Patent Application
20080156204
The present application relates to food processor appliances, and particularly to such appliances for cutting food articles into desired forms.
Many food processor appliances are known for slicing, shredding, or otherwise cutting food articles, such as fruits and vegetables, into various forms. The conventional appliance of this type generally includes rotary cutter or shredder blades, examples of such appliances being described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,546,928, 4,928,893 and 6,748,853. Such appliances, however, cannot be used to cut food articles in certain forms, such as into longitudinally-extending sticks or the like; they are also difficult to clean.
Appliances are also known which include reciprocating cutter members, rather than rotary cutter members. An example of an appliance including a reciprocatory cutter member is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,332. However, the known appliances of this type also have a number of drawbacks, particularly with respect to ease of disassembly and reassembly for cleaning purposes, and/or the various forms in which the food articles can be cut.
An object of the present invention is to provide a food processor appliance of the reciprocatory cutter member type having advantages in one or more of the above respects.
According to one broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a food processor appliance for cutting food articles into a desired form, comprising: a housing including a removable top wall; a feed chute carried by the top wall, and removable therewith, the feed chute having an inlet end projecting outwardly of the top wall, and an outlet end leading through the top wall into the housing; a pusher member for pushing food articles through the feed chute into the housing; a cutter device within the housing and aligned with the outlet end of the feed chute, the cutter device being mounted for reciprocatory forward and return movements transversely across the outlet end of the feed chute for cutting food articles fed therethrough into the desired form; and an electrical drive unit including an electrical motor controlled by an on/off switch for reciprocating the cutter device; the electrical drive unit being conveniently attachable to the housing for reciprocating the cutter device, and removable from the housing to facilitate cleaning the cutting device; the electrical drive unit including an interlock electrical switch normally disabling the drive unit, but actuatable to enable the drive unit; the feed chute including an actuator laterally thereof for actuating the interlock electrical switch, and thereby the drive unit, when the drive unit is located in its proper position on the top wall of the housing.
According to further features in the described preferred embodiment, the actuator includes a pin fixed to and extending laterally of the feed chute, the pin being receivable in a socket in the side wall of the electrical drive unit such that the pin, when received in the electrical drive unit, also properly locates the electrical drive unit on the housing top wall. The described preferred embodiment, the feed chute is of a cylindrical configuration, and a drive the side thereof facing the electrical drive unit includes the laterally-extending pin. The side of the electrical drive unit formed with the socket includes a curved recess conforming to the curvature of the feed chute; and the bottom of the electrical drive unit is formed with two further sockets for receiving pins formed at the respective end of the housing top wall to precisely locate the electrical drive unit with respect to the feed chute and housing top wall.
According to a further feature in the described preferred embodiment, the electrical drive unit includes a top wall and opposed side walls formed with recesses configured to serve as hand grips facilitating grasping the electrical drive unit for application to, or removal of, the electrical drive unit with respect to the housing top wall.
As will be described more particularly below, a food processor appliance constructed in accordance with the foregoing features may be conveniently disassembled for cleaning purposes, and then conveniently reassembled for proper operation.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a food processor appliance for cutting food articles into a desired form, comprising: a housing including a removable top wall; a feed chute carried by the top wall, and removable therewith, the feed chute having an inlet end projecting outwardly of the top wall, and an outlet end leading through the top wall into the housing; a pusher member for pushing food articles through the feed chute into the housing; a cutter device within the housing and aligned with the outlet end of the feed chute, the cutter device being mounted for reciprocatory forward and return movements transversely across the outlet end of the feed chute for cutting food articles fed therethrough into the desired form; and a drive for reciprocating the cutter device; the cutter device including a first blade extending transversely across the path of movement of the cutter holder during its reciprocations; and a group of spaced further blades extending perpendicularly to the first blade and parallel to the path of movement of the cutter holder during its reciprocations, such that the cutter member cuts the food articles into longitudinally-extending strips.
In the described preferred embodiment, the first blade extends substantially horizontally parallel to the removable top wall of the housing, and the group of spaced further blades extends substantially vertically with respect to the removable top wall of the housing.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the cutter member includes a blade extending transversely across the path of movement of the cutter holder during its reciprocations; the blade having a cutting edge on each of its opposite ends such as to cut a slice of the food article during both the forward and return reciprocatory movements of the cutter device.
