US2338007A - Cake and fruit knife - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 28, 1943. K, MORRls 2,338,007

CAKE AND.FRUIT KNIFE Filed April 27, 1940 Patented Dec. 28, 1943 CAKE AND FRUIT KNIFE Nathan K. Morris, Aslmry Park, N. J., assignor to James E. Krilow, Atlantic City, N. J.

Application April 27, 1940', Serial No. 332,120

1 Claim.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in knives and more particularly to a fruit and cake knife molded of a plastic material and the primary object of the invention resides in the provision ofa deviceof this character which may be molded in one piece and which is of such material as will permit rigidity when the device is used for cutting purposes but which has sufficient flexibility otherwise to withstand lateral pressures and bend without break- A further object of the invention resides in molding the knife of a plastic material, the blade of which is provided with openings to permit juices of fruits to flow therethro-ugh or air to pass therethrough when the knife is used for cutting cake.

A still further object of the invention resides in molding the knife of a plastic material which is not subject to acid stains or corrosion and which is of a character sufliciently strong to avoid chipping.

A still further object resides in the formation of a handle for the knife which is constructed and designed to be readily grasped to prevent slipping or twisting when used.

A still further object is the provision of means in the blade of a knife for preventing crumbling of material, displacement of material, and surface rupture in the faces of the material as the knife separates one face from another.

With these and numerous other objects in View, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claim.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a knife constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof, partly in section;

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section therethrough as seen on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a similar View as seen on the line 4-4 of Figure 1; and

Fig. 5 represents an enlarged detail section of a portion of the sectional showing of Fig. 2.

In describing the invention, I shall refer to the drawing in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which the numeral l represents the blade and the numeral 2 the handle of my improved knife, which is molded in one piece of a plastic transparent material. shown in Figure 4, the blade I is tapered toward its cutting edge 3, the latter being serrated or otherwise toothed for obvious purposes. The faces of the blade 2 are also tapered at the upper portions thereof, as shown by the numeral 6 providing a fine edge 5, which may, if desired, be used for certain types of cutting. Likewise, the faces of the blade are tapered at their outer ends as shown by the numeral t. This provides a more or less sharp forward end to the blade which is particularly useful in the cutting of fruits. As shown in Figure 1, the cutting edge 3 is arcuately shaped, at the front end, this arcuate formation being designated by the numeral 1.

' For the purpose of preventing juices from squirting outwardly when cutting fruit and for producing a smooth face on a slice of cake or other edible material as the knife severs a slice from the body of the material, the blade I is provided with a series of through holes 8 arranged as a row longitudinally of the blade and approximately along the medial portion of the blade. The respective walls of these holes are preferably convex for a purpose later described.

Adjacent this row of holes 8 are two rows of recesses 9, one at each side of the blade and disposed between the holes and the cutting edge 3 of the blade. Each of the recesses 9 is substantially triangular in shape and arranged with its apex pointing toward the cutting edge 3. The base of each recess communicates with a hole 8 and thus by reason of the convex sloping walls of the recess, a reverse funnel effect is created whereby fruit juices or cake crumbs are directed into a hole 8. Thus each hole 8 communicates with a pair of recesses 9 at opposite sides respectively of the blade so that both faces of the material can be relieved of a vacuum or other disturbing influence. In effect each hole 8 forms a storage space for juices or cake crumbs, which in the case of juices minimizes undesirable squirting and gushing of the juices, and permits thin uniform slices of the fruit. In the case of cake, the holes 8 act as clearances to receive any crumbs resulting from a slicing stroke and which crumbs can be pressed out of the holes by the front and rear walls of the holes, and then smoothed into the face of the slice or cake body by the smooth blade face between each pair of holes. Furthermore, the holes allow air to flow through the blade so that crumbling of the cake surface is materially reduced. Also the recesses 9 increase the effective air area and reduce the face area of the blade between the holes and the cutting edge 3, so that adhering or sticking of the material to the blade is practically eliminated. Thus in both the holes and the recesses means are provided which allow crumbs to penetrate the blade and from which location they can be propelled outwardly according to the direction of knife stroke and then be ironed back into the cake by the smooth areas of the blade between the holes or the recesses. This outward propulsion of the crumbs is facilitated by the convex faces bound- I ing the holes, and the sloping faces of the recesses.

The handle 2 of this knife is molded thicker than the blade, of course, and a juncture between the blade and the handle is represented by an outwardly tapered portion ill. Formed on each side of the handle 2 and extending longitudinally thereof for almost the entire length thereof is the groove H, from which extend outwardly and diagonally the ridged or shouldered portions I2, forming finger grips. The edges of the handle member are compoundly curved as shown by the numeral l8, which edges lead to the ridged portions l2 and thus the handle is provided with means for firmly gripping the same to prevent slipping or twisting thereof when in use.

The blade and handle, as heretofore stated, are molded in one piece and formed of a plastic material which preferably is transparent. This material will have sufhcient rigidity to enable the same to be used for cutting fruit and cake effectively, but the blade has sufficient flexibility to be flexed readily when pressed from the side faces thereof. To this extent, the same may be said to be non-chipping and being of plastic material, the same is not subject to acid stains or corrosion, such as would be true of metal knives. The blade being formed with openings therein, as aforesaid, will enable the device to be used in the cutting of cake and fruit rapidly, without the danger of the blade adhering to the cake to upset the clean cutting thereof.

From the foregoing description of the construction of my improved knife, the usefulness and the effectiveness thereof will be readily understood. It will be seen that I have provided a simple, inexpensive and efficient means for carrying out the various objects of the invention, and while I have described the elements best adapted to perform the functions set forth, it is obvious that various changes in form, proportion and in the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

A knife molded from plastic material comprising a blade having two side faces tapering to a cutting edge, said blade having a plurality of through holes and each face having a plurality of tapered multisided concave recesses communicating respectively with said holes and two sides of each converging toward said edge, whereby alternate recesses and smooth surfaces are provided to guide crumbs into said holes on both the forward and backward stroke of the knife with a resulting smoothing action by said surfaces.

NATHAN K. MORRIS.

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