Peeler

Abstract

To provide a peeler that excels in operability and allows easy cleanup after cooking.SOLUTION: A peeler comprises: a blade section which has a blade and a curved surface continuous from a blade surface of the blade; and a body section which has shaft support surfaces for pivotably supporting both ends in the longitudinal direction of the blade section, and a connecting surface connecting the shaft support surfaces. The outer edge of the curved surface is formed in a direction to guide shavings of a food material, shaved by the blade in a state where the blade is in contact with the surface of the food material, toward the connecting surface, and the connecting surface is formed as an inclined surface that slopes in the direction in which the shavings fall.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a peeler.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as an instrument for peeling the skin of foodstuffs such as vegetables and fruits, in addition to a kitchen knife and a knife, a peeler has been used. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a peeler including a handle portion, a blade support portion that extends obliquely downward in a bifurcated manner from the tip of the handle portion, and a blade that is swingably supported between both end portions of the blade support portion.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the prior art including Patent Document 1 and the like, since the blade and the handle portion are separated, a user who is not accustomed to operating the peeler cannot transmit the operating force of the fingertips to the blade well, and it is not excellent in operability. Further, in the prior art, the skin of the peeled foodstuff (hereinafter referred to as the cuttings) may scatter in front of the blade, and the post-cooking cleanup may be troublesome.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a peeler having excellent operability and easy post-cooking cleanup.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the peeler according to the present disclosure includes a blade body, a blade body portion formed with a curved surface continuous from the blade surface of the blade body, a shaft support surface that pivotally supports both longitudinal ends of the blade body portion in a swingable manner, and a main body portion formed with a connection surface that connects the shaft support surfaces. The outer edge of the curved surface is formed in a direction that guides the cuttings of the food material cut by the blade body to the connection surface in a state where the blade body is in contact with the surface of the food material, and the connection surface is formed as an inclined surface that inclines in the dropping direction of the cuttings.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a peeler that is excellent in operability and easy to clean up after cooking.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 10

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are examples for explaining the present disclosure, and the technical content described in the claims is not limited to the following description.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a peeler 100 according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2(a) is a front view showing the front of the peeler 100, and FIG. 2(b) is a rear view showing the back of the peeler 100.

[0011] The peeler 100 includes a long blade body portion 10 for peeling the skin of food ingredients, a support surface 20 (20a, 20b) that pivotally supports both longitudinal ends 10a, 10b of the blade body portion 10 in a swingable manner, and a main body portion 40 formed with a connecting surface 30 that connects the support surfaces 20 (20a, 20b).

[0012] On the main body portion 40, gripping portions 50 (50a, 50b) having a predetermined wall thickness in the out-of-plane direction of the support surfaces 20 (20a, 20b) are formed. For example, when the user grips the peeler 100 with the right hand, the user can efficiently transmit the operating force of the fingertips to the peeler 100 by gripping the gripping portion 50a with the index finger and the gripping portion 50b with the thumb, respectively. In the peeler 100 according to the present disclosure, since the gripping portion 50 is provided on the main body portion 40 via the support surfaces 20 (20a, 20b) that pivotally support both ends of the blade body portion 10, the user can intuitively and safely control the movement of the blade body portion 10 according to the operation of the fingertips. Note that, as an anti-slip measure when the user grips the gripping portion 50 (50a, 50b), an anti-slip sheet may be attached to the surface of the gripping portion 50 (50a, 50b), or unevenness (embossing) may be provided.

[0013] At the end side of the holding part 50 (50a, 50b), a bud removing part 70 (70a, 70b) for picking out buds or the like submerged in the surface of food materials such as potatoes is provided. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the bud removing part 70 (70a). As shown in FIG. 3, the bud removing part 70 (70a) is configured such that a part of the end side of the shaft supporting surface 20 (20a) is in a notch shape so as to facilitate insertion into and extraction from the submerged part on the surface of the food material. Since the bud removing part 70 (70a) is configured as a part of the holding part 50 (50a) via the shaft supporting surface 20 (20a), the user can directly transmit the force of the fingertip to the bud part (submerged part on the surface of the food material) of food materials such as potatoes, and can efficiently pick out the buds.

