Folding knife
11820028 · 2023-11-21
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
A folding knife includes a movable piece that is attached to a blade and a handle so as to be relatively rotatable by a specific rotation angle with respect to the blade, and to rotate with respect to the handle together with the blade outside the specific rotation angle; a notch or a recess formed at a position near a rotating shaft portion on the back side of the blade; a protrusion that is formed at a position on the movable piece and in a shape corresponding to the notch or recess of the blade; and a rotation mechanism including the rotating shaft portion that allows the movable piece to rotate with respect to the blade only within a specific rotation angle.
Claims
1. A folding knife in which a blade and a handle are rotatably connected to each other so as to be able to transition between a closed state in which the blade is accommodated in the handle, and an open state in which the blade is fully open from the handle, said folding knife comprising: a movable piece that is attached to the blade and the handle, wherein the movable piece is rotatable within a specific rotation angle with a rotation of the blade, and wherein the movable piece is able to rotate with respect to the handle together with the blade outside of the specific rotation angle; a notch formed at a position on a back side of the blade; a protrusion that is formed at a position on the movable piece and in a shape corresponding to the notch of the blade, said protrusion being capable of being accommodated in the notch of the blade when the blade is in the open state; and a shaft portion positioned through the handle, the blade, and the movable piece, which allows the blade and the movable piece to rotate relative to the handle, said shaft portion allows the movable piece to rotate relative to the blade only within the specific rotation angle, wherein the notch on the back side of the blade is positioned near the shaft portion, wherein the movable piece is rotatable relative to the blade so that the protrusion is accommodated in the notch of the blade when the blade is in the open state, and so that the protrusion is disposed outside the notch of the blade when the blade is in the closed state, and wherein the specific rotation angle is defined as a range from when the blade is in the closed state with the protrusion disposed outside of the notch of the blade to when the protrusion is accommodated in the notch of the blade.
2. The folding knife according to claim 1, further comprising: a stopper that is formed on a part of the handle; a first stopper contact portion that is formed on the movable piece, said first stopper contact portion hitting the stopper when the blade is in the closed state, thereby preventing rotation of the movable piece in a blade closing direction in which the blade rotates from the open state to the closed state, so that the protrusion is disposed outside of the notch of the blade; and a second stopper contact portion that is formed on the movable piece, said second stopper contact portion hitting the stopper when the blade is in the open state, thereby preventing rotation of the movable piece in a blade opening direction in which the blade rotates from the closed state to the open state, so that the protrusion is accommodated in the notch of the blade.
3. The folding knife according to claim 1, wherein the notch is formed in the blade at a position on an opposite side from a cutting edge of the blade.
4. The folding knife according to claim 1, wherein when the blade is in the closed state, the protrusion is disposed at a position away from the notch of the blade by a specific angle in a blade opening direction in which the blade rotates from the closed state to the open state.
5. The folding knife of claim 1, wherein the specific rotation angle is between 10 and 20 degrees.
6. A folding knife in which a blade and a handle are rotatably connected to each other so as to be able to transition between a closed state in which the blade is accommodated in the handle, and an open state in which the blade is fully open from the handle, said folding knife comprising: a notch formed in the blade at a position on an opposite side from a cutting edge of the blade; a movable piece that is rotatably connected to the handle and at least partially rotatably connected to the blade; a protrusion on the movable piece, wherein when the blade is in the closed state, the protrusion is disposed at a position facing the notch and at a position away from the notch by a specific rotation angle in a blade opening direction in which the blade rotates from the closed state to the open state, wherein said protrusion is formed in a shape corresponding to the notch; and a shaft portion positioned through the handle, the blade, and the movable piece, which allows the movable piece to at least partially rotate in conjunction with the blade, and wherein the notch is formed on a back side of the blade near the shaft portion, wherein while the blade transitions from the closed state to the open state, or while the blade transitions from the open state to the closed state, the movable piece is able to rotate with respect to the blade within the specific rotation angle and the movable piece is rotated with respect to the handle together with the blade outside the specific rotation angle, wherein the specific rotation angle is defined as a range from when the blade is in the closed state with the protrusion disposed outside of the notch of the blade to when the protrusion is accommodated in the notch of the blade, and wherein in the open state in which the blade is fully opened from the handle, the protrusion on the movable piece is accommodated in the notch of the blade.
7. The folding knife according to claim 6, wherein the notch is formed in the blade at a position on an opposite side from a cutting edge of the blade.
