FR2540419A1 - FOLDING KNIFE WITH BLADE LOCKING DEVICE, IN PARTICULAR FOR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A FOLDING KNIFE WITH A BLADE LOCKING DEVICE, ESPECIALLY FOR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES. LEDIT KNIFE 10 INCLUDES A HANDLE 12 IN TWO METAL PARTS OR PLASTIC MATERIAL COME FROM MOLDING, A METAL BLADE 14 PIVOTALLY CONNECTED IN 16 AUDIT HANDLE AND CAN PIVOT BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, AS WELL AS A 90 LOCKING SLIDING ON THE SLEEVE. THIS ORGAN 90 IS LOADED BY A SPRING 91 AT A LOCKING POSITION IN WHICH IT IS IN CONTACT WITH THE BASE END 82 OF THE BLADE AND IN WHICH IT REMOVABLY STOPS THE SAID BLADE IN THE CLOSED POSITION, OR WELL LOCKED THE BLADE 14 EFFICIENTLY. OPEN POSITION. APPLICATION IN PARTICULAR TO FISHING EQUIPMENT.

Description

Folding knife with locking device

  blade, especially Eour outdoor activities.

  The present invention relates to an improved folding knife which is particularly well suited for use by fishermen as a knife for lifting nets, as well as by other sportsmen, and which is provided with a locking device perfec This knife includes a light rust-resistant plastic handle, a stainless steel blade and

  components insensitive to corrosion in the

  respective features of securing and locking the blade The improved locking device has the

  function to withstand accidental or inadvertent movement

  of the blade beyond its closed position or

  folded within the handle and, in addition, it effectively maintains said blade in its open or unfolded position preventing it from moving to its closed position, except when the locking means are manually operated. A folding knife according to the invention

  comprises a handle preferably consisting of two

  complementary molded plastics and provided with gripping areas of the type; a metal blade having a base end or silk; a device for pivotally connecting the floss of said blade to one end of the handle so as to allow said blade to tilt between its open positions

  and closed; as well as a locking device

  able to removably hold said blade in a closed position.

  to block this blade removably, but effectively

  in its open position This locking device

  the blade consists of a locking member slidable on the handle between

  locking and unlocking; a means of soliciting

  elastic quote for pushing said locking member

  in its locked position; and means for manually sliding this member from its locking position to its unlocking position against the action of said resilient biasing means Lo-ra that the blade is in its closed position, the rusting member is loaded to its locked position and comes into contact with one of the regions of the blade floss to impede, without prohibiting it, the pivoting of said blade to its open position when a pivot is printed to that blade of its blade. closed position in its open position, the locking member is moved, by the silk of said blade, from its locking position to its

unlock position.

  When the blade is in the open position, the elastic bias means imposes on the body

  locking a sliding of the unlocking position

  in the locking position, to bring it into contact with another region of the silk of said blade, so as to effectively prevent a tilting of this

  blade from its open position to its closed position

  The lock can be moved by hand from the lock position to the unlock position, and out of engagement with the other region of the blade floss, to allow pivoting of that blade of the blade.

  open position to the closed position.

  The locking device of the blade comprises

  the above-mentioned locking member slidably mounted on and inside the handle, as well as a

  thrust spring interposed between said greening member

  part of said handle

  kills the resilient biasing means for biasing the locking member in a direction to its locking position; said member is provided with lugs which protrude beyond elaborate lights on opposite sides of the handle, and which constitute the means for allowing to manually slide the organ

  locking in a direction opposite to the direction

  The locking member comprises a light overlying the floss of the blade of the knife,

  this silk having a pair of side flats

  opposed between which there is an extreme edge When the blade is closed, one of the lateral flats of its silk bears against the lower face of the locking member, while a heel of said silk, located at the intersection between one of said lateral flats and said extreme edge, is underlying and may

  penetrate the light of the locking member.

  Thus, during the opening of the blade, said heel of

  its silk penetrates the light of the locking organ

  In order to force the blade to assume its open position. When the blade is unfolded, the opposite lateral flat surface of the silk is applied against the lower face of the locking member. However, the blade can not be closed by pivoting until the locking member is manually shifted so that another heel of said silk, located at the intersection of said other lateral flat and said extreme edge, is at the same time

  to engage in the light of the locking member.

