EP0206700B1 - Knife sharpener - Google Patents

Knife sharpener Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0206700B1
EP0206700B1 EP86304584A EP86304584A EP0206700B1 EP 0206700 B1 EP0206700 B1 EP 0206700B1 EP 86304584 A EP86304584 A EP 86304584A EP 86304584 A EP86304584 A EP 86304584A EP 0206700 B1 EP0206700 B1 EP 0206700B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
blade
sharpener according
scabbard
opening
sharpening
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP86304584A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0206700A1 (en
Inventor
Cvetan Petroff
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
McPhersons Ltd
Original Assignee
McPhersons Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AU58524/86A external-priority patent/AU579250B2/en
Application filed by McPhersons Ltd filed Critical McPhersons Ltd
Priority to AT86304584T priority Critical patent/ATE53323T1/de
Publication of EP0206700A1 publication Critical patent/EP0206700A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0206700B1 publication Critical patent/EP0206700B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
    • B24D—TOOLS FOR GRINDING, BUFFING OR SHARPENING
    • B24D15/00—Hand tools or other devices for non-rotary grinding, polishing, or stropping
    • B24D15/06—Hand tools or other devices for non-rotary grinding, polishing, or stropping specially designed for sharpening cutting edges
    • B24D15/08—Hand tools or other devices for non-rotary grinding, polishing, or stropping specially designed for sharpening cutting edges of knives; of razors
    • B24D15/084—Hand tools or other devices for non-rotary grinding, polishing, or stropping specially designed for sharpening cutting edges of knives; of razors the sharpening elements being fitted to knife sheaths, holders or handles

