Patent Application
20090000127
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to shears serving multiple purposes. In particular, the present invention relates to shears having an edge tool suitable for use in medical traumas, outdoor sports, crafts, etc.
Shears are a form of hand-held cutting tool, which are commonly used to cut material, paper, fabric, etc. The shears include a pair of crossing arms or blades that are pivotally mounted. One end of each arm has a shearing edge while the other end typically includes a loop shaped hand grip. The arms are mounted so that the shearing edges face each other inwardly. The pivot forms a fulcrum by which operation of the hand grips leverages the blades to shear the fabric or other materials.
Trauma shears are used to cut away a person's clothing to provide access for medical treatment. This tool is typically strong and durable, and is intended to shear through hems, pockets, layered fabric, straps, thick plackets, etc. Although specialization has led to refinement of a strong design capable of cutting a variety of tough materials, it has also limited the scope of applicability of such shears.
In some cases, for example, the speed of cutting may be more important than the strength of the shearing effect. The repetitive snipping involved in hand shearing can be time consuming. The blades of trauma shears and their strong design may not cut through certain sheet fabrics as quickly as required. The requirement for toughness in some shears may also lead to the use of durable but duller blades, which can be ineffective or inefficient when used to slice fabric. Further, the requirement that the blades of trauma shears be suitable for use adjacent to a person's skin when underneath clothing means that the blade ends are often short or limited beyond the pivot point. This limited length can further increase the time of cutting.
One approach to this problem has been for medical personnel to carry or store multiple types of shears, scissors, or knives. Trauma shears may be used for making an initial cut or cutting through seams and thick layers, while a different slicing or cutting tool might be used for cutting sheets of lighter material. Of course, time is lost while one tool is stored or set aside and the other tool is located and applied to the fabric. Some have attempted to solve such a problem by creating multi-function hand tools as may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,049, which is somewhat configured like a modified pocket knife. Even with this approach, medical personnel must still pause from cutting in order to reconfigure the multi-function tool to access a different device.
Beyond a clear application for use in medical trauma, as described above, it is contemplated that a device resolving these problems could have beneficial application for a variety of other activities, such as outdoor sports (e.g., fishing, hunting, climbing, skydiving, etc.), upholstery and other textile work, clothing assembly, crafts, etc.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a multi-purpose shear that is capable of quickly slicing sheet fabric as well as snipping through tough fabric. Of course, such a design should be safe and carry a low risk of cutting the user or any possible patient.
The present invention is a pair of multi-purpose shears that include structure that enables the rapid and effective cutting of sheet fabric as well as tough fabric.
An embodiment of the multi-purpose shears of the present invention has a first elongated member with a distal shearing end and proximal gripping end, wherein the shearing end has a downwardly facing shearing edge and the gripping end defines a first loop adapted to receive one or more fingers and a second elongated member with a distal shearing end and a proximal gripping end, wherein the shearing end has an upwardly facing shearing edge and the gripping end defines a second loop adapted to receive a thumb. A pivot located between the shearing end and the gripping end of the first member connects the first member to the second member, at a corresponding point between the shearing end and the gripping end of the second member, in an adjacent, complementary, and crossing manner, so that the shearing end of the first member is capable of pivoting higher than the shearing end of the second member, the gripping end of the first member is lower than the gripping end of the second member. The shearing edge of the first member is thus adjacent and opposing to the shearing edge of the second member. Opening the gripping ends relative to each other opens the shearing ends away from each other in an opposing manner and closing the gripping ends relative to each other closes the shearing ends in an adjacent manner. Optionally, the first and second members may be angled obtusely at a corresponding point near the pivot to enable operation of the shears while the second member is proximate to a flat surface.
A U-shaped housing is positioned on the first or second loop. The U-shaped housing defines an insertion slot having an opening at one end and has at least one blade having a cutting edge mounted within the housing, with the blade positioned within the housing so as to present the cutting edge obliquely to the insertion slot to cut material inserted into the insertion slot. Thus, the U-shaped housing may be positioned on the first or second loop at a desired orientation to that loop. The housing may be positioned relative to that loop so as to orient the insertion slot substantially tangentially to that loop. Alternatively, the housing may be positioned relative to that loop so as to orient the insertion slot at an angle ranging from parallel with the shearing ends with the opening facing in the distal direction to perpendicular with the first gripping end with the opening facing downwardly. In a different embodiment, the housing may be positioned relative to that loop so as to orient the insertion slot at an angle ranging from parallel with the shearing ends with the opening facing in the proximal direction to perpendicular with the that gripping end with the opening facing upwardly.
