A jaw tool with safety device for preventing any unintentional approaching of hands to the jaws

Abstract

 © Jaw tool of the type having expansions (6, 7) on the handles (1, 2) adjacent the jaws (3, 4) for preventing an operator's hand from exceeding such expansions, therebetween having segments (12), on which said expansions are at least partly sliding, for making up an obstacle to unintentional introduction of an operator's hand or fingers between the tool handles beyond such segments.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a jaw tool, such as pliers, pincers or cutting nippers, with a safety device preventing any unintentional approaching of an operator's hands to the jaws, and more particularly to the jaw zone adjacent the pivoting point thereof.

[0002] Such tools have been already known. For example, known are pliers for operating under tensioning, having on the pliers handles or handgrips a coating of suitable insulating material, and having on said handles adjacent the jaws such bulges that an operator, when holding the pliers in his hand, cannot exceed with his fingers said bulges, and accordingly come unintentionally in contact or touch with the metal portion which, when the pliers operate on a circuit under tension, may give rise to even serious accidents.

[0003] However, pliers of such a type are not free of drawbacks.

[0004] Thus, one of the primary drawbacks is that when the pliers have the capability of a considerable opening, adjacent the jaw pivoting point, there is a quite wide opening that a finger may slip therebetween and thus come in contact or touch with the metal portion. Even if not operating under tension, such a drawback may cause that upon.pliers closing the finger remain confined between the handles tending to approach to each other with the possibility of accident for the operator.

[0005] This invention is directed to overcome such drawbacks in a simple and effective manner, preventing this approaching to the fingers and risks deriving therefrom.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objects, the invention proposes a jaw tool, of the type having expansions on the handles adjacent the jaws, for preventing an operator's hand from exceeding such expansions, characterized in that between such expansions segments are provided, on which said expansions are at least partly sliding, for making up an obstacle to any unintentional introduction of an operator's hand or fingers between the tool handles beyond such segments.

[0007] The invention will be anyhow more clearly understood from the following detailed description given by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view showing a jaw tool, particularly pliers, embodying the object of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view;

Fig. 3'is a sectional view taken along line III-III of Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view with jaws widely apread apart.

[0008] Referring to the above figures of the accompanying drawing, the pliers therein shown comprises handles 1 and 2, which are covered with a suitable insulating material and extending at the top in jaws 3 and 4 pivoted to each other at 5.

[0009] As well known, pliers of this type comprise expansions 6 and 7, provided on the handles adjacent the pivoting point, having the purpose that an operator's hand gripping said handles 1 and 2 is inhibited from exceeding the expansions 6 and 7, unintentionally reaching the zone of said jaws 3 and 4, the latter being not insulated.

[0010] It will be readily understood that, when such pliers can be quite opened (see Fig. 4), that is the jaws can be substanti ally spread apart from each other, a zone 8 between the handle ends beyond said expansions 6 and 7 is increasingly opened, and the wider is the yaw opening and the larger is said space or zone 8, so that under certain conditions of opening the operator's fingers inside of handles 1 and 2 may become intro duced into said space or zone 8, thus approaching the lower portion 9 of the spread apart jaws, in a zone where the latter are not covered with insulating material (see Fig. 4).

[0011] Thus, it clearly appears that when operating, for example under tension, the risk of accidents may occour.

[0012] According to the present invention, openings respectively indicated at 10 and 11 (Fig. 3) are provided in said expan sions 6 and 7, preferably on either side of the pliers, in which openings a segment 12 of any suitable material is slipped in.

[0013] Such openings 10 and 11 and accordingly said segment 12 may be configurated as an arc of circle with center at 5, or said openings may be simply straight or rectilinear and said segment 12 may have a sufficient degree of flexibility to be arranged as an arc of circle in the free section, and straight or rectilinear in the section inside said openings 10 and 11. The segment 12 may be blocked on one expansion, for example expansion 10, and freely slidable in expansion 11, or may be freely slidable in both, being of a sufficient length that at maximum opening of the pliers it cannot exit from said openings 10 and 11.

[0014] It is also evident that after introduction of segment 12, the openings 10 and 11 can be closed at the outer end thereof, and anyhow the segments 12 can be mounted by standard techniques well known to those skilled in the art.

[0015] By this arrangement, it is evident that an operator's hand gripping the handles 1 and 2 (who often in practice holds a finger inside of handles 1 and 2), even at maximum opening of the jaws, as shown in Fig. 4, cannot unintentionally slide inside of the handles beyond the segment 12, materially preventing any further approaching thereof to the dangerous zone 8.

[0016] It clearly appears that said segment 12 will be placed at such a distance from zone 8 as to meet the anti-accident rules. It is also evident that herein an embodiment has been described as relating to pliers, but that the invention is applicable to any jaw type tool, such as nippers, cutting nippers and the like..It is also evident that the invention although described with reference to the specific embodiment shown, is intended as extended to all of the possible changes or variants.

Claims

1. A jaw tool of the type having expansions (6, 7) on the handles (1, 2) adjacent the jaws (3, 4), for preven ting an operator's hand from exceeding such expansions, characterized in that between one expansion and the other of such expansions segments (12) are provided, on which said expansions are at least partly sliding, for making up an obstacle to unintentional introduction of the operator's hand and fingers between the tool handles beyond such segments.

2. A tool according to Claim 1, characterized in that said expansions have openings on either side of the pliers, in which said segments at least partly sliding are accomodated.

3. A tool according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said segment is secured to one expansion on one handle and is freely slidable on the other handle.

4. A tool according to Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said segment is freely slidable in both the openings of said expansions.

5. A tool according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the openings in the expansions and the segment are configurated as an arc of circle having its center at the tool pivoting point.

6. A tool according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the openings in the expansions are rectilinear and the segment has sufficient elasticity to take a rectilinear pattern inside the expansions and as an arc of circle in the free length therebetween.

Drawing