Safety cutter apparatus
View Patent ↗A cutter apparatus includes a housing, multiple tools mechanically coupled to the housing, at least one of the tools including a cutting device, and a slider and lock wheel mechanically coupled to the housing and configured to selectively release only one of the tools at a time from being secured within the housing.
1. A cutter apparatus comprising:
a housing;
multiple tools mechanically coupled to the housing, at least one of the tools including a cutting device; and
a slider and lock wheel mechanically coupled to the housing and configured to selectively release only one of the tools at a time from being secured within the housing, the slider including a button that extends through the housing, the lock wheel including an aperture, and the button including a hook member configured to fit within the aperture;
wherein the aperture includes a button pop up ramp;
wherein the lock wheel includes a cutting device deployment member that is shaped such that when the cutting device is folded back into the housing the lock wheel is repositioned within the housing bringing the button pop up ramp into contact with the hook member to force the button to pop up and out of the aperture.
2. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the deployment member causes the cutting device to extend slightly from the housing when the lock wheel is repositioned to a cutting device release position.
3. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the lock wheel is pivotally coupled to the housing.
4. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the aperture includes a cam surface with a changeover point; and
the hook member and cam surface are shaped such that the lock wheel is repositioned within the housing toward a cutting device release position when the hook member is pushed into the aperture and past the changeover point.
5. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the deployment member is brought into contact with the cutting device when the lock wheel is repositioned to a cutting device release position.
6. The cutter apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the cam surface is shaped such that the lock wheel is repositioned within the housing toward a cutting device lock position when the hook member is pulled back from before the changeover point toward a button entry portion of the aperture.
7. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cutting device is a film cutter.
8. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , further including:
a spare blade carrier which is mechanically coupled to the housing, and which is adjacent to the cutting device when both the spare blade carrier and the cutting device are positioned within the housing.
9. The cutter apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the spare blade carrier is pivotally coupled to the housing.
10. The cutter apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the housing includes a spare blade viewing hole which faces a portion of the housing adjacent to the end of the spare blade carrier when the spare blade carrier is positioned within the housing.
11. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cutting device is detachably secured to a base portion of the housing.
12. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cutting device is pivotally coupled to the housing.
13. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cutting device is mechanically coupled to the housing such that the cutting device is manipulable to an extended position in which a cutting edge of the cutting device faces a bottom side of the housing.
14. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , further including:
a retainer pin which mechanically couples the cutting device to the housing.
15. The cutter apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the retainer pin includes a chamfered end portion.
16. The cutter apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the retainer pin and housing are configured to permit the retainer pin to be partially withdrawn from the housing such that the chamfered end portion is pre-aligned to detent with a base portion of the cutting device.
17. The cutter apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the retainer pin and the housing include complementary surfaces which serve as a stop to limit how far the retainer pin can be withdrawn from the housing.
18. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the lock wheel is repositionable by a user of the cutter apparatus to selectively release only one of the tools at a time from being secured within the housing.
19. The cutter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the button engages and interlocks with the lock wheel when the button is used to release the cutting device.
20. A cutter apparatus comprising:
a housing;
multiple tools mechanically coupled to the housing, at least one of the tools including a cutting device; and
a slider and lock wheel mechanically coupled to the housing and configured to selectively release only one of the tools at a time from being secured within the housing, the slider including a button that extends through the housing, the lock wheel including an aperture, and the button including a hook member configured to fit within the aperture;
wherein the aperture includes a cam surface with a changeover point and a button pop up ramp;
wherein the hook member and cam surface are shaped such that the lock wheel is repositioned within the housing toward a cutting device release position when the hook member is pushed into the aperture and past the changeover point;
wherein the lock wheel includes a cutting device deployment member which is brought into contact with the cutting device when the lock wheel is repositioned to the cutting device release position;
wherein the cutting device deployment member is shaped such that when the cutting device is folded back into the housing the lock wheel is repositioned within the housing bringing the button pop up ramp into contact with the hook member to force the button to pop up and out of the aperture.
21. The cutter apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the cutting device is a film cutter.
22. A cutter apparatus comprising:
a housing;
multiple tools mechanically coupled to the housing, at least one of the tools including a cutting device; and
a slider and lock wheel mechanically coupled to the housing and configured to selectively release only one of the tools at a time from being secured within the housing, the slider including button that extends through the housing, the lock wheel including an aperture, and the button including a hook member configured to fit within the aperture;
wherein the lock wheel includes a deployment member which causes the cutting device to extend slightly from the housing when the lock wheel is repositioned to a cutting device release position;
wherein the aperture includes a button pop up ramp;
wherein the cutting device deployment member is shaped such that when the cutting device is folded back into the housing the lock wheel is repositioned within the housing bringing the button pop up ramp into contact with the hook member to force the button to pop up and out of the aperture.