# US 9,038,517 B2 · Mandolin slicer > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,038,517 B2 - Document ID: US9038517B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 11/634,621 - Filed: 2006-12-06 - Published: 2007-06-07 - Granted: 2015-05-26 - Earliest claimed: 2005-12-06 - Assignees: Kai U.S.A., Ltd. - Applicants: Tommie Lucas; Neil Hollis Slater; Dennis Lee Epstein - Inventors: Tommie Lucas; Neil Hollis Slater; Dennis Lee Epstein - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9038517B2 ## CPC - B26D 3/283: {Household devices therefor} - B26D 2003/285: {cutting one single slice at each stroke} - B26D 2003/286: {having a detachable blade that is removable attached to the support} - B26D 2003/287: {having a holder for the product to be cut} - B26D 2003/288: {making several incisions and cutting cubes or the like, e.g. so-called "julienne-cutter"} - Y10T 83/04: Processes - Y10T 83/6656: Rectilinear movement only - Y10T 83/9493: Stationary cutter - Y10T 83/9495: Nonparallel cutting edges - 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) - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract A mandolin slicer having one or more safety features, including a food carrier having one or more guards to protect a user's hand and a food carrier delivery system that helps ensure uniform and predictable movement. The mandolin slicer also provides an ability to safely and effectively cut oversized, long, and awkwardly shaped food articles. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A mandolin cutter, comprising: a frame having a first frame member and a second frame member; a first food support surface and a second food support surface, the first and second food support surfaces between the first and second frame members; a cutting member configured to be inserted into and removed from a space between the first and second food support surfaces, the cutting member having a cutting edge; a food carrier rail coupled to the first frame member, the food carrier rail extending substantially parallel to, separate from and higher than the first and second food support surfaces; a food carrier having a first sidewall, a second sidewall opposite the first side-wall, a back wall extending between the first sidewall and the second sidewall, and an open front portion, the food carrier rotatably coupled to the food carrier rail near the first sidewall and configured to receive a food article and to be movable along the food carrier rail to pass over the first and second food support surfaces when the food carrier is moved along the food carrier rail; a slicing thickness adjustment mechanism configured to vary a vertical distance between the cutting edge of the cutting member and the first food support surface; and a handle coupled to a lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier opposite the first sidewall, near the back wall and remote from the open front portion and the food carrier rail to allow a user to move the food carrier translationally along the food carrier rail, the handle extending from the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier such that, when the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier rests on the frame and the mandolin cutter is viewed from overhead, the handle is laterally offset from the cutting member, and the handle being positioned relative to the food carrier such that during a cutting operation a path of the handle does not pass directly above the cutting member and such that a user may apply a downward and forward directed force to the handle off to the side of the food carrier in a location adjacent where the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier rests on the frame. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The mandolin cutter of claim 1 wherein the food carrier rail comprises a metal tube rigidly affixed to the first frame member, the food carrier rail having a length that is approximately as long as the first and second food support surfaces combined. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The mandolin cutter of claim 1, further comprising at least one fastener coupled to the first frame member and the food carrier rail, wherein the at least one fastener is separate from and extends higher than the first and second food support surfaces, and wherein the at least one fastener holds at least of a portion of the food carrier rail separate from and higher than the first and second food support surfaces. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The mandolin cutter of claim 1 wherein the cutting member comprises a blade, the blade being removably coupled to the first and second frame members. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The mandolin cutter of claim 4 wherein the blade comprises a substantially flat blade having a substantially convex, sharpened edge that is the cutting edge, the cutting edge proximate the first food support surface and the blade being substantially coplanar with the second food support surface. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The mandolin cutter of claim 1 wherein the cutting member further includes a plurality of blades disposed vertically in a plurality of planes perpendicular to the first and second food support surfaces. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The mandolin cutter of claim 1 wherein the first and second food support surfaces each comprise a plurality of substantially parallel guide ribs running along a length of the first and second food support surfaces, wherein the guide ribs are configured to provide a surface for at least a portion of a food article to be resting thereupon. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The mandolin cutter of claim 1 wherein the food carrier is configured to press a food article downward upon the first and second food support surfaces when a user moves the food carrier translationally along a length of the food carrier rail from the first to the second food support surface. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The mandolin cutter of claim 8 wherein the food carrier comprises a spring-loaded plunger configured to press the food article down. