Spice mill

Abstract

The spice mill includes a body having an internal cavity and a cap that is removably coupled to the body and selectively provides access to the internal cavity. A drive shaft extends at least partially through the body, and the cap transmits rotational motion to the drive shaft. A first grinding stone is coupled to the body, and a second grinding stone is coupled to the drive shaft. An adjuster assembly is at least partially housed within the second grinding stone and changes the size of the gap between the first and second grinding stones. The second grinding stone rotates relative to the first grinding stone to grind the material received from the body, and the ground material is discharged through the gap on the side of the spice mill.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to spice mills, and more specifically, to spice mills for improving the grinding of pepper, as well as other spices and materials, but is not limited thereto.

Background Art

[0002] Spice mills are generally known. Traditional examples are mortar and pestle that enable hand grinding of spices in a bowl or mortar using a handheld tool or pestle. Mortar and pestle are known to have many drawbacks, including requiring considerable manual work by the user, being difficult to clean, and often being unsuitable for grinding small amounts of spices, such as fresh pepper for seasoning food. Grain mills are also known, an example of which is a mill that grinds various grains using stones. Grain mills have similar drawbacks such as large size not being suitable for grinding small amounts of spices and requiring considerable manual work by the user. In response, other conventional spice mills, including pepper mills and spice mills, have been introduced. Conventional pepper mills and spice mills may include a rotating operation that reduces the manual work by the user and grinds small amounts of pepper suitable for many uses. Some typical pepper mills are also adjustable to change the grinding size of the pepper discharged by the mill.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, known pepper mills and spice mills have several drawbacks. For example, traditional pepper mills, if overtightened beyond a safe point, can cause wear on the grinding elements and other potential malfunctions as the grinding parts come into contact with each other. Furthermore, known pepper grinders may not have an adjustable grind size, or if adjustable, may not produce uniform results. Known pepper mills may have a limited application range to food because the ground pepper is released from the bottom of the mill, or they may cause uneven application and cleaning of additional components in spice mills because the ground pepper is collected in a container. When conventional pepper mills are placed on a table, the pepper powder usually falls onto the table surface, requiring additional cleaning.

[0004] Therefore, it is beneficial to have a spice mill that overcomes the shortcomings of known spice mills. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention generally relates to a spice mill for improving the grinding of pepper and other spices. In one embodiment, a spice mill or grinder is provided which may be particularly advantageous for grinding pepper and includes a body having an internal cavity that is hollow or open at both ends. A drive shaft extends at least partially through the internal cavity of the body. A plug is coupled to the drive shaft on the upper side of the body and includes an outer surface having a channel and one or more internal openings leading to the internal cavity of the body. A cap is removably coupled to the plug and includes a socket that engages with the channel of the plug to transmit the rotational motion of the cap to the drive shaft. A spring and a stirrer are coupled to the drive shaft. The stirrer rotates with the rotation of the drive shaft to assist in distributing the material contained in the internal cavity of the body.

[0006] The spice mill further includes a first grinding stone which can be fixedly coupled to the body and a second grinding stone which can be rotatably coupled to the body by a drive shaft. The first grinding stone includes at least one opening through which the material to be ground passes and is ground by the first and second grinding stones. The first and second grinding stones may have channels of similar but opposite patterns cut into their respective grinding surfaces, so that the rotation of the first grinding stone relative to the second grinding stone produces a shearing action that grinds the material into ground material. The adjuster assembly includes an adjuster bar, an adjuster core, an adjuster base and a click spring which are at least partially housed in the second grinding stone and which help to change the size of the gap between the first and second grinding stones. The spring on the drive shaft applies a force or pressure which tends to bias the second grinding stone to contact the adjuster assembly.

[0007] The ground material is discharged from the spice mill through the gap between the first and second grinding stones; in other words, it is discharged from the outer surface of the spice mill instead of from the bottom to improve the distribution of the ground material into food. Furthermore, each of the first and second grinding stones may have flat, planar grinding surfaces facing each other, and channels are cut into these grinding surfaces so that even if the grinding stones come into contact with each other, the stones will not wear down, and burrs or shavings will not be discharged with the ground material. The reverse pattern of the grinding stones enhances the shearing action between the stones and helps to provide a uniform grinding result. Furthermore, the grinding stones may include protrusions or islands that further aid in uniform grinding by limiting the size of the material discharged from the stones.