As will be described more particularly below, the foregoing features provide an appliance that can be used for cutting food articles, such as fruits and vegetables, into a wide variety of different forms and shapes, and which can also be conveniently assembled and disassembled for cleaning purposes.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.
The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
a-10c are various views illustrating the cutter holder in the cutter device of
a-11d are various views of the cutter member included in the cutter device of
a-12d are various views of another type of cutter member which may be conveniently used in the cutter device of
a-13d are various views of a further type of cutter member which may be used in the cutter device of
a-14d are various views of a still further type of cutter member which may be used in the cutter device of
a-15c are various views of inserts which may be used with the cutter device of
It is to be understood that the foregoing drawings, and the description below, are provided primarily for purposes of facilitating understanding the conceptual aspects of the invention and possible embodiments thereof, including what is presently considered to be a preferred embodiment. In the interest of clarity and brevity, no attempt is made to provide more details than necessary to enable one skilled in the art, using routine skill and design, to understand and practice the described invention. It is to be further understood that the embodiments described are for purposes of example only, and that the invention is capable of being embodied in other forms and applications than described herein.
The food processor appliance illustrated in the drawings is designed particularly for cutting food articles into various desired forms, such as shreddings, slices, sticks, and the like, and also to permit convenient disassembly and reassembly of the appliance for cleaning purposes.
As shown particularly in
As shown particularly in
Such a construction permits removable top wall 24 to be conveniently attached to housing 21 by first passing pin 21b through opening 24b of the top wall while the top wall is in an angular position with respect to housing member 21, and then pivoting the top wall to cause its depending flange 24a to engage the thickened rim 21a of housing member 21 with a friction fit.
Removable top wall 24 of housing 2 is further formed with a pair of upstanding pins 26 at one end, and with a longitudinally-extending slot 27 between the pins. As will be described below, pins 26 cooperate with the electrical drive unit 6 to properly locate it in the assembled condition of the appliance, and slot 27 cooperates with electrical drive unit for coupling its reciprocatory drive to cutter device 4 within housing 2.
Housing 2 further includes a pair of resilient strips 28 fixed to the bottom wall of its outer housing member 21 at its opposite ends, to permit the appliance to be stably supported on a flat horizontal surface.
Feed chute 3, through which the food articles are pushed by pusher member 5 into the housing into contact with the cutter device 4 therein, is of cylindrical configuration. Preferably, it is of a relatively large diameter to accommodate whole food articles, so as not to necessitate the cutting of the food articles into smaller pieces before fed into the feed chute.
As shown in
The upper end of feed chute 3 includes a projection 33 at the side thereof facing the electrical drive unit 6. As will be described below, projection 33 serves as an actuator for an interlocked switch within electrical drive unit 6 to assure that the electrical drive unit is properly mounted on the appliance before its electrical motor can be energized.
Cutter device 4 is mounted within housing 2 aligned with the outlet end 31 of the feed chute 3. As shown particularly in
Cutter holder 41 is open at the top but includes a marginal flange 41a at the bottom for removably receiving cutter plate 42. In addition, the front wall of holder 41 is formed with a recess 41b to facilitate the application and removal of the cutter plate.
Cutter holder 41 further includes a plurality of pins or rollers 44 extending laterally of each side of the holder. These pins or rollers serve to mount the cutter device for reciprocatory movements on rails 25 (
Pusher member 5, as best seen in
The intermediate portion of pusher member 5, between its hand-graspable end 51 and its food-contacting end 52, is constituted of four crossed-ribs having outer edges of an inwardly-curved configuration. Such a construction efficiently transmits the manual force applied via the outer end 51 of the pusher member to its inner end 52 in contact with the food articles to be cut.
The electrical drive unit 6, as also best seen in
In addition, the side wall of housing 60 facing feed chute 3 is formed with a curved recess 63 conforming to the curvature of the outer surface of the feed chute for firmly nesting the electrical drive unit with respect to the feed chute. The upper end of the curved recessed portion 63 of housing 60 includes an opening 64 located to receive projection 33 of the feed chute 3.
