US2647311A

US2647311A - Detachable blade pocketknife

Info

Publication number: US2647311A
Application number: US214275A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas R Arden
Original assignee: Bard Parker Co Inc
Current assignee: Bard Parker Co Inc
Priority date: 1951-03-07
Filing date: 1951-03-07
Publication date: 1953-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 1970-08-04

Description

Aug. 4, 1953 T. R. ARDEN DETACHABLE BLADE POCKET KNIFE Filed March 7, 1951 mumlmul.

Patented ug. 4, 1,953

DETACHABLE BLADE POCKETKNIFE Thomas R. Arden, Danbury, Conn., assignor to Bard-Parker Company, Inc., Danbury, Conn., a corporation of New York Applicatiqn March 7, 1951, serial No. 214,275

l, This invention relates to pocket knives of the type comprising a handle and a removable, replaceable blade which is pivoted to the handle for swinging movements between a closed position in which it 'is housed in and protected by the handle, andan open position in which it eX- tends from the front end of the handle substantially in alinement with the latter.-

vAccording to the invention there is pivoted to the front end of the housing a shank by which the blade is carried, and in this connection an object of the invention is to provide for mounting the blade on said shank in `a simple, firm and practical manner such that it may readily and easily be removed and replaced whenever desired. y The blade is of the thin, laterally flexible type in order that it may be removably, replaceably mounted on the shank in accordance with the invention, and in this connection another object of theinvention is to provide said blade aloner 2 Claims. (Cl. 30-156) Figure 2.

Referring to the drawing in detail, A designates generally, the handle of the present knife; B designates, generally, the knife blade, and C designates, generally, a shank which is pivoted to the handle A and upon lwhich the blade B is removably, replaceably mounted.

The handle A is composed of a pair of side plates I0, I and an interposed leaf spring II against the sides of which said side plates vare suitably secured, as for example, by means of rivets I2. V

The leaf spring II extends contiguously tothe back edges of the side plates I0, Ill substan- V tially from end to end of the latter and serves to its back edge with a stilfening flange or anges kextending laterally from one or both sides of the blade and to mount the bladev so thatwhen it is closed and protectively disposed in the handle said flange or flanges is or are disposed in partslightly outwardly with respect to the open edge of the handle for nger nail engagement to facilitate initial swinging`movement of the blade from its closed toward its open position.

Withthe foregoing and other objects in view, as will become more fully apparent as the nature` of the invention is better understood, the same consists in a pocket knife of the removable, replaceable blade type embodying the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as are illustrated by way of eX- ampleA in the accompanying drawing and as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed. In the accompanying drawing, wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pocket knife constructed in accordance with the inventio and shown in closed condition.

' Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the knife as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the knife with the blade in its open position relative to the handle.

Figure 4 is an elevation of the knife with the blade in open position and looking toward the open edge of the handle.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the blade and the shank of the knife in separated relationship to each other; and

space said side plates apart as well as to serve as a closure at the back edge of the handle for the space between said side plates, which space is open at the front edge of the. handle as shown.

Only the rear end portions of the side plates ID, I0 andthe leaf spring II are secured together so as to leave the front end portion of said leaf spring free for backward and forward flexure.

The inner end portion of the shank C is of block-like form and is interposed between the front end portions of the side plates Il, l! and is pivotally secured to said side plates by a rivet I3 for swinging movement through an angle of substantially 180 between a closed position in which it extends substantially longitudinally of the handle A between the side plates il?, I thereof, as illustrated in Figure 2 and an open position in which it extends substantially longitudinally with respect to said handle forwardly beyond the front end of the latter.

. The front end portion of the leaf spring I I cooperates with` flat front and rear edges of the block-like inner end portion of the shankv C to yieldably `hold said shank in its aforesaid closed andopen positions, respectively, and a shoulder I4 is provided on the said inner end portion of said shank to engage the front end of the leaf spring II when said shank is in its open position Yto positivelyprevent it from swinging beyond its said open position.

The shank C is of narrow, elongated form and at one side thereof, adjacent to the block-like inner end portion thereof, is recessed to provide an inwardly facing shoulder I5 and, inwardly of shoulder, a side surface I6 which, as shown in f-Figure 4, is gradually curved laterally outward as it extends inwardly from said shoulder.

In the front and rear edges of the shank C and extending from the outer end thereof suit- 3 able distances inwardly therealong are channels l1, l1 which are alined with the outer end portion of the side face i6 of said shank.

