Structure art design knife

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6742260
  • Patent Number
    6,742,260
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, February 26, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 1, 2004
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Watts; Douglas D.
    Agents
    • Rosenberg, Klein & Lee
Abstract
An improved structure art design knife that provides for stabler and safer manual grasping, the arrangement of which includes a front cover, a back cover, a hatch, a flat spring, and a blade holder mechanism. In addition to convenient blade replacement, the art design knife of the present invention contains a plurality of spare blades, thereby enhancing the utility of such structures and, furthermore, increasing practical value from a production standpoint.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1) Field of the Invention




The invention herein relates to utility cutters and knives, specifically an improved structure art design knife that provides for stabler and safer manual grasping, the arrangement of which includes a front cover, a back cover, a hatch, a flat spring, and a blade holder mechanism. In addition to convenient blade replacement, the art design knife of the present invention contains a plurality of spare blades, thereby enhancing functionality and, furthermore, increasing practical value from a production standpoint.




2) Description of the Prior Art




In a conventional art design knife, frictional wear between the tensile pawl and the wave-profiled rack of the blade extension/retraction, mechanism often reduces overall structural rigidity such that blades cannot be consistently fixed into position, resulting in a greater risk of user injury. Moreover, the spare blades of a conventional art knife are typically situated external to the body of the knife. As such, considerable time is wasted searching for extra blades whenever a blade has to be replaced. Given the existent drawbacks of the conventional product and the need to overcome them, the applicant of the invention herein innovated an original solution and conducted extensive research based on design and other experience gained while engaged in the related industrial fields that culminated in the successful development of the improved structure art design knife of the invention herein.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The objective of the invention herein is to provide an improved structure art design knife in which the blade holder mechanism and the rack of the front cover and the back cover are of a balanced and stable arrangement to achieve blade positioning more effectively and safely and, furthermore, the present invention accommodates the internal storage of a plurality of spare blades, thereby integrating an extra blade supply within the body of the art design knife itself to further enhance blade replacement convenience and efficiency.




To enable the examination committee a further understanding of the means whereby the said objective is accomplished as well as the advantages, other objectives, and operation of the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the brief description of the drawings below are followed by the detailed description of the invention herein.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an isometric drawing of the invention herein.





FIG. 2

is an exploded drawing of the invention herein.





FIG. 3

is an isometric drawing of the front cover


1


of the invention herein.





FIG. 4

is an isometric drawing of the front cover


1


of the invention herein.





FIG. 5

is an isometric drawing of the back cover


2


of the invention herein.





FIG. 6

is an isometric drawing of the back cover


2


of the invention herein.





FIG. 7

is an isometric drawing of the hatch


3


of the invention herein.





FIG. 8

is an isometric drawing of the hatch


3


of the invention herein.





FIG. 9

is an exploded drawing of the blade holder mechanism


5


of the invention herein.





FIG. 10

is an isometric drawing of the push button


52


of the invention herein.





FIG. 11

is an isometric drawing of the push button


52


of the invention herein.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




Referring to FIG.


1


and

FIG. 2

, the improved structure art design knife of the invention herein is comprised of a front cover


1


, a back cover


2


, a hatch


3


, a hatch lock button


16


, a blade holder mechanism


5


, a flat spring


4


, a blade ejection button


25


, a blade


56


, a push button


52


, a cushioning button


8


, an upper grip pad


6


, and a lower grip pad


7


, wherein;




Referring to FIG.


3


and

FIG. 4

, the said front cover


1


is a shell plate of one-piece construction having a semicircular opening


11


in the top edge of its anterior section, a semicircular opening


142


in the bottom edge of the anterior section, and a slide slot


12


along the inside of the top edge; the said front cover


1


also has an elongated recess


13


along the top edge of its posterior section and, furthermore, an elongated opening


18


disposed along the bottom portion of the posterior section and a round tape rule enclosure


181


formed inside the posterior section; additionally, a compartment


14


is formed inside the anterior section of the said front cover


1


, the said compartment


14


having an axial hole


141


at the both upper and lower corners of its forward edge, with the said compartment


14


recessively defined by a trapezoidal frame


143


; the said front cover


1


has an oval backing plate situated at its middle section, with the said backing plate


15


having an elongated hole


151


at the center and, furthermore, the said backing plate also has a standoff block


17


at the inner side of its rear edge and a fastener hole


171


is formed through the center of the said standoff block


17


; and a collar hole


19


is disposed through the posterior extremity of the said front cover


1


. The hatch lock button


16


is oval in shape and has a check plate at one extremity of its inner side; furthermore, the said hatch lock button


16


has a standoff block


161


formed at the center of its inner side and a threaded hole


162


is tapped in the center of the said standoff block


161


; the said locating block


163


is rectangular in shape and has a fastener hole


164


through one side and, furthermore, a blind hole


165


in the other side, with a coil spring


166


inserted into the said blind hole


165


; the standoff block


161


of the said hatch lock button


16


is inserted into the elongated hole


151


at the center of the backing plate


15


of the front cover


1


, a screw


167


is then inserted into the fastener hole


164


of the locating block


163


and tightened into the threaded hole


162


of the standoff block


161


, enabling the assembly of the coil spring


166


and the locating block


163


such that the hatch lock button


16


is capable of being toggled back and forth on the backing plate


15


of the front cover


1


.




