Combination pin straightener and pin spreading device

A tool used for straightening and spreading damaged electrical stage pin connectors. The tool consists of a handle and a tube which form a T-shape, there are two opposing holes on the handle for strightening bent pins with one end of the handle being tapered for tight fits. The tube embodies a blade affixed in the bottom of the tube and recessed from the mouth of the tube for prevention of laceration.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
A tool that is a combination pin straightener and pin spreader to provide a 
safe, reliable means in a multifaceted easy to handle tool for performing 
maintenance on stage pin connectors. The tool is comprised of a T-shaped 
member defining a handle and tube. The handle includes two opposing holes 
with one end of the handle tapered. The tube which is affixed 
perpendicularly to the handle includes a blade recessed in the bottom of 
the tube and affixed parallel to the handle. Both the handle and the tube 
have finger notches where they intersect. 
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
A. Field of Invention 
This invention relates to electrical connector maintenance and repair. In 
particular to a tool for straightening and spreading electrical contacts, 
particularly stage pin connectors commonly used in the entertainment 
industry. 
A stage pin connector is typically made of non conductive material fitted 
with three brass inserts on the receptacle and three matching brass pins 
on the plug, these brass pins are inserted into the receptacle making 
electrical contact, the tension in the contact is maintained by a split 
down the center of each pin on the plug this split makes the pin slightly 
larger than the inserts causing a solid electrical contact by means of 
frictional force between the pins and brass inserts. Stage pins come in a 
variety of sizes ranging from twenty amps to one hundred amps. 
B. Description of Prior Art 
Previous methods for repairing damaged connectors have been performed by 
using an exposed blade such a a pocket knife to reestablish the split in 
the damaged pin. this procedure is both difficult and inaccurate given the 
large variety of pocket knife blades, it also poses the danger of 
laceration because of the downward pressure required to split the pin 
which is the only object between the blade and the hand holding the 
damaged connector. The most commonly used method of realigning the bent 
pin is to insert the damaged pin into one of the receptacle inserts and 
using that receptacle as a leverage arm to bend the damaged pin back to 
its normal position. Although this is a consistent means of repair it is 
both inconvenient and dangerous because of potential electrical shock. 
It is therefore, a principal object of this invention (do to the high 
replacement costs of the above mentioned connectors and the dangers 
imposed trying to maintain said connectors) to provide an apparatus for 
restoring said connectors to a usable condition which is safe, efficient 
and economical to the user. 
Other objects are to provide a means of increasing the users leverage when 
splitting pins and eliminating the hazard of lacerations do to an exposed 
blade. 
Another object is to provide a tool with sufficient leverage as means of 
straightening a variety of the most commonly used pins therefor making a 
better use of the operators time and eliminating the present dangers. 
Still another object is to provide a tool that will straighten a pin that 
has been bent towards another pin leaving very little clearance between 
the two said pins. 
Another principal object is to provide all the above mentioned objects in 
one tool which provides the operator with a firm, comfortable and safe 
grip while performing the needed maintenance. 
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become 
apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following 
drawings and claims. The description along with the accompanying drawings 
provide a selected example of construction of the device to illustrate the 
invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings: 
In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the pin straightener and splitting 
tool, shown generally in FIG. 1 includes a handle (8) and a tube (9) which 
is preferably formed of a one-piece unitary member that may be about one 
quarter inch to two inches in thickness. The tool may be made of suitable 
metal, such as steel, by casting or forging; or it may by machined in two 
separate pieces (8) and (9) and welded together; or it may be made by 
molding from a high impact plastic material such as polycarbonate or ABS. 
The configuration of the tool is such that it lends itself to easy 
manipulation and highly effective operations throughout its travel. 
Primarily it consists of a round handle (8) which has two opposing holes 
at either end (10) and (11) shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, these holes can be 
of any diameter ranging from one eighth inch to about one inch and can be 
of any depth ranging from a quarter inch to four inches. These holes are 
primarily for straightening the bent pins (19) Shown in FIG. 5. One end of 
the handle (8) is tapered (12), the reduced portion of the handle (12) may 
be of any dimension of configuration, but is shown in the form of a taper 
(12), thus permitting it to fit over bent pins (19) as in FIG. 7 that have 
come to rest at at a narrow distance from another pin (18). Two notches 
(13) are incorporated on the handle (8) were the tube (9) intersects with 
the handle, these notches serve as finger grips for increased safety and 
comfort in handling. 
The tube (9) in FIG. 1 and 4 embodies a blade (14) which can be made to any 
dimension but is shown in the form of a knife blade and is recessed within 
the tube to prevent lacerations. The blade (14) functions as the splitting 
device for the damaged stage pins FIG. 5 and 6 (17) . The blade in this 
illustrated preferred embodiment is affixed parallel to the handle but 
could function at any position, and can be affixed in many ways such as 
welding, bolting or set screw. Two notches (15) are also incorporated in 
the tube were the handle runs across perpendicularly, the indentations are 
designed for increased comfort and stability for the user. 
The pins to be repaired are part of a connector FIG. 5. The assembly (16) 
usually consists of three pins (17, 18, 19) all of which have a split (20) 
down the center and are embodied (by a non conductive material (16) along 
the same face (21). In this illustration a pin (17) is shown with an 
improper split (22). Another pin (19) is shown bent over, both pins (17, 
19) are an illustration of common damage found on stage pin connectors. 
Both pins need to be corrected to resemble and run parallel to the middle 
pin (18) shown in FIG. 5, before the connector can be used. It is 
understood that the omitted members as well as the hidden parts of the 
assembly are not fully described herein because they form no part of the 
invention. 
When a pin is to be repaired it must first be straightened, this is done by 
a series of steps preferably shown in FIG. 7. The proper hole (10 or 11) 
in the handle (8) of the tool is inserted over the damaged pin (19) and by 
griping the tube (9) in one hand and the connector (16) in to other hand, 
and applying pressure down on the tube the bent pin can be brought back to 
an upright position to match the other pins as shown in FIG. 5 as pin 
(18). The tapered (12) end of the handle (8) has been incorporated in this 
tool for those pins FIG. 7 that have bent towards another pin (18), these 
pins are straightened in the same procedure as discussed above. 
FIG. 6 illustrates the use of the pin splitting portion of the tool. In 
this embodiment of the pin splitting process the blade (14) is placed at 
an angle on top of the closed gap (22) then by applying downward pressure 
with the tool the split can be reestablished, the blade can then be 
removed from the pin. It may become necessary to initiate a slight turning 
action with the handle (8) once the blade has entered the damaged pin to 
establish the required gap, this will depend on the blade size and the 
size of pin to be repaired. 
It can thus be seen that our novel tool provides a safe, useful and 
versatile device and method for straightening and splitting damaged stage 
pin connectors. The invention has been described in the form of a 
preferred embodiment, but such is not intended to be limiting, and other 
forms of the invention are considered to be within the scope thereof.