Patent Application
20080106970
This invention relates to a food mixing machine which has an agitator which may be carried by the rotatable shaft of the food mixing machine. More particularly, this invention relates to an agitator which efficiently mixes foods, such as ice cream and condiments or the like, in a cup without damaging the cup.
Machines which are adapted to mix foods in a cup are well known in the art. Typically, these machines are utilized in fast food establishments, ice cream parlors, or the like, and utilize some type of agitating device carried at the end of a rotatable shaft. A typical agitator includes a ring having a central disk extending from one side of the ring to the other side of the ring. The user fills his/her cup with the food, such as ice cream, and condiments such as candies or the like, and then positions the cup so that the agitator is in the food. When the machine is turned on, the agitator is rotated with the intention of mixing the candies into the ice cream. The user can often assist this process by moving the cup circumferentially or vertically.
However, the prior art mixing machine and agitator operated as described above are not without their problems. First, no known agitator is capable of thoroughly and efficiently mixing the majority of the volume of the cup, including the breaking up of large candy or other condiment particles. In addition, known agitators do not mix the materials well at the sides or bottom of the cup, and if the user attempts to manipulate the cup to do so, the configuration of the prior art agitators can potentially cause damage to the sides or bottom of the cup.
Thus, the need exists for a mixing machine with an improved agitator which is free of the problems plaguing the prior art.
It is thus an object of one aspect of the present invention to provide food mixing machine with an agitator that efficiently and thoroughly mixes food in a cup.
It is another object of an aspect of the present invention to provide an agitator, as above, which mixes the food all the way to the bottom of the cup.
It is a further object of an aspect of the present invention to provide an agitator, as above, which creates axial flow of the food to provide increased mixing.
It is an additional object of an aspect of the present invention to provide an agitator, as above, which will break up large particles in the food being mixed.
It is yet another object of an aspect of the present invention to provide an agitator, as above, which will not damage the cup.
These and other objects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, an agitator made in accordance with one aspect of the present invention has a shaft which is adapted to be attached to the rotatable shaft of a food mixing machine. A ring is attached to the shaft at a first point near the rotatable shaft and at a second point spaced along the shaft from the first point. A chip is carried by the ring generally at the second point.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an agitator includes a generally circular ring and a shaft adapted to be carried by the rotatable shaft of a food mixer and attached to the ring at least a first point. A chip is attached to the ring at a second point generally diametrically opposed to the first point.
A food mixing machine made in accordance with the present invention includes a rotatable shaft and an agitator. The agitator has a shaft carried by the rotatable shaft. A ring is attached to the agitator shaft at a first point near the rotatable shaft and at a second point spaced along the agitator shaft from the first point. A chip is carried by the ring generally at the second point.
A preferred exemplary agitator for a food mixer according to the concepts of the present invention is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied, the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.
A food mixing machine is generally indicated by the numeral 10 and is shown in
Agitator 20 includes a shaft 21 having a threaded end 22 which is adapted to be connected to the bottom of motor shaft 18 to thereby render agitator 20 rotatable with shaft 18. Shaft 21 thus defines the axis of rotation of agitator 20. Shaft 21 carries a generally circular disk 23 and is also attached, at two locations, to a ring 24 which is in the form of a circumferential segment of a sphere. Ring 24 is thus attached to shaft 21 at a first point adjacent to shaft 21 and at a second point spaced from the first point along shaft 21 and diametrically opposed to the first point. Disk 23 is positioned generally centrally of ring 24 and thus represents the equator of the sphere of which ring 24 is a segment. When rotating to mix foods, ring 24 provides efficient mixing of the majority of the food in the cup, and in particular, ring 24 is very useful in breaking up large particles in the food. Disk 23 is quite useful to protect the cup from being damaged by ring 24. That is, if the agitator 20 is brought into contact, or near contact, with the cup, the cup will ride on the disk 23 and not be engaged by the edge of the ring 24 which might puncture the cup.
A somewhat cloverleaf-shaped chip, generally indicated by the numeral 25, is attached to a radially outer surface of ring 24 at a location diametrically opposite to the point where ring 24 is attached to shaft 21 near the threaded portion 22 thereof. As such, when agitator 20 is attached to mixing motor shaft 18, chip 25 is located at the bottom of agitator 20. Chip 25 includes a generally flat, bottom, central surface 26. Lobes 27 are positioned at opposed ends of surface 26 and are likewise generally flat. Lobes 27 each have a curved lateral edge 28. Chip 25 also includes opposed lobes 29 which are positioned between lobes 27. As best shown in
Agitator 20 includes a shaft 21 having a threaded end 22 which is adapted to be connected to the bottom of motor shaft 18 to thereby render agitator 20 rotatable with shaft 18. Shaft 21 thus defines the axis of rotation of agitator 20. Shaft 21 carries a generally circular disk 23 and is also attached, at two locations, to a ring 24 which is in the form of a circumferential segment of a sphere. Ring 24 is thus attached to shaft 21 at a first point adjacent to shaft 21 and at a second point spaced from the first point along shaft 21 and diametrically opposed to the first point. Disk 23 is positioned generally centrally of ring 24 and thus represents the equator of the sphere of which ring 24 is a segment. When rotating to mix foods, ring 24 provides efficient mixing of the majority of the food in the cup, and in particular, ring 24 is very useful in breaking up large particles in the food. Disk 23 is quite useful to protect the cup from being damaged by ring 24. That is, if the agitator 20 is brought into contact, or near contact, with the cup, the cup will ride on the disk 23 and not be engaged by the edge of the ring 24 which might puncture the cup.
A somewhat cloverleaf-shaped chip, generally indicated by the numeral 25, is attached to a radially outer surface of ring 24 at a location diametrically opposite to the point where ring 24 is attached to shaft 21 near the threaded portion 22 thereof. As such, when agitator 20 is attached to mixing motor shaft 18, chip 25 is located at the bottom of agitator 20. Chip 25 includes a generally flat, bottom, central surface 26. Lobes 27 are positioned at opposed ends of surface 26 and are likewise generally flat. Lobes 27 each have a curved lateral edge 28. Chip 25 also includes opposed lobes 29 which are positioned between lobes 27. As best shown in
When the agitator 20 is rotating with motor shaft 18, it rotates in the direction of the arrows in
In operation, when the agitator 20 is rotating as described, the flat surface 26 of chip 25 protects the bottom of the cup carrying the food from damage by spreading the thrust forces over a larger area than that which would otherwise have been created by a point on the tangent to the bottom of ring 24 if chip 25 were not present.
The configuration of chip 25, when revolving, also significantly contributes to the complete mixing of the food product in the cup in the following manner. In an overall sense, chip 25 greatly assists in mixing ingredients at the bottom of the cup which would not otherwise be mixed by the ring 24 alone. Moreover, this mixing is enhanced by the fact that lobes 29 are inclined at an angle relative to lobes 27. As such, mixing is taking place in two planes resulting in more thorough mixing. The presence of the cutouts 31 also enhances mixing in that additional surfaces are created which assist the mixing process. Moreover, it has been found that by providing a leading edge 32 with a larger radius of curvature than the trailing edge 33 at these cutout areas 31, as previously described, the efficiency of the mixing is further increased.
In view of the foregoing, it should be evident that an agitator for a food mixing machine as described herein substantially improves the art and otherwise accomplishes the objects of the invention.