  A folding knife according to the invention

  offers many advantages over the prior art.

  For example, the materials of which it is made give it good insensitivity to rust and

  The handle has preheating zones

  The blade locking device prevents accidental opening of this blade, but allows

  deliberate opening without the need for separate action

  hand-tightened said locking device

  least, this device prevents an inadvertent closing of the blade and requires a deliberate manual actuation of the locking means The handle is made of molded plastic elements that are resistant

  and easy and economical manufacturing and assembly

  The locking device is of one design

  and a simple realization, its manufacture is econo-

and its reliable use.

  The invention will now be described in more detail by way of non-limiting example with regard to

attached drawings on which -

  Figure 1 is a side elevation of a folding knife according to the present invention, shown in the folded position; FIG. 2 is an exploded, reduced-scale perspective of the knife of FIG. 1, illustrated in FIG.

folded position; -

  FIG. 3 is a simplified view with section

  part of the knife of FIG.

folded up;

  FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view corresponding to

  shown in Figure 3, but representing only one

  of the knife, some components of which occupy an intermediate position between the folded and unfolded positions; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figures 3 and 4, showing the knife in fully unfolded position; Figure 6 shows said knife by a plan view on an enlarged scale with tearing; Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Figure 5; and FIG. 8 is a section along the line 8-8

of Figure 5.

  In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the numerical reference

  10 denotes a folding knife in accordance with the

  vention, which occupies a folded position in these Figures 1, 2 and 3 The knife 10 comprises a handle 12, a blade 14, a device 16 pivotally connecting said blade to said handle, so that the blade can perform pivoting or tilts between a closed position (Figures 1, 2 and 3) and an open position

  (FIGS. 5 and 6), as well as a locking device 18

  blade, designed to removably lock this blade in the closed position and to block removably, but effectively, in the open position.

  As shown in Figures 1, 4 and 7, the man-

  che 12 consists essentially of an upper face, a lower face 22, opposite side faces 24 and 26, a rear end 28, an end

  previous 30 and a cavity 32 which extends towards the interior

  the handle 32 from its lower face 22 and its anterior end 30 The cavity 32 houses some

  constituents described below and constitutes or

  There is also a slot 34 (FIGS. 6 and 7) receiving the blade. The lower face 22 of the handle 12 is provided with a concave recess 33 extending inwardly for the insertion of a finger, which forms an access to the blade 14 to allow it to be grasped and tilted to the open position The blade 14 has a small notch

  35 to facilitate its gripping by the fingernail of the user.

  tor. As illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 6, the

  round 12 consists of two elements 36 and 38 which,

  identical but specularly arranged, are attached to each other in complementarity by two screws 40 and 42 The elements 36 and 38 of the handle are preferably cast or molded from a rigid plastic material (although they can also be

  metal and machined).

  Each of items 36 and 38 includes an overlay

  outer face 41 and an inner surface 43 for

  view of several configurations in one piece (described in

  hereinafter) which perform different support functions and also serve to reinforce and stiffen each element 36 or 38 and the handle 12 of which it is part.

25404 1 9

  The outer surface 41 of each of the elements 36 and 38 is provided with a recess 44 which extends substantially over its entire length and in which a

  inserted insert 46 is fixed for example by an adhesive

  sif (not shown) This inserted insert 46 is preferably in the form of a washable, compressible and spongy plastic web, intended to improve the grip of the user on the handle 12 of the knife, particularly when this handle is moistened with water or viscous fluids

of animal origin.

  Each of the elements 36 and 38 has a light

  re 37 which crosses it and is intended to house regions

  a locking member 90 described below.

  The configurations formed on the inter-

  No. 43 of each of items 36 and 38 consist of a

  protuberance 48 with a through-hole 50 for receiving

  see the screw 40; and in a protuberance 52 in which

  is formed a through hole 53 which receives the screw 42.

