Patent Application
20050274242
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cutting/carving tools, and particularly to a pumpkin carving kit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Carving devices have been used for years at Halloween to cut faces into pumpkins. As the popularity of Halloween has risen greatly in the last century, a great variety of devices have been created to carve into the tough pumpkin shell. One of the most popular carving devices is the serrated knife. While the knife is effective in cutting into the shell, it is not necessarily the best option for carving the pumpkin. The serrated knife usually has a dull edge so that it can be handled by children without causing harm. But the dull edge also makes it more difficult to cut into the shell. Additionally, knives are harder for small hands to grip and push through the pumpkin surface.
A more effective and easier method of carving pumpkins is the use of templates to create shaped holes in the pumpkin shell. Some devices allow users make the shapes by pushing templates through the surface with the palms of their hands. Other devices employ mallets to drive templates into the pumpkin. Still other devices have a handle that attaches onto multiple templates, allowing for a variety of templates to be used for cutting into the pumpkin using the same handle.
However, these devices do not necessarily provide the most effective method of carving shapes into pumpkins. They may not allow for multiple shapes to be easily cut into the shell. In addition, many devices trap pumpkin pieces within the inside of the template or other cutting device and are difficult to remove from within the template. Therefore, there is a need for a carving kit that makes multiple shapes in a pumpkin, is easy to manipulate, and allows a user to easily remove trapped pumpkin pieces from within the cutting device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,885, issued Sep. 1, 1987 to T. Albanese, describes a pumpkin carving apparatus. Various housings are included that are each shaped differently, for example, as eyes, noses and mouths. Each housing has a boss with internal threads into which a handle is removably threaded. The housing with the handle is then pushed into the pumpkin surface, cutting a shape in the pumpkin.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,710, issued Jun. 17, 2003 to B. Brown et al., describes a pumpkin carving kit including pumpkin carving dies, a tool for driving the die into the pumpkin, a scoop and a scraping tool. The carving dies are shaped differently. The die is placed against the pumpkin shell and struck with the driving tool. The scoop and scraping tool scrape out the insides of the pumpkin so that the carving die may extend within the pumpkin shell.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,541, issued Jul. 14, 1998 to R. McClung, describes an electric-powered pumpkin carver. Blades of varying sizes and shapes may be inserted within the electric handle of the carver. The carver is used to carve into the surface of a pumpkin. Additionally, the carver has a safety lock.
Other patents describing pumpkin carving devices include U.S. Des. Pat. No. 337,703, issued Jul. 27, 1993 to D. Fox, Sr. (pumpkin cutter set); U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2003/0056373, published Mar. 27, 2003 (interchangeable head carving tool); U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2004/0035744, published Feb. 26, 2004 (pumpkin decorating kit); U.S. Pat. No. 376,136, issued Jan. 10, 1888 to A. Burrowes (punch); U.S. Pat. No. 2,720,176, issued Oct. 11, 1955 to R. Babbitt (mold with interchangeable product dislodging devices); U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,615, issued Jul. 4, 1961 to W. Ohler (fruit and vegetable coring tool); U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,659, issued Oct. 27, 1981 to C. Nauman (jack-o-lantern forming method); U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,114, issued May 9, 1989 to J. Bardeen (pumpkin carving kit); U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,484, issued Nov. 18, 1997 to M. Hahn (pumpkin carving knife); U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,968, issued Aug. 10, 1999 to A. Solomon (pumpkin cutter); U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,610, issued May 9, 2000 to I. Leang (decorative food cutter); U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,434, issued Apr. 3, 2001 to O. Kim et al. (paper sheet decorative punching device); U.S. Pat. No. 6,342,175, issued Jan. 29, 2002 to B. Brown et al. (method of carving shapes in a pumpkin shell); U.K. Pat. No. 840,057, published Jul. 6, 1960 (an improved press knife); and International Pat. No. WO 01/43990, published Jun. 21, 2001 (pumpkin decorating kit and method using light guiding pegs).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a pumpkin carving kit solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The pumpkin carving kit is a kit for carving shapes into pumpkins. The kit includes a knob and a plurality of hollow templates defining cutting blades in shapes that are used to form the face of a pumpkin. The kit may additionally include a striking mallet and a scraper. The knob has a threaded connector extending therefrom. Each template has a sharp bottom rim defining a cutting edge and a top rim. The top rim has a retention strip extending across it, and a threaded hole situated within the retention strip. The threaded hole receives the threaded connector so that the knob and template are joined together. Stabilizers are attached to the bottom rim of the template.
The template is placed on the surface of a pumpkin, and the stabilizers steady the template against the pumpkin surface. The knob is then struck either with the mallet or with the user's hand, forcing the sharp bottom rim of the template to pierce a shaped hole into the surface of the pumpkin. A pumpkin piece generally becomes lodged into the template. When the knob and template are pulled out of the pumpkin and the knob is unthreaded, the pumpkin piece may be removed by pressing the piece out of the template. The user pushes the pumpkin piece out by pressing down on the space between the top rim of the template and the retention strip. Additionally, if the pumpkin piece remains stuck within the template, the individual can use the scraper to scrape the piece out.
Advantageously, the pumpkin carving kit allows for a variety of shapes to be created on the pumpkin surface. Further, the knob provided with the kit allows the user to more easily and comfortably push a template into a pumpkin, carving a shaped hole in the surface.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The present invention is a pumpkin carving kit, designated generally as 10 in the drawings. The kit 10 includes a knob 12 and a plurality of templates 14, which define cutting edges having shapes that are used to form the face of a pumpkin 50. The kit 10 may additionally include a striking mallet 16 and a scraper 18. Each template 14 is adapted to receive the knob 12. The knob 12 is threaded onto the template 14, and the template 14 is positioned on the surface of a pumpkin 50. The knob 12 is then pushed into the pumpkin by hand or struck with the mallet 16, forcing the template 14 to pierce a shaped hole into the surface of the pumpkin 50.
Referring first to
The pumpkin carving kit 10 may be used on a variety of fruit or vegetables.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