The blade B is thin and at least the inner end portion thereof is laterally flexible.` In said blade and extending longitudinally thereof is an elongated slot I8 the inner end portion of which is of a width corresponding to the width of the outer end portion of the shank C and the outer end portion of which is of a width corresponding to the distance between the bottoms of the channels H, Il. The length of said slot I8 is approximately equal to the distance between the outer end of the shank C and its shoulder l5.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the blade B may readily and easily be mounted securely and iirrnly on the shank C simply by first entering the outer end of said shank in the inner end portion of the slot IB and thereafter alining the portions of the blade B at both sides of the outer end portion of the slot i8 with the channels Il, Il, and then, as permitted by the nerii bility of the blade, sliding the blade inwardly relative to said shank until the inner end of the slot I8 engages behind the shoulder la. As the blade is slid inwardly relative to the shank C the blade portions at both sides of the outer end portion of the slot I8 enter the channels ll, ll and thus secure the blade against both lateral move-- ment and movement in its plane relative to said shank, while by engagement of the portions of the blade atthe inner and outer ends of the slot 'i8 behind the shoulder l and against the outer end of the shank, respectively, the blade is effectively secured against endwise movement relative to 'the shank. Due to the curvature of the 'side face i6 of lthe shank C against which the inner end portion of the blade B rests when said blade is ap plied to said shank, the said inner end portion of said blade is maintained under lateral flexure so that any l'ooseness of the blade with respect to the shank is avoided.

To remove the blade from the shank the inner end portion of the blade simply is flexed laterally to disengage the portion thereof at the inner end of the slot I8 rom behind the shoulder l5, wheree upon the blade is free to be shifted outwardly along and to be disengaged from the shank.

Extending along the back marginal 'portion and laterally l'outward from one or both sides 'of the blade B is a blade -stiflening and reinforcing rib or ribs IB as desired. In either case it is a feature of the invention that when the blade is mounted on the `shank C its disposition relative to said shank is such that when the shank and the blade are in their closed positions, as shown in Figures l, 2 and 6, at lea'st the outer end portion or portions of the rib or ribsv I9 is or are disposed outwardly 'with respect to the open edge of the handle A yfor linger nail engagement to facilitate initial opening swinging movement of the blade and shank from the handle A,

Preferably, but not necessarily, the handle side plates l0, l0 are provided along their front edges 'with outwardly extending 'stiiening ribs '20, while optionally the handle A may or may not be pro- 4 vided at its rear end with a clevis 2| by means' of which a chain may be attached to the knife if desired.

From the foregoing description considered in connection with the accompanying drawing it is believed that the construction and operation of the present knife will be clearly understood and its advantages appreciated. It is desired to point out, however, that while only a simple, specilic structural form of the knife has been illustrated and described, the same is readily capable of specically different structural forms within the spirit and scope of the invention as delined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A. pocket knife comprising a handle, a shank pivoted at one end to said handle for swinging movements between open and closed positions relative thereto, said shank at one face thereof and near its pivoted end being recessed and thereby being provided with an inwardly facingshoulder at the outer end of said recess, said shank outwardly of said recess being or substantially uniform thickness from face to face and the upper and lower edges of said shank outwardly of said shoulder being substantially parallel, 'said edges having therein channels which extend longitudinally of said shank and which are alined with the face of said recess, said channels opening through the outer end of said shank and having their inner ends terminating outwardly of said shoulder, a thin, laterally iexible, normally flat blade having 'therein a longitudinally extending slot the outer end portion of which is of a width approximately equal to the distance between the bottoms of the channels in said shank, said bladeslot being otherwise of approximately the same size and shape as said shank outwardly of said shoulder, whereby it is engageable and interlockable with said shank by sliding the same rearwardly relative to said shank under lateral ilexure to engage portions thereof at both sides of the slot therein with the grooves of said shank and to engage the portion thereof at the rear end ofthe slot therein behind said shoulder.

`2. A pocket knife as set forth in claim 1 in which the recessed portion of the shank has a laterally rearwardly and outwardly inclined face to maintain the end portion of the blade nearer the handle under lateral .flexure when said blade is interlocked with said shank, thereby to avoid any looseness between said blade and said shank.

THOMAS R. ARDEN.

vllteferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 370,604 Willis Nov 12, 19t? 1,335,847 Mertens Apr. 6, 1920 1,884,630 Driest Oct. 25, 1932 2,069,636 lWilson Feb. 2, 1937 2,292,729 Woodward nog, 11, 1942 2,530,236 Erickson Nov. 14, o