Title: Fish pin bone remover
Abstract: The fish pin bone remover has a handle and a blade member. The blade member is formed from a V-shaped blade blank. The blade blank has a left leg, a right leg and a bridge portion interconnecting the legs. The legs have inside edges and outside edges. The bridge portion has arcuate inside and outside edges. The bridge portion is formed to position the inside edges parallel to each other and spaced apart a selected distance. The outside edges of the legs are parallel to each other and spaced apart further than the inside edges. An outside surface of both legs and the bridge portion adjacent to the inside edges of the legs and the arcuate inside edge of the bridge is ground to form a continuous cutting edge that extends along the left inside edge the arcuate inside edge and the right inside edge.
Patent Number: 6,935,941 Issued on 08/30/2005 to Muehlenbeck
| Inventors:
|
Muehlenbeck; Thomas C. (12120 Birch Run Rd., Birch Run, MI 48415)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
791512 |
| Filed:
|
March 2, 2004 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
452/103 |
| Intern'l Class: |
A22B 005/10 |
| Field of Search: |
452/2- 5,102-105,137
30/279.2,283,3
D7/642,645,649-652
D24/147
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 221949 | Nov., 1879 | Whitney.
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| 1117355 | Nov., 1914 | Erickson.
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| 1226797 | May., 1917 | Newman.
| |
| 1261689 | Apr., 1918 | Bristle.
| |
| 1847062 | Feb., 1932 | Lemmon, Jr.
| |
| 2142197 | Jan., 1939 | Lee.
| |
| 2274815 | Mar., 1942 | Whann.
| |
| 2450348 | Sep., 1948 | Krilow.
| |
| 3570048 | Mar., 1971 | Michael.
| |
| 4574431 | Mar., 1986 | Colling.
| |
| 4592140 | Jun., 1986 | Chasen.
| |
| 4704769 | Nov., 1987 | Hanechak.
| |
| 4920612 | May., 1990 | Moore.
| |
| D315661 | Mar., 1991 | Scheuerman.
| |
| 5230652 | Jul., 1993 | Alam.
| |
| D342000 | Dec., 1993 | Diotte.
| |
| 5529534 | Jun., 1996 | Adams.
| |
| D447014 | Aug., 2001 | Van Leeuwen.
| |
Primary Examiner: Price; Thomas
Claims
1. A fish pin bone remover comprising:
a blade member including a left leg with a left inside edge and a left outside
edge, a right leg with a right inside edge and a right outside edge, and a bridge
portion integral with a left leg inner end and a right leg inner end and having
an arcuate inside edge and an arcuate outside edge;
a cutting edge formed by grinding an outside surface of the left leg, on outside
surface of the right leg and an outside surface of the bridge portion adjacent
to the left inside edge, the arcuate inside edge and the right inside edge and
wherein the cutting edge includes a left cutting edge portion, an arcuate cutting
edge portion and a right cutting edge portion and the cutting edge is continuous
and without steps along at least a portion of the left leg, across the bridge portion
and along at least a portion of the right leg, and the left cutting edge portion
and the right cutting edge portion are substantially parallel to each other; and
a handle fixed to a free left end of the left leg and to a free right end of
the right leg.
2. A fish pin bone remover, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the left outside
edge of the left leg is spaced from the right outside edge of the right leg a distance
that exceeds the width of the space between the left cutting edge portion and the
right cutting edge portion.
3. A fish pin bone remover, as set forth in claim 2, wherein a tip surface of
the bridge portion extends away from the arcuate cutting edge portion and the handle
toward the arcuate outside edge at an angle of about 45° relative to the left
cutting edge portion and the right cutting edge portion.
4. A fish pin bone remover, as set forth in claim 2, wherein the left outside
edge of the left leg is substantially parallel to the right outside edge of the
right leg.
5. A fish pin bone remover, as set forth in claim 4, wherein the left outside
edge of the left leg is substantially parallel to the left cutting edge portion,
and the right outside edge of the right leg is substantially parallel to the right
cutting edge portion.
6. A fish pin bone remover comprising:
a blade member including a left leg with a left inside edge, and a left outside
edge; a right leg with a right inside edge and a right outside edge, and bridge
portion integral with a left leg inner end and a right leg inner end and having
an arcuate inside edge and an arcuate outside edge;
a cutting edge formed by grinding an outside surface of the left leg, the right
leg and the bridge portion adjacent to the left inside edge, the arcuate inside
edge and the right inside edge and wherein the cutting edge includes a left cutting
edge portion an arcuate cutting edge portion and a right cutting edge portion,
with the left cutting edge portion substantially parallel to the right cutting
edge portion and the arcuate cutting edge portion in a common plane with the left
cutting edge portion and the right cutting edge portion; and
a handle fixed to a free left end of the left leg and to a free right end of
the right leg and wherein the left outside edge is outboard of the left cutting
edge portion and the right outside edge is outboard of the right cutting edge portion.