[0014] Returning to FIG. 2 again, the main body part 40 includes a handle part 60 that can be held by the palm of the user when the user holds the holding part 50 (50a, 50b). The handle part 60 is provided so as to extend in the direction of the end of the main body part 40 from the holding part 50 (50a, 50b) via the connecting surface 30 connecting the shaft supporting surfaces 20 (20a, 20b). A recessed part 62 capable of accommodating fingers other than the fingers (for example, the thumb and index finger) of the user holding the holding part 50 (50a, 50b) is formed in the handle part 60. The configuration of the recessed part 62 will be described later.

[0015] Next, the configuration of the blade body part 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4(a) is a perspective view showing the configuration of the blade body part 10. FIG. 4(b) is a view of the blade body part 10 as seen from the direction of arrow x in FIG. 4(a) of the peeler 100. FIG. 4(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 4(b).

[0016] The blade body part 10 includes a blade body 101, a curved surface 103, a long hole 105, a guide part 107, and a supported part 109 (109a, 109b).

[0017] The blade body 101 is a blade body that abuts on the surface of the food via the blade surface and peels (removes) the skin of the food by a pulling operation of the blade body 101 (blade body portion 10) in the lateral direction by the user (an operation of peeling the skin of the food toward the front side of the user). In the present disclosure, the direction of pulling with respect to the lateral direction of the blade body 101 (blade body portion 10) (the direction of peeling the skin of the food toward the front side of the user) is referred to as the front direction of the user. On the other hand, the direction opposite to the front direction of the user is referred to as the forward direction of the user.

[0018] The blade body 101 is configured in a long shape facing the long hole 105. FIGS. 4(a) etc. are examples in which the blade body 101 is configured as a flat blade, but the blade body 101 may have a wave blade, a serrated blade, a shape for obtaining a cutting object with a specific shape (for example, vegetable pasta, etc.), or may be an inclined blade inclined with respect to the long hole 105. Further, the blade (blade surface) provided on the blade body 101 may be either a single blade or a double blade, and in addition to the single blade shown in FIG. 4(a), it is also possible to configure the blade body 101 by combining a plurality of blades. Such a blade body 101 can be molded using a material generally used for forming a blade body such as stainless steel, carbon steel, or a ceramic material.

[0019] The curved surface 103 is formed continuously from the blade surface of the blade body 101 and is configured as a surface in which the outer edge portion 103a is formed in an arc shape. As shown in FIG. 4(c), the curved surface 103 is formed with a predetermined curvature in order to guide the cutting object cut by the blade body 101 and discharged through the long hole 105 to the connection surface 30 (direction) provided on the main body portion 40. The shape of the outer edge portion 103a of the curved surface 103 is not particularly limited as long as it can guide the cutting object discharged through the long hole 105 to the connection surface 30 (direction), and in addition to an arc shape, it may be a polygonal shape such as a triangle or a rectangle, for example.

[0020] In a general peeler, the skin (cutting object) of the food peeled by the operation of the blade body in the front direction of the user is guided in the direction opposite to the front direction of the user and sometimes scatters in the forward direction of the user.

[0021] However, in the peeler 100 according to the present disclosure, the cuttings cut by the blade body 101 and discharged through the long hole 105 are guided along the curved surface 103 to the connection surface 30 (direction) of the main body portion 40 with the traveling direction reversed. As will be described later, the connection surface 30 is formed as an inclined surface that inclines in the direction in which the cuttings fall in the main body portion 40. Therefore, the cuttings whose traveling direction has been reversed by the curved surface 103 (outer edge 103a) will either contact the inclined surface formed as the connection surface 30 or fall downward before contacting the connection surface 30 due to their own weight. Thus, according to the peeler 100 of the present disclosure, scattering of the cuttings can be prevented, and the cuttings can be efficiently collected at an accumulation location (place), such as a dustbin arranged below the peeler 100.

