Device for cleaning food cutting screen
By designing a cleaning device for the guide housing and punch set, the problem of difficulty in efficient cleaning of food cutting screens in the prior art is solved, and a low-force and efficient cleaning effect is achieved, reducing the risk of blade damage and food loss.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202380087195.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-12-19
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-14
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-25
AI Technical Summary
The prior art is difficult to efficiently clean food cutting screens with square cell mesh blades. It requires great force to remove residues during the cleaning process, and the blades are prone to damage, and the system is bulky and inefficient.
A cleaning device is designed, including a guide housing and a punch set, with the number of punches being one-quarter of the number of screen cells. The guide housing is rotated in four positions, the punch does not contact the edge of the blade, and only a limited force is applied when passing through the screen cells. The residual food is cut with a bevel punch, and it is easy to clean water.
Reduces the risk of damage to the blade during cleaning, improves cleaning efficiency, reduces operating force, reduces food loss and simplifies cleaning steps.
Smart Images
Figure CN120379577A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a device for cleaning a food cutting sieve. More specifically, the present invention relates to cleaning a food cutting sieve with blades forming a grid of square cells, for example for cutting foods such as meat, fish, fruits, vegetables or lettuce into pieces of the same size. Background Art
[0002] Cutting sieves with blades forming a grid of square cells are used to cut foods into strips, for example for preparing diced foods. These sieves may contain hundreds of cells, for example, a sieve with a grid side length of 5 mm has 728 cells. When cleaning the sieve, the difficulty lies in how to remove all the residues remaining on the sieve. These residues are squeezed between the blades, so a great deal of force is required to remove them. In addition, despite the great force, it is also necessary to ensure that the edges of the blades are not affected during the cleaning process.
[0003] Document FR2948053 describes a tool consisting of three ten-tooth combs for pushing residues into the cells. Since multiple movements are required and it takes a long time to clean hundreds of cells, these tools are not very efficient.
[0004] It is also known to use a pusher with the same number of teeth as the number of cells in the cutting sieve. These pushers are mounted on a rigid support (such as a metal support) and are guided by a guide rail supported by, for example, the rigid support. However, when the food passes between the two blades, due to the size of the blades, the food will be laterally compressed. Therefore, the food in the sieve will be compressed. Therefore, in order to remove the food stuck in the cutting sieve, an additional force needs to be applied, such as using a heavy object to impact the rigid support. These systems have several disadvantages. First, the impact force generated by using a heavy object will damage the blades of the cutting sieve. Second, the entire system including the removable pusher, the pusher support, the guide rail of the support, the cutting sieve support and the heavy object is very bulky. Finally, food debris will get stuck between the pushers, forming a grid similar to that of the cutting sieve. Therefore, the gaps between the pushers must be cleaned after cleaning the sieve. The resulting number of operations and the length of time make these systems relatively inefficient.
[0005] Document FR3031918 describes a tool for cleaning a food cutting sieve. The tool includes a surface that projects vertically with protrusions, the distribution of which is such that on the first half-surface of the tool, it corresponds to half of the cells of the sieve, and on the second half-surface of the tool, it corresponds to the other half of the cells of the sieve. The tool can reduce the force required for cleaning the sieve by half by pressing the tool twice with a rotation of the tool. However, this tool also has some drawbacks. First, the force required to be applied is only half of that of the earlier pusher, and it is still large. Second, if the blade faces the tool, the blade may be damaged when the protrusions pass through, and the blade will also damage the blade. Third, if the edge of the blade faces the direction opposite to the tool, the food residues that were not cut before cleaning remain uncut after cleaning, so they must be discarded. Summary of the Invention
[0006] The present invention aims to remedy all or part of the above deficiencies. To this end, the present invention proposes a device according to claim 1.
[0007] Due to these designs, among the four positions of the guiding housing, only the food in the cell directly opposite the punch will exert a resistance to the movement of the punch, thereby reducing the force applied to the punch when removing food residues through the sieve. In addition, since the number of punches can be limited to a quarter of the number of sieve cells, it becomes easier to wash the punches with water. In fact, due to the smaller number of punches, they can be spaced apart from each other, so the larger gaps between them can be easily cleaned. Moreover, since the edge of the blade faces the direction opposite to the movement direction of the punch, any food residues remaining on the sieve spanning multiple cells will be cut off. These cut-off residues can be recycled, thus limiting or even eliminating the amount of food lost during the cleaning of the sieve. Finally, since the wall of the guiding housing covers the edge of the blade of the cutting sieve, the edge of the blade can be protected from the impact of the punch, so that the trajectory of the punch is away from these edges.
[0008] In some embodiments, the set of punches corresponds to the cells of the cutting sieve that do not share adjacent sides or corners.