Definitions

  • This invention relates to knife sharpeners of the kind which sharpen a knife blade as a result of the cutting edge of that blade being moved over the sharpener. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in relation to such sharpeners as used in combination with a scabbard or other protective cover for the blade.
  • the Jackson blade sharpener corresponds to the prior art portion of claim 1.
  • the sharpener includes means for maintaining downward pressure on a knife blade during its passage across the actual sharpening device. That pressure applying means is so arranged, however, that it does not engage the knife blade until that blade is moved inwardly some distance beyond the sharpening device and loses contact with the blade during withdrawal before the blade has left contact with the sharpening device. It follows that the cutting edge at the tip portion of the blade is not subjected to the same sharpening control as are other parts of the blade and is therefore not sharpened properly.
  • the Bayly blade sharpeners are arranged so that pressure applying means of one form or another engages and bears down on the back edge of a blade close to the time at which the blade cutting edge first contacts the sharpening device. In spite of that early contact, the sharpeners have a configuration such that they are unable to effectively sharpen the tip portion of a narrow blade.
  • Each of those sharpeners is arranged to operate with knife blades of substantial depth, even close to the tip, and the maximum downward force on the blade is achieved while the deeper sections of the blade are moving over the sharpening device. Minimum downward force and consequently minimum sharpening effect is achieved while the tip portion of the blade is moving over the sharpening device.
  • a blade sharpener including, a mounting structure having an access opening through which a blade can be moved, a sharpening device connected to said structure adjacent a lower extremity of said opening so as to be engaged by the cutting edge of a blade located within said opening, and a reaction member having an upper portion pivotally connected to said structure adjacent an upper extremity of said opening and a lower portion arranged to engage a back edge of a blade located in said opening so as to press the cutting edge of the blade against said sharpening device, said reaction member being resiliently urged about said pivotal connection in a forward direction towards a rest position at which it substantially closes said opening and at which said lower portion is located forwardly of said sharpening device and rearwardly of the axis of said pivotal connection, the arrangement being such that said reaction member is caused to swing rearwardly about said pivotal connection in response to engagement by a blade being moved rearwardly through said opening, whereby said lower portion is moved away from said rest position to pass over and rearwardly of said sharpen
  • the mounting structure 2 is a sleeve-like member having a passage therethrough which forms the access opening 5.
  • the mounting structure 2 as shown is adapted for connection to a blade scabbard 11 as hereinafter described in detail.
  • the structure 2 could be an integral part of the scabbard 11.
  • the structure 2 could be arranged to exist separate from a blade scabbard.
  • the structure 2 as shown is of substantially rectangular form in transverse cross-section and has two side walls 12 and 13 and upper and lower walls 14 and 15 respectively.
  • the opening 5 is defined between those walls and therefore also has a substantially rectangular shape.
  • the structure 2 is arranged to be a neat sliding fit within an open end 16 ( Figure 8) of the scabbard 11 as shown in Figures 6 and 7. That is, the external configuration as defined by the walls 12,13,14 and 15 is substantially complementary to the internal configuration of the open end 16 of the scabbard 11.
  • Retaining means is provided to releasably retain the structure 2 within the scabbard open end 16, and in the construction shown that retaining means includes a laterally projecting button 20 connected to the structure side wall 13 and arranged to locate within an aperture 21 (Figure 8) formed through a side wall 22 of the scabbard 11. It is preferred, as shown, that the button 20 is attached to the structure 2 through a flexible connection such that the button 20 can be moved between an operative position ( Figure 7) and an inoperative position ( Figure 8). It is also preferred that the flexible connection includes an arm 23 which is formed integral with both the structure side wall 13 and the button 20 as best seen in Figure 4.
  • the connecting arm 23 is predisposed to normally hold the button 20 in the operative position as shown in Figure 7. Inward pressure applied to the button 20, however, causes the arm 23 to bend or flex so that the button 20 is moved clear of the aperture 21 and the structure 2 is then able to be pulled out of the scabbard 11. As shown in Figure 8, similar inward deflection of the button 20 is necessary to condition the structure 2 for replacement within the scabbard 11.
  • a recess 24 may be formed in the front edge of the structure side wall 12 as shown in Figure 1. That recess 24 can have a shape substantially complementary to the front end shape of the knife handle 8 as shown in Figure 6 so as to at least partly enclose a front end portion 25 of the handle 8.
  • the knife 9 is thereby located in a particular position relative to the scabbard 11, and the structure 2, when the blade 4 is fully inserted into the scabbard 11 as shown in Figure 6.
