Abstract:
A handheld vegetable julienne cutter comprises an upper handle and a lower handle pivotally connected by a handle pivot; a vegetable holder in the lower handle with griddle knives in the bottom end of the vegetable holder; a vegetable press in the upper handle, wherein the vegetable press is positioned to pass through the vegetable holder when the upper handle and lower handle are pressed together; and vegetable cutting blades comprising a series of interchangeable blades with various spacing dimensions.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       SEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE, OR COMPUTER LISTING 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    The present invention relates generally to the field of vegetable slicers. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of handheld vegetable julienne cutters. 
         [0006]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0007]    Food cutters and graters suitable for vegetables such as carrots have been considered in the past. Different types of vegetable cutters include handheld push through vegetable cutters with griddle knives, handheld crank-powered food cutters, handheld lever-powered food cutters, mandolin style vegetable cutters, and vegetable cutters with a container with a crank-powered vegetable pusher. The following patents are representative of such devices. 
         [0008]    An example of a handheld push through vegetable cutter with griddle knives is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,674, issued Nov. 12, 1991 to Geoffrey D. Rowell. In the Rowell patent, a handheld vegetable cutter comprises a handle connected to a holder of transverse blades. Vegetables are julienne sliced by manually pushing vegetable pieces through the blades in the holder. 
         [0009]    Examples of handheld crank-powered food cutters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,915,973 B2, issued Jul. 12, 2005 to Kwok Kuen So and U.S. Pat. No. 7,337,997 B2, issued Mar. 4, 2008 to Kon Yi Ko. In the former So patent, vegetable pieces are manually pushed down by the handle onto a barrel surface where a manually-powered hand crank rotates cutting blades through the barrel surface to cut the vegetable pieces. The food cutter is said to be used to grate solid food items such as cheese and carrots and to julienne slice only lighter food such as parsley. In the latter Ko patent, vegetable pieces are manually pushed down by the handle onto a drum surface with cutting blades where a manually-powered hand crank rotates the drum to cut the vegetable pieces. 
         [0010]    Examples of handheld lever-powered food cutters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,107 B1, issued Jun. 25, 2002 to John J. Romano and U.S. Pat. No. 7,637,445 B2, issued Dec. 25, 2009 to Kwok Kwen So et al. In the former Romano patent, the manually-powered handle pushes vegetable pieces down onto a manually-powered handle lever moving a slicing or grating platform back and forth. In the latter So patent, a manually-powered thumb device pushes vegetable pieces down onto a manually-powered handle lever rotating a slicing or grating cylinder. 
         [0011]    An example of a mandolin style vegetable cutter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,285 B2, issued Apr. 6, 2010 to Julien de Buyer. Mandolin vegetable cutters are usually free-standing on legs and employ a selection of typically v-shaped removable blades for different kinds of cuts, including julienne. Typically, as in the de Buyer patent, all the extra blades are stored under the device. Switching blades is cumbersome and potentially dangerous. 
         [0012]    An example of a vegetable cutter with a container with a crank-powered vegetable pusher is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,192 B2, issued Dec. 3, 2013 to Lawrence M. Hauser et al.. In the Hauser et al. patent, various plates with slicing blades are positioned in a container that is free standing. A manually-powered crank pushes vegetable pieces down onto the blades and rotates the vegetable pieces so that they are sliced by the blades. 
         [0013]    Thus, a need exists for handheld vegetable julienne cutter that is safe, simple, easily portable, and cuts appropriately-sized julienne slices. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    In one embodiment, the invention is a handheld vegetable julienne cutter comprising an upper handle and a lower handle pivotally connected by a handle pivot; a vegetable holder in the lower handle with griddle knives in the bottom end of the vegetable holder; a vegetable press in the upper handle, wherein the vegetable press is positioned to pass through the vegetable holder when the upper handle and lower handle are pressed together; and vegetable cutting blades comprising a series of interchangeable blades with various spacing dimensions. 
