Patent Application
20210086383
The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for material cutting. More specifically, the present disclosure presents a portable, non-invasive, multipurpose cutting device requiring minimal manual manipulation.
Tablet computers and portable electronic devices are popular for generating digital art. A person typically uses a touch-screen device with peripherals such as a stylus, mouse, trackpad, joystick, rollerball, keyboard, game controller, matrix mousepad, or a dial such as the popular type used with the Microsoft Surface devices. The peripheral connects and communicates with the digital device such as a computer or a tablet. A person may also simply create digital art by using his/her fingers.
Many people turn to such digital options because they are relatively simple and ofTer more precision, especially for more delicate and intricate projects. People have become more accustomed to performing these digital artistic tasks such as manipulating a Surface Dial or joystick to create art on screen.
Due to the increase in use of digital art implements, people have become accustomed to utilizing fine motor skills and smaller movements to create art. For example, the old-fashioned way to create a paper snowflake is to fold the paper, grab scissors, and use the entire hand to manipulate the scissors to attempt to make small cuts in the paper. This is neither easy nor precise.
What is needed are methods and apparatuses for material cutting that allows a user to accurately and precisely cut through material. A user moves the apparatus along a surface to cut shapes and patterns. The apparatus can be formed in both large and small, fingertip-sized configurations. The apparatus can be configured with guides, accessories, and various blade configurations. A basic apparatus comprises a handle, at least one bearing, and a base.
The accompanying drawings, that are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The present disclosure provides generally for methods and apparatuses for material cutting. According to the present disclosure, a device generally comprises a rotational portion, a non-rotational portion, and a blade. In some embodiments a device comprises a handle which may be a non-rotational portion, a bearing, a base which may be a rotational portion, a blade, and a blade holder. A device may also include accessories. A device may be used to cut material. A base is at the distal end of the device is may be applied to the surface. A handle is at the proximal end of the device and may accommodate a person's finger.
A device may be controlled by a single fingertip, multiple fingertips, or by grasping with a hand. A device may also be controlled by a foot, toe, nose, tongue, elbow, knuckle, or a separate device complementary to a handle. A handle may have indentations, varying shapes, and varying textures to accommodate the part of a person or object applied to the handle to control the device.
A device may be used by placing a base on material, placing a finger on a handle, applying pressure, and applying push force. A user may change the direction in which a device travels by flexing, extending, and rotating the finger while the fingertip is placed on the handle. A bearing will allow for the base to independently rotate from the handle, so that the blade direction will substantially correlate with the direction of the push forces applied to the device.
The movements a person uses to control a device may be similar to the movements used with digital peripheral devices. The device moves about the surface of the material. A combination of gravity, pressure, push forces, rotation, drag, and friction cause the device blade to cut the material. Cutting the material is substantially independent of velocity. In other words, the device may cut material substantially independently from changes in velocity during normal and expected use of the device.
In the following sections, detailed descriptions of examples and methods of the disclosure will be given. The description of both preferred and alternative examples are exemplary only, and it is understood that to those skilled in the art that variations, modifications, and alterations may be apparent. It is therefore to be understood that the examples do not limit the broadness of the aspects of the underlying disclosure as defined by the claims.
“device” as used herein means a material cutting apparatus.
“material” as used herein means a surface that can be cut.
“blade” as used herein means any object with a sharp edge or point.
“control object” as used herein means a fingertip, hand, foot, toe, nose, elbow, pencil, pen, stick, handle add-on, accessory, or anything that can be accommodated by a handle and can be used to exert push forces on the device.”
“handle add-on” as used herein means any extension such as a nob removably applied to the handle.
“guide indicator” as used herein means an arrow, shape, image, texture, protrusion, color, or any other indicator that aids in orienting the parson, guiding the cutting path, and aligning the device.
Devices may be modular, have some parts fixedly combined as a single assembly, or may be completely fixedly combined into a single assembly.
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Accessories may be fixably or removably attached to a base, a handle, or both. An accessory may be functional or decorative. A functional accessory may be a magnifier or an arrow. A decorative accessory may be a flower or a character. An accessory may wrap or snap about the outer edges of the handle, the base, or both. An accessory may be a handle add-on and vice versa. A handle add-on may be a nob, like a joystick. Accessories may be interchangeable.
In some embodiments, a device may have a handle with a core that fits concentrically through a bearing. The bearing with the handle fit concentrically inside the hollow of a base. The base may have sculpted sides, a protruding arrow, and protruding feet. The base may have an offset blade holder and blade position.