Referring to FIG.


5


and

FIG. 6

, the said back cover


2


is a shell plate of one-piece construction having a semicircular opening


21


in the top edge of its anterior section and a slide slot


22


along the inside of the middle section top edge, with a wave-profiled rack


221


arrayed along the bottom edge of the said slide slot


21


; the said rear cover


2


also has an elongated recess


23


along the top edge of its posterior section and, furthermore, an elongated opening


28


is disposed along the bottom portion of the posterior section and a round tape rule enclosure


281


is formed inside the posterior section; additionally, a vertically oriented slide channel


24


is formed inside the anterior section of the said back cover


2


and a threaded hole


241


is tapped at the top edge of the said slide channel


24


; a slide plate


251


extends upward from the said blade ejection button


25


, the said slide plate


251


having an elongated hole


252


through its top edge such that the said elongated hole


252


allows the insertion of a screw


253


which is fastened into the threaded hole


241


at the slide channel


24


of the back cover


2


; the said back cover


2


has a shaft


26


integrated inside the bottom edge of its anterior section and a coil spring


254


is sleeved over the said shaft


26


, with the extended portion of the said coil spring


254


postured horizontally against the bottom edge at the inner side of the blade ejection button


25


such that the blade ejection button


25


is constrained within the slide channel


24


of the back cover


2


, but capable of shifting upward and downward; the said back cover


2


has a threaded mounting hole


27


at the center of its posterior section and, furthermore, a collar hole


29


is disposed through the posterior extremity of the back cover


2


.




Referring to FIG.


7


and

FIG. 8

, the said hatch


3


is shaped such that it is congruous with the said compartment


14


of the front cover


1


; the said hatch


3


has a hinge pin


31


formed at each of the upper and lower corners of its anterior side, with the said hatch


3


also having an arcuate catch indentation


32


along the outer edge of the posterior side; additionally, a spring attachment slot


33


is formed at both the anterior and the posterior inner sides of the said hatch


3


; the said flat spring


4


is a one-piece component with a mounting tab


41


at each of its two ends that is punched fabricated from sheet metal; two overlapping tensile elements


42


crisscross inward on the said flat spring


4


; and the mounting tabs


41


of the said flat spring


4


are inserted into the spring attachment slots


33


along the inner side of the hatch


3


.




Referring to

FIG. 9

,

FIG. 10

, and

FIG. 11

, the said blade holder mechanism consists of a blade carrier


51


, a push button


52


, and a blade arresting component


53


, wherein:




The push button


52


has a vertical support member


522


at the lower extent of its body


521


; a cylindrical post


523


is formed in the center at one side of the body


521


and, furthermore, another cylindrical post


524


is formed on the push button


52


at the lower extent of its anterior edge; and the upper extent of the said push button


52


is surfaced with a pliant lining


525


.




The blade arresting component


53


has a semicircular pawl


531


at the bottom edge of its anterior extremity, a cylindrical post


532


is disposed at the center of the upper edge of the said blade arresting component


53


and, furthermore, a support pin


533


emerges from one side at the posterior extremity of the blade arresting component


53


and the said blade arresting component


53


has a rectangular block


534


formed on the lower edge of its anterior section.




The blade carrier


51


has a T-shaped insertable element


511


formed along the upper edge of its anterior extremity and a skid element


512


along its lower edge; the said blade carrier


51


has a rectangular recess


513


in the center and, furthermore, a semicircular support pin notch


514


is formed in the upper edge at the posterior extremity of the said blade carrier


51


.




The support pin


533


emerging from one side at the posterior extremity of the blade holder mechanism


5


blade arresting component


53


is fitted into the semicircular support pin notch


514


in the upper edge at the posterior extremity of the said blade carrier


51


a coil spring


54


is sleeved between the post


524


of the push button


52


and the post


532


disposed at the center of the blade arresting component


53


; furthermore, the vertical support member


522


at the lower extent of the said push button


52


is placed through another coil spring


55


and then inserted into the rectangular recess


513


of the blade carrier


51


; and the pawl


531


at the bottom edge along the anterior extremity of the blade arresting mechanism


53


engages the semicircular notch in the top edge of the blade


56


, thereby securing the blade


56


in the blade holder mechanism


5


.




