APPLE PEELER CORER SLICER
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Intellectual Property
Abby Cripps
Patent Number: US 6854383 B2
Abstract: An apple/potato peeler. The peeler includes a base, a main frame mounted to a slightly L-shaped structure on the base, a rotatable and axially movable screw horizontally supported on a screw support member on a vertical frame member disposed at the rear of the main frame, a 3-prong fork fixed to the front end of the screw, a guide piece pivotally mounted on the vertical frame member and being releasably engageable relative to a screw channel of the screw, a resiliently movable peeling arm fore-and aft swingable pivoted to the front part of the horizontal frame member of the main frame, a U-shaped peeling blade fixed to the upper end of the movable peeling arm by a blade positioning device, and a coring/slicing blade fixed to the front end of the horizontal frame member for cutting flesh of a vegetable fruit held by the 3-prong fork if the screw into continuous spiral slices and for coring fruit.
Description: The most common kitchen utensil for peeling fruit and vegetables spherical in shape, such as apples, pears and potatoes, is a peeler composed of a V-shaped handle and a trough-like blade mounted at the fork in the handle. The peeler has its merits, that is, it is cheap and easy to use. However, its drawback is that, peeling fruit and vegetables with such a peeler is a laborious job. As a tool for doing a limited amount of peeling work, the peeler is good enough. But the peeler will be inefficient and it will be likely to cut a user's fingers, if it is used in iced fruit shops or catering shops where a large amount of peeled fruit and vegetables are served.
Various types of apple/potato peelers were put on the market or developed to improve or facilitate the peeling process. As disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 392485 published in the Patent Gazette of Taiwan, the clamp-based peeler is, basically, a clamp-like structure formed by axially connecting a peeling blade to a rotatable support on which the an apple or potato is positioned. A user manipulates the clamp-based peeler in such a way that the apple or potato, which has already been positioned on the support, is held by and between the peeling blade and the support. The user then manually turns the wheel beneath the rotatable support so that the apple or potato rotates along with the support for the sake of peeling. To operate such a peeler, a user has to grasp the handle with one hand while turning the wheel with the other hand. Although the user need not manipulate the blade, s/he finds her/his grip on the handle and the wheel exhausting and inaccurate.
The peeler disclosed in both Taiwan Patent No. 185105 and Taiwan Patent No. 265591 is easy to use. It comprises a wheel installed on a base, a pronged fork that can be rotated by means of a hand-turned handle, a peeling blade disposed on the wheel, and a set of driving gear.
To start using the peeler, the user has to push the apple or potato on the pawl and turn the hand-turned handle manually. As a result, the apple or potato rotates while the wheel, driven by the driving gear, makes the peeling blade ride the curved surface of the apple or potato for the sake of peeling. Such a peeler is more efficient and easier to use than the one mentioned above, because the base is positioned on a desk whereas the user operates the peeler using one hand only and need not take care of the peeling blade.
Taiwan Patent No. 451674 disclosed an automatic peeler that automatically peels the top and the bottom of an apple or potato by means of a motor and a programmable controller. It is quite different from the above-mentioned peelers because of its complicated structure and high cost. Furthermore, it is designed to peel off the skin on the concave portions of an apple or potato, thus other types of peelers are required to remove most of the peelings.
Manually or electrically, all the peelers mentioned above have the mere function of peeling. They are not designed to core and/or slice any peeled apples or potatoes.
Recently a hand-turned apple/potato peeler/corer/slicer is put on the market, and it is quite popular with overseas users. It is disclosed in FIGS. 1 through 3 of Taiwan Patent No. 418661. It involves turning a screw, by means of a hand-turned handle, to push an apple or potato pierced by and positioned at the tip of the screw. Its elastic, movable peeling blade and coring/slicing blade, both disposed in front of its base, peels, slices and cores the apple or potato while the apple or potato is rotating and advancing simultaneously. It is quite popular with users, because it is inexpensive and has a simple structure, and, more importantly, the user peels, cores and slices an apple or potato simultaneously by simply turning the handle. FIGS. 4 through 7 of Taiwan Patent No. 418661 disclose a technical plan which indicates that, the coring/slicing blade is replaced with a set of rotating blades, which resembles the blades of an electric fan, comprising radially disposed slicing blades and an annularly disposed coring blade, so as to slice and core an apple/potato simultaneously. Nevertheless, it is rather difficult to apply the aforesaid improved structure to practical peeling problems, for the following reasons. Given the great cutting force required, peeling and slicing an apple or potato simultaneously with six blades disposed radially in different directions and an annularly disposed blades is actually a demanding task. In such a situation, the blades are prone to deformation and thus they become almost useless. Therefore, although the patent itself is not new at all, so far the peeler on which the patent was taken out has not yet been put on the market.
Considering its peering/slicing function, simple structure and ease of use, the aforesaid conventional apple/potato peeler/slicer depicted in FIGS. 1 through 3 is a manual, multipurpose apple/potato peeler that is probably the most practical and failure-free of its kind for the time being. Nonetheless, the applicant purchased the peeler and conducted experiments on it, only to discover its two drawbacks, which represent room for improvement. The two disadvantages are as follows. Firstly, there are variations in the shape and size of apples and potatoes, thus it is difficult to center an apple or potato to be horizontally pierced and positioned by the 3-prong fork located at the tip of the screw. Therefore, rotation of the apple or potato is accompanied by its shaking and, in consequence, the peeling blade skips patches of skin or makes deep cuts. Another reason for the unsteady rotation of the apple or potato is that, during the slicing process a lateral cutting force is exerted on the apple or potato held by one end. Secondly, the cutting edge of the peeling blade is linear and thus it is likely to slide on the smooth skin of the apple or potato. In addition, given the unsatisfactory blade housing, during the slicing process any loosened screw may lead to the dislocation of the peeling blade. As a result, it can be difficult to slice the apple or potato with the peeling blade, or the peeling blade is likely to slide against the skin of the apple or potato or to get locked.
Main Features:
· Convenient suction base
· Screw Regulator
· Peeler Blade Armature
· Prongs
· Peeling Blade
· Coring/Slicing Blade