Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
333~
PHO 81.501 l 15.6.1981
"Slicing cu-tter ~or a kitchen food-cut-ting appliance'!.
The invention relates -to a slicing cutter for
a kitchen food-cutting appliance of the kind (herein-
after referred to as "the kind described") comprising a
loading hopper and a disc-type rotary cutter which is
adapted to be mounted beneath the hopper in engagement
with a driving shaft of` the appliance for rotation there-
by.
A known cutter for such an appliance comprises
a dise earrying on one side thereof at least one cutter
blade which is disposed over an opening in the dise and
the cutting edge of which i5 spaced from the surface of
the clisc by a distanee which determines the thickness of
the slice cut by the blade. Such a cutter is known from
AT-PS 214,093. The use of such cutters presents9 in-ter
alia, two problems. One problem is that it is frequen-tly
desirable to vary -the slice thickness according to the
food to be slieed. For this purpose it has been proposed
to provide adjustable cutter blades on a cutter or, in
the ease of the said AT-PS 214,093, to provide different-
ly shaped eutter blades on a cutter. Howe~er, this gives
risa to the other problem that the cutting edge, regard-
less of the slice thickness, should always be spaced at
a constant predetermined distance from the unclerside of
the loading hopper of the kitchen applianee in order to
ensure a eorreet slicing aetion at all times. If the sliee
thiekness is ehanged by altering the position of the
eutting edge relative to the surfaee of the eutter dise 7
steps must be taken to ensure that -the eutting edge again
oeeupies the desired position relative to the loading
30 hopper. In -the said AT-PS 214,093 the level of the sup-
porting surfaee of the cutter on thb drive shaft of the
kitchen appliance is therefore adjusted to suit the se-
.
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3 '3 2
P~ID 81.501 2 15.6.1981
lected cut~er blade. ~Iowever, such a cutter is not easyto manufacture, or to operate.
According to the invention there is pro~ided a
slicing cutter for a kitchen food-cutting appliance o~
the kind described, -the cutter comprising a disc connected
centrally to a supporting member ~or moun-ting the cutter
in the appliance and coupling it to the driving shaft
thereof, and a cutter blade or blades fixed on a side of
the disc over an opening or openings in the disc, the
latter providing on said side thereof a surface for sup-
porting and positioning the food during operation of the
cutter~ which surface lies in a first plane perpendicular
to the central axis o~ the disc, and the blade or blades
ha~ing a cutting edge or edges which lies or lie in a
second plane perpendicular to said axis, the distance be-
tween the two planes determining the slice thickness, wher~-
in the surface for supporting and positioning the food i5
;^ formed by raised portions on said side of the disc~ -the
blade or each blade being mounted on a portlon of said
; 20 side of the disc which is not raised.
The in~ention further pro~ides a set of inter-
changeable cutters of the construction defined in the pre-
ceding paragraph for a food-cutting appliance of the kind
described, wherein the cutters differ from one another in
the height of the raised portions on the disc of each
cutter and therefore in the distance between the first and
second planes. By making the cutters of the set identical
to one another with the exception of the height of the
~ raised portions on the disc of each cutter, it can be en-
; 30 sured that regardless of which o~ the cutters is fitted
in the appliance, the distance of the cutting edge or edges
of the blade or blades of the cutter from the bottom of
the loading hopper is always the same. The set of cutters
is also cheap and easy to make since apart from the forming
of -the raised portions on the disc of each cutter, the
same tools and machinery can be used in the manufacture
of all the cutters of the set.
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PH0 ~1.501 ~1~333?J 15.6.1981
The raised portions on the disc o~ a cutter
according to the invention are preferably formed as
-. ridges on said side of the disco
In one embodiment the ridges ei~ch have an
arcuate shape and are arranged concentrically relative to
each other and to the central axis of the disc
In another embodiment the :ridges each extend
radially of -the disc.
In yet another embodiment the ridges each ex-
tend spirally of the disc.
The ridges may have flat tops and sloping flanks,the tops of the ridges lying in said first plane and
forming the surface for supporting and positioning the
.: food.
15 Instead of havîng -the form of ridges the raised
portions on the disc of a cutter according to the invent-
~ ion may each have a circular cross-section in a plane
:~ parallel to said first and second plane.
