The present invention relates to scissors including a pair of body portions, each of which has a handle and a blade, and a pivot support portion for supporting the body portions in an openable and closable manner.
Patent Document 1 discloses a pair of scissors in which a spring for urging a pair of blades in such a direction that the blades close with respect to each other is provided between a pair of handles. The spring assists in operations for opening and closing the body portions.
In the scissors of Patent Document 1, when the second handle is selectively opened and closed with respect to the first handle, the spring may deform greatly and cause the user to touch the spring. In this case, the spring may interfere with the handles, thus hampering smooth opening or closing of the handles. Easy handling of the scissors by the user is thus hampered. Further, in a case in which the two body portions are coupled to each other in a manner enabling assembly and disassembly of the body portions to facilitate maintenance work such as washing the body portions, the spring must be easily attached to and detached from the body portions. However, in the scissors disclosed in Patent Document 1, the spring is suspended in a state fixed at the position between the two handles and thus hampers easy assembly and disassembly of the body portions.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to enable smooth opening and closing of a pair of body portions by decreasing influence on an urging member by operation of the body portions when the body portions are opened or closed. It is another objective of the invention to provide a pair of scissors having an easily attachable and detachable second body portion with respect to a first body portion in a case in which an urging member is arranged between a pair of body portions to assist in opening and closing of the body portions and the body portions are coupled to each other in a manner enabling assembly and disassembly of the body portions.
To achieve the foregoing objective and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, scissors are provided that include a first body portion and a second body portion each having a handle and a blade, a pivot support portion that supports the first and second body portions in an openable and closable manner, a movable transmission member attached to the first body portion, an urging member arranged between the first body portion and the movable transmission member, and an interlocking mechanism adapted to transmit urging force produced by the urging member to the second body portion through the movable transmission member.
In this configuration, the movable transmission member and the urging member are arranged in the first body portion. This decreases influence on the urging member by operation of the second body portion when the second body portion is opened or closed with respect to the first body portion. The first and second body portions are thus smoothly opened or closed. Also, since the urging member operates independently from the second body portion, the second body portion is easily attached to and detached from the first body portion in a case in which the two body portions are coupled together in a manner enabling assembly and disassembly of the body portions.
The movable transmission member is preferably attached to the handle of the first body portion, and the urging member is preferably arranged between the movable transmission member and the handle of the first body portion. The pivot support portion preferably has a coupling portion that enables assembly and disassembly of the first and second body portions. Also, the interlocking mechanism preferably has a first interlocking portion and a second interlocking portion arranged in the movable transmission member and the handle of the second body portion, respectively, and the first and second interlocking portions are preferably attachable to and detachable from each other when the first and second body portions are assembled and disassembled. In this case, since the movable transmission member and the urging member are arranged in the handle of the first body portion, the urging member is operated independently from the second body portion. This enables easy attachment and detachment of the second body portion with respect to the first body portion.
The handle of the first body portion preferably has a grip portion, and the movable transmission member is preferably provided between the grip portion and the pivot support portion. In this case, since the movable transmission member is arranged between the grip portion and the pivot support portion, the grip portion of the handle is gripped with no hindrance.
The movable transmission member is preferably pivotally supported by the handle of the first body portion. In this case, the urging force of the urging member is smoothly transmitted to the second body portion by pivoting the movable transmission member.
The first interlocking portion and the second interlocking portion are preferably rows of teeth that are meshed with each other in a manner attachable to and detachable from each other. In this case, the urging force of the urging member is smoothly transmitted between the movable transmission member and the handle of the second body portion in an interlocking manner.
An accommodating portion is preferably arranged between the movable transmission member and the handle of the first body portion, and the urging member is preferably received in the accommodating portion. This case allows compact arrangement of the urging member in the first body portion.
