JP2018029631A - Mixer unit and hand blender - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mixer unit capable of, with fewer part components, relieving a negative pressure state in the vicinity of the rotary shaft as well as preventing the intrusion of the object to be cooked into the main body side and the leakage of the bearing oil into the hood.SOLUTION: The mixer unit comprises: a bell-shaped hood 6 with its lower portion opened; a tubular element 7 extending through the crown of the hood; a rotary shaft 8 which extends through the tubular element and has its lower end portion configured to be lower than the lower end of the tubular element; a blade unit 9 provided on the lower end portion of the rotary shaft so as to rotate on the rotary shaft; and a shaft packing provided for sealing between the tubular element and the rotary shaft. The shaft packing includes, at a position distant from the rotary shaft, a communication flow channel 12A for communication between an inner space of the tubular element and an inner space of the hood. The shaft packing integrally comprises a check valve portion 12e which opens or closes the communication flow channel according to a pressure difference between the inner space of the tubular element and the inner space of the hood.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a hand blender, and more particularly, to a mixer unit provided in the hand blender.

  Conventionally, various types of mixer units are known for this type of hand blender. For example, a conventional mixer unit having a structure including a bell-shaped hood, a rotating shaft provided inside the hood, and a blade unit rotating around the rotating shaft is known.

  The mixer unit is inserted into a container in which to-be-cooked items such as vegetables and fruits are put, and rotates and rotates the blade unit in the hood to cut and agitate the to-be-cooked items. In a conventional mixer unit, a rotating water flow is generated in the hood due to the rotation of the blade unit, and the food to be cooked is driven to the vicinity of the inner wall surface of the hood by the rotating water flow, and the vicinity of the rotating shaft is in a negative pressure state. There is. In this case, a suction force is generated so as to be sucked to the bottom of the container in which the object to be cooked is placed in the mixer unit. This suction force hinders the hand blender including the mixer unit from moving left and right and up and down, thereby reducing the operability of the hand blender. In addition, an excessive load may be applied to the motor that generates the rotational driving force for rotating the blade unit due to the suction force.

  On the other hand, when the vicinity of the rotating shaft is in a negative pressure state, air is introduced from an opening provided on the main body side to alleviate the negative pressure state. Several structures have been proposed for sealing so that an object to be cooked does not enter (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

US Pat. No. 5,810,472 International Publication No. 2015/029380

  However, in the conventional hand blender, with a smaller number of parts, the negative pressure state in the vicinity of the rotating shaft is alleviated, and the entry of the food to be cooked into the main body and the outflow of bearing oil into the hood are suppressed. However, there is still room for improvement.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and with a smaller number of parts, the negative pressure state in the vicinity of the rotating shaft is alleviated and the food to be cooked enters the main body side or enters the hood. An object of the present invention is to provide a mixer unit and a hand blender that can suppress outflow of bearing oil.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a bell-shaped hood that opens downward,
A tubular member penetrating the top of the hood;
A rotating shaft provided so as to penetrate the inside of the tubular member and have a lower end located below the lower end of the tubular member;
A blade unit provided at the lower end of the rotary shaft so as to rotate about the rotary shaft;
A shaft packing provided to seal between the tubular member and the rotating shaft;
A mixer unit comprising:
The shaft packing is provided with a communication channel that communicates the internal space of the tubular member and the internal space of the hood at a position away from the rotation shaft.
The shaft packing is integrally provided with a check valve portion that opens and closes the communication channel according to a pressure difference between the internal space of the tubular member and the internal space of the hood.
A mixer unit is provided.

  According to the mixer unit of the present invention, with a smaller number of parts, the negative pressure state near the rotating shaft can be alleviated and the entry of the food to be cooked into the main body and the outflow of the bearing oil into the hood can be suppressed. Can do.

It is the perspective view which looked at the hand blender concerning the embodiment of the present invention from the slanting lower part. It is a side view of the mixer unit with which the hand blender of Drawing 1 is provided. It is a partially expanded sectional view of the mixer unit of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the shaft packing with which the mixer unit of FIG. 2 is provided from diagonally upward. It is the perspective view which looked at the shaft packing with which the mixer unit of FIG. 2 is provided from diagonally downward. It is a side view of the shaft packing with which the mixer unit of FIG. 2 is provided. It is a disassembled perspective view of the shaft packing and bearing with which the mixer unit of FIG. 2 is provided. It is a perspective view which shows the state arrange | positioned so that the shaft packing with which the mixer unit of FIG.

