MX2014003487A

MX2014003487A - Electrical household appliance including a working vessel provided with a filter.

Info

Publication number: MX2014003487A
Application number: MX2014003487A
Authority: MX
Inventors: José Carlos Veneziano; Angelo Wagner Merlo
Original assignee: Seb Sa
Priority date: 2011-09-21
Filing date: 2012-09-14
Publication date: 2014-07-22
Also published as: CO6920283A2; KR20140069170A; FR2980077B1; JP6077546B2; MX344714B; CN103813741B; JP2014530048A; WO2013041466A1; KR101902609B1; FR2980077A1; CN103813741A

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical household appliance for preparing food, comprising a housing (1) containing a motor for driving a rotary tool (3) at the bottom of a working vessel (2), the vessel (2) comprising a filter (4) extending around the rotary tool (3) so as to define a filtering barrier dividing the inner space of the vessel (2) into a mixing space inside the filter (4) and a collecting space outside the filter (4), said vessel (2) comprising a push member (6) that can be inserted into the mixing space through an upper opening of the filter (4) so as to be moved therein toward the bottom of the vessel (2) up to a bottom position, characterized in that said push member (6) comprises a lower end including a cavity into which the rotary tool (3) is inserted when the push member (6) is in the bottom position.

Description

APPLIANCE APPLIANCE THAT | NCLUDES A WORK CONTAINER PROVIDED WITH A FILTER Description of the invention The present invention relates to the general technical field of household food preparation appliances comprising a housing containing a motor for driving a rotating tool in the lower part of a work container that includes a filter that extends around the tool rotating to define a filter barrier by dividing the volume within the container between a mixing space placed inside the filter and a collector space positioned outside the filter and more particularly referring to a household food preparation apparatus in which the container of work includes a plunger that can be introduced into the mixing space through a top opening of the filter.

We know about the US patent 6 135 019, a food preparation apparatus comprising a work container containing a rotating tool and comprising a filter and extending around the rotary tool to define a filter barrier between a mixing space within the filter and a space collector outside the filter. Such an apparatus also comprises a plunger that can be inserted inside of the mixing space in order to exert pressure on solid foods placed in the mixing space, such as fruits or vegetables, to mix these solid foods in the direction of the rotating tool and make juice. In order to prevent the plunger from hitting the rotating tool, the stroke of the plunger is limited by a stop which stops the plunger in a lower position in which the lower end of the plunger is just above the rotating tool.

Such an apparatus has the advantage of easily allowing the realization of the juice of fruits or vegetables, placing the food in the filter and mixing everything with a little water.

However, an apparatus of this type has the disadvantage of not allowing a complete recovery of the juice present in the mixing space. In fact, the presence of the pulp in the openings located in the lower part of the filter prevents the juice from passing through the filter, to the collector, so that part of the juice remains trapped in the bottom of the container, around the rotating tool .

Likewise, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for preparing food by remedying this drawback and which allows particularly to recover most of the juice from the collecting space and which is simple and economical to produce.

For this purpose, the invention relates to a household electrical appliance for food preparation comprising a housing containing a motor for driving a rotary tool in the lower part of a work container, the container has a filter that extends around the rotary tool to define a filtering barrier by dividing the volume within the container between a mixing space inside a filter and a collecting space outside the filter, the container contains a plunger that can be introduced into the mixing space through a top opening of the filter and moved towards the bottom of the container to a low position, characterized in that The plunger comprises a lower end that includes a cavity in which the rotating tool is activated when the plunger is placed in the low position.

According to another feature of the invention, the plunger has a height greater than the height of the filter.

According to another feature of the invention, the lower end of the plunger contains a peripheral wall that engages around the rotary tool when the plunger is in the lowered position.

According to another feature of the invention, the cavity contains a lower part having a revolution shape that approaches the path marked by the rotary tool, without being in contact with the latter, when the plunger is in the low position.

According to another feature of the invention, the filter and The plunger contains guiding elements that cooperate with each other to guide the plunger in the filter.

According to another feature of the invention, the guide elements comprise ribs that engage in the slots when the plunger is inserted in the filter.

According to another feature of the invention, the ribs have a helical shape.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the container has a lid with a central opening that allows the introduction of the plunger in the filter.

According to another feature of the invention, the plunger has at least one portion that has a shape complementary to that of the filter whose diameter difference between the plunger and the filter is between 0.2 and 0.5 mm.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the filter and the piston have a cylindrical body, the filter body is open at the top and with windows in the lower half, the windows receive a filtering mesh.

The objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood, according to the description below of embodiments of the invention presented by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached figures in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for preparing food according to a particular embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the container of the apparatus of Figure 1, - Figure 3 is a perspective view of the filter shown alone, - Figure 4 is a perspective view of the plunger shown alone, Figure 5 is a sectional view of the container in the unlocking plane of the stationary base plate, the piston is in an upper standby position, Figure 6 is a sectional view of the container in the plane of the handle of the container when the plunger occupies a low position.

Only the elements necessary for the understanding of the invention have been represented. To facilitate the reading of the figures, the same elements have the same references from one figure to another.

