NZ794516A - Modular blender with improved water heating and light beam detection - Google Patents
Modular blender with improved water heating and light beam detectionInfo
- Publication number
- NZ794516A NZ794516A NZ794516A NZ79451617A NZ794516A NZ 794516 A NZ794516 A NZ 794516A NZ 794516 A NZ794516 A NZ 794516A NZ 79451617 A NZ79451617 A NZ 79451617A NZ 794516 A NZ794516 A NZ 794516A
- Authority
- NZ
- New Zealand
- Prior art keywords
- water
- steamer
- blender
- assembly
- steam
- Prior art date
Links
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- 235000013305 food Nutrition 0.000 claims abstract description 63
- 238000002360 preparation method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 44
- 239000008236 heating water Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 4
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- -1 polytetrafluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 claims description 3
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- 230000000249 desinfective Effects 0.000 abstract description 3
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- 102000004169 proteins and genes Human genes 0.000 description 2
- 108090000623 proteins and genes Proteins 0.000 description 2
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- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
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- CHJAYYWUZLWNSQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1-chloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethene;ethene Chemical group C=C.FC(F)=C(F)Cl CHJAYYWUZLWNSQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
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Abstract
Disclosed is a method of disinfecting a food preparation chamber in a blender. The method comprises heating water in a steamer until the water becomes steam. The steam is transported from the steamer to a food preparation chamber, wherein the steam contacts only lubricious polymeric surfaces. The steam is released into the food preparation chamber. eam is released into the food preparation chamber.
Description
Disclosed is a method of disinfecting a food preparation chamber in a blender. The method
comprises heating water in a steamer until the water becomes steam. The steam is transported
from the steamer to a food ation chamber, wherein the steam contacts only lubricious
polymeric surfaces. The steam is released into the food ation chamber.
NZ 794516
MODULAR BLENDER WITH IMPROVED WATER HEATING
AND LIGHT BEAM DETECTION
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This Patent Cooperation Treaty application claims priority to U.S. Non-Provisional
Patent Application No. 15/353,656, filed on November 16, 2016, entitled “Modular Blender
With Improved Water Heating and Light Beam Detection,” the disclosure of which is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety for all es.
FIELD OF THE ION
The present ion relates to food preparation machines, particularly electrical
blenders for preparing ies, milkshakes, protein shakes and other blended beverages.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Blended fruit smoothies, milkshakes and protein shakes are popular among health
conscious people. In these blended drinks, dairy, fresh fruits and/or bles can be mixed
er with, if desired, vitamins and protein supplements to provide fresh nutritious foods in a
convenient, portable form.
While it is advantageous to blend carefully selected ingredients at the peak of their
ess, it is often not practical to do so. To have fresh fruits and vegetables available every
day, for example, one may need to frequently go shopping for such fruits/vegetables, give the
fruits/vegetables time to ripen and then make sure that the fruits/vegetables do not over ripen.
Moreover, working with fresh fruits and vegetables usually generates organic wastes, is often
messy and inevitably requires clean up. This means a lot of time and attention.
In a fast moving society, there is a demand for a fresh, nutritious blended drink that can
be selected and prepared y. Better yet, such a fresh, blended drink should be available at a
place that can be easily accessed, such as a convenience store, restaurant or one's home.
f’real Foods, LLC, a subsidiary of Rich Products Corporation, has made a business of
making fresh, nutritious smoothies and akes ble at easily accessible locations, such
as ience stores. f’real Foods starts with fresh ingredients, such as fresh fruits and milk,
which it pre-blends into smoothies and milkshakes. The pre-blended smoothies and milkshakes
are then hard frozen in sealed cups before they are d to convenience stores at many
different ons. The frozen pre-blended smoothies and milkshakes are then stored in a
freezer at the convenience store next to a commercial size blending machine. When the
convenience store consumer wants a fresh smoothie or milkshake, the consumer simply selects
the desired frozen, pre-blended smoothie or milkshake from the convenience store freezer, tears
the seal off the top of the smoothie/milkshake cup and then places the smoothie/milkshake cup in
a cupholder built into the blending machine. The consumer can then start the blending e
to blend the frozen smoothie/milkshake to a desired tency.
f’real Foods, LLC has numerous U. S. patents and U. S. published patent applications
covering its blending machines and processes for ing smoothies/milkshakes, including
U.S. Patent Nos. 5,803,377; 5,962,060; 6,041,961; 6,326,047; 6,474,862; 6,465,034; 6,527,207;
7,144,150; 7,520,658; 7,520,662; 8,336,731; 8,763,515; 8,905,626; 9,386,882 and 9,420,917 as
well as U. S. Published Patent Application Nos. 2011/0088568; 344220; 2013/0344221
and 2015/0190014, the disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated by reference.
