IE48283B1 - A device for dividing meat into portions - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for dividing meat into portions such as strips or cubes, said device comprising a base (1) with a bottom plate (2), a box-shaped construction for receiving a pile of meat slices, said construction being made up of walls (3, 3a) which are connected together detachably and which have vertical guide slots (4) for a cutting knife, a cover plate (5) and a clamp bracket (6). The cover plate and bottom plate each has a plurality of bores for receiving spit rods which may be introduced into the meat before it is cut. The cutting knife comprises a blade with a handle at each end, at least one of the handles being detachable.

Description

The invention relates to a device for dividing meat into portions having a cutting knife guided by a stop at a predetermined spacing.

Cutting devices are known for foods of the most varied type, such as bread, ham, cheese, etc., which devices have a circular cutting knife or a linear cutting knife which is pivoted on the bottom plate and have a stop arranged at a spacing from this knife designed to achieve slices of equal thickness.

However, these cutting devices are only suitable for producing portions in slices, while pieces in cube shape cannot be produced with them.

It is the object of the invention to extend the functions of a device for dividing up meat into portions with the aid of which device it is not only possible to produce strips and cubes but also meat on spits ready for roasting.

The invention provides an apparatus for dividing meat into portions which apparatus comprises four walls which are connected in a disassemblable structure to define lateral extremities of a cavity of rectangular cross-section in which to dispose a body of said meat for cutting, said walls being each provided with a plurality of substantially vertical guide slots for a cutting member, a base for said disassemblable structure, a bottom plate at least a portion of which is disposed to define a lower axial extremity to said cavity, a cover plate for receipt on said boc(y of meat in use of apparatus, said cover plate including a plurality of spit-receiving bores, and clamp means including means for applying sustained downward pressure on said cover to compress said body of meat.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention the bottom and cover plates have guide grooves for the cutting knife.

In further refinements of the invention provision is made for the boreholes for the spit rods to be arranged at the centre of the areas formed by the guide groove in the bottom and cover plates. Thus the cover plate preferably has cone-shaped guides at the upper part on the boreholes. In contrast the boreholes of the bottom plate can be continuous and the bottom plate may rest on a foundation plate.

In accordance with a further modification of the invention the boreholes of the bottom plate are wider than those of the cover plate. These boreholes of the bottom plate can be funnel-shaped.

,- These areas formed by the guide grooves preferably have a side ratio of, say, 3:2.

Moreover, provision is made for the end edges of the guide grooves to be rounded off.

Furthermore, provision is made for the walls to have upper and lower flanges which are angled outwardly in which the upper flanges can be overlapped at the comers and connected together and the lower flanges can be connected to the base. These connections may be pins engaging in orifices. Those brick walls which have upper flanges lying at the top of the corners can be fixed by means of retaining brackets on the base which can be pushed on and engage the lower flanges.

The base preferably has central openings extending below the bottom plate on two opposite sides.

According to a further proposal, the clamp bracket has two clips which may be attached in displaceable manner to the upper flanges and encircle their edges as well as two vertical rods close to the walls, at the lower ends of which pressing elements are arranged. Thus the press ing elements can be constructed as vertical plates with a horizontal lower edge and are parallel to the adjacent wall. According to a further variation, the rods can be fixed in guides of the clamp bracket by means of tightening screw arrangements. The tightening screw arrangements preferably comprise guide tubes for the rods which are held displaceably in the clamp bracket, these rods having axial screws pointing towards the end of the bracket, the said screws being guided in end portions of the clamp bracket which can be inserted and engaging the internal thread of an outer actuating nozzle. Furthermore, the rods may have markings as to height.

A further additional feature of the device consists in the fact that the device has a partition, which can be inserted into guide slots and guide grooves, having guide slots and an upper flange and the cover plate in parts.

A further proposal of the invention relates to the feature of arranging a comb-like retention device for a series of spit rods on the clamp bracket. A tool for inserting the spit rod may be associated with this retention device. This tool comprises a plate with a handle which has a series of blind end bores with inlet cones, which are arranged in spacings corresponding to the boreholes in accordance with the proposal according to the invention. Thus the mutual spacing of the blind end bores preferably corresponds to the smaller of the borehole spacings.