In another embodiment, the shearing end of the second member further comprises a clothes lifter at its distal tip. Optionally, the clothes lifter at the distal tip may further include a recessed band cutting edge.
The U-shaped housing is integrated fully into the loop on which it is positioned, or positioned detachably on that loop. Optionally, the at least one blade may be removably mounted within the housing with the U-shaped housing positioned detachably on the first or second loop. In another embodiment, the U-shaped housing may be integrated into the first or second loop and the U-shaped housing and that loop are longitudinally split into at least two pieces, further comprising at least one housing fastener configured to fasten the two pieces of the U shaped housing together in a detachable manner, and at least one member fastener configured to detachably fasten the two pieces of the first loop together and to the elongated member. In an alternate embodiment, the U-shaped housing may be longitudinally split into two pieces, and further include at least one housing fastener configured to fasten the two pieces together in a detachable manner, and the U-shaped housing may be adapted to surround a portion of the first or second loop so that the housing may be positioned detachably on that loop.
In another embodiment, the U-shaped housing may be longitudinally split into two pieces and have at least one housing fastener configured to fasten the two pieces together in a detachable manner, the U-shaped housing being adapted to surround a portion of the first or second loop so that the housing may be positioned detachably on that loop, and wherein the at least one blade may be removably mounted within the housing and the housing is configured so as to define a compartment for storage of blades when the two pieces are fastened together.
In a further embodiment, the first or second loop may have receiving structure defining a receiving surfaces and the U shaped housing may have connecting surfaces adapted to detachably mate with the receiving surfaces so that the housing may be positioned detachably on the first or second loop.
In a further embodiment, the multi-purpose shears of the present invention may have a first elongated member with a distal shearing end and proximal gripping end, wherein the shearing end has a downwardly facing shearing edge and the gripping end defines a first loop adapted to receive one or more fingers and a second elongated member with a distal shearing end and a proximal gripping end, wherein the shearing end has an upwardly facing shearing edge and the gripping end defines a second loop adapted to receive a thumb. A pivot located between the shearing end and the gripping end of the first member connects the first member to the second member, at a corresponding point between the shearing end and the gripping end of the second member, in an adjacent, complementary, and crossing manner so that the shearing end of the first member is capable of pivoting higher than the shearing end of the second member, the gripping end of the first member is lower than the gripping end of the second member, the shearing edge of the first member is adjacent and opposing the shearing edge of the second member. Opening the gripping ends relative to each other opens the shearing ends away from each other in an opposing manner and closing the gripping ends relative to each other closes the shearing ends in an adjacent manner. A UL-shaped housing is positioned on the first or second loop. The U-shape housing defines an insertion slot having an opening at one end and at least one blade having a cutting edge removably mounted within the housing. The blade is positioned within the housing so as to present the cutting edge obliquely to the insertion slot to cut material inserted into the insertion slot. The U-shaped housing may be longitudinally split into two pieces, further comprising at least one housing fastener configured to fasten the two pieces together in a detachable manner, with the U-shaped housing being adapted to surround a portion of the first or second loop so that the housing may be positioned detachably on the that loop. Optionally, the housing may be configured further to define a compartment for storage of blades when the two pieces are fastened together. The housing may be positioned on the first or second loop with the insertion slot relative to that loop so as to orient the insertion slot substantially tangentially to the loop.
a and 2b depict embodiments of the present invention.
a depicts an embodiment of the present invention with a detachably mounted housing;
a depicts a side view of an embodiment of the present invention and
b is a detail of that embodiment.
The present invention is a pair of multi-purpose shears that have the additional structure to enable a rapid, safe, and effective cutting of both sheet fabric and tough or layered fabric.
