U.S. patent application number 12/722653 was filed with the patent office on 2010-07-01 for cigar cutting apparatus.
Invention is credited to Andrew SMITH.
Application Number | 20100162569 12/722653 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40586659 |
Filed Date | 2010-07-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100162569 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SMITH; Andrew |
July 1, 2010 |
CIGAR CUTTING APPARATUS
Abstract
A cigar cutter has a body formed of a pair of plates having
aligning orifices defining a passage for the head of a cigar to be
cut. A pair of opposed cutting blades, movable toward and away from
each other within the body each have a cutting edge, which
cooperates with the opposing cutting edge during toward movement to
cut the cigar head. Each of a pair of bridges is affixed to one of
the cutting blades and moveable therewith. A spring engages the
bridges and biases them toward an extended position wherein the
cutting edges are moved away from each other within the body. A
latch automatically engages both of the blades approximate the
inward terminus of their toward movement and maintains the blades
in a retracted storage position wherein the edges are not exposed.
The cutting edges are each inwardly tapered to cause the edges and
the cigar to cooperate to force the opposing blades together during
their toward movement to automatically sharpen the blades. Each of
the bridges has a guide for receiving and guiding the other of the
cutting blades during their toward movement.
Inventors: |
SMITH; Andrew; (Pascoag,
RI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FRANCIS EDWARD MARINO
394 MEREDITH NECK ROAD
MEREDITH
NH
03253
US
|
Family ID: |
40586659 |
Appl. No.: |
12/722653 |
Filed: |
March 12, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11934812 |
Nov 5, 2007 |
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12722653 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
30/113 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A24F 13/26 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
30/113 |
International
Class: |
A24C 5/12 20060101
A24C005/12 |
Claims
1. A cigar cutter comprising: a housing defining a passage for a
head of a cigar to be cut; a pair of opposed cutting blades within
said housing, each cutting blade having a cutting edge movable
toward the cutting edge of the other cutting blade in a toward
motion having an inward terminus wherein said edges are not
exposed, and movable away from the cutting edge of the other blade
in an away motion, wherein said cutting edges cooperate during said
toward motion to cut the cigar; a biasing element engaging each of
said blades and causing said away motion, and comprising a pair of
compression springs each disposed on an opposite side of said
passage and each extending between said cutting blades; and bridges
each having a guide for receiving and guiding each associated of
said cutting blades during said toward motion.
2. The cutter of claim 1 wherein each of said compression springs
associated with a first of said cutting blades is coaxially aligned
with one of said compression springs associated with the other of
said cutting blades.
3. A cigar cutter comprising: a housing defining a passage for a
head of a cigar to be cut; a pair of opposed cutting blades within
said housing, each cutting blade having a cutting edge movable
toward the cutting edge of the other cutting blade in a toward
motion having an inward terminus wherein said edges are not
exposed, and movable away from the cutting edge of the other blade
in an away motion, wherein said cutting edges cooperate during said
toward motion to cut the cigar; a biasing element engaging each of
said blades and causing said away motion; and a bridge cooperating
with said blade's associated biasing element to guide said
associated cutting blade during said toward motion and to cause
said away motion.
4. The cutter of claim 3 wherein said biasing elements are
compression springs.
5. The cutter of claim 4 wherein each of said bridges comprises a
pair of tubular pockets for receiving an associated pair of said
compression springs, each pocket aligned with said toward and away
motions for maintaining said associated compression spring in
alignment with said toward and away motions.
6. The cutter of claim 5 further comprising a plurality of guide
pins, each received within and coaxially aligned with one of said
compression springs.
7. The cutter of claim 6 wherein each of said compression springs
associated with a first of said cutting blades is coaxially aligned
with one of said compression springs associated with the other of
said cutting blades.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a Divisional of and claims all benefit
of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/934,812, filed on Nov. 5,
2007, the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is related to cigar smoking implements
and accessories. More particularly, this invention is a device for
trimming the head of a cigar in preparation for smoking.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Cigars consist of a filler tobacco, rolled within binder
tobacco, and then rolled within wrapper tobacco. The filler is
often scraps or pieces of flavorful tobacco. Larger leaves of low
aesthetic quality and flavor are generally used for binders to
tightly contain and compact the filler. Leaves of highest aesthetic
quality are typically used for the wrapper, to provide a smooth and
consistent outer surface that is attractive to the smoker and
comforting to the lips.
[0004] Cigars also consist of a barrel, a head, and a foot. The
barrel is the long tubular body portion. The foot it the end which
is burned during smoking. The head is the tip of the cigar which
the consumer places in his mouth during smoking. Cigars are sold
with their heads in a "closed" state, that is, the binder and
wrapper cover the head completely to retain the compacted filler
and provide a neat and tapered tip. Cigars are occasionally also
sold with their feet closed for the same reason.
