GB1589276A - Rotary trimmer - Google Patents

Description

(S4) ROTARY TRIMMER -(71) We, M. MYERS & SON LIMITED, a British Company, of P.O. Box 16, Oldbury, Warley West Midlands, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, be be particularly described in and;by'the following statement: -This invention relates to a rotary'trimmer of the kind which includes a fixed blade and a rotary cutter which overlaps the. fixed blade and which is arranged when moved along the fixed blade to cut, by means of a scissors action, material which projects over the fixed blade.In this kind of trimmer the rotary cutter does represent a potential source of danger in that it can cause injury to the hand of a user and the object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of a guard for protecting the hand of a user from such injury.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a rotary trimmer of'the kind having a fixed blade and a rotary cutter of circular form which overlaps. the fixed blade and which is arranged when moved along the fixed blade to cut, by means of a scissors action, material which projects over the fixed blade, characterised in that the rotary cutter is ' rotatably mounted in a housing which is slidable along a guide extending in a direction parallel to the length of said fixed blade,- 5 aid housing extending inter alia over the upper part of said rotary cutter -and that face thereof which is adjacent to the fixed blade, and having a rear portion which covers or substantially covers the lower part of the opposite face of the rotary cutter so as to prevent a part of the hand of a user being trapped between said lower part of the rotary cutter and the fixed blade or engaging the cutting edges provided by said rotary cutter and said fixed blade, said rear portion of the housing being of part circular configuration having a radius which is smaller than the radius of the rotary cutter.

Conveniently, said housing is formed as a moulding in a synthetic resin material and the aforesaid rear portion of the housing may be integral with the remainder of the housing or may be formed separately therefrom and secured in any convenient manner, as for example by means of a "snap-action" push fit.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein ' Figure 1 is a rear view of a part of one example of a rotary trimmer constructed in accordance with the present invention and Figure 2 is a partial sectional view of the trimmer shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing the example of a rotary trimmer shown therein has a baseboard 10 having a flat upper surface 11 on which' material to be cut would be placed.

Said baseboard 10 is conveniently of rect angular -configuration in plan and along one edge thereof is arranged a fixed blade 12 which may be formed from a piece of steel of channel-shaped configuration providing a cutting edge 13. Overlying said cutting edge 13 and the adjacent part of the-base- board 10 is a gripping strip. 14 which is conveniently made of a flexible synthetic resin material, said strip being secured at its ends either to the baseboard 10 or to a pair of brackets mounted thereon, the arrangement being such that a piece. of paper or other material which is to be cut will be placed on said flat surface 11 and then pushed beneath said strip 14 so that it projects over the cutting edge 13.Said paper or other material is then adjusted to a desired position for cutting, whereafter pressure can be applied to the upper surface of said strip 14 to hold the paper in position.

There is also provided a rotary cutter 15 of circular form mounted on a spindle 16 which is itself mounted in a housing generally indicated by reference number 17, there being also provided a spring 18 which is also mounted on the spindle 16 and which serves to urge the rotary cutter 15 towards the fixed blade 12. There is also provided a resilient driving wheel 19 which is rotatable with the rotary cutter 15 and which engages the upper surface of the strip 14 so that movement of the wheel 19 along the strip 14 will result in rotation of the rotary cutter 15.

The housing 15 is arranged to slide along a guide 20 which is conveniently formed as a steel bar of circular cross-section located at its ends in suitable recesses formed in the aforesaid brackets. Furthermore said housing 17 is formed of a synthetic resin material which has a relatively low coefficient of friction relative to the guide 20 so that the housing can be gripped by a user and slid smoothly and easily along said guide.

Said housing 17 has a portion 21 and a portion 22 which respectively extend over the upper part of said rotary cutter 15 and that face thereof which is adjacent to the 'fixed blade 12. The housing is also provided however with a rear portion 23 which covers or substantially covers the lower part of the opposite face of said rotary cutter. This portion 23 thus acts as a guard for the lower part of the rotary cutter and will prevent a part of the hand of a user being trapped between said lower part of the rotary cutter and the fixed blade. Said rear portion 23 may be integral with the remainder of the housing 17 but conveniently it is also formed in a synthetic resin material separate from the remainder of the housing.

