Patent Publication Number: US-2023142660-A1

Title: Cutting tool

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) application of International Application No. PCT/CN2020/100849, filed on Jul. 8, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of board cutting and, in particular, to a cutting tool. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     In our daily lives, cutting tools refer to a collection of tools using blades. Thin solid materials often need to be cut and trimmed to meet the requirements of various uses. In particular, in the fields of construction and decoration, it is a very common need to cut and trim thin wooden or plastic polymer materials such as flooring boards and wall tiles into suitable shapes and sizes so that they can be placed at edge, corner or other locations of buildings in need of the shapes. Differing from thin materials like paper and cloth, thin wooden or plastic polymer materials used for construction and decoration, such as flooring boards and wall tiles, are relatively strong, making their cutting and trimming require the application of strong pressure. 
     In the prior art, in order to achieve the purpose of cutting a wood board or a polymer material board, the tool used must provide a sufficiently large cutting force. To meet this requirement, cutting tools used in the prior art are associated with the problems of large sizes and heavy weights. In order to provide sufficient power, some cutting tools utilize electric, pneumatic and other external power, but this itself would increase structural complexity and cost of these cutting tools, making their application scenarios limited by site conditions. The cutting tools in the prior art are also associated with the problems of tending to cause cracking and damage to material edges. 
     Therefore, those skilled in the art are directing their effort toward developing a cutting tool, which can provide a cutting force sufficient to cut a wood board or a plastic polymer board simply by manpower without needing to resort to any external power and is thus simple in structure, easy to carry and low in cost. Additionally, this cutting tool can cut a material in a predictable and linear manner without causing cracking of the material during cutting. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above described shortcomings of the prior art, the problem sought to be solved by the present invention lies in how to, through structural design, provide a sufficiently large cutting force simply by manpower and to ensure that cracking will not occur to a material that is being cut. 
     In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a cutting tool comprising a bearing member, a first cutting member and a second cutting member, characterized in the first cutting member being fixedly coupled to the bearing member, the bearing member being provided thereon with a first axle, the second cutting member being pivotably coupled to the bearing member by the first axle. 
     Additionally, a manipulation member is further included, which is coupled to the second cutting member. The manipulation member is configured to drive the second cutting member to pivot about the first axle. 
     Additionally, the bearing member is provided thereon with a second axle, and the manipulation member is pivotably coupled to the bearing member by the second axle. 
     Additionally, an avoidance part is further include, which is configured to avoid the manipulation member from contact with a material to be cut during cutting. 
     Additionally, the avoidance part is a raised blade edge provided on the second cutting member. 
     Additionally, the raised blade edge is provided on an end of the second cutting member away from the first axle. 
     Additionally, the avoidance part is a notch provided in the manipulation member 
     Additionally, the manipulation member is provided with an opening, and the second cutting member is fixedly provided thereon with a connecting pin. The connecting pin is inserted in the opening to couple the manipulation member to the second cutting member. 
     Additionally, the manipulation member is elongate in shape, and the opening is also elongate in shape. The elongate opening is arranged along a lengthwise direction of the manipulation member. 
     Additionally, the opening is provided at the middle of the manipulation member, and the connecting pin is provided at the middle of the second cutting member. 
     Additionally, the bearing member is provided thereon with a first connecting seat, in which the first axle is provided. 
     Additionally, the bearing member is provided thereon with a second connecting seat, in which the second axle is provided. 
     Additionally, the second cutting member is elongate in shape. 
     Additionally, a blade edge of the second cutting member is curved. 
     Additionally, the blade edge of the second cutting member defines a curved line concave toward a blade back of the second cutting member. 
     Additionally, the second cutting member has a width greater at an end thereof close to the first axle than at an end thereof away from the first axle. 
     Additionally, a grip member is further included, which is a trapezoidal opening provided in the bearing member. 
     Additionally, the manipulation member is provided thereon with a handle. The handle is disposed on an end of the manipulation member away from the second axle. 
     Additionally, the manipulation member is provided thereon with a locking fastener, and a securing member projects from a side face of the second cutting member. The locking fastener is configured to be able to lock the securing member to secure the manipulation member relative to the second cutting member. 
     Additionally, the bearing member is provided thereon with a measuring member. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following benefits: 
     1. The product is simple in structure and does not need an external pneumatic or electric source. Therefore, it can be used in a wide range of application scenarios and is not limited by site resources. Moreover, as the product is simple in structure, it is lightweight and easy to carry. 
     2. It is unnecessary to design a supporting power structure for an external power source. Therefore, the cost is low. 
     3. The present application provides an avoidance part, which can prevent breakage of a material, reduce loss of the material and improve operating efficiency. 
