An apparatus for processing a food stuff
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food processing apparatuses face manufacturing difficulties and complex assembly procedures, along with high torque requirements due to the need to prevent cutting blade deflection and bending during mechanical processing of food.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with an elongate cutting tool supported at both ends by a slot and a support collar, allowing for axial stability and reduced torque requirements, where the cutting tool passes once per revolution through a processing region and recovers rotational speed in a recovery region without contacting the foodstuff.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cutting blade is mounted in an outer support ring with clips, then the blade is supported to prevent deflection, but the assembly becomes complicated and difficult to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the support function from a complex clip-based mounting system and implements it through a simple slot in the housing that directly receives and supports the cutting blade. This eliminates the need for multiple clips and an outer support ring, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining blade support stability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of mounting the blade to a support structure and then securing it with clips, the invention inverts the approach by having the blade directly engage with a slot in the housing. The housing itself provides the support function, eliminating the intermediate support ring and clips.
2Reliability
If the cutting blade is mounted in a solid disc on a rotational shaft with thrust bearings, then blade deflection is reduced, but manufacturing difficulty and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential support function from a complex solid disc with thrust bearings and implements it through a simple slot in the housing. The slot provides sufficient support to prevent excessive blade deflection without requiring expensive thrust bearings or heavy solid discs.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex thrust bearing assemblies with a simple, inexpensive slot structure. The slot provides adequate support for the cutting blade's operational life without the need for precision-engineered bearing components.
3Reliability
If a heavy solid disc is used to support the cutting blade, then blade stability is improved, but the torque required to rotate the disc increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the support function from a heavy solid disc and implements it through a lightweight slot structure. This maintains blade stability by preventing excessive deflection while minimizing the moment of inertia, thereby reducing the torque required to accelerate and rotate the cutting blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the support structure from a heavy, high-inertia solid disc to a lightweight slot configuration. This parameter change maintains structural support for blade stability while dramatically reducing the mass and moment of inertia, thereby lowering the torque requirement for rotation.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present application relates to an apparatus for processing a food stuff. The apparatus has a housing (2) and a cutting tool (5) for cutting a food stuff which is rotatably mounted in the housing. The cutting tool (5) rotates in the housing (2) about a rotational axis and has a radially extending cutting element (44). One end of the cutting tool (5) slides in a circumferentially extending slot in the housing as the cutting tool (5) is rotated in the housing (2). Therefore, the cutting tool (5) is supported in an axial direction by the housing (2). The present application also relates to a food processor.