US2795908A

US2795908A - Dicer for canned tuna

Info

Publication number: US2795908A
Authority: US
Inventors: Andrew L Christiansen
Original assignee: ANTHONY S OSTOICH
Current assignee: ANTHONY S OSTOICH
Priority date: 1954-09-30
Filing date: 1954-09-30
Publication date: 1957-06-18
Anticipated expiration: 1974-06-18

Description

June 18, 1957 A. L. CHRISTIANSEN 2,795,908

DICER FOR CANNED TUNA Filed sept. so', 1954 4 sham-sheet 1 1N VEN TOR: Aww/. 'f/P/fm/vm/ BY f Y,

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June 18, 1957 A.V cHRlslANsEN 2,795,908

DICER FOR CANNED TUNA Filed sept. so. 1954 v 4 snets-sheet 2 June 18, 1957 A. L CHRISTIANSEN 2,795,908

DICER FOR CANNED TUNA Filed Sept. 3Q, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet `3- l n E L i 50 f 52 90 a? E I E` l I 90 R8 Inf! f f l k 5f 5f L f 5g 6'4- 'L #-92 o5 'o S2.

n 7 Z1 70 7 7o 1 92 f 75 75 u 75 I "-y 44 E Si] L I Z5 Z4 24 S l 1. Y E e n n 0 Q v m l June 18, 1957 A. l.. CHRISTIANSEN 2,795,908

DICER FOR CANNED TUNA Filed Sept. 30, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Unite tates Patent O DICER FOR CANNED TUNA Andrew L. Christiansen, Compton, Calif., assignor of onehalf to Anthony S. Ostoich, San Pedro, Calif.

Application lSeptember 30, 1954, Serial No. 459,279

Claims. (Cl. 53-123) This invention relates generally to food processing apparatus and devices, and more particularly to a machine or device for dicing canned foods, such as fish. Speciiically, the invention is concerned With a machine or apparatus for dicing tuna while the same is in its packed condition within a can.

Tuna is packed in relatively small, shallow cans in a variety of forms. For example, the tuna is put up in solid form in which a single piece of the tuna is compressed within the can; in flaked form consisting in small fibrous akes which are compressed in the can; and in chunk pack form wherein a number of chunks or pieces of the tuna are compressed within the can. In all such packed forms, the compressed tuna assumes a solid, dense mass which ordinarily is removed from the can by the consumer by prying it therefrom with a fork, spoon or other utensil. When so removing the tuna from the can, the solid, compressed mass invariably breaks and the tuna thus is reduced to many small pieces or iiakes. While such small particles are suitable for some uses, such as sandwiches, creamed tuna and other dishes, when the tuna is to be used in other forms as in salads, it is desirable that it remain in pieces of as uniform size as possible. In preparing salads, fruits and vegetables are frequently diced to provide small pieces which not only add to the attractiveness of the salad as a whole but are more easily eaten. Attempts to dice tuna which has been removed from a can have been unsuccessful for the reason that the tuna invariably breaks apart due to the fact that the mass or cake is no longer confined or restrained from spreading laterally. If the mass of tuna is sliced in opposite directions while it remains in the can, satisfactory dicing cannot be produced for the reason that the tuna adheres to the knife and as the knife is withdrawn the tuna pieces are lifted from the can, one With respect to another with the result that the pieces break and fall apart. Moreover, due to the nature of the packed tuna, the slicing action itself disturbs the compressed pieces to cause them to break apart.

