Patent Application
20200375401
This is a non-provisional application which claims priority to a Chinese patent application having an application number of CN 201910476867.7, and a filing date of Jun. 3, 2019, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Embodiments of the present disclosure relates to a food mixing device, and more particularly to a food mixing device comprising a signal control module which is capable of transmitting food temperature or food ingredients information to an external or a built-in display unit, or an electronic device for visual or audio reporting.
Conventional food mixing devices have widely been utilized around the world.
A conventional food mixing device may simply comprise an elongated mixer body for allowing a user to manually stir food mixtures. At times, a user may also want to know the temperature and ingredients of the food mixtures, yet a conventional food mixing device cannot achieve these functions. As a result, a user may need to obtain other devices to measure this essential information.
As a result, there is a need to develop a food mixing device which is capable of measuring food temperature and ingredients and allowing this essential information to be reported through a wide variety of methods.
Implementations of the present disclosure provide a food mixing device which comprises a signal control module which is capable of transmitting food temperature or food ingredients information to at least one of an external or a built-in display unit, or an external electronic device for visual or audio reporting.
In one aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, it provides a food mixing device, comprising:
a main housing a receiving cavity and a mixing portion;
a food sensing module provided in the mixing portion of the main housing, the food sensing module comprising a temperature sensor supported in the mixing portion of the main housing for detecting a temperature of food materials mixed by the food mixing device, and a food ingredient sensor supported the main housing for detecting predetermined ingredients of food materials mixed by the food mixing device; and
a signal control module provided in the receiving cavity of the main housing and electrically connected to the food sensing module, the signal control module being arranged to transmit information about detected temperature and detected food ingredients to at least one of an external display unit, an external electronic device and an external audio device.
This summary presented above is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify any key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment is the preferred mode of carrying out the present disclosure. The description is not to be taken in any limiting sense. It is presented for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of embodiments of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the terms “install”, “connect”, “couple”, and “mount” in the following description refer to the connecting relationship in the accompanying drawings for easy understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the connection can refer to permanent connection or detachable connection. Furthermore, “connected” may also mean direct connection or indirect connection, or connection through other auxiliary components. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual connection limitation of the elements of embodiments of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the terms “length”, “width”, “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “upper”, “lower”, “exterior”, and “interior” in the following description refer to the orientation or positioning relationship in the accompanying drawings for easy understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure without limiting the actual location or orientation of embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual location limitation of the elements of embodiments of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the terms “first”, “second”, “one”, “a”, and “an” in the following description refer to “at least one” or “one or more” in the embodiment. In particular, the term “a” in one embodiment may refer to “one” while in another embodiment may refer to “more than one”. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual numerical limitation of the elements of embodiments of the present disclosure.
Referring to
The food sensing module 20 may be provided in the mixing portion 12 of the main housing 1. The food sensing module 20 may comprise a temperature sensor 5 supported in the mixing portion 12 of the main housing 1 for detecting a temperature of food materials mixed by the food mixing device, and a food ingredient sensor 3 supported by the main housing 1 for detecting predetermined ingredients of food materials mixed by the food mixing device.
The signal control module 30 may be provided in the receiving cavity 10 of the main housing 1 and electrically connected to the food sensing module 20. The signal control module 30 may be arranged to transmit information about detected temperature and detected food ingredients to at least one of an external display unit, an external electronic device and an external audio device for visual or audio reporting of the information about detected food temperature and detected food ingredients.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the main housing 1 may have an elongated structure and may further have a handle portion 11 for allowing a user to grab thereon. The main housing 1 may comprise a handle member 101, a mixing member 102, and an extension member 13 extended between the handle member 101 and the mixing member 102. The handle portion 11 and the mixing portion 12 may be formed at the handle member 101 and the mixing member 102 of the main housing 1 respectively. Thus, a user may manually hold the handle portion 11 and manually utilize the mixing portion 12 to stir the food mixture. The handle member 101 and the mixing member 102 may be securely connected to two opposed ends of the extension member 13 respectively. Alternatively, the handle member 101, the mixing member 102 and the extension member 13 may form an integral one-piece structure.
As shown in
The signal control module 30 may further comprise a control circuitry 31 and a Printed Circuit Board (PCB 2), wherein the control circuitry 31 may be implemented on the PCB 2. The PCB 2 may be supported in the mixing portion 12 of the main housing 1. The control circuitry 31 may serve as a central control unit for centrally controlling and managing all electrical components of the food mixing device of embodiments of the present disclosure.
The food sensing module 20 may be use for sensing or detecting predetermined attributes or parameters or physical properties of the food mixture. For example, the temperature sensor 5 may be provided in the mixing portion 12 of the main housing 1 for measuring the temperature of the food mixture. The temperature sensor 5 may be electrically connected to the PCB 2 and the control circuitry 31 so that the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 5 may be transmitted to the control circuitry 31 for further processing.
