Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6371312
-
Patent Number
6,371,312
-
Date Filed
Monday, June 19, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 16, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 211 707
- 248 373
- 248 376
- D07 637
- 030 138
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A knife block provided with a blade guide having a clearance through which a blade part of knives is inserted to lead the blade part in a predetermined direction, a holder part to retain the knives engaging the grip part of the knives, a cover part surrounding the circumference of a blade part by forming a holder part on an upper aperture and a base plate on which the cover part uprightly stands with inclination is offered according to the present invention.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a knife block to hold a plurality of cooking knives and a file to grind such cooking knives (hereinafter referred to only as knives).
2. Prior Art
Kitchens of houses or restaurants are provided with knives for cooking.
In some cases, the kitchen knife housing may be found inside the partition door under the kitchen scullery. In other cases, a plurality of knives are housed in a kitchen drawer. In any case, the knives are taken out when they are demanded for cooking.
However, it can be inconvenient to access knives. For instance, when quick cooking is demanded, it is not easy to take out knives from inside of the partition door. In particular, in the case when several different kinds of knives are desired when cooking, it is an annoyance to take out the knives from, or put them back, to inside of the partition door after washing the knives with water and wiping them off. For this reason, most people lay the knives temporarily on the scullery after they use the knives. Knives placed on the scullery are very dangerous and unsanitary. The present invention has been made with the foregoing background in mind. The aim of the present invention is to offer a knife block of a simple structure and yet convenient for handling knives.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention offers a knife block comprising a plurality of knife guides provided with slots through which each knife is inserted downward, respectively. Each slot is provided with narrow gap to guide the knife to slide properly vertically downward. The knife block of the present invention further comprises a cylindrical cover plate made of stainless steel surrounding the inserted knives. There is a lid on the upper end of the cylindrical cover. The lid is provided with a plurality of slots. Said cylindrical cover stands in an upward direction with a predetermined pertinent inclination.
BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a general perspective view demonstrating a broken out section of a knife block according to the present invention.
FIG. 2
is an analytical perspective view indicating the knife block according to the present invention.
FIG. 3A
indicates an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention along the direction of the arrow marked X in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3B
indicates another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention along the direction of the arrow marked X in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 4A
is a side view of a knife guide according to the present invention.
FIG. 4B
is a perspective view of a knife guide according to the present invention.
FIG. 4C
indicates the Y—Y cross-section in FIG.
2
.
FIG. 5
indicates the inside cover part and is a cross section along the Z—Z line in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 6A
is a perspective view of a lower aperture of a cover part of the present invention.
FIG. 6B
is a cross-section along the W—W line in FIG.
6
A.
DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is explained with reference to the accompanied drawings.
In
FIG. 1
, reference numeral
1
indicates a knife block. The knife block
1
comprises a holder part
10
to retain the knives C, a cover part
20
surrounding a blade part C
1
of the knives C, a base plate
30
to secure the cover part
20
upwardly with a predetermined pertinent inclination. The cover part
20
presents a cylindrical member and it has the holder part
10
on the upper aperture. The lower aperture of the cover part
20
is detachably secured with respect to the base plate
30
.
In
FIG. 2
, the upper aperture of the cover part
20
is fixedly covered with a cap part
11
. There are provided a plurality of insert holes
15
A, on the cap part
11
. In the first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there are eight insert holes as shown in FIG.
2
. Configuration of the insert holes is determined depending upon the configuration of the blade part C
1
of the knives C to be retained. In the first aspect of the embodiments, as shown in
FIG. 3A
, the insert holes
15
A, of three different dimensions are provided in contrast with each other with respect to the center line UCL. A plurality of blade guides
12
A, are fixedly fitted to said insert holes
15
A, respectively. Meanwhile, there is provided with a support plate
13
under the holder part
10
as shown in FIG.
1
. In the support plate
13
, there are provided with a plurality of support holes
14
, which correspond to said insert holes
15
A. The blade guides
12
A are fixed with respect to each of said support holes
14
.