It is therefore a general object of my invention to provide a machine or device which is designed to dice tuna while the same remains in its packed condition Within a can, the mechanism including a plurality of knives which are forced straight into the can to cut the compressed mass of tuna first in one direction and then in a direction at right-angles to the rst direction so as to dice the mass of fish into elongate cubes, the machine or device embodying means for retaining the diced tuna compressed within the can as the knives are withdrawn, said retainer means being in the form of resiliently-mounted stripper plates or bars disposed between the knives.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tuna dicing machine or device, of the character referred to, which includes a support for the can of tuna, and a cutter head carrying the series of knives and stripper bars and reciprocable toward and away from the can positioned on the support, said cutter head and can being relatively rotatable to cause the knives to cut the tuna "ice first in one direction across the can and then in a second direction at right-angles thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cutter head and reciprocating means therefor which may be incorporated in a power-operated machine having means for moving cans of tuna successively into position below the reciprocating knife head or embodied in a manuallyoperable device, the machine being designed for use in canneries to dice the tuna in cans prior to sale of the canned tuna, and the manually-operable device being adapted for use by household and restaurant cooks in preparing tuna for salads and other dishes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine which includes a pair of the reciprocable cutter heads arranged with their respective cutting knives set at rightangles to each other, and means for conveying the packed cans into position beneath the heads, first beneath one and then beneath the other to dice the tuna within the cans.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide a dicing machine of alternative construction in which a single cutter head is arranged for reciprocation and rotary indexing movement so as to cause the cutters to cut the tuna in a can disposed therebeneath first in one direction and then in a direction at right-angles thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of further alternative construction in which the cutter head is reciprocable and non-rotatable, the machine embodying means for moving the cans into position beneath the cutter head and for rotating the cans through ninety degrees between reciprocations of the cutter head so as to elfect dicing of the tuna.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following description and from the drawings which are for the purpose of illustration only, and in Which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of one form of the tuna dicing machine employing a pair of reciprocable cutter heads arranged with their knives at right-angles to each other;

Fig 2 is a cross-sectional View through the machine, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of one of the cutter heads, taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a bottom View of the cutter head;

Fig. 6 is a side View of one of the holders for the knives;

Fig. 7 -is a `side view of one of the knives;

Fig. 8 -is a diagram, illustrating the steps involved in dicing the tuna in a can passing through the machine of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 9 is a side View `of a dicing machine of alternative construction in which a single cutter head is reciprocable toward and away from a packed can moved into position therebeneath, the head being intermittently rotated through ninety degrees;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional View, taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view, taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 10; I

Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating the steps involved in dicing the tuna in a can moved through the machine `of Fig. 9;

Fig. 13 is a side view of a further modified dicing machine in which the packed can is intermittently rotated beneath a single reciprocable cutter head which is nonrotatable;

Figs. 14, 15 and 16 are sectional views taken respectively on lines 14-14, 15-15 and 16-16 vof Fig. 13

Fig. 17 is a diagram of the steps involved in dicing the tuna of a can fed through the machine of Fig. 13; and

Fig. 18 is a side view of a manually-operable device suitable for use in dicing the tuna -in a can after the latter has been opened, preparatory to using the tuna.

Referring first to Figs. l and 2 in deail, the preferred embodiment of the dicing machine includes `a frame 20 having

idler sprockets

21 and 22 at its ends around which a conveyor chain 23 extends, the chain having spaced pusher llugs 24 thereon. The chain 23 is arranged to travel with a step-by-step motion around the

sprockets

21 and 22 and is adapted to carry cans C successively into position beneath a cutter head 25, the cans having previously been packed with tuna fish, either in whole pieces, a number of chunks thereof, or in flakes. Prior to placing the packed cans on the conveyor belt 23, the tuna has been cooked andcompressed solidly into the cans, the compressing mechanism functioning to press the tuna downwardly in the cans to leave a space at the upper open end of the cans into which a suitable oil Iis introduced prior to applying the tops to the cans to seal the same. The cans, following the operation of compressing the tuna therein are placed on the conveyor chain 23 at the lefthand end of the machine, as viewed in Fig. l and this may be accomplished automatically by suitable mechanism or manually by a worker.

The chain 23 may be fed intermittently by an electric motor and speed reducer unit 30 having an output Vshaft and sprocket 31 which drives a larger sprocket 32 carried by a transverse shaft 33 rotatable in bearings 34, by means of a chain 35. The shaft 33 carries a cam disc having a groove 36 in which a roller 37 is disposed, this roller being carried by a lever 38 pivoted vat 39 and having an arm 4G which has a pin-and-slot connection 41 with a slide bar 42 arranged for longitudinal reciprocation in a plane immediately below the upper portion 4of the conveyor chain 23. The slide 42 carries a pawl 44 which, when the slide is reciprocated, engages the pusher bars 24- Ion the chain 23 to intermittently feed the chain forwardly and thus position the loaded cans beneath the cutter head 25. Upon reaching the cutter head 25, the cans C ride in guides 46 (Fig. 2), which provide adequate support therefor during the dicing operation. In lieu of the conveyor chain 25 shown in Fig. l, the can-s C may be fed into position beneath the cutter head by a turnt-able of the general type disclosed in my United States Letters Patent No. 2,518,223, issued August S, 1950, and titled Can Packing Machines.

