Patent Application
20110235463
The present disclosure relates to a mixing apparatus for mixing material.
Prior apparatuses have been developed for mixing materials. U.S. Publication No. 2007/0177453, for example, discloses a hand held immersion mixer that includes an electric motor, a drive shaft, a tube, a bell-shaped housing and a rotary tool. U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,967 discloses another example of an electric powered hand mixer.
A mixer according to the present disclosure may include a container for receiving material to be mixed, and a mixing assembly configured to extend into the container. The mixing assembly may include a rotatable shaft and multiple blade units connected to the shaft. Furthermore, each blade unit may include multiple parallel blades.
While exemplary embodiments are illustrated and disclosed, such disclosure should not be construed to limit the claims. It is anticipated that various modifications and alternative designs may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
The present disclosure describes various apparatuses for mixing materials, such as pizza sauce, for example. Several specific embodiments are set forth in the following description and in
The container arrangement 10 includes a main portion or container 16, and a lid or cover 18 that is attachable to the container 16. The container 16 and/or cover 18 may also be provided with a sealing member, such as a silicone gasket (not shown) for sealing the cover 18 to the container 16 to prevent material from being ejected from the container 16 during operation. While the container 16 may have any suitable size and shape, in the embodiment shown in
The cover 18 may be attached to the container 16 in any suitable manner. For example, the cover 18 may be configured to snap fit onto the container 16. Alternatively or supplementally, the cover 18 may be removably attached to the container 16 with one or more latches 20. In the embodiment shown in
Referring to
Referring to
While the mixing assembly 14 may have any suitable number of blade units 34, in the embodiment shown in
Referring to
As another example, the blade units 34 may overlap each other. As yet another example, the blade units 34 may be positioned generally at the same height.
Each blade unit 34 may also include a connector member 42, such as an end cap, that connects distal first ends 44 of the associated blades 36a,b. Each connector member 42 may reduce flexing of the associated blades 36a,b such that each blade unit 34 may be relatively rigid. With such a configuration, the blades 36a,b may be made relatively thin, while still providing sufficient rigidity. For example, each blade 36a,b may have a thickness in the range of 0.4 to 0.6 inches. As another example, each blade 36a,b may have a thickness in the range of 0.4375 to 0.5625 inches.
Each blade 36a,b may also have a second end 46 opposite the first end 44, and each second end 46 may be connected to the shaft 32 in any suitable manner, such as by welding and/or with adhesive. Each second end 46 may terminate at the shaft 32 as shown in
Referring to
By using blades 36 that each have a relatively small depth D and a relatively small height H, blade projection area into the materials to be mixed can be reduced or minimized. As a result, drag can be reduced or minimized, and load on the motor 30 can be reduced or minimized.
Furthermore, by using multiple blade units 34 that each include multiple blades 36, mixing ability may be maximized. For example, such a configuration may result in enhanced screw or auger-type mixing and improved flow.
In addition, for each blade unit 34, the corresponding blades 36a,b may be generally aligned horizontally. In that regard, leading and trailing edges or corners of the associated blades 36a,b may be generally aligned as shown in
Referring to
Returning to
In the embodiment shown in
As mentioned above, the control unit 50 is configured to control operation of the motor 30. In that regard, the control unit 50 may be used to start and stop the motor 30, and may also be provided with a timer that automatically shuts the motor 30 off after a set amount or predetermined amount of operation. For example, the control unit 50 may include start and stop buttons, as well as buttons for setting and/or resetting the timer. Furthermore, the control unit 50 may include a display, such as an LCD display, for displaying control functions and/or parameters, such as mixing time.
Because the motor 30 and motor cover 48 are connected to the cover 18, the cover 18 may be considered part of the mixing assembly 14. As another example, the motor cover 48 may be considered part of the container arrangement 12.
Referring to
Referring to
The motor 30 may provide any suitable torque output for rotating the shaft 32 and blade units 34. For example, the motor 30 may provide a torque output in the range of 11.0 to 13.4 N-m. Furthermore, the motor 30 may be configured to rotate the shaft 32 and blade units 34 at any suitable speed, such as 115 to 135 revolutions per minute.
Once activated, the motor 30 may rotate the shaft 32 and blade units 34 in a first direction 52 about axis 54. Because the blades 36a,b of the blade units 34 may slope downwardly, rotation of the blades 36a,b in the first direction 52 may cause the blades 36a,b to move material upwardly. Furthermore, the lower edge 38 of the lower blade 36a of the first blade unit 34a may be positioned relatively close to a bottom interior surface 56 of the container 16 to provide effective scraping action. For example, the lower edge 38 of the lower blade 36a of the first blade unit 34a may be positioned about 0.0625 to 0.1875 inches from the bottom surface 56. As another example, the lower edge 32 of the lower blade 30a of the first blade unit 28a may be positioned ⅛ of an inch or less from the bottom surface 56.
The motor 30 may also be configured to rotate the shaft 32 and blade units 34 in a second direction opposite the first direction 52. In such case, the blade units 34 may move material downwardly. Rotation of the blade units 34 in the second direction may also be used at the end of a mixing operation to expel material that may be adhered or otherwise stuck to one or more of the blades 36.
The mixer 10 may be made of any suitable materials and in any suitable manner. For example, the container 16 and cover 18 may be made of injection molded plastic, such as polycarbonate or high density polyethylene. Such a container arrangement 12 is available from Cambro Manufacturing Company of Huntington Beach, Calif.
As another example, the container 16 and/or cover 18 may be made of metal, such as aluminum or sand-cast stainless steel. Such material may provide increased support for the mixing assembly 14. In addition, the latches 20 may be made of metal, such as aluminum or stainless steel.
The mixing assembly 14 may also be made of any suitable materials and in any suitable manner. For example, the shaft 32 and blade units 34 may be made from metal, such as aluminum or sand cast stainless steel. Use of stainless steel, for example, may provide good corrosion resistance and material strength characteristics. As another example, the shaft 32 and blade units 34 may be made of plastic, such as injection molded polyvinylchloride. As yet another example, the motor cover 48 and housing of the control unit 50 may be made of plastic, such as thermo-formed high density polyethylene.
Furthermore, each blade unit 34, including the associated blades 36 and connector member 42, may be made as a single piece. As another example, each blade unit 34 may be made of multiple pieces that are joined together in any suitable manner, such as with adhesive and/or welds.
While exemplary embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, a mixer according to the present disclosure may be provided with multiple blade units that each include three or more blades. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
