Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates generally to a food
processor for household use and, more particularly, to a motor-
driven food processor having a removable attachment installed
therein for peeling or scraping a thin ~urface layer from a
vegetable, for example, a potato, during the rotation of the
vegetable peeling attachment.
United States Patent No. 3,&48,524, patènted on
November 19, 1974, discloses a household appliance which is a
vegetable peeler comprising a housing having a drive motor
and a drive shaft, a container adapt~d to be removably mounted
on the housing and having a upstanding cylindrical wall, said
container further haviny its bottom wall journalling a driven
shaft which is, when the container is mounted on the housing,
operatively coupled to the drive shaft for rotation together
therewith, and a horizontally disposed concave scraper disc
mounted on the upper end of the driven shaft coaxially within
~ the container with the concavity disposed upwardly and having
:~ . holes through the disc, which holes define scraping edges on
the trailing walls of the holes~ This vegetable peeler is 50
: 20 designed that, during rotation of the concave scraper disc with
one or some potatoes mounted thereon, the potatoes are Eorcibly
retarded and tumbled on the cvncave scraper disc with rotational
~: inertia ~continually and progressively bringing different areas
of each potato gravitationally ill contact with the scraper disc.
The size of the holes defined in the scraper disc is so selected
as to permit a limited curved area of each pota~o ~mder its :
: weight to be scuffed or scraped by the abrasion of the trailing
edges of the holes moving swiftly in contact with the potatoes
being tumbLed on the scraper disc.
While the plane of rotation of the scraper disc lies
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at right angles to the longitudinal axis of any one of the
drive and driven shafts, this U.S. patent further discloses
the employment of a tumbler means which is positioned above
the scraper disc and circularly inclined upwardly in the
direction of disc rotation along and inwardly spaced from a
portion of the upstanding cylindrical wall to tumble the
potatoes of various size located on the scraper disc. This
tumbler m2ans serves both to lift and retard the side of each
potato that contacts the tumbler means in a direction different
to the bodily movement induced by the scraper disc being
rotated. The tumbler means disclosed is in the form of either
a helically inclined ramp integral with the upstanding
cylindrical wall or a helically inclined, curved metal rod and
extends approximately 90 around the scraper disc, starting at
the level of the peripheral edge of the disc and inclined up-
wardly in the direction of the disc rotation along a sub-
stantially helicaL path to a position well above the disc a
distance related to the radius of a large vegetable to be
peeled.
-~0 Japanese Utility ~lodel Publication No. 5278, published
for opposition on April 14, 1939, discloses a motor--driven
potato peeler which comprises a substantia:Lly cylindrical
container having a peeling disc rotatably mounted on its bottom
wall. The interior surface of the cylindrical container is
finely roughened and is formed with a plurality of substantially
triangularly sectioned ridges extending in parallel relation
to each other and also to the longitudinal axis of the
cylindrical container. One surface of the peeling disc facing
the interior of the container is also finely roughened and is
formed with substantially triangularly sectioned, long and
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short straight ribs which are alternately disposed one
after another and which extend substantially radially of
the peeling disc.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 597, published
for opposition on January 18, 1941, discloses a hand-
operated potato peeler comprising a substantially ~ylin-
drical container and a peeling disc both slmilar in
construction to that of the first mentioned Japanese
Utility Model publication. However, unlike the first
mentioned Japanese Utility Model publication, the ridges
on the interior surface of the cylindrical container are
spaced a distance from each other and extend substantially
helically from one end to the opposite end of the cylin-
drical container and the ribs on the peeling disc ar~.,
while extending substantially radially of the peeling
disc, curved outwardly in the direction of the disc
rotation. .
The present invention has for its essential object to
provide an improved food processor or vegetable peeler,
which is more effective in peeling a thin surface layer
from vegetables such as potatoes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
an improved food processor of the type referred to above,
wherein the peeling can be completed in a relatively short
period of time.
