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US 9,981,397 B2Granted
Cutting knife
AssigneeKey Technology, Inc.
InventorsSean G. Calvert, Robert E. Jones, Brian D. Lovgren, Louis D. Jausoro
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An inspection and cutting apparatus which employs a reciprocally moveable cutting knife includes an elongated main body having opposite ends; and a protrusion is integral with the elongated main body, and which inhibits an adhesive force from being created between the outside facing surface of the elongated main body, and the adjacent sidewalls of a knife guidance track when a source of water wets the outside surface of the elongated main body and the adjacent spaced sidewalls of the knife guidance channel.
Claims20
An inspection and cutting apparatus, comprising:
- a rotatable knife supporting ring having a multiplicity of radially aligned knife guidance tracks, and each of said multiplicity of radially aligned knife guidance tracks are defined by opposing, generally parallel, spaced apart sidewalls;
- a reciprocally movable cutting knife reciprocally and moveably cooperates with one of said knife guidance tracks, and wherein the cutting knife has an elongated, main body having opposite first and second ends, two opposing sides, and opposite first and second peripheral edges, and wherein the second end of the main body defines a sharpened edge, and wherein the elongated main body further has an outside facing surface on each opposing side, and wherein a majority of the outside facing surface on each opposing side of the elongated main body is oriented in substantially the same plane, and wherein the outside facing surfaces of the elongated main body, and the knife guidance tracks are exposed to a source of water during operation of the inspection and cutting apparatus;
- and
- a convexly shaped protrusion integral with each opposing side of the elongated main body and extending parallel to the first and second peripheral edges of the elongated main body and each protrusion has a length dimension that is less than a length dimension of the elongated main body and further having a first end that is spaced apart from the first end of the elongated main body, a second end that is spaced apart from the second end of the elongated main body, a first elongate edge that is spaced apart from the first peripheral edge of the elongated main body and a second elongate edge that is spaced apart from the second peripheral edge of the elongated main body and each convexly shaped protrusion further has a thickness dimension that causes each said protrusion to extend outwardly from the outside facing surface of the elongated main body beyond the plane of the outside facing surface;
- and
- each convexly shaped protrusion frictionally engages with an adjacent one of the opposing generally parallel spaced apart sidewalls of one of the multiplicity of said knife guidance tracks and maintains a space between the outside facing surface of the elongated main body and the said adjacent sidewall of the said knife guidance track so as to inhibit adhesion which is created between the outside facing surface of the elongated main body, and the said respective sidewalls of the said knife guidance track, when water wets the outside surface of the elongated main body, and the said spaced sidewalls of the said knife guidance track.
3 more elements
An inspection and cutting apparatus comprising:
- a multiplicity of reciprocally movable cutting knives;
- a rotatable knife supporting ring mounted on the inspection and cutting apparatus, and having a multiplicity of radially extending knife guidance tracks which are each defined by opposite, spaced apart side walls;
- one of said reciprocally moveable cutting knives received within each of the multiplicity of knife guidance tracks respectively, and wherein each of said cutting knives has an elongated main body having a first end, and a foot shaped second end, and wherein the second end has an outwardly facing, sharpened edge for engaging and severing an object of interest, and wherein the elongated main body has two opposing outside facing surfaces, and a majority of each opposing outside facing surface lies in a single plane respectively, and wherein the elongated main body is defined, in part, by opposite, first and second longitudinally extending peripheral edges, and has a predetermined length dimension;
- a movement limiting member which is integral with the elongated main body, and which cooperates with the respective knife guidance track, and which further extends laterally, outwardly from one longitudinally extending peripheral edge of the elongated main body, and wherein the movement limiting member is located intermediate the first and second ends of the elongated main body, and is further oriented in a coplanar relationship with the outside facing surface of the elongated main body;
- and
- a convexly shaped protrusion integral with each opposing outside facing surface of each of the main bodies, and extending parallel to the first and second longitudinally extending peripheral edges thereof, each protrusion further having a predetermined length dimension that is less than a length dimension of the elongated main body and a first end that is spaced apart from the first end of the elongated main body, a second end that is spaced apart from the foot shaped second end of the elongated main body, a first elongate edge that is spaced apart from the first longitudinally extending peripheral edge and a second elongate edge that is spaced apart from the second longitudinally extending peripheral edge, and each protrusion further has a thickness dimension that causes said protrusion to extend outwardly from the respective outside facing surface of the respective elongated main body so that each protrusion extends outwardly beyond the plane of the respective outside facing surface;
- and
- the convexly shaped protrusions frictionally engage with an adjacent generally parallel opposing spaced apart side wall of the respective knife guidance track and maintains a space extending entirely about the protrusions between the outside facing surface of the elongated main body and the adjacent side wall of the respective knife guidance track to reduce adhesion caused by water between the sidewall and the outside facing surfaces of the elongated main body.