For its convenience store market, f’real has supplied heavy duty, stainless steel
commercial size blenders that can withstand rugged use by convenience store consumers. These
heavy duty blenders are typically attached to a municipal water supply so that they have a
generous supply of water for ng, and autonomous self-cleaning and sanitizing. After a
milkshake or smoothie is blended and removed by the consumer, the food ation chamber
in the f’real duty blender is automatically d with water, preferably heated water, to
wash away any food residue. To have a supply of heated cleaning water readily available, the
water within f’real’s heavy duty blender is heated in a water heater and stored in an accumulator
having a flexible diaphragm. For added cleanliness, many of f’real’s heavy duty blenders are
equipped with a steamer to periodically kill any bacteria that might be present in the food
preparation chamber.
While f’real’s heavy duty, cial size blenders have worked well in the
ience store setting, there has been a strong demand from convenience store owners to
obtain blenders with the same (or better) heavy duty qualities but with improved design for
assembly and service. Such an improved blender would lower the cost to convenience store
owners by reducing even further the small amount of effort and expense they devote to
maintenance and repair. Finally, as always, it is important to continue improving the safety and
ease of use for f’real’s blenders.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an economical food or beverage blender that is
especially suited for blending frozen milkshakes and smoothies. This blender is preferably built
with an internal frame and modules to allow its quick, easy and cost-effective cture. In
the preferred embodiment, a single piece al frame is used. This internal frame is preferably
injection molded from a hard, durable plastic. On its front side, this internal frame is designed to
precisely accommodate and align a belt-driven cupholder or assembly. On its rear side, the
internal frame preferably accommodates slide-in water heater and steamer ly trays.
Preferably, the internal frame r supports a mix motor assembly, a food preparation
chamber, an optional video screen, a l panel, microprocessor controlled electrical
components and the blender’s external housing.
To reduce plumbing connections and costs, the water heater preferably both stores a
sizable volume of water and ns coils for g that water. Because water will be drained
y from the water heater during a cleaning cycle, the heating coils are ably placed
toward the bottom of the water heater so that the g coils will always be immersed in water
and, thereby, avoid overheating. Similarly, the steamer heating coils are preferably placed toward
the bottom of the steamer. The steamer preferably has two roles, providing a shot of hot water
into the cup to aid the blending process and periodically steam sanitizing the food preparation
chamber after blending. Because the r uses different amounts of water for each of these
roles, a valve and flowmeter are used to carefully control how much water enters the steamer. At
its input, the steamer preferably uses an input down tube to insert water where it will not quench
the boiling of water. At its output, seamless polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubing is preferably
used to transport hot water and steam from the steamer to the food preparation chamber. This
PTFE tubing s scale deposits to reduce the need for maintenance.
To expedite manufacture and assure alignment, the drive belt portion of the cupholder
elevator assembly is preferably configured to snap into a lower receiving port on the internal
frame. To allow this snap-in manufacture, the toe of an idler assembly for the drive belt is
ed into the receiving port and then the heel of the idler assembly is bolted onto the internal
frame. A spring in the idler assembly automatically sets the drive belt to the correct tension.
To promote safety, crisscrossing infrared light beams are preferably placed at the
entrance of the food preparation chamber. One set of light beams is used to detect whether the
cup entering the food preparation chamber is the correct size. A second set of light beams is
used to detect whether any foreign object, such as a customer’s hand, is below the food
ation chamber. If the light ) detect an object entering the food preparation chamber
that is inconsistent with the safe operation of the blender, blending processes will be immediately
blocked or discontinued.
