GB2410715A

GB2410715A - Grip-cut tool

Info

Publication number: GB2410715A
Application number: GB0402535A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Russell Khan-Sullman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-02-05
Filing date: 2004-02-05
Publication date: 2005-08-10
Also published as: GB2412344B; GB0402535D0; GB2412344A8; GB0411520D0; GB2412344A

Abstract

A grip-cut tool 1 comprises two component bodies 2, 3 pivotally connected together about a hinge 8, where the two component bodies 2, 3 respectively includes cutting edge blades 4, 5 and lever arms 9, 10. Gripping members 6, 7 are mounted in complementary alignment on the two component bodies 2, 3, adjacent to the cutting edge blades 4, 5, furthermore the gripping members 6, 7 are mounted either on part of the length, or the full length of the two component bodies 2, 3. Hence a simultaneous closing action of both the cutting edge blades 4, 5 and gripping members 6, 7 is achieved by an appropriate actuation of the lever arms 9, 10.

Description

SULLMAN GRIPCUT TOOL (RUSSELL SULLMAN-02/02/2004)

BACKGROUND

It is desirable sometimes when cutting something to hold it so that it does not fall on the floor, but with one hand actioning the cutting, and the other gripping part of the object to be cut, the remaining cut part cannot be held.

An example of this is where a Dental technician is cutting a length of orthodontic wire. One part usually drops, as it is not always easy to grip both part with the same hand.

Another example of where it would be desirable to be able to grip the object being cut is in the use of suture scissors. Currently sutures are removed by first cutting the suture, and then removal of the suture via a pair of tweezers. Suture removal therefore requires two actions, using two different instruments.

Provision of a Gripcut tool (in this instance called 'Twissors') that both cuts and grips one of the two cut ends of the suture at the same time, allowing suture removal in a single action as the 'Twissors' are removed from the field of operation, thereby saving time and effort, and also the expense of having to sterilise two tools.

There Is therefore the need for a tool that grips and cuts an object in a single action.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION

A grip-cut tool having two component shear bodies pivotally connected together by a means of motion (e.g. a pivot), and where each shear body comprises a cutting edge blade, a shank and a lever arm (or other means of handling), wherein part or all of that part of each shear body carrying the blade edge has a gripping/holding member attached to it (arranged on one planar side of the shear body and adjacent to the length of the blade edge) so that the engagement/gripping parts or surfaces of the gripping members face each other, and where the active gripping surface of the gripping member fits against and is complementary to the active gripping surface of the gripping/holding member attached to the opposing shear body (the two active gripping surfaces coming into contact when the tool is in the closed position), to facilitate gripping and clamping when the tool is moved from the open position to the closed position.

Such an arrangement allows the cutting and gripping of a material at one time. Both parts of the cut object may be gripped if gripping members are mounted on both planar sides of the tool, i.e. mounting gripping members on both sides of the body and either side of the blade edge axial length. In this arrangement when the tool is in the closed position, it grips the material that has been cut on both sides of the cut.

The blade edges are arranged to operate against each other to action a cutting action, as exemplified in the cutting action performed by a pair of scissors as the lever arms are brought to a closed position.

The pair of lever arms may be rotatably joined via a pivot to allow the shear bodies to move from an open position to a closed position via an arcuate path.

Such a tool may also find a use in the food world, as the actions of knife and fork are combined into one.

This arrangement allows the simultaneous cutting and gripping of an object in a single closing action with a single tool. The blades may pivot about a common pivot point.

A pair of co-acting gripping jaws mounted to one side of and not sharing the same longitudinal axis as the blade edges (but where the axis of the length of the gripping members may be parallel to the axis of the length of the blade edges), each gripping jaw being mounted on all or part of the shear body such that the gripper components/jaws and the cutting edge blades are brought together when the shear bodies are moved from the open position to the closed position.

