Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
- 10~2a~9~
The invention relates to a food processor having a
power base with a bowl supporting portion and a vertically
driven shaft operable in a bowl thereon. Two interchangeable
cutting means are provided for the shaft and arranged so
that both are usable independently or simultaneously with
both cutting means disposed within the bowl for convenient
storage in non-use or independently or simultaneously usable
in operation.
It is known to use food processors, a device
fitting in the speed range between blenders and mixers,
as a multipurpose kitchen apparatus that uses multiple
interchangeable rotary tools such as blades, knives, cutting
and rasping discs, and other tools for blending, mixing,
grating, grinding, chopping, slicing, whipping and other
operations in a short time. Generally, processors have been
notable in the gourmet field but are being expanded to
become a commonly used kitchen appliance. They usually
comprise a power base with a bowl supporting portion and
a vertically driven shaft that carries the cutters in the
base of the bowl or various forms of slicing discs that may
be substituted for the cutters and also independently used
within the bowl. A lid that is interlocked with the
motor circuit, and which usually contains a safety feed
chute for introducing food to the bowl, inactivates the
processor when the lid is removed and the sharp cutting
means are exposed. A typical specific interlocking structure
for such a food processor is shown in U. S. Patent No.
, dated sepf~ber~n~of common
assignment. Some devices are strictly food processors as in
U. S. Patent 3,892,365 dated July 1, 1975. Other devices
may be quite flexible by providing means whereby the same
basic power unit forms a food processing appliance that
-
9~
may operate in many speed ranges from blenders to mixers
depending on what bowl is selected which automatically
provides the correct shaft speed for the operation desired.
Such a device is shown in Canadian application S.N.
292,315 filed December 2, 1977 of common assignment.
An object of the present invention is to provide
a food processor of the general known type with plural
cutters that may be used independently or together and
which are storable in non-use within the bowl of the
processor and which, in use, may be separately used or
simultaneously used to automatically precut food by one
cutter before action by the other.
Another object is to provide such a processor
wherein multiple operations are obtainable with only two
cutting mechanisms by making one of the cutting mechanisms
reversible.
Briefly described, the invention is directed to
a food processor having a power base with a lid-covered
bowl supported thereon, the lid having a feed chute there-
through and a driven shaft extending vertically into the
bowl and having a pair of interchangeable cutting means
for said shaft. To this known arrangement an improvement
is provided in multiple cutting and storage means comprising
a means extending the shaft to the underside of the lid,
a first separate removable cutter on the shaft in the bowl
base with a second separate removable disc cutter on the top
of the shaft spaced from the first cutter closely adjacent
the bowl lid and fixedly supported in a given position on
said shaft for simultaneous rotation within the bowl. The
second disc cutter is a dual cutter with slicing means on
one side and grating means on the other so the same disc
can be usable for different operations by merely reversing
10!~94
it. The overall arrangement is such that the bowl stores
the individually usable cutters when they are not being
used and the same cutters are individually operable in
use separately and also simultaneously for automatically
precutting food by the top cutter before action by the
lower cutter. Thus, the main object of the invention is
to provide a food processor with plural cutters which are
storable within the processor when not being used and are
individually operable in use either separately or together
for sequential cutting operations on the food at the
same time.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially in section
showing the stacking of the cutters;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the cutter mechan-
ism partially broken away and showing the details thereof,
and
FIG. 3 is a reduced side elevation showing the
; storage and/or cutting orientation of the multiple cutters.
Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a food processing
appliance including a basic blender-type power base 10
which is preferably L-shaped having an upstanding motor
containing housing unt 12 which has a suitable motor
such as a low cost series motor driving a power shaft 14
by a suitable linkage between the power unit and shaft
14 as well known in the art. Any suitable power base 10
will suffice but the L-shape is preferred since is presents
an overall low profile desirable in a kitchen appliance.
Disposed on the bowl supporting portion 16 of the base is
a removable bowl 18 with a separate removable cutter
mechanism with spaced cutting blades 20 as shown in FIG.
2 and well-known in the art. The cutters 20 are sharpened
on the leading edge and usually comprise two axially spaced
10~ 9'?~
blades that perform a chopping operation on foods. The
entire assembly slides on drive shaft 14 and fits on
flattened surface 21 closely adjacent the bowl base as
shown in FIG. 3 with coned hub 23 providing weight and cutter
support to fixedly space the cutters in a given position
on the shaft. This structure is well-known in the art.
As shown, bowl 18 is a relatively large bowl having a
removable lid 22 with an integral feed chute 24 by which
food is introduced to the bowl. The bowl may be lokced
in position on the base by suitable lugs 26 by rotating
it into position on supporting portion 16. Thus the
bowl and cutting mechanisms are supported on portion 16
with the cutters being driven from motor unit 12 in the
base 10 generally at a given speed. To prevent access to
the movable cutters, the lid is secured to the bowl 18 by
an interlocking mechanism generally indicated at 28 and
relçtasable by know 30 as more fully explained in detail in
said U. S. Patent ~f, tr~, 3 7~ supra.