[0009] Therefore, the punches move within separate grooves from each other, thereby reducing the local force applied to the sieve, thus reducing the risk of permanent deformation of the cutting sieve blade due to the extrusion of the punches. In addition, even if the food undergoes lateral deformation when the punch squeezes a certain cell of the sieve, the flexibility of the blade will absorb this lateral deformation and prevent (or at least reduce) the increase in the static friction force between the food and these blades, because the food in adjacent cells is not squeezed.
[0010] In some embodiments, the guide housing is configured to be positioned on the fixed base on the blade edge side in any one of four positions, which four positions correspond to a quarter-turn rotation of the housing on the base about a rotation axis perpendicular to the plane passing through the blade edge. In one and only one of the four positions of the guide housing on the base, at least one cell of the sieve faces the stamping groove of the guide housing.
[0011] Accordingly, the operator rotates the housing with the set of punches such that the punches successively pass through the cells of the cutting sieve. Since the number of grooves can be limited to a quarter of the number of sieve cells, this makes it easier to wash the housing with water. In fact, due to the smaller number, the punching grooves can be spaced apart from each other, and thus the larger gaps between them are also easy to clean.
[0012] In some embodiments, the punches are incorporated into a one-piece punch carrier that includes a surface for carrying parallel punches. Accordingly, the pressing operation of the punch set is easier and faster.
[0013] In some embodiments, the device includes a fastening clip for fixing the housing and the punch carrier at the center of the housing, and the housing and the punch carrier can be separated by simply pinching the fastening clip. Accordingly, the housing and the punch carrier can be easily separated. In addition, their separation also requires preliminary cleaning of the punches and the housing grooves.
[0014] In some embodiments, at least one punch can move independently of the other punches within the groove of the guide housing. Accordingly, the operator responsible for cleaning the cutting sieve can press each independent punch in turn to remove food residues stuck in the cells of the cutting sieve.
[0015] In some embodiments, the guide housing contains guide grooves equal in number to the cells of the cutting sieve, and the punch set is incorporated into a one-piece punch carrier that is configured to be positionable on the guide housing in any one of four positions corresponding to a quarter-turn rotation about a rotation axis perpendicular to the plane passing through the blade edge. In this way, during the cleaning process, the guide housing can be kept fixed on the base, and only by moving the punch carrier can the food stuck to the sieve be pressed twice.
[0016] In some embodiments, the grooves of the housing and the punches together form a mechanical clearance such that the surface of the punch carrier can be inclined relative to the plane passing through the blade edge, and during the movement of the punch carrier towards the blade, some punches extend beyond this plane while other punches still remain at least three millimeters away from this plane.
[0017] Thus, the operator can apply a more limited and progressive force to remove a part of the food residue from the cutting sieve by first pressing one side of the punch bracket and then pressing the other side of the punch bracket to remove other food residues from another part of the cutting sieve.
[0018] In some embodiments, the lengths of at least two punches measured parallel to the axis of rotation differ by at least three millimeters.
[0019] Thus, the longer punch will first pass through the cells of the cutting sieve and remove food residues therefrom, and then the shorter punch will remove food residues from other cells of the cutting sieve. This can reduce the maximum pressure required to clean the cutting sieve. It should be noted that preferably, the punches of each group of punches of the same length are evenly distributed on the surface of the punch bracket.
[0020] In some embodiments, the base is provided with at least one suction cup on the outer side of the wall of the collection space farthest from the cutting sieve bracket, and the device further includes holding means for holding the cutting sieve in the base.
[0021] When the punches are withdrawn from the cutting sieve, the suction cup holds the base on the working surface, and the holding means holds the cutting sieve in the base.
[0022] In some embodiments, at least one punch has at least one bevel at its free end. This punch shape makes it easier to cut the remaining food across multiple cells of the cutting sieve, equivalent to forming a pair of scissors with at least one blade of the sieve. In addition, the advantage of this bevel shape is that it can easily separate the food stuck in the cell from one side of the cell. Preferably, the punch has a double bevel at its free end, and more preferably, a four-bevel. These shapes help cut the food remaining on the cutting sieve and reduce the lateral extrusion of food between the blades.
[0023] In some embodiments, the positioning element for positioning the cutting sieve includes a groove for supporting the lateral protrusion of the frame of the cutting sieve beyond its cutting surface.