The cutting knife relating to this device is characterized in that it has a coupling element for an auxiliary handle in the region of its tip. The coupling element may be constructed in the form of at least one notch, nick, borehole etc. In preferred manner, the related coupling element of the auxiliary handle can be released by means of an actuating element and has a resetting spring.

The following is a specific description of a particular embodiment of the apparatus of the invention, and of a paritcular form of spit insertion tool and knife for use therewith, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:Figure 1 shows a side view of a device for dividing meat into portions partially in section; Figure 2 shows a plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a cross-section through the bottom plate; Figure 4 shows a plan view on to the cover plate; Figure 5 shows a cross-section through the subject of Figure 4; Figure 6 shows a cross-section through the clamp bracket; Figure 7 shows a tool for inserting spit rods; Figure 8 shows a cutting knife with an auxiliary handle and Figure 9 shows a plan view on to the auxiliary handle according to Figure 8.

The device shown in Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings comprises a base 1 and a bottom plate 2, a box-shaped construction made from walls 3 and 3a which are connected together detachably and have vertical guide slots 4, in which a cutting knife can be guided, a cover plate 5 and a clamp bracket 6. .- 48283 The base 1 comprises a lower support 7 which is connected to a smaller portion 8 resting thereon. The lower support 7 is a support which is completely enclosed on all sides, while the support 8 comprises two parts which are separated from each other by means of openings 9. The upper support 8 has orifices 10 which serve to accommodate pins 11 of the walls 3 and 3a. Furthermore, at the upper support 8 bracket pins 12 are fixed and on these the bottom plate 2 rests. The bottom plate 2 is placed on to a foundation plate 13 of equal size, this being the most preferred arrangement. Furthermore, retaining brackets 14 are arranged on the upper support 8 of the base 1 and are connected to guide rods 15 which are in turn guided in boreholes of the support 8 and have a handle in the form of a knob 16 on the outside of the retaining bracket 14.

The bottom plate 2 is divided into separate areas 18 by means of guide grooves 17 which are arranged both longitudinally and transversely on the bottom plate 2; in the arrangement shown, the side ratio of these areas 18 is approximately 2:3. A relatively wide borehole 19 penetrates the bottom plate 2, passing through the centre of each area 18.

The walls 3 and 3a are substantially equal in dimensions and each has an upper flange 20 or 20a and a lower flange 21 or 21a. The upper flanges 20a extend beyond the side edges of their wall and the projecting rings of the flanges 20 are angled below those of the flange 20a so that in this region both flanges overlap and in the assembled apparatus are connected together by means of pins 22. The slots 4 in the walls 3 and 3a are vertical and are arranged opposite the guide grooves 17 in the bottom plate 2. The groove spacings in the wall 3 are different from those in the wall 3a, i.e. in a ratio of the side lengths of the areas 18.

A cover plate 5 is provided to cover theupper surface of a body of meat to be cut. The lower face of the cover plate 5 is shaped so as to correspond to the upper side of the bottom plate 2, having guide grooves 23, areas 24 and boreholes 25 which are of smaller diameter than the boreholes 19 of the bottom plate. The upper face of the cover plate 5 is distinguished by the fact that cone-shaped guides 26 are provided to improve the guide characteristics of the boreholes 5.

The flanges 20a serve as guides for the clamp bracket 6 and the clips 27 of this clamp bracket 6 have a notch 28 engaging around the flange 20a at their lower end. The clamp bracket 6 itself is constructed as a hollow cylinder of circular or rectangular crosssection, the clips 27 being fixed in the end regions thereof and the said hollow profile having boreholes 29 into which a rod 30 in each case is guided. The rod 30 has a knob handle 31 at its upper end and has height markings 32 at least at its lower part. A pressing element is arranged on its lower end. The pressing element 33 is a plate arranged with its axis transverse with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rod 30, the element 33 also being aligned transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the clamp bracket 6. The element 33 rests on the edge of or between the cone-shaped guides 26 on the cover plate 5 during lowering.

Fixing the rods 30 in the boreholes 29 is effected by means of tightening screw arrangements 34 which comprise guide tubes 35 which are inserted into the clamp bracket 6 and have screws 36 arranged coaxially to the clamp bracket 6, the screws 36 being directed towards the near end of the bracket 6 and guided in the end portions 37 of the clamp bracket 6. The screws 36 are received in the handles 39, which are connected on the outside to the end portion 37, and engage the internal thread 38.

