Abstract:
A Cutting Machine for processing leafy vegetables such as collard greens is provided. The Cutting Machine is adjustable to accommodate vegetables of varying thicknesses. An enclosure with a cover has an input opening in the cover to feed material to be cut between the rollers. An actuating shaft which is rotated includes an offset wheel and an offset shaft. An actuating rod on the offset wheel swings a pivoting knife back and forth to cut the material. An actuating shaft which is connected to the offset shaft moves a roller cog mounted on the drive roller.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to food processing devices, and more specifically to a device for cutting a leafy vegetable such as collard greens or spinach.  
         [0003]     2. Prior Art and Objects  
         [0004]     The problem of cutting certain food products, primarily collard greens, has previously been recognized. The Shorter Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,741, issued Oct. 3, 2000, describes a device primarily for cutting collard greens. That device provides for shredding the vegetable vertically through two rollers and also for cutting the vegetable longitudinally. One roller, the back roller, has circumferential grooves, while the other roller, the front roller, has cutting wheels which ride in the grooves. Longitudinal cutting is achieved by a knife activated by cams mounted on the front roller. The knife strikes against the grooved roller and is powered for the cutting action by a spring. The striking of the knife is critical and, if not accurately set, will either not cut or will damage the back roller.  
         [0005]     It has also been found that adequate cutting can be achieved by making only the horizontal cut. Since various vegetables with varying thicknesses need to be processed in the Cutting Machine, it has also been recognized that there is a definite need to make the Cutting Machine adjustable for different vegetables.  
         [0006]     Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved Cutting Machine for processing leafy vegetables such as collard greens.  
         [0007]     A second object of the present invention is to provide a Cutting Machine that is adjustable to accommodate vegetables of varying thicknesses.  
         [0008]     A third object of the present invention is to provide a Cutting Machine that is dependable and economical.  
         [0009]     A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a Cutting Machine that is safe and easy to use anywhere.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     A cutting machine for cutting food products such as collard greens is provided. The cutting Machine is generally located within an enclosure. The enclosure has an input opening through with material to be cut is inserted. A frame is located within the enclosure. A drive roller is mounted to rotate within the enclosure. A roller cog is affixed to the drive roller. A tensioning roller mounted in the enclosure adjacent to and generally aligned with the drive roller. A pair of tensioning shafts extend from outside the enclosure into the enclosure. An actuating shaft extends within the enclosure. The actuating shaft is rotatable and includes an offset wheel and an offset shaft. A Means for is also included for rotating the actuating shaft. A stationary blade is mounted on the frame generally beneath the drive roller. A knife is mounted to pivot on the frame so as to interact with the stationary blade. An actuating rod is mounted to pivot on the knife and on the offset wheel. A cog driver is connected to the offset shaft to engage the roller cog and means for rotating the actuating shaft is provided. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a pictorial view of the Cutting Machine with the cover closed.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a pictorial view similar to  FIG. 1 , but with the cover open, showing the drive roller and the tensioning roller with the cutting blade beneath the tensioning roller.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a pictorial view similar to  FIG. 2 , but with the knife withdrawn from beneath the tensioning roller.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side elevation of the cog and cog driver for turning the drive roller with the cog driver withdrawn from the cog.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view similar to  FIG. 4 , but with the roller cog driver engaged in the roller cog.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of the Cutting Machine looking up into the Cutting machine.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the off-set mechanism which operates both the roller cog driver and the knife.  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is a side view of either the right or left tensioning shaft for adjusting the tension between the drive roller and the tensioning roller.  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a frontal view of the knife blade and pivot joint mechanism.  
                                                   DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMERALS            NUMERAL   DESCRIPTION                    21   Enclosure       25   Legs       27   Front Wall       29   Rear Wall       31   Two Side Walls       33   Cover       35   Input Opening       37   Guide Flaps       39   Tensioning Shafts       40   Left Tensioning Shaft       41   Right Tensioning Shaft       42   Two Knobs       43   Hinge       45   Drive Roller       47   Tensioning Roller       48   Tensioning Roller Shaft       49   Tensioning Roller Body       50   Adjuster Springs       51   Drive Roller Shaft       52   Drive Roller Body       53   Roller Cog       55   Journal Blocks       56   Threaded Section       57   Back Plate       58   Threaded Opening       59   Collar       60   Offset Wheel       61   Actuating Shaft       63   Actuating Rod       65   Knife       67   Hand Crank       68   Offset Shaft       69   Knife Pivot       70   Pivot End       71   Tip End       72   Knife Body       73   Sharp Edge       74   Dull Edge       79   Opening       81   Guide       83   Guide Mount       85   Guide Spring       92   Cog Driver       93   Cog End       94   Shaft End       95   Frame       97   Stationary Blade       98   Lower Surface       99   Upper Surface       101   Block       102   Bolt       105   Knife Edge       107   Knife Body       113   Knife Tensioning Spring       115   Knife Tensioning Collar                    
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0020]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the Cutting Machine is shown encased within an enclosure  21 . The enclosure  21  has legs  25  to raise the Cutting Machine off of a surface where it is placed such as a kitchen counter. The enclosure  21  has a front wall  27 , a rear wall  29 , two side walls  31 , which include the legs  25 , and a cover  33 . The cover  33  has an input opening  35 , surrounded by guide flaps  37 , which are semi-rigid, for feeding vegetables or other food products into the Cutting Machine for processing. Two tensioning shafts  39 , namely a left tensioning shaft  40  and a right tensioning shaft  41  extend through the front wall  27  generally parallel to the side walls  31  and generally parallel to the side walls  31  and generally adjacent the side walls  31 . The tensioning shafts  39  are partially supported by the front wall  27 . Two knobs  42  are shown on the ends of the two tensioning shafts  39  just outside of the front wall  27 . The two tensioning shafts  39  are used for adjusting the Cutting Machine to the thickness of the food products being fed into the input opening  35  which food products the Cutting Machine is to slice into strips suitable for cooking and consumption.  
