Abstract:
Knife assemblies and methods therefor that are adapted to be used with a cutting apparatus capable of producing a variety of shaped food products having large amplitudes, for example, sliced, shredded, and strip-cut food products. The knife assembly includes a primary blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product slice having a periodic shape, and at least one tab blade assembled with or formed from the primary blade to cut a food product slice into strips.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This is a continuation-in-part patent application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/868,763, filed Apr. 23, 2013, which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/636,769, filed Apr. 23, 2012. In addition, this application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/914,091, filed Dec. 10, 2013. The contents of these prior applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to methods and equipment for cutting food products, and shapes of food products produced thereby. 
         [0003]    Various pieces of equipment are used for slicing, shredding, and texturing food products such as vegetable, fruit, dairy, and meat products. Commonly used equipment used in this field are commercially available from Urschel Laboratories, Inc., under the name Urschel Model CC®, which are centrifugal-type cutting machines capable of producing uniform slices, strip cuts, shreds and granulations of a wide variety of food products at high production capacities. Model CC® machines generally comprise one or more knife assemblies arranged in sets spaced around the circumference of a cutting head. 
         [0004]    Various types of knives have been developed for making specific types of cuts in food products, examples of which are knives developed to produce what is known as the julienne cut. Such a cut typically results in a food product, commonly a vegetable, being cut into long strips with rectangular or square cross sections.  FIGS. 7 through 9  represent knives  50 ,  52  and  54  recently developed to produce julienne cuts with machines such as the aforementioned Urschel Model CC® machines. Each of the knives  50 ,  52  and  54  comprises a large-amplitude shaped (corrugated) blade  56  suitable for producing large-amplitude shaped food products, including shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products, non-limiting examples of which include those disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D711068 and D704919. The profiles of these blades  56 , when viewed from their leading edges  60 , resemble a wave pattern, while secondary blades (tabs  58 ) are shown as located at the peaks  62  of these waves to produce a desired julienne cross section. In use, the leading edge  60  of the blade  56  cuts a slice off of a food product, followed by the julienne tabs  58  that cut the slice into strips. 
         [0005]    The leading edges of the tabs  58  represented in  FIG. 7  are located behind the leading edge  60  of the blade  56  and the tabs  58  extend to the trailing edge of the blade  56 . Relatively narrow julienne tabs  58  are represented in  FIG. 8 , and relatively narrow staggered julienne tabs  58  are represented in  FIG. 9 . The tabs  58  of  FIG. 7  are also represented as each having a height from a surface of the blade  56  to the outermost extent of the julienne tab  58  that is a maximum in proximity to the leading edge  60  of the blade  56  (corresponding to the leading edge of the tab  58 ) and continuously tapers to a minimum at or adjacent the trailing edge of the blade  56  (corresponding to the trailing edge of the tab  58 ). It will be appreciated that the tabs  58  of  FIGS. 7 through 9  may be modified to have any shape or size suitable for cutting the food product slices into strips. While shown as located only on the peaks  62 , it is foreseeable that tabs  58  could be additionally or alternatively located in the valleys  64  of the blades  56 . 
         [0006]    An advantageous aspect of the knives  50 ,  52  and  54  of  FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  9  is the avoidance of the prior art practice of using a knife assembly comprising a shaped blade and a separate julienne knife. The tabs  58  can be metallurgically joined to the blade  56  by any means known in the art, for example, brazing and/or welding, for example, laser welding. The wider julienne tabs  58  represented in  FIG. 7  are believed to be more securely attachable to the blade  56  than are narrower tabs  58  of the types represented in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , as more surface area of each wider tab  58  is secured to the blade  56  relative to the narrower tabs  58 . However, wider tabs  58  may exert excessive forces on the food product slices. It is believed that, as a slice is produced by the blade  56 , the slice deforms around the thickness of individual tabs  58 , creating pressure on the slice between adjacent tabs  58 . If the pressure between the tabs  58  is too great, the now-separated slice could slow and potentially stop before the julienne slices are complete. For this reason, the julienne tabs  58  are preferably constructed of the thinnest material possible while maintaining structural rigidity. Because the tabs  58  of sequential blades  56  are also sequential, it may be desirable to narrow (as in  FIG. 8 ) and/or stagger (as in  FIG. 9 ) the tabs  58 , that is, at differing distances from the leading edge of the blade  56 , to minimize the pressure between adjacent tabs  58 . 
