EP3685975A1 - Device for manual slicing of a bakery product - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a manual device (1) for slicing a bakery product (5) having a determined thickness and length, said device comprising at least one receiving support (10) for the bakery product (5) and a blade for slicing said product in its thickness and in the direction of its length, characterized in that the support (10) comprises at least one bottom (11) and two side walls (12) substantially parallel so as to form a tunnel cutting edge (15) and in that the blade rises from one of the two side walls (12) towards the other opposite side wall (12), said blade having an upstream cutting edge extending substantially parallel said bottom (11) of the support (10).

Description

Technical area :

The present invention relates to a manual device for slicing a bakery product. It applies, in particular, to the slicing of baguettes or similar products with a view to making sandwiches.

Prior technique:

It is common for a take-out food professional such as a baker, a caterer or a food truck owner, to have to make a very large number of sandwiches, identical or not, in a day.

Likewise, during events such as music festivals, concerts (indoor or outdoor), sporting events (Tour de France®, football or rugby match), the organizers often have to provide hundreds or even thousands. of sandwiches to customers over a relatively short period of time (usually a few hours).

Usually, these sandwiches are made in advance or over time entirely by hand, whether cutting bread, especially a baguette, spreading butter or the like, and adding garnishing food products such as only meat, vegetables, sauces, etc.

However, the step of slicing the bakery product in its length can be extremely long. It is also very repetitive so that the employee who takes care of it risks cutting themselves through inattention.

In addition, it is almost impossible, especially for large quantities of sandwiches to provide, to obtain perfectly well-sliced bakery products always uniform. Often the cutout is imperfect and very different from a product to another, which can cause subsequent problems with the filling of the bakery product or the quality of the product offered for sale.

It has already been attempted to solve this problem by proposing a slicing machine, such as that described in the publication US 1,903,238 A . But these machines are expensive, complex to use, very bulky, impractical to move and unsuitable for "amateur" or outdoor use.

Other manual slicing devices have been devised to assist the user during the slicing operation, such as those described in the publications. US 2,477,493 A , FR 3 034 035 A1 , US 6,224,928 B1 and US 6,202,529 B1 . In these devices, the product to be sliced is positioned in a fixed manner in a slicing tunnel, and the knife is held by hand and guided in translation in through grooves provided in the support for slicing the product in its entire width, i.e. in a vertical direction, or in a horizontal direction. Thus, the risks of cuts are not completely eliminated and these devices are not practical to use.

Presentation of the invention:

The present invention aims to remedy these drawbacks with a completely innovative approach.

To this end, according to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a manual device for slicing a bakery product having a determined thickness and length, said device comprising at least one support for receiving the bakery product and a blade for slicing said product in its thickness and in the direction of its length, the support comprising at least one bottom and two substantially parallel side walls so as to form a slicing tunnel comprising an upstream zone for receiving the product to be sliced, a zone for slicing the product by pushing / pulling the latter inside the tunnel, and a downstream zone for recovering the sliced product, and the blade rising from one of the two side walls towards the other opposite side wall, said blade comprising an upstream cutting edge extending substantially parallel to said base of the support, characterized in that the upstream cutting edge of the blade is inclined from upstream to downstream with respect to the side wall from which it rises and forms with the latter a determined angle α of approximately 20 to 70 °, and preferably about 25 to 45 °.

Thanks to this structure, it is possible to split in its length different types of bakery products, for example a baguette, a loaf, a string, a loaf of milk, very quickly, in complete safety, with a very precise and reproducible cutting. . Thus, it is possible to produce very quickly and very easily a large quantity of sandwiches of all kinds, which saves significant time and makes it possible to obtain homogeneous products which are easier to garnish and to present for sale.

In addition and thanks to the inclination of the upstream cutting edge of the blade, cutting will be easier and more fluid (without jolts), ensuring a well-sliced sandwich. The invention is implemented according to the embodiments and the variants set out below, which are to be seen individually or according to any technically operative combination.

Advantageously, the blade is raised relative to the bottom by a distance of between a few millimeters and a few centimeters, preferably between 2 and 50 millimeters and advantageously from 5 to 30 millimeters.

Thus, the cut will be made at a distance from the underside of the baked goods such that the lower part will be thick enough, but not too much, to be covered with butter or the like (mayonnaise) and then with food.