The handle of the first body portion preferably includes a recess serving as the accommodating portion, and the movable transmission member and the urging member are preferably arranged inside an opening of the recess. In this case, by accommodating the movable transmission member and the urging member in the recess, compact arrangement of the movable transmission member and the urging member in the first body portion is allowed.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, scissors are provided that include a first body portion and a second body portion each having a handle and a blade, a pivot support portion that supports the first and second body portions in an openable and closable manner, a coupling portion arranged in the pivot support portion to enable assembly and disassembly of the first and second body portions, and an urging member arranged between the first and second body portions to urge the blades and the handles each in an opening direction. The urging member is selectively attachable to and detachable from either one of the first and second body portions when the first and second body portions are assembled or disassembled.
In this configuration, the urging member is attachable to and detachable from at least either one of the first and second body portions. As a result, when the first and second body portions are assembled or disassembled, the second body portion is easily attached to or detached from the first body portion.
A pivot axis of the movable transmission member is preferably set at a position spaced from a pivot axis of the pivot support portion of the first and second body portions. In this case, when the first and second body portions are opened or closed, operation of the pivot support portion about the pivot axis and pivoting action of the movable transmission member about the pivot axis are allowed to happen smoothly in an interlocking manner.
When the first and second body portions are open at a predetermined angle, the coupling portion of the pivot support portion is preferably capable of attaching and detaching the first and second body portions along a pivot axis of the pivot support portion of the first and second body portions. In this case, assembly and disassembly of the first and second body portions are enabled when the first and second body portions are open by a predetermined angle. As a result, the first and second body portions are smoothly opened or closed as long as the body portions are held in a state other than the open state by the predetermined angle.
The coupling portion is preferably configured by a pivot arranged in one of the first and second body portions and a pivot hole formed in the other one of the first and second body portions, and the pivot can preferably be inserted into and detached from the pivot hole when the first and second body portions are assembled and disassembled. In this case, the coupling portion, which is configured by the pivot and the pivot hole, enables easy insertion and detachment of the first and second body portions about the pivot axis of the pivot support portion.
Each of the handles is preferably arranged on a proximal side of the pivot support portion in the associated one of the body portions, and each of the blades is preferably arranged on a distal side of the pivot support portion in the associated one of the body portions.
A lock lever is preferably attached to one of the handle of the first body portion and the handle of the second body portion, and a lock recess with which the lock lever is engaged is preferably provided in the other one of the handle of the first body portion and the handle of the second body portion. Also, the lock lever and the lock recess are preferably switchable between an unlocked state, in which the lock lever is detached from the lock recess, and a locked state, in which the lock lever is engaged with the lock recess. In the unlocked state, the urging force of the urging member preferably opens the handle of the second body portion with respect to the handle of the first body portion. In the locked state, the handle of the second body portion is preferably prevented from being opened with respect to the handle of the first body portion against the urging force of the urging member. Further, cam surfaces are preferably formed on the lock lever and the lock recess such that, when, in the locked state, the handle of the second body portion is pivoted in a closing direction with respect to the handle of the first body portion against the urging force of the urging member, the lock lever is detached from the lock recess to switch to the unlocked state. In this case, in a pair of western scissors having first and second body portions crossing each other in an X shape, the first and second body portions are easily unlocked from each other.
The scissors according to the present invention include the first and second body portions, each of which has a handle and a blade, and a pivot support portion for supporting the first and second body portions in an openable and closable manner. Also, an urging member is arranged between the first and second body portions to assist in operations for opening and closing the first and second body portions. The scissors according to the invention decrease influence on the urging member by operation of the first and second body portions when the body portions are opened or closed. This enables smooth opening and closing of the first and second body portions, thus facilitating handling of the scissors by the user. Further, in a case in which the first and second body portions are coupled to each other in a manner enabling assembly and disassembly of the first and second body portions, the second body portion is easily attached to and detached from the first body portion.
A pair of scissors 100 according to one embodiment will now be described with reference to the drawings. The scissors 100 are used to cut chicken meat and bones.