~ These circular raised portions may be of frusto-
conical form with flat tops which lie in said first plane
and form the surface for supporting and positioning the
; food.
It is preferable to have flat tops on the
raised portions on the disc of the cutter since flat tops
. 25 provide a more effective surface for supporting and
: positioning the food to be sliced. Alternatively, however,
~' the raised portions may each have an arcuate cross-section
.: in a plane perpendicular to the fir~t and second planes,
. giving them rounded tops.
Some embodiments of the invention will now be
described by way of example with reference to the accom-
panying drawings, in which
; Figs. 1 and 2 are an axial sectional view and a
plan view respectively of a cutter according to a first
embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 being taken on the
line I-I in Fig. 2, and
Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are plan views of cutters ac-
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33~
PH0 ~1 o ~01 4 15~6~1981
cording to thr0e further embodiments of the invention.
The cu-tter 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises
a central supporting member 2 and a disc 4 carrying a
cutter blade 3. The supporting member 2 is sleeve-shaped
in -the presen-t case and is provi~ed with a rigid internal
web 5. By means of this supporting member the cutter I
can be mounted in -the kitchen appliance in engagernent
with the drive shaft -thereof, the web 5 of the supporting
member 2 engaging with a corresponding slot in the drive
shaft, so tha-t the cutter is driven when the clrive shaft
rotates. This coupling may have a different construction
from that show; any convenient form of coupling may be
used.
In the present embodimen-t the disc ~r carries a
single cutter blade on its upper side 6, the blade being
disposed over an opening 7 in the disc and being secured
to the disc 4 by means of rivets 8, for example, the
blade 3 is slightly curved, bu-t extends in a substantially
tangential direction with respect to the cen-tral a~is 4a
of the disc 4. The blade has a cutting edge 9 which lies
in a plane 17 perpendicular to -the axis l~a. For stiffening
purposes the disc 4 has a cylindrical rim 10 at its outer
periphery, which rim projects from the lower side of the
disc, i.e., the side opposite to that on which the cutter
blade 3 is located.
For connecting -the disc 4 to the supporting
member 2 the disc 4 has a cent-J~a~ opening which is sur-
rounded by an inner peripheral rim 11 on the disc 4. The
disc is fitted on the supporting member 2 with the lower
side of the disc engaging an annular positioning surface
12 on the supporting member 2 and with the inner rim 11
of the disc engaging a cylindrical positioning surface 13
on the supporting member 2 to centre the disc on the sup-
porting member. In order to ensure a reliable connection
between the disc 4 and the supporting member 2 in the
present embodimen-t, a retaining cap 14 is fitted after
the disc 4 has been pressed onto the supporting member 2,
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P~I0 81.501 5 15.6.1981
so that -the supporting member 2~ the disc L~ and the re-
taining cap 14 constitute a unitaxy assembly. If the
- supporting member 2 and the retaining cap 14 are made of a
plastics, they may be joined to oneanother and connected
to -the disc L~ by, for example, an ultrasonic welding pro-
cess. In the case o~ a plastics supporting member 2 the
disc 4 may alternatively be directly embedded in -the
supporting member 2 during the moulding of -this member and
in -this way be connected to the member 2, Obviously, the
connection between the disc 4 and the supporting member 2
should be a rigid connection in order to ensure that the
disc 4 is driven with the supporting member. This may be
achieved by means of, for example, interengaging portions
on the disc 4 and on the supporting member 2 or the re-
taining cap 14. It is alternatively possible -to shape the
rim 11 surrounding -the central opening of the disc L~, and
the positioning surface 13 on the suppor-ting member 2
which cooperates wi-th said rim 11, in such a way that a
rigid connection is obtained be-tween -the suppor-ting
member 2 and the disc4.
When the cutter 1 is fitted in the kitchen
appliance the supporting member 2 bears axially against
the free end of the drive shaft of the appliance or
against a recep-tacle placed on said kitchen appliance,
thereby defining a plane in which the disc 4 rotates when
driven. After the cutter 1 has been fitted a cover is
placed on the receptacle of the kitchen appliance, which
cover carries a loading hopper into which the food to be
sliced is introduced. The lower rim of said hopper then
faces the cutter 1 and lies in a plane 18 which is situat-
ed at a predetermined distance from the disc 4 of the
cu-tter and thus from the cutting edge 9 of the cutter blade
3 on the disc L~, This distance be-tween -the cutting edge 9
and the lo~er rim of the hopper shoulcl have a specific
predetermined value, which should not be too great in
order to ensure that the food inserted in-to the hopper
is always uniformly and correctly sliced.
