Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
6D 5087
The invention relates to an electric vegetable
peeler construction having specifically disposed and
sized blade and recess construction with a relation of an
inverse ration between the two so that peelings may be
easily removed from substantially all vegetables and
fruits while providing a construction that keeps any
cutting of the user's skin to a minimum if at all.
Motorized and powered vegetable peelers and
other scrapers as well as individual cutter construction
are all well knownO Most of the peelers involve a
detached motor that is cord connected to an electrically
...
rotatable body carrying a cutter of various tupes to
be pressed against a hard vegetable for peeling. Such
a device is shown in U. S. patent 3jO26,612 dated
March 27, 1962. Also widely differing cutters per se may
be used for numerous applications such as cutting grooves
in wood, peeling plywood layers, and general purpose
applications such as shown in U. S. patent 1,830,813 dated
November 10, 1931 and these comprise equally spaced blades
around a central locating body with the blade performing -~
its specific operation. Such cutters are not sele¢tive
and they will cut wood, metal, plastic, and fingers with
equal ease and often clog on soft, sticky items like
vegetables and fruits.
Briefly described, there is provided a cutter
construction for a vegetable peeler with a cylindrically
and electrically rotatable body having a longitudinal
mounting shaft and a plurality of longitudinally extending
:
slots coextensive with and equally spaced around the
body with a cutter blade disposed lengthwise from the
body outer end to its inner end in each slot. To
this general arrangement there is provided an improved
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slot and blade connection that includes each of the blades
being disposed in its own slot with its entire cutting edge
slanted or angled in the direction of rotation and having
a height above the body periphery falling within the
range varying from a maximum of .030 inches (.75 mm)
inwardly to a minimum of .008 inches (.20 mm). A
clearance recess is provided below and coexkensive with
each of the blades and the recess extends substantially
at a right angle to its individual blade in the direction
of rotation. The recess for each blade has a peripheral
width in the range of 0 to .1~0 inches (4.5 mm) with the
width varying inversely with the blade height. This
prevents clogging of the peelings in use with vegetables
and, more importantly, any cutting of the user's skin
is held to a minimum. A preferred blade height to recess
width is disclosed and modifications to each end of the
rotatable body are provided with a flared end shield
at the inner end of the body to guide peelings away from
the shaft and the recesses and with a spaced knob on
the outer end of the body so the shaft or cutter can
be pulled out of the driving mechanism without the user
contacting the body peripheral surface and the cutters.
Thus, the main object is to provide a cutter construction
for a vegetable peeler which cutter is so formed and
sized so that it is selective in that it will cut the
skin on a wide variety of fruit and vegetables and
shed the peelings without clogging and, at the same time,
provide a structure that is formed not to cut the skin
on the user.
FIG. 1 is a partial perspective showing the
cutter mechanism attached to a handle driving means;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the cutter
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mechanism o~ FIG. l; ;
FIG. 3 is an end view of the eye coring mechan-
ism at one end of the cutter;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cutter
taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional of
an individual cutter blade as shown in FIG. 4.
Referring first to FIG. 1, a cutter mechanims
generally shown at 10 is provided for a vegetable peeler
and is made of a cylindrically rotatable body 12 and
preferably formed of any suitable plastic such as
acetal and may be conveniently supported and driven
from a power handle 14 as in an electric toothbrush.
It rotates body 12 by connecting with a longitudinal
mounting shaft 16 which may be snapped into the handle
14 much like the beaters on a mixer. For cutting,
individual cutter blade assemblies 18 of longitudinally
extending slots 20 and blades 22 are equally spaced
around the periphery of body 12.
Cutters of this general type are not new and
have been used for a number of years for mills, wood
jointers, and even peelers. However, such cutters are not
at all selective. They will cut wood, metal, plastic,
and fingers with equal ease. Fre~uently they clog
readily on soft, stickly items like vegetables and
fruits. It is desired to provide a cutter that is selec-
tive to be used in a hand held powered fruit and vegetable
peeler to cut the skin on a wide variety of fruit and
vegetables without cutting the user's skin. One of
the problems with the standards cutters is peelings
clogging the clearance undercut adjacent the blades
since potato and peach peels tend to be sticky and when
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the undercuts fill the cutter will not peel. The-problem
of a selective cutter is further complicated by the
fact that it is necessary to peel not only hard vegetables
like carrots and potatoes with a firm body and soft fragile
skins but also materials such as cucumbers and tomatoes
and apples and peaches which have tough skins but soft
pulpy bodies. For example, cutting a cucumber with a
thick fairly tough skin and a pulpy body is close to a
human finger in terms of a selective cutter whereas a
ripe tomato with very thin tough skin and very soft
body requires a very sharp cutter blade to peel satisfact-
orily. Thus, it is necessary to develop a specific
cutter structure configuration that peels fruits and
vegetables of different consistencies satisfactorily but
still minimizes the risk of cutting the user's skin.