As shown in
The blades 6, 7 of the first and second body portions 1, 2 are each configured by a metallic blade plate 8. A plastic cover portion 10 is arranged on a metallic support plate 9 extending from each of the blade plates 8. The handle 4, 5 of each of the first and second body portions 1, 2 is configured by a support plate 9 and a cover portion 10. Each of the cover portions 10 is formed integrally with the support plates 9 by inserting the support plate 9 into a metal mold and then injecting plastic into the mold. Of the two handles 4, 5, the cover portion 10 of the first handle 4 has a grip ring 12 (a grip portion). The grip portion 12 has an annular shape and a recess 11 adjacent to the pivot support portion 3. The cover portion 10 of the second handle 5 has a grip portion 13, which extends linearly from the pivot support portion 3.
The pivot support portion 3 has a pivot 14 and a pivot hole 15. Of the first and second body portions 1, 2, the pivot 14 is in the first body portion 1 at the boundary between the blade plate 8 and the support plate 9. The pivot hole 15 is formed in the boundary between the blade plate 8 and the support plate 9 of the second body portion 2. The pivot 14 and the pivot hole 15 constitute a coupling portion. When the pivot 14 is inserted into the pivot hole 15, the first and second body portions 1, 2 can be pivoted about a pivot axis 14a of the pivot 14 and thus opened or closed as illustrated in
The recess 11 (an accommodating portion) is provided between the pivot support portion 3 and the grip ring 12 in the cover portion 10 of the first handle 4. A pivot axis 17a of a support pivot 17, which is parallel to and spaced from the pivot axis 14a of the pivot support portion 3 by a predetermined distance, is set in the recess 11. A movable transmission member 16, which is made of plastic, is supported pivotally about the pivot axis 17a of the support pivot 17. A torsion coil spring 18 serving as an urging member is received in the recess 11 on the inner side of the movable transmission member 16. The torsion coil spring 18 has a pair of arms 18a, 18b, one arm 18a of which is engaged with the movable transmission member 16. The other arm 18b is engaged with the corresponding support plate 9 in the recess 11. In this manner, the urging force of the torsion coil spring 18 is applied to the movable transmission member 16. The movable transmission member 16 and the torsion coil spring 18 are located inside an opening end 11a of the recess 11.
A plastic row of teeth 19 (an interlocking portion) is provided on an outer periphery of the movable transmission member 16 in an arcuate shape about the pivot axis 17a of the support pivot 17. A plastic row of teeth 20 (an interlocking portion) is provided on the cover portion 10 of the second handle 5 in an arcuate shape about the pivot axis 14a of the pivot support portion 3. The rows of teeth 19, 20 are meshed with each other. The urging force of the torsion coil spring 18 is transmitted to the rows of teeth 19, 20 through the movable transmission member 16 and acts to open the blades 6, 7 and the handles 4, 5 of the first and second body portions 1, 2.
With reference to
Opening and closing of the scissors 100 and assembly and disassembly of the first and second body portions 1, 2 will hereafter be described.
In
As illustrated in
The present embodiment achieves the following advantages.
(1) The scissors 100 include the handles 4, 5, which are arranged in the associated body portions 1, 2 on the proximal side of the pivot support portion 3, and the blades 6, 7, which are arranged in the associated first and second body portions 1, 2 on the distal side of the pivot support portion 3. The scissors 100 are in a form of a pair of western scissors with the first and second body portions 1, 2 crossing each other in an X shape. The handle 4 of the first body portion 1 has the movable transmission member 16 and the torsion coil spring 18. Thus, when the second body portion 2 is opened or closed with respect to the first body portion 1, influence on the torsion coil spring 18 by operation of the second body portion 2 is reduced. This limits the interference of the torsion coil spring 18 and allows smooth opening and closing of the first and second body portions 1, 2, thus facilitating handling of the scissors 100 by the user.
(2) Since the movable transmission member 16 and the torsion coil spring 18 are arranged in the handle 4 of the first body portion 1, the torsion coil spring 18 operates independently from the handle 5 of the second body portion 2. The second body portion 2 is thus easily attachable to and detachable from the first body portion 1. This facilitates washing of the body portions 1, 2 after the body portions 1, 2 are stained by cutting chicken meat and bones.