Complementarily, the free end of the blade can be arranged at a distance of a few millimeters from the opposite side wall, preferably between about 5 and 10 millimeters.

Thus, the baked product will not be sliced in its entire width but a small part of the bread will be left so as to form a kind of hinge along its entire length between the top and bottom parts. This will facilitate the subsequent filling of the sandwich, which will hold better in the hand during this operation, since the two upper and lower parts will remain permanently connected to each other longitudinally.

In order to ensure the safety of the user, the device comprises a protective cover overlapping at least in part the slicing tunnel.

The trenching tunnel may include, in the upstream zone and / or in the downstream zone, an articulated protective flap which can only open towards said upstream zone and / or said corresponding downstream zone.

Thus, the blade will be difficult to access and the user runs less risk of cutting himself when slicing.

Advantageously, the protective flaps are articulated on the protective cover overlapping the slicing tunnel.

According to the variants, the protective cover can be slidably mounted in guide grooves formed in the upper part of the side walls of the support. In this case, the guide grooves can be closed on the side of the downstream zone of the trenching tunnel to allow removal of the protective cover only from the side of the upstream zone of the trenching tunnel, to avoid any accidental removal of the cover. during the slicing operation and further improve user protection.

The blade is of the interchangeable type and is mounted for this purpose on a removable support mounted on or integrated into one of the side walls of the support, which will allow it to be changed when it is worn or damaged.

The removable support advantageously comprises a clamping member for simultaneously fixing at least the blade and the removable support to said support.

The device can advantageously comprise mechanical means for pushing / pulling the bakery product into the slicing tunnel, which will facilitate its slicing.

According to a preferred embodiment, the mechanical pushing / pulling means comprise a slide which can move in translation inside the slicing tunnel as the bakery product advances in the latter to be sliced, said slide being provided with 'a downstream stop to push the product to be sliced. Advantageously, the slide also comprises an upstream stop to limit its translational movement in the slicing tunnel relative to the support.

Optionally, the mechanical pushing / pulling means are motorized.

Brief description of the figures:

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective isométrique d'un premier mode de réalisation du dispositif conforme à la présente invention comportant des volets de sécurité fermés,
• la figure 2 est une vue en perspective isométrique similaire à la figure 1 dans laquelle les volets de sécurité sont ouverts,
• la figure 3 est une vue en perspective isométrique similaire à la figure 1 d'un deuxième mode de réalisation du dispositif conforme à la présente invention sans volet de sécurité,
• la figure 4 est une vue de dessus de la figure 3,
• la figure 5 est une vue de face de la figure 4,
• la figure 6 est une vue en perspective isométrique d'une variante de la figure 3 comportant un poussoir en position rétractée,
• la figure 7 est une vue similaire à la figure 6 avec le poussoir en position enfoncée dans le dispositif, et
• la figure 8 est une vue en perspective isométrique similaire à la figure 1 d'un troisième mode de réalisation du dispositif conforme à la présente invention sans volet de sécurité et avec un poussoir.

The present invention and its advantages will appear better in the following description of several embodiments given by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

• the figure 1 is an isometric perspective view of a first embodiment of the device according to the present invention comprising closed safety shutters,
• the figure 2 is an isometric perspective view similar to the figure 1 in which the security shutters are open,
• the figure 3 is an isometric perspective view similar to the figure 1 of a second embodiment of the device according to the present invention without a safety shutter,
• the figure 4 is a top view of the figure 3 ,
• the figure 5 is a front view of the figure 4 ,
• the figure 6 is an isometric perspective view of a variant of the figure 3 comprising a pusher in the retracted position,
• the figure 7 is a view similar to figure 6 with the push-button in the pressed position in the device, and
• the figure 8 is an isometric perspective view similar to the figure 1 of a third embodiment of the device according to the present invention without a safety shutter and with a pusher.

Description of the embodiments of the invention:

In the exemplary embodiments illustrated, identical elements or parts bear the same reference numbers. In addition, the elements described for an exemplary embodiment can be combined and / or transposed to the other exemplary embodiments.

The figures 1 to 5 show a first embodiment and a second embodiment of a device 1 for slicing bakery products in accordance with the present invention.

This device 1 comprises at least one support 10 for receiving a bakery product 5, for example a baguette or a bread, and a blade 20 for slicing said product 5 in its thickness and in the direction of its length.

