Devices and systems for compressing food articles
View Patent ↗Devices and systems for compressing food articles are shown and described. Embodiments of the present invention can be used to squeeze, press, extrude, or otherwise process food articles. The disclosed embodiments can include a lever with a plurality of gear teeth, a base with a plurality of gear teeth, and a receptacle. The gear teeth can engage one another. The lever and base can be actuated to move a piston head into and out of the receptacle to compress food. A piston assembly of the compression tool can provide a mechanical advantage to provide relatively high compressive forces.
1. A device for compressing articles, the device comprising:
a base having a proximal portion, a distal portion, a receptacle located between the proximal and distal portions, and a plurality of gear teeth located between the distal portion and the receptacle, the receptacle being adapted to receive an article to be compressed;
a lever having a proximal portion and a distal portion, the proximal portion of the lever being adapted to facilitate manual manipulation thereof for actuating the device, and the distal portion of the lever having a plurality of gear teeth enmeshed with the gear teeth on the base such that pivoting motion of the lever causes movement of the distal portion of the lever about the distal portion of the base; and
a piston assembly coupled to the base and the lever, the piston assembly including a piston head positioned between the lever and the receptacle such that movement of the distal portion of the lever causes movement of the piston head into and out of the receptacle to compress the article in the receptacle, wherein the distal portion of the lever is linked to the distal portion of the base by a rigid linkage, the rigid linkage being pivotally coupled to the lever and the base.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the proximal portion of the base is adapted to facilitate manual manipulation thereof for actuating the device.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein the receptacle comprises a bottom and a plurality of apertures in the bottom, the receptacle is adapted for receiving at least one clove of garlic, and wherein the piston head is adapted for pressing the clove of garlic against the bottom and through the apertures.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein the receptacle comprises a bottom and a plurality of apertures in the bottom, the receptacle is adapted for receiving at least one portion of a potato, and wherein the piston head is adapted for pressing the potato against the bottom and through the apertures.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein the receptacle comprises a dome and a plurality of drain apertures in the dome, and wherein the piston head comprises a cup adapted for pressing a half of a citrus fruit against the dome to squeeze juice from the citrus fruit.
6. The device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of gear teeth in the distal portion of the base form a portion of a partially circular gear.
7. A device for compressing articles, the device comprising:
a base having a proximal portion, a distal portion, a receptacle located between the proximal and distal portions, and a plurality of gear teeth located between the distal portion and the receptacle, the receptacle being adapted to receive an article to be compressed;
a lever having a proximal portion and a distal portion, the proximal portion of the lever being adapted to facilitate manual manipulation thereof for actuating the device, and the distal portion of the lever having a plurality of gear teeth enmeshed with the gear teeth on the base such that pivoting motion of the lever causes movement of the distal portion of the lever about the distal portion of the base; and
a piston assembly coupled to the base and the lever, the piston assembly including a piston head positioned between the lever and the receptacle such that movement of the distal portion of the lever causes movement of the piston head into and out of the receptacle to compress the article in the receptacle, wherein the plurality of gear teeth in the distal portion of the base form a portion of a partially circular gear and the plurality of gear teeth in the distal portion of the lever form a portion of a complementary portion of a partially circular gear.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein the distal portion of the lever is linked to the distal portion of the base, the distal portion of the lever rolls along the distal portion of the base as the lever pivots.
9. The device of claim 1 wherein the distal portion of the lever is linked to the distal portion of the base by at least one linkage, the linkage being pivotally coupled to pins at both ends to the lever and the base, wherein the plurality of gear teeth on the distal portion of the base form a portion of a gear that is radially symmetrical about the pin in the distal portion of the base, and wherein the plurality of gear teeth on the distal portion of the lever form a portion of a gear that is radially symmetrical about the pin in the distal portion of the lever.
10. A compression tool, comprising:
a base including a base handle portion and a base hinge end, the base hinge end having a plurality of gear teeth;
a receptacle configured to receive and hold an article of food;
a lever rotatably coupled to the base, the lever including a lever handle portion and a lever hinge end having a plurality of gear teeth;
a piston assembly including a bracket assembly and a piston head carried by the bracket assembly, the bracket assembly being pivotally coupled to the base hinge end and pivotally coupled to the lever hinge end such that the plurality of gear teeth of the lever engage the plurality of gear teeth of the base, the piston head compresses the article of food held in the receptacle when the lever handle portion is moved towards the base handle portion to cause the plurality of gear teeth of the lever to move along the gear teeth of the base;
a base pin extending through the base hinge end and a linkage of the bracket assembly; and
a lever pin extending through the lever hinge end and the linkage of the bracket assembly, the base pin being spaced apart from the lever pin such that the plurality of gear teeth of the lever and the plurality of gear teeth of the base are enmeshed.
11. The compression tool of claim 10 , further comprising:
a piston head pin pivotally coupling the piston head to the linkage of the bracket assembly, the lever pin is located between the base pin and the piston head pin with respect to a length of the base when the compression tool is closed.
12. The compression tool of claim 10 wherein the bracket assembly includes a first linkage and a second linkage, the plurality of gear teeth of the lever and the plurality of gear teeth of the base are between the first linkage and the second linkage, the first linkage and the second linkage each have a distal end pivotally coupled to the hinge end of the base, a central region pivotally coupled to the hinge end of the lever, and a proximal end carrying the piston head.
13. The compression tool of claim 10 wherein the receptacle is a garlic clove receptacle, a potato receptacle, or a juicer receptacle.
14. A compression tool, comprising:
a lever including a plurality of gear teeth;
a base including a plurality of gear teeth;
a receptacle carried by the base;
a piston assembly including a piston head movable through at least a portion of the receptacle as the lever is moved between a first position and a second position, wherein the lever, the base, and the piston assembly cooperate to define a hinge axis of rotation about which a bracket of the piston assembly rotates and a lever axis of rotation about which the lever rotates with respect to the bracket, and the piston head is movable towards a bottom of the receptacle as the bracket rotates about the hinge axis of rotation and the lever rotates about the lever axis of rotation; and
a gear reducer coupled to the lever and the base such that the bracket carrying the piston head is moved at a slower angular speed than an angular speed of the lever when the lever is rotated.
15. The compression tool of claim 14 wherein the piston assembly includes a bracket that holds the plurality of gear teeth of the lever in engagement with the plurality of gear teeth of the base as the lever pivots with respect to the base.
16. The compression tool of claim 14 wherein the plurality of gear teeth of the lever are integrally formed with an end of the lever.
17. The compression tool of claim 14 wherein an angle of rotation of the bracket about the hinge axis of rotation is less than a corresponding angle of rotation of the lever about the lever axis of rotation as the lever is moved with respect to the base.