The cutter head 25 includes a pair of upright posts or columns l) mounted upon the upper part of the frame 2l) and provided with vertical guideway slots 51. Arranged for vertical reciprocation between the posts 50 is a cross-head 52 having runners 53 which slide in the i slots 51. The cross-head 52 is reciprocated vertically by connecting rods 55 which have upper ends pivotally connected to the ends of the cross-head at 56. The lower ends of the connecting rods 5S carry rollers 57 which engage in cam grooves 59 of cams 60 keyed to the shaft 5. By this provision, as the cams 6ft are rotated, the cross-head 52 is reciprocated vertically, -in timed relation to the intermittent movement of the conveyor chain 23 and feeding ofthe cans C beneath the cutter head 25.

The cross-head 52 carried a beam 62 to the end portions of which are bolted cutter units 63 and 63'. Each unit 63, and 63', as shown in detail in Figs. 3 to 7, consists of a square holder plate64 having a depending reduced portion 65 which is provided with a plurality of slits 66 (Fig. 6). Held in place in the slits 66 by clamping screws 67 are knives 65 of the general shape illustrated in Fig. 7. The knives 6% have blades 70 which, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, are of different widths, the outermost knife blades of the series being relatively narrow while the blades at the center of the series are of a width substantially equal to the inside diameter of a can C. By this arrangement, yall of the parallel knife 'blades 70 are adapted to enter the can to extend transversely thereof, in the same direction.

The holder plate 64 has side bars 72 and slidably mounted in holes 73 are pairs of long screws or plungers '73. Each pair of screws carries at its lower end a stripper bar 75, these bars being of a thickness to adapt them to tit between a pair of the knife blades 70. As shown best in Fig. 5, the stripper bars 75 have depending portions 76 which are so shaped that they form, with the cutter blades 70, a circular unit of a diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of a can C to adapt the unit to lit within the can. Springs 77 coiled around the plungers 73 and acting between the side bars 72 and stripper bars 75, act to normally force the latter downwardly to a position wherein the heads of the screws 73 engage the holder plate 64. By this structure, the end portions of the stripper bars are adapted to engage the rim at the upper open end of a can C to be stopped thereagainst. At this time, their central depending portions 76 are located within the can and it is to Abe noted that the height of these portions 76 is equal to that of the clear space to be provided in the upper end of the can above the tuna packed therein.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it is to be observed that the

cutter units

63 and 63 are so arranged that the knife blades '70 of each unit extend at right-angles to those of the other unit. Consequently, as the cross-head 50 is lowered toward the cans C disposed therebeneath, the knife blades 70 of the unit 63 are forced into a can to extend transversely of the can and also transversely of the path of movement of the conveyor chain. At the same time, the knife blades 70 of the other unit 63 enter another can C to extend in the direction of feed of the cans. Thus, the blades 70 of the two

units

63 and 63 simultaneously cut the tuna of different cans in directions which are right-angularly related.

When the motor 30 is started, it acts to rotate the cam 36 which, in turn, operates through the feeder lever 33 and slide 42 to feed the conveyor chain 23 with a step-by-step motion so as to feed cans C, placed on the chain at the left-hand end of the machine, in a direction to place them successively beneath the cutter head 25. The cam 60 is likewise rotated and acts through the connecting rods 55 to reciprocate the cross-head 52 and the

cutter units

63 and 63 vertically. The cams 36 and 6i) are so formed and keyed to the cam-shaft 33 that the conveyor chain 23 is operated in timed sequence to the reciprocation of the cutter units so as to feed the cans C forwardly during the upward -movement of the cutter head and to remain idle during the downward, operative stroke of the cutter head.

Assuming that a first can C has been fed into position directly below the cutter unit 63 and is now stationary, when the cutter unit 63 descends the center portions 76 of its stripper bars 75 and the lower ends of the knife blades 70 enter the can. As downward movement of the cutter unit is continued, the end portions of the stripper bars 75 engage the rim of the can C to limit the downward movement'of the stripper bars. The can is thus centered by the bars 76 and held down firmly and aspdownward movement of the cutter unit is continued, its knife blades 70 are forced downwardly, relative to the stripper bars with the springs 77 yielding for this purpose, so as to cut through the tuna packed in the can. The tuna is, therefore, sliced in the direction of feed of the can through the machine.

