Scraper assembly with blade lock means

A scraper assembly comprising a housing having a chamber therein adapted to receive and releasably retain blade units, the housing having a head portion adapted to receive and retain a first of the blade units, and a cover member adapted to cover the first blade retained by the head portion, the cover member being releasably retained by engagement with the head portion, the cover member being further adapted to cover portions of the housing remote from the head portion, the cover member being releasably retained by engagement with a second portion of the housing, whereby the cover member may be selectively positioned to cover the first blade unit and may be removed therefrom and positioned on the housing at an end remote from the first blade unit to expose the first blade unit for scraping operations, and a lock means, comprising an integral portion of the housing, for locking the first blade unit in the head portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to scraper devices, and is directed more 
particularly to a scraper assembly for use with razor blades. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Scraper devices are generally well known in the art and in basic form 
include a handle having a blade of some sort attached thereto. A free edge 
of the blade is brought to bear against a surface sought to be scraped 
clean, as in the case of removing a sticker or paint from glass, or 
removing peeling paint from a surface, etc. In instances where the free 
edge is sharpened, care must be exercised to prevent the edge from 
inflicting harm to persons and articles which might come in contact with 
the edge. Some scrapers are adapted to utilize razor blades, which are 
very useful in providing a good scraping edge but which also present an 
element of danger in view of the cutting capability of the edge. 
In U.S. application Ser. No. 894,596, filed Apr. 7, 1978, in the names of 
Chester F. Jacobson, et al, and incorporated by reference herein, there is 
described and shown a scraper assembly comprising a housing having a 
chamber therein adapted to receive and releasably retain blade units, the 
housing having a head portion adapted to receive and retain one of the 
blade units, and a cover means adapted to cover the blade retained by the 
head portion, the cover means being releasably retained by engagement with 
the head portion, the cover means being further adapted to cover portions 
of the housing remote from the head portion, the cover means being 
releasably retained by engagement with a second portion of the housing, 
whereby the cover means may be selectively positioned to cover the blade 
unit and may be removed therefrom and positioned on the housing at an end 
remote from the blade unit to expose the blade unit for scraping 
operations, to provide a beneficial safety feature. 
A safety problem that sometimes arises in the use of scraper devices of the 
type above described is the movement out of position of the working blade. 
Accordingly, it is desirable that facility be provided for locking the 
working blade in place in the head portion of the assembly. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a scraper 
assembly including a razor blade as a scraping element, including a cover 
member for covering the blade when not in use, and in which the cover 
member may be removed from its blade covering position and be attached to 
the assembly in a second position where the cover member functions as a 
grip portion of the assembly, and further including means for locking the 
blade in its working position. 
With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, a 
feature of the present invention is the provision of a scraper assembly 
comprising a housing having a chamber therein adapted to receive and 
releasably retain blade units, the housing having a head portion adapted 
to receive and retain a first of the blade units, and a cover means 
adapted to cover the first blade retained by the head portion, the cover 
means being releasably retained by engagement with the head portion, the 
cover means being further adapted to cover portions of the housing remote 
from the head portion, the cover means being releasably retained by 
engagement with a second portion of the housing, whereby the cover means 
may be selectively positioned to cover the first blade unit and may be 
removed therefrom and positioned on the housing at an end remote from the 
first blade unit to expose the first blade unit for scraping operations, 
and a lock means, comprising an integral part of the housing, for locking 
the first blade unit in the head portion. 
The above and other features of the invention, including various novel 
details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more 
particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and 
pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular 
assembly embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only and 
not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this 
invention may be employed in various and numerous embodiments without 
departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the illustrative embodiment 
includes a housing 2 having a chamber 4 therein adapted to receive and 
releasably retain blade units 6. The housing 2 is further provided with a 
head portion 8 which is adapted to receive and retain a selected one 6' of 
the blade units 6. 
The housing 2 is provided with first and second openings 10, 12 as best 
seen in FIG. 2, the opening 10 being for the purpose of removing blades 
from the chamber 4 and the opening 12 being for the purpose of receiving 
used blades to be discarded in the chamber 4. The housing 2 is further 
provided with a slot 14 which enables an operator to press with a thumb or 
finger upon a blade 6 in the chamber 4 and urge the blade out the opening 
10. 
The head portion 8 of the housing 2 includes a recess 16 configured and 
adapted to receive the selected blade unit 6'. The recess 16 is preferably 
formed by opposed members 18 which have sufficient resiliency to permit 
the blade unit 6' to be inserted therebetween and exercise a retaining 
influence on the blade unit. 
In the chamber 4 there is preferably provided a spring means, which may be 
in the form of a leaf spring 20 (FIG. 3), which operates to separate the 
new blades from the used blades, and further operates to bias the blades 
toward the outside walls of the chamber 4 so as to prevent the blades from 
falling loosely about in the chamber. 
The assembly further includes a cover member 22, which may be used to cover 
a blade held by the head portion 8, as shown in FIG. 2, or may be removed 
from the head portion and attached to the housing 2 at the other end 
thereof, as shown in FIG. 1. To facilitate attachment of the cover member 
22 to the housing 2, at either end thereof, the cover member 22 is 
provided with inwardly directed detents 24 configured to engage a first 
set of recesses 26 and to engage a second set of recesses 28 (FIG. 2). 
Preferably, the exterior of the cover member 22 is provided with a series 
of ribs 30, separated by depressions 32, the arrangment of ribs and 
depressions providing a gripping means by which the assembly may be 
gripped by an operator when the cover member is placed in the position 
shown in FIG. 1. 
The head portion 8 of the housing 2 is further provided with an integrally 
molded lock portion 40, the lock portion 40 comprising a flap 42 connected 
to the head portion 8 by a hinge portion 44. The flap 42 is preferably 
provided with a shoulder portion 46 having a recess 48. The shoulder 
portion 46 is adapted to snap over the end of the blade 6', the end of the 
blade being received by the recess 48. The flap 42 is further provided 
with a button portion 49 adapted to override a recessed portion 50 of the 
blade unit 6' (FIG. 5), and a recess 51 in the opposed member 18. The 
button portion 49 is preferably provided with a roughened external portion 
52 to facilitate manual manipulation. 
In operation, an operator places the cover member 22 in the position shown 
in FIG. 1 and opens the lock portion 40, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. By 
insertion of a thumb or finger in the slot 14, a blade 6 is urged out of 
the opening 10. The operator places the blade in the recess 16 between the 
member 18. The lock portion 40 is then moved to the closed position, as 
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shoulder portion 46 overriding the end of the 
blade, the blade lockingly engaging the recess 48. The assembly is then 
ready for scraping operations. Upon completion of a scraping operation, 
the cover member 22 is removed from the recesses 28 and placed in the 
position shown in FIG. 2 whereby to protect the otherwise exposed edge of 
the blade 6', by snapping the detents 24 into the recesses 26. In 
subsequent uses, the cover member 22 may be removed from its edge 
protecting position and placed in the position shown in FIG. 1 to be used 
as a gripping means. During use, the shoulder portion 46, along with a 
second shoulder portion 47 (FIG. 1) molded in the head portion, prevent 
accidental movement of the blade in the assembly. When it is desired to 
remove the blade, the lock portion 40 is engaged by the operator and 
snapped to the open position (FIGS. 4 and 5), permitting removal of the 
blade unit 6'. The used blade may be inserted through the opening 12 into 
the chamber 4. The spring means 20 operates to separate the used blades 
from the unused blades, as well as to retain the blades securely in the 
chamber. 
It is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited to 
the particular construction herein disclosed and/or shown in the drawings, 
but also comprises any modification or equivalents within the scope of the 
disclosure.