A partition wall 3b which has guide slots 4b and an upper flange 20b can be provided in the device by insertion into a guide groove 17 and the corresponding guide slots 4. For use with such a partition wall, the cover plate 5 must be in parts. Insertion is effected into the slots 4 of the walls 3a so that the pressing elements 33 are not hindered in their functioning. Furthermore, a comb-shaped retaining device 40 can be arranged on the clamp bracket 6 for a series of spit rods (not shown) in which the spit rods are clamped in each case between the teeth 41 of the teeth pairs of the retaining device 40.

In preferred manner a tool 42 is associated with the retaining device 40 and serves to press in the spit rods. The tool 42 comprises a plate 43 having a handle 44. The plate has a series of blind end bores 45 with inlet cones 46 which are arranged at spacings corresponding to the boreholes 19 and 25 of the bottom plate and cover plate.' Thus it is a question of the smaller of the borehole spacings here which correspond to the width of the areas 18.

The device also includes a cutting knife 47 which has a straight blade, the cutting edge of which runs in curved manner upwards in the region of the tip 48 and the said cutting knife 47 has a coupling element 49 for an auxiliary handle 50, which can be attached thereto, in this region of the tip 48, the said auxiliary handle 50 being shaped similar to the fixed handle 51. The coupling element 49 is shown in Figure 8 as a borehole, however it can also be constructed as a notch, nick, etc. The auxiliary handle 50 has a coupling element 52 which is an angled-off end of a lever 53, the lever being pivotable about an axis 54 and its other arm has an actuating element 55 at its end and it retained in its position by means of a resetting spring 56.

When assembling the device the foundation plate 13 is placed on to the bracket pins 12 of the support 8 of the base 1 and on top of this is placed the bottom plate 2. Initially the walls 3 and then the walls 3a are attached so that the pins 11 engage into the boreholes 10 and the pins 22 are received in the orifices of the upper flanges 20.

Since the bottom plate 2 and the foundation plate 13 are rectangular but not square agreement of the position of guide slots 4 and guide grooves 17 is ensured. The walls 3 and 3a are now fixed to the lower flanges 21a by pushing on of the retaining brackets 14.

Slices of meat can now be placed into the container thus forming and covered by the cover plate 5.

The clamp bracket 6 with its clips 27 is then placed on to the upper flanges 20a so that its outer edge engages the notch 28 and the clamp bracket is guided along these upper flanges.

The actuating knobs 39 can now be released whereby the rods 30 can be displaced in a vertical direction. They can be lowered up to the surface of the cover plate 5. The level of fullness can be read off on the height markings 32. However corresponding markings can also be arranged on the insides of the walls so that the desired quantity of fullness can be comfortably maintained.

By tightening the actuating knobs 39, the rods 30 are fixed again and in the case of round rods care must be taken that the pressing 28 3 elements 33 are aligned in parallel to the walls 3a and are guided on the cover plate 5 at the edge or between the series of cone-shaped guides 26. By displacing the clamp bracket 6 from one wall 3 to the opposite wall and back, which can be carried out several times repeatedly and in which the pressing elements 33 serve as limiting stops, distribution of the quantity filling the container is balanced out. The clamp bracket is now brought into the central position and if cubes of meat are to be produced for goulash cutting begins. For this the knife 47 is introduced into a guide slot 4 at its upper end so that the tip of the knife slides along the lower face of the cover plate 5 in the guide notch 23. If the tip of the knife extends out of the opposite guide slot the auxiliary handle 50 is pushed on to it until the coupling element 52 locks into the coupling element 49.

Owing to the hidden arrangement of the actuating element 55 is is possible to ensure that the auxiliary handle 50 cannot be released unintentionally so that the person operating the device can apply the required pressure for cutting comfortably. When the cutting is complete the cutting edge reaches the related guide groove 17 of the bottom plate 2 which can be manufactured from plastics for example so that placing the cutting edge on to metal parts is avoided. In this way parallel cuts can be arranged in succession first in one direction and then in the transverse direction thereto so that the desired cubes of meat are formed.

