Patent Application
20110192036
1. Technical Field
This disclosure is related to kitchen and/or food preparation tools, and more particularly, to a handheld device for slicing a food item, such as a banana.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the culinary arts, efficiency and presentation are both crucial to preparation of food items. One preparation task that is time-consuming is slicing food items. Food items that are frequently sliced include fruits and vegetables, such as bananas and cucumbers. Conventional methods of slicing include, in the simplest form, using a knife. However, such methods are time-consuming and can produce uneven or irregular food slices. For example, in the case of a banana, a user must methodically slice the banana along a length thereof, resulting in wasted energy and typically inconsistent banana slices. Such elementary methods are cumbersome and time-consuming, and pose a risk of injury to a user.
Other existing devices that are more expedient to use include tools having ribs or blades that may be pressed onto food items, such as bananas or apples, to produce multiple slices simultaneously. Examples of such devices include those shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,035,056 and 7,266,894. These types of devices generally require the food item to rest on a rigid work surface (e.g., a table or cutting board) so that a user can press the device through the food item against resistance provided by the work surface. Consequently, food is generally sliced remote from a location where it is ultimately used or from which it is consumed, thereby necessitating additional food handling that results in wasted time and energy. These devices are also difficult or cumbersome to handle and typically require that the device be operated with two hands.
The handheld food slicers described herein are particularly well suited for quickly and efficiently cutting food items into multiple slices and in a manner that allows for direct placement or depositing of the same at a location of interest, such as, for example, a prepared dish or a storage container.
According to one embodiment, a handheld food slicer may be summarized as including a first handle having a plurality of elongated fingers, each finger separated from an adjacent finger by a blade receiving slot; a second handle movably coupled to the first handle; and a plurality of blade members coupled to the second handle in spaced alignment with the blade receiving slots to mate with the fingers to collectively define a food receiving passageway when the first and the second handles are in an expanded configuration in which a distal end of the first handle is at least partially spaced apart from a distal end of the second handle, the fingers of the first handle configured to pass through the food receiving passageway adjacent the blade members as the first and the second handles move from the expanded configuration towards a compressed configuration in which the distal end of each of the first and the second handles is relatively closer to the other. The handheld food slicer may further include a spring to bias the first and the second handles toward the expanded configuration. A pivot pin may rotatably couple the second handle to the first handle. A curvilinear portion of each of the fingers of the first handle may cooperate with the blade members to collectively define the food receiving passageway. The food receiving passageway may be substantially cylindrical. The distal end of the second handle may be formed about a portion of each of the blade members to rigidly secure the blade members thereto. The blade members may be spaced equally along a central axis of the food receiving passageway or may be irregularly spaced along the central axis.
Each of the handles 20, 30 is generally elongated and includes the respective first end 21, 31 and a respective second end 22, 32 (also referred to as a distal end). A connection structure is located proximate the first end 21 of the first handle 20 for coupling or mating the first handle 20 to the second handle 30. As illustrated, the connection structure may take the form of upstanding lugs 23 having pivot apertures 24 sized to receive the pivot pin 40. The pivot pin 40 may comprise, for example, a multi-part structure including complementary threaded pin members 40a, 40b. The lugs 23 may be spaced apart at a distance sufficient to receive the spring 60 therebetween. The spring 60 may be a helical torsion spring, a compression spring or the like.
A connection structure is similarly located proximate the first end 31 of the second handle 30. The connection structure of the second handle 30 may likewise take the form of upstanding lugs 33 having pivot apertures 34 sized to receive the pivot pin 40. The lugs 33 of the second handle 30 may be positioned to fit between the lugs 23 of the first handle 20, as illustrated in
A plurality of elongated fingers 26 are located at the second end 22 of the first handle 20. The fingers 26 are separated from each other by blade receiving slots 27. The blade receiving slots 27 have a width approximately equal to a corresponding blade member 50 coupled to the second end 32 of the second handle 30. Although the illustrated embodiment includes seven separate elongated fingers 26, in other embodiments, the handheld food slicer 10 may include more or fewer fingers 26. In addition, a width of the fingers 26 may vary in accordance with a desired width of sliced food items. For example, thinner fingers 26 may be provided for applications in which thinly sliced food items are desired. Conversely, wider fingers 26 may be provided for applications in which thicker sliced food items are desired.
The fingers 26 may extend seamlessly from a base of the first handle 20 such that an outer surface of the first handle 20 appears uninterrupted. The second handle 30 may also include a contoured outer surface that likewise appears uninterrupted and which may be complementarily shaped with respect to the first handle 20. In some embodiments, the outer surface of the handles 20, 30 may be complementarily shaped to reflect a food item for which the slicer 10 is particularly adapted to slice. For instance, a slicer 10 particularly adapted to receive and slice bananas may include handles 20, 30 having outer surfaces that reflect part of a banana, as illustrated in
As indicated above, blade members 50 are coupled to the second end 32 of the second handle 30. The blade members 50 are spaced along a central axis A to align with the blade receiving slots 27 of the first handle 20. The blade members 50 and hence blade receiving slots 27 may be spaced in equal intervals, as illustrated, or in alternate embodiments may be irregularly spaced. Each of the blade members 50 includes a blade edge profile 56 that generally corresponds to the shape of a food item to be sliced. For example, each blade member 50 may include an arcuate or a circular blade edge profile 56 corresponding to a shape of a food item having a generally circular cross-sectional profile, such as, for example, a banana. The blade members 50 and fingers 26 are positioned to collectively define a food receiving passageway P that extends generally transverse to a length of the elongated handles 20, 30.
In some embodiments, the blade edge profiles 56 may comprise closed profiles, such as complete circular or elliptical profiles. In other embodiments, the blade edge profiles 56 may comprise open profiles. For example, the embodiment illustrated in
Each blade member 50 further includes a structure for coupling to the second handle 30. This structure may comprise, for example, a protruding portion 52 adapted to be received by or otherwise coupled to the second handle 30. The blade members 50 may be attached to the second handle 30 by clips, snaps, detents or other fastening structures or may be formed integrally therewith. For example, the second handle 30 may be formed around the protruding portion 52 of each blade member 50 via a molding process. The blade members 50 may further include one or more apertures 54 for receiving material of the second handle 30 during a molding process to facilitate secure attachment.
Operation of the handheld food slicer 10 is further discussed with particular reference to
With reference to
As the slicer 10 transitions to the compressed configuration C, the fingers 26 of the first handle 20 pass through the food receiving passageway P adjacent the blade members 50. As such, when a food item is in the passageway P, the fingers 26 push the food item into engagement with the blade edge profile 56 of each blade member 50. As the fingers 26 move through the passageway P, the blade members 50 penetrate the food item and cut the same into sliced pieces. As discussed above, the slicer 10 may be manipulated during the slicing process to various orientations. Accordingly, a user can selectively place sliced food products into storage containers or onto prepared dishes, for example, without additional handling. The slicer 10 thus provides a particularly versatile food slicing mechanism.
The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.
These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61303419 | Feb 2010 | US |