[0005] Additionally, binders and wrappers help to keep fresh the
filler tobacco, so cigars that are sold with their heads and feet
closed tend to remain fresh longer.
[0006] Another reason that cigars are sold with their heads closed
is that cigar smokers generally prefer to open the heads
themselves, according to their smoking preferences and comfort. If
the opening size is larger, more flow will result, which will
result in more flavor, but will also cause the cigar to burn faster
and hotter. A smaller opening will cause the cigar to burn slower
and cooler, but will provide a milder flavor.
[0007] Implements for opening the heads of cigars come in two main
types, cutters and punches. Punches are tubular cutting tools that
create a longitudinal hole into the head. The size of the hole is
always the same as the size of the punch. Since a punch is unable
to cause variously sized openings, the smoker is unable to
customize the opening according to his smoking preference.
[0008] Cutters, on the other hand, typically consist of one or two
sharp blades that traverse and slice through the head to remove the
head tip and create an opening of a size according to the slice's
distance up the barrel. If the head is sliced further up the
barrel, the opening size will be larger. A head that is sliced
closer to the tip will have a smaller opening. The smoker is able
to customize the size of the opening according to his smoking
preference according to the distance up the barrel that he makes
the slice.
[0009] Cutters which have a large enough opening may also be used
to open the feet of cigars that are sold with their feet closed or
to trim back previously partially smoked cigars.
[0010] A traditional disadvantage of cutters versus punches has
been the inability of cutters to create a clean and well-defined
cut that does not damage the constitution of the cigar. Especially
as their blades become less sharp, cutters tend to crush the cigar
and loosen the compacted filler within adjacent to the cut. Such
loosened filler will not only alter the flow characteristics of the
cigar, but will then tend to fall from the head through the opening
as the cigar is being smoked, sending undesirable flakes of filler
into the smoker's mouth.
[0011] Such problems are typically caused by either a single-bladed
cutter whose blade is dull and therefore crushes the head tip as it
is forced through the cigar, a dual-bladed cutter whose blades are
dull and therefore crush the head tip as they are forced through
the cigar, or a dual-bladed cutter whose blades are not properly
aligned. For clean and quality slicing by a dual-blade cutter, it
is critical the blades must remain sharp, and must cooperate to
traverse the head from opposite sides along a precise slicing
plane. Blades whose cutting edges are not kept sharp and/or that
are not perfectly coplanar will abuse the head and destroy the
constitution of the filler within. But dual blade cutters have
heretofore failed in their ability to remain sharp or to cooperate
along a precise slicing plane.
[0012] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a dual-bladed cigar cutting device whose blades are
automatically self-sharpening during use.
[0013] It is another object of the invention to provide a
dual-bladed cigar cutting device whose blades cooperate to maintain
a precise slicing plane.
[0014] It is another object of the invention to provide a
dual-bladed cigar cutting device whose blades are biased to move
only along the slicing plane.
[0015] It is another object of the invention to provide a
dual-bladed cigar cutting device whose blades are biased against
each other during slicing along the slicing plane.
[0016] It is another object of the invention to provide a
dual-bladed cigar cutting device which has a compact and safe
storage condition in which the blade edges are protected and
unexposed.
[0017] It is another object of the invention to provide a cigar
cutting device which automatically locks into its compact and safe
storage condition at the completion of a cut.
[0018] Further objects and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in view of the following disclosure of an exemplary
embodiment thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0019] The invention is a dual-blade cigar cutter arranged to
overcome the deficiencies of the prior art by providing means to
automatically self-sharpen the blades during use, means to cause
the blades to cooperate to guide and hold the cigar head in proper
position for cutting, means to maintain a precise slicing plane,
means to bias the blades to move only along the slicing plane,
means to bias the blades against each other during slicing along
the slicing plane, and means for automatically locking the blades
in a compact and safe storage position at the end of the cutting
stroke.
[0020] As such, a cutter according to the invention has blades
which remain sharp and which cooperate to guide the cigar tip into
proper position for cutting and to slice through the cigar head
along a precise slicing plane, thereby minimizing trauma to the
cigar, providing a clean and well defined opening in the head, and
avoiding the inadvertent spillage of filler from the opening during
smoking.
