US1954165A - Vegetable slicer - Google Patents

Description

L. l. YEOMANS VEGETABLE SLICER Filed Jan. 25

April 1o, 1934.

Patented Apr. 10, 1934 VEGETABLE SLICER Lucien I. Yeomans, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Abraham Ncchin, Chicago, Ill.

Application January 25, 1933, Serial No. 653,397

2 Claims.

The invention pertains to a tool or implement for use in slicing vegetables, and has special reference to a vdevice of this character for slicv ing potatoes, in which the cutting or slicing operation produces an elongated thin strip which may be fried in deep fat after the fashion of potato chips.

One object of the invention is to produce a slicing implement of the above character in which two strips are formed simultaneously and in a manner such as to produce a wave-like formation instead of the usually formed spiral or helix, thereby insuring that the two strips which are cut in each slicing operation shall be discharged separately for vgreater convenience in handling.

Another object is to provide an implement of this character which may be constructed very cheaply so as to be capable of being sold at a lowv price.

The objects of the invention thus generally stated, together with other ancillary advantages, are obtained by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part here- 25. 0f in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the operation of producing two separate elongated strips of wave-like contour.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionalview through one end of the device showing the cutting blades.

Fig. 3a is a similar view showing cutting blades of a modified form.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken in 35. the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary Vertical sectional View illustrating the construction of the clamp.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the driver by means of which the potato is revolved.

Fig. 7 is an end view thereof.

In the illustrative embodiment shown, the device comprises generally a U-shaped bracket 8 having on one leg 9 a pair of cutter blades 10 and 11 with an impaling prong 12 disposed 45. centrally between the two blades. In the upper end portion of the other leg 13 of the bracket is journaled an axially slidable drive shaft 14 having a crank 15 at one end and a driver 16 at the other end adapted to engage a potato or other 50. vegetable impaled on the prong 12 to impart a rotary movement to the potato, which is designated A in Fig. 2. The device also comprises a clamp generally designated 17 whereby the implement may be mounted upon a table or the like. The bracket 8 is formed from a single strip of metal bent to provide a central or yoke section 18 having the leg 9 rising from one end thereof and the leg 13 from the other end thereof. The yoke section 18 may be ribbed longitudinally as at 19 to add strength and rigidity to the bracket.

The leg 9 of the bracket is cut to form two longitudinal slots 20 and 21, with their adjacent ends spaced a short distance apart, approximately centrally of the leg 9; and spot-welded or otherwise rigidly secured upon the inner side of the leg 9 is a steel plate 22 which is also cut to form slots 23 and 24, with the cutting blades 10 and 1l bent outwardly from the plane of the plate as shown clearlyin Fig. 4. The impaling prong 12 is suitably mounted centrally of the cutter plate between the two blades 10 and 1l.

The opposite leg 13 of the bracket has its upper end apertured to form a bearing 25, and is thence extended outwardly to form an arm 26 having a depending lug 27. The latter is also apertured to provide a bearing 28 for the drive shaft spaced from the bearing 25.

The crank arm 15 is equipped with a suitabl handle 29, and the arm may be so positioned on the shaft as to form a stop, limiting the axial feeding movement of the driver 16 toward the cutter blades 10 and 11.

For the sake of economy in manufacture, the driver 16 is formed from two pieces of sheet metal includingl a disk 30 having struck up therefrom at spaced intervals impaling lugs 31, three being herein shown. This disk 30 has itsperipheral edge seated within a groove 32 formed at the peripheral edge of a holder comprising a second disk 33 which hasits central portion extended rearwardly to form a sleeve 34 receiving the forward end ofthe shaft 14 and secured thereto as by means of a pin 35.

The clamp 17 is formed from a iiat sheet of metal cut and bent to provide a body 36 having an upturned end portion 37 adapted to bear at its upper edge against the underside of the bracket yoke member 18, and a pair of side iingers 38 having their upper ends bent to form lugs 39 overlying said bracket portion 18. The end of the body 36 opposite the bearing arm 37 has oppositely-disposed lugs 40 coacting with the end of the base plate 36 to retain a nut 41 carrying a clamping screw 42, the portion of the base plate 36 below the nut being longitudinally slotted to permit the passage of the screw.

