Abstract:
A hand held instrument is provided with a pair of assemblies, a ball bearing mechanism and mechanism housing. The assemblies are pivotally connected and are mechanically assisted by a plurality of ball bearings. The ball bearing assisted instrument prevents debris and foreign material from interfering with the pivoting action. By providing a housing that encompasses the ball bearing mechanism unwanted debris is hindered from entering the mechanism.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 60/744,299, titled “Ball Bearing Assisted Cutting Implements”, filed on Apr. 5, 2006 and herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, and to U.S. Patent Application No. 60/870,787, titled “Cutting Instrument”, filed Dec. 20, 2006, and incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to cutting implements and, more particularly, ball bearing assisted cutting implements.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Under normal operating environments, a pair of scissors is required to have excellent rotatability and durability, which is crucial when operating under stressful cutting conditions. This is especially true for scissors employed in the gardening and floral related fields. Pivoting mechanisms having ball bearings have been used to enhance the rotatability of scissors. That is, according to the pair of scissors, an excellent rotational movement of the moving blade and the stationary blade can be maintained due to smooth rotational movement of the steel balls held by the bearing.  
         [0004]     It is often the case that debris such as dirt, mud and organic matter enter the pivot between the bearing and steel balls through normal use. Depending upon moisture levels and materials, the pivot mechanisms often are susceptible to rust and molecular degradation. This leads to mechanical failure and a scissors not suitable for their intended purpose.  
         [0005]     Considering the disadvantages faced by the prior art, it would be advantageous for a ball bearing assisted scissors to resist infiltration by unwanted debris. It would be further advantageous for such a scissor to be used in the floral or garden industries, thereby resisting dirt and other particulate matter from interfering with the ball bearing mechanism, for extended use while simultaneously maintaining excellent rotatability. It would be advantageous for such a scissors to be economically priced and capable of mass production. It would be a further advantage for a ball bearing mechanism, including a plurality of ball bearings, to have a wear resistant coating and maintain excellent rotation of a moving blade and a stationary blade of a pair of scissors with increased longevity.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     Those utilizing the scissors for gardening and floral uses can overwork or injure the muscles and ligaments within the hand and wrist through repeated fatigue due to the pressure that is placed upon the handles when cutting materials of varying thickness and density. Ball bearing mechanisms have assisted cutting implements in achieving a smoother and easier rotational motion. However, the present invention provides a ball bearing assisted scissors that inhibits the debris and foreign material that is constantly present within the floral and gardening fields from entering the ball bearing mechanism. By providing a housing that encompasses the ball bearing mechanism, the unwanted debris is hindered from entering the mechanism.  
         [0007]     More particularly, at least some embodiments, the present invention relates to high quality and durable scissors that utilize the advantageous reduced friction qualities of ball bearings while preventing the degradation of these qualities by inhibiting debris from entering the ball bearing mechanism.  
         [0008]     Additionally, in at least some embodiments, the present invention relates to a ball bearing assisted scissors that has a replaceable ball bearing mechanism. The configuration of the present invention enables the user to easily detach the respective scissor blades and replace the ball bearing mechanism without much difficulty.  
         [0009]     Further, in at least some embodiments, the present invention relates to the combination of a pair of scissors, a ball bearing mechanism, and a ball bearing mechanism housing. The housing provides the benefit of inhibiting the addition of unwanted debris into the ball bearing mechanism. The protrusion and raceway configuration further provides a more durable mechanism for longevity of use and increased lubricity. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a present pair of scissors in accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a pair of scissors in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is an alternative exploded view of the scissors of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the crevasse blade assembly in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the protrusion blade assembly in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the crevasse blade assembly of  FIG. 4  with the addition of a ball bearing mechanism, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the protrusion blade assembly of  FIG. 5  with the addition of a ball bearing mechanism, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view of the assembled pair of scissors of  FIG. 1  taken along line  8 - 8 ; and  
         [0018]      FIG. 9  is a cross sectional view of the assembled pair of scissors of  FIG. 1  taken along line  9 - 9 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , briefly in one aspect of the present invention a scissors  10  is shown having a male blade assembly  12 , a crevasse blade assembly  14 , a pair of pins  16 ,  18 , and a ball bearing mechanism  20 . The male blade assembly  12  includes a male blade  22  and a handle  24 . The crevasse blade assembly  14  includes a crevasse blade  26  and a handle  28 . When the assemblies  12 , 14  are combined a ball bearing housing  30  ( FIG. 8 ) substantially and circumferentially surrounds the ball bearing mechanism  20 . The housing  30  has a substantially circular protrusion  32  positioned proximal to a pivot point  36  on the assembly  12 , and a substantially circular crevasse  34  positioned proximal to the pivot  36  on the assembly  14 . Combination of pins  16 , 18  form pivot  36 . The ball bearing mechanism  20  is seated between protrusion  32  and crevasse  34  such that the ball bearing mechanism  20  is substantially encompassed by the protrusion  32  and crevasse  34 . Unwanted debris, such as chips, dusts, dirt, particulate matter and the like are inhibited from interfering with the mechanism  20  in part due to the housing  30  configuration.  
