US 7,000,518 B2Granted

Apparatus for cutting food product

AssigneeUrschel Laboratories, Inc.

InventorsBrent Bucks, Daniel Wade King, Ralph Eugene Chester

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

An apparatus for cutting food product so that the product is properly oriented and stabilized before and throughout the cutting operation to produce a sliced product of uniform thickness, even if the delivered food product varies in shape and size, such as when both round and elongate potatoes are used to produce potato chips. The apparatus includes a cutting device and housing thereabove that defines a passage with an opening in proximity to the cutting device, such that food product is delivered to the cutting device in a substantially vertical direction. To improve the stability of round product during the cutting operation, the housing has an upper portion and a flared lower portion immediately below the upper portion so that at least a portion of the opening of the passage is defined by the flared region and has a larger radius of curvature than the upper portion.

Claims22

Dependent claims

An apparatus for cutting food product in a substantially horizontal plane, the apparatus comprising:

cutting means oriented to make a substantially horizontal cut through a food product being delivered to the cutting means in a substantially vertical direction;
a housing above the cutting means and defining a passage with an opening in proximity to the cutting means for delivering the food product to the cutting means in a substantially vertical direction, the housing having an upper portion and a lower portion immediately below the upper portion, the upper portion having a first wall region with a radius of curvature in a horizontal plane, the lower portion having a lower extremity that defines the opening of the passage, the lower portion having a flared region along at least a circumferential portion thereof that is axially aligned with the first wall region, the flared region having a radius of curvature in a horizontal plane that increases in a direction away from the upper portion so that at least a portion of the opening of the passage is defined by the flared region and has a larger radius of curvature than the first wall region of the upper portion;
and
means for applying a force on the food product traveling downward through the passage, the force-applying means applying the force across the passage so as to urge the food product toward and into contact with the flared region of the lower portion as the cutting means is making a substantially horizontal cut through the food product.

1 more element

An apparatus for cutting food product in a substantially horizontal plane, the apparatus comprising:

a cutting means oriented to make a substantially horizontal cut through a food product being delivered to the cutting means in a substantially vertical direction;
a housing above the cutting means and defining a passage with an opening in proximity to the cutting means for delivering the food product to the cutting means in a substantially vertical direction, the housing having an upper portion and a lower portion immediately below the upper portion, the upper portion having a first wall region with a radius of curvature in a horizontal plane, the lower portion having a lower extremity that defines the opening of the passage, the lower portion having a flared region along at least a circumferential portion thereof that is axially aligned with the first wall region, the flared region having a radius of curvature in a horizontal plane that increases in a direction away from the upper portion so that at least a portion of the opening of the passage is defined by the flared region and has a larger radius of curvature than the first wall region of the upper portion;
and
means for applying a force on the food product traveling downward through the passage so as to urge the food product toward the flared region of the lower portion as the cutting means is making a substantially horizontal cut through the food product;
wherein the flared region of the lower portion is continuous along the circumference of the passage within the lower portion so that the lower portion increases in diameter in the direction away from the upper portion;
and
wherein the flared region comprises a plurality of axially-aligned circumferential surfaces having diametrical steps therebetween.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/250,113Filed 4 Jun 2003 · us provisional application
Priority: 4 Jun 2002
Published: US 2003/0221536 A14 Dec 2003
Granted: 21 Feb 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

B26D 7/24
Safety devices specially adapted for cutting machines: arranged to disable the operating means for the cutting member
B26D 1/28
Moving about an axis substantially perpendicular to the line of cut: and rotating continuously in one direction during cutting
B26D 1/29
And rotating continuously in one direction during cutting: with cutting member mounted in the plane of a rotating disc, e.g. for slicing beans
B26D 7/0641
Arrangements for feeding or delivering work of other than sheet, web, or filamentary form: using chutes, hoppers, magazines