Utility Knife Blade Clamping Mechanism for Hygiene
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing knives used for cutting materials like strapping and films face issues with blade play and contamination from cutting material, making it difficult to securely hold the blade and maintain hygiene during operation and blade replacement.
Innovation Solution
A knife design featuring a blade support and blade cover that moves between operating and replacement positions, with inclined outer and housing surfaces to securely clamp the blade, preventing contamination and allowing easy blade replacement without great effort, utilizing a pivot joint and locking mechanism for secure positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the blade is securely clamped in the housing to prevent play and contamination, then blade stability and hygiene are improved, but blade replacement becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The blade support is designed to be movable between an operating position (where the blade is securely clamped) and a blade replacement position (where the blade can be easily accessed). This dynamic positioning allows the system to switch between secure clamping for stable operation and open access for easy blade replacement, resolving the contradiction between blade stability and ease of blade replacement.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the blade support is held firmly in the housing to prevent cutting material from settling, then contamination is prevented, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into distinct components including the blade support, blade cover, and housing body, each with specific functions. The blade support can be independently moved to different positions, and the blade cover provides additional protection. This segmentation allows effective contamination prevention through multiple functional elements rather than a single complex structure.
3Productivity
If the blade is easily accessible for cutting operations, then cutting efficiency is improved, but user safety is compromised due to potential contact with the cutting edge
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is positioned in a channel-like recess that provides vertical clearance between the cutting edge and the user's fingers. This dimensional arrangement allows the blade to be accessible for cutting operations while the recess geometry prevents direct contact, thus maintaining both cutting efficiency and user safety simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
A knife having an elongated housing having a channel-shaped laterally open recess and forming first and second housing surfaces, a blade, a support having a support outer surface and pivotal about an axis on the housing between an operating position and a blade-replacement position, and a cover having a cover outer surface and movable on the support between a position holding the blade against the support and a position free of the blade, the first and second housing surfaces tapering relative to each other in a clamping region or the outer surfaces tapering relative to each other in the clamping region. In the operating position the support is inside the housing and holds the blade inside the housing with only a part of a cutting edge of the blade exposed in the recess for engagement with material to be cut.