US2048509A - Ice cube shaver - Google Patents

Description

July 21, 1936. A. A. MELcHl-:R vET AL ICE CUBE SHAVER Filed April e, -1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented July 21, 17936 l'axrelvr OFFICE ICE CUBE SHAVER Alfred A. Melcher, Huntington Park, and Frederick H. Porter, Beverly Hills, Calif., assignors, by direct .and mesne assignments, to Francis Hann VApplication April 6, 1995, serial N6. 14,990 l 4 Claims; (Cl. 83-`62) This invention has'tddo generally with ice crushing or shaving devices, and has beenv developed particularly with the View of providing a conveniently simple and-.efficient device for shavingthe usu'al-small-sizeA ice cubes for beverages, or a variety of household purposes.

In its preferred form, the present device .comprises a body having a vertically extending passage of rectangular cross sectionzwhich receives J the ice cubes, a rotating ice shaving elementin the lower portion of the passage, and a base so designed as to conveniently rest upon or lit over the top of a container, such as a cocktail shaker, glass, or the like, into which the ice shavings are discharged. The principal advantages of the invention reside in the features which render Vit so especially desirable for this particular use, that is, shaving small-size ice cubes, and in the :facility with which' the `device may be employed in shaving the ice directly into small containers -in which the ice is to be immediately used.

Allv the various objects and aspects ofthe invention will be made most readily apparent and explained toY best advantage by proceeding directly with a description of lthe invention in one of its typical and preferred forms. Throughout the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation ofthe device illustrating the slotted body feature;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of Fig. 1; Y Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional vie illustrating the ice shaving element partially in section, and showing the base of the apparatus resting on the top edge of the container; l

Fig. 4 is a perspective showing certain parts o the ice shaving element and shaft assembly; and

Fig. 5 is a side view showing one of the cutter segments removed from the shaft.

The upper portion lila ofthe body I0 of the device is made specially to receive ice cubes and to provide a guide passage through which the cubes are fed to the rotating shaft element, here'- inafter described. As best illustrated in Fig. 2, the upper portion' Illa of the body is rectangular or square in cross section, and forms a vertical passage II extending continuously Ythrough the lower and somewhat enlarged portion IIlb of the body and the baseiiange I2. Section IIJb may also be Vconveniently=made rectangular in cross section. The cross sectional dimensions of passage II preferably will be just slightly larger than the corresponding dimensions of an ice cube.

As best shown in Fig. 3, a lip I3 depends from the periphery of the base flange I2, and within the cavity formed by the lip portion is placed a ring or gasket I 4 of suitable comparatively soft material, such as cork. .The purpose of gasket I4 is to prevent injury to the top of a glass or container I5 upon which the device rests and 5 into which-the ice shavings fall.

A somewhat elongated open and vertical slot I6 is formed in one of the walls of upper body section Illa, the purpose of this slot being to enable one to press the ice cubes in passage II l0 downy against the Vshaving element by inserting the thumb through the slot. Thelatter however is terminated sufliciently far above -the cutter as to eliminate any danger of injury to the finger through contact therewith. The shaving element, l5 generallyindicated at I'I, is carried on a shaft I8 which comprises a portion I8a of octagonal cross section extending between the walls of body portion Ib, and an integral downwardly curved arm I8b terminating in a handle I8c. The sec- 2o tion I8d between portions I8a and I8bof the shaft-and handle arm assembly is journaled `in bearing I9 formed integrally to the wall of the body. As illustrated, end playin the shaft toward the left is limited by the engagement of the 25 handle arm shoulder 20 with the end face` of bearing I9. Y Y

Broadly speaking, the shaving element IB may be of any suitable construction,although the illustrated type is preferred because of its effec- 30 tiveness in disintegrating the ice in the form of f shavingaas distinguished from crushed particles, and because of the smoothness with which vthe element acts on the ice. As best Vseen from Figs. 4 and `5, the shaving element comprises a plu- 35 rality of cutter sections or laminations 2| having central openings 22 of octagonal or y'other suitable shape, and which receives the correspondingly shaped shaft Isa. The body portion 2Ia. `of each lamination 2| is circular in shape, 40 and carries a plurality of peripheral teeth 23, the outer surfaces 24 of which project tangentially from the peripheral surface of the body, As best illustrated in Fig. 5, the forward faces 25 of the teeth, instead of lying in radial planes, as illus- 45 trated in one instance by the radius R, extend fsubstantially parallel therewith but are olset a short distance D. By thus-offsetting the forward `faces of the teeth, the latter, upon coming into engagement with the ice, are given to some ex- 5 9 tent a breaking or chipping action as well as a cutting or shaving action.

It has been found that Where the cutter teeth are made the same width as the body 2Ia of the lamination, there is a tendency for iceto ac- .55

cumulate between the teeth to such an extent that the cutter becomes rapidly packedwith iceV out to the surface of the teeth, thereby rendering the cutter substantially ineffective until the ice is removed. `In order to prevent Vthe cutter from thus becoming packed with ice, the teeth 23 are made somewhat narrower than the bodies 21a of the 1annirations,'` so that 'instead/of Ytend- Y ing to Aaccumulate and 'pack between theteth,

the Vice shavingsY are removed or stripped from Y* the cutter as fast as they are deposited.