As the cross-head 52 is then moved upwardly by the cam 60, the knife blades 70 are withdrawn upwardly from the sliced fish in the can. During this movement, the strippers 76 remain within the can so that the tuna is held firmly in the can and adherence of the fish to the blades which would cause the sh to be pulled from the can, is positively prevented. Thus, the fish is maintained in its compressed state within the can. Also, the space within the can above the packed tuna, formed by the portions 76 of the stripper bars 75 and reserved for the oil to be later added, is maintained. During the initial upward movement of the cross-head 52, as the knives are withdrawn from the can, thenplate 64 moves upwardly relative to the stripper bars 75. Eventually, the heads of the screws 73 are engaged by the plate 64 and the stripper bars 75 thus are raised to a position to cause their central portions 76 to clear the rim of the can C. Immediately thereafter, the conveyor chain 23 is advanced to feed a second can into positon beneath the cutter unit 63 to be acted upon in the manner explained above in connection with the first-fed can. The first fed can is simultaneously advanced to a position intermediate the

cutter units

63 and 63.

After the second fed can is operated upon by the cutter unit 63, a third can is fed to this unit, the second can being advanced to the intermediate position while the rst can is moved into position beneath the other cutter unit 63. Upon the next reciprocation of the cross-head 52, the unit 63 acts to slice the tuna in the third can and simultaneously with this action, the knife blades 70 of the unit 63 function to cut through the tuna in a direction at right-angles to the first cut. Consequently, the tuna is now cut into squares and is, in effect, diced although the pieces or sticks thus formed may be somewhat longer than their width.

The sequence of operations effected by the machine in dicing the tuna within a can is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 8. Before reaching the first cutting station a beneath the cutter unit 63, the tuna T packed in the can C is uncut. At the station b, the tuna T is cut in the direction of feed of the can. The can C is then advanced to intermediate station c and upon the next feeding stroke it is advanced to station d, beneath the cutter unit 63' which then acts to cut the tuna in a direction transversely of the direction of feed of the can so as to complete the dicing operation. The can of diced tuna is then advanced by the conveyor chain 23 to the delivery end of the machine where it slides from the machine along a chute 80 (Fig. 1) which may, if desired, discharge the can onto another conveyor for passage through a machine or machines designed to add the oil and apply a cover to the can.

When a can of the diced tuna is to be used, its cover is first removed and excess oil appearing within the top of the can is poured therefrom in the usual manner. The can is then inverted over a plate and the oil-saturated diced pieces or sticks of tuna will slide from the can onto the plate. The pieces then may be used to advantage in salads and other dishes where cold tuna is usually employed. The present machine thus makes it possible to pack and sell tuna in diced form, in addition to the usual forms commonly referred to as solid, chunk and flake packs. While the machine has been described in connection with dicing tuna, it will be apparent that other products, such as canned salmon, compressed to a more or less solid mass within a can, may also be diced in this machine.

The machine illustrated in Figs. 9 -to 11 is similar in some respects to the machine described above and corresponding reference numerals indicate similar parts. In this alternative structure, the reciprocable cross-head 52 carries a Vstud 80 for rotatably supporting a 'bevel gear 81 which is fastened to the upper plate 64 of a cutter unit 82. The unit 82 is identical to the units 63 land 63 and its parts are similarly numbered. The cross-head 52, together with the unit 82, is reciprocated vertically by means of a connecting bar 83 carrying 'a roller 84 at its lower end engageable in a double-through groove 85 of a cam 86 on the shaft 33.

The cross-head 52 has brackets 87 and 88 in which la shaft S9 is rotatable, this shaft having a small bevel gear 90 which meshes with the gear 81. Also on the shaft 89 is a spur gear 92 which meshes with la stationary gear rack 93. `l-Zmbodied in the gear 92 is a oneway clutch '94 yof the type shown in Fig. 11.

When the cross-head 52 is moved downwardly under the action of the cam 86 and connecting rod 83, the knife blades 68 act to cut through the tuna in a can C located therebeneath. During the upward stroke of the cutter unit 82, rolling motion of the gear 92 along the rack 93, acting through the one-way clutch 94, rotates the shaft 89, gear and gear 81 so as to rotate the cutter unit 82 through ninety degrees. Thus, following each downward movement, the cutter unit 82 is indexed to first cause the knife blades `68 to cut the tuna in one direction and then in a direction at right-angles thereto, and thereby dice the tuna. In this machine, the cutter unit `of course makes two reciprocations following each feeding movement of the conveyor chain 23. Fig. 12 graphically illustrates this sequence of steps.