[0008] Another embodiment of the spice mill is particularly advantageous for grinding a wider range of materials or spices, including materials of different sizes. The spice mill includes a body having an internal cavity and sides. A cup for collecting the ground material is detachably coupled to the body and surrounds at least a portion of the sides of the body. An upper core is coupled to the body and includes a first opening and first grinding teeth. A first grinding stone is coupled to the body and includes a second opening and a grinding surface. A lower core is coupled to the cup and includes projections extending through the first opening of the upper core and the second opening of the first grinding stone, respectively, the projections containing second grinding teeth. A second grinding stone is coupled to the lower core. In some variations, the upper core and the first grinding stone are either a single, integrally molded component or separate, coupled parts. Similarly, the lower core and the second grinding stone may be a single, integrally molded component or separate parts.

[0009] The material to be ground, such as spices, is contained within the internal cavity of the main body and passes through a first opening in the upper core and a second opening in the first grinding stone, respectively, to contact the projections of the lower core. The first teeth of the upper core and the second teeth of the lower core perform an initial grinding action on the material in response to the user's rotation of the main body, producing coarsely ground material. The coarsely ground material is fed to the first and second grinding stones, which further grind the coarsely ground material into finely ground material, which is then discharged through the gaps between the stones to collect in a cup. The spice mill may further include a plug with brushes, which is housed within the internal cavity on the upper side of the main body and closes the internal cavity during grinding, but is removable between uses to provide access to the internal cavity, and the spice mill can also be cleaned between uses using the brushes on the plug.

[0010] Other features and advantages of the spice mills envisioned in this specification are described below.

[0011] This disclosure will be better understood by reference to the following illustrations, which are for illustrative purposes only. These non-limiting and non-exclusive embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawings. Unless otherwise specified, similar labels refer to similar parts throughout the various drawings. In some drawings, the size and relative position in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements are selected, enlarged, and positioned to improve the readability of the drawings. In other drawings, the size and relative position of elements are drawn to the exact scale. Certain shapes of elements depicted may be selected to facilitate identification in the drawings. The drawings do not illustrate any aspect of the teachings disclosed herein and do not limit the claims. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is an isometric view of an embodiment of a spice mill according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a diametrical cross-sectional view of the spice mill in Figure 1, along line 2-2 in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is an exploded view of various parts of a spice mill. [Figure 4] Figure 1 is an exploded view of various parts of a spice mill. [Figure 5] Figure 1 is an exploded view of various parts of a spice mill. [Figure 6] A and B are diametrical cross-sectional views of the grinding assembly of the spice mill in Figure 1 in a fine grinding configuration. [Figure 7A] Figure 1 shows isometric views of the first and second crushing stones of the spice mill. [Figure 7B] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram showing the crushing operation of the first and second crushed stones. [Figure 8] This is an isometric view of an embodiment of a spice mill according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] This is a diametrical cross-sectional view of the spice mill in Figure 8, along line 9-9 in Figure 8. [Figure 10] Figure 8 is an exploded view of a spice mill. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Those skilled in the art will understand that this disclosure is illustrative and not limiting. In light of the teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art will readily conceive of other embodiments of the systems and methods of this disclosure.

[0014] Each feature and teaching disclosed herein can be used alone or in combination with other features and teachings to provide an apparatus, system, and method for a spice mill or spice grinder. Representative embodiments using many of these additional features and teachings, individually and in combination, are described in further detail with reference to the appended Figures 1 to 10. This detailed description is intended solely to teach those skilled in the art further details for carrying out embodiments of the teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the combinations of features disclosed in the detailed description are not essential for carrying out the teachings in the broadest sense and are instead taught only to describe particularly representative embodiments of the teachings.

[0015] Furthermore, representative embodiments and various features of dependent claims may be combined in ways not specifically and expressly enumerated to provide additional useful embodiments of this teaching. It should also be explicitly noted that, for both the purposes of the original disclosure and the purposes of limiting the claimed subject matter, any representation of a range of values ​​or group of entities discloses any possible intermediate values ​​or intermediate entities. It should also be explicitly noted that while the dimensions and shapes of the components shown in the figures are designed to help understand how this teaching is carried out, they are not intended to limit the dimensions and shapes shown in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the dimensions and shapes of the components shown in the figures are to scale and are intended to limit the dimensions and shapes of the components.

[0016] The following description illustrates specific, non-limiting embodiments of spice mills or spice grinders, but it should be understood that the concepts of this disclosure are similarly applicable to other technologies, such as other food grinders or food preparation devices, and technologies other than food preparation, as needed. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to spice mills and spice grinders.

