JP2021048931A - Citrus cutter - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a citrus cutter that can make cutting in edge lines of middle bags (flesh bags) of large-sized citrus such as summer oranges in a short time efficiently, and can reduce a shape loss of the flesh.SOLUTION: As shown by a perspective view, a citrus cutter has a shaft member 1-1 serving as a grip part, a cutting blade 1-2A and a blade edge part 1-2B, a cutting blade mounting component 1-3A and a guide part 1-3B, and a stopper 1-4 and a stopper mounting component 1-5. The shaft member 1-1 is a hollow aluminum tube of 4 mm in diameter, 0.7 mm in wall thickness, and 140 mm in length. The cutting blade mounting part 1-3A fitted to a tip end is made of plastic.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a cutter for making a cut in an inner bag of a large citrus fruit such as summer orange. However, it does not prevent it from being applied to other technical fields.

When eating large citrus fruits such as summer oranges, the exodermis is peeled off, the fruit part is taken out, and the inner bag is separated. It is usually practiced to make a notch in (referred to as) and open both sides of the endothelium to take out the fruit meat, or to put it in the mouth as it is. However, since the ridgeline of the inner bag is formed of fibrous tissue, it cannot be easily cut with fingernails or anterior teeth, and it is often difficult to take out the flesh.

The fruit part is usually an aggregate in which about 10 inner bags surround the fruit core in a radial pattern, but the size of the inner bags varies depending on the size of the inner bag, and the fruit portion is not always in a uniform radial pattern. The surface of the substantially spherical fruit part is covered with a fibrous tissue called a vascular bundle, and the inside of the fruit part is maintained in its overall shape by the side endothelium of the adjacent inner bag being strongly adhered to each other.

To peel off the exodermis, make cuts in several places on the exodermis and insert the tip of your thumb into the cuts to peel off, but since the exodermis and the fruit part are in close contact with each other across the vascular bundle, it is necessary to apply considerable force. is there. Furthermore, in order to separate the inner bag, the thumb tips of both hands are inserted into the upper end of the fruit core and force is applied to split it to the left and right, but since the side endothelium of the inner bag is strongly adhered to each other, considerable force is required.

The technique described in Non-Patent Document 1 has been published with the intention of simplifying the troublesome work of peeling the exodermis and further separating the inner bag. In this prior art, a dozen or so cutting blades are radially projected near the tip of a rod-shaped body, and the tip is applied to the center of citrus fruits with the exodermis unpeeled and pushed in until it reaches the back surface. After that, it is pulled out. That is, from the outside of the exodermis, the work of making a notch in the center of the exodermis and further making a notch in the entire length of the ridgeline of the inner bag is completed by one reciprocating motion. However, for the reasons described in paragraphs 0006 and 0007 below, not only is it impossible to peel off the exodermis while maintaining the substantially spherical shape of the fruit portion, but it is also extremely difficult to remove the flesh from the inner bag.

When a fingertip is inserted into the exodermis and a force is applied in the left-right direction after making a cut in the exodermis and the ridgeline of the inner bag, the force propagates directly to the physically weakened part, that is, the ridgeline, and the ridgeline. It acts to make the notch wide open. In other words, the force of the fingertip does not act to peel off only the exodermis from the surface of the fruit part, but reaches the inside of the fruit part while tearing off the exodermis. As a result, the fruit part is cracked with the exodermis still attached, and the flesh inside the inner bag is also messed up and unorderedly exposed. After falling into this state, it is not easy to peel off the exodermis from the fruit part and pinch the side of the inner bag that is in close contact with the fingertips to separate it. Flows out, and you end up in a situation where you can't even eat properly.

In addition, the fact that more than a dozen cutting blades are projected radially is also a factor that further exacerbates the situation. As described in paragraph 0003 above, the size and number of citrus inner bags are not constant and are not evenly distributed, and when the device is inserted from the outside of the exodermis where the inside cannot be seen, it becomes disorderly. The cuts will be made and the flesh will be significantly damaged. It is virtually impossible to make the minimum necessary cuts where necessary.

If a notch is made in the ridgeline before separating the inner bag, it will be extremely difficult to separate the inner bag, and as a result, it will not be possible to take out the pulp cleanly. It has been widely thought that the only way to make a cut in the inner bag is to make a cut.

