US2619723A - Paper cutter - Google Patents

Description

Deg. 2, 1952 sc 2,619,723

PAPER CUTTER Filed March 7', 1951 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 FIG.I FIG. 2

ATTORNEYS Dec. 2, 1952 R RAUSCH 2,619,723

PAPER CUTTER Filed March '7, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 2 195 2 I Fla-BER CUTTER Roswell m ,Rausch, Plainfield,.N. .1.v

Applieatitn mam; 1951; serial Nazism-5 V This invention relates to an inexpensive paper cutter'capableof cutting papers of widelyva'ryiiig Weights andsizes and in any'direction':

Paper in its various; forms, such as waxed paper, freezer paper; shelf pap'er, wrapping paper; tissue papers, etc., as-well as metallic foils,vis used in stores and'homes for a great'variety of pur poses. Among these are the wrapping of sand wiches for lunches (usually with waxed paper) and the wrapping of various kindsof foods going into the ordinary refrigerator. There is also spe-' cial freezer paper used in wrapping foods of widely difierent sizes going into the deep freeze; and then there are the decorative papers-- printed or embossedtissue's and foils'for gift wrapping, and ordinary wrapping'p'apfle'r' for outside wrapping for shipping.

These wrapping media come-in packages in various forms: waxed paper and freezer p'aper for the most part as continuous rolls in boxes on which cutters have been attachedalong one edge so that the desired length-may be cut off;

and gift wrapping paper insheets,. forthe most part packaged in cellophane, but also coming in continuous rolls wrapped in cellophanes'o' that the design of the decorated paper will show through.

The package mentioned above with themetal cutter along one-edge when used'forwaxedpaper in the home is usually abut=12 inches wide and provides a means of getting any desired length of paper, and where, as in this case, most of the things can be wrapped'satisfactorily ina paper of constant width, this provides a satisfactory package; However, papers used for the deep freeze or for wrapping gift packages usually come in widths of from-20 to 30 inches in order to take care of the wide variation in the'sizeof the packages to be wrapped. Now, while a box? with a metal cutter enables the user tortear off fromlaroll'any length of paper desired; itdoesn'ot provide ameans of cutting the paper to a desired width. Freezer paper, for example, used for wrapping foods-going into thedeep'freeze often comes in a large box" 20 inches wide and with arch of paper some 4 or 5-inches iri'diameter. Packages of this size must obviously rest. on a table and while the desired length maybe torn on on themetal cutter attached to the edge of the box, some other means mustbe provided to cutthepaper to the-desired width; In the case of gift wrapping. paper-the purchaser desires a-papera't'least 20' inches wide, but often only wants a limited amount of paper of any one design: This small amount-of paper would necessitate-archsmall' 5*Glaiins. (Cl. 30--294) era11y flat cutter with a paper-receiving slot in diameter and, for contain it; This-box, small'in cross-section, and

20 to winches wide, would be awkward for the" consumer to use and would be weakand flimsy inconstruction. 7

Whether the consumer'usesaseparate sheeto-r a length cut from a continuous roll of paper; the package to be" wrapped is placed on the" paper and the paper out to the size required. With loose sheets there is bound to bee; good deal more wastage than with-continuous rolls. Today the average householder uses scissors'to'cut hiswrapping' paper to the required" size in both directions;

either that or he wastes a good deal of "paper by' using a sheet larger than necessary. And using more paper than required makes a poorly wrapped package. Moreover, cutting with scis'-'- sors-is a slow operation-andthe user has first to find the scissors.

To cut any paper with a single blade the paper must be held to resist the blade pressure; For this reason it is generally easier to cut a heavy paper with a single blade than alight or soft one. For example, a heavy wrapping paper can" be easily cut with a razor blade Whereas a tissue paper cannot. Unless the paper is firmly held the loosely bonded'fibres of a tissue paper will compress and mushroom out under the blade pressure and will not be cut, or only with difliculty. Because of this principle it is common practice to fold papers along the line of the desired cut and then, holding the overlapping sections, cut outwardlyalong the crease. The paper, being held, is tensioned by the cutting instrument as it is being cut. It is not feasible, however, to cut a small section from'a large sheet'by folding successively along intersecting lines.

