US1968268A - Drink mixer with automatic elevator - Google Patents

Description

July 31, 1934. H. L. STRONGSON' 8,268

DRINK MIXER WITH-AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR ori inal Filed Nov. 10, 1930 V I v W i atented July 31, 1934 UNITED STATES DRINK ll/[IXER WITH AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR Herman L. Strongson, New York, N. Y., assignor to L. Oser, New York, N. Y.

Application November 10, 1930, Serial No. 494,596 Renewed November 1, 1933 2 Claims.

This invention relates to drink mixing machines of the depending motor-driven agitator type in which a cup mounted upon a suitable support'is brought into and out of mixing relation with the 5 agitator by sliding the cup support upwardly and downwardly on the machine.

One object of the present invention is to provide means which will automatically transmit the sliding movement to the cup support; another object being to utilize the automatic cup support moving means to time the duration of a mixing operation; a third object being to control the motor circuit by the movements of the cup, and the fourth object being to provide an efficient and relatively inexpensive construction for the realization of the objects aforesaid.

The invention proceeds upon the principle of providing the cup support with a motor-driven elevator; this elevator being preferably constructed to move the cup support first upwardly from its normal position of rest, at which it is adapted to receive the cup, and then downwardly to said position of rest, during which movements the mixing operation will take place. The preferred form of elevator herein disclosed for the purpose of illustration, consists of a drive chain traveling over spaced pinions, one of which is motor driven, preferably by the agitator motor, through a worm gear that renders the travel of 30 the chain very slow; and a lifter through means of which the cup support is connected with a link of the chain in a manner to travel upwardly thence over the upper pinion and then downwardly.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of a drink mixer constructed in accordance with the invention, the plane of section being that which involves the standard, the motor and the cup;

1 Figure 2 is a detail view of that portion of the standard which contains the elevator, in axial section in a plane at right angles to the section plane of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, showing details of the automatic motor circuit controller.

1 represents a standard upon which is mounted the sleeve 2 of a cup support 3. This sleeve is connected through means of the stud 4, with the link 5 extending through slot 1 of the standard and through link 5 with elevator chain 6 which travels over a lower driving sprocket '7 and an upper driving sprocket 8 on shaft 9, which carries the worm wheel 10 driven by worm 11 from the motor 12 of agitator 12 Located beneath the cup support 3 is a motor circuit controller 13 involving in its organization a plunger 14 normally projecting into the path of the cup, through an opening 15 in the bottom of the shelf 3 so that when the cup is initially placed on the shelf, it b will depress the plunger and when the cup support 2 returns to its lower limit after rising for cooperation with the agitator, the plunger will be again depressed. The switch mechanism of the controller 13, as shown in Figure 3, is of the g5 rotary step-by-step type so that one depression of the plunger moves the switch to circuit closing position while the next depression will move it to the open position. Such a switch, readily purchasable in the open market, is here typified, for purposes of illustration, by a star wheel 16 rotated about the center 17 through means of a lever 18 which engages the star wheel through means of its pawl 19; the star wheel being held to its different positions by means of the dog 20. Each stroke of the lever 18 revolves the wheel one tooth and the dog 20 serves as a contact member in the circuit. Alternate faces of the wheel are provided with insulation 21 so that the circuit is closed through the wheel only when the dog 20 8 is bearing upon an uncovered face and the wheel and the dog being suitably connected with the motor 12 and with a source E, the motor being alternately energized and de-energized in the step-by-step rotation of the star wheel. The illustrated means for imparting movement to the star wheel from plunger 14 is a slotted lever 22 pivoted at 23 and held normally elevated by spring 24, but so engaged by pin 25 on plunger 14 that a depression of the plunger by the cup will im part at least a throw to the lever 18.

In the operation of the machine, with the controller 13 in the off or circuit opening position, the cup A is placed upon the shelf 3 and moves the plunger 14 downward a sufiicient distance to rotate the star wheel 16 90 and thereby bring a conducting face of the star wheel beneath the contact 20 instead of an insulating face. This closes a circuit through the motor 12 which, in addition to revolving the agitator, immediately begins to drive the elevator chain 6 causing the link 6 to be drawn upwardly along one side of the endless chain and carrying the cup support 2 with it. When the attaching point 5 of link 5 reaches the upper end of its travel, it passes over the 6 sprocket 8 and descends on the other side. As the cup support approaches its lowermost position, the cup encounters the plunger 14 and carries it downward so that by the time the cup supv port comes to rest, the controller 13 will have shifted to the off or open circuit position and the machine comes to rest with the parts in the positions shown in Figures 1 and 2. The rate of travel of the elevator chain 6 is relatively slow so that agitation of the contents of the cup A will be completed in the period of time between the submergence of the agitator in and its emergence from the contents of the cup. During this time the agitator, while spinning at a high rate, travels slowly downward through the contents and then slowly upward thus producing a superior quality of agitation and mixing, besides leaving a fraction of its spinning movement within the cup above the fluid level, to the end of the downward stroke, sufficient to clear the agitator by centrifugal force.

An important advantage arising from the organization and operating principle of" the present invention is that it is merely necessary to placethev cup upon the shelf of the cup support forming part of the automatic elevator and this single act causes to takeplace, automatically, the assembly of the cup and agitator in full working relation, by a gradual movement during the substantial part of which stirring action is taking place and which is followed by gradual disassembly from such working relation during which agitation is also taking place, and which is followed by the clearing of the agitator and ends in the machine coming to rest with the motor shut off and'the cup in position for removal.

I claim:

1. Ina drink mixer, a depending agitator, a vertically movable cup support, an endless chain guides around which said chain travels in continuous circuit and a connection between a point on said chain and the cup support causing said cup support to partake of the upward and down- "ward movements of said chain.

" 2. In a drink mixer, a standard, a depending motor-driven agitator mounted on said standard, vertically spaced chain guides mounted on said standard, an endless chain traveling on said guides, a connection extending from a point on said chain, and a cup support sliding on said standard and receiving-its movement from said connection.

HERMAN L. STRONGSON.

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