Patent Application
20200029738
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to herb and spice grinders. More particularly, the present invention relates to hand-held herb and spice grinders in which one section can rotate relative to another section so as to achieve a grinding effect. The present invention also relates to blades as used in association with such herb and spice grinders.
Hand-held herb and spice grinders are well known, and commonly used for grinding and storing solid spices, such as peppercorns and other seeds. Typical grinders comprise a static element which has a central bore. An array of teeth project inwardly from the surface of the bore. Within the bore, there is a rotatable element which has radially outwardly projecting vanes. Peppercorns and other spice seeds are trapped between the vanes and the teeth and ground into a powder when the rotatable element is turned. The powder then falls from the grinder, such as directly onto a plate or cooking dish.
While serving adequately to store as well as manually grind spice seeds, such a grinder cannot be used in other applications wherein herbs must be both stored and ground. There are several reasons for this. For example, the typical spice grinder is able to hold and store the seeds while allowing the seeds the fall through small passageways into the grinding element before being discharged as ground and pulverized spices. However, herbs consisting of leaves and relatively long strands do not readily fall through the apertures of the storage container into the grinding element.
There are instances where the herbs, leaves, or the like are desirably pulverized and ground into a finer material. The herbs are typically purchased in a non-ground state and stored in this manner. Moreover, a specific amount and quantity or dose may be required if the herbs used as medicine, or a particular amount may be desired for the intended purpose. Another example is the grinding of tobacco leaves in an amount desirable for rolling a cigarette or for placement in a pipe so as to be smoked. Typical spice grinders and the like do not allow one to take these factors into consideration.
Presently, such herbs are stored in a manner in which their strong and unique odor may escape from the container and into the area surrounding the stored herbs, such as filling one's automobile, room, etc. with the odor which may be undesirable. The desired amount of herb must be extracted from the storage container and then manually ground using other means or a completely separate grinder. This is not only inconvenient, but once again the unique and strong odor of the herb is not adequately contained when using the cutting and grinding mechanism and methods currently available.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a device which can both store the herb, as well as serving as a grinding device so as to cut and grind the herb to the desired level, while minimizing the odors emanating from the device.
Additionally, when spices and herbs are ground within the grinding device, it can be very easy to access the contents which are being stored. As such, children, and other persons, can often access the contents of such a grinding device, against the wishes of the person that has ground the herbs and spices. In certain circumstances, the consumption of such ground herbs and spices can be harmful to children. As such, a need has developed so as to provide an herb and spice grinder which can prevent undesired persons from accessing the contents of the grinder.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to such herb and spice grinders. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,695,906, issued on Apr. 15, 2014 to M. Hainbach, teaches a combination herb storage, grinder and pouring container. A cap is removably attached to the grinding and pouring cup. An herb storage receptacle is nested within the cup end cap. The receptacle defines an herb storage compartment having grinding elements extending therefrom so as to be disposed adjacent to the grinding elements of the cup, so as to selectively grind herbs placed between the storage receptacle and the cup. The cup and cap are removably locked to one another, and an airtight and watertight seal is formed between the cup and storage receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,241,597, issued on Jan. 26, 2016 to D. Dukat, describes an apparatus for herb grinding. The herb grinder has four tiers for cutting and collecting the dried herbs. The grinder has arched cutters, a tier for collecting the cut herbs, and an additional tier for separating the cut herbs from the ultra-fine pollen particles.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,783,595, issued on Jul. 22, 2014 to Stephen et al., shows a spice grinder having a bottle and a grinder unit which is screwed on to the bottle. The grinder unit comprises a fixed component and a rotatable component. The components have teeth which face one another across a grinding gap. The component has one or more ramps on the inside thereof and the bottle has one or more external ramps. Each ramp comprises a camming surface and a locking surface which intersect. The ramp also includes a camming surface and a locking surface. When the grinder unit is screwed on to the bottle, the ramps ride over one another until the surfaces clear one another and the surfaces snap into face-to-face contact to prevent the grinder from being rotated in the direction which unscrews it from the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,083,167, issued on Dec. 27, 2011 to Nojan et al., provides a portable leaf grinding device that is used to grind a substance such as a plurality of compacted leaves into a multiplicity of leaf particles. The leaf grinding device has a circular, a cone-shaped hollow structure that is releasably attached to the cap, and a container that is also attached to the cap. The circular cap has an upper grinding disk attached thereto. The upper grinding disk has a plurality of downwardly-extending leaf grinding blades. The upper grinding disk interacts with a lower grinding disk which is attached to the structure which also includes a plurality of upwardly-extending grinding blades and a plurality of bores. When the circular cap is rotated, the blades on the two grinding disks interact with each other to produce the multiplicity of leaf particles. The leaf particles can either be stored in the container for later use or used immediately as they exit from the structure.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0319009, published on Nov. 9, 2017 to Seckel et al., teaches an herb grinder that is used for grinding, storing and dispensing plant materials, such as herbs, flowers, plants, seeds, and leaves. The modular grinder is assembled in the multiple configurations.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,510,709, published on Dec. 6, 2016 to Wilson et al., shows herb chopper which includes a bottle, an upper chopper, a lower chopper, an agitator, and a dust cap. The bottle is used to hold a herb to be ground. The upper chopper is positioned inside of and opposite to the lower chopper and can rotate with respect to the lower chopper. The bottle is positioned on the upper chopper partially inside the lower chopper. The bottle is rotated relative to the lower chopper causing the herb leaves to be chopped by the upper and lower choppers and dispensed out of the chopper through dispensing holes formed in the lower chopper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,666, issued on Jul. 28, 1981 to R. H. Jones, provides a hand-held granulator for peppercorns, salts, nuts, spices, and foliage greens. A first cylindrical container portion with a removable cap stores unground material and a second cylindrical container portion stores ground materials. Two sealingly engaged central flanges with an interchangeable grinding screen therebetween receive the first and second containers on either side with the first in sliding rotational engagement and the second in fixed engagement. A twisting motion imparted by the hands results grinding of the materials between the first container portion and the screen. Ground material passes through the grinding screen and is either retained in the second cylindrical container or dropped free.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,874, issued on Mar. 5, 1968 to Reeves et al., describes a peppermill. This peppermill is used for grinding peppercorn.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0353931, published on Dec. 8, 2016 to J. C. Liu, discloses a coffee grinding device that includes a base, a tubular part connected to the top of the base, and a driving member received in the tubular part and driven by the base. A male grinder is connected to the driving member with a female grinder adjustably located above the male grinder. A threaded tube is threadedly connected to the tubular part and defines a gap between the underside of the threaded tube and the female grinder to adjust the sizes of coffee beans to be ground between the male and female grinders.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an herb and spice grinder that is effective for both grinding herbs and spices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an herb and spice grinder that can effectively store the ground herbs and spices while minimizing any odors emitted therefrom.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an herb and spice grinder which can be locked so as to prevent unintended access to the contents of the herb and spice grinder.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an herb and spice grinder that is easy to use and relatively inexpensive.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a blade for an herb and spice grinder which more effectively shreds material that comes into contact with.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.
The present invention is an herb and spice grinder having a first section with a first plurality of blades on a bottom side thereof, a second section removably connected to the bottom side of the first section, the second section having a central collection pocket with a second plurality of blades therein, the second plurality of blades extending upwardly toward said first section, and a third section removably connected to a bottom side of the second section. The third section has a receptacle formed therein. Each of the first, second third sections have a hole formed therethrough, the holes being alignable so as to allow for the receipt of a lock member through the holes.
In an embodiment, the third section is threadedly connected to the second section.
In an embodiment, the first section has a recess formed in the bottom side thereof. The central collection pocket of the second section has a shoulder extending upwardly therefrom, wherein an O-ring is interposed between the shoulder of the second section and a wall of said recess of the first section. In this embodiment, the first section can be separated from the second section by simply pulling the first section away from the second section.
In an embodiment, a plurality of openings are formed through the central collection pocket, the plurality of openings being located adjacent the second plurality of blades.
In an embodiment, the first, second and third sections each have a generally triangular shape with rounded corners. Preferably, a hole is formed adjacent each of the rounded corners of each of the first, second and third sections. In one embodiment, one hole of each of the first, second and third sections is oval-shaped.