As shown in
However, as further shown in
As further seen in
As will be described more particularly below, the foregoing construction permits the convenient disassembly of the various components of the appliance for purposes of cleaning, and reassembly for continued operation.
The foregoing construction also conveniently permits the selection of the appropriate cutter member to be used according to the desired form into which the food article is to be cut.
a-12d illustrate another type of cutter member, generally designated 70, for cutting the food articles into longitudinally-extending sticks or strips, such as potato sticks or strips. Thus, cutter member 70 includes a mounting plate 71 having a thickness which is reduced along a mid-portion diagonal line 72 to define a reduced thickness in section 73 bordered on opposite sides by walls 74, 75 serving as continuations of the upper surface of main section of mounting plate 71. A first blade 76 is fixed to mounting plate 71 such that the cutting edge of the blade projects slightly past the diagonal wall 72. A group of spaced further blades 77 are fixed to the reduced-thickness section 73 of the mounting plate to extend perpendicularly to blade 76 and parallel to the path of movement of the cutter member 70 during its reciprocations. One end of mounting plate 71 is formed with an axially-extending tab 78, corresponding to tab 48 of cutter member 42 in
It will thus be seen that when cutter member 70 is applied to cutter holder 41 of
a-13d illustrate another cutter member, generally designated 80, effective to cut the food articles into slices. Cutter member 80 includes a mounting plate 81 divided into two reduced-thickness sections 81a, 81b, separated at its mid-portion by a diagonally-extending strip 82. A cutter blade 83 is fixed to the mid-section 82, and is formed with a cutting edge 83a projecting slightly outwardly of the mid-section 82. The two end sections 81a, 81b, and the mid-section 82 are bordered on opposite sides by upstanding walls 84, 85, each formed with an in-turned flange 86, 87. One end of mounting plate 81 is formed with an axially-extending tab 88, corresponding to axial tab 78 in cutter member 70 of
It will be seen that cutter member 80 may be conveniently applied to the cutter holder 41 by merely finger-grasping the mounting plate 81 via finger-gripping recess 89 and inserting tab 88 into slot 47 of the cutter holder, as described above with respect to
a-14d illustrate a cutter member, therein generally designated 80′, of substantially the same construction as cutter member 80 in
One variation is that the horizontal blade 83 includes two cutting edges 83a and 83b, such that using that cutter member produces a slice of the food article during each forward movement and also during each return movement of the cutter member.
Another variation is included in the cutter member 80′ illustrated in
a-15e more particularly illustrate the construction of each of the inserts 91a, 91b. It will be seen that their confronting edges 92, 93 are formed at a diagonal, and are also tapered. The construction is such that when cutting blade 83 is applied thereover, as shown particularly in
It will be appreciated that if more than two different thicknesses of slices are desired, several inserts of different thicknesses may be provided for selective introduction into the cutter member. It will also be appreciated that if it is desired to cut the food articles into thick and thin slices alternating with each other, an insert may be applied to only one side of the cutter member.
The manner of using the food cutter appliance illustrated in the drawings will be apparent from the above description. Thus, when the appliance is assembled as illustrated in
If it is desired to cut the food articles into other forms, top wall 23 of the housing 2 is removed to expose cutter device 4, whereupon the cutter member within cutter holder 41 may be conveniently replaced according to the desired form of cuttings to be produced. For example, if longitudinally-extending sticks or strips are to be produced, cutter holder 70 illustrated in
The arrangement for locking the removable top wall 24 in the upper end of housing member 21, including pin 21b in the housing member, opening 24b in the top wall peripheral flange 24a and the friction fit between peripheral flange 24a and the thickened rim 21a of the housing member, permit convenient and secure arrangement of the removable top wall and convenient detachment thereof for cleaning purposes, cutter-member changing purposes, etc.
The hand gripping recesses, 61, 62 of the electrical drive unit 6 facilitate the application and removal of the drive unit together with the top wall 24. The provision of interlock switch 68 (
While the invention has been described with respect to one preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that this is set forth merely for purposes of example, and that many other variations, modifications and applications of the invention may be made.
