Abstract:
A food slicer is provided having a support member including a base portion and an upstanding portion integrally formed with the base portion. The upstanding portion includes a rotating cutting blade secured thereto for slicing food product and at least one motor positioned within the upstanding portion for rotating the cutting blade. The base portion includes a food product table slidably secured thereto and is movable across the cutting blade for holding product while it is being sliced by the cutting blade. An adjustable gage plate also is provided for determining the thickness of a food product to be sliced by the cutting blade. A sharpening mechanism for sharpening the cutting blade as needed is included, the sharpening mechanism being removably secured to a portion of the product table to provide accurate sharpening of the cutting blade. The sharpening mechanism also including a first rotating sharpening member and a second deburring member where the first and second members are mounted independent from each other.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/711770, filed Aug. 26, 2005, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to food slicers and more particularly to a new design for sharpener for the food slicer blade that provides for an enhanced sanitary environment, enables easier operation and cleaning and incorporates a number of enhanced ergonomic features.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     The basic design of both manual and automatic food slicers has proven to be quite effective and durable throughout the years. Although various important improvements have been made to such slicers, the overall design has not changed very much particularly with regard to the overall cleanliness, ergonomics, or ease of operation.  
         [0004]     Today, food slicers are utilized to slice a number of food products such as meats, cheeses and the like in a variety of environments such as delicatessens, supermarkets, and restaurants to name a few. Such food slicers need to be quite durable since they tend to be used for many hours during a day by many different individuals while providing the desired performance, safety and cleanliness.  
         [0005]     Additionally, food slicers need to be designed to allow adaptability since they need to handle a variety of products of different shapes, sizes, and textures while readily providing slices of different thicknesses of the product being sliced. The speed at which a particular product is moved across the cutting blade can also vary on automatic food slicers to improve productivity.  
         [0006]     To ensure a shape blade for accurate slicing, food slicers typically include some type of sharpening mechanism. Such mechanisms usually are either mounted to the food slicer during use and only removed for cleaning or are only mounted to the slicer for sharpening and stored elsewhere when not sharpening the blade.  
         [0007]     With the first type of mechanism, contamination from food scraps and juices can be a concern for the sharpener itself as well as any mounting mechanisms or additional guarding used to provide for enhanced safety. With the second type of mechanism, care must be exercised since the sharpener needs to be accurately mounted by an operator close to the blade with the gage plate in its fully open position.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     In accordance with an embodiment, a food slicer is provided having a support member including a base portion and an upstanding portion integrally formed with the base portion. The upstanding portion includes a rotating cutting blade secured thereto for slicing food product and at least one motor positioned within the upstanding portion for rotating the cutting blade.  
         [0009]     The base portion includes a food product table slidably secured thereto and is movable across the cutting blade for holding product while it is being sliced by the cutting blade. An adjustable gage plate also is provided for determining the thickness of a food product to be sliced by the cutting blade.  
         [0010]     A sharpening mechanism for the cutting blade is provided for sharpening the blade as needed, the sharpening mechanism being removably secured to a portion of the product table to provide accurate sharpening of the blade. The sharpening mechanism including a first rotating sharpening member and a second deburring member where the first and second members are mounted independent from each other.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The present disclosure will become better understood with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a top right perspective view of a food slicer according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a front plan view of the food slicer of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is bottom perspective view of the food product table of the food slicer of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the sharpening mechanism for use with the product table and food slicer of  FIGS. 1-3 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of the sharpening mechanism of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the food slicer of  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrating the alignment members of the sharpening mechanism;  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the food slicer of  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrating the sharpening mechanism in an initial engagement position with respect to the blade of the food slicer;  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view, similar to  FIG. 7 , illustrating the sharpening mechanism in an intermediate engagement position with respect to the blade of the food slicer;  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged perspective view, similar to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , illustrating the sharpening mechanism in a fully engaged position with respect to the blade of the food slicer;  
         [0021]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the sharpening mechanism taken downward through the deburring stone with the sharpening mechanism in an initial engagement position with respect to the blade or the food slicer; and  
         [0022]      FIG. 11  is an enlarged cross-sectional view, similar to  FIG. 10 , illustrating the sharpening mechanism in a fully engaged position with respect to the blade of the food slicer. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]     The food slicer of the present invention is generally illustrated by numeral  10  of  FIGS. 1-2  wherein like parts are designated by like reference numerals. Although the present disclosure will be described with reference to the example embodiments illustrated in the figures, it should be understood that the food slicer  10  may have many alternative forms without departing from the teachings of the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art will additionally appreciate different ways to alter the parameters of the embodiments disclosed, such as the size, shape, or type of elements or materials, in a manner that falls within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and appended claims.  
         [0024]      FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate the basic components of the food slicer  10  of the present invention. The food slicer  10  substantially includes a food handling portion generally illustrated by reference numeral  12  and a support portion, housing or member generally illustrated by reference numeral  14 .  
