Abstract:
A trimming apparatus for variously trimming a sheet material is disclosed. The trimming apparatus includes a base for placing the sheet material thereon, a rail mounted on the base, a first trimming element for trimming the sheet material in a first manner, a second trimming element for trimming the sheet material in a second manner, a carriage movably engaging with the rail, having a first and a second portions coupled to the first and second trimming elements, respectively, and having a third portion for being exerted thereon a driving force to move along the rail, thereby carrying a selected one of the first and second trimming elements to cross over the sheet material.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a trimming apparatus, and more particularly to a multi-functional trimming apparatus to optionally impart a complete or intermittent cut line or a folding line to a paper or a sheet material so that the resulting paper or sheet material can be divided or tore apart or folded easily along the cut line. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As is well known, a paper cutter is a trimming apparatus for efficiently cutting paper into small sheets. Please refer to  FIG. 1  which is a schematic diagram illustrating the appearance of a conventional paper cutter. The paper cutter  1  includes a base  11 , a slide rail  12  and a slidable blade holder  13 . The base  11  is used for placing a sheet of paper to be cut thereon. The slide rail  12  is fixed on the base  11  and defines a guiding slit  111  therein for the slidable blade holder  13  to slide therealong. When the paper (not shown) is put into a gap  14  between the slide rail  12  and base  11 , the user may press down the slide rail to have the blade (not shown) of the slidable holder  13  sustain against the paper. By sliding the slidable holder  13  along the guiding slit  111 , the paper is cut into two pieces. 
     The paper cutter mentioned above is specifically used to divide the paper completely. For the case that paper intermittently cut to be easily torn off with hand later or paper marked with a folding line to be easily folded with hand is required, another kind of trimmer will be needed for that specific requirement. Thus, it is cost- and space-inefficient. 
     Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to develop a multi-functional trimming apparatus to deal with the above situations encountered in the prior art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-functional trimming apparatus for optionally trimming paper or any other cutable sheet material in different trimming ways. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a blade carriage for use with a trimming apparatus. The blade carriage accommodates therein a variety of trimming tools optionally provided for the trimming apparatus to perform various trimming functions. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a trimming apparatus for variously trimming a sheet material. The trimming apparatus includes a base for placing the sheet material thereon, a rail mounted on the base, a first trimming element for trimming the sheet material in a first manner, a second trimming element for trimming the sheet material in a second manner, a carriage movably engaging with the rail, having a first and a second portions coupled to the first and second trimming elements, respectively, and having a third portion for being exerted thereon a driving force to move along the rail, thereby carrying a selected one of the first and second trimming elements to cross over the sheet material. 
     For example, the sheet material can be paper or cloth or any other suitable sheet material such as a metal foil. 
     In an embodiment, the first trimming element is a sharp blade and the first manner is complete cutting. The second trimming element is a gear-shaped blade and the second manner is intermittent cutting. 
     In another embodiment, the first trimming element is a sharp blade and the first manner is complete cutting, and the second trimming element is a blunt blade and the second manner is folding-line making. 
     Preferably, the trimming apparatus further includes a third trimming element coupled to a fourth portion of the carriage for trimming the sheet material in a third manner in response to the movement of the carriage. For example, the three trimming elements can be a sharp blade, a gear-shaped blade and a blunt blade. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a trimming apparatus for variously trimming a sheet material. The trimming apparatus includes a base for placing the sheet material thereon, a rail mounted on the base, a carriage having a receptacle and movably engaging with the rail to have the sheet material cut in a desired manner, and a plurality of trimming elements with different trimming functions, disposed in the receptacle of the carriage, and selected to be in contact with the sheet material by manipulating the carriage. 
     Preferably, the carriage includes a top cover having therein a plurality of sustaining elements corresponding to the plurality of trimming elements, respectively, and a housing cooperating with the top cover to define the receptacle and having a plurality of grooves for accommodating the trimming elements, respectively. Each of the grooves has an opening for allowing a selected one of the trimming elements to protrude therefrom in response to a sustaining force of a corresponding one of the sustaining elements. 
     In an embodiment, the carriage is manipulated by rotating the top cover relative to the housing to align the corresponding one of the sustaining elements with the selected one of the trimming elements to provide the sustaining force for the selected trimming element. 
     Preferably, the carriage further includes a plurality of holding elements for holding the trimming elements, disposed in the grooves of the housing, respectively, and optionally moving down to expose the selected trimming element from a corresponding one of the openings by being exerted thereon the sustaining force, and a plurality of elastic elements disposed in the grooves and arranged between the holding elements and the openings, respectively, for providing an elastic force to retract the holding elements with the trimming elements which are not exerted thereon the sustaining force back to the receptacle. 
