This disclosure relates to the field of devices to crush items through a perforated plate and retain the crushed portion of the item. The device is particularly well suited to the crushing of garlic for food preparation.
Disclosed herein is a garlic press which includes a pair of handles joined together at a pivot point so that the handles may be rotated apart and towards each other. A first (piston) handle includes a hopper for receiving a garlic clove to be pressed, while the opposing second (hopper) handle is formed with a complementary piston that is sized and configured to be forced into the cavity to crush the clove of garlic.
In one example of the disclosed apparatus, the cavity includes a lower surface formed with a plurality of projections (protrusions) while the piston includes a mating surface formed with a plurality of holes. Accordingly, the projections are pushed through the holes, pushing portions of garlic through the holes.
In one example, the projections are provided on a plate that is positioned within the cavity. In one example, the protrusion plate is pivotally attached to the handles and is configured to rotate upward with the piston after an initial amount of rotational travel of the piston out of the cavity.
In one example, the piston includes an upper cavity shaped to receive and retain garlic passing from the hopper into the cavity as the garlic is pressed. In one example, the handle comprising the piston further includes a scraper mounted for movement into and out of the hopper. Wherein the scraper is sized and configured to scrape along a lower surface of the cavity, abutting the plurality of holes that receive the projections. In one specific example, the scraper is formed with a concave shape suitable for holding a volume of the crushed garlic.
Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings:
A preferred garlic press 20 is shown in perspective view in
The hopper handle 24 is configured with a working portion 30 having a hopper 32 arranged to receive one or more cloves of garlic 34 (or other crushable items) to be pressed. The hopper 32 is bounded by a front wall 36, a back wall 38, and a pair of opposing sidewalls 40a, 40b. Surfaces defining an aligned pair of pivot holes 42a, 42b may be formed in the opposing sidewalls, 40a/40b preferably at a location adjacent the upper end of the front wall 36 to receive a pivot axle 44 for connection of the hopper handle 24 to the piston handle 22 for a pivotal connection between the two handles 22/24. In the illustrated example, the holes 42 are surrounded by bosses (protuberances) formed to strengthen the area surrounding the holes 42.
The piston handle 22 is configured with a working portion 30 forming a piston 46 sized to be received within the hopper 32. One or more bosses are formed at an outer end of the piston handle 22, each of the bosses having a surface defining a hole 48a, 48b for receiving the axle 24 to join the piston and hopper handles 22/24 together.
A protrusion plate 48 is formed with a plurality of protrusions 50 extending upward from a protrusion side 52 of the protrusion plate 48, and is configured such that the opposite side 54 of the protrusion plate has a shape that fits within and substantially conforms to the bottom of the hopper 32, lying atop the interior surface of the front wall 36. One edge of the protrusion plate 48 is formed with a boss 56 having a surface defining a central bore 58 to enable the boss 56 to receive the axle 24 in order to mount the boss 56, and the protrusion plate 48, to the axle 44 which also joins the piston handle 22 to the hopper handle 24. Most preferably, the protrusion plate boss 56 is centrally located along the edge 60 of the protrusion plate 48 such that the protrusion plate boss 56 is received between the pair of bosses forming the holes 48a, 48b for mounting the protrusion plate 48 to the piston handle via the mounting the axle 44.
The piston 46 of one example is formed with an upper interior cavity 62 defining an interior space for receiving crushable items such as cloves (bits) of crushed garlic 34, as described further below. A front wall 64 of the piston is further formed with a plurality of holes (perforations) 96 that are sized and configured to receive the protrusions 50 formed in the protrusion plate 48.
The front wall 64 of the piston 46 terminates at an upper rim 68 that is recessed below each of the bosses formed in the first handle 22. The protrusion plate boss 56 of one example is formed with a ridge 70 extending horizontally along an outer surface of the boss 56, parallel to the direction of the bore 58 extending through the boss 56, and the ridge 70 having a radial length allowing the ridge 70 to engage the upper rim 68 of the front wall 64 of the piston. At a defined amount of rotation of the first handle 22 and piston 46 with respect to the second handle 24, the upper rim 68 will engage the ridge 70, thereby causing the protrusion plate 48 to rotate with the piston handle 22.
An upper portion of the cavity 62 in one example further includes surfaces defining an opposing pair of recesses or holes 74a/74b formed to receive a pin 76 which carries a scraper 78. The scraper includes a tongue 80 which in one example is formed with a concave shape to hold a volume of pressed garlic 34 within the concavity 82, as described below. A surface or surfaces defining central bore 84 is formed on the scraper 78 in order to receive the pin 76 so that the scraper 78 is pivotally mounted to the piton handle 22 at a position 86 adjacent where the hopper handle 24 joins the piston handle 22. A spring 88, in one example a coil spring, is coupled via the pin 76 to the piston handle 22 and includes a first terminal end 90 joined to the scraper 78 and a second terminal end 92 attached to or pressing against a portion of the piston handle 22 in order to bias the scraper 78 to a retracted position such as the position depicted in
In operation, the piston and hopper handles 22/24 may be pivoted another around pivot point 26, into a position as shown in
At the time of initial use, one or more garlic cloves 34 are placed on the protrusion plate and then the handles 22/24 are rotated toward one another. After an initial amount of pivotal travel of the piston handle 22 with respect to the hopper handle 24, the protrusion plate 48 rotates downward to the bottom of the hopper 32. Thus, as shown in
As the piston handle 22 continues to rotate toward the hopper handle 24 and into a closed position (
After the garlic cloves 34 have been pressed as described above, the pressed garlic 34 will be contained within the cavity 62 in the piston 46. At this point a user may operate the scraper 78 to scrape and remove the pressed garlic 34 from the cavity 62. Thus, the trigger 94 of the scraper 78 is rotated, in a direction from the cavity 62 toward the pivot end 26 of the piston handle, to cause the tongue 80 of the scraper 78 to pass across the floor (inner surface of front wall 64) of the cavity 62. This process scrapes any remaining garlic 34 or other crushed material from within the cavity 62 and captures this garlic 34 within the concave 82 shape of the scraper 78. At the same time, the rotation of the scraper 78 brings the garlic 34 upward from the bottom of the cavity 62 to a position where it can be easily retrieved by a user.
Looking to
While the present invention is illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments are described in detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications within the scope of the appended claims will readily appear to those sufficed in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicants' general concept.
This application claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/110,162 filed Jan. 30, 2015, incorporated herein by reference.
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Entry |
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Abdoolally Ebrahim Housewares Limited, Garlic Press—Design B, Apr. 2012, 1 page, presented in Hong Kong at Housewares Fair. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160220056 A1 | Aug 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62110162 | Jan 2015 | US |