GB2217231A

GB2217231A - Hand operable mill

Info

Publication number: GB2217231A
Application number: GB8809349A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Henryk Dudzik
Original assignee: Mardon Illingworth Ltd
Current assignee: Impress Sutton Ltd
Priority date: 1988-04-20
Filing date: 1988-04-20
Publication date: 1989-10-25
Also published as: GB8809349D0

Abstract

The mill comprises an inverted moulded container-like housing (11), closed at the top (15) and having a mouth (18) formed internally with an integral milling ring (20). A second moulded component comprises a collar (30) which snap engages on the housing and is integral with a milling surface (22) which meshes with the milling ring (20) and has apertures between its teeth to permit milled material to be dispensed as the collar is turned relative to the housing. <IMAGE>

Description

HAND-OPERABLE MILL This invention relates to a hand-operable mill which is especially useful for milling spices.

Mills of this type usually comprise a large number of parts. The most common construction comprises a columnar wooden housing provided with a rotatable head.

The head is secured to a shaft which extends down the housing and has an abutment at the lower end. A milling member is mounted on the shaft and held by the abutment in engagement with a milling ring on the housing. The arrangement is such that spice in the housing is gravity fed between the member and the ring. Rotation of the head causes rotation of the member and the spice is both milled and guided to the exterior of the housing.

A modified version of this mill comprises a housing moulded from plastics material and moulded with the milling ring. A frusto-conical milling member is also moulded from plastics material. This member is again mounted on a shaft and a rotatable element on top of the mill is rotated to turn the shaft and the milling member.

The housing is closed by a removable cap through which the shaft extends. The housing can be moved on a conveyor for automatic filling, but the milling member has to be in position to close the bottom of the housing, with the shaft projecting through the housing. This makes automatic filling awkward and manual partial assembly is. necessary before filling, followed by assembly of the cap and the rotatable element after filling. It is also possible for a small amount of spice to pass between the milling member and the ring to spill onto the conveyor.

The present invention provides a hand-operable mill which is capable of being cheaply produced with few parts, which can be quickly assembled manually or automatically and which does not spill the contents during filling.

The present invention provides a hand-operable mill comprising a housing which is closed at the top and has a mouth at the bottom, the mouth being provided with a milling ring, a collar rotatably engaged around the rim of the mouth and a milling member carried by the collar and engaging with the milling ring and closing the mouth of the housing.

It is preferred that the collar snap engages with the rim of the housing and that the top closure wall of the housing is irremovably secured to the side walls of the housing. This permits filling of the housing while it is inverted followed by snap engagement of the collar with the housing.

The top closure wall may be integrally moulded with the side walls and the milling ring may so be an integral part of the same moulding. The collar may be integrally moulded with the milling member. The mill, therefore, may comprise only two parts.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a sectional view of a two-part spice mill; and Figure 2 is a perspective view of one part of the mill of Figure 1.

The mill is made in two parts and comprises two plastics injection mouldings, 11, 12.

One moulding 11 comprises a housing including a container 13 having a cylindrical side wall 14 and a top closure wall 15. The bottom marginal portion of the side wall 14 is outwardly flared to define a mouth 18 and this flared portion 16 is integral with a flange 17 defining part of the rim of the mouth. The flange is annular and extends axially around the flared portion 16 and an adjacent portion of the side wall 14. The inner surface of the flared portion 16 is provided with a milling surface 20 defining a milling ring.

The other moulding 12 comprises a milling member 21 including a frusto-conical milling surface 22 which meshes with the milling ribs 20. The milling surface 22 comprises teeth with apertures therebetween. An adjacent annular part 23 is generally co-axial with the cylindrical wall 14 and defines an annular chamber 24.

Formations 25, 26 on the annular part and the surrounding portion of the cylindrical wall 14 define channels which direct the contents of the chamber 24 between the milling surfaces 20, 22. A domed disc portion 27 closes the annular part 23 and directs the contents of the housing into the annular chamber 24.

Integral with the frusto-conical part having the milling surface 22 is a collar 30 whose inner surface is complementary to the outer surface of the flange 17 and rotatably engages with the flange. The collar has a plurality of inturned lugs 31 which engage over the free end of the flange 17 to secure the collar and the milling member on the housing. The collar has slits 32 defining inherently resilient leaves 33 which carry the lugs 31.

This permits snap-engagement of the lugs over the end of the flange 17. The outer surface 36 of the collar is textured to facilitate manual grip.

The housing can be inverted and is easily handled by automatic filling machinery without any risk of spillage, the inverted housing defining, in effect, a cup. After filling, the collar is snap-engaged on the rim flange to assemble the mill.

In use, the collar may be held stationary whilst the housing is rotated, or the collar may be rotated and the housing held stationary.

The milling surfaces 20, 22 may be of conventional form for spice mills and are designed to guide the spice towards the exterior as the spice is ground.

Claims

1. A hand-operable mill comprising a housing which is closed at the top and has a mouth at the bottom, the mouth being provided with a milling ring, a collar rotatably engaged around the rim of the mouth and a milling member carried by the collar and closing the mouth of the housing.

2. A hand-operable mill according to Claim 1, wherein the collar snap engages with the rim of the housing.

3. A hand-operable mill according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the top closure wall of the housing is irremovably secured to the side walls of the housing.

4. A hand-operable mill according to Claim 3, wherein the top closure wall is integrally moulded with the side walls and the milling ring is an integral part of the moulding.

5. A hand-operable mill according to any preceding claim, wherein the milling member is integrally moulded with the collar.

6. A hand-operable mill constructed substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.