Cardboard knife with a handle and a replaceable blade

Abstract

Cardboard knife (1) with a multi-part handle (4) and a replaceable knife blade (7) attached to the handle (4), which extends through a slot (9) in a stop surface (10) of the handle (4) and spaced apart from a side stop (8), wherein the distance of the knife blade (7) to the side stop (8) is variable by means of at least one spacer plate (24).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a cardboard knife with a multi-part handle and a replaceable knife blade attached to the handle.

[0002] DE 38 00 632 A1 discloses a knife with a handle and a blade holder attached to the handle, as well as first and second guide plates secured to the blade holder, the guide plates enclosing an obtuse angle between them. The handle consists of a first and a second complementary section, the two sections being pivotally coupled to one another in a joint to enable a scissor-like movement of the two handle sections. The blade holder comprises first and second blade holder plates and a device for clamping a cutting blade between the two blade holder plates. One of the guide plates has a window opening and includes an elastically deflectable springy safety guard attached to the guide plate and projecting through the window opening.The safety guard retracts through the window when the guide plate is placed on a surface to be cut. Lateral adjustment of the cutting blade essentially parallel to the corresponding guide plate to adjust the cutting distance to a stop edge is not provided.

[0003] US Pat. No. 4,503,612 A discloses a knife with a handle and a blade holder attached to the handle, as well as two guide plates aligned at an angle to each other. A spring-loaded safety guard is hinged to one of the guide plates, and the other guide plate determines the distance between a stop edge and a cut. The distance is not adjustable.

[0004] Furthermore, DE 100 49 240 C1 discloses a cutting device for floor coverings with a knife blade arranged on a base body and a stop edge provided on the underside of the base body. In the front area of ​​the base body, several panels are detachably attached to the base body for adjusting the cutting width, and the knife blade can be arranged between the panels parallel to the stop edge as needed.

[0005] Furthermore, US 4,606,124 A describes a knife with an adjustable blade, wherein the knife is associated with a pivoting stop that can be adjusted for cutting width and cutting depth. The entire knife is mounted on the stop in a replaceable manner.

[0006] Furthermore, US 3,991,467 A discloses a carpet knife with a body consisting of a base with a flat bottom and an upwardly projecting handle, a channel extending through the body and slidably receiving a blade, a base plate mounted beneath the base of the body, and a disc with a screw threaded into the underside of the base. The base plate is movable toward and away from the underside of the base such that the front edge of the base plate recedes behind the front edge of the base. The disc is arranged between the underside of the base and the base plate and serves to support the base plate.

[0007] Furthermore, US 5 815 929 A shows a carpet knife with a handle that projects upwards from a rigid base. Two elongated, straight, and parallel-spaced legs extend downwards from the base. A first leg has a foot adapted to slide on a carpet. The second leg has a foot adapted to slide in a groove. A carpet cutting blade is detachably and adjustably mounted on the second leg to cut the carpet at a preset distance from a channel when the carpet knife is advanced, guided by the foot in the channel.

[0008] Furthermore, US 4,148,142 A discloses a carpet cutting tool comprising a body member having a pair of spaced-apart, opposed leg portions and a web interconnecting the leg portions along their respective edges, the leg portions defining therebetween a blade-receiving slot, one of the leg portions being provided with an opening therein. Handle means mounted to the body member for adjustable movement and pivotal movement, the handle means comprising a handle and attachment means for adjustably attaching the handle to the leg portion of a body member.The fastening means comprises a through-hole provided in the handle; a longitudinally extending member slidably received in the hole provided in the handle and arranged to extend longitudinally perpendicular to the web of the body member; and bearing block means for rotatably supporting the member on one of the leg portions of the body member and for allowing the handle to swing relative to the one of the leg portions, the fastening means further comprising a threaded bore provided in the handle and arranged to communicate with the hole provided in the handle, and a set screw threadedly engaged in the bore and releasably engaged with the member to hold the handle in a desired position relative to the member.

[0009] For the purposes of the invention, a cardboard knife also includes a carpet knife, wallpaper knife or cutter

[0010] The invention is based on the object of creating a cardboard knife of the type mentioned above which enables a straight, defined cut while being easy to handle.

[0011] According to the invention, the object is achieved by the features of the independent claim.

[0012] The subclaims represent advantageous embodiments of the invention.

