US 11,919,179 B2
Out-the-front knife
Brett Eckelkamp, Fulton, MO (US); Michael Cottrell, Ashland, MO (US); Shane Ball, Columbia, MO (US); William Garland, Columbia, MO (US); Brian Steere, Columbia, MO (US); Timothy S. Kinney, Warrenton, MO (US); Seth Wheeler, Columbia, MO (US); Justin Burke, Columbia, MO (US); James Tayon, Moberly, MO (US); and Curtis Smith, Columbia, MO (US)
Assigned to AOB Products Company, Columbia, MO (US)
Filed by AOB Products Company, Columbia, MO (US)
Filed on Mar. 31, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/219,289.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/034,597, filed on Jun. 4, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/002,788, filed on Mar. 31, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0299893 A1, Sep. 30, 2021
Int. Cl. B26B 1/08 (2006.01); B26B 1/10 (2006.01)
CPC B26B 1/08 (2013.01) [B26B 1/10 (2013.01)] 26 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An out-the-front knife comprising:
a handle having a rear end and a front opening opposite the rear end;
a blade supported by the handle, the blade having a cutting edge, the blade being movable with respect to the handle between a stowed position in the handle and a deployed position in which the blade extends out of the front opening; and
an actuator supported by the handle, the actuator being movable with respect to the handle in a deploying direction to move the blade forward away from the stowed position toward the deployed position, and the actuator being movable in a stowing direction to move the blade rearward away from the deployed position toward the stowed position;
a blade driver supported by the handle, the blade driver being configured to spring the blade toward the deployed position responsive to movement of the actuator in the deploying direction, and the blade driver being configured to spring the blade toward the stowed position responsive to movement of the actuator in the stowing direction;
wherein the blade when in the stowed position is biased rearward, and the blade driver includes a blade pusher configured to push the blade forward against said rearward bias by contact of the blade with the blade pusher responsive to movement of the actuator in the deploying direction, the blade driver being configured to spring the blade toward the deployed position after sufficient forward pushing force is applied to the blade by the blade pusher to overcome the rearward bias.