The relation between the blade guide
12
A and the cap part
11
, also between the blade guide
12
A and the support plate
13
, as well as the structure of the blade guide
12
A are explained with reference to FIG.
2
and
FIG. 4. A
plurality of the insert hole
15
A, the blade guide
12
A and the support hole
14
are offered in the present invention. Each of the structures of the insert hole
15
A, the blade guide
12
A and the support hole
14
are identical with each other. For this reason, one example is explained hereinafter.
FIG. 4A
is a side section of the blade guide
12
A.
FIG. 4B
is a perspective view of said blade guide
12
A.
FIG. 4C
is a Y—Y cross section in FIG.
2
. The blade guide
12
A, as shown in
FIGS. 4A and 4B
, presents a form of vertically divided guide body
12
b
and each of the two divided guide body
12
b
is integrated together through the left and right circumferential edges
12
c,
12
d.
For this reason, the guide body
12
b
has a clearance SP through which the blade part C
1
of the knives C is inserted.
The guide body
12
b
is made of plastic and offers plasticity. It retains the blade part C
1
of the knives C inserted into such clearance SP. One circumferential edge
12
d
is formed thicker comparing with the thickness of the other circumferential edge
12
c.
The blade part C
1
slidably connects with respect to the circumferential edge
12
d.
There is provided with a protrusion
12
e
at the lower end of the circumferential edge
12
d.
A user can judge the slidable connecting side of the blade C
1
quite easily.
A flange-like engagement part
12
a
is formed on the aperture side of the guide body
12
b.
There is provided a flat tapered plate
12
i
at one side of the guide body
12
b.
The other side of the guide body
12
b
is also provided with the other flat tapered plate
12
i.
FIG.
2
and
FIG. 4
indicate one of the surfaces of the guide body
12
b.
The flat tapered plate
12
i
and
12
i
are formed tapered in upright direction and gradually expanded toward the blade guide
12
A. One slit
12
f
is formed between the tapered part
12
i
and the circumferential edge
12
c.
The other slit
12
f
is formed between the flat tapered plate
12
i
and the circumferential edge
12
d.
Upper end parts
12
g
are formed on the upper end of the flat tapered plates
12
i.
(FIG.
2
and
FIG. 4
show one face only.) There is predetermined distance L between the upper end parts
12
g,
and the engagement part
12
a
(refer to FIG.
4
A).
The blade guide
12
A is, as shown in
FIG. 2
, fitted into the insert hole
15
A, and the engagement part
12
a
of said blade guide
12
A is engaged with the cap part
11
. Meanwhile, the lower end of the blade guide
12
A is fitted into the support hole
14
of the support plate
13
. The support hole
14
interferes with the flat tapered plates
12
i
gradually expanding upwardly. Then, each of the flat tapered plates
12
i
moves toward the direction to reduce the clearance SP due to actuation of slits
12
f
and the support hole
14
goes up further. When the support hole
14
goes over beyond the upper end parts
12
g,
the flat tapered plates
12
i
are released interference by the support hole
14
and expands due to elastic action of the guide body
12
b.
A position of the support plate
13
when the support hole
14
goes over the upper end parts
12
g
is indicated by the imaginary line in
FIG. 4C
(hereinafter the position is referred to as a preparation position).
The circumference of the support plate
13
is folded downwardly and forms a connecting part
13
a.
In short, when the support plate
13
is housed within the cover part
20
, the connecting part
13
a
slides the inner surface to lead the support plate
13
to move (refer to FIG.
4
C). For this reason, stability of the support plate
13
is improved. The support plate
13
is prevented from being inclined in the cover part
20
.
A bolt
16
passes through the support plate
13
. When the blade guide
12
A is reached to said preparation position, the bolt is screwed in. The tip end of the bolt
16
connects the inner surface of the cap part
11
and the support plate
13
is pressed downward. The support plate
13
is reached to the upper end parts
12
g.
12
g
of the blade guide
12
A (refer to the actual line in FIG.
