Patent Application
20160193744
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to kitchen vegetable cutting tools, more particularly the present disclosure relates to a device designed to slice or dice onions without the need to peel back the scaly dry outer leaf. The device also enables a whole array of vegetable and fruit manipulation using its wide array of swappable blades with a multifunctional hand press cover that enables use both top side and underside.
2. Description of the Related Art
Onion dicing and slicing takes a long time in the kitchen, an individual has to peel back the scaly outer leaves and then chop up the onion into small diced squares or long slices depending on use. Individuals cutting onions are at risk of cuts from sharp knives whilst chopping onions and irritation of eye causing tearing during the cutting process. This device attempts to tackle this problem and remove the risk of cuts, stops tears by reducing the time taken to chop onions whilst removing the need to peel them back first. Devices like Patent CN 201317018, CN 203266687 and CN 203092593 are very different in their approach, and all require peeling of the onion prior to use. Also majority of devices use a flat blade where as our device uses curved semicircular blades, with a total of 105 blades per unit with 2 round blade shapes and are expensive to produce due to the process involved in creating these rounded sharpened metal blades. Our device in addition is designed in a way that stops the outer scaly dry leaf from being forced through the blades due to a 2 mm variable gap between the bottom base unit of device and the rounded blades fitted upside down on the top handle cover of device. This device is unique to all other inventions in its design and approach which enables it to achieve dicing and slicing of a medium to large size onion in under 10 seconds without the need to peel it first. A product that will be regularly used by consumers and catering businesses to speed up their onion cutting time, whilst improving health and safety aspects of the process and their impact on the user's eye health. The device comes with 14 total blades which apart from its main function as a no peeling required onion dicer/slicer, also functions as a spiral julienne strips cutter; apple corer; peeler; grater; mandoline slicer; herb chopper; square, strip, pie shape, rectangular and wavy slice cutter. This product is multi functional with its primary focus being onion dicing and slicing.
In one aspect of the present invention is a fast Onion Dicer+Slicer Cutter which requires no peeling, the device's invention requiring no peeling is as a result of a +/−2 mm gap that is left between the bottom of semi-circular groove of the bottom base unit and the top of any blade tools in the slicing blade tool for 6 mm wide longitudinal cutting or the dicing blade tool for 6 mm wide Large square cutting. This prevents the outer scaly leaf from being forced through the blades and only allows the juicy onion leaves to be forced through the blades and chopped once the Hand press top base cover is fully pressed down. The hand press is then lifted and the scaly leaf can easily be removed from the top of the blades and discarded.
In another aspect of the present invention, It has stackable blades for either slicing or dicing, the blades have been specially designed rounded/curved rather than straight to achieve the goals set above, the gap described above enables tackling of the no peeling element of this invention, their design and arrangement specifically enables its function, the hand press top cover is hinged to increased amount of pressure applied to cut vegetables. The top cover has been designed to be used both top side for pressing down to apply suitable pressure and underside for alternate styles of cutting like grating and slicing. The device is easily accessible in all parts enabling easy cleaning and clearing of the diced onions through the blades, It stops tearing of the eyes due to irritation and reduces overall time taken to chop onions whilst making it extremely safe and reducing cuts the users normally get on their fingers from knives.
Referring to
The device is easy to clean, easy to store, BPA free, microwavable, dishwasher friendly, freezer safe, made of food grade plastic, the blades are all made of stainless steel or similar material, sharpened for quick and easy cutting. The device is opened by lifting the top cover upwards to create a V shape device on a hinge. The required blade is fixed into the top portion of part 2 from underneath, which houses the container 3 on the top. When using the rounded semi-circular blades, the onion is dropped into the round semi-circular slot of the bottom portion of 1, with the scaly leaf down towards the work surface. The top half part 2 containing the blade is closed on top of the bottom half containing the onion. When the hand lever is fully depressed, the onion is forced through the blades upwards, and the chopped product is pushed into the above storage container which is sitting on top of part 2 in an inverted position. When fully depressed, there is a 2 mm+/−1 mm gap left between the top of the blades and the base slot where the onion is placed. This leaves the scaly leaf of the onion untouched, so that it is not pushed through the blades to the storage area of the container and remains intact. The top half of the device can then be lifted, the onions removed from the storage area, and the scaly leaf of the onion can be removed from the top of the rounded blades 19 or 20 and easily discarded. The result is faster onion chopping without having to peel the onion first, and reduced wastage. All blades are compatible with the device and can be interchanged and used in the same manner with other vegetables. The device makes the chopping of the Onion very quick, in just 5-10 seconds you can have the diced and sliced onions from whole to chopped. The speed of cutting each onion ensures minimal irritation of the eyes and reduces tearing and sore eyes. The device gives you perfectly square diced onions or slices every time and its safety approach means no more finger cuts from knives whilst chopping onions. It contains a slicing blade which cuts onions into 6 mm thin slices as shown by the slicing blade tool for 6 mm wide longitudinal cutting 20. It contains a dicing blade, 6 mm squares as shown for 6 mm wide small square cutting 19. The device has a separate spiral cutting tool 6 which is also a cover that sits on the blade storage container 7, this tool creates julienne and spiral strips of vegetable cuttings. This container 7 stores all 12 other blades described, Flat blades 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, Disc blades 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and the Spiral cutting tool 6 as the cover of unit. There is room left in the container for the addition and storage of more flat or disc shaped commonly used blades which may be available in the future to the user. The rounded blades are stored in the main device unit inside the smaller container 3 and shapes are shown by 19 and 20.
The device as a whole is an all-in-one tool for various kitchen cuttings needs with its primary function as a specially design onion cutter that requires no peeling. The device as a whole can slice, dice, peel, chop, cut, wave cut or grate to a variety of sizes or thickness. End products of vegetable and fruit cuttings are the result of the user's creativity with the device.