[0022] The long hole 105 is a rectangular hole having a longitudinal length substantially the same as the longitudinal length of the blade body 101. A guide portion 107 is provided on the opposite side of the blade body 101 facing the long hole 105. The guide portion 107 functions as a trigger for the swing of the blade portion 10 from a first swing position to a second swing position described later by contacting the surface of the food material. The food material slides on the surface of the guide portion 107 indicated by the dashed-dotted line d in FIG. 4(c) and is cut at the position of the blade body 101 indicated by the dotted line c in FIG. 4(c). At this time, if the gap between the dashed-dotted line d and the dotted line c is wider than a predetermined interval, the thickness of the cuttings becomes thicker, and if the gap is narrower than the predetermined interval, the thickness of the cuttings becomes thinner. The interval of the gap between the dashed-dotted line d and the dotted line c can be appropriately changed according to the food material to be cut, but it is preferably, for example, 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm.

[0023] The shaft support portions 109 (109a, 109b) are shaft members formed to protrude in the out-of-plane direction from both end faces of the blade body portion 10 in the short-side direction. The shaft support portions 109 (109a, 109b) are provided on the shaft support surfaces 20 (20a, 20b) of the main body portion 40 and are shaft-supported by fitting into bearing holes described later. The blade body portion 10 can swing within an angular range restricted by a restricting member described later when the shaft support portions 109 (109a, 109b) at both ends are shaft-supported on the shaft support surfaces 20 (20a, 20b) of the main body portion 40. The restricting member restricts the swinging range of the blade body portion between a first swinging position where the curved surface 103 side of the blade body portion 10 hangs vertically downward due to its own weight and reaches a steady state, and a second swinging position where the blade 101 abuts against the surface of the food material and reaches a steady state.

[0024] Next, the configuration of the main body portion 40 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5(a) is a front view of the main body portion 40 seen from the front. FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view around the bearing holes 21 (21a, 21b). FIG. 5(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 5(a). FIG. 5(d) is a plan view of the peeler 100 seen from above. In the description of the main body portion 40 using FIG. 5, when it has the same configuration as the previously described configuration, the same reference numerals may be given and the description thereof may be omitted. Also, the cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 5(c) will only describe the configuration on one side of the peeler 100 for convenience of explanation on the drawing surface.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5(a), the peeler 100 is formed in a substantially Y shape when viewed from the front and includes the main body portion 40. The main body portion 40 can be molded using general plastic resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride, or general materials such as stainless steel. As a processing method, for example, the main body portion 40 can be molded by injection molding using an injection molding die or by press working.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 5(b), bearing holes 21(21a, 21b) are formed in the bearing surfaces 20(20a, 20b) of the main body portion 40 so as to extend from the bearing surfaces 20(20a, 20b) toward the gripping portions 50(50a, 50b). The bearing holes 21(21a, 21b) pivotally support the blade body portion 10 in a swingable manner by fitting with the pivot-supported portions 109(109a, 109b) of the blade body portion 10.

[0027] The restricting portions 80(80a, 80b) shown in FIGS. 5(b) and 5(c) are restricting members that restrict the swing range of the blade body portion 10 between a first swing position where the curved surface 103 side of the blade body portion 10 hangs vertically downward due to its own weight and reaches a steady state by contacting the blade body portion 10, and a second swing position where the blade 101 contacts the surface of the food material and reaches a steady state.

[0028] Here, the angular range in which the restricting portion 80(80a) restricts the swing of the blade body portion 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6(a) is a diagram schematically explaining the position of the blade body portion 10 (blade surface) in the first swing position. FIG. 6(b) is a diagram schematically explaining the position of the blade body portion 10 (blade surface) in the second swing position.