The ideal cutter would'b'eone that would quickly' cut the paper, whether 'heavy or'li'ght, ina'riy direction, along straight or curved lines-arid that could be made'cheaply' enough to be furnishedwith each'packag'e of papersold-eand dis carded with the empty package; It is the object of thepresent invention" to provide such a cutter.

In attaining this object Iftake advantage of -the fact that paper can be cut'when it is under tension easier than when it is not, and furthermore that paper canbe out along a fold easierthan in the flat-that even thin tissues can" be cut with a knife if the knife bladeis inserted behind a fold and pressed outwardly. Accordingly I have provided a cutter'which bends a short'section'of the paper and holds it under tension as it approaches thecutting blade. I. do this by providirigflagen:

economy, a small box'to ing a cutting blade angularly disposed across the slot at its inner end or throat, one edge of the slot being offset from the plane of the other edge. When the cutter is to be used primarily for cutting thin papers, I extend the offset edge which is not in the plane of the cutting blade below the other, gradually increasing the underlap in the direction of the blade. Thus as the paper passes from the mouth of the slot to its throat it is given a reverse or 2 fold, one of the acute angles of the Z being presented to the blade for cutting while the paper is held under tension.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated preferred embodiments of my invention in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a cutter designed to give the paper a Z fold shown with the edge of a sheet of paper to be out just entering the mouth of the slot;

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the cutter shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on an enlarged scale taken along line 33 of Figure 1, but showing the condition of the paper to be cut;

Figure 4 is a section similar to Figure 3 taken along line 44 of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is a section similar to Figures 3 and 4 taken along line 55 of Figure 1.

Figures 3, 4-. and 5 show the condition of the paper at the mouth of the slot, midway along the slot and at the cutting blade, respectively.

Figure 6 is a plan View, similar to Figure l, but showing a modified form of cutter which bends and tensions the paper before cutting, but does not fold it,

Figure 7 is a bottom view of the cutter shown 7 in Figure 6, and

Figure 8 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 88 of Figure 6 and showing the condition of the paper just before it reaches the blade.

The cutter l shown in these drawings, although generally flat is, nevertheless, provided with slightly curved surfaces, as clearly shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5. The body of the cutter may be made of a Wide variety of sheet materials, preferably flexible, such as metal, plastic, paper or fibre board, and preferably of a material so cheap that the cutter may be thrown away after the paper it is sold with has been used up.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cutter l is, in plan view, generally U-shaped in configuration, the two arms of the U being separated by a narrow slot 2 flared at its outer end to form a mouth 3 and widened at its inner end to form a throat 4. The left-hand arm 5, as shown in Figure 1, is tapered so as to be more readily inserted under the edge of the paper to be cut, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The outer end of the other arm 6 extends laterally and is bent upwardly to form a projection 1 which may be seized between the thumb and forefinger and act as a handle. Extendin diagonally from the inner edge of the arm 5 and across the throat 4 is a cutting blade or knife 8, its cutting edge 9 facing outwardly. This cutting blade is a thin wafer of steel of the same weight and thickness as the ordinary safety razor blade. It is shown embedded within the material of the cutter.

Beginning at a point just within the mouth 3 of the slot, the inner edge of the arm 6 extends laterally across the slot, continuing in a gentle curve to ,underlap the opposite inner edge of the arm 5 to form a rounded extension ID, as shown best in Figures 1 and 2. This extension lll extends well beyond the cutting edge 9 of the blade 8.

The upper face of the arm 5 is curved gently downwardly toward the slot, as shown in Figure 3, and the upper face of the arm 6 is similarly curved downwardly along the upper face of the extension I ll, as shown best in Figure 5.