[0017] Figure 1 is an isometric view of one or more embodiments of the spice mill 100, and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the spice mill 100 along line 2-2 in Figure 1. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the spice mill 100 generally includes a cap assembly 102 (also referred to herein as cap 102), a body 104, a grinding assembly 106, and an adjuster assembly 108. The cap 102 is removably coupled to the body 104, the grinding assembly 106 includes a first grinding stone 106A and a second grinding stone 106B, and the adjuster assembly 108 may be at least partially housed inside the second grinding stone 106B. Figures 1 and 2 show a spice mill 100 in which the cap 102 and the body 104 have a substantially cylindrical shape tapering toward and away from the interface between the cap 102 and the body 104, respectively, but many other configurations of the spice mill 100 are also envisioned herein. Generally, the spice mill 100 may have any selected shape and / or color. Furthermore, the spice mill 100 may be made from several different materials, including wood, metal or metal alloy, stone, plastic, etc. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the appearance, color, or material of the spice mill 100.

[0018] As most clearly shown in FIG. 2, the main body 104 includes an internal cavity 110 structured to receive and store a crude or raw material 111A to be ground, such as pepper or pepper fruits, spices, or other materials. The spice mill 100 includes a drive shaft 112 that extends at least partially through the main body 104. In one embodiment, the drive shaft 112 is centered with respect to a vertical axis passing through the center of the main body 104 and extends from an adjuster assembly 108 on the lower side of the spice mill 100, through both grinding stones 106A, 106B, to the upper side (or near the upper side) of the main body 104. The grinding stones 106A, 106B may alternatively be referred to as grinding components 106A, 106B, grinding elements 106A, 106B, or other similar terms. In some embodiments, the grinding stones 106A, 106B are made of stone, although other suitable materials are envisioned and the grinding stones 106A, 106B need not be made of stone. For example, the grinding components 106A, 106B can be another type of hard material other than stone, such as at least steel (and other metals, metal alloys), zinc, ceramic, and even hard plastics, polymers, or thermoplastic plastics. Thus, in the following description, the terms "grinding stone," "grinding component," and "grinding element" can generally be used interchangeably, but it should be understood that the following references to "grind stone" or "grind stones" also refer to "grinding components" or "grinding elements" that can have different but suitable material compositions. The second grinding stone 106B and the adjuster assembly 108 are coupled to and rotatably fixed with respect to the drive shaft 112, while the first grinding stone 106A is fixed to the main body 104 by one or more fasteners 114 that extend into the interior of the side wall of the main body 104. In one embodiment, the first grinding stone 106A is not fixed, but rather rotates with respect to the main body 104 to assist in grinding.

[0019] As will be described in more detail below, the user can remove the cap 102 and insert the material 111A to be crushed into the internal cavity 110 of the main body 110 through the hole 113 in the plug 115 coupled to the main body 104 and the drive shaft 112. Next, the user engages the cap 102 with the plug 115 to return it to its original position and rotates the cap 102 to rotate the drive shaft 112. The second grinding stone 106B rotates with the rotation of the drive shaft 112 and grinds the material 111A received from the internal cavity 110 of the main body 104 against the first grinding stone 106A (i.e., the grinding stones 106A and 106B cooperate to grind the material), generating a crushed material 111B such as crushed pepper or crushed spice. In particular, the crushed material 111B exits the spice mill 100 along the outer surface 118 of the spice mill 100 from the gap 116 between the first grinding stone 106A and the second grinding stone 106B. In one embodiment, the gap 116 is separated from the lower side of the spice mill 100 by the thickness of the second grinding stone 106B so that the crushed material 111B exits from the lower part of the outer surface 118 of the spice mill 100.

[0020] The crushed material 111B is schematically shown as exiting only from one side of the spice mill 100, but the crushed material 111B can be discharged from all four sides (i.e., the entire outer shape or the entire circumference) of the outer surface 118 of the spice mill 100 to assist in a more extensive distribution of the crushed material 111B. Also, in one embodiment, the crushed material 111B is not collected or otherwise restricted in the discharge path from the spice mill 100. This means that the crushed material 111B exits the spice mill 100 completely and, in most cases, directly into a food cooking or other separate collection container. The movement paths of the crude or unprocessed material 111A and the crushed material 111B are generally shown in order by the arrows 117A, 117B, 117C in FIG. 2.

[0021] Figure 3 shows an exploded view of the upper part of the spice mill 100, specifically the cap assembly 102 and the plug 115. The cap assembly 102 includes a knob 102A and a socket 102B that is coupled to the knob 102A by fasteners, adhesive, etc., and housed inside the knob 102A. The knob 102A can be gripped by a user to operate the spice mill 100 as described herein. The plug 115 is coupled to the upper side of the body 104 of the spice mill 100 (Figure 2) and is structured to accommodate the socket 102B of the cap assembly, specifically the cap assembly 102, thereby coupling the cap assembly 102 to the plug 115 and the body 104. The plug 115 includes a channel 120 that extends at least partially or entirely around the plug 115 near the position where the plug 115 extends from the body 104 of the spice mill 100. Channel 120 houses a snap ring 122 to assist in the removable engagement of the cap assembly with the plug 115 and body 104. Furthermore, socket 102B includes one or more keys 124A which can be implemented as projections or recesses extending into the open internal cavity of socket 102B. Plug 115 includes a corresponding keyway 124B implemented as a recess for housing the keys 124A of socket 102B.