         [0015]    In an alternative embodiment, the invention is a method for employing a handheld vegetable julienne cutter, comprising moving an upper handle and a lower handle of a handheld vegetable julienne cutter apart to raise a vegetable press connected to the upper handle to allow access to a vegetable holder interior of a vegetable holder connected to the lower handle; inserting a vegetable piece into the vegetable holder interior; pushing the upper handle and the lower handle manually together to push the vegetable press to force the vegetable piece through the vegetable holder; pushing the vegetable piece through griddle knives at a bottom end of the vegetable holder; and emerging the vegetable piece from the griddle knives as julienne slices. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    The invention and its advantages may be more easily understood by reference to the following detailed description and the attached drawings, in which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of a handheld vegetable julienne cutter; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  shows a schematic side view of the vegetable press and vegetable holder of the vegetable cutter corresponding to  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  shows a schematic bottom view of the vegetable press of the vegetable cutter corresponding to  FIGS. 1-2 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  shows a schematic bottom view of the vegetable holder of the vegetable cutter corresponding to  FIGS. 1-2 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  shows a schematic bottom view of an alternative embodiment of the vegetable holder of the vegetable cutter corresponding to  FIGS. 1-2 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  shows a schematic side view of an alternative embodiment of a handheld vegetable julienne cutter; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  shows a schematic side view of the vegetable press and vegetable holder of the vegetable cutter corresponding to  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  shows a schematic side view of another alternative embodiment of a handheld vegetable julienne cutter. 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  shows a schematic side view of the vegetable press and vegetable holder of the vegetable cutter corresponding to  FIG. 8 ; and 
           [0026]      FIG. 10  shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method corresponding to the invention for employing the handheld vegetable julienne cutter shown in  FIGS. 1, 6 and 8 . 
       
    
    
       [0027]    While the invention will be described in connection with its preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may be included within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0028]    The invention, in various embodiments, is a handheld vegetable julienne cutter. In particular, the invention is suitable as a handheld carrot julienne cutter. 
         [0029]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic side view (not necessarily to scale) of an embodiment of a handheld vegetable julienne cutter, such as may be used according to the present invention. The vegetable cutter is designated in general by the reference numeral  10 . 
         [0030]    This exemplary vegetable cutter  10  comprises an upper handle  11  and a lower handle  12 . The upper handle  11  and the lower handle  12  are pivotally connected by a handle pivot  13 . The lower handle  12  further comprises a vegetable holder  14  connected at the front end  15  of the lower handle  12 . The vegetable holder  14  further comprises griddle knives  16  in the bottom end  17  of the vegetable holder  14 . The upper handle  11  further comprises a vegetable press  18  connected to the front end  19  of the upper handle  11 . The handle pivot  13  is positioned in the middles of the upper handle  11  and the lower handle  12 . The pliers-style configuration provides for mechanical advantage (leverage) in cutting vegetables. 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  shows a schematic side view (not necessarily to scale) of the vegetable holder  14  and the vegetable press  18  of the vegetable cutter  10  corresponding to  FIG. 1 . The griddle knives  16  in the vegetable holder  14  further comprise a plurality of vegetable cutting blades  20 . The vegetable holder  14  further comprises vegetable holder internal walls  21  that define a vegetable holder interior  22 . The vegetable cutting blades  20  are employed to cut vegetable pieces that are placed in the vegetable holder interior  22  in the vegetable holder  14 . 
         [0032]    The vegetable press  18  further comprises vegetable press teeth  23  on the bottom end  24  of the vegetable press  18  that aid in pushing the vegetable pieces through the vegetable holder interior  22  in the vegetable holder  14  and then completely through the vegetable cutting blades  20  in the griddle knives  16 . This pushing results in the vegetable pieces being cut into julienne slices. In a preferred embodiment, the vegetable holder height  25  of the vegetable holder  14  is approximately 5.08 cm (2 inches). 
         [0033]      FIG. 3  shows a schematic bottom view (not necessarily to scale) of the vegetable press  18  of the vegetable cutter  10  corresponding to  FIGS. 1-2 . This bottom view illustrates the positioning of the vegetable press teeth  23  protruding from the bottom end  24  of the vegetable press  18 . This positioning allows the vegetable press teeth  23  to line up with and pass through the openings between the vegetable cutting blades  20  in the griddle knives  16 . This spacing thus further aids in cutting the vegetable pieces into julienne slices. In a preferred embodiment, the vegetable press width  30  of the vegetable press  18  is approximately 3.81 cm (1.5 inches). 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  shows a schematic bottom view (not necessarily to scale) of the vegetable holder  14  of the vegetable cutter  10  corresponding to  FIGS. 1-2 . This bottom view illustrates the positioning of the vegetable cutting blades  20  in the griddle knives  16 . As noted above, this positioning allows the vegetable press teeth  23  to line up with the openings between the vegetable cutting blades  20  and thus further aids in cutting the vegetable pieces into julienne slices. The interior width  40  of the vegetable holder interior  22  is slightly larger than the vegetable press width  30  of the vegetable press  18  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) to allow the vegetable press  18  to fit into the vegetable holder interior  22 . Thus, in the preferred embodiment, the interior width  40  of the vegetable holder interior  22  is approximately 3.81 cm (1.5 inches). In a preferred embodiment, the spacing  41  between the vegetable cutting blades  20  is approximately 0.125 cm (0.25 inches). 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  shows a schematic bottom view (not necessarily to scale) of an alternative embodiment of the vegetable holder  14  of the vegetable cutter  10  corresponding to  FIGS. 1-2 . This bottom view illustrates an alternative positioning of the vegetable cutting blades  20  in the griddle knives  16 . In this embodiment, the spacing  51  between the vegetable cutting blades  20  is twice the spacing as the spacing  41  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Thus, for the preferred spacing of approximately 0.64 cm (0.25 inch) illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the spacing  51  between the vegetable cutting blades  20  is approximately 1.27 cm (0.5 inches). The spacing  51  between the vegetable cutting blades  20  in  FIG. 5  is a multiple of the spacing  41  between the vegetable cutting blades  20  in  FIG. 6 . This spacing  51  allows the vegetable press teeth  23  to still line up with the openings between the vegetable cutting blades  20  and thus still aids in cutting the vegetable pieces into julienne slices. 
