GB2488597A

GB2488597A - Hand-held corer

Info

Publication number: GB2488597A
Application number: GB201103730A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Philip Armit
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-03-04
Filing date: 2011-03-04
Publication date: 2012-09-05
Also published as: GB201103730D0

Abstract

A hand-held corer 10 for removing the cores of fruit and vegetable comprises a hollow tube 12 formed with a cutting edge 24 and a plunger means 16 moveable within the tube 12 and wherein the plunger means 16 comprises an elongate cutting means 18. Cutaway aperture 22 may be provided in the cylindrical wall of the tube. The hollow tube may be provided with markings relating to length and the corer may be provided with a moveable depth selection means.

Description

Title: Hand-held Corer

Field of the invention

This invention relates to a hand-held corer for removing the cores of fruit and

vegetables.

Background to the invention

Hand-held corers for fruit and vegetables come in a variety of forms, with a known corer consisting of a hollow cutting tube pushed centrally through a fruit, such as an to apple, to cut out the core with a solid central plunger used to push the core out of the tube to allow for subsequent reuse. Such corers require some strength to operate and it can be difficult to push the central plunger down to remove the core.

Summary of the invention

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a hand-held corer for removing cores from fruit and vegetables, the corer comprising a hollow tube formed with a culling edge and a plunger means, or plunger element, moveable within the tube, wherein the plunger means comprises an elongate cutting means or blade. The corer allows a core to be removed without needing to cut a channel all the way through the fruit.

Preferably the hollow tube is formed with one or more apertures within its wall so as to allow a core to expand as the tube is pushed into a fruit. This makes it easier for an operator to push the corer into a fruit and to remove the core in one piece. Typically one elongate aperture is provided.

Preferably the hollow tube is formed with a serrated cutting edge to enhance cutting.

Similarly the elongate cutting means may be provided with a serrated edge.

The hollow tube may be provided with markings relating to length so as to assist with selecting the appropriate depth to reach within a fruit. The markings may be in the form of lines, apertures, indentations or other indicators.

I

The corer may be provided with a moveable depth-selection means or depth-guide surrounding the hollow tube so as to assist with positioning of the tube within a fruit.

If desired, the tube further comprises an external protrusion or dimple and the depth-selection means further comprises an internal helical thread which is capable of engaging with the protrusion to assist with locating the depth-selection means with respect to the tube.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: to Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the corer; Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the corer with a separable depth locator; Figure 3, 4 and 5 show the separate elements of the embodiments above; and Figure 6 shows the corer after use.

Description

The corer 10 shown in Figure 1 comprises a corer element comprising a hollow metal tube 12, typically made of stainless steel, attached to a plastics handle or grip 14 with a central channel 15. A moveable plunger element 16 comprising an elongate stainless steel blade 18 attached to a second grip or handle 20 locates within tube 12 and channel 15. The blade 18 is of a similar width to the internal diameter of tube 12, freely moveable along the length of tube 12 and freely rotatable within the internal diameter of tube 12. Cutaway aperture 22 is provided in the cylindrical wall of tube 12 and blades 24, 18 are provided with a serrated cutting edge of 2mm pitch sharpened at 15 degrees on inside to aid the passage of the corer 10 through fruit and vegetables. Handle 20 is tapered where it attaches to blade 18 so as to fit partially within channel 15 allowing blade 18 to be pushed down tube 12 as far as annular blade 24. Markings 26, in the form of apertures at 10mm spacing, are provided along the outer length of the tube shaft so as to show the depth of the corer 10 within a fruit.

The embodiment shown in Figure 2 is substantially the same as the embodiment shown in Figure 1 but includes a removable depth-stop 30 comprising a cylindrical plastics sleeve which surrounds the shaft of tube 12. In this embodiment, tube 12 has a protrusion or pip 32 which locates in an internal square thread 34 (3mm wide by 2mm deep) by 20mm pitch formed on the internal face of depth-stop 30. The internal thread is tracked by pip 32 on the tube shaft, thus allowing fully variable depth control.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 show the separate elements of the corer for both embodiments.