  • the sharpening device 3 includes a sharpening recess 26 which is adapted to receive the cutting edge 6 of the knife blade 4.
  • the sharpening recess 26 is of V shape so as to have a configuration substantially complementary to that of the blade cutting edge 6.
  • the recess 26 may be defined between a pair of overlapping circular cutters (not shown). It is preferred, however, that the sharpening recess 26 is defined between a pair of sharpening elements 27 of non-circular peripheral shape and which may be made of any suitable material.
  • the sharpening elements 27 may be made of tungsten carbide material.
  • the sharpening device 3 is mounted on the structure 2 so as to be capable of limited backward and forward rocking movement as the knife blade 4 is respectively inserted into and withdrawn from the scabbard 11.
  • the sharpening elements 27 may be mounted on a base member 28 as shown which is pivotally connected to the mounting structure 2 through two stub axles 29, each of which is rotatably mounted in a respective wall 12 and 13 of the structure 2.
  • the facility for rocking movement is desirable so that the cutting edge 6 of the knife blade 4 can be moved through the V-shaped sharpening recess 26 with minimum likelihood of the blade 6 skipping or jamming within the recess 26.
  • the sharpening device 3 can rock between forward and backward positions as shown in Figures 9 and 11 respectively according to whether the knife blade 4 is being withdrawn from or moved into the scabbard 11.
  • the degree of maximum tilt of the device 3 may be about 25° in the backward direction and about 30° in the forward direction, but it will be appreciated that those angles are merely preferred rather than essential.
  • a blade 30 may be arranged to engage stop surfaces so as to limit the pivotal or rocking movement of the sharpening device 3.
  • the knife sharpener 1 of the present invention is further provided with a reaction member 31 which is arranged to engage the back edge 10 of a knife blade 4 inserted through the access opening 5 and thereby urge the blade cutting edge 6 against the sharpening device 3.
  • the member 31 is resiliently urged towards a rest position as shown in Figure 4, and is arranged to initially engage the knife blade 4 at a location forward of the sharpening device 3 so as to thereby cause the sharpening action to extend to the extreme tip 7 of the knife blade 4. That is, when a knife blade 4 is being moved into the scabbard 11, it engages the member 31 before engaging the sharpening device 3.
  • the member 31 remains in engagement to press the cutting edge 6 into the sharpening recess 26 for the full length of the cutting edge 6 until the extreme tip 7 of the knife blade 4 disengages from the sharpening device 3.
  • biasing means 32 acts on the member 31 so as to urge it against the back edge 10 of the knife blade 4.
  • the reaction member 31 preferably comprises a lever which has an upper portion 33 pivotally connected at 34 to the mounting structure 2.
  • the axis of the pivotal connection 34 is transverse to the direction of movement of the blade 4.
  • the lever 31 also has a lower portion 35 which is arranged to contact the back edge 10 of the knife blade 4 to apply force thereto so as to urge the knife blade 4 into the sharpening recess 26.
  • the pivotal connection 34 of the lever 31 is located forwardly of the sharpening device 3.
  • the lower portion 35 is located rearwardly of the pivotal connection 34 and forwardly of the sharpening device 3.
  • the arrangement is such that the lever 31 slopes in a rearward direction away from the pivotal connection 34 and generally towards the sharpening device 3.
  • the lower portion 35 of the lever 31 is caused to move towards a position generally opposite to the sharpening device 31 as shown by Figures 9 and 10. It follows that at one stage of insertion of the knife blade 4 into the blade sharpener 1, the lever 31 is applying a force to the back edge 10 of the knife blade 4 at a point directly opposite to the sharpening device 3. As the blade 4 continues to be moved through the sharpener 1, the lower portion 35 moves over and rearwardly beyond the sharpening device 3 so that it moves from a position forward of the sharpening device 3 to a position rearward thereof.
  • the biasing means 32 for urging the lever 31 into contact with the blade back edge 10 may be of any convenient form and configuration.
  • the biasing means 32 comprises a coil spring 39 having laterally extending arms 40 and 41 (Figure 1) at respective opposite ends thereof.
  • the spring 39 is located around a pin 42 ( Figure 5) which forms part of the pivotal mounting 34 of the lever 31, and the arms 40 and 41 engage the lever 31 and the structure upper wall 14 respectively.
  • the spring 31 is preloaded so that the arms 40 and 41 act as torsion arms urging the lever 31 into the rest position as shown in Figure 1.
  • such preloading may involve 300° movement of the arms 40 and 41 relative to one another from the position at which the spring 39 is relaxed.
  • the optimum configuration and various dimensions of the components of the sharpener 1 may be different for different knife blades.
  • the lever 31 may be about 33 mm long (pivot 34 to contact point 38) and have its pivot 34 located about 23 mm forward of the sharpening device 3, and the angle (Figure 13) without a knife in the sharpener 1 may be about 67°.
  • the sharpener 1 is provided with a ramp 43 which slopes upwardly and rearwardly towards the sharpening recess 26 (Figure 4).