According t.o the invent1on there is provided a food
processor compr.ising: a power unit having a motor and
a dr.ive shaEt which is driven in one direc~ion by said ::-
,
; motor; container means removably mounted on said power
30~ unit;~ a driven sha~t~having first and second ends opposite
: each other, said first end being for engaging said drive
~ 3
shaft for rotation together therewith when the container
means is mounted on the power unit; and a concave peeler
disc rigidly mounted on the second end of the driven shaft
with its concave side facing upwards and away from the
driven shaft, said peeler disc having a plurality of
scraping openings defined therein and said openings being
slots each having two edges/ a leading side edge and a
trailing side edge, with respect to the direction of
- rotation of said disc, each of said leading edges of each
of said slots being spaced downwardly from the plane of
rotation of said disc.
The driven shaft is preferably in the form of a sleeve
so that it can receive the drive shaft therein for rota-
tion together therewi.th, when the peeler disc is mounted
together with the container means on the power unit.
Since the peeler disc undergoes a wobbling motion dur-
ing the rotation thereof about the longitudinal axis oÇ the
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driven shaft within the container at a high speed, a vegetable
to be peeled, for example a potato, can be positively retarded
and tumbled, with resulting rotational inertias, continually
and progressively bringing different local areas of the potato
gravitionally in contact with the rotating peeler disc. Because
of this, the potato can be effecti~ely peeled in a short period
of t'me with a minimal amount of waste scraped from the potato.
The use of a tumbling element in combination with
the inclined feature of the peeler disc is even more advan- .
tageous in facilitating the peeling of a thin surface layer of
the potato. This is because the tumbling element serves both
to lift and retard the side of the potato that contacts the
tumbling element in directions different to the bodily movement
of the potato induced by the rotating peeler disc. This
tumbling element may be in the form of a helically inclined-bar
. of substantially rectangula.r cross section integral or rigidly
~ secured to the interior surface of the container, or an
elongated.projection extending parallel to the longitudinal
axis of khe container and protruding inwardly oE the container.
In addition to the foregoing featu.res, in designing
preferred embodiments of the Eood processor, care has been taken ..
to improve ease of handling of the household appliance, the .. :
: safety for the user, the ease of cleaning the component parts,
and so on.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will ~ .
now be described with reference to the accompaning drawings, in
which:-
Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of a food processor
with a vegetable.peeler unit according to one embodiment of the
present invention~
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Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view, on an enlarged
scale, taken along the line II-II of Fig~ l;
Fig. 3 is a top plan view, on an enlarged scale and
with a portion broken away, of the food processor of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a side sectional view, on a further
enlarged scale, of the vegetable peeler unit shown in Fig. l;
Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a portion
of an upstanding cylindrical wall of a container showing the
details of a tumbling element;
Fig. 6 is a partial cross sectional view taken along
the line VI-VI shown in Fig. 4;
Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along the
line VII-VII shown in E'ig. 6, showing details of each of the
scraping openings defined in a peeler disc;
Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing a
modified form of the scraping openings;
Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing a modi-
eied form of the ~umbling element;
Fig. lO is a cross sectional view of a portion taken
along the line ~-X in E'ig. 9;
Fig. ll is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing a further
modified form of the tumbling element;
Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view o a portion taken
along the line XII-XII in Fig. ll;
Fig~ 13 is a top sectional view oE a portion of the
peeler unit, showing a modified form of the peeler disc;
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Fig. 14 is a top sectional view of a portion of the
peeler unit,~showing a further modified form of the peeler disc:
- Fig.;lS ls a cross sec~ional view of a portion taken ;
along the line XV-XV in Fig. 13;
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Fig. 16 is a side sectional view of the peeler disc,
showing a top construction of a driven shaft;
Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing a
modified form of the top construction of the driven shaft;
Fig. 18 is a side sectional view of the peeler disc,
showing the modified form of the top construction of the driven
shaft shown in Fig. 17; and
Fig. l9 is a graph showing the relationship between
the angle of inclination of the peeler disc relative to the
lO driven shaft and the time required for the peeler disc to com-
plete its peeling operation with a potato.
