Fabric ruler with raised edge guide and rotary cutting tool with groove for engaging the edge guides

摘要

Apparatus, systems and methods in accordance with the present invention are related to rotary cutting tools and rulers. In one illustrative embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention, a ruler for use with a rotary cutting tool has a guide ridge formed as a wall along a cutting edge of the ruler. A hand held rotary cutting tool has a groove in a cutting portion thereof that corresponds to the guide ridge and resides thereon during cutting. The rotary blade of the hand held rotary cutter is maintained in a position adjacent to the cutting edge of the ruler as the cutter is advanced long the ruler cutting edge by the interaction of the groove and the guide ridge. The cutter may include blade guard locking features and a blade depth control for additional safety and control during use.

主权项

1. A system for cutting sheet materials comprising:
a ruler for use with a rotary cutting tool, the ruler comprising a body with a planar section having an upper surface and a lower surface and a guide ridge disposed along an edge of the body, the guide ridge comprising an inner sidewall that extends from the upper surface to a ridge top surface and an outer sidewall extending from the ridge top surface to the lower surface; and a hand held rotary cutting tool comprising a handle and a cutting portion, the cutting portion comprising
a rotary blade having two parallel faces and a generally circular cutting edge,an axle passing through rotary cutting blade, a retainer disposed on the axle to secure the rotary cutting blade to the handheld rotary cutting tool, and a blade guide comprising a larger portion and a smaller inner portion attached to the larger portion and adjacent to a first parallel face of the rotary blade, the larger portion defining a curved outer surface which is positioned between and abuts a top surface of the smaller inner portion and a bottom surface of the retainer to define a groove, such that when the groove is placed over the guide ridge an edge of the rotary blade is placed in a position adjacent to the outer sidewall of the guide ridge with the curved outer surface adjacent to the inner sidewall of the guide ridge.