Folding Knife Blade Locking Mechanism With Relocated Button
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing folding knives with blade locking mechanisms have knobs located above the blade, posing safety risks and limiting ease of use due to close proximity of fingers to the rotating blade and small movement slots.
Innovation Solution
A folding knife design featuring a spacer and button mechanism that allows the blade assembly to be locked and unlocked by rotating a member with respect to a plate, using an arcuate slot and integrated legs to facilitate safe and easy transition between open and closed orientations, with buttons positioned to avoid direct contact with the blade.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If knobs are located above and closely adjacent to the blade for locking mechanism operation, then the blade locking function is achieved, but finger safety is compromised due to close proximity to the rotating sharp blade
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the control function from the traditional knob location and relocates it to a button positioned on the handle away from the blade. This separates the safety-critical control operation from the dangerous proximity to the sharp blade, allowing users to operate the locking mechanism without exposing fingers to cutting hazards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a button as an intermediary control element that transmits the locking/unlocking command from the user's finger (safe location) to the blade locking mechanism. This intermediary allows force transmission while maintaining spatial separation between the user's finger and the dangerous blade area.
2Reliability
If knobs are positioned above the blade coupling for locking mechanism operation, then the blade locking function is achieved, but ease of operation is reduced due to limited movement slot
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spatial arrangement from a vertical arrangement (knobs above the blade coupling with limited vertical movement) to a horizontal arrangement (buttons on the handle with lateral movement). This dimensional change provides a larger effective movement slot and improves ergonomics for operating the locking mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A folding knife including a blade assembly; a first plate; a first member; a spacer connected to a first end of the first member; and a first button connected to the first member between the first end of the first member and an opposing second end of the first member; wherein the spacer is configured to be inserted into a slot of the blade assembly to lock the blade assembly into an open orientation with respect to the first plate. The first member is configured to be rotated with respect to the first plate by the first button to allow the blade assembly to be unlocked. The first plate has an arcuate slot; wherein the arcuate slot is located closer to a first end of the first plate than to a second end; and wherein the first button is located between the arcuate slot and the second end.