[0013A] Disclosed is a method of disinfecting a food preparation chamber in a blender,
sing: heating water in a steamer until said water becomes steam; transporting said steam
from said steamer to a food preparation chamber, n said steam contacts only lubricious
polymeric surfaces; and releasing said steam into said food preparation chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
illustrates a front perspective view of a preferred blender of the present
invention;
illustrates a ay front perspective view of the blender;
illustrates a cut away right side view of the blender;
illustrates a cut-away rear perspective view of blender;
illustrates a cut-away rear view of the blender with the water heater
assembly and steamer ly trays removed;
illustrates the cut-away rear view of the blender with the steamer
assembly tray reinserted;
rates the ay rear view of the blender as the water heater
assembly tray is being reinserted;
illustrates the cut-away rear view of the blender with both the r
assembly and water heater assembly trays reinserted;
illustrates a close-up view of the water heater assembly;
illustrates a preferred water heater;
illustrates a cut-away view of the water heater;
A-C illustrates a close-up view of the steamer assembly and steamer;
illustrates the tubing connection between the steamer and the food ation
illustrates the preferred al frame;
illustrates the lower portion of the internal frame that receives the
cupholder elevator assembly;
rates a preferred form of belt-driven cupholder elevator assembly;
illustrates how the preferred belt-driven cupholder or assembly attaches
into the internal frame;
FIGS. 18A-B illustrate lower close-up views of how the belt-driven cupholder elevator
ly attaches into the internal frame;
illustrates how a drive belt idler assembly of the cupholder elevator assembly
can be aligned for insertion into a lower receiving port of the internal frame;
illustrates insertion of the toe of the drive belt idler assembly of into
the lower receiving port of the internal frame;
illustrates attachment of the drive belt idler heel onto the al
frame;
illustrates the idler roller portion of the preferred drive belt idler assembly;
illustrates the spring biasing portion of the preferred drive belt idler assembly;
illustrates the cupholder being raised into the entrance of the food preparation
chamber;
rates crisscrossing light beams at the entrance of the food preparation
chamber.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
illustrates a preferred blender 10 of the present invention as it would be viewed
from the outside. This blender 10 preferably has an external housing 12 (to protect the blender’s
internal working ents) with heat dissipating vents 18, 19, an optional video screen 14, a
control panel 16, a cupholder 20, a cantilevered cupholder connector 24 and a cup 22 nested
inside the cupholder 20. The cup 22 holds the food or beverage to be blended. The blender 10
of the present invention is particularly useful for blending frozen milkshakes and smoothies.
Nonetheless, those of skill in the art will ready recognize that other types of food products,
beverages or materials can also be blended using the blender 10 of the t invention. The
optional video screen 14 is ably at eye level for the user and is useful to provide
instructions on how to use the blender 10, advertisements and/or visual entertainment. The
optional video screen 14 can also tell the user if the blender 10 is being improperly operated and
needs to be reset. The control panel 16 allows the user to initiate the blending process. The
control panel 16 may also be used to provide instructions on how to use the blender 10,
advertisements and/or visual entertainment. The user first places a cup 22 filled with food,
beverage or other material in the der 20. The user then presses one or more buttons on the
control panel 16 to start the r 10. In the preferred embodiment, the control panel 16 is a
touchscreen which may provide the user with one or more choices, such as a thick, medium or
thin ake or smoothie consistency. Alternatively, the control panel 16 could provide the
user with a simple “start” button.
FIGS. 2 and 3 provide cut-away front and side views of the preferred blender 10 of the
t invention. Through a evered der connector 24, the cupholder 20 is
ted to a cupholder elevator assembly 30 (which is better seen in ). To begin the
blending process, the cupholder elevator assembly 30 lifts the cup 22 and cupholder 20 from the
starting position into the food preparation chamber 40 through the flip-up food
preparation chamber door 48 so that the food, beverage or other material in the cup 22 can be
placed into contact with the sharp ble cutting blade 42 of the mix motor assembly 44. The
mix motor assembly 44 has a spindle 43 which connects the sharp rotatable blade 42 to mix
motor 46. To ze spills during the blending process, a weighted splash shield 45 is
preferably placed concentrically on the e 43 shaft. As the cup 22 is raised by the cupholder
elevator assembly 30 prior to blending, the splash shield 45 automatically covers the top opening
of the cup 22. Preferred forms of weighted splash shield 45 are more fully described in f’real’s
U.S. Patent Nos. 7,520,658 and 8,763,515. A preferred form of sharp rotatable cutting blade 42
for the mix motor assembly is described in f’real’s U.S. Patent No. 6,527,207. During the
blending process, the mix motor 46 spins the sharp rotatable cutting blade 42 in the cup 22 as the
cup 22 is moved up and down by der elevator assembly 30. The weighted splash shield
45 is preferably free floating during the ng process so that it can easily move up and down
with the cup 22. After the blending process is completed, the cupholder elevator assembly 30
lowers the cup 22 back through the flip-up food preparation chamber door 48 until the cup 22
and cupholder 20 reach their original starting position as shown in As the cup 22 is
being lowered, the weighted splash shield 45 automatically disconnects from the cup 22 when it
is blocked from further downward movement by a stop bar (not shown) placed on the e 43
above the sharp ble cutting blade 42.