As shown in
More specifically, the main housing 1 may further comprise a bottom tubular member 72 mounted on a lower end 1021 of the mixing member 102, and a bottom cap 71 mounted on the bottom tubular member 72, wherein the receiving cavity 10 may also extend along the bottom tubular member 72. Moreover, the bottom tubular member 72 and the bottom cap 71 may also form part of the mixing portion 12 of the main housing 1, so that the temperature sensor 5 may be mounted on bottom cap 71 within the bottom tubular member 72. This mounting configuration allows the temperature sensor 5 to be in close proximity to the food mixture so as to maximize the accuracy of the temperature measurement. Note that the bottom tubular member 72 may be configured from rigid plastic material, while the bottom cap 71 may be configured from metallic material, such as stainless steel, for effective thermal conduction. The connection between the bottom tubular member 72 and the mixing member 102 may also be made to be waterproof.
The food ingredients sensor 3 may be positioned in the mixing member 102 at the mixing portion 12 for detecting food ingredients of the food mixture. In this preferred embodiment, the food ingredients sensor 3 may be electrically connected to the control circuitry 31 and the PCB 2 so that information about food ingredients as detected by the food ingredients sensor 3 may be electrically transmitted to the control circuitry for further processing. The food ingredients sensor 3 may be configured to detect food ingredients by detecting spectra of food mixture through electromagnetic radiation.
In this preferred embodiment, both the PCB 2 and the food ingredients sensor 3 may be positioned in the mixing member 102 at the mixing portion 12 so that the food ingredients sensor 3 may be easily and conveniently implemented on the PCB 2. Alternatively, the PCB 2 may be also mounted on other portions of the main housing 1.
The signal control module 30 may further comprise a communication module 4 implemented on the PCB 2 and electrically connected to the control circuitry 31, wherein the communication module 4 may be arranged to wirelessly transmit the information about detected food temperature and/or detected food ingredients to an external electronic device, such as a smartphone or a tablet computer. A user may be able to install a predetermined software on the external electronic device for obtaining such information about detected food temperature and/or detected food ingredients. This information may be visually observed through a display, or delivered as audible sound by a speaker of the external electronic device.
In this preferred embodiment, the communication module 4 may be configured to wirelessly transmit information about detected food temperature and/or detected food ingredients through predetermined wireless networking protocols, such as through WIFI. Thus, the food mixing device may be connected to an external WIFI network through the communication module 4.
The communication module 4 may also be configured to wirelessly transmit information about detected food temperature and/or detected food ingredients through predetermined short-distance radio waves, such as BLUETOOTH protocols. Thus, the food mixing device may be connected to an external electronic device through BLUETOOTH protocols.
The food mixing device may further comprise a display unit 40 provided on the main housing 1 and electrically connected to the signal control module 30 for display information about detected food temperature and/or detected food ingredients. Thus, the display unit 40 may be a built-in display for visually reporting the information about detected food temperature and/or detected food ingredients.
Moreover, the food mixing device may further comprise a speaker 50 provided on the main housing 1 and electrically connected to the signal control module 30 for delivering information about detected food temperature and/or detected food ingredients in audible sound. Thus, the speaker 50 may be a built-in speaker for audially reporting the information about detected food temperature and/or detected food ingredients.
Referring to
The actuator 63 may be movably coupled to the handle member 101 such that a when the actuator 63 is depressed, the actuator 63 is arranged to drive the control button 62 to depress as well and the depression of the control button 62 may activate the switching circuitry 611 for selectively activating operation of the food sensing module 20.
The actuator 63 may comprise an actuating tubular member 632 mounted on the handle member 101, and an actuator cap 631 mounted on a top end of the actuating tubular member 632, wherein the PCB 61 may be supported in the actuating tubular member 632 through a connecting member 6311, such as a screw. The connecting member 6311 may be coupled or bias against the control button 62. The connection between the actuating tubular member 632 and a top end 1011 of the handle member 101 may be configured to be waterproof.
In this preferred embodiment, the actuator cap 631 may be configured from soft plastic or rubber material so that a user may be able to slightly depress the actuator cap 631 so as to depress the control button 62 through the connecting member 6311. On the other hand, the actuating tubular member 632 may be configured from relatively harder plastic material for protecting the PCB 61 and the control button 62 received therein.
The food mixing device may further comprise at least one illuminator 8 supported by the main housing 1 and electrically connected to the control circuitry 31 for generating visual signal under predetermined circumstances. The detected food temperature or the temperature range where the detected food temperature is located can be indicated by different attributes of illuminator 8 to remind the user. Among them, the different attributes of the illuminator 8 may comprise the color of the light, the flashing frequency, lighting time, and so on. For example, a flashing signal may be generated to alert a user when the detected food temperature is above a predetermined threshold. The illuminator 8 may be mounted in the receiving cavity 10 behind a cover 9 mounted on an external wall 105 of the main housing 1. The food mixing device may comprise a plurality of illuminators 8 supported by the main housing 1 and electrically connected to the control circuitry 31 for generating different operational or alert signals. The illuminators 8 may be centrally controlled by the control circuitry 31 so as to generate different combinations of alter signals. For example, when the detected food temperature is below a predetermined threshold, one of the illuminators 8 may illuminate. When the detected food temperature is within a predetermined temperature range, another one of the illuminators 8 may illuminate. Finally, when the detected food temperature is above a predetermined threshold, yet another one of the illuminators 8 may illuminate. Other examples of lighting patterns may also be employed.
Embodiments of the present disclosure, while illustrated and described in terms of a preferred embodiment and several alternatives, is not limited to the particular description contained in this specification. Additional alternative or equivalent components could also be used to practice embodiments of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201910476867.7 | Jun 2019 | CN | national |
