Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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KNIFE HAVING AUTOMATICALLY LOADING BLADE
The invention relates to a utility knife having a knife blade
loading structure to load the knife blades automatically.
Various kinds of typical utility knives have been developed
and comprise a blade carrier slidably received in a handle or a
housing, to carry a knife blade, and to move the knife blade into and
out of the housing between an outwardly working position and an
inwardly receiving or storing position.
For example, U.S. Patent No. 6,163,963 to Huang, and U.S.
Patent No. 6,243,953 to Huang disclose two of the typical utility
knives each also comprising a blade carrier slidably received in a
housing to carry and to move the knife blade into and out of the
housing.
Normally, the typical utility knives comprise two housing
members secured together, before the blade carrier slidably engaged
into and received in the housing. However, after the knife blades
have been worn out or damaged, it is required to separate the two
housing members away from each other, for allowing the knife
blades to be replaced with the other ones.
In these kinds of utility knives, the knife blades may not be
easily and quickly replaced with the other ones without disengaging
or disassembling the two housing members away from each other,
such that the knife blades may not be easily and quickly replaced
with the other new ones.
U.S. Patent No. 6,249,975 to Lin discloses another typical
utility knife comprising a blade support slidably received in a
housing to carry and to move the knife blade into and out of the
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housing, and further comprising a button slidably received in the
housing, to selectively disengage the knife blade from the blade
support, and to allow the knife blades to be disengaged or removed
from the housing. However, it will be difficult to engage a new
knife blade into the blade support and the housing.
U.S. Patent No. 5,966,817 to Lee, and U.S. Patent No.
6,192,589 to Martone et al. disclose two different typical utility
knives each also comprising a blade carrier slidably received in a
housing to carry and to move the knife blade into and out of the
housing, and further comprising a storage casing to receive spare
blades.
However, after the knife blades have been worn out or
damaged, it is also required to separate the two housing members
away from each other, or to rotate or move the casing away from the
housing, to remove the spare blades from the casing, and to allow
the knife blades to be replaced with the other ones.
U.S. Patent No. 5,727,320 to Shepherd et al. discloses another
typical utility knife comprising a blade carrier slidably received in a
housing to carry and to move the knife blade into and out of the
housing, and further comprising a blade magazine to receive spare
blades.
However, after the knife blades have been worn out or
damaged and when it is required to change the knife blades, the
blade carrier is required to be retracted backwardly, to move the
worn out or damaged knife blade into the blade magazine, and then
to rotate the blade magazine relative to the housing, to allow the
spare blade to be changeably attached into the blade carrier. The
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blade magazine includes a complicated configuration.
In addition, only one end of the knife blade may be used. For
changing the knife blades to the other ends, the blade magazine is
required to be disassembled from the housing, in order to change the
knife blades. Accordingly, it will also be difficult to change or to
replace the knife blades with the other ones.
U.S. Patent No. 4,517,741 to Castelluzzo discloses a further
typical utility knife comprising a handle having a cavity formed
therein to receive a stack of the blades, a slide having a magnetic
face for engaging and sliding the innermost blade into extended
position and for retracting the blade into the handle, and a lock is
further required to be provided for locking the blade extended.
However, the magnetic face of the slide may not stably hold or
secure the blade thereto, such that an additional lock is further
required to lock the blade extended, and such that the users have to
operate the lock to release or to lock the blade to the handle.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a
utility knife including a knife blade loading structure to load the
knife blades automatically, and including an actuator device to
easily and quickly remove knife blade from the handle without
dismantling or disassembling the handle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a utility knife
comprising:-
a handle including a passage formed therein and having an
open front formed therein, the handle including a chamber formed
therein and communicating with the passage thereof,
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a blade carrier slidably received in the passage of the handle,
and including a space formed therein, to receive a knife blade
therein, the blade carrier being movable forwardly and rearwardly
relative to the handle to move the knife blade either into the handle
at a storing position, or out through the open front of the handle to
an outwardly extending working position, the blade carrier
including a spring limb having a latch extended therefrom, to
engage with the knife blade, and to anchor the knife blade to the
blade carrier, and to allow the knife blade to be moved relative to
the handle by the blade carrier,
a disengaging device for selectively disengaging the latch of
the spring limb from the knife blade, to release the knife blade from
the blade carrier and the handle, and to allow the knife blade to be
disengaged from the blade carrier and the handle,
at least one spare blade received in the chamber of the handle,
and aligned with the space of the blade carrier when the blade
carrier is moved into the handle, and
a spring biasing device for biasing the spare blade into the
space of the blade carrier when the blade carrier is moved into the
handle and when the space of the blade carrier is emptied.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a utility knife;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the utility knife;
FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the utility knife, in which one half
of the handle is removed to show an inner structure of the utility
knife;
FIGS. 4, 5 are side plan views similar to FIG. 3, illustrating the
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operation of the utility knife;
FIG. 6 is a side plan view showing a blade carrier of the utility
knife for carrying and moving the knife blade;
FIG. 7 is a partial cross sectional view of the blade carrier,
taken along lines 7-7 of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a partial cross sectional view similar to FIG. 7,
illustrating the operation of the blade carrier of the utility knife;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating the
operation of the utility knife;
FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of the blade carrier, taken
along lines 10-10 of FIG. 9;
FIG. 1 I is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 10, illustrating
the operation of the actuator device of the utility knife;
FIG. 12 is a partial exploded view, illustrating the
disengagement of the knife blade from the handle of the utility
knife;
FIG. 13 is a partial exploded view, illustrating the engagement
of the spare knife blades into the handle of the utility knife; and
FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 12-12 of FIG.
