Abstract:
A collapsing blade comprising an upper and lower handle section joined at the rear by pivotal means; a set of arms pivoted upon the lower handle section, a rear blade pivoted on the upper handle section by means of an embracing body; a front blade comprising a hollow portion and an edged portion pivotally attached to said arms and rear blade; wherein by angular rotation of handle sections the blade assembly is arranged from collapsed to extended configurations.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to folding knives, specifically knives with folding blades which comprise multiple components. 
         [0003]    Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Folding knives are a commonly practiced art. Typically, a folding knife comprises a hollow section between two side walls of a handle. An axel, or pin, is located on a distal end of the handle by which a knife blade, centered between the side walls, is provided with a means of pivotal movement. The knife has a deployed configuration in which the end point of the blade is positioned opposite and at the farthest point from the rear end of the handle. The sharpened edge of the knife blade is exposed and can be used for cutting, slicing, etc. The knife has a closed configuration in which the end point of the blade is adjacent to the rear end of the handle. The sharpened edge of the knife blade is isolated between the handle side walls and the knife is safe for storage, carry, etc. 
         [0005]    In other embodiments known in the , folding knives comprise Handles which are divided as two main hollow sections which rotate in opposite directions by means of axels or pins located at the rear of the knife blade. The knife has a deployed configuration in which the end point of the blade is positioned opposite the rear ends of the handle sections. The sharpened edge of the knife blade is exposed and can be used for cutting, slicing, etc. The knife has a closed configuration in which the far ends of the handle sections are adjacent the end point of the knife blade, the sharpened edges of which are isolated within the hollow handle sections making the knife safe to store, carry, etc. 
         [0006]    For the purpose of effectively isolating the sharpened edges and points of the knife blades in the described embodiments, the handles of folding knives must be larger in size than the knife blades which are isolated therein causing unappealing aesthetics, unwieldly weight distribution and limitations on blade effectiveness by cause of blade size to handle size ratios. 
         [0007]    Thus there is a need in the art for a folding knife with a collapsing blade. While addressing the described problems in the art, the present invention addresses these as well as other needs. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    In a preferred embodiment, the invention is a collapsing blade comprising a handle construction divided into two main hollow sections which are joined at the rear by pivotal means. A set of arms are pivoted on the front of handle, and are capable of occupying folded and extended positions. A front blade comprising an edged portion as well as a hollow portion is attached to said arms by pivotal means. A rear blade is attached to the front blade by pivotal means and to the handle by pivotal means. The collapsing blade has a folded configuration in which the rear of the front blade is adjacent to the rear of the frame. The arms as well as the edged front blade portion and rear blade occupy positions within the handle which isolate sharpened edges and the collapsing blade can be safely carried, stored, etc. The collapsing blade has an extended configuration in which the arms support the front and rear blades outward with the sharpened edges exposed and the collapsing blade can be used for cutting, slicing, etc. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is an elevated view from the left side of the embodiment in an extended configuration. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is an elevated view from the left side of the embodiment in a partially extended configuration. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the embodiment in a partially collapsed configuration. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is an elevated view from the top of the embodiment in a fully collapsed configuration. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the embodiment in the fully collapsed configuration taken substantially along the line A-A in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken substantially along the line B-B in  FIG. 1  to show features of the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken substantially along the line C-C in  FIG. 1  to show features of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a sectional view taken substantially along the line D-D in  FIG. 1  to show features of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    A preferred embodiment of the collapsing blade of the present invention is here and in figures disclosed. For clarity, within this document all reference to the top and bottom of the collapsing blade or the components thereof will correspond to the collapsing blade as oriented in  FIG. 1 , the top of the figure when oriented such that the text is upright corresponding to top of the collapsing blade, and the bottom of the figure when oriented such that the text is upright corresponding to the bottom of the collapsing blade. Likewise, all reference to the front of the collapsing blade or the components thereof will correspond to the rightmost part of the collapsing blade as viewed in  FIG. 1  when oriented with the text upright, and all reference to the rear of the collapsing blade will correspond to the leftmost part of the collapsing blade as viewed in  FIG. 1  when oriented with the text upright. 
