WO2004006744A1

WO2004006744A1 - Kitchen appliance

Info

Publication number: WO2004006744A1
Application number: PCT/IT2002/000453
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giorgio Tedioli; Andrea Marcone; Andrea Bortolotti
Original assignee: Imetec S.P.A.
Priority date: 2002-07-10
Filing date: 2002-07-10
Publication date: 2004-01-22
Also published as: ITMI20031235A1; ITMI20031235A0; AU2002320777A1

Abstract

Kitchen appliance (3) comprising -a container (6) for food (13), -a food processing tool (8) housed in the container (6), -a cover (2) for the container, and -means for actuating the food processing tool (8), characterised in that it also comprises a mechanism (1,3,4) comprising a support (3), provided with at least one scraping element (4), adapted to be housed inside the container (6) and actuation means (1) adapted to actuate the movement of the support (3) so as to allow the scraping of the inner side wall of the container (6) by said at least one scraping element (4) and the removal of food from said wall.

Description

Kitchen appliance

* * *

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a kitchen appliance (for example, of the food processor, apparatus for making food, blender or mixer type) comprising a food container, a food processing tool, a cover for the container, means for actuating the food processing tool and a mechanism for removing the food accumulated along the inner side wall of the container.

The safety regulations for kitchen appliances of the food processor, apparatus for making food, blender or mixer type, generally require the user not to be able to touch dangerous parts (for example, blades or beaters) in motion during their operation.

Kitchen appliances are, therefore, typically equipped with a safety system suitable for the purpose. For example, they are equipped with a safety system adapted to interrupt the power supply to the motor when the cover is opened during the operation of the appliance ^'or adapted to prevent the cover from being opened during the operation of the appliance .

Such safety systems, however, make the opening/closing o.f a cover of an appliance rather difficult due to the presence of interlocks, switches, various guides or the like.

Moreover, the centrifugal force caused by the high speed of rotation of the food processing tool and the position thereof (which, being typically on the bottom of the container, does not allow the inner side wall of the container to be reached) can cause an accumulation of part of the food to be processed on the inner side wall of the container before the processing cycle is complete. This means an only partial processing of the food. Currently, in order to obtain a homogeneous food processing, the user is forced to open and close the cover of the appliance many times to remove the food from the inner side walls of the container and to take it back within the range of the food processing tool.

Nevertheless, due to what said above, such a repeated opening/closing action of the cover constitutes an annoyance and a waste of time for the user.^'

The technical problem of the present invention is that of facilitating the intervention by the user on the part of food accumulated on the inner side walls of the container of a kitchen appliance.

The present invention therefore relates, in its first aspect, to a kitchen appliance comprising

- a food container,

- a food processing tool housed in the container,

- a cover for the container, and

- means for actuating the food processing tool,

characterised in that it also comprises a mechanism comprising a support, provided with at least one scraping element, adapted to be housed inside the container and actuation means adapted to actuate the movement of the support so as to allow the scraping of the inner side wall of the container by the scraping element and the removal of food from said wall.

The appliance of the invention, thanks to the aforementioned mechanism, allows a user to intervene effectively on food accumulated on the inner side wall of the container without forcing him to repeatedly open and close the cover. Moreover, it allows intervention not just with the appliance switched off but also during operation. Particular embodiments of the invention are indicated in the dependent claims.

Advantageously, the actuation means are adapted to actuate the rotation of the support.

Preferably, the support is provided with a plurality of scraping elements . This allows the scraping operation of the inner side wall of the container to be improved.

Typically, the tool is housed on the bottom of the container.

Advantageously, the actuation means are adapted to actuate the rotation of the support from outside of the appliance. Advantageously, the actuation means are adapted to actuate the rotation of the support with the cover closed.

Advantageously, the removal of food from said wall takes place with the cover closed.

Preferably, the mechanism is rotary.

Preferably, the actuation means are operatively connected to the cover .

The kitchen appliance preferably comprises connection means between the actuation means and the cover adapted to allow the movement of the actuation means with respect to the cover. Advantageously, the movement of the actuation means is rotary.

In a preferred embodiment, said connection means comprise a plurality of hooks associated with the actuation means.

Preferably, the kitchen appliance also comprises a slot situated on the cover .

The aforementioned hooks are advantageously adapted to be inserted inside said at least one slot for clamping the cover . Advantageously, the support is circular. Preferably, it is circular crown-shaped.

Advantageously, said at least one scraping element is adapted to define, in movement, an outer side surface which is conjugated with respect to the inner side surface of the container .

Advantageously, the number of scraping elements is chosen in such a way as to allow the whole inner side surface of the container to be scoured with a single rotation of the hand of an average user.

