US2411927A

US2411927A - Lace cutter

Info

Publication number: US2411927A
Application number: US599452A
Authority: US
Inventors: Luke Jack
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1945-06-14
Filing date: 1945-06-14
Publication date: 1946-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 1963-12-03

Description

J. LUKE LACE CUTTER Dec. 3, 1946.

Filed June 14, 1945 Patented Dec. 3, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE W v LACE CUTTER Jack Luke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application June 14, 1945, Serial No. 599,452

Claims. (01. 30-293) This invention relates to a lace cutter and a method for cutting laces from leather and similar materials.

An object of this invention is to provide a lace cutter of the hand type which can efilciently and economica ly convert scrap leather and other waste materials into lace.

Another object of thi invention is to provide a, simplified and compact lace cutter which can be adjusted to accommodate materials of different thicknesses and to cut lace of various widths.

A further object of this invention is to devise a method for cutting laces which is advantageous for converting irregular pieces of scrap. leather and other waste materials into laces.

A further object of this invention is to provide a practical method for cutting laces of very long length.

The lace cutter according to my invention comprises a handle, a body portion, a peripheral slot in the body portion substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the body portion, and a cutter blade extending transversely of the slot and spaced with respect to the bottom of the slot. A feature of the device is the provision of a con- Vex bottom to the slot to facilitate spiral cutting of the laces. Further features of the invention are the provision of means for adjusting the width of the slot to accommodate different thicknesses of material; means for adjusting the position of the cutting blade relative to the bottom of the slot; and means for facilitating the insertion of a strip or lace in the slot.

The method of cutting laces according to my invention comprises forming an aperture inside the outer periphery of a piece of material and cutting the lace spirally outwards from the centre of the material in a uniform strip.

The above and other novel features of the invention will hereinafter appear in detail in the description that follows, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts, and in which,

Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 are side elevations of the lace cutter taken from different sides Figure 5 is an end view of the lace cutter; and

Figure 6 i a plan view of a piece of leather showing the cutter in section along the line 6-6 in Figure 2 cutting a lace in accordance with the novel method of this invention.

Referring more fully to the preferred construction shown in the drawing, the lace cutter consists of a handle I and a co-axial body portion 2.

A peripheral slot 3 having a convex bottom 4 2 and

sides

5 and 6 is cut into the body portion 2 substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the handle I. A plate 1, having an integral supporting bracket 8 which conforms with the rounded outer surface of the body portion 2 and i fastened to it by means of screw 9, is mounted in the slot 3. The plate I is adjustable to and from side 5 by means of a slot H] in bracket 8 and the fastening screw 9.

A cutter blade II is secured in a support l2 by means of a screw E3. The support I2 is in turn secured to a flat surface M of a cut-away section IS in the body portion 3 by means of a screw Hi. The cutter blade H extends transversely of the slot 3 and is spaced from the bottom thereof. The cutting edge I! of the cutting blade is directed toward the slot to cut the material as it is pulled through the slot as hereafter described. The outer cutting edge l8 may be used to sever laces into lengths. Y

All the parts of the lace cutter except the handle and body portion are preferably of metal. The handle and body portion can be made in one piece from wood. Y

By varying the distance between plate 1 and side 6 materials of diiferent thicknesses can be accommodated. By pivoting the support l2 about screw I6, the distance between the cutterblade II and the bottom 4 of the slot can be varied so as to cut lace of various widths.

The lace cutter according to this invention may be used to cut laces in the conventional manner by adjusting the plate 1 to accommodate the material to be cut and adjusting .the cutter blade H with respect to the bottom 4 of the slot so as to obtain lace of the desired width. The edge of the material from which the laces are to be cut is then placed in the slot and a short strip cut by the cutter blade. The end of this strip is then grasped by the fingers of one hand and pulled in one direction while the tool is held by the other hand, thereby cutting off a long strip of material of the desired width which forms a lace. This operation is repeated until sufficient laces are obtained for the purpose in view.

In the method of this invention, as illustrated in Figure 6, an opening [9 is formed in the centre of the irregularly shaped piece of material 20. The lace cutter according to this invention is positioned with the body portion extending through the opening I9 and the edge of the material 29 is contained in the slot 3. The plate I is adjusted so as to make the distance between said plate 1 and the side 5 of the slot slightly greater than the width of the material so as to permit the material to slide through the slot but hold it sufficiently firmly to enable it to be cut. The distance between the cutter blade I l and the bottom 6 of the slot is adjusted so as to cut lace of the desired width. A short lace about half an inch in length is cut by the cutter blade i I along the periphery of the opening l9 by moving the lace cutter in a clockwise direction. The short lace is then pulled outwards from the lace cutter with the right hand while the lace cutter is kept stationary with the left hand. By pulling the initially short lace, a lace 2| of increasing length is cut spirally outwards from the opening I!) while the piece of material 20 moves past the cutter blade in a counterclockwise spiral path; this can be continued in an uninterrupted operation until substantially all of the piece of material 20 is converted into an unbroken lace of uniform width. The outer edge !8 of the cutter blade can then be used for cutting the lace into desired lengths.

By turning the lace cutter in towards the opening l9 so as to cut the lace transversely, the lace cutting operation may be stopped intermediately and a lace of desired length obtained.

The convex bottom to the slot conforms to the edge of the circular hole in the material being cut, as shown in Figure 6, so that the material passes through the slot without wrinkling or distorting with the result that a strip of material of uniform thickness is obtained. Furthermore the convex bottom makes it possible to start cutting a lace from the material by merely inserting the cutter in the opening 19 and moving it clockwise,

as explained above, with the blade pressed against the side of the hole, without the necessity of cutting by scissors or other means a short length and threading it between the knife edge and the bottom of the slot.

The upper end of the body part 2 from the transverse slot 3 to its end is cut away or bevelled to produce a substantially concave portion 22 of reduced cross-sectional area. If a length of lace isleft attached to the material from which it is out, when it is desired to cut a further length of lace it is merely necessary to pull the free end of the attached piece of lace down from the end of the body portion between the edge of the blade I l and the body 2 of the cutter to insert it in slot 3 without the necessity of threading it between the side of the blade and the body or removing the blade.

While the invention has been drawn and described with particular reference to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited thereto but is to be construed broadly and restricted solely by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A lace cutter comprising a handle, a body portion, a peripheral slot in the body portion substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axi of the body portion, a plate mounted in said slot spaced from and substantially parallel to a side of the slot and adjustable to and from said side, and a cutter blade extending transversely of the slot and adjustably spaced with respect to the bottom of the slot.

2. A lace cutter comprising a handle, a body portion, a peripheral slot in the body portion having a convex bottom in the body portion, and a cutter blade extending transversely of the slot and spaced with respect to the bottom of the slot.

3. A lace cutter comprising a handle, a body portion, a peripheral slot in the body portion substantially at right angle-s to the longitudinal axis of the body portion, a support for the cutter blade, said support being pivotally mounted on the body portion and swingable to vary the spacing of the blade from the bottom of the slot, and means for securing the support in difierent adjusted positions.

4. A lace cutter comprising a handle, a body portion, a peripheral slot in the body portion substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the body portion, a plate mounted in said slot spaced from and substantially parallel to a side of the slot and adjustable to and from said side, and a cutter blade extending transversely of the slot.

5. A lace cutter comprising a handle, a body portion, a peripheral slot in the body portion, and a cutter blade extending transversely of the slot and spaced with respect to the bottom of the slot, the body portion between the slot and its end having portion of reduced cross-sectional area to permit insertion of a lace between the edge of the blade and the body portion.

JACK LUKE.