(Knowledge that became the basis of the present invention)
As a result of intensive studies to reduce the negative pressure state in the vicinity of the rotating shaft and to suppress the invasion of the food to be cooked into the main body and the outflow of the bearing oil into the hood, the present inventors have a smaller number of parts. The following findings were obtained.

  In the hand blender of Patent Literature 1, air is introduced from an opening provided on the main body side to relieve a negative pressure state in the vicinity of the rotation shaft, and the entry of food to be cooked into the main body side through the opening or a hood The function of sealing so that bearing oil does not flow into the interior is achieved by combining multiple parts. For this reason, there is a problem that the structure is complicated and the number of parts is large.

  On the other hand, in the hand blender of Patent Document 2, both the function of reducing the negative pressure state and the sealing function are realized by a shaft packing attached around the rotating shaft. Specifically, the portion of the shaft packing that is in contact with the rotating shaft is a valve body having a check valve structure, and the negative pressure state mitigating function is added to the shaft packing that essentially has the sealing function. According to this structure, the structure can be simplified and the number of parts can be reduced.

  However, in this structure, the adhesive force between the valve body of the shaft packing and the rotating shaft is unintentionally lowered due to centrifugal force due to the rotation of the rotating shaft or vibration of the rotating shaft in the vertical and horizontal directions. Can happen. In order to prevent this, if the adhesion between the valve body of the shaft packing and the rotating shaft is improved, the valve body becomes difficult to elastically deform, air cannot be introduced near the rotating shaft, and the negative pressure state cannot be relieved. Can happen. Even if the valve body is elastically deformed and an air flow path is formed between the valve body and the rotating shaft, the cross-sectional area of the air flow path may fluctuate and the amount of air introduced may not be stable. . That is, in the hand blender of Patent Document 2, the function of reducing the negative pressure state and the sealing function are in a trade-off relationship, and it is not easy to realize both functions at the same time.

  On the other hand, the present inventors have provided a communication channel that communicates between the main body side and the inside of the hood at a position away from the rotation shaft in the shaft packing, and the check valve portion opens and closes the communication channel. It has been found that both of the above functions can be realized with a smaller number of parts. Based on this novel finding, the inventors have reached the following invention.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a bell-shaped hood that opens downward,
A tubular member penetrating the top of the hood;
A rotating shaft provided so as to penetrate the inside of the tubular member and have a lower end located below the lower end of the tubular member;
A blade unit provided at the lower end of the rotary shaft so as to rotate about the rotary shaft;
A shaft packing provided to seal between the tubular member and the rotating shaft;
A mixer unit comprising:
The shaft packing is provided with a communication channel that communicates the internal space of the tubular member and the internal space of the hood at a position away from the rotation shaft.
The shaft packing is integrally provided with a check valve portion that opens and closes the communication channel according to a pressure difference between the internal space of the tubular member and the internal space of the hood.
A mixer unit is provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the shaft packing is integrally provided with a seal portion in contact with the rotating shaft,
The said seal part and the said non-return valve part provide the mixer unit as described in a 1st aspect provided in the position which differs in the axial direction of the said rotating shaft.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the check valve portion is provided so as to extend in a direction away from the rotation shaft with the rotation shaft side as a base end portion. A mixer unit is provided.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the check valve portion is provided so as to be exposed in the internal space of the hood,
An annular partition member is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the tubular member,
The mixer unit according to any one of the first to third aspects is provided, wherein the lower surface of the check valve portion and the lower surface of the partition member are configured to be flush or substantially flush. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the shaft packing is provided with a plurality of the communication channels and a groove portion that crosses the communication channels. A mixer unit according to claim 1 is provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the mixer unit according to the fifth aspect, wherein the groove is annularly provided on the upper surface of the shaft packing.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a bearing that rotatably supports the rotating shaft is provided inside the tubular member,
The bearing is provided in contact with the upper surface of the shaft packing,
The bearing is provided with a through-hole penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface of the bearing,
The groove is provided so as to communicate with the through hole.
A mixer unit according to the fifth or sixth aspect is provided.

  According to the 8th aspect of this invention, the said shaft packing provides the mixer unit as described in any one of the 1st-7th aspect comprised by one elastic member.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hand blender comprising the mixer unit according to any one of the first to eighth aspects.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this embodiment.

  In addition, for convenience of explanation, terms indicating directions such as “up”, “down”, “horizontal”, “front”, “rear”, etc. are used assuming a state during normal use. It does not mean that the use state of the hand blender is limited.

<Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hand blender according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed obliquely from below.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hand blender according to this embodiment includes a main body 1 and a mixer unit 2 (also referred to as a blender attachment) that is detachably attached to a lower portion of the main body 1.

