Abstract
Knife assemblies and methods therefor that are adapted to be used with a cutting apparatus capable of producing a variety of shaped food products having large amplitudes, for example, sliced, shredded, and strip-cut food products. The knife assembly includes a primary blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product slice having a periodic shape, and at least one tab blade assembled with or formed from the primary blade to cut a food product slice into strips.
Claims
1. A knife assembly adapted for producing julienne cut food product, the knife assembly comprising: a primary blade having a corrugated shape to produce a large-amplitude food product, the corrugated shape having a cutting leading edge and defining multiple peaks and valleys; and at least one tab blade adapted to cut the large-amplitude food product slice into strips, the tab blade being defined by a cut in the primary blade that forms a tab and then bending the tab so that the tab protrudes from the primary blade, the tab blade being integral with the primary blade; wherein the cut that defines the tab blade comprises a first cut along a first of the valleys of the primary blade and a second cut between the first valley and an adjacent peak of the primary blade, the tab blade protruding from the primary blade at a location adjacent the adjacent peak.
2. The knife assembly of claim 1, wherein the knife assembly is adapted to produce shaped shredded or shaped strip-cut food products.
3. The knife assembly of claim 1, wherein the first cut is continuous through a trailing edge of the primary blade oppositely disposed from the leading edge of the primary blade.
4. The knife assembly of claim 1, wherein the first cut does not extend to a trailing edge of the primary blade oppositely disposed from the leading edge of the primary blade.
5. The knife assembly according to claim 1, wherein the tab blade has a square leading edge.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a primary blade with tab slots adapted to receive tab blades for producing large-amplitude shaped food products, including shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products.
(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tab blade adapted for assembly with the primary blade of FIG. 1.
(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a knife holder for a knife assembly comprising the primary and tab blades of FIGS. 1 and 2.
(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the tab blades of FIG. 2 assembled with the knife holder of FIG. 3.
(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the knife holder of FIG. 4 further assembled with the primary blade of FIG. 1.
(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the knife holder of FIG. 5 further assembled with a clamp.
(7) FIGS. 7 through 9 are perspective views representing shaped knives for producing large-amplitude shaped food products, including shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products.
(8) FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views of an embodiment in which a primary blade has tab blades integrally formed therefrom in accordance with aspects of the invention.
(9) FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment in which a primary blade has tab blades integrally formed therefrom in accordance with aspects of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(10) FIG. 6 represents a knife assembly 28 of a type suitable for producing julienne cuts in food products, including cuts similar to the types that can be produced with the knives 50, 52, 54 of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The assembly 28 is particularly well suited for use in centrifugal-type cutting apparatuses, for example, the Model CC®, to produce uniform cuts in bulk quantities of food products. The assembly 28 includes a primary blade 10 having a profile that, when viewed from its leading edge, resembles a wave pattern to produce large-amplitude shaped food products. The assembly 28 further includes secondary “tab” blades 16 with bladed sections 18 (see FIG. 2) located at peaks of the primary blade 10 to enable the assembly 28 to produce shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products. The assembly 28 also includes a knife holder 22 and a clamp 26 to keep the various components in place.
(11) Referring to FIG. 1, the primary blade 10 is equipped with tab slots 14 located at peaks 12 of its wave form, and through which the bladed sections 18 of the tab blades 16 extend and are aligned with the primary blade 10 without the need to metallurgically join the two components together. FIG. 2 illustrates a nonlimiting embodiment of an individual tab blade 16 having two bladed sections 18 interconnected by a lower section 20 to yield a roughly U-shaped or V-shaped cross-section. The shapes of the primary and tab blades 10 and 16 are complementary to enable the tab blade 16 to be placed beneath a valley of the primary blade 10 so that the two bladed sections 18 of the tab blade 16 individually extend up through two adjacent tab slots 14 of the blade 10.
