CUTTING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CUTTING MATERIAL FROM A CONTAINER

Abstract: A cutting device for use in cutting through material in a container includes a rotatable shaft and a cutting element coupled to the shaft. The cutting element is laterally extendable and retractable relative to the shaft so as to accommodate tapered or non-cylindrical cups, as well as to allow use of the cutting elements in cups having different diameters.

Description: CUTTING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CUTTING MATERIAL FROM A CONTAINER Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to the field of cutting devices. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of rotary blades used to cut through solid or semi-solid material contained in a non-cylindrical vessel. Background of the Invention Preparation of certain foods and beverages can involve blending, whipping, stirring, etc. the food or beverage using a rotary blade or mixer which is lowered into a container holding the food or beverage. In Applicant's Published International Application No. PCT/US97/08250 entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING FROZEN DRINKS, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, a method for making frozen drinks is described. The application describes an apparatus which allows milkshakes and other frozen drinks to be quickly made by breaking up pre-frozen blocks of ingredients into small frozen particles using a rotating blade, and blending them with an added liquid also using the rotating blade. The ingredients to be frozen into frozen blocks are pre-mixed in liquid form, placed into serving cups which are the same serving cups in which the finished milkshake or frozen drinks are to be served, and then frozen into blocks conforming to the insides of the serving cups and stored. According to the disclosure, when a milkshake or other frozen drink is to be made, a serving cup containing the frozen block is positioned in a cup holder which forms a part of the frozen drink machine. A rotating blade is lowered into the cup and bores through the frozen substance in the cup, grinding it into small frozen particles. As the blade moves towards the bottom interior of the cup, milk, water, or another liquid is added to the cup and is blended into the frozen substance by the rotating blade Beverage containers (also referred to herein as cups) of the type used in connection with the described frozen drink making process are often tapered or non-cylindrical in design. In many cases, the tops of the containers are wider than the bottoms of the containers, allowing the containers to be nested with one another for compact storage and transport. Because the interior of a tapered cup is narrower at the bottom than it is at the top, a rotary blade used to bore through material in the cup must have a small enough diameter to fit into the bottom interior of the cup. As a result, the blade's diameter is significantly smaller than the diameter of the upper portions of the cup interior and thus does not reach solid material along the cup's sidewalls as it rotates within the cup. It is thus desirable to provide a boring device which will allow material in a tapered cup to be bored out to the cup's sidewalls, despite the tapered design of the cup. Summary of the Invention The present invention is a cutting device for use in cutting through material in a container. The cutting device includes a rotatable shaft and a cutting element coupled to the shaft. The cutting element is laterally extendable and retractable relative to the shaft so as to accommodate tapered or non-cylindrical cups, as well as to allow use of the cutting elements in cups having different diameters. Brief Description of the Drawings Figs. 1 and 2 are side elevation views of containers illustrating use of a cutting blade embodying concepts of the present invention. In Fig. 1 the blade 4 is in a laterally extended position to accommodate the wide diameter of the upper portion of the cup. In Fig. 2 the blade 4 is in a retracted position to accommodate the relatively narrower diameter of the lower portion of the cup. Figs. 3 and 4 are top plan views of a first embodiment of a cutting blade, illustrating the position of the blade relative to the shaft when the blade is in the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of extendible/retractable cutting blades showing the blades in laterally extended positions relative to the rotatable cutting blade 3 to which they are pivotably attached. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the second embodiment of Fig. 5, illustrating the blades in a retracted position relative to the main cutting blade 3. Figs. 7 and 8 are top plan views of a third embodiment of a boring blade according to the present invention, positioned in an extended and a retracted position, respectively. Figs. 9 and 10 are top plan views of a fourth embodiment of a boring blade according to the present invention, positioned in an extended and a retracted position, respectively. Figs. 11 and 12 are top plan views of a third embodiment of a boring blade according to the present invention, positioned in an extended and a retracted position, respectively. Detailed Description of the Drawings The present invention is a cutting device which has the ability to cut through and loosen all of the material contained within a tapered or non-cylindrical walled vessel. The cutting device uses a retractable element which extends outward from its rotational axis until it contacts the inside wall of the vessel, at which point the further outward travel of the retractable element is prevented by the vessel wall. As the downward travel of the rotating cutting device proceeds in a tapered vessel, and the diameter of the tapered vessel decreases, the retractable element is forced back in toward the center axis of the cutting device. In this manner, the boring action of the cutting device conforms to the tapered shape of the vessel. The cutting device is further advantageous in that it may be used to bore or cut through material in a variety of different cups each of which has a different diameter or irregularly shaped cups, since the retractable/extendible blade will extend or retract as needed to accommodate each size or shape cup. It can be appreciated from this example that, while the cutting device is particularly desirable to use in tapered cups, its use is not limited to use in tapered cups. The means of causing the retractable element to extend include numerous options. In one embodiment, centrifugal force generated by the spinning of the cutting device is used to force the element outward from its rotational axis. In another embodiment, the element can be forced outward by spring action. In yet another embodiment, the force generated by the element's contact with the material being bored may create an outward force. The commonality across these embodiments is that the wall of the container acts to constrain the outward travel of the element, resulting in a boring or cutting action which conforms to the shape of the vessel. Figures 1 and 2 are side views of tapered vessels 1 with the cutting device at different vertical positions within the vessel. This embodiment shows a retractable cutting member 4 which is forced out by centrifugal force as the shaft 2 is rotated. The retractable cutting member 4 is held in position on the rotatable shaft by a retaining ring 6 above it as well as flats on shaft 2 which keep the cutting member from rotating relative to the shaft as the cutting member slides inward and outward. Blade 3 is a fixed blade on the shaft which bores a cylinder down through the center of the vessel. Product around the perimeter of the vessel which is not cut through by blade 3 is removed by the cutting edge 5 on retractable blade 4 as it rotates and moves downward. Figure 3 shows retractable blade 4 in its more extended position which occurs near the top of the tapered vessel as depicted in Figure 1. Figure 4 shows the retractable blade 4 in its more retracted position, as caused by its contact with the vessel wall nearer to the bottom, as depicted in Figure 2. Figures 5 and 6 show an alternative embodiment of a centrifugally activated retractable cutter, where cutters are attached to a fixed cutting disc (such as the one shown and described in PCT/USA97/08250) such that they can rotate about a pivot point, allowing their extension beyond the outer edge of the fixed cutting disc in Figure 5, or their retraction to within the cutting radius of the fixed cutting disc in Figure 6. Figures 7 and 8 show an alternative embodiment of a retractable cutter using a spring to force the element out. Figures 9 and 10 show another means of using a spring, where the entire member is a spring, and the outer portion of the spring also serves as the cutting edge. Figures 11 and 12 show a third embodiment where the shape and angle of the cutting edge create an outward force on the element as it bores down through the material in the tapered vessel. Five embodiments of cutting devices have been described herein. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

