Patent Application
20250042643
This application relates to blade dispensers for holding tool blades, such as utility knife blades.
Blade dispensers are configured to hold a plurality of blades for storage, or as product packaging for blades at point of sale. Such blades may be utility knife blades, but may also be other tool blades, such as hacksaw blades, reciprocating saw blades, jig saw blades, or other similar blades.
According to an embodiment, a blade dispenser includes a body portion; and a lid portion slidable relative to the body portion to move the blade dispenser between a closed configuration and an extended configuration. The lid portion comprises a first lid portion having a first blade chamber and a second lid portion having a second blade chamber. The first lid portion and the second lid portion are coupled by a hinge portion configured to permit the first lid portion to pivot relative to the second lid portion to move the blade dispenser from the extended configuration to an open configuration. In the open configuration blades may be removed from or inserted into both the first blade chamber and the second blade chamber.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
Further shown in
In the view of
It may be appreciated that where the blade chambers 170, 180 are both configured to retain isosceles trapezoid shapes of conventional utility blades, by orienting the chambers so that the sharpened edges of blades in the first blade chamber 170 are positioned opposite the sharpened edges of blades in the second blade chamber 180, the blades may be positioned closer to one another in a space saving configuration such that both blade chambers 170 and 180 in the closed or extended configurations for the blade dispenser 10 extend across the hinge portion 30. As shown, the separator wall 190 in such embodiments may be angled relative to the extension of the lid portion 30 and may define a common contour for the leg of the isosceles trapezoid shape of a conventional utility knife blade (and as such may generally match the base angle of the isosceles trapezoid shape relative to the extension where the sharpened edges of the blades would be positioned in the blade chambers 170 and 180).
Accordingly, in some embodiments from a front view the combined shape of the body portion 20 and the lid portion 30 when in the closed configuration for the blade dispenser 10 may approximate a parallelogram (e.g., as shown in
As discussed above, the hinge portion 130 may be configured to permit folding of the first lid portion 110 relative to the second lid portion 120. Such folding may be appreciated in
As seen by comparing these views, by sliding the lid portion 30 relative to the body portion 20, the blade dispenser 10 moves from the closed configuration of
As indicated above, in some embodiments the engagement feature 140 may be configured to engage with retaining feature 90 when the blade dispenser 10 is moved into the open position. As such, the retaining feature 90, which in some embodiments may be a clip that hooks onto a terminal end of the clip 80 to tend to hold the blade dispenser 10 in the open position until some force is applied by a user to return the lid portion 30 into the extended position such that it may be slid back into the body portion 20 to move the blade dispenser 10 back into the closed position. As shown, in an embodiment the engagement feature 140 may include a recessed shape in the first lid portion 110 configured to match a contour of the clip 80 (e.g., defining the retaining feature 90), so that when the first lid portion 110 is folded over the clip 80, it receives the clip 80 therein, and in some embodiments may snap or snugly hold thereto. In some embodiments, either or both of the retaining feature 90 and the engagement feature 140 may comprise a magnet, which may be embedded into or form a portion of the lid portion 30 or the clip 80. In some embodiments, where one of the retaining feature 90 and the engagement feature 140 comprise a magnet, the other of the retaining feature 90 and the engagement feature 140 may comprise a magnetically attractive metal. Accordingly, in some embodiments either or both of the engagement feature 140 or the retaining feature 90 may be configured to hold the lid portion 30 in either the closed configuration relative to the body portion 20 (deterring movement into the extended position) or in the open configuration relative to the body portion 20 (deterring movement from a saddle configuration of the lid portion 30 in the open configuration back into the extended position).
As shown in
In various embodiments, one or more of the body portion 20 and the lid portion 30 may be opaque, transparent, or translucent. For example, in an embodiment, the lid portion 30 may be opaque, while the body portion 20 may be transparent or translucent so that a user may see what is stored within. In some embodiments, parts of the body portion 20 or the lid portion 30 may be transparent, while other parts of the body portion 20 or the lid portion 30 may be opaque.
