Pizza cutter

Abstract

To provide a pizza cutter which can surely cut a pizza dough without vertically pressing a point contact part which is formed on one point on outer peripheral parts of two circular blades, namely one point on an axial line of a handle holding a circular blade, and can act to expand the pizza immediately after cutting the pizza.SOLUTION: There is provided a pizza cutter in which circular blades are rotatably held by inclining a shaft part, so that at least parts of a pair of circular blades formed of an elastomer, are in surface contact with each other, thereby forming an arc-shaped cutting part on the outer peripheral parts of the circular blades.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pizza cutter for cutting pizza, and to a cutter that is suitable for reliably cutting pizza. [Background technology]

[0002] Most conventional pizza cutters use a single circular blade to cut the pizza, but as shown in Patent Document 1, some have two circular blades to function as tongs. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-058581 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A pizza cutter with a single circular blade can cut a pizza, but it cannot push the cut open, which can cause the cheese on the pizza to reconnect after it has been cut. In contrast, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the effect of cutting the pizza while simultaneously pushing the cut open sideways. However, the pizza cutter disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a gap between the two circular blades, except for a point of contact formed at one point on the outer periphery of the blades, i.e., a point on the axis of the handle that holds the circular blades. As a result, the two circular blades cut apart when cutting the top of the pizza, but they cut together when cutting the bottom of the pizza, resulting in issues such as an inability to cut the pizza cleanly.

[0005] This invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a pizza cutter that can cut pizza in good condition while maintaining the effect of cutting the pizza with two circular blades and spreading the cuts horizontally. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, in the present invention, two circular blades are made of an elastic material and brought into contact with each other at an angle, and the blades are bent to bring them into partial surface contact, thereby forming an arc-shaped cutting portion (hereinafter referred to as the cutting arc) on the outer periphery of the blade. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, since the cutting arc can be formed at a desired distance on the outer periphery of the circular blade, the cutting arc functions as a blade. As a result, the cut can be spread laterally after cutting, and the two circular blades can cut the pizza neatly as if they were one circular blade. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a pizza cutter showing a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a support portion of a circular blade showing a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of setting a camber angle in the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The structure of a pizza cutter according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1-(a) is a front view of a pizza cutter according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1-(b) is a side view. The pizza cutter 1 comprises a pair of circular blades 2, a holder 3 that rotatably holds the blades, and a handle 4 that extends upward from the holder 3. The circular blades 2 are circular thin plates made of an elastic material with a diameter D. The holder 3 is, for example, cylindrical, and has a pair of flat surfaces 3b that face each other across a central axis and are spaced apart at their lower ends. Each of the flat surfaces 3b is further provided with a shaft 3c, and the circular blades 2 are rotatably held on the shafts 3c via a support 5. The upper end of the handle 4 is provided with a handle 4a for operating the pizza cutter 1.

[0010] Here, the intersection point between the central axis of the holder 3 and the central axis of the shank 3c is defined as base point F, and the distance from base point F to the circular blade 2 is defined as fixed length e. By appropriately selecting the camber angle α, which is the angle between the shank 3c and a horizontal line perpendicular to the center line of the holder 3 and base point F, the pair of circular blades 2 partially contact each other to form a surface contact area A, and the outer periphery of the circular blade 2 where the surface contact area A is formed forms a cutting arc S in which the pair of circular blades 2 function as if they were a single blade. For example, when the diameter D of the circular blade 2 is 80 mm, the camber angle α is 10°, and the fixed length e is 5.3 mm, a cutting arc S of approximately 29 mm is formed on the outer periphery of the surface contact area A. In FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the distance from the center of the circular blade 2 to the upper end of the surface contact area A, or more precisely, the distance from the center of the circular blade 2 to the upper end of the surface contact area A as viewed along the surface of the circular blade 2, is defined as the surface contact start distance La.

[0011] In the present invention, the cutting arc S formed by the surface contact of the two circular blades 1 acts like a single blade, so even if the handle 4 is tilted within a certain range forward or backward in the direction of travel, it is possible to cut into the pizza without any problems.