Advantageously, the kitchen appliance comprises connecting means between the actuation means and the support, adapted to transmit the movement of the actuation means to the support .

In a preferred embodiment, said connection means comprise a plurality of seats situated on an upper surface of the support. Preferably, the seats cover the whole upper surface. Advantageously, said connection means also comprise at _. least one tooth associated with said actuation means, said at least one tooth being adapted to engage the support in correspondence with a respective seat. Preferably, said at least one tooth engages the support in correspondence with a respective seat passing through said at least one slot.

In an alternative embodiment, each hook is adapted to engage the support in correspondence with a respective seat in such a way as to transfer the movement of the actuation means to the support. In this case the hooks carry out the function both of the connection means between the actuation means and the cover and of the connection means between the actuation means and the support, making the presence of the teeth no longer necessary.

Advantageously, the actuation means comprise grip means so that they can be put into rotation by a user. Typically, the kitchen appliance comprises connection means between the tool and the container adapted to allow rotary motion of the tool with respect to the container.

Typically, the actuation means of the food processing tool comprise a motor.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention shall become clearer from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given with reference to the attached drawings. In such drawings,

- figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a kitchen appliance according to the invention;

- figure 2 is an exploded schematic perspective view from a first point of view of an upper portion of the appliance of figure 1;

- figure 3 is an exploded schematic perspective view from a second point of view of an upper portion of the appliance of figure 1;

- figure 4 is a cutaway schematic perspective view of an upper portion of the appliance of figure 1;

- figure 5 is a schematic front partial section view of an upper portion of the appliance of figure 1;

- figure 6 is a section top schematic view of the appliance of figure 1, in a first working configuration thereof;

- figure 7 is a section top schematic view of the appliance of figure 1, in a second working configuration thereof;

- figure 8 is a section top schematic view of a portion of the appliance of figure 1, in a third working configuration thereof, which is intermediate between the first and second configurations of figures 6 and 7.

In such figures, a kitchen appliance according to the invention is indicated with 30 and comprises a container 6 for the food 13, a tool 8 for processing the food 13, a cover 2 for the container 6, a base 11 and a support foot 14.

The base 11 comprises a motor (not shown) for actuating the tool 8 and a switch 20 for actuating the motor.

In a preferred embodiment, the support foot 14 comprises a lead-holding protrusion 18.

In the illustrated embodiment the appliance 30 is a food processor and the tool 8 consists of blades of the conventional type . ^'

According to some variants, the tool 8 can also consist of beaters, blending or crushing accessories or expansion disks .

The tool 8 is housed on the bottom of the container 6, preferably in a central position.

Advantageously, the container 6 is substantially cylindrical, open on the top. The bottom of the container 6 is adapted to house the tool 8. Conventional connection means 16 between the tool 8 and the container 6 allow the rotary motion of the tool 8 with respect to the container 6. Moreover, conventional connection means 21 allow the connection between the container 6 and the base 11.

The cover 2 has a shape (substantially cylindrical in the figures) and size such as to cover the container 6. Moreover, it is equipped with connection means 19 to the base 11. Such means are of the conventional type . Advantageously, the cover 2 comprises, moreover, a conventional safety system (not shown) . For example, such a safety system is adapted to allow power to be supplied to the motor only when the cover 2 is in closed and correct position or for preventing the cover 2 from being opened when the appliance 30 is in operation. Moreover, the cover 2 advantageously consists of transparent material so as to allow the user to see inside the container 6.

The appliance 30 also comprises a mechanism for removing food accumulated along the inner side wall of the container 6 during the processing of food 13.

Such a mechanism comprises actuation means 1 and a support 3 with a plurality of scraping elements 4.

In the illustrated embodiment, the support 3 is circular crown-shaped with an upper and lower surface. In a variant

(not shown) the support 3 can have a circular shape (i.e. it can substantially consist of a full circle) . In this case, the support 3 is advantageously made from transparent material so as to allow the user to see inside the container 6.

The upper surface 3 has a plurality of notched radial seats 5.

The scraping elements 4 are arranged along the outer perimeter of the lower surface of the support 3 , in a vertical position. Advantageously the scraping elements 4 are angularly equidistant. Preferably, the scraping elements 4 are in a number such as to scrape all of the inner side surface of the container 6 with a single rotation of the hand of a user. The Applicant has found that a suitable number for the purpose is, for example, five scraping elements, as illustrated in the figures. A greater number of scraping elements allows the whole inner side surface to be scraped with a lower angle of rotation of the hand of the user or allows the same portions of the inner side surface to be scraped twice with a single rotation.

