Patent Application
20110296967
This invention relates to a transparent sandwich holder and knife guide for cutting sandwiches in half or in smaller portions while maintaining the ingredients or filling inside of the sandwich in place before, during and after cutting the sandwich and at the same time preventing an individual from cutting their hand or fingers.
Devices for assembling sandwiches and cutting sandwiches are well known and have been in use for many years. For example, a U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,376 of Germinario discloses a sandwich assembly jig. As disclosed therein, a jig with multiple units each for assembling and slicing two sandwiches at a time has a base with four upstanding walls for each unit surrounding a generally rectangular volume shaped to receive two pairs of bread slices and a filling between each pair. At two diagonal corners of the walls there are narrow, aligned slits receiving and guiding a knife for slicing the two sandwiches into two symmetrical pairs of stacked halves. The other diagonal corners are relatively widely spaced to form finger accesses for gripping the sliced sandwiches. A hollow in the base at the other corners further facilitates finger access. A removable cutting slab lying between the walls permits lifting both sandwiches at once.
A more recent U.S. patent of Donoghu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,800 discloses a club sandwich cutter. As disclosed therein, a cutter for manually cutting club sandwiches into four wedge or triangular sections. The cutter has a flat base and a cutting blade assembly mounted to the base. The cutting blade assembly comprises four blades arranged in cruciform pattern, a handle, and a shaft connecting the blades to the handle. A cover guard preventing direct contact with the blades from above is slideably mounted on the shaft, and urged into proximity with the blades by a spring. The cover guard has holes enabling decorative toothpicks to be inserted into the center of each section of a cut sandwich. A guide constrains the cutting blade assembly to move only vertically and reciprocatably relative to the base, and prevents rotation about the longitudinal axis of the shaft. A resilient member holds the cutting blade assembly in an elevated “ready” position above the base. Stops are selectively mounted on the base to enable centering sandwiches made from different standard bread loaf dimensions on the base.
Finally a method for making sandwiches is disclosed in a U.S. patent of Jacobbi, U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,928. As disclosed, an article for making sandwiches has a floor and a pair of side walls and is open along the top and at least one end is sized to have a floor width which is equal substantially to the width of a sandwich to be made therewith and a side wall height which is at least equal to about the height of the sandwich to be made therein. A bread portion of a sandwich is placed on the floor and between the sidewalls, and additional sandwich portions are stacked on the bread portion and between the side walls whereby the side walls constrain the sandwich over its height from falling apart as it is being stacked so that sandwiches may be made faster and with greater efficiency.
Notwithstanding the above, it is presently believed that there is a need and a potential commercial market for an improved sandwich holder and knife guide in accordance with the present invention. There should be a need and a potential market for an improved sandwich holder and knife guide because they facilitate cutting sandwiches in half or in smaller portions while maintaining the ingredients in place and at the same time protecting the hands and fingers from being inadvertently cut. Further, the device in accordance with the present invention facilitates cleaning and/or sharpening a knife and cleaning the entire device without a danger of cutting one's hands. Further, the sandwich holder and knife guide in accordance with the present invention includes a transparent plastic dome that is defined by a supporting frame for covering a sandwich during a cutting process that protects the hands and fingers of a user. It is further believed that the sandwich holder and knife guide can be safely used by children with proper supervision and are useful in homes, restaurants, schools and cafeterias and can be used to cut burgers of different sizes and even used to cut wrapped burgers that have been wrapped in paper or plastic wrap.
In essence, a sandwich holder and knife guide for cutting a sandwich in half while maintaining the ingredients in place may include a removable base or flat surface and a pair of upwardly extending parallel walls with an aligned slit in each of the walls for guiding a knife through a sandwich. A transparent dome that is surrounded by a support frame is also provided. The transparent dome can be open on opposite sides thereof and with a slit aligned with the slits in the upwardly extending walls. A knife having a blade, a forward portion and a handle, and a pivot point fixed to the support frame and means for pivotly attaching a forward portion of the knife blade to the pivot point for moving the knife through the slit. In addition, a pair of stainless steel tapes are provided with the tapes disposed on opposite sides of the slits and each of the tapes extending across the support frame in a parallel relationship with the slits. One end of each of the tapes is coiled upon a retractable coil for maintaining the tapes under tension so that the tapes when extended and placed on top of a sandwich retain the fillings in place when a sandwich is cut in half. The tapes are preferably spaced apart by a distance of about one and one half inches or about four centimeters. In addition, the upwardly extending walls and the transparent dome are made of clear plastic.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the sandwich holder and knife guide include a knife with a horizontally extending slot adjacent to and forming a part of a pivot point. The slot is between about one half and one inch in length so that the knife is rotatable about the forward portion of the slot between a vertical position and a horizontal position and yet in the horizontal position may be moved forward or back to completely cut through the bread or roll.
The invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals have been used to indicate like parts.
A sandwich holder and knife guide for cutting a sandwich in half while maintaining the sandwich including a bun and/or bread as well as ingredients or filling in place while protecting an individual's hands and fingers from being cut in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to
As shown in
The sandwich holder and knife guide 20 also includes a transparent rigid plastic cover 32 with relatively large openings on opposite sides thereof that allows an individual to reach into the interior thereof to position or construct the sandwich having an upper portion 33 of a bun or piece of bread, a lower portion of 34 of the bun or bottom slice of bread with a burger 36 or the like, between the two pieces of a roll.
As shown in
As shown, the tapes 42 and 44 are attached to a coil 43 and 45 respectively that maintains each of the tapes under tension and are attached to the support frame at an opposite side thereof. A coil spring 41 maintains tension on the coil in a conventional manner. Thus, a sandwich is placed on the base between the upwardly extending walls 24 and 26 or placed on any flat surface and the transparent dome is placed on it and the tapes will be extended above the sandwich. The coils 43 and 45 then pull the tapes down onto the sandwich with one tape on each side of the slit to firmly hold the sandwich in place when a knife 50 cuts through the sandwich.
The knife 50 includes a blade 52 and a handle 51 at one end thereof and a forward portion 53 at opposite end from the handle 51. An upwardly extending element 60 is fixed to the support frame 80 and extends upwardly therefrom. The element 60 includes a pivot assembly 62. The forward portion 53 of the knife 50 includes a hole i.e. an opening 70 that slides over the pivot assembly 62 and is rotatable through an arc to cut through a sandwich. Nevertheless the knife 50 can be disjointed from the pivot assembly 62 for cleaning and or sharpening the knife 50.
The cutting process includes the step of placing a sandwich on the cutting surface under the projected path of the knife blade. The two halves of the sandwich are each placed under one of the retractable stainless steel tapes and after being covered with the transparent dome with one half of the sandwich on one side of the slit or knife guide and the other half under the other side of the slit or knife guide. The knife is then pulled down toward the user and down through an arc as it rotates about its pivot point. If desired the sandwich or transparent dome can then be turned by 90° so that another cut with the knife will cut the sandwich into quarters. After completion of the cutting, the knife is rotated back to a vertical position and the transparent dome removed. The sandwich is then removed from under the stainless steel tapes. Subsequently, the knife can be removed from the pivot for cleaning and sharpening and the entire holder is cleaned.
A fourth embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
An individual can then reach in to grasp the sandwich, remove the transparent dome and by gripping the sandwich remove it either from the base or any flat surface that has been used.
While the invention has been described in connection with its preferred embodiments it should be recognized that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
