Cutting – Other than completely through work thickness or through work... – Splitting
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-09
2001-03-20
Rada, Rinaldi I. (Department: 3724)
Cutting
Other than completely through work thickness or through work...
Splitting
C083S761000, C083S454000, C083S932000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202529
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS NOT APPLICABLE.
1. BACKGROUND - FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for safely slicing roundly shaped bread products such as bagels, bulkie rolls, and English muffins into two approximately equal sections.
2. BACKGROUND - DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
The operation of slicing bagels and other roundly shaped bread products into two approximately equal halves is commonly done without a mechanical aid. It is often done by holding the bread product in one hand and using a cutting utensil in the other hand to cut it into two sections, or holding the bread product down on a table and slicing it horizontally. This often results in unequal sections, and serious injuries can and do result using these methods. It has been reported that a leading cause of emergency room visits is injuries received while slicing bagels in particular. For these reasons a number of apparatus have been invented to try to improve this operation.
There are numerous variations in prior art, however two versions are most commonly utilized, both of which have shortcomings. The most common version is a rectangular box made of either wood or clear plastic, open at the top with opposed slots on either side. The drawbacks of this design are that the bread product is prone to spinning in the holder and still needs to be held with the hand, so injury could result. Also, having a wide opening, vertical sides and a flat bottom, the cut will often be off center, making the sections uneven.
A second style, U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,078 to Ricard and Cann (1994) has a single, “V” shaped blade attached to a handle in a track over a similar rectangular box. The food preparer pushes the blade down through the bread product. The drawbacks of this design are that the bread product can become deformed by this cutting action and a significant amount of force is required to cut a bread product in such a fashion. Also, the blade must be very sharp, so there is a risk of injury and reduced effectiveness if dulling occurs, and the design allows the bread product to be cut off center.
Many other prior art designs involve complex mechanisms that are costly to produce, difficult to clean, or non-intuitive and difficult to understand. Some designs, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,106 to Popeil and Backus (1990), are tall and unstable. Other designs puncture a hole in the bread product and would function poorly with irregularly shaped bread products. Only one known prior art design patent, U.S. Pat. No. D379,907 to Israeli (1997), has a separate top piece to hold the bread product from rotating, however the holding force is perpendicular to the cutting plane, making the cutting operation more difficult. Also, this design causes the cut to be incomplete, stopping short of cutting all the way through the bread product. In addition, the cutting action is horizontal, which is uncomfortable and requires more force to maintain stability, and fingers can easily end up in the path of the cutting utensil while attempting to hold it steady.
SUMMARY
The present invention is a safe, effective, attractive apparatus for slicing roundly shaped bread products such as bagels into two approximately equal halves. The present invention is comprised of two primary components. The base unit is essentially a rectangular block with a chamber that is open at the top, which is uniquely shaped to receive and center the lower portion of a bread product. A narrow slot through the middle of the base unit provides a means for guiding a special or conventional bread knife through the middle of a bread product. The front and back of the base unit has a “U” shaped opening from the top down to the approximate center of a bread product that allows for easy insertion and removal of a bread product. The base unit has a step on the front and back of the unit to make it wider, providing additional stability. The second component of the invention is a separate top block that has an inverted slot on the underside to receive the knife so that it is completely recessed from the underside of the top block. To use the unit, once the bread product is inserted into the chamber in the base unit, the knife is inserted blade down into the slot in the top block, and together they are placed into the chamber of the base unit, on top of the bread product. No known prior art with a downward cutting motion contains this critical separate top piece. A low cutting force is required because the holding force applied to the bread product is in the same direction as the slicing plane, in comparison to many prior art designs which apply the holding force perpendicular to the slicing plane, increasing the force required to draw the cutting utensil through the bread product. Using light pressure to keep the bread product from rotating, the user draws the knife back and forth, and is able to cut easily through the bread product. When the bread product has been cut all the way through, the user removes the top piece and the knife, and takes the bread product out of the base unit, ready for further preparation.
Objects and Advantages
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a safe, effective apparatus for slicing numerous bread products, and bagels in particular, into two approximately equal halves, that overcomes the shortcomings of prior art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a means of keeping a rounded bread product from spinning during the slicing operation in a way that does not increase the cutting force by applying the holding force parallel to the cutting plane.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for slicing bread products that requires a minimum of counter space and is economical enough for the common household.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for slicing bread products that is does not damage the bread product during the slicing operation, and is easy to clean.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4948106 (1990-08-01), Popeil et al.
patent: 5431078 (1995-07-01), Ricard et al.
patent: 5481953 (1996-01-01), McLeod
patent: 5638734 (1997-06-01), Fish
patent: 5690013 (1997-11-01), Kanarek et al.
patent: 5718158 (1998-02-01), Rogge
patent: 5724877 (1998-03-01), Kensrue
patent: 5819629 (1998-10-01), Sarich
patent: 5921163 (1999-07-01), McInnes et al.
patent: 5946998 (1999-09-01), Thompson
Flores-Saánchez Omar
Rada Rinaldi I.
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