The present invention relates generally to safety cutters and, in particular, cutter apparatuses that safely and comfortably provide multifunctional capability.
Utility knives with extendable blades are known. Utility knives with blades that automatically retract into a handle are also known. However, such utility knives are often cumbersome or unwieldy, or suffer from deficiencies in the mechanism that is used to extend the blade. Accordingly, it would be useful to be able to provide cutter apparatuses that facilitate easy, safe and comfortable blade extension, as well as user-selectable blade extension lengths. It would also be useful to be able to incorporate the aforementioned features into multifunctional cutter apparatuses.
In an example embodiment, a cutter apparatus includes a housing shaped to be hand-held, a slider configured to support a front blade, the slider being mechanically coupled to the housing and configured to be moved longitudinally along the housing, and a blade guard mechanically coupled to the housing and configured to be extended and retracted adjacent to the front end of the housing, wherein the slider and the blade guard are configured to move in tandem.
Referring to
A blade retention/release assembly 120 (discussed below in greater detail) is secured within the housing 102. The slider 104 is supported within the backbone structure 110 by channels 122, 124. A front blade 126 is supported by the top surface 128 of the slider 104. A cover plate 130 is supported at its forward end by surface 132 of the backbone structure 110. The blade guard 106, in turn, is positioned over the cover plate 130 and supported within the housing 102 such that the blade guard 106 can be slid longitudinally. In this example embodiment, the blade guard 106 includes follower posts 134, 136 which respectively make contact with surfaces 138, 140, of the slider 104 when the blade guard 106 is slid forward.
Accordingly,
The blade guard 106 includes one or more ergonomically designed surfaces or portions for pushing the blade guard 106 forward. In this example embodiment, the blade guard 106 includes a center grip portion 154 and two adjacent side grip portions 156, 158 formed as shown. In this example embodiment, the center grip portion 154 extends above a top surface 160 of the housing 102, and the side grip portions 156, 158 extend wider than the housing 102.
In operation, some users of the cutter apparatus 100 may find that the quickest and easiest way to deploy the front blade 126, e.g., to “top cut” a box, is to use their thumb to press the center grip portion 154 forward and hold it in that forward position during the cutting motion. When the user lets go of the blade guard 106, the blade guard 106 is retracted backward by the guard spring 142. This backward motion of the blade guard 106, in turn, releases the slider 104 to be retracted backward by the slider spring 148.
For extended intervals of cutting, some users of the cutter apparatus 100 may find it more comfortable to position a finger behind one or both of the side grip portions 156, 158. In this example embodiment, the housing 102 includes recesses 162, 164 which further enhance gripping comfort when using the side grip portions 156, 158, respectively.
Accordingly,
Referring to
Referring
It should be understood that alternative structures can be used to provide a depth stop mechanism for controlling the extent to which and if the slider 104 can be pushed forward. In an alternative embodiment, the depth stop mechanism has a different number of stops. In an alternative embodiment, the cutter apparatus 100 does not include a depth stop mechanism in the form of a dial. Independent of whether the cutter apparatus 100 includes a depth stop mechanism, either the slider 104 or the blade guard 106 can be repositioned to gradually extend the front blade 126 a specific amount depending upon the nature of the cutting task.
The slider 104 includes one or more symmetrical arranged support structures for the front blade 126. In this example embodiment, the one or more symmetrical arranged support structures include raised structures 184, 186, and 188 which are shaped and positioned as shown on the top surface 128 of the slider 104. In this example embodiment, the raised structures 184, 186, and 188 are generally V-shaped. More generally, the one or more symmetrical arranged support structures are configured such that at least one of the support structures faces an edge 190 of the front blade 126 when the blade is oriented for right-handed cutting, and at least one of the support structures faces the edge of the blade when the blade is oriented for left-handed cutting. It should be appreciated that an alternative support structure can be used to facilitate ambidextrous use of the cutter apparatus 100 in respect to cutting with the front blade 126.
With respect to the afore-mentioned multi-stage blade release functionality, the blade retention/release assembly 120 includes first and second blade retention/release tabs 192, 194 which are mechanically coupled together with a blade release spring 196 and sized to fit through complementary holes 198, 200 in the slider 104 and holes 202, 204 in the front blade 126. The first blade retention/release tab 192 including a ramp-shaped surface 206 which is brought into contact with a portion of the housing 102 when the slider 104 is advanced to its foremost position such that the first blade retention/release tab 192 is twisted away and withdrawn from the front blade 126 and the slider 104 (i.e., the first stage of the blade release process).
In this example embodiment, the blade retention/release assembly 120 further includes a tab portion 208 that is exposed through an opening in the housing 102, and a pivot member 210 that is pivotally secured at opposite ends thereof within recesses 212, 214 (
Referring to
In this example embodiment, the cutter apparatus 100 includes a coil spring 230 (
Referring to
Referring to
Although the present invention has been described in terms of the example embodiments above, numerous modifications and/or additions to the above-described embodiments would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the scope of the present invention extend to all such modifications and/or additions.
This application is a continuation of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/310,732, entitled “Spring Back Safety and Film Cutter”, filed on Dec. 3, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,819,942, issued on Sep. 2, 2014), which is a continuation of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 12/111,847, entitled “Spring Back Safety and Film Cutter”, filed on Apr. 29, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,069,571, issued on Dec. 6, 2011), which are hereby incorporated by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13310732 | Dec 2011 | US |
Child | 14474270 | US | |
Parent | 12111847 | Apr 2008 | US |
Child | 13310732 | US |