions (21a, 21;
• 22a, 22b) that are joined at one end by a connecting portion, at least one of said leg portions including a bulge portion (21c, 22c), that extends outwardly in locking relation through aligned slots (24, 25;
• 17 18) contained in said inner and said outer side walls, respectively.