If meat on spit rods is to be produced then the spit rods are to be inserted before cutting. For this purpose they are placed between the teeth 41 of the comb-like retention device 40, the clamp bracket 6 is moved into a position in which the tips of the spit rods are located exactly over the boreholes 25 of the cover plate 5 these tips are then introduced by hand into the boreholes after which the tool 42 can be inserted in the following manner: in each case a spit rod engages one of the blind end bores 45 whereby the inlet cone 45 facilitates insertion. The spit rods are pressed in with the aid of the tool 42 whereby guidance is sufficient owing to the blind end bores 45, teeth 41 and boreholes 25 in order safely to insert the spit rods into the boreholes 19 of the bottom plate 2.

After the spit rods are placed in rows in this manner the cutting process can take place in the manner described previously. Thereafter the rods 30 are brought into the uppermost position and fixed there, the clamp bracket 6 is removed and the cover plate 5 is also removed. After removing the retention bracket 14 the walls 3 and 3a can now be removed and the spit rods retained in the bottom plate 2 together with the bottom plate and possibly together with the foundation plate 13 can be raised and removed from the base 1 by means of underengaging at the opening 9. Alternatively the cover plate 5 can be left in its position and only removed last of all after dismantling.

If a smaller number of «pit rods are to be produced then a partition wall 3b can be inserted parallel to the walls 3 when assembling the container. The partition wall has guide slots 4b the arrangement of which corresponds to that in the walls 3. Furthermore the partition wall has an upper flange 20b and with its remaining edges engages the guide groove 17 as well as the guide slots 4 of the walls 3a. One of the resultant container parts can now be filled and covered in the manner described whereby a corresponding smaller cover plate must be used.

It has proved to be advisable to insert the partition wall so that the volume ratio of the resultant container parts is 1:2. 36, 72 and 108 spit rods with meat on can be prepared optionally by means of appropriate subdivision of the cover plate 5.

Dividing up the meat into precise portions can be achieved with the device while this could not be achieved with manual cutting. Besides the further advantage of reduced costs the device makes it possible to work extremely hygienically as the cut surfaces of the meat, i.e. the majority of the resultant total surface area, comes into contact with the knife for a short period of time only. The parts of the device are of simple design, can be detached easily from each other and preferably, perhaps with the exception of the bottom and cover plate, are manufactured from stainless steel whereby inaccessible gaps or cavities in which large numbers of bacteria could form were avoided.

Claims (5)

1. An apparatus for dividing meat into portions which apparatus comprises four walls which are connected in a disassemblable structure to define lateral extremities of a cavity of rectangular cross-section in which to dispose a body of said meat for cutting, said walls being each provided with a plurality of substantially vertical guide slots for a cutting member, a base for said disassemblable structure, a bottom plate at least a portion of which is disposed to define a lower axial extremity to said cavity, a cover plate for receipt on said body of meat in use of apparatus, said cover plate including a plurality of spit-receiving bores, and clamp means including means for applying sustained downward pressure on said cover to compress said body of meat.

2. A device having a cutting knife, for dividing meat into portions and means for guiding said cutting knife and for limiting the extent of travel thereof, in use, the device comprising a base, a bottom plate, a disassemblable structure which defines a cavity of rectangular cross-section and is comprised of four walls which have substantial vertical guide slots for the cutting knife, a cover plate for receipt of a body of meat disposed, in use, in said cavity and a clamp bracket, said cover plate including a plurality of spit-receiving bores and said clamp bracket including means for applying sustained downward pressure on said cover to compress said body of meat.

