GB2054358A - Improvements in or relating to fruit or vegetable graters or shredders - Google Patents

Abstract

A fruit or vegetable grater or shredder comprises a substantially plane support member 1, Fig. 1, and a plurality of cutter blades 5 projecting therefrom and each being formed by one vertical and one horizontal cutter section having a cutting edge. These cutter blades are arranged obliquely across the longitudinal axis of the support member in such a manner that the cutting edges of the horizontal cutter sections 8, Fig. 4, form a cutting edge which appears continuous as seen in the direction of relative movement between the device and the fruit or vegetable, and which is interrupter only by the cutting edges of the vertical cutter sections 10. The cutter blades are formed integrally with a central cutter element 3, the sections 10 projecting from a base plate 4 situated in the place of the support member 1 and the sections 8 projecting from a cover plate 6. The element 3 is provided with additional cutters 5a at its trailing edge. The cutting edges are formed by chamfers at the inner side of the sections 8 and 10. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to fruit or vegetable graters or shredders The present invention relates to fruit or vegetables graters or shredders comprising a substantially plane support member and a plurality of cutter blades projecting therefrom said blades each being formed by one vertical and one horizontal cutter section having a cutting edge, said latter blades being arranged obliquely across the longitudinal axis of said support member one behind the other, in such manner that the cutting edges of the horizontal cutter sections form a cutting edge which appears continuous as seen in the direction of relative movement between the device and the fruit or vegetable being grated or shredded, which is still interrupted only by the cutting edges of the vertical cutter sections.

Such utensils are used by holding in the hand and pressing the fruit or vegetable along its length or vice versa.

This invention is a modification of and improvement in a utensil construction described in my Austrian Patent Specification No. 306942 with which it is possible to cut fruits and vegetables, particularly potatoes, into strips.

It would also be desirable to cut up other fruits and vegetables, primarily in the preparation of diets based on uncooked food stuffs, because the comminuted parts are then kept in loose intermingled form and do not collapse into insignificant portions, for example as in the case in which fruits are comminuted on a conventional grater or rasp. It is impossible however to produce particularly thin strips or shreds with a known chip cutter.

In a known cutter, several cutters are incorporated which are bent into a Z shape from a metal strip and each cutters is secured by rivets orthe like to a support plate and to a rear bearing plate arranged in raised position with respect to the former; the cutters may equally have their extremities individually inset into the support plate. The thinner the strips required, the greater should be the number of incorporated cutters and the closer should these be set.

This obviously requires considerable time in manufacturing, since each separate cutter must first be placed in its position and then fastened. Above all however, it is hardly possible to prevent skewing and differences in height in case of closely set cutters, which during subsequent use of the utensil lead to skewing of the fruit and to an untidy cutting surface, even if special care is applied.

It is an object of the invention to provide a grater or shredder of the kind hereinabove referred to but to modify it in such manner that it is also possible to use it to produce such thin strips as are desirable in the preparation of uncooked diets, in particular uncooked diet salads. To this end, the grater or shredder should have a comparatively simple structure, be cheap to produce and easy to clean. Above all however, it should be usable under application of little force and should grate or shred the material tidily.

Accordingly the invention consists in a fruit or vegetable grater or shredder comprising a substantially plane support member and a plurality of cutter blades projecting therefrom, said blades each being formed by one vertical and one horizontal cutter section having a cutting edge said cutter blades being arranged obliquely across the longitudinal axis of said support member, one behind the other in such manner that the cutting edges of the horizontal cutter sections form a cutting edge which appears continuous as seen in the direction of relative movement between the device and the fruit and vegetable being grated or shredded, which is still interrupted only by the cutting edges of the vertical cutter sections, wherein the cutter blades are formed integrally with a central element, the vertical cutter sections projecting from a base plate situated in the plane of the support member and the horizontal cutter sections projecting from a cover plate which extends parallel to the support member.

With this construction, the pattern of the cutters of the one piece cutter element is permanently determined manufacture. At this stage, it is possible to establish as close a setting as desired of the cutters as well as a perfect alignment of the same without complication, by means of conventional moulding techniques. The inventive priciple may be embodied not only by insetting a one-piece cutter element comprising a base plate into a support member but alternatively, by suitable selection of identical materials for the cutter element and the support member it is possible to produce these parts initially in joined form, so that they merge into each other without joins. A useful side effect of the production of such a grater or shredder lies in the inhibition or even elimination of a risk of injury.Until now, the insertion and fastening of the individual cutters in known chip cutters has implied a particular risk of injury which was the greater, the risks increasing with the number of cutters which had to be incorporated.

The construction is simple, is inexpensive to produce and easy to clean. It renders it possible to divide fruits and vegetables into thin strips without application of great force, an even cut surface remaining in the fruit which is to be comminuted.

Such a remaining cut surface enables perfectly formed strips to be produced during subsequent cutting operations, but also and beyond this in the case of larger fruit in particular, these may be packaged again neatly and stored if applicable, so that the residual processing may be effortlessly at a later time.

If desired, the central cutter element may be provided with additional cutters at its trailing edges and in continuation of the cover plate, and a further base plate.

