Trimmer head with incorporated line cutter
View Patent ↗A trimmer head for a rotary trimmer, includes an upper housing and a lower housing secured to the upper housing, wherein either the upper housing or the lower housing has a passageway. The trimmer head also includes a cutter assembly maintained in the passageway, wherein the cutter assembly has a knife, and wherein trimmer line inserted into the passageway is cut by the knife. A related method of cutting a trimmer line using the cutter assembly incorporated into a trimmer head is also disclosed.
1. A trimmer head capable of rotational trimming, the trimmer head comprising: an upper housing;
a lower housing secured to said upper housing, wherein either said upper housing or said lower housing has a passageway; and
a cutter assembly maintained in said passageway, said cutter assembly having a knife, wherein trimmer line inserted into said passageway is cut by said knife.
2. The trimmer head according to claim 1 , wherein said knife is recessed within said passageway.
3. The trimmer head according to claim 2 , wherein said passageway is wider in a first orientation than in a second orientation and said knife is oriented in said second orientation.
4. The trimmer head according to claim 3 , wherein said upper housing maintains said passageway.
5. The trimmer head according to claim 4 , wherein said upper housing comprises:
a body having a facing surface which has a recess therethrough contiguous with said passageway, wherein said knife is frictionally held in said recess and extends into said passageway.
6. The trimmer head according to claim 5 , wherein said body has a trough contiguous with said passageway and aligned with said recess, and wherein said knife is received in said trough.
7. The trimmer head according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a cutter assembly maintained in said passageway, said cutter assembly having a cutter cavity aligned with said passageway.
8. The trimmer head according to claim 7 , wherein said cutter assembly comprises:
a cutter housing having a pair of opposed cutter sides, said sides connected to one another by a cutter ceiling and a cutter floor, either said cutter ceiling or said cutter floor having a recess which frictionally holds said blade in said cutter cavity.
9. The trimmer head according to claim 8 , wherein said cutter housing is detachably removable from either said upper housing or said lower housing.
10. The trimmer head according to claim 8 , wherein said cutter housing has a deflectable door that selectively closes said cutter cavity.
11. The trimmer head according to claim 8 , wherein said cutter housing has a pair of inwardly deflectable doors that selectively close said cutter cavity.
12. The trimmer head according to claim 1 , wherein an outer edge of the folded trimmer line is inserted into said passageway and cut into two pieces by a sharp edge of said knife.
13. A rotary trimmer head for a string trimmer, comprising:
at least one rotatable housing having a passageway inwardly extending from an external surface of said at least one rotatable housing; and
a knife maintained within said passageway, wherein said knife is adapted to cut a trimmer line inserted into said passageway.
14. The rotary trimmer head according to claim 13 , wherein said knife is recessed within said passageway away from said external surface.
15. The rotary trimmer head according to claim 13 , wherein said at least one housing has a facing surface substantially perpendicular to said external surface, said facing surface having a recess extending therethrough that is contiguous with said passageway, and wherein said recess frictionally holds said knife in said passageway.
16. The rotary trimmer head according to claim 13 , further comprising:
a cutter housing disposably received in said at least one housing, said cutter housing having opposed side walls connected to each other by a floor and a ceiling that are opposed to one another, said sidewalls, said floor and said ceiling forming a cutter cavity aligned with said passageway, wherein said knife extends between said floor and said ceiling.
17. The rotary trimmer head according to claim 16 , further comprising:
a spring-biased door associated to either said floor or said ceiling and which covers said cutter cavity and which is held in a normally closed position.
18. The rotary trimmer head according to claim 16 , further comprising:
a pair of spring-biased doors, each said door connected to a corresponding sidewall of said cutter housing, wherein said pair of spring-biased doors cover said cutter cavity.
19. The trimmer head according to claim 13 , wherein a folded strip of the trimmer line is cut when an outer edge of the folded strop is inserted into said passageway.
20. A method of cutting a length of trimmer line, using a rotary trimmer head having a passageway with a recessed knife, the method comprising:
folding a trimmer line;
inserting said folded trimmer line into the passageway to engage the recessed knife; and
cutting said folded trimmer line into two pieces of trimmer line.
21. The method according to claim 20 , further comprising:
withdrawing said two pieces of trimmer line from the passageway.
22. The method according to claim 21 , further comprising:
pressing the folded trimmer line against a spring-biased door maintained in said passageway.
23. The method according to claim 20 , further comprising:
inserting an outer edge of said folded trimmer line against a sharp edge of the recessed knife; and
withdrawing said cut pieces of said trimmer line from the passageway.