JP2008030197A - High-speed precise sharpening apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sharpening apparatus capable of quickly forming a precise and heavy-duty blade edge. <P>SOLUTION: In the high-speed knife sharpening apparatus, the surface of a first grinding member is shaped in a truncated cone, and forms a first cutting blade surface having a minute groove and a minute burr. A second stage 8 is a new composite conical body formed by a honing wheel comprising a fine grinding material buried in an epoxy matrix. The honing wheel grinds the blade edge generated at a first stage 7 in an inverted triangle shape having a curvature radius at the top (blade edge) typically several micron (μm) or smaller than that according to the hardness of a knife steel. A typical holding mechanism of the blade holds the blade at precisely regulated angles relating to each of the grinding (first) and horning (second) stages 7, 8. A larger grinding force is expressed in proportion to a thicker knife blade, therefore, the number of grinding is almost the same relating to general knives in a range from peeling knives for small fruits (6 inches) to large knives for chefs (10 inches) such as meat cleavers for kitchen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a knife sharpening device having a blade of a type using a disk-type sharpening member.

  Household and commercial knife sharpening devices incorporate a high-speed cylindrical grindstone that rotates at a surface speed of 2000 feet / minute (US Pat. No. 2,775,075). Such sharpening devices typically leave large burrs (i.e., metal curled edges on the unpolished cutting surface remaining at the end of the blade edge) and tend to overheat the edges. The presence of fairly large burrs is undesirable. Creates a rough, uneven and weak cutting edge.

  Prior art sharpening devices that produce large burrs require post-treatment with, for example, steel rods or cloth buffing wheels to trim the burrs. Steel and fabric wheels that are subjected to a sharpening action are time consuming and usually result in a weak cutting edge that requires frequent reshaping.

  Many of the prior art of home sharpening devices provide poor control of blade position and knife cutting face angle with respect to the sharpening disc. Although U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,194 describes a magnetic pressing mechanism, it is possible for a user to resist the magnetic field by force. Prior art of other sharpening devices used as commercial products provide complex and unreliable attachment mechanisms to ensure the correct knife position and the angle of the blade edge of the cutlery. Users recognize that these are cumbersome and cumbersome to use.

  Another disadvantage of many prior art sharpening devices is that they provide no control of the grinding surface force of the knife face. Accordingly, the sharpening speed varies depending on the thickness of the blade. Furthermore, this lack of control can cause the user to apply a great deal of force and thus cause localized overheating of the knife edge, reduced edge hardness or non-uniform edge generation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is a sharpening device capable of quickly forming a precise and durable blade edge, for the purpose of cleaning the sharpened portion. It is to provide a unique multi-stage sharpening device that can be easily and quickly removed.

  The present invention provides a unique sharpening device capable of quickly forming a cutting edge superior to a sharp razor over a wide range of general blades, and capable of easily and quickly removing a sharpening portion. It is. This is accomplished by one or more sharpening sharpening stages, then a sharpening section containing a unique combination of new honing sharpening stages, and a suitably structured joint that connects / disengages the sharpening section and the motor drive. Is. A disc coated with a precision cone-shaped abrasive only forms a first stage cutting edge with burrs, but such a cutting edge is a soft cone coated with the abrasive in a subsequent honing sharpening stage. Properly improved by the body disk, a very sharp and durable cutting edge is formed. The abrasive coating disk can be used for various blades, and is particularly suitable for a knife blade.

  Many of the disadvantages associated with prior art knife sharpening devices can be significantly reduced by the sharpening method and apparatus of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to form a precise and durable blade tip that is superior to a sharp razor over a wide range of blades, and it is possible to perform sharpening work quickly and easily, while maintaining a sharpened portion. Therefore, sanitary conditions for commercial kitchens can be met by allowing easy and quick removal.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A sharpening device (36) of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and this sharpening device (36) includes a first sharpening sharpening portion or stage (7) and a honing stage (8). The sharpening sharpening stage has a frustoconical disk (5, 5) coated with two abrasives, and the honing stage has a frustoconical disk (15, 15) embedded with two abrasives. ) In each of the sharpening sharpening stage and the honing stage, disks are mounted on a slotted hub (35) mounted on a drive shaft (9) and rotated by the drive shaft as shown in FIG. A pin (86) passing through the shaft (9) secures a slotted hub that can slide on the shaft. A spring (6) is provided between each pair of disks so that the disk is moved along the shaft while sharpening the cutting edge of the knife. The pin (9) functions to accurately position the disk when it is stationary and to drive the hub on which the disk is provided. In the sharpening sharpening stage and the honing stage, the knife blade (4) is provided along the surface so as to lean against the guide surface of the knife in order to make the sharpening angle constant. Is positioned and guided stably by a small groove cut into a tough, anti-friction and wear-resistant cutting edge guide (33) so that the angle between the edge and the grinding surface can be fixed and constant. Yes. In FIG. 1, a single plastic support spring (1) generates a force that holds the knife against the blade guide surface (2). When the knife is passed through the sharpening device, the cutting edge of the knife can be stably positioned by the cutting edge guide because it cuts into the cutting edge guide (33). In this way, the knife is fixed along the guide surface of the knife as it passes through the sharpening stage as shown in FIG. By forming the groove (37) in the blade guide (33), the stability in the sharpening process is further increased. However, in the present invention, such an operation is not necessarily essential. The blade (4) is held in an appropriate and stable manner by only the spring (1) as a plastic spring member. When used to sharpen a typical knife, the knife is alternately passed through the left and right slots first through the sharpening sharpening stage and then through the honing stage until a very sharp cutting edge is obtained.