Showa 60-20330 public relations

The present invention is a cutter for making a notch in a large citrus inner bag such as summer oranges, and makes an accurate minimum necessary notch in the ridgeline of each inner bag by a method as simple as possible, and also forms a pulp mold. The challenge is to be able to take out the flesh from the inner bag while keeping the collapse to a minimum.

The cutter according to the present invention is a citrus cutter for making a notch in the ridgeline portion of the citrus fruit inner bag.
1) A shaft member, one or more cutting blades having a cutting edge along the axial direction at the tip of the shaft member, a guide portion at the tip of the shaft member, and a stopper that can move in the axial direction on the shaft member. Consists of
Or
2) With the cutter in item 1) above, the cross-sectional shape of the shaft of the shaft member is circular, substantially circular or polygonal, or
3) In the cutter of item 1) or 2) above, the cutting edge is projected from the tip of the shaft member, the outer peripheral shape of the cutting edge is polygonal or arcuate, and further from the attachment site of the cutting edge. It has a guide part toward the tip of the shaft member, or
4) In the cutter of the above item 1), the shaft member is a strip-shaped flat plate, and the tip portion has a cutting edge formed as a part of the shaft member and an extending guide portion.
Is one of.

The cutter according to the present invention is to pierce from the upper end of the fruit core of the fruit part and make a cut in the ridgeline of the inner bag while keeping the state of the substantially spherical fruit part with the exodermis peeled off.

The shaft member of the cutter according to the present invention may be hollow or solid, and in the case of hollow, the outer peripheral shape perpendicular to the shaft is circular, substantially circular or polygonal.

The cutting edge of the cutter according to the present invention shall have a linear or arcuate cutting edge having an acute angle with the shaft of the shaft member, and may be directly projected from the shaft member or fitted to the shaft member. It shall be projected from the mounting parts. The cutting edge shall be on one side, both sides or the entire circumference of the blade.

In the guide portion of the cutter according to the present invention, when the cutting edge is projected directly from the shaft member, a part of the shaft member is extended, and when the cutting edge mounting member is fitted together. Has a shape in which the tip of the cutting edge mounting member is extended.

The movable stopper of the cutter according to the present invention has its lower surface abutting on the surface of the upper part of the fruit portion to prevent the cutting edge from entering. Since the depth that the cutting edge can enter is arbitrarily set according to the size of the fruit part, it is movable in the sense that it can be slid on the shaft member with the fingertips, while the shaft member is used as the fruit core part. It does not move with the force of piercing, and works to prevent the cutting edge from entering beyond the set depth. By the stopper, in the actual work, the upper part of the fruit part has a notch in the inner bag ridgeline part, while the lower part maintains the original state where the uncut ridgeline part and the side endothelium of the inner bag are in close contact with each other. become. Therefore, if the fruit part is inverted and the fingertip is inserted from the lower end side of the fruit core part (the side where the cutter is not inserted) when separating the inner bag, the inner bag can be separated with the same ease as before. ..

With the exodermis peeled off, it is possible to make a quick and accurate cut from the upper end of the ridgeline of the inner bag to only the minimum necessary part, and then separate the inner bag from the lower end side of the flesh core. It has the effect of taking out the flesh cleanly and efficiently while suppressing damage to the flesh extremely slightly.

It is a perspective view from above of the citrus cutter which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a left side view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a right side view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a top view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a bottom view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a reference perspective view which shows the state before inserting the citrus cutter of FIG. 1 into a fruit core part. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in which the citrus cutter of FIG. 1 was inserted into the fruit core portion. It is a perspective view from the lower side of the citrus cutter which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a rear view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a top view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a right side view of the citrus cutter of FIG. It is a reference perspective view from above of the exclusive cover of the citrus cutter according to the embodiment of FIG. It is a reference side view which shows the opening of the exclusive cover of FIG. It is a reference perspective front view which shows the state which inserted and stored the citrus cutter of FIG. 1 in the special cover of FIG. It is a reference perspective view which shows the state which exposes the cutting edge of the citrus cutter of FIG. 1 from the notch portion of the special cover of FIG. 14, and is used for cutting the exodermis. It is a reference perspective view which shows the state of the work of making a cut in the citrus exodermis while pinching the special cover with the right thumb and the index finger in the state shown in FIG.