  The main body 1 has a cylindrical outer surface that is a part that a user grasps with a hand. The main body 1 incorporates a motor (not shown) that is an example of a drive source that generates a rotational drive force that rotates a rotary shaft 8 (see FIG. 3) described later. In addition, an operation unit 3 for inputting a user instruction such as “ON” or “OFF” to a control unit (not shown) that controls driving of the motor is provided on the upper portion of the main body 1. A power cord 4 is connected to the upper side of the main body 1. For example, when the power cord 4 is connected to a commercial power source and electric power is supplied to the motor through the power cord 4, the rotating shaft 8 can be rotated.

  The mixer unit 2 is inserted into a container (not shown) in which an object to be cooked such as vegetables and fruits is placed, and the object to be cooked is mixed by cutting and stirring. FIG. 2 is a side view of the mixer unit 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the mixer unit 2 includes a bell-shaped attaching / detaching portion 5 that opens upward and a bell-shaped hood 6 that opens downward. The mixer unit 2 passes through the top of the detachable part 5 and the top of the hood 6, and is a cylindrical communication pipe 7 that is an example of a tubular member that communicates the internal space of the detachable part 5 and the internal space of the hood 6. It has.

  The detachable portion 5 has, for example, a female screw portion (not shown), and the female screw portion is screwed into a male screw portion (not shown) provided at the lower end portion of the main body 1 so that the lower end portion of the main body 1 is attached. Removably connected.

  FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the mixer unit 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the mixer unit 2 further includes a rotating shaft 8 provided so as to extend in the vertical direction inside the hood 6, and a rotating shaft 8 that rotates around the rotating shaft 8. And a blade unit 9 provided at the lower end 8a.

  The rotating shaft 8 passes through the inside of the communication pipe 7, is provided so that the upper end portion is located in the detachable portion 5 and the lower end portion 8 a is located below the lower end portion 7 a of the communication tube 7. In the present embodiment, the rotating shaft 8 is configured to receive a rotational driving force from a motor (not shown) of the main body 1 and rotate, for example, clockwise when viewed from below. For example, the rotating shaft 8 rotates at a speed of about 10,000 rotations / minute by the rotational driving force of the motor described above.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an annular partition member 10 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the communication pipe 7. A part of the lower end portion of the communication pipe 7 is bent along the lower surface of the partition wall member 10. Thereby, the lower end part of the communicating pipe 7 and the partition member 10 are engaged. A packing 11 is provided between the partition wall member 10 and the inner wall surface of the hood 6. Thus, the object to be cooked is sealed between the inner wall surface of the hood 6 and the outer peripheral surface of the communication pipe 7.

  A shaft packing 12 made of one elastic member is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the communication pipe 7 and the rotary shaft 8. Thereby, it seals so that a to-be-cooked object may not enter between the internal peripheral surface of the communicating pipe 7, and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 8. FIG.

  A bearing 13 that rotatably supports the rotary shaft 8 is provided inside the communication pipe 7. The bearing 13 is provided in contact with the upper surface of the shaft packing 12. The bearing 13 is provided with a plurality of through holes 13 a penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface of the bearing 13.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the shaft packing 12 as viewed obliquely from above. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shaft packing 12 as viewed obliquely from below. FIG. 6 is a side view of the shaft packing 12. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the shaft packing 12 and the bearing 13. FIG. 8 is a perspective view partially showing a state where the shaft packing 12 and the bearing 13 are arranged so as to contact each other.

  The shaft packing 12 is a substantially annular member. As shown in FIG. 6, the shaft packing 12 is provided with an annular recess 12 a in which a part of the outer peripheral portion is recessed between the upper surface and the lower surface. Further, the shaft packing 12 is provided with a plurality of through holes 12b penetrating from the upper surface to the recess 12a. In the present embodiment, the recess 12a and the plurality of through holes 12b constitute a communication channel 12A that communicates the internal space of the communication pipe 7 and the internal space of the hood 6. The communication flow path 12 </ b> A is provided not at a position in contact with the rotation shaft 8 but at a position away from the rotation shaft 8.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the plurality of through holes 12 b of the shaft packing 12 are provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of through holes 13 a of the bearing 13. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the shaft packing 12 is provided with a groove portion 12 c that crosses the plurality of through holes 12 b. In the present embodiment, the groove portion 12 c is provided in an annular shape on the upper surface of the shaft packing 12. As shown in FIG. 8, the groove 12 c communicates with the plurality of through holes 13 a of the bearing 13 in a state where the shaft packing 12 and the bearing 13 are in contact with each other. That is, the plurality of through holes 12b of the shaft packing 12 and the plurality of through holes 13a of the bearing 13 communicate with each other through the groove 12c.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 8, the shaft packing 12 is integrally provided with a seal portion 12d in contact with the rotating shaft 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the seal portion 12 d is formed in a tapered shape so as to approach the rotating shaft 8 from the upper side to the lower side.

