Patent Application
20160031097
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutter assembly, and more particularly to a cutter assembly having a limiting structure to prevent an offset of a blade.
2. Description of Related Art
A retractable cutter substantially comprises a blade holder, a blade and a slider. The slider is mounted moveably on the blade holder. The blade is mounted slidably in the blade holder and is connected to the slider. When the slider is pushed, the blade is moved relative to the blade holder to extend out of or to retract into the blade holder.
However, the blade is connected with the slider at one end of the blade, while the other part of the blade is not connected to the blade holder or other components of the cutter assembly. Therefore, offset of the blade easily occurs during the operation of the cutter assembly, particularly at a distal end of the blade opposite to the slider. The distal end of the blade is most away from the slider and is applied to cut an object. Vibration at the distal end of the blade easily occurs, such that the conventional cutter assembly cannot be applied to a fine cutting process stably and accurately.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a cutter assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide a cutter assembly having a limiting structure to prevent an offset of a blade so as to improve the operation stability of the blade.
The cutter assembly in accordance with the present invention has a blade holder, a blade and a limiting element. The blade holder has an elongated blade chamber defined along a longitudinal direction of the blade holder and an opening defined in one end of the blade holder and communicating with the blade chamber. The blade is moveably mounted in the blade chamber. The limiting element is mounted on the blade holder at a position adjacent to the opening and has a limiting segment extending into the blade chamber and abutting a side surface of the blade.
With the aforementioned feature, the offset of a distal end of the blade can be effectively limited by the abutment between the side surface of the blade and the limiting segment of the limiting element that is adjacent to the opening of the blade holder. The operation stability of the blade can be improved to conduct a fine cutting process. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
The blade holder 10 comprises a holder body 11 and a blade base 12. The holder body 11 has a first end and a second end. The blade base 12 is mounted in and through the holder body 11 and has an end protruding from the first end of the holder body 11. An opening 14 is defined in the end of the blade base 12 and is adjacent to the first end of the holder body 11. An elongated blade chamber 13 is defined in the holder body 11 and the blade base 12 and extends along a longitudinal direction L of the blade holder 10. The blade chamber 13 communicates with the opening 14. In a preferred embodiment, the blade base 12 is made of metal. The blade 20 is moveably mounted in the blade chamber 13 and has a cutting edge 21 formed on a bottom of the blade 20 and a distal end adjacent to the opening 14.
The limiting element 30 protrudes longitudinally from the first end of the holder body 11 at a position adjacent to the opening 14. In the first embodiment, the limiting element 30 is integrally formed on the holder body 11 as a single part. The limiting element 30 has two side edges abutting the blade base 12 and partially extends into the blade base 12. The limiting element 30 has a limiting segment 32 extending into the blade chamber 13 and abutting a side surface 22 of the blade 20. The limiting segment 32 has a limiting surface and is adjacent to the opening 14. Preferably, the limiting surface is a flat surface and is substantially parallel with the side surface 22 of the blade 20 to abut the side surface 22 of the blade 20.
The limiting element 30 further has a guiding segment 31 formed at a side of the limiting segment 32 away from the opening 14 to guide the blade 20 to the limiting segment 32. In the first embodiment, the guiding segment 31 comprises an inclined guiding surface formed on the limiting element 30, extending toward the opening 14, connected with the limiting surface, and extending into the blade chamber 13. The inclined surface has two ends, and the end of the inclined surface adjacent to the opening 14 extends more deeply into the blade chamber 13 than the end of the inclined surface away from the opening 14.
In the first embodiment, the limiting element 30 is made of, but is not limited to, plastic material.
To cut an object, the blade 20 is pushed to extend out of the blade holder 10, and the distal end of the blade 20 will be firstly in contact with the inclined surface of the guiding segment 31. The blade 20 will move gradually and deeply into the blade chamber 13 along the inclined surface and is guided to the limiting segment 32. Consequently, the distal end of the blade 20 moves to the limiting segment 32 and extends out of the blade holder 10 to a desired length by keeping abutting the limiting segment 32. Because the limiting segment 32 is adjacent to the opening 14, the distal end of the blade 20 is near the limiting segment 32. Accordingly, when the blade 20 is cutting, the offset of the blade 20 can be effectively limited by the abutment of the limiting segment 32 and the blade 20 at a position near the distal end of the blade 20. Thus, the operation stability of the blade 20 is enhanced, and a fine cutting process can be applied. In addition, the guiding and buffering effects provided by the guiding segment 31 can improve the smoothness of the movement of the blade 20, and the blade 20 can be smoothly moved to a space between the limiting segment 32 and a bottom of the blade chamber 13.
With reference to
In addition, the blade base 12A further has a notch 17A defined in a bottom of the blade base 12A, and the cutting edge 21A of the blade 20A is exposed from the notch 17A. The limiting element 30A further has a notch 36A defined in a bottom of the limiting element 30A and communicating with the notch 17A in the blade base 12A. Accordingly, the cutting edge 21A exposed from the notches 17A, 36A in the blade base 12A and the limiting element 30A can be applied to cut off a packing belt or a rope. Because the blade 20A is enclosed inside the blade base 12A and the limiting element 30A, the fingers of a user can be kept from inadvertently touching the cutting edge 21A and from being injured.
With reference to
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