         [0021]     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the cover  33  of the Cutting Machine is opened by rotating on a hinge  43  which is longitudinally attached between the cover  33  and the rear wall  29  of the Cutting Machine. The one hinge  43  could be replaced by two or more shorter hinges. Inside the Cutting Machine, a drive roller  45  is located adjacent the rear wall  29  and generally parallel to the rear wall  29 . A tensioning roller  47  is located immediately forward of the drive roller  45  and generally parallel to the drive roller  45 . The tensioning roller  47  is mooned on a tensioning roller shaft  48 . The drive roller  45  and the tensioning roller  47  are generally in close physical contact along their longitudinal axes, which enables the drive roller  45  and the tensioning roller  47  to drive downwardly any material placed between them when the drive roller is rotated. The tensioning roller  47  includes a tensioning roller shaft  48  and a tensioning roller body  49 . The tensioning roller body  49  is compressible. The firmness with which the drive roller  45  and the tensioning roller  47  contact one another is controlled by two adjuster springs  50  which surround the two tensioning shafts  39 . The tightness of the two adjuster springs  50  is controlled by the knobs  42  located outside the front wall  27 .  
         [0022]     The drive roller  45  is mounted on a drive roller shaft  51 . The drive roller  45  includes the drive roller shaft  51  and a drive roller body  52 . The drive roller body  52  is pronged. At one end of the drive roller shaft  51 , the right end, facing the front wall  27 , there is a roller cog  53  which is used to rotate the drive roller  45 . This roller cog  53  is used to drive the driver roller  45 . The drive roller  45  is mounted to rotate in the side walls  31 .  
         [0023]     A pair of journal blocks  55  are affixed to the tensioning shafts  39 , one journal block  55  on each tensioning shaft  39 . The journal blocks  55  hold the two ends of the tensioning roller shaft  48 . The tensioning roller  47  rotates in the journal blocks  55 . Each journal block  55  is held in place with the pair of adjuster springs  50 . As best seen in  FIG. 8 , the end of each adjuster shaft  39 , remote from its respective knob  42 , has a threaded section  56 . A back plate  57  is located adjacent the rear wall  29 . The back plate  29  has through it a threaded opening  58 . The treaded section  56  engages the threaded opening  58 . When the knobs  42  are turned, depending upon the direction of rotation, the respective tensioning shaft  39  moves the journal blocks  55 , and thus also the tensioning roller  47  either closer to or further from the drive roller  45 . A collar  59  is located on each tensioning shaft  39 . Each of the two adjuster springs  50  is located between the journal blocks  55  and the collar  59 . As food product is fed between the drive roller  45  the tensioning roller  47 , the drive roller  45  and the tensioning roller  47  separate to accommodate the food product against the force of the spring  50 .  
         [0024]     An offset wheel  60  is affixed in an eccentric position to an actuating shaft  61  at the interior end of the actuating shaft  61 . When the actuating shaft  61  is turned, the offset wheel  60  pushes and pulls an actuating rod  63  which has two ends, one end being mounted on the offset wheel  60  and the opposite end being mounted on a knife  65  such that the knife  65  is pulled and pushed in and out generally horizontally as the off-set wheel  60  rotates. The actuating shaft  61  is connected to a hand crank  67  mounted on the exterior end of the actuating shaft  61 . The hand crank  67  is located on the right side of the Cutting Machine and outside the side wall  31 . The hand crank  67  may be readily replaced by an electric motor (not shown). An offset shaft  68  is also located on the actuating shaft  61  inside the enclosure  21  toward the side wall  31  where the hand crank  67  is located. By rotating the actuating shaft  61 , the Cutting Machine is activated by rotating both the drive roller  45  and moving the knife  65  back and forth.  
