Garden shears

A pressing handle is connected to a moveable blade having a hook-shaped engaging slot near the outer edge of an aperture to which a gripping handle fixed blade is pivoted. A containment space is formed by the junction of the gripping handle and a side of the fixed blade. The containment space has an arc-shaped opening, and the fixed blade has a positional aperture at a position corresponding to the opening. An end of an engaging member has an axle aperture and another end forms an engaging end, with a concave region formed between the two ends. A positioning pin passes through the engaging member and a torsion spring and is attached to the positional aperture. A push button-shaped body has a tongue at its lower end, an edge of which extends as a stop, and the tongue and the stop are both slidably mounted in the containment space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to garden shears, and, more particularly, to garden shears that utilize an interactive relationship between the slidable member and the engagement set, in which the slidable member is able to slide along a straight line to reduce static friction.

2. Description of the Related Art

Prior art garden shears, as shown inFIG. 6, are composed of upper and lower gripping handles50,60that are pivoted together, and also includes a spring51. The spring51is disposed between the upper and lower gripping handles50,60and is used for pushing apart the upper and lower gripping handles50,60, thereby biasing apart a blade base52and a blade61. The upper gripping handle50has a pawl53located at the pivot position, and an axle aperture531of the pawl53is jacketed with a torsion spring54. One end of the pawl53has a pushing surface532, and a tongue533and a stop end534are formed on two sides of the pawl53. The lower gripping handle60has a locking ratchet62corresponding to the pawl53. When the blade base52and the blade61need to be closed together, a user grips and presses the upper and lower gripping handles50,60together so the blade base52and the blade61are closed together; the user then pushes the pawl53on the pushing surface532so the tongue533of the pawl53set within the ratchet slot62of the lower gripping handle60. With the torsion spring54pushing against the tongue533of the pawl53, the blade base52and the blade61are kept closed.

Based upon the above, certain drawbacks may easily occur as discussed in the following:

1. The upper gripping handle50is pivoted to the pawl53, and the tongue533of the pawl53pushes against the locking ratchet62of the lower gripping handle60. The pawl53swings around the axle aperture531and the pushing surface532slides in an arc-shaped path, which increases the static friction and makes the engagement movement more difficult.

2. The torsion spring54is disposed on the axle aperture531of the pawl53, and one end of the torsion spring54is limited to an inside edge of the upper gripping handle50while the other end pushes against the stop end534of the pawl53to push the pawl53into the locking ratchet62of the lower gripping handle60. However, in operation, if the pawl53is too loose, it may be pushed by the torsion spring54and move into the locking ratchet62of the lower gripping handle60, which can cause difficulties during operation.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide garden shears to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment garden shears comprises: a pressing handle, a gripping handle, an engagement set and a slidable member. The pressing handle is connected to a moveable blade and the moveable blade includes a hook-shaped engaging slot on the moveable blade close to the outer edge of a first aperture. A fixed blade of the gripping handler utilizes a second aperture that is pivoted to the first aperture. A containment space is formed by the junction of the gripping handle and a side of the fixed blade. The containment space has a narrowed portion and a first slot adjacent to the fixed blade. The containment space has an arc-shaped opening, and the fixed blade has a positional aperture at a position corresponding to the opening. The engagement set comprises an engaging member, an elastic member and a positioning pin. One end of the engaging member has an axle aperture and the other end forms an engaging end, and a concave region is formed between the two ends. The elastic member is a torsion spring which has a front stop and a rear stop at its two ends. The positioning pin passes through the engaging member and the elastic member and is attached to the positional aperture of the fixed blade. A slidable member has a push button-shaped body and a tongue at its lower end; an edge of the tongue extends as a stop, and a second slot is disposed between the stop and the push button-shaped body. The tongue of the slidable member and the stop are both slidably mounted in the containment space of the gripping handle.

The containment space is formed at the junction of the gripping handle and the fixed blade. The engaging member of the engagement set is disposed in the containment space, and the axle aperture of the engaging member is aligned with the positional aperture of the fixed blade The elastic member is disposed adjacent to an outer edge of the engaging member; its front stop end pushes against the lower end of the engaging member, and the rear stop end pushes against the gripping handle. The positioning pin passes through the elastic member and the axle aperture of the engaging member, and the positioning pin is riveted to the positional aperture of the fixed blade. The slidable member is able to slide with the first slot engaging with the narrowed portion of the gripping handle, and so the stop is disposed within the containment space. The tongue is also disposed within the containment space away from the engaging end of the engaging member. The end of the tongue pushes against the concave region of the engaging member. With the combination of the engagement set, the slidable member and the gripping handle, the second aperture of the fixed blade is pivoted to the first aperture of the pressing handle, and thus a cutting motion can be performed with the pivot position as a central axis. A spring is disposed between the pressing handle and the gripping handle, which is used for biasing the moveable blade and the fixed blade into an open state.