7. A fish pin bone remover, as set forth in claim 6 wherein a tip surface of
the bridge portion extends away from the arcuate cutting edge and the handle toward
the arcuate outside edge at an angle, relative to the left cutting edge portion,
between 35° and 55°.
8. A fish pin bone remover comprising:
a blade member including a left leg with a left inside edge and a left outside
edge, a right leg with a right inside edge and a right outside edge, and a bridge
portion integral with a left leg inner end and a right leg inner end and having
an arcuate inside edge and an arcuate outside edge;
a cutting edge formed by grinding an outside surface of the left leg, an outside
surface of the right leg and an outside surface of the bridge portion adjacent
to the left inside edge, the arcuate inside edge and the right inside edge and
wherein the cutting edge includes a left cutting edge portion, an arcuate cutting
edge portion and a right cutting edge portion and the cutting edge is continuous
along at least a portion of the left leg, across the bridge portion and along at
least a portion of the right leg, the left cutting edge portion and the right cutting
edge portion are substantially parallel to each other;
wherein an arcuate cutting edge left end is in alignment with and joins a left
cutting edge inner end and an arcuate cutting edge right end is in alignment with
and joins a right cutting edge inner end, and
a handle fixed to a free left end of the left leg and to a free right end of
the right leg.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application
No. 60/452,278, titled "FISH PIN BONE REMOVER" filed Mar. 5, 2003.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The fish pin bone remover knife has a blade member formed by bending a V-shape
blank about a mandrel until edges of the left leg and the right leg are parallel
to each other, the joined ends of the left leg and the right leg are connected
to each other by an arcuate bridge portion, a continuous edge of the left leg,
the arcuate bridge portion and the right leg is sharpened to form a cutting edge,
and a left leg free end and a right leg free end are both fixed to a handle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fish are eviscerated and cut into fillets prior to cooking. The filleting process
removes most of the bones. Unfortunately pin bones remain in many fish fillets
following the filleting process. Many individuals do not like to remove bones from
cooked fish and refuse to eat fish that has or may have bones. Commercial fish
processors have large expensive machines for removing pin bones. Such machines
are not available for use by sport fishermen that prepare fish they catch for cooking
and to be eaten by friends and by themselves.
Individual fisherman generally eviscerate and fillet fish prior to cooking.
Some fisherman leave the pin bones in the fillets and remove the pin bones while
eating cooked fish. Others remove the pin bones prior to cooking. There are two
common procedures for removing the pin bones from uncooked fish fillets. Needle
nose pliers can be used to pull each pin bone from the fillet. This is a tedious
and time consuming task and a few pin bones are generally missed. A sharp knife
with one blade can be used to cut the pin bones from fillets. Cutting the pin bones
out requires a first cut to one side of a row of pin bones. The first cut is generally
easy because the fillet holds the pin bones in a relatively straight line. The
second cut is generally more difficult because the pin bones are supported on one
side only. The second cut is therefore a little further from the pin bones than
the first cut. Cutting the fillets with a regular knife, to remove pin bones, removes
a substantial portion of the eatable tissue and separates the fillet into at least
two separate parts. The eatable tissue removed with the pin bones is lost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The fish pin bone remover includes a left leg with a left inside edge and a left
outside edge, a right leg with a right inside edge and a right outside edge, and
a bridge portion that is integral with a left leg inner end and a right leg inner
end. The bridge portion has an arcuate inside edge and an arcuate outside edge.
A cutting edge is formed by grinding an outside surface of the left leg, the right
leg and the bridge portion adjacent to the left inside edge, the arcuate inside
edge and the right inside edge. The cutting edge includes a left cutting edge portion
and arcuate cutting edge portion and a right cutting edge portion. The left cutting
edge portion is substantially parallel to the right cutting edge portion. The arcuate
cutting edge portion is in a common plane with the left cutting edge portion and
the right cutting edge portion. A handle is fixed to the free left end of the left
leg and to the free right end of the right leg. The left outside edge is outboard
of the left cutting edge portion. The right outside edge is outboard of the right
cutting edge portion.
The fish pin bone remover has a tip surface of the bridge portion that extends
away from the arcuate cutting edge and the handle toward the arcuate outside edge
at an angle, relative to the left cutting edge portion, between 35° and 55°.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
These and other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent
in view of the following detailed description and best mode, appended claims and
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pin bone remover cutting a thin ribbon of
tissue with pin bones from a fish fillet:
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the fish pin bone remover;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the fish pin bone remover;
FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the fish pin bone remover;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the fish pin bone remover taken along line 5-5
in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 6 is a plan view, with parts broken away, of V-shaped blades as they are
separated from a cutting material strip.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The fish pin bone remover
10 for removing fish pin bones
12 from
a fish fillet F includes a handle
14 and a blade member
16. The terms
left and right are as seen by a person holding the pin bone remover in a hand H
ready for use.
The blade member
16 has cut or severed from a strip
18 of material
such as stainless steal. The strip
18 can extend from line
20 to
line
22 shown in FIG. 6. If the strip
18 is three times the distance
from the line
20 to the line
22, there can be additional columns
of blade members
16 extending laterally outward from the lines
20
and
22.