More precisely, the support 10 comprises at least one rigid bottom 11 and two side walls 12 substantially parallel to each other so as to form, with said bottom 11, a rectilinear slicing tunnel 15, a few centimeters in width, typically between 5 and 12 centimeters and preferably between 8 and 10 centimeters, without these values being limiting. This tunnel 15 advantageously comprises an upstream zone 15a for receiving the product 5 to be sliced, a zone 15b for slicing the product 5 by pushing / pulling the latter inside the tunnel 15, and a downstream zone 15c for recovering the product 5 slice ( figure 3 ).

For its part, the blade 20 rises from one of the two side walls 12 towards the other opposite side wall 12, said blade 20 comprising an upstream cutting edge 21 extending substantially parallel to said bottom 11 of support 10. As can be seen more precisely on the figures 3 to 5 , the upstream cutting edge 21 of the blade 20 is rectilinear and inclined from upstream to downstream with respect to the side wall 12 from which it rises and forms with the latter a determined angle α. This determined angle α is approximately 20 to 70 °, and preferably approximately 25 to 45 °, without these values being limiting. This allows the bakery product 5 to be sliced smoothly and gradually, without jerking, so that the product is not damaged during its longitudinal cutting.

We can also note on the figures 4 and 5 , that the free end 22 of the blade 20 is arranged at a distance D of a few millimeters from the opposite side wall 12, preferably between approximately 5 and 10 millimeters, without these values being limiting. This particular arrangement of the blade 20 makes it possible not to slice the bakery product 5 in its entire width but on the contrary to leave a sort of material hinge 5b between the upper and lower parts (see the sliced product on the figure 2 ). This allows the bread, once sliced according to the cutout 5a, to hold together better, which facilitates the spreading of butter, jam or mayonnaise. On the other hand, once the bakery product 5 has been filled with food, it holds itself better during its use so that the products escape less easily, being held by the material hinge 5b.

Of course, the user may want to slice the bakery product 5 over its entire width. In this case, he will choose a blade 20 longer or modify the inclination of the blade 20 relative to the corresponding side wall 12, so that its free end 22 touches the opposite side wall 12 and the distance D is equal to zero. . Finally, as can be seen elsewhere on the figure 5 , the blade 20 is raised by a distance E relative to the bottom 11 of a few millimeters to a few centimeters, preferably between 2 and 50 millimeters, and advantageously about 5 to 30 millimeters, without these values being limiting. This distance E will then allow the bakery product 5, once cut in its length, to present a sufficiently thick lower part under its cutting line 5a, to be able to stand and be, for example, covered with butter or mayonnaise.

The blade 20 is of the interchangeable type and is mounted for this purpose on a removable support 25 mounted on or integrated into one of the side walls 12 of the tunnel 15. This removable support 25 consists for example of a cassette which can be moved. perpendicular to the bottom 11 of the support 10. It may include a clamping member 45 (see figure 8 ) allowing simultaneous fixing of the blade 20 and the removable support 25 on the support 10. The blade 20 can be associated with one or more shims (not shown) interposed between the removable support 25 and the bottom 11 of the tunnel 15 allowing adjustment of distance E quickly and easily, without tools. Of course, the wedge (s) are linked to the removable support 25 via the clamping member 45.

In the first embodiment illustrated in figures 1 and 2 , the slicing tunnel 15 further comprises, to delimit the slicing zone 15b, a first hinged upstream protective flap 31 which can only open towards the upstream zone 15a and a second hinged downstream protective flap 32 which cannot s' open only to the downstream zone 15c. These two flaps 31 and 32 are mounted to pivot respectively on hinges 33 and 34 belonging to a protective cover 35 overlapping the slicing tunnel 15. They prevent the user from inserting his fingers into the slicing tunnel 15 and come to the contact with the blade 20, which ensures its safety. Advantageously, this protective cover 35 is screwed onto the side walls 12 and is made of a transparent material such as a plastic material, for example polycarbonate or Plexiglas®. This allows the user to see the progress of the bakery product 5 through the tunnel 15 as the slicing operation is performed. As an alternative, the protective cover 35 can be made of other materials and / or opaque.

In the second embodiment illustrated in figures 3 to 5 , the slicing tunnel 15 does not have a protective flap, but only the protective cover 35 of the previous example screwed onto the side walls 12, but not shown to simplify the figures. The elimination of the protective shutters makes it possible to facilitate the use of the device 1 and to make the slicing operation faster, while ensuring the safety of the user.

