US2902226A - Portable ice crusher - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 1, 1959 w. E. MOORE PORTABLE ICE CRUSHER Filed Aug. 1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R 1 m M ME 0 T o 2,902,226 1C6 Patented Sep 1959 PORTABLE ICE CRUSHER Walter E. Moore, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Swing-A- Way Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation 01 Missouri Application August 1, 1955, Serial No. 525,492

1 Claim. (Cl. 241-100) The present invention relates generally to ice crushers, and more particularly to a portable household device adapted to rest upon a table top, or the like, and to crush received ice cubes into either of two relative grades of coarseness.

Briefly, the present invention contemplates a portable ice crushing device for household use which is adapted to rest upon a table or cabinet top while being operated, thereby attaining a flexibility and convenience of use which is inherently lacking in mounted ice crushers, for example. The device incorporates a crank operated crushing mechanism which, while generally similar to that disclosed in my copending application for Ice Crusher, Serial No. 463,787, filed October 21, 1954, represents improvements thereover which inure to increased usefulness, as Will become apparent hereinafter.

The crushing mechanism is removably supported upon a relatively broad based receptacle which receives the crushed ice and which is provided with resilient cushioned tabs or feet by means of which the whole device is adapted to rest without securement upon a table top, or the like, during its operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel portable ice crusher which may be disposed upon any flat surface for convenience of operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel household ice crusher having an ice receiving receptacle which serves as a base for the device during an ice crushing operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel portable household ice crusher which includes a receptacle of ample size and configuration to serve as a container from which to serve crushed ice.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel table top ice crusher which operates with unusual case and efiiciency in crushing conventional ice cubes into a selected one of two different grades of coarseness.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a novel table top ice crusher for household use which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which is, at the same time, rugged in its design and simple in its operation.

The foregoing, along with additional objects and advantages, will be apparent from the following description directed to a preferred embodiment of the invention taken generally along the line 7-7 of Figure 3;

Figure 8 is a horizontal cross section taken generally along the line 88 of Figure 2; g

Figure 9 is an isometric view of a removed crusher tooth; and

Figure 10 is an isometric view of a removed crusher frame.

Referring to the drawings more particularly through use of the reference characters placed thereon, the numeral 20 designates generally a portable ice crusher conforming to the teachings of the present invention. The crusher 20 comprises an ice crushing mechanism 22 removably disposed on a receptacle 24. The latter is essentially cup-like in form and is provided with four resilient cushions or feet 26 by means of which the crusher 20 may be supported upon a table top, or the like.

Considering first the crushing mechanism 22, it will be observed, particularly well from Figure 5, that the mechanism 22 comprises a receiving hopper 30 provided with a lid 32 and a rotatable crank assembly 34. The hopper 30 is disposed in surmounting relation upon a crusher frame 36 and is secured to the latter by means of screws 38.

The hopper 36 is generally barrel-like in form, being open both at the top and at the bottom. Although the general exterior configuration is not critical, the illustrated nominally square shape is particularly efiicient. The lid 32, shaped to cover the upper end of the hopper 30, is provided with integral hinge lugs 40 which are pivotally connected to a lug 42 of the hopper 30 by means of a hinge pin 44. Preferably, the upper surface of the lid 30 has a smooth rounded contour as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings.

The crank assembly 34, which is mounted adjacent the lower end of the hopper 30, comprises a crank shaft 46 in rigid connection with a crank arm 48 provided with a rotatable knob or handle 50. As illustrated in Figures 5 and 7, the crank shaft 46 is for the most part hexagonal in cross section, but has a reduced threaded portion 52 at that end which is remote from the crank 48. A plurality of crusher teeth 54, shaped as clearly shown in Figure 9, are provided with hexagonal apertures 56 by means of which they are mounted in nonpivotable relationship on the crank shaft 46. It will be observed that each crusher tooth 54 has a tooth portion 58 which includes sharp chisel-like edges 60.

