Utility knife with extended travel carriage
First Claim
1. Utility knife comprising:
- a handle having an upper edge and defining a handle axis generally parallel to said upper edge and a remote end provided with an opening;
a carriage slidably mounted within said handle for movements through said opening between a retracted position, in which said carriage is substantially fully received within said handle, and a fully extended position, in which said carriage is fully extended through said opening to increase the effective length of said handle by a distance Δ
l;
an actuating element coupled to said carriage for moving said carriage by engagement with a user'"'"'s thumb for movement of said carriage between said retracted and extended positions; and
a blade mounted on said carriage for sharing the movements of said carriage and having an operative portion that can fully penetrate a work to be cut when said handle axis is inclined at an angle α
relative to a surface of the work;
whereinthe handle includes a forward portion closest to the operative portion of the blade, the forward portion being configured for positioning a finger of a user so that a center axis of the finger is a distance h above the work surface when the operative portion of the blade fully penetrates the work to be cut, Δ
l and α
being selected so that the distance h is equal to at least 1.0 inch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A utility knife has a handle generally defining a handle axis and a remote end provided with an opening. A carriage is slidably mounted within the handle for selective movements through the opening between a retracted position in which the carriage is substantially fully received within the handle and a fully extended position in which the carriage is fully extended through the opening to increase the effective length of said handle by a distance Δl. A blade mounted on the carriage shares the movements of the carriage and has an operative portion that can fully penetrate a work to be cut when the handle axis is inclined at an angle α relative to a surface of the work. A finger of a user most proximate to the work surface is positionable a distance h above the work surface during normal use of the utility knife, Δl and α being selected so that the distance Δl is generally greater that 1.0 inch and the angle α is equal to at least 35°.
266 Citations
18 Claims
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1. Utility knife comprising:
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a handle having an upper edge and defining a handle axis generally parallel to said upper edge and a remote end provided with an opening; a carriage slidably mounted within said handle for movements through said opening between a retracted position, in which said carriage is substantially fully received within said handle, and a fully extended position, in which said carriage is fully extended through said opening to increase the effective length of said handle by a distance Δ
l;an actuating element coupled to said carriage for moving said carriage by engagement with a user'"'"'s thumb for movement of said carriage between said retracted and extended positions; and a blade mounted on said carriage for sharing the movements of said carriage and having an operative portion that can fully penetrate a work to be cut when said handle axis is inclined at an angle α
relative to a surface of the work;
whereinthe handle includes a forward portion closest to the operative portion of the blade, the forward portion being configured for positioning a finger of a user so that a center axis of the finger is a distance h above the work surface when the operative portion of the blade fully penetrates the work to be cut, Δ
l and α
being selected so that the distance h is equal to at least 1.0 inch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18)
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15. Utility knife comprising:
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a handle having a longitudinal axis A; a utility blade; and a blade carriage configured to releasably hold the utility blade, wherein; the blade carriage includes a forward end inclined at an angle α
relative to axis A,the blade carriage is configured to slide between a retracted position, in which the utility blade is disposed in the handle, and a fully extended position, in which the forward end extends from the handle a distance L, the handle includes a forward portion closest to a cutting edge of the utility blade, the forward portion being configured for positioning a finger of a user, and when the utility blade is fully engaged in a work surface such that the forward end of the blade holder is flush with the work surface, the angle α and
distance L are selected such that at least one point of the forward portion is a distance of at least 1 inch above the work surface. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. Utility knife comprising:
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a handle having a back end and a front end, the front end including a handle front edge; a utility blade; and a blade carriage configured to releasably hold the utility blade and having a carriage front edge, wherein; the blade carriage is configured to laterally slide relative to the handle between a retracted position in which the utility blade is disposed in the handle and a fully extended position in which the carriage front edge and the utility blade extend forward of the handle front edge, and when the blade carriage is in the fully extended position, the minimum distance between any point on the carriage front edge and any point on the handle front edge is at least 0.8 inches.
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Specification