The post


523


at one side of the blade holder mechanism


5


push button


52


of the invention herein is insertionally postured within the wave-profiled rack


221


beneath the upper edge along the anterior section of the back cover


2


; the said cushioning button


8


is placed into the semicircular opening


11


in the top edge along the anterior section of the front cover


1


; the said upper grip pad


6


is unitarily fabricated out of a soft plastic material and embedded in a long recess


13


molded in the top edge along the posterior section of the front cover


1


; the said lower grip pad


7


is also unitarily fabricated of a soft plastic material but embedded in a long recess


18


molded in the bottom portion along the posterior section of the front cover


1


; furthermore, the two hinge pins


31


of the said hatch


3


are coupled into the axial holes


141


of the front cover


3


, enabling the closing of the hatch


3


over the compartment


14


of the front cover


1


, with the hatch lock button


16


latching the hatch


3


against the front cover


1


; and the front cover


1


and the rear cover


2


are connected together by inserting a screw


9


through the fastener hole


171


of the front cover


1


and then tightening it into the threaded mounting hole


27


of the back cover


2


, thereby completing the assembly of the art design knife structure.




The post


523


of the push button


52


of the invention herein is positioned in the wave-profiled rack


221


; when the push button


52


is depressed, the post


523


is disengaged from the wave-profiled rack


221


and the push button


52


is impelled outward such that the push button


52


causes the blade carrier


51


, the blade arresting mechanism


53


, and the blade


56


to slide outward; when the blade


56


slides to the appropriate position, the push button


52


is released and the coil springs


54


and


55


of the said push button


52


elastically rebound upward and position the said post


523


back into the wave-profiled rack


221


, thereby achieving a safe and stable blade forwarding operation; to withdraw the blade


56


, the same procedure is conducted in reverse by operating the push button


52


in the opposite direction.




To effect blade replacement, the blade ejection button


25


is pressed upward when the blade


56


is pushed beyond the anterior extremity of the art design knife, the top edge of the slide plate


251


of the said blade ejection button


25


lifts the rectangular block


534


at the lower edge along the anterior extremity of the blade arresting component


53


, with the support pin


533


of the said blade arresting component serving as the pivoting axis, causing the pawl


531


at the anterior extremity of the blade arresting mechanism


53


to ascend and disengage from the notch


57


of the blade


56


, thereby allowing the removal of the blade


56


; the trapezoidal frame


143


in the said front cover


1


contains a plurality of preloaded, stacked blades


56


with the flat spring


4


at the inner side of the hatch


3


tensioned inward against the blades


56


such that the blades


56


are pushed to the very bottom level of the trapezoidal frame


143


and as the said blade arresting mechanism


53


returns, the pawl


531


of the blade arresting mechanism


53


once again engages the notch


57


in the upper edge of the blade


56


, thereby completing the replacement of a blade.




In summation of the foregoing section, since the invention herein is capable of achieving the claimed utilization objectives and, furthermore, the disclosed structure possesses exceptional practical value and functionality, the present invention is submitted to the examination committee for review and the granting of the commensurate patent rights.