Each blade member
16 is made from a V-shape blade blank
24. The
blank
24 is a flat member with a left leg
26 and a right leg
28.
The vertex where the left leg
26 and the right leg intersect is a bridge
portion
30. The inner edge
32 of each V-shape blade blank
24
includes a straight left inside edge
34 of the left leg, an arcuate inside
edge
36 of the bridge portion
30 and a straight right inside edge
38. The outer edge
40 of each V-shape blade blank
24 includes
a left end edge
42, a straight left outside edge
44, an arcuate outside
edge
46 of the bridge portion
30, a straight right outside edge
48,
and a right end edge
50.
The V-shape blank
24 is formed into a blade member
16 by bending
the bridge portion
30 around a mandrel or similar tool that is at least
partially conical. The bridge portion
30 is bent until the left inside edge
34 is parallel to the right inside edge
38. The arcuate inside edge
36 is an arc that extends about 180° about an arc axis and has an arc
diameter of about 3/16
th of an inch. The arcuate outside edge
46
is an arc with an arc diameter that is somewhat larger than 3/16
th of
an inch. The arcuate inside and outside edges
36 and
46 are the same
length as shown in FIG. 6. Since the left leg
26 and the right leg
28
are both bent 90° from their flat position in a common plane and the arcuate
outside edge
46 has a larger arc diameter, a small portion of the straight
left outside edge
44 and the straight right outside edge
48 are curved
during bending of the bridge portion
30. The length of the arcuate outside
edge
46 can be increased if desired. However, some material would be scrapped
if the arcuate inside and outside edges
36 and
46 have different
lengths. The 3/16
th inch diameter arc length for the arcuate inside
edge
36 places the straight left and right inside edges
34 and
38
about 3/16
th of an inch apart. The large arc diameter for the outside
arcuate edge
46 spaces the straight left outside edge
44 from the
straight right outside edge
48 a distance equal to the arc diameter for
the outside arcuate edge. This extra distance between the straight outside edges
44 and
48 relative to the distance between the straight inside left
edge and the straight inside right edge, as shown in FIG. 5, ensures that a thin
ribbon of fish translucent tissue R with encased pin bones
12 can move freely
between the left leg
26 and the right leg
28 after being severed
from a fillet F.
The outside surface
60 of the left leg
26, the right leg
28,
and the bridge portion
30 is ground adjacent to the straight left inside
edge
34, the arcuate inside edge
36 and the straight right inside
edge
38 to form a cutting edge
62 with a straight cutting edge portion
64, a curved or arcuate cutting edge portion
66, and a right straight
cutting edge portion
68. The cutting edge
62 is a continuous cutting
edge with the left cutting edge portion
64, the arcuate cutting edge portion
66, and the right cutting edge portion
68 substantially in a common
cutting edge plane.
The distance between the straight cutting edge
64 and
68 is about
3/16
th of an inch for removing pin bones from most fish. This dimension
permits the largest pin bones
12 encountered to pass through the slot
70
defined by the left cutting edge
64, the arcuate cutting edge
66
and the right cutting edge
68. The ribbon R of fish tissue is sufficiently
thin for the person removing the pin bones
12 to see the removed bones through
the fish tissue. If the pin bone remover tool
10 is used to remove pin bones
12 with larger diameters, it will be necessary to increase the width of
the slot
70 to accommodate the larger pin bones
12. Two or more different
pin bone remover tools
10 may be required to remove pin bones
12
from fish of different sizes.
The outside surface
60 of the blade member
16 includes a forward
end tip surface
72 that insects the cutting edge
62 at an angle theta
of about 45° as shown in FIG. 2. The surface
72 is normally held substantially
parallel to the surface supporting the fillet F during pin bone removal. Since
the cutting edge
62 of the arcuate cutting edge
66 is formed by grinding
material from the outside surface
60, the cutting edge is positioned slightly
above the tip surface
72. This makes it possible to remove pin bones
12
without cutting the skin of the fish. With some care, the pin bones
12 can
be removed without separating a fillet F into multiple pieces. The angle of the
tip surface
72 can be changed by changing the angle at which the left leg
26 of the V-shaped blade blank
24 intersects the right leg
28.
The angle can vary between 35° and 55° depending upon the choice of a
person removing pin bones
12. At an angle of 35° it may be difficult
to remove pin bones
12 from a thick fish fillet. Above an angle of 55°,
the handle
14 may need to be changed so that the palm of a person's hand
is under the handle rather than on top of the handle.
The ends
42 and
50 of the legs
26 and
28 are attached
to the handle
14 in a conventional manner. Holes may be drilled through
the legs
26 and
28 for mechanical fasteners that fix the blade member
16 to the handle
14. Small notches can be cut into the legs
26
and
28 to anchor both legs in a molded handle
14. The legs
26
and
28 can also be bonded to the handle
14.
*
