Bulk Meat Cutting Apparatus with Guide Slits and Press
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for cutting large amounts of meat in a restaurant setting are time-intensive and inefficient, with existing products either being unsuitable for soft meats or producing irregularly sized pieces, and requiring laborious cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A modular food cutting apparatus comprising a hollow enclosure with top-to-bottom guide slits to stabilize and guide a knife for efficient cutting, combined with a top inserting press for easy operation and cleaning, designed to cut large quantities of meat into regular-sized chunks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual dicing is performed one piece at a time, then cutting accuracy is maintained, but cutting time increases significantly (up to an hour)
Solution Approach 1:
The device segments the cutting process by dividing the meat into multiple pieces simultaneously within the enclosure, allowing one operator to cut an entire batch in minutes rather than hours. The enclosure holds multiple meat pieces while the knife cuts through all of them at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from one-dimensional sequential cutting to two-dimensional parallel cutting by using an enclosure that holds multiple meat pieces in different spatial positions, allowing the knife to cut through all pieces simultaneously in a single stroke.
2Productivity
If multi-bladed slicing machines are used, then cutting speed increases, but the produced pieces are irregularly sized and cleaning becomes labor intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the guiding function from a complex multi-bladed system and implements it through simple geometric guide slits in the enclosure walls. This simplification allows for uniform cutting while maintaining speed, and the smooth interior surfaces are easy to clean.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses a simple, inexpensive enclosure with guide slits rather than expensive multi-bladed machinery. The enclosure can be easily disposed of or replaced, and its simple construction makes it easy to clean and maintain.
3Productivity
If boneless fresh chicken thighs are put into meat and cheese slicers, then cutting speed increases, but the soft meat cannot be properly sliced
Solution Approach 1:
The device changes the physical parameters of the cutting process by using a sharp knife with a specific angle and motion, rather than relying on the meat's firmness. The guide slits are positioned to ensure proper cutting geometry, allowing soft meat to be sliced effectively.
Data Source
AI summary
A product for quickly cutting large quantities of meat into similarly sized pieces includes a cutting board, a hollow enclosure, and a top inserting press. The cutting board serves as a bottom surface for the hollow enclosure. The hollow enclosure is filled with food that needs to be cut, like raw chicken, after which the top inserting press is used to press the food down. The hollow enclosure has slits cut into each wall, with paired walls having matching slits. These slits run from top to bottom and allow a knife to cut through food held in the hollow enclosure. The slits are equally spaced from each other, resulting in food that is cut into equal pieces. The product is designed to allow a person to quickly cut large amounts of meat. The product is also intended to be easy to set up, use, and sanitize.