         [0007]    While well suited for the intended purpose, it would be desirable if alternative configurations for knives of the types described above were available for producing julienne cuts in food products. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention provides knife assemblies of types suitable for producing julienne cuts in food products, including cuts of types that can be produced with the knives  50 ,  52 ,  54  and  FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  9 . The knife assemblies include a primary blade with at least one tab blade that is assembled with or formed from the primary blade without the need to fuse the primary and tab blades together. 
         [0009]    According to an aspect of the invention, a knife assembly adapted for producing julienne cut food product includes a primary blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product. The corrugated shape has a cutting leading edge and defining multiple peaks and valleys. The primary blade further has slots located at least some of the peaks. The knife assembly includes at least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food product slice into strips. The tab blade has a cross-sectional shape comprising a lower section that is complementary to a valley of the primary blade and comprising at least two bladed sections adapted to extend through at least two of the slots of the primary blade so as to be exposed above at least two peaks of the primary blade. The primary and tab blades are not metallurgically joined together. 
         [0010]    According to another aspect of the invention, a method of producing julienne cut food products includes installing at least two sequential knife assemblies on a cutting apparatus. Each of the knife assemblies have a primary blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product and at least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food product slice into strips. The corrugated shape of the primary blade defines multiple peaks and valleys. The primary blade further has slots located at least some of the peaks. The tab blade has a cross-sectional shape comprising a lower section that is complementary to a valley of the primary blade and includes at least two bladed sections that extend through at least two of the slots of the primary blade so as to be exposed above at least two peaks of the primary blade. The primary and tab blades are not metallurgically joined together. The method includes operating the cutting apparatus to produce shaped shredded or shaped strip-cut food products. 
         [0011]    According to another aspect of the invention, a knife assembly adapted for producing julienne cut food product includes a primary blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product. The corrugated shape has a cutting leading edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys. The knife assembly includes at least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food product slice into strips. The tab blade is defined by a cut in the primary blade that forms a tab and then bending the tab so that the tab protrudes from the primary blade. 
         [0012]    According to another aspect of the invention, a method of producing julienne cut food products includes installing at least two sequential knife assemblies on a cutting apparatus. Each of the knife assemblies include a primary blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product and at least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food product slice into strips. The corrugated shape of the primary blade has a cutting leading edge and defines multiple peaks and valleys. The tab blade is an extension of the primary blade produced by a cut section of the primary blade that is bent to protrude from the primary blade. The method includes operating the cutting apparatus to produce shaped shredded or shaped strip-cut food products. 
         [0013]    A technical effect of the invention is the ability produce to julienne cuts in food products without the need to fuse the primary and tab blades together or to assemble multiple blades. 
         [0014]    Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a primary blade with tab slots adapted to receive tab blades for producing large-amplitude shaped food products, including shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a tab blade adapted for assembly with the primary blade of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a knife holder for a knife assembly comprising the primary and tab blades of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing the tab blades of  FIG. 2  assembled with the knife holder of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the knife holder of  FIG. 4  further assembled with the primary blade of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the knife holder of  FIG. 5  further assembled with a clamp. 
           [0021]      FIGS. 7 through 9  are perspective views representing shaped knives for producing large-amplitude shaped food products, including shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products. 
           [0022]      FIGS. 10 and 11  are perspective views of an embodiment in which a primary blade has tab blades integrally formed therefrom in accordance with aspects of the invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of another embodiment in which a primary blade has tab blades integrally formed therefrom in accordance with aspects of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0024]      FIG. 6  represents a knife assembly  28  of a type suitable for producing julienne cuts in food products, including cuts similar to the types that can be produced with the knives  50 ,  52 ,  54  of  FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  9 . The assembly  28  is particularly well suited for use in centrifugal-type cutting apparatuses, for example, the Model CC®, to produce uniform cuts in bulk quantities of food products. The assembly  28  includes a primary blade  10  having a profile that, when viewed from its leading edge, resembles a wave pattern to produce large-amplitude shaped food products. The assembly  28  further includes secondary “tab” blades  16  with bladed sections  18  (see  FIG. 2 ) located at peaks of the primary blade  10  to enable the assembly  28  to produce shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products. The assembly  28  also includes a knife holder  22  and a clamp  26  to keep the various components in place. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the primary blade  10  is equipped with tab slots  14  located at peaks  12  of its wave form, and through which the bladed sections  18  of the tab blades  16  extend and are aligned with the primary blade  10  without the need to metallurgically join the two components together.  FIG. 2  illustrates a nonlimiting embodiment of an individual tab blade  16  having two bladed sections  18  interconnected by a lower section  20  to yield a roughly U-shaped or V-shaped cross-section. The shapes of the primary and tab blades  10  and  16  are complementary to enable the tab blade  16  to be placed beneath a valley of the primary blade  10  so that the two bladed sections  18  of the tab blade  16  individually extend up through two adjacent tab slots  14  of the blade  10 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is an isolated view of the knife holder  22 , which serves as the foundation of the knife assembly  28 . The knife holder  22  is similar to conventional knife holders of types used with the Model CC®, at least to the extent that the knife holder  22  is fabricated to have a surface contour with peaks and valleys complementary to the peaks and valleys of the primary blade  10 , such that the blade  10  can be assembled with the holder  22  by placing the blade  10  on the holder  22  so that the peaks and valleys of its contour coincide with the peaks and valleys of the contour of the knife holder  22 . For use with the present invention, the knife holder  22  has been modified to include relief areas  24  within valleys of the holder  22 . The relief areas  24  are shaped and sized to accommodate the lower sections  20  of the tab blades  16 , which are located between the knife holder  22  and the primary blade  10  in the assembly  28  of  FIG. 6 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  shows the knife holder  22  with the tab blades  16  appropriately placed in the relief areas  24  of the knife holder  22 . The lower section  20  of each tab blade  16  is completely received in one of the relief areas  24  of the knife holder  22 , while the bladed sections  18  of each tab blade  16  extend away from the surface of the holder  22 . The relief areas  24  allow the knife holder  22  and the tab blades  16  in combination to define a contour that is complementary to the contour of the primary blade  10 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 5  shows the primary blade  10  placed on the subassembly of  FIG. 4 . The bladed sections  18  of the tab blades  16  remain exposed as a result of extending through the slots  14  in the blade  10 . As previously noted,  FIG. 6  shows the completed knife assembly  28  following placement of the clamp  26  on the subassembly of  FIG. 5 . 
         [0029]    The finished knife assembly  28  is capable of providing uniform julienne cuts, similar or identical to cuts produced by the knife assemblies  50 ,  52  and  54 . However, the knife assembly  28  avoids the need to metallurgically join the tab blades  16  to the primary blade  10 . Instead, the primary and tab blades  10  and  16  are secured together solely by the clamp  26  and the manner in which the blades  10  and  16  and the holder  22  are nested together as a result of their complementary contours. 
         [0030]    Another possible embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . In this embodiment, a blade  30  that defines a primary leading edge  33  is modified to provide tab blades  32  without requiring welding or assembling the tab blades  32  with the blade  30  or other structure adapted to define the primary leading edge  33 . Each tab blade  32  is individually formed by making two contiguous cuts in the blade  30 , a first of which starts at the trailing edge of the blade  30  within or adjacent a valley of the blade  30  and continues toward but short of the leading edge  33  of the blade  30 . The second cut extends from the valley toward an adjacent peak, such that the second cut is set back a distance from the leading edge  33 . The resulting tab is then bent upright at the peak where it remains attached to the blade  30 , as evident in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . The tab blades  32  are functionally equivalent to the bladed sections  18  of the tab blades  16  of  FIGS. 1-6 , in that the tab blades  32  are located at peaks of the blade  30  to produce shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products. As with the tab blades  16  of  FIGS. 1-6 , the tab blades  32  of  FIGS. 10 and 11  could be located within the valleys of the blade  30 . The tab blades  32  can be created to have square leading edges, for example, by cutting with a die or three-axis laser, or created to have beveled or angled leading edges, for example, using a laser with additional axes of rotation or a wire EDM. As with the assembly  28  of  FIG. 6 , the blade  30  can be used in combination with a knife holder  22  and a clamp  26  to secure the blade  30 . The first cuts may be configured to have varying lengths such that the tabs blades  32  of sequential peaks are staggered (as in  FIG. 9 ), that is, at differing distances from the leading edge  33  of the blade  30 , to minimize the pressure between adjacent tab blades  32 . 
         [0031]    A further possible embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 12 . This embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , with the primary exception that the tab blades  36  do not entirely extend to the trailing edge of the blade  34 . As such, this embodiment requires at least a third contiguous cut that extends from the valley toward the adjacent peak, with the third cut spaced a distance from the trailing edge of the blade  34 . Methods of producing the blade  34  can be the same as those mentioned for the previous embodiment. 
         [0032]    While the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the knife assemblies and the apparatus in which they are installed could differ in appearance and construction from the knife assemblies and cutting heads shown in the drawings, and materials and processes other than those noted could be used. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.