Patent Abstract:
A portable conduit cutter for attaching to a power tool is disclosed. The portable conduit cutter includes a plate for use in attaching the conduit cutter to the different power tools. The plate may be adapted to fit different power tools depending upon the attachment requirements of the particular power tool. A compression spring and spring can assembly may be attached to a jaw slide and used to allow the jaw slide to move parallel with respect to the plate.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The disclosure relates to a conduit cutter for cutting electrical conduit. More particularly, the disclosure concerns an attachment for a device such as a reciprocating saw to cut pipe or electrical conduit. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Electricians and do it yourself (DIY) owners performing electrical installations and/or electrical remodeling work at some phase usually need to install and/or modify electrical conduit routings. Current methods of cutting metallic electrical conduit involve using devices that are positioned or placed on a workbench or other ground level surface. Other known manual devices for cutting electrical conduit include a manual conduit cutter and/or a hacksaw. Though the manual conduit cutter and hacksaw are portable devices, a significant amount of room is needed to utilize these devices. In tight or overhead locations, use of a manual conduit cutter and/or hacksaw is difficult. Furthermore, use of a manual conduit cutter may be time consuming and include excessive physical exertion which may be additive and tiring for the user if numerous cuts have to be made over a short time period. 
         [0003]    Currently, for overhead and tight locations electricians or other workers having to install conduit may carry portions of conduit that need to be cut to a physical location where cutting may take place with adequate space for the selected cutting tool. However, physically transporting sections of conduit to be cut to another area is time consuming and in some locations not practical. For example, an electrician working on a scaffold having to come down off of the scaffold to ground level with a piece of conduit that needs to be cut is a significant waste of man-hours. 
         [0004]    Therefore, there is a need in the art for a portable conduit cutter that may be removably attached to a power tool for use in tight locations having limited space for cutting. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    One or more of the above-mentioned needs in the art are satisfied by the disclosed conduit cutter of the present disclosure. The conduit cutter may be a portable device removably attachable to different power tools such as a reciprocating saw. 
         [0006]    The portable conduit cutter may include a plate for use in attaching the conduit cutter to the different power tools. The plate may be adapted to fit different power tools depending upon the attachment requirements of the particular power tool. 
         [0007]    In an aspect of the disclosure, a portable conduit cutter may include a jaw attached to a jaw slide for securing a piece of conduit or pipe for cutting. A compression spring and spring can assembly may be attached to the jaw slide and used to allow the jaw slide to move parallel with respect to the plate. The compression spring and spring can assembly along with a spring latch may be used to secure the conduit in the jaw and hold the jaw slide in a loading position prior to cutting the conduit or pipe. 
         [0008]    Upon activation of the power tool, the jaw slide moves to a finished position after cutting through the conduit or pipe. 
         [0009]    The advantages and features of novelty characterizing the present invention are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. To gain an improved understanding of the advantages and features of novelty, however, reference may be made to the following descriptive matter and accompanying drawings that describe and illustrate various embodiments and concepts related to the invention. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements and in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates a side view of a conduit cutter in a loading position attached to a reciprocating saw in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates another side view of a conduit cutter in a finished position attached to a reciprocating saw in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates a front view of a conduit cutter in a finished position attached to a reciprocating saw in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  illustrates detailed front and side views of components of a conduit cutter in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  illustrates an expanded side view of a conduit cutter in a finished position attached to a reciprocating saw in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
             The following discussion and accompanying figures disclose various embodiments of a conduit cutter in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conduit cutter  102  is illustrated in a loading position  104  attached to a reciprocating saw  106  in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. In an embodiment, conduit cutter  102  may be in the form of an attachment that may be removably attached to various cutting devices such as reciprocating saw  106 . Those skilled in the art will realize that conduit cutter  102  may be adapted to attach to different manufactures of power equipment by changing the attachment mechanism to accommodate different manufactures attachment specifications. In addition, conduit cutter  102  may also be adapted for use with different power tools such a jig saw. Those skilled in the art will realize that the attachment mechanism is defined by the tool being used and that different attachment configurations may be utilized so that conduit cutter  102  may be universally used on different power devices. 
           
         
       
     
         [0017]    Referring back to  FIG. 1 , conduit cutter  102  is shown in loading position  104 . Loading position  104  secures a piece of conduit  108  in a locked position using jaw  110 . Jaw  110  may accommodate conduits of various sizes such as half inch up to and including three inch as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Those skilled in the art will realize that jaw  110  may be sized to secure in place the maximum sized conduit an attached power tool may cut based on its nameplate power rating. In other embodiments of the disclosure, conduit cutter  108  may be configured to cut smaller or larger diameter conduits or pipes. 
