WO2005016098A1

WO2005016098A1 - Juicer with a safety device

Info

Publication number: WO2005016098A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/002698
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jong-Boo Kim
Original assignee: Nuc Electronics Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2003-08-13
Filing date: 2003-12-09
Publication date: 2005-02-24
Also published as: AU2003304417A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a juicer for extracting juice from foodstuffs such as fruits or vegetables by pulverizing them. An object of the present invention is to provide a juicer, wherein the supply of electric power to a driving unit is cut off if a pusher is not inserted into a mouth of the juicer, thereby preventing a safety accident of a user. A juicer with a safety device according to the present invention for achieving the object includes a main body, a driving unit mounted in the main body, a grater and a filter mounted at an upper portion of the main body so that they can be rotated by means of the driving unit to separate fruits or vegetables into juice and pulp, a juice collecting portion provided around the filter to collect the juice that has been separated by passing through the filter and allow the collected juice to be discharged through a juice outlet formed at a side of the juice collecting portion, a cover that covers the top of the juice collecting portion and is formed with a mouth through which the fruits or vegetables are input to the grater, and a cover latch for bringing the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with the main body. The juicer comprises a pusher formed to be insertable into the mouth so as to push the input fruits or vegetables against the grater; a press pin installed at a side of the mouth so that one end thereof can be pressed by the pusher; and a safety switch interlocked with the press pin to allow electric power to be supplied to the driving unit when the press pin is pressed.

Description

JUICER WITH A SAFETY DEVICE

Technical field The present invention relates to a juicer for extracting juice from foodstuffs such as fruits or vegetables by pulverizing them, and more particularly, to a juicer, wherein electric power is supplied to the juicer only when a pusher for pushing fruits or vegetables into the juicer is inserted through a mouth of the juicer through which foodstuffs such as fruits or vegetables are input, thereby preventing a safety accident.

