GB2349805A

GB2349805A - Guide for use in slicing food

Info

Publication number: GB2349805A
Application number: GB0011016A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ilan Samson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-05-14
Filing date: 2000-05-09
Publication date: 2000-11-15
Anticipated expiration: 2020-05-09
Also published as: GB2349805B; GB0011016D0; GB9911469D0

Abstract

A cuffing guide is disclosed which is for use in slicing food and is particularly (although not exclusively) suitable for slicing bread. The guide has a contact surface 57 against which the food to be sliced is pressed in use and means, preferably a pair of metal rods 22, forming a pair of guide paths separated from the contact surface by a controlled distance. Food to be sliced is placed against the contact surface, between the guide paths, and a cutting implement such as a knife is then controlled by the guide paths while moving though the food to form a slice of controlled thickness.

Description

2349805

DESCRIPTION GUIDE EOR USE 1 N SLICING FOOD

The present invention is concerned with slicing of food. More specifically the invention relates to a guide for use in slicing food.

While the present invention has applications in slicing other foodstuffs, it can be particularly well suited to use in slicing bread. Several difficulties are encountered when slicing bread with a knife:

1. it is difficult to control the slice thickness and to achieve an even cut; 2. when the bread is very soft it is even harder to get even slices, and after several slices the remainder often assumes irregular forms which get more and more difficult to slice and often lead to waste; 3. towards the end of a loaf, particularly a soft one, it is not possible to slice it because it cannot be held and collapses under the knife's load, again leading to waste; and 4. it is often not possible to slice bread as thinly as desired. People often eat thicker slices than they would desire because the thin slices disintegrate during the cutting. This is of particular concern for weight- watchers. Very thin slices can be toasted into the pleasant consistency and texture of crackers but this is not possible with thicker hand-cut slices.

Of course, consumers have the option of sliced bread but this is usually factory pre-packed and thus not as fresh as freshly baked bread which is normally sold unsliced. In the less common cases where freshly baked bread is sliced upon -2sale, it does not keep as fresh as unsliced bread. There is a large variety of special breads which are sold as un-cut loafs, some costing more than cakes.

There are many manual and electric bread slicing machines but they are expensive, require space (which most kitchens are short of) and are difficult to clean properly.

An object of the present invention is to facilitate even and repeatable slicing of foodstuffs.

It is desired to do so using a compact apparatus. It is also desired that the apparatus should be simple and low cost. Ease of cleaning is also an important consideration.

In accordance with the present invention there is a cutting guide for use in slicing food comprising means forming a contact surface and means forming a pair of guide paths separated from the contact surface by a controlled distance, such that food to be sliced can be placed between the guide paths with a face of the food against the contact surface and a cutting implement can be controlled by the guide paths while moving through the food to thereby form a slice of controlled thickness.

Such a guide can be formed in a manner which is simple, minimising the trouble of cleaning. Preferred embodiments to be described below are also highly compact. Nevertheless uniform slices can be straightforwardly cut.

The guide paths may be formed by exposed guide surfaces against which the cutting implement can be rested as it moves through the food. In the currently preferred embodiment the guide surfaces are provided by elongate metal inserts to -3resist damage by the cutting implement. The guide paths preferably run parallel to the contact surface to produce a slice of constant thickness.

It is especially preferred that the cutting guide comprises stand means for resting stably on a supporting surface and for maintaining the contact surface in an inclined orientation relative to the supporting surface. The angle of inclination to the vertical, when the device rests on a horizontal supporting surface, may be between 55 and 15 degrees. That is, the angle of inclination to the supporting surface may be between 35 and 75 degrees. Still more preferably the angle is between 45 and 65 degrees to the supporting surface.

