TWI629000B - Multi-position lock for pruning device - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-segment lock for pruning shears having a movable selected unit to provide a selection of the blade of the pruning shear between the locked positions and a stop unit having one or more open positions of the blade, a typical example To allow the pruning shears to operate in the fully closed, maximum half open or maximum fully open position.

Description

Multi-segment lock for pruning

The present invention relates to agronomic, tree planting, or horticultural and related tools, and more particularly to a multi-stage adjustment device for pruning shears to lock or position the device at an open angle.

When using a hand-held pruning shear, depending on the size of the user's hand and the size of the object to be trimmed, the maximum angle at which the pruning shears are opened will be a factor of user fatigue and ease of use. Sometimes it may be helpful for a user with a small hand to use a pruning shear with a small opening angle, but for a user with a larger hand, it may be desirable to use a pruning with a larger opening angle. Shearing, and it is advantageous to have a larger opening angle when it is necessary to trim a larger size item.

Therefore, it can be expected that the pruning shear can be adjusted to the opening angle.

Furthermore, it is also advantageous to be able to lock the pruning shears in the closed position when the pruning shears are not in use, thereby avoiding damage to the blades or reducing the risk of injury to the user.

In accordance with the disclosure, a locking mechanism is provided that locks the pruning shears and also adjusts the maximum angle at which the pruning shears can be opened during use.

The technical means adopted by the present invention is to design a multi-segment lock for pruning shears, including: a selected unit for selecting an allowable opening angle of the cutting element of the pruning shear, the selected unit comprising: an anchoring component having a plurality of anchoring points; a sliding switch having the sliding switch a chamber: an elastic body disposed in a chamber of the slide switch, the elastic body having at least one positioning protrusion protruding from the outside of the housing and selectively embedding with the anchor point a stop unit that interacts with the selected unit to cause the cutting element to stop the opening action.

Further, wherein the selected unit includes a slide switch that is laterally movable between discrete positions.

Further, wherein the stop unit includes a shoulder for interacting with the shoulder of the selected unit.

Further, wherein the stop opening action is defined as fully closed, half open, and fully open.

The subject matter of the present technology, as well as further advantages and embodiments thereof, may be best understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the drawings. The same element symbols denote the same elements.

10‧‧‧Pruning shears

12‧‧‧ left handle

14‧‧‧Right handle

16, 18‧‧‧ cutting elements

20‧‧‧Axis

22‧‧‧Flexible components

23, 25‧‧‧Installation

24‧‧‧Sliding switch

26‧‧‧ Partial opening amount

28‧‧‧Full opening

30, 32‧‧‧ arrows

34‧‧‧ Anchoring components

36, 38, 40‧‧‧ anchor points

42‧‧‧ openings

44‧‧‧ positioning convex

45‧‧‧ slot

48, 50‧‧‧ control points

52‧‧‧Fitting projection

54‧‧‧ Elastomers

55‧‧‧ wing

56, 58‧‧‧ inner surface

60‧‧‧ screws

61‧‧‧ screw holes

62‧‧‧ Groove

Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention in a fully closed position.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the invention in a partially open position.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the present invention in a fully open position.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the action of the present invention in switching to a partially open or closed position.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the action of the present invention in switching to a partially open or fully open position.

Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view showing an exploded view of a part of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the components of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view showing another part of the present invention in an exploded manner.

Figure 9 is a bottom perspective view of the slide switch of the present invention.

Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the components of the present invention.

Figure 11 is an exploded perspective view of another part of the present invention.

A system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure includes an adjustable locking mechanism to enable the pruning shear to be locked in the closed position or to control the maximum angle at which the pruning jaws can be opened during use.

As shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 3, the figure of the pruning shear in the fully closed, partially opened, and fully open positions, the multi-segment lock enables the pruning shear to be locked in the closed position as shown in Fig. 1, or as shown in Fig. 2 and Figure 3 show different opening angles. The pruning shears 10 includes a left handle 12 and a right handle 14, respectively provided with cutting elements 16, 18 to form the jaws, and the jaws can be opened by operating the handles 12, 14 and pivoting a shaft 20. Or closed. This pivoting mechanism is not shown in the figures. A resilient member 22 (not shown in most of the figures) is sleeved on a mounting tab 23, 25 to provide a bias, and the bias is still applied to the handle without external force from the user or the locking device. Can force the jaws to open toward the open position. A slide switch 24 (or a lock control button) allows the pruning shear to be locked and closed as shown in Figure 1, or the jaws can be adjusted to a maximum open state at different angles. In this embodiment, two maximum openings are provided. The position, the partial opening amount 26 is as shown in FIG. 2, or the full opening amount 28 is as shown in FIG. 3, and the other embodiments can also provide more than two maximum angle selections according to requirements, which have been applied to more kinds of opening control adjustments. .

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lock control operation diagram (FIG. 4) toward the fully closed position and the lock control operation diagram (FIG. 5) toward the full open position are shown. Slide switch 24 can be opened by the position The direction of the arrow 30 slides towards the cutting element 18 or slides away from the cutting element 18 in the direction of arrow 32. When fully moved in the direction of the arrow 30, the pruning shears are changed from the fully open state shown in FIG. 4 to the locked state; when partially or completely moved in the direction of the arrow 32, the pruning shears are as shown in FIG. The fully locked state changes to a partially open or fully open state.