4
A). The support plate
13
is engaged with the upper end parts
12
g
and supported. The thickness of the cap part
11
is larger than the thickness of the cover part
20
. The cap part
11
is endurable against the pressed bolt
16
.
FIG. 5
indicates inner state of the cover part
20
. It is a cross sectional view of the knife block along the Z—Z line indicated in FIG.
1
. The support plate
13
is held in the cover part
20
to form a space
17
. In short, the inside surface of the cover part
20
and outside part of the support plate
13
a
are not touched throughout the circumference, but the support plate
13
presents space between the cover plate
20
at both of its sides along the longitudinal direction and thus a space
17
is generated. Accordingly, when the inside of the cover part
20
is washed, water existing between the support plate and the cap part
11
is drained off smoothly (refer to FIG.
5
).
As mentioned above, the holder part
10
with respect to the embodiment of the present invention comprises the cap part
11
, a plurality of the blade guides
12
A, the support plate
13
, and bolts
16
.
The lower aperture of the cover part
20
is detachably fixed to the base plate
30
. The structure thereof is explained with the accompanied drawings
FIG. 2
, FIG.
6
A and FIG.
6
B.
FIG. 6A
indicates a perspective view of the lower aperture
21
of the cover part
20
.
FIG. 6B
is a cross section along the W—W line in FIG.
6
A. The lower part of the cover part
20
is sliced off with an inclination with respect to the center line CL of the cylinder (refer to FIG.
6
B). The sliced surface forms the lower aperture
21
.
Meanwhile, there is formed a recessed part
31
on the base plate
30
made of hard rubber or rubber like material. The configuration of a circumferential side wall
31
a
(refer to
FIG. 2
) on the base plate
30
corresponds to the configuration of the lower aperture
21
of the cover part
20
. Thus, the lower aperture
21
of the cover part
20
is relatively and fixedly fitted to the circumferential side wall
31
a
from the inclined direction. Due to such configuration, the lower aperture
21
is placed horizontally with respect to the surface of the base plate
30
. An acute angle part
21
a
of the lower aperture is engaged with the circumferential side wall
31
a
of the recessed part
31
of the base plate
30
. Now the cover part
20
stands with an inclination but it stands stably. As the base plate
30
is made of hard rubber or rubber like material, the cover part
20
is always held stably due to elastic power of the material of the base plate
30
. It is also easy to take out the cover part
20
from the circumferential side wall
31
a
of the base plate
30
.
There are formed protrusions
21
b
around the circumferential edge of the lower aperture
21
. The three protrusions
21
b
are intended to set the cover part
20
stably on the base plate
30
. It is thus required to provide said three protrusions at a position to connect them at least with a triangle configuration (refer to a dot line in FIG.
6
A). In particular, when configuration of the cross section of the cover part
20
presents an ellipse configuration, one protrusion
21
b
is placed on one end of the longitudinal axis and other two protrusions
21
b
are provided at contrast positions on the circumferential edge of the lower aperture
21
with respect to the center line of the longitudinal axis of the lower aperture. It goes without saying that the configuration of the lower aperture
21
of the cover part
20
not strictly limited to a fixed ellipse configuration but other configuration such as Japanese straw shoes or cocoon are also included.
One end of said longitudinal axis of the lower aperture
21
indicates an acute angle part
21
a.
However, in the embodiment of the present invention, the other end of said longitudinal axis indicates an obtuse angle side part
21
c
as shown with two dots line in FIG.
6
B.
The cover part
20
is surrounded with stainless steel plate and is welded two edges together. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the edge to be welded is the other end of the longitudinal axis of the cover part
20
. Welding is performed along the edges of the cover plate starting from the obtuse angle side part
21
c
of the lower aperture
21
. When welding is performed it is required to finish the welded parts with preferable finishing treatment such as grinding or the like. If the obtuse angle side part
21
c
should not be formed, a recess is appeared at the starting position of the welding and it becomes impossible to repair the cover part
20
afterward. Formation of the obtuse angle side part
21
c
is thus desired to conceal such a recess in finishing treatment.
