Abstract:
An apparatus for manufacturing a curly sliced potato chip includes: a base frame; a cutting blade coupled to the base frame; and a rotatable threaded rod having a predetermined threaded pitch to which rod the potato is mounted. The rod is turned to rotate the potato while it is in a cutting position and to displace it toward or away from the cutting blade. A quick release engaging member has a threaded portion with a pitch compatible with the pitch of the rod. The member is fixed relative to the base frame and is selectively coupled with the threaded rod to selectively drive the potato mounted on the rod toward or away from the cutting blade as the rod is rotated. The potato is displaced toward or away the cutting blade at a linear displacement rate determined by the pitch of the threaded rod.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is related to provisional application Ser. No. 60/945,423, filed on Jun. 21, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference and to which priority is claimed pursuant to 35 USC 119. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to the field of cutting produce, specifically cutting them into continuous, curl shaped chips. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    Many devices and methods have long existed in the art for cutting produce such as potatoes, apples, and the like for many years. Prime examples of such devices include the apparatus found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,464,993 (“Ross”) that shreds and strings potatoes, and the apparatus found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,942 (“Jones”) that slices potatoes into spirals via a motorized threaded shaft. Both Ross and Jones are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
         [0006]    Currently, there are also numerous examples of apple peelers and de-corers which are designed to cut thick pieces of fruit and remove their cores for use in pies and other cooking utilities. Also prevalent in the market are a variety of multi-purpose plastic spiral vegetable cutters which are used to make salads and other vegetable dishes less time consuming to make and easier to accomplish. 
         [0007]    While these various fruit and vegetable cutters and peelers are not without their successes, they also have multiple drawbacks and limitations as well. For example, many fruit and vegetable cutters utilize a sliding mechanism which pushes the produce toward a blade, thus resulting in uneven cuts and increasing the difficulty of use. Other existing devices that are capable of slicing chips from a piece of produce are only able to make relatively small chips because the front coring knife used to hold the produce in place uses up a large portion of the produce itself. Additionally, apparatus such as those disclosed in Ross and Jones are bulky and are difficult to assemble and disassemble and store when the apparatus is not in use. 
         [0008]    What is needed is an apparatus that has the ability to cut produce into thin, evenly sliced continuous curly slices that is inexpensive to make, easy to assemble and dissemble, and convenient to store when not in use. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The invention disclosed herein is a cutting apparatus for cutting produce into a substantially continuous and curly slice. The invention will be described specifically slicing a potato, but it is to be expressly understood that any fruit or vegetable may used with substantially the same results. Using the currently described apparatus, a curly spiral potato chip can be made by first cutting the potato into a continuous spiral slice and then deep frying or baking the slice. A spring release mechanism provides a quick release of the driving force on the threaded rod to immediately stop the cutting process. The resulting potato chip has a uniform thickness and a long, continuous curly shape that is desired by many consumers, which shape is defined by the pitch of the threads rather than by the pressure manually exerted on the slicer as in prior art devices. As described below, the apparatus thus provides a less expensive and safer method for making potato chips that is simpler to use than the prior art potato chip makers. 
         [0010]    To operate the apparatus, a potato or other vegetable or fruit is mounted onto a spinner which is coupled to a threaded rod which in turn is coupled to a handle. When the handle is rotated clockwise, the threaded rod is driven forward, thus spinning the potato about its horizontal axis and driving the potato forward in the lateral direction. A base mounted to a table or counter holds the threaded rod and potato in a fixed vertical position and also supports a fixed blade on the far end of the apparatus. As the handle continues to rotate, the potato is driven to the far end of the apparatus until contact with the fixed blade is made. 
         [0011]    Once the blade has made contact with the potato, the handle continues to be rotated thus spinning the potato on top of the blade. The blade itself is set off at an angle with respect to the base and when the potato spins against it, the blade slices into the potato. As the potato continues to spin, the blade continues to slice deeper into the potato, thus forming a uniformly thin spiral cut. The threaded rod meanwhile continues to drive the remaining uncut potato into the fixed blade thus providing a continuous spiral cut potato slice. If the handle is rotated counterclockwise, the threaded rod is driven back in the proximal direction and the potato comes off of the fixed blade and slicing terminates. 
         [0012]    This process may be done for an entire potato to provide a single lengthy spiral cut chip, or be done as many times as desired by the user in order to provide several smaller spiral cut chips. 
         [0013]    The threaded rod is coupled to the base of the apparatus via a novel spring activated quick release mechanism. An elongated aperture having both a lower internal threaded region and an opposing upper internal non-threaded region is coupled to the apparatus base via a small spring. In order to slide the threaded rod into the aperture, the user must compress the spring by pushing down on the engaging member comprising the aperture itself. When the aperture moves down, the inner threaded region also moves down, leaving the upper nonthreaded region available to accommodate the threaded rod. Since only the nonthreaded region of the aperture is exposed, the rod is free to smoothly slide into the aperture. Once the rod has been appropriately placed, the user releases the engaging member and the spring recoils and pushes the aperture and thus the inner threaded region back into its original position. As a result, the inner threaded region then engages the threads on the rod above it which allows the rod to be in a supported fixed vertical position as the handle coupled to the rod is being rotated. Thus, the spring and engaging member provide a quick release and engaging mechanism for coupling the threaded rod to the base of the apparatus. 
         [0014]    In another embodiment, the quick release and engaging mechanism comprises a push down button, that when depressed, pushes down a U-channel with a substantially smooth inner surface which allows the threaded rod to easily slide in and out of the aperture. When the push down button is released, a spring pushes a threaded shuttle upwards thus engaging its internally threaded surface with the threads on the rod. 
         [0015]    Both embodiments of the quick release mechanism described above allow the apparatus to be easily assembled and disassembled every time it is needed by the user. Having the ability to quickly remove the threaded rod of the device not only adds to the convenience of the apparatus, but also aides in the user being able to store the apparatus when not in use in a more efficient manner. With the threaded rod and handle removed, the apparatus becomes significantly less bulky and is easier to store or pack into a smaller area than its prior art predecessors. Additionally, the present apparatus is also much safer than other fruit and vegetable slicers, because if the user needs to immediately stop the driving force being applied to the threaded rod and disengage the potato or other object from the blade, the quick release mechanism allows for the rod to be instantly pulled back and thus clear any object from the blade almost immediately. This feature is clearly more advantageous and safer than the method presented in the prior art of disengaging an object from a blade by rotating the handle counterclockwise until the object is slowly driven back into the opposite direction away from the blade. 
         [0016]    While the apparatus and method has or will be described for the sake of grammatical fluidity with functional explanations, it is to be expressly understood that the claims, unless expressly formulated under 35 USC 112, are not to be construed as necessarily limited in any way by the construction of “means” or “steps” limitations, but are to be accorded the full scope of the meaning and equivalents of the definition provided by the claims under the judicial doctrine of equivalents, and in the case where the claims are expressly formulated under 35 USC 112 are to be accorded full statutory equivalents under 35 USC 112. The invention can be better visualized by turning now to the following drawings wherein like elements are referenced by like numerals. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a cutting apparatus shown as being operated to cut a potato into a continuous curly chip. 
           [0018]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view as seen when the handle is on the right of the apparatus in its assembled state without engagement with a potato or other vegetable or fruit to be cut. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2B  is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 2A  in its disassembled state. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3A  is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus when the handle is on the left showing all of its various components. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3B  is a perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 3A  after it has been assembled. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4A  is an exploded perspective view of the base frame of the apparatus. 
           [0023]      FIG. 4B  is a cross sectional view of the end support. 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  is a magnified perspective view of the engaging member of the apparatus. 
           [0025]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus comprising a push down button quick release mechanism. 
       
    
    
       [0026]    The invention and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are presented as illustrated examples of the invention defined in the claims. It is expressly understood that the invention as defined by the claims may be broader than the illustrated embodiments described below. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a cutting apparatus, generally denoted by reference numeral  100 , being operated cut a potato  102  into a continuous curly chip  104 . As shown, the potato is non-rotatably mounted on a spinner  106  which is driven through by a threaded rod  108  towards the distal end of the apparatus  100  by manually rotating a handle  110 . When the threads on the rod  108  are engaged with the engaging member  112 , cranking the handle  110  clockwise will drive the rod  108  forward. As the potato  102  comes into contact with the cutting blade  114  anchored to the base  116  of the apparatus, it is cut into the continuous chip  104  while being stepped forward by the rod  108  and being rotated by the spinner  106 . The thickness of the chip  104  is defined by the pitch of the threading of the rod  108 . 
