Patent Publication Number: US-2015075008-A1

Title: Self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a kitchen knife for trimming food ingredients in a kitchen or a galley, and more particularly, relates to a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife which is adapted to be able to maintain a hygienic state when the knife is placed on a chopping board or sink, by ensuring that the knife blade portion is separated from the deck such that extraneous material does not stick to the knife blade for trimming the food ingredients and such that water on the knife blade falls towards a ground surface. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A kitchen knife used for trimming food ingredients in a kitchen or a galley is generally constituted in such a way that a knife blade section is larger than a handle. 
     The above-mentioned kitchen knife used for trimming food ingredients in a kitchen always has moisture on its blade because such a kitchen knife cuts a variety of food ingredients which contain a lot of water. When the kitchen knife is placed on a chopping board or a sink after using the kitchen knife, extraneous material such as food fragments, dirt, etc. may stick to the knife blade, thus contaminating the kitchen knife, which results in hygienic problems. 
     In addition, when the related kitchen knife is placed on a chopping board or somewhere else, the knife blade is always placed with its blade facing in a lateral direction. In this state, a cook may get wounded by a laterally facing blade of the knife while the cook moves his hands here and there on the sink. If such a knife is placed on the ground with its blade facing in a lateral direction, the cook&#39;s feet may get wounded by a laterally facing blade of the knife, thus causing negligent accident. 
     DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     Accordingly, the present invention is made in an effort to improve the above-described problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife which is adapted to be able to maintain a hygienic state when the knife is placed on a chopping board or sink, by ensuring that the knife blade portion is separated from the deck such that extraneous material such as food fragments, dirt, etc. does not stick to the knife blade when trimming the food ingredients. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen which makes it possible to prevent any negligent accidents, for example, cook&#39;s hands or feet get wounded, in such a way that a blade portion of a kitchen knife always faces the ground when the kitchen knife is placed on a sink deck or a chopping board and which also makes it possible to prevent any hygienic problems in such a way that water stuck on the knife blade falls toward the ground, so the kitchen knife may always maintain a dry state. 
     Solution to Problem 
     To achieve the above objects, there is provided a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife, comprising a handle which has a circular cross section, wherein the center of gravity of the handle is formed at a lower side of the handle in a direction of a knife blade, and the knife blade is formed spaced apart in an inward direction by a predetermine distance “D h ” from an outer surface of the handle. 
     To achieve the above objects, there is provided a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife, comprising a handle which has a circular cross section, wherein a groove portion is formed at the handle of the opposite side of the knife blade, and the knife blade is formed spaced apart in an inward direction by a predetermine distance “D h ” from an outer surface of the handle. 
     Here, the handle is made of a metallic material. 
     Advantageous Effects 
     In the self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife, it is advantageous in the way that it is possible to always maintain a hygienic state when the knife is placed on a chopping board or sink, by ensuring that the knife blade portion is separated from the deck such that extraneous material such as food fragments, dirt, etc. does not stick to the knife blade. 
     In addition, the kitchen knife according to the present invention is advantageous in the way that the blade portion of the kitchen knife always faces the ground when the knife is placed on a sink deck or a chopping board because the center of gravity is formed at the lower side of the knife, so the knife may always maintain a dry state because the water stuck on the knife falls toward the ground. Since the blade portion of the knife always faces the ground, it is possible to prevent any negligent accidents, for example, the cook&#39;s hands or feet get wounded by the blade portion of the knife. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view illustrating a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a plane view illustrating a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a view illustrating a state that a blade portion of a kitchen knife stands by itself according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     LEGEND OF MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE DRAWING 
     
         
         
           
               100 : kitchen knife 
               101 : handle 
               102 : groove portion 
               103 : knife blade 
               104 : knife spine 
             Dh: a distance that a knife blade is spaced apart in an inward direction from an outer surface of a handle 
           
         
       
