Patent Application
20160332790
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a protective sleeve for objects according to the preamble of patent claim 1.
Such a protective sleeve is provided, for example, for the packaging of knives, other sharp-edged objects, such as saws, operating instruments, as well as tongs, and the like. Similarly, a protective sleeve according to the invention is used for packaging and storage as well as for protection against injuries from cutting and thrusting weapons.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In the prior art, it has only been previously known to form a protective sleeve for such objects in such a way that there is a protective sleeve open on one side, into the open front side opening of which the object to be protected with its area to be protected against grasping can be inserted.
In the case of a protective sleeve for the packaging of knives or cutting and thrusting weapons, it is accordingly known to insert the blade of the knife or the cutting and thrusting weapon through the front side opening of the protective sleeve open on one side in order thus to have the blade received on all sides in the protective area of the protective sleeve. A known application is the storage of cutting and thrusting weapons in a weapon sheath.
The disadvantage of the previously known protective sleeves open on one side, however, is that longitudinal movement is not restrained. Another disadvantage is that the previously known protective sleeves with low wall thickness also exhibit only low mechanical stability because they do not exhibit any mechanical reinforcements and the like whatsoever especially in the insertion area. For this reason, there is also the danger that when the object to be protected, especially a knife, is inserted, the upper insertion area of the protective sleeve will be unintentionally damaged.
Given the fact that with respect to the known protective sleeves the object to be received there is not restrained as protection against longitudinal movement, there is the additional disadvantage that such protective sleeves cannot be hung vertically on a display wall. There is also then the danger that the object will slip out.
Although it is known in the prior art to attach friction-increasing nubs or the like on the inside of the protective sleeve that contact the surface of the object to be protected, these friction-increasing nubs are insufficient if the objects that are also supposed to be hung in a vertical position on a display wall are heavy.
The invention is therefore based on the problem of further developing a protective sleeve of the kind named above so that it offers longitudinal restraint of the object to be received as protection against longitudinal movement, that it is protected against damage when the object is inserted, and that it is easier to handle and more affordable to manufacture.
To solve the stated problem, the invention is characterized by the technical teaching of claim 1.
Essential feature of the invention is that the protective sleeve open on one side in a manner known per se now exhibits at least a restraining area in which one or more restraining elements are arranged that interact with assigned stop surfaces and/or undercuts on the object to be held, and that the restraining area is formed as an elastically deformable deformation area, upon activation of which it is possible to disengage the restraining elements arranged in the restraining area from assigned counter elements on the object to be held.
This yields a completely novel kind of holder of an object to be protected in a protective sleeve. Here it is presumed that the object exhibits an area to be protected that is formed, for example, as a blade or as a saw or as a tong element or the like that is therefore received fully in the protective sleeve. This hazard area is meant to be protected from grasping from the outside because it entails a risk of injury or infection or even a different danger.
Furthermore, connecting to this area of the object to be protected is meant to be another area in which the counter elements of the object to be protected are arranged that work together with the assigned restraining elements on the side of the protective sleeve, wherein connecting to these counter elements of the object is a rear area that is a non-protective area and that forms, for example, the handle of the object to be held or a clamping thread—or more generally—a machine holder.
This then yields for the first time the possibility of achieving a longitudinal restraint to be opened manually for an object received in a protective sleeve.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the restraining elements arranged in the protective sleeve at the upper free end are arranged in an elastic deformation area of the protective sleeve so that, when the protective sleeve is pressed together, these restraining elements are disengaged from the assigned counter elements on the object.
But the invention is not limited to the restraining elements in the restraining area of the protective sleeve being on the upper free insertion end of the protective sleeve. They can be arranged anywhere in the area of the protective sleeve with respect to their longitudinal extension, and this also applies to the counter elements on the object to be held, because not only must they be arranged in the transition area between the non-protective area and the protective area of the object, but these counter elements can also be arranged in the protective area itself.
When reference is made in the present description to an object to be protected in the embodiment of a knife with a sharp edge, then the invention is not limited to this. All objects can form the content of the protective sleeve in so far as they satisfy the previously named and later named features.
In addition to the previously named objects, all other objects can also be received to which packaging is assigned that is meant to protect the object. Here it is not absolutely necessary that the object exhibit a protective area. For example, tongs, scissors, and the like can be received without the protection of the tong or scissor part being relevant.
It is important with respect to the invention that the protective sleeve offers an effective protection against injuries because it is then no longer readily possible to extract the object to be protected from the protective sleeve. Here manual force must be applied in order to activate the restraining area, which according to the invention is formed as an elastically deformable deformation area in order to activate the opposing walls of the protective sleeve in the deformation area with the restraining elements arranged there so that the distance between the restraining elements increases and they therefore disengage from the counter elements arranged on the object.
