ES2734311T3 - Blade assembly with tongue knife - Google Patents

Abstract

A blade assembly (28) adapted to produce food products with julienne cuts, the blade assembly (28) comprises: a primary blade (30, 34) having a corrugated shape for producing a wide amplitude food product, the shape corrugated has a cutting leading edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys; and at least one tongue blade (32, 36) adapted to cut the wide breadth slice of food product into strips, characterized in that the tongue blade (32, 36) is defined by a cut in the main blade (30, 34). ) which forms a tab and the tab is bent so that the tab protrudes from the main blade (30, 34).

Description

DESCRIPTION

Blade assembly with tongue knife

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to methods and equipment for cutting food products and for shaping food products produced by them.

Several pieces of equipment are used to slice, crush and dartexture food products, such as vegetables, fruits, dairy and meat products. The equipment commonly used in this field is available for sale by Urschel Laboratories Inc., under the Urschel Model CC® brand, which are centrifugal type cutting machines with the ability to produce uniform slices, strip cuts, fragments and Granules of a wide variety of food products at high production capacities. Typically, Model CC® machines comprise one or more blade assemblies arranged in separate groups around the circumference of the cutting head.

Several types of blades have been developed to make specific types of cuts in food products, the examples of which are blades developed to produce what is known as a "Juliana" cut. Such a cut typically results in a food product, such as a vegetable that is cut into long strips with rectangular or square cross sections. Figures 7 through 9 represent the blades 50, 52 and 54 recently developed to produce julienne cuts with machines such as the Urschel Model ^{C c ®} machines mentioned above. Each of the blades 50, 52 and 54 comprises a shaped knife 56 of great amplitude (corrugated) suitable for producing food products formed of great amplitude, including food products in the form of strips or in the form of strip cuts, whose non-limiting examples include those described in United States design patents no. D711068 and D704919. The profiles of these knives 56, when viewed from their front edges 60, resemble a wave pattern, while the secondary knives (tabs 58) are shown as located in the peaks 62 of those waves to produce the cross section in juliana desired. During use, the leading edge 60 of the knife 56 cuts a slice of a food product, followed by julienne tabs 58 that cut the slice into strips.

The front edges of the tongues 58 shown in Figure 7 are located behind the leading edge 60 of the knife 56 and the tongues 58 extend to the rear edge of the knife 56. The relatively narrow juliana tabs 58 are shown in the Figure 8, and the relatively narrow stepped julienne tabs 58 are shown in Figure 9. The tabs 58 of Figure 7 are also each represented with a height from the surface of the knife 56 to the outer extreme extension of the juliana tongue 58, which is at a maximum near the leading edge 60 of the knife 56 (corresponding to the leading edge of the tongue 58) and is continuously tapered to a minimum at or adjacent to the rear edge of the knife 56 (corresponding to the rear edge of the tongue 58). It should be appreciated that the tabs 58 of Figures 7 to 9 can be modified to have any shape or size suitable for cutting the slices of food product into strips. Although they are shown located only at the peaks 62, it can be contemplated that the tabs 58 could be located, additionally or alternatively, in the valleys 64 of the blades 56.

An advantageous aspect of the blades 50, 52 and 54 of Figures 7, 8 and 9 is to avoid the practice of the prior art of using a blade assembly comprising a shaped knife and a julienne blade separately. The tabs 58 can be joined by some metallurgical process with the knife 56 with any means known in the art, for example, brazing and / or welding, for example, laser welding. The wider julienne tabs 58 shown in Figure 7 are considered to be more securely attached to the blade 56 than the narrower tabs 58 of the types depicted in Figures 8 and 9, since more surface area of each tongue wide 58 is secured to the blade 56 relative to the narrower tongues 58. However, the wider tongues 58 can exert excessive force on the slices of the food product. It is believed that as a slice is produced by the knife 56, the slice is deformed around the thickness of the individual tabs 58, which creates pressure on the slice between the adjacent tabs 58. When the pressure between the tabs 58 is too high, The now separated slice can be encouraged and potentially stopped before the julienne slices are completed. For this reason, juliana tabs 58, preferably, are constructed from the thinnest material possible, while maintaining their structural rigidity. Because the tabs 58 of the sequential blades 56 are also in sequence, it may be convenient to narrow (as in Figure 8) and / or stagger (as in Figure 9) the tabs 58, that is, at different distances from the leading edge of the knife 56 to minimize pressure between adjacent tabs 58.

