iuropaisches Patentamt D 336 905 iuropean Patent Office ® Publication number: A1 )ffice europeen des brevets
® EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION
@ Application number: 89810256.1 @ Int. CI .4; B 26 B 1/04
@ Date of filing: 04.04.89
@ Priority: 04.04.88 US 148918 g) Applicant: WENGER S.A. CH-2800 Delemont (CH) @ Date of publication of application: 11.10.89 Bulletin 89/41 §) Inventor: Lemaire, Denis J. 534, rue De La Verendrye Boucherville Quebec J4B 2Y1 (CA) @ Designated Contracting States: AT BE CH DE ES FR GB GR IT LI LU NL SE @ Representative: Fischer, Franz Josef et al c/o Bovard AG Optingenstrasse 16 CH-3000Bern25 (CH)
<§i) Wedge lock for pocket knife blade. (g) A wedge-shaped arrangement (50) for retracting a leaf rib. 4 spring (72) is positioned in abutment against the tang (76) of a cutting knife (10). The retraction of the leaf spring (72) is produced by a sliding rod (58) which engages the wedge (60) and pulls on the leaf spring (12) out of engagement with the tang.
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Description WEDGE LOCK FOR I sOCKET KNIFE BLADE
The present invention is directed to a lock for generally indicates a blade-knife having a wedge wring a pocket knife blade and more particularly to type lock 12 and comprising an elongated casing 13 a wedge arrangement for locking and unlocking the 5 formed by an upper face plate 14 and a lower face 3lade from its protracted position. plate 16 and a retractable blade 20. A search of the prior art has revealed U.S. patents The lower face 16 is provided with a groove 18 Mos 2,826,813 and 4,354,313. However, no wedge which serves as guiding means for the sliding arrangement has been found for locking and movement of blade 20 indicated in figure 3 by arrows jnlocking a pocket knife blade of the type herein- 10 24. after disclosed. This sliding movement of the blade 20 is produced According to the present invention, it is possible by pressure exerted on a button 26 by the user's to open and close the blade of a pocket knife with finger. The pressure is transmitted to blade 20 by one hand. There is also no need to touch the blade, means of a screw type component 28 which is ["he wedge arrangement proposed for locking the is threadedly inserted in aperture 30 in the tang 31 and Dlade allows the pocket knife to remain thin and slides inside groove 32 provided in the lower face ;ompact. Some governments make it illegal to have plate 16. i pocket knife wherein the blade opens automati- An elongated recess 34 in the face plate 16 is used ;aliy, by gravity or by inertia. Although the present to guide the sliding action of a stabilizing element 36 device is easy to operate, it is completely legal in this ; 20 slidingly mounted on screw 28. ■egard. The stabilizing element 36 is used to reduce the The lock for barring a cutting blade of a pocket stress concentration between the screw 28 and the
2 lightly inclined and provided with grooves wnicn nally puncnea. I lunyue so (ji ujc^io mioj h um tn<- leaf 94 lake the surface rugose in order to facilitate plane of the main sprip 100 of spring by an 108 of the ansformation of the pressure applied by the thumb angle sufficient to displace the tip surface main f the user into sliding motion of lifting component tongue 98 below and adjacent the plane of the 94. 0 in groove 38. 5 strip 100 of the spring An helicoidal spring 62 or another suitable device In use, when blade 102 is protracted by a pivoting 108 of the ! positioned inside an extension 64 of the groove 38. action around a hinge 104, rip surface of )ne extremity of spring 62 rests against surface 66 tongue 98 abuts against the end surface 1 10 tang f the extension 64 while the other end rests against 112 and accordingly the pivoting of the blade 102 is urface 68 of the component 40 so that the spring is 0 barred. 102 inside ompressed when rod 58 slides along surface 60 To allow the pivotal retraction of blade the nd bounces back when pressure by the user's the casing 90, the user must apply pressure on numb is released from the knob 54. The upper face knob 1 14 of lifting component 84 in order to induce a late 14 and lower face plate 16 forming the outer sliding movement which will cause rod 82 to slide longated casing 13 are held together by screw-type 5 against inner surface 116 of wedge-shaped compo- omponents 70. nent 118. The wedge-shaped component 118 being The blade 20 is protracted out of casing 13 by rigidly attached to the tongue 98, the latter is pulled reaches the pplying pressure on knob 26 which slides the blade by the rod 82 so that it same plane as main 100 in 8. Once the 1 groove 18. the one of the strip as figure Once the cutting edge portion 61 of the blade is 0 tongue 98 is coplanar with strip 100, end surfaces and the blade jlly protracted out, no more pressure is applied, by 108 and 110 are no longer in contact 104. ne blade 20, on back surface 72 of the tongue 46 102 is free to rotate around the hinge /hich automatically assumes its released position When pressure is released from the knob 114, a lustrated in figure 4. In that released position, front small helicoidal spring 113 brings the lifting compo- in urface 74 of leaf spring 46 is directly in contact with ■5 nent 84 to its original position such as shown lack surface 76 of tang 31 therefore inhibiting figure 9. etraction of the blade inside casing 13 and The wedge action takes place along the lateral while it is iccordingly barring the blade. portion of the leaf spring 94 in figures 6-9 To retract blade 20 inside casing 13, the user's centrally located in figures 1-5. embodiment of this invention to humb applies pressure