US2545720A - Machine for cutting potatoes or like objects into chips or slices - Google Patents

Description

March 20, 1951 G J ABBOTT 2,545,729

MACHINE FOR CUT'TING POTATOES 0R LIKE OBJECTS INTO CHIPS OR SLICES Filed Sept. 9, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Attorney arch 20, 1951' J. ABBOTT 2,545,729

MACHINE FOR CUTTING POTATOES OR LIKE OBJECTS INTO CHIPS OR SLICES Filed Sept. 9, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvenlor Geo/fray I Aofi Attorney March 20, 1951 G J ABBOTT 2,545,720

MACHINE FOR CUTTINGPOTATOES 0R LIKE OBJECTS INTO CHIPS 0R SLICES Filed Sept. 9, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 In venior fig-e I 4 5607% MM z Patented Mar. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING POTATOES on LIKE OBJECTS INTO CHIPS on sL-Ions v, Geoffrey josphAbbott, Carshalton, Enema Application September 9, 19'48, serial No. 48,386

In Great Britain October 6, 1947 4 Claims. (01. 146 -78) 1 This invention relates to machines for cutting potatoes or like objects -(hereinafter called potatoes) into chips or slices; of the kind in which the potato, or the part thereof to be sliced, is passedbetween a number of approximately parallel slitting knives which thus slit it longitudinally, and then into engagement with a slicingknife which slices off the previously slit portion of the potato; For conveniencesuch machines will be referred to herein as slicing machines. v H In such slicing machines the slitting and she ing knives are usually supported from thecircumferential .wallof a casing in which rotates a rotorhaving at least one channel-like passage or throat ofconverging crosssection formed between it and the circumferential wall of the casing so that potatoes which enter this throat through its open larger end during rotation of the rotor,- are carried round by the rotor in contact with the circumferential wall of the easing into engagement with the slitting and slicing knives. One example of such a machine is described in the specification of British Patent No. 379,800 while certain improvements, whichmay also be incorporated in machines aceor'dingto the present invention, form the subject of United e, l l A is in effect a triggering movement which releases States patent applications 765,353 of 1946',

and 765,354 or 1 94;; whichbcarlie Patent No. 2,485,3 4=4= 0n October 1-8; 1949.

in slicing machines of the kind referred to the 1 knives are apt to be damaged by stones or other hard foreign objects which are not always abstracted from the potatoes before entering the machine while in some cases such stories may jam the rotor and cause damage to other parts of t m n Theobject of the present invention is to provide a slicing machine of thekind referred to ir'icorporating means which willtend to minimise oij eliminate damage to the knives or other parts of the machine due to the presence of stones or like hard foreign bodies in or amongst the potatoes being sliced.

Ina slicing machine of the kind referred to accordingto the present invention the slittin knives are so movahly mounted that while they are normally heldin their operative positions against the normal forces due to their slittingaction, they are yet capable of yielding indivi dually or as abody to permit each knife to move partially'or wholly out of its operative position under the action ot a stone or other hard foreign body which may be carried into engagement therewith by a potato being sliced.

" constituted by a dooror cover hinged to the cats:

2' v The term operative position is to be under stood as meaning the normal position in the path of the potatoes being sliced.

In a preferred arrangement the initial movement of the slitting knives or of each slitting knife releases spring operated mechanism which.

on release acts on the slitting knife or knives to move it or them rapidly into a position out of the path of the potato being sliced. Thus the initial movement of the slitting knife of knives mechanism for effecting the remainder of the mcvement with a snap action.

In one such arrangement the spring operated mechanism includes a spring pressed part which normally acts on' a surface on a sliding knife support such that exerts little or no for'ol thereon in the direction in which the supp'oftis capable of yielding, but which moves; during the, initial movement of the slitting support under the action are stone onto a surreees cn that it eXertsa-n appreiame force on the s'littifi knife support" ttie diictioh in which it capable of yielding"; c

.In any case the initial movement of the sinting knife support preferably releases spring. perates mec amsiiirer moving the name out of the path of the potato being sliced so to prevent its being engagedpyj my stone or? the like menvaefis n a slitting knife.

