Vertical mixer with vertically movable bowl

Abstract

A vertical mixer includes: a base including a pocket; a support arm attached to the base and extending upwardly from the base; a head attached to the upper end of the support arm and extending substantially horizontally from the upper end of the support arm above the recess in the base; and a bowl including a lower skirt configured to be mounted in the recess of the base. The concave seat comprises one of a plurality of bulges and a plurality of grooves; the skirt includes the other of the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of grooves. The protrusions and the grooves are disposed substantially vertically to allow the skirt (a) to be substantially directly vertically lowered into the pocket for installation, each protrusion being received in a respective groove, and (b) to be substantially directly vertically raised from the pocket for detachment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The Invention The present invention relates generally to blenders and, more particularly, to stand blenders. Background Art

[0002] A stand mixer is a popular household appliance used for a variety of tasks in combining ingredients, such as stirring, emulsifying, and blending. A stand mixer typically includes a base that supports a bowl, an upright support arm extending upward from the base, and a cantilevered "head" extending horizontally from the upright support arm, to which a beater is mounted. The beater extends downward from the arm into the bowl for use.

[0003] Stand mixers typically use a beater mounted near the front end of a head. Typically, the beaters are mounted in the head via a planetary gear arrangement or similar arrangement, enabling the beaters to thoroughly mix the ingredients within the bowl without scraping the sides or bottom of the bowl. In this arrangement, each beater rotates about an axis defined by its shaft, and a pair of beaters rotate together about an axis centered on the bowl. The planetary gear arrangement can be any arrangement known to those skilled in the art (see, for example, U.S. Patent No. 5,934,802) and need not be described in detail here.

[0004] While other mechanisms may exist, stand mixers generally employ one of two basic techniques to enable the bowl to be inserted into or removed from position under the beater: a tilt head or a lift bowl. Tilt head mixers typically place the motor in the mixer head and generally use lighter components and less powerful motors. The head tilts away from the mixing bowl via a pivot mechanism to move the beaters into and out of position. An exemplary tilt head stand mixer is the Hamilton Beach Model 63325, available from Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. (Richmond, Virginia, Applicant). Lift bowl moves the bowl while the stand mixer head is stationary so that the beaters of the mixer are located in the bowl when the bowl is lifted.

[0005] For tilt-head blenders, because the beaters can move relative to the bowl, thereby blending the contents of all parts of the bowl, the bowl remains stationary relative to the base during blending. The bowl is typically configured to be fixed during blending, but can be removed from the base once blending is complete to allow for removal of blended food, cleaning of the bowl, etc. Because bowl removal occurs virtually every time the blender is used, a simple and efficient way to secure the bowl to the base may be desirable. Summary of the Invention

[0006] As a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a stand mixer comprising: a base including a recess; a support arm attached to the base and extending upward from the base; a head attached to an upper end of the support arm and extending substantially horizontally from the upper end of the support arm above the recess in the base; and a bowl including a lower skirt configured to fit within the recess of the base. The recess includes one of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of recesses; and the skirt includes another of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of recesses. The protrusions and recesses are arranged generally vertically to allow the skirt to (a) be lowered substantially vertically directly into the recess for installation, with each protrusion being received in a corresponding recess, and (b) be raised substantially vertically directly from the recess for removal.

[0007] As a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a bowl assembly for a stand mixer, comprising: a base including a generally recessed seat; a support arm attached to the base and extending upward from the base; a head attached to an upper end of the support arm and extending substantially horizontally from the upper end of the support arm above a recess in the base; and a bowl including a generally lower skirt configured to fit within the recess of the base. The recess includes one of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of recesses; and the skirt includes another of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of recesses. The protrusions and recesses are arranged generally vertically to allow the skirt to be lowered substantially vertically directly into the recess for installation, with each protrusion being received in a corresponding recess. The protrusions and recesses are configured to prevent the bowl from rotating relative to the base when installed.

[0008] As a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a stand mixer comprising: a base including a recess; a support arm attached to the base and extending upward from the base; a head attached to the upper end of the support arm and extending substantially horizontally from the upper end of the support arm above the recess in the base; and a bowl including a lower skirt configured to fit within the recess of the base. The recess includes one of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of grooves; the skirt includes another of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of grooves. The protrusions and grooves are arranged generally vertically to allow the skirt to be lowered substantially directly vertically into the recess for installation, with each protrusion being received in a corresponding groove. When the bowl is installed, the lower edge of the skirt engages the bottom surface of the recess. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stand mixer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure with the head tilted to a lowered position.

[0010] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Side view of a stand mixer with the head tilted to the raised position and the beaters removed.

[0011] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A top perspective view of the bowl of a stand mixer.

[0012] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A perspective cross-sectional view of a bowl, showing a mixer.

[0013] Figure 5 yes Figure 3 A top perspective view of the skirt of the bowl.

[0014] Figure 6 yes Figure 3 Bottom perspective view of the skirt of the bowl.

[0015] Figure 7 yes Figure 1 A top perspective view of the recess in the base of a stand mixer.