in the direction of the 10 It is within the jointed end of the blade on knob 54 of lifting substitute other wedge type action locks for the 10 illustrates an :omponent 40 which as stated previously will lift ones described above. Figure the lock 12 wherein a nail ongue 46 until it becomes coplanar with the contour alternative to wedge type >late 48. The user's index can then apply pressure type component 120 fixed to a leaf spring 121 can be 122 which >n button 26 and retract the blade 20. J5 lifted by a split wedge plate corresponds To avoid jamming of tongue 46 while initiating the to the lifting component 40. When the wedge plate the etraction of the blade or a full protraction of it, both 122 slides in the direction of the arrow 124, surfaces 74 and 76 are preferably chamfered on U-shaped notch 126 engages the nail type compo- sides at an angle C of about 3° to 5° nent and raises the leaf spring 121. opposite . of In this embodiment, it is particularly easy to retract 10 Figures 11 and 12 show a further embodiment a to that he blade inside its casing with one hand. Because pocket knife which substantially corresponds A button he knob 54 and the button 26 are located at remote of figure 1 but is of simpler construction. rearward end of the distances and on opposite sides of the knife, it is 127 pivotingly connected to the 129. The aossible to simultaneously slide them in opposite blade by means of an arbor 128 has a nose end of the direction with the thumb and the index of the same 45 leaf spring 120 rests against the rearward from land. blade of the knife and prevents the blade being 129 6 to 9 illustrate another embodiment of pushed in. By twisting the button 127, the nose Figures releases the invention again using a wedge-type lock adapted presses on the leaf spring 120 and thereby be sunk into the knife for a knife having a blade which protracts from the the blade. The blade can now 127. In this exemplified handle by a pivoting action rather than a sliding 50 with the aid of the button 12 action was the case with the previously described embodiment, the leaf spring 120 is, as figure as the embodiment. clearly shows, disposed substantially parallel to knife. In this embodiment of the invention, a rod 82 blade in the interior of the casing of the last forming part of a lifting component 84 is rigidly Figures 13 and 14 show a exemplified attached to the side of the component 84 which 55 embodiment of a pocket knife according to the to that of slides in a groove 88 provided in a superposed invention. The knife roughly corresponds of leaf 120 casing 90. figures 11 and 12. Instead a spring 131 is The sliding of the lifting component 84 is indicated inserted into the casing, a leaf spring The half-casing in figures 8 and 9 by an arrow 92. incorporated in a half of the casing. in and A leaf spring 94 is located like face plate or a 60 having the leaf spring 131 is made one piece of the bolster lining against the upper face of the casing 90 has a U-shaped, slot-like groove consisting The leaf and over the cavity 96 designed to receive the base leg 134 and the two legs 132, 133. retracted blade 102. spring 131 thereby exposed is subsequently biased knife is The leaf spring 94 is made of a piece of resilient in such a way that when the blade of the material from which a lateral tongue 98 is longitudi- 65 extended, it engages the rearward end of the blade,
•3 ) EP 0 336 905 A1 is already described in the preceding example. The nember, a sliding member mounted in a slot eaf spring is releasable from the rearward end of the srovided in said other lining and adapted to )lade by means of the button 127 and the nose 129, ongitudinally move relative to said wedge ind the blade can be pushed into the inside of the -nember, the said sliding member comprising a cnife. 5 ■od member adapted to slide in said angular A loading ball bearing 136 falls into a hole 135 in ■ecess so as to pull on said leaf spring and he blade tang to prevent the blade from coming out 'ectract latter from abutment with the end of the 3f the handle by itself. olade, spring means for resiliently pushing said rod member out of said angular recess. 6. A pocket knife as recited in claim 5, Claims comprising a first knob connected to said end of said blade and extending out of a slot said 1 . A lock for barring and unbarring a cutting provided through said first lining, sliding blade of a pocket knife, the said blade having a member exceeding out of the slot in said other cutting edge portion and a tang in a flat plane, 15 lining and at the distal end from said end of said the said lock comprising a substantially flat leaf blade when said blade in its retracted position, spring extending in a plane substantially parallel wherein a movement of the said knob and said to said blade, said leaf spring having one end sliding member simultaneously projects the slightly bent away from said parallel plane so as Dlade out of the linings and causes the said to abut against the tang of said blade for 20 abutment with the spring leaf. maintaining the cutting blade in its forwardly 7. A lock for a cutting blade as recited in claim projected direction, wedge means for retracting 1, comprising a shank secured to said leaf the said one end of the leaf spring into said spring and an enlarged head at the end of said parallel plane so as to bring said one end of said shank, an intermediate lining located adjacent leaf spring away from the flat plane of said tang 25 said leaf spring, a wedged plate slidingly and allow freedom of movement of said blade. mounted on said intermediate lining, said 2. A lock for a cutting blade as recited in claim