NZ205927A - Shearing handpiece. shear plate biased towards cutter - Google Patents

Description

2 05 92 7 Complete Specification Filed: Class: .

Publication Date: .... P.O. Journal, No: ... 3'0 jUNi98?; No.: Date: NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT, 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION HANDPIECE FOR SHEARING EQUIPMENT I/MX '..TERENCE JAMES PARKE, a British subject and Australian citizen, of 11 Craigmore Place, Melton, in the State of Victoria, Commonwealth of Australia, hereby declare the invention for which I / ]^^(pray that a patent may be granted to me/X££, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: - - 1 - followed by la 205 92? la HANDPIECE FOR SHEARING EQUIPMENT This invention relates to a handpiece for shearing equipment which may be used for shearing hair, fur, wool, or the like from animals or humans, 5 and may find application in cutting synthetic fibres. In particular the present invention is used in shearing wool from sheep. Although the description of the invention illustrates this particular application, the scope of the invention is not so limited. 10 Previously available handpieces used to shear sheep have been heavy and cumbersome requiring a great deal of effort and energy to power and manoeuvre them. These disadvantages have,been, caused, by.the cutter mechanism reciprocating with respect to the combing 15 fingers. The limitations of the reciprocatory motion are well known and include the problems of the cutter producing vibrations in the handpiece; the cutters and combs requiring regular replacing or sharpening; and injuries to the sheep can often occur.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a shearing handpiece which at least in part alleviates some of the problems inherent in previously available shearing handpieces. ?0592? 2 According to the present invention there is provided a cutting handpiece comprising a body portion having a combing means projecting- forwardly from the body for guiding material for cutting by the handpiece towards a blade assembly provided on the handpiece as the handpiece moves forwardly with respect to the material said combing means also being provided to facilitate location of the material with respect to the blade assembly during cutting of the material in use, said blade assembly comprising a first - "7 " : ~ " cutting element resiliency mounted on the body and a second driven blade means movably connected to the body, said first cutting element being located so as to be resiliently biased towards a position for permitting contact with the said second blade means so that movement of the second blade means when driven in use causes movement of the first cutting element against the bias so that the ;—— second blade means and first cutting element cooperatively engage with one another to effect cutting of material located therebetween in use.

Preferably, the cutting element is resiliently carried by the combing means.

Preferably, the combing means is substantially rigid and has a plurality of comb fingers arranged around the forward end of the handpiece, the tip portions of which are substantially coplanar and parallel to each other. Preferably, the ends of the tip portions are formed with rounded points or cusps.

In one embodiment at least some of the fingers have a bifurcated section in which an upper arm of the bifurcated section constitutes the shank of the finger, and the lower arm definesrthe abutment means. 205927 3 ' ' ' In one embodiment the abutment means is in the form of a substantially flat.section extending inwardly in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the lower-surfaces of the tip portions .* A . web portion connects adjacent pairs of the abutment means to form a substantially flat U-shaped section.

In one embodiment the blade means is a rotatable disc having a plurality of generally radially directed arcuate teeth each having a leading edge' and a.. 10 trailing edge shaped so that the teeth are swept back with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the blade in use. More preferably, the teeth of the disc have two portions, the two portions being an upper portion which overlies a lower portion defining 15 a space therebetween, the upper portion being slightly wider and longer than the lower portion and the free end of both portions being rounded so as to present a smooth surface to the material.

In one embodiment the abutment means is received 2 0 into the space defined by the upper portions and lower portions of the teeth.

•••••••••.• . Another aspec tJ of-'the present > invention: provide s -s for a combing means which may be used, in the handpiece of the present invention. According to this aspect of 25 the present invention there is provided a combing means for use with a handpiece, the handpiece having a blade means, the combing means comprising a . .. substantially rigid body portion which presents an array of forwardly extending fingers arranged 30 generally in a common plane, the body portion being adapted to allow the blade means of the handpiece to 20592 4 move in a plane generally parallel to the common plane, an array of cutting elements, respective ones of which are positioned so as to be in use between the blade means and 'the respective ones bf 'the" fingers, 5 said cutting elements being resiliently mounted.on the body portion for resilient engagement in use with the blade means of the .handpiece to effect cutting of the material by co-operative interaction of the blade -means and the cutting element, and an abutment means 10 extending inwardly of the combing means in a plane generally parallel to the common plane to locate material prior to it being cut.

