Patent ID: 7107685

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a blade device including a knife portion having a sharp edge; a housing, the blade device pivotally mounted to the housing by a pivot pin so that the sharp edge can be rotated in or out of the housing to place the apparatus in a closed state or an opened state, respectively; a post attached to the blade device; a plate having a first arcuate slot and a substantially linear slot; a cam slide comprised of an extension which extends into the substantially linear slot, a second arcuate slot, and an opening into which the post can be inserted; wherein the extension of the cam slide can be moved in a substantially linear manner in the substantially linear slot; wherein the substantially linear movement of the extension in the substantially linear slot causes the sharp edge to come out of or go into the housing; wherein the pivot pin is inserted and located at a proximal or distal end of the second arcuate slot of the cam slide; and wherein the substantially linear movement of the extension in the substantially linear slot causes the cam slide to move and thereby causes the location of the pivot pin in the second arcuate slot to change to the other of the proximal or distal end.