Background Art Generally, a juicer is an appliance that is used to extract juice by pulverizing input foodstuffs such as fruits or vegetables and separating the pulverized foodstuffs into juice and pulp by means of a filter. According to operating methods, juicers are classified into a gear type juicer in which foodstuffs are input between two engaging gears, a rotary type juicer in which foodstuffs are input to a rotating grater, and the like. Among them, as shown in FIG. 19, the rotary type juicer comprises a main body 810 with a driving unit 812 such as a motor mounted therein, a grater 813 and a filter 814 mounted at an upper portion of the main body 810 so that they can be rotated by means of the driving unit 812 to separate fruits or vegetables into juice and pulp, a juice collecting portion 815 provided around the filter 814 to collect the juice separated by passing through the filter 814 and allow the collected juice to be discharged through a juice outlet 816, and a cover 820 that covers the top of the juice collecting portion 815 and has a mouth 822 through which fruits or vegetables are input to the grater 813. Particularly, as shown in FIG. 19, the grater 813 and the filter 814 are integrally structured such that the grater defines the bottom of an inverted, truncated cone and the filter defines a side of the truncated cone. When fruits or vegetables are input into the grater 813 and the filter 814 through the mouth 822 in the conventional juicer constructed as above, a portion of the body of a user may also be introduced thereinto, resulting in injuries to the user. To prevent the occurrence of injuries, the mouth is formed to further extend upward or an inner diameter of the mouth is decreased such that a portion of the body of the user is difficult to be input thereinto upon use of the juicer, and a pusher 840 is used to push the fruits or vegetables toward the grater 813. However, even with such a structure, there may be a risk that a child or infant will put a portion of his/her body into the grater 813 and the filter 814 with curiosity upon operation of the juicer, resulting in injuries to him/her. Particularly, in the case that the inner diameter of the mouth is small, large fruits or vegetables should be cut into small pieces to input them into the mouth. Thus, a lot of manual works are required to operate the juicer, thereby deteriorating the operation efficiency. In the case that the mouth is elongated upward, the size of the juicer unnecessarily increases and thus undesirable large space is required upon packing or storage of the juicer.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention is conceived to solve the aforementioned problems in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a juicer, wherein the supply of electric power to a driving unit is cut off if a pusher is not inserted into a mouth of the juicer, thereby preventing a safety accident of a user . Another object of the present invention is to provide a juicer, which is safe to use even with a large mouth of the juicer and easily and quickly performs its functions. According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the objects, there is provided a juicer with a safety device, including a main body, a driving unit mounted in the main body, a grater and a filter mounted at an upper portion of the main body to be rotated by means of the driving unit to separate fruits or vegetables into juice and pulp, a juice collecting portion provided around the filter to collect the juice separated by passing through the filter and allow the collected juice to be discharged through a juice outlet formed at a side of the juice collecting portion, a cover that covers the top of the juice collecting portion and has a mouth through which the fruits or vegetables are input to the grater, and a cover latch for bringing the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with the main body. The juicer with the savety device comprises a pusher inserted into the mouth to push the input fruits or vegetables against the grater; a press pin installed at a side of the mouth so that one end thereof can be pressed by the pusher; and a safety switch interlocked with the press pin to allow electric power to be supplied to the driving unit when the press pin is pressed. In the juicer, the safety switch may be installed at a side of the cover latch and interlocked with the press pin when the cover latch brings the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with each other. Further, the main body may be formed with an extension extending to the mouth, and the safety switch may be installed at a side of the extension so that the safety switch can be interlocked with the press pin when the cover and the juice collecting portion are brought into close contact with each other. Moreover, an outer peripheral surface of the pusher may be formed with a ledge in an insertion direction of the pusher, an inner peripheral surface of the mouth may be formed with a groove which the ledge is inserted into and guided by, and the press pin may be installed in the groove. According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the objects, there is provided a juicer with a safety device, including a main body, a driving unit mounted in the main body, a grater and a filter mounted at an upper portion of the main body to be rotated by means of the driving unit to separate fruits or vegetables into juice and pulp, a juice collecting portion provided around the filter to collect the juice separated by passing through the filter and allow the collected juice to be discharged through a juice outlet formed at a side of the juice collecting portion, a cover that covers the top of the juice collecting portion and is formed with a mouth through which the fruits or vegetables are input to the grater, and a cover latch for bringing the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with the main body. The juicer with the safety device comprises a split guide insertable into the mouth and provided with partitions for splitting the mouth into a plurality of hollow spaces; a press pin installed at a side of the mouth to be pressed upon insertion of the split guide; and a safety switch interlocked with the press pin to allow electric power to be supplied to the driving unit when the press pin is pressed. In the juicer, the safety switch may be installed at a side of the cover latch and interlocked with the press pin when the cover latch brings the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with each other. Further, the juicer may further comprise a pusher formed to be insertable into the hollow spaces of the split guide to push the input fruits or vegetables against the grater. Moreover, the main body may be formed with an extension extending to the mouth, and the safety switch may be installed at a side of the extension so that the safety switch can be interlocked with the press pin when the cover and the juice collecting portion are brought into close contact with each other. Furthermore, in the juicer of the present invention, the press pin may comprise a first press pin disposed at a side of the cover so that one end thereof is pressed and withdrawn, a second press pin which is disposed at the side of the cover to move in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the first press pin and of which one end is in contact with the other end of the first press pin, a third press pin which is disposed at the side of the cover to move in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the second press pin and of which one end is in contact with the other end of the second press pin and the other end is in contact with the safety switch, and a return means for preventing the other end of the third press pin from pressing the safety switch when the first press pin is not pressed. At this time, at least one of contact surfaces of the first and second press pins where the first and second press pins meet each other and at least one of contact surfaces of the second and third press pins where the second and third press pins meet each other may be formed to be slanted with respect to the moving directions so that cross movement thereof can be made, whereby the second press pin is moved due to the withdrawal of the first press pin and the third press pin is withdrawn due to the movement of the second press pin to operate the safety switch. Further, the press pin may comprise a first press pin disposed at a side of the cover so that one end thereof is pressed and withdrawn, a second press pin which is disposed at the side of the cover to move in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the first press pin and of which one end is in contact with the other end of the first press pin and the other end is in contact with the safety switch, and a return means for preventing the other end of the second press pin from pressing the safety switch when the first press pin is not pressed. At this time, at least one of contact surfaces of the first and second press pins where the first and second press pins meet each other and at least one of contact surfaces of the second press pin and the safety switch where the second press pin and the safety switch meet each other may be formed to be slanted with respect to the moving directions so that cross movement thereof can be made, whereby the second press pin is moved due to the withdrawal of the first press pin to operate the safety switch. Moreover, the press pin may further comprise a flexible cable. In addition, the press pin may be disposed at the side of the cover so that the one end thereof is pressed and withdrawn and the other end thereof comes into contact with the safety switch, thereby operating the safety switch due to the withdrawal of the press pin, and the press pin further comprises a return means for preventing the other end of the press pin from pressing the safety switch when the press pin is not pressed. Further, a plurality of press pins may be provided, and the electric power may be supplied to the driving unit when all of the press pins are pressed. Moreover, the press pins may be disposed at different levels of the mouth, and the electric power may be supplied to the driving unit only when the press pins from an uppermost press pin to a lowermost press pin are pressed sequentially.

Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a juicer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the juicer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 A is an enlarged sectional view of portion X of FIG. 2. FIG. 3B is an enlarged sectional view of portion Y of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a side view of a pusher that is a component of the juicer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 2. FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing a state where a cover latch of the juicer according to the first embodiment of the present invention has been turned down. FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing a safety device of a juicer according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 A is an enlarged sectional view of portion Z of FIG. 8. FIG. 9B is a sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing an example in which the cover latch of the juicer according to the first embodiment of the present invention is modified. FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing another example in which the cover latch of the juicer according to the first embodiment of the present invention is modified. FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13A is a schematic sectional view of another modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13B is a sectional view of an example in which a safety device of the modified example shown in FIG. 13A is modified. FIG. 14A is a partially cut-away perspective view of a modified example in which a safety device of the first embodiment of the present invention is modified. FIG. 14B is a partially cut-away perspective view of another modified example in which the safety device of the first embodiment of the present invention is modified. FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view of a juicer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 16A to 16C are plan views showing upper surfaces of split guides fitted into a mouth of the juicer according to the second embodiment of the present invention, respectively. FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a pusher insertable into the split guide shown in FIG. 16A. FIG. 18 is a schematic sectional view of a juicer according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional juicer.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a juicer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the juicer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The juicer of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided with an operation switch 11 for controlling the juicer at a side of a main body 10 of the juicer. A driving unit 12 of which driving is controlled by the operation switch 11 is mounted in the main body 10. A grater 13 and a filter 14 for pulverizing foodstuffs such as fruits or vegetables and separating the pulverized foodstuffs into juice and pulp are mounted at an upper portion of the main body 10 to be rotated by the driving unit 12. A juice collecting portion 15 is provided around the filter 14 to collect the juice that has been separated by passing through the filter 14 and allow the collected juice to be discharged through a juice outlet 16 formed at a side of the juice collecting portion. Further, a cover 20 is installed at and covers the top of the juice collecting portion 15 to prevent the juice or pulp from being scattered to the outside. A mouth 22 for allowing fruits or vegetables to be input to the grater 13 is formed at a side of the cover 20. The mouth 22 is provided with an upper extension pipe 22a extending upward from a top surface of the cover 20 to store the fruits or vegetables and prevent the grater 13 from being exposed to the outside, and a lower extension pipe 22b extending downward from a bottom surface of the cover 20 to correctly guide the fruits or vegetables introduced into the upper extension pipe 22a of the mouth 22 to the grater 13. The juicer constructed as above is provided with a pusher 40 (shown in FIG. 1) insertable into the mouth 22 extended by the upper and lower extension pipes 22a and 22b to push the fruits or vegetables through the mouth 22. The pusher 40 pushes the fruits or vegetables, which have been input through the mouth 22, against the grater 13 during the operation of the juicer. As a result, the fruits or vegetables can be easily pulverized and separated into the juice and the pulp. The mouth 22 and the upper and lower extension pipes 22a and 22b may have cross sections of various shapes including an ellipse and the like in addition to a circle. A cover latch 24 is pivotably installed at a side of the main body 10 to cause the cover 20 and the juice collecting portion 15 to come into close contact with each other. Catchers 26 each of which has a catching recess 27 in which the cover latch 24 is caught are formed to protrude upward from the top surface of the cover 20. Meanwhile, if the size of the mouth 22 is increased in such a case, a portion of the body of a user may be put into the mouth 22 of the juicer, resulting in injuries to the user. To prevent such injuries, a safety device is installed. The safety device comprises a press pin 32, 33 and 34 that is installed at a side of the mouth 22 of the cover 20 and pressed upon insertion of the pusher 40 into the mouth, and a safety switch 36 that is pressed by the press pin 32, 33 and 34 upon insertion of the pusher into the mouth so that electric power can be supplied to the driving unit 12. The safety switch 36 is installed at a side of the cover latch 24. Thus, the press pin 32, 33 and 34 can be interlocked with the safety switch 36 only when the cover latch 24 causes the cover 20 to come into close contact with the main body 10. The safety switch 36 is connected through the cover latch 24 to the driving unit 12 within the main body 10. The safety device is constructed such that a case 36b for protecting an external appearance of the safety switch 36 is formed to prevent an operating portion 36a of the safety switch 36 from being exposed to the outside in order to ensure that the safety switch 36 is not pressed in a state where the cover latch 24 does not cause the cover 20 to come into close contact with the main body 10. That is, the case 36b prevents the press pin 32, 33 and 34 from pressing the safety switch 36 when the cover latch 24 does not cause the cover 20 to come into close contact with the main body 10. Therefore, the safety switch 36 cannot be operated when the cover 20 is opened or is not in close contact with an upper portion of