Preferably, the body portion is adapted to receive the blade means to allow the blade means to 15 rotate with respect to the cutting elements.

Preferably, the majority of the fingers of the combing means include a shank portion and a tip portion, the forward end of the respective fingers being the tip portion which is formed as a rounded 20 point or cusp by the termination of the upper surface of the tip portion with the lower surface of the tip portion." " ' ' ' * * "* , , The lower surface of the tip portion is • . continuous with or has attached to it a bar section 25 substantially aligned with the respective shank portion so as to define a space bounded by the , underside of the shank portion, the upper surface of the bar section, and the rear surface of the tip portion, in which in use at least a portion of the 30 blade means may rotate. 205927 Preferably, the cutting element in one embodiment comprises a plurality of identical cutting elements each being a blade, respective ones being resiliently attached to respective fingers along the respective side or underneath surfaces of the fingers.

Preferably, the lowermost surface of the cutting elements is a sharpened edge which is bevelled.

The" present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the handpiece taken along the line 1-1 of Figure 2; FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary underneath view of the handpiece of Figure 1; FIGURE 3 is an underneath view of the handpiece of Figure 1 with a rotary blade removed to reveal the lower cutting edges of the cutting elements; FIGURE 4 is an underneath view of the rotary blade removed from the handpiece; FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the rotary blade of Figure 4, FIGURE 6 is a close-up underneath view of two adjacent fingers of the combing means together with respective cutting elements located along the sides of the fingers; FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary end view of the combing means showing three adjacent fingers with respective cutting elements attached and an abutment means between the left hand side finger and the central finger; '' 6 FIGURE 8 is a series of schematic views taken along the line 8-8 of Figure 2 showing the sequence of operations as one tooth passes a cutting element; FIGURE 9 is an underneath view of an alternative embodiment of the handpiece of the present invention similar to the view of Figure 3 with the guard plate removed to reveal the relationship of the working components inside the handpiece; FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view through the alternative embodiment of the hand piece with the guard plate and lower plate assembled; FIGURES 11a and lib are more detailed views of one finger of Figure 9 showing two positions of the cutting blade an instant apart; FIGURE 12 is a plan view of one embodiment of the blade means of the alternative embodiment of the hand piece.

In Figures 1 and 2 there is shown a handpiece 10 having a forward portion 12 which is substantially dome-like in shape. The rear of the handpiece has been omitted from the drawings to more clearly illustrate the inventive concept of the present invention. The combing means 14 comprises, a body 17 and a plurality of fingers 15 of which a single finger is shown in Figure 1. Each finger has a shank portion 16 and a tip portion 18. Shank portion 16 extends from the body 17 of the combing means to the tip portion which terminates in a rounded point 20 formed by the convergence of upper surface 2 2 with lower surface 24. Referring now to Figures 3, 6 and 7, in addition to Figures 1 and 2, a cutting element 26 made 20592 from a strip of tempered steel is located in a recessed groove 28 along a side surface of;the shank portion of each finger. However, it is to be noted ' that the cutting element may be located in a'-recessed , 5 groove along the underside of the shank. The lower , surface of the cutting element is a sharpened edge,29 which in use of the handpiece is used to cut the fibres of wool.

The cutting elements are resiliently mounted on 10 the combing means in grooved recesses 28 of corresponding fingers by any convenient means such as a spring clip, leaf spring, strips of resilient material or the like. A leaf spring 2 7 is illustrated in Figure 1. .

A flat bar 30 extends inwardly into the handpiece from the rear of the tip portion to define a space 32 between the lower surface of the shank portion and the upper surface of the flat bar. The flat bar acts as an abutment means for fibres of material being cut by 20 the handpiece.

Sharpened edge 29 of the cutting element protrudes into space 32 for resilient engagement against a rotary blade 40 which will be described in more detail later.