In the third embodiment illustrated on figure 8 , the slicing tunnel 15 does not have a protective flap, but a protective cover (not shown) which is mounted in the support 10 in the manner of a drawer, by means of two upper guide grooves 47, formed in the upper part of the side walls 12. Thus, it can be put in place and removed easily, without tools, in particular to access the removable support 25 of the blade 20. In this variant, the clamping member 45 provided on the removable support 25 can be arranged to simultaneously fix the protective cover and prevent its accidental removal, in particular during the slicing operation. Preferably, a screw-type clamping member 45 provided with a thumbwheel, which can be operated by hand, without tools, will be chosen. As a variant, the guide grooves 47 can be closed on the side of the downstream zone 15c of the tunnel 15 so as to allow the removal of the protective cover only on the side of the upstream zone 15a for receiving the product 5 in the tunnel 15. This simple arrangement prevents accidental removal of the protective cover especially during the slicing operation, thus adding additional safety for the user. In all the variants shown, the protection 35 also fulfills a function of keeping the bakery product 5 in position during the slicing operation, preventing it from being raised from the bottom 11 or even its accidental exit from the tunnel 15.

Always with the aim of optimizing the safety of the user and the ergonomics of the device 1, and in accordance with the alternative embodiments illustrated in figures 6 to 8 , the device 1 comprises mechanical means 40 for pushing / pulling the bakery product 5 into the slicing tunnel 15.

These mechanical pushing / pulling means 40 typically comprise a slide 41 capable of moving in translation inside the slicing tunnel 15, for example by means of lower guide grooves 42 formed in the lower part of the side walls 12 of the slicing tunnel. support 10, as the bakery product 5 advances through it for slicing. In a variant that is not shown, the guide grooves 42 may not and only the vertical internal faces of the side walls 12 ensure the guidance of the slide 41. Of course any other form of translational guidance may be suitable.

This slide 41 is also provided with a downstream abutment 43, forming a pusher, to push the bakery product 5 to be sliced against the blade 20 in order to cut it longitudinally. This downstream stop 43 may include a horizontal slot 46 (see figure 8 ) facing the blade 20 allowing the slide 41 to accompany the bakery product 5 during the slicing operation and to cover the blade 20 preventing any accidental access, further improving the safety of the user.

The slide 41 further comprises a lower and / or upper upstream stop 44, bearing either against the upstream rim 16 of the bottom 11 of the support 10, or against the upstream rim of the side walls 12 delimiting the guide grooves 42 of the support 10, or against the two flanges, to limit its translational movement in the slicing tunnel 15. This upstream stop 44 advantageously forms a handle for the user facilitating the gripping of the slide 41 both in pushing and in traction.

The operation of this device 1 is extremely simple. The user enters a bakery product 5, for example a baguette, and introduces it into the upstream zone 15a of the tunnel. It lifts the upstream protective flap 31, if the device 1 is provided with one, and begins to introduce the product 5 into the slicing zone 15b of the slicing tunnel 15 by pushing its upstream end to advance its downstream end in the direction of the blade 20. There, by continuing to push the upstream end of the product 5, the blade 20 cuts the latter longitudinally cleanly, perfectly straight (the bottom 11, the side walls 12 and the protective cover 35 acting as means of guide), always at the same slicing thickness with respect to the bottom 11, and leaving a material hinge 5b on the lateral (left) part of the product 5 if the user so wishes.

When the product 5 begins to come out, by pushing the downstream flap 32, if the device 1 is provided with it, the user can start to pull on the downstream end of the bread 5 (incidentally, he can continue to push on its upstream end) to continue the longitudinal cutting of the product 5 along the cutting line 5a.

Once the product 5 has completely come out of the slicing tunnel 15, the latter is perfectly sliced to a constant thickness over its entire length. It holds together well due to the presence of a side edge of bread which forms a material hinge 5b between the lower part (intended to be covered with food product to form a sandwich) and the upper part which closes the sandwich. This operation is very fast, of the order of a few seconds, without any danger for the user due to the presence, depending on the variants, of the protective shutters 31 and 32, of the protective cover 35, and of the slide 41, and can be repeated hundreds of times so as to get as many identically sliced sandwiches.

