Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CWCAS-387
KNIFE ASSEMBLY WITH TAB BLADE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to methods and equipment
for
cutting food products, and shapes of food products produced thereby.
[0003] Various pieces of equipment are used for slicing, shredding, and
texturing
food products such as vegetable, fruit, dairy, and meat products. Commonly
used
equipment used in this field are commercially available from Urschel
Laboratories,
Inc., under the name Urschel Model CC , which are centrifugal-type cutting
machines capable of producing uniform slices, strip cuts, shreds and
granulations
of a wide variety of food products at high production capacities. Model CC
machines generally comprise one or more knife assemblies arranged in sets
spaced
around the circumference of a cutting head.
[0004] Various types of knives have been developed for making specific
types
of cuts in food products, examples of which are knives developed to produce
what
is known as the julienne cut. Such a cut typically results in a food product,
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commonly a vegetable, being cut into long strips with rectangular or square
cross
sections. FIGS. 7 through 9 represent knives 50, 52 and 54 recently developed
to
produce julienne cuts with machines such as the aforementioned Urschel Model
CC machines. Each of the knives 50, 52 and 54 comprises a large-amplitude
shaped (corrugated) blade 56 suitable for producing large-amplitude shaped
food
products, including shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products, non-
limiting examples of which include those disclosed in U.S. Design Patent Nos.
D711068 and D704919. The profiles of these blades 56, when viewed from their
leading edges 60, resemble a wave pattern, while secondary blades (tabs 58)
are
shown as located at the peaks 62 of these waves to produce a desired julienne
cross section. In use, the leading edge 60 of the blade 56 cuts a slice off of
a food
product, followed by the julienne tabs 58 that cut the slice into strips.
[0005] The
leading edges of the tabs 58 represented in FIG. 7 are located
behind the leading edge 60 of the blade 56 and the tabs 58 extend to the
trailing
edge of the blade 56. Relatively narrow julienne tabs 58 are represented in
FIG. 8,
and relatively narrow staggered julienne tabs 58 are represented in FIG. 9.
The
tabs 58 of FIG. 7 are also represented as each having a height from a surface
of the
blade 56 to the outermost extent of the julienne tab 58 that is a maximum in
proximity to the leading edge 60 of the blade 56 (corresponding to the leading
edge
of the tab 58) and continuously tapers to a minimum at or adjacent the
trailing edge
of the blade 56 (corresponding to the trailing edge of the tab 58). It will be
appreciated that the tabs 58 of FIGS. 7 through 9 may be modified to have any
shape or size suitable for cutting the food product slices into strips. While
shown
as located only on the peaks 62, it is foreseeable that tabs 58 could be
additionally
or alternatively located in the valleys 64 of the blades 56.
[0006] An
advantageous aspect of the knives 50, 52 and 54 of FIGS. 7, 8 and
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9 is the avoidance of the prior art practice of using a knife assembly
comprising a
shaped blade and a separate julienne knife. The tabs 58 can be metallurgically
joined to the blade 56 by any means known in the art, for example, brazing
and/or
welding, for example, laser welding. The wider julienne tabs 58 represented in
FIG.
7 are believed to be more securely attachable to the blade 56 than are
narrower
tabs 58 of the types represented in FIGS. 8 and 9, as more surface area of
each
wider tab 58 is secured to the blade 56 relative to the narrower tabs 58.
However,
wider tabs 58 may exert excessive forces on the food product slices. It is
believed
that, as a slice is produced by the blade 56, the slice deforms around the
thickness
of individual tabs 58, creating pressure on the slice between adjacent tabs
58. If the
pressure between the tabs 58 is too great, the now-separated slice could slow
and
potentially stop before the julienne slices are complete. For this reason, the
julienne
tabs 58 are preferably constructed of the thinnest material possible while
maintaining structural rigidity. Because the tabs 58 of sequential blades 56
are also
sequential, it may be desirable to narrow (as in FIG. 8) and/or stagger (as in
FIG.
9) the tabs 58, that is, at differing distances from the leading edge of the
blade 56,
to minimize the pressure between adjacent tabs 58.
[0007] While
well suited for the intended purpose, it would be desirable if
alternative configurations for knives of the types described above were
available for
producing julienne cuts in food products.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The
present invention provides knife assemblies of types suitable for
producing julienne cuts in food products, including cuts of types that can be
produced with the knives 50, 52, 54 and FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The knife assemblies
include a primary blade with at least one tab blade that is assembled with or
formed
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from the primary blade without the need to fuse the primary and tab blades
together.