         [0025]     The food handling portion  12  substantially includes a product table  16 , a push arm or pusher  18  and a product table support arm  20 . The support portion  14  substantially includes a base portion or member  22 , an upstanding portion or member  23 , a rotating circular slicing knife or cutting blade  24 , a ring guard  25 , a knife cover  26 , an adjustable gage plate  28  for determining slicing thickness and a control member or operator interface  30  having a gage plate support and adjustment mechanism  32  for the gage plate  28  and control buttons  34  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0026]     The support portion  14  also includes at least one motor (not illustrated) positioned within the inside of the upstanding portion  23 . If desired, a second motor (not illustrated) may be positioned within the inside of the support portion  14  along with associated structure for automatically moving the product table  16 .  
         [0027]     Briefly, for manual slicing, a food product (not illustrated) is placed on the product table  16  beneath the pusher  18  with the end to be cut or sliced resting upon the gage plate  28  with the product table  16  in its forward position. The operator adjusts the gage plate adjustment mechanism  32  which directly moves the gage plate  28  with respect to the blade  24  to provide a slice thickness gap therebetween that corresponds to the desired thickness for slicing of the product and gets bigger with thicker slices. The control buttons  34  are then accessed to turn the motor on which in turn rotates the blade  24 .  
         [0028]     The operator then pushes the product table  16  preferably via a handle  36  or other contact point forward or to the right with respect to  FIG. 1  whereby the blade  24  slices the product to the desired thickness. The operator then pulls the product table  16  backward or to the left with respect to  FIG. 1  for continued slicing of the product as described above.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 4 and 5  generally illustrate a sharpening mechanism  40  for use with the food slicer  10 . The sharpening mechanism  40  substantially includes a housing  42 , sharpening member or stone  44 , deburring member or stone  46 , retaining tab  48 , spring clip  50 , plunger  52  and two alignment members  54  and  56 . It is to be noted that the design, size, shape and material of either the sharpening stone  44  or deburring stone  46  can vary.  
         [0030]     Briefly, with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the sharpening mechanism  40  is removably secured within a pocket  58  formed on the bottom portion of the food product table  16  that generally faces the blade  24  (not illustrated). To attach the sharpening mechanism  40  within the pocket  58 , the retaining tab  48  is seated within a slotted aperture  60  (see  FIGS. 1-3 ) and the spring clip  50  engages with a tab  62  on the product table  16 .  
         [0031]     Once attached, the product table  16  with the sharpening mechanism  40  secured thereto can be moved back and forth as it does when slicing provided the gage plate  28  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) is in its fully open position. To remove the sharpening mechanism  40  from the product table  16 , the spring clip  50  is disengaged from the tab  62 , the sharpening mechanism  40  is pivoted about the retaining tab  48 , and the retaining tab  48  is removed from the slotted aperture  60 .  
         [0032]     It is to be noted that the sharpening mechanism  40  can only be secured to and removed from the product table  16  when the product table  16  is moved to its fully forward position with respect to the slicer  10 . When viewed from what typically is referred to as the right side of the slicer  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the fully forward position of the product table  16  would be to the far left. The gage plate  28  is preferably closed, but can be opened if desired. Likewise, the blade  24  may or may not be running or rotating at this time.  
         [0033]     When secured to the product table  16 , the sharpening mechanism  40  can be moved into engagement with the blade  24  merely by moving the product table  16  toward the blade  24  or toward the rear of the slicer  10 , which would be to the right when the slicer  10  is viewed from its right side as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . As  FIG. 6  illustrates, the alignment members  54  and  56  engage with respective portions of the ring guard  25  to ensure proper alignment of the sharpening stone  44  with the blade  24  and assist in stabilizing the sharpening member  40  during sharpening. In one preferred embodiment, the alignment members or tabs  54  and  56  straddle a portion of the ring guard  25  (see  FIGS. 7-9  showing tab  56  only) whereby an inner surface of each tab  54  and  56  engages with an outer surface of the ring guard  25 . It is to be noted that this alignment is provided automatically upon engagement of the sharpening mechanism  40  with the ring guard  25  with no further adjustment by an operator and ensures proper position of both the sharpening stone  44  and deburring stone  46  with respect to the blade  24 .  
         [0034]     As  FIG. 5  illustrates, both the sharpening stone  44  and deburring stone  46  are preferably designed to be mounted independently from each other to the sharpening mechanism  40  for rotational movement as well as movement in a spring loaded manner in a direction substantially along their central axis to apply the appropriate force to the blade  24  as desired with no additional actions from an operator. Thus, the mechanism for mounting the sharpening stone  44  includes a shaft  64  with a threaded end  66 , spring  68 , skirt  70 , washer  72  and nut  74  for threaded engagement with the threaded end  66  of the shaft  64 . The opposite end of the shaft  64  is inserted within an aperture  67  of the housing  42  and secured with a clip  69  and a washer  71 . Of course, if desired, the sharpening stone  44  or deburring stone  46  can be of any other shape and may not rotate or move along its axis.  
