US-12623363-B2 - Electronic knife and related systems and methods

US12623363B2US 12623363 B2US12623363 B2US 12623363B2US-12623363-B2

Abstract

An electronic knife assembly and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the knife includes a blade and a handle operably couplable to the blade. The handle can include an oscillator operably coupled to the blade, at least one sensor configured to obtain one or more measurements, and a controller operably coupled to the oscillator and the least one sensor. The measurements from the sensor can include a spatial position of the electronic knife, a spatial orientation of the electronic knife, a mass of a user's hand, a grip of the user's hand, and/or a resistance to the oscillation of the blade. The controller can adjust an operating frequency of the oscillator based at least partially on the one or more measurements from the at least one sensor. The handle can also include a wireless power supply.

Inventors

Scott Heimendinger

Assignees

CUISONIC, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240710

Claims (17)

1 . An electronic knife, comprising: a blade: a handle operably couplable to the blade, wherein the handle includes: an oscillator operably coupled to the blade and configured to cause the blade to oscillate: at least one sensor configured to obtain one or more measurements, the one or more measurements including the at least one of a spatial position of electronic knife, a spatial orientation of the electronic knife, a mass of a user's hand, a grip of the user's hand, or a resistance to the oscillation of the blade; a controller operably coupled to the oscillator and the least one sensor wherein the controller stores instructions that when executed cause the controller to adjust an operating frequency of the oscillator based at least partially on the one or more measurements from the at least one sensor; a power supply operably coupled to the oscillator, the least one sensor, and the controller; and a communication component configured to wirelessly communicate with a remote electronic device.
2 . The electronic knife of claim 1 wherein the instructions further cause the controller to download, through the communications component, one or more updates from the remote electronic device.
3 . The electronic knife of claim 1 wherein the power supply includes a secondary cell, and wherein the handle further includes a receiving coil electrically coupled to the power supply, wherein the receiving coil is configured to generate an electric current to deliver power to the secondary cell in the power supply in response to a magnetic field on the receiving coil.
4 . An interconnected electronic knife system, comprising: an electronic knife having a blade and handle assembly operably coupled to the blade, wherein the handle assembly includes: an actuator operably coupled to the blade and configured to cause the blade to oscillate; at least one sensor configured to generate signals indicative of at least one of a spatial position of the electronic knife, a spatial orientation of the electronic knife, a mass of a user's hand, a grip of the user's hand, and a resistance to the oscillation of the blade; a controller operably coupled to the actuator and the least one sensor, wherein the controller is configured to adjust an operating parameter of the actuator based at least partially on signals from the sensor; and a power supply operably coupled to the actuator, the least one sensor, and the controller; a remote electronic device in wireless communication with the electronic knife; and a wireless charging device coupleable to the power supply of the electronic knife to deliver electrical power to the power supply.
5 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 wherein the handle assembly further includes a receiving coil electrically coupled to the power supply, and wherein the wireless charging device includes at least one charging coil positioned to generate a magnetic field incident on the receiving coil in the handle assembly to generate an electric current in the receiving coil.
6 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 5 wherein the wireless charging device further includes a permanent magnet configured to attract the blade of the electronic knife to secure the electronic knife in a charging position, and wherein, when the electronic knife is in the charging position, the receiving coil in the handle assembly is aligned with the at least one charging coil in the wireless charging device.
7 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 wherein the controller is communicably coupled to the remote electronic device, and wherein the controller is further configured to transmit usage data to the remote electronic device related to the signals from the sensor.
8 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 wherein the controller is communicably coupled to the remote electronic device, and wherein the remote electronic device is configured to transmit one or more operating updates to the controller.
9 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 wherein the controller is communicably coupled to the remote electronic device, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit an operating status to the remote electronic device, and wherein the remote electronic device is configured to display instructions to a user for using the electronic knife based on the operating status.
10 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 wherein the controller is communicably coupled to the remote electronic device, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit feedback to the remote electronic device during knife sharpening, and wherein the remote electronic device is configured to display instructions to a user for sharpening the blade of the electronic knife based at least partially on the feedback.
11 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 wherein the controller is further configured to determine a resonant frequency for the oscillation of the blade in a user's hand based on the signals from sensor.
12 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 wherein the handle assembly further includes a feedback component, the feedback component including at least one of a haptic feedback mechanism, indicator lights, speakers, and a digital display.
