US3829967A

US3829967A - Folding blade pocket knives

Info

Publication number: US3829967A
Application number: US00310365A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Gilbert
Original assignee: Stanley Tools Ltd
Current assignee: Stanley Works Ltd
Priority date: 1971-12-09
Filing date: 1972-11-29
Publication date: 1974-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 1991-08-20
Also published as: ZA728347B; FR2167000A5; DE2258216C3; DE2258216A1; SE375477B; GB1344670A; IT971631B; JPS5316560B2; DE2258216B2; CA968938A; JPS4865600A

Abstract

Two models of folding blade pocket knife both have a blade which is replaceable by opening the two halves of the handle, the blade being mounted on and interlocked with a rotatable disc for rotation as one unit. In both models, there is a storage for a spare blade. In one model, the handle parts have interlocking rear ends and are completely separable; the disc has a part annular peripheral spring tongue with an out-turned end engageable in a recess when the blade is extended, and there is a cantilever spring acting on the blade. In the other model, the handle parts are pivoted on an axis parallel to the folding axis of the blade; a spring-biased sliding latch member wedges the blade when the blade is extended and the latch member has to be pulled back to unwedge the blade.

Description

nited States Patent 191 Gilbert FOLDING BLADE POCKET KNIVES [75] Inventor: Richard Gilbert, Sheffield, England [73] Assignee: Stanley Tools Limited, Sheffield,

England [22] Filed: Nov. 29, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 310,365

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 9, 1971 Great Britain 57297/71 [52] US. Cl. 30/157, 30/125 [51] Int. Cl B26b l/04 [58] Field of Search 30/125, 155, 156, 157, 30/330, 331, l58, 159, 160

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 994,226 6/1911 White 30/157 1,478,260 12/1923 Sibley 1 30/157 1,495,449 5/1924 Sibley et a1. 30/160 X 3,061,927 11/1962 Ludwigsdorf 1 1 30/156 3,509,627 5/1970 Gilbert 30/125 3,641,667 2/1972 Leopoldi 30/156 X 1 Aug. 20, 1974 Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner-J. C. Peters Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Prtuzman, Hayes, Kalb & Chilton [5 7 ABSTRACT Two models of folding blade pocket knife both have a blade which is replaceable by opening the two halves of the handle, the blade being mounted on and interlocked with a rotatable disc for rotation as one unit. In both models, there is a storage for a spare blade.

In one model, the handle parts have interlocking rear ends and are completely separable; the disc has a part annular peripheral spring tongue with an out-turned end engageable in a recess when the blade is extended, and there is a cantilever spring acting on the blade.

in the other model, the handle parts are pivoted on an axis parallel to the folding axis of the blade; a spring-biased sliding latch member wedges the blade when the blade is extended and the latch member has to be pulled back to unwedge the blade.

7 Claims, 35 Drawing Figures PATENTEBwszowm 3.829.967

SHEET 2 [IF 6 FIGS 12 |2b 12 FIGJO PATENTED M1920 1974 winners PATENTEDwszomm 3,329,967

- SHEEI 50F e 1 FOLDING BLADE POCKET KNIVES This invention relates to folding blade pocket knives.

BACKGROUND Folding blade pocket knives have been commonplace for very many years. However, in the majority of cases there is no provision for replacement of a worn out blade. Instead,-the entire knife has to be replaced. One of the problems of making the blade replaceable is that of pivotally mounting the blade so that it is firmly held relative to the handle, particularly when in its operative, or extended, position. Another problem is spring-biasing the blade from an intermediate position towards both fully extended and fully folded positions. Another problem is the desirability of a detent or lock to keep the blade in its extended position.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a pocket knife comprising a handle and a folding blade which is replaceable and is spring assisted.

A folding blade pocket knife in accordance with the invention may incorporate a semi-positive locking mechanism to hold the blade in the open position.

A folding blade pocket knife in accordance with the invention may include a stable intermediate position for safety in the blade closing action.

A folding blade pocket knife in accordance with the invention may be one in which two halves of the handle are located at the rear end by an interlock.

A folding blade pocket knife in accordance with the invention may be one in which a cavity between two halves of the handle provides storage space for one or more spare blades, the blades being retained in place by a spring.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a folding blade pocket knife comprising a handle in which a blade is pivotally mounted so that the blade can be folded into a storage position with a cutting edge of the blade inside the handle and can be unfolded into an operative position, the handle being in a plurality of parts releasably secured together in such a manner that when released the parts can be separated to enable removal and replacement of the blade.