[0029] For example, consider a virtual axis A in the vertical direction passing through the center of gravity of the peeler 100 as the longitudinal axis. When assuming an axis B intersecting the axis A at a predetermined angle α (for example, 90°) as a reference line, the restricting portion 80(80a) located on the reference line restricts the swing range consisting of the blade body portion 10 (blade surface) in the first swing position and the blade body portion 10 (blade surface) in the second swing position to an angular range of 50° to 130°. More preferably, the restricting portion 80(80a) restricts the swing range to an angular range of 53° to 122°.

[0030] The restricting part 80 (80a) can control the swing range of the blade part 10 (blade) by restricting the swing range of the blade part 10 (blade) from the angular range shown in Fig. 6(a) to the predetermined angular range shown in Fig. 6(b). That is, the blade part 10 uses the contact of the guide part 107 with the food surface as a trigger and swings from the first swing position to the second swing position by swinging around the pivot support part 109 (109a, 109b). At this time, in order for the restricting part 80 (80a) to appropriately restrict the swing range of the blade part 10 (blade), the curved part 103 (outer edge part 103a) of the blade part 10 can always be positioned at a position suitable for discharging the cuttings (a position that guides the cuttings to the connection surface 30 (direction) provided on the main body part 40).

[0031] Returning to Fig. 5 again, the handle part 60 of the main body part 40 is provided so as to extend in the direction of the end of the main body part 40 through the connection surface 30 that connects the pivot support surfaces 20 (20a, 20b) from the gripping parts 50 (50a, 50b). As shown in Figs. 5(c) and 5(d), the connection surface 30 is formed as an inclined surface that is inclined in the direction in which the cuttings fall in the main body part 40. As shown in the plan view of Fig. 5(d), the main body part 40 has a rounded handle surface 60a so as to fit within the palm of the user's hand, and a recessed part 62 for accommodating fingers other than the fingers (for example, the thumb and index finger) of the user that grip the gripping parts 50 (50a, 50b) is provided on the surface opposite to the handle surface 60a. The user can hold the peeler 100 in a natural feeling without applying unnecessary force by pressing the handle surface 60a against the palm and accommodating the fingers other than the fingers that grip the gripping parts 50 (50a, 50b) in the recessed part 62.

[0032] FIG. 7 is an end view for explaining the internal shape of the recessed portion 62. The recessed portion 62 is formed as a cavity having a substantially pentagonal internal space in a front view in the vicinity of the position indicated by the line A-A (end view taken along the line A-A). Then, as the thickness of the handle portion 60 increases toward the end portion side, the inclination of the connecting surface 30 becomes gentle, and the internal shape of the recessed portion 62 changes from a substantially arc-shaped internal space (end view taken along the line B-B) to a flat internal space (end view taken along the line C-C). By setting the internal space of the recessed portion 62 in the vicinity of the gripping portion 50 (50a, 50b) (in the vicinity of the line A-A) to the above shape, the user can comfortably accommodate fingers other than the fingers gripping the gripping portion 50 (50a, 50b).

[0033] FIG. 8 is a state transition diagram for explaining how to cut the skin of the food F as the cut object FC1. In FIG. 8, the description will start from the state where the blade body portion 10 is located at the second swing position and the blade body 101 is in contact with the surface of the food F.

[0034] FIG. 8(a) shows a state where the blade body portion 10 (blade body 101) is brought into contact with the surface of the food F and the user starts to pull the peeler 100 in the forward direction.

[0035] FIG. 8(b) shows a state where the cut object FC1 of the food F is reversing its discharge direction along the curved surface 103 of the blade body portion 10.

[0036] Furthermore, when the peeler 100 is pulled in the forward direction of the user, the tip portion of the cut object FC1 leaves the outer edge 103a of the curved surface 103 and is guided to the connecting surface 30 (direction) provided on the main body portion 40 (FIG. 8(c)).

[0037] FIG. 8(d) shows a state where the cut object FC1 contacts the inclined surface formed as the connecting surface 30 or falls downward before contacting the connecting surface 30 due to its own weight, and shows a state where a new cut object FC2 is generated by cutting the surface of the food F with the blade body portion 10 again.