US4590835 describes a cutter for food materials, with a support that includes a corrugated distal end and an intermediate stepped portion that forms a groove that extends backward.

Although they are suitable for the above purposes, it would be convenient to have alternative configurations for blades of the types described above to produce julienne cuts of food products.

Brief Description of the Invention

A blade assembly adapted to produce food products cut in julienne is provided in claim 1. A method for producing food products cut in julienne is provided in claim 9. Preferred embodiments are provided in the dependent claims. Any modality of the description below that is not included in the claims is provided for reference only.

The present invention provides blade assemblies of the suitable types for producing julienne cuts of food products, including cuts of the types that can be produced with the blades 50, 52, 54 and Figures 7, 8 and 9. The blade assemblies include a primary knife with at least one tongue blade that is assembled with the primary knife or formed from the primary knife without the need to fuse the primary and tongue blades together.

According to one aspect of the description, a blade assembly adapted to produce food products cut in julienne includes a primary knife that has a corrugated shape to produce a food product of great amplitude. The corrugated shape has a leading cutting edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys. The primary knife also has grooves located in at least some of the peaks. The blade assembly includes at least one tongue knife adapted to cut the slice of the food product with great breadth into strips. The tongue knife has a cross-sectional shape that comprises a lower section that is complementary to a valley of the primary knife and comprises at least two knife sections adapted to extend through at least two of the slots of the primary knife, so that it is exposed on at least two peaks of the primary knife. The primary and tongue knives do not join with any metallurgical process.

According to another aspect of the description, a method for producing food products cut in julienne includes installing at least two blade assemblies in sequence in the cutting apparatus. Each of the blade assemblies has a primary blade that has a corrugated shape to produce a food product of great amplitude and at least one tongue knife adapted to cut the slice of the food product with great amplitude into strips. The corrugated shape of the primary knife defines multiple peaks and valleys. The primary knife also has grooves located in at least some of the peaks. The tongue knife has a cross-sectional shape that comprises a lower section that is complementary to a valley of the primary knife and includes at least two sections of knife that extend through at least two of the slots of the primary knife for thus be exposed on at least two peaks of the primary knife. The primary and tongue knives do not join with any metallurgical process. The method includes operating the cutting apparatus to produce food products cut into strips or in the form of sheets.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a blade assembly adapted to produce food products with a julienne cut includes a primary knife that has a corrugated shape to produce a food product of great amplitude. The corrugated shape has a leading cutting edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys. The blade assembly includes at least one tongue knife adapted to cut the slice of the food product with great breadth into strips. The tongue knife is defined by a cut in the primary knife, which forms the tongue and then the tongue is flexed so that the tongue protrudes from the primary knife.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method for producing food products cut in julienne includes installing at least two blade assemblies in sequence in the cutting apparatus. Each of the blade assemblies includes a primary razor that has a corrugated shape to produce a large-scale food product and at least one tongue knife adapted to cut a slice of large-scale food product into strips. The corrugated shape of the primary knife has a leading cutting edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys. The tongue knife is an extension of the primary knife produced by a cutting section of the tongue knife that flexes to protrude from the primary knife. The method includes operating the cutting apparatus to produce food products cut into strips or in the form of sheets.

A technical effect of the invention is the ability to produce julienne cuts in food products without the need to melt the primary and tongue knives together or assemble multiple knives.

Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a primary pocket knife with tongue grooves adapted to receive tongue pocket knives to produce food products with a very wide shape, which includes food products cut in the form of a strip or in the form of a blade.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a tongue knife adapted for assembly with the primary knife of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a blade holder for a blade assembly, which comprises the primary and tongue blades of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the tongue blades of Figure 2 assembled with the blade holder of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the blade holder of Figure 4, also assembled with the primary knife of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the blade holder of Figure 5, also assembled with a clamp.

Figures 7 to 9 are perspective views representing the shaped blades to produce large-scale shaped food products, including strip-shaped and sheet-shaped food products.

