Abstract:
A slicer comprising a slicer body including a rotatable blade for slicing a product, and a tray mounted for reciprocal movement relative the slicer body and for supporting and moving the product relative the blade. The tray includes a tray body and a unitary handle. In another embodiment, the invention is a slicer including a slicer body having a rotatable blade for slicing a product and a tray for supporting the product and moving the product relative the blade. The slicer further includes a handle unitary with the tray, the handle providing a surface which a user may grip to manually move the tray.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention is directed to a food slicer having a unitary handle. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Commercial food product slicers are widely utilized as rapid and effective means for slicing meat, cheese, vegetables and other food products. Such a slicer is shown in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/470,351, filed Dec. 22, 1999, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The slicers commonly include a rotatable, disc-like blade, and a reciprocating tray that brings the food product into contact with the rotating blade to cut a slice from the food product. The tray may be motor or manually driven, and typically includes a handle that provides a surface that can be gripped by a user to manually move the tray. It is often desired to remove the tray from the slicer body to clean food, fat, or other debris off of the tray. Once the tray is removed from the slicer, it is typically carried to a sink for rinsing and cleaning. 
   In most prior art slicers, the handle is attached to the body of the tray such that crevices or gaps may be formed between the handle and the body of the tray. In this case, food or other material may get trapped in the gaps or crevices, which can make the handle and tray time consuming to clean. Accordingly, there is a need for a slicer having a tray with a handle that eliminates any gaps or crevasses adjacent the handle, and is easier to clean. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is slicer having a tray with a unitary handle. In this manner, there are no crevices or voids between the body of the tray and the handle, and the tray is easier to clean. The unitary nature of the handle also improves the strength of the attachment of the handle to the tray. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a slicer comprising a slicer body including a rotatable blade for slicing a product, and a tray mounted for reciprocal movement relative the slicer body and for supporting and moving the product relative the blade. The tray includes a tray body and a unitary handle. In another embodiment, the invention is a slicer including a slicer body having a rotatable blade for slicing a product and a tray for supporting the product and moving the product relative the blade. The slicer further includes a handle unitary with the tray, the handle providing a surface which a user may grip to manually move the tray. 
   Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the slicer of the present invention, with the tray being located in the home position; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the slicer of  FIG. 1 , with the tray in a non-home position; 
       FIG. 3A  is a side, cross section view of the slicer of  FIG. 1 , with the locking arm in its release position; 
       FIG. 3B  is a side, cross section view of the slicer of  FIG. 3A , with the locking arm in its locking position and the tray arm retained in the locking arm; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the carriage, gauge plate cam and hold-down bar of the slicer of  FIG. 1 , with the locking arm in its locking position; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the carriage, gauge plate cam and hold-down bar of  FIG. 4 , along with part of the slicer arm, with the locking arm in its release position; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the carriage, gauge plate cam and hold-down bar of  FIG. 4 , with the gauge plate cam rotated from its position shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the carriage, gauge plate cam and hold-down bar of  FIG. 6 , with the carriage in a non-home position; 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the locking arm; 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the carriage, gauge plate cam and hold-down bar of  FIG. 6 , with the carriage in a non-home position; 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing various internal mechanisms of the slicer of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 11  is a detail perspective view showing the transverse bar and the gauge plate cam; 
       FIG. 12  is a left side view of the tray of the slicer of  FIG. 1 , with the support plate removed; 
       FIG. 13  is a right side view of the tray of  FIG. 12 ; 
       FIG. 14  is a front view of the tray of  FIG. 12 ; 
       FIG. 15  is a rear view of the tray of  FIG. 12 ; 
       FIG. 16  is a top view of the tray of  FIG. 12 ; 
       FIG. 17  is a bottom view of the tray of  FIG. 12 ; and 
       FIG. 18  is a perspective side view of a slicer with an alternate embodiment of the tray of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   A slicer  10  having a tray  12  with a “V”-shaped plate or support surface  14  to receive and a support the food product to be sliced in shown in  FIG. 1 . The tray  12  includes a tray arm  16 , and the tray  12  is typically powered along the slicing path A by a motor (not shown). Alternately, a user may grip the handle  18  and manually move the tray arm  16  along the slicing path A. The slicer  10  also includes a rotating, circular blade  20  having a central axis B. As the tray  12  reciprocates along the slicing path A, the tray  12  brings the food product into contact with the blade  20  to cut a slice off of the food product. 