     Below, the concept, structural details and resulting technical effects of the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings to provide a full understanding of the objects, features and effects of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    schematically illustrates a folded configuration of one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    schematically illustrates an unfolded configuration of one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic exploded view of one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  4    schematically illustrates an effect provided by an avoidance part in one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  5    schematically illustrates an effect provided by a curved blade edge in one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic structural overview of one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a raised blade edge in one embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG.  8    is a schematic structural overview of one embodiment of the present invention, 
     
    
    
     in which,  11  denotes a bearing member;  111 , a first pivot axis point;  1111 , a first holder;  1112 , a first axle hole;  1113 , a first bolt;  112 , a second pivot axis point;  1121 , a second holder;  1122 , a second axle hole;  1123 , a second bolt;  113 , a ruler;  114 , a grip opening;  12 , a first cutting member;  13 , a second cutting member;  131 , a pin;  14 , a manipulation member;  141 , a slot;  142 , a connecting pin;  143 , an elongate notch;  144 , a handle;  145 , a locking fastener;  23 , a second cutting member;  311 , a first pivot axis point;  312 , a second pivot axis point;  32 , a first cutting member;  33 , a second cutting member;  330 , a raised blade edge;  34 , a manipulation member;  51 , a bearing member;  52 , a first cutting member;  53 , a second cutting member;  54 , a manipulation member; and  541 , a slot. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Below, the drawings accompanying this specification are referenced to introduce many preferred embodiments of the present invention so that the techniques disclosed herein become more apparent and better understood. The present invention may be embodied in many different forms of embodiment, and its protection scope is not limited only to the embodiments mentioned herein. 
     Throughout the accompanying drawings, structurally identical parts are indicated with identical reference numerals, and structurally or functionally similar components are indicated with similar reference numerals. The size and thickness of each element in the drawings are arbitrarily depicted, and the present invention is not limited to any size or thickness of each element. For greater clarity of illustration, the thicknesses of some parts are exaggerated as appropriate somewhere in the drawings. 
     Embodiment 1 
       FIGS.  1  to  3    show one embodiment of the present invention. It includes a bearing member  11 , which is a base of the present invention for placement thereon of various components and for bearing a material to be cut. This embodiment produces, by engagement of a first cutting member  12  with a second cutting member  13 , a shearing force for cutting a board. Wherein, the first cutting member  12  is elongate in shape and fixedly disposed on a side face of the bearing member  11 , and the second cutting member  13  is movable relative to the bearing member. During movement of the second cutting member  13 , a blade edge of the second cutting member  13  comes into engagement with a blade edge of the first cutting member  12 , thereby producing a shearing force. In addition, in order to be able to provide a larger shearing force, this embodiment further includes a manipulation member  14  for driving the second cutting member  13  to move by using the law of the lever that can save effort. Specifically, on one side of the bearing member  11 , a first pivot axis point  111  and a second pivot axis point  112  are provided at opposing ends thereof. The second cutting member  13  is coupled to the bearing member  11  by a connecting means disposed at the first pivot axis point  111 . The manipulation member  14  is coupled to the bearing member  11  by a connecting means disposed at the second pivot axis point  112 . 
     The first pivot axis point  111  is provided thereat with a first holder  1111 . In this embodiment, the first holder  1111  is a U-shaped holder. Axle holes are provided in both arms of the first holder  1111 . The second cutting member is elongate in shape and provided at one end thereof with a first axle hole  1112 . This end with the first axle hole  1112  is assembled at the first pivot axis point  111 . The axle holes in the two arms of the first holder  1111  are arranged in coincidence with the first axle hole  1112  provided in the second cutting member  13 . A first bolt  1113  passes through the axle holes in the two arms of the first holder  1111  and the first axle hole  1112 , thereby coupling the second cutting member  13  to the bearing means  11 . Coupled by the first bolt  1113 , the second cutting member  13  is able to pivot about a first axle provided by the first bolt  1113 . 
     The second pivot axis point  112  is provided thereat with a second holder  1121 . In this embodiment, the second holder  1121  is a U-shaped holder. Axle holes are provided in both arms of the second holder  1121 . The manipulation member  14  is elongate in shape and provided at one end thereof with a second axle hole  1122 . This end with the second axle hole  1122  is assembled at the second pivot axis point  112 . The axle holes in the two arms of the second holder  1121  are arranged in coincidence with the second axle hole  1122  provided in the manipulation member  14 . A second bolt  1123  passes through the axle holes in the two arms of the second holder  1121  and the second axle hole  1122 , thereby coupling the manipulation member  14  to the bearing means  11 . Coupled by the second bolt  1123 , the manipulation member  14  is able to pivot about a second axle provided by the second bolt  1123 . 
