EP4615283A1

EP4615283A1 - Filtering assembly and kitchen food processor

Info

Publication number: EP4615283A1
Application number: EP23801724.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hong Nian LIU; Samuel Jr Agustin CUARESMA
Original assignee: Versuni Holding BV
Current assignee: Versuni Holding BV
Priority date: 2022-11-08
Filing date: 2023-11-03
Publication date: 2025-09-17
Also published as: CN219048162U; WO2024099910A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a kitchen food processor and a filtering assembly thereof. The filtering assembly includes: a base (100), adapted to be coupled to a rotating shaft of the kitchen food processor and configured to rotate around an axis under driving of the rotating shaft (20); a filter cartridge (200), removably disposed on the base (100) and extending in a direction away from the base (100); and a cover portion (300), extending inward from a first edge (211) of a first end portion (210), away from the base (100), of the filter cartridge (200) and including an opening. In this way, no excessive residues accumulate around a connection portion of the filter cartridge and the base, thereby ensuring that residues do not overflow from the removable connection portion of the filter cartridge and the base.

Description

FILTERING ASSEMBLY AND KITCHEN FOOD PROCESSOR

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

[0001] The embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of household appliances, in particular to a filtering assembly and a kitchen food processor.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Kitchen food processors, such as blenders, on the market today are capable of performing different functions, such as cutting, chopping or cooking for food preparation. Typically, blenders include various accessories for different applications.

[0003] In recent years, blenders with a juicing function have become increasingly popular.

After a blender has cut or chopped vegetables or fruits, a juicing accessory is used to separate juice from pulp. However, such a blender is complex in structure and has many parts for assembly/disassembly and needing washing/cleaning. In addition, due to the disassembly and cleaning of structurally complex components, the operation is complicated, and thus the overall juicing time is extended, which affects the user experience.

SUMMARY

[0004] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a filtering assembly which aims to at least overcome the problems of filtering assemblies in kitchen food processors in the prior art.

[0005] An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a filtering assembly. The filtering assembly includes: a base, adapted to be coupled to a rotating shaft of a kitchen food processor and configured to rotate around an axis under driving of the rotating shaft; a filter cartridge removably disposed on the base, a mesh side wall of the filter cartridge extending in a direction away from the base; and a cover portion, extending inward from a first edge of a first end portion, away from the base, of the filter cartridge and including an opening.

[0006] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the filtering assembly is positioned on the rotating shaft of the kitchen food processor for operation, the base rotates to drive liquid in the filter cartridge to flow and generate a vortex, such that residues, such as fruit pulp, accumulate on the side wall of the filter cartridge continuously in a direction away from a substrate instead of excessively accumulating around a connection portion of the filter cartridge and the base, thereby ensuring that the residues do not spill out from the removable connection portion of the filter cartridge and the base.

[0007] In some embodiments, the cover portion includes a first cover portion, and the first cover portion is of one piece with the mesh side wall. In such embodiments, the first cover portion and the mesh side wall are not removable, thereby ensuring that residues are prevented from spilling out from the interior of the filter cartridge to the exterior of the filter cartridge as the residues accumulate towards the first cover portion.

[0008] In some embodiments, the cover portion includes a second cover portion, and the base includes: a substrate, extending in a first plane perpendicular to the axis; and a support, extending from the substrate in a direction away from the base and fixed to the second cover portion such that the second cover portion abuts against the first edge. In such embodiments, the second cover portion is supported at the first edge by means of the support, which may prevent residues from spilling out of the filter cartridge from an upper portion of the filter cartridge.

[0009] In some embodiments, the second cover portion includes a cover portion raised edge, and the cover portion raised edge extends inward from the first edge in a second plane parallel to the first plane; and the filter cartridge includes a cartridge raised edge, and the cartridge raised edge extends inward from the first edge in a third plane parallel to the first plane, wherein the cover portion raised edge is removably coupled to the cartridge raised edge. In such embodiments, by providing the laminated raised edges extending inward, the filter cartridge and the second cover portion may fit together tightly, which further ensures that the filtering residues do not spill out from a portion between the filter cartridge and the second cover portion.