With the above-mentioned structure, following benefits are obtained:

The slidable member slides along the first slot of the gripping handle and utilizes the tongue to push against the concave region of the engaging member in the containment space. When the slidable member is pushed forward it pushes the engaging member against the engaging slot of the moveable blade; and with the interactive relationship between the slidable member and the engagement set, the slidable member is able to slide along a straight line to reduce static friction.

The elastic member of the engagement set pushes against the lower end of the engaging member, and the rear stop end pushes against the inside edge of the gripping handle. Therefore, the engaging end of the engaging member and the engaging slot of the moveable blade are kept open to prevent from the engaging end from accidentally sliding into the engaging slot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Please referFIG. 1,FIG. 2andFIG. 3. An embodiment garden shears comprises: a pressing handle10, a gripping handle20, an engagement set30and a slidable member40. The pressing handle10is connected to a moveable blade11and the moveable blade11includes a hook-shaped engaging slot112on the moveable blade11close to the outer edge of a first aperture111. A fixed blade21of the gripping handle20utilizes a second aperture211that is pivoted to the first aperture111. A containment space22is formed by the junction of the gripping handle20and a side of the fixed blade21. The containment space22has a narrowed portion221and a first slot222adjacent to the fixed blade21. The containment space22has an arc-shaped opening223, and the fixed blade21has a positional aperture212at a position corresponding to the opening223. The engagement set30comprises an engaging member31, an elastic member32and a positioning pin33. One end of the engaging member31has an axle aperture331and the other end forms an engaging end312, and a concave region313is formed between the two ends. The elastic member32is a torsion spring which has a front stop321and a rear stop322at its two ends. The positioning pin33passes through the engaging member31and the elastic member32and is attached to the positional aperture212of the fixed blade21. A slidable member40has a push button-shaped body and a tongue41at its lower end; an edge of the tongue41extends as a stop42, and a second slot43is disposed between the stop42and the push button-shaped body. The tongue41of the slidable member40and the stop42are both slidably mounted in the containment space22of the gripping handle20.

For the structure of the garden shears, please refer toFIG. 2,FIG. 3andFIG. 4. The containment space22is formed at the junction of the gripping handle20and the fixed blade21. The engaging member31of the engagement set30is disposed in the containment space22, and the axle aperture311of the engaging member31is aligned with the positional aperture212of the fixed blade21. The elastic member32is disposed adjacent to an outer edge of the engaging member31; its front stop end321pushes against the lower end of the engaging member31, and the rear stop end322pushes against the gripping handle20. The positioning pin33passes through the elastic member32and the axle aperture311of the engaging member31, and the positioning pin33is riveted to the positional aperture212of the fixed blade21. The slidable member40is able to slide with the first slot43engaging with the narrowed portion221of the gripping handle20, and so the stop42is disposed within the containment space22. The tongue41is also disposed within the containment space22away from the engaging end312of the engaging member31. The end of the tongue41pushes against the concave region313of the engaging member31. With the combination of the engagement set30, the slidable member40and the gripping handle20, the second aperture211of the fixed blade21is pivoted to the first aperture111of the pressing handle10, and thus a cutting motion can be performed with the pivot position as a central axis. A spring12is disposed between the pressing handle10and the gripping handle20, which is used for biasing the moveable blade11and the fixed blade21into an open state.

For actual operations, please refer toFIG. 3,FIG. 4andFIG. 5. The spring12is disposed between the pressing handle10and the gripping handle20to keep the moveable blade11and the fixed blade21away from each other. After using the garden shears, the moveable blade11and the fixed blade21may need to be closed together to prevent accidental cutting by the blades. In order to close the garden shears, the user grips the pressing handle10and the gripping handle20together to compress the spring12and then pushes the slidable member40so that the first slot43of the stop42slides along the narrowed portion221of the gripping handle20until the tongue41pushes against the concave region313of the engaging member31so that the engaging member31rotates around the axis aperture311and the engaging end312swings forward to pass into the engaging slot112of the moveable blade11. Under the force between the pressing handle10and the gripping handle20, the engaging end312is pushed into the engaging slot112to complete the closing motion of the blades. In order to open the blades, the user squeezes together the pressing handle10and the gripping handle20together so that the compressive force between the engaging end312of the engaging member31and the engaging slot112of the moveable blade11is reduced and it is thus easy to push back the slidable member40and then open the blades.

With the above-mentioned structure, the following benefits are obtained:

The slidable member40slides along the first slot222of the gripping handle20and utilizes the tongue41to push against the concave region313of the engaging member31in the containment space22. When the slidable member40is pushed forward it pushes the engaging member31against the engaging slot112of the moveable blade11; and with the interactive relationship between the slidable member and the engagement set, the slidable member is able to slide along a straight line to reduce static friction.

The elastic member32of the engagement set30pushes against the lower end of the engaging member31, and the rear stop end322pushes against the inside edge of the gripping handle20. Therefore, the engaging end312of the engaging member31and the engaging slot112of the moveable blade11are kept open to prevent from the engaging end312from accidentally sliding into the engaging slot112.