Figure 1 shows a domestic appliance for the preparation of food, of the mixer type, comprising a housing 1 serving as a base for a removable container 2 capable of containing liquid or solid foods, the container 2 comprises a housing 20 provided with a handle 21 and a spout 22.

The housing 1 conventionally includes a motor whose operation and speed of operation are controlled by a control piston, not shown in the figures. The motor it allows the dragging of a rotating tool 3 shown with dotted lines in figures 1 and 2, this rotary tool 3 is placed in the lower part of the container 2 it preferably contains four blades distributed 90 ° to each other, the four blades have different angles of inclination with respect to the axis of rotation.

Advantageously, and in order to facilitate cleaning of the container 2, the rotary tool 3 is supported by a removable base 23 having a control piston 23A which, in a known manner, allows the disengagement of the base 23 of the housing 20 of the container 2. when activated The container 2 contains a filter 4 that surrounds the rotary tool 3 and defines a filter barrier that divides the internal volume of the container 2 between a mixing space located inside the filter 4, which contains the rotating tool 3 and a collecting space located outside the filter 4.

Advantageously, the container 2 is closed by a cover 5 covering the collecting space of the container 2, the lid 5 having an opening 50 opposite the mixing space allows the introduction of food into the filter 4 without lifting the lid 5.

According to Figure 3, the filter 4 comprises a substantially cylindrical body 40, advantageously made by molding plastic material such as polypropylene, which is open at each of its longitudinal ends.

In the particular embodiment illustrated, the filter body 40 has an upper half comprising a peripheral surface whose diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the body 40 in the lower half, this lower half of the body 40 is provided with four windows 41 receiving the meshes of filtration 42, these windows 41 are separated by uprights 43 having ribs 43A, visible in Figure 5, on their inner surface.

The lower part of the filter 4 has a collar 44 projecting radially from the body 40, this collar 44 having the cutouts 44A adapted to engage around the protrusions 24 protruding from the inner surface of the housing 20 of the container 2.

The lower end of the filter 4 has an outer peripheral surface provided with slits 45 in which the ribs 25, visible in FIGS. 5 and 6, protruding in the vicinity of the lower container 2 engage. These ribs 25 cooperate with the slits 45. to immobilize the rotary filter 4 and lock it axially at a predetermined height, to which the lower end of the filter 4 is tightly coupled in an opening 26 present in the lower part of the housing 20 of the container 2 so that a substantially watertight connection is formed between the lower end of the filter 4 and the lower part of the container 2.

The body 40 of the filter 4 also has a ridge 46, near its upper end, whose internal diameter corresponds to the diameter of the opening 50 of the cover 5, this ridge 46 extends through a ring 47 adapted to pass through the opening 50 of the cover 5 and protrudes to the outside of the container 2.

Advantageously, the ring 47 is constituted of a member piece which is joined by adhesion to the filter body 40, the ring 47 has an upper opening 47A and a lower end provided with a circular rib 48 projecting towards the interior of the ring 47, this rib 48 has locally two oblique slots 48A, placed at 180 ° from each other, each slot 48A is bordered by a guide ramp 48B.

The ring 47 also includes two slots 49 positioned at 180 ° to each other and above the rib 48, each recess 49 having a projection 49A protruding into the ring 47.

According to figures 4 to 6, the container 2 receives a plunger 6 intended to be introduced into the mixing space of the filter 4 so that it is displaced in the direction of the lower part of the container 2 to a downward position, the plunger 6 it has a cylindrical body 60 adapted to be freely inserted into the cylindrical body 40 of the filter 4 having a neck 61 at its upper end.

Preferably, the body 60 of the plunger has a complementary shape to the filter body 40 so that the plunger 6 occupies almost all of the mixing space within the filter 4. when it is in low position in filter 4.

For example, the plunger 6 is made by molding in a plastic material such as polypropylene, and the cylindrical body 60 of the plunger has a lower outer diameter of 0.2 to 0.5 mm inner diameter of the cylindrical body 40 of the filter 4 in the lower half. In this way, the plunger 6 can slide freely in the filter 4 and only a small clearance results between the plunger 6 and the filter 4.

More particularly according to the invention, the plunger 6 comprises a lower end having a cavity 7 in which the rotary tool 3 is inserted when the plunger 6 is in the low position.

According to FIG. 4, the cavity 7 is delimited laterally by a peripheral cylindrical wall 62 that belongs to the cylindrical body 60 of the plunger 63 and has a lower frustoconical shape protruding into the cavity 7.

In the particular embodiment illustrated, the recess 7 has a depth of about 2 cm in the peripheral wall 62 and the inclination of the conical part of the lower part 63 is coupled to the inclination of the upper blade of the rotary tool 3 so that the The lower part of the plunger 63 approaches the rotary tool without coming into contact with it when the plunger 6 is placed in the low position.

Preferably, the outer surface of the cylindrical body 60 has two guide ribs 64 positioned at 180 ° one of the another, these guide ribs 64 extend over the entire upper half of the plunger 6 in a helical path and are adapted to be inserted into the slots 48A of the filter 4 to form therewith the guide means providing a displacement of the plunger 6. in the filter 4 according to a combined movement of axial translation and rotation.