The invention naturally also protects the kinematic reversal of the locking principle according to the invention:
According to the above description, it was stated that restraining elements opposing each other on the inside of the protective sleeve in the deformation area and opposingly aligned are arranged that are preferably formed as nubs, ribs, or other projections.
But the invention is not limited to the arrangement of restraining elements opposing each other and aligned with each other. It can also be provided that such a restraining element is arranged only on one side in the deformation area, while the opposing wall is smooth and does not bear any restraining element.
Applicable to both embodiments is also the kinematic reversal according to the present invention, which provides that there are recesses in each case facing outward or other bulges projecting outward in the sidewalls parallel to each other, and that on the object to be held are now provided projecting counter elements that engage the protective sleeve-side curvatures and there restrain the object to be held.
Likewise, the two kinematic embodiments, which have been pictured as a reversal, can also be arranged in the one type on the one side of the sidewall of the protective sleeve in the deformation area, while the kinematic reversal of the restraining elements is arranged on the opposing side.
With the arrangement of the restraining elements on the at least one side of the deformation area as bulges of the protective sleeve and on the opposing side as inward facing nubs, this also yields insertion protection in such manner that the object to be held can be inserted only in a specified insertion position while it cannot be held in an insertion position rotated by 180°.
In a further development of the invention, it is provided that the end of the object, which is formed as a non-protective area and which exhibits, for example, a handle, a tool holder, a clamping holder, or the like, can also b closed with a protective cap. This protective cap is then likewise open on one side and is pushed over the end of the object to be held, namely via the non-protective area, and can arbitrarily be engaged with the rearward open end of the protective sleeve. Push-on connections or latching connections or rotating connections or the like are possible here.
With the use of a protective cap that can be pushed, latched, or screwed onto the rear free and open end of the protective sleeve, there is the additional advantage that this area can be sealed so that there is a hermetically sealed protective packaging.
The invention is not limited to the profile forms of a protective sleeve shown in drawings here and a protective cap that might be combinable with it. The profile forms of the protective sleeve represented here mainly refer to an approximately rectangular, oval, or polygonal profile form of the protective sleeve. The invention is not limited to this. The protective sleeve can also be formed as a roundly profiled protective sleeve, wherein the profile forms can deviate from one another in different areas of the protective sleeve. For example, the protective area of the protective sleeve in which the part of the object to be protected is received exhibits a different profile form from comparatively the profile form of the restraining area that is formed as a deformation area.
Furthermore, connecting to the deformation area, which is preferably arranged in the area of the front side opening of the protective sleeve can be additional sections of the protective sleeve that can be profiled in any manner and that are especially well-suited for receiving a protective cap to be pushed, latched, or screwed onto this area.
If, for example, a round profile area is connected to the deformation area of the protective sleeve, then the protective cap to be pushed or screwed onto it likewise can be roundly profiled and bear a suitable thread.
An additional embodiment concerns a protective sleeve consisting of two half shells that are connectable to each other along a parting plane running in longitudinal direction of the object to be packaged. The two half shells can be formed in mirror symmetry to each other.
In another configuration, however, the profile of the one half shell can deviate from the profile of the other half shell.
The two half shells can be fully separable from each other in a first embodiment and in that case they are combined by edge-side latching connections arranged between the half shells into a complete protective packaging.
In another configuration, the two half shells, however, can be arranged pivotably to each other on a longitudinal side through one or more film hinges. To close the protective packaging, the two half shells are then therefore pivoted against each other into a closing position along their longitudinal pivoting axis. The closing position is then restrained and secured between the two half shells by a latching opposing the film hinge and preferably likewise arranged on the edge-side.
The subject matter of the present invention is evident not only from the subject matter of the individual patent claims, but also from the combination of the individual patent claims with each other.
All information and features disclosed in the documents, including the summary, especially the spatial configuration represented in the drawings, are claimed as essential to the invention to the extent that they are novel compared to the prior art individually or in combination.
To the extent that individual objects are designated as “essential to the invention” or “important,” this does not mean that these objects must necessarily form the subject matter of an independent claim. This is solely determined by the respectively valid version of the independent patent claim.
The invention will be further explained below by means of drawings representing merely one way of execution. Additional features and advantages of the invention essential to the invention proceed here from the drawings and their description.
The following are shown:
But in a different configuration it can consist of parts subsequently combined with each other. For example, the sidewalls 2 could have been connected to the separate longitudinal front walls 8 via an adhesive, welding, or latching method.
The invention is not limited to a protective sleeve 1 sealed on the front side. The front wall 3 can also be eliminated and it can be profiled in any manner.
At the opposing side to the front wall 3, the protective sleeve 1 forms a front side opening 4, which is provided as an insertion opening for an object 10 to be inserted there.