8. The folding knife according to claim 6, wherein when the blade is in the closed state, the protrusion is disposed at a position away from the notch of the blade by a specific angle in the blade opening direction.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
First Embodiment
(7) Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
(8) In
(9) In addition, in
(10) In Embodiment 1, for example, the blade 4, which is formed by grinding down a stainless steel material, the movable piece 5, which is formed by grinding down a titanium alloy, and the handle 3, in which plastic covers are affixed to the outside of a liner formed by grinding down a titanium alloy, for example, are connected and linked by the rotating shaft portion 2 as shown in
(11) Also, in Embodiment 1, the blade 4 is connected to the handle 3 via the rotating shaft portion 2 so as to be rotatable within a range of about 0 degrees to about 180 degrees with respect to the handle 3. The movable piece 5 is configured separately from the blade 4. The movable piece 5 is attached to the blade 4 and the handle 3 via the rotating shaft portion 2.
(12) In Embodiment 1, as shown in
(13) In Embodiment 1, as described above, the protrusion 5a in the movable piece 5 is formed at a position where it can be disposed or accommodated in the notch 4a in the blade 4, and so as to have a shape that can be disposed or accommodated in the notch 4a in the blade 4. Also, in Embodiment 1, the protrusion 5a is formed at a position away from the notch 4a of the blade 4 by a specific rotation angle (see α in
(14) In Embodiment 1, as shown in
(15) In Embodiment 1, as shown in
(16) In Embodiment 1, the pin 3a (stopper) on the handle 3 side and the flip tab 5b (first stopper contact portion) on the movable piece 5 side serve to dispose the protrusion 5a outside of the notch 4a of the blade 4 and to protrude from the blade 4 (see
(17) Also, in Embodiment 1, the pin 3a (stopper) on the handle 3 side and the contact portion 5c (second stopper contact portion) on the movable piece 5 side serve to dispose and accommodate the protrusion 5a in the notch 4a of the blade 4 when the blade 4 transitions from its closed state to its open state and the contact portion 5c hits the pin 3a (the state shown in
(18) Also, in Embodiment 1, when the blade 4 is neither in its open state nor in its closed state and is instead in the course of transitioning between these states, the movable piece 5 rotates in conjunction with the blade 4 (together with the blade 4) when rotated outside the range of a specific rotation angle (see α in
(19) The reason why the movable piece 5 rotates in conjunction with the movement of the blade 4 (together with the blade 4) when rotated outside the range of the specific rotation angle (see α in
(20) The operation of Embodiment 1 will now be described. In Embodiment 1, by having the rotating shaft portion 2, the pin 3a (stopper) formed on the handle 3, the flip tab 5b formed on the movable piece 5, the contact portion 5c formed on the movable piece 5, the curved surface portion 5d formed on the movable piece 5, and the curved surface portion 4b formed on the blade 4, a rotation mechanism portion is configured that allows the blade 4 and the movable piece 5 to rotate relative to the handle 3 as well as the movable piece 5 to rotate relative to the blade 4 only within a specific rotation angle (the angle indicated by a in
(21) First, the operation in its closed state in which the blade 4 is disposed or accommodated in the handle 3 will be described with reference to
(22) Next, the operation of the blade 4 in the course of transitioning from its closed state to its open state will be described with reference to
(23) Next, the operation in its open state in which the blade 4 is fully opened from the handle 3 will be described with reference to
(24) The operation of the blade 4 in the course of transitioning from its open state to its closed state will be described with reference to
(25) As described above, in Embodiment 1, a rotation mechanism is provided that allows the blade 4 and the movable piece 5 to rotate relative to the handle 3, and that allows the movable piece 5 to rotate relative to the blade 4 only within the range of a specific rotation angle (see α in
(26) Also, in Embodiment 1, there are provided the flip tab 5b on the movable piece 5 side which prevents the movable piece 5 (the movable piece 5 disposed outside of the notch 4a of the blade 4) from rotating in the blade closing direction by hitting the pin 3a on the handle 3 side because when the blade 4 is in its closed state, the protrusion 5a is disposed outside of the notch 4a of the blade 4, as well as the contact portion 5c on the movable piece 5 side which prevents the movable piece 5 (the movable piece 5 disposed or accommodated inside the notch 4a of the blade 4) from rotating in the blade opening direction by hitting the pin 3a on the handle 3 side because when the blade 4 is in its open state, the protrusion 5a is disposed or accommodated inside the notch 4a of the blade 4. Consequently, with Embodiment 1, when the blade 4 is in its closed state, the protrusion 5a can be reliably disposed outside of the notch 4a of the blade 4, and when the blade 4 is in its open state, the protrusion 5a can be reliably disposed or accommodated inside the notch 4a of the blade 4.