         [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates a side view of a conduit cutter  102  in a finished position  202  attached to a reciprocating saw  106  in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. Finished position  202  is illustrated by cutting blade  204  having cut through a conduit  108  and the bottom portion of jaw  110  being in close proximity to blade  204  as compared to the blade position shown in the loading position  104  of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0019]    In an aspect of the disclosure, conduit cutter  102  may be removably attached to various power cutting devices such as reciprocating saw  106 . For instance,  FIG. 2  further illustrates a front view of a mounting plate  206  that may be representative of a mounting plate found on a typical reciprocating saw  106 . The mounting plate  206  may have an aperture  208  through which blade  204  may pass and be secured to reciprocating saw  106 . As shown in the mounting plate  206  of  FIG. 2 , blade  204  may be off centered as it passes through aperture  208  per the reciprocating saws manufacturer&#39;s specifications. A slot  210  may be located on mounting plate  206  for securing attachments such as conduit cutter to reciprocating saw  106 . Those skilled in the art will realize that conduit cutter  102  may include different attachment mechanisms so that conduit cutter  102  may be attached to different power tools (or attached to other structural features located on different brands of reciprocating saws) and allow for proper blade  204  positioning. 
         [0020]      FIG. 3  illustrates a front view of conduit cutter  102  in a finished position attached to a reciprocating saw  106  in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, conduit cutter  102  may include a jaw slide  301 . Jaw slide  301  may be able to move with respect to plate  303  in a parallel direction so that conduit cutter  102  may transition from a loading position to a finished position. In an embodiment, compression springs  308  may be housed in spring cans  310  located on plate  303 . Those skilled in the art will realize that the use of compression springs  308  and spring cans  310  enable conduit cutter  102  to hold in place the piece of conduit to be cut. Also, in an embodiment, the use of compression springs  308  and spring cans  310  enables an operator of the conduit cutter to cut conduit without having to hold the conduit in place. This feature allows for working in tight places or overhead as the conduit cutter  102  holds the conduit to be cut in a fixed position for a precise cut. 
         [0021]    In  FIG. 3 , a handle  316  may be attached to conduit cutter  102  via screws  318 . In an aspect of the disclosure, handle  316  may be mounted on either side of conduit cutter  102  for use by either left handed or righted hand operators. The handle  316  may be used to hold the conduit cutter  102  in place and/or assist in latching jaw slide  301  into loading position  104  ( FIG. 1 ). 
         [0022]      FIG. 3  further illustrates in at least one embodiment of the disclosure, attachment of conduit cutter  102  to reciprocating saw  106 . Mounting plate  206  of reciprocating saw  106  may have an aperture  208  ( FIG. 2 ) through which blade  204  may pass. Similarly, plate  303  and jaw slide  301  may include apertures ( 311  and  312 ) through which blade  204  protrudes through to enable cutting of a positioned piece of conduit. As shown in  FIG. 3 , blade  204  may be off centered as it passes through apertures  208 ,  310 , and  312 . The placement of blade  204  is dependent upon the power tools manufacturer&#39;s specifications. Slot  210  may be located on mounting plate  206  for securing conduit cutter  102 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 4  illustrates detailed front and side views of conduit cutter  102  in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. In  FIG. 4 , the front and side views represent various components that may be used in assembly of conduit cutter  102 . For instance, conduit cutter may comprise but is not limited to components such as handle  316 , screws  318 , jaw slide  301 , spring cans  310 , compression springs  308 , and plate  303 . In an embodiment of the disclosure, jaw slide  301 , spring cans  310 , and plate  303  may be comprised of different materials such as steel, titanium, aluminum, tungsten, graphite, polymers, or composites. For instance, in an embodiment jaw slide  301  may be composed of titanium but jaw  110  may be made from tungsten. As those skilled in the art will realize, each component may be made from different materials which include thermoplastic composite materials 
         [0024]    In addition,  FIG. 4  further illustrates that a spring latch  402  may be used to latch jaw slide  301  into loading position  104 . In an embodiment, a jaw slide stop mechanism  404  may also be used so that jaw slide  301  does not over extend compression springs  308 . Overextending compression springs  308  may shorten their rated life span. Screws  406  may be used to hold spring latch  402  and/or jaw slide stop mechanism  404  in position. 
         [0025]      FIG. 5  illustrates an expanded side view of a conduit cutter  102  in a finishing position attached to a reciprocating saw  106  in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. 
         [0026]    The present invention is disclosed above and in the accompanying drawings with reference to a variety of embodiments. The purpose served by the disclosure, however, is to provide an example of the various features and concepts related to the invention, not to limit the scope of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that numerous variations and modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1