With particular reference to Figure 3, fingers 15 are arranged in a single plane and project forwardly from the handpiece. Pairs of adjacent bars 30 are' joined by web 31 so that the lower.surfaces of the tip portions of adjacent fingers have substantially planar 30 "fa-shaped abutment means. It is to be noted that the 20592 8 abutment means may be of any form suitable for the function served by it. * ' Turning now to Figures 4 and 5 which illustrate one embodiment of the rotary ..blade Aim-more '-"detail; " 5 blade 40 comprises a number of generally radially outwardly extending arcuate teeth 42 located around the circumference of a disc. Each tooth comprises a leading edge 46, a trailing edge 47 and a root 48, arranged so that the tooth is swept back from the 10 normal direction of rotation of the blade which is shown by arrow A. The free end of each tooth is rounded, as is the root 4 8 between any two adjacent teeth so that in operation no discontinuous surface or surfaces that meet at a point or at the apex or cusp 15 of an angle are presented to the fibres being cut so as to avoid the fibres being snagged or tangled. A hole 58 is provided at the centre of the disc for receipt of a shaft assembly for rotating the blade 40. Turning in particular to Figure 5, the teeth of the 20 rotary blade are each divided into two portions, an upper portion 50 and a lower portion ,5^ '..JThe^upper :^, overiies the lower portion and is slightly wider and slightly longer than the lower portion.'The edges of the upper and lower portions are rounded along their ~ 25 respective free ends 44 and leading edges 46, but not along their respective trailing edges' 47. . " / _ The upper and lower portions of each tooth are spaced apart from each other to define a space 54 between them. The blade and the combing means are 30 arranged so that the upper portion of each tooth may rotate in space 3 2 whereas flat bar 30 projects into » 2!!5927 9 space 54, thus enabling the blade to freely rotate with rerpect to the comb means, as best seen in Figure 1.

In operation, the handpiece is driven by compressed air or electricity such that rotary blade 40 rotates with respect to the cutting elements. The handpiece is preferably driven in a conventional manner The operation of the handpiece will now be described with reference to Figure 8 which is an end view of the handpiece when viewed looking towards the fingers. A wool fibre 60 is shown in relation to the cutting element 26, abutment means 30, and a tooth of the blade in a number of positions in timed sequence showing how the fibre is tensioned prior to cutting it cleanly with the upper portion 50 of a single tooth. It is to be noted that all operations occur almost simultaneously as the blade is rotating rapidly in the handpiece and the cutting of the fibres occur at all of the cutting elements simultaneously.

Assume that the root 48 between two adjacent teeth of the blade is located immediately under the cutting element, as shown in Figure 8a, and consequently the adjacent tooth allows wool fibre 60 between it and the plane formed by the cutting element 26 and flat bar 30. In this position the cutting element will be at its lowermost position as it is resiliently urged downwards by the leaf spring 27 (not shown in Figure 8). As the blade rotates, one of the teeth of the blade approaches the cutting element so • using a bevel gear and shaft. ~ 6 MAR1987j, that there is a point to point contact between a point on the sharpened edge of the cutting element and a point on the leading edge of the top portion of the tooth. As the blade continues to rotate the point to point contact travels along the length of the sharpened edge of the cutting element and along the leading edge of the upper portion of the tooth. Thus, the cutting element is forced slightly upwards against the bias of the leaf spring as shown in Figure 8b, thereby ensuring that there is a good cutting action between the edge of the tooth and the cutting element. Any fibres which are located between the sharpened edge of the cutting element and the tooth are thereby cut. As the blade rotates further the upper portion of the tooth passes between the cutting element and the flat bar whereas the lower portion of the tooth passes under the flat bar as shown in Figure 8c because of the provision of respective spaces 32 and 54 described earlier.