The shaft member has a circular, substantially circular or polygonal cross-sectional shape, and the total length in the axial direction is about 80 mm to 150 mm. The cross-sectional shape of the shaft member does not have to be the same shape and size over the entire length in the axial direction, and the cutting edge is projected from one tip of the shaft member and is as small as possible so that it can be easily inserted into the fruit core. The cross-sectional area. If the cross section is circular, the diameter is preferably about 3 mm to 6 mm, and even if the cross section is other, it is preferable that the cross section has the same degree. Further, the other end portion is preferably a grip portion and has a shape that can be easily picked up by a fingertip. The material may be a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel that does not easily rust, or plastic, but it is preferable that the material has sufficient rigidity with little curvature when it is inserted into the fruit core.

When the shaft member in the form of paragraph 0019 is used, the outer peripheral shape of the cutting edge is polygonal or arcuate, the blade thickness is about 0.2 mm to 0.7 mm, and in the case of a straight cutting edge, the blade length The blade height should be about 3 mm to 10 mm, and in the case of an arc shape, the blade height should be about 7 mm to 10 mm. In either case, the angle between the cutting edge and the shaft of the shaft member should be an acute angle, and in the case of a straight cutting edge, it should be about 50 to 75 degrees, and in the case of an arc shape, the exposed part should be smaller than a semicircle. It shall be thrust into.

The cutting edge is attached directly to the shaft member or to the cutting edge mounting component, but is firmly fixed with an adhesive or welding so that the cutting edge does not fall off during work. When a cutting edge mounting component is used, the material may be metal or plastic as long as it can be firmly fitted to the shaft member.

The guide portion shall extend about 5 mm to 8 mm in the axial direction from the base of the cutting edge.

When the shaft member is a strip-shaped flat plate, the thickness is about 1 mm to 2.5 mm, the width is about 10 mm to 15 mm, and the length is about 80 mm to 150 mm. The unit may be provided integrally. A guide portion having a length of about 5 mm to 8 mm and a width of about 3 mm to 5 mm is provided from the tip of the shaft member, and has an acute angle with respect to the shaft of the shaft member from the base of the guide portion to the width of the shaft member. Allow the cutting edge to be formed. The material of the flat plate is preferably metal, especially stainless steel, in consideration of polishing workability and durability, but plastic may be used as long as it can form a sharp cutting edge.

The stopper is a circular, substantially circular or polygonal plastic or metal flat plate, and when the lower surface of the stopper abuts on the surface of the inner bag surrounding the fruit core, an area sufficient to prevent further entry of the shaft member is provided. Shall have. In the case of a disk shape, the diameter is about 18 mm to 25 mm, the thickness is about 1 mm to 2 mm, and other shapes have the same surface area. As a method of attaching the stopper, it is fitted directly into the shaft member, or by sandwiching a rubber member between the shaft member and the shaft member, an appropriate frictional resistance is generated, and the restraining function and mobility are achieved. It is also possible to realize both.

Hereinafter, two types of examples of the present invention will be described as Example 1 and Example 2 with reference to the drawings, and further described in Example 3 with reference to examples of a cutting edge cover suitable for the present invention. In the figure, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in the perspective view of the citrus cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 1, the shaft member 1-1, the cutting edge 1-2A, the cutting edge portion 1-2B, and the cutting edge attachment that also serve as a gripping portion are shown. It is composed of parts 1-3A, guide parts 1-3B, stoppers 1-4, and stopper mounting parts 1-5.

The shaft member 1-1 of the first embodiment is a hollow aluminum pipe having a diameter of 4 mm, a wall thickness of 0.7 mm, and a length of 140 mm. 3A is made of plastic. A slit for fixing the cutting edge is provided in the part to which the cutting edge is attached, and a part of the cutting edge is inserted and bonded.