The laminations are arranged on' the shait in such relatve'positions'that the teeth 24 of adjacent laminations are ofset'4`5,4thereby'providing for a smoother cutting'actionf'than would Vbethe casewhere the teeth were arrangedin alinement longitudinally of Vtheshaft. While it will be understood that if desired, ith'e.' cutting 'assernbly may be formed as one single pieceV ori body 'fitted to the shaft, the limited structure is pr'eferre'd'f Y because of greater-facility in manufacture; since spaced YWalls ofthe chamber IUD inwhich the thel individual ,laminations may readily Abe-1n`ade asfcastings or Vby'arsmple stampingoperationf:

YWhen Yassembled on the shaft, the laminations areclampedbetvveen'shoulder-21V of the shaftand nut 28 threaded on .the outer end thereof, ythe nutV also serving to journal the shaft Within bear- 'ingZELA Asillustrated in Fig..3, theshaving-element lfkispositioned withinthe body .so that it projectsagshort Vdistance VvupY intoatlfle. lower end gfupper body section Illa, thus engaging the ice cubejwhile the latter is frml'yconned Within -passage l l. l,It Will be notedthatgthe tootheddis integrating vroll'may havev an effective length 4at leastas great-as the distance between thr'efwalls` Y of portion Illa which surmount the more VWidely religie j ournalled.v At .the same time, 1 the ends .j i:`,tlf1e roll are spaced from the chamber Walls so that clearance is'provided for the iceshavings.

VVsage `I I ,and'pressed against the shavingLelement It is believed that theoperaton ofglthejdevice will .be readily apparent from the foregoing. `One ormore ice cubes gare fed down through the pas'- While theV cutter teeth-are beingrotated 'in vthe direction'indicated-by arrows` in Fig. 4.; Iniconnectionwith the'operation ofthe cuttengit may be Y mentioned that instead of continuing ',tof ro- .tate the cutterV in one direction; thermost 'rapid andV eiective disintegration ofI the Vice cubes may be accomplishedby racking or alternatelyrotatf ing the vcutter through'short distances in -opposite directions. By rotation in aY `forward direction.; thefteethprinipallyhave@ cutting or shaving action, and,by Vrotation in theoppositeldirection, they. have essentially a chipping or'breaking .Y action on the ice. Asvthey are cut from the Vice cubes, the shavings drop down into thecontainer n l5, amplerclearance being providedbetweenVV the shaving element and the rWall of the lowerenlarged portion lb of the body, to pass the shavings without clogging. A s illustratedin Fig. 3, thedovver end of body section Illa;r remains open j and;V uifiobstrnctedV since,V preferably, Vtheshaving `element extends noY higherY than the lower end of |a,=l thereby assuring 21111D1121'SpaceV forthe im- ;mediate removalof the iceishavings as they are cutrfhrorn the ice cubes.Y Y

VVThe external dimensionsrtoiv columnrlvlla.` are f e suchas to enableit to be conveniently graspeddn 2,048,509 Y Y v.

one hand so that the device may be firmly por,

sitioned on the container. When the crank |8b is turned with the right hand, column lilla may be grasped in the left hand and the thumbof the left hand inserted through the slot`l6 to press the cubes downwardly. Y

VWe claim: s Y n s 1. An icecubefdistintegrating device comprising 'a hollow body 'including walls' :d'ening a. Vbase ,'portion and a top portion, said top portion being `'vrtically elongated, one of the wallsrof Vsaid top portion having a vertically extending slot, a roe tatable ice disintegrating element journaled in saidbaseportiom and a hand crank for rotating Said ice shaving element, said top portion being of a; sizeto `receiye a'plurality of cubes and also toV be conveniently'grasped in one hand to hold Y t1"ief"device on: the containerjwhile at the same time the top cube is engaged through'said slot by -a dlgltof the same hand to press the cubes downwardly into )engagement with saidice Ydis,-

integratingrelement.- Y s Y 2. An ice cube disintegrating device vconnards'- ing a body having walls.` forming anuppervertically extending hollowicecube receiving-column and a lower downwardlyV open chamber, a.rotat able ice disintegrating `element journaled'in said device forrotating said element,'said body hav-j Ving a bottom portion adapted torest on, the upper edge of a container Vtofsupport the device-on the. container and said column being of asize to beconveniently graspedin Onehand to'vhold the deviceon Ythe container, thev wall of'said column which faces the operator Vas the. crankisturned by theother hand havingv a. vertical slot therein through whichthethumb of the hand which grasps the column may be linserted to; press v,down-V wardlytheice in the column. Y

3. An ice, cube -disintegrratng ir device cxnprisV ing a body having walls formingzanupper verti- Vcally extending ice cube receiving column and a. lower'chanjxber,V a'toothed rollrotatable on a hori-Y -zontal 'axis and journaledV in opposite lWalls'of the chamber,saidVWalls-being spaced apart furv'ther than 1thefsul'mountingwal-lsV of said column so that thefeective lengthof the roll may be Y at least as great 'as `the, distanceY between, said column-@walls with the ends of'fthe -roll spaced from said chamber walls toV provide ,clearanceV around they roll ends,'and means maintainingthe spacing of the 'roll Yends'from Vthe Achamber walls.

, f 4.1iAn-f ice cube VY;disintegratirig devicefcomprising a body having Walls forming yan `upper verti'fcally extending hollowiice cubeireceiving column Vand alowerr downwardlyppen chamber', one of fthe walls,C otesaid topr portion having a vertically I extending slot,v a rotatable ice disintegrating ele-v ingan annular flanged bottom portionfadapted ment journaled Vin saidgchambergsaidlbody haveV j to rest on the upper edgeofa'ccmtainer such'asl ,ai tumbler to Vsupport theadevice` on theV container, Y .said column-beirig` of-'afsizeito bei conveniently grasped y'inone Yl'landvto hold ,thef'devlcez-on the container Whilev at the same 'time yice in'isaid col" umn-is engagedjthroughsadslot by ,a digit-,of

the same hand to? press theice downwardlydnto engagementwithsadiice dlsintegrating element.

ALFRED A,- MEL, CHER .Y FREDERICK'H, PORTER.-

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