For multiple food processing steps, it is known
to provide one or more disc cutters as shown in FIGS. 5
and 6 of Patent 3,892,865 for rasping or grating and
for slicing respectively. Such disc cutters are used
separately from chopping cutters 20 and operate just below
the lid adjacent feeding chute 24 for performing the
separate operations into the bowl. Additional discs are
stored separately and are used separately.
In accordance with the invention, the conventional
first separate cutter means 20 is removably supported on
shaft 14 in the bowl base as shown in FIG. 2. For different
operations on the food, a second separate removable disc
cutter 32 is provided and disposed on the top of shaft
14 which is deliberately extended to the underside of the
iol~2~g4
lid for a purpose later explained and the disc cutter is
fixedly spaced from the first cutter and closely adjacent
the bowl lid, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The arrangement
is such that both cutter mechanisms 20 and 32 are
supportable at the same time entirely within the bowl as
shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Thus, when the device is not in
operation the entire operating mechanism may be self-
contained in a compact package without outside storage
facilities. For multiple use, disc cutter 32 is designed
for dual functions by providing slicing means 34 extending
from one side of the disc and oppositely directed grating
means 36 extending from the opposite side of the same
disc as shown in FIG. 2. This provides for reversible
use of the single disc cutter 32 for different operations
by the same disc.
For reversible use, the second disc cutter 32 is
provided with a fixed reversible hub 38 secured at 40 to
the disc and designed to fit in lengthened shaft 14 and
extend on each side of the disc as shown in FIG. 2.
Generally, the arrangement is symmetrical and both sides of
the hub are provided with a flat surface as 21 (omitted
for clarity) for driving engagement with shaft 14. Since-
it is necessary to locate either side of the cutting
disc 32 closely adjacent the lid feeding chute 24 as in
any conventional single disc arrangement, the hub portion
is provided with a central stop means 42 so that the disc
can be reversibly dropped on the end of the lengthened
shaft 14 with either face up to locate the slicer 34 or
grater 36 closely adjacent the lid feed chute 24. In
either position, disc 32 is fixedly located on shaft 14
in the same vertical position due to the central stop
means 42. It should be noted that each cu~ter 20 and
-- 5 --
" 10~2~94
32 is thus provided with means, coned hub 23 and stop means
42, cooperating with the shaft to keep each of the cutting
means fixedly spaced in a given position on the shaft.
For normal chopping, only cutters 20 will be used
alonge in the bowl in the conventional manner. For pure
slicing and/or grating, the cutter 20 may be removed and
disc cutter 32 substituted with the appropriate side up
adjacent the feed chute 24 so the processed food drops
into the bowl. However, only one disc is required by
virtue of the dual oppositely-spaced slicer 34 and grater
36 and either is usable depending on the position of disc
32 on the driving shaft. Thus, except for the
reversibility, a conventional food processor is provided
With the hub and shaft construction however, it is possible
to use both cutting mechanisms simultaneously or to store
the two mechanisms completely in the bowl when not in
use as shown in FIG. 3. With the reversibility feature,
it dispnses with the necessity of an additional cutting
disc and still provides a device wherein all the cutting
mechanism is storable within the bowl while retaining all
the functions of individual extra discs. In operation,
each of the cutting mechanisms can be used simultaneously
by mounting them as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 so food
entering chute 24 is automatically precut by disc 32 and
then dropped into cutters 20 for chopping thus avoiding
the necessity of precutting the food by hand. Thus,
the arrangement of parts is such that the first and second
removable cutter mechanisms provide all the functions
heretofore required by two separate cutting discs thus
eliminating one of the discs. In addition, the two
cutting mechanisms may be stored within the bowl when the
device is not in use. Further, while reducing the number
109;~94
of parts, it is possible to obtain additional simultaneous
cutting to avoid hand precutting by the use of both
cutting mechanisms simultaneously so that the food is auto-
matically precut by the first cutting disc 32 before
action by the second cutter 20 which has not been heretofore
possible, thus providing a more flexible food processor.
Since the reversibility of cutting disc 32 with
its hub structure provides a protruding part because of
the proximity of the disc to the outlet of feed chute 24, it
is necessary to provide a projecting chamber 46 directly
in the lid to accommodate the upstanding portion of the
reversible hub~ Since the parts are generally made of a
transparent polycarbonate resinit is desirable to provide
additional support for feed chute 24 and to this end the
chamber may be modled so that it is directly connected to
the feed chute at 48 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to
provide additional rigidity or support to the-feed chute
thereby using the necessary clearance chamber 46 also as a
strengthening rib.
Thus, the overall arrangement provides a food
processor using fewer cutters with the same multiple
choice of operations. It permits use of the bowl to store
the few cutting mechanisms and requires no outside storage.
It also allows the simultaneous use of both cutting
mechanisms for automatic precutting of the food - a new
operation. The arrangement thus retains all of the
functions heretofore performed while reducing the number
of parts so that everything may be stored within the
confines of the bowl. Finally, the simultaneous use adds
an additional precutting feature within the confines of the
bowl.
While I have hereinbefore shown a preferred form
-- 7 --
lO!~Z~94
of the invention, obvious equivalent variations are possible
in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be under-
stood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the
invention may be practices otherwise than as specifically
described, and the claims are intended to cover such
equivalent variations.