         [0025]     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the knife  65 , which is located within the enclosure  21 , is pivotally mounted on a knife pivot  69 . When engaged, the knife  65  slides generally underneath the drive roller  45  in a generally horizontal pivoting motion. As previously explained, this generally horizontal action is driven by the actuating rod  63  attached to an offset wheel  60 . As also seen in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 9 , a close-up view is shown of the knife mechanism of  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 . In  FIG. 3 , the knife  65  is shown in the extended position. The knife  65  has two ends namely pivot end  70  and a tip end  71 . The knife  65  includes a knife body  72  with a sharp edge  73  and a dull edge  74 . An opening  79  in the knife  65  permits the actuating rod  63  to be to be secured to pivot the knife  65 , thus providing a means to move the knife  65 . The actuating rod  63  is connected to the knife  65  comparatively close to the knife pivot  69 .  
         [0026]     Referring now to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the roller cog  53  is shown in two cross-sectional views. The drive roller shaft  51 , which supports the drive roller  45 , has the roller cog  53  mounted on it. The roller cog  53  is securely affixed to the drive roller shaft  51  so that the roller cog  53  does not move in relation to the drive roller shaft  51 . The roller cog  53  is located within the enclosure  21  generally adjacent to the side wall  31 , on the right side of the Cutting Machine, as faced, which is the same side of the Cutting machine where the hand crank  67  or other rotational power source is located. A guide  81  is mounted to pivot on a guide mount  83 . A guide spring  85  extends between the guide  81  and the guide mount  83 . The guide  81  serves as a friction-reducing mechanism.  
         [0027]     In  FIG. 4 , the cog driver  92  is shown disengaged from the roller cog  53 . In  FIG. 5 , the roller cog  53  is engaged by the cog driver  92  at the cog end  93  of the cog driver  92 . The cog driver  92  also has a shaft end  94  which is connected to the offset shaft  68 . The actuating shaft  61  includes the offset shaft  68  ( FIG. 7 ) on which the cog driver  92  is rotatably mounted. When the actuating shaft  61  is rotated, the offset shaft  68  pushes and pulls the cog driver  92  backwards and forwards. When the cog driver  92  is disengaged from the roller cog  53 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , the knife  65  is at the same time sweeping underneath the drive roller  47 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The guide  81  places an upsard pressure on the cog driver  92  to force the dog driver  92  upwardly to engage the next cog on the roller cog  53   
         [0028]     The offset shaft  61  on the actuating shaft  61  is located eccentrically to the actuating shaft  61 . When the hand crank  67  is turned outside of the enclosure  21 , the actuating shaft  61  is turned. The eccentric placement of the offset shaft  68  causes the cog driver  93  to move backward and forward in the guide  81  which causes the cog driver  93  to rotate the roller cog  53 .  
         [0029]     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the cog driver  92  is shown engaged with the roller cog  53 . When the actuating shaft  61  is turned, the cog driver  92  moves forward within the guide mount  83  and over the guide mount  83  to engage the roller cog  53  and ratchet it forward, thereby turning the drive roller shaft  51  and drive roller  45 . At this point in the cycle, the knife  65  is withdrawn from under the tensioning roller  47  so that the knife  65  is visible, as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0030]      FIG. 6  Is a view looking down on the underside of the Cutting machine with the Cutting Machine upside down. A frame  95  is located across the inside of the rear wall  27  and the two side walls  31 . The frame  95  provides structural strength for the Cutting Machine and support for the knife  65  as well as the tensioning shaft  39 . The journal  62 , as a result, is also supported by the frame  95  which in turn supports the tensioning roller  47 . Across the rear wall  29 , affixed to the frame  95 , is a stationary blade  97  which interacts with the knife  65  to perform the cutting operation. The stationary blade  97  is secured to the lower surface  98  of the frame  95 . The lower surface  98  faces away from the cover  33 . An upper surface  99  of the frame  95  faces the cover  33 . The knife pivot  69 , previously discussed, includes an opening  95  in the knife  65  which permits rotational engagement of the blade  65  with the frame  95 . A block  101 , is held by bolt  102  on the knife  65  to provide control of the resistance to movement by the knife  65 . The guide mount on the guide  81  is secured to the frame  95  along the side wall  31  and the actuating shaft  61  is mounted to rotate on the frame  95  along the side wall  31 .  
         [0031]     When the knife is drawn under the drive roller  45 , the knife  65  moves in a cutting action against and underneath the stationary blade  97 . This cuts the food product being fed into the input opening  35 .  
         [0032]      FIG. 6  shows the bolt  102 , a knife tensioning spring  113 , knife tensioning collar  115  and block  101  which holds the knife  65  against the stationary blade  97  to facilitate the cutting action. The stationary blade  97  ( FIG. 6 ) is affixed at both ends to the bottom inside of the frame  95 . The stationary blade  97  is immobile but has at least one sharp edge which is oriented to meet the cutting edge of the knife  65  as the knife  65  pivots against it.  
         [0033]     While a preferred embodiment has been shown and described, it will be apparent tot hose skilled in the art that many other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall withing the true spirit and scope of the invention.