Blade assembly

Abstract

Described is a blade assembly that has a variety of uses, for example in windscreen repair. The blade assembly comprises a blade having a cutting edge; a blade housing for housing the blade, where the blade housing comprises a leading edge from which the cutting edge projects such that the cutting edge is exposed to allow cutting. The blade housing further comprises a trailing edge, the blade housing having a width extending between the trailing and leading edges and a thickness taken in an axis perpendicular to the width, where the blade housing comprises a tapering region such that the thickness of the blade housing tapers towards the leading edge.

Description

[0001] TITLE

[0002] Blade Assembly

[0003] BACKGROUND

[0004] The present specification relates to a blade assembly that has a variety of uses, for example in windscreen repair.

[0005] SUMMARY

[0006] Blade assemblies are commonly used for multiple applications in windscreen repair and replacement. They are considered to be single use. The blade assembly comprises a blade having approximate dimensions of 40mm in length, 20mm in width, and 0.3mm in thickness. The shape is rectangular, with one of the length edges comprising a leading edge defining a cutting edge. A polymeric cover is provided towards the trailing edge which partially encapsulates a rearward portion of the blade and extends forwardly from the leading edge towards the cutting edge by around 7mm. The polymeric cover provides a region for a user to partially grip, where a user typically grips the blade assembly between a thumb on one side and first and second fingers on a second opposing side.

[0007] There are applications in windscreen replacement and repair, where after filling and curing a windscreen chip with resin, the blade edge is drawn across the area of the repair thereby removing excess dried resin to provide a smooth finish which can subsequently be polished to reduce imperfections that are near invisible to the naked eye.

[0008] Aspects of the present disclosure are set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. Combinations of features from the dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent claims as appropriate and not merely as explicitly set out in the claims.

[0009] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a blade assembly comprising: a blade having a cutting edge; a blade housing for housing the blade such that the cutting edge is exposed to allow cutting; the blade assembly further comprising a plurality of usage indicators integrally formed with the blade housing, the usage indicators being individually displaceable relative to the blade housing.

[0010] The number of usage indicators can therefore be optimised for the application required, meaning the user is provided with guidance on how many usage applications can be made before the blade assembly should be replaced. This optimises the functionality of the blade assembly thereby preventing over and therefore ineffective usage. A secondary effect is user safety is improved as the blade assembly can be discarded before the cutting edge becomes too blunted and therefore ineffective. In this state there is significantly more potential for the user to suffer unintended cuts or lacerations. Another further advantage is that some users may discard a blade assembly after a single use when in fact the assembly can be used for further applications without effectiveness being compromised. The environmental impact is therefore also reduced.

[0011] After use for the necessary cutting task, a usage indicator can be displaced relative to the blade housing. Accordingly, the displaced usage indicator will be displaced from a normal position representing the fact the blade assembly can be used for a cutting task to a displaced position where the displaced position represents the blade assembly having been used for a cutting task. Once the entirety of the plurality of usage indicators have been displaced, the blade assembly can be discarded.

[0012] The blade assembly may be arranged to be grasped between at least one finger and thumb of a user. In one application the blade assembly may be used to scrape off excess hardened resin after setting that has been used to repair a windscreen chip.

[0013] The usage indicators may be removably mounted to the blade housing. This provides a clear indication that a cutting task has been performed.

[0014] The usage indicators may be integrally formed with the blade housing by a frangible neck region. The usage indicators may each comprise a snap-off tab. The usage indicators may project away from the blade housing. The usage indicators may be provided in an array. The number of usage indicators may be between three and six.

[0015] The blade housing may be a blade overmoulding. The blade may be overmoulded with the blade housing. Most (as in greater than 50%, preferably greater than 75%) of the blade may be overmoulded. The blade may project from the blade housing by less than 1mm, and may project between 0.25mm and 0.5mm.

[0016] The blade housing comprises a first side and a second side opposing the first side, with the blade disposed therebetween. A user may therefore hold the blade housing by the first and second side respectively.

[0017] The blade housing may comprise a leading edge from which the cutting edge of the blade projects and a trailing edge, wherein the usage indicators extend from the trailing edge. The usage indicators may project in a direction opposite to the direction that the cutting edge projects. The trailing edge may be linear.

[0018] The blade may be formed of a metal. The blade housing may be formed of a polymeric material. The polymeric material may comprise a Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE). The blade housing may be elastically deformable such that the blade housing at least partially deforms when gripped by a user.