[0009]
According to an aspect of the invention, a knife assembly adapted for
producing julienne cut food product includes a primary blade having a
corrugated
shape to produce a large-amplitude food product. The corrugated shape has a
cutting leading edge and defining multiple peaks and valleys. The primary
blade
further has slots located at least some of the peaks. The knife assembly
includes
at least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food product slice
into
strips. The tab blade has a cross-sectional shape comprising a lower section
that
is complementary to a valley of the primary blade and comprising at least two
bladed sections adapted to extend through at least two of the slots of the
primary
blade so as to be exposed above at least two peaks of the primary blade. The
primary and tab blades are not metallurgically joined together.
[0010]
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of producing
julienne cut food products includes installing at least two sequential knife
assemblies on a cutting apparatus. Each of the knife assemblies have a primary
blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product and
at
least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food product slice into
strips.
The corrugated shape of the primary blade defines multiple peaks and valleys.
The
primary blade further has slots located at least some of the peaks. The tab
blade
has a cross-sectional shape comprising a lower section that is complementary
to
a valley of the primary blade and includes at least two bladed sections that
extend
through at least two of the slots of the primary blade so as to be exposed
above at
least two peaks of the primary blade. The primary and tab blades are not
metallurgically joined together. The method includes operating the cutting
apparatus to produce shaped shredded or shaped strip-cut food products.
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[0011]
According to another aspect of the invention, a knife assembly adapted
for producing julienne cut food product includes a primary blade having a
corrugated
shape to produce a large-amplitude food product. The corrugated shape has a
cutting leading edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys. The knife
assembly
includes at least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food
product slice
into strips. The tab blade is defined by a cut in the primary blade that forms
a tab
and then bending the tab so that the tab protrudes from the primary blade.
[0012]
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of producing
julienne cut food products includes installing at least two sequential knife
assemblies on a cutting apparatus. Each of the knife assemblies include a
primary
blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product and
at
least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food product slice into
strips.
The corrugated shape of the primary blade has a cutting leading edge and
defines
multiple peaks and valleys. The tab blade is an extension of the primary blade
produced by a cut section of the primary blade that is bent to protrude from
the
primary blade. The method includes operating the cutting apparatus to produce
shaped shredded or shaped strip-cut food products.
[0013] A
technical effect of the invention is the ability produce to julienne cuts in
food products without the need to fuse the primary and tab blades together or
to
assemble multiple blades.
[0014] Other
aspects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated
from the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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[0015] FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a primary blade with tab slots adapted to
receive tab blades for producing large-amplitude shaped food products,
including
shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products.
[0016] FIG. 2
is a perspective view of a tab blade adapted for assembly with the
primary blade of FIG. 1.
[0017] FIG. 3
is a perspective view of a knife holder for a knife assembly
comprising the primary and tab blades of FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0018] FIG. 4
is a perspective view showing the tab blades of FIG. 2 assembled
with the knife holder of FIG. 3.
[0019] FIG. 5
is a perspective view showing the knife holder of FIG. 4 further
assembled with the primary blade of FIG. 1.
[0020] FIG. 6
is a perspective view showing the knife holder of FIG. 5 further
assembled with a clamp.
[0021] FIGS. 7
through 9 are perspective views representing shaped knives for
producing large-amplitude shaped food products, including shaped shredded and
shaped strip-cut food products.
[0022] FIGS.
10 and 11 are perspective views of an embodiment in which a
primary blade has tab blades integrally formed therefrom in accordance with
aspects of the invention.
[0023] FIG. 12
is a perspective view of another embodiment in which a primary
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blade has tab blades integrally formed therefrom in accordance with aspects of
the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] FIG. 6
represents a knife assembly 28 of a type suitable for producing
julienne cuts in food products, including cuts similar to the types that can
be
produced with the knives 50, 52, 54 of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The assembly 28 is
particularly well suited for use in centrifugal-type cutting apparatuses, for
example,
the Model CC , to produce uniform cuts in bulk quantities of food products.
The
assembly 28 includes a primary blade 10 having a profile that, when viewed
from
its leading edge, resembles a wave pattern to produce large-amplitude shaped
food
products. The assembly 28 further includes secondary "tab" blades 16 with
bladed
sections 18 (see FIG. 2) located at peaks of the primary blade 10 to enable
the
assembly 28 to produce shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products. The
assembly 28 also includes a knife holder 22 and a clamp 26 to keep the various
components in place.
[0025]
Referring to FIG. 1, the primary blade 10 is equipped with tab slots 14
located at peaks 12 of its wave form, and through which the bladed sections 18
of
the tab blades 16 extend and are aligned with the primary blade 10 without the
need
to metallurgically join the two components together. FIG. 2 illustrates a
nonlimiting
embodiment of an individual tab blade 16 having two bladed sections 18
interconnected by a lower section 20 to yield a roughly U-shaped or V-shaped
cross-section. The shapes of the primary and tab blades 10 and 16 are
complementary to enable the tab blade 16 to be placed beneath a valley of the
primary blade 10 so that the two bladed sections 18 of the tab blade 16
individually
extend up through two adjacent tab slots 14 of the blade 10.
