The technical field relates to leverage based cutting systems having means for enabling the user to utilize a variety of common kitchen knives in traditional cutting as well as leverage-assisted cutting thereby reducing the effort of food preparation while constraining the number of untoward knife motions in the cutting of a wide variety of foodstuffs even for people of limited dexterity and strength.
Food preparation consumes a considerable amount of time and energy in the daily routine of many families' lives. The effort required for cutting or slicing larger vegetables can be problematic, especially for people with limited strength or dexterity. Large vegetables, such as turnips, squash, melon, yarns, and others all represent a particularly problematic challenge, since the force required to chop these vegetables is considerable and they all have a tendency to roll. Many users find this lack of stability to be a challenge and a safety concern.
By providing a pivot point that is integrated to the food preparation surface, one can match their cutting device into a pivot point and place the food to be cut between the pivot and the handle of the cutting device. In such a way, the user gains beneficial leverage while constraining the total number of forces to be managed. This greatly reduces cutting effort, reduces undesired knife motion and reduces untoward motion of foodstuffs. When the knife is cutting in a downward direction on the food, the force on the pivot point will be in the upward direction. There will also be linear forces along the knife. Typically, linear forces are along a vector that emanates from the hand on the handle pushing down toward the blade.
Other cutting devices known in the art include traditional paper cutters as well as a leverage cutting board known as the “Cape-Cod Cutting Board” and other devices that connect the knife to a pivot attached to the cutting board. Slicing devices known in the prior art generally comprise a frame coupled to a blade in one of several well-known configurations. In one example of a typical slicing device, the blade is fixed to the frame. The foodstuff is sliced by moving the foodstuff over or under an exposed element of the blade. Users may encounter difficulty when there is a small amount of foodstuff between their hand and the blade.
The prior art also discloses a slicing device where the knife is pivotably mounted to the frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,994 provides a fixture for attaching a knife to a breadboard. The front end of the knife is pivoted to the attachment so that the knife may be pivotably swung for chopping foodstuff. In another arrangement the knife is provided with a longitudinally extending slot at the forward end so that the knife may be guided and moved longitudinally for slicing food and the like. The prior art also discloses a knife-like device with parallel blades for chopping food. The blades may be pivotably attached to the frame and coupled together to move in parallel to each other. As will be evident to one skilled in the art, the inability to move the pivot axis with respect to the frame will constrain the knife edge to move along a fixed slicing path and will likely limit the size of foodstuff that can be sliced using such an arrangement.
In U.S. Pat. No. 717,223 the adjustable slicing device is disclosed which attempts to solve the problem of the positioning of the blade when it makes its initial slice by slidably coupling the blade or blades to a post mounted perpendicular to the base. This slicing device has limits to variety of sizes of foodstuffs that can be sliced and the slicing device cannot be effectively used to slice hard foodstuffs such as squash.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,685 a cutting board and a leveraged knife apparatus which facilitates cutting of objects is disclosed. The apparatus includes a cutting board having a vertically oriented support member having a plurality of fulcrums positioned at convenient, discrete vertical intervals proceeding upwardly from the cutting board. The apparatus includes a knife probably a chef's knife, with tip of blade having on its upper proximate edge, means for removably engaging a convenient one of the fulcrums. However, the disadvantage with the art is that there is a limitation on the precision to which the height of the knife can be adjusted. The size of the foodstuff being sliced is generally limited. This happens because the distance between the knife and board is fixed. Assuming that the cutting device starts parallel to the cutting surface, after cutting mid way through a large vegetable or fruit, intentional removal of the knife might be required to change the fulcrum point to a lower one so as to continue further cutting of the article, thus making the process cumbersome at times. Further, a specially provisioned knife has to be used with the same.
Yet another prior art discloses a repositionable blade with a pair of bosses. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,455,005, the pair of bosses on the knife preferably coupled to a set of fixed fulcrums acting as a pivot for the blade is described. The pivot or lever action of the blade permits a user to more easily cut through tough or hard foodstuff. It has multiple fulcrum points to permit a user to lower the blade to make successively deeper slices. The slicing device may also dissemble for cleaning and sanitizing. However, the disadvantages with the art include that there is a limitation on the precision to which the height of the knife can be adjusted, that it will not function without a specialized knife with bosses, and that the engagement is prone to unwanted disengagement. The knife being used is a specially customized knife with a protocol for assembling it with the apparatus before being used. The device requires that the user pull on the handle while cutting to prevent disengagement of the knife bosses to the fulcrums and the consequential auto-release. Exerting a constant pulling upon a knife while cutting is not a natural activity for many people. The manufactures have added a downward facing segment at the rear edge of the specialized knife handle that presumably may assist in exerting such a pulling force. A special additional locking mechanism is specified, which fixes the specialized knife into only one fulcrum, it may become separated from the device in the kitchen and be unavailable for use.
