Machine for Forming a Helical Cut in a Food Product

An apparatus for forming a spiral cut in a cylindrical member, comprising:

• a base that supports a moving mechanism along the base,
• an upper housing that is fixed to the base and is positioned to face the base,
• the upper housing supports an elongate blade thereon, with an edge portion of the blade extending downwardly from the upper housing toward the base;
• the moving mechanism comprises a conveyor system that includes first and second tracks on opposite sides thereof, and moves along the base,
• wherein the conveyor system comprises a plurality of spaced sub-assemblies disposed therein, each sub-assembly of the plurality of spaced sub-assemblies is formed in the same manner, wherein the conveyor system moves along a movement direction when it moves along the base and directly below the upper housing;
• wherein each sub-assembly includes three cylinders that are rotatably mounted with respect to the conveyor system and are each freely rotatable about a longitudinal axis that extends through a center of each cylinder, wherein the first and second cylinders of the three cylinders of each sub assembly are disposed to establish an open space between a closest adjacent surface of each of the first and second cylinders, wherein a third of the three cylinders is disposed such that the longitudinal axis of the third cylinder is aligned at a vertical position below the longitudinal axes of the first and second cylinders and the longitudinal axis of the third cylinder is vertically aligned within the open space.