Next, a method to assemble the knife block
1
according to the present invention and the effect thereof are explained with the accompanied drawings
FIG. 1
, FIG.
2
and FIG.
4
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the lower part of the knife guide
12
A is relatively fitted in the insert hole
15
A. As shown in
FIG. 4
, the flange like engagement part
12
a
formed on the upper part of the blade guide
12
A is caught to the upper surface of the cap part
11
.
Next, press the support plate
13
into the cover part
20
. The support hole
14
of the support plate
13
is relatively fitted into the lower part of the blade guide
12
A. When the support plate
13
is further pressed, the support plate
13
is reached to the preparation point indicated with the imaginary lines in FIG.
4
.
When the support plate
13
is placed on the preparation point, bolts
16
are tightened. The clearance between the support plate
13
and the cap part
11
is expanded and an engagement part
12
a
of the blade guide
12
A is engaged with the cap part
11
. The upper end parts
12
g
are assembled to the support plate
13
. The holder part
10
is completely fixed to the upper aperture of the cover part
20
.
Next, fix the lower aperture
21
of the cover part
20
into the recess part
31
of the base plate
30
. The cover part
20
stands upright with a predetermined pertinent inclination. The knife block is thus completed. When the knife block
1
is practically used, the base plate
10
is placed on a table. As indicated in
FIG. 1
, the cap part
11
stands upright with a predetermined pertinent inclination to use said knife block
1
. The knives C are retained in the holder part
10
in the cap part
11
. In practice, the knives C are inserted through the clearance SP of the blade guide
12
A. The blade guide
12
A to receive the blade part C
1
is fixed to the cap part
11
and the support plate
13
. The direction of the knives C to be inserted is lead by the blade guide
12
A and trembling defect in leftward and rightward direction is prevented. Meanwhile, as inserting the blade part C
1
a grip part C
2
is engaged with the cap part
11
and stopped. In other words, the grip part C
2
of the knives C is engaged with the cap part
11
. In short, the grip part C
2
of the knives C is engaged with the cap part
11
and it is placed between the blade guides
12
A. The knives C retained as such are easily taken out when it is demanded. No drawers and no opening gate under the scullery is required. It is quite convenient to treat cooking materials.
When washing the knife block
1
, it is easy to wash the cover part
20
taking out the knives C from the knife block
1
because the cover part
20
and the base plate
30
are detachable. There is a space
17
between the connecting part
13
a
of the support plate
13
and the inner surface of the cover part
20
as shown in FIG.
5
. Water is easily drained out. Automatic washing machine is applied quite easily.
The inventor has explained the detail of the first embodiment of the present invention.
Next, the detail of the second embodiment of the present invention is explained. In
FIG. 3B
, as indicated in the first embodiment, there are provided a plurality of insert holes
15
A and the blade guides
12
A. In this embodiment, a file bar insert hole
15
B and the blade guide
12
B are provided. The insert hole
15
B and the blade guide
12
B comprises a clearance SP. The configuration of the clearance SP is formed such that the crossing point of the longer axis and the shorter axis of the ellipse is piled on the center of the circle. The length of the shorter axis of the ellipse is shorter than the radius of the circle configuration.
In common, grinding part of the file bar presents circle or ellipse configuration. Thus, the above configuration of the insert hole
15
B and the blade guide
12
B is convenient to receive a file of circle or ellipse configuration.
According to the present invention, to house a plurality of knives and taking out them quickly becomes possible. It is very convenient to use them in cooking. It is safer because the knives are guided by means of the blade guide and safely retained. Each of the knives is independently kept without touching each other. The structure of the knife block according to the present invention is simple. It is easy to manufacture.
Claims
- 1. A knife block comprising:a knife guide having: a clearance through which a blade part of a knife is inserted, wherein the knife guide guides a knife downward, a cover part surrounding the blade part of a knife, a cap part, a holder part to retain a knife by engaging a grip part of a knife, wherein the holder part is provided on an aperture of said cap part, and a base plate to secure the cover part in an upright direction with inclination.
US Referenced Citations (8)