According to the present invention there is disclosed a leverage based cutting apparatus with adjustable and detachable tower having a sliding holster on it and a base having two surfaces opposing each other and equally capable of receiving the foodstuffs to be sliced or chopped. The tower has a toothed rack present on one of its front face, sidewalls, rear wall and chamfered edge to engage the sliding holster at an adjustable height. The sliding holster can be moved vertically along the length of the erect tower so as to adjust the pivot height for preferred leverage action while cutting a foodstuff. The sliding holster has at least one tooth to engage with the toothed rack, and an opening slot to receive the anterior end of a cutting device such as a kitchen knife. The sliding holster is locked and unlocked by generation of pressure through the knife into the sliding holster, said holster having a mechanism that maintains the teeth of the holster away from the toothed rack until such sufficient pressure engages the holster teeth with the toothed rack. In an embodiment, the sliding holster is normally unlocked due to an outward pressure generated by a spring member on the sliding holster; when the tip of the knife exerts a counter pressure on the rear wall of the member, thus overcoming the pressure of the spring member, the sliding holster locks with the tower by engaging at least one tooth on the sliding holster with at least one toothed rack. The locking and unlocking of the sliding holster can be visually observed by the user allowing a natural understanding of the mechanism and the necessary force required to maintain locked engagement. Windows on the side walls of the tower provide easy access to the center of the sliding holster to remove debris that may enter. In one embodiment of the invention, the spring member comprises a leaf spring.
In an embodiment of the invention, the tower can be rotated through different positions, lying horizontally adjacent to the base when not in use and lying vertical to the base when readied for perpendicular cutting. The tower may be rotated to other angles given proper locking mechanism to allow for obtuse or acute cutting angles. As such, the aesthetics and ease of storage of a cutting board when not in use is maintained.
In another embodiment, the surfaces of the base have a groove extending through is breadth from the point of attachment of the tower to receive the cutting device in operation, said groove is further encapsulated by a variety of materials to enhance the functionality of the system; for example, a metal strip so as to obviate the chipping of the base surface itself or a variable durometer deformable elastomeric strip of sufficient depth to enable vertical deformation and enable radiused blades to greatly extend the range of contact between the knife edge and the board, thereby helping to cut all the way through a given foodstuff.
In an embodiment of the invention, the sliding holster is locked with the tower through frictional forces generated between the mutually facing respective walls of the tower and sliding holster. The frictional forces may be enhanced by providing bushings in said sliding holster in such a manner that the push force of knife increases the contact surface pressure between the respective facing walls.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, a ball and ramp locking mechanism can be employed, wherein a floating ball is freely positioned in a socket of the sliding holster also against a vertical tower. When the sliding holster moves vertically upward the floating ball is forced downwards in the socket thus developing a pressure on the tower and enabling locking of the sliding holster with the tower. Unlocking is performed by knocking the floating ball upwards with a pin that can be inserted into the socket through an opening in the supporting unit.
Further aspects, features, embodiments, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, wherein:
The invention is directed towards a leverage based cutting and chopping apparatus with adjustable and detachable tower having a sliding holster on it and a base having two surfaces opposing each other and equally capable of receiving the foodstuffs to be sliced or chopped. The tower has a toothed rack present either on its front face, sidewalls, or rear wall and have indents to engage a sliding holster at an adjustable height. The sliding holster has at least one tooth to engage with at least one toothed rack, and an opening slot to receive the anterior end of a cutting device such as a chef's knife. The sliding holster is locked and unlocked due to forward pressure and counter pressure of the cutting device.
In an embodiment, the sliding holster is unlocked due to an outward pressure generated by a leaf spring on the sliding holster. When the tip of cutting device exerts sufficient pressure on the rear wall of the sliding holster, the leaf spring pressure is overcome thus locking the sliding holster with the tower by engaging at least one tooth on the sliding holster with at least one toothed rack. The locking and unlocking of the sliding holster can be observed by the user allowing a natural self-learning of the required forward pressure required to maintain locked engagement. The locking and unlocking of the sliding holster can also be observed through the windows on the side walls of the tower which also allow accessing the center of the sliding holster to remove debris that may have entered.
In an embodiment of the invention, the tower can be flipped, lying horizontally adjacent to the base when not in use.
In an embodiment, the surfaces of the base have a groove extending through is breadth from the point of attachment of the tower to receive the cutting device in operation, said groove is further encapsulated by a variety of materials to enhance the functionality of the system; for example, a metal strip so as to obviate the chipping of the base surface itself or a variable durometer deformable elastomeric strip to enable surface contact with radiused or serrated blades thereby cutting all the way through a given foodstuff.
In an embodiment of the invention, a plurality of towers of different heights for different sizes of foodstuffs and different sizes of cutting devices is disclosed.
In an embodiment of the invention, the tower has side holes or windows to allow the observation of locking and unlocking of the sliding holster and removal of debris that may have entered the sliding holster.
In an embodiment, the toothed rack is present on the side walls of the tower with a wrap-around or semi-wrap around sliding holster attached to it.
Referring to
In operation, a user can use any familiar cutting device 201 and can cut in a conventional manner upon the cutting surface or can easily switch to leverage based cutting by inserting the tip of the cutting device 201 into the sliding holster 102 as shown in the
Referring to
According to the alternate embodiments with respect to the various locking mechanisms disclosed,
According to the yet another alternate embodiments with respect to the locking mechanisms disclosed,
According to the yet another alternate embodiments with respect to the locking mechanisms disclosed,
According to still another alternate embodiment with respect to the locking mechanisms disclosed,
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Based on the foregoing description, it will be readily understood by the persons skilled in the art that the present invention represents broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those specifically described herein, as well as many variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing descriptions thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention.
Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to one or more preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for the purpose of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications or equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/285,174 filed Dec. 9, 2009, entitled “Leverage Based Cutting Board Systems” which is incorporated herein by reference as to its entire contents.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61285174 | Dec 2009 | US |