Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
lZ~3487
IMPLEMENT SHARPENING DEVICE
Background of the Invention
Heretofore, there have been many types of
machines ~or sharpening blades on implement~ such as
sci~sors, however, normally they are relatively
complic~ted or are not readily useable for sharpening
S an edge on the blade and for reversing the position
of the blade ~or buffing the same edge. The sharpening
of the edge normally takes place with a grinding wheel
moving in the direction away from the cutting edge.
When buffing the edge of the implement after the sharp-
10 ening has taken place, this normally occurs with thebuffing wheel moving in a direction toward the cutting
edge.
Typical shears and scissors sharpeners are
disclosed in ~. S. patents 3,755,971; 1,381,416;
2,179,725; 3,574,268; 1,955,366; 1,200,605, and
1,472,760.
Summary of the Invention
In one aspect, the invention pertains to an
apparatus for holding a blade of an implement while sharpening
a face of an edge of the blade thereon with a circumferential
sharpening face of a rotating sharpening wheel. The apparatus
comprises a blade holder and an arm ~rrangement including a
plurality of links supporting the blade holder on an outer
extremity of the arm arrangement. Means pivotably connect
the links together for pivoting in a plane substantially
parallel to a sharpening plane containing both the true
center of the sharpening wheel and the point at which the face
of the edge of the blade touches the sharpening face of
the sharpening wheel, permitting the blade holder to be
moved in a straight line across the circumferential
- sharpening face of the sharpening wheel. The blade holder
comprises a support bracket with an arcuate groove provided
in the bracket and a clamping jaw mechanism extending out-
wardly from the support bracket positioning the blade to be
~r,
lZ~3~ 7
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sharpened adjacent the sharpening wheel. Post means extend
from the clamping jaw mechanism into the groove for adjustably
positioning the clamping jaw relative to the sharpening wheel.
Another aspect oE the invention pertains to an
apparatus for holding a blade of an implement while sharpening
a face of an edge of the blade, comprising a blade holder
supporting the blade to be sharpened, and rotating sharpening
wheel means for sharpening the face of the blade having a
sharpening surface. An arm arrangement including a plurality
of links support the blade holder on an outer extremity of the
arm arrangement, and means pivotally connect the links to-
gether permitting the blade holder to be moved in a straight
line across the sharpening surface of the sharpening wheel
means. Means support the face of the edge of the blade being
sharpened on the blade holder at a predetermined angle with
respect to the sharpening surface so that the face of the blade
is contacting the sharpening surface of the sharpening wheel
means moving in a first direction relative to the face of the
blade. Means are provided for detachably mounting the blade
holder on the arm arrangement so that the blade holder may be
; removed from the arm arrangement, rotated 180 degrees to
an upside-down position, and remounted on the arm arrangement
so that the same face of the blade being sharpened is
contacting at the predetermined angle the sharpening surface
moving in a second direction, opposite to the first direction,
relative to the face of said blade.
The invention further comprehends a method for
sharpening a face of an edge of a blade by moving a
sharpening surface against the face of the edge of the blade
in two opposite directions relative to the face of the edge of
the blade which comprises mounting a blade holder on a
supporting arm, mounting the blade to be sharpened in the
blade holder so that the face of the blade is contacting a
first sharpening surface moving in a first direction relative
to the face of the blade, removing the blade holder from the
support arm, rotating the blade holder 180 degrees so that
it is upside-down, and remounting the blade holder in its
~2~34~37
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upside-down position on the support arm so that the same face
of the blade being sharpened is contacting a sharpening surface
moving in a second direction, opposite to the first direction,
relative to the face of the blade.
More particularly, this invention relates to an
apparatus for holding a blade of an implement such as a pair
of scissors while sharpening an edge thereon. The device
includes a blade holder that is carried on an outer extremity
of an arm arrangement which includes a plurality of links.
The links are pivotably connected together permitting the
blade holder to be moved horizontally in a straight line
across the face of the shaxpening wheel. The blade holder
includes a support bracket which has an arcuate groove
provided therein. A clamping jaw mechanism extends out-
wardly from the support bracket and positions the edge of
the blade to be sharpened adjacent the surface of the
sharpening wheel. A pair of posts extend laterally from
the clamping jaw mechanism into the arcuate groove so
that the angle of the clamping jaw can be adjusted by sliding
~ 20 the pair of posts within the groove. One of the posts is
threaded for receiving a knob that can be drawn tightly
adjacent the edge of the bracket for fixing the angle
- of the clamping jaw and, in turn, the blade relative to
the sharpening wheel. The arcuate groove has a center of
radius which is at approximately the edge of the blade
being held by the clamping jaws. As a result of the manner in
which the cl~mping jaws are attached to the support bracket
through the posts extending into the arcuate groove, the
blade can be positioned at substantially the same center
point on the wheel whether it is set at a flat or an
angle, for example, 55.
- 35
,A
-3a- ~Z43~7
.
The blade holder can be readily turned over
so that the blade can be held adjacent a first grinding
wheel with the direction of rotation of the grinding
wheel being into the cutting edge being sharpened. When
it is desired to put a fine edge or buff the edge of the
b_ade with a buffing wheel, then the fixture with the
blade therein is turned over so that the direction of
rotation of the grinding wheel is toward the cutting
edge being buffed. This is accomplished by providing
1~ posts on the outer ends of the bracket which can be
readily inserted into a bore provided in the outer
extremity of the last link forming part of the arm
arrangement.
