Abstract:
A folding knife having an improved locking engagement mechanism that will maintain and hold the knife in an open locked use position or in a locked folded position. The improved locking engagement provides a spring urged dual locking bar engaged directly on the knife blade for an improved imparted force transfer. A positional locking activation safety button is resiliently registerably against an apertured pivot arm extension of the locking bar for locking and unlocking engagement.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    This invention relates to folding knives that have a compact configuration in which the knife blade is pivotally attached to a support and enclosure handle, so as to be folder therewithin when not in use. Such knives have locking elements to engage and hold the knife blade in a locked open position for use or a folded closed non-use position. Such locking mechanisms are referred to as locking bar or pin configurations, 
         [0003]    2. Description of Prior Art 
         [0004]    Prior art folding knives have a variety of blade locking engagements structures to accommodate a number of blade lock and release positions, see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,338,431, 6,378, 214, 8,042,276, and Applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 7,469,476. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,338,431 and 6,378,214 by the same inventor disclose a folding locking knife blade mechanism with lock post selectively engaged on the blade tang. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 8,042,276 claims a folding knife with a thumb release opening having a push pad that displaces liner lock allowing the blade to rotate from a locked, open, or closed position. 
         [0007]    In applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 7,469,476, a folding locking knife is claimed having a spring urge pivot locking bar with a safety pin within the frame that engages the end of the locking bar. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A dual locking arm for a folding knife to lock and hold the knife blade in locked open use position or in folded handle engagement position. The dual locking arm has a blade shank engagement pin therebetween which is spring urge on a pivot within the handle, and an arm release slidable safety pin that prevents the locking arm from movement by user blade displacement to open or close position of the knife blade. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of the folding knife in open locked position with locking arm pin in blade registration. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view thereof. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an exploded assembly view of a folding knife in open position. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a side elevational view with portions broken away of the folding knife locking arm with pivot spring assembly and safety pin release in open lock position in solid lines, and partially closed position in broken lines. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of the knife handle having a safety arm spring release recess mounting area therein. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a side elevational view of the knife handle having a locking arm pivot and safety arm release apertures therein. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a side elevational view of the folding knife with portions broken away in closed locked position. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a side elevational view of the folding knife in initial blade opened position with portions broken away for illustration. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a side elevational view of the folding knife in partially opened position with portions broken away for illustration. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a side elevational view of the folding knife in fully opened lock position with portions broken away for illustration. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2  of the drawings, a folding knife  10  of the invention can be seen in unfolded locked position. The knife  10  has a blade portion  11  pivotally secured to a handle and frame support portion  12 . The handle and frame support portion  12  has a pair of frame members  13  and  14  with a dual exterior locking bar portion  15  pivotally secured therebetween. The blade portion  11  is pivotally secured via a hinge pin  17  therethrough for manual displacement defining a folding knife configuration. The blade portion  11  has a blade  11 A and a shank  11 B with a blade pin  18  and a thumb engagement stud  19  as best seen in  FIG. 3  of the drawings. 
         [0020]    The dual locking bar portion  15  comprises a pair of identical locking bars  20 A and  20 B secured to respective side of a bar spacer spring receiving fitting  21  by a pair of longitudinally spaced pins  22 , which extend through aligned apertured pairs at  23  in their respective locking bars  20 A and  20 B and bar spacer spring receiving fitting  21 . 
         [0021]    A blade engagement pin  24  extends through the spaced locking bars  20 A and  20 B in oppositely disposed relation to said pins  22 . The bar spacer spring receiving fitting  21  has an elongated spring receiving opening  25  and an elongated locking bar locking pin receiving opening  26  therethrough. A locking bar spring  27  is therefore positioned within the spring receiving opening  25  on a stop pin  27 A, which is registered within apertures A in the respective frame members  13  and  14  and corresponding oppositely disposed knife handles  28  and  29 . 