  The sharpening and honing stages use conical discs that are driven at an appropriate speed to achieve a specific function and quickly form a very sharp cutting edge. New means for stably positioning the blade and controlling the sharpening angle are used in both sharpening and honing stages. The frustoconical surface is preferably coated with a layer of diamond.

  The sharpening disc (5) and the honing disc (15) rotate at a speed in the range of 1,300 to 1,600 rpm, with the knife cutting edge in the range of 0.5 to 0.9 inches, preferably about 0. Contact the disc at a radial distance of 75 inches. Thus, the linear velocity during sharpening is about 750 to 400 feet / minute, well below the rate of about 1,000 feet / minute, which is the rate at which overheating occurs with the diamond coated sharpening disc (5).

  FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the sharpened portion showing a state in which the knife blade (4) is placed between the plastic support spring (1) and the guide surface (2) of the blade. The force of the plastic spring is sufficient to fully secure the knife while resting against the knife guide surface so that the user only needs to sharpen the knife with a sharpening device. When the knife is moved downward in the direction of the knife edge guide (33), the knife comes into contact with the hard rotating sharpening disc (5) and the knife edge surface is in physical contact with the knife edge guide (33). Until then, the sharpening disk is moved along the axis (10) against the spring (6) as the spring means toward the center of the sharpening sharpening stage. The knife edge forms a small groove (37) in the knife edge guide and is firmly fixed to the blade guide surface (2). The angle defined by the angle of the blade guide surface (2) is precisely fixed and this angle is ± 0.5 ° over the entire length of the knife blade (4) while being pulled out by the knife sharpening device (36). Maintained.

  By forming the groove (37), the cutting edge can be fixed so as not to move further in the lateral direction. Alternatively, the groove (37) may be formed in advance. It is important that the material used to construct the knife edge guide (33) is selected to be wear resistant and have high anti-friction and high toughness. Surprisingly, it has been found that high molecular weight polypropylene and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene with the necessary anti-friction and toughness do not damage the ultra fine edge formed by the honing finishing method described herein. . Even more surprisingly, the material has been shown to improve the cutting edge quality slightly. Such cutting edge guides are designed to be easily raised to expose new areas and to be easily replaced when worn excessively. The discovery that these cutting edge guides (33) can be used to act as a stop device for the blade (4) without damaging the cutting edge has led to a region coated with abrasive on the sharpening disc (towards the cutting edge). It is important in that it can be moved away from the cutting edge (instead of being moved). The cutting edge is pressed against the cutting edge guide (33) by the force or thrust applied to the cutting edge when one region coated with the abrasive passes through the cutting edge. Without these cutting edge guides, the knife cannot move between the disk and the guide structure unless the direction of rotation of the disk is reversed. When rotated in the reverse direction, a sharply cut edge is formed in the sharpened portion, and the knife formed by the edge that has been turned in this way cuts and destroys the honing disk.

  The sharpening force is determined by the displacement of the spring (6) in FIG. 8 and is a function of the thickness of the blade (4) at the point of contact with the sharpening disc (5). FIG. 8 shows that the thicker blade moves the sharpening disk (5) than the thin blade as in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a specific relationship between the displacement of the spring and the force applied to the disk. The spring is designed to have a suitable finite force even when the disc displacement is zero. A preferred force range is approximately 0.6 to 1.4 pounds for sharpening and honing discs when the disc is displaced about 0.1 to 0.15 inches along the shaft.