[0016] Figure 8 yes Figure 1 A significantly enlarged partial view of the recess in the base of a stand mixer.

[0017] Figure 9 yes Figure 1 A significantly enlarged cross-sectional view of the bowl and recess of a stand mixer showing the bowl being lowered into the recess. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present invention will now be described more fully below, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. However, the present invention can be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Of course, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the accompanying drawings, like numbers always refer to like elements. For clarity, the thickness and size of some components may be increased.

[0019] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless specifically defined as such herein.

[0020] The terminology used herein is intended only to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that when used in this specification, the terms "include" and / or "comprise" specify the presence of the stated features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, parts, and / or collections thereof. As used herein, the expression "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the relevant listed items.

[0021] Additionally, spatially relative terms may be used herein for ease of description, such as "below," "beneath," "lower," "above," "upper," etc., to describe one element or feature in relation to another element or feature illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0022] Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and / or clarity.

[0023] Referring now to the drawings, a stand mixer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. Figures 1-9 2 and generally designated 20. Stand mixer 20 includes a base 22 that rests on an underlying surface, such as a kitchen counter, a vertical support arm 24 extending upward from one end of base 22, and a head 26 extending generally horizontally and forwardly from an upper end of support arm 24. (As used herein, a "forward" or "front" direction is defined by a horizontal vector extending from support arm 24 toward the opposite end of base 22. A "rear" direction is opposite the forward direction.) Head 26 is pivotally attached to support arm 24 so that head 26 can be tilted (i.e., with the front end of head 26 raised) to allow bowl 50 to be removed from or installed on base 22. One or more beaters 28 are mounted near the free end of head 26 and extend downwardly.

[0024] Now refer to Figure 3-Figure 6 The bowl 50 has a curved side wall 52 that smoothly merges with a ruffled bottom surface 54 (see FIG. Figure 4 and Figure 8 ) are combined to define an open-ended stirring space. A generally cylindrical skirt 56 (which may be formed as a separate component) extends downwardly from the bottom surface 54. Figure 5 and Figure 6As shown, the skirt 56 includes three grooves 58 that are approximately equidistant from one another in the circumferential direction. Each groove 58 includes an inner wall 60 and a side wall 62. Each groove 58 is slightly tapered such that it is slightly wider at its lower end than at its upper end. In some embodiments, the tapering causes the side wall 62 to be inclined at an angle of between approximately 80 and 89 degrees relative to the lower edge of the skirt 56.

[0025] Now refer to Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the base 22 includes a generally cylindrical recess 70 sized to accommodate the skirt 56 of the bowl 50. The recess 70 includes a generally horizontal annular bottom surface 72 and a generally vertical sidewall 74. The diameter of the sidewall 74 is typically selected so that the skirt 58 can fit tightly in the recess. Three protrusions 76 extend radially inward from the sidewall 74. The protrusions 76, which are generally circumferentially positioned relative to each other, extend from the bottom surface 72 to terminate just below the upper edge of the recess 70. Like the recess 58, the protrusions 76 are slightly tapered so that their lower ends are slightly wider than their upper ends. The depth of the protrusions 76 (i.e., their radial dimension) is similar to the depth of the recess 58.

[0026] As reference Figure 2 and Figure 9 As can be appreciated, bowl 50 can be positioned / installed on base 22 by rotating bowl 50 about a vertical axis above recess 70 until recess 58 is substantially aligned with protrusion 76. Bowl 50 can then be lowered so that skirt 56 is received within recess 70 and recess 58 receives protrusion 76. Because the lower end of each recess 58 is wider than the upper end of each protrusion 76, there is some "play" or "float" that allows protrusion 76 to be inserted into recess 58 even if bowl 50 is not perfectly rotationally aligned. As bowl 50 continues to be lowered, the taper of recess 58 and protrusion 76 helps guide bowl 50 into the correct orientation. Bowl 50 stops its downward movement when the lower edge of skirt 56 engages the bottom surface 72 of the recess (as in the illustrated embodiment), or when the upper edge of recess 70 engages the lower surface of bowl 50 or skirt 56.

[0027] In this position, bowl 50 can be seen to be secured within base 22 and does not move or rotate when the stand mixer is in operation (i.e., when beaters 30 are rotated); the interaction between protrusion 76 of recess 70 of base 22 and groove 58 of bowl 50 prevents any relative rotation. In some embodiments, groove 58 covers or overlaps protrusion 76 by more than approximately 35 mm in the vertical dimension; in some embodiments, the groove may overlap the protrusion by approximately 45 mm, or even 55 mm in some cases. This amount of overlap provides sufficient stability for bowl 50 relative to base 22, preventing it from significantly moving during operation of stand mixer 20. In some existing stand mixers, the bowl is secured to the base via a bayonet-style rotating action or some other rotating interaction, which allows the bowl to be lowered for installation and raised for removal. However, in some cases (e.g., when mixing bread dough or other very viscous foods), the rotational forces exerted on the bowl may be sufficient to "overlock" the bowl to the base, making it difficult to disengage and remove the bowl from the base. Because the embodiments shown herein do not rely on a rotational action to secure the bowl in the base (and in fact resist rotation of the bowl relative to the base), this "over-tightening" problem is avoided.