The knife may comprise, inside the handle, a rotatable member, such for example as a disc, the member being formed to engage the blade interlockingly so that the blade and the rotatable member pivot as one.

In one embodiment of the invention, such a rotatable member includes a resiliently deformable portion which is engageable with part of the handle to hold or tend to hold the blade in its operative position and the knife includes a cantilever spring engageable with the blade and/or the rotatable member to bias the blade from an intermediate position either to the storage position or to the operative position depending on which way the blade is moved by the user.

In another embodiment of the invention the knife I comprises a spring-biased latch member which must be moved against the spring bias to release the blade from the operative position and enable it to be folded into the storage position. The latch member is slidably mounted with part thereof inside the handle adapted to wedge the blade in its operative position under the spring bias. The knife includes storage within the handle for a spare blade, the storage being formed partly by the latch member, part of which forms a spring to engage the spare blade and, when the handle parts are separated, to move the spare blade outwardly so that the spare blade can readily be withdrawn from storage. The handle parts are separable by pivoting one relative to the other when the first-mentioned blade is in the operative position, one of the handle parts engaging the latch member to enwedge the blade so that the blade can be removed and replaced.

The invention will be described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

IN THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1:

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 but with one handle part removed and with the spring position shown in phantom lines;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of one part of the handle of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the handle part shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of another part of the handle of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the handle part shown in FIG. 6, together with the spring;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged section on line X X in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of a cantilever spring of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. I0 is a plan view of the spring shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of a rotatable member in the form of a disc of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the disc shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an end elevation of the disc shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 with handle parts shown separated;

FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic illustration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 with one handle part removed;

FIG. 17 is a scrap view of the embodiment of FIG. 14 showing the blade wedged in its operative position;

FIG. 18 is another scrap view of the embodiment of FIG. 14 showing the blade in its storage position;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view in side elevation corresponding to FIG. 15 with the handle parts shown separated and a spare blade sprung upwardly to facilitate removal from a storage space;

FIG. 20 is a sectional-view in side elevation corresponding to FIG. 14 with the handle parts shown closed together as in FIG. 14;

FIGS. 21 to 25 illustrate one body part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, being a section on line A-A (in FIG. 22), a plan view, an inverted plan view and sections on lines B-B and C-C (in FIG. 22) respectively;

FIGS. 26 to 30 illustrate another body part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, being a section on line DD (in FIG. 27), an inverted plan view, a plan view and sections on lines E-E and F-F (in FIG. 27) respectively; and

FIGS. 31 to 35 illustrate a latch member of the em bodiment shown in FIG. 14, being two opposite side elevations, a plan view, an inverted plan view and a section on line GG in FIG. 34 respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 13 is a folding blade pocket knife 1 comprising a handle 2 in which a blade 3 is pivotally mounted so that the blade 3 can be folded into a storage position (not shown) with a cutting edge 4 of the blade 3 inside the handle 2 and can be unfolded into an operative position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the handle being in two

parts

5 and 6 releasably secured together by means inter alia of a screw 7 in such a manner that, when released, the

handle parts

5 and 6 can be separated to enable removal and replacement of the blade 3.

The knife 1 comprises, inside the handle 2, a rotatable member 8 in the form of a disc formed to engage the blade 3 interlockingly so that the blade 3 and the disc 8 rotate as one. The disc 8 includes a resiliently deformable portion 9 in the form of a part annular peripheral tongue having at an outer end thereof a lateral projection 10 which is engageable with a recess 11 in the handle part 5 to hold or tend to hold the blade 3 in its operative position. The knife 1 includes a prestressed cantilever spring 12 having one part 12a engaging handle part 6 and having a part 12b engageable with a portion 13 of the disc 8, to exert a bias on the disc 8 and thus indirectly on the blade 3 through disc portion 13 both when (as shown in FIG. 3) the blade 3 is in its operative position and when the blade 3 is folded into its operative position and when the blade 3 is folded into its storage position. The disc portion 13 engages a keyhole-shaped slot in the blade 3 so that the blade 3 and the disc 8 rotate as one.

The body portion 5 is formed with

abutments

14 and 15 for the blade 3 for the operative and storage positions respectively of blade 3.

The cantilever spring 12 is formed with a detent 16 in which the disc portion 13 rests in an intermediate, stable, position of the blade 3. The spring 12 biases the blade 3 either to the storage position or to the operative position depending on which way the blade 3 is moved by the user.