         [0022]    A safety release locking pin assembly  30  for release of the dual locking bar portion  15  is positioned within the bar spacer spring receiving fitting  21  and extends through the aligned openings  13 A and  14 A in the corresponding frame members  13  and  14  and  28 A and  29 A in the handle portions  28  and  29  for use, access, and blade release activation as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. 
         [0023]    The knife handle  28  has a contoured recess area  31  therein, overlying the safety locking pin aligned openings  13 A and  28 A and the aligned spring stop pin aperture A. A moveable two-part safety blade release locking bar pin  32 A is positioned through the corresponding aligned handle portions  28  and  29  openings and is secured to one another for respective movement within the elongated locking pin opening  26 . 
         [0024]    A bifurcated resilient element  33 , best seen in  FIG. 3  of the drawings, is retained within the handle recess area  31 . The resilient element  33  has a contoured apertured base portion  33 A through which the spring stop pin  27 A extends retaining same. A correspondingly contoured top portion  33 B is therefore registerable against the locking pin assembly  30  as best seen in  FIG. 4  of the drawings, providing spring resistance thereto. 
         [0025]    In use, it will be seen that the elongated locking pin opening  26  has a transversally enlarged end portion at  26 A which when in overlying alignment with the corresponding elongated opening at  28 A and the handle portion  20 A, will provide a unique locking pin retainment when under spring urged pressure by the hereinbefore described resilient element  33 . 
         [0026]    It will therefore when so engaged on the locking bar pin  32 A, prevent the locking bar assembly  15  from pivoting movement when the blade engagement pin  24  is registerably engaged within the retainment notch  34  in the blade shank  11 B in open lock position as illustrated best in  FIG. 4  of the drawings. 
         [0027]    Alternately, the blade engagement pin  24  will be registerably engaged against a retainment release notch and incline surface  35  on the blade shank  11 B when in closed position, as seen in  FIG. 7  of the drawings. The locking bar pin  32 A orientation will therefore maintain the blade portion  11  in either safety locked open or safety locked closed position, as described. 
         [0028]    Referring now to operational  FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10  of the drawings, the blade  11 A opening sequence can be seen with portions of the folding knife  10  removed for illustration clarity. 
         [0029]    Referring now to  FIG. 7  of the drawings, the folding knife  10  of the invention is shown in fully closed blade locked position with the moveable safety release locking bar pin  32 A therefore in lock position within the locking pin opening  26 . This orientation prevents the blade  11  once engaged to be opened. Once the locking bar pin  32 A is slid forward into the enlarged end portion  26 A (unlocked position) the locking bar assembly  15  will initially be maintained in its static position under the spring  27  pressure. However, by user blade engagement via the blade thumb engagement stud  19 , the blade  11 A can be pivoted to open and lock position as the blade engagement pin  24  slides initially against the blade shank incline surface  35  under the pivoting action of the blade portion  11  on its pivot pin  17 , as illustrated in  FIG. 8  of the drawings, and in  FIG. 4  in broken lines. 
         [0030]    As the blade  11 A continues to rotate towards open position, the blade engagement pin  24  follows the blade shanks  11 A perimeter arcuate edge pivoting the dual locking bar portion  15  on pivot pin  36 , as seen in  FIG. 9  of the drawings. Once the blade  11 A reaches the fully opened position in longitudinal alignment with the handle and frame portion  12 , the blade engagement pin  24  will engage and be resiliently retained within the locking notch  34  in the blade shank  11  as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 10  of the drawings. The safety locking bar pin  32 A is then slidably repositioned to its locked position and held in place by the hereinbefore described resilient element  33 . The blade pin  18  within the blade shank  11 A provides a blade stop against the respective handles  28  and  29 , as seen in  FIG. 4  in blade open position and in  FIG. 7  in blade closed position. 
         [0031]    It will be seen that the dual locking bar portion  15  provides by unique exterior orientation an improved highly effective and superior blade engagement and safety blade locking mechanism in a visual orientation for a fold knife, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore I claim: