FR2675682A1 - Household appliance for peeling and cutting potatoes and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a motorised machine which completely and quickly (in 4 seconds) peels potatoes and the like, one at a time, chopping them into square lengths (for chips) or thinner lengths according to a simple adjustment. The present invention uses the arrangement of two spikes set in a vertical axis, the top spike (8) being movable by the action of the manipulator (on 7) which can be brought towards the bottom spike (4, to which the drive is transmitted) in order to hold the vegetable to be peeled, while allowing it to be turned, "between spikes" driven fully into its longitudinal ends so that a knife (17) having two cutting edges on opposite sides and hinged at the end of an arm (9) and moved vertically up and down can remove one strip of peel with each stroke. The invention includes adjustments to the pressure of the knife on the vegetable, corrections to the orientation of the knives at the top and bottom of each stroke, automatic variation in the speed of rotation of the vegetable and compulsory stoppage of the knife at the bottom of the stroke. The chopping part is worked by simply introducing the vegetable into the orifice (45). Adjustment is possible by repositioning the access door at a higher or lower level. For ease of maintenance, the 4 parts are combined in a single part which can be withdrawn and can be cleaned simply by rinsing it. The invention particularly answers the needs of homes and restaurants.

Description

 The invention relates to a device for dual use, motorized, totally and quickly peeling the potatoes ect, one at a time, and cutting it, depending on the setting, into more or less thick pieces.

The invention can be produced for each of the functions separately,
This possibility is not described.

 In households or restaurants, peeling and cutting of potatoes is, for lack of other effective means, carried out by hand. Some realizations, which have been marketed, in which the vegetables are contained together with water, have the disadvantages: complicated start-up, long and incomplete peeling, very influenced by the shape of the vegetables, cleaning after using the appliance and vegetables, tedious.

 Pressure cutting, forcing the vegetable to pass through a square grid, requires precut, especially to reduce the length more, it takes several grids to obtain different thicknesses and motorization is very difficult.

 The invention aims: quick peeling, complete, attractive, safe, valid for both small quantities and large, since it is unrequited for long and boring cleaning. The vegetable comes out clean, which allows you to cut it as you go. It suffices to introduce it into the cutout orifice; this function takes place alone while the next vegetable is placed on the peeler. This way of producing, allows, in passing, if necessary, to remove a remaining peeling surface, on a very "quirky" vegetable.

 The present invention uses the arrangement of 2 points placed in a vertical axis, mounted at one end, each on one of the two w rectangular hinged housings at the other end to thereby form the device achievable in rigid plastic.

 The upper part (tip tips) being movable vertically by the action of the manipulator on the tab 7 allows, by bringing it closer to that of the bottom, to maintain, while letting it turn, the vegetable to be peeled "between tips" fully penetrated at the ends of its length, so that a knife with two cutting edges facing each other, articulated at the end of an arm moving in a back and forth movement vertically (from one point to the other) can, at during each phase, remove a strip of peeling.

 The present invention comprises a device for regulating the pressure of the knife against the vegetable, a device which has an effect in both directions of operation, in order to be able, for all forms of the vegetable to be peeled, bypassing the projecting parts without loss of travel of the peeling arm.

The invention uses the bottom point as a driving point allowing the rotation of the vegetable on the 2 points (like the terrestrial globe) with the following 5 peculiarities
1 ". The fairly high position of the driving point (relative to the base), the latter completely penetrating the vegetable, until the latter rests on top of a" terminal "pierced vertically with a hole 4 mm.

This hole serves as a rotation support bearing for the 4 mm axis of the driving point which thus passes through the base of the apparatus to receive, from below, the mechanical drive necessary for its rotation and its blocking in the opposite direction. Said terminal is cut flat on a vertical face so that the 4 mm axis is flush with the edge of this flat face so that when the paring knife goes up, it can attack the vegetable as close to its center.

 2 ". A device with double cam 33, rotating the vegetable during each of the phases of the back and forth movement of the peeling arm, by pulling (driving) followed by the return of the drawer 34 by the effect of a spring This system gives the possibility of variable speed of rotation, by limiting the return stroke of the drawer. -It is specified that the driving pull causing the rotation of the vegetable takes place during the 2nd half of each phase of peeling, when the knife is on the downward slope read from the vegetable. During the first half, the return for variable stroke takes place.