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The mandolin cutter of claim 1 wherein the slicing thickness adjustment mechanism comprises a cam shaft traversing the frame and carrying a cam configured to adjust a vertical distance between a trailing edge of the first food support surface and the cutting edge of the cutting member. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The mandolin cutter of claim 10 wherein the vertical distance between the trailing edge of the first food support surface and the cutting edge of the cutting member can vary between about zero to about one-half inch in vertical distance. ### Claim 12 A mandolin slicer, comprising: a frame having a first frame member and a second frame member; a first food support surface and a second food support surface, the first and second food support surfaces between the first and second frame members; a plurality of elongated cutting members each configured to be inserted into and removed from a space between the first and second food support surfaces, wherein at least one of the plurality of elongated cutting members is configured to accommodate a vertically disposed blade; a food carrier rail coupled to the first frame member, the food carrier rail extending separate from and higher than the first and second food support surfaces; a food carrier having a first sidewall, a second sidewall opposite the first side-wall, a back wall extending between the first sidewall and the second sidewall, and an open front portion, the food carrier rotatably coupled to the food carrier rail near the first sidewall and configured to receive a food article and to be movable along the food carrier rail to pass over the first and second food support surfaces when the food carrier is moved along the food carrier rail; a plurality of fasteners coupled to and between the first frame member and the food carrier rail, wherein the plurality of fasteners are separate from and extend higher than the first and second food support surfaces, and wherein the plurality of fasteners hold the food carrier rail separate from and higher than the first and second food support surfaces; a slicing thickness adjustment mechanism configured to vary a vertical distance between a cutting edge of one or more of the plurality of cutting members and the first food support surface; and a handle coupled to a lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier opposite the first sidewall, near the back wall and remote from the open front portion and the food carrier rail to allow a user to move the food carrier translationally along the food carrier rail, the handle extending from the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier such that, when the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier rests on the frame and the mandolin cutter is viewed from overhead, the handle is laterally offset from the cutting member, and the handle being positioned relative to the food carrier such that during a cutting operation a path of the handle does not pass directly above the cutting member and such that a user may apply a downward and forward directed force to the handle off to the side of the food carrier in a location adjacent where the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier rests on the frame. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The mandolin slicer of claim 12, further comprising an opening on a side portion of the first frame member and an opening on a side portion of the second frame member, wherein the openings on the side portions of the first and second frame members are configured to provide access for one or more of the plurality of elongated cutting members to be inserted into and removed from the space between the first and second food support surfaces. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The mandolin slicer of claim 13, wherein the side portions of the first and second frame members are lower than the food carrier rail. ### Claim 15 A mandolin cutter, comprising: a frame having a first frame member and a second frame member; a first food support surface and a second food support surface, the first and second food support surfaces between the first and second frame members; a cutting member between the first and second food support surfaces, the cutting member having a cutting edge; a food carrier rail coupled to the first frame member, the food carrier rail extending substantially parallel to the first and second food support surfaces; a food carrier having a first sidewall, a second sidewall opposite the first side-wall, a back wall extending between the first sidewall and the second sidewall, and an open front portion, the food carrier rotatably coupled to the food carrier rail near the first sidewall and configured to receive a food article and to be movable along the food carrier rail to pass over the first and second food support surfaces when the food carrier is moved along the food carrier rail; a slicing thickness adjustment mechanism configured to vary a vertical distance between the cutting edge of the cutting member and the first food support surface; and a handle coupled to a lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier opposite the first sidewall, near the back wall and remote from the open front portion and the food carrier rail to allow a user to move the food carrier translationally along the food carrier rail, the handle extending from the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier such that, when the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier rests on the frame and the mandolin cutter is viewed from overhead, the handle is laterally offset from the cutting member, and the handle being positioned relative to the food carrier such that during a cutting operation a path of the handle does not pass directly above the cutting member and such that a user may apply a downward and forward directed force to the handle off to the side of the food carrier in a location adjacent where the lower end of the second sidewall of the food carrier rests on the frame. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The mandolin cutter of claim 15 wherein the frame includes a pair of legs at a rear end of the mandolin cutter and the mandolin cutter further comprises a stabilizing handle extending between the pair of legs.