[0022] In one embodiment, the socket 102B includes three keys 124A arranged at equal intervals from each other, and the plug 115 includes a corresponding number and arrangement of keyways 124B, although other numbers and configurations of keys 124A and keyways 124B are also assumed herein. In other words, the keys 124A of the socket 102B engage with the keyways 124B of the plug 115 to transmit the rotational motion of the knob 102A and socket 102B to the plug 115. The plug 115 is coupled to the drive shaft 112 by fasteners 114, which may be screws, bolts, etc. Thus, as described herein, when the knob 102A is rotated, the socket 102B and plug 115 rotate, thereby rotating the drive shaft 112 (Figure 2) to crush the material 111A (Figure 2).

[0023] Figure 4 is an exploded view of the central portion of the spice mill 100, including the body 104, drive shaft 112, and grinding assembly 106. The body 104 may include an internal cavity 110 (Figure 2), which, in an unassembled configuration, is open at both ends, but in an assembled configuration, is closed at the top by a plug 115 and a cap 102 to hold material 111A inside the internal cavity 110 (Figure 2), and closed at the bottom by a grinding assembly 106, specifically the first grinding stone 106A. The drive shaft 112 may include a ridge 126 extending along at least part or all of the length of the drive shaft 112. A clip 128, a first spacer 130A, a spring 132, a stirrer 134, and a second spacer 130B are arranged on and coupled to the drive shaft 112, and the ridge 126 prevents these parts from rotating or spinning freely on the drive shaft. Therefore, the clip 128, the first spacer 130A, the spring 132, the agitator 134, and the second spacer 130B rotate together with the rotation of the drive shaft 112 via the ridge 126.

[0024] Clip 128 is a single-sided "C" shaped clip for holding spacers 130A, 130B, spring 132, and agitator 134 in place on the upper side. The first spacer 130A is positioned below clip 128 and compresses the spring 132 (i.e., the length of the first spacer 130A is shorter than the length of the spring 132 in an unloaded state, so when the spring is attached to the first spacer 130A, the spring 132 is compressed), thereby causing the spring 132 to exert force on the grinding assembly 106. The agitator 134 includes one or more arms, for example, three equally spaced arms in a non-limiting embodiment, which agitate the material 111A (Figure 2) as the drive shaft 112 rotates, thereby assisting in the distribution of the material 111A to the grinding assembly 106. The second spacer 130B helps to hold these components in place on the lower side and also positions the agitator 134 away from the grinding assembly 106 to prevent the agitator 134 from obstructing access to the grinding assembly 106. The second spacer 130B also assists in the transmission of force from the spring 132 to the second grinding stone 106B of the grinding assembly 106, as will be further described below.

[0025] Figure 5 is an exploded view of the lower part of the spice mill 100, including the grinding assembly 106 and the adjuster assembly 108. The grinding assembly 106 includes a first grinding stone 106A and a second grinding stone 106B, which may be an upper grinding stone and a lower grinding stone, respectively. The grinding assembly 106 includes a central hole 136 that extends through both grinding stones 106A and 106B, and the drive shaft 112 is inserted into the assembly configuration of the spice mill 100 through the central hole 136 (see Figure 2). Furthermore, the first grinding stone 106A includes one or more openings 138 and fastening holes 140. The openings 138 communicate with the central hole 136 of the first grinding stone 106A. This means that each of the openings 138 of the first grinding stone 106A leads to the central hole 136. Therefore, the central hole 136 and the openings 138 of the first crushed stone 106A can cooperate to define a single central opening in the first crushed stone 106A. In one embodiment, the openings 138 of the first crushed stone 106A include three openings arranged at equal intervals around the central hole 136, but other configurations such as more or fewer openings 138 or openings of different shapes are also envisioned herein. Furthermore, the openings 138 of the first crushed stone 106A do not have to communicate with the central hole 136, but instead may be configured as openings or slots that penetrate the first crushed stone 106A, arranged separately and spaced apart from the central hole 136 of the first crushed stone 106A.

[0026] Crude material 111A (see Figure 2) passes through the opening 138 of the first crushed stone 106A and is crushed between the first crushed stone 106A and the second crushed stone 106B. The hole 136 of the first crushed stone 106A may be larger than the hole 136 of the second crushed stone 106B in order to accommodate the second spacer 130B within the hole 136 of the first crushed stone 106A. The fastener hole 140 of the first crushed stone 106A accommodates the fastener 114 and connects the first crushed stone 106A to the body 104 (Figure 2). At least the lower part of the second crushed stone 106B may be hollow so that the adjuster assembly 108 is at least partially or largely housed inside the second crushed stone 106B.