[0021] The body of the exemplary cutter is formed of two plates
having aligned circular orifices defining a passage for positioning
the head or foot of a cigar to be cut, with the opposing blades
disposed and movable within a cavity between the two plates. The
blades include semicircular sharpened cutting edges which have edge
contours shaped to cooperatively cut the cigar head as the blades
are forced toward each other. The blades are aligned and guided by
each other for optimal cutting precision and are biased against
each other as they are forced inwardly, defining a precise slicing
plane, eliminating any inter-blade gap, and causing each blade edge
to sharpen itself against the other during cutting. Each blade is
affixed to a bridge for mounting the blade and providing a guide
for the opposing blade and a blade activation surface for causing
the toward motion of the blade during cutting. A pair of
compression springs traverses between and engages the opposing
bridges to provide an outward force that biases the blades to an
open condition ready for cutting. The springs cooperate to balance
and direct the outward bias and evenly share the counterforce
against inward gripping by the user to force the blades together
for cutting.
[0022] The blades are compressed together by a simple gripping
motion of the actuation surfaces after the head of the cigar is
properly positioned between the open blades to trim the head (or
foot) and create an opening in the cigar for smoking. The
contouring of the blade edges cooperates with the cigar during
cutting to both guide the cigar into proper position for cutting
and to force the blades against each other for precise and clean
cutting and for self-sharpening.
[0023] A latch or pawl within the body engages mating recesses in
each blade to retain the blades in a safe and compact "storage"
condition and to automatically capture the blades into the storage
condition at the completion of the slicing motion. During the
storage condition, the blade edges are protected for safety and to
avoid damage to the sharp edges. The latch causes the blades to
remain in the compact and safe storage condition against the
opening bias of the blades. Release of the latch allows the
compression springs to push the blades outwardly into the ready
condition in preparation for cutting. The smoker may select any
slicing position along the cigar accurately and in full view of the
cigar.
[0024] Further features and aspects of the invention are disclosed
with more specificity in the Detailed Description and Drawings of
an exemplary embodiment provided herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with
reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings
are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon
clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention.
Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate
corresponding parts throughout the several views.
[0026] FIG. 1A is a front view of a cigar cutter according to an
exemplary embodiment of the invention in its storage condition;
[0027] FIG. 1B is a front view of the cigar cutter of FIG. 1A
according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention in its ready
condition;
[0028] FIG. 2A is a front view of the cigar cutter of FIG. 1A in
its storage condition with its latch button and top housing
removed;
[0029] FIG. 2B is a front view of the cigar cutter of FIG. 1A in
its ready condition with its top housing removed;
[0030] FIG. 2C is a close up front view of the locked latch from
FIG. 2A;
[0031] FIG. 2D is a close up front view of the unlocked latch from
FIG. 2B;
[0032] FIG. 2E is a front view of a cutting blade from the cigar
cutter of FIG. 1A;
[0033] FIG. 2F is a bottom view of the cutting blade of FIG.
2E;
[0034] FIG. 2G is a side sectional view through the cutting blade
of FIG. 2E;
[0035] FIG. 3A is a sectional top view of the cigar cutter of FIG.
1A in its storage condition, taken at the vertical centerline of
the cutter;
[0036] FIG. 3B is a sectional side view of the cigar cutter of FIG.
1A during cutting, taken at the vertical centerline of the
cutter;
[0037] FIG. 4A is a right side view of the cigar cutter of FIG. 1A
in its storage condition;
[0038] FIG. 4B is a sectional right side view of the cigar cutter
of FIG. 1A during cutting, taken at the vertical centerline of the
cutter; and
[0039] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the cigar cutter
of FIG. 1A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] Reference is now made to FIGS. 1A through 5, where there is
shown an exemplary cigar cutter 100 according to just one of the
infinite number of possible cigar cutters within the scope of the
invention.
[0041] Cutter 100 has a body formed of two plates; front plate 102A
and rear plate 102B. The plates are preferably cast of aluminum,
but may be made of any equivalent material, such as another metal
or a polymer. The plates are preferably fastened together with
screws but may be mechanically joined by any equivalent means, such
as riveting, post head peening, welding, or using an adhesive.
[0042] Front plate 102A is a mirror image of rear plate 102B;
excepting that front plate 102A has mounted thereto and passed
there-through a blade retaining latch mechanism, which will be
described in further detail later in the disclosure. Both plates
include a circular orifice portion, which portions are aligned when
plates 102A and 102B are assembled together to form cigar head
receiving orifice 104, which defines a passage for positioning the
head of a cigar to be cut. The orifice is preferable about 13/16''
in diameter.
[0043] Also when plates 102A and 102B are assembled together, the
body forms a cavity for receiving and entrapping a pair of
identical and opposingly slidable blade assemblies each including a
planar cutting blade 106, a bridge 118 and an activation bar
120.
[0044] The planar cutting blades 106 are disposed in side-by-side
and overlapping relationship between the two plates. Blades 106
each have a substantially semi-circular opening 108 including
cutting edge 110. The two semi-circular openings cooperate when the
cutter is opened and ready for cutting to form a preferably 13/16''
circular opening aligned with orifice 104 of the plates.
[0045] The contouring of cutting edges 110 is preferred not only
because it provides an edge that is extremely sharp, but also
because it is found to assist openings 108 in positioning and
retaining the cigar head in the receiving orifice 104 during
cutting better than prior art cutting blades.
[0046] As seen in FIGS. 2E to 2G, cutting edge 110 is preferably
formed by a cylindrical grinding rod 200 disposed during grinding
vertically aligned with the axis of opening 108 and horizontally
disposed at an angle there-from. Alternatively, the edge may be
shaped by a toroidal-shaped grinding wheel. Cutting edge 110
thereby forms a sharp and acute edge at the root 112 of
semi-circular opening 108, transitioning to a blunt and non-sharp
edge at the sides 114 of the opening. As will be explained later in
the disclosure, this contouring allows that opening to guide the
cigar head with the blunt sides towards the sharpest root portion
of the edge as the blade is closed onto the head for cutting.
[0047] The blades are preferably made of hardened and precision
ground stainless steel plate and are each affixed to an identical
bridge member comprising bridge 118 and activation bar 120. The
bridges and activation bars are preferably made of cast aluminum,
but could be made of any equivalent material, such as another
metal. or a polymer. If the bridges were made of a polymer, the
polymer would preferably be glass-reinforced. The blades are
preferably permanently press-fitted into the bridge, but could be
affixed by fasteners or could be cast or molded into the bridge in
an insert-forming process. The actuator bars may be integrally
formed with the bridges, or may be affixed to the bridges by
fasteners, welding, gluing, or any other equivalent means.
[0048] Each bridge includes guide ridges 122 for receiving and
aligning the opposing blade during cutting, which is found to
improve cutting precision by minimizing reliance on the housing
cavity to guide the blades and eliminating multi-component
tolerance stack-up.
[0049] Each bridge has a pair of vertically disposed tubular
pockets 126 for receiving a helical compression spring 128, which
in turn receives guide pin 130. Each guide pin is long enough to be
shared by the opposing blades so that the cutter needs only two
guide pins to engage the four compression spring, each pin
associated with either the right or left side of both blades. As
can be appreciated, compression springs 128 bias bridges 118 and
therefore blades 106 apart towards the open and "ready" condition.
Guide pins 130 maintain the two associated compression springs 128
in coaxial alignment during opening and cutting to ensure that the
biasing force of the compression springs is properly balanced and
directed.
[0050] Plates 102A and 102B include walls 132 for stopping the
inward motion of bridges 118 and walls 134 for stopping the outward
motion. Each of blades 106 contains a retaining slot 138, which
slots line up adjacent the aforementioned latch mechanism as the
blades reach the storage condition at the inner terminus of the
cutting motion. The latch mechanism consists of pawl 140, retention
spring 142, and latch button 144. The latch button and pawl 140 are
affixed together by a screw through a slot in front plate 102A and
movable together towards or away from the cutting blades, and are
biased towards the inward retaining position by retention spring
142.
[0051] An advantageous feature of the cutter of the present
embodiment lies in the use of two identical blade assemblies. Both
blade assemblies use identical blades 106, bridges 118, and
activation bars 120, and each blade assembly is merely repositioned
identical of the other in a flipped-over state. This not only
reduces component inventory, but reduces the tooling of molds and
related manufacturing costs, and ensures perfect balance between
the blades and cutting edges.
[0052] With the cutter initially in the compact storage condition,
slots 138 are aligned and pawl 140 resides within the slots to
retain the blades in the closed state. Latch button 144 may be
pushed outwardly against the retention spring's bias to pull pawl
140 from slots 138 and allow compression springs 128 to force the
blade assemblies apart, thereby creating an open passage through
which the cigar head may be placed.
[0053] Gripping and squeezing together of activation bars 120
causes blade edges 110 to engage the cigar 300, initially at the
blunt sides of the blades for cigars that are not perfectly
centered, and to guide the cigar towards the center of the
passageway. Once the sharp roots 112 of the edges contact the
cigar, cutting commences. The inwardly directed slant of the
cutting edge at root 112, is biased by the cigar itself to force
each blade more firmly against the opposing blade as the edge
passes through the cigar, creating a perfectly precise
"zero-tolerance" slicing plane which optimizes the cut, and leave a
clean and well define cigar opening, and which causes the blades to
rub against each other during cutting to automatically maintain a
sharpened root edge.
[0054] While the invention has been shown and described with
reference to a specific exemplary embodiment, it should be
understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form
and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention, and that the invention should therefore only be
limited according to the following claims, including all equivalent
interpretation to which they are entitled.
* * * * *