## Description 

## CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 

[0001] Thisapplication claimsprioritytoU.S.SerialNo. 13/719,282, filed December 19, 2012, and U.S. Provi- sional Application No. 61/580,367, filed December 27, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 

## BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 

[0002] Thepresentinvention generallyrelates to meth- ods and equipment for cutting food products. More par- ticularly,thisinvention relatestoapparatusessuitable for cutting food product slices having relatively large ampli- tude cross-sections. 

[0003] Various types of equipment are known for slic- ing, shredding and granulating food products, such as vegetable, fruit, dairy, and meat products. A widely used line of machines for this purpose is commercially avail- able fromUrschelLaboratories,Inc.,underthe name Ur- schelModelCC®, an embodimentofwhichis represent- ed in FIG. 1. The Model CC® machine line provides ver- sionsofcentrifugal-type slicerscapable ofproducing uni- form slices, strip cuts, shreds and granulations of a wide variety of food products at high production capacities. 

[0004] FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views of an im- peller 10 and cutting head 12, respectively, of types that can be used in the Model CC® machine. In operation, the impeller 10 is coaxially mounted within the cutting head 12, which is generally annular-shaped with cutting knives 14 mounted on its perimeter. The impeller 10 ro- tates within the cutting head 12, while the latter remains stationary. Each knife 14 projects radially inward toward the impeller 10 in a direction generally opposite the di- rectionofrotation ofthe impeller10,and definesacutting edge at its radially innermost extremity. As represented in FIG. 4, the impeller 10 has generally radially-oriented paddles 16 with faces that engage and direct food prod- ucts (e.g., potatoes) radially outward against the knives 14 of the cutting head 12 as the impeller 10 rotates. 

[0005] FIG. 1 schematically represents the cutti ng head 12 mounted on a support ring 28 above a gear box 30. A housing 32 contains a shaft coupled to the gear box30,through which the impeller 10 is driven within the cutting wheel 12. Further descriptions pertaining to the construction and operation of Model CC® machines are contained in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,694,824 and 6,968,765, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 

[0006] Thecutting head 12 shown in FIG.3 comprises a lower support ring 18, an upper mounting ring 20, and circumferentially-spaced support segments (shoes) 22. The knives 14 of the cutting head 12 are individually se- cured with clamping assemblies 26 to the shoes 22, which are secured with bolts 25 tothe supportand mount- ing rings 18 and 20. The shoes 22 are equipped with 

coaxial pivot pins (not shown) that engage holes in the support and/or mounting rings 18 and 20. By pivoting on its pins, the orientation of a shoe 22 can be adjusted to alter the radial location of the cutting edge of its knife 14 with respect to the axis of the cutting head 12, thereby controlling the thickness of the sliced food product. As an example, adjustment can be achieved with an adjust- ing screw and/or pin 24 located circumferentially behind the pivot pins. FIG. 3 further shows optional gate insert strips 23 mounted to each shoe 22, which the food prod- uct crosses prior to encountering the knife 14 mounted to the succeeding shoe 22. 

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[0007] The knives 14 shown in FIG. 3 are depicted as having straight cutting edges for producing flat slices, though othershapes are also used toproduce sliced and shredded products.Forexample,the knives 14can have cutting edges that define a periodic pattern of peaks and valleys when viewededgewise.The periodic pattern can be characterized by sharp peaks and valleys, or a more corrugated or sinusoidal shape characterized by more rounded peaks and valleys when viewededgewise.Ifthe peaksand valleys ofeach knife 14 are aligned with those of the preceding knife 14, slices are produced in which each peak on one surface of a slice corresponds to a valley on the opposite surface of the slice, such that the slices are substantially uniform in thickness but have a cross-sectional shape that is characterized by sharp peaks and valleys ("V-slices") or a more corrugated or sinusoidal shape (crinkle slices), collectively referred to herein as periodic shapes. Alternatively, shredded food product can be produced if each peak of each knife 14 is aligned with a valley of the preceding knife 14, and waffle/lattice-cutfood product can be produced by inten- tionally making off-axis alignment cuts with a periodic- shaped knife, for example, by cross-cutting a food prod- uctattwo differentangles,typicallyninety degreesapart. Whether a sliced, shredded or waffle-cut product is de- sired will depend on the intended use of the product. 

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[0008] Equipment currently available for cutting food product,such as those represented inFIGS.1-4,are well suited for producing slices of a wide variety offood prod- ucts, but have shown to be incapable of producing V- slices and crinkle slices having relatively large amplitude cross-sections without incurring unacceptable levels of through-slice cracking, or at minimum undesirable sur- face cracking and surface roughness. As used herein, large amplitude refers to cross-sections with amplitudes of about 0.1 inches (about 2.5 mm) or greater. 

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## BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 

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[0009] The present invention provides apparatuses suitable for cutting food product slices having relatively large amplitude cross-sections. 

[0010] According to a first aspect of the invention, an apparatus for cutting food product includes an annular- shaped cutting head (12) and an impeller (10) coaxially mounted within the cutting head (12) for rotation about 

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