[0027] The adjuster assembly 108 includes an adjuster base 142 coupled to the drive shaft 112 by a nut 144, an adjuster core 146 housed within and coupled to the adjuster base 142, an adjuster bar 148 coupled to the adjuster core 146, and a click spring 150 housed within the adjuster core 146. The nut 144 may include two nuts 144 coupled to the lower threaded end of the drive shaft 112, the nuts 144 having opposite or oppositely oriented threads to prevent the nuts 144 from coming off the drive shaft 112 during rotation of the drive shaft. In some embodiments, the nuts 144 are housed within the internal space of the adjuster bar 148 in the assembled configuration, with clearance between the nuts 144 and the adjuster bar 148 to avoid rotation of the adjuster bar 148 due to rotation of the drive shaft 112.

[0028] The adjuster base 142 is the outer body of the adjuster assembly 108 and includes a lower rim 152 that contacts the underside of the second crushing stone 106B in the assembled configuration of the spice mill 100. The side wall 154 extends from the lower rim 152 and defines the generally hollow interior of the adjuster base 142. Multiple teeth or splines 156 extend from the inner surface of the side wall 154 of the adjuster base 142 and engage with the click spring 150. In one embodiment, the teeth or splines 156 extend around the entire circumference of the inner surface of the side wall 154, but this is not necessarily required. The adjuster base 142 further includes a central hub 158 coupled to the inner surface of the side wall 154, from which projections 160 extend. The projections 160 may include two projections spaced apart from each other on corresponding sides of the central hub 158, but other configurations are also assumed herein. The adjuster base 142 further includes notches 162 on both sides of the adjuster base 142, which are implemented as portions of the side wall 154 with reduced thickness, and the notches 162 do not include teeth or splines 156.

[0029] The adjuster core 146 is housed within the adjuster base 142 and includes a hub 164 having a central opening, the hub 164 being housed on the central hub 158 of the adjuster base 142 and possibly surrounding the central hub 158 of the adjuster base 142. The hub 164 of the adjuster core 146 cooperates with the outer wall 166 of the adjuster core 146 to define a track 168 for housing the click spring 150. The adjuster core 146 further includes a space 170 in the outer wall 166 and adjuster arms 172 extending from the underside of the adjuster core and engaging with the adjuster bar 148 by snap-fit ​​connections. Specifically, the adjuster arms 172 include a pair of spaced-apart arms, the outer surfaces of which have flanges that engage with corresponding ridges on both sides of the inner surface of the adjuster bar 148. When spaced arms are inserted into the adjuster bar 148, the arms are initially pressed inward against each other until the flanges of the arms pass the ridges of the adjuster bar 148, at which point the arms elastically return to near their original spacing, maintaining engagement between the flanges and the ridges. In one or more embodiments, the adjuster core 146 further includes a stopper 174 implemented as a projection on the upper part of the outer surface of the outer wall 166 of the adjuster core 146, the stopper 174 which is housed in a notch 162 of the adjuster base 154 to help prevent excessive rotation of the adjuster core 146 and, consequently, to prevent excessive tightening of the crushed stone 106A, 106B. Furthermore, the adjuster core 146 includes tapered edges 176 on both sides of the adjuster core 146, which may be implemented as recesses on the lower edges of the outer wall 166 of the adjuster core 146. As shown in Figure 5, the tapered edge 176 has a height that changes continuously along the length of the tapered edge 176.

[0030] Finally, the click spring 150 is housed within a track 168 of the adjuster core 146 and may be implemented as an annular shape having a ridge 178. The ridge 178 extends through a space 170 within the adjuster core 146 and engages with a complementary spline or tooth 158 of the adjuster base 142. The click spring 150 provides feedback to the user during operation of the adjuster assembly, as further described herein, and also provides clear intervals between different grinding sizes selected by the user, which helps to provide uniformity of the grinding size of the ground material 111B (Figure 2).