The cup 22 and cupholder 20 preferably have mating anti-rotational surfaces (not
shown) to t the cup 22 and cupholder 20 from rotating with respect to one r during
the blending s. Preferred anti-rotational surfaces are described in f real's U. S. Patent Nos.
8,336,731 and 6,041,961.
provides a cut-away rear view of the preferred blender 10 of the present
invention illustrating important sanitation components for the blender 10. To keep the food
preparation chamber 40 and its moving parts clean between blending processes, hot water is
preferably sprayed around the ng chamber through multiple nozzles, ing nozzle 47
(. In the preferred embodiment, the hot water comes from water heater 50. This hot
water cleans the walls of the food preparation chamber 40, the weighted splash shield 45, the
spindle 43 and the sharp rotatable cutting blade 42. A drain (not shown) is placed at the bottom
of the food ation chamber 40 to remove dirty cleaning water. A preferred arrangement of
rinse cleaning components is described in f’real’s U.S. Patent No. 7,520,662. Hot rinse cleaning
is preferably done after every blending process. To kill bacteria and disinfect, hot steam is
preferably routed into the food preparation chamber at appropriate intervals. The hot steam
comes from steamer 70. While it is usually not necessary to steam clean the food preparation
chamber after every ng process, steam cleaning should be done at least once a day and can
be done more frequently, if needed.
As shown in FIGS. 5-8, the water heater 50 and associated components form water
heater assembly 60 and are preferably contained on water heater tray 58. Similarly, the steamer
70 and related components form steamer assembly 68 and are ably contained on steamer
tray 72. These modular assemblies 60, 68 allow the blender 10 of the present invention to be
more easily assembled. They also allow the blender 10 to be more easily maintained. For
example, if a problem ps at a convenience store with a water heater 50, the convenience
store owner can simply disconnect the hoses 51, 53, 59 (see, and and electrical
wiring (not shown) which connect the water heater assembly 60 to the rest of the blender 10 and
then remove the water heater assembly 60. The convenience store owner can then be shipped a
new water heater assembly 60 by the blender manufacturer to use in repairing the blender 10 by
ting the new water heater assembly hoses 51, 53, 59 and electrical wiring. In this manner,
the convenience store owner does not need to individually take apart and try to fix any of the
ents of the water heater assembly 60. Likewise, the convenience store owner does not
need to try to troubleshoot the problem with the water heater assembly. So long as the
ience store owner can identify that there is a m associated with the water heater
components, the r 10 can be fixed by simply substituting a new water heater assembly 60.
The broken water heater assembly 60 can then be shipped back to the r manufacturer for a
more ed assessment of the water heater problem.
illustrates the blender 10 of the present invention with both the water heater
assembly 60 and steamer assembly 68 removed. With the assemblies 60, 68 removed, slots 81,
82, 83, 84 on the internal frame 80 can be seen. These slots 81, 82, 83, and 84 are for receiving
and holding the trays 58, 72 of the assemblies 60, 68. shows how the steamer tray 72 can
be easily inserted into slots 81, 82 on the internal frame 80 to hold the streamer assembly 68 in
place. shows the water heater tray 58 being aligned for insertion into internal frame 80
slots 83, 84. shows the blender 10 after both the steamer tray 72 and water heater tray 58
have been slid into their respective slots.
provides a close-up view of the water heater assembly 60 and its ents.
Referring back to water preferably comes into the blender 10 from a municipal water
supply through water intake hose 59. The intake hose water is first received by re
regulator 56 in the water heater assembly 60. The pressure regulator 56 caps the water pressure
from being too high so that downstream components (e.g., water heater 50 and steamer 70)
operate correctly and are not damaged. Preferably, the pressure regulator 56 adjusts the water
pressure to below 50 psi. If desired, a water filter can be used in conjunction with the pressure
regulator 56 to filter out ed particulates and other deposits in the water. From the
pressure regulator 56, the water travels through hose 62 to “Y” joint 63 where it goes both to the
water heater 50 through water heater intake hose 64 and the steamer assembly 68 h hose
53. To transport heated water to the food preparation chamber 40, the water heater assembly 60
includes a pump 52 and a pump motor 54. When the time comes to rinse the food preparation
chamber 40 with hot water, the pump 52 rapidly pulls hot water from the hot water heater 50
through hose 66 and then pumps it through hose 51 until it is d into the food preparation
chamber 40 through multiple s, including nozzle 47 (.