[0024] In some embodiments, the housing is provided with handles around the fixed base on both of its sides. Thus, it is easy to press the housing at four positions around the base. The handles of the housing also facilitate separating it from the base between two stamping operations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] Other advantages, objects, and specific features of the present invention will become apparent from the following non-limiting description of at least one specific embodiment of the device of the present invention, with reference to the drawings in the appendix, wherein:
[0026] Figure 1 A first specific embodiment of the device of the present invention is shown in an exploded perspective view;
[0027] Figure 2 Shown in perspective and bottom views Figure 1 The integral punch bracket of the device shown;
[0028] Figure 3 Shown in perspective view Figure 1 The fixed base of the device shown;
[0029] Figure 4 Shown in perspective view Figure 3 The fixed base shown, with a cutting screen above it;
[0030] Figures 5 to 8 Shown in a top view Figures 1 to 4 The guide housing of the device shown, which is in four configurations relative to the fixed base, and these four configurations are separated by three quarter - turn rotations in a clockwise direction;
[0031] Figure 9 The second specific embodiment of the device of the present invention is shown in an exploded perspective view;
[0032] Figure 10 and Figure 11 respectively show Figure 9 Perspective views of the lower and upper parts of the guide housing of the device shown;
[0033] Figure 12 is Figure 9 A perspective view of the fixed base shown, with a cutting screen above it;
[0034] Figure 13 and 14 Shown in perspective and bottom views Figure 9 The integral punch bracket of the device shown, and the punch layout of the punch bracket is shown in a bottom view;
[0035] Figure 15 Shows Figure 9 A perspective view of the device shown after the assembly of its components;
[0036] Figure 16 The third specific embodiment of the device of the present invention is shown in perspective view; and
[0037] Figure 17 The different free ends of the punch are shown in perspective view, one of the free ends is flat, and the other free ends are beveled. Detailed Description of the Invention
[0038] This specification is given in a non - restrictive manner, and each feature of one embodiment can be combined in an advantageous way with any other feature of any other embodiment.
[0039] Throughout the specification, it is represented by the vertical rotation axis A, and thus the terms "above", "below", "upper part" and "lower part" are defined with reference to the normal use configuration of the device shown in the figures. Nevertheless, the present invention is not limited to a device placed horizontally on a horizontal working surface; it also extends to a device placed obliquely, simply by tilting the drawings, so as to provide an equivalent meaning to the above terms. Therefore, the axis A perpendicular to the working surface and passing through the blade edge is shown vertically in the figures. The length is measured parallel to this axis A.
[0040] The device according to the subject of the present invention is used to clean a predetermined food cutting sieve. The cutting sieve includes blades intersecting vertically, and cells are formed between the blades. The cutting sieve also includes peripheral cells, the contour of which is the intersection of a square cell and the inner circle of a cylindrical frame with a circular guide rail for supporting the ends of the blades. Throughout the specification, the cutting sieve has square cells of 10 mm. Of course, for other cutting sieves with different numbers or sizes of cells, at least the structure of the punch set for cleaning these cells is different from that described below. These differences relate to the size, spacing and number of punches so that they correspond to the cells of the cutting sieve. For cutting sieves with different cell sizes, the structure of the guide housing for guiding the punches is also different, and the size of the punch grooves and the spacing between these grooves are consistent with the cells of the cutting sieve. For example, a cutting sieve with rectangular cells can be obtained by removing blades from a cutting sieve with square cells.
[0041] Figures 1 to 8 A first specific embodiment of the device 20 for cleaning the food cutting sieve 22 is shown, which food cutting sieve includes blades intersecting according to a grid of square cells. The axis A is perpendicular to the plane passing through the blade edge of the cutting sieve 22.
[0042] The device 20 includes a lower fixed base 21. As Figure 3 and Figure 4 shown, the base 21 includes a food cutting collection space 39, which is located below the support 35 (here a shoulder) for placing the cutting sieve 22. The base 21 is provided with positioning elements 25 for accurately positioning the cutting sieve 22 on this support 35, and this positioning is achieved by turning the edge of the blade upwards (i.e., on the opposite side of the food cutting collection space 39). In this case, the positioning element 25 is in the form of a groove for supporting the lateral protrusion of the frame of the cutting sieve 22 beyond its cutting surface.
[0043] In this embodiment, the base 21 further includes two elastic retaining devices 33 and 34 for retaining the cutting screen 22 in the base until an operator manually removes one of them to remove the screen 22. Still in this embodiment, two posts 36 and 37 pass through the cut food collection space 39 from bottom to top for supporting the screen 22. When the punch 28 is pressed to remove the residue remaining on the screen 22, these posts 36 and 37 reduce or even eliminate the risk of deformation of the cutting screen 22. The base 21 has an outer surface that remains unchanged after a quarter - turn rotation about axis A. Preferably, these outer surfaces are vertical.
[0044] Above the fixed base 21, there is a guiding housing 23 which is configured to be positioned on the fixed base 21 on the blade - edge side of the cutting screen 22. In other words, within more or less mechanical tolerances, the internal volume of the guiding housing 23 corresponds to the outer surface of the base 21. Due to its invariance during rotation, the guiding housing 23 is configured to be positioned on the fixed base 21 in any one of four positions, which four positions correspond to a quarter - turn rotation of the housing 23 along axis A on the base 21. The four sides of the guiding housing 23 include handles 26 to more easily position the housing 23 on the base 21 and remove it from the base 21.