[0031] Figures 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of the grinding assembly 106 and adjuster assembly 108 of the spice mill 100 in a fine grinding configuration and a coarse grinding configuration, respectively. In the fine grinding configuration shown in Figure 6A, the projection 160 of the central hub 158 of the adjuster base 142 is positioned at a distance from the underside of the hollow portion of the second grinding stone 106B. The underside of the adjuster core 146 is in contact with the tapered rim 180 of the adjuster base 142. The tapered rim 180 may have a shape corresponding to the tapered edge 176 of the adjuster core 176. This is shown in Figure 6A by the difference in thickness of the tapered rim 180 on both sides of the adjuster base 142. The tapered edge 176 of the adjuster core 146 is positioned at a distance from the tapered rim 180 of the adjuster base 142. In other words, as shown in Figure 6A, the tapered edge 176 is not in contact with the tapered rim 180, but rather the lower side of the adjuster core 146 is in contact with the tapered rim 180. The second spacer 130B helps to maintain the connection between the second crushed stone 106B and the adjuster assembly 108 by distributing the force provided by the spring 132 (Figure 4) to the second crushed stone 106B. In the fine crushing configuration, the adjuster bar 148 may be positioned at one end of its range of motion, and the gap 116 between the first crushed stone 106A and the second crushed stone 106B may be 0.2 millimeters ("mm") or more, or as small as 0.00 mm in some configurations. In the fine grinding configuration, in some embodiments, the adjuster bar 148 is prevented from further rotating and bringing the grinding stones 106A and 106B into contact by the contact between the stopper 174 of the adjuster core 146 and the edge of the notch 162 of the adjuster base 142. This prevents overtightening that would cause the grinding stones 106A and 106B to come into contact with each other. In one or more embodiments, the adjuster bar 148 allows the grinding stones 106A and 106B to come into contact with each other (i.e., a gap of 0.00 mm), but the grinding stones 106A and 106B make safe contact between planes (i.e., only the flat surfaces of the stones 106A and 106B come into contact) and not grinder tooth contact as in some known pepper mills.In this way, the spice mill 100 prevents the teeth of the stones 106A and 106B from grinding against each other and from releasing stone burrs into the food.

[0032] To adjust the grinding assembly from the fine grinding configuration shown in Figure 6A to the coarse grinding configuration shown in Figure 6B, the user rotates the adjuster bar 148 from the position shown in Figure 6A to the other end of its range of motion shown in Figure 6B. In particular, several intermediate positions exist for the adjuster bar 148 between the two extreme positions shown to allow for various grinding configurations. In one embodiment, at least four different grinding sizes are available for selection by the user. Continuing to refer to Figure 6B, rotating the adjuster bar 148 rotates the adjuster core 146, and as a result, the tapered edge 176 of the adjuster core 146 moves along the tapered rim 180 of the adjuster base 142, thereby changing the height of the second grinding stone 106B relative to the first grinding stone 106A. Specifically, the adjuster core 146 is further fitted into the adjuster base 142 via the tapered edge 176 of the core 146 and the tapered rim 180 of the base 142, causing the spring 132 (Figure 4) to push the second crushed stone 106B downwards away from the first crushed stone 106A via the second spacer 130B. In this position, the projection 160 of the central hub 158 of the adjuster base 142 contacts the second crushed stone 106B, preventing further widening of the gap between the crushed stones 106A and 106B. In the coarse grinding configuration of Figure 6B, in some embodiments, the gap 116 may be 1.1 mm or more or less. Comparing the width of the gap 116 in Figure 6A and Figure 6B reveals the difference in grinding coarseness. Simultaneously, the ridge 178 of the click spring 150 moves along the teeth or spline 156 (Figure 5) of the adjuster base to provide the user with feedback on the change in position and to help ensure that the adjuster assembly is positioned at precise intervals. In this way, the user can selectively change the grind size of the ground material 111B (Figure 2).

[0033] Figure 7A is an isometric view of the grinding assembly 106, specifically the grinding stones 106A and 106B. In Figure 7A, both grinding stones are positioned with their grinding surfaces 182 facing upwards, however, in the assembled configuration of the spice mill, the grinding surface 182 of the first grinding stone 106A is rotated 180 degrees so as to face the grinding surface 182 of the second grinding stone 106B. Each of the grinding stones 106A and 106B has a plurality of coarse grinding channels 184 on its grinding surface 182. The plurality of coarse grinding channels 184 are generally arranged in the same pattern when the grinding surfaces 182 of the respective grinding stones 106A and 106B face upwards, as in Figure 7A. In one embodiment, each of the grinding surfaces 182 of the stones 106A and 106B is flat and planar to prevent wear in case the stones 106A and 106B accidentally come into contact with each other during operation. The coarse grinding channels 184 of the crushed stone 106A and 106B may generally be straight and linear, and each channel 184 may be arranged at a selected angle, and may be offset with respect to the centerline in angled hub and spoke arrangements.

