Patent Publication Number: US-6662699-B1

Title: Miter box

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to mitre boxes and more particularly to a mitre box in which the article being cut can be held steady and in place while being cut. 
     Mitre boxes have been used for a number of years and are used primarily to cut strips of wood at predetermined angles. It has been found that when pieces of wood are to be cut, it is difficult to hold the piece of wood steady while it is being cut. This sometimes causes the wood to move slightly so that the cut is not made at the desired angle or at the desired place. This problem is particularly troublesome when thin pieces of wood are to be cut. Attempts to correct this drawback have resulted in mitre boxes which are complicated to use and expensive to manufacture and maintain. 
     OBJECTS 
     The present invention overcomes these drawbacks and has for one of its objects the provision of an improved mitre box in which a piece of wood can be cut without any danger of the wood moving and being cut at the wrong angle or at the wrong place. 
     Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved mitre box in which means are provided for holding the wood steady in place. 
     Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved mitre box which is simple to use. 
     Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved mitre box which is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain. 
     Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice. 
    
    
     DRAWINGS 
     A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mitre box made in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Referring more particularly to the drawings, the mitre box  1  of the present invention comprises a base  2  and a pair of opposed and spaced upstanding side walls  3  and  4 . Each of the upstanding side walls  3  and  4  have a plurality of angled slots  5  and  6  which are complimentary to and coextensive with each other in order to permit a saw blade (not shown) to be inserted in any of the angled slots  5 - 6  to cut a piece of wood W sitting on the base  2  at the same angle as the angle of the slots  5 - 6  in which the saw blade is placed to cut. Angled grooves  7  are provided in the base  2  to connect the various angled slots  5 - 6  with each other so that a saw blade is able to move down to a position beneath the upper surface  8  of the base  2  to cut the wood W (FIG. 3) completely through. 
     The base  2  is provided with a channel  10  in its upper surface  8  which extends lengthwise of the base  2 . The channel  10  has an undercut groove  11  which extends along the entire length of channel  10 . The channel  10  is also provided with a plurality of spaced openings  12  to permit access to the undercut groove  11 . The channel  10  is preferably formed in two sections  10 A and  10 B which are joined together at an apex  10 C at approximately the center of the base  2  and near to the side wall  3 . The sections  10 A and  10 B radiate outwardly from apex  10 C in opposite directions away from the side wall  3  in the direction of outer ends  9  of the base  2 . If desired, the channel  10  may be oriented in the reverse manner with the apex  10 C furthest from the side wall  3  and the sections  10 A and  10 B radiating from apex  10 C toward side wall  3 . 
     A second channel  110  may also be provided spaced from channel  10  having an apex  110 C and sections  110 A and  110 B oriented in the same direction as channels  10 , apex  10 C and sections  10 A and  10 B. This channel  110  may be closer to the opposite side wall  4 . An undercut groove  111  is also provided beneath channel  110 . The channel  110  is provided with openings  112  to provide access to the undercut groove  111 . Preferably the channel  110  is parallel to the channel  10 . However, if desired, the channel  110  may be reversed and oriented in the opposite direction to channel  10 . 
     A holding assembly  14  is provided comprising a holding block  15  through which extends a locking element  16  having a guiding head  17  at one end and a threaded portion  18  at it other end. A threaded fastener  20 , such as a wing nut, may be threadably mounted on the threaded portion  18 . The locking element  16  extends through an opening  19  in the holding block  15  with the guiding head  17  extending from the bottom of the holding block  15  and the threaded portion  18  extending through the top of the holding block  15 . The guiding head  17  is inserted into the undercut groove  11  through the openings  12  in the channel  10  and may move along undercut groove  11  to guide the holding block  15  along channel  10 . The fastener wing nut  20  when tightened on the threaded portion  18  will hold the holding block  15  down onto the base  2 . When the guiding head  17  of the locking element  16  is moved along the undercut groove  11 , the holding block  15  is also moved on the base  2  following path of the channel  10  toward and away from the side wall  3 . Moving the holding block  15  to a particular position relative to the side wall  3  and tightening the fastener  20  will hold the holding block  15  in place at that position. If a piece of wood W is positioned between the side wall  3  and the holding block  15  (FIG. 3) and the holding block  15  is moved against the wood W and locked in place by fastener  20 , the wood W is held steady against the side wall  3  and will not move when the wood W is being cut. When it is decided to release the wood W the fastener  20  is loosened to release the holding block  15  and the holding block  15  is moved along channel  10  away from the wood W and the sidewall  3  thereby releasing the wood W. Since the channel  10  is angled with respect to the side wall  3 , the holding block  15  can positioned in any position relative to the side wall  3  thereby permitting the holding block  15  to hold wood W of various lengths and thicknesses against the side wall while it is being cut. Since the channel  10  has two sections  10 A and  10 B at an angle to each other extending from the apex  10 C, the holding block  15  may be moved from a position closer to the side wall  3  to a position further away from the side wall  3  at any point along the side wall  3 . 
     If desired, the channel  10  may be used to accommodate a plurality of holding blocks  15  to 
     If desired, the channel  10  may be used to accommodate a plurality of holding blocks  15  to hold one or more piles of wood W in place. In addition, it is also possible to use the channel  110  at the same time that the channel  10  is being used to hold another piece of wood so that the two pieces of wood may be cut simultaneously. If desired, holding block  15  movable along the channel  10  may be used to hold a thicker piece of wood against the opposite side wall  4 . Furthermore, if desired, a holding block may be placed in channel  110  in order to hold a piece of wood against the side wall  4 . Alternately, if desired, channel  110  may be used to hold a piece of wood steady against the side wall  3 . 
     Referring more particularly to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the holding block shown is an  150  elongated one and has plurality of openings  151  therein. The locking element  16  is adapted to be inserted in any of the openings  151 . Hence, in addition to the holding block  150  being able to move toward and away from the wood W by means of the channel  10 , the holding block  150  itself can be moved toward and away from the wood W by merely inserting the locking element  16  into one of the openings  151  in the holding block  150 . This gives the structure greater flexibility in accommodating woods of different sizes. 
     It will then be seen that the present invention provides an improved mitre box in which a piece of wood can be cut without any danger of the wood moving and being cut at the wrong angle or the wrong place in which means are provided for holding the wood steady in place which is simple to use and inexpensive to manufacture and maintain. 
     As many and varied modifications of the subject matter of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description given hereinabove, it will be understood that the present invention is limited only as provided in the claims appended hereto.