   The tray arm  16  is coupled to a carriage  22  that extends below the body of the slicer  10  and includes an upwardly-extending end plate  24  (See  FIGS. 3–4 ). The carriage  22  can be driven along the slicing path A and thereby drives the tray arm  16  along the slicing path A. During operation of the slicer, the tray  12  and carriage  22  preferably begin a slicing stroke at the home position, shown in  FIG. 1 . When in the home position, the tray  12  and carriage  22  are located closest to the operator and controls  21 , and furthest from the blade  20 . The tray  12  is shown in a non-home position in  FIG. 2 , where the tray  12  has completed a partial slicing stroke. 
   The slicer  10  includes a gauge plate  32  that is movable to adjust the thickness of the slice cut by the blade  20 . The gauge plate  32  supports the food product as the tray  12  is passed across the blade  20 , and the gauge plate  32  is movable along a line that is parallel to the central axis B of the blade  20 . The closer the gauge plate  32  is located to the plane of the blade  20 , the thinner the slice cut by the slicer  10 . Thus, adjusting the position of the gauge plate  32  also adjusts the thickness of the slice. The gauge plate  32  may also be moved to a fully closed position wherein the gauge plate is flush with, or extends beyond, the blade  20  to substantially cover and protect the blade  20 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 10 , the gauge plate  32  is mounted onto a yoke  33 . The yoke  33  is, in turn, coupled to a connecting rod  34  that extends generally parallel to the central axis B of the blade  20  and blade support  23 . The connecting rod  34  is coupled to a transverse bar  38  that has an open end  36  and coupling pin  40  ( FIG. 11 ) that is received in a spiral groove  46  of a gage plate cam  48 . The open end  36  of the connecting rod slidingly receives a guide rail  37  therethrough. The guide rail  37  extends generally parallel to the central axis of the connecting rod  34 . 
   The slicer  10  includes a generally “wheel” shaped gauge plate cam  48  having a spiral groove  46  formed on a first side  49  of the cam, and a notch  47  ( FIG. 4 ) on the second side  51  of the cam  48 . The coupling pin  40  of the transverse bar  38  is received in the spiral groove  46  of the cam  48 , as shown in  FIG. 11 . The gauge plate cam  48  is coupled to a gauge plate knob  50  ( FIG. 1 ) such that manual rotation of the gauge plate knob  50  causes rotation of the gauge plate cam  48 . 
   When a user desires to adjust the position of the gauge plate  32  to vary the thickness of a slice cut by the slicer  10 , the user manually rotates the gauge plate knob  50  which rotates the gauge plate cam  48 . As the gauge plate cam  48  rotates, the coupling pin  40  slides within the spiral groove  46 , which urges the coupling pin  40  and the transverse bar  38  either closer to, or further away from, the slide rod  30  along the direction of the axis B. This in turn moves the connecting rod  34  along its central axis, and adjusts the position of the yoke  33  and gauge plate  32  along the axis B ( FIG. 10 ). Thus, rotation of the gauge plate knob  50  and gauge plate cam  48  causes the gauge plate  32  to move closer to, or further away from, the blade  20 . It should be understood that this mechanism for varying the position of the gauge plate  32  is merely one of many mechanisms that may be used to adjust the gauge plate, and nearly any mechanism for adjusting the gauge plate  32  may be used with the interlock shown herein. 
   The mechanism for attaching the carriage  22  to the tray arm  16  is shown in greater detail in  FIGS. 3–5 . The lower end of the tray arm  16  is generally “U” shaped in cross section ( FIG. 5 ), and includes an outer body  80  and a cross bar  59 . The carriage  22  includes a bushing  28  that receives a guide rod  30  to guide the reciprocation of the carriage  22 . The carriage  22  includes a locking arm  60  for coupling the tray arm  16  to the carriage  22 , and the locking arm is pivotably coupled to the carriage  22  by pin  45  ( FIG. 3A ). 
