Food product slicer with knife sharpener and associated knife guard
First Claim
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1. A slicer for use in slicing a food product, the slicer comprising:
- a slicer body;
a slicer knife mounted for rotation relative to the slicer body, the knife having a peripheral cutting edge defining a cutting plane;
a guard assembly connected to the slicer body, the guard assembly including a knife guard member pivotable about a pivot axis between a cutting edge guarding position and a cutting edge sharpening position, the pivotable knife guard member includes a first portion to a first side of the pivot axis and a second portion to a second side of the pivot axis, when in the cutting edge sharpening position the first portion of the knife guard member moves to a first side of the cutting plane and the second portion of the knife guard member moves to a second side of the cutting plane; and
a sharpener assembly mounted proximate the guard assembly and having a sharpening member that is movable between a sharpening position and a standby position, an actuator operatively connected for enabling a user to move the sharpener member;
the sharpener assembly interacts with the guard assembly such that when the sharpening member is moved from the standby position to the sharpening position, the knife guard member moves from the cutting edge guarding position to the cutting edge sharpening position.
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Abstract
A food product slicer with a rotatable slicer knife includes a knife sharpener and an associated knife guard assembly with a guard member positioned for protecting the edge of the knife when the sharpener is positioned in its standby, or non-sharpening state.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A slicer for use in slicing a food product, the slicer comprising:
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a slicer body; a slicer knife mounted for rotation relative to the slicer body, the knife having a peripheral cutting edge defining a cutting plane; a guard assembly connected to the slicer body, the guard assembly including a knife guard member pivotable about a pivot axis between a cutting edge guarding position and a cutting edge sharpening position, the pivotable knife guard member includes a first portion to a first side of the pivot axis and a second portion to a second side of the pivot axis, when in the cutting edge sharpening position the first portion of the knife guard member moves to a first side of the cutting plane and the second portion of the knife guard member moves to a second side of the cutting plane; and a sharpener assembly mounted proximate the guard assembly and having a sharpening member that is movable between a sharpening position and a standby position, an actuator operatively connected for enabling a user to move the sharpener member; the sharpener assembly interacts with the guard assembly such that when the sharpening member is moved from the standby position to the sharpening position, the knife guard member moves from the cutting edge guarding position to the cutting edge sharpening position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A slicer for use in slicing a food product, the slicer comprising:
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a slicer body; a slicer knife mounted for rotation relative to the slicer body, the slicer knife having a peripheral cutting edge; a sharpener assembly mounted in an operating position on the slicer body and having a sharpening member movable between a standby position and a sharpening position, the sharpener assembly removable from the slicer body; a movable knife guard member having a cutting edge guarding position in which the knife guard member is positioned along a portion of the cutting edge proximate a sharpening location at which sharpening occurs, and a cutting edge sharpening position in which the knife guard member is spaced away from the sharpening location to permit the sharpening member to move into the sharpening position; an interlock for maintaining the knife guard member in the cutting edge guarding position when the sharpener assembly is removed from the slicer body. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of protecting a peripheral cutting edge of a circular slicer knife of a slicer, and permitting sharpening of the cutting edge by a removable sharpener assembly, the method comprising:
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providing a knife guard member that is movable between a cutting edge guarding position and a cutting edge sharpening position; providing an interlock for preventing movement of the knife guard member from the cutting edge guarding position to the cutting edge sharpening position; when the removable sharpener assembly is mounted in an operating position on the slicer, the interlock is disabled at least during a sharpening operation of the sharpener assembly; when the removable sharpener assembly is removed from the slicer, the interlock continues to prevent movement of the knife guard member from the cutting edge guarding position to the cutting edge sharpening position. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification