Rotary knife fixture for cutting spiral, textured potato pieces

Abstract

A rotary knife fixture for cutting vegetable products such as raw potatoes into spiral shapes. The knife fixture includes a ring-shaped blade holder driven rotatably within a hydraulic product flow path. The blade holder includes at least one cutting blade, wherein the blade is twisted from a generally longitudinally aligned center axis outwardly in opposite circumferential directions with a sharpened leading edge set at a desired pitch angle. By controlling the pitch angle of the blade in relation to the blade rotational speed and velocity at which the potato travels along the hydraulic flow path, the resultant spiral cut shape is selected. By using multiple cutting blades at known axially spaced positions and selecting the angular position of each cutting blade in succession, the number of spiral shapes cut from each potato is selected. The blades can have a nontextured straight-cut edge, or a textured crinkle-cut edge, or a combination.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A knife fixture for cutting food products, the fixture comprising:
 a blade holder; and   at least one cutting blade with a cutting edge, each of the at least one cutting blade extending inward from the blade holder and being twisted such that the cutting edge has a pitch angle that varies along the cutting blade.   
     
     
         2 . The knife fixture of  claim 1 , wherein the blade holder forms an opening surrounding a central axis and each of the at least one cutting blade extends from the blade holder and across the opening. 
     
     
         3 . The knife fixture of  claim 2 , wherein the blade holder includes a plurality of angled recesses, the at least one cutting blade being secured within the plurality of angled recesses. 
     
     
         4 . The knife fixture of  claim 3 , wherein each of the at least one cutting blade is secured within the plurality of angled recesses at each end of the cutting blade. 
     
     
         5 . The knife fixture of  claim 2 , wherein the blade holder is rotatable about the central axis. 
     
     
         6 . The knife fixture of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one cutting blade is a plurality of cutting blades. 
     
     
         7 . The knife fixture of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of cutting blades are unconnected at the central axis. 
     
     
         8 . The knife fixture of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of cutting blades include a pair of individual blades aligned with each other along a longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         9 . A helically twisted piece of food product produced by the knife fixture of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         10 . The helically twisted piece of food product of  claim 9 , wherein the food product is a potato. 
     
     
         11 . A cutting system for cutting potatoes into multiple helically twisted pieces, comprising:
 a blade holder having a flow path therethrough;   at least one cutting blade oriented across the flow path, each of the at least one cutting blade having a sharpened edge, wherein an angle of the sharpened edge increases along a length of the cutting blade towards the blade holder.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a drive motor configured to rotatably drive the blade holder. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one cutting blade is a plurality of cutting blades. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of cutting blades are unconnected at an axial centerline of the flow path. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of cutting blades include a pair of individual blades aligned with each other along a longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising a centering alignment device configured to center potatoes in the flow path for cutting engagement with the plurality of cutting blades. 
     
     
         17 . A knife fixture for cutting food products, the knife fixture comprising:
 a blade holder forming an opening; and   a blade carried by the blade holder, the blade having a cutting edge and a longitudinal axis oriented across the opening, the blade being twisted about the longitudinal axis.   
     
     
         18 . The knife fixture of  claim 17 , further comprising another blade having a cutting edge and a longitudinal axis oriented across the opening, the another blade being twisted about its longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         19 . The knife fixture of  claim 18 , wherein the longitudinal axis of the blade and the longitudinal axis of the another blade are aligned, and the blade and the another blade are unconnected at an axial centerline of the opening. 
     
     
         20 . The knife fixture of  claim 18 , further comprising a third blade having a cutting edge and a longitudinal axis oriented across the opening, the third blade being twisted about its longitudinal axis, wherein the longitudinal axes of the blade, the another blade, and the third blade are not aligned.