# US 11,897,158 B2 · Impellers for cutting machines and cutting machines equipped therewith > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,897,158 B2 - Document ID: US11897158B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/077,356 - Filed: 2020-10-22 - Published: 2022-04-28 - Granted: 2024-02-13 - Earliest claimed: 2020-10-22 - Assignees: Urschel Laboratories, Inc.; PepsiCo, Inc. - Applicants: Urschel Laboratories, Inc.; PepsiCo, Inc. - Inventors: Keith Alan Barber; Corey Everette Baxter; Rebecca Glynn Gann - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11897158B2 ## CPC - B26D 7/0691: {by centrifugal force} - B26D 1/03: with a plurality of cutting members - B26D 2210/02: for cutting food products, e.g. food slicers - B26D: CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING (for growing crops or plants A01D, A01G; for fodder or straw A01F; for bulk butter A01J; for dough A21C; slaughtering A22B; for tobacco, cigars or cigarettes A24; marking-out, perforating or making buttonholes A41H25/00; manufacturing footwear A43D; brushmaking A46D; surgery A61B; disintegrating, mincing or shredding in general B02C; cutting wire, making pins or nails B21F, B21G; of the kind used formetal B23; cutting by abrasive fluid jets B24C5/02; hand-held cutting tools B26B; perforating, cutting-out, stamping-out or punching, or severing by means other than cutting B26F; for wood B27; for stone B28D; working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29; making boxes, cartons, envelopes or bags, of paper or similarly worked materials, e.g. metal foil, B31B; article or web delivery apparatus incorporating cutting or line-perforating devices B65H35/00; for leather or upholstery B68, C14B; for glass C03B; making matches C06F; for peat C10F; for sugar C13B45/00; for textile materials D06H; civil engineering, building, mining, see Section E; for light guides G02B6/25; cutting processed photographic material G03D15/04) ## Abstract Machines for cutting products and impellers suitable for use therein. Such an impeller includes a lower plate and paddles configured with the lower plate to direct material placed on the lower plate in a radially outward direction of the impeller under the influence of centrifugal forces when the impeller is rotated. At least one of the paddles has an outer radial extent that is adjacent a perimeter of the lower plate. At least a first exit hole is located in the lower plate and has a wall section that completely closes the first exit hole along the perimeter at an upper surface of the lower plate. The first exit hole extends through the lower plate to define a passageway connected to the upper surface to enable foreign debris at the upper surface to exit the impeller through the passageway. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An impeller adapted to be coaxially mounted within a cutting head for rotation about an axis of the cutting head, the impeller comprising: a lower plate having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a perimeter; paddles configured with the lower plate to direct material placed on the lower plate in a radially outward direction of the impeller when the impeller is rotated, at least one of the paddles having a face that contacts the material when the impeller is rotated and an outer radial extent that is adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate; and at least a first exit hole located in the lower plate adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate and touching the face of the at least one of the paddles, the first exit hole having a wall section that completely closes the first exit hole along the perimeter at the upper surface of the lower plate, the first exit hole extending through the lower plate to define a passageway connected to the upper surface, wherein a foreign debris that is under influence of centrifugal forces generated by the rotation of the impeller and has a trajectory along the face of the at least one of the paddles and contacts the face encounters the first exit hole. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole has a major dimension oriented along the perimeter of the lower plate. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole has a circular cross-section. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the at least one of the paddles comprises posts extending in the radially outward direction of the impeller from the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The impeller according to claim 4, wherein the posts are spaced apart along the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles to define gaps therebetween, and a lowermost extent of the at least one of the paddles lacks a lower shear edge and lacks a post to create a second gap through which debris are able to pass and escape around the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The impeller according to claim 5, wherein the second gap of the at least one of the paddles is adjacent the first exit hole associated with the at least one of the paddles so that the second gap defines a part of the passageway through which foreign debris pass to exit the impeller. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles touches first exit hole. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole is located adjacent to and extends along the face of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole has a wall that is not perpendicular to the upper surface of the lower plate. