Power operated rotary knife with notched rotary knife blade and trim guide

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10583577-B2
Application number	US-201715628637-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 20, 2017
Priority date	Jul 25, 2015
Publication date	Mar 10, 2020
Grant date	Mar 10, 2020

Abstract

A power operated rotary knife assembly including a power operated rotary knife having an annular rotary knife blade, a trim guide, and a drive mechanism for driving the rotary knife blade about an axis of rotation. The assembly also includes a portable power unit, a vacuum assembly and a flexible shaft drive transmission coupled between the power operated rotary knife and the portable power unit. The portable power unit includes a drive motor assembly providing a rotational power source which is operatively coupled to the drive mechanism through the flexible drive transmission to rotate the rotary knife blade. The portable power unit also includes a blower assembly providing vacuum pressure at an inlet duct side, the vacuum assembly being in fluid communication with the inlet duct side to generate a vacuum pressure condition in a region of a cutting opening defined by the rotary knife blade and the trim guide.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A power operated rotary knife assembly comprising:
a) a hand-held power operated rotary knife including a head assembly and an elongated handle assembly extending from the head assembly along a longitudinal axis, the head assembly including:
i) an annular rotary knife blade supported for rotation about a central axis of rotation in a direction of rotation, the annular rotary knife blade including a blade section including a central opening and a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart notches extending from a lower end of the blade section, each of the plurality of notches including an opening at the lower end and a central open portion defined by a peripheral wall, the peripheral wall including a cutting portion, the cutting portion of each of the plurality of circumferentially spaced apart notches defining a cutting edge of the rotary knife blade;
ii) a trim guide including a central opening and a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart notches extending from a lower end of the trim guide, each of the plurality of notches including an opening at the lower end and a central open portion defined by a peripheral wall, the peripheral wall including a shearing portion, the shearing portions in overlapping axial alignment with the cutting portions of the plurality of notches of the blade section of the annular rotary knife blade as the annular rotary blade rotates about the central axis of rotation, overlapping central openings of the annular rotary knife blade and of the trim guide defining a central cutting opening of the head assembly; and
iii) a frame body supporting a drive mechanism including a gear member engaging and rotating the annular rotary knife blade;
b) a portable power unit including a drive motor assembly and a blower assembly, the drive motor assembly including a driveshaft assembly rotating about a driveshaft central axis of rotation, the blower assembly including a fan and a duct, the fan operatively coupled to the driveshaft assembly for rotation, rotation of the fan causing a vacuum pressure condition within an interior region of an inlet duct side of the duct;
c) a flexible shaft drive transmission including a rotating flex shaft assembly operatively coupled between the driveshaft assembly of the portable power unit and the drive mechanism of the head assembly of the power operated rotary knife, rotation of the driveshaft assembly about the driveshaft central axis of rotation causing rotation of the flex shaft assembly and rotation of the gear member of the drive mechanism to rotate the annular rotary knife blade; and
d) a vacuum assembly including a vacuum hose coupled between the head assembly and the inlet duct side of the duct of the blower assembly, the interior region of the inlet duct side in fluid communication with an interior region of the vacuum hose and a region of the central cutting opening of the head assembly.

2. The power operated rotary knife assembly of claim 1 wherein the longitudinal axis of the handle assembly of the power operated rotary knife is orthogonal to the central axis of rotation of the annular rotary knife blade and wherein the power operated rotary knife further includes a handle extension assembly including an handle extension extending along a handle extension axis and coupled to a hand piece of the handle assembly, the handle extension extending transversely from the hand piece, the portable power unit further including a speed control assembly operatively coupled to the drive motor assembly for controlling a rotational speed of the driveshaft assembly, the speed control assembly including a speed control trigger mounted on the handle extension.

3. The power operated rotary knife assembly of claim 2 wherein the handle extension assembly further includes a mounting structure for coupling the handle extension to the hand piece of the handle assembly, the mounting structure including a collar having a central opening defined by a inner surface and a radially space apart outer surface, the collar positioned on the hand piece of the handle assembly to surround and overlie a longitudinally extending portion of the hand piece, the mounting structure further including an annular clamp overlying the outer surface of the collar and having a pair of spaced apart uprights, a lower mounting portion of the handle extension received and secured between the spaced apart uprights, the handle extension axis intersecting the longitudinal axis of the handle assembly.

4. The power operated rotary knife assembly of claim 3 wherein the handle extension assembly including a fastener that extends through aligned openings of the pair of spaced apart uprights of the annular clamp and an aperture through the lower mounting portion of the handle extension, the fastener securing the mounting portion of the handle extension to the annular clamp and defining a pivot axis for the handle extension, the pivot axis of the handle extension being transverse to and spaced apart from the longitudinal axis of the handle assembly and the central axis of rotation of the annular rotary knife blade.

5. The power operated rotary knife assembly of claim 1 wherein the vacuum assembly includes a vacuum connector coupled between the head assembly of the power operated rotary knife and a first end of the vacuum hose providing fluid communication between the central cutting opening of the head assembly and the interior region of the vacuum hose and a vacuum adapter coupled between a peripheral end portion of the inlet duct side of the blower assembly and a second end of the vacuum hose providing fluid communication between the interior region of the vacuum hose and the interior region of the inlet duct side of the blower assembly.

6. The power operated rotary knife assembly of claim 1 wherein the motor assembly includes a motor case in which a driveshaft of the driveshaft assembly is disposed and a drive motor coupling assembly coupled to the motor case, the drive motor coupling assembly including a pedestal affixed to a first side of the motor case and a drive motor coupling affixed to the pedestal and including a central opening, the driveshaft assembly extending though an opening in the first side of the motor case and including a multi-engagement face drive fitting at a distal end of the driveshaft assembly, the drive fitting rotating about the driveshaft central axis of rotation.

7. The power operated rotary knife assembly of claim 6 wherein the flexible shaft drive transmission includes an outer casing assembly comprising an outer casing overlying a flex shaft of the rotating flex shaft assembly, a motor end coupling at a proximal end of the outer casing including a coupling body received in the central opening of the drive motor coupling and releasably affixed to the drive motor coupling, the flex shaft assembly including a multi-engagement face driven fitting at a proximal end of the flex shaft, the multi-engagement face driven fitting engaging and being rotated by the multi-engagement face drive fitting of the driveshaft assembly when the motor end coupling of the outer casing assembly is affixed to the drive motor coupling of the drive motor coupling assembly.

8. The power operated rotary knife assembly of claim 7 wherein the outer casing assembly of the flexible shaft drive transmission further includes a handle assembly coupling at a distal end of the outer casing, the handle assembly coupling releasable affixed to the handle assembly of the power operated rotary knife, the flex shaft assembly including a male drive fitting at a distal end of the flex shaft, the male drive fitting engaging and rotating the gear member of the drive mechanism of the power operated rotary knife.

9. The power operated rotar

Assignees

• Bettcher Industries

Inventors

• Hall Joel L
• Pagano Terrence A
• Stump Kevin V
• Gray Austen J
• Palmiero Rosario E

Classifications

• B26B25/002 Primary

  Motor-driven knives with a rotating annular blade · CPC title

• B26B29/06

  Arrangements for guiding hand cutting tools (guiding equipment or arrangements for specific cutting tools, see the particular places, e.g. for hair trimming devices A45D24/36, for saw blades B27B11/02, B26B13/10) · CPC title

• B26D7/1863

  by suction · CPC title