Patent ID: 8043142

Claim:
A food slicer, comprising: a support member having a base portion and an upstanding portion integrally formed with said base portion; a rotating cutting blade secured to said upstanding portion for slicing food product; at least one motor positioned within said upstanding portion for rotating said cutting blade; a food product table slidably secured to said base portion and movable back and forth across said cutting blade for holding product while being sliced by said cutting blade; an adjustable gage plate for determining the thickness of a food product to be sliced by said cutting blade; and a sharpening mechanism for sharpening said cutting blade as needed, said sharpening mechanism being removably secured to the food product table for movement with the food product table to engage said cutting blade and to provide sharpening of the cutting blade, the sharpening mechanism including a rotating sharpening member and a deburring member, said sharpening member and said deburring member being mounted independent from each other; wherein the sharpening mechanism is removably secured within a pocket formed on a bottom portion of the food product table; wherein said sharpening mechanism includes (i) a retaining tab that seats within a slotted aperture of the food product table and (ii) a spring clip that engages with a separate tab on the food product table.