WO2008049976A1

WO2008049976A1 - Blade for a cutting tool for cutting a plate and tool fitted with such a blade

Info

Publication number: WO2008049976A1
Application number: PCT/FR2006/002376
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lionel Marcon
Original assignee: Etablissements Pierre Grehal Et Cie S.A.
Priority date: 2006-10-23
Filing date: 2006-10-23
Publication date: 2008-05-02
Also published as: PL2083972T3; EP2083972B1; EP2083972A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a blade for a cutting tool for cutting out a plate, wherein said tool comprises a bearing (3) on which a blade (2) is mounted so as to move between an open position for receiving the plate to be cut out between the bearing (3) and the blade (2) and a closed position at the end of a cut-out, wherein the blade has a backside (21) and a cutting edge (22), is provided with a handle (7), and is mounted on the bearing (3) through an axis (4), characterised in that the blade (2) is flat and is formed with a stabilisation fold (24) extending approximately from the axis (4) to the handle (7). The invention also relates to a cutting tool fitted with such a blade.

Description

"Blade for a cutting tool for cutting a plate and tool with such a blade"

The present invention relates to a blade for a cutting tool for cutting a plate, more particularly a plate made of a reconstituted material, and a cutting tool comprising such a blade.

In the modern construction field, structural elements formed or reconstituted from materials which are present or which are reduced to powder, fibers, granules or chips are often used. Thus, by way of non-limiting examples, plaster, cement or ceramic tiles are used as building or finishing elements, fiber cement cladding boards, medium density cellulosic fiber boards as slabs of coating or finishing and laminated sheets as elements of a floating floor. Due to the nature of the mixture of components from which the plates are made or because of the use for which the plates are made, they have two characteristics in common: the hardness of the plate, or at least its face of use, and its thickness.

Each of these characteristics, taken alone, would not pose any particular problem for cutting a plate made of one of the reconstituted materials mentioned. Indeed, as soon as we have a cutting tool whose cutting edge is harder than the element to be cut, the success of cutting no longer depends on the effort that the operator of the tool can develop . Example: cutting ceramic tiles

(So tiling). And as soon as we have a cutting tool capable of traversing the element to cut into its entire thickness without being stuck there, cutting is possible. Example: the cutting of a chipboard worktop.

But when the plates are made of a reconstituted material combining hardness and thickness, it is necessary to have a tool capable of overcoming these two cutting difficulties.

Such a tool is described for example in WO-A-2006/095065. It is a cutting tool for cutting a plate made of a reconstituted material, the tool comprising a support on which a blade is movably mounted between an open position to receive, between the support and the blade, the plate which must be cut, and a closed position at the end of a cut, the blade being provided with a handle and mounted on the support by an axis.

Such a tool is simple to use, easy to stabilize on a floor, especially on a more or less irregular floor such as a floor outside the workshop, and it includes a means to prevent the plate is driven during cutting by the blade of the floor. cutting tool. In addition, it is designed to receive accessories that allow it to be used for cuts at different angles.

Moreover, in a cutting tool for cutting hard and thick plates such as plates made of a reconstituted material, for example fiber cement, the blade performs, in cooperation with the edges of a slot formed in the base, a shear double. This double shear has the effect that the blade does not penetrate, during cutting, in the usual manner in the cutting plate to split it, but removes a strip of the material of the plate, band whose width corresponds substantially to that of the blade.

Although such a shear does not seem to expose the blade to the risk of seeing it flex or bend, the fact remains that the movements of the person using the tool are likely to be able to introduce, involuntarily, a transverse force with respect to the cutting plane, which could deform the blade.

Indeed, even when the dimensions of the blade and the position of the handle have been well studied to obtain a safe cut with the least possible effort, it is not less than that there is, during cutting when the force is fully applied, the risk that a transverse component of effort occurs, for example because of an uneven ground on which the tool is placed, and that the blade is subjected to transverse stresses which could make it bend or bend transversely to a plane along which the blade extends.

Moreover, it has been found that the plates made of a reconstituted material are sometimes covered, on one of their faces, with a material that is less hard than the reconstituted material. Thus, for example, floor covering plates are sometimes provided, on their underside, with a layer of felt or sound insulating sounding material. This has the effect that such a plate can not be stabilized on the tool in the same way as a fully hard plate and may be driven by the blade.

