US1474856A

US1474856A - Envelope opener

Info

Publication number: US1474856A
Application number: US593708A
Authority: US
Inventors: Starkl Joseph
Original assignee: CHARLES C MADSEN; HENRY HEIDELRERGER
Current assignee: CHARLES C MADSEN; HENRY HEIDELRERGER
Priority date: 1922-10-11
Filing date: 1922-10-11
Publication date: 1923-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 1940-11-20

Description

Nov. zo, 1923` 11,474,856

J. STARKL ENVELOPE OPENER Filed Oct. ll 1922 J7 ,Ewen/Tfn Joseph 'wib,

Patented ltlov. 20, i923.

JOSEPH STARKL, OF CHICAGO, lLLINOS, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF TO HENRY HEIDEL- BERGER, Gl CHICAGO, ILLINQS, AND ONE-HALF TO CHARLES C. MADSEN, OIE' CHICAGO, ILLNOIS.

ENVELOPE OPENER.

Application filed October 11, 1322.

T 0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Josnrrr S'rnRKL, a citizen of Austria (who has made application for naturalization as a citizen of the United o States), residing at Chicago, in the county of Cool; and State of llinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelope Openers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hand-operated tools for opening envelopes, and has reference more particularly to that type of tool which does` its work by cutting a narrow strip from one edge of the closed envelope, or 16 trimming olf the fold which integrally7 joins the front and back sides of the envelope; this -beinp' accomplished by a simple relative longitudinal sliding movement of the tool and the envelope.

rlhe main object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and eficient hand tooll by which envelopes and similar articles may be expeditiously opened without any danger of cutting or otherwise injuring the contents of the envelope. Other objects are to provide an improved means for effecting the shearing action of the rotary cutter blades under `a friction drive i of the envelope itself, and to provide an improved means for insuring a clean shear out of the cutting blades by maintaining the lapping portions of their cutting edges always in close contact. Y

v Other objects and attendant advantages of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which I have to illustrated a practical and workable embodiment of theV invention, and wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective elevation, illustrat-v Serial No. 593,708.

rlhe frame or body of the tool is conveniently made in a single casting, preferably of aluminum, and comprises generally a head portion 10 and a handle 11. The head 10 is slotted throughout substantially its full length and width, leaving parallel outer and

inner walls

12 and 13, etween whichthe cutters and their associated driving and tensioning devices are located. The inner side of the handle 11 is formed with a longitudinal slot la, the side walls of which are preferably beveled or chamfered, as shown at 15 in 2 and 6; and the slot le is extended through the inner wall 13 of the head, as shown at 14C. Preferably the outer sides of the handle 11 are concave, as shown at 16, creating shallow depressions which afford an improved grip of the thumb and fore finger on the handle, but this feature is, of course, optional. Preferably also the ends of the slotted head 10 are formd with curved guards or covers 17 on the side adjacent to the handle to prevent any danger of cutting the thumb and finger of the user resulting from grasping the handle too closely to the head. Extending between the front and rear walls of the head are a pair of pins 18, preferably having a taper fit with their receivinff apertures in the walls so that they can be driven in with a permanent fit. rThese pins 18 constitute fixed supports in the nature of shafts, on which the cutter blades, their driving discs and spacing washers are rotatably mounted. Rotatable on each of the pins 18 is a hub member 19; and tightly fitted on these hub members are a pair of friction cutter driving discs 2O preferably of soft rubber or equipped with soft rubber treads. rlhese discs lie in the saine plane and are normally in peripheral Contact at the center of the slot 14', as clearly shown in Figs. e and 5. Between each disc 2O and the adjacent wall 13 is preferably located a thin metal washer 21 designed to reduce the side friction of the rubber disc against the wall of the head..

@n the opposite sides of the driving discs 2O are located the two circular steel cutter blades 22 formed with beveled peripheries, as shown in Fig. 5, which overlap at the center of the slot 14 directly opposite the contact point of the peripheries 'of the discs 20. The sheer relation of the Vedges of the blades is obtained by locating oneof the blades directly' against .the 1driving disc 20, and offsetting the other blade by an interposed friction washer 23. On the left ends of the hubs 19, as shownin Fig. 5, are lmounted a pair of metal discs 2li and`25 spaced from the cutter blades 22 by interposed

spacing washers

26 and 27, respectively. The Peripheries of the

ldiscs

24 and 25 overlap at a point directly opposite the overlapping portion of the peripheries of the cutter blades; and the disc 25 is of steel or'other resilient'metal, and constitutes a spring to force its associated cutter' disc 22 snugly against the co-operating cutter disc throughout the overlapping area of their cutting edges. .It will be observed by reference to Fig. 5 that the spring disc 25 is slightly Vsprung inwardly between the hub and the point at which it overlaps the periphery of the co-operating disc 24;. The spring disc 25 is locked on the hub 19 by spreading the end of the latter over the inner ,periphery of the disc 25 as indicated in F 5; andrit will further be Vunderstood that all of the rotary elements assembled on the hubs 19 are -tightly fitted on the latter so as to turn therewith, the hubs themselves turning freely on the pivot pins or shafts 18.