The

handle parts

5 and 6 have at their

ends interlocking portions

17 and 18 respectively to secure the

parts

5 and 6 releasably together in combination with the screw 7.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 14 to 35 is preferred to that of FIGS. 1 to 13 and is a folding blade pocket knife 20 comprising a handle 21 in which a blade 22 is pivotally mounted so that the blade 22 can be folded into a storage position, (FIG. 18,) with a cutting edge 23 of the blade 22 inside the handle 21 and can be unfolded into an operative position, (FIGS. l4, l6 and 17,) the handle 21 being in two

parts

24 and 25 releasably secured together-by means of a cross-head screw 26 which is not intended to be undone by the user and by means ofa coin-slot" screw 27 which can be undone by insertion of a coin (not shown) in slot 28 to release the

handle parts

24 and 25 so that they can be separated as shown in FIG. 15 to enable removal and replacement of the blade 22.

The knife 20 comprises, inside the handle 21, a rotatable disc 29 formed with a projection 29a (exactly like projection 13 of disc 8 in the embodiment of figures 1 to 13) to engage a keyhole slot in the blade 22 interlockingly so that the blade 22 and the disc 29 rotate as one.

The knife 20 also comprises a spring-biassed latch member 30 which must be moved (rightwards as seen in FIGS. 16 and 17) against the spring bias to release the blade 22 from the operative position and enable it to be folded into the storage position. The latch member 30 is slidably mounted with an end part 31 thereof outside the handle 21 for pulling the latch member 30 against the spring bias and with the remaining part 32 of latch member 30 inside the handle. An inclined surface 33 at the opposite end of the latch member 30 is engageable with a similarly inclined surface 34 of the disc 29 inside the handle 21, as shown in FIG. 17, to wedge the blade 22 in its operative position under the spring bias. The spring bias is provided by a helical compression spring 35 seated on a projection 36 of latch member 30 and engaging a projection 37 of handle part 24.

The knife 20 includes storage within the handle 21 for a spare blade 38, (FIGS. 16, 19 and 20 only). The storage is formed partly by the latch member 30, a part 39 of which (not shown in FIGS. 16 and 18) forms a spring to engage the spare blade 28, and, when the

handle parts

24 and 25 are separated as shown in FIG. 15, to move the spare blade 28 outwardly as shown in FIG. 19, pivoting the spare blade 28 about a fulcrum, so that the spare blade 28 can readily be withdrawn from storage. The latch member 30 has a triangular recess 40 (FIG. 34) for the pointed end 41 (FIG. 16) of the spare blade 38 and has a boss 42 for the keyhole slot 43 in the spare blade 38. A tongue 44 at the end of member 30 yieldably holds the blade 22 in position on the disc 29 The

handle parts

24 and 25 are separated by pivoting part 25 relative to part 24 about a pivot formed by the boss 45 when the blade 22 is in the operative position as shown in FIG. 15. The handle part 25 engages the end part 31 of latch member 30, moving the latch member 30 to the right as shown in FIG. 15 to disengage

surfaces

33 and 34 and hence unwedge the blade 22 so that the blade 22 can be removed and replaced.

The handle part 24 comprises bosses 45 and 46 for

screws

26 and 27 respectively, boss 45 being initially unthreaded, (screw 26 being a self-tapping screw), whilst boss 46 is internally threaded and also serves to locate the blade 22 and disc 29. The handle part 24 also comprises an abutment 47 for the blade 22 in its operative position and

side flanges

48 and 49 for slidably guiding the latch member 30.

The handle part 25 comprises

apertures

50 and 51 for the boss 45 and screw 27 respectively, recesses 53 and 52 for the heads of

screws

26 and 27 respectively and a projection 54 to serve as an abutment for the blade 22 in its storage position.

The latch member 30 also has an elongate aperture 55 for boss 45 and the spring tongue 44.

When opening blade 22 from the storage position, FIG. 18, a surface 56 of disc 29 pushes the latch member 30 rightwardly as seen in FIG. 18, so that the latch member 30 need not be handled to unfold the blade 22.

