Food Slicing Device

Abstract

A hand-held device for reducing the size of food items, for example by slicing or grating. The disclosed device has a slicing drum transversally inserted into an aperture on a lateral wall of a casing. Preferably, both the drum and its size reducing members, such as blades, are removable. Ideally, the drum can be inserted in an aperture on either of two opposing lateral walls so that the device may be easily used by both right-handed and left-handed people. A slicing compartment is formed by the casing and the slicing drum. A grip handle extends from the casing and preferably has an arm cover, which may open to a storage receptacle intended for storage of additional blades. The slicing drum is engaged with a crank lever assembly for rotation. A distal wall of the casing is preferably curved to form a tangential relationship with the slicing drum to, along with gravitational force, advance a food item to be reduced in size.

1 . A hand-held food slicing device comprising: 
 a casing having a first lateral wall with an aperture, a second lateral wall with an aperture, a distal wall, and a proximal wall;    a grip handle extending from the proximal wall;    a rotatable cylindrical drum insertable into at least one of the apertures of the lateral walls; the cylindrical drum including a drum opening through which sliced food can be dispensed, the cylindrical drum including a receptacle on an opposite end from the drum opening;    a crank lever having a protrusion, the crank lever attached to the rotatable cylindrical drum with the protrusion engaging the receptacle of the cylindrical drum; and    a blade on rotatable cylindrical drum,    wherein a slicing compartment is formed between the distal wall and the rotatable cylindrical drum.    
   
   
       2 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  wherein the rotatable cylindrical drum is insertable into either of the apertures of the lateral walls and the crank lever can be interchanged on either side of the casing so the device may be used by both right-handed and left-handed people.  
   
   
       3 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  wherein the blade is removable and slidably mountable on the rotatable cylindrical drum so that a cutting edge of the blade faces forward toward the distal wall while in the slicing compartment.  
   
   
       4 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  wherein the grip handle comprises an arm and an arm cover that is pivotally attached to the arm wherein a distal end of the arm cover can fit inside the casing.  
   
   
       5 . The hand-held device of  claim 4  further comprising a storage receptacle inside the grip handle capable of securing the blade.  
   
   
       6 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  further comprising a threaded fastener to hold the crank lever to the casing in association with an internally incised hub in the cylindrical drum on the opposite end from the drum opening.  
   
   
       7 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  wherein the blade is removable and can be inserted into the rotatable cylindrical drum with a cutting edge facing in either direction.  
   
   
       8 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  including a plurality of removable blades.  
   
   
       9 . The hand-held device of  claim 8  wherein the plurality of removable blades can be interchangeable, wherein the blades not being used can be stored in a storage receptacle inside the grip handle.  
   
   
       10 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  wherein the distal wall of the casing forms a concave curve and is tangential with a convex curve of the rotatable cylindrical drum wherein food items to be sliced are trapped between the tangential convex and concave curves.  
   
   
       11 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  wherein the protrusion of the crack lever is disengageable from the receptacle of the cylindrical so that the crank lever can be interchanged on either side of the casing so the device may be used by both right-handed and left-handed people.  
   
   
       12 . The hand-held device of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of receptacles in the cylindrical drum and complementary protrusions in the crank lever.  
   
   
       13 . A hand-held device for reducing size of food items comprising: 
 a casing having a first lateral wall with an aperture, a second lateral wall with an aperture, a distal wall, and a proximal wall;    an arm extending from the proximal wall;    a rotatable cylindrical drum associated with the apertures of the lateral walls, the cylindrical drum including a drum opening through which sliced food can be dispensed;    a removable size reducing member capable of sliding on a surface of the rotatable cylindrical drum;    an interchangeable crank lever attached to the rotatable cylindrical drum on an end opposite the drum opening; and    a threaded fastener to hold the crank lever to the casing in association with an internally incised hub in the cylindrical drum on the opposite end from the drum opening,    wherein a slicing compartment is formed between the distal wall and the rotatable cylindrical drum.    
   
   
       14 . The hand held device of  claim 13  wherein the distal wall of the casing is concave and tangential with a convex curve of the rotatable cylindrical drum.  
   
   
       15 . The hand-held device of  claim 13  wherein the size reducing member can be slidably mounted on the rotatable cylindrical drum so that a cutting edge of the size reducing member faces forward toward the distal wall while in the slicing compartment.  
   
   
       16 . The hand-held device of  claim 13  wherein the size reducing member is a removable blade that can be inserted into the rotatable cylindrical drum with a cutting edge facing in either direction.  
   
   
       17 . The hand-held device of  claim 13  wherein the crank lever has a protrusion, the crank lever attached to the rotatable cylindrical drum with the protrusion engaging a receptacle of the cylindrical drum.  
   
   
       18 . The hand-held device of  claim 13  further comprising a storage receptacle inside the arm capable of securing the size reducing member.  
   
   
       19 . The hand-held device of  claim 18  further comprising an arm cover that is pivotally attached to the arm wherein a distal end of the arm cover can fit inside the casing and the arm cover can enclose the storage receptacle.  
   
   
       20 . A hand-held device for reducing size of food items comprising: 
 a casing having a first lateral wall with a first aperture, a second lateral wall with a second aperture the same size as the first aperture, a curved distal wall, and a proximal wall;    an arm extending from the proximal wall;    an arm cover pivotally attached to the arm wherein a distal end of the arm cover fits inside the casing;    a rotatable cylindrical drum associated with the apertures of the lateral walls, the cylindrical drum including a drum opening through which sliced food can be dispensed;    a removable blade capable of sliding onto the rotatable cylindrical drum; the size reducing member selected from the group consisting of a blade or grater; and    an interchangeable crank lever attached to the rotatable cylindrical drum for rotating the cylindrical drum,    wherein a slicing compartment is formed between the curved distal wall and the rotatable cylindrical drum and wherein the rotatable cylindrical drum insertable in either aperture, and    wherein the crank lever can be changed to either side of the casing so the device may be used by both right-handed and left-handed people.    
   
   
       21 . The hand-held device of  claim 20  further comprising a storage receptacle in the arm that can be completely covered by the arm cover.  
   
   
       22 . The hand-held device of  claim 20  wherein the crank lever has a protrusion, the crank lever attached to the rotatable cylindrical drum with the protrusion engaging a receptacle of the cylindrical drum.  
   
   
       23 . The hand-held device of  claim 22  further comprising a threaded fastener to hold the crank lever to the casing in association with an internally incised hub in the cylindrical drum on an opposite end from the drum opening.