GB2290946A

GB2290946A - An attachment for a food slicer

Info

Publication number: GB2290946A
Application number: GB9513351A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerald Goldstein
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-07-09
Filing date: 1995-06-30
Publication date: 1996-01-17
Anticipated expiration: 2015-06-30
Also published as: GB9513351D0; GB2290946B

Abstract

An attachment for a rotary food slicer of a kind having a rotary cutting blade (12) and a linearly movable platform (14) on which the food may be placed for presentation to the cutting edge, the attachment comprising a housing (20) having a clamp for attachment to the platform (13) and having a base, side walls and a roof and open at both ends thus to form a passage for vegetables or the like to be presented to the cutting edge of the blade (12). Afirst accessory includes a longitudinal upstanding wall (26) to divide the housing into two separate passages, and a second alternative accessory includes an upstanding transverse wall (28) which may be used to push vegetables towards the cutting blade. <IMAGE>

Description

AN ATTACHMENT FOR A FOOD SLICER THIS INVENTION concerns an attachment for a rotary food slicer of the kind having a rotary cutting blade and a linearly movable platform.

In devices of this kind the blade and platform are usually disposed at right-angles to one another and each is inclined so that a piece of meat or the like will readily slide down the platform towards the blade to be cut thereby as the platform is moved past the rotating blade.

Such food slicers are readily usable for individual large food items such as meat and bread but cannot easily be used for small individual items and particularly spherical items such as apples and tomatoes which would need to be retained on the platform to prevent them from rolling away from the blade. In particular, such slicers cannot be used safely for slicing tomatoes since, the user would need to hold each tomato on the platform at a position dangerously close to the cutting plate.

An object of the present invention is to provide an attachment for a rotary food slicer of the kind referred to above which will enable small individual items to be presented in plurality to the cutting blade. For example, such a device would enable tomatoes to be sliced in considerable numbers in a very short time when compared with the conventional time consuming method of slicing each tomato individually using a knife.

According to the present invention there is provided an attachment for a rotary food slicer of the kind having a rotary cutting blade and a linearly movable platform on which the food may be placed for presentation to the cutting edge of the blade, the attachment comprising a housing adapted to be mounted on the platform for receiving and containing one or more food items thereon, the housing being open-ended such that said items may emerge therefrom adjacent the cutting edge of the blade.

Preferably, the cutting blade is motor driven and the movable platform may be reciprocated past the blade in two opposed directions.

Furthermore, the attachment preferably includes some form of clamp to enable it to be removably attached to the platform of a food slicer.

Still further, the clamp is preferably adjustable in relation to the housing such that the latter may be accommodated upon rotary food slicers having movable platforms of different sizes whereby to place an open-end of the housing at a predetermined distance from the cutting blade.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic end elevation of a rotary food slicer having mounted thereon an attachment made in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is an isometric view showing one end region of the attachment; Fig. 3 is an end view; Fig. 4 is a side view including a first accessory for the attachment; and Fig. 5 is a side view of a second accessory for the attachment.

Referring now to the drawings in Fig. 1 there is shown, schematically, a typical rotary food slicer comprising a base 10, a motor housing 11 mounted on the base, a rotary cutting blade 12 mounted on the motor shaft, and a platform 13 which is linearly movable on a slide 14 in a direction parallel to the plane of the cutting blade. The blade 12 and platform 13 are disposed at right angles to one another but inclined so that a food item placed on the platform 13 may slide towards the lower end thereof to be presented to the cutting blade as the platform is moved past the latter.

Usually there is also provided a guard plate (not shown) which is positioned in a plane parallel to and surrounding the cutting blade 12 but adjustable in a direction parallel to the access of rotation thereof thus to determine the thickness of the sliced food.

In accordance with the invention a housing 20 is removably attached by clamp 21 to the platform 13. As can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3, the housing 20 comprises a container having a base, side walls and a roof, and is open at both ends, and into which a number of individual food items such as tomatoes may be placed such that they accumulate at the lower end adjacent the cutting blade. In this way, when the machine is operated in the usual manner by moving the platform past the blade the tomatoes are substantially uniformly sliced whilst being contained ready for slicing within the housing 20.

With this attachment a considerable number of tomatoes may be sliced very rapidly and without risk to the user.

The clamp 21 is adjustably mounted on the base of the housing 20 by means of a pair of screws 22, and a clamping screw 23 enables it to be fixedly attached to the platform.

As shown in Fig. 4, a first accessory for the attachment comprises a platform 25 having an upstanding central wall 26 which extends longitudinally throughout approximately three quarters of the length of the housing 20 from the open end remote from the clamp 21. This central wall ensures that tomatoes or other food items placed in the housing are constrained to pass downwardly along two parallel sides of the housing. The wall 26 is intended also to ensure that elongated articles such as cucumbers remain substantially parallel to the housing.

In use, with the housing 20 attached to a food slicer as illustrated in Fig. 1, food items may be fed progressively into the upper open end of the housing 20 to accumulate in the lower open end region and be presented progressively to the cutting plate. A considerable quantity of small items can be sliced safely and uniformly in a short period using the attachment.

Fig. 5 illustrates a second accessory 27 comprising a flat platform similar to the first accessory platform 25, but terminating at one end with an upstanding wall 28 similar in shape to the cross sectional shape of the housing 20 and serving, when inserted, to push vegetables or the like towards the blade. Preferably, the accessory 27 is made from stainless steel and is of sufficient weight to slide through the housing 20 unassisted, but is arrested by a down-turned lip which locates against the base of the housing at its upper end so that the wall 28 cannot contact the rotating blade 12.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the above example only. For example, the housing 20 may be replaced by an open framework or channel which may be upright or inverted, although for convenience it will be produced in the form of a tubular body of plastics material, as illustrated.

Claims

1. An accessory for a rotary food slicer of the kind having a rotary cutting blade and a linearly movable platform on which the food may be placed for presentation to the cutting edge of the blade, the attachment comprising a housing adapted to be mounted on the platform for receiving and containing one or more food items thereon, the housing being open-ended such that said items may emerge therefrom adjacent the cutting edge of the blade.

2. An attachment according to Claim 1, including a clamp to enable it to be removably attached to the platform of a food slicer.

3. An attachment according to Claim 2, wherein the clamp is adjustable in relation to the housing such that the latter may be accommodated upon rotary food slicers having movable platforms of different sizes such that the open end of the housing may be placed at a pre-determined distance from the cutting blade.

4. An attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housing comprises a base, side walls and a roof and is open at both ends.

5. An attachment according to any preceding claim, further including a first accessory comprising an upstanding central wall which extends longitudinally throughout a part of the length of the housing thus to divide the housing into two parallel sides along which articles to be cut may pass.

6. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein the housing comprises a tubular body of plastics material.

7. An attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housing is in the form of an open framework or channel.

8. An attachment according to any preceding claim, including a second accessory adapted to be slidably located within the housing and including an upstanding transverse wall similar in shape to the cross-sectional shape of the housing and which when inserted therein is adapted to push articles to be cut towards the blade.

9. An attachment according to Claim 8, wherein the second accessory is made from a material which is of sufficient weight to slide through the housing unassisted but includes a projection which locates against a part of the housing to prevent the upstanding wall coming into contact with the rotating blade of the food slicer.

10. An attachment for a rotary food slicer, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.