GB2286110A - Cutting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus comprising a base member preferably with cooperating container; a handle pivotally attached to the base member; a blade member positioned adjacent an opening of the container and a pressing member to press a vegetable or fruit past a blade or blades in the blade member into the container. <IMAGE>

Description

CITING APPARATUS This invention relates to a cutting apparatus.

In particular, this invention relates to a cutting apparatus which provides for improved cutting function.

Known cutting apparatus suffer the disadvantages of ejecting cut fruit or vegetables onto the working surface, which is inconvenient and unhygienic. Further they tend to slip about on the work surface and are not efficient in transferring energy from the user to the cutting process.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the above disadvantages or difficulties or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Accordingly, in a first embodiment, the invention consists in a vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus comprising a blade member, a handle pivotally connected to a base member which directly or indirectly supports the blade member; and a pressing member directly or indirectly pivotally attached to the handle to press vegetable or fruit past a blade or blades in the blade member.

In a second embodiment, the invention consists in a vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus comprising a blade member, a handle pivotally connected to a base member which supports the blade member; and a pressing member directly or indirectly pivotally attached to the handle.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side view of a cutting apparatus of the invention with the handle raised.

Figure 2 is a side view of the cutting apparatus of figure 1 with the handle lowered.

Figure 3 is a top view of the cutting apparatus of figures 1 and 2, with the handle lowered.

Figure 4 is side and underneath views of a first embodiment of a pressing member for use with the cutting apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 5 is side and top views of a first embodiment of a blade member for use with the cutting apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 6 is side and underneath views of a second embodiment of a pressing member for use with the cutting apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 7 is side and top views of a second embodiment of a blade member for use with the cutting apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 8 is side and underneath views of a third embodiment of a pressing member for use with the cutting apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 9 is side and top views of a third embodiment of a blade member for use with the cutting apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a top view of a fourth embodiment of a blade member for use in the cutting apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 11 is a side view of the blade member of figure 10.

Figure 12 is a side view of a fourth embodiment of a pressing member for use in the cutting apparatus of the present member.

Figure 13 is an underneath view of the pressing member of figure 12.

Referring to figures 1-3, the cutting apparatus of the present invention shown generally at 2, comprises a base 4, and a handle 6 pivotally connected to the base at pivot 8, a pressing member 10 which may itself be pivotally connected to the handle, or, for ease of interchanging pressing members 10 may be slidable (or in any other convenient manner engagable) into a support 12 which is pivotally connected to the handle at pivot 14.

On the base 4, preferably, a container 16 is situated and a blade support 20 conveniently forms a lid for the container 16 by fitting over it. Lip 22 rises up from the edges of blade members 24 situated in the blade support.

Figures 2 and 3 show the handle 6 lowered so that fingers 26 of presser 10 pass at least partially through corresponding spaces formed by blades 32 (see figures 4-13 showing various embodiments of blade members with their corresponding pressers).

The lip, as is best shown in figure 11, has slots 30 to receive the sides of the preferably otherwise hollow arm. If the arm were not hollow a single aperture at least the width of the handle would need to be provided. The arm could also be hollow in the regions of slots 30 only.

This arrangement ensures that when a fruit or vegetable or piece thereof is placed within the lip 22 of the blade support 20 over the blade or blades 32, it will not roll out or fall off the blade support; the slots 30 ensuring that when the handle is lowered, the presser fingers 26 of the presser 10 are able to extend at least partially through corresponding spaces between the blades 32, thereby forcing the fruit or vegetable past the blades 32 into the container.

The pressers 10 and blade members 24 are preferably changeable and examples of suitable pressers and their corresponding blade members are shown, respectively, in figures 4 and 5, figures 6 and 7, and figures 8 and 9. These blades and pressers are particularly suitable for forming "chips" from root vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, carrot taro etc. The blade members are slidable in and out of an aperture in the side of support 20 for easy changing of blades.

When slicing cored fruit it is often undesirable to eat the core and therefore cutting the fruit away from the core is preferable.

Figure 10 showns a blade support with blades 32 connected directly to the support 22, although they could be removable in the outer support detailed above. This support also is provided with a lip 22 running closer to the edges of the support 20 and lower than the lip 22 of the support 20 of figure 1 to conveniently accommodate fruit such as large apples, but a support such as that shown in figure 1 would also be suitable, providing the fruit was small enough. When using the "chipping" blades preferably provided with support 20 of figure 1, it is usually of no consequence if the fruit of vegetable need be cut to fit within the lip 22.

However, with fruits that require coring, it would not be suitable to cut the fruit before slicing, hence the wider lip 22.

As shown in figure 4 (but not shown in figures 6 and 8 although it will be understood that they may also be so configured) the pressers 10 preferably are provided with a central indentation 38 to assist in aligning and securing the fruit or vegetable so it does not slip during the cutting process. The pivoting of the presser 10 on the handle 6 allows the indentation to position correctly over the fruit or vegetable to allow maximum transfer of energy from the user to the fruit or vegetable to force it past the blades.

In the presser shown in figure 13, there is provided an additional feature for use with cored fruits, that is a central protrusion 40 extending from within the indentation 38 which can engage with the indentations in fruit which correspond with their cores. This ensures that the core is correctly aligned over the blades 32 of the support of figure 10 so that when the handle is pressed down the presser pushes the fruit past the blades, resulting in a core and 8 slices of fruit in the container.

The above describes preferred embodiments of the present invention variations and modifications in which may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

For example, the container may be of any convenient shape or size and the blade support may be adjustable to fit different parts of containers, such as one side of the top of a container or over a shoot leading down to the container.

Claims (6)

CLAIMS:

1. A vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus comprising a base member with cooperating container; a handle pivotally attached to the base member; a blade member positioned adjacent an opening of the container and a pressing member to press a vegetable or fruit past a blade or blades in the blade member into the container.

2. A vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blade member is positionable to form part of the container.

3. A vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the pressing member is pivotally attached to the handle.

4. A vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the handle comprises a pressing member receiving member pivotally attached to the handle, to which pressing members may be attached.

5. A vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus comprising a blade member.

a handle pivotally connected to a base member which directly or indirectly supports the blade member; and a pressing member directly or indirectly pivotally attached to the handle to press vegetable or fruit past a blade or blades in the blade member.

6. A vegetable or fruit cutting apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a container supported by the base member wherein the blade member is positionable to form part of the container.