         [0028]    The base  116  provides support to the rod  108  though one or more supporting members  118 , which have an bore  112   a  as best shown in  FIG. 3A  through which the rod  108  extends. Also depicted in  FIG. 1 , the base  116  is also coupled to a securing bracket  120  for temporarily fixing the apparatus  100  to a table  122  or other suitable rigid object. The securing bracket  120  may be part of the base  116  itself as shown, or be a separate piece. 
         [0029]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective, conceptual view of the apparatus  100 .  FIG. 2B  is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus  100  in its unassembled state, showing the components of the apparatus  100 . As shown in  FIG. 2A  the cutting blade  114  is coupled to an end support  124  on an end of the base  116  using one or more screws  126 . It is to be expressly understood that other means for coupling the blade  114  to the end support  124  such as clips, flanges, bolts, welds, or adhesive may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Blade  114  may be permanently attached to end support  124  or detachable to allow for replacement and/or sharpening as needed. A pin  128  is also coupled to the end support  124  for rotatably engaging a potato  102  on the distal end of the apparatus opposite to the spinner  106 , thus preventing the potato  102  from altering its rotational axis with respect to the rod  108  as the potato  102  is cut by blade  114  and the chip  104  advance through slot  115  in end support  124 . 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 2B , one or more flanged bearings  118   a  are used to couple the rod  108  within the support member  118 . The engaging member  112  is coupled to the rod  108  through a spring  130  as discussed below. Rod  108  telescopically extends through bearings  118   a  in support member  118  and through engaging member  112 , which is positioned between the two opposing support members  118 . 
         [0031]    The securing bracket  120  depicted in  FIG. 2A  includes a flange  120   a  for pressing a table against the base  116 . The flange  120   a  is driven or tightened against the table by a threaded rod  120   b  coupled to a threaded bore in fitting  121  extending from bracket  120 , which is in turn rotated using a tightening handle  120   c . Bracket  120  and base  116  are preferably integral with each other as a single piece, but may be fabricated in two or more sections if desired. 
         [0032]      FIG. 2B  also depicts the spinner portion of the apparatus. The spinner  106  is secured or fixed to the rod  108  using a bolt  106   a , however other means for securing may include screws, welds, or adhesive without departing from the original spirit and scope of the invention. Rod  108  is extendable from support members  118  and is connected to spinner  106  as best shown in  FIG. 2A . 
         [0033]    A procedure for assembling the apparatus  100  is illustrated in  FIG. 3A . The base frame  116  along with the end support member  124  is first coupled together using methods well known in the art. Next, cutting blade  114  is coupled to the end support  124  using screws  126  or other equivalent means. A tapered spring  130  is then coupled to the base frame  116  between a pair of support members  118 . The narrowed base of tapered spring  130  may be captured by a post provided in the opposing surface of bracket  120  with the larger opposing end of spring  130  being captured by engaging member  112  as described below in connection with  FIG. 5 . The engaging member  112  is then placed on top of the tapered spring  130  and between the two support members  118 , thereby compressing spring  130  as rod  108  is then extended through the aperture of the support members and the aperture  112   a  defined in the engaging member  112 . 
         [0034]    One or more rubber extrusion pads  132  may optionally and removably be coupled to the base frame  116  to protect the surface of the table and to prevent movement of the apparatus  100  when secured to the table using securing bracket  120  as shown in a second embodiment shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . The securing bracket  120  shown in  FIG. 3A  is similar to that of a vice, however any other equivalent means in the art may be used such as clips, Velcro, or pneumatic devices without departing from the original scope and spirit of the invention.  FIG. 3B  depicts the apparatus  100  after it has been assembled following a procedure to that described above. 
         [0035]      FIG. 4A  shows a perspective view of the base frame  116  including the end support  124 . The pin  128  is press fit or otherwise fixed into an aperture  128   a  on the end support  124 . The bearings  118   a  also press fit into the support members  118 . A swivel joint  134  or another equivalent joint is coupled to or captured on the end of the threaded rod  120   b  which is threaded through threaded aperture  120   d  of the securing means  120 . Swivel joint  134  is shown in cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4B . 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the engaging member  112  having aperture  112   a  with a internally threaded lower area  112   b , and bottom tabs  112   c . The aperture  112   a  is substantially elongated or elliptical in cross section. Within the aperture  112   a  of engaging member  112  there is also a non-threaded upper area  112   b ′ opposing the threaded area  112   b . Normally, spring  130  bearing against the bottom of member  112  as shown in  FIG. 5  urges threaded portion  112   b  upward and into engagement with threaded rod  108  as shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3   b . Rotation of rod  108  will drive rod  108  toward or away from end support  124  depending on the sense of rotation to cause the potato to be cut by blade  114  or to back blade  114  away from uncut portions of the potato. In the illustrated embodiment, When the rod  108  is rotated clockwise, the rod  108  is driven forward toward the cutting blade  114 . When the rod  108  is rotated counterclockwise, the rod  108  withdraws from the cutting blade  114 . 