While the above described process of cutting the fibre, which occurs essentially along the same principles as the conventional process of cutting fibres, —-—— — except that the arrangement of the cutting mechanism has been altered in accordance with the present invention, is being performed the flat bar 30 acting as an abutment means facilitates the location of the fibres to be cut by preventing the fibres from being pushed away from the rotating teeth of the blade, and thus being incompletely severed. The fibres which have I ^directed to abut against the abutment means by 2Q5921 9 ' 11 "V': ?'' the rotation of the blade, are slightly tensioned between the sharpened edge of the cutting element at one end and the flat bar at the other end by the upper portion of the tooth contacting the intermediate • 5 portion of the fibre which is illustrated in Figure 7 8b. Thus, the slight tension on the fibre immediately prior to it being cut facilitates greatly the cutting of the fibre more cleanly which is illustrated in Figure 8c. In addition, the co-operation between the 10 lower portion of the tooth and the flat bar facilitates removal of the fibres remaining on the sheep being thrown away from the rotating blade after the fibres have been cut which is illustrated.in Figure 8d, thus preventing any loose ends of the 15 fibres from being entangled in the rotating blade and being wound around the rotating blade to stall the handpiece. The fibres immediately after they have been cut are pushed away from the cutting element by the rounded free end of the tooth, thus clearing the 20 cutting element and removing the cut fibres which have had a tendency in the past when using other types of ' " shearing" handp ieces to become; entangled ' around the" rotating or moving blade of the ..handpiece, away fronv . the rotating blade, thus preventing stalling of the 25 handpiece.

It is to be noted that any fibres which are uncut by the interaction of the rotating blade and the •-cutting element, are pushed away from the rotating blade by the uncut fibres abutting against web 31 of 30 flat bar 30. Due to the shape of roots 48 of the teeth of the rotating blade being curved any uncut 205927 12 fibres located between the roots and the flat bar are . pushed to abut against web 31 which prevent the fibres from being woundraround the rotating blade to stall . ' the handpiece or from being caught' "between the .b 1 ade i ;:;; and the handpiece. As the blade continues to rotate, ./ the curved shape of the roots of the teeth together with the curvature of the edges of the teeth co-operate to push the uncut fibres outwardly away from the web and thus,' the fibres are'not caught in the blade.

One modification of the present invention is that the rotating blade may be mounted above or below the common plane of the fingers of the handpiece. Another modification to the present invention is that the blade may oscillate with respect to the fingers so that both reciprocating and rotary movement of the blade with respect to the fingers is within the scope of the present invention. Another modification to the present invention is that the handpiece may be constructed so that the fingers extend perpendicularly to the rotating blade.

Advantages of the present invention include that the handpiece-is capable of continuous-running for V-lengthy periods of time without the need for maintenance and disassembling the handpiece to sharpen the blade or the cutting element.

The handpiece runs cooler than conventional handpieces, even after lengthy periods of continuous running, which enables the handpiece to be used on smaller animals such as goats as well as on sheep. The cooler running of the handpiece of the present 205927 13 invention results from less friction between the cutting element and rotating:blade than between the . ' comb and blades of conventional handpieces since the contact is point to point contact-rather "than surface f 5 to surface contact.

The cutting mechanism described hereinbefore is particularly suitable for being used in automated sheep shearing equipment.

It should be readily appreciated that the combing 10 means described herein, although described specifically in relation to use with equipment for cutting wool could readily be adapted for use with equipment for cutting material, such as cloth or hair, or be adapted for use in the rag trade for cutting 15 material. In one modification for cutting material in the rag trade the handpiece is provided with two fingers projecting forwardly from the handpiece for directing material in to contact with a cutting wheel which is arranged to rotate in a plane at right angles 20 to the material. In this manner, the rotary shear handpiece mode in accordance with the present r.r invention may be used to cut material efficiently and ;; without fatiguing the operator. In this modification, -the common plane of the fingers and -the rotating 25 cutting wheel is at right angles to the plane of the material whereas in the foregoing described embodiment the plane of the wool being shawn from the sheep is - ^ parallel to the common plane of the wheel and fingers.

In the alternative embodiment of the handpiece : 30 shown in Figures 9 to 12, the salient features of the handpiece are a plurality of forwardly directed r-rr1- 205927 14 fingers 70, each finger having a.slot (not shown) located in its underside surface in which a movable cutting element 72 is housed. ^Each cutting element iS;V*'}:-,-' held in the corresponding slot' under ' tensibn-;which" is 5 provided by an adjustable resilient biasing means in the form of a short length of rubber 74.

