Power operated rotary knife with disposable blade support assembly

A disposable blade support assembly for a power operated rotary knife, the disposable blade support assembly comprising:

• a) a blade housing portion including an annular ring and an annular groove in a bottom surface of the annular ring;
• b) an annular rotary knife blade supported for rotation within the annular groove of the blade housing portion, the annular rotary knife blade having first and second axially spaced apart ends and an annular body extending therebetween, the annular body including an annular body support section adjacent the first end, the annular body support section defining a plurality of gear teeth at the first end, the annular body further including an annular blade section adjacent the second end, the annular blade section defining a cutting edge at the second end;
• and
• c) a retainer securing and rotatably supporting the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade within the annular groove, the retainer affixed within the annular groove and including an upper wall, a first plurality of tabs and a second plurality of tabs, wherein the first plurality of tabs contact a wall of the annular groove to permanently affix the retainer within the annular groove and further wherein the second plurality of tabs define a bearing race to rotatably support the annular body of the annular rotary knife blade.

A disposable blade support assembly for a power operated rotary knife including a handle assembly including an elongated handle defining a longitudinal throughbore and an interface element at a distal end of the handle assembly along a longitudinal axis of the handle assembly, the disposable blade support assembly comprising:

• a) a head portion;
• b) a blade housing portion extending from a distal end of the head portion, the blade housing portion including an annular ring and defining an annular groove in a bottom surface of the annular ring;
• c) an annular rotary knife blade permanently supported for rotation within the annular groove of the blade housing portion, the annular rotary knife blade having first and second axially spaced apart ends and an annular body extending therebetween, the annular body including an annular body support section adjacent the first end, the annular body support section defining a plurality of gear teeth at the first end, the annular body further including an annular blade section adjacent the second end, the annular blade section defining a cutting edge at the second end;
• d) a drive gear mechanism rotatably supported within the head portion and including a plurality of gear teeth that mesh with the plurality of gear teeth of the annular body support section to rotate the annular rotary knife blade;
• and
• e) a retainer structure including a retainer rotatably supporting the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade within the annular groove, the retainer permanently affixed within the annular groove,
• wherein the retainer includes an upper wall, a first plurality of tabs and a second plurality of tabs, wherein the first plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall and contact a wall of the annular groove to affix the retainer within the annular groove and wherein the second plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall and define a bearing race to rotatable support the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade.