Patent Application
20250050470
The present invention relates to a knife sharpener and, more particularly, to an oblong ceramic sharpener with a buffering structure.
A conventional sharpening steel is usually made of stainless steel and is used to grind and sharpen a knife. However, the conventional sharpening steel easily produces dents or serrations during a period of time and cannot sharpen the knife efficiently, thereby decreasing the grinding efficiency. A conventional ceramic sharpener 1 (or U.S. Pat. No. 7,887,397) in accordance with the prior art shown in
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an oblong ceramic sharpener with a buffering structure, comprising an oblong ceramic stick, a mounting head, a handle, and a buffering structure. The oblong ceramic stick is a hollow ceramic stick having an oblong periphery. The mounting head is provided with an internal thread and is secured to a top of the oblong ceramic stick. The handle has a baffle. A support rod extends from the baffle. The support rod has a top provided with a threaded section. The buffering structure includes a lower gasket, an oblong flexible sleeve, and an upper gasket. The lower gasket has an upper portion provided with a first projection. The upper gasket has a lower portion provided with a second projection. In assembly, the lower gasket and the oblong flexible sleeve of the buffering structure are mounted on the support rod of the handle. Then, the oblong ceramic stick is mounted on the oblong flexible sleeve, with the hollow bottom of the oblong ceramic stick being locked on the first projection of the lower gasket. Then, the upper gasket is mounted on the top of the support rod, with the second projection of the upper gasket being locked in the hollow top of the oblong ceramic stick. Then, the mounting head is mounted on the upper gasket, with the internal thread of the mounting head being screwed onto the threaded section of the support rod. the threaded section of the support rod protrudes from the hollow top of the oblong ceramic stick. Finally, adhesive is applied for bonding and fixing. The buffering structure is mounted on the hollow interior of the oblong ceramic stick to absorb an impact, and to buffer a hitting force, thereby preventing the oblong ceramic stick from being broken. The oblong ceramic sharpener has an oblong periphery to increase a contact face with a knife.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings and initially to
The lower gasket 230 and the oblong flexible sleeve 231 of the buffering structure 23 are mounted on the support rod 221 of the handle 22. Then, the oblong ceramic stick 20 is mounted on the oblong flexible sleeve 231, with the hollow bottom of the oblong ceramic stick 20 being locked on the first projection 2300 of the lower gasket 230. Then, the upper gasket 232 is mounted on the top of the support rod 221, with the second projection 2320 of the upper gasket 232 being locked in the hollow top of the oblong ceramic stick 20. Then, the mounting head 21 is mounted on the support rod 221, with the internal thread 210 of the mounting head 21 being screwed onto the threaded section 2210 of the support rod 221. Finally, glue is applied for bonding and fixing the parts. Thus, the oblong ceramic sharpener 2 is assembled. It is noted that, the threaded section 2210 of the support rod 221 protrudes from the hollow top of the oblong ceramic stick 20.
In assembly, after the upper gasket 232 is mounted on the top of the support rod 221, the mounting head 21 is mounted on the support rod 221, and the internal thread 210 of the mounting head 21 is screwed onto and secured to the threaded section 2210 of the support rod 221, which protrudes from the hollow top of the oblong ceramic stick 20. Thus, the mounting head 21 and the oblong ceramic stick 20 are combined steadily and solidly by provision of the upper gasket 232, to absorb the impact and to protect the oblong ceramic sharpener 2.
The oblong flexible sleeve 231 of the buffering structure 23 has a diameter slightly less than an inner diameter of the oblong ceramic stick 20 to absorb the impact and to protect the oblong ceramic sharpener 2. The lower gasket 230 and the oblong flexible sleeve 231 of the buffering structure 23 are in turn mounted on the support rod 221 of the handle 22. Then, the oblong ceramic stick 20 is mounted on the oblong flexible sleeve 231, so that the hollow bottom of the oblong ceramic stick 20 is locked onto the first projection 2300 of the lower gasket 230. In such a manner, the oblong ceramic stick 20 is fixed. Thus, the oblong ceramic stick 20 will not be rotated after assembly due to an unintentional drive by the user, to enhance the knife grinding efficiency of the oblong ceramic stick 20. In addition, the oblong flexible sleeve 231 is mounted in the hollow interior of the oblong ceramic stick 20, and the lower gasket 230 is mounted on the hollow bottom of the oblong ceramic stick 20, so that the oblong flexible sleeve 231 and the lower gasket 230 absorb the impact efficiently to protect the hollow stick (or the oblong ceramic stick 20) of the oblong ceramic sharpener 2, thereby preventing the hollow stick from being broken.