Each finger 70 is provided with a tip portion and a reduced thickness shank portion so that the undersurface is stepped into the finger." A guard. 10 plate (not shown) having a corresponding number of forwardly directing prongs 78 is assembled with the handpiece in such a manner that the prongs 78 which are relatively thin, form a common plane with the undersurface of the tip portions of the fingers 70, 15 and the respective prongs 78 and reduced thickness shank portions of each finger are spaced apart to define a gap 77. The prongs act as an abutment means in this embodiment for a rotary blade 80 which is assembled in the handpiece to rotate in the gap. A 20 preferred form of the rotary blade having a plurality of radial teeth 82 is shown in Figure 12.

The following description wiii refer to one of the fingers and associated .components, although it is. to be noted that there is a plurality of such fingers. 25 The movable cutting element 72 which slightly projects edge-wisely from the slot is generally crescent shaped with a stepped tail portion 84 and is substantially planar. The lower, edge which ..projects from the slot is sharpened along its forward part so 30 that when this edge contacts the teeth of the rotary blade the wool fibres are cut. The tail portion 84 which is recessed with respect to the forward sharp rdge, engages the resilient biasing rubber strip 74. The movable cutting element rocks back and forth inside the slot during the cutting operation as may be seen in more detail in Figures 11a, lib. The resilient biasing means is a preferably solid rubber strip, such as for example, of neoprene or polyurethane, curved into a substantially semi-circular configuration by means of a spring steel band 86. The spring steel band 86 is in the form of a semi-circle having a flange 87 at either end so that the rubber strip is bordered by the spring band on three sides whereas it is in contact with the cutting elements on the forth side as shown in Figure 9. Adjustable stops 88 abutting against the flanges 87 at either end are provided to adjust the tension of the steel spring band and hence the cutting elements via the rubber strip. Adjustment of the stops is effected by means of grub screws 90 as shown. The rubber strip 74 acting as resilient biasing means and spring band 86 are securely held in place by means of a snap-fit locking plate 92. A circular cover plate 94 is fitted to the handpiece on the lowermost surface to provide protection from the rotating blade and to prevent damage to the operating mechanism of the handpiece.

In operation, blade 80 rotates so that teeth 82 rotate in turn in the gaps 77 defined by prongs 78 and cutting elements 72. In Figure 11a, the position of blade 80 is shown in the instant when two adjacent teeth 82 are located on either side of a particular cutting element 72. In this instant the particular 2059 cutting element is biased by rubber strip 74 to its lower forward position in the slot. As the blade 80 continues to rotate, the next tooth 82 contacts the lower edge of the cutting element forcing it into the 5 slot in the direction of arr.ow A. of /Figure .;lla. The -i-cutting element 72 is pushed further into the slot to its upper rearward position against the rubber strip 74 until the tooth is positioned immediately under the lower edge of the cutting element as shown.in Figure 10 lib. During this operation, any wool fibres located ; between the cutting element and the blade are severed. As the blade 80 continues to rotate the tooth 82 travels past the cutting element so that the cutting element is forced in the direction of arrow B of 15 Figure 11a to return to its lower forward position by the resilience of rubber strip 74. Thus, as blade 8 0 rotates and teeth 82 are in turn rotated past each cutting element, the cutting elements in turn rock between a lower forward position and upper rearward 20 position in turn, thereby effecting cutting of any wool fibres directed onto the cutting elements by the forwardly facing fingers. The prongs 78 acting as * abutting means' work in a -fashion Similar -to that •• ; described previously in relation to Figure 8a to 25 facilitate severing of the wool fibres.

Many modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. .',

Claims (30)

205927 - 17 - WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A cutting handpiece comprising a body portion having a combing means projecting forwardly from the body for guiding material for cutting by the handpiece towards a blade assembly provided on the handpiece as the handpiece moves forwardly with respect to the material said combing means also being provided to facilitate location of the material with respect to the blade assembly during cutting of the material in use, said blade assembly comprising a first cutting element resiliently mounted on the body and a second driven blade means movably connected to the body, said first cutting element being located so as to be resiliently biased towards a position for permitting contact with the said second blade means so that movement of the second blade means when driven in use causes movement of the first cutting element against the bias so that the —__—_ — second blade means and first cutting element cooperatively engage with one another to effect cutting of material located therebetween in use.