[0013] A cardboard knife comprises a multi-part handle and a knife blade which is replaceably attached to the handle and which extends through a slot in a stop surface of the handle at a distance from a side stop, wherein the distance of the knife blade to the side stop is variable by means of at least one spacer plate.

[0014] The knife blade can be a hook blade, a trapezoidal blade or a snap-off blade, with the trapezoidal blade being preferred but not limiting in the context of the present invention. The knife blade is held securely in the handle, in particular in a clamped manner, with the distance between the knife blade and the lateral distance being adjustable by the at least one spacer plate. The minimum distance is set when the spacer plate is arranged on the side of the knife blade facing away from the lateral stop and the maximum distance when the spacer plate is arranged on the side of the knife blade facing the lateral stop. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that several spacer plates, which can also have different thicknesses, can be arranged, with only the receptacle for the knife blade in the handle needing to be dimensioned accordingly. The distance between the knife blade and the lateral stop is preferably adapted to the thickness orThe thickness of the cardboard to be cut should be adjusted accordingly. The knife blade's overhang over the stop surface should also be dimensioned accordingly.

[0015] To cut open a sealed carton, the carton cutter is placed against the side of the carton and the tip of the blade is pressed into the carton until both the side stop and the stop surface are in contact with the carton. The carton cutter is then moved across the carton in a pulling motion. After repeating the cutting process, the carton is opened along all sides, essentially removing a cut-out lid. By making further cuts along the carton's side edges, it can be divided into easily disposable carton sections.

[0016] Of course, the precise guidance of the cardboard knife thanks to the stop surface and the side stop also allows straight cuts to be made through other materials, such as plastic floor coverings, carpets, film packaging and the like.

[0017] In particular, the stop surface and the side stop of the handle offer a relatively high level of protection against injuries and thus enable relatively safe handling of the cardboard knife.

[0018] The handle preferably comprises two detachably connectable handle shells, with a first handle shell slidably supporting a knife blade guard having an actuator arranged in a slotted hole in the associated first handle shell, said actuator extending outward. The knife blade guard serves to protect against injuries when the box cutter is not in use. It can be slid into the handle either when the box cutter is in use by inserting the knife blade into the box or by grasping the actuator, for example, with a user's thumb. After use, the knife blade guard is slid outward, covering the knife blade.The two handle scales can be connected to each other in a form-fitting and / or force-fitting manner, for example by means of clip elements or centering elements that align the handle scales with each other and at least one screw connection that presses the two handle scales against each other, whereby the knife blade is also held by the associated spacer plates by the contact pressure.

[0019] To prevent the knife blade guard from accidentally shifting, the knife blade guard's actuator is conveniently mounted on a spring-loaded bar with a locking lug at its free end that releasably engages the associated first handle shell in at least one protective position covering the knife blade. Of course, the knife blade guard can also releasably engage the first handle shell in the working position exposing the knife blade.

[0020] Preferably, the knife blade guard has a U-shaped overlapping section in cross-section, which, in a protective position, covers the knife blade protruding beyond the stop surface. The two free U-shaped legs point in the direction of the stop surface, so that the knife blade is virtually inaccessible.

[0021] In order to hold the knife blade securely and, if necessary, positively in the handle, at least the second handle shell has a receptacle for the knife blade.

[0022] For reliable sliding storage, the knife blade guard is guided with its overlapping section on the holder.

[0023] In order to ensure that the knife blade is held in the handle in a form-fitting manner and in particular is fixed in its longitudinal direction, the knife blade has at least one recess in the area of ​​its back opposite the cutting edge, into which a locking lug associated with the second handle scale engages.

[0024] Conveniently, the at least one spacer plate has a recess corresponding to the locking lug. Thus, the spacer plate is also fixed in the handle in a desired position, specifically such that its front edge, associated with the knife tip, ends approximately at the slot formed in the handle and does not protrude into the support surface.

[0025] According to a further development, the stop surface and the side stop extend at an obtuse angle to each other, with a first stop surface section extending on the first handle shell and a second stop surface section and the side stop extending on the second handle shell. The obtuse angle can be, for example, between 90° and 100°, preferably between 90° and 95°, and particularly preferably approximately 90°.

[0026] To provide an ergonomically handled box cutter, the handle extends from the stop surface in an arcuate section and forms a handle section. Of course, the handle section can, for example, be rubberized or have a grip-friendly surface texture, at least in sections.

[0027] The invention is explained in more detail below using an embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawing.

