GB2286765A - Kitchen Implement - Google Patents

Abstract

A rotary cutting, slicing or tenderising kitchen implement is disclosed as having a blade member, a support member and a handle member, and the blade member comprises a spindle and at least one blade disc wherein the blade disc(s) is/are attached to the spindle at right angles, and the support member comprises spindle support means encircling at least part of the spindle and enabling the spindle to spin freely without obstructing the blade disc(s). The blade member is formed as a single unit comprising the spindle and the blade disc(s). <IMAGE>

Description

KITCHEN IMPLEMENT This invention relates to a kitchen implement.

In particular, this invention relates to a rotary cutting, slicing or tenderising implement which is easily assembled during manufacture.

Known kitchen implements of this type all possess discrete spindle and blade elements, thus requiring the spindle to be engaged with the blade element before inserting the blade-spindle combination into a suitable carrier. This assembly process requires a considerable amount of time.

The object of the present invention is to avoid the above defect or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Accordingly, the present invention consists in a kitchen implement comprising: a blade member; and a support member; and a handle member; the blade member comprising a spindle and one or more blade discs the blade disc or discs being attached to the spindle at substantially right angles; the support member comprising spindle support means which substantially encircle at least part of the spindle and which allow the spindle to spin freely without obstructing the blade disc or discs.

The support member preferably partially or completely encloses the spindle and has a slit or slits, corresponding to each blade disc through which each disc can extend.

The support member may have separable lower and upper sections either or both of which may contain slits through which blade discs can extend. The upper and lower sections may be joined by a hinge means. The handle member may also be separable into lower and upper sections and may also be hinged.

The blade discs may be either blunt or sharp and may be notched.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1: is a side view of a blade member of the present invention incorporating a plurality of blade discs.

Figure 2: is a longitudinal section through the blade member of figure one showing a preferred means by which the blade discs are attached to the spindle.

Figure 3: is a cross section through a circular blade, suitable for use in the present invention.

Figure 4: is a cross section through a notched blade suitable for use in the present invention.

Figure 5: is an underside view of a first embodiment of the kitchen implement of the present invention omitting the blade member and blade discs.

Figure 6: is a side view of the lower section of the kitchen implement of figure 5.

Figure 7: is a side view of the upper section of the kitchen implement of figure 5.

Figure 8: is a underside view of second embodiment of the kitchen implement of the present invention omitting the blade member and blade discs.

Figure 9: is a side view of the lower section of the kitchen implement of figure 8.

Figure 10: is a side view of the upper section of the kitchen implement of figure 8.

Referring to figure 1, the present invention includes blade member 10, comprising a spindle 12, having a blade disc or discs 20 formed integrally with the spindle 12 substantially at right angles. The spindle 12 also preferably comprises at the two ends 16 (only one of which is shown) a recess 14 running the circumference of the spindle, to be received by the spindle support means as will be later described. The spindle ends 16 may also comprise thickened protrusions 15 running the circumference of the spindle, to form recess 14.

Figure 2 shows a preferred method of attaching a blade disc or discs to the spindle by extending material from which the spindle is formed partially, and preferably uniformally, over the centre of each blade disc, preferably on both sides of each disc, in a manner which would be familiar to those skilled in the art. This method ensures that the blade discs are firmly attached to the spindle.

In this respect, the spindle is most conveniently made of a plastics material and the blades of stainless steel, although other suitable materials such as hard rubber and aluminium respectively may be employed. The blade discs could alternatively be embedded in the spindle material without any spindle material extending over them, or attached in any other suitable fashion not requiring separate assembly of disc and spindle parts.

Many different cutting, slicing or tenderising type blade discs may be used with the kitchen implement of the present invention. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate two blade discs suitable for use in the present invention. Figure 3 shows a circular blade disc which is sharpened for cutting or slicing, for use in slicing vegetables or fresh pasta and so on. Figure 4 depicts a notched disc which is blunt, for use, for example, for tenderising purposes. Other blade discs with various notch patterns for use in creating decorations are also envisaged. A single blade would be suitable for example for slicing pizzas or cakes and multiple blades for making multiple slices or for tenderising.

