Cutting Guide with Seam Allowance Recess for Stable Placement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional cutting guides wobble or pivot on materials with seams, leading to irregular cuts and uncertain placement due to the lack of a recess to accommodate seam allowances, resulting in unintended movement and disengagement of the cutting tool.

Innovation Solution

A cutting guide with a recess of sufficient dimension to receive a seam allowance, allowing for stable engagement and fixing the guide's location relative to the material, preventing wobbling and ensuring uniform cutting.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a conventional cutting guide with a flat surface is used on material with a seam allowance, then the cutting guide can be placed on the material, but the cutting guide wobbles or pivots on the raised seam allowance, resulting in unstable positioning and irregular cuts

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestability of cutting guide placementVSAvoiduniformity of cutting edge

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting guide incorporates a recess specifically at the location where the seam allowance exists, creating a localized adaptation to the raised portion. This recess allows the cutting guide to engage the material uniformly across the entire base surface, eliminating wobbling while maintaining stable placement. The local modification (recess) addresses the specific problem area (seam allowance) without requiring complete redesign of the entire cutting guide structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Measurement precision

If visible marks are used to determine placement of the cutting guide, then placement can be visually identified, but there is no means to fix the placement, resulting in uncertain location and potential movement during cutting

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of cutting guide placementVSAvoidfixed positioning of cutting guide

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The recess is pre-formed in the cutting guide structure, enabling the user to easily snap the raised seam allowance into the recess during placement. This preliminary structural preparation eliminates the need for complex alignment procedures, allowing accurate and reliable positioning to be achieved simply by engaging the seam allowance with the recess before making the cut.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10526747B2Cutting guide with seam allowance recess

Publication Date: 2020.01.07 THOMAS PAUL

AI summary

A cutting guide having a seam allowance recess and methods of cutting a piece of material with such cutting guide.