the juice collecting portion 15. In the long run, the electric power can be supplied to the driving unit 12 only when the cover latch 24 causes the cover 20 to come into close contact with the main body 10 and the pusher 40 is inserted into the mouth 22 to push fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the press pin 32, 33 and 34 is for transmitting a pressing force of the pusher 40 to the safety switch 36 and is installed within a hollow tube 31 formed at a side of the cover 20 and the upper extension pipe 22a of the mouth 22. The press pin 32, 33 and 34 may be disposed at an upper portion of the mouth 22 to sense the pusher 40 introduced from above the mouth 22. The press pin comprises a first press pin 32 of which one end protrudes toward the center of the mouth 22 and the other end has a first slant surface, a second press pin 33 of which one end is formed with a second slant surface sliding on the first slant surface to move in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the first press pin 32, and a third press pin 34 of which one end slides on the other end of the second press pin 33 to move in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the second press pin 33 and to press the safety switch 36. Here, one or both of the contact surfaces of the first and second press pins 32 and 33 on which the first and second press pins 32 and 33 slide and one or both of the contact surfaces of the second and third press pins 33 and 34 on which the second and third press pins 33 and 34 slide, may be formed to be slanted. Meanwhile, portions of the second press pin 33 at predetermined distances from the both ends thereof are formed with first and second flanges 33a and 33b to be guided by an inner surface of the hollow tube 31. Further, the inner surface of the hollow tube 31 is provided with guide grooves 31a and 35c into which a step 32a formed at an end of the first press pin 32 and a step 34b formed at an end of the third press pin 34 are inserted so that their movement can be guided. A third flange 34a formed at the other end 34c of the third press pin 34 is guided by the inner surface of the hollow tube 31. The safety device constructed as above further comprises return means such as springs for returning the first to third press pins 32, 33 and 34 to their original positions. Thus, the third press pin 34 cannot press the operating portion 36a of the safety switch 36 when the pusher 40 is not inserted into the mouth 22. Specifically, the return means such as springs 38 and 39 are provided between the second flange 33b and an end of the hollow tube 31 and/or between the third flange 34a and a guide member 35d so that the other end 34c of the third press pin 34 cannot press the operating portion 36a of the safety switch 36 when the pusher 40 is removed from the mouth (i.e., the first press pin 32 is not pressed). The guide member 35d occludes a lower end of the hollow tube 31 and is formed with a guide hole for guiding the other end 34c of the third press pin 34. Here, a plurality of flanges may be formed at the second or third press pin 33 or 34 to smoothly guide the second or third press pin 33 or 34. It is preferred that the safety device constructed as above be adapted to prevent the occurrence of an undesired operation of the juicer due to pressing of input fruits or vegetables against the first press pin 32. To this end, a ledge 42 is formed on a peripheral surface of the pusher 40 in an insertion direction of the pusher 40 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Further, an inner peripheral surface of the mouth 22 is formed with a groove 23 which the ledge 42 is inserted into and guided by, as shown in FIG. 6. Here, the first press pin 32 is placed within the groove 23. Thus, the ledge 42 of the pusher 40 can operate the first press pin 32 when the pusher 40 is inserted into the mouth. In the ledge 42 of the pusher 40, a lower end 43 of the ledge 42 is slantingly formed to easily press the first press pin 32 when the pusher 40 is inserted into the mouth 22, as shown in FIG. 4. The operation of the juicer of the present invention constructed as above will be described below. A user first removes the pusher 40 that has been put in the mouth 22, and then inputs fruits or vegetables through the mouth 22. When the fruits or vegetables have been input through the mouth 22, the operation switch 11 is manipulated to operate the driving unit 12. The pusher 40 is inserted into the mouth 22 while the ledge 42 of the pusher is guided by the groove 23 of the mouth, so that the fruits or vegetables can come into close contact with the grater 13 or the like. At this time, the ledge 42 of the pusher presses the first press pin 32 installed within the groove 23 of the mouth 22. The first press pin 32 presses down the second press pin 33 that in turn moves downward. Accordingly, the third press pin 34 presses the operating portion 36a of the safety switch 36 to allow electric power to be supplied. When the electric power is supplied, the driving unit 12 and the grater 13 and the filter 14 mounted on the driving unit 12 are rotated to pulverize the fruits or vegetables. Juice from the pulverized fruits or vegetables passes through the filter 14 and is collected in the juice collecting portion 1 and discharged through the juice outlet 16. The safety device is not limited to the embodiment of the present invention but may be modified in various manners. FIGS. 8 to 9B show a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, first to fourth guide members 75a, 75b, 75c and 75d for guiding first to third press pins 72, 73 and 74 may be formed within a hollow tube 71. In this case, a flange 73 a for supporting a spring 79 that returns the second press pin 73 to its original position is formed with a groove 73b at a side of the flange 73a such that the second press pin 73 can pass by the first guide member 75a upon assembly of the safety device. FIGS. 10 and 11 are views showing an example in which the cover latch of the juicer according to the first embodiment of the present invention is modified. As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of cover latches 84 are provided. A safety switch 86 is installed at any one of the cover latches 84. The safety switch 86 is installed in a case 86b so that an operating portion 86a of the safety switch cannot be pressed from the outside. Referring to FIG. 11, a plurality of cover latches 94 pivotable in predetermined directions as shown in the figure are provided. A safety switch 96 may be installed at any one of the cover latches. At this time, hooks 97 cooperating with grooves of the cover latches 94 are formed on the cover 20. In the aforementioned structure, when the safety switch 36 is installed at the cover latch 24, the press pins 32, 33 and 34 consist of a plurality of members in order to transmit a pressing force from the pusher 40 upon insertion of the pusher 40. However, a modification may be made thereto such that a single press pin can directly press the safety switch. That is, in a juicer according to a modified example of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 12, a safety switch 136 is installed at a side of the mouth 22 and a press pin 132 is connected to the safety switch 136. In this case, the safety switch 136 may also be installed at a portion of a cover latch that extends to an upper portion of the mouth 22. That is, the safety switch 136 may be installed at an extension portion 125 of the cover latch 124, and the press pin 132 pressed by means of the pressing force from the pusher 40 may directly operate the safety switch 136. The press pin 132 may include a return means such as a spring 132a for preventing a distal end of the press pin 132 from pressing the safety switch 136 when the press pin 132 is not pressed (i.e., the pusher 40 is removed). As another modification, the safety switch 136 may be installed directly at a side of the upper portion of the mouth 22, and the cover 20 and the juice collecting portion 15 may be provided with electrical wires and contacts such that the safety switch 136 can be connected to the driving unit 12 of the main body 10 via the cover 20 and the juice collecting portion 15. Further, if the safety switch provided in the cover latch is constructed to be positioned close to a side of a lower portion of the mouth, the press pin may comprise a first press pin 232 and a second press pin 233, as shown in FIG. 13A. That is, the first press pin 232 is disposed at a side of the cover 20 such that one end of the first press pin 232 is pressed and withdrawn. The second press pin 233 is disposed at the side of the cover 20 to be movable in a direction crossing the moving direction of the first press pin 232. An end of the second press pin 233 is in contact with the other end of the first press pin 232, and the other end of the second press pin 233 comes into contact with the safety switch 236. At least one of contact surfaces of the first and second press pins 232 and 233 at which the first and second press pins 232 and 233 are in contact with each other and at least one of contact surfaces of the second press pin 233 and the safety switch 236 at which the second press pin 233 and the safety switch 236 are in contact with each other, respectively, are formed to be slanted. Thus, the withdrawal of the first press pin 232 can move the second press pin 233 to operate the safety switch 236. In this case, an operating direction of the operating portion of the safety switch 236 may be perpendicular to that of the safety switch 36 of the previous example. Meanwhile, a return means such as a spring 239 prevents the other end of the second press pin 233 from pressing the safety switch 236 when the first press pin 232 is not pressed. It will be apparent that the materials, structures and the like of the press pins 232 and 233 can be modified in various manners. Meanwhile, in the case where the second press pin 233 is disposed vertically in the juicer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, high friction is produced and thus a large force is required to operate the second press pin. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 13B, a second press pin 333a may be slantingly installed. To this end, a hollow tube 331 formed on the cover 20 and the mouth 22 is slantingly provided. Further, a plurality of cover latches 24 may be installed to enhance the force that brings the cover 20 and the juice collecting portion 15 into close contact with the main body. Moreover, catchers by which the cover latches are caught are formed in correspondence with the cover latches 24. The catchers may be formed at a side surface of the cover. Furthermore, the press pin may comprise a flexible cable that is used for a brake of a bicycle and the like. The cable is installed between the safety switch and the first press pin pressed by the pusher. The cable is fitted into a flexible sheath fixed to an inner surface of the hollow tube. This press pin may be modified to comprise a first press pin pressed upon insertion of the pusher, a tube that is in contact with an end of the first press pin and has both ends deformable like rubber, and an incompressible fluid contained in the tube. That is, when the pusher is inserted into the mouth 22, the first press pin presses the end of the tube, and thus, the other end of the tube expands by means of the incompressible fluid and presses the safety switch. Therefore, the safety switch is operated. To ensure that the safety switch is operated only when the pusher is correctly inserted into the mouth, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the aforementioned juicer is provided with a plurality of safety switches and press pins corresponding thereto so that electric power is supplied to the driving unit only when all of the press pins pressed by the inserted pusher have pressed the respective safety switches. Here, the plurality of safety switches and corresponding press pins may, respectively, be arranged such that they are horizontally or vertically spaced apart by predetermined distances from one another. If the plurality of press pins 432a and 432b are provided in a plurality of grooves 423 a and 423b to be horizontally spaced apart from each other as shown in FIG. 14A, the safety switches are simultaneously pressed by the plurality of press pins 432a and 432b that are pressed by the inserted pusher, as a result electric power is supplied to the driving unit. To this end, the pusher (not shown) is provided with a plurality of ledges corresponding to the number of the safety switches. At this time, the press pins 432a and 432b may be formed to have different heights so that the safety switches allow electric power to be supplied to the driving unit only when the press pins are pressed by the pusher with time intervals, i.e. in sequence. In this case, a further simplified structure can be achieved if the press pins are disposed in a single groove. Referring to FIG. 14B showing such an example, two press pins, i.e. an upper press pin 532a and a lower press pin 532b, may be arranged one above another in a single groove 523. In