I claim:

1. A folding blade pocket knife, comprising: a handle which is formed of a plurality of parts; means for releasably securing said parts together; a blade, part of which defines a cutting edge; means for pivotally mounting the blade in the handle so that the blade can be unfolded into an extended position and folded into a stored position when the handle parts are secured together; the handle having a storage space therein for at least the cutting edge-defining part of the blade when said handle parts are secured together and when the blade is in the stored position; means for preventing removal of the blade from the handle when said handle parts are secured together and permitting separation of the blade from all said parts of the handle when said handle parts are released from being secured together;

latching means for latching the blade in its extended position, said latching means including a latch member movably mounted inside the handle for movement between a latching position and an unlatching position, spring means for biasing said latch member towards said latching position, manually operable means for moving said latch member against the spring bias to the unlatching position; and storage within the handle for a spare blade, the storage being formed partly by a cavity in the latch member, part of the latch member forming a spring to engage the spare blade and, when the handle parts are separated, to move the spare blade outwardly, whereby the spare blade can readily be withdrawn from storage.

2. A folding blade pocket knife, comprising; a handle which is formed of a plurality of parts; means for releasably securing said parts together; a blade, part of which defines a cutting edge; means for pivotally mounting the blade in the handle so that the blade can be unfolded into an extended position and folded into a stored position when the handle parts are secured together; the handle having a storage space therein for at least the cutting edge-defining part of the blade when said handle parts are secured together and when the blade is in the stored position; means for preventing removal of the blade from the handle when said handle parts are secured together and permitting separation of the blade from all said parts of the handle when said handle parts are released from being secured together; latching means for latching the blade in its extended position, said latching means including a latch member movably mounted inside the handle for movement between a latching position and unlatching position, spring means for biasing said latch member towards said latching position, manually operable means for moving said latch member against the spring bias to the unlatching position; said handle parts being pivotally connected together and being separable by pivoting one relative to the other when the blade is in its extended position, one of the handle parts including means for engaging the latch member to unlatch the blade so that the blade can be removed and replaced.

3. A folding blade pocket knife comprising: a handle which is in two separable parts; a blade, part of which defines a cutting edge; means for pivotally mounting the blade inside the handle folding into a storage position, with the cutting edge inside the handle, and for unfolding the blade into an operative position, with the cutting edge outside the handle; means for releasably securing the handle parts together whereby, when released, said handle parts can be separated; said means for pivotally mounting the-blade comprising a rotatable disc member inside the handle; said blade and rotatable disc member having interlockingly engageable portions whereby the blade and rotatable disc member are rotatable as one unit and are separable from each other; the rotatable disc member including a resiliently deformable portion in the form of a part-annular peripheral tongue having at an outer end thereof a portion which is engageable in a recess in the handle, whereby the blade can be retained in said operative position; and a prestressed cantilever spring having one part engaging the handle and having another part engageable with a portion of the disc member to exert a bias on the disc member and hence on the blade both when the blade is in its operative position and when the blade is in its storage position; the handle part securing means comprising a screw-threaded member and mutually interlocking portions of the two handle parts, whereby when the handle parts are separated the blade can be removed and replaced.

4. A folding blade pocket knife as claimed in claim 3 wherein the cantilever spring is formed with a detent which is engageable by part of the disc member when the disc member and the blade are in a position intermediate the storage position and the operative position, whereby the blade and the disc member are stable in the intermediate position.

5. A folding blade pocket knife comprising: a handle which is in first and second separable parts; a blade, part of which defines a cutting edge; means for pivotally mounting the blade inside the handle for folding about an axis into a storage position, with the cutting edge inside the handle, and for unfolding the blade into an operative position, with the cutting edge outside the handle; means for releasably securing the handle parts together whereby, when released, said handle can be opened; said means for pivotally mounting the blade comprising a rotatable disc member inside the handle; said blade and rotatable disc member having interlockingly engageable portions whereby the blade and rotatable disc member are rotatable as one unit and are separable from each other; a latch member slidably mounted in said first handle part and having a first part outside the handle and a second part inside the handle, said second part of the latch member having a surface which is inclined at an acute angle relative to the direction of sliding of the latch member; said disc member having a surface so arranged as to be engageable by said surface of the latch member when the blade is unfolded into its operative position; and means for springbiasing the latch member in such a direction as to urge said surface therof into engagement with said surface of the disc member, whereby to wedge the blade in its operative position; the handle part securing means including means pivotally connecting the handle parts together with a pivot axis parallel to the folding axis of the blade, whereby the handle can be opened by rela tive pivoting of the two handle parts; the second handle part including a portion which is engageable with the latch member to move the latch member against the spring bias when the handle is opened by said relative pivoting of the two handle parts, whereby the blade is unwedged and can be removed and replaced.

6. A folding blade pocket knife as claimed in claim 5 and including storage for a spare blade, part of the latch member forming a spring which is engageable with the spare blade to move the spare blade outwardly when the handle is opened.