[0034] The coarse grinding channel 184 may further include an island 186 positioned within the channel 184 near the outer end of the channel 184 (for example, relative to the centers of the grinding stones 106A, 106B) to limit or restrict the particle size of the ground material 111B (Figure 2) coming out of the grinding assembly 106. If the particle size is too large to come out through the space in the island 186 and the walls of the coarse grinding channel 184, the particles are further ground between the stones 106A, 106B to reduce the particle size. Furthermore, the island 186 helps prevent the ground material from coming out of the grinding assembly 106 when the spice mill 100 is placed on the surface, thereby limiting the need for additional cleaning of the spice mill 100 before or after use. The grinding stones further include fine grinding channels 188 between the continuous coarse grinding channels 184. The fine grinding channels 188 have an angled "V" shape formed on the grinding surface 182 in the projection or region between the coarse grinding channels 184. The fine grinding channel 188 has a smaller width than the coarse grinding channel 184 in order to further grind the particles from the coarse grinding channel 184 to a smaller particle size. Due to the small size of the fine grinding channel 188, the island 186 may be omitted.

[0035] As described above, the first crushing stone 106A includes a central hole 136 and an opening 138 leading to the central hole 136 for the passage of crude material 111A from the internal cavity 110 of the body 104 to the crushing assembly 106. The first crushing stone 106A may also include initial crushing channels 190 implemented as cavities around each opening 138. As shown in Figure 7A, the initial crushing channels 190 may extend around each opening 138 on the sides of the opening 138 that do not contact the central hole 136. In other words, in some embodiments, the initial crushing channels 190 are only around the openings 138 and not on the walls defining the central hole 136 or on the sides of the openings 138 that open into the central hole 136. The initial crushing channels 190 have a greater depth than the coarse crushing channels 184 and fine crushing channels 188 to assist in the initial crushing of crude material 111A from the body 104 (Figure 2). The initial grinding channel 190 may have a depth corresponding to about half the size of an average peppercorn, thereby cutting the peppercorn (or other spice) in half and feeding the initially ground material to the coarse grinding channel 184 and the fine grinding channel 188 for further processing. In one embodiment, instead of only the first grinding stone 106A containing the initial grinding channel 190, both stones may contain the initial grinding channel 190, or only the second stone 106B may contain the initial grinding channel 190.

[0036] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating the grinding operation of the first and second crushing stones 106A and 106B. In Figure 7B, the crushing stones 106A and 106B are represented in an assembled configuration, meaning that the grinding surfaces 182 of the crushing stones 106A and 106B face each other (i.e., one crushing stone is inverted relative to Figure 7A). In some embodiments, the features of the crushing stones 106A and 106B, for example, the size, shape and arrangement of at least the channels 184 and 188, may be selected to differ from the non-limiting embodiment of the crushing stones shown in Figure 7A. In Figure 7B, the crushing stones 106A and 106B have straight channels 184 and 188 that are the same depth and width but different in length. Other configurations are possible. Figure 7B is provided to illustrate the grinding operation between the stones 106A and 106B and is not intended to limit the different configurations of the crushing stones 106A and 106B that may be suitable for inclusion in a pepper mill 100. Because the grinding surfaces 182 of stones 106A and 106B are similar but have opposite patterns, when the second grinding stone 106B rotates relative to the first grinding stone, a shearing action occurs that amplifies the offset amount and angle of the coarse grinding channels 184 and fine grinding channels 188 in Figure 7B. For example, if one coarse grinding channel 184 of the first grinding stone 106A is offset by approximately 5 mm from the centerline, the corresponding inverse coarse grinding channel 184 of the second grinding stone 106B will cause a total offset shear motion of 10 mm when the second stone 106B rotates relative to the first stone 106A, thereby improving grinding efficiency and uniformity.

[0037] Figure 8 is an isometric view of a spice mill 200 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the spice mill 200 along line 9-9 in Figure 8. Figure 10 is an exploded view of the spice mill 200. Referring to Figures 8 to 10, the spice mill 200 includes a body 202 having an internal cavity 204 and a side surface 206 which may be an external surface 206. A cup 208 is removably coupled to the body 202 and surrounds at least a portion of the side surface 206 of the body 202, for example, the lower part. The side surface 206 of the body 202 tapers inward near the interface with the cup 208, assisting engagement with the cup 208 and preventing the body 202 from overtightening the cup 208. An upper core 210 is coupled to the body 202, and a first crushed stone 212 is coupled to the upper core 210. The spice mill 200 includes a lower core 214 coupled to a cup 208 by a fastener 216, and a second grinding stone 218 coupled to the lower core 214. In one embodiment, the upper core 210 and the first grinding stone 212 are a single, integrally molded component rather than separate parts as shown in Figures 8-10, and the lower core 214 and the second grinding stone 218 are also a single, integrally molded component rather than separate parts as shown in Figures 8-10. The cap 220 may include a brush 222 that is removably housed within an internal cavity 204 of the body 202 to assist in cleaning the spice mill 200.