"The manner of using the device is illustrated in Fig. 1, from which it will be seen Vthat the handle of the tool is grasped by the thumb and fore finger of one hand, while the envelope is similarly grasped at its upper endadjacent to the edge to be cut by the thumb and lingers of the other hand, the edge of the envelope is entered into the slot 14 of the handle, being guided by the bottom of said slot, and the tool is then drawn quickly downwardly or inwardly over lthe edge. This brings the margin of the envelope into the grip of the friction discs 20, imparting rotation to the latter and thus to the rotary cutters 22. The cut ting portions of the blade edges sever the strip always at a point opposite to and in the transverse plane of the gripping point of the discs 20 with the front and rear sides Vof the envelope,V so that the latter is squeezed and held rigidly just inwardly ofthe continuously progressing point at which the cutting takes place. This insures a clean cut in a straight line ,parallel with the edge yof the envelope and so closely adjacent to p`o1n`t,.and the other of which .resides 'in the means Ibywvhich the shear' edges of the cutters are elastically pressed together at their overlapping portions, thereby insurino" a clean shear cut.

manifestly the device comprises relatively few parts capable of being easily assembled in cooperative relation, thusenabling the complete tool to be manufactured at A'a low cost. l have herein shown and described one physical embodiment of the invention which in practice has been found to satisfactorily fulfillV the stated purposes and objects; but it is manifest that the structural details are capableof modification without Vinvolving,any departure from the operative principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages. Hence, I reserve fs'uch variations and modifications as fall within the spirit and purview of the appended claims.

I claim- 1. An envelope cuttercom'prising a hollow head and a handle, said handle formed with a longitudinal slot extending across one side of said head VVto receive and guide an edge of the envelopesJ pair of circular cutters .jonrnaled in said head and havingtheir cutting edges overlapping within said slot, and a pair of friction 'rollers also journale'd in said head with their peripheries substantially contiguous within said slot, said rollers 'serving to grip the margin of the envelope laterally opposite to the overlap ping edges of said cutters.

2. An envelope cutter comprising a hollow head and a handle, said handle formed with a longitudinal guide slot extending across o-ne side of said head, a pair of circular cutters journaled `in said head with their cutting `edges overlapping` within said slot, and a pair of friction rollers also j'ournaled in said head coanially with said cut-ters and with their peripheries substantially contiguous within said slot, said rollers serving to grip the margin'of the envelope laterally opposite to the overlapping edges -of said cutters and alsoserving to drive the latter under frictional rolling contact with the envelope. Y Y

3. An envelope cutter comprising a hollow head and a handle formed with a continuous guide slot extending lengthwise of the handle and across one side of said head, a pair of pivot pins mounted in and c'rosswise o-f said hea-d, a pair of cutter discs rotatable on said pivot pins, respectively, with their cutting edges overlapping within vsaid slot, and a pair of rollers rotatable on said pivot pins and drivingly connected "to said cutter discs, said rollers beingyin 'rolling contact with each other 'at a point insaid slo't laterally opposite to the overlapping 'edges `of said cutter discs.

4. An4 envelope cutter comprising a hollow head anda handlerorrned with a continuous guide slot extending lengthwise-fof-It-he handie and across one side of said head, a pair of pivot pins mounted in and crosswise of said head, hub members rotatably mounted on said pivot pins, respectively, a pair of cutter discs xedly mounted on said hub members, respectively, with their cutting edges overlapping within said slot, and a pair of friction rollers xedly mo-unted on said hub members laterally opposite to said cutter discs, said rollers being in rolling Contact with each other at a pointV in said slot laterally opposite to the overlapping edges of said cutter discs.

5. An envelope cutter comprising a hollow head and a handle formed with a continuous guide slot extending lengthwise of the handle and across one side of said head, a pair of circular cutters journaled in said head with their cutting edges overlapping within said slot, a pair of friction rollers also journaled in said head and drivingly connected to said cutters, said rollers being in rolling contact with each other at a point in said slot laterally opposite to the overlapping edges of said cutters, and spring means or pressing the overlapping portions of said cutters into snug contact with each other.

6. An envelope cutter comprising a hollow head and a handle formed with a continuous guide slot extending lengthwise of the handle and across one side of said head, a pair of pivot pins mounted in and crosswise of said head, hub members rotatably mounted on said pivot pins, respectively, a pair of cutter discs xedly mounted on said hub members, respectively, with their cutting edges overlapping within said slot, a pair of Jfriction rollers xedly mounted on said hub members laterally opposite to said cutter discs, said rollers being in rolling contact with each other at a point in said slot laterally opposite to the overlapping' edges of said cutter discs, and a spring washer fast on one of said hub members and exerting an e-ndwise thrust on the latter whereby its associated cutter disc is pressed into snug Contact with the cooperating cutter disc throughout the overlapping portions of said cutter discs.

7. An envelope cutter comprising a hollow head and a handle formed with a continuous guide slot extending lengthwise of the handle and across one side of said head, a pair of cutter discs journaled in said head with their cutting edges overlapping within said slot, and a pair of rubber rollers journaled in said head coaXially with said cutter discs and drivingly connected to the latter, said rollers being in rolling contact with each other at a point in said slot laterally opposite to the overlapping edges of said cutter discs and closely adjacent to the latter.

JOSEPH STARKL.