GB2447010A

GB2447010A - Chopping board assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2447010A
Application number: GB0703714A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Melia
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-02-27
Filing date: 2007-02-27
Publication date: 2008-09-03
Also published as: GB0703714D0

Abstract

A chopping board assembly 10 comprises a chassis member 14; at least one tray member 20, said tray member being sized so as, in use, to be removably received by said chassis member 14; and a chopping surface member 12 being both movably and removably attached to said chassis member 14, said chopping surface member 12 being movable between a closed position, in which said chassis member 14 and said chopping surface member 12 cooperate so as to form a chamber which both contains and retains said tray member 20; and an open position in which, in use, any material chopped on the chopping surface member may be brushed over an edge 26 of said chopping surface member 12 into the tray member 20. A variety of different foodstuffs may be chopped in succession without having to use separate bowls for the chopped foodstuffs.

Description

Choppjn2 Board Assembly The invention herein described relates to

chopping board assembly primarily for use in culinary applications In the course of preparing food, itis common, whilst chopping or cutting ingredients, to utilise a chopping board such that the blade in use does not damage any working surface and also such that said working surface does not become soiled by debris and residues of the ingredients.

A popular design of chopping board is a thickness of generally rectangular shaped plastic or wood. This design suffers from a number of disadvantages. When the chopping board is used in the preparation of a plurality of different foodstuffs in succession, then should it be desirable that the various foodstufl are not mixed, it is necessary that after chopping each is placed in a separate bowl or plate. This is both a labour intensive and time consuming operation, and results in a large number of bowls etc. being used which each take up space on the work surface. In addition, the successive chopping of different food stuffs may result in a build up of chopped material on the board hence reducing the space available on the board for subsequent chopping and also leading to the possibility of chopped material falling off the board onto an unhygienic surface.

The present invention seeks to provide a solution to these problems.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a chopping board assembly comprising a chassis member; at least one tray member, said tray member being sized so as, in use, to be removably received by said chassis member; and a chopping surface member being both movably and removably attached to said chassis member, said chopping surface member being movable between a closed position, in which said chassis member and said chopping surface member cooperate so as to form a chamber which both contains and retains said tray member; and an open position in which, in use, any material chopped on the chopping surface member may be brushed over an edge of said chopping surface member into the tray member.

Preferably, the relative movement of the chopping surface member and chassis member between said open position and said closed position is a sliding motion.

Desirably, said tray member comprises a locating lug sized and positioned so as to be removably received m a corresponding recess in said chassis member so as to locate the tray member at a particular position on the chassis member. This prevents or restricts unwanted movement of the tray member.

Alternatively, said tray member comprises a recess sized and positioned so as to removably receive a corresponding lug on said chassis member so as to locate the tray member at a particular position on the chassis member. This is an alternate way of preventing unwanted movement of the tray member.

Desirably, there are a plurality of tray members of different sizes.

Advantageously, in addition there is a bin member, said bin member bemg releasably attachable to the chassis member such that when attached it is external to said chamber formed when said chopping surface member is in said closed position. This enables the easy disposal of waste foodstuffs and also increases the storage capacity of the chopping board assembly.

Preferably, the bin member is sized so as to be removably receivable within said chamber formed when said chopping surface member is in said closed position. This minimises the space required to store the assembly.

The invention will further be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drangs, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention from above; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the same embodiment of the invention shown in figure 1 from below, and Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a tray member component of the embodiment of the invention shown in figure 1.

The chopping board assembly, as indicated generally by 10, comprises a chopping surface member 12, on a portion of which material can be chopped; and a chassis member 14. The chassis member 14 is of generally rectangular boxed shape with an omitted face. The chassis member 14 is provided with a pair of channels 16 which run parallel to one another along two of the edges of the chassis member 14 proximate to said omitted face. The channels 16 cooperate with a corresponding pair of parallel flanges 18 which extend along two edges of the chopping surface member 12, sized and positioned such that, in use, the chopping surface member flanges 18 locate within the chassis member channels 16, allowing the chopping surface member 12 to be moved relative to the chassis member along the extent of the channels 16 whilst the chopping surface member 12 and chassis member 14 remain attached. When the chopping surface member 12 is in a position such that it entirely covers the omitted face of the chassis member 14, the chopping board assembly is said to be in a closed position.

If the chopping surface member 12 is moved relative to the chassis member 14 to a degree such that the flanges 18 come out of the channeLs 16, then the chopping surface member 12 and chassis member become detached. It may subsequently be reattached, or may be replaced with another, similar, chopping surface member 12 to allow separate chopping surface members 12 to be used when chopping, for example, vegetables and meat. In such an arrangement, the chopping surface members 12 could be differently coloured to assist in identification.