For exampie the slicing knife may be ifiofiiitd upon a pivoted shpp'ciii';- acted upon by one of more springs nonnany tending to m ev'e tli port SO as to ca ry tli sl icing knife O'iit of the path of the: potatoes being sliced, and Catch mechanism Etvvfi tfi Slidifig knife sup ort and a slitting; knife sinne s which is ailtdlfia cally released by the initial movement of slitting knife. Sfififioit and releases the SH A knife Sh'ppoft. STICK anarr'angemenq the sliding knife supponeqnvenrenuy actsdire'tly or indirectly on the sllttln" Knife support or sup ports to carry the slitting kn ves Gilt of tli' path of the potato Being sliced so that the" slicing knife support and its spring 01'' springs constitutes me spring operated mechanism referred to hape which, uponrele'ase by the initial movement of a slitting linif, reeves" this slitting nives out of the path or the estate be g1 sliced. in such an arrangement" tfi sl idifig knife support may 5e? ing' 0f the macinfne at th' end remote from the sliding" kfiif While the catch has as: sociatd with it a stop which fioi'liiall'ylifiiits tlii 'movenreswf the" cover; recess of theeaten abmzo 3 mechanism, to that necessary to carry the slicing knife out of the path of the potato being sliced but can at will be moved to permit the cover to be opened completely to give access to the interior of the casing for inspection or cleaning.

In any case in a machine according to the present invention the slitting knives are preferably held in their'normal operative positions by one or more springswhich are adjustable to vary the force required to cause them to yield under the action of a stone or the like, although a weight, also preferably adjustable, may be provided for. this purpose, or a combination of weight and spring or springs might be employed.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one construction according to the invention incorporating also the inventions forming the subject of United States patent applications No. 765,353 of 1946 and No. 765,354 of 1946, which becamePatent No. 2,485,344 on October 18, 1949, is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section of'the complete machine,

- Figure 2 is an enlarged view similar to Figure 1 showing the parts of the machine to which the present invention is applied, in their normal operative position,

Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 2 showing the parts of the machine in an inoperative position permitting access to the interior of the machine, and

Figures 1 and are enlarged views of certain parts of the machine.

In the construction illustrated in the drawings the machine comprises a generally cylindrical casing A containing a rotor B arranged to be driven by an electric motor C. The casing A has an opening therein extending around nearly half its circumference and normally substantially closed by a hinged cover plate Al pivoted to the casing A at A2. The cover plate Al has secured to its upper" edge a slicing knife D and its normal positionis such, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, that this slicing knife lies somewhat nearer'to the axisof the rotor than doesthe .internal circumfer'ential surface of the casing A and close to the circumferential surface of the rotor B. Thus there is a circumferential space of appreciable radial dimensions between the outer surface of the rotor B and the inner surface of the casing 'A butthecover plate A! over most of its area lies close to the rotor B as does the slicing knife D.

Secured to the cover plate Al is a transverse leaf spring A3 the ends of which, when the cover plate is in its normal position as shown in Figtires 1 and 2 engage and press on the circumferential edges of the end walls A4 of the casing A so as to tend to move the cover plate Al outwards towards the position shown in Figure 3.

f Formed on the upper end of the cover plate Al aretwo similar extensions E, one on each side, each of which is in the form of an arm which carries near its end and projecting from one face a pinEl having a roller E2 mounted on it. Each extension E with its pin El and roller E2 cooperates with mechanism hereinafter described to hold the cover plate Al normally in the position shown in Figures '1 and 2 against the action of the spring A3.

, Pivotally mounted on the casing A at F is a member Fl combining the function of a support for the slitting knives and a retaining member for holding the cover plate Al normally in the positiori'sho'wn' in Figures "1 and 2. The member Fl has an outer wall F2 from which project radially inwardly a number of pivot pins G, on each of which is freely pivoted a slitting knife holder GI to which is rigidly attached a slitting knife G2 by means of two hook like parts G3 pressed out of the support GI and passing through slots in the knife G2 as shown most clearly in Figure 5. Each of the knife supports Gl'is freelto swing about its pivot but. this swinging movement is limited by a stop plate G4 secured to the member Fl and having slots therein in which the free ends of the supports Gl lie so that their free movementis limited by the ends of the slots.

Projecting inwardly from the outer wall F2 of the member Fl are two similar webs F3 each of the formshown most clearly in Figure 4 provided with a cam slot F4 formed for engagement by the roller E2 when the parts are in their normal operative positions.

rollers E2 lie in the end portions F! of the cam slots F4 which are so formed that in this position the force exerted by the rollers on the member Fl due to the force of the spring A3 is radial or nearly radial to the pivot F and hence there is little or no tendency for the member Fl to be rocked upwardly about its pivot. In addition the engagement between the notch H2 of the latch member H and the catch member H3 under the action of the spring I-Il resists such pivotal movement of the member Fl. The parts are thus retained in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2.