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[0026] FIG. 3
is an isolated view of the knife holder 22, which serves as the
foundation of the knife assembly 28. The knife holder 22 is similar to
conventional
knife holders of types used with the Model CC , at least to the extent that
the knife
holder 22 is fabricated to have a surface contour with peaks and valleys
complementary to the peaks and valleys of the primary blade 10, such that the
blade 10 can be assembled with the holder 22 by placing the blade 10 on the
holder
22 so that the peaks and valleys of its contour coincide with the peaks and
valleys
of the contour of the knife holder 22. For use with the present invention, the
knife
holder 22 has been modified to include relief areas 24 within valleys of the
holder
22. The relief areas 24 are shaped and sized to accommodate the lower sections
20 of the tab blades 16, which are located between the knife holder 22 and the
primary blade 10 in the assembly 28 of FIG. 6.
[0027] FIG. 4
shows the knife holder 22 with the tab blades 16 appropriately
placed in the relief areas 24 of the knife holder 22. The lower section 20 of
each
tab blade 16 is completely received in one of the relief areas 24 of the knife
holder
22, while the bladed sections 18 of each tab blade 16 extend away from the
surface
of the holder 22. The relief areas 24 allow the knife holder 22 and the tab
blades
16 in combination to define a contour that is complementary to the contour of
the
primary blade 10.
[0028] FIG. 5
shows the primary blade 10 placed on the subassembly of FIG. 4.
The bladed sections 18 of the tab blades 16 remain exposed as a result of
extending through the slots 14 in the blade 10. As previously noted, FIG. 6
shows
the completed knife assembly 28 following placement of the clamp 26 on the
subassembly of FIG. 5.
[0029] The
finished knife assembly 28 is capable of providing uniform julienne
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cuts, similar or identical to cuts produced by the knife assemblies 50, 52 and
54.
However, the knife assembly 28 avoids the need to metallurgically join the tab
blades 16 to the primary blade 10. Instead, the primary and tab blades 10 and
16
are secured together solely by the clamp 26 and the manner in which the blades
10
and 16 and the holder 22 are nested together as a result of their
complementary
contours.
[0030] Another
possible embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 10 and
11. In this embodiment, a blade 30 that defines a primary leading edge 33 is
modified to provide tab blades 32 without requiring welding or assembling the
tab
blades 32 with the blade 30 or other structure adapted to define the primary
leading
edge 33. Each tab blade 32 is individually formed by making two contiguous
cuts
in the blade 30, a first of which starts at the trailing edge of the blade 30
within or
adjacent a valley of the blade 30 and continues toward but short of the
leading edge
33 of the blade 30. The second cut extends from the valley toward an adjacent
peak, such that the second cut is set back a distance from the leading edge
33.
The resulting tab is then bent upright at the peak where it remains attached
to the
blade 30, as evident in FIGS. 10 and 11. The tab blades 32 are functionally
equivalent to the bladed sections 18 of the tab blades 16 of FIGS. 1-6, in
that the
tab blades 32 are located at peaks of the blade 30 to produce shaped shredded
and
shaped strip-cut food products. As with the tab blades 16 of FIGS. 1-6, the
tab
blades 32 of FIGS. 10 and 11 could be located within the valleys of the blade
30.
The tab blades 32 can be created to have square leading edges, for example, by
cutting with a die or three-axis laser, or created to have beveled or angled
leading
edges, for example, using a laser with additional axes of rotation or a wire
EDM.
As with the assembly 28 of FIG. 6, the blade 30 can be used in combination
with a
knife holder 22 and a clamp 26 to secure the blade 30. The first cuts may be
configured to have varying lengths such that the tabs blades 32 of sequential
peaks
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are staggered (as in FIG. 9), that is, at differing distances from the leading
edge 33
of the blade 30, to minimize the pressure between adjacent tab blades 32.
[0031] A
further possible embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 12. This
embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, with the
primary exception that the tab blades 36 do not entirely extend to the
trailing edge
of the blade 34. As such, this embodiment requires at least a third contiguous
cut
that extends from the valley toward the adjacent peak, with the third cut
spaced a
distance from the trailing edge of the blade 34. Methods of producing the
blade 34
can be the same as those mentioned for the previous embodiment.
[0032] While
the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments,
it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art.
For
example, the knife assemblies and the apparatus in which they are installed
could
differ in appearance and construction from the knife assemblies and cutting
heads
shown in the drawings, and materials and processes other than those noted
could
be used. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the
following
claims.
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