The blade 20 can be changed very easily by removing the removable support 25, forming part of a side wall 12 and fixed to the support 10, either in order to replace it due to wear, or to install another one with technical characteristics. different, for example the angle of the cutting edge 21, the height E of the cutting edge 21 relative to the bottom 11 or the distance D of the free end relative to the side wall 12.

In order to facilitate the pushing of the product into the slicing tunnel 15, in particular to make the latter more efficient and more secure (more homogeneous and more intense thrust, further reduced risks with regard to the blade 20) the user can use the slide 41 as described previously.

In an improved embodiment not shown, the mechanical pushing / pulling means 40 are motorized to facilitate the pushing of the bakery product 5 into the slicing tunnel 15 and to make slicing faster.

In addition, the dimensions E, D and the angle α can be variable, for example using manual adjustment devices incorporated in the removable support 25 for raising / lowering the blade 20 relative to the bottom 11, to modify its inclination. or to move the free end 22 of the blade 20 away from / closer to the opposite side edge 12, in order to allow different types of slicing depending on the bakery products introduced. Thus, for a thicker stick, we can raise the blade in order to slice at an optimized location. For a thinner rod, the end of the blade can be moved transversely to obtain a hinge positioned at best.

The present invention is of course not limited to the exemplary embodiments described but extends to any modification and variant obvious to a person skilled in the art within the limits of the appended claims.

Claims (15)

Manual device (1) for slicing a bakery product (5) having a determined thickness and length, said device comprising at least one receiving support (10) of the bakery product (5) and a blade (20) for slicing said product in its thickness and in the direction of its length, the support (10) comprising at least one bottom (11) and two side walls (12) substantially parallel so as to form a slicing tunnel (15) comprising an upstream zone (15a) for receiving the product (5) to be sliced, a zone (15b) for slicing the product (5) by pushing / pulling the latter inside the tunnel (15), and a downstream zone ( 15c) for recovering the sliced product (5), and the blade (20) rising from one of the two side walls (12) towards the other opposite side wall (12), said blade (20) comprising an upstream cutting edge (21) extending substantially parallel to said bottom (11) of the support (10), characterized in that the cutting edge upstream ant (21) of the blade (20) is rectilinear and inclined from upstream to downstream with respect to the side wall (12) from which it rises and forms with the latter a determined angle α of approximately 20 to 70 °, and preferably about 25 to 45 °. Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the blade (20) is raised relative to the bottom (11) by a distance (E) of between a few millimeters and a few centimeters, preferably between 2 and 50 millimeters and advantageously from 5 to 30 millimeters. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the free end (22) of the blade is arranged at a distance D of a few millimeters from the opposite side wall (12), preferably between approximately 5 and 10 millimeters. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a protective cover (35) overlapping at least in part the slicing tunnel (15). Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slicing tunnel (15) comprises in the upstream zone an articulated protective flap (31) which can only be opened towards said upstream zone (15a). Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slicing tunnel (15) comprises in the downstream zone (15c) an articulated protective flap (32) which can only be opened towards said downstream zone ( 15c). Device (1) according to claims 5 and 6, taken according to claim 4, characterized in that the flaps (31, 32) are articulated on the protective cover (35). Device (1) according to Claim 4, characterized in that the protective cover is slidably mounted in guide grooves (47) formed in the upper part of the side walls (12) of the support (10). Device (1) according to Claim 8, characterized in that the guide grooves (47) are closed on the side of the downstream zone (15c) of the slicing tunnel (15) in order to allow the removal of the protective cover only from the side of the upstream zone (15a) of the trenching tunnel (15). Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the blade (20) is of the interchangeable type and is mounted on a removable support (25) mounted on or integrated into one of the side walls (12) of the support (10). Device (1) according to Claim 10, characterized in that the removable support (25) comprises a clamping member (45) for simultaneously fixing at least the blade (20) and the removable support (25) to said support (10). Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises mechanical means (40) for pushing / pulling the bakery product (5) into the slicing tunnel (15). Device (1) according to Claim 12, characterized in that the mechanical pushing / pulling means (40) comprise a slide (41) able to move in translation inside the slicing tunnel (15) as the product bakery (5) advances in the latter to be sliced, said slide (41) being provided with a downstream stop (43) for pushing the product to be sliced. Device (1) according to Claim 13, characterized in that the slide (41) also comprises an upstream stop (44) to limit its translational movement in the slicing tunnel (15). Device (1) according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that the mechanical pushing / pulling means (40) are motorized.

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