To this end, each cutter blade assembly 18 comprises
longitudinally extending slots 20 that are coextensive
with and equally spaced around body 12 and containing
an individual cutter blade 22 with one blade to each
slot and disposed lengthwise from the body outer end
24 to its inner end 26. In other words, each blade and
slot extends longitudinally along the entire body surface
as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Three equally spaced cutter
assemblies 18 are shown in FIG. 4, although any suitable
number may be used and the individual assembly is shown
enlarged in FIG. 5 and will be so described.
To provide proper cutting within the require-
ments of handling a great variety of differing vegetables
without cutting the user's skin, a selective blade
construction is necessary to meet these requirements to
FIG. 5, there is shown an improved slot and blade
configuration that is selective for the requirements above.
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In this selective configuration, each blade 22 is disposed
in its slot 20 by merely forcing or pushing the blade into
the slot formed in the plastic body. The force of cutting
will seat the blade properly and keep it in position and
it is merely necessary to push it into the slot 20 to
hold it. For proper cutting, the entire cutting e~ge is
angled or slanted in the direction of rotation as shown
by arrow 28 and is disposed in the body wherein the blade
height H above the peripheral surface of body 12 is
preferably .013+.002 inches (.325+.050 mm) as a desirable
configuration. Axially the height may vary between a -
maximum of .030 inches (.75 mm) and a minimum of .008
inches (.20 mm) and any blade height within this selective :
range is adequate to meet the requirements although the
.013 inches is the preferred height. Thus, blade heights
in the range will satisfactorily cut the varying vegetable
and fruit consistencies while minimizing the risk of
cutting the user's skin. Also, in order to properly clear ~- -
the blade and prevent material from cloyging the cutters,
it is necessary to provide a specifically formed clearance
recess 30 that is disposed below the body surface and is
coextensive with each blade throughout its length as
shown in FIGS. 5 and 2 respectively. Recesses per se
are known but are not of the specific configuration herein.
In this respect, the recess extends away substantially at
a right angle A to the blade as shown in FIG. 5 and the
recess is aimed in the direction of rotation i.e. extending
out to come flush to the surface of cylindrical body 12
at 32 as opposed to a mere undercut in the vicinity of
numeral 30 in FIG. 5. In other words, it is necessary
for the recess to extend a distance in the direction of
rotation to provide the flat surface 34 as shown. The
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shape o~ this undercut recess with its flat surface
extending substantially at right angles to the blade 22
controls against the tendency to clog as well as the ten-
dency to cut the user's skin. Within the range of the
blade height, the recess must vary inversely so that
as the height H is decreased, the recess widens out or
increases through a range varying from substantially 0
width W at the maximum height of .030 inches ~.75 mm)
out to a pre~erred width as shown in FIG. 5 of .180+.005
inches (4.5+.125 mm). Any blade height H and recess width
W within these ranges will meet the paramters required of
cutting a wide variety of vegetables and fruits satisfactorily
without nicking the user's skin and the relationship is
that as the blade height is decreased the recess is
increased within the ranges noted to provide a ramp for
clearing the length. Even with the optimum relationship
between blade height and clearance of .013 and .180 inches
respectively, it is still possible to skin a knuckle if the
skin is tight over the bone but on the palm or inside
finger there is flesh under the skin, and the risk of
cutting with a cutter of this relationship is minimal. But
even if the cutter should nick a finger it tends to be
a surface abrasion rather than a deep cut such as a
knift can make.
In order to guide the peeling away from the mounting
or recesses holding shaft 15, a flared end shield 36 is
provided on the inner end of the cylindrical body 12 so
that no jamming of the mounting can take place.
Having designed the cutter to meet a wide
variety of requirements without cutting the user's skin,
it is also necessary to provide a convenient means of
removing the cutter when it is stopped without slicing
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the fingers as the cutter mechanism 10 is grasped by the
hand. For this, there i5 provided an additional spaced
knob 38 that is also formed of plastic and suitably
mounted on the outer end of body 12 by which the cutter
may be pulled out of power handle 14. This knob 14 may
also be formed with suitable plastic relatively safe cutters
40 that may be used for eyeing potatoes or damaged
portions of fruits and vegetables thus serving a dual
purpose of a removal means as well as an auxiliary cutter.
~his is then used for removing the shaft and cutter of
body 12 thus avoiding the sharp cutter blades 22.
Thus, the invention provides a specifically
formed peeling cutter for use with a self-powered handle
or shaft mount which cutter structure has a relationship
between blade height and formation and extent of a
cutting recess by which a wiae variety of soft and
hard fruits and vegetables can be actually peeled while
more importantly, minimizing the risk of cutting the
yser's skin. A~tually a cutter of this nature may be
2~ placed flat on the user's palm without cutting
the skin at all.
While I have hereinbefore described a preferred
form of the invention, obvious equivalent variations
are possible in light of the above teachings. It is
therefore to be understood that/ within the scope of
the appended claims, the invention may be practice other-
wise than as specifically described, and the claims are
intended to cover such equivalent variations.