[0038] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the peeler 100 according to the present disclosure is used to peel the skin of long root vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, radishes, and burdocks as the food F. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the user can easily peel the skin of the food F by gripping the gripping portions 50 (50a, 50b) of the peeler 100 and pulling it in the direction in front of himself / herself. Since the skin (cutting waste FC1) of the food F falls to the front side of the user, there is no risk that the cutting waste FC1 scatters in the forward direction of the user.

[0039] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the bud removing portion 70 (70a) of the peeler 100 according to the present disclosure is used to pick out the bud FC3 of a potato as the food F2. As described above, the bud removing portion 70 (70a) is formed by notching a part of the pivot support surface 20 (20a) on the end side of the gripping portion 50 (50a). Since the bud removing portion 70 (70a) of the peeler 100 according to the present disclosure is formed in a tapered and flat shape, it can be easily bitten into the recessed portion (bud portion) on the surface of the potato. With the bud removing portion 70 (70a) bitten in, the bud FC3 can be easily picked out by rotating the main body of the peeler 100, for example, clockwise. At this time, since the bud removing portion 70 (70a) is configured as a part of the gripping portion 50 (50a), the user can directly transmit the force of the fingertips to the bud FC3 portion of the food F2 such as a potato. Further, since the bud removing portion 70 (70a) according to the present disclosure has a simple structure in which a part of the pivot support surface 20 (20a) is notched, food such as the bud portion is not clogged, maintenance is easy, and the peeler 100 can always be kept clean.

[0040] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. That is, embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means modified within the scope not departing from the gist of the present disclosure are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0041] In addition, although the above-described embodiments have parts that are separately described for convenience of explanation, it goes without saying that they may be combined and executed within a technically possible range.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0042] 10 Blade body part 101 Blade body 103 Curved surface 103a Outer edge part 105 Long hole 107 Guide part 109(109a, 109b) Supported shaft part 20(20a, 20b) Support surface 21(21a, 21b) Bearing hole 30 Connection surface 40 Main body part 50(50a, 50b) Holding part 60 Handle part 62 Depressed part 70(70a, 70b) Sprout removing part 80(80a, 80b) Regulation part

Claims

1. a blade body, a blade body part formed with a curved surface continuous from the blade surface of the blade body, a main body part formed with a support surface that pivotally supports both longitudinal ends of the blade body part so as to be swingable, and a connecting surface that connects the support surfaces, the outer edge of the curved surface is formed in a direction that guides the cuttings of the food material cut by the blade body to the connecting surface in a state where the blade body is in contact with the surface of the food material, the connecting surface is formed as an inclined surface that inclines in the dropping direction of the cuttings, characterized in that it is a peeler.

2. On the support surface, a regulating member is provided that regulates the swinging range of the blade body part between a first swinging position where the curved surface side of the blade body part hangs vertically downward due to its own weight and a second swinging position where the blade body contacts the surface of the food material. The peeler according to claim 1, characterized in that it is provided.

3. When a reference line is a line that intersects the longitudinal axis of the main body part at a predetermined angle, the regulating member located on the reference line regulates the swinging range consisting of the blade surface in the first swinging position and the blade surface in the second swinging position within a predetermined angular range with respect to the reference line. The peeler according to claim 2, characterized in that it is regulated.

4. The swinging range is an angular range of 50 degrees to 130 degrees with respect to the reference line. The peeler according to claim 3, characterized in that it is an angular range.

5. The main body part, a gripping part formed with a predetermined wall thickness in the out-of-plane direction of the support surface, and a handle part that can be held by the palm of the user's hand when the user's finger grips the gripping part. The peeler according to claim 1, characterized in that it is provided.

6. On the handle part, a recessed part for accommodating other fingers other than the finger of the user that grips the gripping part is formed. The peeler according to claim 5, characterized in that it is formed.

7. It is provided with a bud removing part formed by cutting out a part of the gripping part. The peeler according to claim 5, characterized in that it is provided.

8. The bud removing part is formed in the in-plane direction of the support surface. The peeler according to claim 7, characterized in that it is formed.

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