         [0036]    In an alternative embodiment, the griddle knives  16  are detachable from the bottom end  17  of the vegetable holder  14 . This aids the interchangeability of the vegetable cutting blades  20  with different spacing  41 ,  51 , as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , respectively. in another alternative embodiment, the vegetable holder  14  and the vegetable press  18  are detachable from the lower handle  12  and the upper handle  11 , respectively. 
         [0037]      FIG. 6  shows a schematic side view (not necessarily to scale) of an alternative embodiment of a handheld vegetable julienne cutter. In this exemplary alternative embodiment, the handle pivot  13  is repositioned. Instead of being positioned behind the vegetable holder  14  and the vegetable press  18  of the vegetable cutter  10 , as shown in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the handle pivot  13  is here positioned in front of the vegetable holder  14  and the vegetable press  16  in  FIG. 6 , at the front of the upper handle  11  and the lower handle  12 . Accordingly, the vegetable holder  14  is integrated directly into the lower handle  12  and the vegetable press  18  is integrated directly into the upper handle  11 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 7  shows a schematic side view (not necessarily to scale) of the vegetable holder  14  and the vegetable press  18  of the alternative embodiment of the vegetable cutter  10  corresponding to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 7  is similar to  FIG. 2  except for the manner in which the vegetable holder  14  is connected to the lower handle  12  and the vegetable press  18  is connected to the upper handle  11 . 
         [0039]    further comprises vegetable press teeth  23  on the bottom end  24  of the vegetable press  18  that aid in pushing the vegetable pieces through the vegetable holder interior  22  in the vegetable holder  14  and then completely through the vegetable cutting blades  20  in the griddle knives  16 . This pushing results in the vegetable pieces being cut into julienne slices. 
         [0040]      FIG. 8  shows a schematic side view (not necessarily to scale) of another alternative embodiment of a handheld vegetable julienne cutter. In this exemplary alternative embodiment, the handle pivot  13  is also positioned in front of the vegetable holder  14  and the vegetable press  17  of the vegetable cutter  10 , as in  FIG. 6 . The vegetable press  18  is no longer integrated into the upper handle  11 . Instead, the vegetable press  18  is connected to the upper handle  11  by a vegetable press support arm  80 . The vegetable press support arm  80  is connected to the upper handle  11  by a support arm pivot  81 . The support arm pivot  81  aids in directing the vegetable press  18  into the vegetable holder interior  22  of the vegetable holder  14 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 9  shows a schematic side view (not necessarily to scale) of the vegetable holder  14  and the vegetable press  18  of the alternative embodiment of the vegetable cutter  10  corresponding to  FIG. 8 . Again,  FIG. 9  is similar to  FIGS. 2 and 7  except for the manner in which the vegetable holder  14  is connected to the lower handle  12  and the vegetable press  18  is connected to the upper handle  11 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 10  shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method corresponding to the invention for employing the handheld vegetable julienne cutter shown in  FIGS. 1, 6 and 8 . 
         [0043]    At block  100 , an upper handle and a lower handle of a handheld vegetable julienne cutter are moved apart to raise a vegetable press connected to the upper handle to allow access to a vegetable holder interior of a vegetable holder connected to the lower handle. 
         [0044]    At block  101 , a vegetable piece is inserted into the vegetable holder interior from block  100 . The vegetable piece preferably has dimensions of approximately 5.1 cm by 0.3 cm (2 inches by 1/8 inch) to fit in the vegetable holder interior. 
         [0045]    At block  102 , the upper handle and lower handle from block  100  are manually pushed together, pushing the vegetable press to force the vegetable piece from block  101  through the vegetable holder. 
         [0046]    At block  103 , the vegetable piece from block  102  is pushed through griddle knives at a bottom end of the vegetable holder from block  102 . 
         [0047]    At block  104 , the vegetable piece from block  103  emerges from the griddle knives from block  103  as julienne slices. 
         [0048]    It should be understood that the preceding is merely a detailed description of specific embodiments of this invention and that numerous changes, modifications, and alternatives to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure here without departing from the scope of the invention. The preceding description, therefore, is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined only by the appended claims and their equivalents.