Corrugated Knife Blade Clamp Design for Food Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing knife assemblies for cutting food products suffer from excessive blade movement and food particles getting caught between the blade, clamp, and holder, which affects yield and appearance.
Innovation Solution
A knife assembly design featuring a clamp with inwardly corrugated shape and clamping geometrical elements that engage the knife blade at a complementary contact line, providing a secure fit and minimizing movement by exerting uniform clamping force across the blade, while stop parts limit the blade's range of motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a simple clamp design is used to secure the knife blade, then the device complexity is reduced, but the knife blade movement during cutting increases
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp incorporates localized geometrical elements (protrusions, recesses, corrugated patterns) at specific positions to engage with corresponding features on the knife blade. This provides targeted stabilization at critical locations without requiring complex overall clamp structure, thus reducing blade movement while maintaining relatively simple device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp and knife blade feature complementary corrugated geometrical patterns with curved profiles. These curved engagement surfaces provide mechanical interlocking that effectively prevents blade movement during cutting, achieving stability through geometric curvature rather than complex mechanical structures.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the clamp tightly secures the knife blade to eliminate movement, then blade stability improves, but food particles can get caught in the spaces between clamp, blade and holder
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp design extends engagement beyond a single line contact to include geometrical elements that contact the blade at multiple positions and orientations. This multi-dimensional engagement secures the blade firmly while maintaining proper spacing relationships that prevent food particles from becoming trapped in gaps.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp structure is divided into multiple engagement zones with distinct geometrical elements (clamping line, clamping geometrical elements at different distances from front edge). Each segment performs a specific function: the clamping line provides primary securing, while the additional geometrical elements provide secondary stabilization and prevent particle entrapment without requiring excessive clamping force.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple clamping points are added to reduce blade movement, then blade stability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple clamping functions are merged into a single integrated clamp body. The clamp incorporates both the clamping line and additional clamping geometrical elements as unified features of one component, achieving multi-point blade engagement without requiring multiple separate clamping devices or complex adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The geometrical elements of the clamp and knife blade are designed with complementary shapes that automatically engage with each other when the clamp is positioned on the blade. The corrugated patterns and matching recesses create self-aligning, self-securing engagement that reduces the need for complex adjustment or additional fastening mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
A knife assembly comprising: a corrugated knife blade, a holder, a clamp arranged for clamping the knife blade onto the holder, and a fastening mechanism for securing the knife blade between the clamp and the holder. The clamp has clamping parts along a clamping line rearward from the front edge. The clamp has an inwardly corrugated shape complementary to that of the knife blade, such that in clamped state the clamp tightly fits over the knife blade, and comprises inwardly bevelled portions defining clamping surfaces which extend from a first clamping line at a frontal tip of the clamp to a second clamping line rearward from the frontal tip of the clamp.