US2843203A - Cutter mechanism - Google Patents

Description

July 15, 1958 F. s. YOUNG CUTTER MECHANISM 4 $heets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1, 1956 mmvrom I. 5'. YEUN BY WM 0.

July 15, 1958 F. s. YOUNG CUTTER MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1, 1956 INVENTOR: I? 5. YUUNE.

July 15, 1958 F. s. YOUNG CUTTER MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed; March 1, 1956 INVENTOR: .F 5. YJUNE.

July 15, 1958 s, YOUNG 2,843,203

CUTTER MECHANISM Filed March 1, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR: Y0 UNE WJJUQPPM,

JTTK

United States Patent CUTTER MECHANISM Frederick S. Young, Toledo, Ohio Application March 1, 1956, Serial No. 568,874

I 4 Claims. Cl. 164-57) This invention relates to paper cutters such as are used to trim edges of paper pads, books, periodicals, and similar items which require smooth and uniform edges. More particularly it relates to paper cutters which have a single knife edge blade and clamp associated therewith, and which are provided with a handle for manually forcing the blade through the paper, while the paper is held firmly against undesired movement by a clamping pressure applied thereto.

Cutters of this general type have heretofore been massively constructed and highly priced; when installed in a shop they were practically immovable due to their great relative weight. The cutting operation required considerable force and .was consequently very tiring to a user.

An object of this invention is to produce an efficient, simple, economical paper cutter, which is readily portable for use in the usual office.

Another object is to produce a paper cutter having a novel toggle action for operation of the knife.

A further object is to provide a simply constructed device of this type.

A still further object is to provide an escapement mechanism in the handle assembly so that fatigue of the user will be reduced.

A still further object is to provide a clamping mechanism for the paper which will be positive in operation even though eccentrically loaded.

A still further object is to provide accurate and quickly adjustable stops for setting the sizes to which paper may be cut.

It is also an object to provide simple and effective means for adjusting the knife blade into full length contact with the cutting board at the end of thestroke, when or after the blade has been ground for sharpening.

The objects here enumerated constitute the main parts of the invention and include a cutting table, a gauge or stop for positioning the paper to be cut, a clamp for holding thepaper, a knife blade to sever the unwanted parts of the paper from the main body, and a handle mechanism for operating the knife.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of the invention will be best understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein,

Figure l is a perspective view of the mechanism taken toward the loading end;

.Figure 2 is .a perspective view taken toward the cutting end, with certain parts shown in phantom lines;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a portion of the mechanism, parts being broken away;

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3 showing the clamping mechanism;

Figure 5 is a plan view partly in section of the gauge or stop mechanism;

Figure 6 is an elevational view of the cutter mech- 2,843,203 Patented July 15, 1953 anism with certain parts in cross section, and certain parts broken away;

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 6 showing adjustment for blade takeup;

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view on line 8--8 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Figure 6;

Figure 10 is detail view of the escapement mechanism used in operating the cutter with certain parts broken away;

Figure 11 is an elevational view taken towards the rear edges of the parts shown in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is detail view of one of the parts of the escapement mechanism; and

Figure 13 is a cross sectional view taken on line 13-13 of Figure 10, to show the relationship of some of the parts of Figure 10.

In referring to Figures 1 and 2, 15 represents the table top which forms the body of the structure, said body having reinforcing or stabilizing members 16, 16' beneath the same, for strengthening the table top and other obvious reasons.

Towards the right hand end of Figure 1 is located a pair of uprights 17 and 18 which are attached at their lower extremities to the members 16 and 16' while their upper extremities are connected by a tie bar 19 to form a. rigid structure and support for the clamping and cutting mechanism.

The clamping mechanism 20 comprises a cross shaft 21 supported and journalled in the uprights 17 and 18, one end of the shaft being extended rearwardly to receive a worm gear 22 (Figure 4) adapted to be driven by a worm 23 carried by a vertical shaft 24 for purposes hereinafter explained. A hand wheel 25 fixed to the shaft 24 facilitates rotation of the shaft 24 The shaft 21 carries a pair of pinion gears 26 and 26' which mesh with mating teeth on the rack bars 27. The rack bars 27 are secured to a webbed cross member or clamp device 28, which has a foot 28' adapted to lie above the table and substantially parallel thereto for the purpose of holding a pile of paper 29 solidly and rigidly during a cutting or trimming operation. Furthermore the clamp should have a positive clamping action very close to the cutting edge of the knife as at 30. With this dual rack and pinion construction, a batch of paper to be cut may be placed either to the front or rear portion of the table as desired without causing undue strain or biased loading either on the table or on the knife. A stop plate 31 is provided to limit the upward travel of the clamp.