this case, the pusher is provided with a single ledge extending in the insertion direction of the pusher, contrary to the previous example. In such a safety device constructed as above, the pusher inserted into a mouth 522 sequentially presses the upper and lower press pins 532a and 532b. At this time, the safety switches are constructed such that they allow electric power to be supplied to the driving unit only when the press pins are sequentially pressed, i.e. the upper press pin 532a is pressed and the lower press pin 532b is then pressed. If the plurality of safety devices are installed as described above, it is possible to prevent fruits or vegetables input into the mouth from pressing the press pins and accidentally operating the safety switches. Further, contrary to the foregoing, the press pins may be modified such that some of them are installed at a side of the mouth and the others are installed at the cover latches provided with the safety switches, or that all of them are installed at the cover latches provided with the safety switches. Such modifications can also be applied to other embodiments to be described below. (Second Embodiment) Generally, if elongated and slim fruits or vegetables are input into a juicer, there is a difficulty in operating the juicer since a pusher cannot be inserted or a cover cannot be closed. Further, if the lengths of fruits or vegetables to be input into a mouth of the juicer are large, the fruits or vegetables should be cut into pieces of proper lengths to allow the insertion of the pusher. To overcome such inconvenience, there is proposed a juicer in which fruits or vegetables can be input without cutting them into pieces of proper lengths and the input of them can be guided such that they do not fall down. FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view of a juicer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Contrary to the juicer of the previous embodiment, the juicer of the second embodiment can continue to operate so that fruits or vegetables can be consecutively input into the juicer. To this end, in the juicer of the second embodiment, a split guide 650 for splitting the mouth 22 into a plurality of hollow portions is inserted into the upper extension pipe 22a of the mouth 22, as shown in FIG. 15. Accordingly, the interior of the split guide 650 is provided with partitions 652 for partitioning the mouth into a plurality of spaces to support fruits or vegetables. The partitions 652 may be formed to takes various shapes as shown in FIGS. 16A to 16C. When the split guide 650 is inserted into the mouth 22 in the juicer of the second embodiment constructed as above, the press pins 32, 33 and 34 installed at a side of the mouth are pressed. The pressing of the split guide against the press pins 32, 33 and 34 operates the press pins 32, 33 and 34, thereby operating the safety switch 36 for allowing electric power to be supplied to the driving unit 12. The safety switch 36 is installed at a side of the cover latch 24 such that when the cover latch 24 brings the cover 20 into close contact with the juice collecting portion 15, the press pins 32, 33 and 34 are interlocked with the safety switch 36. Further, a pusher 660 for brining input fruits or vegetables into close contact with the grater can be inserted into the hollow portions of the split guide 650. At this time, as shown in FIG. 17, the pusher 660 is formed with accommodation grooves 662 for accommodating the partitions. Since the mouth is split into the small hollow spaces by means of the split guide 650 in the second embodiment, a portion of the body of a user cannot be introduced into the mouth. Thus, even when the safety switch is operated due to the insertion of only the split guide 650 rather than the pusher contrary to the aforementioned first embodiment, safety can be secured. (Third Embodiment) FIG. 18 is a schematic sectional view of a juicer according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the first and second embodiments, the safety switch is installed at a side of the cover latch that brings the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with the main body. However, in the juicer of the third embodiment, a safety switch 736 is installed at a side of the main body 10. That is, a press pin 732 is installed at a side of the cover 20 such that the press pin is pressed upon insertion of a pusher (not shown). An extension 711 extending to the mouth 22 is formed at a side of the main body 10, and a safety switch 736 is installed at a side of the extension 711 such that the safety switch is operated when the press pin 732 is pressed. Further, the juicer is provided with a fixing means (not shown) for bringing the cover 20 and the juice collecting portion 15 into close contact with the main body 10. For example, as for the fixing means, lower portions of the cover and the juice collecting portion are formed with hooks, respectively, and upper portions of the juice collecting portion and the main body are formed with hook catchers that are engaged with the respective hooks to fix the cover and the juice collecting portion to the main body. It is possible to change the positions where the hooks and the hook catchers are formed, and various modifications can be made in view of their constitutions. Although the juicer with the safety device according to the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes thereto within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A juicer with a safety device, including a main body, a driving unit mounted in the main body, a grater and a filter mounted at an upper portion of the main body to be rotated by means of the driving unit to separate fruits or vegetables into juice and pulp, a juice collecting portion provided around the filter to collect the juice separated by passing through the filter and allow the collected juice to be discharged through a juice outlet formed at a side of the juice collecting portion, a cover that covers the top of the juice collecting portion and has a mouth through which the fruits or vegetables are input to the grater, and a cover latch for bringing the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with the main body, comprising: a pusher formed to be insertable into the mouth to push the input fruits or vegetables against the grater; a press pin installed at a side of the mouth, one end of the press pin being pressed by the pusher; and a safety switch interlocked with the press pin to allow electric power to be supplied to the driving unit when the press pin is pressed.