   The locking arm  60  is generally “U”-shaped in side view as shown in  FIG. 8 . The locking arm  60  includes a lower portion  61  that terminates in an open end  62 . The open end  62  includes an upper flange  64 , a lower flange  66 , and a notch  68  located between the upper  64  and lower  66  flanges. The locking arm  60  also includes an upper portion  70  that includes a transverse pin  72 . The locking arm  60  has a lower hole  73 , and the arm  60  is pivotably attached to the carriage  22  by a pin  45  received through the lower hole  73  (see  FIG. 3B ). The locking arm  60  is received in a groove  74  formed in the carriage ( FIG. 4 ), and the locking arm  60  is pivotable about the pin  45  between a locking position ( FIG. 4 ) and a release position ( FIG. 5 ). A spring  76  extends between the locking arm  60  and the carriage  22  to bias the locking arm  60  in the release position. When the locking arm  60  is in its release position, the tray arm  16  may be placed into, and removed from, the locking arm  60 . Also, when the locking arm is in its release position, the transverse pin  72  of the locking arm  60  is received into the groove  54  of the gauge plate cam  48 , which prevents any rotation of the gauge plate cam  48 . In this manner, when the locking arm  60  is in its release position, a user is blocked from rotating the gauge plate cam  48 , which blocks the user from adjusting the position of the gauge plate  32 . 
   In order to attach the tray arm  16  to the carriage  22 , the tray arm  16  is positioned over the upstanding end wall  24  of the carriage  22 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The locking arm  60  is automatically located in its release position as biased by the spring  76 . The tray arm  16  is lowered over the carriage  22  such that the outer body  80  of the tray arm  16  slides around the upstanding end wall  24  of the carriage  22 . The cross bar  59  of the tray arm is shaped and located to be received in the notch  68  of the open end  62  of the locking arm  60  ( FIG. 8 ). As the tray arm  16  is lowered, the cross bar  59  is received in the notch  68  of the locking arm  60  and the cross bar  59  engages the lower flange  66  of the locking arm  60 . The cross bar  59  then urges the locking arm  60  to pivot about the pin  45  to its locking position.  FIG. 3B  illustrates the locking arm  60  in its locking position with the cross bar  59  of the tray arm  16  received in the notch  68  of the locking arm. 
   As the locking arm  60  is moved into the locking position, the transverse pin  72  of the locking arm  60  is pulled out of the notch  54  in the gauge plate cam  48 , as can be seen in  FIG. 3B . Thus, once the locking arm  60  is in the locking position, the gauge plate cam  48  is free to rotate, and the user can adjust the position of the gauge plate  32 . 
   The tray arm  16  also includes a vertically-extending slot  84  on its outer body  80  (See  FIGS. 1–2 ). The slot  84  must be aligned with a threaded post or bolt  86  ( FIG. 4 ) that extends forwardly from the upstanding end  24  wall of the carriage  22  when the tray arm  16  is lowered over the upstanding end wall  24 . A nut  88  is threaded onto the threaded post  86 , and spaced away from the upstanding end wall  29  to enable the tray arm  16  to be received between the nut  88  and the upstanding end wall  24 . Once the tray arm  16  is mounted onto the carriage  22  and the locking arm  60  is moved to its locking position, the nut  88  may be tightened down to engage the outer body  80  and lock the tray  12  to the carriage  22 . 
   Once the tray arm  16  is received in the locking arm  60  and the locking arm  60  is moved to its locking position, the slicer  10  may be moved out of its home position, and operated such that the tray  12  and carriage  22  reciprocate along the slicing path A. The slicer includes a retaining bar or track  78  that extends along the majority of the slicing path A, and the retaining bar  78  includes an upper portion  79  and a lower portion  81 . The carriage  22  includes a roller  83  ( FIG. 9 ) that rolls on top of the lower portion  81  to help guide the reciprocation of the carriage  22  along the slicing path A, and the roller  83  is coupled to the carriage  22  by a bracket  85 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 4–5 , when the tray  12  is in the home position, the retaining bar  78  is not located above lower portion  61  of the locking arm  60 . However, as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , when the tray  16  is in a non-home position, the retaining bar  78  is located immediately above the lower portion  61  of the locking arm  60 .  FIG. 7  illustrates the position of the carriage  22  when the carriage has just moved from the home position, and  FIG. 9  illustrates the position of the carriage  22  when the carriage has completed about half of a slicing stroke. In these non-home positions, the retaining bar  78  is received in a central gap  69  of the locking arm  60 . 
