GB2589875A

GB2589875A - Utensil

Info

Publication number: GB2589875A
Application number: GB1918118.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Fitzpatrick Dickens Anthony
Original assignee: Studio Make Believe Ltd
Current assignee: Studio Make Believe Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-10
Filing date: 2019-12-10
Publication date: 2021-06-16
Also published as: GB201918118D0

Abstract

Utensil with radial blades for breaking up materials A utensil 101 having a central hub 103 (e.g. a shaft) with at least one cutting blade 105 extending radially therefrom, the cutting blade having a leading edge 115 defining a blade inlet angle (θ1, Figure 3) relative to a transverse plane (119, Figure 3) of the hub, and a trailing edge 117 defining a blade outlet angle θ2 relative to a transverse plane 121 of the hub, wherein the blade inlet angle is less than the blade outlet angle. The blade may wrap circumferentially around the hub and both its leading and trailing edges may be inclined relative to a longitudinal plane (123, Figure 3) of the hub. The utensil may comprise a handle 111 which is removably attached to the hub and may be used as a kitchen tool (e.g. to break up ice cream) or a garden tool (e.g. to break up soil).

Description

Utensil This disclosure relates to a utensil, and in particular, but not exclusively, relates to a household utensil configured to break up hard ice cream and allow it to be served more easily.

Introduction

Ice cream is a hugely popular dessert. By its very nature, ice cream must be stored in a freezer to prevent it from melting, with the International Dairy Foods Association recommending that ice cream be stored at the home at a temperature between -5 and 0 degrees Fahrenheit. However, a common problem is that ice cream is too hard to serve immediately as it is removed from the freezer and consumers must typically wait for the ice cream to soften before serving.

Statements of Invention

According to an aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a utensil, e.g. an ice cream breaking tool, comprising: a central hub having at least one cutting blade extending radially therefrom, the cutting blade comprising a leading edge defining a blade inlet angle relative to a transverse plane of the hub, and a trailing edge defining a blade outlet angle relative to a transverse plane of the hub, wherein the blade inlet angle is less than the blade outlet angle.

The leading edge of the blade may be positioned towards a distal end of the hub. The trailing edge of the blade may be positioned towards a proximal end of the hub.

The blade may wrap circumferentially at least partially around the hub.

The leading edge of the blade may be inclined relative from a longitudinal plane of the hub. The trailing edge of the blade may be inclined relative to a longitudinal plane of the hub.

The hub may be tapered. For example, the hub may have a smaller diameter towards its distal end. The hub may comprise an internal cavity, e.g. more manufacturing purposes.

The utensil may comprise a plurality of cutting blades circumferentially spaced around the periphery of the hub. The plurality of blades may be spaced equally around the hub.

The utensil may comprise a nose portion extending axially away from the distal end of the hub. The nose portion may be configured to engage the material to be cut as the utensil is offered up to the material. The nose portion may locate a longitudinal axis of the utensil relative to the material, e.g. as the nose portion is pressed into the material.

The utensil may comprise a handle extending axially away from a proximal end of the hub. For example, the handle may be substantially T-shaped. The handle may be removably attachable to the hub. The handle may be formed integrally with the hub, e.g. the utensil may be formed from a single piece of material. Forming the utensil from multiple parts may make at least a portion of the utensil more suitable to being manufactured using an injection moulding process.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a utensil, e.g. a gardening tool comprising: a central hub having at least one cutting blade extending radially therefrom, the cutting blade comprising a leading edge defining a blade inlet angle relative to a transverse plane of the hub, and a trailing edge defining a blade outlet angle relative to a transverse plane of the hub, wherein the blade inlet angle is less than the blade outlet angle. The blade of the gardening tool may be configured to cut into and break up hard soil. The gardening tool may be particularly useful when breaking up soil for potting or planting plants.

To avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and repetition of text in the specification, certain features are described in relation to only one or several aspects or arrangements of the disclosure. However, it is to be understood that, where it is technically possible, features described in relation to any aspect or arrangement of the disclosure may also be used with any other aspect or arrangement of the disclosure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

For a better understanding of the present disclosure, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a front view of a utensil according to the present disclosure; Figure 2 shows a distal end view of the utensil according to the present disclosure; Figure 3 shows a side view of the utensil according to the present disclosure; and Figure 4 shows a cross section through the view shown in Figure 3.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure provides a utensil, e.g. a household utensil, for serving ice cream. In particular, the utensil comprises a cutting blade configured to cut into hard ice cream and break off pieces of ice cream for serving.

Figures 1 to 4 show various views of a utensil 101, e.g. an ice cream breaker, according to one arrangement of the present disclosure. The utensil 101 comprises a central hub 103 extending along a longitudinal axis, defining a proximal end 107 of the hub 103 and a distal end 109 of the hub 103. The central hub 103 has a set of cutting blades 105 extending radially therefrom. In the arrangement shown in the figures, the utensil 101 has two cutting blades 105 spaced equally around the circumference of the hub 103. However, the utensil 101 may comprise any appropriate number of blades 105, e.g. one, two, three, or more blades 105. In some arrangements, it may be preferable for the utensil 101 to have at least two blades 105, such that cutting and breaking forces are balanced as the utensil 101 is driven into a material. In some arrangements, it may be preferable to have a larger number of cutting blades 105 to produce smaller pieces of cut material, e.g. smaller (more bite-size) chunks of ice cream.

Each of the blades 105 comprises a leading edge 115 and a trailing edge 117, positioned towards the distal and proximal ends 109, 107 of the hub 103 respectively. In use, the leading edge 115 is configured to first engage the material to be cut, e.g. the ice cream, and guide the blade 105 into the material to the point where the cut material leaves the trailing edge 117 of the blade 105. The blade 105 is arranged such that the leading edge 115 extends radially away from the longitudinal axis of the hub 103 and forms a blade inlet angle 01 relative to a transverse plane 119 of the hub 103, as shown in figure 3. In the arrangement, shown in the figures, the blade inlet angle 91 is approximately 45 degrees. However, the blade inlet angle 91 may be any appropriate angle and it may be optimised for the desired application of the utensil 101. For example, the blade inlet angle 01 may be an angle less than 45 degrees, e.g. 10 degrees, such that the blade 105 is able to easily cut the surface of material. It is understood, however, that the blade inlet angle 91 may be chosen depending on the material which the utensil is designed to cut and break.

The trailing edge 117 of the blade 105 extends radially away from the longitudinal axis of the hub 103 and forms a blade outlet angle 02 relative to a transverse plane 121 of the hub 103, as shown in figure 1. In the arrangement, shown in the figures, the blade outlet angle 02 is approximately 80 degrees. However, the blade outlet angle 02 may be any appropriate angle and it may be optimised for the desired application of the utensil 101. For example, the blade outlet angle 02 may be approximately 90 degrees, such that the blade 105 runs substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hub 103 at the trailing edge 117 of the blade 105.

The blade outlet angle 02 is greater than the blade inlet angle 01, i.e. the pitch of the blade 105 increases along its length. In this manner, as the tool is driven into the material which it cuts and the blade 105 travels into the material, the blade 105 acts decreasingly to cut the material and increasingly to push the cut material away from the blade 105. In this manner, the cut material is broken away from the body of the material as it is forced from the leading edge 115 of the blade 105 to the trailing edge of the blade 105. In the case where the tool is an ice cream breaker, the above described blade design results in chunks, e.g. bite-size chunks, of hard ice cream being broken away from the remaining bulk of the hard ice cream. This is beneficial as a consumer need not leave the ice cream to stand and soften upon removing the ice cream from the freezer. Such an advantage may be particularly useful in a commercial environment, where time is of the essence and dishes must be served without delay.

In order to allow the inlet blade angle 01 to transition into the outlet blade angle 02, the blade 105 wraps circumferentially around the hub 103 as it extends longitudinally along the hub 105. Thus, one design parameter for the blade 105 is a wrap angle 03, as shown in figure 2, which defines how far the blade 105 wraps around the hub 103. In the arrangement shown in the figures, the wrap angle 03 is approximately 90 degrees. However, the wrap angle 03 may be any appropriate angle and it may be optimised for the desired application of the utensil 101. In the arrangement shown in the figures, the wrap angle 93 is selected so that the blades 105 do not over circumferentially overlap. This is beneficial as it ensures that cut material does not become trapped between adjacent blades 105.