[0045] The guiding housing 23 includes grooves 27 for guiding the punches 28, and the distribution of these grooves 27 will be described in conjunction with Figures 5 to 8 Each punch 28 can have any shape as long as it can translate within the cells of the cutting screen 22 and has a surface at its free end (the end in contact with the food) suitable for pushing the food until it is pushed out of the cell while maintaining a sufficient functional clearance from the inner surface of the cell. The grooves 27 are configured to guide the vertical translation of the punches 28.
[0046] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, in the device 20, a set of punches 28 is incorporated into an integral punch carrier 24. The carrier 24 includes a lower surface that bears the punches 28, and the geometry of this lower surface corresponds to the upper surface of the housing 23. There are four direction markers 30 (from "1" to "4") around the direction of axis A 30 on the upper surface of the punch carrier 24. The punches 28 are frustum - shaped cylinders with their generatrices parallel to axis A. The punches 28 can move with the punch carrier 24 and are respectively guided by the guiding grooves 27 of the housing 23.
[0047] Both the upper surface of the punch carrier 24 and the upper surface of the housing 23 carry at least one marker 29 for marking the cell size of the cutting screen 22, and the horizontal cross - sectional area of the punch is adapted to this cell size. For example, in Figure 1 and Figures 5 to 8In it, the marking 29 is "10x10", indicating that the punch holder 24 and the housing 23 are applicable to the cutting screen 22 with a cleaning cell horizontal cross-sectional area of 10 mm x 10 mm.
[0048] The guiding groove 27 is a frustum of a cylinder, and its generatrix is parallel to the axis A. The walls between the two grooves 27 overlap each other at the blade edge, thus defining the cells of the cutting screen 22. Therefore, during displacement, the punch 28 guided by these walls of the groove 27 does not contact the blade edge of the cutting screen 22. The groove 27 and the punch 28 are arranged such that at least one cell (preferably each cell) of the cutting screen 22 faces the groove 27 and the punch 28 at one and only one of the four positions of the punch holder 24 on the base 21 and the guiding housing 23.
[0049] The elastic holding device 32 (here a fastening clip) of the punch holder 24 is clipped into the central opening 38 of the housing 23. Its elasticity enables the operator to manually clamp these holding devices 32, thereby separating the punch holder 24 from the housing 23. Therefore, the housing 23 and the punch holder 24 can be easily separated. In addition, when separating, it is necessary to perform a preliminary cleaning on the punch 28 and the groove 27 of the housing 23.
[0050] For the purpose of explaining Figures 5 to 8 the sequence of steps of using the device, a grid consisting of ten columns (marked "B" to "K") and nine rows (marked "1" to "9") is shown at a quarter of the upper surface of the housing 23. Each cell of this grid has the same size as the cell of the cutting screen 22, that is, in Figures 1 to 8 the shown example, it is 10 mm x 10 mm. The cells of the circular cutting screen 22 only correspond to a part of the cells of this grid (precisely, the cells of odd rows in columns B1 to B7, C1 to C7, D1 to D8, E1 to E9, F2 to F9, G2 to G9, H3 to H9, I4 to I9, J5 to J9, and K7 to K9).
[0051] As Figure 5 shown, when the housing 23 is in the first corresponding position on the base 21 and the screen 22, the punch 28 guided by the groove 27 only reaches approximately a quarter of the cells of the screen 22, that is, in a quarter of the upper surface marked with the grid, namely the cells of odd rows in columns B, D, F, H, and J.
[0052] After a quarter - turn clockwise rotation, when the housing 23 is in the second corresponding position on the base 21 and the screen 22, as Figure 6 shown, the punch 28 guided by the groove 27 only reaches approximately a quarter of the cells of the screen 22, that is, in a quarter of the upper surface marked with the grid, namely the cells of even rows in columns B, D, F, H, and J.
[0053] After the second quarter turn in the clockwise direction, when the housing 23 is in the third corresponding position on the base 21 and the sieve 22, as Figure 7 shown, the punch 28 guided by the groove 27 only reaches approximately one quarter of the cells of the sieve 22, i.e., in one quarter of the upper surface marked with a grid, namely the cells in the even rows of columns C, E, G, I, and K.
[0054] After the third quarter turn in the clockwise direction, when the housing 23 is in the fourth corresponding position on the base 21 and the sieve 22, as Figure 8 shown, the punch 28 guided by the groove 27 only reaches approximately one quarter of the cells of the sieve 22, i.e., in one quarter of the upper surface marked with a grid, namely the cells in the odd rows of columns C, E, G, I, and K.
[0055] In this way, the operator only needs to press the punch bracket 24 four times consecutively (at intervals of a quarter turn of the assembly including the housing 23 and the punch bracket 24) to push the food residues out of all the cells of the cutting sieve 22. In this way, the cutting sieve 22 is thoroughly cleaned, and at the same time, the force that the operator must apply vertically on the punch bracket 24 is also reduced because in each vertical movement, the food residues are only pushed out of one quarter of the cells of the sieve 22.
