Patent Grant
8661690
This application is a national stage submission under 35 U.S.C. 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2009/001353, filed Oct. 15, 2009, which claims the priority of Australian Patent Application No. 2008905370, filed Oct. 16, 2008, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to two bladed cutting implements of the kind having a pair of pivotally connected blades which will be hereinafter identified generally as scissors. It should be understood that this term includes all cutting implements of this type including shears, clippers, pruners and the like.
The following discussion of the background to the invention is intended to facilitate an understanding of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
Most scissors have a closed condition in which the back edge of the blades of the scissors projects beyond the cutting edge of the other cutting blade of the scissors. The cutting edge is therefore not exposed, protecting the blade against damage and users from accidentally contacting the sharp cutting edge of the blade. However, scissors of this configuration are difficult to sharpen, as the blades must be physically separated and sharpened individually.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,279,076 and 4,348,809 provide an alternate scissor construction and associated sharpening arrangement which permits the two blades to be sharpened simultaneously while the scissors are in a closed condition. Each of the blades of the scissors has a cutting edge and a back edge which respectively form opposite longitudinal edges of the blade. In the closed condition of the scissors, the cutting edge of each blade is level with or projects beyond the back edge of the other the blade. The blades can therefore be sharpened simultaneously using a sharpening arrangement having two opposing sharpener units that sharpen the cutting edge of each blade when the blades pass between the sharpener units. However, this arrangement can lead to users accidentally contacting the sharp surface of the cutting edge of the blade when the scissors are in the closed condition.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an alternate scissors configuration which each blade can be sharpened simultaneously but also substantially protects a user from accidentally contacting the sharp surface of the cutting edge of the blade when the scissors are in a closed condition.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided scissors including:
The biasing means keeps the cutting edge of the blades from being exposed for sharpening unless the blades are deliberately moved into the sharpening condition. This means that in normal usage the blades are biased for use between the open and closed positions, thus reducing the danger of a user touching the cutting edges of the blades.
The sharpening condition of the scissors place the blades in a position in which the blades can be sharpened. This position is generally dictated by the configuration of sharpening device in which the scissors are intended to cooperate. For example, the sharpening device could be configured to sharpen the cutting edge with the blades positioned between the open and closed condition. Alternatively, the sharpening device could be configured to sharpen the cutting edge of the blade when that cutting edge is level with or projects beyond the back edge of the other blade. The sharpening condition of the blades would correspond to those positions. In the second case, the biasing means keeps the cutting edge of the blades from overlapping the back edge of the blades unless the blades are deliberately moved into the sharpening condition, for example when handles of the scissors are tightly squeezed closed.
The biasing means moves the blades away from the sharpening condition towards the closed and/or open condition. Preferably, the blades are biased to a rest position in which the cutting edges of the blades are not exposed to a user. This can be achieved by configuring the biasing means to bias the blades away from the sharpening condition to the closed condition.
The biasing means can be any suitable resilient and/or flexible member for example a spring such as a leaf spring, coil spring, or a resilient body such as a rubber or other elastomeric member. The biasing means is generally located in a position that operatively associates, and preferably operatively connects the two blades of the scissors. In one embodiment, the biasing means is located in or proximate the pivot means. In some forms this results in the pivot means being fixedly secured into a first blade, allowing the biasing means to act between the pivot means and the other (second) blade. Preferably, this type of pivot means includes a pivot shaft laterally connecting the blades. This pivot shaft has a first end having a keyed fit with the first blade and a second end configured to allow the second blade to pivot about the shaft relative to the first blade. In some embodiments, a slot is provided in the second end of the shaft into which a first section of a biasing means such as a leaf spring can be secured. A second section of the biasing means can then be secured in at least one adjoining recess in the second blade.
In another form, the biasing means is secured to the pivot so as to act between the two blades. Preferably the biasing means is a helical torsion spring. In this form the helical spring acts between the two blades to bias the blades from the sharpening condition to the closed condition.