In another embodiment, a device may have a handle with a bearing that frictionally fits in the handle hollow. The device may have a base that is wider than the handle and has a center core protrusion that concentrically fits inside a bearing. A bearing may frictionally fit inside the hollow center of the handle. The base may have sculpted edges and an arrow guide indicator. The base may contain a blade holder and blade spanning from the center core and through the other part of the base. A blade holder may be neither offset nor in the center.
An alternative embodiment of a device may contain a handle with a bearing frictionally fit concentrically inside the handle hollow core. The base may contain a core, blade holder, and blade in the center of the base. The base may have smooth, rounded edges and taper toward the central core.
An exemplary device may contain two protrusions and one blade holder and blade. In this embodiment, the base has a greater circumference than the handle. A device can have any number of protrusions, textures, depressions, cut-outs, blade holders, and blades. The bottom image shows the handle of an exemplary device. The handle contains a central depression to accommodate a control object. The top part of the base is shown having guide indicators.
Exemplary embodiments may have various configurations with the handle, blade holder, and blade positions. A device handle may be concentrically inserted into a base. A blade holder may be integrated with the handle. The blade holder and blade may be substantially in the center of the device. In another configuration, a base contains a bearing, and a handle is inserted concentrically into the hollow of the base. The base may be wider than the handle. A blade holder and blade may be present at the outer part of the base. The blade may not be aligned in the center and is substantially offset instead. In another configuration, a device may have a base that is concentrically inserted inside the hollow of a handle. The base may contain a blade holder and a blade substantially in the center of the device.
In some embodiments, a device may have a base that concentrically fits inside a handle. The base further includes notches to minimize the surface area of the base that comes in contact with material. The second image shows a hand that fits concentrically within a base. The base may have inter-base space between the inner and outer surfaces of the base. The inter-base space may be continuous or discontinuous. The third image shows an exemplary device with a base having a core that extends concentrically into a bearing in a handle. The base has outer contours and an arrow. The base also has protrusions to reduce contact of the base with material to reduce friction and to ease movement. A base may have various textures and materials.
In some embodiments, a device comprises a handle, a bearing, a blade holder, an arrow, a paper guide, and a blade. An arrow may be an accessory or formed as part of the base or the blade holder. The arrow may be used to indicate to a person in which direction to apply push forces. In some embodiments, a blade with a diagonal, triangular, or chiseled tip may be placed at the opposite end of a base with the hypotenuse end facing away from the device. Drag and rudder-type forces may be facilitated and will guide the cutting path of the blade to match the direction of the arrow. If a person applies force in a different direction, the base with blade holder and blade will rotate independently from the stationary handle to maintain the directional relationship between the arrow and the blade tip.
In some embodiments, a blade shaft may be attached to a top bearing. In some embodiments, a blade may be attached to a bottom bearing. In some embodiments, a handle may be attached to a top bearing. A blade skid may be attached to a bottom bearing or to a base. A blade and a blade shaft may fixably or removably accommodate a handle and a blade skid. In some embodiments, a blade and a blade shaft or a blade holder may be one assembly.
A device may also be without a blade. Blades may be changeable. Blades may also have various configurations pertaining to angle and depth. Blades may in in a safety configuration or may be in an aggressive configuration. A safety configuration may have the blade protruding approximately from 1 to approximately 5 millimeters. An aggressive configuration may have the blade protruding from approximately 3 to approximately 10 millimeters.
A device may have various bearing such as a roller bearing and/or a thrust bearing. In some embodiments, the blade may be fixably or removably attached to a thrust bearing. A bearing or a base may have a partial conic shape with a central button or saddle at the center of gravity to improve aesthetics, improve rotation and orientation, and provide a better view of the material to be cut.
A cross section of an exemplary blade shaft, depth gauge, and depth stop of a device is shown. An exemplary device may comprise a magnet, a blade, a depth gauge, a blade shaft, a depth stop, a base, and a handle.
A number of embodiments of the present disclosure have been described. While this specification contains many specific implementation details, there should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any disclosures or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of the present disclosure.
Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in combination in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.
Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order show, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed disclosure.
This application is a national stage application of PCT/US18/18454, entitled Methods and Apparatuses for Material Cutting, having a filing date of Feb. 15, 2018, and which claims priority to US provisional application number 62,459,571, filed on Feb. 15, 2017 in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2018/018454 | 2/15/2018 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62459571 | Feb 2017 | US |