In reference to
With initial reference to
Elongated members 10, 20 are mounted together at pivot 30 to shear or snip fabric. Thus, this pivot 30 is located between the first shearing end 11 and the first gripping end 12 of the first member 10, and connects the first member 10 to the second member 20 at a corresponding point between the second shearing end 21 and the second gripping end 22 of the second member 20. Thus, for this embodiment the elongated members 10, 20 are pivotally mounted in an adjacent, complementary, and crossing manner so that the first shearing end 11 of first elongated member 10 is capable of pivoting higher than the second shearing end 21 of the second elongated member 20. Conversely, the first gripping end 12 of the first elongated member 10 is lower than the second gripping end 22 of the second elongated member 20. The shearing edge 11E of the first elongated member 10 is adjacent and opposing the shearing edge 21E of second elongated member 20. In this way, opening the gripping ends 12, 22 relative to each other opens the shearing ends 11, 21 away from each other in an opposing manner and closing the gripping ends 12, 22 relative to each other closes the shearing ends 11, 21 in an adjacent manner.
For this embodiment, first elongated member 10 may be considered as an upper member, for convention of reference, to the extent that its first shearing end 11 pivots within an upper relative area; conversely, second elongated member 20 may be considered a lower member as its second shearing end 21 pivots within a lower relative area. However, the present invention should be construed as also encompassing embodiments in which first and second members 10, 20 may rest substantially adjacent to each other when trauma shears are in a fully closed position.
The elongated first and second elongated members 10, 20 may preferably, though not necessarily, be angled obtusely at corresponding points near the pivot 30 to enable operation of the shears 100 while the second elongated member 20 is proximate to a flat surface, such as a table or the skin of a patient (not shown) for embodiments of shears 100 used as trauma shears. In other words, this allows operation of the shears 100 with the second shearing end 21 of the second elongated member 20 held proximate or against the surface; the second shearing end 21 of lower second elongated member 20 may be slid underneath fabric or clothing while the upper first elongated member 10 is cycled to shear or snip the material or clothing. Thus, in some types of operation, the elongated members 10, 20 form a mouth that can open and close by motion of the upper first elongated member 10 relative to second elongated member 20. An effective angle for embodiments of shears 100 as trauma shears is 150 degrees. However, a wide variety of obtuse angles may be used, taking into consideration the application, desired leverage, wrist angle, freedom of movement relative to any surface, and freedom of operation.
With reference to
As may be seen in
As noted above, the shears 100 of the present invention may be adapted for use with either the right or the left hand, as may be desired. Such adaptation from a right hand to the left generally involves a shift of asymmetric features to accommodate the thumb and fingers of the left hand.
Another aspect is a generally U-shaped housing 40 positioned on one of gripping ends 12, 22, at the point forming loops 12L or 22L.
The U-shaped housing 40 may be positioned relative to a respective one of the gripping ends 12, 22, so as to orient the insertion slot 46 at an angle ranging anywhere from parallel with the mounting gripping end 12 or 22, with the opening 47 facing in the distal direction, to perpendicular with the mounting gripping end 12 or 22 with the opening 47 facing downwardly. Preferably, though not necessarily, for embodiments of shears 100 used as trauma shears, U-shaped housing 40 is mounted on first gripping end 12. In another example, the U-shaped housing 40 may be positioned relative to the mounting gripping end 12 or 22 so as to orient the insertion slot 46 at an angle ranging from parallel with the shearing ends 11 or 21 with the opening 47 facing in the proximal direction to perpendicular with the mounting gripping end 12 or 22 with the opening 47 facing upwardly.
a and 2b depict shears 100 with the orientation of U-shaped housing 40 reversed so that opening 47 faces distally. In
Previous figures have shown U-shaped housing 40 integrated into one of first and second loop 12L or 22L. Optionally, as shown in
Other detachable structures may be appropriate for other embodiments of shears 100. For example, shears 100 shown in
The above examples should be considered to be exemplary embodiments, and are in no way limiting of the present invention. Thus, while the description above refers to particular embodiments, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.
This application claims benefit of the priority date of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/937,220, filed on Jun. 26, 2007, and entitled “Trauma Shears,” inventor Christopher Smith, which is hereby incorporated.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60937220 | Jun 2007 | US |
