Abstract:
A utility knife for cleaning a conductor is disclosed herein. The utility knife includes a housing having first and second ends, a blade connected to the first end of the housing, and a brush connected to a second end of the housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This application relates to a utility knife for cleaning a conductor and, more particularly, to a utility knife having an integrated wire brush to allow a lineman to clean a conductor before making a connection. 
     When repairing utility lines, linemen often times have to use connectors to splice and join two sections of a conductor together—connection point. If the conductor is dirty, then the conductor needs to be cleaned prior to using the connector to join the two section of the conductor. If not cleaned, a dirty conductor can cause several problems such as outages, excessive heat at the connection point, and open neutrals which may cause appliances in homes to burn up. 
     Often times when linemen are working on utility lines, they do not have the proper tool to clean the conductor so they use the back of their utility knife to scrape the conductor. Unfortunately, not only does the scraping not get the conductor properly cleaned, but the scraping can cause damage to the aluminum conductor. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a utility knife that allows a lineman to properly clean a conductor prior to making a connection with a connector and that eliminates the need for a lineman to carry multiple tools. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, a utility knife includes a housing having first and second ends, a blade connected to the first end of the housing, and a brush connected to a second end of the housing. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a utility knife includes a housing having a first end and a second arcuate end, a blade pivotally connected to the first end of the housing, and a wire brush supported by the second arcuate end. The wire brush conforms to the shape of the second arcuate end to allow the second arcuate end to receive an electrical conductor therein and allow the wire brush to clean the conductor. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a utility knife includes a housing having a slot formed along a bottom of the housing and a recess formed along a top of the housing; a blade pivotally connected to a first end of the housing; and a brush supported by a second end of the housing to allow a user to clean a surface. The blade is pivotal between an open position where the blade extends beyond the housing to allow a user to use the blade and a closed position where the blade is received by the slot to store the blade in a non-use position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The subject matter that is regarded as the invention may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a utility knife for cleaning a conductor according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows the utility knife of  FIG. 1  in a closed position; 
         FIGS. 3-6  show various views of the utility knife of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 7-9  show internal workings of the utility knife of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 10  shows a wire brush of the utility knife of  FIG. 1  being used on a conductor. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings, an exemplary utility knife according to an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-6  and shown generally at reference numeral  10 . The utility knife  10  includes an outer split housing  11  having left  12  and right  13  sections, a blade  14  adapted to move between an open position,  FIG. 1 , and a closed position,  FIG. 2 , and a wire brush  16  positioned in a rear section  15  of the housing  11 . 
     As shown, the left  12  and right  13  sections are connected by fasteners  17  extending therethrough to create the housing  11 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , when connected, the left  12  and right  13  sections form a slot  18  along a bottom  19  of the housing  11  for allowing the blade  14  to retract into an interior of the housing  11  when moved to the closed position. Along a top  20  of the housing  11 , a recess  21  is formed to allow a user to depress blade locking mechanism  22  which allows the blade to move from the open position,  FIG. 1 , to the closed position,  FIG. 2 . 
     The rear section  15  of the housing  11  provides an arcuate housing for supporting and encasing the wire brush  16 . This allows the wire brush  16  to have an arcuate shape adapted to mate with an outer diameter of a conductor for efficient cleaning,  FIG. 10 . The right side of the rear section  15  is integrally formed with the right section  13  and the left side  24  of the rear section  15  is detachable from the left  12  and right  13  sections of the housing to allow the wire brush  16  to be easily replaceable. A non-conductive snap ring  23  is also connected to the rear section  15  to allow the knife  10  to be hung from a support without concern for arcing or other electrical hazards. 
     The blade  14  has rounded back or top  26  to discourage a user from scraping an aluminum conductor during cleaning and a blunted tip  27  to prevent injury. The blade  14  is black oxide coated to provide maximum durability and sharpness. A reversible thumb stud  28  is also provided for quick one handed opening of the blade  14  from the left or right side. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7-9 , the blade  14  is designed to lock in an open position to prevent accidental closing of the blade which could cause serious injury. The blade  14  includes a pivot end  30  with a notch  31  adapted to mate with a tang  32  of the blade locking mechanism  22 . As shown, the blade locking mechanism  22  is pivotally mounted about pivot  33  and biased towards a locking position by spring mechanism  34 . In operation, when moving the blade  14  from the closed position,  FIG. 2 , to the open position,  FIG. 7 , the tang  32  rides along an outside edge  36  of the pivot end  30  until the blade  14  reaches the open position. Once the blade  14  reaches the open position, the tang  32  slides into the notch  31  to lock the blade  14  in the open position. As discussed above, the spring mechanism  34  provides a spring force to keep the tang  32  in mating engagement with the notch  31 . 
     To close the blade  14 , a user depresses the blade locking mechanism  22 , thereby causing the tang  32  to disengage the notch  31 , thereby allowing a user to move the blade  14  from the open position to the closed position,  FIG. 2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , to clean a conductor  40 , a user simply rotates the knife  10  in his/her hand and places the wire brush  16  over the conductor  40 . Because of the arcuate shape of the wire brush  16 , the wire brush  16  is in mating engagement with the conductor  40  to provide proper cleaning of the conductor  40 . The wire brush  16  may be used on conductors up to 1000 MCM. 
     The foregoing has described a utility knife for cleaning a conductor. While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications thereto can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and the best mode for practicing the invention are provided for the purpose of illustration only and not for the purpose of limitation.