Laser bent beam controlled dwell wire stripper
First Claim
1. A device for enabling the selective stripping of a portion of the insulation from an electrical lead on a rapid basis without damage to the conductor portion of the lead, comprising a rotatable optical unit having an aperture at each end, a first of said apertures being configured to receive a variety of sizes and types of electrical leads whose ends are to be stripped of insulation for a selected length, and the second of said apertures being arranged to receive output energy from an adjacently located laser operating at a wavelength and power level such as will cause the ablation of insulation, each of said apertures being disposed essentially on the axis of rotation of said optical unit, and optical components disposed in said optical unit at locations between said apertures for appropriately re-directing the laser energy entering through said second aperture, said optical components being responsible for directing and focusing a laser beam upon a nonrotating lead inserted through said first aperture, such laser beam, because of the rotation of said optical unit, providing a circumferential cut in the insulation of the electrical lead at a location selected by the user, thus to enable the removal of such selected portion of the insulation from the conductor of the lead.
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Abstract
A device for enabling the stripping of a selected portion of the insulation from an electrical lead on a rapid basis without damage to the conductor portion of the lead, involving the use of a rotatable optical unit. Our novel optical unit is equipped with an aperture at each end, with a first of these apertures being configured to selectively receive a variety of types of electrical leads whose ends are to be stripped of insulation for a certain length, and the second aperture being arranged to receive output energy from an adjacently located laser operating at a wavelength and power level such as will cause ablation of insulation at the specified location on the electrical lead. These apertures are located on the axis of rotation of the optical unit, and optical components are utilized in the unit such as will direct and focus a laser beam at essentially right angles to a nonrotating lead inserted through the first aperture. As a result of the rotation of the optical unit, a circumferential cut may be made in the insulation of the electrical lead at the location selected by the user, thus enabling the removal of such selected portion of the insulation from the conductor or conductors of the lead. Our novel optical unit can also be utilized in a nonrotating mode as will enable a longitudinal cut to be made in an electrical lead as it is being withdrawn from the unit, or in a mode involving a withdrawal of the lead during slow rotation of the unit, thus enabling a helical cut of a type particularly desirable in the removal of insulation from a twisted lead.
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Citations
22 Claims
- 1. A device for enabling the selective stripping of a portion of the insulation from an electrical lead on a rapid basis without damage to the conductor portion of the lead, comprising a rotatable optical unit having an aperture at each end, a first of said apertures being configured to receive a variety of sizes and types of electrical leads whose ends are to be stripped of insulation for a selected length, and the second of said apertures being arranged to receive output energy from an adjacently located laser operating at a wavelength and power level such as will cause the ablation of insulation, each of said apertures being disposed essentially on the axis of rotation of said optical unit, and optical components disposed in said optical unit at locations between said apertures for appropriately re-directing the laser energy entering through said second aperture, said optical components being responsible for directing and focusing a laser beam upon a nonrotating lead inserted through said first aperture, such laser beam, because of the rotation of said optical unit, providing a circumferential cut in the insulation of the electrical lead at a location selected by the user, thus to enable the removal of such selected portion of the insulation from the conductor of the lead.
- 10. A device for enabling the selective stripping of a portion of the insulation from an electrical lead on a rapid basis without damage to the conductor portion of the lead, comprising an optical unit having an aperture configured to receive an electrical lead whose end is to be stripped of insulation for a selected length, said optical unit having an additional aperture, arranged to receive output energy from an adjacently located laser operating at a wavelength and power level such as will cause the ablation of insulation, and optical components disposed in said optical unit at locations between said apertures for appropriately re-directing the laser energy entering through latter aperture, said optical components being responsible for directing and focusing a laser beam upon a lead inserted through said first mentioned aperture, such laser beam providing a cut in the insulation of the electrical lead at a location selected by the user, thus to enable the removal of such selected portion of the insulation from the conductor of the lead.
- 15. A device for enabling the selective stripping of a portion of the insulation from an electrical lead on a rapid basis without damage to the conductor portion of the lead, comprising an optical unit capable of nonrotational operation, as well as operation at selected rotational speeds, said unit having an aperture at each end, a first of said apertures being configured to receive a variety of sizes and types of electrical leads whose ends are to be stripped of insulation for a selected length, and the second of said apertures being arranged to receive output energy from an adjacently located laser operating at a wavelength and power level such as will cause the ablation of insulation, and optical components disposed in said optical unit at locations between said apertures for appropriately re-directing the laser energy entering through said second aperture, said optical components being responsible for directing and focusing a laser beam upon a non-rotating lead inserted through said first aperture, such laser beam, during rotational operation of said optical unit, providing a circumferential cut in the insulation of an inserted electrical lead at a location selected by the user, and during non-rotational operation, providing a longitudinal cut in the insulation of an inserted electrical lead at a selected location, thus in each instance serving to simplify the removal of such selected portion of the insulation from the conductor of the lead.
Specification