Cutting Device Frame Drive and Spring Tongue Gap Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cutting devices have complex structures and hygienic issues due to spindle drives and internal adjusting knobs, making them difficult to clean and handle.
Innovation Solution
A cutting device with a frame drive connected parallel to the knife arrangement shaft, featuring ramp-like guide surfaces for elastic deflection of the spring tongue, and a simple driver element for rotational movement conversion to frame displacement, allowing for easier accessibility and cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a spindle drive with adjusting knob is used to set the cutting gap, then the cutting gap can be adjusted, but the structure becomes complicated and cleaning becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the spindle drive and adjusting knob from the device. Instead, the cutting gap is adjusted by manually displacing the frame relative to the base body, with the frame featuring guide surfaces that directly interact with the spring tongue. This extraction of the complex adjusting mechanism eliminates the mentioned drawbacks while preserving the essential adjustment functionality.
2Manufacturing precision
If a spindle drive with adjusting knob is used to set the cutting gap, then the cutting gap can be adjusted, but cleaning options are limited
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the spindle drive and adjusting knob that create hygiene problems, the patent opens up significantly better accessibility for cleaning. The simplified structure with open architecture allows cleaning solutions to reach all surfaces easily, eliminating the hygienic concerns associated with the previous design.
3Manufacturing precision
If ramp-like guide surfaces are provided to deflect the spring tongue, then the cutting gap geometry is improved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the ramp-like guide surfaces directly into the frame structure, merging the guiding function with the frame's structural role. This combination eliminates the need for separate guiding components while maintaining the self-locking deflection effect, thus improving cutting gap geometry without proportionally increasing device complexity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the frame is made displaceable for cutting gap adjustment, then the cutting gap can be adjusted, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates complex drive connections by making the frame directly displaceable through manual operation. The frame features guide surfaces that interact with the spring tongue, allowing straightforward adjustment of the cutting gap without requiring sophisticated drive mechanisms, thus achieving adaptability with minimal added complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution simplifies the structural design and enhances cleaning options, ensuring uniform cutting gap geometry and reproducible results, while allowing for easy assembly and disassembly for maintenance without specialized tools.
Implementation Method 1
a spring tongue (9) that can be elastically deflected from its plane
Implementation Method 2
The guide profiles have ramp-like guide sections on the underside, via which they rest on the said shaft
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a cutting device provided with a simple design, easiness of use and with improved cleanability. This cutting device serves to cut foodstuffs into slices and strips. To this end, the device is provided with a fixed blade element, which has a cutting edge (13) and which, together with an elastically deflectable flexible tongue (9), forms an adjustable cutting gap for the item to be cut. A slideway for the item to be cut is formed by the flexible tongue (9). A shaft supporting a blade arrangement (27) extends transversal to the slideway and is equipped with disk cutters, which extend perpendicular to the axis of the shaft and which are guided though slots of the flexible tongue (9). The disk cutters project into the slideway to an extent the defines the height of cut that can be set according to the rotation angle position of said shaft. The flexible tongue (9) is mounted on a frame, which can be displaced in the advancing direction of the item to be cut and whose displacement enables the height of a cutting gap to be changed. A shaft (16) extending parallel to the aforementioned shaft is provided that is drive-connected to the frame with regard to the displacement thereof. The cutting gap height and height of cut can be set easily and independent of one another.