7. A folding blade pocket knife comprising: a handle which is in first and second separable parts; a blade, part of which defines a cutting edge; means for pivotally mounting the blade inside the handle for folding about an axis into a storage position, with the cutting edge inside the handle, and for unfolding the blade into an operative position, with the cutting edge outside the handle; said means for pivotally mounting the blade comprising a rotatable disc member journaled on said blade pivotal mounting means; said blade and rotatable disc member having interlockingly engageable portions whereby the blade and rotatable disc member are rotatable as one unit and are separable from each other; a latch member slidably mounted in said first handle part and having a first part outside the handle and a second part inside the handle, said second part of the latch member having a latching surface disposed generally in the direction of sliding of the latch member; said disc member having a surface so arranged as to be engageable by said latching surface of the latch member when the blade is unfolded into its operative position; and means for spring-biasing the latch member in such a direction as to urge said surface thereof into engagement with said surface of the disc member to lock the blade in its operative position.

Claims

1. A folding blade pocket knife, comprising: a handle which is formed of a plurality of parts; means for releasably securing said parts together; a blade, part of which defines a cutting edge; means for pivotally mounting the blade in the handle so that the blade can be unfolded into an extended position and folded into a stored position when the handle parts are secured together; the handle having a storage space therein for at least the cutting edge-defining part of the blade when said handle parts are secured together and when the blade is in the stored position; means for preventing removal of the blade from the handle when said handle parts are secured together and permitting separation of the blade from all said parts of the handle when said handle parts are released from being secured together; latching means for latching the blade in its extended position, said latching means including a latch member movably mounted inside the handle for movement between a latching position and an unlatching position, spring means for biasing said latch member towards said latching position, manually operable means for moving said latch member against the spring bias to the unlatching position; and storage within the handle for a spare blade, the storage being formed partly by a cavity in the latch member, part of the latch member forming a spring to engage the spare blade and, when the handle parts are separated, to move the spare blade outwardly, whereby the spare blade can readily be withdrawn from storage.

3. A folding blade pocket knife comprising: a handle which is in two separable parts; a blade, part of which defines a cutting edge; means for pivotally mounting the blade inside the handle folding into a storage position, with the cutting edge inside the handle, and for unfolding the blade into an operative position, with the cutting edge outside the handle; means for releasably securing the handle parts together whereby, when released, said handle parts can be separated; said means for pivotally mounting the blade comprising a rotatable disc member inside the handle; said blade and rotatable disc member having interlockingly engageable portions whereby the blade and rotatable disc member are rotatable as one unit and are separable from each other; the rotatable disc member including a resiliently deformable portion in the form of a part-annular peripheral tongue having at an outer end thereof a portion which is engageable in a recess in the handle, whereby the blade can be retained in said operative position; and a prestressed cantilever spring having one part engaging the handle and having another part engageable with a portion of the disc member to exert a bias on the disc member and hence on the blade both when the blade is in its operative position and when the blade is in its storage position; the handle part securing means comprising a screw-threaded member and mutually interlocking portions of the two handle parts, whereby when the handle parts are separated the blade can be removed and replaced.

5. A folding blade pocket knife comprising: a handle which is in first and second separable parts; a blade, part of which defines a cutting edge; means for pivotally mounting the blade inside the handle for folding about an axis into a storage position, with the cutting edge inside the handle, and for unfolding the blade into an operative position, with the cutting edge outside the handle; means for releasably securing the handle parts together whereby, when released, said handle can be opened; said means for pivotally mounting the blade comprising a rotatable disc member inside the handle; said blade and rotatable disc member having interlockingly engageable portions whereby the blade and rotatable disc member are rotatable as one unit and are separable from each other; a latch member slidably mounted in said first handle part and having a first part outside the handle and a second paRt inside the handle, said second part of the latch member having a surface which is inclined at an acute angle relative to the direction of sliding of the latch member; said disc member having a surface so arranged as to be engageable by said surface of the latch member when the blade is unfolded into its operative position; and means for spring-biasing the latch member in such a direction as to urge said surface therof into engagement with said surface of the disc member, whereby to wedge the blade in its operative position; the handle part securing means including means pivotally connecting the handle parts together with a pivot axis parallel to the folding axis of the blade, whereby the handle can be opened by relative pivoting of the two handle parts; the second handle part including a portion which is engageable with the latch member to move the latch member against the spring bias when the handle is opened by said relative pivoting of the two handle parts, whereby the blade is unwedged and can be removed and replaced.