Claims
- 1. A cutting arm assembly for a paper cutter, said paper cutter having a base for supporting sheet material to be cut, said cutting arm assembly comprising:
an elongated member configured to support a cutting blade for cutting sheet material, the member extending in a longitudinal direction; a pivot pin joined to said member and extending transversely to said longitudinal direction, said pivot pin having a distal end, a first section having a first cross-sectional area, and a second section having a second cross-sectional area, said second cross-sectional area being larger than said first cross-sectional area, said second section being positioned between said first section and said distal end; and a snap ring configured to interfit with said first section of said pivot pin, said snap ring having resilient legs that are capable of resiliently diverging to permit mounting of said snap ring onto said first section, and that are capable of resiling to retain said snap ring on said first section, said legs being configured to interfere with said second section to resist sliding of said snap ring along said pivot pin.
- 2. The cutting arm assembly of claim 1, further comprising a blade mounted to said member.
- 3. The cutting arm assembly of claim 1, wherein said pivot pin and said member are formed as a unitary body by an injection molding process.
- 4. The cutting arm assembly of claim 1, wherein said first section comprises a portion of the pivot pin having a substantially cylindrical cross section.
- 5. The cutting arm assembly of claim 1, wherein said pivot pin comprises a shoulder portion adjacent said first section, said shoulder portion being tapered toward said first section.
- 6. The cutting arm assembly of claim 1, wherein said snap ring is mounted on said first section.
- 7. The cutting arm assembly of claim 1, wherein said member includes a handle portion comprising a plurality of arcuate finger holds for interfitting with the individual's fingers.
- 8. A paper cutter comprising:
a base for supporting material to be cut, said base having a side bearing a cutting edge; and a cutting arm assembly according to claim 1, said member supporting a blade for cooperating with said cutting edge to cut sheet material positioned on said base, said member being pivotally mounted to said base for pivotal motion in a substantially vertical plane, said snap ring being mounted on said first section of said pivot pin to pivotally mount said cutting arm to said base.
- 9. A paper cutter comprising:
a base for supporting material to be cut, said base having a side bearing a cutting edge and a mounting boss adjacent said cutting edge, said mounting boss defining an internal opening therethrough; an elongated cutting arm member configured to support a cutting blade for cooperating with said cutting edge to cut sheet material positioned on said base, said member extending in a longitudinal direction; a pivot pin joined to said member and extending transversely to said longitudinal direction, said pivot pin having a distal end, a first section having a first cross-sectional area, and a second section having a second cross-sectional area, said second cross-sectional area being larger than said first cross-sectional area, said second section being positioned between said first section and said distal end; and a snap ring configured to interfit with said first section of said pivot pin, said snap ring having resilient legs that are capable of diverging to permit mounting of said snap ring onto said first section, and that are capable resiling to cause said snap ring to be retained on said first section, said legs being configured to interfere with said second section to resist sliding of said snap ring; said pivot pin extending through said mounting boss, said snap ring being mounted to said first section of said pivot pin, said cutting arm member being thereby pivotally mounted to said base for pivotal motion in a substantially vertical plane to cut sheet material positioned on said base.
- 10. The paper cutter of claim 9, further comprising a blade mounted to said elongated member.
- 11. The paper cutter of claim 9, wherein said pivot pin and said member are formed as a unitary body by an injection molding process.
- 12. The paper cutter of claim 9, wherein said pivot pin comprises a shoulder portion adjacent said first section, said shoulder portion being tapered toward said first section.
- 13. The paper cutter of claim 9, wherein said snap ring comprises an e-clip.
- 14. The paper cutter of claim 10, wherein said internal opening of said mounting boss and said pivot pin are dimensioned to form an interference fit therebetween, whereby friction between said mounting boss and said pivot pin is sufficient to support said cutting arm member and said blade against gravity, and to thereby retain said cutting arm in a position in which at least a portion of said blade is disposed above said base.
- 15. The paper cutter of claim 14, said internal opening being substantially cylindrical in shape, said mounting boss defining a plurality of discrete flats arranged as chords of said cylindrical opening, said plurality of discrete flats forming said interference fit with said pivot pin.
- 16. The paper cutter of claim 14, said mounting boss having a plurality of discrete ridges extending within said internal opening, said plurality of discrete ridges forming said interference fit with said pivot pin.
- 17. The paper cutter of claim 16, each of said plurality of discrete ridges extending longitudinally of said mounting boss.
- 18. The paper cutter of claim 15, wherein said internal opening has an internal surface contoured to provide a stepped down portion having a cross-sectional area smaller than an adjacent portion of said internal opening, said pivot pin having an external surface contoured to provide a stepped down portion having a cross-sectional area smaller than an adjacent portion of said pivot pin.
- 19. The paper cutter of claim 18, wherein said pivot pin and said internal opening are configured to cause said stepped down portion of said pivot pin to enter and interfere with said stepped down portion of said internal opening at approximately a longitudinal position of said pivot pin relative to said mounting boss at which said adjacent portion of said pivot pin begins to enter and interfere with said adjacent portion of said internal opening.
- 20. The paper cutter of claim 9, wherein said base defines an opening internal to a perimeter thereof, said opening extending through said base to allow an individual's fingers to pass therethrough.
- 21. The paper cutter of claim 20, wherein said opening defines a plurality of arcuate finger holds for interfitting with the individual's fingers.
- 22. A paper cutter comprising:
a base for supporting material to be cut, said base having a side bearing a cutting edge and a mounting boss adjacent said cutting edge, said mounting boss defining an internal opening therethrough; an elongated cutting arm member supporting a cutting blade, said member being pivotally mounted to said base for pivotal motion in a substantially vertical plane to cause said cutting blade to cooperate with said cutting edge to cut sheet material positioned on said base, said member extending in a longitudinal direction; a pivot pin joined to said member and extending transversely to said longitudinal direction, said pivot pin being dimensioned to form an interference fit with said internal opening of said mounting boss, whereby friction between said mounting boss and said pivot pin is sufficient to support said cutting arm member and said blade against gravity, and to thereby retain said cutting arm member in a position in which at least a portion of said blade is disposed above said base.
- 23. A method for assembling a paper cutter, said method comprising:
providing a base for supporting material to be cut, said base having a side bearing a cutting edge and a mounting boss adjacent said cutting edge, said mounting boss defining an internal opening therethrough; providing an elongated member configured to support a cutting blade for cutting sheet material, the member extending in a longitudinal direction, said elongated member comprising a pivot pin extending transversely to said longitudinal direction, said pivot pin having a distal end, a first section having a first cross-sectional area, and a second section having a second cross-sectional area, said second cross-sectional area being larger than said first cross-sectional area, said second section being positioned between said first section and said distal end; inserting said pivot pin through said mounting boss until said first section is exposed; and mounting a snap ring to the first section of the pivot pin to cause said cutting arm member to be pivotally mounted to said base.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein said inserting comprises:
manually inserting said pivot pin into said pivot pin; and operating powered equipment to forcibly advance said pivot pin into said mounting boss to cause an interference fit therebetween.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/447,534, filed Feb. 14, 2003, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60447534 |
Feb 2003 |
US |