2. A handpiece as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first cutting element is resiliently carried by the combing means.

3. A handpiece as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the combing means comprises a plurality of generally arranged parallel forwardly directed fingers having rounded tip portions at their respective free ends.

4. A handpiece as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising an abutment means for locating the material during cutting, said abutment means being fixedly connected bodW. portion and being spaced from the first l^ient so as to define a space between the abutment tfie first cutting element in which at least a eijsecond blade means moves. - 18 -

5. A handpiece as claimed in claim 4 wherein at least some of the fingers have a bifurcated section in which an upper arm of the bifurcated section constitutes the shank of the finger and the lower arm defines the abutment means. 20592

6. A handpiece as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the abutment means is in the form of a substantially flat section extending inwardly from the tip portions in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the lower surfaces of the tip portions.

7. A handpiece as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a web portion connecting adjacent pairs of the abutment means to form a substantially flat U-shaped section.

8. A handpiece as claimed in claim .4 or 5, in which the abutment means is a plate having a plurality of forwardly directed prongs, the plate being connected to the body portion of the handpiece such that the space in which the second blade means moves is defined between the prongs and the under surface of the fingers of the combing means.

9. A handpiece as claimed in claim 8 in which the number of fingers of the combing means corresponds to the number of prongs of the plate.

10. A handpice as claimed in claim 8 or 9 in which each finger comprises a tip portion and a reduced thickness shank portion so that the undersurface of the finger is stepped, the prongs of the plate being coplanar with the undersurface of the tip portion.

11. A handpiece as claimed in any preceding claim in which the first cutting element comprises a plurality of substantially identical elongate planar cutting knives, respective of which are resiliently connected to respective along the respective sides or undersurfaces of *27APRJ987i;

12. A handpiece as claimed in claim 11 in whicH^he planary cutting knives are mounted in grooves or recess;- 19 -;205927;in the undersurface of the fingers and which extend at least in part into the space defined by the abutment means in which the second blade means moves.;

13. A handpiece as claimed in claim 11 or 12 in which the identical planar" cutting knives have sharpened edges, and the knives are collectively arranged so as to present the respective sharpened edges into the space in which the second blade means moves.;

14. A handpiece as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13;in which each of the substantially identical elongate planar cutting knives has at one end a sharp crescent- or cusp-like shape and is stepped at the other end so as to be provided with a shoulder.;

15. A handpiece as claimed in claim 14 in which the shoulder engages against a resilient biasing means located in the handpiece to effect the resilient mounting of the planar blade so as to apply tension to the cutting knife in the direction towards the sharp end.;

16. A handpiece as claimed in claim 15 in which the resilient biasing means is a semi-circular shaped spring means comprising a length of resilient material located contiguously with the cutting knives.;

17. A handpiece as claimed in claim 15 or 16 wherein the resilient biasing means is provided with adjustment means to alter the tension applied to the cutting knives.;

18. A handpiece as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 17 wherein the planar cutting knives move back and forth inside the respective grooves in turn in use to effect cutting of the material by engaging against the second blade means.;/;- 20 -;?05927;,

19. A handpiece as claimed in claim 18 wherein the planar cutting knives additionally move at right angles with respect to the back and forth motion and in the same plane as the plane of movement of the back and forth motion simultaneously with the back and forth motion so as to describe a substantially arcuate rocking motion in use.;

20. A handpiece according to any preceding claim in which the second blade means is substantially planar and rotates in a plane different from the common plane of the first cutting elements.;

21. A handpiece according to claim 20 in which the planar second blade means rotates in the space defined between the first cutting elements and the abutment means.;

22. A handpiece as claimed in claim 20 or 21 in which the second blade means is a disc having a plurality of teeth located radially around the circumference of the disc and the teeth are generally of a truncated triangular configuration in which the leading edge with respect to the direction of rotation is sharpened for engagement with the first cutting elements in turn in use as the disc rotates.;