3. A device according to Claim 2, wherein the bottom plate and the cover plate have guide grooves for the cutting knife.

4. A device according to Claim 3, wherein boreholes for spit rods are provided substantially at the centre of the areas in the bottom plate and cover plate which are defined by the guide grooves. 5. A device according to Claim 4, wherein the cover plate has coneshaped guides at the top part on the boreholes. 6. A device according to Claim 4 or Claim 5 wherein the boreholes 5 of the bottom plate extend through said bottom plate and optionally are of uniform cross-section, and wherein the bottom plate rests on a foundation plate. 7. A device according to any one of Claims 4 to 6 wherein the boreholes of the bottom plate are of wider cross-section than those of 10 the cover plate. 8. A device according to Claim 7 wherein the boreholes of the bottom plate are of funnel-shaped cross-section. 9. A device according to any one of Claims 3 to 8 wherein the areas defined between the guide grooves in the bottom plate and in 15 the cover plate are areas of rectangular cross-section whose adjacent sides have a ratio of approximately 3:2. 10. A device according to any one of Claims 3 to 9 wherein the edges of the guide grooves facing upwardly of the apparatus are rounded. 11. A device according to any one of Claims 2 to 10 wherein the walls 20 have outwardly angled upper flanges and lower flanges in which the upper flanges can overlap at their corners and be connected together and the lower flanges can be connected to the base. 12. A device according to Claim 11 wherein the connections are pins engaging in orifices. 13. A device according to Claim 11 or Claim 12 wherein two opposed walls of said walls have upper flanges at their corners and arranged at the top and said walls are fixed to the base by means of retaining brackets which are pushed on to and engage over the lower flanges. H. A device according to any one of Claims 2 to 13 wherein the base has central openings extending below the bottom plate at two opposite sides. 15. A device according to any one of Claims 2 to 14 wherein the clamp bracket has two clips which are placed in displaceable manner onto the upper flanges and encircle the edges of the upper flanges and two rods which are vertical and close to the walls, clamp elements being arranged at the lower ends of these rods. 16. A device according to Claim 15, wherein the clamp elements are constructed as vertical plates which have a horizontal lower edge and which are parallel to the adjacent wall. 17. A device according to Claim 15 or Claim 16, wherein the rods can be fixed in boreholes of the clamp bracket by means of tightening screw arrangements, 18. A device according to Claim 17, wherein the tightening screw arrangement comprises guide tubes for the rods which are mounted in displaceable manner in the clamp bracket and these rods have axial screws which point towards the end of the clamp, the said screws being guided in end-pieces of the clamp bracket, the end-pieces being capable of insertion, and the axial screws engage the inner thread of an outer actuating knob. 19. A device according to any one of Claims 15 to 18, wherein the rods have height markings. 20. A device according to any one of Claims 2 to 19, wherein there is provided a partition wall having guide slots and an upper flange 5 which can be inserted into the guide slots of two opposed walls of the walls forming the disassemblable structure and a guide groove, and the cover plate is divisible so as to provide cover plate portions so dimensioned as to be capable of use as cover plates for partitioned parts of the apparatus. 10 21. A device according to any one of Claims 2 to 20, wherein a comblike retention device for a series of spit rods is arranged on the clamp bracket. 22. A device according to Claim 21, wherein the retention device is associated with a tool designed to enable insertion of the spit rod in 15 the apparatus. 23. A device according to Claim 22, wherein the tool comprises a plate with a handle which has a plurality of blind end bores with inlet cones which are arranged in spacings corresponding to the boreholes. 24. A device according to Claim 23 wherein the mutual spacing of the 20 blind end bores corresponds to the smaller of the borehole spacings. 25. A device according to any one of Claims 2 to 24, wherein the cutting knife has a coupling element for an auxiliary handle in the region of its tip. 26. A device according to Claim 25 wherein the coupling element is 25 constructed in the form of at least one notch, nick or borehole. 27. A device according to Claim 25 or 26, wherein a related coupling element of the auxiliary handle can be released by means of an actuating element and has a resetting spring. 28. An apparatus for dividing meat into portions which apparatus comprises two cutting guide members disposed in spaced apart opposed relationship and each formed with a plurality of slots so disposed and so oriented with respect to each other that a cutting member may be received through a slot in one cutting guide member and a slot in the other cutting guide member with the cutting member disposed across the space between the two cutting guide members and movable in such disposition so as to cut a boc|y of meat disposed in use of the apparatus in the space between the two cutting guide members; a base plate formed with grooves in one of which an edge of said cutting member may be received when said cutting member is received as aforesaid; a cover plate for rest on the uppermost surface of said body of meat in use of the apparatus, said cover plate having grooves in one of which an edge of said cutting member may be received when said cutting member is received through a slot in one cutting guide member and a slot in the other cutting guide member with the cutting member disposed across the space between the two cutting guide members and movable, as aforesaid, to cut the body of meat, said cover plate including a plurality of spit-receiving bores; and clamp means including means for applying sustained downward pressure on said cover to compress said body of meat. 29. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings. 30. A combination, and apparatus as claimed in Claim 28 or Claim 29 and a cutting member. 31. A combination as claimed in Claim 30 wherein the cutting member comprises a blade portion having a cutting-edge and a manually grippable handle portion secured to one end of the blade portion.

5. 32. A combination as claimed in Claim 30 wherein said cutting member is substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in. Figures 8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings.