Patent Application
20240016340
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure relates to cutting boards and more particularly pertains to a new cutting board for cutting food on a rotatable surface.
The prior art relates to cutting boards which have unique ways of positioning. For example, one device in the prior art discloses means for removably attaching feet to the cutting board so that both sides of the cutting board can be used without resting a possibly contaminated or messy surface on a countertop while maintaining a flat surface on the other side. Another device clamps to the edge of a countertop adjacent to a sink. A third device adjusts the height of the cutting surface, and a fourth one cleans one side of the cutting board while the other one is being used for cutting food. However, the prior art does not disclose a means of rotating a cutting board to facilitate cutting food from different angles, or a drawer attached to the cutting board for collecting pieces of cut food in different sized compartments.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a base with a cutting board rotatably coupled to the base about a rotational axis. The cutting board is planar and has a cutting surface facing away from the base and a bottom surface facing the base. A plunger is coupled to the base, faces the cutting board, and is spring biased toward the cutting board. A detent is positioned in the bottom surface of the cutting board. The detent faces the base and is positioned such that the plunger aligns with the detent when the cutting board is positioned in a locked position. The plunger removably secures the cutting board in the locked position when the cutting board is in the locked position, and the cutting board becomes unsecured from the locked position when a sufficient torque is exerted on the cutting board about the rotational axis.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
Each of a plurality of plungers 28 is coupled to an associated support pad section 22 of the base 18 and faces the cutting board 12. Each plunger 28 is spring biased toward the cutting board 12. Each of a plurality of detents 30 is positioned in the bottom surface 72 of the cutting board 12. Each detent 30 faces the base 18 and is positioned such that each plunger 28 aligns with a respective detent 30 of the plurality of detents 30 when the cutting board 12 is positioned in each locked position. The plurality of plungers 28 removably secure the cutting board 12 in each locked position when the cutting board 12 is in each locked position. The cutting board 12 becomes unsecured from each locked position when a sufficient torque is exerted on the cutting board 12 about the rotational axis. Alternatively, there may only be one plunger 28, one detent 30, and one locking position. Or only a portion of plungers 28 engage a detent 30 when securing the cutting board 12 to a locking position, or each plunger 28 engages only a portion of detents 30 when securing the cutting board 12 to a locking position. Additionally, plungers 28 may be positioned in the cutting board 12 and engage detents 30 positioned in the base 18.
A release lever 32 is coupled to the base 18 and is positioned between the base 18 and the cutting board 12 proximate a midpoint between a pair of the plurality of corners 24 of the main section 20 of the base 18. The release lever 32 extends laterally away from the base 18 and the cutting board 12. The release lever 32 also has a protrusion 34 extending toward the cutting board 12 and is spring biased toward the cutting board 12. A plurality of holes 36 is positioned in the cutting board 12 such that each hole 36 faces the base 18 and is positioned such that the protrusion 34 of the release lever 32 aligns with a respective one of the plurality of holes 36 when the cutting board 12 is positioned in each locking position. The release lever 32 removably locks the cutting board 12 when in each locked position and unlocks the cutting board 12 when the release lever 32 is moved toward the base 18, thereby removing the protrusion 34 from the respective one of the plurality of holes 36.
A drawer 38 is slidably received by an aperture in the base 18 and is slidable parallel to the cutting board 12. The drawer 38 has a bottom wall 40 and a perimeter wall 42 extending from the bottom wall 40 to a rim 44 of the perimeter wall 42. A plurality of first grooves 48 is positioned in an interior surface 46 of the perimeter wall 42 of the drawer 38 such that the plurality of first grooves 48 extends from the bottom wall 40 of the drawer 38 to the rim 44 of the perimeter wall 42 of the drawer 38, each first groove 48 facing another first groove 48. Each of a plurality of first dividers 50 is planar and is slidably positionable into an associated pair of the plurality of first grooves 48, thereby defining each of a plurality of first drawer compartments 54. A top side 52 of each first divider 50 is coplanar with the rim 44 of the perimeter wall 42 of the drawer 38.
A plurality of second grooves 56 comprises a drawer portion 58 and a divider portion 60. The drawer portion 58 is positioned in the interior surface 46 of the perimeter wall 42 of the drawer 38 and extends from the bottom wall 40 of the drawer 38 to the rim 44 of the perimeter wall 42 of the drawer 38. The divider portion 60 is positioned in a side 62 of a first divider 50 of the plurality of first dividers 50 such that each second groove 56 of the divider portion 60 of the plurality of second grooves 56 faces an associated second groove 56 of the drawer portion 58 of the plurality of second grooves 56 when the first divider 50 is positioned into the associated pair of the plurality of first grooves 48. The divider portion 60 extends from the bottom wall 40 to the top side 52 of the first divider 50 when the first divider 50 is positioned into the associated pair of the plurality of first grooves 48. Each of a plurality of second dividers 64 is planar and is slidably positionable simultaneously into an associated second groove 56 of the drawer portion 58 of the plurality of second grooves 56 and an associated second groove 56 of the divider portion 60 of the plurality of second grooves 56, thereby defining each of a plurality of second drawer compartments 66.
In use, a user 68 places a food 70 on the cutting surface 14 of the cutting board 12 when the cutting board 12 is in one of the locked positions and cuts the food 70. If the user 68 wants to turn the food 70 without repositioning it on the cutting board 12, which can be especially helpful if the food 70 sticks to the cutting board 12, the user 68 moves the release lever 32 toward the base 18, removing the protrusion 34 of the release lever 32 from the respective hole 36 of the plurality of holes 36 and unlocking the cutting board 12 from the base 18. Then the user 68 applies the sufficient torque to unsecure the plurality of plungers 28 from the plurality of detents 30 and rotates the cutting board 12 to another locking position. Each plunger 28 aligns with a respective detent 30 of the plurality of detents 30 and secures the cutting board 12 to the base 18. The user 68 releases the release lever 32, the protrusion 34 of which aligns with a respective hole 36 of the plurality of holes 36 such that the release lever 32 locks the cutting board 12 to the base 18. Then the cutting board 12 is securely locked such that it will not move when the user 68 continues cutting the food 70. The user 68 may insert and remove the first dividers 50 and second dividers 64 as desired to define the first drawer compartments 54 and the second drawer compartments 66. After cutting the food 70, the user 68 can then sweep the food 70 into one or more of the available first drawer compartments 54 and second drawer compartments 66.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
