Removable Splatter Shield for Cherry and Olive Pitters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for removing pits from soft food items, such as cherries or olives, often result in splatter and debris dispersion due to the force required to expel the pit, and lack a removable and storable splatter shield, making them inefficient and difficult to clean.
Innovation Solution
A kitchen utensil with a removable and storable splatter shield that secures to the device, featuring a holding portion for the food and a plunger mechanism to expel the pit, along with a shield that controls debris and can be easily cleaned and stored.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a splatter shield is used to control debris during pit removal, then debris control is improved, but device complexity increases and cleaning becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The splatter shield is designed as a separate, removable component that can be detached from the main pitter body. This segmentation allows the shield to be easily removed for cleaning without disassembling the entire device, reducing cleaning complexity while maintaining debris control functionality during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield is extracted as a standalone component with its own cleaning access, allowing users to remove and clean the shield separately from the main device. This extraction solves the cleaning difficulty problem while preserving the debris control benefit during use.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a splatter shield is used to control debris, then debris control is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to additional assembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the shield as a separate component, the device allows optional use - users can attach the shield when debris control is needed and omit it when not needed, maintaining ease of operation while providing debris control capability when required.
3Ease of manufacture
If the shield is made removable and storable, then ease of manufacture and cleaning are improved, but reliability may deteriorate due to attachment/detachment operations
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism is designed with localized engagement features at specific positions on the shield and device body, providing secure attachment only where needed while maintaining overall removability. This localized quality approach ensures reliable connection during use while preserving ease of manufacture and cleaning.
Data Source
AI summary
A kitchen utensil for removing a hard center from a food item, such as a seed or a pit from a cherry or olive, has a shield for controlling a splatter of juice or other debris that may result from the removal of the hard center. The shield is removably securable with the utensil so that cleaning is simplified and so that the kitchen utensil can be stored in a compact arrangement. The shield secures on a first portion of the utensil in an operational configuration, and is received on a different portion of the utensil in a storage configuration. The utensil may include a locking mechanism to hold the utensil in a closed position so that the storage configuration is further compact.