Each blade is typically operatively associated with a handle which allows a user to actuate the blades between the open, closed and sharpening conditions. The handles can be any hand or finger graspable member or formation configured to be spaced apart in the open and closed condition and to be proximate or abutting in the sharpening condition. Preferably, the handles are spaced a short distance apart when the blades are in the closed condition.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sharpening device for scissors including two blades having a cutting edge, the sharpening device including:
In this aspect, the present invention provides a device that sharpens both blades of a pair of scissors in a single operation. When the scissors are pushed into the housing, they are guided by positioning units which space the blades away from the sharpener units. To sharpen the cutting edge of the blades, the blades must be moved into contact with the sharpening unit, for example by squeezing the handles of the scissors together. This brings the blades into contact with the sharpening unit and sharpens the blades as the cutting edge is passed over the sharpener units. This can occur when for example the blades are pulled out of the housing. If the blades of the scissors are not moved to contact at least one of the sharpener units whilst pulling the blades out of the housing, sharpening does not take place.
Again, the configuration of the sharpening device complements the configuration of scissors that the device is intended to be used in conjunction.
In one form, the sharpener units are positioned outwardly of the positioning units in a position in which the sharpener units can only contact and remove material from the cutting edge of the blade upon passing the blades between the sharpener units when the cutting edge of the blades of the scissors are moved to contact at least one of the sharpener units.
In one particular embodiment, the associated scissors include blades having a cutting edge and a back edge which respectively form opposite longitudinal edges of the blade. Each of the blades is movable to a position in which the cutting edge of each blade projects beyond the back edge of the other blade. Here, the sharpener units of the device only contact and remove material from the cutting edge of the blade upon passing the blades between the sharpener units when the cutting edge of the blades of the scissors are moved beyond the back edge to contact at least one of the sharpener units. In a preferred embodiment, the sharpening device of the second aspect is configured for scissors according to the first aspect of the present invention. Here, the sharpener units are only able to contact and remove material from the cutting edge of the blade upon passing the blades between the sharpener units when the blades of the scissors are in the sharpening condition.
The positioning units preferably include rollers positioned to contact the rear edge and/or cutting edge of the blades when the scissors are inserted into the housing. Each of the rollers can include an annular channel in which the rear edge and/or cutting edge of the blades are received. However, it is to be understood the other forms of positioning units such a Teflon, polymeric or other material blocks, sleeves or the similar could equally be used.
The sharpening device is preferably used to sharpen the whole cutting edge of the blades of a pair of scissors. This can be achieved by locating the positioning units and sharpener units adjacent an open front end of the housing. The sharpening device can be configured to sharpen the blades of the scissors during any movement of the blades relative to the sharpener units. Preferably, the sharpener units are configured to contact and remove material from the cutting edge of the blade upon removal of the scissors from the housing when the scissors are in the sharpening condition. The sharpener units can include any suitable sharpening surface for contacting and removing material from the cutting edge of the blade. Preferably, the sharpener units include a carbide sharpening surface. In one form, the sharpener units are pivotally mounted within the housing and are engaged by scissors so that upon removal of the scissors from the housing when in the sharpening condition the sharpener units pivot to contact and remove material from the cutting edge of the blade.
In some embodiments, the positioning units and sharpener units are mounted on carrier members located within the housing. Preferably, two opposing carrier members are provided in the housing. Each carrier member is preferably elongate and extends from a pivot connecting the two carrier members to its respective sharpener unit. Each carrier member is also preferably arranged in an opposed relationship to receive the blades therebetween. At least one carrier member is pivotable relative to the other carrier member. Preferably, a pivot is provided in the housing for connecting the two carrier members. A carrier member biasing means such as a coil spring or leaf spring(s) can be used to bias the carrier members towards each other within the housing. The carrier members therefore tend to squeeze the positioning units onto an edge, typically the back edge of the blades of the scissors when the scissors are inserted into the housing in a normal resting condition (and where the scissors are not in the sharpening condition). The member biasing means can be located in any location that can actuate the carrier members together. Preferably, the member biasing means is located at or adjacent the pivot connecting the two carrier members and/or located between the housing and the carrier members.