12.
DESCRIPTION OF'THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a utility knife comprises a handle 10
including such as two handle members 11, 12 secured together by
adhesive materials, fasteners (not shown), or by welding processes.
For example, one of the handle members 12 may include one or
more juts 13 extended therefrom, and engaged into the other handle
member 11, before the handle members 11, 12 are welded or secured
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together, for allowing the handle members 11, 12 to be solidly
secured together.
The handle 10 includes a conventional passage 15 formed
therein and having an open front 16 formed therein, for allowing a
knife blade 90 to be slidably extended out through the open front 16
of the handle 10 to an outwardly extending working position (FIGS.
4, 9). A soft covering 14 may be attached to the lower portion of the
handle 10, to allow the users to comfortably hold or grasp the
handle 10. A pad 91 may be disposed in the front and upper portion
of the handle 10, to allow the users to comfortably operate the
utility knife by depressing the pad 91.
The handle 10 includes a groove 17 formed in the middle and
upper portion thereof, and one or more depressions 18 also formed
in the middle and upper portion thereof, and communicating with
the groove 17 thereof, and defined by one or more protrusions 19.
The grooves 17 and the depressions 18 of the handle 10 are also
communicating with the passage 15 of the handle 10.
A blade carrier 20 is slidably received and engaged in the
passage 15 of the handle 10, and includes a space 21 formed therein,
and defined by a base plate 22, a lower flange 23, and an upper
flange 24, to receive a knife blade 90. The blade carrier 20 is
movable forwardly and rearwardly relative to the handle 10, in order
to either move the knife blade 90 into the handle 10 to a storing
position, or out through the open front 16 of the handle 10 to the
outwardly extending working position.
The blade carrier 20 includes a spring or resilient arm 26
extended upwardly therefrom, such as extended from the base plate
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22 or the upper flange 24, and having a catch 27 formed or provided
on the free end thereof, to selectively engage into either of the
depressions 18 of the handle 10, and thus to position the blade
carrier 20 to the handle 10 at selected position. A knob 28 is
attached to the resilient arm 26, and slidably extended out through
the groove 17 of the handle 10, to move the blade carrier 20
forwardly and rearwardly relative to the handle 10.
The blade carrier 20 further includes one or more, such as two
slots 29 formed in the front portion thereof, to form or define a
spring limb 30 which may be engaged with either of the notches 92
of the knife blade 90 (FIGS. 6, 12), to catch or to retain or to anchor
the knife blade 90 to the blade carrier 20. The above-identified
structure of the handle 10 and the blade carrier 20 is typical and will
not be described in further details.
In the invention, the spring limb 30 of the blade carrier 20
further includes an ear 31 extended or bent from the upper portion
of the spring limb 30, and further includes a bent segment or latch
33 (FIGS. 6, 10) extended or bent from the upper portion of the
spring limb 30, and located below the ear 31, for engaging into
either of the notches 92 of the knife blade 90, and to catch or to
anchor the knife blade 90 to the blade carrier 20, and thus for
allowing the knife blade 90 to be stably moved relative to the handle
10 by the blade carrier 20.
The blade carrier 20 may further include one or more, such as
two protuberances 25 extended therefrom, such as extended from
the rear portion thereof, to form or define the space 21 thereof, and
to further stably engage with the knife blade 90 to the blade carrier
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20, and thus for allowing the knife blade 90 to be further stably or
effectively moved relative to the handle 10 by the blade carrier 20
(FIGS. 3-8).
As best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the protuberances 25 of the
blade carrier 20 includes a thickness equals to or slightly smaller
than that of one knife blade 90, and the latch 33 of the spring limb
30 may also be engaged into the notch 92 of only one of the knife
blades 90, and to allow only one of the knife blades 90 to be stably
engaged with and held within the space 21 of the blade carrier 20,
and thus to allow the only one knife blade 90 to be moved into and
out of the handle 10 by the blade carrier 20 (FIGS. 6-8).
The handle 10 includes an orifice 35 formed in the front
portion thereof, such as formed in the handle member 12 (FIG. 1),
and a cavity 36 also formed in the front portion thereof, such as
formed in the handle member 11 and aligned with the orifice 35 of
the handle member 12, for selectively receiving the latch 33 of the
spring limb 30 (FIGS. 10, 11), and to allow the latch 33 of the
spring limb 30 to be disengaged from the knife blade 90 (FIG. 11),
and thus for allowing the knife blade 90 to be disengaged from the
blade carrier 20 and the handle 10.
