Foldable cutting board

Abstract

A versatile, foldable and disposable cutting board for preparing food is made of a thin, resiliently flexible sheet of propylene, stainless steel or other cut-resistant material. The board has a triangular section projecting away from the user to form a distal pouring funnel and spout when the board is folded along its middle by grabbing both sides and moving them toward each other. A narrow fence extending upwardly from the periphery of the board dips gradually along the distal edge toward a near horizontal position at the apex of the triangular section. The fence is interrupted along an offset portion of the proximal edge in order to provide clearance for the blade and handle of a chopping or mincing instrument.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to support structures for cutting or chopping material, and more specifically to cutting boards used in food preparation.

BACKGROUND

A number of foldable and disposable kitchen cutting boards found in the prior art can be manipulated to form a convenient funneling and pouring structure to a evacuate liquid or dump the processed food into a cooking pan.

Typical of such prior devices is the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,478 Cant. Although the disclosed structure can adequately perform the funneling and pouring functions, its complexity makes it relatively difficult and expensive to manufacture. The forming of the folding sides, the score lines and fold lines that cause the formation of the pouring tip may require several molding or stamping steps. Moreover, the presence of the fence on the proximal side of the board may interfere with the manipulation of a knife or cleaver when cutting or chopping food stuff. Consequently, there is a need for a simpler, yet efficient and disposable cutting board that fulfills all the functions offered by the prior art, yet can be manufactured by a one step molding or stamping process.

SUMMARY

A versatile, foldable and disposable kitchen cutting board is formed in a single-step stamping or molding of a sheet of resiliently flexible material such steel, propylene, polyurthane, polycarbonate or other cut-resisting plastic. The cutting board has a triangular section whose sides are defined by the distal edge of the board—the one away from its user. A narrow fence extends in a substantial vertical direction from the edges of the board. The portion that extends along the distal edge is slanted outwardly to dip gradually toward the apex of the triangular section where the fence is in a substantially oblique orientation. The apex of the triangular section and of the fence is not sharp but is rounded and does not include any crease or folding line. Accordingly, when the board is folded along a front to back median section by grabbing both sides and moving them toward each other, the apical portion of the fence forms a convenient pouring spout.

In a portion of the proximal edge of the board, the fence is either interrupted or has reduced height in order to provide clearance for the manipulation of a cutting tool. The lowered part of the fence is preferably offset from the center of the board in order to accommodate either a right hand or left hand handling of a cutting tool.

In some embodiments there is provided a cutting board which comprises: a planar, central work area having a proximal edge, two lateral edges and a distal edge; a narrow fence extending upwardly at the periphery of said work area, said fence having a part gradually dipping obliquely and outwardly from both lateral ends of said distal edge toward a median section into a substantially oblique position; and whereby said median section forms a pouring spout when said board is folded by lifting and moving said lateral edges toward each other.

In some embodiments said work area comprises a substantially triangular section having sides defined by said distal edge. In some embodiments said fence is interrupted along a portion of said proximal edge. In some embodiments said fence has a reduced height along a portion of said proximal edge. In some embodiments said reduced height portion is offset from the center of said board. In some embodiments said fence has a reduced height along an offset portion of said proximal edge. In some embodiments said part has a substantially constant width and an absence of cutout portion about said median section. In some embodiments the board is formed entirely out of a resiliently pliable sheet of cut-resistant material. In some embodiments said material is taken from a group substantially consisting of polypropylene, polyurethane, acrylic, polycarbonate and steel. In some embodiments said part further comprises an oblique, rounded apex without any fold line. In some embodiments said area has a shape selected from the group consisting of polygons, circles, ovals, ellipses, teardrop shapes and combinations thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disposable cutting board according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view thereof; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are partial cross-sectional views or the fence taken along lines 5-5 and 6-6 respectively of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawing there is shown a substantially planar kitchen cutting board 1 preferably molded or stamped out of a sheet of resiliently flexible material, preferably polypropylene or other cut-resisting material such as stainless steel, polyurethane, acrylic, or polycarbonate plastic. The board has a proximal edge 2 to be held closest to the user, a triangular distal edge 3 pointing away from the user, substantially parallel lateral edges 4, and a working area 5 with a planar surface. A narrow fence 6 extends upwardly from a periphery of the board. The purpose of the fence is to prevent liquid and parcels of the material being cut or chopped from escaping the board. The junction of the fence and board edges 7 is not sharp but preferably rounded to simplify its fabrication and to ease the cleaning of the board. The part of the fence 8 which extends from the triangular distal edge dips outwardly and gradually from the lateral edges toward a median apex 9. Consequently, at the apex, the fence reaches an approximately 130 to 150 degree oblique position as illustrated in FIG. 6. No folding line or crease is formed in the median section of the board or in the spout-forming apex of the fence. Instead, the apex is rounded and does not feature any cutout portion to guide and limit the flow of material off the cutting board as can be found in devices of the prior art. Instead, the rounded apical portion of the tilted fence assumes a smooth, channel-like configuration when the cutting board is partially folded.

Along the proximal edge 2 of the cutting board, the fence 6 is interrupted along a substantial portion 10 in order to provide clearance for the blade, handle or user's hand during the manipulation of a knife or cleaver. In some embodiments, the clearance portion 10 has a reduced height leaving a small ledge 11 sufficient to retain on the cutting board, liquids or small debris. In other embodiments the clearance portion extends to the planar surface of the working are to facilitate scraping debris off the ledge of the board while the board is supported on a flat surface. The interrupted clearance portion of the fence 10 is preferably offset slightly from the median portion of the cutting area 5 of the board in order to accommodate the right or left hand holding of the cutting tool.

In this exemplary embodiment of the invention, the width of the board is approximately 46 centimeters (18 inches); the sides have a length of about 28 centimeters (11 inches) and the front to back distance at the apex is about 30 centimeters (12 inches). The width of the fence is a constant 1.2 centimeters (about 0.5 inch). It shall be noted that although the exemplary embodiment shows a board having a roughly pentagonal shape having substantially straight sides, the features described above can be used on boards having other shapes including polygons, ovals, ellipses, teardrop shapes and combinations thereof to name a few, and where the edges can be formed onto straight sides or curved sides.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, modifications can be made and other embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cutting board which comprises:

a planar, central work area having a proximal edge, two lateral edges and a distal edge;

a narrow fence extending upwardly at the periphery of said work area, said fence having a part gradually dipping obliquely and outwardly from both lateral ends of said distal edge toward a median section into a substantially oblique position; and

whereby said median section forms a pouring spout when said board is folded by lifting and moving said lateral edges toward each other.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said work area comprises a substantially triangular section having sides defined by said distal edge.

3. The instrument of claim 1, wherein said fence is interrupted along a portion of said proximal edge.

4. The structure of claim 1, wherein said fence has a reduced height along a portion of said proximal edge.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said reduced height portion is offset from the center of said board.

6. The structure of claim 2, wherein said fence has a reduced height along an offset portion of said proximal edge.

7. The structure of claim 1, wherein said part has a substantially constant width and an absence of cutout portion about said median section.

8. The structure of claim 1 formed entirely out of a resiliently pliable sheet of cut-resistant material.

9. The structure of claim 8, wherein said material is taken from a group substantially consisting of polypropylene, polyurethane, acrylic, polycarbonate and steel.

10. The structure of claim 2, wherein said part further comprises an oblique, rounded apex without any fold line.

11. The structure of claim 2, wherein said area has a shape selected from the group consisting of polygons, circles, ovals, ellipses, teardrop shapes and combinations thereof.