     It is to be noted that, in other embodiments, the first holder  1111  and the second holder  1112  may not be necessarily U-shaped holders, and only one axle hole may be provided for coupling of the second cutting member  13  to the bearing member  11 , or for coupling of the manipulation member  14  to the bearing member  11 . 
     The manipulation member  14  is provided therein with a slot  141 , which is elongate in shape and arranged along a lengthwise direction of the manipulation member  14 . The second cutting member  13  is provided with a connecting pin. The connecting pin passes through the slot  141  and is able to move within a space defined by the slot in the lengthwise direction of the manipulation member  14 , thus coupling the second cutting memberl 3  to the manipulation member  14 . In order to facilitate the movement of the connecting pin within the slot  141 , rotating wheels  142  may be provided over the connecting pin. The rotating wheels  142  are sized to match a size of the slot  141  so that the connecting pin can more smoothly move in the slot  141 . When the manipulation member  14  is pivoting about the second axle at the second pivot axis point  112 , by means of the coupling of the slot  141  and the connecting pin, the second cutting member  13  is driven to pivot about the first axle at the first pivot axis point  111 . The manipulation member  14  is provided at its end away from the second pivot axis point  112  with a handle  144 . In use of this embodiment for cutting, a user applies an upward external force to the handle  144  (as used herein, the terms “upward” and “downward” refer to directions opposite to and in that of the natural gravity when the bearing member  11  is placed horizontally) to cause the manipulation member  14  to pivot about the second axle at the second pivot axis point  112 . Driven by the manipulation member  14 , the second cutting memberl 3  pivots about the first axle at the first pivot axis point  111  to separate from the first cutting memberl 2 . After a material to be cut is properly placed on the bearing member  11 , a downward external force is applied to the manipulation member  14  to cause the manipulation member  14  and the second cutting member  13  to pivot in directions opposite to those in the previous step so that the blade edge of the second cutting member  13  gradually comes into engagement with the first cutting member  12  to start a cutting action. Finally, the blade edge of the second cutting member  13  fully engages with the first cutting member  12 , thereby completing the cutting action. 
     Since the second cutting member  13  produces a shearing force at the location where the blade edge of the second cutting member  13  contacts the material to be cut while the manipulation member  14  acts on the second cutting memberl 3  at the rotating wheels  142 , as long as the rotating wheels  142  are disposed away from the first pivot axis point  111 , an effort-saving lever can be provided. The farther away from the first pivot axis point  111  the rotating wheels  142  are disposed, the more effort the effort-saving lever can save. The user acts on the handle  144 , while the second cutting member  13  acts on the manipulation member  14  at the slot  141 . Since the handle  144  is provided at the end of the manipulation member  14  away from the second pivot axis point  112  while the slot  141  is obviously less distant from the second pivot axis point  112  than the handle  144  (see  FIGS.  1  to  3   ), another effort-saving lever is provided, and the closer the slot  141  is to the second pivot axis point  112 , the more effort the effort-saving lever can save. The two effort-saving levers are combined to enable the present device to exert a sufficiently large shearing force on a material to be cut under manual manipulation without needing an external electric, pneumatic or other power source. 
     When the present device is out of use, the first cutting member  12 , the second cutting member  13  and the manipulation member  14  are collocated (as shown in  FIG.  1   ). In this embodiment, the manipulation member  14  is further provided thereon with a locking fastener  145 , and the second cutting memberl 3  is provided with a pin  131  at a corresponding position. When the first cutting member  12 , the second cutting member  13  and the manipulation member  14  are collocated, the locking fastener  145  can lock the pin  131  to secure the first cutting member  12 , the second cutting member  13  and the manipulation member  14  against one another to facilitate handling, improve safety and avoid accidents. 
     In this embodiment, the bearing member  11  is further provided thereon with a ruler  113  having a graduated surface, which serves as a measuring member in this embodiment. The ruler  113  is fixed to and raised over a top surface of the bearing member  11 . The ruler  113  is provided on the side of the bearing member  11  proximal to the first pivot axis point  11  so as to be perpendicular to the first cutting member  12 . In order to facilitate the handling of this embodiment, this embodiment further includes a grip member. The grip member is disposed on the bearing means  11  on the side opposite to the first cutting member  11 . Specifically, the bearing means  11  is further provided with a grip opening  114  extending through the bearing means. The grip opening  114  is substantially trapezoidal, located on the side of the bearing member  11  opposite to the first cutting member  12 , and parallel to the first cutting member  12 . The user can conveniently hold the present device by virtue of the grip opening  114 . 