In some embodiments, the housing can be formed as a scabbard to protect the blades of the scissors when the scissors are not in use.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scissors and sharpening device including:
The present invention will now be described with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings, which illustrate particular preferred embodiments of the present invention, wherein:
Referring firstly to
The blades 12, 13 of the scissors 10 are pivotally connected through a rivet 14 located at the pivot 15 so that the scissors 10 can be opened and closed. The rivet 14 includes a pivot shaft 21 that laterally connects the blades 12, 13. The rivet 14 has a first end which includes a rectangular lug 22 having a keyed fit within a rectangular opening 24 in the first blade 13. The shaft 22 of the rivet 14 has a threaded end 26 for receiving and securing an associated rivet cap 27.
In one form of the scissors 10, as shown in
It is to be appreciated that any other form of biasing means and not just the leaf spring 30 could be incorporated in the pivotal connection of the blades 12, 13 of the scissors 10 and be suitable for the purpose of biasing the blades 12, 13 from a sharpening condition to a closed condition as detailed below.
Another embodiment of the scissors 10a shown in
The blades 12, 13 of the scissor 10 can be moved between three separate conditions about the pivot 15.
For normal cutting operations the handles 16, 17 of the scissors 10 can be actuated to move the blades 12, 13 between an open condition (not illustrated in the figures) in which the cutting edge 18 of each blade 12, 13 are spaced apart, and a closed condition (best shown in
When sharpening the cutting edges 18 of the blades 12, 13, the blades 12, 13 are moved from the closed condition (
In the open condition, the handles 16, 17 of the scissors 10 are opened to a spaced apart condition in order to move the blades 12, 13 apart about the pivot 15.
In the closed condition (
Scissors 10 of the kind described can be produced in any appropriate manner.
A sharpening device 50 according to the present invention is shown in
The housing 52 is hollow and closed on all sides and a rear end so as to provide a scabbard or enclosure for the scissors 10 to protect the blades 12 and 13 when not in use. The housing 52 includes a hollow main body section 53, an open front end piece 62 and an end cap 68. Each of the end piece 62 and end cap 68 are held into the main body section 53 via lugs 63 and 65 which are received in or behind cooperating formations (recesses 63A and ribs 65A) in the main body section 53. Two cover plates 58 are provided on the sides of the housing 52 which can include indicia and/or graphics on a front surface thereof.
An elongate blade receiving passage 60 is defined within the housing 52, and the scissor blades 12 and 13 are moved into the passage 60 through the open front end piece 62 of the housing 52. If desired, at least part of one of the side walls or end walls of the housing 52 may be movable or removable to permit access to the interior for the purpose of maintenance such as cleaning and repair or replacement of the positioning rollers 54 and/or sharpener units 56.
Each positioning roller 54 and sharpener unit 56 are pivotably mounted on one of two elongate carrier members 64 arranged within the housing 52. The carrier members 64 are connected at their rear ends through a pivot 66 (formed on the end cap 68 of the housing 52) which allows limited pivotable movement of each carrier member 64 together and apart within the housing 52. The carrier members 64 are biased (as shown in
Each sharpener unit 56 includes a honing or cutting element 72 which treats the cutting edge 18 (
Each of the positioning rollers 54 can include an annular channel 74 in which the back edge 20 and/or cutting edge 18 of the blades 12, 13 are received and engage with when the blades 12, 13 of the scissors 10 are inserted and withdrawn from the housing 52.
Each sharpener unit 56 is pivotally mounted in the respective carrier member 64 to enable it to sharpen a scissor blade 12, 13 during movement of the scissors 10 both in and out of the housing 52. More usually, the scissors 10 are sharpened when withdrawing the scissors 10 from the housing 52. In this respect, a user would squeeze the handles 16, 17 of the scissors 10 to move the blades from the closed condition as shown in
A sharpening device 150 according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown in
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is understood that the invention includes all such variations and modifications which fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Future patent applications may be filed in Australia or overseas on the basis of or claiming priority from the present application. It is to be understood that the following provisional claims are provided by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of what may be claimed in any such future application. Features may be added to or omitted from the provisional claims at a later date so as to further define or re-define the invention or inventions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008905370 | Oct 2008 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU2009/001353 | 10/15/2009 | WO | 00 | 8/17/2011 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2010/042984 | 4/22/2010 | WO | A |
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| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report dated Dec. 24, 2009 for International Application No. PCT/AU2009/001353 (4 pages). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110289782 A1 | Dec 2011 | US |
