Patent Application
20130192004
The present invention relates to the field of pocket knives, also known as clasp knives, pen-knives, or Swiss knives. In particular, the invention relates to multifunctional pocket knives having separable body elements.
Pocket knives having multiple blades and attachments are well known in the prior art. European patent application EP1195230, for example, discloses a multifunctional pocket knife having multiple blades and attachments such as pliers, detachable screwdriver bits, knife blades, tin-opener, bottle opener, etc.
Also known in the prior art are pocket tool kits, such as might be used by cyclists for small bicycle repairs when on the road. These pocket tool kits may include wrenches also known as spanners. British patent application GB0026040, for example, describes a multi-tool in which wrench tools of different sizes are combined in one compact combination unit.
Sometimes it would be beneficial to be able to divide a pocket knife into at least two separate knife portions and then to be able to use these parts individually, separated from each other. For instance, one knife portion could comprise a fork and another knife portion could comprise a knife. In this case, a mechanism is needed for locking the different knife portions together, when not used separately, and for unlocking these knife portions, when used separately, for example during eating. Also these different knife portions should not unlock accidentally, but at the same time the locking/unlocking mechanism should be easy and simple to use.
It is the object of the present invention to overcome the problems identified above related to separation of different knife portions of a pocket knife.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a pocket knife as recited in claim 1.
Thus, the present invention provides a multi-sectional or separable pocket knife that has at least two body parts that can be easily and reliably separated from each other. As the unlocking of the body portions are actuated by one of the tool elements, there is no need for a separate locking and/or unlocking mechanism. This of course saves space in the pocket knife, and makes it smaller and lighter. Also by using the solution of the present invention, an accidental unlocking of the body portions can be prevented.
Other aspects of the invention are recited in the dependent claims attached hereto.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent m from the following description of a non-limiting exemplary embodiment, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in the following in more detail with reference to the attached figures. Identical functional and structural elements which appear in the different drawings are assigned the same reference numerals.
A pocket knife 101 may be implemented as a multifunctional pocket tool, as depicted in
The pocket knife 101 also comprises a first lateral side 109 and a second lateral side 111, the sides of the knife body portions 103, 105 serving as a handle for the tool, and an interior space between said sides serving as housing to accommodate the various tools and implements when they are in a retracted or closed state as shown in
As is further seen in that figure, the first body portion 103 has in this example two first engaging members 205, such as first engaging lugs 205, or simply lugs 205, which protrude slightly from the surface of the first lateral plate 201. Each first lug 205 is arranged to engage with a second engaging member 207, such as a second engaging lug 207 provided on the second body portion 105, and more specifically on the second lateral plate 203. These lugs 207 protrude slightly from the surface of the second lateral plate 203 so that these lugs 207 can engage with the first lugs 205 of the first body portion 103. First openings 209, which are longitudinal in this example, are provided around the lugs 205, 207 to facilitate the engagement and disengagement process. These openings extend in the direction of the lugs from the point where the lugs connect to the respective lateral plates. Thus, the first and second body portions comprise recesses around the lugs 205, 207.
On the first lateral plate 201 there is also provided a second opening 211 or a central opening 211 which is arranged to receive one end of a first locking member 213, which is better shown in
As can be seen in
In this example the spring blade 213 has also an upward extending portion 303, or projection 303 to form one contact point with the tool 107, which in this case is a bottle opener. The extending portion 303 has an opening 305 that is arranged to receive a protrusion 307 that is provided on the first lateral plate 201. This protrusion 307, when in the opening 305, defines the range of vertical movement (i.e. gives vertical maximal limits to the movement) of the spring blade 213. The spring blade 213 is urged upwards when opening the bottle opener 107, and the spring blade 213 moves vertically downwards when pressing on the bottle opener 107. In this example, the tool 107 has two contact points, one on top of the extending portion 303 and another one in the corner formed by the extending portion 303 and the spring body portion which is the longitudinal part of the blade 213.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive, the invention being not limited to the disclosed embodiment. Other embodiments and variants are understood, and can be achieved by those skilled in the art when carrying out the claimed invention, based on a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims. For instance, the blade protrusion 301 could be arranged to move perpendicularly to the surface (facing the second body portion 10) of the first lateral plate 201 instead of moving parallel to this surface, i.e. vertically in the figures. Of course, the combination of these movements is also possible. In the embodiment described above, each of the body portions comprises two lugs. However, any number of lugs is possible as long as a desired engagement can be achieved between the first body portion 103 and the second body portion 105. For instance, only one lug could be provided on each body portion. Alternatively more than two lugs on each body portion could be provided.
Furthermore, in the illustrated example, it is the bottle opener 107 that is arranged to actuate the spring blade 213. However, the actuator tool could be any other tool instead of the bottle opener, for instance a corkscrew. Moreover, in the illustrated embodiment both the first body portion 103 and the second body portion 105 accommodate tools. However, it is possible that only the first body portion could accommodate tools, while the second body element would be simply a cover element. The user can also easily personalise his pocket knife by, for instance, replacing the second body portion with another second body portion having a cover of a different colour for instance, or when going for a bike trip, the user could replace the second body portion 105 with another second body portion accommodating special tools suitable for bicycle repairs.
In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that different features are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these features cannot be advantageously used. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12152834.3 | Jan 2012 | EP | regional |
