Patent Application
20200361074
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The disclosure relates to straight edge devices and more particularly pertains to a new straight edge device for guiding for a tool.
The prior art relates to straight edge devices.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a slot that is positioned longitudinally through a bar. A pair of coupling assemblies is slidably positioned in the slot. The coupling assemblies are selectively couplable to the bar so that each coupling assembly is fixedly positionable within the slot. Each coupling assembly is configured to position in abutment to a respective edge of a workpiece. The coupling assembles then are coupled to the bar to couple the bar to the workpiece with the bar extending linearly between the pair of coupling assemblies across a respective face of the workpiece. A user is positioned to selectively mark, score, perforate, cut, or otherwise alter the workpiece along a respective opposing side of the bar using a tool, such as a hand held powered cutting tool or the like.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A pair of coupling assemblies 20 is slidably positioned in the slot 12. The coupling assemblies 20 are selectively couplable to the bar 14 so that each coupling assembly 20 is fixedly positionable within the slot 12. Each coupling assembly 20 is configured to position in abutment to a respective edge of a workpiece. The coupling assembles then are coupled to the bar 14 to couple the bar 14 to the workpiece with the bar 14 extending linearly between the pair of coupling assemblies 20 across a respective face of the workpiece, as shown in
On advantage of the device 10 over prior art straight edge devices is that the prior art devices require the user to flip the device over for adjusting the coupling assemblies 20. The prior art devices also are unforgiving in requiring the user to be quite precise in setting a distance between the coupling assemblies 20 to successfully clamp the prior art device to a workpiece.
Each coupling assembly 20 is selectively rotatable relative to the bar 14 so that the pair of coupling assemblies 20 is configured to position in abutment to adjacent edges of a workpiece that has a simple polygonal geometric shape and to position in abutment to a pair of sections of workpiece that has a curved shape. The coupling assemblies 20 being rotatable provides another significant advantage over prior art straight edge devices in that the claimed device allows for guided cutting at extreme angles, as shown in
The pair of coupling assemblies 20 comprises a first assembly 24 that is fixedly coupled to the first end 16 of the bar 14 and a second assembly 26 that is selectively slidably positionable in the slot 12 from proximate to the second end 18 of the bar 14 to proximate to the first assembly 24, as shown in
The first assembly 24 comprises a handle grip 38 that is coupled to and extends transversely from an upper face 40 of the bar 14 toward the second end 18 of the bar 14. A rod 42 is selectively extensible from the handle grip 38 past the first end 16 of the bar 14. The block 28 is coupled to the rod 42 distal from the handle grip 38.
A lever 44 that is pivotally coupled to the handle grip 38 is operationally coupled to rod 42. The lever 44 is spring-loaded so that the lever 44 is biased to an extended positioned. The lever 44 and the handle grip 38 are configured to be squeezed in a hand of the user to pivot the lever 44 to selectively retract the rod 42 into the handle grip 38 so that the block 28 is frictionally coupled to the respective edge of the workpiece. The lever 44 is positioned on an inner face 46 of the handle grip 38.
A tube 48, which is internally threaded, is coupled to and extends perpendicularly from the rod 42 distal from the handle grip 38. The tube 48 is complementary to the hole 36 in the block 28 so that the hole 36 is positioned to insert the tube 48. A screw 50 is selectively insertable into the hole 36 and threadedly insertable into the tube 48 to removably couple the block 28 to the rod 42. The screw 50 has a head 52 that is circumferentially larger than the hole 36 so that the head 52 frictionally couples to the block 28. A plurality of recesses 54 that is positioned in an outer face 56 of handle grip 38 is configured for enhancing a grasp of the hand upon the handle grip 38.
The second assembly 26 comprises a connector 58 that is coupled to the block 28 and extends through the slot 12. The connector 58 comprises a cylinder 60 that is coupled to and positioned between a flare 62 and a bolt 64. The flare 62 is circumferentially larger than the hole 36 so that the flare 62 frictionally couples to the block 28 as the bolt 64 and the cylinder 60 are inserted through the hole 36.
A locking element 66 is coupled to the connector 58 and is positioned adjacent to the upper face 40 of the bar 14. The locking element 66 is configured to be grasped in the hand of the user to selectively position the second assembly 26 within the slot 12 so that the locking element 66 is positioned is actuated by action of the hand of the user to selectively motivate the block 28 toward the lower face 30 of the bar 14 so that the block 28 and the locking element 66 frictionally couple to the bar 14 to fixedly position the second assembly 26 within the slot 12. The locking element 66 is threadedly couplable to the connector 58. The locking element 66 comprises at least one of a lever type clamping handle 68, a rotatable rod type handle 70, a rotatable knob 72, or the like. A washer 74 that is selectively positionable between the locking element 66 and the bar 14 is positioned to facilitate sliding of the second assembly 26 within the slot 12.
In use, the bar 14 is positioned on the respective face of the workpiece and the second assembly 26 is slid in the slot 12 to bring the block 28 of the second assembly 26 into abutment with a respective edge of the workpiece. The lever 44 then is depressed for a number of times required to retract the rod 42 into the handle grip 38 such that the block 28 of the first assembly 24 it brought into abutment with a second edge of the workpiece to fixedly position the bar 14. The user is positioned to selectively mark, score, perforate, cut, or otherwise alter the workpiece along a respective opposing side 22 of the bar 14 using a tool.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