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole has a radially outermost wall that is not perpendicular to the upper surface of the plate. ### Claim 11 An impeller adapted to be coaxially mounted within a cutting head for rotation about an axis of the cutting head, the impeller comprising: a lower plate having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a perimeter; paddles configured with the lower plate to direct material placed on the lower plate in a radially outward direction of the impeller when the impeller is rotated, at least one of the paddles having an outer radial extent that is adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate; and at least a first exit hole located in the lower plate, the first exit hole having a wall section that completely closes the first exit hole along the perimeter at the upper surface of the lower plate, the first exit hole extending through the lower plate to define a passageway connected to the upper surface to enable foreign debris at the upper surface to exit the impeller through the passageway; wherein the first exit hole has a radially outermost wall that is not perpendicular to the upper surface of the plate; and wherein the radially outermost wall of the first exit hole is inclined to slope radially inward from the upper surface to the lower surface of the lower plate at an angle of not greater than 25 degrees to vertical. ### Claim 12 An impeller adapted to be coaxially mounted within a cutting head for rotation about an axis of the cutting head, the impeller comprising: a lower plate having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a perimeter; paddles configured with the lower plate to direct material placed on the lower plate in a radially outward direction of the impeller when the impeller is rotated, at least one of the paddles having an outer radial extent that is adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate; and at least a first exit hole located in the lower plate, the first exit hole having a wall section that completely closes the first exit hole along the perimeter at the upper surface of the lower plate, the first exit hole extending through the lower plate to define a passageway connected to the upper surface to enable foreign debris at the upper surface to exit the impeller through the passageway; wherein the first exit hole has a radially outermost wall that is not perpendicular to the upper surface of the plate; and wherein the radially outermost wall of the first exit hole is inclined to slope radially outward from the upper surface to the lower surface of the lower plate. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole has a minimum cross-sectional dimension of greater than 8 mm. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole has a maximum radial dimension of about 30 mm. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole has radial and circumferential dimensions of greater than 8 mm to about 30 mm and greater than 8 mm to about 50 mm, respectively. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the first exit hole has radial and circumferential dimensions of about 9.5 mm to 12.5 mm and about 19 mm to about 32 mm, respectively. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles is spaced apart from the perimeter of the lower plate such that a radial gap exists between the outer radial extent and the perimeter. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The impeller according to claim 17, wherein the first exit hole has at least a portion thereof within the radial gap between the perimeter of the lower plate and the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The impeller according to claim 1, wherein the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles is adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate and the first exit hole is adjacent the outer radial extent and the perimeter. ### Claim 20 A cutting machine comprising an annular-shaped cutting head and an impeller coaxially mounted within the cutting head for rotation about an axis of the cutting head in a rotational direction relative to the cutting head, the cutting head having multiple knives each extending radially inward toward the impeller in a direction opposite the rotational direction of the impeller, the impeller comprising: a lower plate having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a perimeter; paddles configured with the lower plate to direct material placed on the lower plate in a radially outward direction of the impeller when the impeller is rotated, at least one of the paddles having a face that contacts the material when the impeller is rotated and an outer radial extent that is adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate; and at least a first exit hole located in the lower plate adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate and touching the of the at least one of the paddles, the first exit hole having a wall section that completely closes the first exit hole along the perimeter at the upper surface of the lower plate, the first exit hole extending through the lower plate to define a passageway connected to the upper surface, wherein a foreign debris that is under influence of centrifugal forces generated by the rotation of the impeller and has a trajectory along the face of the at least one of the paddles and contacts the face encounters the first exit hole. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole has a major dimension oriented along the perimeter of the lower plate. ### Claim 22 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole has a circular cross-section. ### Claim 23 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, further comprising posts extending in the radially outward direction of the impeller from the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The cutting machine according to claim 23, wherein the posts are spaced apart along the outer radial extents of the at least one of the paddles to define gaps therebetween, and a lowermost extent of the at least one of the paddles lacks a lower shear edge and lacks a post to create a second gap through which debris are able to pass and escape around the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The cutting machine according to claim 24, wherein the second gap of the at least one of the paddles is adjacent the first exit hole associated with the at least one of the paddles so that the second gap defines a part of the passageway through which foreign debris pass to exit the impeller. ### Claim 26 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the outer radial extents of the at least one of the paddles touches with the first exit hole. ### Claim 27 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole is located adjacent to and extends along the face of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 28 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole has a wall that is not perpendicular to the upper surface of the lower plate. ### Claim 29 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole has a radially outmost wall that is not perpendicular to the upper surface of the plate. