Conduit cutter

Set out herein is an improved conduit cutting guide including a longitudinally hinged handle formed in the manner of a trough and lined with segments of rubber or plastic for grasping the surfaces of a spirally wound flexible conduit therein. One end of the handle is attached to a first set of J-shaped end plates, each end plate being respectively fixed to one of the hinged portions of the handle, the first set of end plates extending above the handle trough to form two outwardly and downwardly directed end tabs. A second set of J-shaped end plates is attached to the respective first set, the second end plates being similarly conformed in plan form and include an offset for receiving the hacksaw blade therebetween. Thus, a conduit may be placed into the interior of the hinged handle and may be grasped thereat by the user. A hacksaw is then insertable into the space between the first and second sets of end plates for cutting the conduit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to clamps or gripping tools and more 
particularly to tools for grasping conduits during the course of cutting. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,571 I have set out a conduit cutting device 
provided with a longitudinal cavity in which a section of the flexible 
conduit may be laid. Since that time I have desired improvements to such 
cutting guide, improvements which are particularly useful in adapting the 
use thereof with conduits of various dimensions and which furthermore 
securely retained a hacksaw in cutting alignment. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is the general purpose and object of the present invention 
to provide an improved conduit cutting guide which by virtue of its 
construction will be useful with conduits of various sectional dimensions. 
Other objects of the invention are to provide improvements in a conduit 
cutter which in its features include safety provisions against inadvertent 
escape of a hacksaw blade. 
Yet additional objects of the invention are to provide an improved conduit 
cutter which is easy to produce, convenient in use, and requires few 
parts. 
Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the present 
invention by providing a conduit cutting guide comprising an elongate 
handle conformed as a semicircular channel split longitudinally and hinged 
to pivot in a clam-shell manner, the hinged portions of the handle having 
attached to the interior surfaces thereof, flexible liners for grasping 
the exterior surfaces of the conduit. One end of the handle is secured to 
a first set of J-shaped end plates which on their interior peripheries 
mate with the interior surface of the handle and which join at the hinge 
plane thereof. A second set of J-shaped end plates is attached to the 
first set proximate the bottom thereof, the second set including a 
longitudinal offset for forming a gap therewith. The free ends of the 
first set of the end plates are turned over and downwardly over the ends 
of the second set, the ends of the second set being disposed subjacent 
thereto in an outwardly inclined alignment. Thus a gap is formed through 
which the blade of a hacksaw can be transferred over the top of the second 
set of end plates to cut any flexible conduit grasped between the handle 
portions. The result is a substantially transverse cut across the conduit 
axis which can be achieved in conduits of varying sizes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT 
As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the inventive conduit cutting implement, generally 
designated by the numeral 10, comprises an elongate handle 11 formed as a 
semi-circular surface or channel out of two handle portions 12 and 13 
hinged along one longitudinal edge by a fore and aft hinge 15 and 16 
respectively. In this form the two circular segments may be pivoted 
relative each other in a manner of a clam shell defining an interior 
cavity therebetween into which a conduit may be placed. In order to grasp 
the periphery of the conduit the interior surfaces of portions 12 and 13 
are lined with a flexible liner 21 and 22 respectively made out of 
material structure like rubber which when forced against the exterior 
surfaces of the conduit to be cut will oppose any rotation thereof. Thus 
conduits of the flexible type normally wound as a spiral may be placed on 
the flexible surfaces 21 and 22, the user then manually grasping the 
handle 11 to compress the conduit therebetween. One end of the handle 11 
then forms a reference plane across which a cut can be made to ensure a 
substantially orthogonal cut to the axis of the conduit. 
In order to further assist the cutting effort the forward end of the handle 
11 and particularly the transverse edges of the surface portions 12 and 13 
are attached to two J-shaped first end plates 25 and 26 respectively. More 
specifically, J-shaped first end plate 25 includes an interior edge 27 
which follows the interior surface of portion 12 and is aligned therewith. 
Similarly end plate 26 has an interior edge 28 conformed to align with the 
edge of portion 13. The foregoing end plates 25 and 26 may be attached to 
the end of the handle 11 in any conventional manner, it being contemplated 
herein to form the attaching structure by way of welding. In this form the 
J-shaped end plates extend beyond the exterior of handle 11 to form an 
attaching structure to which a second set of end plates may be affixed. 
More specifically, shown herein is a second set of end plates 35 and 36 
generally conformed to define the same aperture as that defined by end 
plates 25 and 26 and including a surface offset therein for the insertion 
of a hacksaw blade. Thus plate 35 may be attached to plate 25 by way of a 
plurality of bolts or screws 39 joining the segments thereof which extend 
radially beyond the exterior of handle 11. From this attachment point the 
plate 35 is convolved across a step 37 to extend in a spaced relationship 
over the adjacent surface of end plate 25. It is this spaced relationship 
that forms the foregoing gap for receiving the hacksaw blade. Similarly 
plate 36 may include an offset convolution 38 beyond which it is fastened 
to the subjacent portions of plate 26 by screws 41. In the foregoing 
arrangement it is contemplated to provide a substantially orthogonal edge 
to the handle 11, thus aligning end plates 25, 26, 35 and 36 in a plane 
substantially normal to the axis of any conduit received therebetween. The 
end plate, being fixed to the respective handle portions, will thus be 
hingedly articulated therewith to closely surround the conduit edge which 
is to be cut. In order to accommodate the insertion of the hacksaw blade 
into the spaced gap between the first and second set of end plates, it is 
contemplated to bend outwardly the free ends of end plates 35 and 36 as 
shown by the outward alignment of end segments 45 and 46. End plates 25 
and 26, on the other hand, may include end tabs 55 and 56 at the free ends 
thereof which are bent over and downwardly over the gap set out 
hereinabove to oppose any inadvertent withdrawal of the hacksaw blade. 
Thus the substantially large cutting forces entailed in severing a 
flexible conduit are rendered safe by the geometry of the end segments of 
plates 25, 26, 35 and 36. To further facilitate the cutting operation end 
plate 35 may be adjustable relative the end plate 25 as well as end plates 
36 being adjustable relative end plate 26. 
More specifically, this adjustment features is illustrated in FIG. 7. As 
shown in this figure, the reference being exemplary to all of the end 
plates by way of the description of screw 39, end plate 35 includes an 
enlarged opening 65 and thus may be adjusted in the alignment thereof over 
plate 25. In this manner a larger opening may be defined between the 
interior edges formed by end plates 35 and 36 and the opening formed by 
the interior edges 27 and 28. Thus any conduit which may be possible 
grasped by the edges of end plates 25 and 26 will not be engaged by the 
plates 35 and 36 avoiding any possibility of blades binding or crimping of 
metal. 
The foregoing structure, as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, is 
particularly suited to adapt to conduits of various dimensions. More 
specifically as shown in FIG. 4 the large sized conduits C-1 is received 
on the interior of handle 11 being compressed therein by the flexible or 
compressive liners 21 and 22. The same handle structure, according to the 
illustration in FIG. 5, may receive a smaller sized conduit C-2, the 
cutting plane in each instance being defined by the spaced relationship 
between end plate 25 and 26 and 35 and 36. Thus by virtue of the hinged 
arrangement, as illustrated in FIG. 6, conduits of most sizes may be 
received for cutting. In each instance the grafting surface defined by 
liners 21 and 22, is in hand, opposing any rotation of the conduits which 
in case of spiral windings often produces blade bind. 
Obviously many modifications and changes can be made to the foregoing 
description without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is 
therefore intended that the scope of the invention be determined solely on 
the claims appended hereto.