Patent Application
20230364567
This application is related to co-pending attorney reference number 132136-D200, which is incorporated by reference herein.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates in general to blenders for food, and in particular personal food blenders of the type capable of being portable.
It is known to provide a personal blender, typically intended for blending fruit based drinks commonly known as “smoothies”. These were first developed as smaller versions of standard upright blenders. It was then improved with the pitcher converted to a closed top, which allowed then entire base and “pitcher” to be inverted after blending such that the “pitcher” could be used as a drinking tumbler. This was further improved to provide the base with a through-spout. This allowed the user to retain the base motor on top of the tumbler to act as a cap. In this manner the contents of the tumbler could be held in their unblended original state for some time and only later blended just before intended consumption. For example, the smoothie ingredients could be prepared at home in the morning, the blender brought to work, and then blended just prior to lunch.
An object of the present invention is to provide a portable drink blender having improved safety and reliability.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable drink blender which includes a unitary leak-proof spout extending through the motor housing.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a portable drink blender with offset blade rotation axis to improve safety and allow the use of a straw.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a portable drink blender with a cap hinged to the motor housing to seal the spout, and in which the blender activation switch may only be operated with the cap closed.
These and other objects are achieved by a portable drink blender as described below.
The objects and features of the invention noted above are explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and in which:
With reference to
The cap 14 is comprised of a motor housing 18 and a cover 20 pivotally mounted to the cap 14 for movement between a closed position and an open position. Cap 14 includes a spout 22 extending through the body of the cap 14 and extending from the cap 14 to allow a user to engage the spout 22 with their mouth for drinking the contents of the tumbler 12. The cover 20 preferably will close the spout 22 when cover 20 is in the closed position in a manner to prevent liquid from exiting the spout.
The cap 14 is sized to closely fit within the rim 16 of tumbler 12, in a manner to prevent liquid from leaking. It is preferred that both the cap 14 and rim 16 have a circular shape, and may be detachably secured together as by a threaded connection. The cap 14 includes a lower face 24 received within the cavity of tumbler 12, and an upper face 26 outside the tumbler and accessible to the user. The cap 14 and tumbler 12 define a vertical central longitudinal axis.
As shown, the cap 14 includes a set of blender blades 28 mounted on a rotation shaft extending from the lower face 24 of the cap 14 in parallel to the longitudinal axis. As best shown in
As may be envisioned, the blades 28 must be powered to provide the blending action necessary. To this end, the motor housing 18 will include an electric motor 30 operatively connected to the shaft of blades 28, batteries 32 to power the motor 30, and a power switch 34 to activate the motor 30 to begin blending. These electrical components must be protected from the liquid being blended, and similarly the liquid being blended must be protected from contamination by the electrical components. These components are therefore sealed within the motor housing 18 in a liquid-tight manner.
The need to manufacture the motor housing 18 with the various electrical components inside leads to the motor housing 18 being formed of at least two pieces. In the embodiment shown this is a lower housing 36 and an upper housing 38. The lower and upper housings 36 and 38 fit together in a mating relationship to create a closed internal cavity which will enclose the motor 30 at a minimum. The embodiment shown employs rechargeable batteries for batteries 32 and as such this embodiment also encloses batteries 32 within this internal cavity. The mating line between the upper and lower housings 36 and 38 preferably includes a gasket, as is known in the art.
A further feature of the present invention is the formation of the spout 22 within the housings 36 and 38. In particular, the spout 22 is fully formed as a complete unit within the lower housing 36. The upper housing 38 forms no portion of the spout 22. Rather, the upper housing 38 includes a spout aperture 40 and the spout 22 extends through the aperture 40 with the upper housing 38 sealing against the exterior of spout 22 as part of the mating relationship between the housing 36 and 38. This is a significant improvement over prior art designs which split the spout between the two housings. The present unitary design of the spout 22 eliminates any possibility of leakage from the spout into the motor housing 18, and more importantly any contamination into the spout 22 from the motor housing 18.
The blender 10 is capable of disassembly, with the blades 28 being accessible to the user when the cap 14 is removed from the tumbler 12. The cap 14 further includes the motor 30 and batteries 32 allowing operation of the blades 28. This obviously presents a safety hazard, and it is known to provide an interlock to prevent operation of the motor 30 when the cap 14 is removed from tumbler 12. The blender 10 may include various improvements in the interlock mechanism and add additional interlock mechanisms not previously known.
First discussed will be the interlock to prevent motor operation while the cap 14 is removed from tumbler 12, with reference to
In operation, the user will fill the tumbler 12 with the desired ingredients and secure the cap 14 to the tumbler. The motor 30 will be engaged by manual pressing of the power switch 34, and the blender 10 will be inverted to rest upon the cover 20 with the tumbler 12 uppermost. In this operation it is assumed that the cover 20 will be fully closed to prevent leakage of the tumbler contents from the inverted spout 22 during blending. The present invention provides a further interlock mechanism to eliminate this assumption. In particular, the blender 10 may include a cover interlock to ensure that the motor 30 may not be engaged unless the cover 20 is fully closed.
With reference to
From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objects set forth above together with the other advantages which are inherent within its structure.
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.
Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth of shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.