[0056] Due to the adoption of the present invention, the force applied on the punch when removing food residues through the sieve is reduced. In addition, since the number of grooves can be limited to one quarter of the number of cells of the sieve, it is easy to wash the housing with water. Since the blade edges face upward and are opposite to the movement direction of the punch, any food residues remaining on the sieve and spanning multiple cells will be cut off and then recycled, thereby limiting or even eliminating the loss of food during the sieve cleaning process.
[0057] Preferably, as Figures 1 to 8 shown, the grooves of the housing 23 correspond to the cells on the cutting sieve 22 that do not share any adjacent sides or corners. In this way, the punches 28 moving in the grooves 27 are separated from each other, thereby reducing the local force applied on the sieve 22, and thus reducing the risk of permanent deformation of the blades of the sieve 22 due to the punches 28 squeezing the food.
[0058] Preferably, the groove 27 of the housing 23 and the punch 28 together form a mechanical clearance such that the lower surface of the punch carrier 24 can be inclined relative to the plane passing through the edge of the blade across the sieve 22, and such that during the movement of the punch carrier 24 towards the blade, some of the punches 28 extend beyond the plane passing through the edge of the blade, while other punches 28 remain at least three millimeters away from this plane. Preferably, this clearance is at least equal to the dimension of the blade parallel to the axis A. This mechanical clearance can be obtained by providing a clearance greater than the manufacturing tolerance between the vertical wall of the punch 28 and the groove 27 to ensure the sliding of the punch 28 in the groove 27. Due to the presence of this clearance, the operator can apply a more limited and progressive force, first pressing one side of the punch carrier 24 to remove food residues from a part of the cutting sieve 22, and then pressing the other side of the punch carrier 24 to remove other food residues from another part of the cutting sieve 22.
[0059] Preferably, the lower surface of the base 21 (i.e., the outer side of the wall of the collection space farthest from the support of the cutting sieve 22) is provided with at least one suction cup (not shown). When disassembling the assembly composed of the housing 23 and the punch carrier 24 after a cleaning push on the punch carrier 24, this suction cup can hold the base 21 on the working surface, and then the assembly is rotated by a quarter turn for the next cleaning push. In fact, due to the friction force of the punches engaged with the cutting sieve 22, the disassembly movement of this assembly will move the cutting sieve 22, and thus move the base 21 through the holding devices 33 and 34.
[0060] Preferably, as Figure 2 shown, at least one punch 28 has at least one inclined surface at its free end (i.e., the end away from the bearing surface of the punch carrier 24). In this way, the punch 28 can more easily cut food across multiple cells of the cutting sieve 22, forming something like a pair of scissors with at least one blade of this sieve. In addition, the advantage of such an inclined surface shape is that the food stuck in the cell can be taken out from one side of the cell.
[0061] Figure 17 The punches with different free ends are shown in a perspective view. The punch 71 has a flat head 72. The punch 73 has a single inclined head 74. The punch 75 has a double inclined head 76. The punch 77 has a quadruple inclined head 78.
[0062] Preferably, as Figure 2As shown, each punch 28 has a double bevel head at the ends of two opposite sides of its parallelepiped rectangular shape. This shape enables double cutting of the remaining food on the surface of the cutting screen 22. In addition, it can reduce the lateral compression of the food stuck in the cutting screen 22. More preferably, each punch has a four bevel head, which further enhances the cutting effect of the remaining food on the surface of the cutting screen 22 and further reduces the lateral compression of the food stuck in the cutting screen 22. In other embodiments, the free end of the punch 28 may have a surface with a single bevel shape. Each bevel shape can reduce the radial thrust on the cell wall of the cutting screen 22, thereby reducing the force required by the operator when pressing the food with the punch 28 to push it out of the cell.
[0063] In some variants (not shown), the guide housing 23 includes a greater number of guide grooves than the number of cells in the cutting screen, for example, in order to be compatible with cutting screens 22 of the same size but different numbers of cells.
[0064] In some variants of the device 20 (not shown in the figures), the lengths (measured from the surface of the punch carrier) of at least two punches differ by at least 3 millimeters, just like Figures 9 to 15 the punch carrier 44 of the device 40 described in. Preferably, the difference in punch lengths is at least equal to the dimension of the blade parallel to the axis A. Thus, the longer punches first pass through the cells of the cutting screen and remove food residues therefrom, and then the shorter punches remove food residues from other cells of the cutting screen. Therefore, the pressure required to clean the cutting screen is reduced. It should be noted that preferably, the punches of each group of punches of the same length are evenly distributed on the surface of the punch carrier.