This latter construction enables the device to have two working directions which are mutually opposed whereby the fruit or vegetable can be reciprocated along the device to provide a cut in each direction, which has not been possible with prior constructions. In the case of a conventional chip cutter, this action could not be incorporated because the individual cutters thereof lack a comparable stability and constancy of form.

If desired, it is possible to enable the cutters from plastics materials the blades or cutter elements consisting of plastics material and the cutting edges being formed by chamfers on the inner side ofthe horizontal and vertical cutter sections. Production is thereby rendered particularly economical and leaves the way open to mass-production.

The cutting edges of the vertical cutter sections advantageously extend approximately perpendicularly to the support members, and the cutting edges of the horizontal cutter sections approximately at right angles to the direction of operation. This leads to simultaneous incision into the fruit or vegetable from above and from the side within the same cutter, which facilitates rectilinear traversal and militates against deflection. The strip cut off may nevertheless be pushed away downwards and sideways. By contrast, a pulling cut is performed from one cutter to another, i.e. the individual cutters engage successively in the fruit, so that the application of force required to divide the fruit remains comparatively small.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment thereof by way of example and in which Figure 1 shows a grater or shredder which can perform cuts in two directions in plan view, Figure 2 shows a portion of the device according to Figure 1,to an enlarged scale, Figure 3 shows an axial section through the device along the line Ill-Ill of Fig. 2, Figure 4 shows the detail IV of Figure 3 to an enlarged scale, Figure 5 shows an end view of the device, and Figure 6 shows a view of a portion of the device along the line VI-VI of Figure 5, i.e. partially in plan view and partially in horizontal cross-section.

Referring now to the drawings, according to Figures 1 and 2, the fruit or vegetable grater or shredder shown comprises a support member 1 having lateral delimiting webs 2 and a central cutter element 3. The cutter element 3 comprises a base plate 4, a plurality of cutter blades 5 and a cover plate 6 which has its trailing edge continued by complementary cutters 5a and by another base plate 4a. Holding the device stationary with its foot rests on a firm surface, the cutters 5 divide the fruit or vegetable into small strips in layers, with the fruit or vegetable is moved in the direction of the arrow7 along the device.

However the cutter blades 5a are brought into action during a movement in the opposite direction i.e. in the direction of the arrow 7a. The embodiment shown thus has two directions of operation.

Although not apparent in the plan view, a wide gap through which the comminuted fruit may drop downwards is situated in the support member 1 beneath the cover plate 6. If desired of course, the device may be moved over the surface ofthe fruit or vegetable but generally, this is not so convenient.

Each of the cutter blades 5, 5a comprise a horizontal cutter section 8 having a cutting edge 9, and a vertical cutter section 10 having a cutting edge 11.

The entire cutter element 3 is constructed in one piece and in this case consists of plastics material.

The cutting edges 9 are formed by chamfers or obliquities 12 on the inner side of the horizontal cutter sections 8 (see Figures 3,4 and 5), and the cutting edges 11 by chamfers or obliquities 13 on the inner side of the vertical cutter sections 10 (see Figures 5 and 6).

As will be apparent in particular from Figures 3, 4 and 5, the support member 1 is substantially plane, and the base plates 4, 4a extend in the plane of the support member 1, whereas the cover plate 6 extends parallel thereto. The horizontal cutter sections 8 project from the cover plate 6 and the vertical cutter sections 0 from the base plate 4.

By virtue of selection of idential material for the cutter element 3 and the rest ofthe grater or shred- der, the base plates 4, 4a merge without joins into the support member 1 and form an integral unit therewith in the embodiment shown.

It will also be apparent from Figure 5, that the cutting edges 9 of the horizontal cutter sections 8, as seen in the working direction, conjointly form a continuous cutting edge which is interrupted only by the cutting edges 11 of the vertical cutter sections 10.

Claims (6)

1. A fruit or vegetable grater or shredder comprising a substantially plane support member and a plurality of cutter blades projecting therefrom, said blades each being formed by one vertical and one horizontal cutter section having a cutting edge said cutter blades being arranged obliquely across the longitudinal axis of said support member one behind the other in such manner that the cutting edges of the horizontal cutter sections form a cutting edge which appears continuous as seen in the direction of relative movement between the device and the fruit or vegetable being grated or shredded, which is still interrupted only by the cutting edges of the vertical cutter sections, wherein the cutter blades are formed integrally with a central cutter element, the vertical cutter sections projecting from a base plate situated in the plane of the support member and the horizontal cutter sections projecting from a cover plate which extends parallel to the support member.

2. A grater or shredder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central cutter element is provided with additional cutters at its trailing edge in continuation of the cover plate and a further base plate.

3. A grater or shredder as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the central cutter element is made from thin-gauge metal sheet.

4. A grater or shredder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the central cutter element is made from plastics material and the cutting edges are formed by chamfers at the inner side of the horizontal and vertical cutter sections.

5. A grater or shredder as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cutting edges of the vertical cutter sections extend approximately perpendicularly to the support member and the cutting edges of the horizontal cutter sections extend approximately at right angles to the direction of relative movement between the device and the fruit or vegetable being grated or shredded.

6. A fruit or vegetable grater or shredder, sub stantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.