[0028] It shows: Fig. 1 an exploded view of the cardboard cutter according to the invention, Fig. 2 a first partial representation of the cardboard cutter according to Fig. 1 with an exposed knife blade, Fig. 3 a first partial representation of the cardboard cutter according to Fig. 1 with a covered knife blade, Fig. 4 a top view of the cardboard cutter after Fig. 1, Fig. 5 a side view of the cardboard cutter after Fig. 2, Fig. 6 a side view of the cardboard cutter after Fig. 3, Fig. 7 a front view of the box cutter according to Fig. 2, Fig. 8 a front view of the box cutter according to Fig. 3, Fig. 9 a first partial exploded view of the cardboard cutter according to Fig. 1, Fig. 10 a second partial exploded view of the cardboard cutter according to Fig. 1, Fig. 11 a third partial exploded view of the cardboard cutter according to Fig. 1, Fig. 12 a front view of the representation of the cardboard cutter according to Fig. 9, Fig. 13 a front view of the representation of the cardboard cutter according to Fig. 10, Fig. 14 a front view of the representation of the cardboard cutter according to Fig. 11 and Fig. 15 a top view of a cuboid cardboard box with cutting lines.

[0029] The cardboard knife 1 comprises a handle 4 composed of a first handle 2 and a second handle 3. The first handle 2 and the second handle 3 have, for example, bores 5 for inserting screws. Of course, centering elements (not shown) can also be provided to align the two handles 2, 3 with one another. Furthermore, detachable clip elements can also be arranged to connect the first handle 2 and the second handle 3. Between the two handles 2, 3, a knife blade 7 designed as a trapezoidal blade 6 is interchangeably arranged. The knife blade 7 projects into the open through a slot 9 in a stop surface 10 of the handle 4 at a distance from a lateral stop 8 of the handle 4.

[0030] In order to protect the knife blade 7 when not in use, a protective layer ( Fig. 3, Fig. 6, Fig. 8) into a working position releasing the knife blade 7 (e.g. Fig. 2, Fig. 5, Fig. 7) A movable knife blade guard 11 is mounted in the handle 4. The knife blade guard 11 has a cross-sectionally substantially U-shaped overlapping section 12 which, in the protective position, covers the knife blade 7 protruding beyond the stop surface 10. With this overlapping section 12, the knife blade guard 11 is guided on a receptacle 13 for the knife blade 7 assigned to the second handle shell 3. Furthermore, a resilient web 14 is formed on the overlapping section 12, which web has an actuator 15 and a locking lug 16 at its free end. The locking lug 16 lies, at least in the working position, in a locking recess in the first handle shell 2. The actuator 15 is guided in an elongated hole 17 in the first handle shell 2 and is displaced, for example, with a user's thumb to move the knife blade guard 11.Furthermore, by applying pressure to the actuator 15 and a related displacement of the web 14 with the end-side locking lug 16, a locking connection can be released, which accompanies the knife blade guard 11, for example, in the protective position and / or the working position.

[0031] The receptacle 13 formed in the second handle shell 3 for the knife blade 7 guides it, in particular, by its cutting edge 18 and its blade spine 19. A stop 20 is formed in the area of ​​the slot 9, against which a side edge 21 of the knife blade 7 rests. Furthermore, a locking lug 22 is formed, which engages in one of the recesses 23 provided in the blade spine 19. The knife blade 7 is fixed in such a way that it protrudes a defined length beyond the stop surface 10 into the open.

[0032] In this case, two spacer plates 24 are provided for variable spacing of the knife blade 7 from the side stop 8. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that more or fewer spacer plates 24 of the same or different thicknesses can be provided, each provided with at least one cutout 25 that is to be brought into operative engagement with a locking lug 22 of the receptacle 13. The entirety of the spacer plates 24 and the knife blade 7 forms an assembly thickness that must be clamped between the two handle scales 2, 3 to ensure the function of the box cutter 1. The spacer plates are preferably narrower than the knife blade 7 and their length and positioning are designed such that they do not extend, or only slightly, into the open.

[0033] By means of the spacer plates 24, the distance between the knife blade 7 and the side stop 8 is adjusted according to the desired cutting path, which, for example, corresponds at least to the thickness of a cardboard box 32 to be cut. In this case, the knife blade 7 can rest directly on the second handle 3 or on support bars or the like formed there, and the two spacer plates 24 are located on the side of the knife blade 7 facing the first handle 2 in order to achieve a minimum distance between the knife blade 7 and the side stop 8 ( Fig. 9, Fig. 13). The knife blade 7 can be arranged between the two spacer plates 24 to adjust a mean distance between the knife blade 7 and the side stop 8 ( Fig. 10, Fig. 13). And to adjust the maximum distance between the knife blade 7 and the side stop 8, the knife blade 7 rests on the two spacer plates 24 accommodated in the second handle 3 ( Fig. 11, Fig. 14).