~he construction designed to carry out the
invention will be hereinafter described, together with
other features thereof.
The invention will be more readily understood
from a reading of the following specification and by
reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part
thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown
and wherein:
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a blade
sharpening device constructed in accordance with the
present invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view illustrating
the blade holder holding the edge of a knife in different
sharpening positions;
Figure 3 is a side elevational view illustrat-
ing the manner in which the angular position of theblade holder can be changed.
1243~37
Descri tion of a Preferred Embodiment
~æ .
Referring in more detail to the drawing~, there
is illustrated a conventional sharpening device which
includes a mctor 10 which has a ~harpening wheel 12
positioned on one side with a buffer wheel 14 carried
on the other side thereof. This may be any conventional
grinding or sharpening wheel equipped with the standard
items such as protective shields 16 and ON/OFF switch
18. The motor 10 is supported on a base 20 that i5,
10 in turn, secured to the flat metal plate 22.
Mounted on the plate 22 is a blade holder
that is supported on an arm arrangement, ~he arm
arrangement includes a plurality of links 24, 26, and 28.
The lower link 24 has its inner end pivotably attached
15 by means of a vextically extending post to the base
plate 22. The outer end of the link 24 has a vertically
extending post provided thereon which extends upwardly
through a bushing provided in an end of link 26. The
other end of the intermediate link 26 has a post 32
20 projecting upwardly therefrom which extends into a
bushing provided on an end of the link 28. There is
provided a vertically extending bore 34 in the outer
extremity of the link 28 into which a pin or post
36 carried on a bracket extends. The bracket is
; 25 substantially rectangular shaped and has another post
42 projectinq out of the upper end thereof. A blade
holder generally designated by the reference character
44 is carried by the vertically extending bracket 40~
The blade holder includes a pair of elongated members
30 46 and 48 slidably positioned relative to each other.
Elongated member 46 has a flange 50 provided on the
outer end thereof. Extending through the flange 50 is
a threaded bore through which a threaded bolt 52 extends
to threadably engage the slidable member 48. By rotating
~2~34~7
- 5 -
an enlarged knob 54a provided on the end thereof, the
slidable member 48 i5 moved longitudinally relative to
the member 46. Adjacent the other end of the slidable
member 48 is one face 54 of a clamping jaw. This face
S is angled as shown in Figure 3. Directly opposite the
face 54 of the clamping jaw is a face 56 forming part
of the clamping jaw. The face 56 is carried on the
inner end of elongated member 46.
By rotating the enlarged knob 54, the two
10 faces 54 and 56 can be separated for recei~ing and hold-
ing a blade 58 to be sharpened. As shown in Figure 1,
the blade 58 forms part of a pair of scissors 61.
The holder 44 is attached to the ~ertical
bracket by me~ns of a pair of laterally extending posts
15 60 and 62 which project out of the side wall of the
elongated member-46 through an arcuate groove 64 which
is provided in the vertically extending bracket 40O A
knob 66, as shown in Figure 1, is threaded on the post
62 so that when such is rotated, it draws the blade
20 hold r 44 tightly up ayainst the opposed surface of the
vertically extending bracket 40 for holding such tight
in a fixed position.
As seen in Figure 3, the center of curvatur~
of the groove 64 is approximately at the outer edge of
25 the blaae to be sharpened which is normally approximately
1/8" out beyond the holding jaws of the holder 44.
The posts S0 and 62 permit the blade holder
to be rotated for changing the angle that the gripping
jaws present the edge of the blade to the grinding
30 wheel. As a result of the two posts 60 and 62 being
utilized, the edge of the blade is always coplanar with and
presented to the true center of the cutting wheel regardless
of t~e angle that the holder 44 is positioned Such is parti-
cularly advantageous since the blade that is to be
lZ~34B7
sharpened is always presented at the same point on the
grinding wheel and, as a result, at ~he same angle
regardless of the wear of the wheel.
When sharpening an edge on an implement such
as a knife 70 or a blade of a pair of scissors 61, first
the blade is presented to the grinding wheel 12 for
sharpening the blade to the desired angle that is set by
rotating the holder 44 and tightening the knob 66. The
holder does not tend to move as a result of the two
10 posts 60 and 62 being utilized to position it within the
vertically extending bracket 40. As shown in Figure 2,
the pivotable arms 24, 26 and 28 permit different angle
surfaces and lengths to be readily presented to the
grinding wheel. It is noted, however, that all of the
15 surfaces to be sharpened are presented at the same hori-
zontal plane relative to the grinding wheel. During the
sharpening operation on wheel 12, the grinding wheel is
rotated into the cutting edge of the scissors. After the
initial edge has been sharpened on the blade, it is
20 desired that the scissors be buffed on a buffing wheel
being with the direction of rotation of the buffing
wheel towards the cutting edge. This is readily
accomplished by merely lifting the vertical bracket 40
and turning it over and inserting the post 42 bac~ into
25 the bore 34 carried on the end of the ar~ 28. The entire
arm arrangement is then shifted laterally in front of the
buffer wheel 14.
While a preferred embodiment of the invention
has been described using specific terms, such description
30 is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be
understood that changes and variations may be made without
departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.
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