         [0020]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the crevasse  34  is positioned on the interior portion of the assembly  14 . The crevasse  34  is preferably circular in shape to provide for free rotational motion of the blade assemblies  12 , 14  around the pivot point  36  of the scissors  16  defined by the bolt hole  38 . The assembly  14  alternatively can have a secondary protrusion  40 , which extends circumferentially around the periphery of the bolt hole  38  and outward from the crevasse  34 . The protrusion  40  can act as a spacer or a support for the ball bearing mechanism  20 . Alternatively, the protrusion can be repositioned distal (not shown) to the bolt hole  38  and have the similar function as the protrusion  32 . A corresponding secondary crevasse (not shown) can be positioned on the assembly  12 , such that the housing  30  has a primary and secondary protrusion and crevasse pairing. This alternative embodiment (not shown) can further inhibit the infiltration of debris into the ball bearing mechanism housing  30 . It is contemplated that oil or alternative lubricants, including synthetic lubricants, can be added within the housing  30  to further provide a sealed housing resistant to the infiltration of unwanted debris to the ball bearing mechanism  20 .  
         [0021]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the male blade assembly  12  is depicted has having a protrusion  32  extending outward from the interior surface  42  of the assembly  12 . The protrusion  34  defines the periphery of a cutout  44 . Centered within the cutout  44  is a bolt hole  46 , which combined with bolt hole  38 , defines the pivot point  36  of the scissors  10 . The internal surface  48  of housing  30  is defined in part by protrusions  32 , 40 , Crevasses  34 , and cutout  44 .  
         [0022]     Referring to  FIGS. 6-7 , the ball bearing mechanism  20  is placed in conjunction with the crevasse blade assembly  14  ( FIG. 4 ) and the male blade  12  ( FIG. 5 ).  
         [0023]     Referring to  FIG. 8 , a cross-sectional view of the housing  30  and pivot point  36  is shown. The ball bearing mechanism  20  is disc shaped and contains a plurality of ball bearings  50 . The mechanism  20  includes a pivot section  52  and a ball bearing containment section  54 . A ball bearing raceway  58  is defined by the combination of sections  52 , 54  and at least one ball bearing  50 . Alternatively, the ball bearing mechanism can be enclosed at an end proximal to the crevasse  34  (not shown), thereby further limiting unwanted debris from interfering with the ball bearing mechanism  20 . The bearings  38  are contained within the raceway  58  and are positionally defined by the orifices. The bearings  50  are in contact with inner surface  56  of the assembly  12 . In an alternative embodiment, the ball bearings  50  contact inner surface of assembly  14 . The ball bearings  50  can be made of a variety of materials including stainless steel. The ball bearings  50  as well as blades  22 ,  26  can be coated with a titanium chromium nitride coating, as taught by U.S. application Ser. No. 11/337,976, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety including all related patent documents and documents cited therein.  
         [0024]     In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the ball bearings can be contained within separate ball bearing seats, instead of loosely contained within the raceway  58 .  
         [0025]     In an alternative embodiment, the bearing mechanism  20  can comprise a bearing defining plate having a plurality of orifices, wherein the orifices are as wide as twice the radius of the bearings. The bearing defining plate and bearings are sandwiched by a pair of flat bearing contacting plates, which may be integral to the respective blades of the scissors.  
         [0026]     It is contemplated that the ball bearings  50  and/or ball bearing mechanism  20  have a wear resistant coating. The coating having compounds selected from the group including titanium nitride, chromium nitride, titanium chromium nitride, titanium carbo nitride, and chromium carbo nitride. It is further contemplated that a variety of lubricants known in the art can be used to maintain pivotal lubricity.  
         [0027]     The ball bearings  50  are positioned within the raceway  56  such that a portion of the bearing  50  extends beyond the top surfaces  60 ,  62  ( FIG. 8 ). Alternatively, the distance that bearings  50  extend beyond the top surfaces  60 , 62  can be changed dependant upon the use and configuration of scissors  10 . Ball bearings  50  are preferably in a range of about 1 mm to about 2 cm in diameter. The ball bearing mechanism  20  can include one or more ball bearings. In at least one embodiment of the present invention the number of ball bearings  50  ranges from about 3 to about 7. Additionally, smaller or larger bearings  50  are contemplated by the present invention.  
         [0028]     The scissors  10  include a disk-shaped mechanism  20  and a plurality of steel balls  50 , the mechanism  20  having front and rear sides, and an aperture at the center thereof, through which a pivot post  42  of the scissors  10  pierces. In an alternative embodiment (not shown), a plurality of steel ball holding apertures are annularly arranged around the above aperture, for rotatably holding the above steel balls under a condition where the spherical surface of each steel ball, is projected beyond either side of the mechanism  20 . The steel balls  50  are held in the steel ball holding apertures one by one. Unwanted debris, such as chips, dusts, dirt, particulate matter and the like are inhibited from interfering with the mechanism  20 . Thus, the function of the bearing can be maintained for a long period. In addition, with such a simple structure, a working system such as an assembly or disassembly step for scissors would not become complicated, and the manufacturing cost can be held down, thereby making it possible to provide a pair of scissors easy to handle and economic.  
         [0029]     In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the pins  16 , 18  form a removable pivot/post  42  arrangement. Pins  16 , 18  can fit together as a nut and bolt arrangement, which can be manually tensioned based upon a user&#39;s cutting needs. Additionally, the blades  12 ,  14  can be detached by unscrewing the pivot. In the event of significant use and wear, the bearing mechanism can be replaced. It is further contemplated that instrument  10  is in the form of a pliers, snips, or any other similarly constructed hand tool.  
         [0030]     It is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments that come within the scope of the following claims.