In Figs. 13 to 16 is illustrated another alternative construction in which the cross-head 52 and cutter unit 98 are reciprocated by means of the connecting rod 83 and a double-throw cam 99. In this case, the cutter unit 98 is non-rotatable but the can C located beneath the unit is -rotated through ninety degrees prior to each cutting stroke. The means for rotating the can includes a cam 100 on the shaft 33 and a transverse slide bar 101 carrying a roller 102 engaging the cam.

The slide bar 101 has fork portions 105 which engage pins 106 carried by arms 107 fastened to vertical shafts 108 rotatable in bearings 109 mounted on rails 110. The upper ends of the shafts 108 carry resilient rollers 111 between which a can, advanced to the cutting position beneath the unit 98, is located with its periphery engaged thereby.

After the rst cutting stroke of the unit 98 lhas been completed and the unit is returning to its upper position, the cam 100 acts to move the `slide bar 101 in a direction to rotate the rollers 111 in the same direction. However, since the rollers are located at 4opposite sides of the can C, they cooperate in rotating the can through ninety degrees (see Fig. 16). Thus, in this modified machine, the can itself is rotated to effect the dicing operation, as graphically illustrated in Fig. 17, two reciprocations of the cutter unit 98 'being necessary.

Referring now to Fig. 18, the present invention further contemplates the provision `of a simple, manually- `operable contrivance or device designed particularly for useV lby householders, restaurant cooks and other users of tuna to dice the tuna just prior to serving the same. The device includes a standard having a base 115 from which rises a post or column 116. Bolted to the post 116 and projecting forwardly therefrom is a bearing `arm 117 in which a plunger rod 118 is arranged for vertical reciprocation. Below the bearing, the plunger rod 118 carries a lcutter unit 120 which is `of the same construction Ias the unit 63 previously described, identical parts being designated by the same reference numerals.

Above the bearing arm 117, the plunger rod 118 has `a head 121 and interposed between this head and arm is a spring 122 coiled around the rod. The spring normally functions to elevate the plunger rod and the cutter unit carried thereby to the position shown in Fig. 18. However, these parts may be lowered manually through the medium of an operating lever or handle 123 which is pivoted to the upper end of the post 116 at 124. A link 125 is pivotally connected between the lever 123 and the head 121.

The base 115 provides a platform upon which `a packed can C of tuna may be positioned, as shown. It is important that the can be accurately centered beneath the cutter unit 120. To achieve this objective, a V-shaped spring clip 126 is provided, this clip tbeing secured to the post 116 with its curved slides or jaws directed forwardly.

To dice the tuna within the can C, the latter is placed upon the platform or base 115 and snapped into place in the spring clip 126 to locate the can in alignment with the cutter unit 120. With the packed can thus positioned, the operator simply depresses the handle 123 which acts through the link 125 to slide the plunger 11S and cutter unit 120 downwardly against the action of the spring 122. By this action, the knife blades 70 are caused to enter the can and cut downwardly through the packed tuna to cut the tish in one tranverse direction. Upon release of force against the handle 123, the cutter unit 120 is raised to its inoperative position by the spring 122. The can is then rotated in the spring clip holder 126 through ninety degrees and the cutting procedure is repeated, this second cutting of the tuna being in a direction normal to the rst cut so that the tuna is diced for serving in salads and other dishes, the diced pieces or sticks of tuna being readily removed by simply inverting the can. The device has particular utility in preparing tuna in the kitchens of eating establishments, such as restaurants, where a large quantity of tuna is used.