Figures 3(a) and (b) show side and plan views of the corer element and Figure 3(c) shows a partial section through handle 14 showing part of channel 15. Figures 4(a) and (b) show side and plan views of the plunger element with blade 18. Figures 5(a) and (b) show a side and a partial cross-sectional view of the depth-stop 30. The to relative dimensions of the plunger element to the corer element are shown with desirably the length of the plunger shaft including blade being just longer, typically by 1mm, than the total length of the corer element from handle to blade.

During use, a user holds the corer 10 and exerts a force on handle 14 to push tube 12 is into a fruit so as to surround and encompass the central core without pushing the tube all the way through the fruit. If desired, a simple visual judgement of the depth to which the tube needs to be pushed can be made beforehand. Alternatively the depth markings along the side of the tube can be used as a measurement aid or for the second embodiment, depth-stop 30 can be twisted relative to the protrusion 32 until the distance between the end of depth locator 30 and the end of blade 24 is the correct depth to remove a core without creating a channel entirely through the fruit.

As tube 12 is pushed into the fruit to the required depth, its passage into the fruit is assisted by cutaway portion 22 which allows the core to expand slightly as tube 12 is pushed down, so affording less resistance to the passage of the corer 10. This reduces the manual force required to push the tube 12 down into the fruit. Once the tube 12 is at the required depth, handle 20 is used to push blade 18 down through the middle of the fruit core until the bottom of blade 18 is in line with the bottom of the cylindrical cut made by blade 24 and the core is cut in two. At this point, handle 20 nests within channel 15 of handle 14 with typically the nested handles 14, 20 fitting within a palm allowing a fist to encompass them for ease of turning.

The whole assembly of tube 12 and blade 18 is then twisted as a single unit by holding both handles 14 and 20 and twisting them at the same time. The twisting movement shears off the core which is held within tube 12 as corer 10 is removed from the fruit 36 by holding handles 14 and 20 and pulling the corer outwards from the fruit, see Figure 6. Blade 18 is then retracted by pulling handle 20 away from handle 14 and for ease of removal of the core 38, blade 18 is rotated by between 10 to degrees, most typically 90 degrees, then pushed back into tube 12 so as to eject the fruit core. The aperture 22 is sufficiently large that the core can easily be removed by hand should the blade 18 fail to eject it.

U

The diameter of tube 12 and blade 18 can be varied to accommodate large fruits and similarly the depth-stop 30 part can be varied in length.

The hand-operated corer allows the core of fruits and vegetables such as apples, tomatoes, cabbages and pineapples to be removed to a required depth without making a hole all the way through the fruit. This is of particular use where a user wishes to stuff the central void with other substances after core removal. The corer is of particular use for tomatoes as it allows all tomato seeds to be removed in a straightforward manner.

Claims

Claims 1. A hand-held corer comprising a hollow tube formed with a cutting edge and a plunger means, or plunger element, moveable within the tube, wherein the plunger means comprises an elongate cutting means or blade.
2. A hand-held corer according to claim 1, wherein the hollow tube is formed with one or more apertures.
3. A hand-held corer according to claim 2, wherein the aperture is one elongate aperture.
4. A hand-held corer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the hollow tube is formed with a serrated cutting edge.
5. A hand-held corer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the elongate cutting means is formed with a serrated edge.
6. A hand-held corer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the hollow tube is provided with markings relating to length.
7. A hand-held corer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the corer is provided with a moveable depth-selection means surrounding the hollow tube.
8. A hand-held corer according to claim 7, wherein the tube further comprises an external protrusion and the depth-selection means further comprises internal helical thread which is capable of engaging with the protrusion to assist with locating the depth-selection means with respect to the tube.
9. A hand-held corer substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.