5 more elements
A cutting apparatus comprising:
- a rotatable knife support ring mounted on the cutting apparatus, the rotatable knife support ring defining a plurality of spacedly arrayed radially extending knife guidance tracks and each track is defined by a pair of opposing generally parallel spaced apart side walls that are exposed to water during operation of the cutting apparatus;
- a cutting knife reciprocally movably carried within each knife guidance track and between each pair of the generally parallel spaced apart side walls, the cutting knife having an elongated main body with a shaft portion, a foot shaped cutting portion and a movement limiting member, the elongated main body further having a first end, a second end and two opposing sides, each opposing side having an outside facing surface, and the majority of the outside facing surface extends along a single plane, and
- the shaft portion of the elongated main body has a first longitudinally extending peripheral edge, and a parallel spaced apart second longitudinally extending peripheral edge and both peripheral edges extend from the first end of the elongated main body toward the second end of the elongated main body, and
- the foot shaped cutting portion is integral with the shaft portion and at the second end of the elongated main body and has a first end that is aligned with the second longitudinally extending peripheral edge of the shaft portion, and a second end that extends laterally outwardly beyond the first longitudinally extending peripheral edge of the shaft portion opposite the first end, the foot shaped cutting portion further defines a cutting edge opposite the shaft portion, and the foot shaped cutting portion still further has an outside facing surface that is substantially coplanar with the outside facing surface of the elongated main body, and
- the movement limiting member has a main body with a first end integral with the first longitudinally extending peripheral edge of the shaft portion between the first end of the elongated main body and the foot shaped cutting portion, and a spaced apart second end that extends laterally outwardly beyond the first longitudinally extending peripheral edge of the shaft portion, the movement limiting member further has an outside facing surface that is coplanar with the outside facing surface of the shaft portion and substantially coplanar with the outside facing surface of the foot shaped cutting portion;
- a convexly shaped protrusion integral with each opposing side of the elongated main body shaft portion, each protrusion extending parallel to the first and second longitudinally extending peripheral edges of the shaft portion and haying a predetermined length dimension that is less than a length dimension of the shaft portion of the elongated main body and still further having a first end that is spaced apart from the first end of the elongated main body, a second end that is spaced apart from the foot shaped cutting portion, a first elongate edge that is spaced apart from the first longitudinally extending peripheral edge of the shaft portion and a second elongate edge that is spaced apart from the second longitudinally extending peripheral edge of the shaft portion, each protrusion further having a thickness dimension that causes each protrusion to extend outwardly from said respective outside facing surface of the shaft portion of the elongated main body so that each protrusion extends outwardly beyond the plane of said respective outside facing surface;
- and
- each convexly shaped protrusion frictionally engages with an adjacent generally parallel opposing spaced apart side wall of the knife guidance track and maintains a space extending between the outside facing surface of the elongated main body and the adjacent side wall of the knife guidance track to reduce adhesion caused by water between the sidewall and the outside facing surface of the elongated main body, and the space extends entirely about the protrusion.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.