Patent ID: 6286215
Filing Date: 2001-09-11
Classification: A47L,B44D

Abstract:
A retractable blade scraper for use with a removable scraping blade having a scraping edge, a rear edge opposite the scraping edge, side edges extending between the scraping and rear edges and two opposed flat surfaces bounded by the edges, and comprising:(a) an elongated handle having upper and lower surfaces, left and right sides, a rear end and an open forward end, said handle including an integral blade slide housing beginning at said open forward end and extending longitudinally rearwardly toward said rear end, said blade slide housing having top, bottom, left and right walls defining a blade-slide cavity adapted to receive a scraping blade through said open forward end, said handle further including an elongated thumb button opening extending partially within one of said left and right sides of said handle, said handle being of substantially uniform thickness between said upper and lower surfaces and substantially symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of the handle as viewed from either side; and(b) a blade slide including a blade platform adapted for removably receiving and retaining a scraping blade having a scraping edge such that the scraping edge extends substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said handle, said blade slide being slidably received and normally retained in said blade slide housing for longitudinal reciprocation therein between a forwardmost blade-changing position in which said blade platform extends out of the blade-slide cavity beyond said open forward end by an amount sufficient to permit the alternative removal of a scraping blade therefrom and placement of a scraping blade thereon and a rearwardmost blade-storage position in which the scraping edge of a scraping blade in place on said blade platform does not extend beyond said open forward end, said blade slide further including(i) a force actuated thumb button accessible from the exterior of said handle through said thumb button opening and connected to the remainder of said blade slide by a resilient lever, and(ii) a slide-locking detent depending from said resilient lever which is normally biased by said resilient lever for alternative locking engagement with at least a first detent-receiving notch within said handle corresponding to the blade storage position and a second detent-receiving notch within said handle corresponding to a scraping position, between the storage and blade changing positions, in which the scraping edge of a scraping blade in place on said blade platform extends beyond the open forward end of said handle, said slide-locking detent being movable into a sliding position in which it is disengaged from said detent-receiving notches by the depression of said thumb button in a substantially lateral direction toward one side of said handle so that said blade slide may be longitudinally reciprocated between the blade-changing and storage positions.