The object of the invention is to overcome these disadvantages.

The object of the invention is achieved with a blade for a cutting tool for cutting a plate made of a reconstituted material, the tool comprising a support on which the blade is movably mounted between an open position to receive, between the support and the blade, the plate to be cut, and a closed position at the end of a cut, the blade having a back and a cutting edge and the blade being provided with a handle and mounted on the support by an axis. According to the invention, the blade is flat and is provided with a stabilizing fold approximately from the axis to the handle. It should be noted here that, in the context of the present invention, the term "flat" characterizes a cutting edge having a certain width, as opposed to a cutting edge having only a net such as the blade of a knife. In addition, in the context of the present invention, the cutting edge extends perpendicularly with respect to the shear plane of the tool.

Thanks to the stabilizing fold, the blade is stiffer than if it was flat and therefore better resists any inadvertent transverse forces that may occur during use of the tool.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the arm with which the handle is connected to the blade, is also provided with a stabilizing fold. This fold is arranged in extension of the stabilizing fold of the blade.

The invention also relates to the following characteristics, taken separately or in any technically possible combination: the blade has a flat, curved cutting edge; the cutting edge of the blade was obtained by laser cutting;

the blade was made using a press;

- The passage of the blade to the arm is shaped to abut on a raised abutment of the cutting tool at the end of cutting, and thus limit the stroke of the blade to its closed position;

- The handle of the blade is offset from the back of the blade so that the handle is located at the end of cutting, approximately the same level as a slot shaped to receive the blade during cutting or to a level lower than this one; the curvature of the cutting edge of the blade is determined so that in any instantaneous position of the blade during cutting, an enclosed angle between the carrier and the blade is at least approximately constant. The object of the invention is also achieved with a cutting tool for cutting a plate made of a reconstituted material, the tool comprising a base and a blade having a back and a cutting edge and being provided with a handle, the blade being mounted movably by an axis on a support attached to the base and for moving the blade between an open position to receive, between the support and the blade, a plate to be cut, and a closed position at the end of a cut, the support being provided with a slot shaped to receive the blade during the cutting and a transverse stop for retaining the plate to be cut on the support during cutting, so as to prevent the plate is driven by the blade in the direction of cutting. According to the invention, the blade is flat and is provided with a stabilizing fold approximately from the axis to the handle.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the base of the tool is retractable, for example formed in two parts to be assembled by means of one or more bolts, possibly with muffler nuts. The base can be shaped to make possible one or more relative positions of the two parts relative to each other. According to another variant, the handle is removably mounted on the blade.

The two embodiments described above of the tool, carried out in isolation or in combination, contribute to making the tool compact when it is not in use, which facilitates the storage and transport thereof.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the following description of an embodiment of the tool according to the invention. The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 represents a cutting tool according to an embodiment of the invention in the open position, FIG. 2 represents a portion of the tool of FIG. 1, in a partially open position, with a first cutting accessory, FIG. 3 represents a portion of the tool with a second cutting accessory, FIG. 4 shows a cutting tool according to the invention in the closed position, with a blade according to an alternative embodiment of the invention and with a third and a fourth Cutting accessories, and Figure 5 shows the tool of the invention, with the four cutting accessories, in retracted condition ready to be stored or transported. Figures 1 and 2 show a cutting tool for cutting a plate made of a reconstituted material, according to one embodiment of the invention. The tool comprises a base 1 and a blade 2 mounted movably on a support 3 attached to the base 1. The blade 2 is pivotally mounted about an axis 4, which moves the blade 2 between an open position to receive, between the support 3 and the blade 2, a plate made of a reconstituted material to be cut, and a closed position at the end of a cut. During cutting, the blade 2 encloses with the support 3 an angle AC.

The blade 2 is formed with a rectilinear back 21, a flat and curved edge 22 and a step 23. The step 23 limits the travel of the blade 2 to the open position. The open position of the blade 2 is reached when the step 23 bears on the support 3. The blade 2 is further provided with a stabilizing fold 24 approximately from the axis 4 to a handle 7.

The support 3 is provided with a slot 5 shaped to receive the blade 2 during cutting, and a transverse stop 6 for retaining the plate to be cut during cutting. For cutting, the plate cut is placed on the support 3 and is pressed against the transverse stop 6. Thus, during cutting, when the blade 2 has a tendency to drive the cutting plate in front of it because of a relatively large angle AC, and more than the actual cutting action, the blade 2 makes the plate bear against the transverse stop 6.

