Patent ID: 8176640

Claim:
A device for cutting media comprising: a body comprising a handle, a cover extending from the handle to an exposed end and a sidewall nonmoveably connected with and extending from the body to a free end; a guide having opposing top and bottom surfaces and an attached end and a free end, wherein the attached end of the guide extends from the body; and means for cutting the media disposed in the body, the means for cutting comprising a cutting edge having a leading edge and a trailing edge; wherein the sidewall shrouds at least a portion of the cutting edge, and with reference to the cutting edge, the sidewall has a media contact point that is disposed away from the trailing edge in the direction of the leading edge, and the media contact point of the sidewall does not extend beyond the bottom surface of the guide; wherein the bottom surface of the guide is below the free end of the sidewall; wherein a portion of the sidewall is below the top surface of the guide; wherein the handle terminates at a handle end opposite the cover, and further wherein the attached end of the guide is located longitudinally between the handle end and the exposed end of the cover, and further wherein extension of the guide from the attached end to its free end is in a direction away from the handle end such that a longitudinal distance between the free end and the handle end is greater than a longitudinal distance between the attached end and the handle end, and is greater than a longitudinal distance between the exposed end of the cover and the handle end; wherein when the origin of a Cartesian coordinate system coincides with the leading edge of the cutting edge and the x-z plane lies substantially coplanar with the top surface of the guide, the trailing edge of the cutting edge lies in the positive y direction; and wherein, during cutting, the cutting edge and the sidewall exert sufficient frictional forces on the media to create a deformation in the media near the leading edge of the cutting edge such that a user does not need to cut the media on a supporting substrate.