The scraping elements 4 are of a length such as not to be intercepted by the tool 8 during its rotation. In the illustrated embodiment, in which the lower blade of the tool 8 almost skims the inner side surface of the container 6, the scraping elements 4 are raised with respect to the bottom of the container 6. Moreover, the scraping elements 4 follow the profile of the inner side surface of the container 6. In the illustrated embodiment, they have a symmetrical shape and are slightly tapered towards the lower end. The symmetrical shape advantageously allows the same performance in a clockwise and anti-clockwise direction to be achieved. Moreover, in the illustrated embodiment, the scraping elements 4 have a V-shaped cross- section. The Applicant has found that such a V-shape allows the moulding of a single piece comprising the support 3 and the scraping elements 4 to be improved during the production process. Alternatively, they can, for example, have a triangular cross-section. The scraping elements 4 with a V-shaped or triangular cross-section have inclined surfaces with respect to the normal of the inner side surface of the container 6, advantageously allowing the removal of food to be improved.

The support 3 is of a size such as to allow its insertion inside the container 6 and to ensure that the scraping elements 4 are in contact with the inner side surface of the support 3 so as to be able to scrape it with the rotation of the support 3. In other words, the scraping elements 4 define an outer side surface (for example cylindrical) which is conjugated to the inner surface (for example cylindrical) of the container 6.

Advantageously, the outer edge of the support 3 is adapted to rest on the edge of the container 6.

The support 3 is removable from the container 6. When the support 3 is removed therefrom, the appliance 30 operates in a conventional manner.

The actuation means 1 are adapted to be put into rotation by a user and to transmit their rotary motion to the support 3 so that the scraping elements 4 scrape the inner T2002/000453

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side surface of the container 6.

In the illustrated embodiment, the actuation means 1 are ring-shaped. Moreover, they comprise a lower portion 17 and an upper portion 15.

The upper portion 15 is adapted to allow a user to grip it in his hand.

The lower portion 17 comprises connection means to the cover 2 and connection means between the actuation means 1 and the support 3 , adapted to transmit the rotary movement of the actuation means 1 to the support 3.

The cover 2 has an upper surface with at least one slot 7 (or sliding guide) .

In a preferred embodiment, the slot 7 extends over an arc of circumference. Such an arc of circumference is defined by an angle α (figures 6 and 7) .

The angle α is advantageously less than 360°. This allows the rotation of the hand of the user to be constrained between two working positions and allows excessive torsion of the hand to be prevented. Moreover, the angle is advantageously equal to or greater than the angle β between two consecutive scraping elements 4 (i.e. than the angle β subtended from the arc of circumference defined by two consecutive scraping elements 4) . This advantageously allows a portion of inner side wall of the container 6 - which has an angular aperture which is respectively equal to or greater than that between two consecutive scraping elements - to be scraped. In other words, this allows the whole inner side wall of the container 6 to be scraped at least once, with a single rotation of the hand of the user.

Advantageously, the cover 2 has an upper surface with more than one slot 7 (in the illustrated embodiment there are three slots 7) . The slots 7 are advantageously angularly equidistant and extend over arcs of circumference which define an angle α equal to each other. The angle a is less than 360° and is equal to or greater than the angle β between two consecutive scraping elements 4. In the illustrated embodiment the angle α is greater than the angle β .

In an embodiment (not shown) , the slot 7 is a circular opening which extends over almost all of the upper surface of the cover 2. In such a case, the actuation means 1 are advantageously closed on the top by a substantially circular surface so as to close the cover 2 on top.

In an embodiment, the connection means between the actuation means 1 and the support 3 comprise at least one tooth 12. Advantageously, such connection means comprise a plurality of teeth 12 (for example, in the figures three teeth 12 are illustrated) . A number of teeth 12 greater than one allows the motion transmission from the actuation means 1 to the support 3 to be eased.

Typically, the upper surface of the cover 2 has as many slots 7 as there are teeth 12.

When the actuation means 1 are put into position on the cover 2, each tooth 12 is adapted to pass through a respective slot 7 and to engage the support 3 at a respective seat 5 (figures 4 and 5) .

Advantageously, the seats 5 cover the whole upper surface of the support 3. This allows each tooth 12 to hook on a respective seat 5 for whatever angular position of the actuation means 1 with respect to the support 3.

The lower portion 17 of the actuation means 1 has transversal dimensions such as to cover the slots 7 once the actuation means are positioned on the cover 2. This allows undesirable escaping of food 13 during operation of the appliance 30 to be avoided.

In the illustrated embodiment, the connection means between the actuation means 1 and the cover 2 consist of a plurality of sealing hooks 10.

Typically, there are as many hooks 10 as the slots 7.

Each hook 10 is adapted to be inserted into a respective slot 7 to hook the cover 2. Moreover, the hooks 10 are adapted to allow the rotation of actuation means 1 with respect to the cover 2 (figures 4 and 5) .

