Cutting guide with seam allowance recess

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional cutting guides wobble or pivot on raised areas of materials, leading to irregular cuts and uncertain placement, as they lack a mechanism to securely engage with seam allowances, resulting in potential disengagement of cutting tools and unintended cut directions.

Innovation Solution

A cutting guide with a recess of sufficient dimension to receive a seam allowance, allowing the guide to engage the material uniformly and fix its location, preventing wobbling and ensuring precise 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 guide engagement

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 seam allowance to sit within it, providing a stable engagement point while the rest of the flat surface engages the surrounding material, eliminating wobbling and ensuring reliable positioning throughout the cutting operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The invention transitions from a purely two-dimensional flat surface to a three-dimensional structure by adding a recess that accommodates the raised seam allowance. This dimensional change allows the cutting guide to engage the material in multiple zones simultaneously - the recess engages the seam allowance while the flat surface engages the surrounding material, creating stable multi-point contact that prevents pivoting and wobbling

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Measurement precision

If visible marks are used to determine cutting guide placement, then the guide can be positioned on the material, but there is no mechanism to fix the placement, resulting in uncertain positioning and potential movement during cutting

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of cutting guide placementVSAvoidfixation of cutting guide position

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The recess is positioned at a specific location on the cutting guide that corresponds to where the seam allowance should be engaged. This localized feature provides both visual alignment cues and physical engagement, ensuring the cutting guide is placed accurately relative to the seam while the recess physically locks the position by accommodating the raised seam allowance, preventing any movement during cutting

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The recess acts as an intermediary element between the cutting guide and the seam allowance. It provides a dedicated engagement zone that mediates the interface between the flat cutting guide surface and the raised seam allowance, ensuring accurate positioning through both visual alignment and physical constraint, while preventing displacement during the cutting operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10900165B2Cutting guide with seam allowance recess

Publication Date: 2021.01.26 THOMAS PAUL

AI summary

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