So that the transverse stop 6 can succeed the double mission assigned to it, that is to say prevent the plate is driven by the blade 2 in the cutting direction and maintain the plate in an angularly stable position to allow to obtain a straight cut, the transverse stop 6 preferably has a width corresponding approximately to the length of the slot 5, preferably to the effective length LF of the slot 5.

The cutting edge 22 of the blade 2 is advantageously obtained by laser cutting. This way of producing the blade 2 makes it possible to obtain in a single manufacturing step a sharp edge and in any previously determined form. In addition, the two edges of the cutting edge 22 do not need to be machined.

However, it is also conceivable that the blade 2 is made using a press and that, essentially depending on the type of press used, the blade can be made in a quality equal to that obtained by laser cutting.

The curvature of the blade 2 is determined so that in any instantaneous position of the blade during cutting, the angle AC enclosed between the support 3 and the blade 2 is at least approximately constant.

The blade 2 is provided with a handle 7 connected to the blade 2 by an arm 8 forming a lever. A stabilizing fold 25 is formed on the arm 8. A passage 10 of the blade 2 to the arm 8 is shaped to come into abutment on the stop 6, at the end of the cut, and thus to limit the stroke of the blade 2 towards its closed position. The closed position of the blade 2 is reached when the passage 10 bears on the abutment 6 or on a mounting element 66 for a cutting accessory.

The handle 7 is offset relative to the back 21 of the blade 2 so that the handle 7 is located at the end of a cut, approximately at the same level as the slot 5 or at a level below it.

In addition, the handle 7 is offset relative to the back 21 of the blade 2 so that, at the beginning of a cut, preferably also when the blade 2 is in the open position, the handle 7 is located, relative to the vertical VD from a point marking on the slot 5 the beginning of cutting, the side of the stop 6. It is said expressly "vertical" VD and not "perpendicular to the slot 5", because it must be kept mind that the tool of the invention is intended to be used essentially outside the workshop. The floor or any other bottom on which the tool will be placed, will not necessarily be straight or horizontal everywhere. It is thus easy to design situations where the tool will be placed on a background resistant to the forces developed during cutting, but which can not ensure a horizontal position to the tool. Accordingly, to facilitate the initiation of cutting, it is recommended that the handle 7 is already at the beginning of cutting in a position allowing a person using the tool to use mainly its weight to move the blade 2 instead of having to pull the blade toward her.

Furthermore, the base 1 of the tool according to the invention advantageously comprises a foot 9 which extends in the direction of the cut and ensures the stability of the tool in the cutting direction and in a direction transverse to that- this. In a simple embodiment, the foot 9 is an integral part of the base 1 and made with it in one piece. However, especially to facilitate the transport of the tool, it is preferable that the foot 9 is a separate part of the rest of the base 1 and can be assembled with the rest of the base, when the tool is installed, by means of one or more screws 11.

FIG. 2 represents only a part of the tool of FIG. 1, but shows more the disposition of the stabilizing folds 24, 25 on the blade 2 and the arm 8. Indeed, the blade 2 is provided with a fold of Stabilization 24 formed on almost the entire length of the blade. More specifically, the stabilizing fold 24 extends from the step 23 to the beginning of the passage 10 and this at a distance such as the back 21 and the cutting edge 22 of the blade 2 that the fold is located, when the tool is in the closed position, as close as possible to the slot 5. This constitutes a compromise between an ideal arrangement according to which the stabilizing fold 24 should extend on a straight line passing through the axis 4 and the handle 7, and design constraints of the tool.

Indeed, if one wanted to have the stabilization fold 24 along the ideal line stated above, there would be a priori only two possibilities to make this provision possible. The first would be to widen the slot 5 on the side of the convexity of the fold, over a minimum length to determine the fairest, from the axis 4. However, on this enlarged portion of the slot, the cutting of a plate would not be possible because there would be shear only on the concavity side of the fold.