The operation of the apparatus and its method of use will now be described in relation to Figures 5 and 6.

When the user wishes to make a fruit or vegetable juice, the filter 4 is inserted into the container 2 by aligning the cut-outs 44A of the filter with the protuberances 24 of the container to perform a pre-positioning of the filter 4 with respect to the container 2.

The user then presses on the filter 4 in a vertical position until the slits 45 present in the base of the filter 4 enter the ribs 25 of the container. The lid 5 must be placed on the filter 4 to reduce the risk of splashing and keep the filter 4 in the working position and the food can be introduced into the filter mixing space through the opening 50 of the lid, also water must be added to dilute the juice.

The piston 6 then engages in the filter 4 in a top standby position, illustrated in FIG. 5 in which the lower end of the guide ribs 64 is opposite the guide slots 48A, the plunger 6 is located immobilized in this position by the engagement of the projections 49A of the filter 4 in a slot 64A formed in the guide ribs 64, or rest the lower end of the ribs 64 on the rib 48.

The user can then execute the motor unit so that the fruits are crushed by the rotating tool 3, the resulting juice is diffused largely by the effect of the centrifugal force through the filter meshes 42 and the filter 4 and it is collected in the collector space outside the filter 4.

During this mixing phase, the plunger 6 placed in the upper position has the advantage of preventing the juice from rising through the opening 50 of the lid 5.

When the food present in the mixing space is completely mixed, the user can stop the engine of the apparatus and then lightly press the plunger 6 by turning clockwise to generate a translation movement of the plunger 6 towards the bottom of the container 2.

This descent of the piston 6 is carried out to the lower position, illustrated in FIG. 6, in which the collar 61 of the plunger is biased against the ring 47 of the filter 4 and the rotary tool 3 is inserted largely into the cavity 7 in the lower end of the plunger 6.

During the descent of the plunger 6 into the mixing space, the plunger 6 acts as a piston and exerts pressure on the juice present in the mixing space so that the juice is propelled into the collecting space passing through the filtering meshes 42 of the filter 4. In particular, the cavity 7 present at the end of the plunger has an air bag shape that pushes this juice around the rotary tool 3 when the plunger 3 moves in its low position, the resulting slight clearance between the plunger 6 and the filter 4 allows the juice present in the lower part of the container to rise along the filter 4 and escape through the filtering meshes 42 towards the collecting space.

In this way, almost all the generated juice is collected in the collecting space.

A food preparation apparatus provided with such a plunger has the advantage of greatly improving the amount of juice collected in the space after mixing the food.

Of course, the invention is not limited only to the described and illustrated embodiment that has been provided by way of example only. Modifications are still possible, particularly from the point of view of the construction of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

Therefore, in an alternative mode not illustrated, the filter may comprise guiding means that allow only the axial movement of the plunger along the filter instead of a helical movement.

Therefore, in an alternative use of the apparatus described above, the plunger can be lowered gradually along the filter by the user when the engine of the apparatus is in operation, this operation can be performed safely since the plunger can not enter in contact with the rotating tool.

Claims

1. Household food preparation apparatus comprising a housing (1) containing a motor for driving a rotating tool (3) in the lower part of a working container (2), the container (2) has a filter (4) that it comprises a cylindrical body (40) that extends around the rotary tool (3) to define a filter barrier dividing the internal volume of the container (2) between a mixing space inside the filter (4) and a collecting space to the outside of the filter (4), said container (2) has a plunger (6) that can be introduced into the mixing space through an upper opening (47A) of the filter (4) and is movable in the direction of the lower part of the filter (4). container (2) to a lower position to act as a piston and exert a pressure on the juice present in the mixing space, characterized in that said plunger (6) has a lower end that includes a cavity (7) in which the toolRotary (3) engages when the plunger (6) is placed in the low position.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the plunger (6) has a height greater than the height of the filter (4).

3. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the lower end of the plunger (6) comprises a peripheral wall (62) that is coupled around the rotary tool (3) when the plunger (6) is in the low position.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the cavity (7) comprises a bottom (63) having a revolution shape that is in the vicinity of the area swept by the rotating tool (3), without coming into contact with this last when the plunger (6) is in the low position.

5. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said filter (4) and said plunger (6) comprise guide members (48A, 64) cooperating with each other to guide the plunger (6) in the filter ( 4).

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that said guide elements comprise ribs (64) which engage in the slots (48A) when the plunger is inserted in the filter (4).

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that said ribs (64) have a helical shape.

8. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the container (2) comprises a lid (5) provided with a central opening (50) that allows the introduction of the plunger (6) in the filter (4).

9. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the plunger (6) has the less a portion having a shape complementary to that of the filter (4) whose difference in diameter between the plunger (6) and the filter (4) is between 0.2 and 0.5 mm.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the filter (4) and the piston (6) comprise a cylindrical body (40, 60), the body (40) of the filter (4) is in its upper half and is equipped with windows (41) in its lower half, said windows (41) receive a filtering mesh (42).