Before the description of the present invention pro-
ceeds, ît is to be noted that like parts are designated by like
reference numerals throughout the accompanying drawings.
Referring first to Figs. l to 3, a food processor
comprises a substantially L-shaped molded housing H of synthetic
material having a base compartment BC and an upright compartment
UC both deflned therein. A drive motor M having a drive shaft
Ma is rigidly mounted on a chassis S secured to the housing in
any suitable manner, for example, by the use oE a plurality of
set screws threaded to respective support pillars molded
together with the housing H, only one of the set screws with one
of the support pillars being shown respectively by lO and ll.
~The chassis S s~ positioned within the housing H has one end
portion positioned within the base compartment BC and the
opposite end portion positioned within the upri~ht compartment
UC, as best shown in Fig. l, the opposite end portion of said
chassis 5 carrying the drive motor M thereon with the dri~e
shaf~ Ma loosely extending therethrough and terminating at a
position inwardly spaced from a base lid L. The base lid L may
be a metallic plate and is used to close the opening at the
bottom of the housiny H, said base lid L havlng its exterior
surface provided with a plurality of, for example four, spacer
legs 12 which may be made oE an elastic synthetic material.
The drive shat Ma of the drive motor M has a fan 13
and a drive pulley 14 both rigidly mounted thereon for rotation
together therewith, said fan 13 being used to cause the ambient
air to flow towards the drive motor M to cool the latter during
the rotation of the motor M. This drive pulley 14 is operatively
coupled to a driven pulley 15 by means of an endless belt 16
which causes said driven pulley 15 to rotate in one direction,
said driven pulIey 15 being positioned within the base compart-
ment BC and rigidly mounted on a main shaft 17 for rotation
together therewith. The main shaft 17 extends vertically
through a bearing structure, generally identified by BS and
rigidly carried by the chassis S in a manner as will be
described later, and terminates outside the housing H after
having loosely extended through a raised top wall Ha of the ~ :
housing H lmmediately above the base compartment BC.
As best shown in Fig. 1, the bearing structure BS
comprises upper and lower flanged sleeves 18a and 18b flanged
togethe~ and rigidly mounked on the chassis S, and upper and
lower perforated bearing members l9a and L9b pressure-fitted
into the respective upper and lower sleeves 18a and :L8b, it
being understood that the bearing structure BS is so designed
as to support the main shaft 17 rotatably, but not axially.
Positioned between the driven pulley 15 and the perforated
bearin~ member l9b is an assembly 20 of at least one washer and
at least one thrust bearing preferably made of an elastic
ma~erial so~hat any relative axial movement of the main shaft
I7 can be absorbed. -
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A free end portion of the main shaft 17 which is
situated exteriorly of the base compartment sC has a splined
groove 17a for the reason as will be described later. A
portion of the main shaft 17 between the upper bearing member
l9a and the end extremity of the shaft remote from the driven
pulley 15 is tightly sheathed with a protective covering 21, of
a construction as will subsequently be described, for protecting
the main shaft 17 from, for example, possible corrosion when in
contact with a corrosive material, which may occur where the
main shaft 17 is made of a ferrous.metallic material.
As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the protective
covering 21 is in the form of a sheath having one end closed
and held in contact with the top of the main shaft 17, a
substantially intermediate portion of said protective covering
21 being integrally formed with an annular cap 21a overhanging ~.
an annular projection Hb integrally formed with the raised top
~: ~walL Ha in coaxial relation to an opening in the top wall Ha.
The annular projection ~b has an inner diameter equ~l to, or
substantially equal to, the outex diameter of the main shaEt 17
plus the thickness of the surrounding wall portion oE the
: .protective covering 21 such that no liquid medium may leak Erom
outside the housing H into the base compartment BC, as would
occur if a gap were prese.nt bekween the main shaft 17 and the
annular projection Hb. Positioned on the main shaft 17 and
surrounding the boundary between the protective covering 21 and
~ the upper bearing member l9a is an annular cushioning member 22
:~: provided for absorbing vibrations and echos caused by the
~ movement of the various movable parts within the housing H.
