Patent ID: 8756819

Claim:
A disposable blade support assembly for a power operated rotary knife, the disposable blade support assembly comprising: a) a blade housing portion including an annular ring and an annular groove in a bottom surface of the annular ring; b) an annular rotary knife blade supported for rotation within the annular groove of the blade housing portion, the annular rotary knife blade having first and second axially spaced apart ends and an annular body extending therebetween, the annular body including an annular body support section adjacent the first end, the annular body support section defining a plurality of gear teeth at the first end, the annular body further including an annular blade section adjacent the second end, the annular blade section defining a cutting edge at the second end; and c) a retainer securing and rotatably supporting the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade within the annular groove, the retainer affixed within the annular groove and including an upper wall, a first plurality of tabs and a second plurality of tabs, wherein the first plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall and have an interference fit with a wall of the annular groove to permanently affix the retainer within the annular groove and further wherein the second plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall and define a bearing race to rotatably support the annular body of the annular rotary knife blade.