~ ~333~
P~I0 81.501 6 15.6.19~1
By means of the single cutter blade on the
i disc 4 the food in the hopper is cu-t into slices in known
manner~ which slices then drop into the receptacle through
; the opening 7 in -the disc 4. Frequently it is desirable
to vary -the thickness of the slices according to the food
to be sliced. For this purpose~ a set of interchangeable
cutters 1 constructed to give differen-t slice thicknesses
is supplied with such a kitchen appliance, which cutters
can be selectively fi-tted in -the appliance by the user.
In order to ensure that after such a replacement of the
cu-tter 1 the distance between the cutting edge 9 of the
blade of the cutter and the lower rim of the loading
hopper remains constant, the discs 4 of all the cutters
have the same major dimensions and the supporting members
2 are all fully identical so that the plane in which the
cutting edge 9 of the cutter blade 3 rotates is always
the same. For obtaining dif~erent slice thicknesses the
disc 4 of each cutter is formed on its upper side 6 with
a plurali-ty of separate raised portions 15 having a height
which is constant for each cutter but which varies from
cutter to cutter. The tops o~ all the raised portions of
each cutter disc thus lie in one plane 16 which is per-
pendicular to the central axis 4a of the disc, and there-
fore parallel to the plane 17 containing the cutting edge
9 of the blade 3 on the disc~ and the tops of the raised
portions together form a surface in the plane 16 for
supporting and positioning the food during operation of
the cutter. The distance between the two planes 16 and t7
determines the slice thickness. The food in-troduced into
the hopper drops down the hopper until it rests on the
tops of the raised portions 15 on the disc 4. Thus, the
height of the raised portions determines the slice -thick-
ness, since this thickness is determined by the distance
between the plane 16 containing the tops of the raised
portions 15 and -the plane 17 in which the cutting edge 9
of the cutter blade 3 lies. The blade 3 of each cutter of
the set of cutters is mounted on a portion of the upper
slde oi th~ disc 4 of the cutter which is not raised.
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~ ~33~2
PH0 81.501 7 15.6.1~81
Hence~ by giving the raised portions on the disc of each
cutter a height different ~rom that of -the raised portions
on the discs o~ the other cutters, di~feren-t slice thick-
nesses can be obtained. A maximum slice thickness can be
obtained by using a cutter having a disc without any
raised portions. The use of a set of cutters as described
above ensures that -the distance between the cutting edge
9 of the blade 3 of the selec-ted cutter and -the lower rim
of the loading hopper is al~ays the same. Since the
cu-tters of the set are identical except for the height
of the raised portions on the discs of the cutters, apart
from the forming of these raised portions the same tools
and machinery can be used in the manufacture of the
cutters. Thus, the manufacture of a set of cutters is
simple and cheap.
In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 ancL 2 the
raised portions 15 on the disc ~ are formed as arcuate
ridges on the upper side of the disc, the ridges being
arranged concentrically relative -to each other and to the
central axis l~a of the disc. Thus, the raised portions 15
extend in the direction of rotation of the disc, which
always ensures a particularly effective and correct
positioning of -the food on the disc during operation of
the cutter. As can be seen in Fig. 1, the raised portions
15 are formed as flat-topped ridges with sloping blanks,
giving them a trapezoidal cross-section. The flat tops
of the ridges form the surface for supporting and
positioning the food to ~e sliced, which also promotes
a correct positioning of the food on the disc and thus a
correct slicing action. The disc 4 is preferably made of
metal, suitably a chrome-steel which can be deep-drawn.
