Food-product slicers having cammed slicing-cleaving actions
AssigneeEdlund Company, LLC
InventorRyan S. Whitney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A food-product slicer that includes a camming arrangement that induces a slicing action as between food-product being cut and a blade set effecting the cutting. In some embodiments, the camming arrangement includes a camming region formed on a food-product pusher, wherein interaction of the food-product with the camming region during a cutting operation induces a slicing action into the food-product. In some embodiments, the camming arrangement includes one or more camming structures, such as slots, and corresponding cam followers to impart slicing action motion into a product pusher, which in turn induces the slicing motion into food product engaged therewith, and/or into a blade set to creating the slicing action.
Claims10
A food-product slicer for slicing a food-product having an exterior shape, the food-product slicer comprising:
- a blade set designed and configured for cutting a food-product into multiple slices during a cutting operation, said blade set including a plurality of spaced-apart blades defining a plurality of spaces therebetween;
- a food-product pusher designed, configured, and located to resistingly engage the food-product and control movement of the food product relative to said plurality of spaced-apart blades and relative to said food-product pusher when the food-product is engaged with said blade set during cutting operation, said food-product pusher located above said blade set when the cutting operation starts;
- a food-product cradle fixedly coupled with said food-product pusher so as to be movable therewith during the cutting operation;
- and
- a lever arm operatively coupled to said food-product pusher so as to move said food-product pusher relative to said blade set during the cutting operation when actuated;
- wherein said food-product pusher comprises a plurality of fingers spaced from one another so as to interdigitate with said plurality of blades in said plurality of spaces during the cutting operation, wherein each of said plurality of fingers includes:
- a stop region designed and configured to pushingly engage the food-product at a later stage of the cutting operation so as to push the food-product through said blade set, the stop region having a curvature that substantially conforms to the exterior shape of the food-product;
- a camming region comprising:
- a pre-cutting-operation food-product resting area on said food-product cradle designed and configured to hold, immobile, the food-product prior to the cutting operation in spaced relation to said stop region and in spaced relation above said blade set;
- and
- a contour portion extending from said pre-cutting-operation food-product resting area to said stop region, said contour portion defining a curved path along which the food-product traverses during the cutting operation;
- wherein, during the cutting operation, one or more of the plurality of blades:
- initially contact the food-product and dislodge the food-product from said pre-cutting-operation food-product resting area of said food-product cradle;
- then move the food-product along said curved path of said contour portion and into said stop region, thereby causing ones of said plurality of blades to function at least partially in slicing mode;
- and
- then force the food-product into firm engagement with said stop region until the cutting operation is complete.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.