Patent Application
20220040871
As E-commerce delivery of products continues to grow, cardboard box use is increasing significantly. At the current time, most e-commerce products are shipped in cardboard boxes and the majority of these packages are single use. Studies show that the average household discards thousands of pieces of cardboard annually. This creates significant problems with recycling. Efficient recycling requires that cardboard boxes be cut down to efficiently fit into recycling bins. Disposing of all this consumer cardboard packaging is time consuming, not easy, and potentially hazardous.
Cardboard packing & boxes are typically cut down for disposal using manual utility knives. This is not easy, and dangerous. The exposed blades on utility knives are responsible for many thousands of injuries every year. Powered cutting devices are unwieldy for average residential usage with dangerous open cutting blades.
This patent discloses an invention called the “Handheld Powered Box Cutter”. Using this device for these tasks it is much easier and faster to cut up cardboard packaging and boxes while also being very safe, eliminating cutting injuries.
The present invention has a handheld ergonomic compact design and uses a rechargeable battery-operated motor, to drive a protected oscillating cutting blade, to ease the task of slicing various thicknesses of cardboard. The cutting blade will wear with time, and is replaceable with a fresh blade, when it becomes dull.
The design of the device houses the cutting blade within a protective cutting slot. This slot allows pieces of cardboard to be slid into a rapidly oscillating cutting blade. While the cutting slot allows cardboard of various thicknesses to be fed and cut, it protects human fingers from being cut by the blade. The cutting end of the device is hooked, to allow it to easily slide along and slice long pieces of cardboard. The hooked cutting area is narrower than the main body of the unit. The cutting head area is tapered to allow the cut slit in the cardboard to more easily pass thru.
Some embodiments of the present invention are illustrated as an example and are not limited by the figures of the a accompanying drawings, in which like references may indicate similar elements and in which:
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
In describing the invention, it will be understood that a number of techniques and steps are disclosed. Each of these has individual benefit and each can also be used in conjunction with one or more, or in some cases all, of the other disclosed techniques. Accordingly, for the sake of clarity, this description will refrain from repeating every possible combination of the individual steps in an unnecessary fashion. Nevertheless, the specification and claims should be read with the understanding that such combinations are entirely within the scope of the invention and the claims.
A “Handheld Powered Box Cutter” device is discussed herein. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
The present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated by the figures or description below.
The present invention will now be described by referencing the appended figures representing preferred embodiments.
This embodiment has the hooked end aligned for a “pull” mode of operation. It allows pulling the device towards the user while cutting. Alternate embodiments include a “PUSH” mode model which has the cutting slot facing away, allowing the device to cut while being pushed away from the user. This further enhances operator safety.
The electric motor is powered by a rechargeable battery (13). The battery must supply sufficient voltage & current to produce enough torque in the electric motor to easily cut even thick pieces of cardboard.
This patent application claims priority from the U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/061,673 filed Aug. 5, 2020 and entitled “Handheld Powered Box Cutter”.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63061673 | Aug 2020 | US |