Referring to
Again referring to
In comparison, referring to
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lower gasket 230 and the upper gasket 232 of the buffering structure 23 are made of flexible material, so that the oblong ceramic stick 20 is locked and fixed on the support rod 221. The first projection 2300 of the lower gasket 230 has a diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the oblong ceramic stick 20. Thus, the first projection 2300 of the lower gasket 230 is locked in the hollow bottom of the oblong ceramic stick 20 and extends upward to cover the hollow bottom of the oblong ceramic stick 20, to fix the oblong ceramic stick 20 and to absorb the impact. The second projection 2320 of the upper gasket 232 has a diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the oblong ceramic stick 20. Thus, the second projection 2320 of the upper gasket 232 is locked in the hollow top of the oblong ceramic stick 20 and extends downward to cover the hollow top of the oblong ceramic stick 20, to fix the oblong ceramic stick 20 and to absorb the impact.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lower gasket 230 of the buffering structure 23 is mounted on and adhered to the bottom of the oblong ceramic stick 20 by glue, and the upper gasket 232 of the buffering structure 23 is mounted on and adhered to the top of the support rod 221 by glue, so that the oblong ceramic stick 20 will not be rotated and misaligned.
Accordingly, the oblong ceramic sharpener 2 has the following advantages.
1. The oblong ceramic stick 20 has a larger area to increase the contact face with a knife, so that the oblong ceramic stick 20 is used to grind and sharpen the knife exactly to enhance the sharpening efficiency.
2. The oblong flexible sleeve 231 is mounted in the hollow interior of the oblong ceramic stick 20, to absorb the impact efficiently, and to protect the oblong ceramic stick 20 of the oblong ceramic sharpener 2, thereby preventing the oblong ceramic stick 20 from being broken.
3. The lower gasket 230 of the buffering structure 23 is mounted on the bottom of the oblong ceramic stick 20, and the upper gasket 232 of the buffering structure 23 is mounted on the top of the support rod 221, so that the oblong ceramic stick 20 is combined with the support rod 221 steadily and solidly by provision of the first projection 2300 of the lower gasket 230 and the second projection 2320 of the upper gasket 232. Thus, the lower gasket 230 and the upper gasket 232 of the buffering structure 23 absorb the impact efficiently to protect the oblong ceramic stick 20 of the oblong ceramic sharpener 2, thereby preventing the oblong ceramic stick 20 from being broken due to hit. In addition, the oblong ceramic stick 20 will not be rotated due to a wrong operation of the user so that the oblong ceramic stick 20 will not misalign with the handle 22, to enhance the sharpening efficiency.
In conclusion, the oblong ceramic sharpener 2 has an oblong periphery to increase the contact face with the knife to enhance the sharpening efficiency. In addition, the buffering structure 23 is mounted on the hollow interior of the oblong ceramic stick 20 to absorb the impact, and to buffer the hitting force, thereby preventing the oblong ceramic stick 20 from being broken, to enhance the lifetime of the oblong ceramic stick 20. Further, the lower gasket 230 and the upper gasket 232 of the buffering structure 23 are made of soft material and are combined with the oblong ceramic stick 20 tightly and closely, so that when the oblong ceramic stick 20 is dropped onto and hits the ground inadvertently, the lower gasket 230 and the upper gasket 232 of the buffering structure 23 absorb the impact immediately, to prevent the oblong ceramic stick 20 from being damaged or broken.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the invention.