FIGS. 10-11 illustrate a close-up view of the preferred water heater 50 of the present
invention. In previous blenders, a separate water heater and an accumulator with a le
diaphragm were used to enable a high flow rate of rinse water for the food preparation chamber.
In the preferred water heater 50 of the present invention, the water heater 50 and accumulator are
combined into a single water heater apparatus 50. As shown in , a heating coil 95 is used
to heat the water. In the preferred ment, this is an electrical heating coil. To prevent
overheating of the heater coil 95, it is important that this heater coil 95 remain primarily
immersed in water and not be active when the water heater 50 is empty. This objective is
lished first by placing the heated portion of the heater coil 95 in the lower portion of the
water heater 50 along its inner periphery. In this way, water can be blasted out of the upper
portion of the water heater 50 and still leave most of the heater coil 95 immersed in water. To
reliably achieve the high flow rate water blast necessary for cleaning the food preparation
chamber 40 (and to avoid needing a flexible accumulator agm), a one-way air valve 92 is
also provided to allow hot water to be rapidly pumped from the water heater 50 without creating
a vacuum resistance. In the preferred embodiment, a pressure activated switch 90 is also
provided at the bottom of the water heater 50 to r water pressure. If the pressure activated
switch 90 measures water re to be less than 25 psi, it triggers a shut off of the heating coil
A-C e close-up views of the steamer assembly 68 and r 70 of the
present invention. Water enters the steamer assembly 68 through the steamer regulator valve 69.
The water is supplied to the steamer regulator valve 69 through a water tube 53, which is part of
the water heater assembly 60 (. Water supplied to the steamer regulator valve 69 has
passed through the pressure regulator 56, part of the water heater assembly 60 (. Before
the water arrives at the r 70 through tubes 73, 75, the water first passes through a
flowmeter 74. The blender microprocessor (not shown) uses the flowmeter 74 to carefully
regulate the amount of water introduced into the steamer 70.
The steamer 70 preferably has two distinct functions. First, it is used to create hot
water that can be added in a shot to the food or blended drink. As discussed in f’real’s U.S.
Patent No. 5,803,377, adding liquid during the s of blending a frozen milkshake or
smoothie is very helpful to achieve a desirable consistency for the blended drink. Second, the
steamer 70 supplies steam to clean and sanitize the food preparation chamber 40. Because of the
need to control hot water or steam delivery to accomplish these two functions, the steamer
regulator valve 69 and flowmeter 74 carefully regulates the amount of water that is allowed to
enter the steamer 70 through inlet tube 150 (see, C). The microprocessor turns the
r regulator valve 69 either on or off and, when on, water flows are regulated at
imately the prescribed rate. Because it is important that water flow to the steamer 70 be
done with ion, the flowmeter 74, in its red form, has a paddlewheel that accurately
measures the amount of water passing through the flowmeter 74 and reports that measurement to
the microprocessor. When the exact amount of water needed has passed through the flowmeter
74, the microprocessor turns off the steamer regulator valve 69 to stop further water from
flowing into the steamer 70.
The water flow rate that is appropriate for the steamer’s first role (adding water to the
food or drink) is not appropriate for the r’s second role (steam cleaning). This is e
the steamer 70 must heat the water to a higher temperature for the second role (i.e., to become
steam) than for the first role. To allow the same steamer 70 to be used for both roles, the
microprocessor opens the steamer assembly’s steamer tor valve 69 for a shorter duration
when steam needs to be produced than when hot water needs to be added to the food or drink. In
this way, when steam needs to be produced, the steamer regulator valve 69 is not quenching the
steam with too much cold water. Temperature readings sent by the temperature sensor 158
through sensor wire 71 are also used by the microprocessor to insure that water/steam sent from
the steamer 70 into the food ation chamber 40 is at the t temperature.
Referring to the cut-away view of the steamer 70 provided in C, the steamer 70
is ably a stainless steel vessel with an internal electric heated steamer coil 152 positioned
around the inner periphery of the steamer 70. Like the water heater 50 of the present invention,
the heated portion of the steamer coil 152 is preferably placed in the lower portion of the steamer
70. In this way, overheating of the steamer coil 152 can be avoided by keeping the r coil
152 primarily immersed in water and not active when the steamer 70 is empty. Preferably, water
must be added while steam is being generated to ensure the steamer coil 152 does not operate
while dry.
