Patent ID: 8732956
Filing Date: 2014-05-27
Classification: B26B

Abstract:
1. A safety mechanism for a utility knife, the utility knife having an elongate body with a blade extending therefrom and a shield retractably shielding the cutting edge of the blade, the safety mechanism comprising: an actuator with a stepped member, the stepped member having a seat surface; and a rigid strut with a deflecting member extending from the strut, the strut having an initial position where the strut is engaged between the shield and a bracket to prevent retracting of the shield and the deflecting member is positioned above the seat surface, the bracket being fixed to the elongate body; wherein movement of the actuator is transmitted to the strut through the deflecting member being lifted by the seat surface such that the strut is disengaged from the bracket; and wherein once the strut is disengaged from the bracket, the retracting of the shield causes movement of the strut in a substantially longitudinal direction relative the bracket, and causes delinking of the seat surface and the deflecting member; and wherein continued pressing of the actuator prevents the deflecting member from being repositioned above the seat surface, even as the shield returns to covering the blade due to the deflecting member being deflected in the substantially longitudinal direction by lateral contact with the stepped member.