     Preferably, the sustaining elements include a first sustaining element located at a first side of the carriage, and having a rising incline ending at a first peak in a specific direction, a second sustaining element disposed at a second side opposite to the first side, and having a falling incline beginning with a second peak in the specific direction, and a third sustaining element consisting of a pair of sustaining blocks symmetrically disposed between the first and second sides, each of the sustaining blocks having an intermediate peak portion and two lateral incline portions. The positions of the first peak of the first sustaining element, the second peak of the second sustaining element, and the peak portions of the third sustaining element are arranged to sustain respective holding elements at different time points while rotating the top cover, thereby pushing essentially one of the trimming elements out of the corresponding one of the openings at one time. 
     Preferably, the trimming elements include a first blade having a sharp portion for trimming the sheet material to have a complete cut line while moving cross the sheet material, a second blade having a gear-shaped blade including sharp teeth at an equidistant interval for trimming the sheet material to have an intermittent cut line while rolling cross the sheet material, and a third blade having a blunt portion for trimming the sheet material to have a folding line while moving cross the sheet material. 
     Preferably, the top cover and the housing are both of a circular shape, and the grooves are aligned along a diameter of the housing. 
     For example, the specific direction can be clockwise or counterclockwise. 
     According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carriage for use with a trimming apparatus for carrying a selected trimming element to cross over a sheet material to have a trimming line. The carriage includes a top cover having a sustaining device therein, and a housing accommodating therein at least two holding elements for holding a first and a second trimming elements, wherein one of the first and second trimming elements is pushed out of the housing by the sustaining device to serve as the selected trimming element according to a desired trimming way. 
     Preferably, the first trimming element is a sharp blade for trimming the sheet material to have a complete cut line. The second trimming element is preferably one of a gear-shaped blade and a blunt blade for trimming the sheet material to have one of an intermittent cut line and a folding line, respectively. 
     In an embodiment, the carriage further includes a first and a second holding elements for holding the first and second trimming elements, respectively, and optionally moving down to expose the selected trimming element in response to a sustaining force of the sustaining device. Preferably, the sustaining device include a first sustaining element located at a first side of the carriage, and having a rising incline ending at a first peak in a specific direction, and a second sustaining element disposed at a second side opposite to the first side, and having a falling incline beginning with a second peak in the specific direction. The first and second holding elements are optionally pushed outwards by the first and second peaks at different time points by rotating the top cover relative to the housing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention may best be understood through the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating the appearance of a conventional paper cutter; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating the appearance of a preferred embodiment of a paper trimmer according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating an inner structure of an upper part of the carriage of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating an inner structure of a lower part of the carriage of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIGS. 5A-5C  are schematic resolving diagrams exemplifying three trimming elements and their corresponding holding elements, respectively; and 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating three elastic elements corresponding to the three holding elements of FIGS.  5 A˜ 5 C, respectively, for optionally retracting the unselected trimming elements. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2  which is a schematic diagram illustrating the appearance of a preferred embodiment of a paper trimmer according to the present invention. The paper trimmer  2  includes a base  21 , a rail  22  and a rotatable carriage  23  accommodating therein three trimming elements (not shown in this figure), and allowing only a selected one of the trimming elements to expose from the carriage  23  to work. The base  21  is used for placing a paper to be trimmed thereon. The rail  22  is mounted on the base  21 . A gap  24  is existent between the base  21  and the rail  22  for entering therefrom and fixing therein the paper. The rail  22  has a guiding slit  211  for the carriage  23  engaging therewith to slide therealong. When the carriage  23  slides in the guiding slit  211 , the three trimming elements are moved along with the carriage, and the exposed trimming element crosses over and thus trims the paper in a desired way. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3  which is a schematic diagram illustrating an inner structure of an upper part of the carriage of FIG.  2 . The upper part of the carriage, as is called a top cover  231  in this embodiment, has a first sustaining element  2311 , a second sustaining element  2312  and a pair of sustaining blocks  2313  therebetween. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first sustaining element  2311  located at the first side of the top cover  231  has a rising incline  23110  ending at a peak  23121  in the counterclockwise direction, while the second sustaining element  2312  located at the second side opposite to the first side has a falling incline  23120  beginning with a peak  23111  in the counterclockwise direction. The pair of sustaining blocks  2313  is symmetrically disposed between the first and second sides of the top cover  231 . Each of the sustaining blocks  2313  has an intermediate peak portion  23130  and two lateral incline portions  23131 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 4  which is a schematic diagram illustrating an inner part of a lower part of the carriage of FIG.  2 . The lower part of the carriage, as is called a housing  232  in this embodiment, includes three grooves  2321 ,  2322  and  2323  and each of the grooves has an opening in the bottom, i.e. the openings  2324 ,  2325  and  2326 . The grooves  2321 ,  2322  and  2323  are aligned with one another along the diameter of the housing  232 . 