Figures 10 and 11 are perspective views of an embodiment in which a primary knife has tongue knives formed integrally according to the invention.

Figure Figure 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment in which a primary knife has tongue blades integrally formed in accordance with the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

Figure Figure 6 depicts a blade assembly 28 of the type suitable for producing julienne cuts in food products, including cuts similar to those of the type that can be produced with blades 50, 52, 54 of Figures 7 , 8 and 9. Assembly 28 is particularly suitable for use in centrifugal cutting apparatus, for example, the Model CC®, to produce uniform cuts in bulk quantities of food products. The assembly 28 includes a primary knife 10 which has a profile, which when viewed from its leading edge, resembles a wave pattern to produce food products with great amplitude. Assembly 28 also includes secondary tongue knives 16 with knife sections 18 (see Figure 2) located at the peaks of the primary knife 10 to allow assembly 28 to produce foodstuffs cut in the form of a strip and in the form of a blade. Assembly 28 also includes a knife holder 22 and a clamp 26 to hold the different components in place.

With reference to Figure 1, the primary knife 10 is equipped with tongue grooves 14 located at the peaks 12 of its waveform and through which the knife sections 18 of the tongue knives 16 extend and are aligned with The primary knife 10 without the need to metallurgically join the two components together. Figure 2 illustrates an individual tongue knife 16 which has two knife sections 18 interconnected by the lower section 20 to produce an almost V-shaped or U-shaped cross section. The shapes of the primary knife 10 and tongue 16 are complementary to allow the tongue knife 16 to be placed below the valley of the primary knife 10, so that the two knife sections 18 of the tongue knife 16 extend individually upwardly through the two tongue grooves adjacent 14 of the knife 10.

Figure 3 is an isolated view of the blade holder 22, which functions as the foundation of the blade assembly 28. The blade holder 22 is similar to conventional blade holders of the types used with the Model CC®, at least because the blade holder 22 is manufactured to have a surface contour with peaks and valleys complementary to the peaks and valleys of the primary knife 10, so that the knife 10 can be assembled with the holder 22 when placing the knife 10 in the fastener 22 so that the peaks and valleys of its contour coincide with the peaks and valleys of the contour of the blade holder 22. The blade holder 22 has been modified to include raised areas 24 within the valleys of the holder 22. The Embossed areas 24 have the shape and size to accommodate the lower sections 20 of the tongue blades 16, which are located between the blade holder 22 and the primary knife 10 in the assembly 28 of Figure 6.

Figure 4 shows the blade holder 22 with the tongue blades 16 properly positioned in the relief areas 24 of the blade holder 22. The lower section 20 of each tongue knife 16 is received completely in one of the raised areas 24 of the blade holder 22, while the knife sections 18 of each of the tongue knife 16 extend far from the surface of the fastener 22. The raised areas 24 allow the knife holder 22 and the tongue blades 16 in combination, define an outline that is complementary to the outline of the primary knife 10.

Figure Figure 5 shows the primary knife 10 placed in the sub-assembly of Figure 4. The knife sections 18 of the tongue knives 16 remain exposed as a result of extending through the slots 14 in the knife 10. As mentioned above, Figure 6 shows the complete blade assembly 28 after placement of the clamp 26 in the subassembly of Figure 5.