         [0018]    The embodiment of the invention in a fully extended configuration is displayed in  FIG. 1 . A set of inner arms  44 , which are ridgidly affixed to a set of outer arms  16  by means of small screws  46 , support a front blade portion  28  and hollow front blade portion  30 , outward at the frontal end of the collapsing blade. It is to be appreciated by those knowledgeable in the art that in the present embodiment, the edged front blade portion  28  and hollow front blade portion  30  are ridgidly attached at the frontal end by means of screw  40 , whereas is in other embodiments, the edged front blade portion  28  and hollow front blade portion may be joined together by weldment or formed as a singular piece. A rear blade  24  rests underneath the inner arms  44 , and behind the edged front blade portion  28 , pivoted upon the hollow front blade portion  30 . An upper handle spacer  32  is configured upon an upper handle section  10  in such a manner than when the outer arms  16  are positioned outward as shown in  FIG. 1 , a locking groove  34  prevents rotational movement of the outer arms  16  thus providing the collapsing blade a degree of ridgidity in the extended configuration. It is to be appreciated by those knowledgeable in the art that the inner arms  44  and outer arms  16  of the embodiment disclosed are joined by small screws  46  whereas in other embodiments the inner arms  44  and outer arms  16  may be joined together by weldment or formed as a single piece. 
         [0019]    An upper handle section  10  and a lower handle section  12  are both joined and provided a means of angular movement via a rear handle pivot  14 . As the frontal ends of the upper handle section  10  and lower handle section  12  are separated, the embodiment adopts the configuration displayed in  FIG. 2 , in which the locking groove  34  is displaced from the upper handle spacer  32  granting the outer arms  16  rotational movement upon the lower handle section  12 . The rear blade  24  is granted rotational movement upon the upper handle section  10  via a ridged paring to an embracing body  38 , which is affixed to rear blade  24 , by means of screws  40 , and is pivotally attached to the upper handle section  10 . 
         [0020]    Dependent on the direction in which the outer arms  16  and rear blade  24  rotate, the edged front blade portion  28  and hollow front blade portion  30  are permitted movement forward into the configuration displayed in  FIG. 1  as well as rearward into the configuration displayed in  FIG. 3  in which the edged front blade portion  28  is aligned for insertion between the inner arms  44 , and the rear blade  24  is aligned for insertion into the hollow front blade portion  30 . 
         [0021]    The frontal ends of the upper handle section  10  and lower handle section  12  can be brought together from the configuration displayed in  FIG. 3  which will produce the fully collapsed configuration displayed in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 . It must be understood that the functionality of collapsing blades within the disclosed art depend solely upon the integral distribution of free space within the blades construction, which the components thereof occupy in the fully collapsed configuration. As illustrated in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , when in the fully collapsed configuration, the space occupied by the rear blade  24  is not greater than the allotment of space granted by the hollow front blade portion  30  and the inner arms  44  when rotated into the fully collapsed configuration as illustrated in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  are granted a sufficient allotment of space below the hollow front blade portion  30 , with which to isolate the edged front blade portion  28 . 
         [0022]    As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , downward movement and protrusion of the edged front blade portion  28  is prevented by a lower handle spacer  36  which is rigidly affixed upon the lower handle section  12  as well as by a front blade pivot  22 . Upward movement and protrusion of the rear blade  24  is prevented at the frontal end by the embracing body  38 . Upward movement and protrusion of the rear blade  24  is prevented at the rear end by a rear blade pivot  20 , yielding the collapsing blade safe for storage, carry, etc. 
         [0023]    As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the rear handle pivot  14  comprises two screws  40  which are inserted through opposing sides of the upper handle section  10  into a threaded standoff  42  upon which the lower handle section  12  is provided a means of rotational movement. The lower handle spacer  36  comprises two screws  40  which are inserted through opposing sides of the lower handle section  12  into a threaded standoff  42 . 
         [0024]    As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the lower handle section  12  is provided a means of rotational movement at the frontal end upon spacers  50  which screws  40 , inserted through washers  48  on opposing sides of the lower handle section  12 , are passed through before being inserted into the outer arms  16  and inner arms  44 . The upper handle section is granted a means of rotational movement at the frontal end upon threaded standoffs  42  which screws  40  are inserted into after being passed though opposing inner sides of the embracing body  38 . 
         [0025]    As Illustrated in FIG. 
         [0026]    As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the front blade pivot  22  comprises two screws  40  which are inserted through opposing sides of the outer arms  16  and through a spacer  50  upon which the hollow front blade portion  30  and edged front blade portion  28  are provided a means of rotational movement. The rear blade pivot  20  comprises a screw  40  which is inserted through a side of the hollow front blade portion  30 , passed through a spacer  50 , upon which the rear blade  24  is provided a means of rotational movement, and lastly, into a threaded side of the hollow front blade portion  30 . 
         [0027]    Thus the present invention discloses new and useful attributes of a folding knife that overcome issues presented by folding knives of prior art. 
         [0028]    Having described a preferred embodiment of the collapsing blade of the present invention, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes not exemplified in the detailed description of the invention could be made without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. It is also to be appreciated that numerous embodiments incorporating only part of the preferred embodiment are possible which do not alter, with respect to those parts, the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. The presented embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects exemplary and/or illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, and all alternate embodiments and changes to the embodiments shown herein which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore to be embraced therein I claim: