Folding blade knife with blade lock

Claim 2

A folding blade knife construction with blade locking means, said construction comprising, in combination: a. a blade including a tang and a shoulder on the back edge; b. means pivotally mounting said blade for movement between open and closed positions; c. a handle having an outer cover and a two-piece liner defining a space therebetween for accepting said blade in its folded position; d. manually engageable button extending through an opening in said handle cover and mounted for sliding movement longitudinally along said handle; e. a leaf spring mounted between the pieces of said liner and having a deflectable end adjacent said tang for engagement therewith to bias said blade toward either of said open and closed positions, said open position being defined by engagement of said shoulder with said deflectable end; f. an element affixed to and extending laterally outward from said tang and movable therewith; and g. a locking member connected to said button and movable therewith between a locking position, wherein a portion of said locking member extends into the path of movement of said element when said blade is in said open position to prevent movement to the closed position, and an unlocking position, wherein said locking member is out of the path of movement of said elements.

Claim 3

The invention according to claim 1 wherein said button extends from a base disposed in a recess in said cover and retained in frictional engagement between said cover and liner on one side of said handle, said sliding movement of said button being against said frictional engagement.

Claim 4

The invention according to claim 2 wherein said locking member is fixedly attachEd to said base on the side thereof facing said liner and extends to a free end, the latter being the portion of said member extending into the path of said element.

Claim 5

The invention according to claim 2 wherein said liner on said one side is provided with a longitudinal, open slot, of substantially the same width as said locking member and the latter is disposed at least partly within said slot.

Claim 6

The invention according to claim 4 and further including a bolster at one end of said handle, adjacent said cover, for retaining the blade pivot pin.

Claim 7

The invention according to claim 5 wherein said element extends laterally from said tang into a recess in said bolster, said free end being moved in and out of said bolster recess as said locking member is moved between locking and unlocking positions, respectively.

Claim 8

The invention according to claim 1 wherein said element is essentially T-shaped, with the stem of the T extending transversely across the axis of the blade in both the open and closed positions thereof.

Claim 9

A folding blade knife construction with blade locking means, said construction comprising, in combination: a. a blade having a tang and a shoulder on the back edge adjacent said tang; b. a handle having an outer cover and a two-piece liner defining a longitudinal space for accepting said blade; c. a pivotal mounting extending through said tang for movement of said blade between open and closed positions with respect to said handle; d. a leaf spring mounted between the pieces of said liner and having a deflectable end adjacent said tang for engagement therewith to bias said blade either of said open and closed positions, said open position being defined by engagement of said shoulder with said deflectable end; e. a notch in the end of said tang; and f. a locking member including a base portion disposed in a recess in said cover and retained in frictional engagement between said cover and liner on one side of said handle, a manually engageable button extending from said base portion through an elongated opening in said cover for sliding movement of said locking member longitudinally of said handle against said frictional engagement, and a free end portion movable into and out of said notch to lock and unlock, respectively, said blade with respect to its open position in response to movement of said button between opposite ends of said elongated opening.

Claim 10

A folding blade knife construction with blade locking means, said construction comprising, in combination: a. a blade having a tang and a shoulder on the back edge adjacent said tang; b. a handle having an outer cover and a two-piece liner defining a longitudinal space for accepting said blade; c. a pivotal mounting extending through said tang for movement of said blade between open and closed positions with respect to said handle; d. a leaf spring mounted between the pieces of said liner and having a deflectable end adjacent said tang for engagement therewith to bias said blade either of said open and closed positions, said open position being defined by engagement of said shoulder with said deflectable end; e. a notch in the end of said tang; and f. a locking member including a base portion disposed in a recess in said cover and retained in frictional engagement between said cover and liner on one side of said handle, a manually engageable button extending from said base portion through an elongated opening in said cover for sliding movement of said locking member longitudinally of said handle against said frictional engagement, and a free end portion movable into and out of said notch to lock and unlock, respectively, said blade with respect to its open position in response to movement of said button between opposite ends of said elongated opening.

Claim 11

The invention according to claim 8 and further including guide means constraining the path of movement of said free end into and out of the plane of said tang as said locking member is moved between locking and unlocking positions.

Claim 12

The invention according to claim 9 wherein said guide means comprise a surface of the handle cover disposed in the path of movement of a portion of said locking member and inclined with respect to the plane of said tang.

Claim 13

The invention according to claim 10 wherein said locking member is resiliently biased toward movement out of the plane of said tang.