[0012] For example, if the overall thickness of the circular blade 2 is t = 0.1 mm, the two circular blades 1 overlap at the cutting arc S, acting as a single cutting blade with a thickness of 2t = 0.2 mm. Therefore, if the thickness t is too thick, it will not function as a cutting blade, while if it is too thin, it will not be able to withstand the pressing force applied when cutting pizza, resulting in deformation and breakage. To enable the cutting arc S to function as a cutting blade, it is desirable to keep the thickness t as thin as possible, preferably approximately 0.3 mm or less, while suppressing the stress generated by the circular blade 2 below the elastic limit or 0.2% yield strength of the material. Needless to say, tapering the outer periphery of the circular blade 2, i.e., the outer periphery behind the contact surfaces of the circular blades 2, and sharpening the outer periphery of the cutting arc S, will further improve its function as a cutting blade.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the support portion 5 of the circular blade according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The support portion 5 rotatably fixes the circular blade 2 to the shaft portion 3c of the holder 3 and is composed of a bracket 6, a support plate 8, a bearing 9, and a nut 10. The bracket 6 is ring-shaped, and an outer ring 9a of the bearing 9 is press-fitted into its inner diameter. A threaded portion 3d is formed at the end of the shaft portion 3c, and the inner ring 9b of the bearing 9 held by the shaft portion 3c is fixed to the shaft portion 3c by tightening a nut 10. The circular blade 2 is sandwiched between the bracket 6 and the support plate 8, which is a plate-shaped ring member, and is fixed by tightening pairs of fixing screws 11 and nuts 12 via washers 13.

[0014] The structure of the support portion 5 is merely an example, and any structure may be used as long as the circular blade 2 can freely rotate around the shaft portion 3c.

[0015] The pizza cutting operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 3. Note that in the pizza cutter 1 according to the first embodiment, the holding part 3 and handle 4 are formed coaxially, and therefore the following description will be based on the axis of the handle 4. The cutting arc S is centered at the point where an extension of the axis of the handle 4 intersects with the outer periphery of the circular blade 2, and is equidistant forward and backward in the direction of rotation of the circular blade 2. In the pizza cutter 1 configured as described above, the contact position between the cutting arc S formed in the surface contact part A and the surface on which the pizza is placed can be changed by tilting the axis of the handle 4 forward and backward from the perpendicular to the surface on which the pizza is placed in the direction in which the pizza cutter 1 cuts the pizza (hereinafter referred to as the traveling direction).

[0016] As shown in Figure 3, the angle when the axis of the handle 4 tilts forward or backward relative to the perpendicular to the surface on which the pizza is placed is called the caster angle θ. The pizza is typically cut by tilting it backward relative to the direction of travel. In this case, the surface contact area A of the two circular blades 2 is formed from the leading edge Ps of the cutting arc S in the direction of travel, allowing the pizza to be cut as if it were a single blade. Furthermore, the surface contact area A of the two circular blades 2 is also formed at the contact point Pc with the surface on which the pizza is placed, at the cutting arc S of the surface contact area A, allowing the pizza to be cut as if it were a single blade. Furthermore, the two circular blades 2 overlap until the trailing edge Pe of the cutting arc S in the direction of travel, which is formed at the surface contact area A. After the cutting is complete, the circular blades 2, which were in surface contact within the pizza, gradually begin to separate after passing Pe. This separation action spreads the cut surface of the pizza, ensuring a reliable cut.

[0017] Specifically, assuming the thickness of the pizza to be H, the height of the leading end Ps of the cutting arc S in the traveling direction to be Hstart, and the height of the trailing end Pe of the cutting arc S in the traveling direction to be Hend, it becomes possible to cut into the pizza within the range where H < Hstart holds, and an effect of expanding the cut surface of the pizza can be obtained within the range where 0 ≦ Hend < H holds. That is, by operating the caster angle θ during the cutting operation such that 0 ≦ Hend < H < Hstart and Pe is located on the opposite side of Ps across the contact portion Pc with the surface on which the pizza is placed, reliable cutting can be performed. Further, in order to obtain the maximum expanding effect of the pizza after cutting while reliably cutting the pizza, the caster angle θ may be set such that the trailing end of the arc S coincides with the contact portion Pc(). This caster angle is referred to as the initial caster angle θp. Therefore, the caster angle θ for cutting the pizza and obtaining the expanding effect of the pizza after cutting may be such that θe < θ ≦ θp. Note that the caster angle θe is the value of the caster angle θ when the height Hend of the trailing end Pe of the cutting arc S in the traveling direction becomes the same as the thickness H of the pizza.

[0018] Note that although the caster angle θ is assumed to vary depending on the operator, the material of the pizza, etc. when performing the cutting operation, after assuming the variation range in advance, the length of the cutting arc S may be appropriately selected. At this time, the length of the cutting arc S can be determined by the outer diameter D of the circular blade 2 and the surface contact start distance La. The surface contact start distance La can be changed by the camber angle α and the fixed length e, but the simplest method is to adjust the fixed length e of the circular blade 2.

[0019] Next, an example of setting the camber angle α in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4. For example, when the thickness of the pizza to be cut is H = 5 mm, the surface contact start distance is La = 30 mm, the outer diameter of the circular blade 2 is D = 80 mm, the plate thickness is t = 0.1 mm, the material is an austenitic stainless steel material SUS304 steel plate, the outer diameter of the bracket 6 which is a member holding the circular blade 2 is Db = 20 mm, and the outer diameter of the support plate 8 is Ds = 30 mm, when the camber angle α is set to α = 10°, the assembly stress generated in the circular blade 2 is calculated to be approximately 1900 N / mm 2If the force with which the circular blade 2 is pressed against the pizza during the cutting operation is ignored, taking into account the softness of the pizza dough, the above assembly stress is 2500 N / mm 2 Therefore, the set camber angle α = 10° can be judged to be appropriate.