[0010] In some embodiments, the cartridge raised edge includes through holes, and the cover portion raised edge includes hook-type stoppers, wherein the hook-type stoppers are disposed on an end face of the cover portion raised edge facing the cartridge raised edge, and penetrate through the through holes to limit movement of the cartridge raised edge in a direction parallel to the axis. In such embodiments, after the hook-type stoppers penetrate through the through holes in the cartridge raised edge, for example, by rotating the filter cartridge with respect to the base, bent portions of the hooktype stoppers may be rotated to be above edges of the through holes in the cartridge raised edge, and inner walls of the through holes abut against side walls of the hook-type stoppers. Thus, the filter cartridge may be locked to the base.

[0011] In some embodiments, the support includes a plurality of supporting plates, the supporting plates extend from an edge of the substrate towards the axis, and the plurality of supporting plates are arranged at equal intervals in a circumferential direction around the axis. In such embodiments, the supporting plates extend, for example, inward from the edge of the substrate towards the axis, so as to form blades for stirring food in the filtering assembly, thereby improving the filtering efficiency. At the same time, the second cover portion may be firmly supported at the first edge by means of the supporting plates.

[0012] In some embodiments, the cover portion includes a first cover portion coupled to the filter cartridge and a second cover portion coupled to the base, wherein a surface of the first cover portion facing the base abuts against a surface of the second cover portion away from the base. In such embodiments, the filtering assembly includes the first cover portion and the second cover portion that overlap, and the second cover portion on an inner side may provide rigidity for the first cover portion. In this way, the first cover portion and the second cover portion may cooperate to provide a better sealed and more firm structure.

[0013] In some embodiments, the base includes an outer peripheral surface extending in a circumferential direction around the axis, sliding grooves are provided in the outer peripheral surface, and each of the sliding grooves includes a first portion section extending in a direction parallel to the axis and a second portion section extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis; and the filter cartridge includes radial protrusions, and the radial protrusions extend inward from an inner wall of a second end portion, close to the base, of the filter cartridge into the second portion sections of the sliding grooves to limit movement of the filter cartridge with respect to the base in the direction parallel to the axis. In such embodiments, by providing the protrusions and the sliding grooves, the base and the filter cartridge may be connected more firmly.

[0014] In some embodiments, the cover portion extends from the edge in an inclined direction towards the base. In such embodiments, by providing the inclined cover portion, food added to the filtering assembly may be guided. In some embodiments, the shape of the inclined cover portion may match a guide surface of an additional funnel device to support the funnel device.

[0015] A second aspect of the present disclosure relates to a kitchen food processor. The kitchen food processor includes: a container, including a rotating shaft hole; a rotating shaft, extending into the container via the rotating shaft hole; and the filtering assembly according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, provided within the container and coupled to the rotating shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The foregoing and other purposes, features, and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become more readily understood by the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, a plurality of embodiments of the present disclosure will be illustrated by way of example as well as in a non-limiting manner.

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a kitchen food processor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a container according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a filter cartridge according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a base according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a filtering assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0022] FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a filtering assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to various exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described merely to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and further implement the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. It is to be noted that similar or identical reference numerals may be used in the figures where feasible, and that similar or identical reference numerals may indicate similar or identical functions. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the present disclosure as described herein.

[0024] As used herein, the term "include" and its variants will be interpreted as open-ended terms indicating "including but not limited to". The term "based on" will be interpreted as "based at least in part on". The terms "an embodiment" and "embodiments" are to be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" is to be understood as "at least one other embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. may refer to different or identical objects. Other definitions, both explicit and implicit, may be included below. The definitions of terms are consistent throughout the specification unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0025] As shown above, a kitchen food processor has, for example, components capable of performing a juicing function. The components may be operated under driving of a motor of the kitchen food processor. As an accessory connected to the kitchen food processor, a juicing filter is typically fixed to an output shaft of the motor to replace other parts for the cooking operation prior to filtering. After performing juicing, the juicing filter needs to be cleaned to remove residues inside for subsequent use. During this use, it is necessary for a user to remove the juicing component.

[0026] Conventionally, a removable cover portion is provided on the bowl-shaped juicing filter to enable the removal of the juicing filtering component. However, during use, residues in the juicing filtering component accumulate on a side wall in a direction away from a bottom. When the residues accumulate to the joint of the cover portion and the filtering member, the residues may pass through the joint and eventually spill out of the filtering member, causing fruit and vegetable juice obtained at the end to have fruit and vegetable residues, which deteriorates the quality of the produced fruit and vegetable juice.