2. The juicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the safety switch is installed at a side of the cover latch and interlocked with the press pin when the cover latch brings the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with each other.

3. The juicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main body has an extension extending to the mouth, and the safety switch is installed at a side of the extension and interlocked with the press pin when the cover and the juice collecting portion are brought into close contact with each other.

4. The juicer as claimed in claim 1, wherein an outer peripheral surface of the pusher has a ledge in an insertion direction of the pusher, an inner peripheral surface of the mouth has a groove that the ledge is inserted into and guided by, and the press pin is installed in the groove.

5. A juicer with a safety device, including a main body, a driving unit mounted in the main body, a grater and a filter mounted at an upper portion of the main body to be rotated by means of the driving unit to separate fruits or vegetables into juice and pulp, a juice collecting portion provided around the filter to collect the juice separated by passing through the filter and allow the collected juice to be discharged through a juice outlet formed at a side of the juice collecting portion, a cover that covers the top of the juice collecting portion and has a mouth through which the fruits or vegetables are input to the grater, and a cover latch for bringing the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with the main body, comprising: a split guide insertable into the mouth and provided with partitions for splitting the mouth into a plurality of hollow spaces; a press pin installed at a side of the mouth to be pressed upon insertion of the split guide; and a safety switch interlocked with the press pin to allow electric power to be supplied to the driving unit when the press pin is pressed.