[0065] Figures 9 to 15 A second specific embodiment of the device 40 for cleaning the food cutting screen 42 is shown, which device includes blades arranged in a cross pattern according to a square cell grid. The main differences between the device 20 and the device 40 are:
[0066] - In the device 20, the number of guide grooves in the guide housing 23 is equal to one quarter of the number of cells in the cutting screen, and the guide housing 23 remains connected to the punch carrier 24; during the cleaning of the cutting screen, the guide housing 23 rotates continuously together with the punch carrier 24,
[0067] - In the device 40, the number of guide grooves in the guide housing 43 is the same as the number of cells in the cutting screen 42, and the guide housing 43 remains positioned on the fixed base 41, and only the punch carrier 44 performs continuous rotation during the cleaning of the cutting screen.
[0068] The axis A is perpendicular to the plane passing through the blade edges of the cutting screen 42. The device 40 includes a lower fixed base 41. As Figure 12As shown, the base 41 includes a cut food collection space 59, which is located below the support (similar to the support 35 of the first embodiment) of the cutting sieve 42. The support is provided with positioning elements 45 for accurately positioning the cutting sieve 42 on the support, and this positioning is achieved by orienting the blade edge upwards (i.e., on the side opposite to the cut food collection space 59). In this case, the positioning element 45 takes the form of a groove for supporting the lateral protrusions 54 of the frame of the cutting sieve 42 beyond its cutting surface.
[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment, preferably, at least one column (not shown, similar to the columns 36 and 37 of the device 20) passes through the cut food collection space 59 from bottom to top for supporting the sieve 42 near its central opening, so as to reduce or even eliminate the risk of deformation of the cutting sieve 42 when the punch 48 is pressed to remove the residues remaining on the sieve 42. The base 41 has a preferably vertical outer surface.
[0070] Above the fixed base 41, there is a guide housing 43, which is configured to be positioned on the fixed base 41 on the blade edge side of the cutting sieve 42. In other words, within more or less mechanical tolerances, the internal volume of the guide housing 43 corresponds to the outer surface of the base 41.
[0071] The guide housing 43 includes grooves 47 for guiding the punches 48, such that each groove 47 is located at the top of the cells of the cutting sieve 42. Each punch 48 can be of any shape as long as it can translate within the cells of the cutting sieve 42 and has a surface at its free end (the end in contact with the food) suitable for pushing the food until it is pushed out of the cell, while maintaining a sufficient functional clearance with the inner surface of the cell. The grooves 47 are configured to guide the vertical translation of the punches 48.
[0072] As Figure 9 、 13 As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, in the device 40, the punches 48 are incorporated into an integral punch carrier 44, which includes a lower surface for carrying the punches 48. The upper surface of the punch carrier 44 has four direction marks (not shown) around the axis A, similar to the marks 30 of the device 20. The punches 48 are frustum cylinders, and their generatrices are parallel to the axis A. The punches 48 can move with the punch carrier 44, and each punch is guided by the guide grooves 47 of the housing 43.
[0073] Four guide posts 50 are provided at the four corners of the punch bracket 44. These guide posts 50 are parallel to the shaft A. Their layout and dimensions on the lower surface of the punch bracket 44 correspond to the dimensions of the grooves 51 at the four corners of the guide housing 43. The length of the guide posts 50 (measured parallel to the shaft A) is greater than the length of the punch 48 (measured in the same way). Therefore, before the punch 48 enters the groove 47, the guide posts 50 have entered the grooves 51, thus ensuring the correct positioning of the punch 48. The grooves 51 correspond to the notches at the four corners of the base 41, and these notches are defined by the walls 52 that match the walls 53 inside the housing 43 (see Figure 10 ).
[0074] Both the upper surface of the punch bracket 44 and the upper surface of the housing 43 carry at least one mark 49, which indicates the cell size of the cutting screen 42, and the horizontal cross-sectional area of the punch 48 is adapted to this cell size. For example, in Figure 9 and Figure 11 , the mark 49 is "10x10", indicating that the punch bracket 44 and the housing 43 are suitable for cleaning the cutting screen 42 with a horizontal cross-sectional area of 10 mm x 10 mm for the cells.
[0075] The guide grooves 47 are frustum cylinders, and their generatrices are parallel to the shaft A. The walls between the two grooves 47 overlap at the blade edges, thus defining the cells of the cutting screen 42. Therefore, during displacement, the punch 48 guided by these walls of the grooves 47 does not contact the blade edges of the cutting screen 42. The grooves 47 and the punch 48 are arranged such that at least one cell (preferably each cell) of the cutting screen 42 faces one and only one of the four positions of the punch 48 on the punch bracket 44 located on the guide housing 43 and the base 41.
[0076] For example, for the cutting screen 42 that is the same as the cutting screen 22, Figure 14 the position of the punch 48 shown in
[0077] is the same as the position of the punch 28.
[0078] Since the number of punches 48 can be limited to one - quarter of the number of cells of the sieve, the punch carrier 44 is easy to clean with water. Since the blade edges face upwards, opposite to the direction of punch movement, any food residue remaining on the sieve and spanning multiple cells will be cut off and then recycled, thus limiting or even eliminating food loss during the sieve cleaning process.