 3 ". The variable travel of the modular drawer by the effect of the link 13 on the bevel gear 36 depending on the size of the vegetable: the larger the latter, the more the drawer travel is limited, the more the rotation of the vegetable is slow down.

 4. The drive and blocking mechanism of the opposite direction of the driving point, produced by 2 "jamming nipples 37 and 38" housed in a "drum 5" secured to the 4 mm axis making it possible to rotate the driving point 4 to a variable speed, while blocking it for the opposite direction.

The assembly, including the connection drawer, operating with a single return spring (traction) 39.

 50 The orientation of the drum mentioned above: opening downwards, this arrangement protecting the internal mechanism against possible runoff of vegetable juice and facilitating the mounting of the "jamming nipples".

 The present invention also comprises the bending of approximately 15 of the end of the arm 9, constituted by a 5 mm rod carrying the paring knife 17, and the possibility that this rod contained in the arm may pivot a total of quarter turn, to obtain, by appropriate traction of the link 13 fixed articulated at the end of the crank pin exiting from the peeling arm, a take-up of the knife's horizontal position, when the latter is in the positions: high and low. The link 13 is fixed articulated, on the one hand at the bottom of the casing 1 and on the other hand at the end of the crank pin 12 coming out of the arm 9 at several centimeters from the articulation 15 with a ball-and-socket effect. roles: adjusting the knife's horizontal position and controlling the rotation of the vegetable.

 The pressure regulating device of the knife against the vegetable 14 described first, acts to drive the peeling arm, by means of a ball bearing 16 mounted on the arm 9. This bearing being kept pressed towards the bottom of a V by pulling a spring 40 (traction) hooked between the arm and the pressure regulator assembly. It is this pressure regulator assembly, articulated on the same axis (15) as the peeler arm, which receives, on its V, the mechanical action of "pull pulled" from the main rod 29, coming from the eccentric of the 24 in gear ratio with the engine 19.

 It can be understood, during operation, that the knife 17 thus receives constant pressure from the spring 40, oriented towards the center of the vegetable, and that, if the knife cannot advance, because it abuts on a too protruding shape, the V decreases this spring pressure towards the center.

The knife can more easily get around the difficulty.

 The V, in the shape of an ogive, is secured by its outer center side of the pressure regulator assembly, by a relatively flexible attachment, so that it can, by bending, increase regulating effect when the knife is engaged along dtun large vegetable and that it encounters a difficulty. This effect is of course effective in both directions of operation.

The warhead shape is necessary to obtain a compensatory regulation towards the outside, more important from the attack of the vegetable, therefore to bypass its ends.

 If the regulating effect of the V is essential, it has the disadvantage of absorbing a large part of the stroke of the peeler arm (5 cm at each end of the stroke) and for a large vegetable, the arm can start in the opposite direction without having reached the end of the vegetable. This is why the tip of the V is extended by a tail to form a Y with a straight tail (fig 3). This tail moves between 2 stops 50 integral with the chassis so that, at each end of the peeling arm stroke, the V is restored to its "mid point" position thus forcing the knife 17 to reach the end of the peeling stroke .

 The apparatus described, designed for the two functions: peeling and cutting, is driven by a single motor 19 (3000 revolutions), the shaft of which comprises, on one end the fan 51 and on the other a small pinion with straight teeth. The latter mesh with the largest toothed wheel 52 of a reduction gear relay having the additional task of moving the motor away from the partition forming the housing of the cutting knife 23. The latter, a kind of drum open with a tip provided with a central drive bearing 53 (by the main axis 21), the closing door 43 carrying the device 54 for retaining the vegetable during cutting, device penetrating into the drum by its open side, and a flywheel 44 drum 23, all forming a single piece easily removed from the device for cleaning by simple rinsing after use. When reassembling, it is by replacing the door more or less high that we obtain the cut pieces more or less thick.

 When the electrical contactor 48 is turned on and off, the main axis 21 integral with the large pinion 22 begins to rotate (2 turns per second) causing the central bearing 53 of the cutting drum and, only if the button is pressed control 30 (mechanical) for peeling, the peeling arm 9 also works at 2 back and forth seconds by interconnection between 27 of 22 in a hole of 24. If you release the peeling control button, the arm stops as soon as it has reached the low position because declutching can only take place at this time (comparable to the stop system for car windscreen wipers).

