Patent ID: 8267009
Filing Date: 2012-09-18
Classification: A23N,A47J

Abstract:
1. A nutcracker comprising: a vertical, right cylinder with a textured interior surface having a length between a top end and a bottom end of said interior surface; a right circular cone with a textured exterior surface having a length between a top end and a bottom end of the exterior surface; wherein the cone is rotatably mounted within the vertical cylinder with a narrow end of the cone facing up and a broad end of the cone facing down; wherein said interior surface and said exterior surface are non-parallel all along the length of the interior surface and all along the length of the exterior surface to form an annular space between said interior surface and said exterior surface that linearly decreases in width from top to bottom of the annular space so that the annular space comprises a cracking zone around a lower portion of the interior surface of the cylinder, said cracking zone having a minimum width between the bottom end of the interior surface of the cylinder and the exterior surface of the cone, so that nuts received in the annular space fall down to be cracked in the cracking zone between the non-parallel interior and exterior surfaces; wherein the cylinder is adjustable in position relative to the cone between a fully-lowered position wherein the bottom end of the interior surface of the cylinder and the bottom end of the exterior surface of the cone are at substantially the same level, to a fully-raised position wherein the bottom end of the interior surface of the cylinder is located about midway along the length of the exterior surface of the cone, so that said minimum width of the cracking zone is larger when the cylinder is in the fully-raised position than when in the fully-lowered position, for preventing nuts from being ground and cracked into small pieces in a too-small cracking zone.