Figure 6 is an exploded view of a portion of the component, which is shown with the slide switch 24 removed, showing the anchor assembly 34 disposed on the left handle 12, the anchor assembly 34 having a first anchor point 36, a second anchor point 38, And a third anchor point 40, the anchor points 36, 38, 40 being formed in a semi-circular depression on either side of the opening 42 of the anchor assembly 34. As shown in FIG. 7, the slide switch 24 includes corresponding positioning projections 44 (one of the positioning projections 44 on each side of the slide switch 24) that interacts with the anchor points 36, 38, 40. A slot 45 is provided on the slide switch 24 to slidably engage the opening 42 while the positioning protrusion 44 interacts with the anchor point, the slot 45, and the slide switch 24 are provided with respect to the slot The wider structure above and below the slot 45 allows the slide switch to remain therein while sliding in the slot.

Please refer to FIG. 8 for further partial component exploded view showing the interaction between the slide switch and the adjustment member in the opening. The cutting element 18 of the pruning shear includes a first control point 48 and a second control point. 50, the control points 48, 50 are provided in the lower bend of the cutting element 18, and the slide switch 24 is provided with a fitting projection 52 that has interacted with the control points 48, 50.

In operation, when the slide switch 24 is moved to the furthest distance in the direction of the arrow 30, the pruning shear is in a fully closed state, at which time the fitting projection 52 abuts against the first control point 48 of the cutting element 18, and is embedded The shoulder of the convex portion 52 abuts against the inner surface 56 of the first control point 48 to effectively lock the pruning shear to the closed position, at which time the positioning convex portion 44 of the slide switch 24 is fitted to the third anchor point 40. In order to position the slide switch, the pruning shear will be locked in the fully closed position as shown in FIG.

In order to adjust the pruning shears, the user will slightly press the left and right handles 12, 14 simultaneously to release the pressure of the fitting projections 52 against the inner surface 56, so that the slide switch 24 can be slid in the direction of the arrow 32. The positioning convex portion 44 is disengaged from the third anchor point 40 and moved to the second anchor point 38, and the fitting convex portion 52 is caused by The movement moves away from the cutting element. If the user stops sliding the sliding switch 24 at this time, the positioning protrusion 44 is engaged with the second anchor point 38, and after the handle is released, the pruning shear can be opened to When the fitting convex portion 52 abuts against the second control point 50. The shoulder of the fitting projection 52 will abut against the inner surface 58 of the second control point 50 to prevent the pruning shear from opening to a greater angle, so that the pruning shear can be operated in the semi-open position as shown in FIG. This state can be used, for example, when trimming smaller sized items.

When the slide switch 24 is further moved in the direction of the arrow 32 (preferably slightly simultaneously applied to the left and right handles), the positioning projection 44 is disengaged from the second anchor point 38 and moved to engage with the first anchor point 36. In this position, the fitting projection 52 of the slide switch 24 will no longer be limited to any of the control points 48, 50, so when the handle is released, the pruning shear can be opened to fully open as shown in FIG. State, which can be used, for example, when trimming larger sized items.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the bottom view of the slide switch 24 is removed from the pruning shear. The positioning protrusion 44 is a convex portion of the elastic body 54 . The elastic body 54 is fixed to a chamber 56 of the slide switch 24 . When the slide switch 24 is moved, the elastic body 54 can be flexed to slightly retract the positioning convex portion 44, so that the slide switch 24 is moved, and the positioning convex portion 44 extends to be anchored with the anchor point by the bias of the elastic body. By fitting, by this operation, the slide switch can be moved but can also be positioned at this position when an external force is released.

Referring to the exploded view shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the replacement and interaction of the slide switch and the anchor assembly are illustrated. A recess 62 is formed in the left handle 12 to receive the anchor assembly 34 therein and is provided by the screw 60. It is fixed, and is fixed by three screws in this embodiment. Corresponding screw holes 61 are suitably formed in the left handle 12 to accommodate the screws. The slide switch 24 is shown in a state in which the elastic body 54 is separated. The elastic body 54 may be a spring piece, and the elastic body 54 has a curved shape. A wing portion 55, which defines the positioning projection 44, is selectively engageable with the anchor points 36, 38, 40 during operation to define a locked condition.

Although three operational positions are described in the illustrated embodiment, lock closed, partially open, and fully open, more anchor points and control points may be provided to allow the pruning shears to have more segments of maximum opening. The angle of rotation, when having n anchor points, must have n-1 control points, thereby locking the pruning shears at n positions. The maximum angle of opening can be equal interval setting, such as full closure, 1/4 open, 1/2 open, 3/4 open, and full open; or can be set at unequal intervals, such as fully closed, 1/4 open, 3/4 is on and fully on. The angle of opening and the number of positionings can be varied according to the needs of the user or the size of the palm.

Since the maximum angle of the opening during shearing can be adjusted, there is no need to repeat the full opening and full closing cycles, which contributes to the life of the device and improved ergonomics.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications can be made without departing from the broader aspects. Accordingly, the scope of the appended claims is intended to cover all such modifications and

Claims (5)

A multi-segment lock for pruning shears, comprising: a selected unit for selecting an allowable opening angle of a cutting element of a pruning shear, the selected unit comprising: an anchoring component, the anchoring component having a plurality of anchor points; a slide switch having a chamber: an elastic body disposed in the chamber of the slide switch, the elastic body having at least one positioning protrusion, the positioning protrusion protruding from the The housing is externally and selectively mated with the anchor point; a stop unit that interacts with the selected unit to stop the cutting element from opening. The multi-segment lock for pruning shears of claim 1, wherein the stop unit includes a shoulder for interacting with a shoulder of the selected unit. The multi-segment lock for pruning shears of claim 1, wherein the stop-opening action is defined as fully closed, half-opened, and fully open. The multi-segment lock for pruning shears according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is a elastic piece, and the elastic piece has at least one bent wing portion, and the wing portion constitutes the positioning convex portion. The multi-segment lock for pruning shears of claim 1, wherein the stop unit includes a plurality of control points for interacting with a shoulder of the selected unit.