Brief description of the drawings

By way of example one embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a Gripcut Tool when in a scissor-lke arrangement according to a first embodiment of the Invention, Figure 2 shows at (A) a perspective view of the second embodiment of the invention, and at (B) the embodiment in an open position, Figure 3 shows at (A) another embodiment (in this case the 'Twissors' embodiment that can be provided for use in the clinical or artistic field) of the invention, and at (B) the embodiment when in the open position, Figure 4 shows at (A), (B) and (C) views of the embodiment shown in Figure 3(A), in the closed position, in the three mutually orthogonal directions marked respectively X, Y ad Z of Fig. 3(A), Figure 5 shows at (A) yet another embodiment of the invention in the closed position, and at (B) in the open position, Figure 6 shows a further embodiment at (A) when closed and at (B) when open.

Detailed Description of examples of the Invention

The Gip-cut tool 1 of Figure 1(A) has component bodies 2 and 3 with cutting edge blades 4 and 5 respectively, with body 2 mounting gripping member 6 and body 3 mounting gripping member 7. The whole pivots via hinge 8, the action of opening and closing facilitated by the movement of lever arms (loop handles) 9 and 10. Contact of element 11 of member 6 against member 7 actions the gripping when the tool is placed in the closed position. This closing action also causes the blades 4 and 5 to co- act in a cutting motion that will cause any material placed between the blades 4 and 5 to be cut.

Considering body 2 to be exemplary, it can be seen that the longitudinal axis of member 6 and the plane of 11 are not the same as plane and axis of the body 2.

Opening and closure of handles 9 and 10 causes an arcuate movement of bodies 2 and 3 respectively, with resultant opening and closure of 2 and 3 and also 6 and 7.

Figure 1(B) shows the tool in the open position, whereas 1(A) showed the tool in the closed position.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention, with it closed in Fig 2(A) and open at Fig 2(B), of the type that can be used to cut flex, steel wire, etc. like parts of the embodiment of Fig 2(A) have like reference numerals to the embodiment shown in Figure 1. This tool also opens and closes via a pivoting hinge.

Figure 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention for suture removal. 3(A) shows the tool in the closed position, and at (B) in the open position, with the serrated area 12 being the grip surface against which element 11 comes into contact when the tool is in the closed position, allowing the object being cut to be gripped firmly during and after cutting.

Figure 4 shows at (A), (B) and (C) views of the embodiment shown in Figure 3(A) from each of the three mutually orthogonal directions X, Y and Z that are marked in Fig. 3(A).

Figure 5 shows a stylised embodiment ofthe invention m the closed position at (A) and In the open position at (B).

Figure 6 shows yet another stylised embodiment of the invention wherein there are provided two pairs of gripping members 6 and 7 on either planar side of the invention, so that gripping surfaces 11 and 12 exist on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the cutting blades 4 and 5, allowing both cut ends of the object being cut to be gripped.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention may incorporate one or more of the following features: 1. A Grip-cut tool comprising a pair of jaws (each carrying a cutting edge blade), each jaw being rigidly connected to a lever arm or other means of handling, with a gripping member being mounted along part or all of the length of each of the cutting edge blade jaws, adjacent to the cutting edge blade on the jaw contained on the component to which they are mounted, with the blades being co-acting against one another and the gripping members also being co-acting against one another, the opening and closure of the handles actioning opening and closure of the tool; 2. The blades, gripping members and means of handling not being in line and not sharing the same longitudinal plane or the same longitudinal axis; 3. The lever arms may be rectilinear or non-rectilinear; 4. More than one means of motion may be incorporated; 5. The tool may be provided with a protective cover; 6. The gripping members exist in an arrangement such that when the tool is moved from the open position to the closed position the active gripping surfaces of the gripping members come into contact with one another to allow gripping; 7. May have interchangeable blades andlor gripping members; 8. Part or all of the tool may have a longitudinal axis that is the same as, similar to, or generally parallel to the pivot axis; 9. The handles may be located on the same side as the blade-gripping member combination, or may exist on the opposite side to the blade-grips combination; 10. The handles may be joined directly to the jaws; 11. The jaws (i.e. the gripping members-cutting blades combination) may overlie one another, or alternatively, be side by side; 12. The gripping surface component of the gripping members complementary to one another may be shaped or patterned to optimise and facilitate satisfactory gnppmg.

