Pivoting Blade Carrier Safety Knife Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety knives lack enhanced production, assembly, and functional safety features, as well as occupational safety, due to limitations in blade carrier movement and engagement mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A safety knife design featuring a blade carrier that pivots between a safety, intermediate, and cutting position, utilizing a primary and secondary coupling mechanism that engages and disengages based on user input and cutting force, allowing automatic retraction into the safety position when cutting force decreases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the blade carrier is slidably mounted in the housing between retracted and advanced positions, then the blade can protrude from the housing for cutting, but the structure becomes more complex and more prone to contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The blade carrier is designed to be pivotable between safety, intermediate, and cutting positions rather than simply sliding. This dynamic pivoting mechanism allows the blade to protrude for cutting while maintaining a compact housing structure, resolving the contradiction between operational capability and structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The movement range is segmented into three distinct positions (safety, intermediate, cutting), allowing the blade carrier to occupy different spatial configurations. This segmentation enables the blade to protrude when needed while retracting to minimize exposure, reducing both structural complexity and contamination risk
2Reliability
If the blade carrier is allowed additional relative movement to disengage clutch elements, then automatic retraction is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The clutch engagement and disengagement mechanisms are merged into the pivoting motion of the blade carrier itself. The first and second clutch means are positioned such that their engagement and disengagement occur naturally during the blade carrier's movement between positions, eliminating the need for separate complex disengagement mechanisms while maintaining automatic retraction capability
3Productivity
If the blade carrier is quickly moved between safety and cutting positions, then operational efficiency is improved, but the risk of contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rapid pivoting capability allows the blade carrier to quickly transition between safety and cutting positions, improving operational efficiency. The pivoting design inherently minimizes the time the blade is exposed to the external environment, thereby reducing contamination risk while maintaining high productivity
4Reliability
If the coupling means are designed for releasable engagement, then functional safety is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The clutch means are designed to engage and disengage automatically based on the blade carrier's position and cutting forces, without requiring manual intervention or complex assembly procedures. This self-service mechanism simplifies manufacturing and assembly while maintaining high functional safety standards
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design simplifies the knife's structure, reduces contamination risk, and ensures automatic blade retraction, enhancing both safety and operational efficiency while maintaining a compact form factor.
Implementation Method 1
The blade carrier can therefore be pulled back into the housing by a spring element when the cutting force on the blade decreases
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a knife, comprising a blade carrier (14) for holding a blade (15), having at least one primary knife part (11) and a secondary knife part (12), which is configured to be movable relative to the primary knife part (11), wherein the primary knife part (11) is associated with first coupling means (20, 36), which can be detachably engaged with second coupling means (18, 38) associated with the secondary knife part (12) in order to move the blade carrier (14) by way of a motion of the primary knife part (11) relative to the second knife part (12) between a safety position, in which the blade (15) is retracted into a knife housing (11) configured by the primary knife part (11) and/or the secondary knife part (12) and inaccessible to the user, and an intermediate position, in which the blade (15) protrudes from the knife housing (11), wherein the blade carrier (14) is subjected to a load by a restoring force (21) in the safety position. The special characteristic is that the blade carrier (14) is pivotally mounted about a fixedly disposed rotational axis (a2), that by the action of a cutting force (F) on the blade (15) the blade carrier (14) can be moved out of the intermediate position into a cutting position, and that in the cutting position the first coupling means (20, 36) and the second coupling means (18, 38) are detached from each other such that the blade carrier (14) can be moved into the safety position.