Folding knife with blade locking mechanism

摘要

The present disclosure concerns embodiments of a folding knife having a locking mechanism for locking a blade in open and/or closed positions. The locking mechanism a first locking element on the blade and a corresponding second locking element on the handle that is adapted to engage the first locking element when the blade is in open and/or closed positions. The blade can be mounted on a leaf spring in the handle for pivotal movement relative to the handle between the open and closed positions. The leaf spring functions to support the blade and provide a biasing force that resiliently biases in a direction laterally toward the second locking element on the handle.

主权项

1. A folding knife comprising:
a handle; a blade having a tang that is pivotably connected to the handle and being pivotable relative to the handle about a pivot axis between a closed position and an open position, the tang comprising a laterally extending projection and one or more laterally extending locking elements; and the handle comprising first and second laterally spaced side portions, the first side portion comprising an aperture and one or more locking notches in communication with the aperture, the projection of the blade tang extending laterally into the aperture such that the projection can rotate within the aperture when the blade is pivoted between its open and closed positions; the second side portion comprising a leaf spring having a free end portion that is resiliently biased toward the first side portion, the free end portion pivotably supporting the blade tang by a pivot element extending through the blade tang and the free end portion, the free end portion exerting a biasing force laterally against the blade such that when the blade is pivoted to its open position, the biasing force urges the blade into an open and locked position in which the one or more locking elements on the blade extend into and engage the one or more locking notches, and wherein the blade can be released from the open and locked position by manually moving the blade laterally against the biasing force to move the one or more locking elements out of engagement with the one or more locking notches.