The cutting edge uses a commercially available work cutter blade, and has an oblique quadrangle with a cutting edge length of 7 mm, a blade width of 9 mm, and a blade thickness of 0.3 mm. Further, the cutting edge is attached so that the cutting edge line has an acute angle of 60 degrees with respect to the axis of the shaft member. As the material of the cutting edge, a stainless steel cutting edge was used in consideration of the fact that citrus fruits are acidic.

The stoppers 1-4 are made of plastic and have a disk shape with a diameter of 25 mm and a thickness of 1.5 mm. Further, in order to movably attach the stoppers 1-4 to the shaft member, donut-shaped rubber parts 1-5 are used. Due to the moderate frictional resistance between the aluminum tube and the rubber material, the position of the stopper can be changed by the force of the fingertips, but it does not move at all when it is pierced into the fruit core and touches the inner bag, and it functions as a stopper. Demonstrate.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the citrus cutter according to the second embodiment, which is different from the first embodiment.
The shaft member 2-1 is a thin strip-shaped flat plate, and the tip of the flat plate also serves as a cutting edge 2-2.

The material of the shaft member is stainless steel because the shaft member, the cutting edge, and the guide portion are integrally molded by processing one end of the flat plate. The thickness of the flat plate is 1 mm, the length is 140 mm, and the width is 15 mm, and as in the first embodiment, a cutting edge is provided so that the cutting edge line has an acute angle of 60 degrees with respect to the axis line of the shaft member. The cutting edge was manufactured by polishing after molding the shaft member. Further, a guide portion 2-3 having a width of 5 mm and a length of 8 mm is provided at the tip portion.

Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a disk-shaped plastic stopper 2-4 having a diameter of 25 mm and a thickness of 1.5 mm is attached. In the second embodiment, the stopper is directly attached to the shaft member.

FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of the dedicated cover 3-1 for the cutting edge as a reference. This special cover 3-1 is used for the citrus cutter according to the first embodiment of FIG. The material of the special cover 3-1 is plastic, and the external dimensions are 40 mm in length, 28 mm in width, and 9 mm in thickness, and as shown in FIG. 15, one side has a cutting edge insertion opening 3-2. There is. In addition, there is a notch portion 3-3 on a part of the outer surface so that the cutting edge can be exposed. When using, the cutting blade is inserted through the cutting edge insertion opening 3-2, but if the cutting blade is inserted downward, the cutting blade is completely housed inside the special cover (see Fig. 16) and can be inserted upward. For example, a part of the cutting edge is exposed from the notch portion 3-3 on the outer surface (see FIG. 17). It is possible to make a safe cut by grasping the outer surface of the special cover with the fingertips of the thumb and index finger (see FIG. 18) and abutting the exposed cutting edge on the citrus exodermis. The cutout portion 3-3 has a shape that substantially matches the curvature of the outer edge of the exodermis of citrus fruits so that the depth of cut of the exodermis by the cutting edge does not become excessive.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated above, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and can be any form as long as it does not deviate from the object of the invention.

1-1 Shaft member of the first embodiment (also used as a grip portion)
1-2A Cutting edge 1-2B Cutting edge part 1-3A Cutting edge mounting part 1-3B Guide part 1-4 Stopper 1-5 Stopper mounting part 2-1 Shaft member of the second embodiment (also used as a gripping part)
2-2 Cutting blade 2-3 Guide part 2-4 Stopper 3-1 Dedicated cover (main body)
3-2 Cutting edge insertion opening 3-3 Notched part
3-4 Citrus exodermis outer edge

Claims (4)

A citrus cutter for making cuts in the ridgeline of the citrus fruit inner bag, which consists of a shaft member, one or more cutting blades having a cutting edge along the axial direction at the tip of the shaft member, and a shaft member. A citrus cutter characterized by a guide portion at the tip and a stopper that can move in the axial direction on the shaft member. The citrus cutter according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral shape of the shaft of the shaft member is circular, substantially circular, or polygonal. The cutting edge is projected from the tip of the shaft member, the outer peripheral shape of the cutting blade is polygonal or arcuate, and a guide portion is provided from the mounting portion of the cutting blade toward the tip of the shaft member. Citrus cutter according to claim 1 or 2. The citrus cutter according to claim 1, wherein the shaft member is a strip-shaped flat plate, and the tip portion has a cutting edge formed as a part of the shaft member and an extending guide portion.

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