[0027] In view of this, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a filtering assembly in which a filter cartridge is removably connected to a base at a position close to the base. In such an embodiment, the filter cartridge of the filtering assembly is removably coupled to the base. In this way, residues, such as fruit pulp, accumulate on a side wall of the filter cartridge in a direction away from a substrate during use without reaching a connection portion of the filter cartridge and the base. Thus, spilling of fruit and vegetable residues from the connection portion of the filter cartridge and the base caused by excessive accumulation may be avoided.

[0028] The filtering assembly according to the present disclosure will be described in detail below in connection with FIG. 1 to FIG. 6. [0029] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a kitchen food processor 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the kitchen food processor 1 includes a main body 50 located on a lower portion. An electric motor for driving various parts is disposed in the main body 50. The motor has an output shaft 20 extending along an axis A. The output shaft 20 penetrates through a rotating shaft hole 41 of a juicing container 40 and is coupled to a filtering assembly 10 in the container 40, such that the filtering assembly 10 is able to rotate around the axis A with the output shaft 20. In the juicing process, the filtering assembly 10 is driven by the motor to rotate and cause juice in the filtering assembly 10 to leave the filtering assembly 10 under centrifugal force and flow into the container 40. Accordingly, fruit and vegetable residues may remain in the filtering assembly 10.

[0030] In order to achieve the above-described juicing filtering operation, the filtering assembly 10 includes a base 100 adapted to be coupled to the rotating shaft 20 of the kitchen food processor 1. The base 100 may rotate around the axis A under driving of the rotating shaft 20. The filtering assembly 10 further includes a filter cartridge 200 for filtering juice. The juice may flow out of the filter cartridge 200 under centrifugal force. The filter cartridge 200 is removably disposed on the base 100 so as to be easily removed for cleaning by a user. The filter cartridge 200 extends in a direction away from the base 100. Finally, the filtering assembly 10 further includes a cover portion 300. The cover portion 300 extends inward from a first edge 211 (not shown in detail herein) of a first end portion 210, away from the base 100, of the filter cartridge 200. The cover portion 300 includes an opening. The user may add ingredients into the filtering assembly 10 via the opening. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a funnel device 30 is further provided above the cover portion 300 to allow the user to place ingredients. A surface of the cover portion 300 away from the base 100 abuts against a surface of the funnel device 30. Thus far, the overall structure of the kitchen food processor 1 has been introduced, and specific components in the kitchen food processor 1 will be described in detail below with reference to a plurality of accompanying drawings, respectively.

[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a container 40 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the container 40 is bowl-shaped and includes the rotating shaft hole 41 located in the center of a bottom. The rotating shaft 20 of the kitchen food processor 1 extends into the container 40 via the rotating shaft hole 41, such that the rotating shaft 20 may be coupled to the base 100 of the filtering assembly 10 mounted in the container 40.

[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a filter cartridge 200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the filter cartridge 200 includes a second end portion 250 close to the base 100 and the first end portion 210 away from the base 100 in a state of assembly with the base 100. The filter cartridge 200 further includes a mesh side wall 220 extending from the first end portion 210 to the second end portion 250, and the mesh side wall 220 extends in a circumferential direction around the axis A. Herein, the mesh side wall 220 is, for example, a metal mesh screen.

[0033] The first end portion 210 includes a cartridge raised edge 230. The cartridge raised edge 230 extends inward from the first edge 211 in a third plane parallel to a first plane where the substrate of the base 100 is located. A first cover portion 310 that continues to extend inward in an inclined direction is provided at an inner wall of the cartridge raised edge 230, such that the first cover portion 310 is of one- piece with the mesh side wall 220, that is, the first cover portion 310 is fixedly connected to the mesh side wall 220. The first cover portion 310 includes a circular opening. In addition, through holes 231 are provided in the cartridge raised edge 230. In the illustrated embodiment, the cartridge raised edge 230 includes four through holes 231 provided at equal intervals for fixation with the base 100.

[0034] Protrusions 240 (not shown in detail herein) extending inward are provided on an inner wall of the second end portion 250. In the assembled state, the radial protrusions 240 extend inward from the inner wall of the second end portion 250 into sliding grooves 131 in an edge of the base 100 to limit movement of the filter cartridge 200 with respect to the base 100 in a direction parallel to the axis A.

