Cutting – Tool or tool with support – Pointed perforators
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-01
2001-07-31
Peterson, Kenneth E. (Department: 3724)
Cutting
Tool or tool with support
Pointed perforators
C030S315000, C030S358000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267036
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to fruit and vegetable decorative carving devices; and more particularly to a devices and kits for carving, sculpting and decorating fruits and vegetables by carving decorative patterns in the fleshy shell or skin.
2. Related Art
Carving or sculpting fruits and vegetables having a fleshy outer skin or rind has long been known. Cucumbers, apples, cantaloupe, watermelons, gourds, to name a few, are turned into ornamental center pieces by use of carving artistry. The finer dining establishments employ such techniques to enhance the “presentation” of their cuisine.
Likewise, pumpkin carving has long been one of the several ways in which Halloween is celebrated. Traditionally, pumpkin carving involves the removal of a portion of the pumpkin shell surrounding the stem, removal of the seeds and fibers contained in the pumpkin and carving humourous, grotesque or other decorative features in the pumpkin shell by sculpting and then removing fleshy portions of the shell to obtain the desired appearance. Internal illumination can be provided, either by a candle or by a battery operated light to enhance the effect. This illumination results in a glowing decorative pattern.
In the past, pumpkin carving was typically accomplished through the use of pocket knives, paring knives and the like. Due to the size of these cutting instruments though, the typical carver was only able to obtain crude decorative features. Since the cutting knives used in pumpkin carving are difficult to control, any attempt at carving detailed or intricate design features “free hand” usually met with disappointment, since the carver often unintentionally removed portions of the pumpkin shell which destroyed the design and thus, the appearance.
The development of carved pumpkin designs has become a burgeoning commercial enterprise. One innovation was the use of small hand-held saws and spiral drill bits to produce intricately and exotically carved pumpkins. Later patterns were printed on tissue, or similar material, and then affixed to the outer skin by means of for example, tacks or nails. The carver then tried to cut along the design on the paper pattern, simultaneously cutting the skin of the pumpkin. This system has obvious draw backs. First, the patterns tend to tear as the knife is inserted. Second, the pumpkin juice soaks the material causing it to deform and tear. Third, it is difficult to gauge the depth of the incision required to penetrate through the meat of the pumpkin to its inner core.
There are many attempts in the prior art to provide appropriate forms, designs and tools for carving and decorating fruits and vegetables. U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,114 shows a pumpkin carving kit, with carving implements that are used with templates to form a design. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,296,659 and 3,965,574 disclose cutting devices designed to form a jack-o-lantern. U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,415 shows a device for cutting melons.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a device, which can be incorporated into a kit, useful in carving decorative designs in the fleshy shell or skin of fruits and vegetables. The device comprises a backing member or base plate, which is preferably flexible, having a plurality of co-planar, upstanding, drive pins or piercing elements whose axis are formed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the base plate. The drive pins, formed in a decorative pattern relative to the base plate, extend from one side of the base plate, with each drive pin being secured to the base plate, and including a free end which forms a piercing point.
The drive pins can be cylindrical in shape, conical, flat (such as a blade) or of any configuration to form an elongated, ridged piercing/cutting surface. The drive pins are preferably embedded in the base plate in an up-standing arrangement and configured upon the base plate in an artistic design, such that when a piercing force is applied to the base plate, the piercing points of the drive pins are caused to pierce the shell or skin of the fruit or vegetable in the pattern of the design. The device is then removed to reveal a series of skin penetrations in the form of the design carried by the device. A carving instrument is then used to connect the perforations in the shell or the skin to carve a design in the meat of the fruit or vegetable.
Broadly stated the invention relates to a device and method for carving or sculpting designs and patterns in fruits and/or vegetables for the purpose of artfully decorating the fruits and/or vegetables by first piercing the fleshy shell or skin with a device having a backing element supporting upstanding piercing elements distributed on the backing element in the form of the desired design or pattern; and, then inserting a carving instrument into the fleshy skin or shell of the fruit and/or vegetable along the pierced outline forming a continuous penetration or cut into the flesh of the article to effect a design. In one embodiment, the device employs a flexible backing element of a resilient, plastic type material. In another embodiment solid, conically shaped drive pins, ½″ to ¼″ inches in length, penetrate through one side of the base plate to protrude from the other side of the base plate to form a design pattern of needle like spines.
In operation, the drive pins are aligned on the object to be decorated, and, by means of pressure applied to the backing, the drive pins pierce the shell or skin and are thus, driven into the fruit or vegetable. The device is then removed to expose the outline of the design and the design is carved into the object by continuously penetrating the flesh along the pattern of the drive pin punctures with a carving instrument or tool.
The kit of the invention includes the device for piercing the skin or shell in a decorative pattern, at least one carving tool suitable for continuously puncturing the flesh of the fruit and/or vegetable to be decorated and an instruction book containing instructions that correlate application of the design features of the device to the object to be decorated and the use of the cutting tools. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention this carving kit is in the form of a self contained binder or box for housing the elements of the kit. Pockets having an interior that may be closed by a closure flap or plastic zipper are retained in the binder or box. Cutting or carving tools, preferably in the form of small saws and knives are received in the pocketed portion with the closure flap operative to retain the cutting tools and the device featuring one or more designs.
Preferably, the small saws and knives are integrally molded plastic pieces having a handle portion and a cutting element extending axially thereof. The saw elements can further be formed by loose saw blades and at least one pair of complementary handle sections which may be secured together to mountably receive the saw blades in an axial position. The instruction book contains instructions for assembling the cutting tools as well as operating the device for piercing the skin or shell in a decorative pattern.
The advantages of this invention both as to its construction and mode of operation, will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures.
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patent: 6
Choi Stephen
Meyer Lee G.
Peterson Kenneth E.
Snell & Wilmer LLP
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