[0019] When performing a cutting action such as shaving or scraping excess dried resin from a windscreen repair by drawing the blade across the windscreen, there can be a buildup of resin around the cutting edge of the blade. This effect is exacerbated if the projection of the blade from the blade housing is minimised for the effect of improvement in safety and usability. A further aspect of the invention addresses this problem or at least provides a useful alternative.

[0020] Therefore, according to a further aspect, there is a blade assembly comprising: a blade having a cutting edge; a blade housing for housing the blade, where the blade housing comprises a leading edge from which the cutting edge projects such that the cutting edge is exposed to allow cutting, the blade housing further comprises a trailing edge, the blade housing having a width extending between the trailing and leading edges and a thickness taken in an axis perpendicular to the width, where the blade housing comprises a tapering region such that the thickness of the blade housing tapers towards the leading edge.

[0021] It has been found that tapering of the thickness toward the leading edge allows waste resin to disperse away from the cutting edge thereby preventing clogging of the region around the cutting edge. A further advantage is that improper use such as for trimming polyurethane beads to size is prevented thus reducing the risk of injury through cuts.

[0022] The blade housing comprises a first side and a second side opposing the first side, with the blade disposed therebetween. A user may therefore hold the blade housing by the first and second side respectively.

[0023] The blade housing beneficially further comprises a length parallel to the cutting edge. The length is defined between respective side edges of the blade housing. The thickness of the blade housing is further beneficially perpendicular to both the width and the length. The thickness of the blade housing is further defined between the first and second side.

[0024] The thickness of the blade housing therefore decreases towards the leading edge. The tapering region is beneficially directly adjacent the leading edge. The thickness of the blade housing at the leading edge is beneficially the minimum thickness of the tapering region.

[0025] The blade housing may comprise a cavity region for receipt of the blade. At least a portion of the thickness of the blade housing includes the cavity. The blade is beneficially disposed intermediate a first blade housing region and a second blade housing region, with the cavity therebetween. The thicknesses of the first and second blade housing regions may be different.

[0026] The cavity region comprises an opening in the leading edge, and the blade projects from the opening to the cutting edge. The tapering region beneficially tapers on both sides of the opening toward the leading edge (in the axis representing the thickness). The length of taper on either side of the opening has a taper length, and the taper lengths may be different. Accordingly, on one side of the blade housing the taper commences sooner than on the other side in a direction from the trailing edge toward the leading edge. The length of the tapering region in the direction between the leading edge and trailing edge may be in the order of 1-3 mm and may be approximately 1.5mm. The taper length on opposing sides of the blade may be different. This thickness of the blade housing excluding the tapering region may be between 2 and 3mm, and may be approximately 2.7mm. The thickness of the blade region at the leading edge may in approximately 0.3-0.4mm. The thickness of the blade may be approximately 0.3mm. The blade may project from the blade housing by less than 1mm, and may project by 0.5mm, and may project as little as 0.25mm. A typical range of projection can be 0.25-0.5mm.

[0027] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like reference signs relate to like elements and in which:

[0029] Figure 1 shows a schematic plan representation of a blade assembly according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0030] Figure 2 shows a schematic cross sectional representation of a blade assembly according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0031] Figure 3 shows an end view when viewing the cutting edge of a blade assembly according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0032] Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a blade assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Embodiments of this disclosure are described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Referring to Figures 1-4 there is a blade assembly 2 comprising a blade 4 having a cutting edge 6 and a blade housing 8 for housing the blade. The blade housing 8 is arranged to be grasped by a user between a user’s thumb and one or two fingers to enable cutting or scraping as appropriate for the desired application. The blade housing 8 comprises a first side 10 (viewed in Figure la and Figure 4a) and a second side 11 (viewed in Figure lb and Figure 4b) opposing the first side, with the blade disposed therebetween. A user may therefore hold the blade housing by the first and second side respectively.

[0035] The blade housing is molded over the single cutting edge blade and comprises a leading edge 14 from which the cutting edge projects such that the cutting edge is exposed to allow cutting. This is the only portion of the blade that projects from the blade housing, meaning the majority of the top, bottom and edges of the blade are encapsulated. Accordingly, the blade housing comprises a cavity (as best shown in Figure 2) for receipt of the blade, with a first housing region on one side of the blade and a second housing region on an opposing side of the blade. Also shown in Figure 1 are slits / openings 15 in the blade housing formed as part of the molding process and are present on the front and rear sides, and which also provide grip for the user’s fingers and thumb.

