Patent Application
20060048394
The present invention generally relates to food preparation devices and, more particularly, to an improved shearing or cutting apparatus.
Kitchen scissors or shears are often used to cut through food items that are not conveniently severed using conventional knives. For example, kitchen shears provide a relatively controlled and safe method of cutting through such items as chicken bones and other hard-to-cut foodstuffs.
Currently known kitchen shears are undesirable in a number of respects. For example, many kitchen shears are configured and shaped like standard household scissors, allowing the user's hand to fit within loops, and requiring the user to apply outward force to open the scissors after cutting. In order to assist in opening the blades, some prior art kitchen shears provide a spring loaded mechanism. Such shears are often termed “spring-assisted” shears.
At the same time, conventional kitchen shears can be difficult to clean, as the hinge or pivot point of the shears is a relatively small gap that can be contaminated with foodstuffs, bacteria, etc. In order to address this problem, some prior art shears allow the two halves of the unit to be separated, therefore facilitating cleaning in a dishwasher or the like.
Despite the above, no currently known spring-assisted shears are capable of being separated into separate components for easy cleaning. This is due in part to the difficulty of designing shears in the context of conflicting goals, i.e., producing shears that are both spring loaded (thus forcing the two halves apart) and separatable (thus requiring the two halves to be held together).
Accordingly, there is a need for shearing and cutting devices which overcome these and other limitation of the prior art.
In general, the present invention provides a novel set of kitchen shears that are spring-assisted to provide efficient cutting action and, at the same time, allow disassembly into two or more components to facilitate cleaning of the unit. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the kitchen shears include: a first shears segment including a first handle rigidly coupled to a first blade, and a second shears segment including a second handle rigidly coupled to a second blade, wherein at least one edge of at least one of said first and second blades includes a sharpened edge; said first and second shears segments being removeably coupled about a pivot point such that said shears have an open state and a closed state, wherein said closed state corresponds to a user applying compressive force to said first and second handles, and wherein said open state corresponds to the absence of a compressive force to said first and second handles; and a spring apparatus mechanically coupled to said first and second handles to position said shears in said open state.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description when considered in connection with the Figures, where like reference numbers refer to similar elements throughout the Figures, and:
The following description is of exemplary embodiments of the invention only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description is intended to provide a convenient illustration for implementing various embodiments of the invention. As will become apparent, various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described in these embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
In general, the present invention provides a set of kitchen shears whose blades can be separated (e.g., for easy cleaning), while at the same time being spring-assisted and lockable. Referring to
As shown in
Lock actuator 107 fits within a lock opening 502 and has a suitable locking mechanism configured to secure first segment 300 and first segment 400 in a closed position. In the illustrated embodiment, lock actuator may be moved back and forth by the user to select the locked or unlocked state. Such locking mechanisms are generally known, and therefore will not be discussed in detail herein.
Blade 112 includes an opening 516 through which a rivet or projection 514 may be secured to pivot component 512 and cap 510. The outer diameter 513 of pivot component is exposed and is configured to fit within the pivot opening 402 shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, cutting edge 304 of blade 112 is serrated. It will be appreciated that this is optional, and that any suitable combination of serrated or straight blades may be used in connection with the present invention. Similarly, blades 112 and 122 may be manufactured from any suitable material, including various metals, plastics, and ceramics. In the preferred embodiment, blades 122 and 112 are stainless steel.
As mentioned above, blade 404 includes a pivot cutout 402 configured to receive the outer diameter of a pivot component attached to the second segment. In the illustrated embodiment, cutout 402 is generally oval-shaped, and has a major axis generally parallel with handle 120. That is, the second segment is removed from segment 400 by spreading the respective handles past their normal operating point such that the pivot component translates upward and out of cutout 402. In this way, the two segments remain connected during the standard scissor action, but can be separated for easy cleaning.
In this embodiment, a detent unit 606 is included to assist in keeping the two segments attached during normal operating conditions. In the preferred embodiment, the detent unit 606 includes a tab 607 that fits within a corresponding opening 608 within handle 120. It will be appreciated that detent unit may be part of (i.e., integral with) handle 120, or may have various other configurations.
More particularly, referring to
To facilitate separation of the shears segments, while at the same time preventing separation during normal operation, indent region 704 is suitably angled with respect to the handles of the shears (and thus tab 607). In the preferred embodiment, the angle between tab axis 607 and the axis of region 704 (θ) is between approximately 20 and 50 degrees, preferably between about 30 degrees and 45 degrees, and most preferably about 40 degrees. It will be appreciated, however, that the present invention is not so limited, and encompasses any suitable combination of detent components and geometries.
Other advantages and structural details of the invention will be apparent from the attached figures, which will be well understood by those skilled in the art. The present invention has been described above with to a particular exemplary embodiment. However, many changes, combinations and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present claims.