[0020] In this embodiment, the pizza thickness H is set to 5 mm, but if a thicker pizza is to be manufactured, the cutting arc S can be increased by, for example, selecting the fixed length e appropriately.

[0021] FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The pizza cutter 100 of the second embodiment is an application example of the present invention that takes into consideration operability during cutting. As mentioned above, to effectively cut pizza using the present invention, it is desirable to tilt the axis of the handle 4, or more precisely, the axis of the holding portion 3, by an initial caster angle θp so that the rear end of the arc S coincides with the contact point Pc. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a horizontal handle portion 4d is provided at the end of the handle 4 tilted by the initial caster angle θp, at an angle relative to the axis of the handle 4 so that it is approximately parallel to the surface on which the pizza is placed. With the pizza cutter 100 configured in this manner, simply by operating the horizontal handle portion 4d so that it is approximately horizontal, pizza can be cut while maintaining the appropriate initial caster angle θp. This allows the cutting surface to be expanded simultaneously with the cutting of the pizza, allowing the pizza to be effectively cut in a single cutting operation without having to repeat the cutting operation multiple times.

[0022] FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The pizza cutter 200 of the third embodiment is an application example of the present invention that takes into consideration operability during cutting. In this embodiment, the handle 4 is configured to be perpendicular to the pizza while the holding portion 3 is maintained at an initial caster angle θp. More specifically, the central axis of the handle 4 and the central axis of the holding portion 3 are connected at a predetermined caster angle θp in a direction along the plane of symmetry formed by the pair of circular blades 2. As a result, by simply keeping the handle 4 perpendicular to the bottom surface of the pizza when cutting, the pizza can be cut while maintaining the appropriate initial caster angle θp. This allows the cutting surface to be expanded simultaneously with the cutting of the pizza, allowing the pizza to be effectively cut in a single cutting operation without having to repeat the cutting operation multiple times.

[0023] As described above, the present invention cuts a pizza while maintaining the initial caster angle θp of the holding unit 3 within a predetermined range, allowing the pizza to be cut and the cut surface to be spread at the same time. In the fourth embodiment, the present invention is used as a cutting unit in an automatic pizza cutter (not shown). The automatic pizza cutter comprises at least a table on which the pizza is placed, an operating mechanism that moves parallel to the table using power, and a pizza cutter in which the holding unit 3 is attached to the operating mechanism so as to form an initial caster angle θp relative to the table. With this automatic pizza cutter, by placing a pizza on the pizza table and operating the operating mechanism, the pizza cutter can cut the pizza while spreading the cut surface. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1...Pizza cutter, 2...Circular blade, 3...Holding part, 3b...Flat part, 3c...Shaft part, 3d...Threaded part, 4...Handle, 4a...Grip part, 4d...Horizontal handle part, 5...Support part, 6...Bracket, 8...Support plate, 9...Bearing, 9a...Outer ring, 9b...Inner ring, 10...Nut, 11...Fixing screw, 12...Nut, 13...Washer, A...Face contact part, S...Cutting arc, t...Thickness of circular blade, D...Outer diameter of circular blade 1, F...Base point, La...Start distance of face contact, Db...Outer diameter of bracket 4, Ds...Outer diameter of support plate 5, Ps...Front end of cutting arc S in the running direction, Pe...Rear end of cutting arc S in the running direction, Pc...Contact part with the surface on which the pizza is placed, α...Camber angle, θ...Caster angle, e...Fixed length, H...Thickness of pizza, H start...Height of Ps, H end...Height of Pe

Claims

1. A pizza cutter comprising a pair of circular blades made of an elastic material and a holding part with a pair of shafts that rotatably hold the circular blades, characterized in that the axial centers of the pair of shafts are inclined relative to each other so that parts of the pair of circular blades come into contact and overlap with each other, forming an arc-shaped cutting portion on the outer periphery of the pair of circular blades.

2. 2. The pizza cutter of claim 1, wherein a handle is connected to the holding portion.

3. The pizza cutter of claim 2, characterized in that the central axis of the handle is connected to the central axis of the holding part so as to be coaxial with the central axis of the holding part, and the other end of the handle is provided with a horizontal handle part, and the axis of the horizontal handle part is approximately horizontal to the surface on which the pizza is placed when the holding part is held at a predetermined caster angle relative to the bottom of the pizza.

4. 3. The pizza cutter according to claim 2, wherein the central axis of the handle and the central axis of the holding portion are connected at a predetermined caster angle in a direction along the plane of symmetry formed by the pair of circular blades.

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