Patent ID: 7207114

Claim:
A rotary knife operable from a source of high pressure air, comprising: a) a tubular handle assembly; b) an annular blade having a blade edge at a first axial end and gear teeth formed around a perimeter of a second axial end; c) a blade housing coupled to the tubular handle assembly that supports the annular blade for rotation about a central axis; d) a pneumatic motor assembly supported by the handle assembly for driving the blade; e) a connector assembly coupled to the pneumatic motor, the connector assembly including: i) a first clamping member with an inner surface of axially decreasing extent; ii) a second clamping member having an exterior surface of axially decreasing extent for engaging the inner surface of said first clamping member and further including a clamping surface, wherein axially pressing the second member into the first clamping member reduces the size of the clamping surface; f) a drive shaft clamped in the clamping the surface of the connector assembly by axially pressing the second clamping member into the first clamping member; and g) a pinion gear fixed to the drive shaft which meshes with the annular blade gear teeth to drive the annular blade upon rotation by the pneumatic motor assembly.