Along one edge of the table 15 is an upright bar or track 32 on which is mounted a combined backing and discharge device 34, and an adjustable stop device 36, for the purpose of enabling an operator to cut or trim varying sizes of stock to a uniform predetermined size. For this purpose a scale or calibrated measuring strip 38 is provided to facilitate such settings, the scale being fixed to the outer side of the bar 32 in a manner to indicate the distance of the stop 36 from the knife.

It will be observed that the backing device 34 has a vertical plate 34a which is disposed at right angle to the table 15 and rigid with the upper edge of the plate 340! is a generally triangular plate 3412, the end portion of which is bent downwardly to form a track-overlapping flange 34c. Rigid with. and depending from the underside of the triangular plate 34b is a flange 34c parallel with the flange 34c and disposed on the inside of the track 32. The forward portion of the backing device 34 fits the track fairly snugly but there is substantially greater spacing between the remainder of the device and the track. This latter spacing may be adjusted by a set screw 34 in the rear portion of the inner flange 34e.

The stop 36 may be slid along the upper edge of the track 32 and calibrated strip 38 and secured in position by a set screw 36a. A fore and aft adjusting screw 36b engages the rear of the backing device 34 as shown on Figure 5. a

The above described structure enables the paper pile to be quickly and accurately positioned relative to the cutter. After the pile or stack has been cut, the device 34 may be conveniently advanced away from the stop device 36 to push the severed increment from the table. This forward movement is achieved preferably by grasping the central portion of the triangular plate 34b to obviate a cramping action with the track 32. Reverse or backward movement against the stop 36 is effected easily by a straight sliding motion. Thus the device 34 not only accurately positions the pile to be severed or cut but also serves as a discharge device for the severed section.

The cutoff mechanism comprises a transversely arranged knife blade 40 having a keen ground edge 41. One end of the knife 40 is supported by a link 42 having a journalled pin connection therewith as at 43. The link 42 is dependently mounted for swinging action on the tie bar 19. An eccentrically formed bolt 44 is provided to compensate for varying widths of knife bars. As a knife is ground to maintain suflieient sharpness, the edge gradually rises as at 41'. The bolt 44 may then be rotated about its shank 44, thus shifting the center of support of the link 42, and permitting the knife edge to shift to its proper position while cutting. Shims 57 (Figure 3) may be provided if necessary to compensate for varying thicknesses of knives, their purpose being to assist in fitting up the space within the uprights 1'7, 18 for smooth easy movement of the knife therein.

The opposite end of the knife is supported on one end of a crank arm 46 by a stub shaft 47. The crank arm 46 is given an intermittent or stepped motion by a novel escapement mechanism now to be described.

Referring to Figures 9 to 13, the other end of the crank arm 46 is fixed to a shaft 48 by means of a pin 49. Shaft 48 is rotatably supported by upright 18. A ratchet wheel 50 is secured by a key 49 to the shaft 48 at the end opposite the crank arm 46, so that these parts 46, 48 and 50 may move in unison. The knife blade 40 is guided in its vertical movements by channel elements forming parts of the uprights 1'7 and 18.

As it requires approximately 90 of rotation of the crank arm 46 to move the knife blade through its cutting stroke, the ratchet wheel likewise requires approximately 90 spread of its ratchet teeth.

A lever handle 51 is provided to actuate the ratchet wheel 50, and consists of a transverse bar 52 having fixed thereto at its inner end a pair of side plates 53 terminating in disk-like ends which straddle the ratchet wheel 50 and a cam plate 54. As shown in Figure 12 the cam plate 54 is a flat disk-like member, the uniformly curved periphery of which has a relieved portion 54 which allows a pawl 55 to drop into a tooth of the ratchet wheel 50. Normally the pawl 55 rides over the outer peripheral edge portion of the cam plate so that it is allowed to engage teeth of the ratchet wheel only when it encounters the relieved portion 54. The pawl 55 is pivoted between the side plates 53 and is tensioned by a coil spring 55. As the handle 51 is rocked downwardly during a cutting stroke toward the dotted line position 51 in Figure 10, the pawl will be held away from the ratchet wheel 50 until the relieved portion 54' is reached on the cam plate 54. At this time the pawl enters the wheel and advances the knife from position to A (Figure 6). The handle is then raised to engage another tooth and when lowered the knife will be advanced to position B (Figure 6). Upon another up and down manipulation of the handle, the knife will be advanced to the position C or final 4 contact with a cutting board 56 mounted in the surface of the table 15.