       FIG.  4    schematically illustrates operation of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the manipulation member  14  is further provided with an elongate notch  143  in the vicinity of the second pivot axis point  112 , which serves as an avoidance part of this embodiment. Thanks to the presence of the elongate notch  143 , during the performance of a cutting action by the second cutting member  13  of this embodiment in order from a to b to c as shown in  FIG.  4   , a portion of its blade edge away from the first pivot axis point  111  will come into contact with a material to be cut earlier than a portion of the manipulation member  14  near the second pivot axis point  112 . In this way, the manipulation member  14  can be avoided from causing damage to the material to be cut. In other embodiments, the avoidance part may assume different forms while still achieving similar results. 
     Embodiment 2 
     As shown in  FIG.  5   , this embodiment differs from Embodiment 1 in that a second cutting member  23  in Embodiment 2 has a blade edge that is curved. Specifically, the blade edge defines a curved line concave toward a blade back of the second cutting member  23 . In this embodiment, the blade edge is preferably curved so that the second cutting member  23  has a large width at a location closer to the first pivot axis point  111  and a smaller width at a location farther away from the first pivot axis point  111 . Using the curved blade edge can provide an effect of additionally saving effort and thereby enabling the creation of a greater shearing force by limited manpower. 
       FIG.  5    schematically illustrates a cutting performance comparison between the second cutting member  23  of Embodiment 2 having the curved blade edge and the second cutting member  13  of Embodiment 1 having a conventional straight blade edge. As can be seen from the figure, the second cutting member  23  of Embodiment 2 has a contact length of L 1  with the material to be cut, and the second cutting member  13  of Embodiment 1 has a contact length of L 2  with the material to be cut. Due to the curved blade edge, L 1  is smaller than L 2 , leading to a lower pressure exerted by the material to be cut on the blade edge of Embodiment 2, as compared with Embodiment 1. This means that, for the same material to be cut, a cutting force F 1  required in Embodiment 2 is smaller than a cutting force F 2  required in Embodiment 1. Therefore, through providing the curved blade edge, some materials to be cut that would not have been cuttable simply by manpower because relatively great shearing forces are required can now be cut simply by manpower. 
     Indeed, the blade edge of the second cutting member  23  can also be configured with another curved shape concave toward the blade back than that of this embodiment, because similar results can be achieved as long as a shorter contact length is attainable between the blade edge and the material to be cut. 
     Embodiment 3 
       FIGS.  6  to  7    show another embodiment of the present invention. Similar to Embodiment 1, a first cutting member  32  is provided at a side face of a bearing member  31 , and a first pivot axis point  311  and a second pivot axis point  312  are provided at a top surface of the bearing member  31 . A second cutting member  33  is coupled to the bearing member  31  through a first axle provided at the first pivot axis point  311  so as to be able to pivot about the first axle. A manipulation member  34  is coupled to the bearing member  31  through a second axle provided at the second pivot axis point  312  so as to be able to pivot about the second axle. The manipulation member  34  is coupled to the second cutting member  33  so as to be able to drive the second cutting member to move. 
     Differing from Embodiment 1, in this embodiment, instead of an elongate notch in the manipulation member  34 , a raised blade edge  330  is provided in the second cutting member  33  as an avoidance part of this embodiment. Thanks to the presence of the raised blade edge  330 , even when there is no notch in the manipulation member  34 , it can still be ensured that the second cutting member  33  comes into contact with a material to be cut earlier than the manipulation member  34  at any position, thereby protecting the material to be cut against any damage that may be caused by the manipulation member  34 . 
     Embodiment 4 
       FIG.  8    shows a further embodiment of the present invention. Similar to Embodiment 1, a first cutting member  52  is provided at a side face of a bearing member  51 , and a manipulation member  54  is coupled to a second cutting member  53  so as to be able to drive the second cutting member to move. Differing from the above embodiments, in this embodiment, a slot  541  that is elongate in shape is provided at the middle of the manipulation member  54 . Through providing this slot  541  at said location, the same effect as with an avoidance part can be provided to similarly protect a material to be cut against any damage that may be caused by the manipulation member  54 . 
     Further, in other embodiments, in order to additionally save effort, the second cutting member  53  may also have a curved blade edge as in Embodiment 2. 
     Preferred specific embodiments have been described in detail above. It is to be understood that, those of ordinary skill in the art can make various modifications and changes based on the concept of the present invention without exerting any creative effort. Accordingly, all the technical solutions that can be obtained by those skilled in the art by logical analysis, inference or limited experimentation in accordance with the concept of the present invention on the basis of the prior art are intended to fall within the protection scope as defined by the claims.