Garlic cutter

Details Garlic cutter Garlic cutter

1998-09-10

2001-04-03

Rachuba, M. (Department: 3724)

Cutting

Tool or tool with support

Stationary cutter

C083S932000, C241S169200

Reexamination Certificate

active

06209439

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a garlic cutter which may also be used for other vegetables, for instance onions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Known implements for mincing garlic are designed as a sort of press, the garlic being forced by a punch through a grid. Essentially the vegetable is being squeezed, namely being processed by the apertures, into small strands or streamers. The garlic is less cut than pressed in this procedure. Moreover, comparatively large parts remain caught in the implement and do not pass through the apertures.
The German Offenlegungsschrift 21 19 992 describes an onion cutter wherein an axially adjustable punch forces the onion through star-arrayed cutting blades, so that the onion is cut into a plurality of sectors of a circle. These sectors are cut into individual pieces by a knife inserted transversely.
A similar onion cutter designed with cutting wires rotating relative to the onion is disclosed in the German Gebrauchsmuster 1,750,135.
The German patent 832,051 discloses an implement for mincing onions, fruit or other goods and comprises a housing bearing a cutting blade at its lower side and an upper part fitted with a punch affixed thereto. The punch, during operation and rotation relative to the housing, carries out an axial motion toward the co-rotating cutting grid. By means of this axially displaceable punch, the fruit is moved or pressed through a co-rotating cutting grid at the output side of which are formed corresponding streamers or strands of square cross-section. These segments then are longitudinally minced by the blade mounted behind the cutting grid and consequently onion cubes are made. The fruit is neither pressed nor rubbed Rather, the onion on one hand is cut by the grid and on the other hand is cut transversely by the blade. This results in finely cut onion cubes as end products. The cutting grid cuts the fruit in two dimensions, and therefore pins or bars are generated which subsequently are minced by the blade into cubes. The punch is designed in such manner that its front side shape matches the shape of the two-dimensional cutting grid, that is the front-side shape consists of a number of pegs pushing the onion segments through the cutting grid. The blade is mounted in stationary manner on the housing, whereas the punch and the cutting grid is mounted rotatably and preferably so that one actuating element can set both in rotation and that, by means of the spindle, they generate an axial punch motion relative to the co-rotating cutting grid.
Such design of the state of the art incurs the drawback that the punch containing a plurality of pegs can be cleaned only laboriously. Many guide means and components of complex shape are present that make thorough cleaning cumbersome and time-consuming because the garlic makes contact with many components of different configurations.
The objective of the invention is to create a garlic cutter or cutters for vegetables that can easily be dismantled into components of simple shapes allowing rapid cleaning.
The present invention alleviates the drawbacks associated with the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The garlic cutter of the invention contains a beaker-shaped inner structure receiving the garlic. The structure is rotatably supported in the housing and receives the cutting grid. Accordingly, the garlic cutter of the invention is composed of three components, the housing, the upper part and the beaker-shaped inner part or inner structure. The inner structure is placed in the base body, and the garlic inside the inner structure. Next the upper part is rotated, whereby its inside thread engages the mating thread of the housing and effects the axial displacement and the cutting of the garlic clove. Then the inner structure rotates together with the upper part which bears the punch. Because the inner structure is beaker-shaped, the garlic is prevented from moving away laterally during the pressing or cutting procedure, further from soiling other elements, for instance guide elements or further components. The inner structure being the sole component, aside the cutting blade and the punch, that comes into contact with the garlic. Cleaning, following disassembly, is essentially limited to inner structure. On account of its smooth surfaces, even this inner structure is easily cleaned.
The blade is affixed at the underside of the housing to a bridge resting on mutually opposite housing locations. Advantageously, the blade does not run beyond the center of the cutting grid. Otherwise, the center always would be covered by the blade and pieces of garlic might accumulate at the blade or its tip and entail malfunction.
In a preferred embodiment, the inner structure rotating in the housing is rotatably held in the proper operational position by a detent mechanism, with its cutting grid held exactly above the blade, and can easily be removed for cleaning. The inner structure is engages the housing by means of detent elements such as toes and can be released for cleaning by merely pressing the cutting grid or its frame from below to overcome the toes' resistance. Thus the user can easily remove the inner structure and clean the cutting grid affixed.
In another embodiment, the cutting grid is easily removable from the inner structure. The two parts are connected by the engagement of the particular ends of metal elements forming the cutting grid with geometrically locking clearances in the lower rim zone of the inner structure. Snap connection between the cutting grid (and any frame) with the rim of the inner structure also is feasible.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the blade or the blade holder together with the blade are made detachable from the housing to facilitate cleaning the parts. In the simplest case the connection of the two parts is implemented by merely placing the blade in a housing-stationary clearance. Again affixation can be implemented between the blade holder and the housing by a bayonet lock mounted in such manner that in operation the reactive pressure on the blade biases the blade holder toward the closed position. The garlic cutter when designed for right-handed users is fitted with a right-hand thread and therefore the upper part is rotated to the right relative to the lower part for the purpose of pressing the vegetable against the cutting grid, and preferably the bayonet lock holding the blade holder against the housing holder is configured in such manner that it shall be opened by leftward rotation and closed by rightward rotation. In this manner accidental opening is precluded during the cutting procedure.
In this design of a garlic cutter, the inner structure when in operation rotates relative to the housing holding it. The drive rotating the inner structure together with the punch can be implemented either using a punch with a non-circular and preferably a substantially square cross-section, and hence dipping into a correspondingly shaped substantially square cavity of the inner structure, or guide channels for the punch mounted in the inner structure, the punch in turn being fitted with guide toes entering these channels. In a symmetrical design of punch and inner structure, assembly can be carried out at different positions. However, there is only one possible position in an asymmetrical configuration. Preferably, the punch cross-section shall be square with beveled edges, resulting in four different but wholly equivalent assembly modes for punch and inner structure. The bevels of the edges preclude “dead” right angles, i.e. corners difficult to clean.
In a further innovation of the invention, especially appropriate for the above discussed garlic cutter, the punch pushes the garlic clove through the cutting grid against the cutting blade. This punch comprises a plurality of pegs able to enter the apertures of the cutting grid and which preferably are planar at the front, further a front plate resiliently seated on the punch and covering the pegs, whereby the plate together with the front faces of the peg

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Garlic cutter does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Garlic cutter, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Garlic cutter will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2447269