At the top of the steamer 70 is a water inlet tube 150 with a down tube portion 154. To
avoid quenching the steam with cold water, it is desirable that the down tube portion 154 of the
water inlet tube 150 deposit intake water near the bottom of the vessel. Nonetheless, if the down
tube portion 154 is so long that it deposits incoming water on the ature sensor 158, the
temperature sensor 158 will not provide accurate temperature readings to the microprocessor. To
overcome this problem of selecting an appropriate length and placement for the down tube
portion 154, the inventors discovered that a toroidal vortex of hot water is created by the boiling
convection of the eral heating coil 152 in the steamer 70. Due to this vortex, as long as the
down tube portion 154 is located at the center of the , the down tube portion 154 can be
relatively short, in some cases on the order of ¾ of an inch, and still deposit incoming water to
the bottom of the vessel (i.e., through the middle of the ) avoiding quenching the boiling
while allowing sufficient mixing to avoid chilling the temperature sensor 158. To further insure
that steam, rather than cold water, is being conveyed to the food preparation r 40 for
sanitation, the lower end of the steam outlet tube 77 should be higher than the lower end of the
down tube portion 154 of the water inlet tube 150. The inventors have found that, in one
preferred embodiment, this height ence can be on the order of ½ inch.
illustrates an important advance in transporting steam from the steamer 70 to
the food preparation chamber 40. It is common that there are dissolved solids in the steam feed
water. When boiling occurs in the steamer, these dissolved solids will tend to precipitate and
build up on most surfaces in contact with the boiling water and steam. These precipitated solids
are commonly referred to as scale. In previous blenders, scale build up in constricted flow paths,
such as the r tubing and fittings, would cause reliability issues. When such components
became d with scale, they needed to be repaired or replaced. To minimize maintenance, a
ss non-stick tube 77 made from a lubricious (i.e., ick) material, such as
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) - commonly known as TEFLON™, is preferably used as a
steamer outlet to transport steam from the r 70 to the food preparation chamber 40.
ative lubricious (i.e., non-stick) materials include ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE),
ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), lorotrifluoroethene (PCTFE), fluorinated
ethylene propylene (FEP), perfluoroalkoxy (alkane) (PFA), poly (tetrafluoroethylene +
perfluoromethylvinyl ether) (MFA) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Due to the non-stick
qualities of these materials, the inventors have found that scale does not build up on these tubes
the way scale deposits on less lubricious tubes. While this ss non-stick tube 77 may be
connected to the steamer by a fitting 76, the seamless non-stick tube 77 is preferably fully
inserted into the r 70 so that there is no contact between the steam and any non-lubricious
material. Similarly, the seamless non-stick tube 77 should extend into the food preparation
chamber 40 in a way that avoids steam t with any non-lubricious material. The steam
nozzle 79, if used, is also preferably made from PTFE or another lubricious material.
Alternatively, it can be fabricated from flexible high temperature materials, such as silicone
. To the extent scale sticks to flexible material, it can be ged by simply flexing the
steam nozzle 79.
illustrates a preferred form of internal frame 80 for the blender 10 of the
present invention. In this preferred embodiment, the internal frame 80 is of single piece
construction with a horizontal base 160, a vertical plate 162 rising up from the base 160 and two
arms 164 ing forward from the upper portion of the vertical plate 162. As those of skill in
the art will recognize, the internal frame 80 could alternatively be made from multiple pieces and
in different shapes.
One of the nges in lowering blender costs for both the manufacturer and user is
making the blender 10 easy to assemble and maintain. The internal frame 80 of the present
invention allows key components of the blender 10 to be either slid, snapped or easily assembled
into place on a centrally located support structure. As shown in FIGS. 5-8, the trays 58, 72 for
the water heater assembly 60 and steamer assembly 68 can be slid into the internal frame 80
easily and quickly to place them in their exact positions. As illustrated in FIGS. 15-21, the
ents of the cupholder elevator assembly 30 can be y aligned and d into place
on the front side of the internal frame 80 with little effort. As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the internal
frame 80 also serves as a support for the mix motor assembly 44, food preparation chamber 40,
optional video screen 14, l panel 16 and external housing 12. While not illustrated in the
drawings, the internal frame 80 additionally supports the blender’s electronics, including the
blender’s microprocessor.
The internal frame 80 of the present invention is preferably injection molded from a
hard, durable thermoplastic, such as NORYL™ resins. NORYL™ resins are amorphous blends
of polyphenylene ether resins and yrene. By serving as a multi-purpose base that allows
the key components of the blender 10 to be precisely aligned and held in place, the internal frame
80 eliminates much of the assembly alignment work in blender manufacture and eliminates the
need for a multiplicity of parts to connect all of the key blender components together.