Thus it will be seen that by proper adjustment of the eccentric bolt 44, in accordance with the amount of sharpening of the blade, complete full length contact of the cutting edge 41 with the cutting board 56 may be obtained.

In order to bring the handle 51 to a convenient height for any user, an adjustment 58 has been provided. The cam plate 54 is provided with an extension 59 having holes 69 for selective positioning of the pawl 55. A bracket 61 is mounted on the reinforcing member 16' for this purpose. As shown in Figure 10, a bolt 62 is used to position the cam in a central position with regard to the series of holes 60. To raise or lower the working range of the handle 51 for most etficient operation, the cam 54 may be shifted to one or another of the holes 60 by means of the bolt 62.

By observing Figure 6, it will be seen that the cutting action of the knife describes not a straight vertical drop but a combination of sideward or downward motion of varying speed and distance, as illustrated by the lines 0, A, B, and C. Thus the cut is begun with a horizontal, then changing to inclined positions and finally reverting to horizontal.

The knife is then returned to its upper position with one single upward motion of the handle as shown in Figure 10. For this purpose, a transverse pin 63 carried by the plates 53, engages another pin 64 fixed in the ratchet wheel 5%. As the handle 51 is lifted to the full line position of Figure 10, the ratchet wheel 50 is swung clockwise by engagement of the pins 63 with the pin 64, thereby abruptly raising the knife blade 4'!) completely preparatory to the next cutting operation.

From the above description it will be manifest that I have produced an exceedingly simple cutting mechanism by which a relatively thick pile or stack of paper or the like can be quickly cut into predetermined sections or trimmed with the exertion of a minimum of energy. The step by step motion of the knife blade caused by repeated rocking of the operating handle achieves a remarkably quick and positive cut which can be performed by anyone without studied know-how. The backer-ejector device enables the severed portion to be quickly shoved away and the paper pile can be returned to the adjustable stop without resetting. This coupled with the abrupt raising of the knife expedites the work.

Numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operation may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a cutter mechanism for a stack of paper or the like comprising a frame having a flat bed, uprights secured to said frame and arranged on opposite sides of said bed, vertical channels in said uprights respectively, a knife disposed transversely of said bed and guided by said channels in its vertical movement, a tie bar connecting the upper end portions of said uprights, means suspending the knife from the tie bar, a crank arm, means connecting one end of the crank arm to the knife, a shaft fixed to the other end of said crank arm, means rotatably supporting said shaft in one of said uprights, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, a lever handle for actuating said ratchet wheel, side plate means carried by said handle and disposed adjacent said ratchet wheel and rockable upon said shaft, a stationary cam plate upon said shaft, said cam plate having a uniformly curved periphery except for a relieved portion, said relieved portion being of less diameter than the root diameter of the ratchet wheel, a spring tensioned pawl carried by said side plate means for operative engagement with said ratchet wheel only upon encountering the relieved portion of said cam disc, said pawl being disposed to ride over the periphery of said cam plate, whereby step by step cutting action is imparted to the knife by up and down movement of the lever handle, and means actuated by the side plate means and cooperating with means on said ratchet wheel for abruptly raising the knife by a single rocking movement of the lever handle to an extreme position.

2. The organization as claimed in claim 1, the means suspending the knife from the tie bar comprising a link pivoted to the knife, and an adjustable eccentric bolt pivotally connecting the link to the tie bar thereby to compensate for varying widths of knife bars.

3. The organization as claimed in claim 1 in which the abrupt raising means for the knife comprises cooperating stop members on the side plate means and the ratchet Wheel engageable upon predetermined rocking movement of the lever handle.

4. The organization as claimed in claim 1 comprising handle height adjusting means including an extension on said cam plate, a support, and selective means for attaching said extension to said support thereby to rotatively adjust the position of said cam plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Campbell May 30, Dexter Dec. 4, Knott Dec. 7, Allan Apr. 30, Edwards July 14, Soderberg Jan. 1, Johnson Nov. 23, Seybold Aug. 16, Kerner Mar. 27, Webster Jan. 25, Mission Mar. 4, Linder Aug. 25, Barney June 15, Lazar Apr. 5,

Images