This feature is particularly advantageous in enabling convenient cutting. While the contact surface could be horizontal, this would require the food to be pressed downward onto the contact surface during cutting to prevent the guide and foodfrom sliding over the supporting surface due to forces exerted by the cutting implement. The effect of such downward pressure is to close the cut, producing pressure on both sides of the cutting implement - eg. the knife - and so increasing friction on the implement and the effort required to move it during cutting. The contact surface could, according to the present invention, be vertical. However in the absence of some means of resisting sliding of the cutting guide over the supporting surface pressure exerted when food is placed against the contact surface would then tend to cause the device to move. An inclined contact surface overcomes such problems because the force exerted by the cutting implement in use of such an embodiment and the force exerted on the contact surface by the food both have a downward component which increases friction between the stand means and the supporting surface to resist sliding movement of the guide, while the horizontal components of these two forces are in opposite directions. In practice it has been found by the inventor that the sideways forces on the guide can thus be resisted.

Preferably the stand means has high friction surfaces through which it contacts the supporting surface in use. These may be formed as feet of a high friction material such as rubber or certain types of plastics.

In a particularly advantageous construction according to the present invention, the stand means is hingedly coupled to a body bearing the contact surface and the means defining the guide paths, such that by relative rotation of the stand means and the body the cutting guide can be changed from a use configuration in which the stand can maintain the body with its contact surface in the inclined orientation relative to the supporting surface and a storage configuration in which the guide is folded flat to minimise its bulk. This can provide a unit which is convenient to store, transport etc. but which is easily configured for use.

It is particularly preferred that the stand means and the body are such as to be movable relatively through more than 270 degrees between the use and storage configurations, relative rotation toward the use configuration being limited by abutment of respective surfaces of the stand means and body.

It is preferred that means be provided for adjusting the spacing of the guide paths from the contact surface to thereby adjust the thickness of slices to be formed. In the currently preferred embodiment the contact surface is formed on a spacer plate whose position can be changed to change slice thickness. The spacer plate may have, on its face remote from the contact surface, a set of stepped projections engageable with complementary features on another part of the guide at any (or either) of a plurality of depths thereby providing a corresponding plurality of slice thickness settings.

Alternatively the cutting guide could comprise a plurality of spacer plates of different depths.

The body and the stand means may be formed to form, together, an enclosed casing for containing the spacer plate in the storage configuration.

The contact surface is preferably provided with features shaped to resist motion of the food over the contact surface. Such features may take the form of a set of projections. The projections may be pointed and may be formed as spikes. Such features can be particularly useful in preventing thin food items from being dragged across the contact surface by the knife.

It is particularly preferred that a base surface be provided which is substantially perpendicular to the contact surface and disposed at or below ends of the guide paths which are lowermost in use. Food can be rested on this base surface during cutting. The base surface should preferably be formed by a material resistant to cutting, since the cutting implement is likely to contact it. It may be formed by a metal insert.

Crumb catcher canals are preferably provided adjacent and/or below the guide paths.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. I illustrates in perspective a device embodying the present invention in a closed configuration; Fig. 2 illustrates in perspective the same device opened out and so configured for use; Fig. 3 illustrates the same device in plan in an intermediate configuration, the device being partly opened. The rear face of a spacer plate is shown also in plan, separated from the remainder of the device; Fig. 4 illustrates in perspective the device in use to cut bread; and Fig. 5 is a section through the spacer plate and a part of the device casing, showing how one engages with the other.

The illustrated embodiment comprises a casing having a main casing part 2 hingedly coupled to a cover 4, both parts being of moulded plastics.

The main casing part 2 comprises a back panel 6 which is generally flat and rectangular in plan and has an integral upstanding peripheral waH 8. At its edge which is uppermost when the device is configured for use (Fig. 2) the back panel meets a handle portion 10 which forms an arched top to the main casing having a "D" shaped cutaway 12. In use, the handle portion 10 forms part of a carrying handle for the device.

