CA2004284C - Bread board - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A food cutting board such as a bread board is provided with an upper surface in the form of spaced slats with upwardly convex upper surfaces on which the food is to rest while being cut, and a lower removable tray with a planar top surface, to catch the crumbs which fall between the slats, for removal and later disposal from the planar top surface thereof.

Description

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This invention relates to cutting boards of the type used to support loaves of bread, pieces of cheese and similar foodstuffs of crumbly consistency as they are sliced or cut into individual portions.
Cuttings boards of this type need to be inexpensive and convenient to use and to clean, whilst at the same time being durable and aesthetically pleasing. It is also desirable that they be designed to 10 collect the crumbs produced in the cutting operation, so as to reduce the subsequent cleanup operations.

The present invention provides a cutting board of the above type, which has a top element supporting 15 the bread or other material to be cut, in the form of a series of spaced apart slats, and a separate, removable sheet item normally disposed below the top surface to receive the crumbs. This removable item has a substantially planar upper surface, on which the crumbs 20 are caught but from which the crumbs can subseguently be removed by a simple tipping or brushing operation.

Thus according to the present invention, there is provided a food cutting board for supporting a food 25 item of crumbly consistency whilst it is cut, and having an upper, food supportlng element comprising a series of spaced apart slats each having an upwardly oonvexly curved top surface, and a lower sheet item disposed vertically below the upper element and having a 30 substantially planar upper surface adapted to receive crumbs falling between the slats when a food item thereon is cut, said lower sheet item being removable from its position below the upper element for removal of crumbs therefrom at a remote location.

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Preferably, the lower sheet item is slidably removable from below the element. The board is appropriately rectangular shaped, with elongated pairs of sidewalls, one pair being longitudinally grooved for slidable reception of the lower sheet item.

Preferably also, the individual slats of the upper element have semi-circular upper surfaces. The end most pair of such slats conveniently overhang the respective sidewalls in an outward direction, to provide longitudinally extending overhang surfaces to act as handles for lifting the cutting board. Non-skid feet in the form of rubber or plastic pads are preferably provided on the lowermost surface of the sidewalls.
A specific preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of this embodiment of the invention:
FIGURE 2 is a sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

In the drawings, like reference numerals indicate l~e parts.
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With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is illustrated a food cutting board 10 for supporting a crumbly-textured food product whilst it is being cut, comprising an upper element 12 in the form of a series of generally similar intermediate slats 14, 16 etc.
arranged generally parallel to one another, and a pair of end slats 18, 20 also mutually parallelly arranged.
Each of the slats 14, 16, 18, 20 has an upper surface which is generally semi-circular so that crumbs or other ':

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particles will not readily be retained thereon. Each slat is spaced from its neighbour a distance at least equal to the width of the slat itself. The upper element 12 also includes opposed pairs of elongated rectangular sidewalls 22, 24. The food cutting board is generally rectangular as viewed in plan, with the slats extending in the longitudinal direction. The longer sidewalls 22 are longitudinally grooved at 26 in their inwardly presented side faces, at a position below the 10 bottom edge of the shorter sidewalls 24. The end slats 18, 20 extend outwardly to overhang the respective longer sidewall 22 thereby providing overhang surfaces to serve as carrying handles.

The food cutting board further includes a lower sheet 28 in the form of a flat board with a planar upper surface, slidably received in the groove 26. The sheet 28 has a surface area substantially the same as that of the upper element 12, so that all crumbs falling 20 between the slats 14, 16, 18, 20, when food resting on the top surfaces of the slats is cut, are caught on the top planar surface of sheet 28. When the cutting process is complete, sheet 28 can be slidably removed, from below the bottom edge of shorter sidewall 24, and 25 simply emptied of crumbs into waste or other storage receptacle, by tipplng or brushlng, slnce the planar top surface thereof presents no obstruction thereto. Non-skld feet ln the form of rubber pads 30 are provided on the lower surfaces of the longer sidewalls 22, to resist 30 movement of the food cutting board 10 durlng the cutting operation.

The food cutting board 10 suitably has dlmenslons of about 12 lnches by 8 lnches, conveniently 35 to accommodate a bread loaf of conventional slze. It ls best constructed of wood, in the traditional manner of Z~)4~

food cutting boards, but can if desired by made of any suitable food grade material such as plastic or stainless steel. Optionally, other features may be provided such as a cutting knife storage means, e.g. in the form of slots provided in the sidewalls for this purpose.

Whilst a specific preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated herein in detail, this is not to be construed as limiting.
Variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The scope is limited only by the scope of the appended claims reasonably construed.

Claims (8)

1. A food cutting board for supporting a food item comprising an upper, food supporting element including a series of spaced apart slats each including a curved portion to allow crumbs resulting from the cutting of a food item to roll off the slats and;
a lower sheet item disposed vertically below the upper element and having a surface to receive crumbs rolling off the slats, said lower sheet item being removable from its position below the upper element for removal of crumbs therefrom.

2. The cutting board of claim 1 having a generally rectangular shape as viewed in plan, and including mutually parallel pairs of elongated sidewalls disposed below the slats, one pair of said sidewalls being longitudinally grooved for slidable reception therein and removal therefrom of the lower sheet item.

3. The cutting board of claim 1, wherein the upper surface of each said slats is convex.

4. The cutting board of claim 2, wherein the upper surface of said slats is semi-circular in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said slats.

5. The cutting board of claim 4, wherein a slat longitudinally extends beyond each of a parallel pair of sidewalls to provide laterally extending overhang surfaces defining lifting handles for said cutting board.

6. The cutting board of any one of claims 2, 3, 4 or 5 additionally including non-skid feet on the lowermost surfaces of the sidewalls.

7. The cutting board of claim 1, wherein said lower sheet item is a tray and said upper element is supported on said tray.

8. The cutting board of claim 7, wherein said tray includes sidewalls protruding upwardly about its periphery.