The chassis member 14 contains a plurality of tray members 20 which may be removed, sized such that when they are all in situ they substantially fill the inside of the chassis member 14. The tray members 20 may be similar or different in size Each tray member 20, as seen best in figure 3, comprises a pair of retention lugs 22 which protrude from opposite sides of the tray member 20. The opposite edges of the chassis member 14 adjacent to said omitted face, corresponding to the opposite sides of the tray member 20 from which the retention lugs 22 protrude, comprise retention recesses 24, sized and positioned such that the retention lugs 22 of the tray member 20 are removably received by the retention recesses 24 of the chassis member 14 such that the plurality of tray members 20 fill the chassis member 14. The co-operation between the retention lags 22 and retention recesses 24 ensure that should at least one tray member be removed from the chassis member, any remaining tray members 20 do not move.

If a tray member 20 and any contents are in situ within the chassis member 14 whilst the chopping surface member 12 is moved into said closed position, the chopping surface member 12 and chassis member 14 form a chamber which contains and retains the tray member 20 and any Contents.

To utilise the chopping board assembly 10, any material to be chopped (not shown) is placed on the chopping surface member 12. The material is then chopped. This process may occur whilst the chopping surface member 12 is in the closed position, as this will give the chopping board assembly 10 greater stability. The chopping surface member 12 may then be moved relative to the chassis member to an open position in which any of the material chopped on the chopping surface member 12 may be brushed over an edge 26 of said chopping sw-face member 12 into a tray member 20 If a different type of material is then chopped, the chopping surface member 12 can then be moved to a different open position in which any of the different material may be brushed over the edge 26 of said chopping surface member 12 into a different tray member 20 In this way different chopped materials can be separated and stored in different tray members As mentioned above, the chopping surface member could now be moved into its closed position and the chopping board assembly 10 used to facilitate storage of the chopped materials in a location such as a cupboard or refrigerator, or moved to a location in which the chopped materials are to be cooked or served.

11 WIll be appreciated that a number of modifications can be made to the device within the scope of the invention. Examples include, but are not limited to, using different means for movably attaching the chopping surface member to the chassis member, using different means for removably retaining the tray members within the chassis member, the use of a non-box shaped chassis member, the use of a non-rectangular chopping surface member; and the addition of means of releas ably attaching a separate bin member to the chassis member such that when attached it is external to said chamber formed when the chopping surface member is in the closed position. l'his bin member may be attached magnetically, in use, and may be designed to be contained within the chopping board assembly chamber when not in use. If desired, the chopping surface member may be reversible so as to provide two separate chopping surfaces.

Conveniently, the component parts of the chopping board are of a plastics material, but other materials could be used if desired.

Claims

Claims I. A chopping board assembly comprising: a chassis member; at

least one tray member, said tray member being sized so as, in use, to be removably received by said chassis member; and a chopping surface member being both movably and removably attached to said chassis member, said chopping surface member being movable between a closed position, in which said chassis member and said chopping surface member cooperate so as to form a chamber which both contains and retains said tray member; and an open position in which, in use, any material chopped on the chopping surface member may be brushed over an edge of said chopping surface member into the tray member.
2. A chopping board assembly as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the relative movement of the chopping surface member and chassis member between said open and said closed position is a sliding motion.
3. A chopping board assembly as claimed in claim I or claim 2, wherein there is a plurality of tray members.
4. A chopping board assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the tray members are of different sizes.
5. A chopping board assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the tray member is dimensioned to lit within the chamber defmed by chassis member and the chopping surface member when the choppmg surface member occupies its closed position, to permit storage of the tray member therein.
6. A chopping board assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said means of movably and removably attaching said chopping surface member to said chassis member comprises a flange disposed upon the chopping surface member sized and positioned so as to cooperate with a corresponding channel disposed upon the chassis member.
7. A chopping board assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said means of movably and removably attaching said chopping surface member to said chassis member comprises a flange disposed upon the chassis member sized and positioned so as to cooperate with a corresponding channel disposed upon the chopping surface member.
8. A chopping board assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said tray member comprises a locating lug sized and positioned so as to be removably received in a corresponding recess in said chassis member so as to locate the tray member at a particular position on the chassis member.
9. A chopping board assembly as claimed in any of claims I to 7, wherein said fray member comprises a recess sized and positioned so as to removably receive a corresponding lug on said chassis member so as to locate the tray member at a particular position on the chassis member.
10. A chopping board assembly as in any of the preceding claims, wherein in addition there is a bin member, said bin member being releasably attachable to the chassis member such that when attached it is external to said chamber fonned when said chopping surface member is in said closed position.
11. A chopping board assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the means of releasably attaching said bin member comprises a magnet.
12. A chopping board assembly as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the bin member is sized so as to be removably receivable within said chamber formed when said chopping surface member is in said closed position.
13. A chopping board assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.