Spiral potato slicing apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A potato slicer, comprising:
- a base having a first end and a second end;
a carriage;
means for supporting said carriage on said base;
means for providing guided linear longitudinal motion of said carriage along said base;
a motor mounted on said carriage;
a longitudinal threaded shaft having a first end and a second end, the first end being nearer to the first end of said base and the second end being nearer to the second end of said base, said shaft being connected at the first end of said shaft to said motor whereby action of said motor rotates said shaft, said shaft substantially defining a potato rotation axis;
means for nonrotatably engaging a first end of a potato with the second end of said shaft, whereby rotation of said shaft causes rotation of said potato about the potato rotation axis;
means for supporting and threadedly engaging said shaft, said supporting and engaging means being connected to said base and producing longitudinal motion of said potato, said shaft, said motor, and said carriage toward the second end of said base when said shaft is engaged and rotated in a forward direction;
a cutting blade having a cutting edge and being connected to said base near the second end of said base, said cutting blade being substantially perpendicular to said potato rotation axis with the cutting edge positioned radially with respect to said potato rotation axis; and
means for rotatably engaging a second end of said potato with said cutting blade,wherein said threaded shaft has a pitch of greater than about ten threads per inch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A spiral potato slicer is described herein comprising: a base; a carriage mounted on the base which may slide longitudinally along the base; a motor mounted on the carriage; a longitudinal threaded shaft connected to the motor, rotated by the motor, having a thread pitch of greater than about ten threads per inch, and having at least one stripped segment for limiting longitudinal motion of the shaft during rotation; a threaded shaft-engaging means mounted on the base and requiring a force applied by a user to maintain engagement of the threaded shaft; potato engaging means mounted on the second end of the shaft; and a radial cutting blade mounted on the base near the end of the base closest to the potato engaging means on the shaft. The combination of rotary and longitudinal motion produced by rotation of the threaded shaft results in slicing of the potato into a substantially continuous spiral sheet as the potato encounters the radial cutting blade. The pitch of the threaded shaft may be greater than about ten threads per inch so that the resulting substantially continuous spiral potato slice yields a spiral potato chip upon deep frying.
19 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A potato slicer, comprising:
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a base having a first end and a second end; a carriage; means for supporting said carriage on said base; means for providing guided linear longitudinal motion of said carriage along said base; a motor mounted on said carriage; a longitudinal threaded shaft having a first end and a second end, the first end being nearer to the first end of said base and the second end being nearer to the second end of said base, said shaft being connected at the first end of said shaft to said motor whereby action of said motor rotates said shaft, said shaft substantially defining a potato rotation axis; means for nonrotatably engaging a first end of a potato with the second end of said shaft, whereby rotation of said shaft causes rotation of said potato about the potato rotation axis; means for supporting and threadedly engaging said shaft, said supporting and engaging means being connected to said base and producing longitudinal motion of said potato, said shaft, said motor, and said carriage toward the second end of said base when said shaft is engaged and rotated in a forward direction; a cutting blade having a cutting edge and being connected to said base near the second end of said base, said cutting blade being substantially perpendicular to said potato rotation axis with the cutting edge positioned radially with respect to said potato rotation axis; and means for rotatably engaging a second end of said potato with said cutting blade, wherein said threaded shaft has a pitch of greater than about ten threads per inch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for slicing a potato, comprising:
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positioning said potato between an end of a rotatable threaded shaft and a fixed pin positioned substantially coaxially with said shaft, said threaded shaft having a pitch of greater than or substantially equal to ten threads per inch; nonrotatably mounting said potato onto the end of said rotatable threaded shaft; rotatably mounting said potato onto said fixed pin;
threadedly engaging said shaft; androtating said shaft with a motor in a forward direction, thereby producing longitudinal motion of said potato, said shaft, and said motor toward a radially positioned cutting blade; wherein combined rotation and longitudinal motion of said potato toward said cutting blade produces thin, substantially continuous spiral potato slices which yield spiral potato chips upon deep frying. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. An improved potato slicer of a time comprising:
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a base, a carriage, means for supporting the carriage on the base, means for providing guided linear motion of the carriage along the base, a motor, a longitudinal threaded shaft connected at a first end of the shaft to the motor and rotated by the motor, means for nonrotatably engaging a potato with a second end of the shaft, means for supporting the threaded shaft on the base, means for threadedly engaging the shaft, a radial cutting blade connected to an end of the base nearer to the second end of the shaft, and means for rotatable engaging a second end of the potato with the cutting blade, wherein rotation of the threaded shaft in a forward direction produces simultaneous rotation of the potato and translation of the potato toward the cutting blade thereby slicing the potato into substantially continuous spiral slices, wherein the improvement comprises providing the threaded shaft with a pitch of greater than about ten threads per inch, whereby the spiral potato slices are less than about 0.1 inch in thickness and thereby yield spiral potato chips upon deep frying.
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Specification