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The cutting machine according to claim 29, wherein the radially outermost wall of the first exit hole is inclined to slope radially inward from the upper surface to the lower surface of the lower plate at an angle of not greater than 25 degrees to vertical. ### Claim 31 (depends on 29) The cutting machine according to claim 29, wherein the radially outermost wall of the first exit hole is inclined to slope radially outward from the upper surface to the lower surface of the lower plate. ### Claim 32 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole has a minimum cross-sectional dimension of greater than 8 mm. ### Claim 33 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole has a maximum radial dimension of about 30 mm. ### Claim 34 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole has radial and circumferential dimensions of greater than 8 mm to about 30 mm and greater than 8 mm to about 50 mm, respectively. ### Claim 35 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the first exit hole has radial and circumferential dimensions of about 9.5 mm to 12.5 mm and about 19 mm to about 32 mm, respectively. ### Claim 36 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles is spaced apart from the perimeter of the lower plate such that a radial gap exists between the outer radial extent and the perimeter. ### Claim 37 (depends on 36) The cutting machine according to claim 36, wherein the first exit hole has at least a portion thereof within the radial gap between the perimeter of the lower plate and the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 38 (depends on 20) The cutting machine according to claim 20, wherein the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles is adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate and the first exit hole is adjacent the outer radial extent and the perimeter. ### Claim 39 An impeller adapted to be coaxially mounted within a cutting head for rotation about an axis of the cutting head, the impeller comprising: a lower plate having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a perimeter; paddles configured with the lower plate to direct material placed on the lower plate in a radially outward direction of the impeller when the impeller is rotated, at least one of the paddles having an outer radial extent that is adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate; and at least a first exit hole located in the lower plate, the first exit hole having a wall section that completely closes the first exit hole along the perimeter at the upper surface of the lower plate, the first exit hole extending through the lower plate to define a passageway connected to the upper surface to enable foreign debris at the upper surface to exit the impeller through the passageway; wherein the first exit hole has a radially outermost wall that is not perpendicular to the upper surface of the plate; wherein the at least one of the paddles comprises posts extending in the radially outward direction of the impeller from the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles; wherein the posts are spaced apart along the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles to define first gaps therebetween, and a lowermost extent of the at least one of the paddles lacks a lower shear edge and lacks a post to create a second gap through which debris are able to pass and escape around the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) The impeller according to claim 39, wherein the second gap is larger than at least one of the first gaps. ### Claim 41 (depends on 40) The impeller according to claim 40, wherein a single one of the posts separates the second gap from the at least one of the first gaps. ### Claim 42 (depends on 39) The impeller according to claim 39, wherein the second gap of the at least one of the paddles is adjacent the first exit hole associated with the at least one of the paddles so that the second gap defines a part of the passageway through which foreign debris pass to exit the impeller. ### Claim 43 A cutting machine comprising an annular-shaped cutting head and an impeller coaxially mounted within the cutting head for rotation about an axis of the cutting head in a rotational direction relative to the cutting head, the cutting head having multiple knives each extending radially inward toward the impeller in a direction opposite the rotational direction of the impeller, the impeller comprising: a lower plate having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a perimeter; paddles configured with the lower plate to direct material placed on the lower plate in a radially outward direction of the impeller when the impeller is rotated, at least one of the paddles having an outer radial extent that is adjacent the perimeter of the lower plate; and at least a first exit hole located in the lower plate, the first exit hole having a wall section that completely closes the first exit hole along the perimeter at the upper surface of the lower plate, the first exit hole extending through the lower plate to define a passageway connected to the upper surface to enable foreign debris at the upper surface to exit the impeller through the passageway; wherein the first exit hole has a radially outermost wall that is not perpendicular to the upper surface of the plate; wherein the at least one of the paddles comprises posts extending in the radially outward direction of the impeller from the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles; wherein the posts are spaced apart along the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles to define first gaps therebetween, and a lowermost extent of the at least one of the paddles lacks a lower shear edge and lacks a post to create a second gap through which debris are able to pass and escape around the outer radial extent of the at least one of the paddles. ### Claim 44 (depends on 43) The cutting machine according to claim 43, wherein the second gap is larger than at least one of the first gaps. ### Claim 45 (depends on 44) The cutting machine according to claim 44, wherein a single one of the posts separates the second gap from the at least one of the first gaps. ### Claim 46 (depends on 43) The cutting machine according to claim 43, wherein the second gap of the at least one of the paddles is adjacent the first exit hole associated with the at least one of the paddles so that the second gap defines a part of the passageway through which foreign debris pass to exit the impeller.