.
For enabling the food processor embodying the present
invention to be steadily placed on, for example, a table on the
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support legs 12, a balance weiyht 23 made of one or more metal
sheets, or any other suitable heavy material, is secured to the
undersurface of the top wall Ha by means of a plurality of set
screws 24 extending through the balance weight 23 and threaded
to resp~ctive spacer legs Hc integral with and downwardly ex-
tending from the undersurface of the top wall Ha.
The housing H has a switch panel 26 with-push-button
switches 27 for selective graduated speed control, which switch
panel 26 is located at a lateral wall ~d of the housing H
laterally of the base compartment BC and opposed t~ the upright
compartment UC, as best shown in Figs. L and 2.
A safety switch SW is provided within the upright
compartment UC and above the drive motor M. This safety switch
SW is stationarily supported by the wall forming the upright
compartment UC by means of a fix-ture plate 28 and has an
actuator SWa coupled to a push rod 29 as best shown in Fig. 3.
~he push rod 29 is axially slidably supported by the wall form-
ing the upright compartment UC for movement between retracted
and projected~positions in a direction towards and at right
: 20 ancJles:to.the longitudinal axi.s of the main shaft 17 and is
normally biased to the projected position by a biasing spring 30,
it being to be understood that the safety switch SW is switched
: off when the push-rod 29 is held in the projected position as
biased by the biasing spring 30. It is to be noted that, unless
the safety swi.tch SW is switched on in a manner as will be
descri.bed later, switching on of any one of the switches 27 on
the switch panel ~6 does not allow the. supply of electric power
from a commercial power source to the drive motor M. In other
words, only when the safety switch SW is turned on, is any one
of the push-button switches 27 effective to drive the drive
motor M wh~n turned on.
The food processor so far described above, and
particularly the drive unit haviny a drive shaft represented by
the main shaft 17, is well known to those skilled in the a~t
and, therefore, the details thereof are herein omitted for the
sake of brevity.
A vegetable peeler unit embodying one form of the
present invention comprises a removable container C including a ''
cylindxical barrel 40 with a bottom wall 41 at one end of said
cylindrical barrel 40 and a cap 42 of a substantially inverted
bowl-like shape. The cylindrical barrel 40 may be made of
either a transparent or semi-transparent synthetic material or
an opaque synthetic material whereas the cap 42 may be made of
either a transparent synthetic material or an opaque synthetic
material. Around the upper,edge 42 of the cylindrical barrel
40 outward o~fsets are provided'to serve as bayonet Eastener
lugs 44 to rotationally ho]d the cap 42 thereon in cooperation
with bayonet members 45 integrally formed,with the cap 42 at
the peripheral edge of the cap 42. As best shown in Figs. 1
and 3, one o~ the bayonet members 45 has a substantially
triangular cam projection 46 adapted to engage the push rod 29
to move the lat~ter from the projected position towards the
retracted position against the biasing spring 30 thereby to
turn the safety switch SW on.
The cylindrical barrel 40 has a handle 47 for
enabling,a user of the food processor to carry one or both of
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the cylindrical barrel 40 and the cap 42. This cylindrical ~ ~
barrel 40 also has an elongated annular wall 48 protruding ' '`
f~rom the bottom~wall 41 inwardly of the barrel 40 in coaxial
relation to;an opening defined in the bottom wall 41, the
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function of said elongated annular wall 48 being described
later.
The vegeta~le peeler unit embodying the present
invention further comprises a disc assembly generally iden-
tified by DA, the details of which will now be described with
particular reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 6.
Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 6, the disc assembly
DA comprises a concave peeler disc 49 having a plurality of
peeling openings 50 defined therein. So far illustrated, these
peeling openings 50 are in the form of slots each having-a palr
of opposed edges 50a and 50b. The slots 50 may all be of
equal si2e or of different sizes but in the embodiment as
illustrated, the slots 50 are of equal size. The disc assembly
DA further comprises a sleeve 51 having one end integrally
formed with a support block 51a for the support of the concave
peeler disc 40 in a manner as will be described in detail later,
said~sleeve 51 serving as a driven shaft relative to the main
shaft 17 which acts as a drive shaft.
The concave peeler disc 49 is rigidly moun-ted on
the support block 51a of the sleeve 51 by means of a plurality
of set screws 52 with its concavity Eacing generally upwards,
that is, in a direction yenerally opposite to the direction of
extension of the sleeve 51, but also with the peeler disc 49
being inclined by a predetermined angle relative to the
longitudinal axis of the sleeve 51.
In the construction as hereinabove described, where
the food processor is desired to be used as a vegetable peeling
apparatus, the cylindrical barrel 40 is first mounted on the
` raised top wall Ha of the housing H in coaxial relation to the
main shaft 17 to allow the latter to project into the interior
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of the cylindrical barrel 40. Thereafter, and prior to the cap
42 being mounted on and fastened -to the cylindrical barrel 40
by means of the bayonet fasteners 45, the disc assembly DA is
placed in position ~ith the sleeve 51 mounted on the main
shaft 17 for rotation together with said shaft 17, and a
vegetable, for example, a potato, is placed on the peeler disc
49, When the cap 42 is fastened on the cylindrical barrel 40
by means of the bayonet fasteners by rotating said cap 42 a
certain angle about the longitudinal ax.is of the barFel, the
safety switch SW is turned on by the engagement between the
cam projection 46 and push rod 29 as best shown .in Fig. 3, and
the vegetable peeling apparatus is ready to operate.
Subsequent depression of a selected one of the push-
button switches 27 on the switch panel 26 anables the drive
motor M to be driven in one direction, the rotational force of
said drive motor M being transmitted through the endless belt
15 to the main shaft 17 whereby the peeler disc assembly DA is
rotated at a high speed together with the main shaft 17. It is
to be noted that, when the cylindrical barrel 40 is mounted on
the raised top wall Ha in the manner as hereinbeEore described,
the armular cap 21a on the protective covering 21 associated ~ :
with the main shaft 17 is :rotatably held in liquid t.ight con-
tact with one end o the annular wall 48 adjacent the opening
in the bottom,wall 41 of the cylindric.al barrel 40.
:~ Since the peeler disc 49 is secured to the sleeve
' 51 and inclined by the predetermined angle relative to the
longitudinal axis of any one of the main shaft 17.and the
sleeve 51, it will readily be seen that the peeler d'isc 49
undergoes a wobb.ling motion during the rotation thereof. ,.
30. Because o~ the wobbling motion of the peeler disc 49 during . ~,
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the rotation thereof, the potato shown by the imaginary line
X in Fig. 4 is not only retarded and tumbled on the rotated ~
peeler disc 49, but also popped up and down while swiveling
around the axis of rotation of the peeler disc 49. During
this complex movement of the potato on the rotating peeler
disc 49, the potato can be scu~fed or scraped by the abrasion
of the trailing edges 50b, in terms oE the direction of ro-
tation of th~ peeler d.isc 49 as shown by the arrow, of the
respective slots 50 moving swiftly in contact with the potato
X. Therefore, the potato can be peeled effectively in a short
period of time with a minimized amount of waste scraped there-
~rom. It is.to be noted that the waste from the potato X being
peeled on the rotating peeler disc 49 is centrifugally dis-
carded through the slots 50 into the cylindrical barrel 40 and
subsequen~ly fall onto the bottom wall 41 of the cylindrical
barrel 40 gravitationally. .
This complex motion of the potato X, particularly,
the lifting and tumbling, can be enhanced when a tumbling . :
: element generally identified by T is employed, the details of
which will now be described.