The raised portions 15 can then be pressed from the disc,
so that the manufacture of the disc is very simple. The
disc could be made of different material~ such as, for
example, a glass-fibre reinforced plastics. The disc 4
shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be additionally provided with
further raised portions (not shown) in the form of radial-
33~
PH0 81.501 8 15.6.1981
ly extending ridges arranged between the arcuate raised
~` portions 15. Such radially extending raised portions
increase the rigidity of the disc 4 an~ at the same time
enlarge the area of the surface for supporting and po-
sitioning the ~ood to be sliced. If -the radially extending
raised portions are required only to increase -the rigidi-
ty of the disc 4 they may be formed on the lower side o~
the disc, i.e., -the opposite to the raised portions 15.
If no radially extending raised portions are required,
the raised portions 15 may each extend through a complete
circle instead of just an arc of a circle. As can also be
ssen in Fig. 2, the raised portions 15 located near the
opening 7 in the disc 4 ex-tend right to the edge of -the
opening 7, so that the food to be sliced which is supported
on said raised portions is kept at the desired height re~
lative to the cutting edge 9 of the blade 3, which height
determines the slice thickness, -thus ensuring an accurable
slicing action.
In -the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 the disc 4
carrying the cutter blade 3 is provided on its upper side
6 with separate raised portions 19 in the form of ridges
which have a similar cross-section to the ridges forming
the raised portions 15 in Fig. 1 but which extend radially
of the disc. The tops of these raised portions 19 again
form a surface for supporting and positioning the food to
be sliced, which surface lies in a plane perpendicular to
-the cen-tral axis 4a of the disc 4. The distance between
this plane and the plane containing the cutting edge 9
of the blade 3 again determines the slice thickness. The
radial raised portions 19 also impact a very high rigidi-
ty to the clisc 4. As the raised portions 19, viewed in
the direction of rotation of the disc 4, are arranged
very closely to each other~ this ensures a correct
positioning of the food to be sliced.
In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 separate
raised por-tions 20 are provided on the upper side 6 of the
disc 4 in the iorm of ridges which have a similar cross-
~ 1~3~3~
PH0 81.501 9 15.6.1981
section to the ridges forming the raised portions 15 in
Fig. 1 but which extend spirally of the disc. The raisecl
portions 20 thus extend both in the direction o~ rotation
of the disc to some extent and also across the disc, so
that -they provide both a correct positioning oP the ~ood
to be sliced and an increased rigidity oE the clisc 4.
If desired, Eurther raised portions with a small area may
be Eormed on -the disc in the areas between the raised
portions 20. Also, the raised portions may be widened to
wards the circumEerence of the disc 4, or the spirally
extending raised portions may, in addition, have a serpen-
tine shape.
Fig. ~ shows an embodiment of a cutter accord-
ing to the invention which has six blades arranged in
three pairs spaced evenly around the central axis 4a oE -the
disc 4, the two blades oE each pair being spaced radiallv
oE the disc. The blades 21 are constituted by tongues bent
out oE the disc L~, which tongues have cutting edges 9 at
their Eree ends. The cutting edges 9 oE all the blades 21
lie in one plane which is perpendicular to the central axis
of the disc 4. Each cutter blade 2l is disposed over an
associated opening 22 in the disc 4. Raised portions 23
in the form of small, Erusto-conical protrusions are
provided on the upper side 6 of the disc ~ to ~orm with
their Elat tops a surface for supporting and positioning
the food to be sliced. The distance between the plane con-
taining this surface and the plane containing the cutting
edges 9 of the cutter blades 21 determines the thickness
oE the narrow slices or strips cut by the blades 21.
The raised portions 23 are substantially uniEormly dis-
tributed over the entire upper side oE the disc 4 in an
arbitrary pattern and ensure a correct positioning of the
food to be sliced. This cutter also is very simple to
manuEacture.
Further modi-Eications oE the above embodiments
are possible without departing from the scope of the in-
ven-tion as defined in the Eollowing claims. This applies
~ ~3332
PH0 81.501 10 15.6.1~81
. in particular to the shape and arrangement of the raised
portions on the disc. I~ith -the e~ception of these raised
portions, in any glven set of interchangeable cutters it
is essential that the discs of all the cutters and also
the supporting members of all the cutters are idential,
so that whichever cutter is ~itted in the kitchen
appliance the clistance from the cutting or edges of the
; blade or blades of the cutter edge to the lower rim of
the loading hopper is always the same.
. 15
`- 20
!
,
` 25
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~ 35