The lower end of the screw is equipped with the usual finger piece or head 43, and the upper end of the screw is grooved as at 44 for the purposeof retaining thereon a clamping button 45.

1 the slots 23 and 24 as shown in Fig. 2.

This button is preferably made from a flat sheet of metal bent to form a flat end piece 46 and a peripheral .flange bent reversely in spaced relation to the disk to form a centrally apertured back plate 47 with an annular neck portion 48 engaging in the groove 44 in the screw. To facilitate the formation of the back plate 47 and the neck 48, the metal may be slotted as at 49.

To assist the clamping screw in holding the bracket in position on the edge portion B of a table or the like, as shown in Fig. 5, the yoke portion 18 of the bracket may be formed with a plurality of downwardly pressed bosses 50.

In the operation of the device, one end of a potato is impaled upon the prong 12 and the driver 16 caused to penetrate the potato in nonrotative relation thereto. By rotating the shaft 14 through the medium of the crank 15 and its handle 29, the potato is caused to revolve relative to the cutter blades l and l1. These blades, as shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4, are oppositely disposed and have straight edges so as to produce cuttings in the form of two thin flat strips A1 and A2, which pass outwardly through As the operation proceeds and the potato fed forwardly, each of the cutting blades operates to cut a separate strip, and while the normal tendency of each blade is to cut the strip into the form of a helix, I have found that by providing two blades in opposed relation as shown, the strips as cut act upon each other in a manner such as to oppose this natural spiral formation and to form instead two strips having wavy contours. Accordingly, at the end of the cutting operation, the two strips are separated for independent handling. This is distinctly advantageous as compared `to the spiral formation of the strips in that in the latter case, the adjacent convolutions have a tendency to stick or cling together so as to interfere with the proper treatment of the strips in the subsequent frying operation.

In Fig. 3a I have shown cutter blades with their cutting edges of corrugated form so as to provide L -a plurality of spaced cutting teeth a and 11a.

As indicated by the circle in broken lines, the teeth of the respective blades are relatively staggered. Thus the teeth of each blade are adapted to form a plurality of spaced concentric grooves, leaving ridges between them which are cut by the teeth of the other blade while forming a similar set of grooves. The cuttings produced by such cooperative action of the two blades are in the form of elongated strands instead of the relatively wide strips formed by the blades of Fig. 3.

It will also be obvious that by reason of the construction employed, the device may be made largely from sheet metal stampings and hence capable of being produced at a low cost.

I claim as my invention:

1. A slicing implement comprising, in combination, a supporting bracket having a horizontal base portion adapted to rest upon the upper surface of a table or the like at one edge thereof, a cutter blade mounted on said bracket, a shaft journaled in said bracket for rotatably supporting and feeding toward said blade an object to be sliced, and a separable clamp for securing said bracket on the table, comprising a body formed from a single piece of sheet metal and having a vmain portion adapted to be positioned in vertically spaced parallel relation with respect to the base portion c-f said bracket, an upright arm at one end adapted to abut the underside of said base portion, and a pair of arms rising from the main portion intermediate its'ends in straddling relation to the base portion and 'adapted to engage with the upper side thereof in spaced relation to said abutting arm, and a clamping screw threading through the main portion at the end opposite said arm adapted to engage with the underside of said table edge.

2. A slicing implement comprising, in combination, a supporting bracket of U-form having a horizontal base portion adapted to rest upon the upper surface of a table or the like near one edge thereof, a cutter blade mounted on said bracket, means carried by said bracket for supporting and feeding relative to said cutter blade an object to be sliced, and a clamp for securing said bracket on the table comprising a body formed from a single piece of sheet metal and having a horizontal portion extending in vertically spaced parallel relation to the base portion of said bracket and arms rising from said horizontal portion connecting said clamp to said bracket, a clamping screw passing through said horizontal portion adapted to engage the underside of i said table edge, and a nut through which said screw is threaded resting on the upper surface of the horizontal portion, said horizontal portion having upturned flanges along its edges to strengthen it and to secure said nut against l rotation.

LUCIEN I. YEOMANS.

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