A pair of guide ridges 14 is also integral with and upstanding from the back panel 6. The ridges are, in the illustrated embodiment, parallel to but inwardly -7spaced from respective parts of the peripheral wall 8. When the device is configured for use the ridges 14 extend from near to the uppermost edge of the back panel to near its lowermost edge. Between the ridges 14 is an area of the back panel 6 larger than the typical cross section of the food to be sliced - in the illustrated embodiment, this area is large enough to receive an end face of a loaf of bread. This area is penetrated by four rectangular through-going apertures 16, positioned in the illustrated embodiment close to the comers of the area in question (see Fig. 3). Adjacent each aperture 16 is a shallow recess 17. The fimction of these features will be explained below.

The ridges 14 have a double walled structure and both resiliently receive a respective metal rod 22 such that the exposed side of the rod stands above its neighbouring walls 20. Inwardly directed rectangular teeth formed at the exposed edges of the walls 20 grip the rods 22 to retain them in position, the structure being sufficiently resilient to allow the rods to be inserted or removed when necessary.

The edge of the back panel 6 which is lowermost in use meets a foot formed by a perpendicularly projecting bottom wall 28 which is "J" shaped in section for strength and has end walls 29 serving to maintain this section. The uppermost surface of the bottom wall 28 has a portion 30 which is flat but for a pair of upstanding vanes 32. A protector plate 34 is provided in the uppermost surface 30, being retained by adhesive pads on its underside and by receipt of its ends in slots defined between the surface 30 and projections 36 formed on the peripheral wall 8. Both end walls 29 have a respective circular projecting boss 38 by means of which -8the hinged attachment to the cover 4 is formed.

The cover 4 has a pair of vanes 40 which are spaced apart, parallel and of generally triangular shape. Both vanes are penetrated by circular apertures for receiving a respective boss 38 when the foot of the main casing part is inserted between the vanes. It is by this means that the two parts of the casing are hingedly coupled. The vanes are resiliently deformable sufficiently to allow the foot to be inserted in, or if necessary removed from, its coupling to the main casing part.

The vanes 40 are integrally formed with a perimeter wall 44 which is upstanding from a cover panel 46. At the edge of this panel remote from the vanes is a handle portion 48, formed generally similarly to the handle portion 10 of the main casing part 2.

The casing can be closed when not in use by rotating the cover about its hinged coupling to bring the two handle portions 10, 48 together (Fig.1). In this configuration the two juxtaposed handle portions 10, 48 together form a comfortably shaped carrying handle for the device. The cover panel 46 encloses the main casing part 2 and the peripheral walls 8 and 46 of the two casing parts abut and align.

To configure the device for use, the main casing part 2 is moved through more than three quarters of a rotation relative to the cover 4, bringing two portions of the peripheral wall 8 into contact with edges of the vanes 40 to prevent further rotation in this direction and establish a stable configuration seen in Fig.2. The cover is placed, open side downward, on a supporting surface such as a worktop. High friction feet 52 (seen in Fig. 3) provided on the cover rest on the supporting surface -9and help to prevent movement of the device during use. The cover 4 serves in this configuration as a stand, supporting the main casing part 2 at an angle of, in the illustrated embodiment, approximately 55 degrees to the supporting surface.

As seen in Figs.2, 3, 4 and 5, the device further comprises a spacer plate 54, formed in the illustrated embodiment of moulded plastics and comprising a rectangular panel 56 dimensioned for receipt between the two ridges 14 and having on one of its faces means for resisting relative motion of a food item placed thereagainst. The face in question provides a contact surface 57 with which the item to be sliced is pressed in use. In the illustrated embodiment these take the form of a set of spikes 58.

On the other side of the rectangular panel are four stepped spacer feet 60, positioned for receipt by the apertures 16 and recesses 17 formed in the main casing part. Each foot 60 has three steps and each step is 'T' shaped in section with the bar 61 of the "T" standing above the neighbouring perpendicular part 63. Consequently any of the three steps can be engaged with the main casing part, the bar of the "T" of the step in question being received by a corresponding recess 17 to locate the spacer plate 54 and, where the lower steps are in registration, the upper step or steps projecting through the corresponding aperture 16.

The effect is that the user can place the spacer plate at any of four positions from the back panel 6 and in this way select the thickness of the slice to be cut.