[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a base 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the base 100 includes the substrate 110. The substrate 110 extends in the first plane perpendicular to the axis A. The base 100 further includes a support 120. The support 120 extends from the substrate 110 in a direction away from the base and is fixed to a second cover portion 320 such that the second cover portion 320 abuts against the first edge 211. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the support 120 includes four supporting plates 121. The supporting plates 121 extend from an edge of the substrate 110 towards the axis A, and the four supporting plates 121 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the axis A, that is, every two of the supporting plates 121 are spaced apart by 90 degrees. Herein, each of the supporting plates extending radially forms a blade for stirring the ingredients. Thus, the supporting plates 121 may not only provide supporting but also stir the ingredients to improve the filtration efficiency of the fruit and vegetable juice. [0036] The base 100 further includes an outer peripheral surface 130 extending in the circumferential direction around the axis. The sliding grooves 131 are provided in the outer peripheral surface 130. Each of the sliding grooves 131 includes a first portion section extending in the direction parallel to the axis A and a second portion section extending in the direction perpendicular to the axis A. Herein, when the filter cartridge 200 is disposed on the base 100 in a sleeving manner, the protrusions 240 of the filter cartridge 200 may enter the first portion sections from inlets of the sliding grooves 131 in the direction parallel to the axis A, and reach bottoms where the first portion sections intersect the second portion sections. During rotation of the filter cartridge 200 with respect to the base 100, the protrusions 240 move from the first portion sections into the second portion sections at intersections of the first portion sections and the second portion sections. The protrusions 240 are limited in the second portion sections in the direction parallel to the axis A, such that movement of the filter cartridge 200 in the direction parallel to the axis A is limited.

[0037] The second cover portion 320 is provided at end portions of the supporting plates 121 away from the base 100, and includes a cover portion raised edge 321. The cover portion raised edge 321 extends inward in a second plane parallel to the first plane where the substrate 110 is located. Hooktype stoppers 3211 are provided on a surface of the cover portion raised edge 321 facing away from the substrate 110 for connection to the filter cartridge 200.

[0038] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a filtering assembly 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the filter cartridge 200 is disposed on the outside of the base 100 in a sleeving manner. For example, the user lifts the filter cartridge 200 to be above the base 100, then aligns the through holes 231 in the cartridge raised edge 230 with the hooktype stoppers 3211 of the cover portion raised edge 321 of the second cover portion 320, and aligns the protrusions 240 of the second end portion 250 with the first portion sections of the sliding grooves 131. After alignment, the user places the filter cartridge 200 outside the base 100 in a sleeving manner, such that the protrusions 240 enter the first portion sections of the sliding grooves 131, and the hook- type stoppers 3211 penetrate through the through holes 231. At the same time, a surface of the first cover portion 310 facing the base 100 abuts against a surface of the second cover portion 320 facing away from the base 100. In this case, the user rotates the filter cartridge 200, for example, in a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 5, such that the protrusions 240 move into the second portion sections of the sliding grooves 131, and the cartridge raised edge 230 moves to be below the hook-type stoppers 3211. Thus, the filter cartridge 200 is firmly connected to the base 100. In this way, the filter cartridge 200 may be easily and quickly assembled to the base 100.

[0039] FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a filtering assembly 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, the base 100 includes the substrate 110 extending in the first plane. A coupling portion 140 is disposed in a center of the substrate 110 and extends from the substrate 110 in a direction away from the substrate 110. The coupling portion 140 may be disposed on the output shaft 20 in a sleeving manner, and cooperates with the output shaft 20 to rotate with the output shaft 20. The supporting plates 121 extend inward from the outer peripheral surface 130 of the substrate 110, and radially outward side portions of the supporting plates 121 abut against the mesh side wall 220 of the filter cartridge 200 to support the mesh side wall 220. In this case, the protrusions 240 are located in the second portion sections of the sliding grooves 131 and abut against the two sliding grooves 131. The mesh side wall 220 extends from the second end portion 250, close to the substrate 110, of the filter cartridge 200 to the first end portion 210 away from the substrate 110. At the edge 211 of the first end portion 210, the second cover portion 320 extends toward the base 100 in a direction inclined to the axis A, and the cartridge raised edge 230 is provided at the edge 211. The cartridge raised edge 230 overlaps the cover portion raised edge 321 of the second cover portion 320. The first cover portion 310 (collectively referred to as the cover portion 300 with the second cover portion 320) extends from the cartridge raised edge 230 toward the base 100 in the direction inclined to the axis A to form a funnel shape. In addition, the hook-type stoppers 3211 of the cover portion raised edge 321 extend out of the filter cartridge 200 via the through holes 231 of the cartridge raised edges 230 to limit movement of the filter cartridge 200 in the direction parallel to the axis A.