The protective sleeve is subdivided into various areas. The larger and longer area of the protective sleeve serves to receive the object 10, specifically to receive a hazard area 11 to be protected, which is therefore inserted into the protective sleeve 1 via the front side opening 4.
In a preferred embodiment, the protective sleeve 1 in the area of its front side opening 4 exhibits a restraining area 5, in the area of which at least one restraining element 9 is arranged that interacts with assigned counter elements 13, 14 on the object 10.
In the following description of figures, it is assumed that the restraining elements 9 are formed as inward facing nub, ribs, or similar restraining elements aligned with each other and opposing each other.
In the general description, however, it has already been indicated that it is sufficient to use only a single restraining element 9 on a sidewall that interacts with an assigned counter element 13 or 14 on the object 10.
In the kinematic reversal, it is likewise possible that the nub-type restraining elements 9 formed as inward facing and opposingly aligned with each other are now formed as outward facing curvatures, wherein in turn only a single, outward facing curvature is sufficient that works together with an assigned counter element 13, 14, wherein in that case the counter element is then formed as an outwardly projecting nub on the object 10.
The restraining area 5 is formed as a deformation area 31, by elastic deformation of which the restraining elements 9 can be disengaged from the counter elements 13, 14 on the object 10.
It is represented in the drawing only in schematic form that the restraining area 5, which at the same time forms the deformation area 31, is arranged in the proximity of the open front side opening 4. The invention is not limited to this. The restraining area 5 can also be arranged, for example, in the center area of the protective sleeve 1, as a result of which the front side opening 4 then becomes longer and therefore also the insertion area.
Accordingly, the locking area 12 on the object 10 must then—corresponding to the restraining area 5 of the protective sleeve 1—also correspond to the restraining area 5 moved in longitudinal direction.
The protective cap 6 is therefore pushed, screwed, or latched onto the front side opening 4 of the protective sleeve 1 in arrow direction 7.
The invention leaves it completely open what profile form the protective sleeve is formed in. For instance, the area in which the object 10 engages its area 11 to be protected can be profiled rectangularly, ovally, roundly, or polygonally or formed in any other different shape.
This also applies to the restraining area 5, the profile form of which can be configured in any manner, which therefore likewise can be formed rectangularly, polygonally, quadratically, or roundly.
The protective cap 6, which is possibly to be pushed on or latched on, is then adapted to the profile form in the area of the front side opening 4 of the protective sleeve 1.
As a rule, the use of a protective cap 6 is not necessary. The non-protective area 15 of an object 10 to be held would then project from the right end of the protective sleeve 1 and does not need any further protection.
This is preferred especially with respect to the packaging of knives and similar objects, such as cutting and thrusting weapons, because the user can then examine the knife handle and assess the material of the knife handle.
Likewise, the innovative protective sleeve provides the possibility of packaging in the protective sleeve sensitive tools and the like, the receiving end of which freely projects from the rear end of the protective sleeve. In this way, it is likewise possible to insert the tool to be protected together with the protective sleeve into a receiving area of a tool machine or generally into a holder, and only when the tool has been fastened in the receiving area can the protective sleeve be removed from the item to be protected by manipulating the deformation area 31.
With the protective sleeve according to the invention, there is therefore the possibility of mounting objects to be protected on receiving areas of machines.
In
The knife consists of a blade 21, which is to be protected against grasping and which represents the area 11 to be protected, and further a handle 22 connecting to the blade 21, which handle defines the non-protective area 15 of the object.
The knife is therefore inserted into the front side opening 4 of the protective sleeve 1 in arrow direction 25, wherein in the shown embodiment the handle 22 at its front end exhibits an inclined plane 23 and a finger guard 26 connecting to the inclined plane, which finger guard prevents the hand enclosing the handle 22 from slipping forward onto the blade 21.
Behind the finger guard 26, an undercut is arranged that functions as counter element 13, 14 within the meaning of
In the area of the protective sleeve 1, there are in the area of the opposing sidewalls two opposing centering nubs 18, the functioning of which will be explained by means of
Furthermore, the protective sleeve 1 is sealed on the front side and exhibits a push-through protection 17, which will be explained by means of the later
Furthermore, on the other side of the deformation area 31 on the protective sleeve 1 there is provided a stop wall that interacts with the inclined plane 23 on the handle 22.
The stop surface was also shown in
With the interaction of these two stop areas, a secure stop limit of the object 10 to be held is therefore guaranteed in the protective sleeve 1, and the object 10 to be protected is prevented from being inserted too far into the protective sleeve 1 in longitudinal direction.
The function of this stop wall will be further explained below in
It is important in any case that this stop wall 19 is adapted to the profile form of the front side of the handle 22 so that the two stop surfaces 19, 23 are flush with each other and are highly load-transmitting.