(12) FIG. 3 is an isolated view of the knife holder 22, which serves as the foundation of the knife assembly 28. The knife holder 22 is similar to conventional knife holders of types used with the Model CC®, at least to the extent that the knife holder 22 is fabricated to have a surface contour with peaks and valleys complementary to the peaks and valleys of the primary blade 10, such that the blade 10 can be assembled with the holder 22 by placing the blade 10 on the holder 22 so that the peaks and valleys of its contour coincide with the peaks and valleys of the contour of the knife holder 22. For use with the present invention, the knife holder 22 has been modified to include relief areas 24 within valleys of the holder 22. The relief areas 24 are shaped and sized to accommodate the lower sections 20 of the tab blades 16, which are located between the knife holder 22 and the primary blade 10 in the assembly 28 of FIG. 6.
(13) FIG. 4 shows the knife holder 22 with the tab blades 16 appropriately placed in the relief areas 24 of the knife holder 22. The lower section 20 of each tab blade 16 is completely received in one of the relief areas 24 of the knife holder 22, while the bladed sections 18 of each tab blade 16 extend away from the surface of the holder 22. The relief areas 24 allow the knife holder 22 and the tab blades 16 in combination to define a contour that is complementary to the contour of the primary blade 10.
(14) FIG. 5 shows the primary blade 10 placed on the subassembly of FIG. 4. The bladed sections 18 of the tab blades 16 remain exposed as a result of extending through the slots 14 in the blade 10. As previously noted, FIG. 6 shows the completed knife assembly 28 following placement of the clamp 26 on the subassembly of FIG. 5.
(15) The finished knife assembly 28 is capable of providing uniform julienne cuts, similar or identical to cuts produced by the knife assemblies 50, 52 and 54. However, the knife assembly 28 avoids the need to metallurgically join the tab blades 16 to the primary blade 10. Instead, the primary and tab blades 10 and 16 are secured together solely by the clamp 26 and the manner in which the blades 10 and 16 and the holder 22 are nested together as a result of their complementary contours.
(16) Another possible embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. In this embodiment, a blade 30 that defines a primary leading edge 33 is modified to provide tab blades 32 without requiring welding or assembling the tab blades 32 with the blade 30 or other structure adapted to define the primary leading edge 33. Each tab blade 32 is individually formed by making two contiguous cuts in the blade 30, a first of which starts at the trailing edge of the blade 30 within or adjacent a valley of the blade 30 and continues toward but short of the leading edge 33 of the blade 30. The second cut extends from the valley toward an adjacent peak, such that the second cut is set back a distance from the leading edge 33. The resulting tab is then bent upright at the peak where it remains attached to the blade 30, as evident in FIGS. 10 and 11. The tab blades 32 are functionally equivalent to the bladed sections 18 of the tab blades 16 of FIGS. 1-6, in that the tab blades 32 are located at peaks of the blade 30 to produce shaped shredded and shaped strip-cut food products. As with the tab blades 16 of FIGS. 1-6, the tab blades 32 of FIGS. 10 and 11 could be located within the valleys of the blade 30. The tab blades 32 can be created to have square leading edges, for example, by cutting with a die or three-axis laser, or created to have beveled or angled leading edges, for example, using a laser with additional axes of rotation or a wire EDM. As with the assembly 28 of FIG. 6, the blade 30 can be used in combination with a knife holder 22 and a clamp 26 to secure the blade 30. The first cuts may be configured to have varying lengths such that the tabs blades 32 of sequential peaks are staggered (as in FIG. 9), that is, at differing distances from the leading edge 33 of the blade 30, to minimize the pressure between adjacent tab blades 32.
(17) A further possible embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 12. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, with the primary exception that the tab blades 36 do not entirely extend to the trailing edge of the blade 34. As such, this embodiment requires at least a third contiguous cut that extends from the valley toward the adjacent peak, with the third cut spaced a distance from the trailing edge of the blade 34. Methods of producing the blade 34 can be the same as those mentioned for the previous embodiment.
(18) While the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the knife assemblies and the apparatus in which they are installed could differ in appearance and construction from the knife assemblies and cutting heads shown in the drawings, and materials and processes other than those noted could be used. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.