The other possibility would be to enhance the position of the axis 4, that is to say to provide an enhancement of the support 3 on the side of the axis 4 to locate it above the level of the slot 5. However, such a solution could compromise advantageous features such as the constancy of the angle AC between the cutting edge 22 and the slot 5 or would require at least a completely different design of the embodiment of the cutting tool. The stabilizing fold 25 formed on the arm 8 is oriented in extension of the stabilizing fold 24 of the blade 2. The stabilizing fold 25 provides the arm 10 with better rigidity and therefore better resistance to possible transverse forces.

Furthermore, Figure 2 shows the tool of Figure 1 with a cutting accessory for cutting a plate at a different angle than a right angle. To this end, the cutting accessory comprises a shim 62 shaped to be fixed on an edge 61 of the abutment 6, the edge 61 facing the blade 2. The shim 62 is also shown twice, referenced respectively 62 and 62A, to show that it is reversible.

To provide a stable support and to vary the cutting angle very finely, the invention proposes the shim 62 which is provided with an oblong hole 63 to be fixed on the stop 6 by a bolt 64. The oblong hole 63 makes it possible to fix the shim, as shim 62 on one side of the abutment 6 or as wedge 62A on the other side of the abutment 6, in different positions along the edge 61 of the abutment 6. The plate to be cut then takes resting on a central notch 60 of the abutment 6 and on a rounded corner 65 of the shim 62. It is easily understood that the more the shim 62 is brought closer to the notch 60 plus the cut deviates from a cut at right angles. The rounded shape of the wedge 65 of the spacer 62 avoids damaging the field of the plate to be cut.

FIG. 3 represents a part of the tool of the invention, on the side of the transverse stop 6, with a second cutting accessory, namely a plate 406 essentially taking the form of the abutment 6, but extending beyond the stop 6 in the direction of the axis (not shown) of the blade of the tool.

The plate 406 is used when cutting plates which are coated, on their underside, with a flexible material or at least not as hard as the material of the plate, for example felt in as a phonic insulator. Such plates may lift on the side of the abutment 6 when the blade bears on the plate to begin cutting, because the flexible material is compressed around the support of the blade, but it is not more far. When the plate to be cut rises on the side of the stop 6, it is no longer retained by the stop 6 in the case where the blade would drive the plate.

To avoid that plates coated with a flexible material are raised by the blade, the plate 406 caps the abutment 6 and is removably mounted therein by means of two bolts 461. The part of the plate 406 which protrudes the abutment 6, called the retaining lip, is referenced 461. The lip 461 forms with the support 3 a space of height h in which the edge of a plate to be cut can be introduced and thus be held in abutment on the support 3 and especially in front of the stop 6 who can do his job.

FIG. 4 represents a cutting tool according to the invention in the closed position, with a blade 402 according to an alternative embodiment of the invention and with a third and a fourth cutting accessory.

The blade 402 shown in FIG. 4 is pivotally mounted in the support 3 by means of an axis 404 and is actuated by an operator by grasping it with a handle 407 removably mounted directly on the blade. The blade 402 differs from the blade 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2 in that the stabilizing fold 425 extends over the entire length of the blade 402, that is to say in a single stroke of the end. close to the axis 404 to the end remote from the axis 41, therefore up to the handle 407. This variant applies to the tool of the invention when it is provided with a stop 6, while the blade 2 is used when the tool is provided with a raised abutment 66 according to one or the other of the two variants of abutments 66 respectively represented in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, or a stop with variable cutting angle.

The tool of the invention is shown in Figure 4 with a base 1 fixed length. This choice is arbitrary, as are all the combinations of technical characteristics represented on all the figures. None of the representations is therefore of a limiting nature.

FIG. 4 also shows the cutting tool with chip tray or debris 330 as a third cutting attachment for collecting chips and cutting debris, and a foot 370 as a fourth cutting attachment for supporting the cutting accessory. free end of a cutting plate, for example the end of a floorboard or plinth.

