Patent Publication Number: US-8966770-B2

Title: Cutting apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus, and more particularly to a cutting apparatus comprising a blade rotation arrangement for facilitating rotation of a cutting blade in a secure and convenient manner. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     A conventional cutting apparatus, such as a rotating knife, an elongated handle having supporting cavity formed therein, and an elongated blade rotatably supported in the supporting cavity for rotatably extending out of the elongated handle to cut a desirable object. The elongated blade usually has two opposed end portions crafted and designed to accomplish two different cutting purposes. For example, one end portion of the elongated blade may have a regular cutting blade while the other end portion has a plurality of teeth formed thereon so as to allow a user to use it as a mini saw. 
     This kind of conventional rotating knife usually has an actuation device provided on the elongated handle for normally locking a position of the elongated blade. When the actuation device is actuated, the elongated blade is unlocked and a user is able to rotate the elongated blade. The purpose of this conventional rotating knife is that the user may selectively utilize two different kinds of blade through rotating the elongated blade mounted on the elongated handle. There exist a number of disadvantages in associated with this conventional rotating knife, these disadvantages will be discussed below with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,510 to Frazer. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  and FIG. 3A of &#39;510 patent, the rotating knife comprises a handle having two side pieces joined together by threaded fasteners. Each side piece has a thin, flat liner, preferably metal, secured to the remainder of the handle side pieces. One of the side pieces has a recess for the locking mechanism to operate. The locking mechanism includes a lever and a lock pin pivotally carried by the front end portion of the lever (by another small axle) and protrudes through aligned holes in the liners and the blade. In other words, the locking of the blade is accomplished solely by means of the lock pin penetrating through the liners and the blade. This structure is very weak in strength, especially when the lock pin is pivotally moved to lock and unlock the blade and is itself carried by a small axle. When the rotating knife has been used for a prolonged period of time, the lock pin or the small axle may break easily and the locking mechanism will fail to operate. 
     Furthermore, the lever is pivotally mounted to the handle through another pivot pin. When the user wishes to unlock the blade, he or she needs to press on the lower end of the lever so as to pivotally disengage the lock pin from the blade and the liners. Again, it is rather easy for this pivotal mechanism of the lever to fail, especially when the rotating knife is used in extreme conditions, such as in outdoor environment during hiking, camping, or even in outdoor work. 
     In addition, one may appreciate from FIG. 3A of &#39;510 patent that when the lever is pivotally to unlock the blade, the blade is kept unlocked until the lock pin is pivotally moved to engage with the blade again. The lever is normally biased by the spring mounted at a lower end portion thereof so as to normally exert an outward pulling force to the lower end portion of the lever. As a result, when the elasticity of that spring looseness, the lever may accidentally disengage from the blade and the blade is accidentally unlocked. This imparts potential safety issues for the knife disclosed in &#39;510 patent. 
     Since the blade is kept unlocked until the lock pin is pivotally moved to engage with the blade again, the user has to manually determine if the blade is rotated to a proper orientation. If the blade is not properly orientated but the user erroneously determines that the blade is in the proper orientation, such as aligning with the handle, the cutting performance of the knife will be affected. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a cutting apparatus which comprises a blade rotation arrangement for facilitating rotation of a cutting blade in a secure and convenient manner. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a cutting apparatus which comprises a blade rotation arrangement comprising a plurality of securing frames for reinforcing a structural integrity and strength of the cutting apparatus when a cutting blade is locked for cutting and unlocked for rotation. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a cutting apparatus which comprises a blade rotation arrangement comprising an actuation member arranged to selectively lock a rotational movement of the cutting blade through linear motion of the actuation member. In other words, the actuation member does not rely on pivotal movement for locking and unlocking the cutting blade. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a cutting apparatus which comprises a blade rotation arrangement, wherein the actuation member is arranged to restore to its original locking position when the cutting blade is properly rotated to align with a handle frame of the cutting apparatus. 