(3) The movable transmission member 16 and the torsion coil spring 18 are accommodated in the recess 11, which is provided between the grip ring 12 of the handle 4 of the first body portion 1 and the pivot support portion 3. This allows compact arrangement of the movable transmission member 16 and the torsion coil spring 18 without hampering grip of the grip ring 12. The urging force of the torsion coil spring 18 is thus smoothly transmitted to the second body portion 2 through pivoting action of the movable transmission member 16.
The scissors 100 may be configured in the forms described below, for example, other than the scissors 100 of the above illustrated embodiment.
The scissors 100 of the above illustrated embodiment include the first and second body portions 1, 2, each of which has the associated handle 4, 5 and blade 6, 7, and the pivot support portion 3 for supporting the first and second body portions 1, 2 in an openable and closable manner. Also, the scissors 100 of the embodiment are in the form of western scissors, in which the first and second body portions 1, 2 cross each other in an X shape. However, the configuration of the present invention may be used in a form of V-shaped Japanese scissors, as will be described. That is, the V-shaped Japanese scissors include a pair of body portions each having a handle and a blade. Each of the handles extends from the proximal end portion, and each of the blades provided on the corresponding handle. The first and second body portions cross each other in a V shape at the proximal end portion and are supported pivotally.
The above illustrated embodiment provides an example in which the interlocking portions 19, 20 are the rows of teeth 19, 20 each configured by a spur gear such that the urging force of the torsion coil spring 18 arranged in the first body portion 1 is transmitted to the second body portion 2 through the movable transmission member 16. The reference pitch diameters of the rows of teeth 19, 20 are 30 mm for the row of teeth 19 and 24 mm for the row of teeth 20. The row of teeth 19 has a greater reference pitch diameter than the row of teeth 20. The row of teeth 19 also has a greater number of teeth than the row of teeth 20. In an alternative example, the row of teeth 20 may have a greater reference pitch diameter than the row of teeth 19 and a greater number of teeth than the row of teeth 19. In another alternative example, the rows of teeth 19, 20 may have equal reference pitch diameters and equal numbers of teeth. Further alternatively, other than the above-described rows of teeth 19, 20, gears other than spur gears or existing mechanical elements other than gears such as a belt, a link, or a cam may be employed as other forms of the interlocking portions 19, 20.
The urging member 18 may be a coil spring or an existing spring such as a leaf spring, other than the torsion coil spring 18. Such springs may be integrated with the cover portion 10 and the movable transmission member 16 of the handle 4.
The above illustrated embodiment provides an example in which the torsion coil spring 18 urges the first and second body portions 1, 2 to open. However, the torsion coil spring 18 may urge the first and second body portions 1, 2 to close.
The coupling portions 14, 15 of the above illustrated embodiment allow assembly and disassembly of the first and second body portions 1, 2 at the pivot support portion 3. The pivot support portion 3 may be modified to a form other than the illustrated form of the pivot support portion 3. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3010466, a structure in which a support pivot supported pivotally with respect to a guide hole is held by an engaging member may be employed as a form of the pivot support portion 3.
The above illustrated embodiment provides an example in which the urging force of the torsion coil spring 18 is transmitted to the second body portion 2 by pivoting the movable transmission member 16, which is arranged in the first body portion 1. However, the urging force of the torsion coil spring 18 may be transmitted to the second body portion 2 by sliding the movable transmission member 16.
The above illustrated embodiment provides an example in which the movable transmission member 16 and the torsion coil spring 18 are arranged in the handle 4 of the first body portion 1. However, the movable transmission member 16 and the torsion coil spring 18 may be arranged in the blade 6 of the first body portion 1.
The above illustrated embodiment provides an example in which the plastic cover portions 10 are arranged on the metallic support plates 9, which extend from the metallic blade plates 8 of the blades 6, 7 of the corresponding first and second body portions 1, 2. However, the entirety of each of the first and second body portions 1, 2 may be molded with metal or plastic.