Throughout this specification, reference has been made to cutter units having a plurality of parallel knife blades. Such blades are obviously capable of cutting the tuna in one direction only at one time, it being necessary to either employ two cutter units arranged at right-angles to each other, to rotate a single cutter unit through ninety degrees relative to the can, or to rotate the can itself between successive reciprocations of the cutter unit. If it were possible to utilize a cutter unit having a plurality of crossing knife blades, the indexing means would be unnecessary. However, the use of such crossing blades is impossible for the reason that stripper bars canont be mounted in the squares defined by the blades. Without such stripper means, the diced tuna would remain between the blades upon removal of the latter from the can.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of the invention, together with several preferred structures of the machine or device which I now consider to represent the best embodiments thereof. I wish to have it understood, however that various other modifications might be made in the structure without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, as deiined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A machine for compressing and dicing a food material present in an open end can, comprising: a support for the can; cutter means reciprocable toward and away from the open end of the can; means operative to relatively rotate the can and cutter means so as to cut the material in a first direction and then in a second direction normal to the first direction; and stripper means associated with the cutter means and movable therewith and relative thereto, said stripper means being engageable against the rim of the open end of the can and having portions for extending into the can, said cutter means also being movable relative to said stripper means in the direction of reciprocation of said cutter means, upon engagement of said stripper means against said rim, said portions of said stripper means being operative to compress the material in the can to a predetermined distance inwardly from the rim of the can prior to movement of said blades into the can.

2. A machine for compressing and dicing a food material present in an open end can, comprising: a support for the can; cutter means reciprocable toward and away from the open end of the can; means operative to relatively rotate said can and said cutter means so as to cut the material therein in a first direction and then in a second direction normal to the irst direction; stripper means associated with 4said cutter means and movable therewith and relative thereto, said stripper means being engageable against the rim of the open end of the can and having portions for extending into the can; and a resilient connection between said cutter means and said stripper means allowing relative movement therebetween in the direction of reciprocating movement of said cutter means, said portions of said stripper means being operative tocomf` press the material in the can to a predetermined diStance 8 inwardly from the rim of the can prior to movement of said blades into the can.

3. A machine for compressing and dicing a food material present in an open end can, comprising: a support for the can; and a cutter unit reciprocable toward and iaway from the open end of the can and operable to cut the material therein, in a rst direction and then in a second direction normal to the iirst direction, said unit including a holder plate, a plurality of knife blades carried by the plate in spaced, parallel relation to one another, pairs of plunger rods slidable on said plate, a stripper bar carried by each pair of rods, springs surrounding each rod between said plate and the stripper bar, said bars extending through the spaces between said blades, stop means on said plunger rods limiting movement of said stripper bars in a direction away from said plate, said bars being engageable against the rim of the open end of the can upon movement of the cutter unit toward said can and said blades being movable into and from the can relative to said stripper bars when the bars are engaged against said rim, said portions of said stripper means being operative to compress the material in the can to a predetermined distance inwardly from the rim of the can prior to movement of said blades into the can.

4. A machine for compressing and dicing a food material present in an open end can, comprising: a support for the can; a pair of cutter units reciprocable toward and away from the open end of the can, each unit having a set of knife blades arranged in spaced, parallel relation and insertable into the can to cut the material transversely of the can, the parallel blades of the two sets being arranged at right-angles to each other; movable means for conveying the can on said support to a rst position in alignment with the rst set of reciprocating blades to cause the material to be cut in one direction and to a second position in alignment with the second set of reciprocating blades to cause the material to be cut in a direction normal to the first mentioned direction; means for reciprocating said cutter units and moving said conveyor means in timed sequence; and means embodied in said cutter units and movable a predetermined distance into the can, prior to insertion of said blades thereinto, so as to compress the material and maintain the same compressed during the operating strokes of said cutter units.

5. A device for compressing and dicing a food material present in an open end can, comprising: a standard having a base for lsupporting the can with its open end uppermost and a post projecting upwardly from the base; an arm projecting laterally from the post and having a hole providing a bearing; a plunger slidable vertically in said bearing and having a head above said bearing; a cutter unit carried by said plunger beneath said bearing and having a plurality of spaced, parallel knife blades insertable into the can to cut the material in a direction transversely of the can; a spring surrounding said plunger between said bearing and said head and normally operative to move ,the plunger and cutter unit upwardly away from the can; an operating lever pivoted to the post; a link pivotally connected between the lever and the head; spring clip means on said post, adjacent said base and into which the can is insertable to be frictionally held thereby in vertical alignment with said blades, the can being rotatable in said clip means; and a stripper means embodied in said cutter unit land having bars disposed between said blades, said bars having end portions engageable against the rim of the can and intermediate portions projecting below said end portions and movable into the can to compress the material therein.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,357,241 McGee Nov. 2, 1920 2,022,842 Boettcher Dec. 3, 1935 2,149,790 Roesch Mar. 7, 1939 2,253,123 Hart Aug. 19, 1941