Patent Application
20080040932
The present invention pertains to a hand-held, lightweight, and portable device for cutting media. In particular, the device includes an actuating mechanism that can be activated by a user to facilitate the cutting process.
There are a variety of tools available today for cutting media such as paper, plastics, cardboard, and the like, the most common tools being scissors and utility knives. Some of the drawback of scissors and utility knives include exposed cutting edges and in some designs, there may be a pointed end that can inadvertently hurt someone if the scissor or utility knife is mishandled.
While scissors and utility knives are commonplace, those skilled in the art have designed new and useful cutting devices. For example, 3M Company sells a Scotch® Paper Cutter for cutting numerous types of media, including, but not limited to, gift-wrapping paper.
There remains a need for new types of cutting devices.
Some cutting tools may have a difficult time to start a cut from an edge of the media if the media lacks stiffness (e.g., very thin gift wrapping paper that tends to be flimsy to handle), has poor edge condition, or has an edge that is reinforced (e.g., an edge where the paper is folded over itself.) It is desirable to have cutting tools that can readily handle such media while also capable of making intricate cuts such as those involving curves, jagged lines, and sharp corners.
The present invention provides a media cutting device that is capable of handling various media and capable of making intricate cuts.
In one aspect, the present invention pertains to a device for cutting media comprising: a cover having a sidewall extending therefrom; a guide disposed substantially beneath the cover and comprising a blade; an actuating mechanism disposed in at least one of the cover and the guide; and an actuating wall disposed between the cover and the guide.
In another aspect, the present invention pertains to a device for cutting media comprising a blade having a cutting edge; an actuating mechanism comprising means for engaging the actuating mechanism, an an actuating wall that upon engagement of the actuating mechanism results in its relative movement parallel to a plane that includes the blade and past at least a portion of the cutting edge of the blade.
As used herein, the term “actuating mechanism” generally means a mechanical system that, when engaged, causes mechanical parts, including an actuating wall, into motion. The term “actuating wall” denotes the portion of the cutting device that, when the actuating mechanism is activated, is in relative movement parallel to a plane that includes the blade and moves past at least a portion of the cutting edge. When media is present in the device such that it lies between the actuating wall and the blade and when the actuating mechanism is engaged, the actuating wall forces or pushes the media onto and past the cutting edge of the blade resulting in the media being cut. The actuating wall has a contact point that touches the media when the mechanism is engaged. Preferably, the actuating wall does not contact the cutting edge of the blade.
In another aspect, the present invention pertains to a device for cutting media comprising: a blade having a cutting edge; and an actuating mechanism comprising (i) means for engaging the actuating mechanism, and (ii) an actuating wall that upon engagement of the actuating mechanism results in relative movement parallel to a plane that includes the blade and at least a portion of the cutting edge of the blade. In another embodiment, the actuating wall does not contact the cutting edge of the blade when the mechanism is engaged.
The invention can be further described with reference to the following drawings, wherein:
While the above-identified drawings set forth several embodiments of the invention, other embodiments are also contemplated, as noted in this document. In all cases, this disclosure presents the invention by way of representations and not limitation. Numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by one skilled in the art which fall within the scope and spirit of the principals of this invention. The figures are idealized, are not drawn to scale, and are intended merely for illustrative purposes.
The cutting devices described herein are capable of performing at least two types of cutting actions: (1) cutting the media by advancing the media relative to the device (i.e., moving the media through the blade in the device or moving the device, with its blade, through the media); and (2) cutting the media without advancing the media relative to the device. The first type of cutting action can be descriptively referred to as a “zipping” type of cutting action and is commonly used to cut media in a substantially straight line or to cut curved lines with a relatively large radius of curvature, e.g., a radius of curvature of greater than about one inch. The second type of cutting action can be described as a “clipping” type of action and is commonly used for intricate cuts. Advantageously, the inventive cutting device is capable of performing a combination of these two types of cutting actions. For example, a sequence of cuts can begin with clipping the media, followed by zipping through it, and returning to clipping it. In an alternative sequence, the cuts begin with zipping, followed by clipping, and if desired returning to zipping. In either cutting sequence, the inventive cutting device will produce a substantially non-jagged cut line, which can be a very desirable feature, especially in applications where clean cut edges are needed. The term “non-jagged line” generally means that a cut from one type of action lies substantially coincident to a cut from the other type of cutting. This feature is also desirable in that if the user is interrupted during the cutting processes, he can resume cutting without the need to realign the blade with the previous cut in the media.
The inventive cutting devices described herein are also capable of holding media in place. That is, once the actuating mechanism of the device is engaged or depressed while media is present in the device, the media is held stationary in the device, e.g., between the blade and the actuating wall until the user disengages the actuating mechanism. Thus, the user can stop cutting midstream, move the media and the device to a new location, and resume cutting.