Claims
  • 1. An improved structure art design knife comprised of a front cover, a back cover, a hatch, a hatch lock button, a blade holder mechanism, a flat spring, a blade ejection button, a blade, a push button, a cushioning button, an upper grip pad, and a lower grip pad, wherein:the said front cover is a shell plate of one-piece construction having a semicircular opening in the top edge of its anterior section, a semicircular opening in the bottom edge of the anterior section, and a slide slot along the inside of the top edge; the said front cover also has an elongated recess along the top edge of its posterior section and, furthermore, an elongated opening disposed along the bottom portion of the posterior section and a round tape rule enclosure formed inside the posterior section; additionally, a compartment is formed inside the anterior section of the said front cover, the said compartment having an axial hole at the both upper and lower corners of its forward edge, with the said compartment recessively defined by a trapezoidal frame; the said front cover has an oval backing plate situated at its middle section, with the said backing plate having an elongated hole at the center and, furthermore, the said backing plate also has a standoff block at the inner side of its rear edge and a fastener hole is formed through the center of the said standoff block; and a collar hole is disposed through the posterior extremity of the said front cover; the said hatch lock button is oval in shape and has a check plate at one extremity of its inner side; furthermore, the said hatch lock button has a standoff block formed at the center of its inner side and a threaded hole is tapped in the center of the said standoff block; the said locating block is rectangular in shape and has a fastener hole through one side and, furthermore, a blind hole in the other side, with a coil spring inserted into the said blind hole; the said standoff block of the said hatch lock button is inserted into the said elongated hole at the center of the said backing plate of the said front cover, a screw is then inserted into the said fastener hole of the said locating block and tightened into the said threaded hole of the said standoff block, enabling the assembly of the said coil spring and the said locating block such that the said hatch lock button is capable of being toggled back and forth on the said backing plate of the said front cover; the said back cover is a shell plate of one-piece construction having a semicircular opening in the top edge of its anterior section and a slide slot along the inside of the middle section top edge, with a wave-profiled rack arrayed along the bottom edge of the said slide slot; the said rear cover also has an elongated recess along the top edge of its posterior section and, furthermore, an elongated opening is disposed along the bottom portion of the posterior section and a round tape rule enclosure is formed inside the posterior section; additionally, a vertically oriented slide channel is formed inside the anterior section of the said back cover and a threaded hole is tapped at the top edge of the said slide channel; a slide plate extends upward from the said blade ejection button, the said slide plate having an elongated hole through its top edge such that the said elongated hole allows the insertion of a screw which is fastened into the said threaded hole at the said slide channel of the said back cover; the said back cover has a shaft integrated inside the bottom edge of its anterior section and a coil spring is sleeved over the said shaft, with the extended portion of the said coil spring postured horizontally against the bottom edge at the inner side of the said blade ejection button such that the said blade ejection button is constrained within the said slide channel of the back cover, but capable of shifting upward and downward; the said back cover has a threaded mounting hole at the center of its posterior section and, furthermore, a collar hole is disposed through the posterior extremity of the said back cover; the said hatch is shaped such that it is congruous with the said compartment of the said front cover; the said hatch has a hinge pin formed at each of the upper and lower corners of its anterior side, with the said hatch also having an arcuate catch indentation along the outer edge of the posterior side; additionally, a spring attachment slot is formed at both the anterior and the posterior inner sides of the said hatch; the said flat spring is a one-piece component with a mounting tab at each of its two ends that is punched fabricated from sheet metal; two overlapping tensile elements crisscross inward on the said flat spring; and the said mounting tabs of the said flat spring are inserted into the said spring attachment slots along the inner side of the said hatch; the said blade holder mechanism consists of a blade carrier, a push button, and a blade arresting component, wherein: the said push button has a vertical support member at the lower extent of its body; a cylindrical post is formed in the center at one side of the said body and, furthermore, another cylindrical post is formed on the said push button at the lower extent of its anterior edge; and the upper extent of the said push button is surfaced with a pliant lining; the said blade arresting component has a semicircular pawl at the bottom edge of its anterior extremity, a cylindrical post is disposed at the center of the upper edge of the said blade arresting component and, furthermore, a support pin emerges from one side at the posterior extremity of the said blade arresting component and the said blade arresting component has a rectangular block formed on the lower edge of its anterior section; the said blade carrier has a T-shaped insertable element formed along the upper edge of its anterior extremity and a skid element along its lower edge; the said blade carrier has a rectangular recess in the center and, furthermore, a semicircular support pin notch is formed in the upper edge at the posterior extremity of the said blade carrier; the said support pin emerging from one side at the posterior extremity of the said blade holder mechanism blade arresting component is fitted into the said semicircular support pin notch in the upper edge at the posterior extremity of the said blade carrier; a coil spring is sleeved between the said post of the said push button and the other said post disposed at the center of the said blade arresting component; furthermore, the said vertical support member at the lower extent of the said push button is placed through another coil spring and then inserted into the said rectangular recess of the said blade carrier; and the said pawl at the bottom edge along the anterior extremity of the said blade arresting mechanism engages the semicircular notch in the top edge of the said blade, thereby securing the said blade in the said blade holder mechanism; the said post at one side of the said blade holder mechanism push button of the invention herein is insertionally postured within the said wave-profiled rack beneath the upper edge along the anterior section of the said back cover; the said cushioning button is placed into the said semicircular opening in the top edge along the anterior section of the said front cover; the said upper grip pad is unitarily fabricated out of a soft plastic material and embedded in a long recess molded in the top edge along the posterior section of the said front cover; the said lower grip pad is also unitarily fabricated of a soft plastic material but embedded in a long recess molded in the bottom portion along the posterior section of the said front cover; furthermore, the said two hinge pins of the said hatch are coupled into the said axial holes of the said front cover, enabling the closing of the said hatch over the said compartment of the said front cover, with the said hatch lock button latching the said hatch against the said front cover; and the said front cover and the said rear cover are connected together by inserting a screw through the said fastener hole of the said front cover and then tightening it into the said threaded mounting hole of the said back cover, thereby completing the assembly of the art design knife structure.
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6276014 Lee Aug 2001 B1
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