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US 2006/0185532 A1Published application
Nutcracker
OwnerMichael Andreaseninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A nutcracker utilizes a conical member with a textured exterior surface rotatably mounted and centered inside a vertical cylinder with a textured interior surface. The nuts occupy a cracking zone between the textured exterior surface and the textured interior surface. As the conical member rotates, gravity rolls the nuts down in a spiraling path into an increasingly smaller cracking zone until the pressure on the nuts between the textured exterior surface and the textured interior surface causes the shells to crack and the nuts to break into halves and thirds.
Claims16
A nutcracker comprising:
- a vertical cylinder with a textured interior surface;
- a conical member with a textured exterior surface;
- wherein the conical member is rotatably mounted in a center of the vertical cylinder with a narrow end of the conical member facing up and a broad end of the conical member facing down so that the textured interior surface and the textured exterior surface form a cracking zone around a lower portion of the textured exterior surface.
A nutcracker comprising:
- a vertical cylinder with a textured interior surface made from a single rectangular piece of tread plate, wherein the vertical cylinder comprises an opening with a spout extending from the bottom of the opening;
- a conical member with a textured exterior surface made from an arced piece of sheet metal welded together to form a conical shape, a first circular piece of sheet metal welded onto the conical member to form a narrow end, and a second circular piece of sheet metal welded onto the conical member to form a broad end;
- a rod extending from the narrow end of the conical member;
- a rod extending from the broad end of the conical member;
- a cross-arm bearing support connected to a top of the vertical cylinder, wherein the cross-arm bearing support is connected to a first bearing which is configured to receive the rod and allow the rod to spin within the first bearing;
- a first plate slanted from a horizontal plane and connected to the vertical cylinder, wherein the first plate is configured to receive the rod and allow the rod to spin within the first plate;
- wherein the conical member is vertically centered within the vertical cylinder when the bearing receives the rod and the first plate receives the rod so that:
- the textured exterior surface and textured interior surface form a cracking zone with a minimum distance between the textured exterior surface and textured interior surface between seven-sixteenths and one-half of an inch, and
- an angle between the textured interior surface and the textured exterior surface is eight degrees;
- and
- a second plate attached to the vertical cylinder below the first plate and being connected to a second bearing which is configured to receive the rod and allow the rod to spin within the second bearing.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.