.As best shown in Fiys. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6, the ~ ~`
tumbling element T shown therein comprises a tumbling bar 53
of substantially re~tan~ular cross section having one side edge ~.
rigidly secured to, or otherwise formed integrally with, the :
:. .
interior surface~of:the container C, for example, the cap 42
as illustra-ted. This tumbling bar 53 is so designed as to
extend around the peeler disc 49j starting at the level of the . :
~: perimeter of the peeler disc 49 and inclined upwardly in the
direc~ion of rotation of the peeler disc 49 along a substantially
helical path to a position well above the peeler disc 49 and
.
spaced a distance not larger th:an the minimum possible size of
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the potato to be peeled.
As shown in Figs. 9 and lO, the tumbling element T
may comprise an elonga~ed bar 53a rigidly secured to, or
otherwise formed integrally with, the interior surface of the
cap 42, protruding in a direction substantially at right angles
to the axis of rotation of the peeler disc 49 and extending
vertically parallel to the axis of rota~ion of the peeler disc
49. Alternatively, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the tumbling
element T may comprise an elonga-t~d projection 53b which may
be formed by recessing a portion of the cylindrical wall of
the cap 42 in a direction radially inwardly of the axis of the ~.
rotation of the peeler disc 49.
In particular, since the tumbling element T is:
integral with the contalner C, particularly the cap 42, the
waste scraped from the potato into the cylindrical barrel 40
can readily be removed without being disturbed by the presence
: o the tumbling element T, only by removing the peeler disc
.
assembly DA from the main shaft 17~ Moreover, since the
tumbling element T is provided adjacent the opening of the cap
42, not adjacent the bottom wall of the cylindrical barrel such
as in prior art food processors, the cap 42 can easily be
washed or cleaned separately from the cylindrical barrel 40.
The details of each of the slots 50 in the peeIer
disc 4~ w.i.ll now be described with particular reference to
Figs. 6 to a. Referring irst to Fig. 7 wherein only one of
~ ~ the slots 50 in the peeler disc 49 is shown in a cross
: se.ctional representation as taken in a direction perpendicular
to the longitudi~nal axis of the slot, that i~, along the.line
VII-VII shown in Fig. 6, the leading edge 50a of the slot S0,
in terms of the direction of rotation of the peeler disc 49
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shown by the arrow, is downwardly displaced relative to the
-trailing edge 50b of the same slot 50 to provide a step between
the respective levels of the leading and trailin~ edges 50a and
50b, with respect to the plane of rotation of the peeler disc 49.
The design of each of the slots 50 shown in Figs. 6
and 7 is particularly advantageous in that, since the leading
edge 50a i5 downwardly displaced relative to the trailing edge
50b, there is no substantial possibility of excessive scraping
of the potato or cutting of the potato, which results in a good ~-
peeling effect.
However, as shown in Fig. 8, the trailin~ edg~ 50b of
each of the slots 50 may be upwardly displaced relative to the
associated leading edge 50a.
In any event, since there is a step between the lead-
ing and trailing edges 50a and 50b of each oP the slots 50
defined in the peeler disc 49, as best shown in any one of the
Figs. 7 and 8, the peeler disc assembly DA is substantially free
-~ from such problems as are associated with possible reduction in
physical strength of the peeler disc which results ~rom the
formation in the peeler disc of slots of unnecessarily large
size, and also excessive scraping oE potatoes oE relatively small
size, the elimination of these problems ultimately improving the
life time of the peeler disc 49. It is to be noted that, without
the step formed between the respective levels oE the leading and
trailing edges 50a and 50b oE the respective slots 50, the slots
50 must have a relatively large size in order to achieve eEfective
and satisfactory scraping of the potato.
. .