23. A handpiece as claimed in claim 22 in which the toothed disc rotates in a plane located at right angles to the plane of movement of the cutting elements.;

24. A handpiece as claimed in claim 23 in which respective ones of the teeth of the toothed disc contact respective ones of the cutting knives in turn as the disc rotates thereby causing the cutting knives to cooperatively engage with the teeth to cut the material therebetween by forcing the cutting knives to rock backwards and forwards along the teeth in turn to define a scissors-like action.;

25. A handpiece according to claim 24 in whic;205927;- 21 -;leading sharpened edge of each of the teeth of the disc engages against the sharpened edges of the plurality of planar cutting knives.;

26. A handpiece according to claim 1 in which the body portion is substantially rigid and the combing means is an array of forwardly extending fingers arranged generally in a common plane for guiding material for cutting towards the blade assembly, the blade assembly comprising a plurality of the first cutting elements and an abutment means fixed to the body, the body portion being adapted to allow the second blade means to move in a plane generally parallel to the common plane of the fingers, the plurality of cutting elements being arranged in an array having respective ones of which being positioned so as to be located between the second blade means and the respective ones of the fingers, the plurality of cutting elements being resiliently mounted on the body portion for resilient engagement in use with the second blade means, whereby movement of the second blade means when driven in use causes movement of the first cutting elements to effect cutting of the material by co-operative interaction therebetween, and the abutment means extending inwardly of the combing means in a plane generally parallel to the common plane and defining a space in which the second blade means moves.;i;N;

27. A handpiece according to claim 1 in which the combing means comprises an array of forwardly extending fixed guide fingers having lower surfaces lying generally in a common plane, the second blade means being a toothed blade and being disposed below and parallel to the common •< :;plane containing the lower surfaces of the guide fingers, said second blade being mounted on said body portion for driven movement relative to the body in the plane of said bladgj the cutting elements being associated with at least some;4';of s^id fingers for cooperating with the teeth of said adel during movement of said blade in its plane and means $;resiliently mounting each of the cutting elements to uAPKt>®r";V?;'*4" £ ><4 - 22 - 205927 respective fingers for resilient engagement with the teeth of said blade to effect cutting of material guided between said fingers to the blade assembly, said mounting means including a resilient bias element acting on said cutting elements so that movement of said blade when driven produces movement of the cutting elements such that the cutting elements and blade teeth cooperatively engage with one another to effect cutting of the material between them in use.

28. A handpiece according to claim 1 in which the combing means includes —__________ '— - a"_plurality_of generally parallel forwardly directed fingers having rounded tip portions at their respective free ends and having lower surfaces, at least some of the fingers having a bifurcated section in which an upper arm of the bifurcated section constitutes the shank of the finger and in which a lower arm defines an abutment means, and the second movable blade means is connected to —-——— the body portion so as to be opposed by the lower surfaces of the fingers, said second blade means being movable relative to the first cutting element, and the abutment means being spaced from the cutting, element to define a space in which at least a portion of the blade means moves, said blade means and said cutting element being arranged to cooperatively engage with each other to cut material located between them in use.

29. A handpiece according to claim 1 in which the combing means includes a plurality of generally parallel forwardly directed fingers having rounded tip at their respective free ends and having lower - 23 - 205927 surfaces, said first —-— cutting element including a plurality of substantially identical elongated planar knives which are resiliently connected to respective fingers along the lower surfaces thereof and which are each provided with a sharp cresent-like or cusp-like shape at one end and with a stepped end having a shoulder at another end, wherein said second movable blade means is connected to the body portion so as to be opposed by the lower surfaces of the fingers, and an abutment means fixedly connected to the body portion, said second blade means being movable relative to the first cutting blades, and the abutment means being spaced from the first cutting blades to define a space in which at least a portion of the second blade means moves, said second blade means and said first cutting blades being arranged to cooperatively engage with each other to cut material located between them in use.

30. A cutting handpiece substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. By J?lts/their authorised Agents., A. J. PARK & SON. Per