Figures 5, 6 and 8 illustrate clearly the manner in which the crusher teeth 54 are assembled on the shaft 46 so as to be in generally uniform laterally spaced relation, established by intervening washer-like spacers 62.

It will be noted that the illustrated arrangement of the crushed teeth 54 includes, in some instances, two teeth 54 disposed in immediately adjacent position without a washer 62 therebetween. Attention is also directed to the illustrated angular disposition of the several crusher teeth 54 on the shaft 46, wherein it will be noted that the extended portions 58 of adjacent nonjuxtaposed teeth 54 are disposed at progressive sixty degree intervals working outwardly both ways from the most centrally disposed crusher tooth 54. Each pair of juxtaposed teeth 54, however, have their tooth portions 68 or 58 extended in opposition to the other.

The several crusher teeth 54 and washers 62 are retained on the crank shaft 46 by means of an end washer 64 and a cylindrical nut 66 which engage the threaded portion 52 of the shaft 46.

The assembled crusher assembly 34 is rotatably supported in front and rear apertures 68 and 70, respectively, formed on a common horizontal axis lying in a central vertical plane of the hopper 30. A reduced hub portion 72 of the crank 48 serves as a journal rotatable within the aperture 68, while the cylindrical nut 66 serves in 7 similarfashion within the aperture 70.

The crusher frame 36, conveniently formed by die casting, or like methods, is shown removed in Figure 10. It comprises an upstanding rim-like wall 74 which is generally rectangular so as to fit into the lower end of. the. hopper 30 as illustrated best in Figure '7. The wall 74 is relieved at its external corners 76 to provide suitable clearance around mounting holes 78 formed in a laterally extending skirt portion 80 provided with a downwardly extending peripheral flange 82. The front and rear portions of the wall 74 are also relieved, as at 84, for accommodation of the crusher assembly 34. The inside face of the wall 74 is preferably slanted inwardly for a short distance and then carried vertically downwardly until it is somewhat below the lower edge of the flange 82. It will be particularly noted, however, that one side 86 of the wall 74 is continued on the aforementioned slant farther than the three remaining sides and thus causes its lower vertical portion 88 to be disposed. closer tothe central vertical axis of the crusher mechanism 22 than the corresponding opposite vertical wall portion 90.

As is clear from the illustration of Figure 10, two sets of crusher vanes are provided within the compass of the lower portion ofthe wall 74. One of these sets extends inwardly in parallel array from the lower Wall portion 86, while the other extends inwardly from the opposite wall portion 90. In the present illustration, each set comprises four generally similar vanes, those joined to the wall portion 88 being designated by the numeral 92, and the somewhat differently shaped vanes joined to the wall portion 90 being designated by the numeral 94. For each vane 92, there is a corresponding vane 94 disposed in the same vertical plane. The inwardly extending free end of the several vanes 92 are all disposed in identical relationship with a central vertical plane through the axis of the semicircular cutouts 84, as are also the inwardly extending free ends of each of the vanes 94. It is apparent from the drawings, however, that the vanes 92 approach closer to the center of the crusher frame than do the vanes 94. It will also be noted that the vanes 92 and 94 differ in the degree of inclination of their upper edges, this being for a purpose to appear.

As aforementioned, the crusher frame 36 is firmly secured to the hopper 30 by means of screws 38 pass ing upwardly through the mounting holes 78 and threadedlyengaging reinforced corner portions 96 of the hopper 30; The complete crushing mechanism 22, assembled as above described, is then adapted to rest upon the receptacle 24 in the manner clearly illustrated in the drawings.

It will be observed that the container 24, while generallycup-like in form, is relatively wide in comparison to its height, and also in comparison with the cooperating ice crushing elements which surmount it. Thus, the receptacle 24 provides a stable supporting base for the crushing mechanism 22. The wide spaced pads or feet 26, preferably formed of rubber or like material, provide a protective, nonslipping rest for the receptacle 24, as well as for the complete crusher 20.