[0079] Preferably, as Figures 9 to 15 shown, the punches 48 correspond to cells in the cutting sieve 42 that do not share adjacent sides or corners. In this way, the punches 48 are separated from each other, thereby reducing the local forces applied to the sieve 42 and thus reducing the risk of permanent deformation of the blades of the sieve 42 due to the punches 48 squeezing the food.
[0080] Preferably, the groove 47 of the housing 43 and the punches 48 together form a mechanical clearance such that the lower surface of the punch carrier 44 can be inclined relative to the plane passing through the blade edges of the cutting sieve 42, and during the movement of the punch carrier 44 towards the blades, some punches 48 will protrude beyond this clearance while other punches 48 still remain at least 3 mm away from this plane and preferably at least equal to the dimension of the blade parallel to the axis A. Thus, the operator can apply a more limited and progressive force by first pressing one side of the punch carrier 44 to remove food residue from a part of the cutting sieve 42 and then pressing the other side of the punch carrier 44 to remove other food residue from another part of the cutting sieve 42.
[0081] Preferably, at least one punch 48 has at least one inclined surface at its free end (i.e., the end away from the bearing surface of the punch carrier 44).
[0082] As Figure 13 shown, the lengths of at least two punches 48 (measured from the surface of the punch carrier 44) differ by at least 3 mm and preferably at least by the dimension of the blade parallel to the axis A. Thus, the longer punch 55 first passes through the cells of the cutting sieve 42 and removes food residue therefrom, and then the shorter punch 56 removes food residue from other cells of the cutting sieve 42. Therefore, the pressure required to clean the cutting sieve 42 is reduced. It should be noted that preferably, the punches of each group of punches of the same length are evenly distributed on the surface of the punch carrier.
[0083] In some embodiments, the punch carrier 44 is provided with handles 46 on both sides perpendicular to the axis A. Thus, it is easy to press the punch carrier 44 when the punch carrier 44 is in four positions on the housing 43. The handles 46 also help to separate the punch carrier 44 from the housing 43 between two stamping operations. In fact, as Figure 13As shown, these handles 46 have a central recess 57 that allows the operator to continue pressing on the housing 43 with the thumb while lifting the handle 46 with the index finger. Thus, the housing 43 secures the cutting sieve 42 in the base 41. Accordingly, the upper surface of the housing 43 in combination with the indentation 57 of the handle 46 forms a securing means for securing the cutting sieve 42 in the base 41.
[0084] Figure 16 A third specific embodiment of a device 60 for cleaning a food cutting sieve is shown, which device comprises blades arranged in a grid of square cells intersecting each other. The main difference between the device 20 and the device 60 is that in the device 60, the punches 68 are not incorporated into an integral punch carrier but are fixed in the grooves of a guide housing and are movable independently of each other.
[0085] In Figure 16 , the guide housing 63 has been positioned on the base, similar to the base 21, and neither the guide housing 63 nor the cutting sieve is visible. The guide housing 63 has at least one marking 69 similar to the marking 29. The distribution of the guide grooves 67 is the same as that of the device 20 (see Figure 5 ). Each punch 68 is movable independently of the other punches 68 within the groove 67 of the guide housing 63. Thus, the operator responsible for cleaning the cutting sieve can press each punch 68 independently in sequence to remove food residues stuck in the cells of the cutting sieve. Of course, the operator can also press several punches 68 simultaneously (e.g., with the palm) or even all the punches simultaneously (e.g., using a flat tool). Thus, the thrust is substantially proportional to the number of punches pressed simultaneously. Each punch 68 is equipped with a head 70 which is fixed outside the groove 67 since the head 70 extends into a plane perpendicular to the axis A. Preferably, each punch 68 also has retaining means, such as another head, on the cutting sieve side to prevent the punch 68 from slipping out of the groove when the housing 63 is turned over. Using the device 60, the smallest individual thrust only requires using a single punch 68 to clean a single cell of the cutting sieve. For example, the independently movable punches of the device 60 can limit this thrust to the thrust required to clean a single cell when necessary. For example, for a sieve with 208 cells, this thrust can be divided by 208 compared to the push rod system described in the prior art.
[0086] It will be appreciated that the common features of the devices 20, 40 and 60 are that they include:
[0087] - A fixed base including a food cutting collection space and a support for the cutting sieve, the support being provided with positioning elements for precisely positioning the cutting sieve on the support, with the edges of the blades facing the opposite side of the food cutting collection space;
[0088] A guiding housing configured to be positioned on a fixed base at the blade edge side, the guiding housing including a groove for guiding a punch, the walls of the groove being stacked on one another at the blade edge side, thereby defining a cell; and
[0089] A set of parallel punches, the punches being movable and each punch being guided by the guiding groove, the set of punches being configured to be positioned on the fixed base at any one of four positions corresponding to a quarter-turn rotation relative to the base about a rotation axis perpendicular to a plane passing through the blade edge, at least one cell on the sieve facing a punch at only one of the four positions of the set of punches on the base.