The finished blade assembly 28 has the ability to provide uniform julienne cuts, similar or identical to the cuts produced by the blade assemblies 50, 52 and 54. However, the blade assembly 28 avoids the need to metallurgically join the blades of tongue 16 with primary knife 10. Instead, primary knives 10 and tongue 16 are secured together only by clamp 26 and by the way in which blades 10 and 16 and fastener 22 fit together as a result of the complementary contours.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 10 and 11. In this embodiment, a knife 30 defining a primary leading edge 33 is modified to provide tongue blades 32 without the need to weld or assemble tongue blades 32 with the pocket knife 30 or other structure adapted to define the primary leading edge 33. Each tongue knife 32 is formed individually by making two contiguous cuts in pocket knife 30, one of which it begins at the rear edge of the knife 30 within or adjacent to a valley of the knife 30 and continues towards the leading edge 33, but near the leading edge of the knife 30. The second cut extends from the valley to an adjacent peak , so that the second cut is pushed back a distance from the leading edge 33. The resulting tongue is bent vertically at the peak where it remains attached to the knife 30, as evidenced in Figures 10 and 11. The pocket knives of Tongue 32 are functionally equivalent to the knife sections 18 of the tongue knives 16 of Figures 1-6, because the tongue knives 32 are located at the peaks of the razor 30 to produce food products cut in the form of a strip or with sheet shape. As with the tongue knives 16 of Figures 1-6, the tongue knives 32 of Figures 10 and 11 could be located within the valleys of the knife 30. The tongue knives 32 can be created to have square front edges , for example, by cutting with a die or three-axis laser, or created to have beveled or angled front edges, for example, using a laser with additional rotation axes or an EDM cable. As with the assembly 28 of Figure 6, the knife 30 can be used in combination with a knife holder 22 and a clamp 26 to secure the blade 30. The first cuts can be configured to have variable lengths such that the tongue knives 32 of the sequential peaks are staggered (as in Figure 9), that is, at different distances from the leading edge 33 of the knife 30, to minimize the pressure between adjacent tabs 32.

A possible additional embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 12. This mode is similar to the mode shown in Figures 10 and 11, with the main exception that the tongue blades 36 do not extend completely to the rear edge of the Razor 34. As such, this mode requires at least a third contiguous cut that extends from the valley to the adjacent peak, with the third cut separated at a distance from the back edge of the razor 34. The methods for producing the razor 34 can be the same as those mentioned for the previous modality.

Although the invention has been described in terms of the specific embodiments, it is evident that after forms they can be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the blade assemblies and the devices where they are installed may differ in appearance and construction from the blade assemblies and the cutting heads shown in the drawings and other materials and processes other than those mentioned above may be used. Therefore, the scope of the invention is not limited only by the following claims.

Claims (9)

1. A blade assembly (28) adapted to produce food products with julienne cuts, the blade assembly (28) comprises: a primary razor (30, 34) that has a corrugated shape to produce a food product of great amplitude, the corrugated shape has a leading cutting edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys; Y at least one tongue knife (32, 36) adapted to cut the slice of food product of great width into strips, characterized in that the tab knife (32, 36) is defined by a cut in the main knife (30, 34) which forms a tongue and folds the tab so that the tab protrudes from the main knife (30, 34). 2. The blade assembly (28) according to claim 1, wherein the blade assembly (28) is adapted to produce strip-shaped or sheet-shaped food products. 3. The blade assembly (28) of claim 1, wherein the cut defining the tongue knife (32, 36) comprises a first cut along one of the first valleys of the primary knife (30, 34 ) and a second cut between the first valley. and an adjacent peak of the primary knife (30, 34). 4. The blade assembly (28) of claim 3, wherein the first cut is continuous through a rear edge of the primary knife (30, 34) arranged opposite from the leading edge of the primary knife (30 , 3. 4). 5. The blade assembly (28) of claim 3, wherein the first cut does not extend to a rear edge of the primary knife (30, 34) arranged opposite from the leading edge of the primary knife (30, 3. 4). 6. The blade assembly (28) according to claim 1, wherein the tongue knife (32, 36) has a square leading edge. 7. The blade assembly (28) according to claim 1, wherein the tongue knife (32, 36) has a beveled leading edge. 8. The blade assembly (28) according to claim 1, wherein the tongue knife (32, 36) has an inclined leading edge. 9. A method for producing food products with julienne cutting, the method comprises: install at least two sequential knife assemblies (28) in a cutting apparatus, each of the knife assemblies (28) comprises a primary blade (30, 34) having a corrugated shape to produce a food product of great amplitude and At least one tongue knife (32, 36) adapted to cut the slice of food product of great amplitude into strips, the corrugated shape of the primary knife (30, 34) has a leading edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys, characterized in that the tongue knife (32, 36) is an extension of the primary knife (30, 34) produced by a section cut from the primary blade (30, 34) that bends to protrude from the primary knife (30, 34); Y operate the cutting apparatus to produce food products cut into strips or in the form of sheets.