In the scissors 100 of the above illustrated embodiment, with reference to
A pivot restricting portion for restricting pivoting action of the first and second body portions 1, 2 in the opening direction of the first and second body portions 1, 2 may be arranged in the pivot range of the rows of teeth 19, 20. The first and second body portions 1, 2 may be disassembled from each other by aligning the shapes of the pivot 14 and the pivot hole 15 with each other at a position at which the second body portion 2 has been pivoted further from the pivot restricting portion. Further, the pivot restricting portion may be adapted to restrict pivoting action of the first and second body portions 1, 2 in a state in which the urging force of the torsion coil spring 18 is transmissible to the second body portion 2. Alternatively, the pivot restricting portion may be adapted to restrict pivoting action of the first and second body portions 1, 2 in a state in which the urging force of the torsion coil spring 18 is not transmissible to the second body portion 2. Also, the position at which the first and second body portions 1, 2 are maximally open in the pivot range of the rows of teeth 19, 20 may be set as the pivot restricting portion. The form of the pivot restricting portion may be modified to a form other than the forms presented above. For example, as a form of the pivot restricting portion, a contact projection of each blade disclosed in Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. 60-14440 or an engaging projection disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1-69472, may be employed.
The forms of the handles 4, 5 may be modified to forms other than the forms of the handles 4, 5 of the above illustrated embodiment. The handles 4, 5 may be shaped in annular or linear shapes. Further, the handles 4, 5 may be molded using shape-memory alloy or shape-memory plastic to allow a shape change of each handle 4, 5 in correspondence with the size of the hand of the user or the manner in which the handle 4, 5 is held by the user.
Fluororesin coating or diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating may be provided on the blades 6, 7 of the first and second body portions 1, 2 to facilitate cleaning or promote a smooth sliding motion on each other. Also, the distal ends of the points 6b, 7b of the blades 6, 7 may be hardened by using DLC coating or titanium nitride coating.
The scissors 100 of the above illustrated embodiment are used to cut chicken meat and bones. However, the scissors 100 of the embodiment may be employed as the scissors for cutting other objects than chicken meat and bones.
1, 2 . . . body portions, 3 . . . pivot support portion, 4, 5 . . . handle, 6, 7 . . . blade, 11 . . . recess (accommodating portion), 11a . . . recess opening end, 12 . . . grip ring (grip portion), 14 . . . pivot (coupling portion) of pivot support portion, 15 . . . pivot hole (coupling portion) of pivot support portion, 16 . . . movable transmission member, 18 . . . torsion coil spring (urging member), 19, 20 . . . row of teeth (interlocking portion), scissors . . . 100
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2013-175699 | Aug 2013 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2014/072151 | 8/25/2014 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2015/029943 | 3/5/2015 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2392118 | Cacarillo | Jan 1946 | A |
5697159 | Linden et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
6223621 | Wesling | May 2001 | B1 |
20050011321 | Hsien | Jan 2005 | A1 |
20070144014 | Toyama | Jun 2007 | A1 |
20070144015 | Peterson | Jun 2007 | A1 |
20070209213 | Chorpash | Sep 2007 | A1 |
20100011970 | Asher | Jan 2010 | A1 |
20120137840 | Chen et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
20130091713 | Wu | Apr 2013 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
S54141583 | Nov 1979 | JP |
58152583 | Sep 1983 | JP |
59109417 | Jul 1984 | JP |
S60130313 | Jul 1985 | JP |
01308583 | Dec 1989 | JP |
02148665 | Dec 1990 | JP |
09173659 | Jul 1997 | JP |
H09313752 | Dec 1997 | JP |
2000262776 | Sep 2000 | JP |
2005052246 | Mar 2005 | JP |
Entry |
---|
Office Action dated Jul. 4, 2017, during the prosecution of the corresponding Japanese patent application. |
International Search Report dated Nov. 11, 2014. |
International Preliminary Search Report on Patentability; International Application No. PCT/JP2014/072151; International Filing Date Aug. 25, 2014; dated Mar. 1, 2016, 6 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20160221199 A1 | Aug 2016 | US |