'The rotor B is of the form described in thespecification of United gta-tes patent application No. 765,353 of 1946 or No.- 765,354 of--1946 and thus has throats Bl into which the potatoesto be sliced find their way, and devices indicated at B2 and B3 for carrying the-last pieces of potato through the slitting andsli'cing knives in a manner which will not be further described since it -is well known and in itself it forms no part of the present invention.

In the construction according to the present invention shown in the drawings, the force of the spring HI and the slope of the cooperating surfaces of the notch H2 and the catch member, H3

are such that the force exerted through the slitting knives G2 on the member'Fl by potatoes being forced past the slitting knives and slit thereby will be insufficient to cause the notch H2 and catch member H3 to be forced out of en:

gagement with one another. If. and when, how-; ever, a stone or other hard substance is, carried round by the rotor and comes into engagement with one or more of the slitting knives, the outward force thus applied to these is sufiicient to force the member Fl outwards against the retaining force of'the members H and H3 and thus to release the latch member H from the catch member H8. The consequent small outward movement of the member Fl permits the rollers E2 to pass round the parts F8 of the cam slots F4 so that the rollers exert atangential force on the member Fl and thuslift'this member rapidly. Thus the slitting'knives' G2 and slicing knifeD o are moved outwards with a snap action so as to lie completely outside the circle represented by the inner surface of the casing A.

It will thus be seen that the initial movement of the member Fl due to the action of a' stone or the like on a slitting kmfe acts in effect as a triggering movement enabling the spring A3 to come into effective action to move the slitting and slicing knives into their inoperative positions.

The automatic outward movement of the member Fl and the cover plate Al caused by a stone striking one of the slitting knives referred 'to above will be limited by the roller E2 coming into contact with the end wall F5 of the member Fl, but in order to enable the interior'of the casing A to be readily inspected or cleared and any foreign body therein readily removed, the member Fl can be swung by hand into the position indicated in Figure 3 so as to permit the cover plate Al to be swung outwards as far as may be desired.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for slicing potatoes and like articles comprising a substantially cylindrical casing having an exit slot in its circumferential wall. a slicing knife forming one boundary of the exit slot, a movable support for the slicing knife, a-

rotor within the casing for carrying potatoes or like articles around the casing in contact with the inner surface of its circumferential wall, a slitting knife support pivoted to the casing, a plurality of slitting knives carried by the slitting knife support in advance of the exit opening and slicing knife and, when the slitting knife support is in its operative position projecting into the casing, yielding means for normally holding the slitting knife support and the slicing knife support in their operative positions in which they project into the interior of the casing but capable of yielding when a slitting knife is struck by a stone or other hard object, and an operative connection between the slicing knife support and the slitting knife support to cause the slicing knife and slitting knives both to be moved from the interior of the casing when a slitting 'knife is struck by a stone or like hard object.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the slicing knife support when in its operative 50 position is acted upon by a spring tending to move the slicing knife out of the interior of the casing, and the slicing knife support acts on the slitting knife support under the action of such spring in a direction tending to move the slitting knives out of the interior of the casing, holding mechanism being provided for holding theslicing and slitting knife supports in their operative positions against the action of the spring during slicing and slitting operations, and yielding means which yield to permit release of the holding mechanism when a stone or like hard article strikes a slitting knife and moves the slitting knife support.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the slicing knife support is pivoted to the casing at the end remote from the slicing knife and has a projection at the end adjacent to the slicing knife which engages a cam surface on the slitting knife support having a part which, when the slicing and slitting knife supports are in their operative positions, is engaged by the projection and lies substantially at right angles to the direction in which the slittingknife support can move, and a part which is inclined to such direc-- tion and onto which the projection automatically moves on the initial movement of the slitting knife support under the action of a stone or like hard article.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 in which the yielding means for normally holding the slitting knife support comprises spring pressed catch mechanism which retains the slitting knife support in its operative position against forces applied thereto during normal slitting operations but is automatically released by the force exerted thereon when a slitting knife strikes a stone or like hard article.

GEOFFREY JOSEPH ABBOTT- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

,UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,004,548 Abbott June 11, 1935 2,187,957 Urschel Jan. 23, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 530,130 Great Britain Dec. 5, 1940

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