Naturally, the adaptation in other cases of an object is different, for instance, the stop wall can be formed straight, and in
The advantage of the arrangement of such a stop wall is that as a result the front-side end of the protective sleeve 1 is reinforced, and therefore there is a delimiting or partitioning of the insertion area of the protective sleeve toward the deformation area 31 on the rear end of the front side opening 4.
To the left of the stop wall 19, the protective sleeve 1 therefore is preferably not deformable or is formed from a relatively non-deformable plastic material while to the right of the stop wall 19 a deformation area 31 is provided for which the deformation 31 is then deformed by finger pressure in arrow direction 33 (see
If, by finger pressure or by machine, pressure is applied on both sides in arrow direction 33 against assigned surfaces in the deformation area 31 to protective sleeve 1, the previous, roughly rectangular restraining contour 16 changes to a bulging restraining contour 16′, and the restraining nubs 27 aligned and opposing each other on the inside of the restraining contour 16 in the restraining area 5 take their spread position following arrow direction 34 according to 27′. Therefore the object to be held can be readily extracted from the protective sleeve.
As an example of possible wall strengths,
The invention is not limited to this. Instead of applying pressure in the arrow directions 33, it is sufficient to apply asymmetrical pressure, wherein, for example, the diametrically opposing transition edges between the longitudinal front wall 8 and the assigned sidewall 2 are pressed.
It is sufficient to apply pressure in arrow direction 33 only from one side if the opposing side sits on an assigned stop surface.
The invention is not limited to the profile form shown here of the sidewalls 2 and the longitudinal front walls 8 connecting to it. The sidewalls can also form an S-shaped contour—at least in the deformation area 31—to enable an even better bulging in the form of the restraining contour 16′ according to
The handle recesses 32 can also have a suitable, handle-friendly surface structure 35.
The centering nubs 18 can exhibit any designs; they can also be rib-shaped.
The top picture in each case is the top view of the respective nub 27, and the bottom picture is the profile form of the same nub.
Every nub 27a-27g exhibits preferably an insertion bevel 37 by which the object 10 to be held can be slightly moved, and if it is in its locked position, an assigned stop surface 38, which is preferably bent or inclined, is meant to contact the object 10 so that it can be withdrawn from the nub 27 only with difficulty by overcoming this stop surface 38.
Furthermore,
It is merely shown in the interests of simplicity that the adhesive label 36 is adhered to one of the sidewalls 2 of the protective sleeve 1. In another configuration, one or more such adhesive labels 36 can also be adhered to one or more of the longitudinal front walls 8 or on other places.
The adhesive labels 36 can also be sleeve-shaped.
Therefore,
Deviating from this,
Characterizing this type of protective sleeve is the fact that the deformation area 31 directly connects to the insertion area, and that in the insertion area (deformation area 31) two parallel and adjacent restraining nubs 27a, 27b are arranged that engage the assigned handle openings of the scissors and therefore secure the scissors against removal from the protective sleeve 1.
Only when the protective sleeve is elastically deformed by finger pressure in the arrow directions 33 on the deformation area 31 do the aligned and opposing restraining nubs 27a, 27b arranged in pairs detach from each other, and as a result the scissors can be easily removed from the protective sleeve 1.
Moreover, all other features that were described in conjunction with the previous
It has already been emphasized that instead of opposing nubs 27, 27a, 27b, and 27c it is also sufficient to arrange such a nub only on one wall of the protective sleeve 1. This also applies especially to an embodiment according to
In the vertical plane to the parts 13, 27 engaging each other in the security position there are opposing handle curvatures 40 on the protective sleeve 1 in the area of the sidewall 2, which curvatures project beyond the surface of the respective sidewall 2 and when they are pressed together there is a material extension of the sidewall 2 so that the sidewall 2 deforms in the deformation area as is shown in
In the embodiment according to
In the embodiment according to
In the perspective representation according to
The first embodiment refers to
Edge-side latching connections are provided as connecting means for the two half shells, which accordingly exhibit a parting plane continuous in longitudinal direction.
According to
The latching connections are arranged by mutual distance from each other, and each latching connection in the embodiment consists of a latching lobe 41, which exhibits a rear facing latching lip that engages an assigned, opposing recess in which a latching bar 42 is arranged, one surface of which is inclined in order to be engaged in the by the inclined, rear facing latching lobes.
Because the latching lobe 41 is formed flexibly, the latching connection can be easily released by pressing on the packaging.
The same latching connections are also formed on the lower longitudinal edge of the two half shells.
In the embodiment according to
Characterizing all embodiments is the fact that the deformation area 31 according to the invention is present even with these embodiments in order thus to enable easy opening of the packaging.
Opening is achieved according to
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102015004291.2 | Apr 2015 | DE | national |