     In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a cutting apparatus, comprising: 
     a cutting apparatus, comprising: 
     a handle frame which comprises a first elongated handle member and a second elongated handle member mounted to the first elongated handle member to form a receiving cavity between the first elongated handle member and the second elongated handle member; 
     a cutting blade having a first blade portion, a second blade portion, and a mid blade portion extended between the first blade portion and the second blade portion, wherein the cutting blade has a length longer than that of the handle frame; and 
     a blade rotation arrangement, which comprises: 
     a pivot member extended from the handle frame to connect to the cutting blade for allowing the cutting blade to rotate about the pivot member between a first position and a second position, wherein in the first position, the cutting blade is rotated such that the first blade portion is extended out of the receiving cavity while the second blade portion is received in the receiving cavity, wherein in the second position, the cutting blade is rotated such that the second blade portion is extended out of the receiving cavity while the first blade portion is received in the receiving cavity; 
     a securing frame mounted in the receiving cavity of the handle frame and is positioned adjacent to the cutting blade for reinforcing the cutting blade when the cutting blade move between and at the first position and the second position; and 
     an actuation member which is operatively mounted on the handle frame, and is arranged to selectively lock and retain the cutting blade in one of the first position and the second position. 
     According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the securing frame comprises a first securing member and a second securing member mounted in the receiving cavity at two sides of cutting blade so as to sandwich the cutting blade between the first securing member and the second securing member. 
     Each of the first securing member and the second securing member has a pivot hole formed thereon, wherein the pivot member is arranged to pass through the pivot holes of the first securing member and the second securing member and connect to the first elongated handle member and the second elongated handle member so that the cutting blade is also rotatably supported by the first securing member and the second securing member. 
     Moreover, the blade rotation arrangement further contains a locking slot provided on the mid blade portion of the cutting blade, wherein the actuation member is arranged to operatively engage with the locking slot for selectively locking and unlocking a rotational movement of the cutting blade. 
     The locking slot has a curved portion, and a first and a second longitudinal portions extended from two ends of the curved portion respectively along a longitudinal direction of the cutting blade. 
     Each of the first securing member and the second securing member further has a restraining slot longitudinally formed thereon, wherein he restraining slots are aligned with the locking slot formed on the mid blade portion of the cutting blade. 
     On the other hand, the actuation member comprises an actuating panel movably mounted in the receiving cavity of the handle frame, a locking latch transversely extended from a top end portion of the actuating panel, and a driving member transversely extended from lower end portion of the actuating panel to an exterior of the handle frame through the elongated actuation slot of the first elongated handle member, wherein the locking latch is extended from the actuating panel to slidably engage with the locking slot and the restraining slot of the first securing member and the second securing member, wherein when the cutting blade is in one of the first position and the second position, the actuation member is arranged to operate between a locking position and an unlocking position, wherein in the locking position, the locking latch is arranged to penetrate one of the first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion of the locking slot so as to restrain the cutting blade from rotating while the locking latch also penetrates the first securing member and the second securing member, wherein in the unlocking position, the actuation member is upwardly pushed along a longitudinal direction thereof so that the locking latch is slid from the corresponding first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion to a correspond end of the curved portion of the locking slot, wherein when the locking latch is slid into the curved portion, the cutting blade is capable of being rotated about the pivot member and is guided by the curved portion. 
     The actuation member further comprises a resilient member mounted to the first securing member and the actuating panel at a position near the driving member for normally exerting a force to the actuating panel for retaining the actuation member at the locking position wherein when the cutting blade is rotated such that the locking latch aligns with one of the second longitudinal portion of the locking slot, the locking latch is pulled by the resilient member to slide into the corresponding first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion of the locking slot so as to lock the rotational movement of the cutting blade. 
     The blade rotation arrangement further comprises a guiding member and contains first through third guiding groove formed on the cutting blade, the first securing member and the second securing member respectively, wherein the first through third guiding groove are aligned with each other while the guiding member is arranged to penetrate the cutting blade, the first securing member and the second securing member through the first through third guiding grooves. 
     The guiding member and the first through third guiding groove are formed at positions spacedly apart from the locking slot and are shaped and designed corresponding to the locking slot so as to allow the guiding member to slide along the first through third guiding groove when the cutting blade is rotating between the first position and the second position. 