The spacer plate 54 has a pair of "D" shaped apertures separated by a bar 62 which thus serves as a graspable handle for this component.

Use of the device will be described with reference to the slicing of a loaf of bread, as seen in Fig. 4, although other food items including cold meat and cheese may be sliced in similar manner.

With the device in its in-use configuration, the spacer plate is positioned at a selected spacing from the back panel 6 corresponding to the desired slice thickness (or alternatively is omitted to maximise this thickness). An end face of the loaf is held against the spacer plate, the spikes 58 helping to keep it in position. A knife typically a bread knife - is positioned against upper regions of the metal rods 22 and the knife is then moved back and forth in conventional manner and advanced through the loaf. The knife is maintained in contact with the metal rods 22, being thus constrained to remain in a plane parallel to the spacer plate and hence parallel to the end face of the loaf. A flat slice of constant thickness is thereby obtained.

Claims

- 11 CLAIMS

1. A cutting guide for use in slicing food comprising means forming a contact surface and means forming a pair of guide paths separated from the contact surface by a controlled distance, such that food to be sliced can be placed between the guide paths with a face of the food against the contact surface and a cutting implement can be controlled by the guide paths while moving through the food to thereby form a slice of controlled thickness.

2. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 1 wherein the guide paths are formed by exposed guide surfaces against which the cutting implement can be rested as it moves through the food.

3. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the guide surfaces are provided by elongate metal inserts.

4. A cutting guide as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the cutting guide comprises stand means for resting stably on a supporting surface and for maintaining the contact surface in an inclined orientation relative to the supporting surface.

5. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 4 wherein the stand means are such as to support the contact surface at an angle between 3 5 and 75 degrees to the supporting surface.

6. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 5 wherein the angle is substantially 55 degrees.

7. A cutting guide as claimed in any of claims 4 to 6 wherein the stand means - 12has high friction surfaces through which it contacts the supporting surface in use.

8. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 7 wherien the high friction surfaces are formed on feet which comprise rubber or plastics.

9. A cutting guide as claimed in any of claims 4 to 8 wherein the stand means is hingedly coupled to a body bearing the contact surface and the means defining the guide paths, such that by relative rotation of the stand means and the body the cutting guide can be changed from a use configuration in which the stand can maintain the body with its contact surface in the inclined orientation relative to the supporting surface and a storage configuration in which the guide is folded flat to minimise its bulk.

10. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 9 wherein the stand means and the body are such as to be movable relatively through more than 270 degrees between the use and storage configurations, relative rotation toward the use configuration being limited by abutment of respective surfaces of the stand means and body.

11. A cutting guide as claimed in any preceding claim wherein means are provided for adjusting the spacing of the guide paths from the contact surface to thereby adjust the thickness of slices to be formed.

12. A cutting guide as claimed in claim I I wherein the contact surface is formed on a spacer plate whose position can be changed to change slice thickness.

13. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 12 wherein the spacer plate has, on its face remote from the contact surface, a set of stepped projections engageable with complementary features on another part of the guide at any (or either) of a plurality - 13of depths thereby providing a corresponding plurality of slice thickness settings.

14. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13 wherein the body and the stand means are such as to form together, an enclosed casing for containing the spacer plate when in the storage configuration,

15. A cutting guide as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the contact surface is provided with features shaped to resist motion of the food over the contact surface.

16. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 15 wherein the features comprise a set of projections.

17. A cutting guide as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a base surface is provided which is substantially perpendicular to the contact surface and disposed at or below ends of the guide paths which are lowermost in use.

18. A cutting guide as claimed in claim 17 wherein the base surface is formed by a metal protector insert.

19. A cutting guide as claimed in any preceding claim wherein crumb catcher canals are provided adjacent and/or below the guide paths.

20. A cutting guide as claimed in any preceding claim which is dimensioned for use in cutting a loaf of bread.

2 1. A cutting guide for use in slicing food, substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.