Further blade design parameters are the angles of the leading and trailing edges 115, 117 relative to a longitudinal plane 123 of the hub 103. In the arrangement shown in the figures, the leading edge 115 of the blade 105 is inclined from the longitudinal plane of the hub 103 at an angle 04 of approximately 115 degrees (see figure 4), and the trailing edge 117 of the blade 105 is inclined to the longitudinal plane 123 of the hub 103 at an angle 05 of approximately 45 degrees (see figure 3). Such an arrangement helps the leading edge 115 of the blade 105 first cut the material, and the cut and broken away material leave the trailing edge 117 of the blade 105. As with the other angles, the angles 04 and 95 of the blade 105 relative to the longitudinal plane of the hub 103 may be chosen to best suit the material for which the utensil is designed. For example, angle 04 may be set to a larger angle, e.g. approximately 150 degrees, where the material is a harder material, and may be set to a smaller angle where the material is a relatively softer material.

Moving on from the blade design, the proximal end 107 of the hub 103 is coupled to a handle 111 that extends axially away from the hub 103. The handle is configured to allow a user to hold the utensil 101, e.g. in a single hand, and allow the user to rotate the hub 103, e.g. by virtue of a rigid connection between the handle 111 and the hub 103. In one arrangement, the handle 111 may be removably attachable to the hub 103, such that the user can disassemble the utensil 101, e.g. for the purpose of washing the central hub 103 after use.

The central hub 105 comprises a nose portion 113 extending axially away from the distal end 109 of hub 103. The nose portion 113 is configured to engage the material to be cut, e.g. hard ice cream, and provide a rotational pivot that centralises the hub 130 relative to the material as it is being cut. For example, a user may hold the handle 111 of the utensil 101 in one hand and a tub of ice cream in the other hand. The user may then position the nose portion 113 of the hub 103 on a surface of a body of hard ice cream. The nose portion 113 is designed to be able to indent the surface of the hard ice cream upon application of a relatively small axial force imparted by the user, such that the utensil 101 is rotationally constrained as the user applies further axial and rotational force to the handle 111, driving the utensil 101 into the hard ice cream.

In this manner, the user is able to remove small (bite-size) chunks of hard ice cream from a larger block of hard ice cream that otherwise would have be left to soften so that conventional ice cream serving tools can be used.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the disclosure has been described by way of example with reference to one or more arrangements, it is not limited to the disclosed arrangements and that alternative arrangements could be constructed without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1 A utensil comprising: a central hub having at least one cutting blade extending radially therefrom, the cutting blade comprising a leading edge defining a blade inlet angle relative to a transverse plane of the hub, and a trailing edge defining a blade outlet angle relative to a transverse plane of the hub, wherein the blade inlet angle is less than the blade outlet angle.
2. The utensil according to claim 1, wherein the leading edge of the blade is positioned towards a distal end of the hub.
3. The utensil according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the trailing edge of the blade is positioned towards a proximal end of the hub.
4. The utensil according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the blade wraps circumferentially at least partially around the hub.
5. The utensil according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the leading edge of the blade is inclined relative to a longitudinal plane of the hub. 20
6. The utensil according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the trailing edge of the blade is inclined relative to a longitudinal plane of the hub.
7. The utensil according to any of the preceding claims, wherein hub tapers towards the leading edge of the blade.
8 The utensil according to any of the preceding claims, the utensil comprising a plurality of cutting blades circumferentially spaced around the periphery of the hub.
9. The utensil according to any of the preceding claims, the utensil comprising a nose portion extending axially away from a distal end of the hub.
10. The utensil according to any of the preceding claims, the utensil comprising a handle extending axially away from a proximal end of the hub.
11. The utensil according to claim 10, wherein the handle is removably attachable to the hub.