Support spring:
The support spring (1) of FIGS. 8 and 9 has an inverted U-shape made of a sheet metal such as a plastic such as methyl methacrylate polymer (for example, Lucite or Plexiglas) or stainless steel. It is a structure. When the knife is inserted between the guide surface (2) of the knife and the spring (1), the arm (12) of the spring bends along the longitudinal direction as shown in FIGS. Corresponds to the blade face shape. The thickness of the spring material is carefully selected to bend moderately to match the lower part of the blade face. The spring is designed so that in the normal (no knife inserted) position, the end of the spring pushes the guide surface (2) of the knife to generate an initial force. The spring is supported at the upper midpoint by a structural support boss (20) and fixed in place by a pin (18). More than one boss may be used along the length of the spring. The clearance between the hole in the spring (1) and the supporting boss allows a wider range of knives of different thicknesses to be used, and to modify the spring action and the resulting force and compatibility of the spring against the knife face. Allow movement. A special form of such a spring is to cover the front and / or back part of the spring to the maximum to limit accidental approach of a person's finger to the sharpening and honing finishing disc areas where the damage occurs. The thing provided with the guard part (31) shown by the silhouette of FIG. 1 is mentioned.

  The plastic support spring (1) bends more with a thicker blade than a thinner blade, resulting in a greater holding force of the blade against the guide surface (2) of the knife. The support spring (1) shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 11 is fixed to the upper part of the spring by a slide fitting pin (18) in a hole (19) through a support member (20) such as a boss. For thick knives, the flexible spring can be applied to such knives as it changes shape considerably as shown in FIGS. In the thick blade (4), the spring (1) matches the blade surface almost in the longitudinal direction of the arm, and in the thickest blade, the shoulder (30) of the spring (1) is in contact with the blade (4). A portion having a supporting force is provided.

Knife edge formation:
Depending on the method of forming the blade edge of the knife used in the present invention, it takes less than 45 seconds for a knife that has not been sharpened previously by the apparatus of the present invention, and when a knife previously sharpened by the apparatus of the present invention is sharpened again. In less than 20 times, a strong cutting edge with a sharpness better than known razors is obtained. As a result, a very sharp cutting edge can be obtained remarkably quickly. Specifically, a knife previously sharpened in accordance with the present invention can be sharpened again by simply passing through the “honing” stage (8) of FIG. 1, and the original sharpness can be restored. Such re-polishing can be repeated up to 5 times before the user feels the need to "sharpen" the knife again at the sharpening sharpening stage (7) of FIG.

Sharpening sharpening stage:
The cutting edge of the knife has a conical sharpening disc at a point shown along lines (A) in FIGS. 4 and 20 above the disc centerline (B) by a distance of about 45-80% of the disc radius. It is preferable to contact. The position of the line is preferably selected so that a unidirectional groove is formed on the cutting edge surface at an angle of 20 ° or more with respect to the cutting edge. [When contact occurs at line (B) along the diameter line of the disk, the microgroove is perpendicular (90 °) to the cutting edge. The knife is at a constant angle along the guide surface of the knife in the sharpening sharpening stage (7) of FIGS. 1 and 8 so that the cutting edge of the knife roughly matches the upper front of the frustoconical sharpening disc (5) portion. Inserted. In this way, the sharpening disk (5) coated with the abrasive creates a substantially unidirectional micro-groove on the cutting edge surface extending in the direction of the cutting edge and leaving a fine cut along the cutting edge. It is particularly preferred to use diamond as the abrasive because it allows the formation of well-aligned microgrooves; other abrasives tend to soil the grooves and leave grooves with irregular shapes and spacing. Only the upper front part of the sharpening disc (FIGS. 8 and 18) is in contact with the cutting edge of the knife.

  The sharpening disk is preferably made by electroplating diamond onto a thin metal frustoconical structure with a metal thickness of about 0.030 inches. Of course, it can also be thickened. What is important is that diamond is used as an abrasive because it is extremely hard, durable and long lasting, so that the shape of the conical disc on which the diamond is plated is maintained for a very long time Because it can. In contrast, abrasive stones, bonded alumina or bonded carborundum wheels lose their shape and bevel profile very rapidly at the point of contact with the blade in use.

  The trajectory (A) of the knife edge is inclined 2 to 10 ° (H) with respect to the normal of the rotation axis of the sharpening disk, as shown in FIG. The benefit of this design is that the knife edge will be in contact with the abrasive cone at a point or at a short line (close to the point), which is more uniform than if the edge is in contact with the polishing surface at a long line. A minute groove having a shape and an angle is formed.

  Throughout this disclosure, the shape of the disk surface is referred to as a truncated cone. This is the optimal shape. This is because the curvature of the surface is small at the point where the blade edge of the knife contacts the abrasive. If the curvature is small, the contact tends to be made with a small line. If the curvature is too large, it will approach true point contact. Other curved surfaces, such as large radius spheres, parabolas, oblong surfaces, or special contours can be used.

  In the sharpening sharpening stage, a series of microgrooves (29) are preferably created across the surface extending to the cutting edge, as shown, for example, in FIGS. These grooves (29) are further modified and sharpened in the next honing stage, as shown in FIG. 17, with a cutting edge that the chef calls “bite”, although retaining the microgroove structure. An ultra sharp edge that is modified to leave is formed. Here, the bite means a cutting edge that can easily start cutting food or other materials. The characteristics or “feel” of the knife edge can be adjusted by controlling the depth and number of grooves per inch and by the degree of subsequent honing. Depending on the selected diamond grit size from No. 100 to No. 600, cutting edges with substantially different “feels” can be made when cutting in various ways. The 140/170 size grit can provide a cutting edge preferred by many professional cooks. The sharpening sharpening stage is designed to form microgrooves 29 along the cutting edge, as shown in FIGS. 13-14 for the cutting edge, and at the same time the burr 11 shown in FIGS. 14-15 is made along the cutting edge. . The word burr is an extension in the cutting edge and often does not match its shape. The burr 11 made on the sharpening sharpening stage is shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 15 and is a distorted geometrical extension of the surface (19) that is finally exposed to the polishing surface. After the burr has been formed in the sharpening sharpening stage (7) shown in FIG. 1, the knife is placed on the honing stage 8 shown in FIG. 1, where the burr (11) is a unique honing disc (see FIG. 11). 15). The knife guide surface in the honing stage is set at a slightly larger (several degree larger) angle than normal than in the previous sharpening sharpening stage. In the sharpening sharpening stage, each of the two knife guide surfaces is inclined about 15-25 ° from the vertical. In general, the guide surface is inclined by 20 ° with respect to the vertical, and the cutting edge surface can be formed on each side of the cutting edge, so that two surfaces can be formed that meet about 40 ° apart at the cutting edge. In the sharpening sharpening stage, the surface of the truncated cone coated with each abrasive is inclined by about 2 to 10 ° with respect to the normal of the cone drive shaft. In general, they are tilted 2 °. See angle C in FIGS.

  In general, the cutting edge of the knife is inclined by about 3 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, and as indicated by angle K in FIG. 4, it is downward with respect to the horizontal plane in the first half of the sharpening stage and downward with respect to the horizontal plane in the second half. Thus, in the first half of the sharpening stage, the user can guide the cutting edge with the front cutting edge guide. Similarly, in the second half of the sharpening stage, the user can have the blade guide guided by the rear blade tip guide. Furthermore, in the sharpening stage, the horizontal line on the knife guide surface forms an angle H with respect to the perpendicular of the drive shaft of the truncated cone disk. The angle H is substantially the same as the tilt angle C in FIG. Due to the relationship between these angles, the cutting edge of the blade (4) passes through the upper front quadrant of the truncated cone disk (5) shown in FIGS. Here, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 18, the angle K in FIG. 4 with respect to the horizontal plane is approximately 3 °.

  These complex angular relationships are such that, in both stages, the edge of the knife is at the point along the predetermined line A of the front quadrant of the upper part of the disc (the right quadrant of the upper part of FIGS. Guarantees contact. The cutting edge of the knife does not contact the disc in the upper rear quadrant. Because of the ultra-sharp cutting edge obtained with this sharpening device in the honing process, the cutting edge of the knife should contact the disk only at the point where one polishing area on the surface of the disk moves away from the cutting edge. This is because, if the formed sharp edge is in contact with the disk at a point where one polishing region on the disk surface moves toward the blade, both the disk and the formed blade edge are destroyed.

Honing Stage The honing disc (15) is designed to bend at 14 in FIG. 12, ie at the point of contact with the burr (11). The size of the abrasive particles (13) is typically 5 microns. For example, as shown in FIGS. 16 (A) and 17, when both surfaces are polished repeatedly, the minute object polishes the burr to form the outline (16). This typically leaves a new small cutting edge surface with a height (h) on the order of 10 microns and a radius of curvature (r) on the cutting edge of the order of a few microns.

  FIGS. 13 to 17 show an example of the shape of the cutting edge. The spacing between the microgrooves formed along the cutting edge as shown in FIGS. 13 to 17 is not regular, and the speed of the knives crossed during sharpening and the consistency thereof and the coating of the abrasive are not good. Depends on regularity. FIG. 16A, which is an enlarged cross-sectional view, shows a burr-free cutting edge with a small micro-cutting face made by a honing disk below the main cutting edge face at the cutting edge.

  In the honing sharpening stage, the guide surface of the knife is preferably inclined at an angle V that is several degrees higher than perpendicular in the sharpening sharpening stage, as shown in FIG. For example, if the inclination of the sharpening sharpening stage with respect to the vertical is 20 degrees, the angle V at the honing sharpening stage is about 22.5 degrees. The range of this angle depends on the angle of the guide surface in the sharpening sharpening stage in the range of 17 to 27 degrees.

  The surface of the frustum for polishing in the honing sharpening stage forms an angle C in the range of 2 to 10 degrees as in the sharpening sharpening stage (see FIGS. 10 and 21). However, if, for example, the sharpening sharpening stage frustum makes an angle of 2 degrees, the honing sharpening stage frustum makes a larger angle of about 7 degrees.

  Even in the honing sharpening stage, it is better to incline the knife edge by an angle K (about 3 degrees) as in the sharpening sharpening stage.

  The angle H (see FIG. 10) of the horizontal line on each knife guide surface in the honing sharpening stage with respect to the drive axis normal of the frustoconical disk is approximately equal to the angle C, which is the angle with respect to the drive axis normal of the frustoconical surface. As a result, the horizontal line of each guide surface will be inclined, for example, by about 7 degrees. The angle H in the honing sharpening stage is 2 to 10 degrees as in the sharpening sharpening stage.

  Their angular relationship ensures that the knife edge contacts the disc in the upper front quadrant of the frustoconical disc, as with a sharpening disc (see FIG. 20).

Referring to FIG. 15, the burr (11) remaining along the cutting edge after the sharpening sharpening stage is bent outward from the central axis of the blade and meets the sharpening sharpening disk coated with the abrasive. The bent portion structure is bent in a direction away from the lowermost portion. (Shown in FIG. 15)
In FIG. 15, the burr (11) is bent to the right and the sharpening sharpened disc surface coated with the last abrasive shows that the left cutting edge surface of the cutting edge structure shown in FIG. Yes. When this blade is transferred to the honing sharpening stage and the burr on the right side comes into contact with the honing sharpening disc loaded with the abrasive, the burr is gradually removed, and when the disc is rotated several times, it is scraped from the root.

  In the honing sharpening stage, the blades are alternately passed through the left and right slots, but when the sharpening sharpening stage is sharpened on the side where the cutting edge surface is formed (left side in FIG. 15), the original shape formed in the sharpening sharpening stage A fine cutting edge surface having a slightly larger angle than the cutting edge surface is formed. 15 because there is no burr on the left side of the blade in FIG. 15 and there is a burr, so a new fine cutting edge surface is formed by the honing sharpening disk on the left side faster than the right side of the cutting edge where more metal must be removed. Because it is done.

  However, while the blade is repeatedly passed through the left and right slots in the honing sharpening stage, a fine cutting edge surface will theoretically be formed along the cutting edges on both sides (see FIG. 16B).

  FIG. 16C is a perspective view viewed along the cutting edge after the honing sharpening is repeated and a sufficiently fine cutting edge surface is formed along the cutting edge.

  The method used in this invention can accurately control the geometric polishing and let the non-skilled technicians mold burrs to consistently produce high quality sharp edges consistently throughout. It is to make. This control is achieved through the physical properties of the stage and honing sharpening disc with geometrically precisely defined cutting edges or special configurations created in the sharpening sharpening stage.

  A region on the polishing surface such as a sharpening sharpening stage is preferably moved so as to move away from the cutting edge after approaching the cutting edge.

  The mechanical and abrasive properties of a honing disc are derived from the epoxy that forms the matrix, the composition and particle size of the solid.

  The solids content (standard 74 wt% aluminum oxide with a standard particle size of 5 μm) and the physical properties of the hardener and the adaptability of the epoxy composition will determine the polishing rate and the final edge quality.

Honing Disc Configuration and Properties Honing discs (15) are essential for the successful creation of ultra-sharp cutting edges with higher and specific physical properties as described herein. This disc is polished only so that it is not too strong, avoiding excessive polishing and the destruction of the fine grooves formed by the sharp cutting edges and sharpening sharpening stage.

  The disc is sufficiently polished at a reasonable speed to remove burrs previously formed by the sharpening stage, and, for example, a portion requiring a honing process is preferably finished by pulling the honing disc left and right only a few times.

  It is also important that the physical properties are kept sufficiently so that the disc does not overheat, which prevents it from becoming too flexible due to sharpening heat. It is desirable to maintain their physical properties for many years so that organics are not contaminated and oxidized, or continue to interact to exceed their reasonable lifetime and become too polymerized. If the honing discs become stiffer, they will damage the cutting edge.

  The grit size must be carefully selected. When the grid size is about 25 microns (μm), the blade edge is actively damaged. As a result, the successful honing of the invention as described herein includes the selection of organic material in the adhesive, abrasive, abrasive size, ratio of abrasive to incorporated organic, disc size, speed and speed and sharpening. Careful selection of the pressure opposite the cutting edge of the inside knife is necessary.

A wide variety of organic materials were evaluated for the size and content range of abrasive particles by weight. Rubber-based wheels are impractical in that they fill quickly and wear quickly when a small amount of abrasive is added. When a large amount of abrasive is used, the blade edge is damaged or the blade edge is worn away faster. Focusing on polyurethane due to its robustness, a wide variety of epoxy resins that were too stiff and could not be removed sufficiently to expose a new polished surface were widely evaluated for different abrasives of different particle sizes. It turns out that the only class of epoxies is sufficient. The vast majority of common epoxies that are commonly used have been found to be impractical. Because all of them are extremely brittle, extremely easy to fill, their debris are sharp and glossy on the surface, their properties tend to change over time, become extremely soft due to heat during polishing, and also elastic And insufficient flexibility.

  The optimal epoxy composition was obtained from Master Bond. It is composed mostly of polyoxypropyleneamines, which consist of primary, secondary and tertiary aliphatic polyethers derived from propylene oxides added with diols and triols. . This is because the chemical substance is made by mixing two systems. This material is a product that is filled with a suitable amount of abrasive material and placed in a forming mold, and is essentially free from deformation and small in shrinkage.

  A special formulation, 37-3EC, is specifically formulated for the present invention. This provides the necessary flexibility, durability and hardness, and more importantly, the formulation avoids embedding when the proper amount of abrasive is compounded, and the abrasive surface is exposed and fresh. It should be ablated fast enough to maintain the correct state and not so quickly as to shorten the life of the disk.

  The type of abrasive was tested. Carborundum was found to be less effective than aluminum oxide (alumina) excluding metal. Diamond is effective but expensive. The optimum particle size is in the range of 5 to 12 microns (μm) for aluminum oxide. A sufficient weight ratio of alumina to epoxy is 1 part by weight epoxy to 1 to 4 parts by weight alumina. If the concentration of the abrasive is low, polishing is slow and not practical. If the adhesive strength of the epoxy is high, an unsuitable result such as a crack may occur during use. Aluminum oxide and diamond are preferred abrasives.

  For an optimal configuration of epoxy resin with embedded abrasive, the optimal disc thickness ranged from about 0.08 inch to 0.125 inch at the edge of a 2 inch diameter disc. This thickness provides good flexibility and conformity while maintaining the necessary polishability, strength, and durability, and rubber-like properties that maintain its shape over long periods of use. . Although the disc becomes warmer with use, it becomes slightly softer, but this does not interfere with the effectiveness (characteristics) of the disc.

  The optimum curing rate of the epoxy resin in which the abrasive is embedded is common sense and practical. The mixed abrasive and epoxy resin will be final in 1-2 hours at 212 ° F. However, when cured at 220-230 ° F. for 4 hours, it shows the same properties over the next 3 years. This proves to be impractical for the present invention, for example, a mixture of other epoxy resins that slowly cures over several days will continue to change its properties for more years.

  The physical properties of this optimum mixture of abrasive and epoxy are difficult to measure by standard processing. This is because it has a unique combination of hardness, compressibility, and elasticity, but can be characterized by a commonly used Wilson-Rockwell hardness tester. The method for measuring the characteristics of this unique material is as follows.

  The test means uses a standard Wilson Rockwell hardness tester. The hardness meter is equipped with a 7/8 inch diameter steel ball and a sample of this material 2 × 2 inch and 3/8 inch thick compressed under the ball. It is first compressed with a reference weight of 10 kilograms and then compressed with a test weight of 60 kilograms. The ball sinks from the top to the bottom of the sample due to the initial weight, and the first remaining height of the ball is 0 points. Next, the test weight is applied to the ball, and the distance (changed to the height) at which the ball sinks below 0 point is defined as D1. The test weight changes while the test weight remains and the amount of subsidence is restored. The amount of subsidence below the first 0 point is recorded as D2. In this procedure, a sample of the optimal material of the present invention is compressed to 229 scale (0.0183 inch) on a Rockwell hardness tester within 30 seconds when standard weight is applied. This is D1. The sinking amount D2 when the test weight is changed is 140 scales (0.0112 inches). The recovery (recovery) R is (D1-D2) /D1=0.39 or 39%. When all the weight is removed, the material recovers to over 98% of its original thickness within 30 minutes. The mixture embedded with lighter abrasives recovered more quickly to the original thickness after this test. The recovery R defined above and the subsequent recovery of the disk to its original shape are very important characteristics for the optimal performance of these disks.

A typical sample of a satisfactory mixture for the disc with embedded abrasive was tested as shown below.
Sample # Epoxy 37-3EC R D2 remaining
% Solids% recovery at subsidence (at 10 kg)
Scale 1 78% 31 155
2 74% 39 140
3 50% 75
One scale corresponds to 0.00008 inches of sinking. These are characteristics in a relatively narrow range and give satisfactory performance when 5 μm grit is used. The optimal mixture is a much narrower range of 65-75% when using 5 μm grit. This indicates the consequences of the criticality and physical properties of the mixture.

  Satisfactory cutting edges are created by honing discs made by adding abrasive particles with a size in the range of 1-20 μm with a mixture of about 40% to 80% by weight of epoxy. Within these ranges, it is preferable to use small particles at the upper limit of the range for embedding the abrasive.

  When the abrasive solid content exceeds the upper limit, the hardness of the honing disc is too high, so the cutting edge is not sharper than desired, and on the other hand, a satisfactory cutting edge is obtained in the case of a disc softer than the lower limit. The time required for the disc increases, and the disc becomes worn and glossy when used.

  With this range of solids and fineness of honing discs, a variety of applications from heavy factory tools for honing to sharp skill knives can be covered. Since the representative range shown in this application has been found to produce a surprisingly sharp knife edge, the exact edge shape will cause the edge to remain sharper for longer periods of use. Other conventional methods either leave the brim along the cutting edge or create a dull cutting edge. A unique design combining a sharpening and honing stage creates a unique, highly sharp and long-lasting edge.

  The object of the present invention is to provide a unique ability to meet the sanitary conditions of a commercial kitchen by allowing the sharpening portion 24 (including sharpening and honing sharpening stages) of the apparatus to be easily and quickly removed for care. It is to provide a multi-stage sharpening device. FIG. 1 shows how this is achieved. The entire sharpening section 24 can be separated from the motor drive section 25 by pressing the release button 26 (FIGS. 3 and 6) and sliding the sharpening section 24 away from the motor drive section 25 as shown in the silhouette. An automatically coupled / disengaged joint 23 of suitable structure can be used, partly attached to the motor drive 25 and partly attached to the sharpening 24, for example connected by a spline rubber connection sleeve. . This type of flexible spline joint compensates for upsets of 1/16 inch between the sharpening 24 and the motor drive 25. As shown in FIG. 5, the flexible joint 23 and the spline 22 attached to both the motor drive shaft and the shaft of the sharpening portion 24 are slidably coupled. As shown in FIG. 6, the release button 26 is spring-biased and coupled / released by the claw 21. The sharpening and honing sharpening discs and knife blade guide are both attached to a common rigid support structure within the entire sharpening section 24, so the relationship between them is for regular care of the sharpening section. Even if it is removed and then returned to the correct position of the motor drive, it will not be disturbed.

  Although the present invention has been described so far with particular reference to one sharpening sharpening and one honing sharpening, of course, the present invention can be practiced with more than one sharpening and / or honing sharpening. . For example, FIG. 22 shows a sharpening device having two sharpening sharpening sections 7 and one honing sharpening section 8.

  The embodiment described above is described for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and is not described for limiting the present invention. Therefore, the embodiment is disclosed in the above embodiment. Each element made is intended to include all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a side view of the sharpening apparatus which concerns on this invention, and is a figure which shows the part which sharpens and hones the blade of the state of both attachment and removal. It is a top view of the sharpening apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is an end elevation view of the sharpening device of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the length of a spring and the force with respect to a disk. It is a side view which shows the state in which the large knife is sharpened in the sharpening part of the apparatus of FIGS. It is a figure similar to FIG. 8 which shows the state in which the small knife is sharpened. It is sectional drawing which follows the 10-10 line of FIG. It is sectional drawing similar to FIG. 8 which shows the large knives in the honing part of this invention apparatus. It is an expanded sectional view of the honing part which shows the state which has removed the burr | flash from the knife. It is an enlarged side view which shows the cutting edge surface of the blade as a result of utilizing the sharpening part of this invention apparatus. FIG. 14 is an end elevation view of the blade of FIG. 13. It is sectional drawing which follows the 15-15 line of FIG. (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 16-16 in FIG. 17, (B) is an end elevation showing a honing finish blade according to the present invention device, and (C) is a honing finish according to the present invention device. It is the fracture | rupture perspective view which shows the blade edge | tip of the blade. It is an edge part elevation which shows the blade edge | tip from which the burr | flash was removed from the knife after honed in the honing part of this invention apparatus, and was re-polished. It is a left end side elevational view of the sharpening disk utilized with this invention apparatus. It is sectional drawing which follows the 19-19 line | wire of FIG. It is a left end side elevational view of the honing disk utilized with this invention apparatus, and is a figure which also shows the operation | movement path | route of a knife. It is sectional drawing which follows the 21-21 line of FIG. It is a side view of the modification of the apparatus which concerns on this invention, and is a figure which shows several sharpening parts.

Explanation of symbols

1 Spring (spring member),
2 guide surface,
4 blades,
5,15 discs,
6 Spring (spring means),
7 Sharpening sharpening stage,
8 Honing sharpening stage,
9 Shaft (axis),
33 Cutting edge guide,
36 Sharpening equipment,
37 groove.

Claims (17)

In a blade sharpening device having a support structure, a motor drive assembly, and a sharpening module attached to the support structure,
The sharpening module has a plurality of abrasive coating discs;
The disc is mounted on an axis of the shaft assembly for rotation about the shaft assembly in the module;
The motor drive assembly is external to the module;
The motor drive assembly has a rotating shaft driven by a motor;
The motor driven rotary shaft is detachably connected to the shaft assembly by a coupling unit for selectively rotating the disk during operation of the motor drive assembly;
The coupling unit selectively connects or disconnects the motor driven rotary shaft to the shaft assembly by a manually operated actuating member;
The manually operated actuating member has a first position that physically restricts relative movement between the motor drive assembly and the module to prevent the module from moving away from the motor drive assembly;
The manually operated actuating member allows free separation of the module from the motor drive assembly to separate the module from the motor drive assembly so that the module can be maintained independently from the motor drive assembly. Then, the sharpening device having a second position allowing free separation of the module from the motor drive assembly to allow removal of the module from the support structure.   The sharpening device according to claim 1, wherein the joint unit is a spline joint.   The sharpening device according to claim 2, wherein the manually operated actuating member is a spring biased claw. The sharpening module has a sharpening sharpening portion and a honing sharpening portion,
The sharpening sharpener has a set of abrasive coating discs;
The sharpening apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the honing sharpening portion has a pair of abrasive coating disks. The disk of the sharpening sharpened portion is a hard disk;
The sharpening device according to claim 4, wherein the disk of the honing sharpening portion is a soft disk. Each of the sharpening sharpening portion and the honing sharpening portion is provided with a blade guide surface arranged at a predetermined vertical angle with respect to a vertical line perpendicular to the rotation axis of each disk,
At least one of the sharpening sharpened portion and the honing sharpened portion is provided with a blade edge guide having a contact point with a blade edge in front of the disk,
The blade guide has a blade contact surface made of an abrasion resistant material in which a groove for receiving the blade edge can be formed therein to provide a guide track for the blade as the blade traverses the abrasive coating disc. Item 5. The sharpening device according to Item 5.   The sharpening apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the blade edge guide is provided for each of the disks of the sharpening sharpening portion and the honing sharpening portion. At least one of the sharpening sharpened portion and the honing sharpened portion is provided with an inverted U-shaped spring member,
The spring member is formed by connecting a cantilever elastic arm extending downward to an intermediate connection portion, and the connection portion is disposed right above the disk.
The arms extend downward substantially along a portion of each of the disks,
The sharpening according to claim 6, wherein each of the arms extends downward between the blade guide surface and a disk adjacent thereto to form a slanting elastic slot between the arm and the blade guide surface. apparatus.   The sharpening device according to claim 8, wherein the sharpening sharpening portion and the honing sharpening portion are each provided with the spring member.   The sharpening device according to claim 9, wherein the sharpening sharpening portion and the honing sharpening portion are each provided with the blade edge guide. The module has a sharpening sharpening and a honing sharpening,
The sharpening sharpening section and the honing sharpening section each have a pair of abrasive coating discs,
The sharpening device according to claim 1, wherein the disk of the sharpening sharpening portion is hard, and the disk of the honing sharpening portion is soft. Each of the sharpening sharpening portion and the honing sharpening portion is provided with a blade guide surface disposed at a predetermined vertical angle with respect to a vertical line perpendicular to the rotation axis of the disk,
At least one of the sharpening sharpened portion and the honing sharpened portion is provided with a blade edge guide having a contact point with the blade edge in front of the disk,
The blade edge guide has a blade contact surface made of an abrasion resistant material in which a groove for receiving the blade edge can be formed therein to provide a guide track for the blade when the blade crosses the abrasive coating disc. The sharpening device according to claim 11. At least one of the sharpening sharpened portion and the honing sharpened portion is provided with an inverted U-shaped spring member,
The spring member is formed by connecting a cantilever elastic arm extending downward to an intermediate connection portion, and the connection portion is disposed directly above the disk.
Each of the arms extends downward substantially along a portion of the disk,
13. A sharpening as defined in claim 12, wherein each of said arms extends downwardly between said blade guide surface and an adjacent disk to form a slanting elastic slot between said arm and said blade guide surface. apparatus.   The sharpening device according to claim 13, wherein the sharpening sharpening portion and the honing sharpening portion are each provided with the spring member.   The sharpening device according to claim 1, wherein the manually operated actuating member has a detaching button.   The sharpening device according to claim 15, wherein the separation button is a push button provided outside the module and biased by a spring.   The sharpening device according to claim 15, wherein the joint unit connects the motor drive assembly and the module in a connected state, and releases the connected state when the release button is pressed.

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