[0034] The side stop 8 extends at an angle of approximately 90° to 95° to the stop surface 10, from which the handle 4 extends with an arcuate section 26, the handle section 27 of which has an approximately parallel course to the stop surface 10. The handle section 27 can be assigned, for example, elastomeric elements and / or a surface structure.

[0035] The first handle shell 2 is provided with a first stop surface portion 28 having a recess 29, which, together with a corresponding recess 30 in a second stop surface portion 31 of the second handle shell, forms the slot 9 for the knife blade 7 and the knife blade guard 11. Furthermore, the side stop 8 extends from the second stop surface portion 31 on the side opposite the recess 30.

[0036] To cut open a sealed carton 32, the carton knife 1 is placed laterally against the carton 32 and the knife blade 7 is pressed into the carton 32 with its knife tip 33 until both the side stop 8 and the stop surface 10 rest against the carton 32. The distance between the knife blade 7 and the side stop 8 is slightly wider than the wall thickness of the carton 32. To create a cut 34, the carton knife 3 is guided in a pulling motion over the carton 32, which, after a repetition of the cutting process, is open at all side edges 35 so that a cut-out lid 36 can be removed. By making further cuts 34 along side edges 35 of the carton 32, the carton can be separated into easily disposed of carton sections. Reference symbol 1 cardboard cutter 2 first handle 3 second handle scale 4 handle 5 Hole 6 trapezoidal blade 7 knife blade 8 Side stop 9 slot 10 Stop surface 11 Knife blade guard 12 Cover section 13 recording 14 jetty 15 actuators 16 locking lug 17 slot 18 cutting edges 19 knife backs 20 stops 21 Side edge 22 locking lug 23 Recess 24 spacers 25 Postage Section 26 27 Handle section 28 first stop surface section 29 Recess 30 recess 31 second stop surface section 32 boxes 33 knife tips 34 cut 35 side edge 36 lids

Claims

[1] Cardboard knife (1) with a multi-part handle (4) and a knife blade (7) which is replaceably attached to the handle (4) and which extends through a slot (9) in a stop surface (10) of the handle (4) at a distance from a side stop (8), wherein the distance of the knife blade (7) to the side stop (8) is variable by means of at least one spacer plate (24). [2] Cardboard knife (1) according to claim 1, characterized by in that the handle (4) comprises two handle shells (2, 3) which can be detachably connected to one another, wherein a first handle shell (2) displaceably supports a knife blade guard (11) which has an actuator (15) which is arranged in an elongated hole (17) of the associated first handle shell (2) and which extends outwards. [3] Cardboard knife (1) according to claim 2, characterized bythat the actuator (15) of the knife blade guard (11) is arranged on a resilient web (14) which has a locking lug (16) at its free end, which detachably locks in the associated first handle shell (2) in at least one protective layer covering the knife blade (7). [4] Cardboard knife (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by that the knife blade guard (11) has a cross-sectionally U-shaped covering section (12) which, in a protective position, covers the knife blade (7) projecting beyond the stop surface (10). [5] Cardboard knife (1) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by that at least the second handle shell (3) has a receptacle (13) for the knife blade (7). [6] Cardboard knife (1) according to claim 5, characterized by that the knife blade guard (11) is guided with its overlapping section (12) on the holder (13). [7] Cardboard knife (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized bythat the knife blade (7) has at least one recess (23) in the region of its knife back (19) opposite the cutting edge (18), into which a locking lug (22) associated with the second handle shell (3) engages. [8] Cardboard knife (1) according to claim 7, characterized by that the at least one spacer plate (24) has a clearance (25) corresponding to the locking lug (22). [9] Cardboard knife (1) according to claim 1, characterized by that the stop surface (10) and the side stop (8) extend at an obtuse angle to one another, wherein a first stop surface section (28) extends on the first handle shell (2) and a second stop surface section (31) and the side stop (8) extend on the second handle shell (3). [10] Cardboard knife (1) according to claim 1, characterized by that the handle (4) extends from the stop surface (10) with an arcuate section (26) and into a handle section (27).

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