  As is particularly illustrated in FIG. 8, the hole 50 passing through the element 38 comprises an outer region 58 for accommodating an end plug 56, a frustoconical central region 60 of smaller diameter, for receiving a head 62 of the screw. 40, and an inner region 64 of smaller diameter, in which is housed

  the rod of said screw 40 The hole 50 practiced in the

  36 is of similar configuration The configurations

  developed on the inner surface 43

  their two upper spaced ribs 66 and 68 and a lower rib 70 for guiding the locking member, between which this member 90 is slidably mounted, as described later A projection on the protuberance 52 also forms another lower rib 72 (Figure 5) for guiding the locking member In addition, the configurations on said inner surface 43 are constituted by a generally L-shaped rib 74 serving to support a spring and delimiting a housing 75, as well as by a stop member 76 of the blade, which also serves as a support for preventing a movement of said blade 14 inwardly relative to the handle 12 when the knife 10 is manipulated by a user The aforementioned protuberance 52 also forms a bumper of the

blade -

  The blade 14 of the knife 10 is made of metal and comprises a cutting edge 78, a back 80 and a base end or floss 82 The floss 82 is pierced with a hole 84 for the engagement of a bearing 85 made of

  preferably of a material such as brass or bronze

  ze and crossed by the rod of the screw 40 In addition to contributing to the joining of the two elements 36 and 38 of the handle, the screw 40 is part of the pivoting connecting device 16 between the blade 14 and the handle 12 The silk 82 has Opposite lateral flats 86 and 88 respectively located on the yarn side and the back side of the blade 14 Said floss 82 also has an end edge 89 with convex curvature The flat 88 is part of the device 18 effectively locking the blade 14

  in open position The flat 86 is part of the arrangement

  device for locking or removably holding said blade 14 in the closed position The intersection of the end edge 89 and the lateral flat 86 defines a

  protrusion or heel 83 forming an integral part of a mechanism

  intended to automatically slide the orga-

  lock 90 to its unlock position,

  and to thereby allow to print to the blade 14 a pivot

  from its closed position to its open position.

  tersection between the extreme edge 89 and the lateral flattened area

  88 delimits a second projection or heel 87.

  As can be seen in Figures 2 to 6, the

  positive slide lock 18 comprises the aforementioned locking member 90 slidably mounted, and a resilient biasing means in the form of a helical compression spring 91 preferably made of stainless steel The locking member, formed preferably by a rigid element made up

  sheet metal (eg stainless steel)

  dable) punched out and punched out, consisting essentially of an elongated central zone 92 pierced near its forward end with a lumen 93 receiving the floss of the blade, and comprising

  near said anterior end, two chin-

  net gripping 94 protruding laterally on both sides The member 90 is slidably mounted between the lower guide ribs 70, 72 and the upper guide ribs 663 68 The stroke of this member forward is limited by a The gripping jaws 94 extend outwardly through the lumens 37 of the handle members 36 and 38 and can be gripped by the thumb and forefinger of the handle. the user of the knife, in order to slide the locking member 90 towards the end

  posterior 28 of the handle 12 to its position of

  In the rear end, the central zone 92 of the locking member 90 is provided with a spout 95 which is upwardly shifted and engages with the helical spring 91. engaging in one of its open ends The opposite end of this spring 91 penetrates

in dwelling 75.

  The knife 10 operates as follows

  it will be admitted that knife 10 initially occupies its position

  1, 2 and 3 In this position, the blade 14 is housed integrally in the slot 34 which receives it, except for the small region of this visible blade and accessible through the recess 33 In addition, the spring 91 exerts its action to push and maintain the locking member 90 in its previous position

  or locking position, in which the underside

  of the central zone 92 and part of the light

  93, which is provided therein, overhangs the flat surface 86 of the floss 82 of the blade. The cutting edge 78 of the blade 14 is stopped by the abutment member 76 and the protuberance 48, without being damaged, since these parts 76 and 48 are made of plastic When the blade 14 is closed, the lateral flat 86 of its silk

  82 bears against the underside of the organ of ver-

  90, but the heel 83 of said floss 82,

  as the intersection between said flat 86 and the extreme edge 89, is underlying and can engage in

said light 93.

  To move the blade 14 from its closed position to its open position shown in FIGS.

  6, it must first pass through the

  Intermediate illustrated in Figure 4 Thus, during the opening of the blade (compare Figures 3 and 4), the heel 87 of the silk 82 enters the slot 93 to push the member 90 to its unlocking position (to the right by looking at Figure 3) when

  said blade 14 is open (FIG. 5), the lateral flat part

  The opposite side 88 of the floss 82 is applied against the underside of said locking member 90. However, no pivoting can be imparted to the blade 14 from its open position to its closed position until

  said member 90 has been manually moved to the

  to the unlocking position, such that the other heel 87 of said floss 82, defining the intersection between the lateral flat 88 and the end edge 89, can penetrate into the light 93 of FIG.

the locking member.

