Patent Publication Number: US-2007119058-A1

Title: Butter slicer and spreader

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The invention relates to culinary utensils and more particularly to a hand implement for slicing and spreading butter or other food spreads such as margarine, soft cheese, or the like.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Devices for addressing the problem of how to spread cold and/or cubed butter onto a surface such as fresh or toasted bread, or the like, without tearing the surface, are known in the art. For instance, Japanese Patent Application JP2004121773A2 to Yasuhiro, H. (hereinafter “Yasuhiro”) provides a butter knife comprising a spatula part with an upturned end and a cutting part for thinly shaving a ribbon of butter and spreading the shaved butter onto bread or the like.  
      Yasuhiro shows the cutting part located in an opening at an opposing end of the spatula part relative to the point of attachment of the handle. The cutting part and opening are parallel to each other and are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the butter knife. Adjacent to the cutting part and opening, distal to the handle, is a blade bed part that is inclined from the flat surface of the spatula part and which has an inwardly curved part at its tapered end. By pushing the spreader across a block of butter such that the blade bed part is parallel with the horizontal plane of the butter, the cutting part thinly slices a ribbon of butter. The butter collects on the upper surface of the spatula part, and is then placed onto a slice of bread or the like. The lower surface of the spatula part can then be used to spread the butter onto the bread.  
      In use, the motion to shave, place, and spread the butter is awkward. It is desirable to have a slicer/spreader for butter and other food spreads that allows for greater ease of use, and wherein the spreader may be further adapted to facilitate spreading the food spread. These and other desirable characteristics will become apparent from a review of the following disclosure and description below.  
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION  
      There is provided a hand implement for slicing and spreading butter or other food spreads such as margarine, soft cheese, or the like. The implement comprises a handle and a substantially planar spreader part extending longitudinally from the handle. The spreader part defines a longitudinal opening and has a longitudinal cutting element projecting into and downwardly of the opening. The longitudinal cutting element is adapted to direct the food spread to a spreading surface of the spreader part.  
      In one aspect, the spreader part is made of stainless steel.  
      In another aspect, the spreader part comprises a supporting framework and a silicone coating.  
      In another aspect, the supporting framework of the spreader part is made of stainless steel.  
      In yet another aspect, there is also provided a method for spreading a food spread. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In order that the invention may be readily understood, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is an isometric top view of an implement for slicing and spreading butter in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is an isometric bottom view of the implement of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3A  is bottom view of the implement shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3B  is a side view of the implement shown in  FIG. 3A ;  
       FIG. 3C  is a top view of the implement shown in  FIG. 3A ;  
       FIG. 4  is an isometric cross section of the slicer/spreader part of the implement taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3C ;  
       FIG. 5A  shows one embodiment of the implement of the present invention showing the slicer/spreader part without any silicone molding;  
       FIG. 5B  shows the silicone molding of one embodiment of the present invention without the slicer/spreader part and handle; and  
       FIG. 6A  is a top view of the slicer/spreader implement of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 6B  is a view of the slicer/spreader implement of the present invention in use slicing butter in the direction of arrow A shown in  FIG. 6A . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The present invention relates to a hand implement for slicing and spreading butter, or other food spreads. While the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 1-6  are described with reference to slicing and spreading butter, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention may also be used with other food spreads such as margarine, soft cheese, or the like.  
      Slicer/spreader  100  comprises a handle  102  and a spreader part  104 , wherein the latter is substantially planar as shown in  FIGS. 1-6 . The spreader part  104  extends longitudinally from the handle  102  and defines an elongated longitudinal opening  106 , wherein the long sides  112  and  114  of the opening are oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slicer/spreader  100 . Projecting from long side  114  into the longitudinal opening  106  and toward an undersurface  111  of the spreader part  104  is a longitudinal cutting element  108 . The longitudinal cutting element  108  has a cutting edge  109  that extends parallel with the long sides  112  and  114  of the longitudinal opening  106 . The longitudinal cutting element  108  is inclined towards the cutting or slicing direction A, as is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 .  
      The longitudinal cutting element  108 , and handle  102  are manufactured from rigid materials, such as metal or plastics. In a preferred embodiment, longitudinal cutting element  108 , and handle  102  are manufactured from stainless steel, which is advantageously food friendly.  
      In the embodiment illustrated, and as shown clearly in  FIGS. 5A-5B , the spreader part  104  of the slicer/spreader  100  comprises a rigid supporting framework  116  that is surrounded by a silicone coating  110 . In a preferred embodiment the rigid supporting framework  116  is argon welded to the handle  102 . However, it will be understood that the two pieces may be joined together by other means known in the art or may be manufactured as one piece.  
      The supporting framework  116  defines holes  117  through which the silicone extends. In a preferred embodiment, the supporting framework  116  is manufactured from stainless steel. The silicone coating  110  provides greater flexibility to the spreader part  104  than if the spreader part  104  were manufactured solely from a stiffer material such as metal or hard plastic, thereby facilitating spreading the sliced butter. Furthermore, the silicone coating  110  extends beyond the immediate boundaries of the supporting framework  116  on the side of the spreader part  104  from which the longitudinal cutting element  108  projects. As can be clearly seen in  FIG. 3B , the side profile of the silicone coating  110  and the handle  102  is substantially flat. This embodiment provides for still greater flexibility in the spreader part  104 .  
      With reference to  FIG. 5B , but being equally applicable to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the cutting edge  109  of the longitudinal cutting element  108  lies at a distance from the substantially planar undersurface  111  of the spreader part  104  corresponding to the desired butter slice thickness. Provided between the cutting edge  109  and the long side  112  is a slot  113 , shown clearly in  FIG. 6A , through which the butter slice  118 , shown in  FIG. 6B , passes and glides onto the upper surface of the cutting edge and subsequently the upper surface  122  of the spreader part  104 .  
      Thus, when the slicer/spreader  100  is in operation, as illustrated in  FIG. 6B , the handle  102  is utilized to draw the implement across a block of butter, indicated at numeral  40 , such that the spreader part  104  is roughly in parallel with the surface of the butter, in the direction A as indicated in  FIG. 6A . The longitudinal cutting element  108  slices the butter via its cutting edge  109 , and the butter is thinly sliced and deposited onto the upper surface  122  of the spreader part  104 . The spreader part  104  is then used to spread the collected butter slice  118  onto fresh or toasted bread, or the like, not shown. As the slicing action, of the slicer/spreader  100  deposits the sliced butter directly onto the surface  122  to be used for spreading the butter, this provides for ease of use of the implement.  
      As illustrated in  FIGS. 1-6 , in a preferred embodiment of the invention the butter slicer/spreader is advantageously knife-shaped. Thus, in this embodiment, the spreading surface and spreading action of the butter slicer/spreader are similar to those of a conventional butter knife, further providing for ease of use of the hand implement.  
      The butter slicer/spreader of the present application also easily fits in cutlery drawers and other storage spaces, providing for ease of storage of the hand implement.  
      While this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments and examples, the description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Thus, various modifications of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to this description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments. Further, all of the claims are hereby incorporated by reference into the description of the preferred embodiments.  
      All publications, patents and patent applications referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference in its entirety.