     The first elongated handle member further has an elongated actuation slot formed thereon for communicating with the receiving cavity, wherein the actuation member is partially exposed out of the receiving cavity for user&#39;s manual actuation through the actuation slot. 
     The cutting blade further has a through slot formed on the mid blade portion, wherein the pivot member is arranged to penetrate the through slot to act as a pivot for supporting a rotational movement of the cutting blade about the pivot member. 
     The above mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly described and shown in the following detailed description, drawings, and the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a cutting apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the cutting apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the cutting apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that the actuation member is in locking position. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the cutting apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that the actuation member is in unlocking position. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of the cutting apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 5  of the drawings, a cutting apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, in which the cutting apparatus comprises a handle frame  10 , a cutting blade  20 , and a blade rotation arrangement  30 . 
     The handle frame  10  comprises a first elongated handle member  11  and a second elongated handle member  12  mounted to the first elongated handle member  11  to form a receiving cavity  13  between the first elongated handle member  11  and the second elongated handle member  12 . 
     The cutting blade  20  has a first blade portion  21 , a second blade portion  22 , and a mid blade portion  23  extended between the first blade portion  21  and the second blade portion  22 , wherein the cutting blade has a length longer than that of the handle frame  10 . 
     The blade rotation arrangement  30  comprises a pivot member  31 , a securing frame  32  and an actuation member  33 . The pivot member  31  is extended from the handle frame  10  to connect to the cutting blade  20  for allowing the cutting blade  20  to rotate about the pivot member  31  between a first position and a second position, wherein in the first position, the cutting blade  20  is rotated such that the first blade portion  21  is extended out of the receiving cavity  13  while the second blade portion  22  is received in the receiving cavity  13 , wherein in the second position, the cutting blade  20  is rotated such that the second blade portion  22  is extended out of the receiving cavity  13  while the first blade portion  21  is received in the receiving cavity  13 . 
     The securing frame  32  is mounted in the receiving cavity  13  of the handle frame  10  and is positioned adjacent to the cutting blade  20  for reinforcing the cutting blade  20  when the cutting blade  20  moves between and at the first position and the second position. 
     The actuation member  33  is operatively mounted on the handle frame  10 , and is arranged to selectively lock the cutting blade  20  to retain in one of the first position and the second position. 
     According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the first elongated handle member  11  and the second elongated handle member  12  is made of durable material, wherein the first elongated handle member  11  further has an elongated actuation slot  111  formed thereon for communicating with the receiving cavity  13 , wherein the actuation member  33  is partially exposed out of the receiving cavity  13  for user&#39;s manual actuation through the actuation slot  111 . 
     The cutting blade  20  is made of very strong material such as metal, wherein each of the first blade portion  21  and the second blade portion  22  are specifically designed and crafted to form different cutting tools for different cutting purposes. For example, as shown in  FIG. 2  of the drawings, the first blade portion  21  is designed to perform regular cutting activities while the second blade portion  22  is designed to perform specific activities, such as opening a can. 
     Moreover, the mid blade portion  23  further has a through slot  231  formed thereon, wherein the pivot member  31  is arranged to penetrate the through slot  231  to act as a pivot for supporting a rotational movement of the cutting blade  20  about the pivot member  31 . 
     The securing frame  32  comprises a first securing member  321  and a second securing member  322  mounted in the receiving cavity  13  at two sides of cutting blade  20  so as to sandwich the cutting blade  20  between the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322 . Each of the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322  has a pivot hole  323  formed thereon, wherein the pivot member  31  is arranged to pass through the pivot holes  323  of the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322  and connect to the first elongated handle member  11  and the second elongated handle member  12 . In other words, the cutting blade  20  is also rotatably supported by the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322  when it is locked in either the first position or the second position, or when it is rotating between the first position and the second position. 