An actuator device 40 is slidably engaged through the orifice
35 of the handle member 12 of the handle 10, and a retaining ring 41
is attached to the actuator device 40 and engageable with the handle
member 12 of the handle 10 (FIGS. 10, 11), to slidably and rotatably
secure or anchor the actuator device 40 to the handle 10, and to
prevent the actuator device 40 from being disengaged from the
handle 10. The actuator device 40 may include a button 43 attached
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to one end and extendible out of the handle 10. A spring 44 may be
engaged onto the actuator device 40, and engaged between the
actuator device 40 and the handle 10, to bias the actuator device 40
away from the ear 31 of the spring limb 30 (FIG. 10).
As also best shown in FIGS. 10, 11, the actuator device 40 is
located and aligned with the ear 31 of the spring limb 30 (FIG. 10),
and is movable into the handle 10 against the spring 44, to depress
the ear 31 of the spring limb 30, and to selectively force the latch 33
of the spring limb 30 into the cavity 36 of the handle 10 (FIG. 11),
and to disengage the latch 33 of the spring limb 30 from the knife
blade 90, and thus to release the knife blade 90 from the blade
carrier 20 and the handle 10. At this moment, the knife blade 90
may be disengaged from the blade carrier 20 and the handle 10 (FIG.
12).
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13-14, the handle 10 includes a
chamber 37 formed therein and communicating with the passage 15
thereof, to receive one or more spare knife blades 93 therein. It is
preferable that the chamber 37 of the handle 10 and the spare knife
blades 93 are aligned with the space 21 of the blade carrier 20 when
the blade carrier 20 is moved into the handle 10. The handle 10
includes a peg 38 extended into the chamber 37 thereof, and a
curved spring member 50 has an aperture 51 formed in one end
thereof to receive the peg 38, and to attach the spring member 50 to
the handle 10. The spring member 50 is engaged with the spare
knife blades 93, to bias or to force the spare knife blades 93 toward
the blade carrier 20.
In operation, as shown in FIG. 12, the knife blade 90 may be
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removed or disengaged from the handle 10 by depressing the
actuator device 40 into the handle 10 when the knife blade 90 has
been damaged or worn out or required to be changed to the other
ones. The space 21 of the blade carrier 20 may thus be emptied.
When the blade carrier 20 is moved into the handle 10 with the knob
28 and when the space 21 of the blade carrier 20 is aligned with the
spare knife blades 93, the one spare knife blade 93 located nearest
the blade carrier 20 may then be biased into the space 21 of the
blade carrier 20, and attached to the blade carrier 20 with the latch
33 and/or the protuberances 25.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13, the handle 10 includes an opening
39 formed therein and communicating with the passage 15 and the
chamber 37 thereof, and includes one or two channels 34 formed
therein and communicating with the opening 39 thereof. One or
more spare knife blades 93 may be engaged into the opening 39 of
the handle 10, for engaging into the chamber 37 of the handle 10,
and then for being waiting to be biased into the space 21 of the
blade carrier 20, and attached to the blade carrier 20.
A cover 60 is slidably engaged in the opening 39 of the handle
10, and includes one or more ribs 61 slidably engaged in the
channels 34 of the handle 10, to slidably attach or secure the cover
60 to the handle 10, and to enclose the opening 39 of the handle 10.
The cover 60 includes a fence 62 extended therefrom (FIG. 1), for
engaging with and for moving the spare knife blades 93 into the
chamber 37 of the handle 10. It is preferable that the fence 62 of the
cover 60 includes one or more, such as two recesses 63 formed
therein to slidably receive the protuberances 25 of the blade carrier
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20, and to allow the fence 62 of the cover 60 to effectively move the
spare knife blades 93 into the chamber 37 of the handle 10. The
cover 60 includes one or more projections 64 extended therefrom
(FIG. 1), to engage into corresponding depressions 65 of the handle
10, and to releaseably latch or secure the cover 60 to the handle 10.
It is to be noted that a single knife blade 90 to be carried and
moved by a blade carrier 20 is typical, and to be disengaged from
the handle 10 is also typical. However, after the space 21 of the
blade carrier 20 is emptied, one of the spare knife blades 93 may
then be moved or biased into the space 21 of the blade carrier 20
when the blade carrier 20 is moved into the handle 10, such that the
spare knife blades 93 may be automatically loaded into the blade
carrier 20 without dismantling or disassembling the handle 10. In
addition, the spare knife blades 93 may also be easily refilled into
the chamber 37 of the handle 10 via the opening 39 of the handle 10,
and with the cover 60.
Accordingly, the utility knife includes a knife blade loading
structure to load the knife blades automatically, and includes an
actuator device to easily and quickly remove knife blade from the
handle without dismantling or disassembling the handle.
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