  Further, the shaft packing 12 is integrally provided with a check valve portion 12 e that opens and closes the communication flow path 12 </ b> A according to the pressure difference between the internal space of the communication pipe 7 and the internal space of the hood 6. The check valve portion 12e is provided so as to extend in a direction away from the rotation shaft 8 with the rotation shaft 8 side as a base end portion. In the present embodiment, the check valve portion 12e is configured by an annular flange portion that is supported in a cantilevered state on the base end portion on the rotating shaft 8 side. The distal end portion of the check valve portion 12 e is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the communication pipe 7. When the pressure difference between the internal space of the communication pipe 7 and the internal space of the hood 6 becomes equal to or greater than a certain level, the check valve portion 12e is elastically deformed and the tip portion is separated from the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the communication pipe 7, Air in the internal space of the communication pipe 7 is introduced into the internal space of the hood 6.

  Further, the check valve portion 12 e is provided at a position different from the seal portion 12 d in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 8. In the present embodiment, the lower surface of the check valve portion 12 e constitutes the lower surface of the shaft packing 12 and is provided so as to be exposed to the internal space of the hood 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface of the check valve portion 12 e and the lower surface of the partition wall member 10 are configured to be flush or substantially flush.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the blade unit 9 is attached to a lower end portion 8 a of the rotating shaft 8 that projects downward from the partition member 10. The blade unit 9 rotates about the rotation shaft 8 as the rotation about the rotation shaft 8. In the present embodiment, the blade unit 9 is configured by performing processing such as bending, punching, and polishing on a single metal plate.

  As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, the blade unit 9 has a plurality of blades 21 and 22. The plurality of blades 21 and 22 are configured to be point symmetric or substantially point symmetric about the rotation axis 8 in plan view. The plurality of blades 21 and 22 are configured to rotate and mix around the rotating shaft 8 in the hood 6 to cut and agitate the object to be cooked.

  According to the present embodiment, since the shaft packing 12 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the communication pipe 7 and the rotary shaft 8, the food to be cooked enters the main body 1 side between them. Can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the communication flow path 12 </ b> A that connects the internal space of the communication pipe 7 and the internal space of the hood 6 is provided at a position away from the rotation shaft 8 of the shaft packing 12. Further, the shaft packing 12 includes a check valve portion 12 e that opens and closes the communication flow path 12 </ b> A according to the pressure difference between the internal space of the communication pipe 7 and the internal space of the hood 6. According to this configuration, when the vicinity of the rotary shaft 8 is not in a negative pressure state, the check flow passage 12A is closed by the check valve portion 12e, and when in the negative pressure state, the communication flow passage 12A is opened by the check valve portion 12e. Thus, the air on the main body 1 side can be introduced into the hood 6. Thereby, the negative pressure state in the vicinity of the rotating shaft 8 can be relieved.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the shaft packing 12 realizes two functions of a negative pressure relief function and a sealing function. Further, since the communication flow path 12A is provided at a position away from the rotation shaft 8 and the check valve portion 12e is provided so as to open and close the communication flow passage 12A, the check valve portion 12e is caused by the rotation of the rotation shaft 8. The influence of centrifugal force can be suppressed. Therefore, according to the hand blender according to the present embodiment, the negative pressure state in the vicinity of the rotary shaft 8 can be alleviated with a smaller number of parts, and the entry of the food to be cooked into the main body 1 and the bearing oil into the hood can be reduced. The outflow can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the shaft packing 12 is integrally provided with the seal portion 12 d that contacts the rotating shaft 8, and the seal portion 12 d and the check valve portion 12 e are provided at different positions in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 8. It has been. That is, the seal portion 12d and the check valve portion 12e are provided in separate portions of the shaft packing 12. According to this configuration, the seal portion 12d does not need to be elastically deformed to form an air flow path with the rotary shaft 8, and therefore, the seal portion 12d is separated from the rotary shaft 8 even if it receives a centrifugal force due to the rotation of the rotary shaft 8. As a result, the adhesion with the rotary shaft 8 can be improved. In addition, since the communication flow path 12A is provided at a position away from the rotation shaft 8, it is not affected by the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the rotation shaft 8, and the cross-sectional area does not vary. Since the check valve portion 12e opens and closes the communication flow path 12A, air can be introduced into the hood 6 more stably.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the check valve portion 12e is provided so as to extend in a direction away from the rotation shaft 8 with the rotation shaft 8 side as a base end portion. That is, the check valve portion 12 e is provided so as to extend in the centrifugal direction of the rotary shaft 8. According to this structure, it can further suppress that the non-return valve part 12e receives the influence of the centrifugal force by rotation of the rotating shaft 8. FIG.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the lower surface of the check valve portion 12e and the lower surface of the partition member 10 are configured to be flush or substantially flush. According to this configuration, since the check valve portion 12e does not protrude downward, it is possible to prevent the check valve portion 12e from being damaged by contacting the check valve portion 12e when cleaning the inside of the hood 6. Moreover, since there is no level | step difference between the check valve part 12e lower surface and the lower surface of the partition member 10, it can suppress that a to-be-cooked material adheres to the said level | step difference, and cleaning property falls.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the upper surface of the shaft packing 12 is provided with a plurality of communication channels 12A and an annular groove 12c that crosses the plurality of communication channels 12A. According to this configuration, even if the plurality of through holes 12b of the shaft packing 12 and the plurality of through holes 13a of the bearing 13 are not arranged so as to communicate with each other (see FIG. 8), the through holes 12b and the through holes 13a. Can be communicated with each other through the groove 12c. Therefore, the burden of alignment between the shaft packing 12 and the bearing 13 can be reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can implement in another various aspect. For example, in the above description, the shaft packing 12 is configured by one elastic member, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the shaft packing 12 may be configured by assembling two or more elastic members.