       FIGS. 5A-5C  are schematic resolving diagrams exemplifying three trimming elements and their corresponding holding elements, respectively. The housing  232  in  FIG. 4  cooperates with the top cover  231  in  FIG. 3  to define a receptacle  25  for accommodating three sets of trimming elements, holding elements and elastic elements. In this embodiment, the trimming elements include a sharp blade  241  for cutting the paper completely, a gear-shaped blade  242  for giving an intermittent cut line to the paper and a blunt blade  243  for giving a non-cut folding line to the paper. For holding these trimming elements, three holding elements  2331 ,  2332  and  2333  are provided, respectively. The holding elements  2331 ,  2332  and  2333  are used for holding different trimming elements to provide different trimming functions. As shown in  FIG. 5A , the sharp blade  241  has a leading sharp portion  2410  to be in contact with the trimmed paper, and a back portion to be inserted into a slit  23310  of the holding element  2331  so as to be held by the holding element  2331 . Please refer to  FIG. 5B , the gear-shaped blade  242  includes teeth portions  2420  arranged at an equidistant interval to be in contact with the trimmed paper, and a central hole  2421  to be rotatably sleeved on a base post  23322  of the holding element  2322  via an intermediate transmitting element  23321  of the holding element  2322 . The blunt blade  243 , as shown in  FIG. 5C , has a blunt portion  2430  to be in contact with the trimmed paper integrally formed with the holding element  2333 . 
     The functions of the above elements are described with reference to  FIG. 6  which further illustrates three elastic elements corresponding to the three holding elements of FIGS.  5 A˜ 5 C, respectively, for optionally retracting the unselected trimming elements. First of all, the elastic elements  2341 ,  2342  and  2343  are placed into the grooves  2321 ,  2322  and  2323  of the housing  232 . The holding elements  2331 ,  2332  and  2333  are disposed in the grooves  2321 ,  2322  and  2323  of the housing  232 , too, above the elastic elements  2341 ,  2342  and  2343  by orienting the blade portions  2410 ,  2420  and  2430  (FIG.  5 A˜ 5 C) of the trimming elements  241 ,  242  and  243  toward the openings  2324 ,  2325  and  2326 , respectively. In order to clearly distinguish the different holding elements, it should be noted that all the holding elements and the elastic elements in  FIG. 6  are not shown as they should be oriented. Further, the elements  23321  and  242  are not shown in FIG.  6  and have to be referred to FIG.  5 B. 
     When the top cover  231  is rotated one cycle relative to the housing  232 , the first and second sustaining elements  2311  and  2312  and the pair of sustaining blocks  2313  of the top cover  231  sustain the holding elements  2331 ,  2333  and  2332  at different time points, thereby pushing only a selected one of the blade portions  2410 ,  2420  and  2430  out of the corresponding opening  2324 ,  2325  or  2326  at one time. For example, when the user likes to cut the paper completely, the top cover  231  is rotated counterclockwise to have the holding element  2331  climb the incline  23110  of the first sustaining element  2311  up to the peak  23111 . Due to the presence of the elastic element  2341 , the sustaining element  2311  will sustain against the holding element  2331  all the time. When the holding element  2331  reaches the peak  23111  of the sustaining element  2311 , the sharp blade  241  held by the holding element  2331  will be pushed out of the opening  2324 . At the moment, the holding element  2333  with the blunt blade  243  is rotated to go down the incline  23120  from the peak  23121 , and thus the blade  243  is retracted back to receptacle  25  by the elastic force provided by the elastic element  2343 , and will not expose from the opening  2326 . Meanwhile, the peaks  23130  of the sustaining blocks  2313  will temporarily sustain against and then slip away from the corresponding holding element  2332  via the lateral inclines  23131 , so the gear-shaped blade  242  will not protrude from the opening  2325  finally due to the retracting force of the elastic element  2342 . In other words, there is only one trimming element, i.e. the sharp blade  241 , protruding downwards from the lower part  232  of the carriage  23  to be in contact with the paper on the base  21 . Then, by sliding the carriage  23  along the guiding slit  211 , the sharp blade  241  is carried to cross over the paper, and cut it into two pieces. Similarly, when a folding line is desired, the blunt blade  243  is selected to be used by rotating the top cover  231  clockwise relative to the housing  232 . When the holding element  2333  reaches the peak  23121  along the incline  23120 , the blunt blade  243  will be pushed out of the opening  2326  to serve as the working blade. Therefore, the desired folding line can be given to the trimmed paper by moving the carriage  23  along the guide slit  211 . Further, when the user likes the paper to have an intermittent cut line, the gear-shaped blade  242  is selected by rotating the top cover  231  relative to the housing  232  clockwise from the first situation or counterclockwise from the second situation mentioned above until the peaks  23130  of the sustaining blocks  2313  are aligned with the holding element  2332 . The peak portions  23130  pushes the teeth portion  2420  of the gear-shaped blade  242  partially out of the opening  2325  to be in contact with the paper. When the carriage  23  is moved along the guiding slit  211 , the gear-shaped blade  242  rotates about the post  23322  to roll over the paper, thereby trimming the paper in the desired intermittently cut way. Accordingly, the trimming apparatus can optionally provides a complete or intermittent cut line or a folding line to paper so that the resulting paper can be divided or tore apart or folded easily along the cut line. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention need not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.