[0028] The bowl 50 may be removed from the base 22 (eg, for cleaning or to remove stirred food) by simply lifting the bowl 50 vertically upward from the base 22 .

[0029] The bowl 50 and the portion of the base 22 including the recess 70 are typically formed of a polymeric material. Exemplary materials include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene oxide (PPO), polypropylene (PP), and polycarbonate (PC). However, in other embodiments, either or both of the bowl 50 and the base 22 can be formed of different materials (e.g., metal or ceramic materials).

[0030] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the bowl securing technique described above can take other forms. For example, there can be more (e.g., four) or fewer (e.g., two) sets of cooperating grooves and protrusions. Furthermore, it should be understood that in some embodiments, the positions of the grooves and protrusions can be reversed, such that the grooves are located in recesses in the base and the protrusions are located on the skirt of the bowl. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the grooves can lack inner walls, such that the grooves are simply open spaces that receive the protrusions. Other variations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0031] Furthermore, it is contemplated that the bowl securing system could also be used with stand mixers, such as those discussed above, which employ a head that is raised above the bowl to allow access to the bowl, rather than a tilted head.

[0032] Some embodiments of the present invention are exemplarily described above with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the specific structures shown in the above embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Furthermore, those skilled in the art may combine the above-described technical features in various possible ways to form new technical solutions or make other modifications, and such new technical solutions are all within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vertical mixer comprising: a base, the base including a recess; a support arm attached to the base and extending upwardly from the base; a head attached to the upper end of the support arm and extending generally horizontally from the upper end of the support arm above a recess in the base; and a bowl including a lower skirt configured to fit within a recess in the base; wherein the recess comprises one of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of grooves; wherein the skirt portion includes another of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of grooves; wherein the projections and recesses are arranged generally vertically to allow the skirt to (a) be lowered substantially vertically directly into the recess for installation, with each projection being received in a corresponding recess, and (b) be raised substantially vertically directly from the recess for disengagement.

2. The vertical mixer according to claim 1, wherein The groove is located on the skirt, and the protrusion is located on the base.

3. The vertical mixer according to claim 1, wherein The groove narrows in a conical shape from the lower end to the upper end.

4. The vertical mixer according to claim 1, wherein The protrusion narrows in a conical shape from the lower end to the upper end.

5. The stand mixer according to claim 1, wherein When the bowl is mounted on the base, there is at least 35mm of vertical overlap between the recess and projection.

6. The stand mixer according to claim 5, wherein: There is a vertical overlap of at least 45 mm.

7. The stand mixer according to claim 1, wherein The head is pivotally attached to the support arm.

8. The stand mixer according to claim 1, wherein The protrusions are substantially equally spaced around the recess.

9. A stand mixer comprising: a base, the base comprising a generally recessed seat; a support arm attached to the base and extending upwardly from the base; a head attached to the upper end of the support arm and extending generally horizontally from the upper end of the support arm above a recess in the base; and a bowl including a generally lower skirt configured to fit within a recess of the base; wherein the recess comprises one of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of grooves; wherein the skirt portion includes another of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of grooves; wherein the projections and recesses are generally vertically arranged to allow the skirt to be lowered substantially directly vertically into the recess for installation, each of the projections being received in a corresponding recess; and Wherein, the protrusion and the groove are configured to prevent the bowl from rotating relative to the base when installed.

10. The stand mixer according to claim 9, wherein The groove is located on the skirt, and the protrusion is located on the base.

11. The stand mixer according to claim 9, wherein The groove narrows in a conical shape from the lower end to the upper end.

12. The stand mixer according to claim 9, wherein The protrusion narrows in a conical shape from the lower end to the upper end.

13. The stand mixer according to claim 9, wherein When the bowl is mounted on the base, there is at least 35mm of vertical overlap between the recess and projection.

14. The stand mixer according to claim 13, wherein There is a vertical overlap of at least 45 mm.

15. The stand mixer according to claim 9, wherein The head is pivotally attached to the support arm.

16. The stand mixer according to claim 9, wherein The protrusions are substantially equally spaced around the recess.

17. A stand mixer comprising: a base, the base including a recess; a support arm attached to the base and extending upwardly from the base; a head attached to the upper end of the support arm and extending generally horizontally from the upper end of the support arm above a recess in the base; and a bowl including a lower skirt configured to fit within a recess in the base; wherein the recess comprises one of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of grooves; wherein the skirt portion includes another of a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of grooves; wherein the projections and recesses are generally vertically arranged to allow the skirt to be lowered substantially directly vertically into the recess for installation, each projection being received in a corresponding recess, and wherein, when the bowl is installed, the lower edge of the skirt engages the bottom surface of the recess.

18. The stand mixer according to claim 17, wherein When the bowl is mounted on the base, there is at least 35mm of vertical overlap between the recess and projection.

19. The stand mixer according to claim 18, wherein There is a vertical overlap of at least 45 mm.

20. The stand mixer of claim 18, wherein The protrusions are substantially equally spaced around the recess.

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