    
     BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     The self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife according to the present is invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a side view illustrating a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife according to the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a plane view illustrating a self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife according to the present invention.  FIG. 3  is a view illustrating a state that a blade portion of a kitchen knife stands by itself according to the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife  100  according to the present invention comprises a knife and a handle  101 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the section of the knife blade  103  of the kitchen knife  100  is defined as a lower side, the section of the knife spine  104  is defined as an upper side. 
     The self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife  100  according to the present invention is characterized in that when the self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife  100  is placed on a flat place such as a chopping board or a sink deck, the knife blade  103  of the kitchen knife  100  rotates to face the ground, so the kitchen knife  100  stands by itself. In order for the knife blade  103  to rotate by itself so that the knife blade  103  can face the ground, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the cross section of the handle  101  of the kitchen knife  100  is circular, and the center of gravity of the handle  101  is formed at the lower side. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the cross section of the handle  101  of the kitchen knife  100  is circular, and the handle  101  is configured in such a way that the center of gravity of the handle  101  is at the lower side, so the center of gravity tends to become close to the ground surface. Based on the above-described characteristic, when the kitchen knife  100  is placed on a predetermined flat surface, the center of gravity of the handle  101  moves to a portion close to the ground surface, and the handle  101  with the circular cross section rolls, so the center of the gravity of the handle  101  moves to a portion close to the ground surface. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the knife blade  103  of the kitchen knife  100  is configured in such a way that the knife blade  103  of the kitchen knife  100  faces the direction of the center of gravity of the handle  101 , more specifically, the direction of the lower side of the handle  101 , and as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the knife blade  103  is positioned spaced apart in an inward direction by a predetermined distance “D h ” from the outer surface of the lower side of the handle  101 . 
     Since the knife blade  103  of the kitchen knife  100  is spaced apart by a predetermined distance “D h ” from the outer surface of the lower side of the handle  101 , when the kitchen knife  100  is placed on a flat surface, the kitchen knife  100  rolls so that the center of gravity of the handle  101  is positioned at the lowest portion, and the knife blade  103  can always face the ground surface, and is the knife blade  103  is spaced apart in ward by a predetermined distance “D h ” from the outer surface of the handle  101 , whereby the knife blade  103  does not interfere with other portions when the handle  101  rolls. 
     In addition, since the knife blade  103  is spaced apart by a predetermined distance “D h ” from the ground surface, the extraneous material such as food fragments, dirt, etc. on the deck does not stick to the knife blade  103 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , since the blade portion of the kitchen knife  100  always faces the ground surface in a vertical direction, water stuck on the knife blade  103  fast falls toward the ground surface, so it is possible to maintain the knife hygienic all the time. 
     At this time, the knife can freely rotate without any interference with other portions when the handle  101  of the kitchen knife  100  rotates only when the knife blade  103  of the knife as well as the end of the knife spine  104  are positioned at an inner side as compared with the outer surface of the handle  101 . 
     In the self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife according to the present invention, since the center of gravity of the handle  101  is formed at the lower side, when the kitchen knife  100  is placed on a predetermined flat place such as a chopping board or a sink deck, the kitchen knife  100  rotates and becomes the states illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . There are a variety of ways for forming the is center of gravity of the handle  101 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a concave groove portion  102  may be formed on the top of the handle  101  having a circular cross section, so the center of gravity of the handle  101  can be formed at a lower side. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , even when the kitchen knife  100  is randomly placed on a predetermined flat place, the handle  101  rotates in order for the center of gravity of the handle  101  to face the ground surface, so the knife blade  103  of the kitchen knife always faces the ground surface. 
     At this time, it is preferred that the handle  101  of the kitchen knife  100  is made from a little heavy and rust-free metallic material. Since the handle  101  is made from a little heavy material in order for the center of gravity to form at a lower side, the kitchen knife  100  can fast stand by itself. 
     As not illustrated in the drawings, it is possible to form the center of gravity at a lower side of the handle  101  by inserting a predetermined weight (not shown) at the lower side of the handle  101 . 
     In the above-described exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the center of gravity is formed at the handle  101 , even when the kitchen knife falls onto a cooking surface or a dining table, the heavier handle  101  first falls onto the ground surface faster than the knife blade, not the knife blade, so is any negligent accidents may be prevented. 
     Even when the self-standing hygienic safety kitchen knife according to the present invention is placed on a sink deck or a chopping board, since the blade portion of the kitchen knife does not contact with the surface of the sink deck or the chopping board, the knife blade does not contact with any extraneous material such as food fragments, dirt, etc., it is possible to use the kitchen knife in a hygienic state all the time. 
     In the kitchen knife according to the present invention, since the center of gravity is formed at a lower side, when the kitchen knife is placed on a sink deck or a chopping board, the blade portion of the kitchen knife always faces the ground surface, so water stuck on the kitchen knife falls onto the ground surface, whereby it is possible to use the kitchen knife in a dry state all the time. Since the knife blade always faces the ground surface, it is possible to prevent any negligent accidents, for example, cook&#39;s hands or feet get wounded. 
     The above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustrative purposes and should understood in such a way that the above-described examples are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and is bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.