(27) Also, in Embodiment 1, the notch 4a is formed at a position on the blade 4 near the rotating shaft portion 2 and on the opposite side (back side) from the cutting edge, and the protrusion 5a is formed at a position on the movable piece 5 facing the notch 4a and in a shape corresponding to the notch 4a, so when the blade 4 has completed the transition from its closed state to its open state, the protrusion 5a is reliably disposed or accommodated inside the notch 4a.
(28) Also, in Embodiment 1, the protrusion 5a is formed so that when the blade is in its closed state, the protrusion 5a is disposed at a position away from the notch 4a of the blade 4 of the movable piece 5 by a specific rotation angle α in the blade opening direction, so when the user removes the knife from a holster or pocket, the protrusion 5a reliably catches on a part of the holster or pocket, and as a result the blade 4 is reliably rotated so as to come out of the handle 3.
(29) Furthermore, in Embodiment 1, the rotation mechanism is configured such that (a) when the blade 4 is in its closed state, the protrusion 5a on the movable piece 5 side is disposed and held at a position away from the notch 4 formed on the back side of the blade 4 near the rotating shaft portion by a specific rotation angle in the blade opening direction, (b) while the blade 4 is in the course of transitioning from its closed state to its open state, if the movable piece 5 is within the specific rotation angle, the movable piece 5 is able to rotate relative to the blade 4, and if the movable piece 5 is outside the specific rotation angle, the movable piece 5 is rotated with respect to the handle 3 together with the blade 4, (c) in its open state in which the blade 4 is fully opened from the handle 3, a protrusion 5a of the movable piece 5 is disposed or accommodated in the notch 4a of the blade 4, and (d) while the blade 4 is in the course of transitioning from its open state to its closed state, if the movable piece 5 is within the specific rotation angle, the movable piece 5 is able to rotate relative to the blade 4, and if the movable piece 5 is outside the specific rotation angle, the movable piece 5 is rotated with respect to the handle 3 together with the blade 4. Consequently, in Embodiment 1, in its open state in which the blade 4 is fully opened from the handle 3, the protrusion 5a on the blade 4 side will be disposed or accommodated inside the notch 4a of the blade 4, and the problem that occurred with a conventional folding knife, in which the protrusion on the blade 4 side ended up hitting the user's thumb, can be effectively avoided.
Second Embodiment
(30) Embodiment 2 of the present invention will now be described with reference to
(31) In
(32) The movable piece 15 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the handle 13 within a range of about 0 degrees to about 180 degrees. Also, the movable piece 15 is configured to be relatively rotatable with respect to the blade 14 within the range of a specific rotation angle (see α in
(33) Also, the protrusion 15a is formed at one end portion of the movable piece 5, and the flip tab 15b (which hits the stopper provided on the handle 3 side and prevents the movable piece 15 from rotating in the blade closing direction in its closed state) is formed at the other end portion.
(34) As described above, the configuration in Embodiment 2 is basically the same as that in Embodiment 1. Consequently, the same action and effect as those described in Embodiment 1 above can also be obtained in this Embodiment 2.
(35) Although Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention were described above, the present invention is not limited to what was described as Embodiments 1 and 2, and various improvements and modifications can be made. For instance, in Embodiment 1, the portion on the blade 4 where the protrusion 5a of the movable piece 5 is disposed and accommodated when the blade 4 is in its open state was called “the notch 4a,” but in the present invention, a “recessed portion” (concave portion) may be used instead of a “notch,” and the protrusion 5a may be disposed on this recessed portion.
DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS
(36) 1 knife 2, 12 rotating shaft portion 3, 13 handle 3a pin (stopper) 4, 14 blade 4a notch or recess 4b, 5d curved surface portion 5, 15 movable piece 5a, 15a protrusion 5b, 15b flip tab (first stopper contact portion) 5c contact portion (second stopper contact portion) 40 knife 42, 44 protrusion 46 rotating shaft 48 blade 50 handle 52 holster 54 part of holster A blade opening direction B blade closing direction F thumb location