[0090] Preferably, in each of the three embodiments shown in the drawings, each cell of the sieve faces a punch at only one of the four positions of the set of punches on the base. However, in some variants (not shown), at least one cell of the sieve faces a punch at a plurality of the four positions of the set of punches on the base. For example, these variants can be achieved by adding one or more punches to the punch carrier of the device shown in the drawings. These punches are used, for example, to guide the punch carrier.
[0091] From the above description, it can also be understood that by using punches of different lengths, providing a mechanical clearance between the punch carrier and the guiding housing and / or moving different punches independently, the maximum force required by the operator can be reduced by far more than four times that achieved by the general concept of the present invention. The present invention also contemplates a food cutting device including a food cutting sieve and a device for cleaning the cutting sieve, the geometric shape of whose elements is configured to be suitable for cleaning the cutting sieve.
Claims
1. A device (20, 40, 60) for cleaning a food cutting sieve (22, 42), the device having a predetermined geometry and including blades intersecting vertically, cells being defined between the blades, the positions of the blades and the positions, dimensions and clearances of the cells forming part of the predetermined geometry of the cutting sieve, the device being characterized in that it includes: A fixed base (21, 41), including a food cutting collection space (39, 59) and a support (35) for the cutting sieve, the support being provided with positioning elements (25, 45) for precisely positioning the cutting sieve on the support, the edges of the blades facing a side opposite to the food cutting collection space; A guide housing (23, 43, 63), configured to be positioned on the edge side of the blades on the fixed base, the guide housing including grooves (27, 47, 67) for guiding punches, the walls of the grooves being stacked on top of each other at the edges of the blades, thereby defining cells; And A set of parallel punches (24, 28, 44, 48, 68), the punches being movable and each guided by a guide groove, the set of punches being configured to be positioned on the fixed base at any one of four positions corresponding to a quarter - turn rotation of the base relative to a rotation axis (A) perpendicular to a plane passing through the edges of the blades, at least one cell on the sieve facing a punch at one and only one of the four positions of the guide housing on the base.
2. The device (20, 40, 60) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The set of punches (24, 28, 44, 48, 68) corresponds to cells of the cutting sieve (22, 42) that do not share consecutive sides or corners.
3. The device (20, 60) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The guide housing (23, 43) is configured to be positioned at any one of four positions on the edge side of the blades on the fixed base (21), the four positions corresponding to a quarter - turn rotation of the housing on the base about a rotation axis (A) perpendicular to a plane passing through the edges of the blades, at one and only one of the four positions of the guide housing on the base, at least one cell of the sieve faces the stamping grooves of the guide housing.
4. The device (20) according to claim 3, characterized in that, The punch (28) is incorporated into an integral punch carrier (24), the integral punch carrier (24) including a surface for carrying the parallel punches.
5. The device (20) according to claim 4, including a fastening clip (32) for fastening the guide housing (23) and the punch carrier (24) at the center of the housing, so that the housing and the punch carrier can be separated by simply clamping the fastening clip.
6. The device (60) according to claim 3, characterized in that, At least one punch (68) is movable independently of the other punches in the groove (67) of the guide housing (63).
7. The device (40) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The guide housing (43) includes a plurality of guide grooves (47), the number of the guide grooves being equal to the number of cells of the cutting screen (42), and the set of punches (48) is incorporated into an integral punch carrier (44) configured to be positioned at any one of four positions on the guide housing, the four positions corresponding to a quarter-turn rotation about a rotation axis (A) perpendicular to a plane passing through the edge of the blade.
8. The device (20, 40) according to any one of claims 4, 5 or 7, characterized in that The grooves (27, 47) of the housing (23, 43) and the punches (28, 48) together form a mechanical clearance such that the surface of the punch carrier can be inclined relative to a plane passing through the edge of the blade, and such that, during the movement of the punch carrier towards the blade, some of the punches extend beyond the plane while other punches remain at least three millimeters away from the plane.
9. The device (20, 40, 60) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The lengths of at least two punches (28, 48) measured parallel to the rotation axis (A) differ by at least three millimeters.
10. The device (20, 40, 60) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The base (21, 41) is provided with at least one suction cup on the outside of the wall of the collection space (39, 59), the wall being located at the position furthest from the support of the cutting screen (22, 42), and the device further includes holding means (33, 34, 46, 57) for holding the cutting screen in the base.
11. The device (20, 40, 60) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, At least one punch (28, 48, 68) has at least one inclined surface (74, 76, 78) at its free end.
12. A food cutting device (20, 40, 60) comprising a food cutting screen (22, 42) and a cleaning device (20, 40, 60) according to one of claims 1 to 11, the cleaning device having a geometry configured for the cutting screen.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
DEVICE FOR CLEANING A FOOD CUTTER GRATING DISC
FR2948053A1
Tool for cleaning cutting grilles
FR3031918A1