Thus, in use, the ice crusher 20 will normally rest upon a table surface for convenience of operation. Conventional ice cubes are placed in the hopper 30 and the lid 32 is closed, whereupon the crank assembly 34 may be rotated in either of two directions. Whichever direction is chosen, the ice cubes within the hopper 30 will be engaged by chisel-like edges 60 of the crusher teeth 54. These edges 60 effectively engage and gouge into the ice cubes, and, being driven in rotation, are effective to draw cubes downwardly toward and against one or the other sets of vanes 92 or 94, depending upon vanes 92.

the direction of rotation of the crank assembly 34. The

tendency of the vanes 92 or 94 to rest n e g g cubes enables the chisel-like edges 60 to cleave the ice andthus to fracture the cube into pieces small enough to pass on down through the lower end of the crusher frame 36 and to be deposited in the receptacle 24. It is, of course, clear that if after a cube is first fractured there still remains a piece too big to pass into the receptacle 24, continued rotation; of the crank assembly 34 will bring additional crusher teeth 54 into action against the same cube.

Referring now to Figure 7, it will be noted from the depicted relationship between the crusher teeth 54 and the respective vanes 92 and 94 that the teeth 54 actually pass between the vanes 92, whereas, due to the difference in shape between the vanes 92 and the vanes 94, the teeth 54 do not pass. between the. vanes 94. It is evident then that larger pieces of ice may be passed between the rotating crank assembly 34 and the vanes 94 than can be passed between the assembly 34 and the Hence, it will be understood that rotation of the crank assembly 34 in a clockwise direction will produce relatively'fine crushed ice, whereas rotation in the opposite direction will produce relatively coarse crushed ice.

In operating the ice crusher 20 to crush ice cubes, it will generally be found expedient for the operator to place one hand upon the top of the lid 32, thereby to steady the crusher 20 as the crank assembly 34 is rotated. The smooth rounded top of the lid 32 provides a comfortable hand rest for this natural inclination of the operator, and a slight steadying pressure, coupled with the broad-faced support provided by the receptacle 24, facilitates the simple and efficient operation of the device 20. The crushed ice collected in the receptacle 24 may conveniently be served directly therefrom, it being only necessary to remove the crushing mechanism 22 by lifting it from the top of the receptacle 24, the latter then serving as a convenient dispensing container.

Clearly, there has been described a portable ice crusher which fulfills the objects and advantages sought therefor.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings have been given by way of illustration and example. It is also to be understood that changes in the form of the elements, substitution of equivalent elements, and rearrangement of par-ts, all of which will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, are contemplated as within the scope of the present in,- vention, which is limited only by the claim which fol: lows.

What is claimed is:

A portable ice crusher comprising, in combination, an ice crushing mechanism including a metal crusher frame having a central vertical opening defined, at least in part, by an upstanding wall, a plurality of fixed horizontally spaced vanes integral with and extending inwardly from opposite portions of said wall so as partially to obstruct the vertical opening, a laterally extending skirtlike extension integral with and surrounding said wall at an intermediate elevation and terminating in a depending peripheral fiange, an ice receiving hopper secured in removable interfitting surmounting relationship with, the. crusher frame and communicating with said central opening, a rotatable crusher assembly mounted in the hopper for two-way ice crushing cooperation with said fixed vanes in the crusher frame, and an open top cup-like container removably supporting the aforesaid crushing mechanism and receiving crushed ice therefrom, said container being self-supporting in an upright position and having a portion for stable self-support on a flat surface, said container having an upper rim shaped for snug interfitting engagement with the flanged skirt of the crusher frame, said container being of a cross section to receive crushed ice from the crushing mechanism directly by gravity fall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Goetz June 26, Melcher July 21, Fegley Sept. 26, Chester June 11, Moeller July 16, Majews-ki Aug. 27, Grant Apr. 23,

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