   Thus, when the tray  16  is in a non-home position, the retaining bar  78  blocks the locking arm  60  from moving to its release position. If the tray  12  were to be attempted to be lifted off of the carriage  22  when the tray  12  is not in the home position, the cross bar  59  of the tray arm  16  would engage the top flange  64  of the locking arm and attempt to pivot the locking arm  60  to its release position. However, the lower portion  81  of the retaining bar  78  would block the locking arm  60  from pivoting, and thereby block the locking arm  60  from moving to its release position. Thus when the locking arm  60  is in its locking position and the tray  12  is in a non-home position, the tray arm  16  is locked into place in the locking arm  60  and cannot be removed from or placed into the locking arm  60 . 
   During normal operating conditions, the carriage  22  and tray  12  reciprocate along the slicing path A to cut slices off of the food product. The gauge plate knob  50  may be adjusted to vary the thickness of the slices. The locking arm  60  retains the cross bar  59  of the tray arm  16  in the notch  68  of the locking arm, and the locking arm is maintained in its locking position by the retaining bar  78 . However, the tray  12  and tray arm  16  must be periodically removed from the slicer in order to clean or service the tray arm  16 . The interlock mechanism prevents the tray  12  from being removed from the slicer  10  except when certain conditions are met. 
   In order to uncouple the tray  12  from the slicer  10 , the tray  12  must first be moved to the home position. The tray  12  and carriage  22  are shown in the home position in  FIG. 6 . When the tray  12  is in its home position, the retaining bar  78  is not located above the locking arm  60 , and therefore retaining bar  78  does not block the locking arm from moving to its release position. However, if locking arm  60  were attempted to be moved to its release position, the gauge plate cam  48  would block the locking arm from moving to its release position. More specifically, when the gauge plate cam  48  is in the configuration shown in  FIG. 6 , if locking arm  60  were attempted to be moved to its release position, the transverse pin  72  would engage the outer surface of the cam  48 , which would block the locking arm  60  from pivoting to its release position. 
   In order for the locking arm  60  to pivot to its release position, the transverse pin  72  must be aligned with the notch  54  in the gauge plate cam  48 . In order to align the notch  54  with the transverse pin  72 , the gauge plate cam  48  is rotated by the knob  50  until the gauge plate cam  48  is in the position shown in  FIG. 4 . When the slicer is in this configuration, the transverse pin  72  can be received in the notch  54 , which enables the locking arm  60  to move to its release position, as shown in  FIG. 5 . Once the locking arm  60  is in its release position, the tray arm  16  may be uncoupled from the carriage  22 . The gauge plate cam  48  is preferably calibrated such that the gauge plate  32  is located in its fully closed position when the notch  54  of the gauge plate cam  48  is aligned with the transverse pin  72  of the locking arm  60 . This ensures that the blade  20  is somewhat protected by the gauge plate  32  before the tray arm  16  can be removed. 
   Accordingly, the interlock mechanism ensures that two conditions must be met before the tray  12  can be uncoupled from the carriage  22 : (1) the tray  12  and carriage  22  must be located in their home position; and (2) the gauge plate  32  must be located in its fully closed position. Once both these requirements are met, the nut  88  can be loosened and moved away from the tray arm  16 , and the tray arm may then be lifted vertically off of the carriage  22  ( FIG. 5 ). When the tray  12  is lifted off the carriage  22 , the locking arm  60  is moved to its release position as biased by the spring  76 , and remains in that position until the tray  12  is replaced in the locking arm  60 . 
   The tray  12  may then be carried to a sink for cleaning or maintenance. The only component of the interlock mechanism located on the tray  12  is the cross bar  59 . In this manner, the number of parts of the interlock mechanism on the tray  12  is minimized, which minimizes the exposure of the parts of the interlock mechanism to water and detergents when the tray  12  is washed. Furthermore, the cross bar  59  is protected on three sides by the outer body  80 , which protects the retaining bar from external forces. 
   When the tray  12  is uncoupled from the carriage  22 , the locking arm  60  is in its position shown in  FIG. 5 . When in this position, the transverse pin  72  of the locking arm  60  is received in the notch  54  of the gauge plate cam  48 . Thus, when the tray arm  16  is uncoupled from the carriage  22  the gauge plate cannot be adjusted. Furthermore, the locking arm  60  prevent the carriage  22  from moving away from the home position when the tray  12  is uncoupled from the carriage  22 . If the carriage  22  were attempted to be moved along the slicing path A, the locking arm  60  would engage the end surface  65  of the retaining bar  78 , which would block the attempted movement of the carriage along the slicing path. A cover  87  is located over the locking arm to prevent inadvertent movement of the locking arm to the release position when the tray  12  is removed. 