  It goes without saying that many modifications can be made to the knife described and shown,

  without departing from the scope of the invention.

25404 1 9

REVEMDICATIONS

  1 Folding knife, characterized by the fact

  that it includes a -manche (12); a blade (14) presenting

  both a base end (82); a device (16) for pivotally connecting said base end (82) of said blade and one end of said handle (12) to allow said blade (14) to pivot between open and closed positions; closed; and a device (18) for locking the blade,

  intended to removably stop said blade (14) in position

  closed, and to lock up removably and effectively

this blade in open position.

  Folding knife according to claim 1 ,.

  characterized in that the device (18) for ver-

  rusting of the blade comprises a locking member (90) which, mounted on the handle (12), can slide between respective positions of locking and unlocking, can cooperate with the base end (82) of the blade (14) of said knife, an elastic biasing means (91) for pushing

  said locking member at its locking position

  lage; a configuration (93) provided on the locking member (90) and engageable with said

  base end (82) of said blade for provoking

  sliding said member, from its locking position to its unlocking position, in response to the movement of said blade (14); and means (94) secured to said locking member for manually sliding this member from its position of

  locking at its unlocking position.

  3 folding knife according to claim 2, characterized in that, when the blade (14) is in the closed position, the locking member (90) is pushed to its locking position and comes into contact with a region (86) a base dextremity (82) of said blade; in that when said blade (14) is pivoted from the closed position to the open position, sliding can be imposed by said base end (82) of the blade to said locking member (90) at the distance from its locking or unlocking position; in that when said blade (14) is in the open position, the elastic biasing means (91) can impose said auditing

  member (90), a sliding of its unlocking position

  in its locking position to bring it into contact with another region (88) of said end of

  base (82) of said blade so as to prevent a

  this blade (14) from its open position to its closed position; and by the fact that, when

  blade (14) is in the open position, the locking member

  The lage (90) can be moved manually from its locked position to its unlocked position and brought out of engagement with said other region (88) of the base end (82) of said blade, so as to allow manual clearing. at said blade (14)

  pivoting from its open position to its closed position

nted.

  Folding knife according to one of the claims

  2 and 3, characterized in that the locking member

  (90) has a recess for housing regions

  the base end (82) of the blade (14) of said neck

  teau. 5 Folding knife, characterized in that it comprises a handle (12) enclosing a cavity (32) and pierced with at least one opening (37); a blade (14) having a base end (82) having opposite edges (86, 88) between which there is an end edge (89) defining two beads (83, 87) on said base end; a device (16) for providing the pivotal connection between the base end of said blade (14) and said handle (12), said blade being pivotally movable between a position

  closed within said cavity (32), and a posi-

  open in which it extends beyond one end of said handle; as well as a device (18) for locking the blade, intended to stop removably

  said blade (14) in the closed position, and to lock

  effectively and efficiently this blade in open position; in that said locking device (18) comprises a locking member (90) mounted on said

  sleeve (12) in said cavity (32) and slidably movable

  between respective locking positions

  and unlocking, this organ being pierced with a light

  re (93) and having integral gripping means (94) extending through said opening (37) formed in the handle; in that said device for

  latch (18) further comprises a solicitor

  resilient mounting (91) housed in said cavity (32), between said locking member (90) and said handle, for urging said member to its aforementioned locking position;

  and in that when said blade (14) is in position

  closed or open, one edge (86; 88) of its extremi-

  base tee (82) is engaged with said lock member

  (90) and, when the blade is in the closed position, one of said heels (83, 87) of its base end occupies a position into which it enters said slot (93) of the locking member in order to to slide this member (90) from its locking position

in its unlocking position.

  Folding knife according to claim 5, characterized in that the handle (12) has a

  pair of complementary elements (36, 38) in plastics

  tick or metal, associated to delimit the cavity (32) within said handle, and means (40, 42) for securing said elements; and by the fact

  these elements (36, 38) have on their surfaces

  dies (43), configurations for slidingly supporting the locking member (90) and engagement with the biasing means

elastic (91).