[0040] The specific structure and principles of implementation of the filtering assembly of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above. It is to be understood that the combined mounting structure of the filter cartridge and the base in the filtering assembly of the design of the present disclosure may be easily fixed and the user does not need to fix the filter cartridge by other components, such as nuts/screws. In addition, the filtering assembly has an inverted component design whereby the filter cartridge is located on the upper portion and the plastic cover is located on the lower portion, thereby solving the problem that the cover portion pops out during rotation.

[0041] While the claims in the present application have been formulated with respect to particular combinations of features, it is to be understood that the scope of the present disclosure also encompasses any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed herein, explicitly or implicitly, or any generalization thereof, whether or not it relates to the same embodiment in any of the claims presently claimed for protection.

Claims

1. A filtering assembly (10), characterized by comprising: a base (100), adapted to be coupled to a rotating shaft (20) of a kitchen food processor (1) and configured to rotate around an axis (A) under driving of the rotating shaft (20); a filter cartridge (200), removably disposed on the base (100), a mesh side wall (220) of the filter cartridge (200) extending in a direction away from the base (100); and a cover portion (300), extending inward from a first edge (211) of a first end portion (210), away from the base (100), of the filter cartridge (200) and comprising an opening.

2. The filtering assembly (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover portion (300) comprises a first cover portion (310), and the first cover portion (310) is of one piece with the mesh side wall (220).

3. The filtering assembly (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover portion (300) comprises a second cover portion (320), and the base (100) comprises: a substrate (110), extending in a first plane perpendicular to the axis (A); and a support (120), extending from the substrate ( 110) in a direction away from the base and fixed to the second cover portion (320) such that the second cover portion (320) abuts against the first edge (211).

4. The filtering assembly (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the second cover portion (320) comprises a cover portion raised edge (321), and the cover portion raised edge (321) extends inward from the first edge (211) in a second plane parallel to the first plane; and the filter cartridge (200) comprises a cartridge raised edge (230), and the cartridge raised edge (230) extends inward from the first edge (211) in a third plane parallel to the first plane, wherein the cover portion raised edge (321) is removably coupled to the cartridge raised edge (230).

5. The filtering assembly (10) according to claim 4, characterized in that the cartridge raised edge (230) comprises through holes (231), and the cover portion raised edge (321) comprises hook-type stoppers (3211), wherein the hook-type stoppers (3211) are disposed on an end face of the cover portion raised edge (321) facing the cartridge raised edge (230), and penetrate through the through holes (231) to limit movement of the cartridge raised edge (230) in a direction parallel to the axis (A).

6. The filtering assembly (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the support (120) comprises a plurality of supporting plates (121), the supporting plates (121) extend from an edge of the substrate (110) towards the axis (A), and the plurality of supporting plates (121) are arranged at equal intervals in a circumferential direction around the axis (A).

7. The filtering assembly (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover portion (300) comprises a first cover portion (310) coupled to the filter cartridge (200) and a second cover portion (320) coupled to the base (100), wherein a surface of the first cover portion (310) facing the base (100) abuts against a surface of the second cover portion (320) away from the base (100).

8. The filtering assembly (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (100) comprises an outer peripheral surface (130) extending in a circumferential direction around the axis, sliding grooves (131) are provided in the outer peripheral surface, and each of the sliding grooves (131) comprises a first portion section extending in a direction parallel to the axis (A) and a second portion section extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis (A); and the filter cartridge (200) comprises radial protrusions (240), and the radial protrusions (240) extend inward from an inner wall of a second end portion (250), close to the base (100), of the filter cartridge (200) into the second portion sections of the sliding grooves (131) to limit movement of the filter cartridge (200) with respect to the base (100) in the direction parallel to the axis (A).

9. The filtering assembly (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the cover portion (300) extends from the edge in an inclined direction towards the base (100).

10. A kitchen food processor (1), characterized by comprising: a container (40), comprising a rotating shaft hole (41 ; a rotating shaft (20), extending into the container (40) via the rotating shaft hole (41); and the filtering assembly (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, provided within the container (40) and coupled to the rotating shaft (20).