Turning now to FIGS. 1 to 3, they show several views of a first exemplary media cutting device 10. The cutting device includes an optional handle 24, a cover 25 having sidewalls 28 extending therefrom and a guide 40 disposed substantially beneath the cover. While this figure shows two sidewalls 28 with the guide disposed between the two sidewalls and underneath the cover, it is within the scope of the present invention to use one sidewall, as described in publication US 2006/0236550 A1. A portion of a blade 50 is disposed in the guide. The blade includes a cutting edge 51. The cover has an exposed end 26 and the guide has a free end 42. The cutting device further includes an actuating mechanism 80 disposed, in this particular embodiment, in the cover through an aperture 29. The aperture has been appropriately sized to accommodate a shaft 82, which is a component of the actuating mechanism. The actuating mechanism also includes a biasing means, in this case, a coil spring 84, wrapped around a first portion of the shaft, an optional contact section 81, and an optional channel 83 disposed laterally along the circumference of the shaft.
FIGS. 1 to 3 show the device when the actuating mechanism has not been engaged. In such a case, the device is capable of cutting media, such as paper, through a zipping type of cutting action. That is, the user engage the device against the media such that a top surface of the media is in contact with the sidewall of the device and an opposing bottom surface of the media is in contact with the guide, as described in detail in publication US 2006/0236550 A1. The user can then slide the device through the media thereby cutting it with the blade.
When a clipping type of cutting is desired, the user engages the actuating mechanism by pressing on the contact region 81, causing the shaft 82 to move in a direction that is substantially parallel to the y-axis. This motion imposes a compressive stress on the spring, decreases the length of the first portion 82b of the shaft, and simultaneously increases the length of the second portion of the shaft, as compared to when the actuating mechanism is not engaged. If the optional extension 85 is present, it acts as the actuating wall moving in the same direction as the shaft. The slit 86 allows the extensions 85 to straddle the cutting edge of the blade. When media lays between the cutting edge and the actuating wall, engaging the actuating mechanism forces at least a portion of the actuating wall to move past at least a portion of the cutting edge, thereby clipping the media. When the optional extension 85 is not used, the second end 82a of the shaft acts as the actuating wall. When the user disengages the actuating mechanism, the compressive force on the spring is released and the shaft returns to its unengaged position. Repeated engagement and disengagement of the actuating mechanism cuts the media in a clipping type action. In this way, the user can make intricate non-linear cuts, such as, e.g., curves, sharp corners, jagged lines, and the like. After the media has been clipped, if the user wants a straight line cut, (s)he simply continues cutting by sliding the device so that blade cuts the media by the zipping action. The zipping type of cut can occur with the actuating mechanism engaged or disengaged.
When a clipping-type of cutting action is desired, the user engages the actuating mechanism by pushing on the contact region 281 forcing or pushing at least a portion of the actuating wall past at least a portion of the cutting edge thereby cutting the media that is present therebetween. The slit allows the two actuating walls to clear and straddle the cutting edge. When the user releases the contact region, the actuating wall moves back to its initial position. Repeated engagement of the actuating mechanism by pushing and releasing on the contact region cuts the media in a clipping type of cutting action.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, a cutting device of the present invention includes an actuating mechanism, which when engaged, creates an actuating wall. This embodiment differs from the first four embodiments because they have at least one preformed actuating wall. In contrast, in the embodiment discussed here, the actuating mechanism can be made of a deformable polymeric material, such as foam, that is disposed in the cover. To engage the actuating mechanism, the user presses on the foam with her finger with sufficient pressure to force a portion of the foam to extend beyond the cutting edge of the blade towards the guide. In other words, for ease of discussion, with reference to
The actuating mechanism of the present invention can be made from a variety of materials, including but not limited to, metals, polymers, ceramics, wood, and combinations thereof. For example, the actuating mechanism of the embodiment of
Finally, it should be noted that the inventive device differs from scissors in several aspects. For example, scissors include two blades attached at a pivot point. Typically a first blade makes contact with a second blade to cut the media. The inventive cutting device uses a single cutting edge and when engaged, an actuating mechanism that does not make contact with but merely moves past the cutting edge of the blade. Furthermore, the inventive device has no similar pivot point as that of scissors.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 11/616,996 filed Dec. 28, 2006, which is a continuation in part of U.S. Ser. No. 11/408,781 filed Apr. 21, 2006, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/673824 filed Apr. 24, 2005 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/699905 filed Jul. 15, 2005, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60673824 | Apr 2005 | US | |
| 60699905 | Jul 2005 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11616996 | Dec 2006 | US |
| Child | 11829242 | Jul 2007 | US |
| Parent | 11408781 | Apr 2006 | US |
| Child | 11616996 | Dec 2006 | US |