In a first embodiment of the invention as shown in figures 5 to 7 the kitchen implement 28 comprises a support member 30 and a handle 34 formed integrally with the support member. The handle 34 could also be formed so that it could be detachable. The implement 28 is preferably formed of a lower section 38 and an upper section 44. The blade member 10 engages with the lower section 38 by recesses 14 on the spindle 12 resting on the lower section of a spindle support means which is in this case recess 40.

In this embodiment two spindle support means 40 are provided on each side of the kitchen implement 28 as indicated on Figure 5. For extra support more spindle support means 40 could be provided, each engaging with a corresponding recess 14 on the spindle 12. The upper section 44 is then fitted, in any suitable manner, for example snap fit, over the lower section 38 and the upper section of the spindle support means, which is in this case the recess 46, fits over the remainder of the recess 14 of spindle 12 thus completely encircling the end 16 of the spindle shaft 12. Alternatively, the recess 40 or the recess 46 could be provided with a clip or cover member with which to encircle and secure the spindle, in which case an upper section 44 or lower section 38, respectively would not be essential.The blade disc or discs extend through the slits 32 in lower section 38 shown in figure 5 and are of sufficient width and length to allow the blade discs to spin freely. The upper section 44 preferably encloses the blade discs so that a downwards pressure may be put on the implement by a hand without fear of being cut by the blades. Alternatively, the support member 30 could merely comprise one or more arms extending from a handle, each having a spindle support means. If only one arm were provided the spindle support means would obviously need to be positioned at or near the spindle's centre of gravity.

The numeral 36 on kitchen implement 28 merely indicates a preferable latch release mechanism for easy removal of the upper section 44 of the implement for cleaning etc. The assembled kitchen implement 28 is shown in Figure 8.

In a second embodiment of the invention shown in figures 8, 9 and 10 the kitchen implement 50 has a more distinct handle 60 which is preferably formed integrally with the support member 52 or which may be detachable. As in the first embodiment the recess 14 of the spindle 12 is received by a lower section of the spindle support means in this case recess 66 in the lower section 64 of the support member 52. Again the upper section 70 can be fitted over the lower section 64 with recess 72 fitting over the remainder of recess 14 thus completely encircling the end 16 of spindle 12.

The blade disc or discs 20 extend through slits 54 which may be in either or both of the lower and upper sections of the implement 50.

Preferably the lower and upper sections are joined together by a hinge 56.

The implement 50 preferably includes a rest such as legs or stand 58 to assist in preventing the device from rolling when not in use.

The advantage of the present invention lies primarily in the forming of the blade member 10 as a single unit comprising the spindle and the blade discs, which significantly decreases the time required for construction of the kitchen implement.

The above describes the preferred embodiments of the invention but variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed in the following claims.

Claims (9)

1. A kitchen implement comprising: a blade member; and a support member; and a handle member; the blade member comprising a spindle and one or more blade discs, the blade disc or discs being attached to the spindle substantially at right angles; the support member comprising spindle support means which substantially encircles at least part of the spindle and which allows the spindle to spin freely without obstructing the blade disc or discs.

2. A kitchen implement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the support member partially encloses the spindle and has a slit or slits corresponding to each blade disc, through which each disc can extend.

3. A kitchen implement as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the support member comprises separable lower and upper sections.

4. A kitchen implement as claimed in claim 3 wherein either or both of the lower and upper sections have a slit or slits through which the blade disc or discs can extend.

5. A kitchen implement as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the upper and lower sections of the support member are joined by a hinge means.

6. A kitchen implement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the blade disc or discs are either sharp or blunt.

7. A kitchen implement as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the blade disc is notched.

8. A kitchen implement as claimed in claims 2 or 3 wherein the handle member is integrally formed with the support member and is formed of separable lower and upper sections.

9. A kitchen implement substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.