It may be appreciated that conventional utility knife blades such as those illustrated as blades 230 and blades 240 include a planar body with a sharpened edge, and may include one or more mounting features that are used to retain the blade in a utility knife. Such blades may commonly be of an isosceles trapezoid configuration, with the mounting feature opposite the sharpened edge. Other utility knife blades may include mounting feature(s) located to the interior of the planar body, may include a sharpened hook configuration, rounded points, or have other conventional configurations that generally approximate an isosceles trapezoid in expanse. It may be appreciated that the teachings herein may also be applicable to so called “snap knife” utility knife blades, which typically are elongated to include a plurality of connected blade segments with a mounting feature at one side, so that the blade may be extended from the knife, and blade segments may be broken off to expose previously unused sharpened points and portions of the blade.
While in some embodiments the blade dispenser 10 may be formed of plastic, other materials may be utilized instead or in addition in the construction of such blade dispensers 10.
For example, as noted above, the seams 200 and or 210 may be formed as flexible plastic material integral to the first lid portion 110, second lid portion 120 and hinge portion 130 (e.g., as living hinges), in other embodiments the hinge portion 130 may be formed of a separate flexible material such as a fabric or weave, securing the first lid portion 110 to the second lid portion 120. In some embodiments, the entirety of the body portion 20 and the lid portion 30 may each be formed as single pieces of molded plastic (e.g., injection molded) while in other embodiments the body portion 20 and the lid portion 30 may each be formed as an assembly of different components that may be coupled together by adhesives, mechanical fasteners, interlocking or snap fitting components, or so on.
As discussed above, in some embodiments the engagement feature 140 may normally engage the retaining feature 150 when the lid portion 30 is fully inserted into the body portion 20, and may deter (but not prevent) extension of the lid portion 30 from the body portion 20, until a user pulls with sufficient force to overcome the engagement (e.g., by temporarily deforming one or more of the engagement feature 140, the retaining feature 150, or the clip 80). Similarly, the retaining feature 90 is noted as in some embodiments selectively engaging with engagement feature 140 when the blade dispenser 10 is moved into the open position, and may tend to hold the blade dispenser 10 in the open position until some force is applied by a user to return the lid portion 30 into the extended position such that it may be slid back into the body portion 20 to move the blade dispenser 10 back into the closed position. Another embodiment of such engagement and retaining features may be seen more clearly with reference to
As shown therein, in some embodiments a blade dispenser 10′ may be similar or identical to the blade dispenser 10 discussed above except for as otherwise indicated. Like components are numbered similarly save for the addition of an apostrophe ('), or as modified indicated by addition of an asterisk (*). Specifically, the blade dispenser 10′ includes a body portion 20′ and a lid portion 30′. The lid portion 30′ includes an engagement feature 140′ and a clip 80′ includes a retaining feature 150′, such that when the blade dispenser 10′ is in the closed position shown in
Further shown is that in some embodiments the clip 80′ may include side retaining features 90*. Similarly, in some embodiments the clip 80′ may include a retaining feature 150*. In the illustrated embodiments, the lid portion 30′ includes side engagement features 140*. As shown in
It may be appreciated that the functionality of engagement feature 140′ may be achieved by side engagement features 140* engaging with other retaining features 150′ on the clip 80′ in other embodiments. Similarly, the functionality of any described retaining feature and any described engagement feature may be flipped in various embodiments, with engagement features located on the clip 80′ and retaining features located on the lid portion 30′ in some embodiments, for instance. Overcoming such retention may be accomplished by temporarily deforming one or more of the engagement features, the retaining features, or the clip or other portions of the lid portion or the blade dispenser, such as through resiliency of the material from which the components are formed, in various embodiments.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
Example embodiments have been provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and to fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected, or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer, or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Terms of degree such as “generally,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and “about” may be used herein when describing the relative positions, sizes, dimensions, or values of various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections. These terms mean that such relative positions, sizes, dimensions, or values are within the defined range or comparison (e.g., equal, or close to equal) with sufficient precision as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art in the context of the various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections being described.
Numerous modifications may be made to the exemplary implementations described above. These and other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17859524 | Jul 2022 | US |
| Child | 18919848 | US |