 This stopping effect of the peeling arm in the low position is obtained by a pull tab 31, one end of which blocks, during operation, by the effect of a spring 32, the return of the dog clutch button 30, as long as the peeling arm n has not reached the level 1 cm above the low position. At this time, the declutching is obtained by action in the opposite direction releasing the zipper.

This action is exerted at each end of travel by the connecting rod arm of the pressure regulator on the pull tab 31 (fig. 4).

The invention also consists in the overall design of the device comprising 2 main parts that can be made of rigid plastic:
- the bottom part containing all the mechanisms, extended by the base 2 surmounted by the terminal 3 already mentioned bearing the driving tip 4.

 - The part of the top which is the hinged cover 55 at one end and carrying on the other the top tip 8 which, by the action of the manipulator on 7, is movable vertically.

 The accompanying drawings illustrate, by way of example, an embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

 Are represented in all the figures.

In 1. The 4 part of the bottom case.

In 2. The base.

In 3. The terminal.

In 4. The driving tip.

In 5. The drive drum of the tip 4.

In 6. The i cover box.

In 7. The manipulation tab.

In 8. The moving tip.

In 9. The peeling arm.

In 10. 2 knife bearing supports.

In 11. 3 rubber feet.

In 12. Rod rod 5.

In 13. The double function link.

At 14. The pressure regulator with the V and the arm actuated by the connecting rod 29.

In 15. The axis of the arm with the ball joint.

In 16. The ball bearing.

In 17. The paring knife.

At 18. The knife positioning spring.

In 19. The engine with the small pinion.

In 20. The main axis bearing.

In 21. The main axis common to the two functions and integral with the large toothed wheel 22.

In 22. The big gear.

At 23. The cutting drum.

In 24. The clutch hub comprising the flange with holes.

 The groove 26 of the fork 25 and of the crankpin with axis 28 and the double cam 33.

In 27. The dog clutch fixed to the large toothed wheel 22.

In 29. The connecting rod of the crank pin 28 to the arm of the regulator 14.

In 30. The dog clutch push button.

In 31. The blocking pull of 30.

In 32. The spring of the terette 31.

In 33. The double cam.

In 34. The drawer and its friction angle.

In 35. The zipper with 2 elbows.

In 36. The angle gear (rotation modulator).

In 37. The training nipple.

In 38. The blocking nipple.

In 39. The recall spring of 37, 38 and 34.

In 40. The spring supporting the knife against the vegetable.

In 41. The axis and the articulation holes of the cover.

In 42. The rounded form of protection of the knife.

In 43. The access door and cutting thickness adjustment.

In 44. The exterior steering wheel.

In 45. The cutting entry orifice.

At 46. The guide valve.

In 47. The hook of the valve and spring.

In 48. The electrical contactor: on, off.

In 49. The button for closing door 43.

In 50. The 2 return stops integral with the chassis.

In 51. The engine fan.

In 52. The big wheel of the multiplier relay.

In 53. The central bearing of the cutter.

In 54. The vegetable retainer during cutting.

 In 55. The CVS and the articulation holes of the cover.

In 56. An arrow in the direction of effect of the connecting rod arm at the end of the stroke.

In 57. An arrow in the direction of effect of the spring maintaining the blocking during walking.

In 58. An arrow in the direction of declutching (stop in the low position).

In 59. A pin for training.

Claims (12)