The cutter illustrated in these drawings is used as follows: The paper .to be out, which I have designated by the reference character H, is placed fiat on a table or cutting board and the forward end of the arm 5 inserted below it While the forward end of the arm 6 overlies it, the paper entering the mouth of the slot, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The condition of the paper II at this point is shown in Figure 3. The operator, grasping the projection 7 between his thumb and forefinger, now pulls the cutter toward the paper, or downward, as shown in Figures land 2. As the paper passes into the slot 2 it is-given a reverse fold of increasing width. For example: when the cutter has reached the point with reference to the paper indicated by the line 4-4, the paper had been folded into the condition shown in Figure 4. Further movement of the cutter causes the paper to be engaged by the extension l0 and given a 2 bend or fold, so that when it reaches the line E5 it is in the condition shown in Figure 5. It is at this point that the paper first encounters the cutting edge 9 of the blade 8. The paper, having been given a return fold at this point, further inward movement of the cutter brings the blade into contact with the paper along the edge of the fold and within the fold. Meanwhile the paper has not only been folded but held under tension between the opposing and overlapping edges of the arms of the cutter, as clearly shown in Figure 5. Further inward movement of the cutter slits the paper along the fold presented to it.

The paper is automatically folded and tensioned temporarily at the very point of application of the cutting edge of the blade so that the operator need give no thought to the condition of his paper and need only move the cutter forward. It is not necessary that he move the cutter in a straight line; he may follow any line, either one that has been marked on the paper or one dictated by his fancy. He can cut straight, or on curves, or around corners with equal facility and in this way out a small section from a large sheet with the greatest of ease.

In the form of cutter shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8, the extension l0 has been omitted and the arm 6' bent down so that its inner edge is offset from the inner edge of arm 5' without underlapping it. Thus the paper is presented to the knife under tension, but not folded. This form is particularly adapted for the cutting of heavy papers.

The cutter of my invention is not only efficient for its intended purpose, but can be made so inexpensively that it can be furnished with every package of paper and thrown away when the paper is gone. That is not to say, however, that it is not capable of a longer, useful life.

I claim:

1. A paper cutter comprising a body having a slot for receiving and guiding the paper to be cut, a cutting blade at the inner end of the slot, one edge of the slot increasingly underlapping the other in the direction of the blade so that the paper is folded about the first edge as it is presented to the blade for cutting.

2. A paper cutter comprising a body having a slot for receiving and guiding the paper to be cut, a cutting blade at the inner end of the slot extending across the slot from one of its edges, the other edge of the slot increasingly underlapping the first edge in the direction of the blade so that the paper is folded about the first edge and held under tension as it is presented to the blade for cutting.

3. A paper cutter comprising a body having a slot for receiving and guiding the paper to be cut, a flared mouth at the outer end of the slot, an enlarged throat at its inner end, a cutting blade at the inner end of the slotextending diagonally from one of its edges across the throat, the other edge of the slot increasingly underlapping the first edge in the direction of the blade so that the paper is given a Z fold and held underv tension by the time it has reached the blade, the upper fold of the 2 being presented to the blade for cutting.

4. A paper cutter comprising a body of sheet material having a slot for receiving paper to be cut, a cutting blade at the inner end of the slot, the body of sheet material adjacent the inner end of the slot and in advance of the cutting blade being formed with the portion of the sheet defining at least one side of the slot displaced laterally out of the plane of the sheet and out of the plane of the portion of the sheet defining the other side of the slot, a portion of the cutting edge oi. the blade being located closely adjacent and extending outwardly and away from a corner of one of the longitudinal edge portions of the body defining the slot about which corner the paper is caused to be bent during a cutting operation, so that when a sheet of paper is drawn through the slot while maintained generally parallel with the plane of said body of sheet material it will be tensioned by the edges of the' sheet defining the slot adjacent the cutting blade and the cutting of the paper will take place substantially along the line about which the paper is bent around said corner.

5. A paper cutter comprising a generally fiat U-shaped sheet, the arms of the U being closely spaced to define a narrow, paper-guiding slot having a flared mouth at its outer end and an enlarged throat at its inner end, a cutting blade extending diagonally from one edge of the slot across the throat and an extension on the opposite edge extending under the edge carrying the blade so that as the paper entering the slot approaches the blade it is given a reverse bend and held under tension.

ROSWELL H. RAUSCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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