   After the tray  12  is cleaned or serviced, it may be coupled to the carriage  22 . In order to attach the tray  12  to the carriage  22 , the tray arm  16  is positioned over the upstanding end wall  24  of the carriage  22 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The tray arm  16  is lowered over the carriage  22  such that the outer body  80  of the tray arm  16  slides around the upstanding end wall  24  of the carriage  22 . The cross bar  59  of the tray arm is received in the notch  68  of the open end  62  of the locking arm  60 . As the tray arm  16  is lowered, the cross bar  59  urges the locking arm  60  to pivot to its locking position ( FIG. 3B ). 
   When the tray  12  is coupled to the carriage  22 , the locking arm  60  is pivoted into its locking position (as urged by the cross bar  59 ). Thus, the transverse pin  72  of the locking arm  60  is pulled out of the notch  54  in the gauge plate cam  48 , which enables the gauge plate cam  48  to be rotated and the position of the gauge plate  32  to be adjusted. Furthermore, when the locking arm  60  is in its locking position, lower portion  61  of the lower arm is located below the lower portion  81  of the retaining bar, which enables the carriage  22  and tray to move along the slicing path A without engaging the end surface  65  of the cross bar  78 . Thus, after the tray  12  is mounted onto the carriage  22 , the gauge plate  32  may be adjusted to achieve the desired thickness of slices, the slicer  10  may be activated and slicing operations commenced. The carriage  22  and tray  12  then reciprocate along the slicing path A to slice the food product received in the tray  12 . 
   If an interlock mechanism is not desired in the slicer, the assembly of the slicer described herein can be easily modified to produce a slicer lacking an interlock. For example, the locking arm  60 , spring  76  and cover  87  may not be mounted onto the slicer if an interlock is not desired. The carriage  22 , gauge plate cam  48  and other components need not be changed. Thus, most of the parts in a slicer lacking an interlock are the same as the parts of a slicer having an interlock, which reduces assembly costs. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  10  and  12 – 18 , the handle  18  is preferably integrally or unitarily formed with the body  104  of the tray  12 . In this manner, there are no gaps or openings located between the attachment points  100 ,  102  of the handle  18  and the body of the tray  104 , which prevents food or other matter from getting trapped between the handle  18  and the body of the tray. The tray  12  preferably includes curved surfaces  106  at the attachment points  100 ,  102  that form a smooth transition between the handle  18  and the body  104  of the tray  12 . The curved surfaces  106  help to make the tray  12  easy to clean, as the curved surfaces  106  eliminate any corners that may trap food or other material. 
   The handle  18  is preferably attached to the body of the tray  12  at two attachment points  100 ,  102 , and extends generally vertically. In this manner, the handle  18  and the body of the tray  104  form an opening  108 . A user may extend his or her fingers or hand through the opening  108  such that the handle  18  can be easily gripped in the user&#39;s palm for moving the tray  12  along the slicing path. The handle  18  is preferably generally arcuate in side view; that is, the handle extends between the attachment points  100 ,  102  in a generally arcuate shape. The tray body  104  also preferably includes a recessed area  110  located between the attachment points  100 ,  102  to increase the effective size of the opening  108 , which makes it easier for a user to fit his or her hand through the opening  108 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the handle  18  extends generally away from the tray body  104  towards the home position. In this manner, the handle  18  in angled towards the expected location of the user or operator. 
   In an alternate embodiment shown in  FIG. 18 , the handle  18 ′ includes only a single attachment point  100 ′. In this case, the handle  18 ′ extends away from the body  104  of the tray  12 . The handle  18 ′ preferably extends generally away from the body  104  of the tray  12  adjacent the attachment point or attachment points; however, at locations away from the attachment points the handle  18 ′ may extend in a variety of directions, including generally vertically, or form an angle with the tray  12 . The handle  18 ′ may also take a variety of shapes. However, in all cases the handle  18 ,  18 ′ is preferably integral or unitary with the body of  104  of the tray  12 . 
   The handle  18  and tray body  104  are preferably integrally formed of a single cast piece of material, such as aluminum. However, the tray  12  may be made from a variety of materials, including but not limited to various metals, plastic, fiberglass, composite materials, and the like. 
   Having described the invention in detail and by reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be apparent that modifications and variations thereof are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.