As shown in FIGS. 14-15, the internal frame 80 uses lower groove 102, upper groove
104 and lower receiving port 106 in its preferred embodiment to attach the cupholder elevator
assembly 30. As shown in , the cupholder elevator assembly 30 includes der 20,
cantilevered cupholder connector 24, sliding cupholder traveler 28, guide rod 26, drive belt 31,
drive motor 32, gear box 33, drive shaft 35, encoder 37, drive pulley 34 and idler roller 36.
h its connection to the sliding cupholder traveler 28, the drive belt 31 is used to move the
cupholder 20 up and down. Under the control of the microprocessor (not shown), the drive belt
31 is powered by drive motor 32 acting through gear box 33, drive shaft 35 and drive pulley 34.
While a drive belt 31 is used to transport the cupholder 20 in the preferred ment, one or
more lead screws could alternatively be used in the cupholder or assembly 30 as described
in f’real’s U.S. Patent No. 9,420,917. Likewise, multiple drive belts could alternatively be used.
For manufacture, the challenge is to attach the cupholder elevator assembly 30 to the
al frame 80 as quickly, easily and tely as possible. For the guide rod 26, this is
simply a matter of first pushing the upper and lower ends of the guide rod 26 into the backs of
the lower groove 102 and upper groove 104. The lower 102 and upper 104 grooves are
preferably curved in a “U” shape or have two angled faces forming shallow “V” shape to
accurately seat and secure the guide rod 26. An upper guide rod clamp 27 and lower guide rod
clamp 108 (part of the spring-biased idler assembly 110 shown in B) are then used to
lock the upper and lower ends of the guide rod 26 in place (see, ).
Attaching the drive belt 31 and idler roller 36 to the internal frame 80 requires a little
more effort. To work correctly, the drive belt 31 must be properly tensioned. Again, to
maximize quality and save cost, it is desirable that this proper ning be done accurately,
quickly and easily. In the preferred embodiment, fixed locations on the internal frame 80 are
provided for the drive motor 32, gear box 33, drive shaft 35 and, by extension, the drive pulley
34. That leaves the challenge of how to on the idler roller 36 and drive belt 31.
In the present invention, the drive belt installation m is solved through use of a
spring-biased idler assembly 110 in cooperation with the lower ing port 106 on the internal
frame 80. As shown in FIGS. 18A – , the drive belt 31 is preferably attached at one end
to the fixed drive pulley 34 during installation and attached at the other end to the idler roller 36
of the spring-biased idler assembly 110. After being so attached, the toe 112 of the spring-biased
idler assembly 110 is moved toward the lower receiving port 106 of the internal frame 80 as
shown in . The lower receiving port 106 preferably has a ledge 107. As shown in , the toe 112 of the spring-biased idler assembly 110 slides under the ledge 107 of the lower
receiving port 106. After the toe 112 is fully inserted under the ledge 107, the spring-biased idler
assembly 110 is lowered into a horizontal position so that its heel 114 is placed in contact with
the internal frame 80 (). Next, the spring-biased idler assembly 110 is moved further into
the lower ing port 106 so the idler heel tabs 117, 119 (see, B) are ed into tab
slots 109, 111 in the internal frame 80 (see, ). Idler screws 116, 118 (A) are then
used to secure the spring-biased idler ly 110 and guide rod 26 to the internal frame 80.
The spring-biased idler assembly 110 has an idler spring 120 placed around idler spring screw
122 which makes sure that the drive belt 31 is set to the proper tension.
FIGS. 22-23 provides a close-up view of the parts of the spring-biased idler assembly
110. illustrates the idler roller 36, idler pivot plate 121, an idler pivot bolt 123 and drive
belt 31. illustrates the idler spring 120, idler spring screw 122, idler spring washer 124
and idler spring nut 126 to receive the idler spring screw 122.
FIGS. 24-25 illustrate the use of safety light beams 140, 142, 144 and the cup size light
beam 146 at the entrance 130 of the food preparation chamber 40 to insure that the blender 10 of
the present invention is used safely. Each light beam is created by an emitter 132, 134, 136, 137
and detected by a sensor (not shown). As recognized by those of skill in the art, the position of
the emitters 132, 134, 136, 137 and s can be interchanged with the objective or minimizing
cross-talk between the beams and erence from other sources. The light beams are
ably infrared light beams but, as those of skill in the art will recognize, other types of light
beams could also be used. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 24-25, the cup size light
beam 146 is used to determine whether a cup 22 of appropriate size has been correctly placed in
the cupholder 20 while the other three safety light beams 140, 142, 144 are used to detect
whether a foreign object, such as a customer’s hand, is below the food preparation chamber.
In the preferred embodiment, the blender 10 of the t invention is zed to
blend frozen milkshakes and smoothies in particular size cups. The blender’s microprocessor
(not shown) is pre-programed to start the mix motor 46 when the cup 22 is raised to a pre-
determined height by the cupholder elevator assembly 30 and continue having the cupholder
elevator assembly 30 raise the cup 22 to specified pre-determined heights during the blending
process before eventually ng the cup 22. These specified heights are determined based
upon the cup 22 size. If a cup with an incorrect size is used, the mix motor 46 may start too soon
or not soon enough. If the mix motor 46 does not start soon enough, the cupholder or
assembly 30 or rotatable cutting blade 42 may be damaged as it tries to push a cup with frozen
ingredients upward into a stationary sharp rotatable cutting blade 42. Similarly, if the cupholder
elevator assembly 30 continues to move the cup 22 upward after the ble cutting blade 42
reaches the bottom of the cup 22, the rotatable cutting blade 42 will start cutting into the cup 22
itself and, in the process, mix cup shavings into the frozen product. To avoid such ms, the
cup size light beam 146 acts in cooperation with an encoder 37 (see, ) attached to the
drive motor 32 to ine the cup 22 height. The drive motor encoder 37 counts how much
the cup 22 is being raised from its base position as shown in When the top of the cup 22
s the entrance 130 of the food preparation chamber 40, it blocks the cup size light beam
146. The cup size light beam sensor then sends a signal to the blender’s microprocessor that the
cup size light beam 146 has been interrupted. The microprocessor uses the accumulated encoder
37 count up to the point of interruption to calculate the cup 22 size. If the microprocessor
determines the cup 22 size matches one of the pre-programmed cup sizes, the blending process is
allowed to continue. If the microprocessor determines that the cup 22 size is incorrect, the
microprocessor directs the cupholder elevator assembly 30 to lower the cup 22 back to its start
position and alert the user of an error. In on to using a cup 22 of the wrong size, an error
signal will be triggered if the cup 22 is not correctly seated in the der 20.
The blender 10 of the present invention can be used with multiple specific sizes of cups
by pre-programming the microprocessor with acceptable cup heights. The microprocessor would
then determine the ng process parameters (e.g., range of cup movement during blending
cycle) based upon the detected cup 22 size.
The three remaining safety light beams 140, 142, 144 shown in are used to
detect any intrusion of foreign objects below the food preparation chamber 40 and, thereby,
assure that a foreign object, such as a er’s hand, will not be pinched or otherwise damaged
by the cupholder 20 and/or cantilevered der connector 24 while they are traveling upward.
If such a foreign object is detected at any time, a safety relay (not shown) will immediately stop
both the mix motor 46 and drive motor 32. Additionally, if such a n object is detected
when the cupholder elevator assembly 30 is not at its starting on, the microprocessor will
display an error message on the optional video screen 14 and/or the control panel 16. Later,
when all of the safety light beams 140, 142, 144 are no longer interrupted and the microprocessor
determines that it is safe to d, the microprocessor will direct the cupholder elevator
assembly 30 to return the cup 22 to the starting position. To avoid inadvertent interruption of the
blending s, the safety light beams 140, 142, 144 are preferably ured so they will not
be red when the cup 22 and cupholder 20 enter the food preparation chamber 40 along their
expected path.
In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to
specific preferred embodiments and methods. It will, however, be evident to those of skill in the
art that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the broader
spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and
drawings are, ingly, to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than restrictive sense; the
invention being limited only by the appended claims.
Claims (2)
1. A method of ecting a food preparation chamber in a blender, comprising: heating water in a steamer until said water becomes steam; transporting said steam from said steamer to a food preparation chamber, wherein said steam contacts only lubricious polymeric surfaces; and releasing said steam into said food preparation chamber.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said lubricious polymeric surface is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubing. FEGE 2; PEG. 3 FEG. 4 FBGE} $316.6 PEG. 7 PEG, 8 FEGH 9
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US15/353,656 | 2016-11-16 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
NZ794516A true NZ794516A (en) | 2022-11-25 |
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