Other modifications and embodiments of the invention, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art, are to be deemed to be within the scope and ambit of the invention, and the particular embodiments hereinbefore described may be be varied in construction and detail, e.g. interchanging (where appropriate or desired) different features of each, without departing from the scope of the patent monopoly hereby sought.

Claims

]. A Grip-cut tool (also known as 'Twissors'), having two component bodies connected together via a means of motion (e.g. a pivot hinge), each shear body comprising a cutting edge blade, a shank and a lever arm (or other means of handling), wherein a gripping/holding member is rigidly mounted to each component body along part or all of that pan of the length of the body carrying the cutting edge blade (and arranged so that the active gripping/clamping parts or surfaces of the gripping members face each other), where the active grripping surface of a gripping member on one component body fits against and is complementary to the active gripping surface of the gripping/holding member mounted on the opposing component body, to facilitate gripping and clamping when the shear bodies are In the closed position (i.e. when the tool is closed) allowing simultaneous cutting (by the cutting blades) and gripping (by the gripping members) of an object to be carried out in a single closing action or motion;
2. As claimed in claim I wherein the gripping members exist on one planar side of the cutting blades (thereby allowing gripping to occur on that side alone), such that longitudinal plane and longitudinal axis of the gripping members is different to the plane and axis of the longitudinal length of the cutting blades, and the blade and gripping member are not arranged in line one behind the other;
3. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the blades cut and the gripping members grip at the same time, when the tool is brought from the open position to the closed position;
4. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tool may be provided with more than one set of gripping elements, and where the two or more sets of coacting gripping members may exist on the same planar side of the tool;
5. As claimed in 4 wherein two or more sets of co-acting gripping members are provided, but where they are mounted on opposite planar sides of the tool, thereby allowing both of the two cut halves of the cut object to be gripped by the tool at the same time;
6. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tool may be hand- operated or may be operated using a power source (e.g a battery);
7. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the pivot component is located at the handle's free end (as in a pair of tweezers);
8. As claimed in any preceding claim wherem the means of motion may be a pivot such as a hinge; 9 As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the pivot component is located at the blade-adjacent end of the handle (as In a pair of scissors) ; 1). As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the blade non-adjacent ends are joined on to one other (as found in the structure of a pair of tweezers); 1 1. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein a secondary means of motion may be provided m the tool (in the case of a second pivot, it may exist with its axis parallel to or collinear with the axis of the first pivot); 12. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the lever arms (handles) may be located on the same side of the hub of the means of motion as the blade Jews and gripping members; 13. As claimed wherein the component blade edges, gripping members, shanks and lever arms may not exist in the same axial plane, and may also exist at an angle to one another, where this angle may be less than, greater than, or the same as 90 degrees; 14. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the lever arms may be located on the opposite side of the hub as the jaws and members; 15. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the opposing active surfaces of the gripping members that come into contact with each other, and which perform the gripping function when the tool is in the closed position, are smooth, serrated or otherwise pafferned/shaped to facilitate and optimise the gripping action; l 6. As claimed in any preceding claim where the lever-arms (handles) may be rectilinear; 17 As claimed In any preceding claim wherein the lever-arms (handles) may be non-rectilnear, and may be provided with one or more bends between their free ends and their hub-adjacent hub-portions; 18. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the said gripping members overlie one another; 19 As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the cutting blades generally overlie one another; 20. As claimed In any preceding claim wherein the gripping members and/or cutting blades are disposed side by side 21. As claimed in any preceding claim wherein the (set of) blades and the (set of) gripping members exist in a closed position when the tool is closed; 22. A Grip-cut tool substantially as herein described, with reference to the embodiments, by way of example, as shown in the accompanying drawings.