     The blade rotation arrangement  30  further contains a locking slot  34  provided on the mid blade portion  23  of the cutting blade  20 , wherein the actuation member  33  is arranged to operatively engage with the locking slot  34  for selectively locking and unlocking a rotational movement of the cutting blade  20 . More specifically, the locking slot  34  has a curved portion  341 , and a first and a second longitudinal portions  342 ,  343  extended from two ends of the curved portion  341  respectively along a longitudinal direction of the cutting blade  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2  of the drawings, each of the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322  further has a restraining slot  324  longitudinally formed thereon, wherein the restraining slots  324  are aligned with the locking slot  34  formed on the mid blade portion  23  of the cutting blade  20 . 
     The actuation member  33  comprises an actuating panel  331  movably mounted in the receiving cavity  13  of the handle frame  10 , a locking latch  332  transversely extended from a top end portion of the actuating panel  331 , and a driving member  333  transversely extended from lower end portion of the actuating panel  331  to an exterior of the handle frame  10  through the elongated actuation slot  111  of the first elongated handle member  11 . 
     On the other hand, the locking latch  332  is extended from the actuating panel  331  to slidably engage with the locking slot  34  and the restraining slot  324  of the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322 . Thus, the restraining slots  324  and the locking slot  34  are aligned with each other so that the locking latch  332  is capable of penetrating the restraining slots  324  and the locking slot  34 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  of the drawings, when the cutting blade  20  is either in the first position or the second position, the actuation member  33  is arranged to operate between a locking position and an unlocking position, wherein in the locking position, the locking latch  332  is arranged to penetrate the first longitudinal portion  342  of the locking slot  34  so as to restrain the cutting blade  20  from rotating. At the same time, the locking latch  332  also penetrates the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322 . As a result, the locking strength is substantially reinforced because the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322  assist in locking the cutting blade  20 . 
     When the actuation member  33  is in the unlocking position, the actuation member  33  is upwardly pushed along its longitudinal direction so that the locking latch  332  is slid from the first longitudinal portion  342  to a correspond end of the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34 . When the locking latch has slid into the curved portion  341 , the cutting blade  20  can be rotated about the pivot member  31  and is guided by the curved portion  341 . In other word, when the cutting blade  20  is rotated from the first position to the second position or vice versa, the cutting blade  20  is not blocked by the locking latch  332  because the locking latch  332  is arranged to move along the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34 . 
     Thus, a width of the locking slot  34  is slightly larger than a diameter of the locking latch  332  so as to allow the locking latch  332  to slide along the locking slot  34  when the cutting blade  20  is rotating between the first position and the second position. 
     It is worth mentioning that the first longitudinal portion  342  and the second longitudinal portion  343  of the locking slot  34  are not curved (i.e. straightly extended). Thus, when the locking latch  332  is disposed in either the first longitudinal portion  342  or the second longitudinal portion  343  of the locking slot  34 , the cutting blade  20  is prevented from rotating because a rotating motion of the cutting blade  20  is restricted by the first or the second longitudinal portion  342 ,  343  of the locking slot  34 . 
     The actuation member  33  further comprises a resilient member  334  mounted to the first securing member  321  and the actuating panel  331  at a position near the driving member  333  for normally exerting a force to the actuating panel  331  for retaining the actuation member  33  at the locking position. Thus, when the cutting blade  20  is rotated such that the locking latch  332  aligns with the second longitudinal portion  343  of the locking slot  34 , the locking latch  332  is pulled by the resilient member  334  to slide into the second longitudinal portion  343  of the locking slot  34  so as to lock the rotational movement of the cutting blade  20  again. At this point, the cutting blade  20  has moved from the first position to the second position. 
     In order to further enhance a rotational movement and the structural strength of the cutting apparatus, the blade rotation arrangement  30  further comprises a guiding member  35  and contains first through third guiding groove  361 ,  362 ,  363  formed on the cutting blade  20 , the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322  respectively, wherein the first through third guiding groove  361 ,  362 ,  363  are aligned with each other while the guiding member  35  is arranged to penetrate the cutting blade  20 , the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322  through the first through third guiding grooves  36 . The second guiding groove  362  is formed at a mid blade portion  23  of the cutting blade  20 . 