         [0037]    When the user pushes down on member  112 , spring  130  as shown in  FIG. 3A  is compressed, causing the threaded area  112   b  to disengage from the threaded rod  108 , which moves upward into nonthreaded upper area  112   b ′. Thus, when the rod  108  is rotated, there is no horizontal drive force to drive the rod  108  toward or away from the blade  114 . In such a disengaged configuration, the rod  108  can be slid horizontally in either direction through the aperture  112   a  without engagement with the threaded area  112   b . When member  112  is released, spring  130  once again urges the threaded area  112   b  to reengage threaded rod  108 . Thus, the combination of spring  130  and member  112  provides a quick release and engaging mechanism. This feature of the engaging member  112  is not only highly convenient for quickly setting up the apparatus  100  in its initial configuration to cut the potato or to disengage the potato from the apparatus  100 , but makes the apparatus safe to use because, if at any moment the user wishes to disengage the potato or other object from the blade  114 , the rod  108  may be stopped and removed almost instantaneously thereby preventing possible injury to the user. 
         [0038]    As best shown in  FIG. 3A , the spring  130  may be coupled on its lower end to post  130   a  on the base frame  116  between the support members  118  and on its opposing upper end to a post or blind hole (not shown) in the engaging member  112 . When member  112  is pushed down tabs  112   c  slide into aperture  130   b  in the base frame  116 , which aperture  130   b  capture tabs  112   c  (shown in  FIG. 5 ), thus retaining the engaging member  112  in its disengaged state. When engaging or coupling engaging member  112  to rod  108 , the engaging member  112  is rotated slightly to release the tabs  112   c  from aperture  130   b  allowing member  112  to be pushed up by spring  130 . When spring  130  is subsequently pushes the engaging member  112  upward, threaded section  112   b  engages with the threads on the rod  108 . 
         [0039]    Another embodiment for the engaging member  112  of the apparatus  100  may provide the internally threaded section in its top portion and the smooth surface in its bottom portion in a manner reversed from that shown in  FIG. 5 . In this case when spring  130  is compressed by pushing member  112  downwardly, the rod  108  is engaged with member  112  and released or disengaged from rod  108  when allowed to rise under the urging of spring  130 , which is opposite to the exemplary configuration shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment  200  of the apparatus with an engaging member  201  comprising a push down button  201   a . When the push down button  201   a  is depressed toward or into receiving chamber  201   f , button  201   a  presses down a spring top  201   b . The spring top  201   b  is basically a resilient or flexible cover for a chamber  201   f  and is coupled to the chamber  201   f  through a plurality of screws. The spring top  201   b  in turn pushes a U-channel  201   c  Into chamber  201   f . The U-channel  201   c  has a substantially smooth inner surface to allow the rod  108  to slide therethrough without engagement with U-channel  201   c . When the push down button  201   a  is released, a compression spring  201   e  captured between frame  204  and shuttle  201   d , which is slidingly captured within chamber  201   f , pushes threaded shuttle  201   d  upwards, engaging its internally threaded inner surface with the threads on the rod  108 . Thus, in a manner similar to the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-5 , rod  108  can be quickly released for adjustment or disengagement by depressing button  201   a  and then automatically re-engaged with shuttle  201   d  captured within chamber  201   f , but allowing spring  201   e  to push shuttle  201   d  against rod  108 . Additionally, a rubber cap  202  applied to the top of clamp  120  may be used to protect the surface of a table instead of the rubber extrusion  132  depicted in  FIG. 3A . 
         [0041]    Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following invention and its various embodiments. 
         [0042]    Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer, more or different elements, which are disclosed in above even when not initially claimed in such combinations. A teaching that two elements are combined in a claimed combination is further to be understood as also allowing for a claimed combination in which the two elements are not combined with each other, but may be used alone or combined in other combinations. The excision of any disclosed element of the invention is explicitly contemplated as within the scope of the invention. 
         [0043]    The words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself. 
         [0044]    The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are, therefore, defined in this specification to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination. 
         [0045]    Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. 
         [0046]    The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptionally equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the invention.