  In the above description, the groove 12c is provided in an annular shape on the upper surface of the shaft packing 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. The groove part 12c should just be formed so that the some through-hole 12b and the some through-hole 13a may be connected.

  According to the mixer unit according to the present invention, with a smaller number of parts, the negative pressure state in the vicinity of the rotating shaft can be alleviated and the entry of the food to be cooked into the main body and the outflow of the bearing oil into the hood can be suppressed. Therefore, it is also useful as a mixer unit for other cooking utensils such as a food processor.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Mixer unit 3 Operation part 4 Power supply cord 5 Detachable part 6 Hood 7 Communication pipe 7a Lower end part 8 Rotating shaft 8a Lower end part 9 Blade unit 10 Partition member 11 Packing 12 Bearing 12a Concave part 12b Through hole 12c Groove part 12d Seal part 12e Check valve portion 12A Communication flow path 13 Bearing 13a Through hole 21, 22 Blade

Claims (9)

A bell-shaped hood with an open bottom,
A tubular member penetrating the top of the hood;
A rotating shaft provided so as to penetrate the inside of the tubular member and have a lower end located below the lower end of the tubular member;
A blade unit provided at the lower end of the rotary shaft so as to rotate about the rotary shaft;
A shaft packing provided to seal between the tubular member and the rotating shaft;
A mixer unit comprising:
The shaft packing is provided with a communication channel that communicates the internal space of the tubular member and the internal space of the hood at a position away from the rotation shaft.
The shaft packing is integrally provided with a check valve portion that opens and closes the communication channel according to a pressure difference between the internal space of the tubular member and the internal space of the hood.
Mixer unit. The shaft packing is integrally provided with a seal portion in contact with the rotating shaft,
The mixer unit according to claim 1, wherein the seal portion and the check valve portion are provided at different positions in the axial direction of the rotating shaft.   The mixer unit according to claim 1, wherein the check valve portion is provided so as to extend in a direction away from the rotation shaft with the rotation shaft side as a base end portion. The check valve portion is provided so as to be exposed in the internal space of the hood,
An annular partition member is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the tubular member,
The mixer unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a lower surface of the check valve portion and a lower surface of the partition member are configured to be flush or substantially flush.   The mixer unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the shaft packing is provided with a plurality of the communication channels and is provided with a groove portion that crosses the plurality of communication channels.   The mixer unit according to claim 5, wherein the groove is provided in an annular shape on an upper surface of the shaft packing. Inside the tubular member, a bearing that rotatably supports the rotating shaft is provided,
The bearing is provided in contact with the upper surface of the shaft packing,
The bearing is provided with a through-hole penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface of the bearing,
The groove is provided so as to communicate with the through hole.
The mixer unit according to claim 5 or 6.   The said shaft packing is a mixer unit as described in any one of Claims 1-7 comprised by one elastic member.   A hand blender comprising the mixer unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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