 1) Dual function device: peeling and cutting, allowing the potatoes and other fruits to be peeled completely and quickly and cut as soon as they are removed from between the peeling tips, characterized in that it allows  - on the one hand to place them one at a time, their length vertically, between 2 points mounted, each, on the half part of the case (base part and cover part) so that a double-edged knife, articulated at the end of an arm, describes, by the action of the motor, a reduction gear, the spring (40) and the pressure regulating device of the knife against the vegetable, a vertical movement back and forth, in order to remove, at the during each phase, a peeling width joining the previously peeled width, this being possible thanks to the rotation of the vegetable generated by the tip (motor) at the bottom, rotating by a fraction of a turn which is automatically variable depending on the size of the vegetable, by the action of a double cam coupled to the eccentric drive of the peeling arm; this double cam transmits an alternating movement of corrected length, for each peeling phase to the drum 5 via the drawer 34.  - on the other hand, to cut the vegetable as soon as it is removed from between the peeling tips, in the forms for fries or omelette, this cutting in variable thickness being possible by simple adjustment and executed by simply placing the vegetable in an orifice: the two functions, peeling and cutting, which can be carried out together or separately, the easy disassembly of the four associated parts of the cutting facilitating the cleaning of the cutting assembly, the same motor ensuring the two functions only electrically controlled by an on-off and start-up peeling contactor operating mechanically by pressing a dog clutch button, stopping necessarily taking place when the paring knife is down, so as not to interfere with the withdrawal and placing of the next vegetable.  2) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the two i bootmakers, including the base, the terminal, the handling tab, the internal partition housing the cutting knife and the fixed cover portion forming an insertion opening for cutting, can be made of rigid plastic.  3) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the paring knife 17, cut from steel 1.2 mm thick, comprises, at each end, 1 extension.fl 3 mm in width serving as axes articulations with the 2 supports 10 for articulation and positioning of the 2 cutting edges facing the vegetable by the action of the spring 18 against the flat of one of the axes (the spring 18 is made of flat steel).  4) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressure regulating device of the knife against the vegetable receives, coming from its downward-facing arm, the action of "thrust pulled" from the wheat. 29 and, by the angular effect of the hinge pin 15, transmits it, via the extended V, articulated in its center in "oscillenbloc", to the peeling arm, with the bearing in between ball 16 kept pressed at the bottom of the V by pulling the spring 40.  18. The 1/2 ogival shape in order to facilitate the bypassing of the vegetable extratates.  5) Device according to claims 1 and 4, characterized in that the V has  2. It is articulated flexible to increase the pressure regulating effect against the vegetable when it encounters a difficulty on a large vegetable.  3. That the V eet prolonged in V, this tail having the effect, by abutting, in flti of high and low stroke, with 2 supports integral with the chassis, to restore the V in the position "mid point" and thus, to recover the 2 stroke lengths lost by the pressure regulator system.  6) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the axis  5 of the peeling arm 9 is bent and can pivot on itself by at least 4- turn by the effect of the rod 13 and the crank pin 12 to obtain a "catch-up, age" of the horizontal position of the knife and d 'orientation of the cutting edges when the latter is in the high and low positions.  7) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the double cam 33 hollowed out in the clutch hub 24, generates an alternating movement during each phase of peeling, set so that the vegetable turns during the second 1/2 phase, when the knife is on the negative slope of the vegetable. C1 is therefore during the first peeling ply that the variable stroke return of the drawer 34 takes place, automatically limited by pushing the rod 13 on the angle gear 36, this to slow down the speed of rotation if a vegetable is big.  8) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the peeling arm can only stop in the low position by the effect of the connecting rod arm of the pressure regulator on the locking pull 31 (having the effect of releasing the return of the dog clutch button 30) See figure 5.  9) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the terminal 3, serving as a rotation support bearing at the driving tip 4, pierced with a hole 4 mm flush with the vertical flat face, where the knife passes, so that the latter attacks the vegetable as close to its center as a support for the vegetable when the motor tip is fully penetrated.  10) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cutting knife is cut from stainless steel 0.5 mm thick, rolled into a cylinder shape with 6 sharp triangular parts, folded inward. térieur. These cut the vegetable vertically after the circumferential sharpened parts cut them horizontally. The cutting of the pieces being done one after the other, avoiding "stuffing", requires little expenditure of motor energy. This cylindrical knife is fixed to a hub 53 with a single flange made of rigid plastic. See fig. 6.  11) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable retaining device during cutting, conditioning the thickness of the cut pieces, is fixed to the closing door 43 Having fig. 6). It is therefore the adjustment of this door, set more or less high, which conditions the thickness of the cut pieces.  12) Device according to claims 1, 10, 11, characterized in that, the cutting knife, the retaining device 54, the closing door 43, the external flywheel 44 are associated in one piece to facilitate disassembly for cleaning by rinsing and easy access to their housing. See fig. 6.