13 . A method for adjusting operational parameters of an electronic knife, the method comprising: receiving, from a sensor incorporated into the electronic knife, at least one measurement indicative of a change in operating conditions for the electronic knife; generating a modal analysis of the operational parameters of the electronic knife based at least partially on the change in the operating conditions, wherein the modal analysis indicates resonant operational parameters of the electronic knife; and adjusting the operational parameters to match the resonant operational parameters.
14 . The method of claim 13 wherein the operating conditions include at least one of: a mass of a user's hand, a mass of a blade of the electronic knife, a density of a medium the electronic knife is operating in, and an input voltage of the electronic knife.
15 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 , wherein the handle assembly comprises a tang configured to receive and hold the actuator such that the actuator oscillates in a direction generally perpendicular to a midplane of the tang.
16 . The interconnected electronic knife system of claim 4 , further comprising a plurality of actuators stacked in a transverse direction relative to a handle body of the handle assembly.
17 . A handheld electric knife comprising: a blade; and a handle operatively coupled to the blade and including an autotuning actuator assembly configured to oscillate the blade relative to the handle at a frequency selected based on a resonance frequency of at least one of the electric knife or the blade and obtain one or more measurements during oscillation of the blade, wherein the autotuning actuator assembly includes a plurality of actuators stacked in a transverse direction relative to a handle body of the handle assembly and operable to adjust the frequency of oscillations of the blade based on the obtained one or more measurements.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/362,755, filed on Jun. 29, 2021, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/045,802, filed on Jun. 29, 2020, the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present technology is related to electrical knives and related systems and methods. In particular, the present technology is related to rechargeable electric knives, knife holders, and software. BACKGROUND A knife is considered to be a cook's most useful, and precious, tool in the kitchen. Over centuries, knife making has evolved as both an engineering discipline and an art form as knife makers have continued to develop better knives. Modern bladesmiths use specific, often proprietary, recipes for the metal they incorporate into their knives. Their recipes combine elements in very precise ratios to balance the competing priorities of sharpness, flexibility, and durability in the final blade. An ideal knife can hold an extremely sharp edge, is flexible or rigid enough for its intended use, can be resharpened over time, and will withstand corrosion. The sharpness of a knife determines how cleanly it will cut, as well as how much force is required to push the blade through a material. Sharpness can be treated as a measure of the thickness of the narrowest part of the cutting edge of the blade. As one pushes a blade through a material (e.g., a food), the force transmitted from one's hand through the knife is concentrated down through the cross-sectional area of the blade's cutting edge. The smaller the cross-sectional area, the higher the force per unit area (e.g., PSI). A dull knife with a thicker blade edge will require more force to cut through a material than a sharp knife with an extremely thin blade edge. Unfortunately, knives get dull with use as parts of their cutting edges fold over, compress, or get chipped away. While re-sharpening a knife can restore its cutting power, proper re-sharpening requires a careful technique that can be difficult to learn. A user's cutting technique also effects the cutting ability provided by the knife. For example, moving the knife longitudinally, either in a single stroke or in a reciprocal or sawing motion, allows the cutting edge of the blade to shear the material of interest using less force than static downward pressure. As the cutting edge of the blade moves longitudinally through the material to be cut, microscopic imperfections along the blade's sharpened edge act as saw teeth to cut the material. Existing electronic knifes are commonly referred to as electric carving knives or electric fillet knives. Existing electric knives motorize the longitudinal reciprocating movement of the knife blade, thereby allowing the user to cut through a material with less force than would be required by a similar, static blade. However, these devices have considerable drawbacks. For example, existing electric knifes often have limitations in the cuts they can provide, their rate of reciprocation, and the form factor of the blades they are compatible with. Accordingly, further solutions are needed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an illustration of an electronic knife system in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 2 is a network connection diagram of an electronic knife system of the type illustrated in FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computing device suitable for use in connection with the electronic knife system of FIG. 2 in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIGS. 4A-4D are a side, front, rear, and bottom views of an electronic knife in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIGS. 5A and 5B are exploded views of an electronic knife in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIGS. 6A-6C are side, front, and bottom views of an electronic knife in accordance with further embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an electronic knife of the type illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate various examples of a modal analysis of a blade of an electronic knife in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a feedback component in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIGS. 10A and 10B are isometric views of a feedback component in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIGS. 11A-11E are isometric side, top, side, front, and rear views of a system for changing the blade of an electronic knife in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 12 is an illustration of a user sharpening an electronic knife in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology. FIGS. 13A and 13B are illu