Referring now to Figs. 13 and 14, the peeler disc 49
may have a plurality of radially extending ribs 54 (eOg. three
ribs) defined on an upper surface of the disc 49, which ribs 54
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may be either straight as shown in Fi.g. 13 or curved as .shown
in Fig. 14. The presence of the ribs 54 is advantageous in that
the potato can readil~ be tumbled on the peeler disc 49 dur.ing
the .rota-tion of the latter. In particular, where the ribs 54
are inwardly curved in the direction of rotation of the peeler
disc 40 as shown in Fig. 14, the potato undergoing the cornplex
motion as hereinbefore described can be positively moved radially
outwardly while the curved ribs 54 concurrently asslsts the
tumbling effect of the element T.
A central portion of the support block 51a of the ~ ~:
sleeve 51, which i5 coaxial with the axis of rotatîon of the
peeler disc 49, may have a rounded projection 55 protruding ou-t-
; wardly of the concavity of the peeler disc 49, such as shown in
Fig. 16. In general, it is well known that the potato to be
; peeled can more readily be peeled at a portion adjacent the
perimeter of the peeler disc than at a central portion of the
same peeler disc.~ Accordingly, the provision of the rounded
proje:ction ;5 located coaxially with the axis of rotation of
the peeler disc 49 i5 advantageous in that the potato being
peeled is forced to move towards the perimeter of the peeler
disc 49. This radially outward movement of the potato can be
enhanced if the rounded projection 55 i.s provided with a plur-
ality of equally spaced fin members 56 (e.g. four such fin
members) as shown in Figs~ 17 and 18.
It i~ to be noted that, although in Figs~ 13 to 13 the
rounded projection 55 has been shown as integrally formed with
; the support block 51a of the sleeve 51, it ~ 5 possible to secure
the rounded projectlon 55 on the central portion of the peeler
disc 4g.and then to mount the peeler disc 49 with the rounded
projection 55 on the support block 51a of the sleeve 51.
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As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for facilitating .
rotation of the container C, and particularly the cap 42, to
cause engagement of the cam pro jection 46 and the push rod 29,
the cap 42 may have a pair of spaced handles 42a.
A series of experiments conducted by the inventors has
revealed a relationship between -the angle of inclinaticn of the
peeler disc 49 relative to the longitudinal axis of the driven
shaft 51 and the time re~uired for the peeler unit'to complete
the peelin~ of potatoes of average size 8 cm in the long axis
10 and 6 cm in the short axis. In the graph of Fig. 19, curve A
was obtained by the use of a peeler unit having the peeler disc
assembly of the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5, whereas
curve B was obtained by the use o~ a peeler Ulli t having the
peeler disc assembly of the construction shown in Fig. 7.
' Although the present invention has fully been
described.by reference to preferred embodiments and to the
accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes ' :
and modi~ications will be apparent to those skilled in khe art.
By way of example, although in the foregoing embodiment the
; 20 peeler disc assembly DA has been described as removable from the
container C, the peeler disc assembly DA may be non-removably ..
connected to the cylindrical barrel 40. In this case, the '. .
sleeve Sl is journalled by the annular wall 48 in a fluid tight
manner and in non-removable relation to the cylindrical barrel
40. . .....
, In addition, although the cap 42 has been shown as
having a relatively large depth and as being of a bowl-like
shape, it may be of a dish-like or plate-like shape when the
peeIer unit is exclusively used for peeling a thin surface layer
of vegetables. In th,is case, the tumbling element T i5 provided
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a
~7~7~31
on the side of the cylindrical barrel 40.
Moreover, the tumbling element may have one end portion
formed in the cylindrical barrel 40 and the other end portion
formed in the cylindrical wall of the cap 42.
Furthermore, the Eood processor to which the present
invention is directed is versatile device which may be used as
a mixer, a slicer and a shredding device in addition to a peeling
device. Where the food processo~ is desired to be used as a
mixer, a slicer or a shredding device, the peeler disc assembly -
DA should be replaced with a corresponding mixing disc, slicing
disc or shredding disc, all of which are currently commercially
available.
Such changes and modifications are accordingly to be
understood as included withi~ the true scope of the present
invention, as defined by the following claims.
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