6. The juicer as claimed in claim 5, wherein the safety switch is installed at a side of the cover latch and interlocked with the press pin when the cover latch brings the cover and the juice collecting portion into close contact with each other.

7. The juicer as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a pusher formed to be insertable into the hollow spaces of the split guide to push the input fruits or vegetables against the grater.

8. The juicer as claimed in claim 5, wherein the main body has an extension extending to the mouth, and the safety switch is installed at a side of the extension and interlocked with the press pin when the cover and the juice collecting portion are brought into close contact with each other.

9. The juicer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the press pin comprises a first press pin disposed at a side of the cover so that one end thereof is pressed and withdrawn, a second press pin which is disposed at the side of the cover to move in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the first press pin and of which one end is in contact with the other end of the first press pin, a third press pin which is disposed at the side of the cover to move in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the second press pin and of which one end is in contact with the other end of the second press pin and the other end is in contact with the safety switch, and a return means for preventing the other end of the third press pin from pressing the safety switch when the first press pin is not pressed, wherein at least one of contact surfaces of the first and second press pins where the first and second press pins meet each other and at least one of contact surfaces of the second and third press pins where the second and third press pins meet each other are slanted with respect to the moving directions so that cross movement thereof can be made, whereby the second press pin is moved due to the withdrawal of the first press pin and the third press pin is withdrawn due to the movement of the second press pin to operate the safety switch.

10. The juicer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the press pin comprises a first press pin disposed at a side of the cover so that one end thereof is pressed and withdrawn, a second press pin which is disposed at the side of the cover to move in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the first press pin and of which one end is in contact with the other end of the first press pin and the other end is in contact with the safety switch, and a return means for preventing the other end of the second press pin from pressing the safety switch when the first press pin is not pressed, wherein at least one of contact surfaces of the first and second press pins where the first and second press pins meet each other and at least one of contact surfaces of the second press pin and the safety switch where the second press pin and the safety switch meet each other are slanted with respect to the moving directions so that cross movement thereof can be made, whereby the second press pin is moved due to the withdrawal of the first press pin to operate the safety switch.

11. The juicer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the press pin further comprises a flexible cable.

12. The juicer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the press pin is disposed at the side of the mouth so that the one end thereof is pressed and withdrawn and the other end thereof comes into contact with the safety switch, thereby operating the safety switch due to the withdrawal of the press pin, and the press pin further comprises a return means for preventing the other end of the press pin from pressing the safety switch when the press pin is not pressed.

13. The juicer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a plurality of press pins are provided, and the electric power is supplied to the driving unit when all of the press pins are pressed.

14. The juicer as claimed in claim 13, wherein the press pins are disposed at different levels of the mouth, and the electric power is supplied to the driving unit only when the press pins from an uppermost press pin to a lowermost press pin are pressed sequentially.