[0036] The blade housing further comprises a trailing edge 16, and a width 19 extends between the leading and trailing edge. The blade housing further comprises a length 17 between two side edges 18,20 of the blade housing (parallel to the cutting edge 6) and a thickness 22 (shown in Figure 2), with the thickness measurement taken in an axis perpendicular to both the width and the length. It will be appreciated that a significant majority of the thickness of the blade housing includes the cavity in which the blade is received. The blade is therefore effectively disposed intermediate a first blade housing region and a second blade housing region.

[0037] The blade housing comprises a tapering region 24 such that the thickness of the blade housing 8 tapers towards the leading edge 14. The thickness therefore effectively reduces towards the leading edge 14 and is at a minimum thickness at the leading edge. It has been found that tapering of the thickness toward the leading edge allows waste resin to disperse away from the cutting edge thereby preventing clogging of the region around the cutting edge. The tapering occurs in the blade housing on both sides of the blade (effectively the top and bottom) and can be mirrored on both sides. However, it is has been determined that the taper length in a direction toward the leading edge 14 from the trailing edge 16 is beneficially different on both sides. This is shown in the Figures, where the taper length 24a is less than the taper length 24b. This is caused by the blade being offset toward the second side of the blade housing.

[0038] The blade may project from the blade housing by less than 1mm and may project by 0.5mm.

[0039] As presented in Figures 1, 2 and 4, a plurality of usage indicators 30 are shown integrally formed with the blade housing 8. The usage indicators 30 are individually displaceable relative to the blade housing so that after performance of a task an indicator 30 can be displaced to clearly demonstrate to the user the remaining lifespan of the blade assembly. The usage indicators are integrally moulded with the blade housing by a frangible neck region 32 meaning that they can be snapped off after performance of a cutting task. The usage indicators project away from the blade housing in a direction opposite to the cutting blade and are provided in an array. As an example, in the illustrative embodiment there are five individual usage indicators in the form of snap off tabs.

[0040] Although particular embodiments of this disclosure have been described, it will be appreciated that many modifications / additions and / or substitutions may be made within the scope of the claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A blade assembly comprising: a blade having a cutting edge; a blade housing for housing the blade, where the blade housing comprises a leading edge from which the cutting edge projects such that the cutting edge is exposed to allow cutting, the blade housing further comprises a trailing edge, the blade housing having a width extending between the trailing and leading edges and a thickness taken in an axis perpendicular to the width, where the blade housing comprises a tapering region such that the thickness of the blade housing tapers towards the leading edge.

2. A blade assembly according to claim 1 wherein the blade housing comprises a cavity region for receipt of the blade having an opening in the leading edge through which the blade projects, where the tapering region tapers on both sides of the opening toward the leading edge.

3. A blade assembly according to claim 2 where the taper region on each side of the opening comprises a taper length, and the taper length on one side of the opening is greater than the taper length on the opposing side of the opening.

4. A blade assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the blade is disposed intermediate a first blade housing region and a second blade housing region, where the thicknesses of the first blade housing region is different to the thickness of the second blade housing region.

5. A blade assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the thickness of the blade housing at the leading edge is the minimum thickness of the tapering region.

6. A blade assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the length of the tapering region in the direction between the leading edge and trailing edge is between 1 and 3mm.

7. A blade assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the blade projects from the blade housing by less than 1mm.

8. A blade assembly according to claim 7 wherein the blade projects from the blade housing by between 0.25 and 0.5mm.

9. A blade assembly according to any preceding claim further comprising a plurality of usage indicators integrally formed with the blade housing, the usage indicators being individually displaceable relative to the blade housing.

10. A blade assembly according to claim 9 wherein the plurality of usage indicators extend from the trailing edge.

11. A blade assembly according to any of claims 9-10 wherein the usage indicators are removably mounted to the blade housing.

12. A blade assembly comprising: a blade having a cutting edge; a blade housing for housing the blade such that the cutting edge is exposed to allow cutting; the blade assembly further comprising a plurality of usage indicators integrally formed with the blade housing, the usage indicators being individually displaceable relative to the blade housing.

13. A blade assembly according to claim 12 wherein the usage indicators are removably mounted to the blade housing.

14. A blade assembly according to any of claims 12-13 wherein the usage indicators are integrally formed with the blade housing by a frangible neck region.

15. A blade assembly according to any of claims 12-14 wherein the usage indicators each comprise a snap-off tab.

16. A blade assembly according to any of claims 12-15 wherein the usage indicators are provided in an array.

17. A blade assembly according to any of claims 12-16 wherein the blade housing comprises a leading edge from which the cutting edge of the blade projects and a trailing edge, wherein the plurality of usage indicators extend from the trailing edge.

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