         [0035]     Similarly, the mechanism for mounting the deburring stone  46  includes a shaft  76  with threaded end  78 , spring  80 , skirt  82 , washer  84  and nut  86 . Additional members for mounting the deburring stone  46  for movement by the plunger  52  include a frame  88  having an aperture  90  through which an end  92  of the shaft  76  is inserted and secured to the frame  88  with a clip  94  and a busing  96  therebetween. A cammed surface  97  ( FIGS. 10 and 11 ) also is included on the housing  42  for axial movement of the deburring stone  46  as described below.  
         [0036]     The frame  88  includes a second aperture  98  through which the plunger  52  is inserted and secured with a clip  100  and secures the deburring stone  46  and associated hardware to the housing  42 . To spring load the plunger  52 , a spring  102  also is included. With this design, the deburring stone  46  also is capable of movement in a direction substantially parallel to the length of the plunger  52  when the plunger engages with the ring guard  25  to enable the sharpening stone  44  to engage the blade  24  as described below.  
         [0037]     Sharpening of the blade  24  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 6-9 . As  FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate, upon moving the product table  16  with the sharpening mechanism  40  secured thereto toward the blade  24  with the gage plate  28  in its fully opened position, the alignment members  54  and  56  engage the ring guard  25  to properly align the sharpening mechanism  40 . The plunger  52  also engages the ring guard  25  at this point and the end  92  of the shaft  76  of the deburring stone  46  is positioned against a first portion  104  of the cammed surface  97  as illustrated in  FIG. 10 .  
         [0038]     As  FIG. 8  illustrates, upon continued movement of the product table  16  toward the blade  24  the plunger  52  compresses the spring  102  and moves the deburring stone  46  into engagement with the front side of the blade  24  facing the product table  16 . As  FIG. 9  illustrates, continued movement of the product table  16  toward the blade  24  further compresses the spring  102  thereby moving the deburring stone  46  in a direction parallel to the length of the plunger  52  to bring the sharpening stone  44  into engagement with the back side of the blade  24  opposite the product table  16 .  
         [0039]     At the same time, as  FIGS. 10 and 11  illustrate, the deburring stone  46  moves parallel to the length of the plunger  52 . The deburring stone  46  also moves along the axis of its shaft  76  against the load of the spring  80  by engagement of the end  92  of the shaft  76  with the cammed surface  97  of the housing  42 . In the initial position of  FIG. 10  the end  92  of the shaft  76  rests against the first portion  104  of the cammed surface  97 . As  FIG. 11  illustrates, as the deburring stone  46  moves to the left via the plunger  50  the end  92 , spring loaded by the spring  80 , moves into a second part  106  of the cammed surface  97  thereby moving the deburring stone  46  toward the housing  42  and blade  24  or upward with respect to  FIG. 11 . This axial movement of the deburring stone  46  enables proper positioning on the blade  24 .  
         [0040]     It is to be noted that the operator regulates the force of the blade  24  against the spring loads of the sharpening stone  44  and the plunger  50  by hand via movement of the product table  16 . The deburring stone  46  is spring loaded against the blade  24  by its spring  80  as the end  92  of is shaft  76  travels from the first cam portion  104  into the second cam portion  106 . Since the sharpening stone  44  is at an angle with respect to the blade  24 , the spring  68  of the sharpening stone  44  and the force or pressure provided by the operator tend to control contact of the sharpening stone  44  with the blade  24 . The operator should maintain this position for a few seconds to fully sharpen the blade  24  but not over sharpen or grind down the blade  24  more than is necessary  
         [0041]     Preferably, the blade  24  is running or rotating as the sharpening mechanism  40  is engaged with the blade  24 . Sharpening and deburring of the blade  24  can occur concurrently provided the operator provides enough pressure on the spring  68  of the sharpening stone  44  through the product table  16 . When the product table  16  is pulled away from the blade  24  to a position similar to  FIG. 8 , the sharpening stone  44  first disengages from the blade  24 . The end  92  of the shaft  76  of the deburring stone  46 , however, is still within the second cam portion  106  which keeps the deburring stone  46  in contact with the blade  24  for a short time to knock off any remaining burrs. Further movement of the product table  16  to the position similar to  FIGS. 7 and 10  enables the end  92  of the shaft  76  of the deburring stone  46  to move to the first cam portion  104  thereby disengaging the deburring stone  46  from the blade  24 .  
         [0042]     After sharpening and deburring, the product table  16  can be moved back to the fully forward position and the sharpening mechanism  40  can be removed as described above for cleaning, soaking and sanitizing and then stored for future use. This design not only assists in reducing contamination of the slicer  10  during use, but does not require the hands of the operator to get near the sharp blade  24  during sharpening let alone set up and removal of the sharpening mechanism  40 .  
         [0043]     Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode for carrying out the present disclosure. Details of the structure may vary substantially without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure, and exclusive use of all modifications that come within the scope of the appended claims is reserved. It is intended that the present disclosure be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the applicable rules of law.