The tray 330 is intended to receive the particles and pieces which are detached from the plate to be cut. For this purpose, the tray 330 comprises a bottom, two longitudinal flanges 332, 333 and two transverse flanges 334, 335. The tray 330 is advantageously formed from a single sheet by folding with a width such that the base 1 can be inserted without significant play of the cross of the base 1. So that the length of the tray 330 can be limited to approximately the length of the blade 2 and in particular without taking into account the length of the base 1 and its possible extension 9 (see Figure 1 ), the transverse flange 335 is provided with a cutout for inserting the base 1. The tray 330 can be made integral with the base 1 of the tool of the invention, so as to be an integral part of the tool, or separately as a tool cutting accessory. Without departing from the principle of the present invention, the tray 330 can also be part, as an integral part or accessory, of all the embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 5 and any other variant or any other form of realization of the tool of the invention. The foot 370- is intended to support, together with the support 3, a plate B to be cut. More specifically, the foot 370 is intended to support the free end of the plate B and maintain it at a level slightly greater than the height of the upper face of the support 3. With this arrangement of the invention, the plate will be held in such a way as to obtain a slightly beveled edge and thus compensate for inevitable tearing at the edge of the rear face of the plate. The foot 370 can be made as an integral part of the tool of the invention and then be shaped to be mounted on the base 1. And the foot can be realized also, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, as a separate accessory . The variant of separate part has the advantage that the foot 370 can be placed at any useful distance from the support 3 of the tool, without limitation by a connecting rod, even adjustable in distance, or by any other element by which the foot would be mounted integral with the base 1 or the support 3 of the tool of the invention.

When the foot 370 is made as a separate part, it advantageously comprises a hole 371 by which it can be bolted, during the transport of the tool, to the blade 402 which is provided for this purpose with a hole T (see FIG. and 5).

FIG. 5 shows the tool of the invention, with the four cutting accessories described above, in a retracted state ready to be stowed or transported: the cutting tool is placed in the chip tray 330, the foot 9 is removed from the base 1 and entered into it, the handle 7 is disassembled and placed (not shown) in the tray 330, and the foot 370 is fixed on the blade 402 by means of a bolt marked by the reference T of the hole made in this effect in the blade 402.

Claims

1. Blade for a cutting tool for cutting a plate made of a reconstituted material, the tool comprising a support (3) on which the blade (2) is movably mounted between an open position to receive between the support (3) and the blade (2), the plate to be cut, and a closed position at the end of a cut, the blade (2) having a back (21) and a cutting edge (22), being provided with a handle (7) and mounted on the support (3) by an axis (4), characterized in that the blade (2) is flat and is provided with a stabilizing fold (24) approximately from the axis (4) to the handle (7).

2. Blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the handle (7) is connected to the blade (2) by an arm (8) forming a lever.

3. Blade according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the arm (8) is provided with a stabilizing fold (25) disposed in extension of the stabilizing fold (24) of the blade (2).

4. Blade according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the blade (2) has a cutting edge (22) flat and curved.

5. Blade according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cutting edge (22) of the blade (2) has been obtained by laser cutting.

6. Blade according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the passage of the blade (2) to the arm (8) is shaped to abut against a stop (6) of the cutting tool, at the end of the cutting, and thus limit the stroke of the blade (2) to its closed position.

7. Blade according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the handle (7) of the blade (2) is offset relative to the back (21) of the blade (2) of in such a way that the handle (7) is located, at the end of the cut, at approximately the same level (NC) as a slot (5) shaped to receive the blade (2) during cutting or at a level below it.

8. Blade according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the curvature of the cutting edge (22) of the blade (2) is determined so that in any instantaneous position of the blade during cutting, an angle (AC) enclosed between the support (3) and the blade (2) is at least approximately constant.

9. A cutting tool for cutting a plate made of a reconstituted material, the tool comprising a base (1) and a blade (2) having a back (21) and a cutting edge (22) and being provided with a handle ( 7), the blade (2) being mounted movably by an axis (4) on a support (3) attached to the base (1) and for moving the blade (2) between an open position to receive, between the support (3) ) and the blade (2), a plate to be cut, and a closed position at the end of a cut, the support (3) being provided with a slot (5) shaped to receive the blade (2) at during cutting and a transverse stop (6) for retaining the cutting plate on the support (3) during cutting, so as to prevent the plate being driven by the blade (2) in the direction of the cutting characterized in that the blade (2) is flat and is provided with a stabilizing fold (24) approximately from the axis (4) to the handle (7).

10. Tool according to claim 9, characterized in that the base (1) of the tool is retractable.

11. Tool according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the handle (7) is mounted on the blade (2) removably.

12. Tool according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that it comprises at least one cutting accessory selected from a variable angle stop (6), a plate forming a retaining lip (406), a chip tray (330) and a plate support leg (370) to be cut.