In an embodiment, an indentation is formed at each of the rounded corners of each of the first, second and third sections. This indentation in each of the rounded corners of the various sections facilitates the ability to grip and manipulate the various sections of the herb and spice grinder of the present invention.
In an embodiment, the grinder may also have a cutter positioned centrally of the first plurality of blades of the aid first section. Preferably, the cutter has a pinwheel shape. Specifically, the cutter, in cross-section, has three pointed ends with an S-shaped edge extending respectively between the three pointed ends.
In an embodiment, each of the first plurality of blades and second plurality of blades include a longitudinal member having a cross-section having a first curved end surface, a pair of curved side surfaces extending from ends of the first curved end surface, a pair of second curved end surfaces extending inwardly from the ends of the pair of curved side surfaces, and a central curved end surface positioned between the pair of second curved end surfaces.
In an embodiment, the first plurality of blades of the first section include a first circular array and a second circular array spaced apart from the first circular array, and the second plurality of blades of the second section include a first circular array and a second circular array spaced apart from the first circular array. The second plurality of blades of the second section intermesh with the first plurality of blades of the first section.
The present invention is also an herb and spice grinder including a plurality of sections that are removably connected together, the plurality of sections defining an interior for grinding and storage of the herb or spice, each of the plurality of sections having a hole formed therethrough, the holes of the plurality of sections being alignable so as to form a passageway through said plurality of sections, and a lock having a bolt. The bolt is received in the passageway so as to prevent access to the interior of the plurality of sections.
In an embodiment, the plurality of sections include a first cap section, a second section having a plurality of openings formed therethrough, and a third section having a receptacle formed therein. The grinder may also include a first plurality of blades formed on a bottom side of the first cap section, and a second plurality of blades formed on a top side of the second section, the first plurality of blades intermeshing with the second plurality of blades.
In an embodiment, the third section is threadedly engaged with the second section.
In an embodiment, the first cap section has a recess formed in the bottom thereof, and the second section has a shoulder extending upwardly therefrom. An O-ring is interposed between the shoulder of the second section and a wall of the recess of the first cap section, the first cap section being rotatable relative to the second section.
In an embodiment, each of the plurality of sections are a generally-triangular member having rounded corners, wherein each rounded corner has a curved indentation, and wherein the hole of each of the plurality of sections is positioned adjacent each of the rounded corners.
In an embodiment, the lock is a padlock.
The present invention is also a blade for an herb and spice grinder including a longitudinal member having a cross-section having a first curved end surface, a pair of curved side surfaces extending from ends of the first curved end surface, a pair of second curved end surfaces extending inwardly from the ends of the pair of curved side surfaces, and a central curved end surface positioned between the pair of second curved end surfaces.
This foregoing Section is intended to describe, with particularity, the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It is understood that modifications to these preferred embodiments can be made within the scope of the present claims. As such, this Section should not to be construed, in any way, as limiting of the broad scope of the present invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
Referring to
In
The third section 16 is illustrated as having a receptacle 52 formed centrally thereof. Receptacle 52 has a male external thread 54 formed therearound. The male external thread 54 will engage with the female internal thread on the underside 56 of the second section 14. When the second section 14 is fully rotated so as to fully engage with the threads 54 of the third section 16, the respective holes at the corners of the second section 14 will align with the holes 56 and 58 of the third section 16.
In
It should be noted that a width between outer edges of the pair of second curved end surfaces 108 and 110 is greater than a width of the first curved end surface 102. A radius of the central curved end surface 112 is greater than a radius of the first curved end surface 102 and greater than a radius of each of the pair of second curved end surfaces 108 and 110.
After experimentation, it was found that this configuration of cutter blades improves the cutting and grinding action of the herb and spice grinder 10 of the present invention. Each of the curved surfaces acts to create a greater pinching effect when interacting with adjacent blades so as to achieve a greater cutting and grinding effect.
The cutter 66 is illustrated in
The foregoing disclosure and description of the present invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof. Various changes in the details of the illustrated construction can be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the true spirit of the invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/717,716, filed on Jul. 26, 2018, presently pending.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62703716 | Jul 2018 | US |