wedged plate having a slot adapted to engage said shank and said leaf and said leaf 1 , wherein said leaf spring is partly split in two pull on longitudinal strips, one of said strips being spring during its sliding movement for freeing curved so that the end of said one strip abut 30 the tang of said blade. against the tang of the blade in a a plane 8. A knife having a retractable blade compris- different than the plane of the other strip, a ing, an elongated casing having an upper and a wedge member secured to said one strip and lower face plate and a longitudinal space defining an acute angular space between said between the two face plates a cutting blade one strip and said wedge member, a sliding 35 extending in said space, guide means on said member mounted on the other strip and lower face plate extending through a slot adapted to longitudinally moves relative to said provided in said lower face plate and secured to one strip, the said sliding member comprising a one end of said blade, said guide means rod member secured to said sliding member, adapted to slide said blade in said space and to said rod member being mounted on said sliding 40 project part of it outside the casing to an member so as to slide in said angular space and outermost position, a locking blade located in apply pressure on said wedge member for said space and disposed over said cutting changing the curve of said one strip and for blade, one end of said locking blade adapted to removing the end of said one strip from abutting abut against the end of the cutting blade when the tang of the blade. 45 the latter is slidden at said outermost position a 3. A lock for a cutting blade as recited in claim wedge shaped member fixed to said locking 2, wherein the said sliding member is resiliently blade, a lifting component slidingly mounted in bias in a direction to retract said rod member said upper face plate, said lifting component from of said angular space. having a rod adapted to engage said wedge 4. A lock for a cutting blade as recited in claim 50 shaped member and pulled on said locking 3, wherein the two strips are mounted side by blade, whereby said one end of the locking side in about the same plane and longitudinally blade is removed from abbuting the said end of fixed relative to each other. the cutting blade. 5. A pocket knife comprising a pair of bolster 9. A pocket knife comprising a pair of bolster linings superposedly fixed to each other and 55 linings superposedly fixed to each other and defining a space therebetween, a cutting blade defining a space therebetween, a cutting blade slidably mounted in said space relative to one of slidably mounted in said space relative to one of said lining and adjacent thereto, a leaf spring said linings and adjacent thereto, a leaf spring fixed to the other lining in said space, one end fixed to the other lining in said space, one end of said leaf spring adapted to abut against the 60 of said leaf spring adapted to abut against the end of said blade when the latter is projecting end of said blade when the latter is projecting partly out of said linings, a wedge member partly out of said linings, a knob connected to secured to said leaf spring, the said wedge the end of said blade and extending out of a slot member defining an acute angular recess provided through said first lining, the said knob between said leaf spring and said wedge 65 being pivotingly connected to the end of said
4 7 EP 0 336 905 A1 8 blade and adapted to pull on said leaf spring said blade when the latter is projecting partly and retract the latter from abutment with the out of said linings, a knob connected to the end end of the blade. of said blade and extending out of a slot 10. A pocket knife comprising a pair of bolster provided through said first lining, the said knob linings superposedly fixed to each other and 5 being pivotingly connected to the end of said defining a space therebetween, a cutting blade blade and adapted to pull on said leaf spring slidably mounted in said space relative to one of and retract the latter from abutment with the said linings and adjacent thereto, a leaf spring end of the blade. incorporated in the other lining, one end of said leaf spring adapted to abut against the end of 10
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5 P 0 33b yu& Al EP 0 336 905 A1 P 0 33b yut> A I LV 906 9SE0 d3 P 0 33b 9US Al European Patent Number 4 EUROPEAN SEARCH REPORT Application Office
EP 89 81 0256 DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED TO BE RELEVANT Category Citation of document with indication, where appropriate, Relevant CLASSIFICATION OF THE of relevant passages to claim APPLICATION (Int. C1.4 ) DE-B-1062146 ( P. D. BRAVE RMAN) B26B1/04 * column 3, line 30 - column 4, line 31; figures 2, 3 * 3, 4, 7, 8
US-A-2183378 (E.J.CONKLIN) 5, 6 * page 2, column 1, line 62 - page 3, column 1, 1 1ne 9; figures 1, 2, 9 *
A US-A-3868774 (N.M.MIORI)
A DE-A-3048443 (FA. C.F.ERN)
TECHNICAL FIELDS SEARCHED (Int. CU )
B26B
The present search report has hcen drawn up for all claims Flacr of search Diitr of completion of tin* sr-arch Examiner THE HAGUE 11 JULY 1989 WOHLRAPP R.G.
CATEGORY OF CITED DOCUMENTS T : theory or principle underlying the invention K : earlier patent document, hut published on, or X : particularly relevant if taken alone after the filing date V : particularly relevant if combined with another D : dncumeht cited in the application document of the same categorj I. : document cited for cither reasons A : technological background O : non-written disclosure & : member of the same patent family, corresponding P : intermediate document document