Abstract: The cutting action in a rotary slicer is provided by a pair of circular disc blades, which are mounted in apertures in a circular plate, which is rotated within an outer casing. The plate rotates adjacent a feeding chute at one side of the casing and the depth of the slice is adjusted by varying the distance of the blade in front of the circular plate. The cut slices pass between the blades and apertures into the rear of the casing, which discharges them downwardly. The blades are mounted on a lobular bracket supported on a central shaft in a fixed longitudinal position. The depth of cut is varied by moving the apertured plate back and forth along the shaft to a position governed by a C-shaped stop ring with a calibrated shaft extending outwardly from the rear shaft bearing. The plate is detachably secured to the shaft by a thumb screw accessible through an ample cut-out in the top of the rear casing.

Abstract: A device for slicing tomatoes and other soft food objects has a hollow triangular enclosure frame with three vertical sides disposed about an open interior into which tomatoes are inserted. The longest vertical side or hypotenuse side of the vertical frame enclosure carries a tensioned rack of parallel blades with sharp cutting edges facing inwardly. The opposite intermediate length side of the frame has a pusher sliding back and forth along it with spaced fingers inserted between the opposite cutting blades. Insertion of tomatoes is facilitated by a vertically movable loading platform mounted within the frame which can be manually raised by a push rod at the top to receive a tomato and then lowered below the path of movement of the pusher to permit the pusher to traverse the tomato along and through the cutting edges of the blades to slice it. The loading platform has a table rotatably mounted at the top of a lifting lever which is rotatably mounted at the bottom of the frame.

Abstract: A guard for preventing the operator's fingers from contacting the sharp edges of a parallel rack of blades in a food slicer, such as a tomato slicer is provided by a set of parallel planar segments intermeshed between and extending slightly in front of the sharp edges of the blades when the pusher is deployed away from the blades in position for introducing the object (tomato) to be sliced between the pusher and blades. A latch, such as a gravity latch, holds the assembly in the open guarded position until the tomato is introduced and the latch is released. In a rotary slicer a small portion of the blades adjacent the pusher are unguarded to facilitate introduction and prescoring of the tomato.

Abstract: A pneumatically operated mechanism for feeding envelopes or other similar stacked articles from a stacked position into a second position where stamping, gluing or the like may be performed. The feed mechanism includes a pneumatic cylinder having a fixed piston rod and a movable cylinder driven by a slide wheel mechanism in such a manner as to create a vacuum at a reciprocating, article engaging, slide shuttle when the cylinder is moved in one direction. When the cylinder is moved in a reverse direction the vacuum is released, allowing the article engaging shuttle to return to the stacked articles for reapplying the vacuum for removing an article.