In the illustrated embodiment the hooks 10 are arranged along the inner perimeter of the lower portion 17 of the actuation means 1.

Moreover, in the illustrated embodiment the teeth 12 are arranged along the perimeter of the lower portion 17 , on the outside with respect to the hooks 10, and each in correspondence with a respective hook 10.

To make the cleaning of the various parts easier, the actuation means 1 can be separated from the cover 2 opening up the sealing hooks 10.

In an alternative embodiment which is not shown, the hooks 10 have a toothed shape such as to engage the support 3 in correspondence with the seats 5. This advantageously allows the presence of the teeth 12 to be eliminated and allows the two functions of the hooks and of the teeth to be carried out with a single element.

According to a variant (not shown) , the connection means between the actuation means 1 and the cover 2 consist of a conventional snap connection.

During the operation of the appliance 30, the centrifugal force caused by the high speed of rotation of the tool 8 causes an accumulation of the food to be processed on the inner side wall of the container 6 before the processing cycle has been completed.

As shown in detail in figures 4, 6-8, to remove food from such a wall and to take it back within the range of the tool 8 , the user can rotate the actuation means 1 gripping them by the upper portion 15. Thanks to the teeth 12 , the actuation means 1 pull the support 3 into rotation with it so as to scrape all of the inner side wall of the container 6 with the scraping elements 4.

As highlighted in figures 3 , 6 and 7 , in each slot 7 a first stop surface in correspondence with a first end of the slot 7 and a second stop surface in correspondence with a second end of the slot 7 are defined. The user can rotate, also repeatedly, the actuation means 1 between a first operating position - which corresponds to the configuration in which each tooth 12 abuts against the first stop surface of the respective slot 7 - and a second operating position - which corresponds to the configuration in which each tooth 12 abuts against the second stop surface of the respective slot 7, and vice-versa.

By acting upon the actuation means 1, the user therefore manages to effectively intervene on the food accumulated on the inner side wall of the container 6 without being forced to repeatedly open and close the cover 2. Moreover, the intervention can be carried out not only with the appliance switched off but also during its operation.

Claims

1. Kitchen appliance (30) comprising

- a container (6) for food (13),

- a food processing tool (8) housed in the container (6), - a cover (2) for the container, and

- means for actuating the food processing tool (8) , characterised in that it also comprises a mechanism (1,3,4) comprising a support (3) , provided with at least one scraping element (4) , adapted to be housed inside the container (6) and actuation means (1) adapted to actuate the movement of the support (3) so as to allow the scraping of the inner side wall of the container (6) by said at least one scraping element (4) and the removal of food from said wall.

2. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claim 1, wherein the mechanism (1,3,4) is a rotary mechanism.

3. Kitchen appliance (30)" according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the actuation means (1) are operatively connected to the cover (2) .

4. Kitchen appliance (30) according to any of claims 1 to 3, comprising connection means (10) between the actuation means (1) and the cover (2) adapted to allow the movement of the actuation means (1) with respect to the cover (2) .

5. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claim 4, wherein the movement of actuation means (1) is rotary.

6. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein said connection means (10) comprise a plurality of hooks (10) associated with the actuation means (1) .

7. Kitchen appliance (30) according to any of claims 1 to 6, comprising at least one slot (7) located on the cover

(2) .

8. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claim 7 when dependent upon claim 6, wherein the hooks (10) are adapted to be inserted into said at least one slot (7) to grasp the cover (2 ) .

9. Kitchen appliance (30) according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the support (3) is circular.

10. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claim 9, wherein said support (3) is circular crown-shaped.

11. Kitchen appliance (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein said at least one scraping element (4) is adapted to define, in movement, an outer side surface which is conjugated with respect to the inner side wall of the container ( 6) .

12. Kitchen appliance (30) according to any of claims 1 to 11, comprising connection means between the actuation means (1) and the support (3), adapted to transmit the movement of the actuation means (1) to the support (3) .

13. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claim 12, wherein said connection means comprise a plurality of seats (5) situated on an upper surface of the support (3) .

14. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claim 13, wherein said connection means also comprise at least one tooth (12) associated with said actuation means (1) , said at least one tooth (12) being adapted to engage the support (3) in correspondence with a respective seat (5) .

15. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claims 14 and 7, wherein said at least one tooth (12) engages the support (3) in correspondence with a respective seat (5) passing through said at least one slot 7.

16. Kitchen appliance (30) according to claims 6 and 13, wherein each hook (10) is adapted to engage the support (3) in correspondence with a respective seat (5) in such a way as to transfer the movement of the actuation means (1) to the support ( 3 ) .

17. Kitchen appliance (30) according to any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the actuation means (1) comprise grip means (15) so that they can be put into rotation by a user.