     It is important to mention that the guiding member  35  and the first through third guiding groove  361 ,  362 ,  363  are formed at positions spacedly apart from the locking slot  34  and are shaped and designed corresponding to the locking slot  34  so as to allow the guiding member  35  to slide along the first through third guiding groove  361 ,  362 ,  363  when the cutting blade  20  is rotating between the first position and the second position. From the above description, the rotational motion of the cutting blade  20  is substantially guided by the locking slot  34  and the three guiding grooves  361 ,  362 ,  363 , and is stably supported by the first securing member  321  and the second securing member  322 . Thus, the structural strength of the cutting apparatus of the present invention is substantially enhanced as compared with conventional cutting apparatuses. 
     The operation of the present invention is as follows: the actuating panel  331  is normally kept at the locking position of the actuation member  33  by the resilient member  334 , and the cutting blade  20  is locked by the locking latch  332  penetrating the first longitudinal portion  342  of the locking slot  34 . At this point, the cutting blade  20  is at the first position and the user may utilize the first blade portion  21  extended from the handle frame  10  for cutting, as shown in  FIG. 1  of the drawings, and the first longitudinal portion  342  is positioned underneath the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34  while the second longitudinal portion  343  is positioned above the curved portion  341 . 
     When the user wishes to rotate the cutting blade  20 , the user needs to push the driving member  333  of the actuation member  33  so as to slide the locking latch  332  from the first longitudinal portion  342  of the locking slot  34  into an adjacent end of the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34 . The normal pulling force exerted by the resilient element  334  is overcome by the pushing force exerted by the user. When the locking latch  332  is slid into the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34 , the user may manually rotate the cutting blade  20  and the locking latch  332  is arranged to slide along the curved portion from one end to the other while the cutting blade  20  is rotating. At the same time, the guiding member  35  also slides along the first through third guiding slot  361 ,  362 ,  363  for allowing the cutting blade  20  to rotate in a stable and smooth manner. After cutting blade  20  will keep on rotating and the locking latch  332  travels along the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34  until the locking latch  332  aligns with the second longitudinal portion  343  of the locking slot  34 . At this point, the cutting blade  20  is rotated such that the second longitudinal portion  343  is positioned underneath the curved portion  341  while the first longitudinal portion  342  is positioned above the curved portion  341 . The user then needs to release his or her pushing force and the resilient element  334  exerts the normal pulling force to pull the locking latch  332  and the actuating panel  331  into the second longitudinal portion  343  of the locking slot  34 . The cutting blade  20  is then locked at the second position. The user may unlock the cutting blade  20  again and allow the cutting blade  20  to rotate back to the first position following the same procedure described above. 
     When the user wishes to rotate the cutting blade  20  from the second position back to the first position, the user again needs to push the driving member  333  of the actuation member  33  so as to slide the locking latch  332  from the second longitudinal portion  343  of the locking slot  34  into an adjacent end of the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34 . The normal pulling force exerted by the resilient element  334  is overcome by the pushing force exerted by the user. When the locking latch  332  is slid into the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34 , the user may manually rotate the cutting blade  20  and the locking latch  332  is arranged to slide along the curved portion from one end to the other while the cutting blade  20  is rotating. At the same time, the guiding member  35  also slides along the first through third guiding slot  361 ,  362 ,  363  for allowing the cutting blade  20  to rotate in a stable and smooth manner. The cutting blade  20  will keep on rotating and the locking latch  332  travels along the curved portion  341  of the locking slot  34  until the locking latch  332  aligns with the first longitudinal portion  342  of the locking slot  34 . At this point, the cutting blade  20  is rotated such that the first longitudinal portion  342  is positioned underneath the curved portion  341  again while the second longitudinal portion  343  is positioned above the curved portion  341 . The user then needs to release his or her pushing force and the resilient element  334  exerts the normal pulling force to pull the locking latch  332  and the actuating panel  331  into the first longitudinal portion  342  of the locking slot  34 . The cutting blade  20  is then locked at the first position again. 
     It is important to emphasize that the locking and unlocking mechanism of the present invention are accomplished by liner motion of the actuation member. This ensures stable and secure locking and unlocking of the cutting blade  20 . 
     One skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. All embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.