Claims: Claims claim: 1. A cutting device for cutting through material in a container, the cutting device comprising: a rotatable shaft; and a cutting element coupled to the shaft, at least a portion of the cutting element being laterally extendible and retractable relative to the shaft. 2. The cutting device of claim 1 wherein the cutting element is laterally moveable relative to the shaft such that rotational movement of the shaft produces extension of the cutting device by centrifugal force. 3. The cutting device of claim 1 further including a spring contacting the shaft and the cutting element, the spring configured to exert lateral extension forces on the cutting element. 4. The cutting device of claim 1 wherein the cutting element includes a cutting surface oriented such that during rotation of the blade, contact between the blade and material to be cut results in lateral extension forces on the cutting surface. 5. The cutting device of claim 1 wherein the cutting element is a spring member. 6. The cutting device of claim 1 wherein the retractable cutting element includes a slot and wherein the rotatable shaft extends through the slot. 7. The cutting device of claim 1 , further providing a second blade carried by the shaft. 8. The cutting device of claim 7 wherein the second blade is spaced longitudinally from the cutting element. 9. The cutting device of claim 7 wherein the retractable cutting element is carried by the second blade. 10. The cutting device of claim 1 , wherein the cutting element is configured to retract in response to lateral inward contact by a container wall. 11. A method of cutting through material located in a container, comprising the steps of: a) providing a rotatable shaft, a cutting element carried by the shaft, and a cup containing material to be cut through, the cup including a sidewall; b) rotating the shaft to cause rotation of the cutting element; c) lowering the cutting element into the cup; and d) causing lateral extension or retraction of the cutting element to a position adjacent to the sidewall of the cup. 12. The method of claim 11 wherein in step (d) the step of laterally extending the cutting element is carried out by centrifugal force resulting from the rotation of the cutting element. 13. The method of claim 11 wherein in step (d) the step of laterally retracting the cutting element is carried out by contact between the cup sidewall and the cutting element. 14. The method of claim 11 wherein step (a) also provides a spring contacting the cutting element, and wherein in step (d) the spring urges the cutting element laterally outwardly to perform the step of laterally extending the cutting element. 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the spring is the cutting element. 16. The method of claim 11 wherein the cutting element includes a cutting surface, wherein during steps (b) and (c) contact between the rotating cutting element and the material in the cup results in lateral extension forces, and wherein in step (d) the step of laterally extending the cutting elements is accomplished using the lateral extension forces. 17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the providing step further provides a second blade mounted on the shaft, wherein rotation of the shaft in step (b) causes rotation of the second blade, wherein the method further includes the step of lowering the second blade into the cup and boring through material in the cup using the second blade. 18. The method of claim 17 wherein in step (a) the retractable cutting element is provided to be mounted to the second blade. 19. The method of claim 17 wherein in step (a) the retractable cutting element is provided to be longitudinally spaced from the second blade. 20. The method of claim 11 wherein the cup provided in step (a) is a tapered cup and includes an interior bottom, and wherein step (d) includes gradually retracting the cutting element as the cutting element is moved towards the interior bottom, and gradually extending the cutting element as it is moved away from the interior bottom.

Inventors: DORSEY STEVEN T, FARRELL JAMES J, DORSEY, STEVEN, T., FARRELL, JAMES, J.
Applicants: DORSEY STEVEN T, FARRELL JAMES J, STEVENS LEE COMPANY, DORSEY, STEVEN, T., FARRELL, JAMES, J., STEVENS-LEE COMPANY
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B26D
IPC codes: A23G7, A23G9, B02C18