It is then secured to the housing 17 in any convenient manner and can for example be assembled to the housing by means of a "snap-action" push fit so that it can be readily snapped into place. Said rear portion 23 includes a lower part 24 which is of generally part-circular configuration having a radius of curvature which is slightly smaller than the radius of curvature of the rotary cutter 15 so that the latter will pro ject by a very small distance below the lower edge of said part 24.This ensures that the rotary cutter 15 can properly engage the cutting edge 13 of the fixed blade 12 but the area of the rotary cutter 15 which is thereby exposed is very small and will not present any danger to the user in that there will not be sufficient space between the lower part of the rotary cutter and the fixed blade 12 in which a part of the hand of the user can be trapped or in which the hand can engage the cutting edges provided by said rotary cutter and said fixed blade.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A rotary trimmer of the kind having a fixed blade and a rotary cutter of circular form which overlaps the fixed blade and which is arranged when moved along the fixed blade to cut, by means of a scissors action, material which projects over the fixed blade, characterised in that the rotary cutter is rotatably mounted in a housing which is slidable along a guide extending in a direction parallel to the length of said fixed blade, said housing extending inter alia over the upper part of said rotary cutter and that face thereof which is adjacent to the fixed blade, and having a rear portion which covers or substantially covers the lower part of the opposite face of the rotary cutter so as to prevent a part of the hand of a user being trapped between said lower part of the rotary cutter and the fixed blade or engaging the cutting edges provided by said rotary cutter and said fixed blade, said rear portion of the housing being of part circular configuration having a radius -which is smaller than the radius of the rotary cutter.

2. A rotary trimmer as claimed in Claim l wherein said rear portion of the housing is formed separately from the remainder of the housing.

3. A rotary trimmer of the kind specified substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (3)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. strip 14 will result in rotation of the rotary cutter 15. The housing 15 is arranged to slide along a guide 20 which is conveniently formed as a steel bar of circular cross-section located at its ends in suitable recesses formed in the aforesaid brackets. Furthermore said housing 17 is formed of a synthetic resin material which has a relatively low coefficient of friction relative to the guide 20 so that the housing can be gripped by a user and slid smoothly and easily along said guide. Said housing 17 has a portion 21 and a portion 22 which respectively extend over the upper part of said rotary cutter 15 and that face thereof which is adjacent to the 'fixed blade 12. The housing is also provided however with a rear portion 23 which covers or substantially covers the lower part of the opposite face of said rotary cutter. This portion 23 thus acts as a guard for the lower part of the rotary cutter and will prevent a part of the hand of a user being trapped between said lower part of the rotary cutter and the fixed blade. Said rear portion 23 may be integral with the remainder of the housing 17 but conveniently it is also formed in a synthetic resin material separate from the remainder of the housing. It is then secured to the housing 17 in any convenient manner and can for example be assembled to the housing by means of a "snap-action" push fit so that it can be readily snapped into place. Said rear portion 23 includes a lower part 24 which is of generally part-circular configuration having a radius of curvature which is slightly smaller than the radius of curvature of the rotary cutter 15 so that the latter will pro ject by a very small distance below the lower edge of said part 24.This ensures that the rotary cutter 15 can properly engage the cutting edge 13 of the fixed blade 12 but the area of the rotary cutter 15 which is thereby exposed is very small and will not present any danger to the user in that there will not be sufficient space between the lower part of the rotary cutter and the fixed blade 12 in which a part of the hand of the user can be trapped or in which the hand can engage the cutting edges provided by said rotary cutter and said fixed blade. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A rotary trimmer of the kind having a fixed blade and a rotary cutter of circular form which overlaps the fixed blade and which is arranged when moved along the fixed blade to cut, by means of a scissors action, material which projects over the fixed blade, characterised in that the rotary cutter is rotatably mounted in a housing which is slidable along a guide extending in a direction parallel to the length of said fixed blade, said housing extending inter alia over the upper part of said rotary cutter and that face thereof which is adjacent to the fixed blade, and having a rear portion which covers or substantially covers the lower part of the opposite face of the rotary cutter so as to prevent a part of the hand of a user being trapped between said lower part of the rotary cutter and the fixed blade or engaging the cutting edges provided by said rotary cutter and said fixed blade, said rear portion of the housing being of part circular configuration having a radius -which is smaller than the radius of the rotary cutter.

2. A rotary trimmer as claimed in Claim l wherein said rear portion of the housing is formed separately from the remainder of the housing.

3. A rotary trimmer of the kind specified substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.