  • a guide slot 44 may be provided at the upper end of the ramp 43 so as to slidably receive and guide the cutting edge 6 of a blade 4 being moved into the recess 26.
  • the lever 31 closes the opening 5 to such an extent that a blade 4 cannot be moved through the opening 5 to engage the sharpening device 3 without first engaging the lower end portion 35 of the lever 31.
  • a guide groove 47 is preferably formed in the front side of the lever 31 so as to slidably receive and guide the back edge 10 of a blade 4 being moved through the opening 5. The groove 47 and slot 44 thereby combine to ensure that the blade 4 is restrained against lateral tilting during a sharpening operation.
  • the tip 7 engages the lever 31 at or near the terminal end surface 45 and the lever 31 is caused to swing rearwardly and upwardly to bear against the back edge 10 of the blade 4 as that blade 4 is moved further through the opening 5.
  • the knife tip 7 engages with the sharpening device 3, that device 3 swings rearwardly about its pivot and thereby prevents jamming of the blade 4 within the sharpening recess 26.
  • the force applied to the back edge 10 of the knife blade 4 by the lever 31 ensures that the extreme tip 7 of the blade 4 is pushed into the base of the sharpening recess 26 and consequently the sharpening action will commence at the extreme tip 7. That is, the sharpening elements 27 engage with and move along respective opposite sides of the cutting edge 6 up to the tip 7 of the blade 4. As the blade 4 is moved further into the sharpener 1, it presents a greater depth between the lever 31 and the device 3, and the lever 31 swings about its pivot 34 to compensate for that increase (see Figure 11). The lever 31, however, remains in contact with the blade back edge 10 and continues to apply force thereto to maintain the cutting edge 6 in contact with the sharpening device 3.
  • the sharpening device 3 swings forward on its pivot mounting so that the cutting edge 6 runs through the sharpening recess 26 at an acute angle.
  • the lower portion 35 of the lever 31 continues to apply force to the back edge 10 of the knife blade 4 throughout the withdrawal movement and particularly until the extreme tip 7 of the knife blade 4 separates from the sharpening elements 27.
  • the inclination of the lever 31 is such that the frictional resistance to withdrawal of the knife blade 4 will be greater than the frictional resistance to insertion of the blade 4. That arises because the frictional force at the back edge 10 acts in the forward direction when the knife blade 4 is being inserted and, because of the rearward inclination of the lever 31, thereby reduces the resulting component of force acting upwardly along the line of the lever 31. Another component of the frictional force acts vertically upwardly and thereby reduces the reactive sharpening force on the knife blade 4. Conversely, when the knife blade 4 is being withdrawn, the frictional force acts rearwardly and can be analysed into components comprising a downward force which augments the sharpening force and a force which acts upwardly along the general line of the lever 31.
  • the foregoing provides something of a safety feature because it is easier to insert a blade 4 into the sharpener 1 than to withdraw a blade 4 from the sharpener 1.
  • a sharpener 1 enables a knife blade 4 to be sharpened effectively right up to the extreme tip 7 of that blade 4.
  • the scabbard 11 of the preferred embodiment shown provides both a protective sheath for a blade 4 and also a mounting for the structure 2.
  • the scabbard 11 as shown has a guide plate 48 which extends angularly outwards away from the structure 2 so that the user can readily insert a knife blade 4 into the access opening 5 (Figure 7).
  • the guide plate 48 is preferably provided with a fastening passage 49 at the back surface thereof to enable the scabbard 11 to be attached to a belt, for example.
  • a resilient jaw may be substituted for the passage 49 to enable the scabbard 11 to be hooked onto a support.
  • the guide plate 48 is at a small angle to the general direction of the scabbard 11 so as to keep the knife handle 8 displaced outwardly from the guide plate 48 as shown in Figure 7 and thereby enable the user to readily grip the handle 8.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Finish Polishing, Edge Sharpening, And Grinding By Specific Grinding Devices (AREA)
EP86304584A 1985-06-14 1986-06-13 Knife sharpener Expired - Lifetime EP0206700B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT86304584T ATE53323T1 (de) 1985-06-14 1986-06-13 Messerschleifer.

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU1038/85 1985-06-14
AUPH103885 1985-06-14
AU58524/86A AU579250B2 (en) 1985-06-14 1986-06-10 Knife sharpener

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0206700A1 EP0206700A1 (en) 1986-12-30
EP0206700B1 true EP0206700B1 (en) 1990-06-06

Family

ID=25632131

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP86304584A Expired - Lifetime EP0206700B1 (en) 1985-06-14 1986-06-13 Knife sharpener

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0206700B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
IN (1) IN167633B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AU462886B2 (en) * 1973-03-26 1975-07-10 Wiltshire Cutlery Co. Pty. Ltd. Sharpening device
GB2111415B (en) * 1981-11-26 1985-07-03 Wilkinson Sword Ltd Knife sharpeners
NZ206318A (en) * 1982-11-24 1986-11-12 Wiltshire Consolidated Knife scabbard with integral sharpener

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0206700A1 (en) 1986-12-30
IN167633B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1990-11-24

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