Patent ID: 6971178

Claim:
A replaceable blade utility knife, comprising: an elongated utility knife handle assembly comprising first and second handle portions, the handle portions being movably coupled to one another for pivotal movement between open and closed positions, said handle portions in their closed position cooperating to provide a gripping surface on an exterior of said handle assembly to enable said handle assembly to be gripped in a hand during a cutting operation and cooperating to form a blade storage compartment for storing a supply of spare blades and to form a blade opening and a longitudinal blade passageway communicated to said blade opening at a forward portion of said handle assembly; a lock member capable of locking the handle portions in their closed position; a blade carriage operable to releasably hold a replaceable cutting blade having a cutting edge, the blade carriage being movably mounted within said passageway for movement between a retracted position in which the cutting edge of a cutting blade mounted in said blade carriage is entirely enclosed within an interior portion of said handle assembly and an extended position in which a portion of a length of a cutting blade mounted in said blade carriage extends outwardly through said opening to expose a portion of said cutting edge so that a worker gripping the handle assembly can affect a cutting operation utilizing the cutting blade, said handle assembly being constructed and arranged such that when said handle portions are in their open position said blade carriage is exposed to enable a cutting blade to be removed from or placed in said blade carriage and said blade storage compartment is open so that one or more blades may be placed therein or removed therefrom; manually engagable structure movably mounted on an exterior portion of said handle assembly and operatively coupled to said blade carriage such that manual movement of said manually engagable structure moves said blade carriage between its retracted and extended positions; said blade carriage being movable angularly outwardly from one of said handle portions when said handle portions are in their open position so as to have at least a portion thereof spaced from said one handle portion to facilitate manual movement of a blade into or out of said blade carriage, wherein said blade carriage moves angularly outwardly from said one handle portion in response to movement of said handle portions into their open position.