[0038] The upper core 210 and the first crushed stone 212 can be fixed to the body 202 by fasteners 224 inserted through corresponding holes in the upper core 210 and the first crushed stone 212. As is most clearly shown in Figure 10, the upper core 210 includes a plurality of openings 226 that allow material contained within the internal cavity 204 of the body 202 to be distributed to the cores 210, 214 and the crushed stones 212, 218, and the first crushed stone 212 includes a central hole 227 that accommodates and engages with the upper core 210. The upper core 210 includes teeth 228 on its surface facing the lower core 214 and the second crushed stone 218. The lower core 214 includes a central projection 230 that extends through the central opening 226 of the upper core 210 and the central hole 227 of the first crushed stone 212. The fastener 216 is housed within a projection 230 of the lower core 214 to connect the lower core 214 to the cup 208. The lower region of the lower core 214 surrounding the lower side of the projection 230 further includes teeth 232 directed toward the upper core 210. In particular, the teeth 228 of the upper core 210 and the teeth of the lower core 214 are inclined at an angle of 5 to 60 degrees, or more preferably 10 to 45 degrees, with respect to the horizontal, among other configurations. Each of the crushed stones 212, 218 has channels or teeth which may be similar to those of crushed stones 106A, 106B, unless otherwise specified below. The second crushed stone 218 may further include a central hole 229 that engages with the lower core 214.

[0039] During operation, the user connects the body 202 to the cup 208 and removes the cap 220 (along with the brush 222 attached to the cap 220). Next, the user inserts the selected material to be ground, such as spices, into the open internal cavity 204 of the body 202 and returns the cap 220 to engage with the body 202. The material is distributed to the cores 210, 214 and the grinding stones 212, 218 through the opening 226 of the first grinding stone 212. Next, the user rotates the body 202 relative to the cup 208 (either the body 202 or the cup 208, but preferably the body 202) to rotate the upper core 210 and the first grinding stone 212 relative to the lower core 214 and the second grinding stone 218. As is most clearly shown in Figure 9, the gaps or spaces between the upper core 210 and the lower core 214 and their corresponding teeth 228, 232 are larger than the gaps or spaces between the grinding stones 212, 218. Therefore, the upper core 210 and the lower core 214, as well as their corresponding teeth 228, 232, first coarsely grind the material. Next, the coarsely ground material is fed to the grinding stones, and the rotation of the first grinding stone 212 against the second grinding stone 218 reduces the coarsely ground material to finely ground material that is discharged from the sides of the stones 212, 218. The finely ground material is collected in the cup 208, specifically in the space between the cup 208 and the grinding stones 212, 218, as is most clearly shown in Figure 9. The user can then remove the body 202 from the cup 208 to receive the finely ground material, disassemble the spice mill 200, and clean each component using the brush 222 on the cap 220 before grinding another material. In this way, the spice mill 200 is particularly suitable for grinding materials of different sizes because it combines initial coarse grinding by the upper core 210 and lower core 214 with fine grinding by the crushing stones 212 and 218.

[0040] Therefore, the spice mills and grinders of this disclosure avoid burr formation by preventing the grinding parts from coming into contact with each other if they are overtightened beyond a safe point. The concepts of this disclosure also allow for discharging the ground material over a wider area or collecting the ground material for selective use, while improving grinding efficiency and uniformity. Furthermore, the mills and grinders of this disclosure can grind various materials of different sizes and compositions with uniform results.

[0041] In one or more embodiments, the apparatus can be described as follows: The apparatus includes a spice mill having an upper, lower and an external side therebetween, the spice mill including a body having an internal cavity, a first grinding component coupled to the body, and a second grinding component coupled to the first grinding component, the second grinding component being configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component to grind material received from the internal cavity of the body and to discharge the ground material from the external side of the spice mill.

[0042] In one embodiment, the spice mill further includes a cap that is removably coupled to the body and selectively provides access to the internal cavity.

[0043] In one embodiment, the spice mill further includes a snap ring that is coupled to the body and connected to the cap, facilitating the cap to be removably coupled to the body.

[0044] In one embodiment, the spice mill further includes a drive shaft extending at least partially through the body, and a plug coupled to the drive shaft, and the cap includes a socket connected to the plug that transmits the rotational motion of the cap to the drive shaft.

[0045] In one embodiment, the spice mill further includes an adjuster assembly coupled to a drive shaft and configured to change the position of a second grinding component relative to a first grinding component, the adjuster assembly including an adjuster base coupled to a drive shaft and having a rim, an adjuster core coupled to the adjuster base and having a tapered edge connected to the rim of the adjuster base, an adjuster bar coupled to the adjuster core, and a click spring housed within the adjuster core, the adjuster bar being configured to rotate to move the adjuster core and the click spring, the movement of the adjuster core and the click spring changing the position of the tapered edge of the adjuster core relative to the rim of the adjuster base, thereby changing the position of the second grinding component relative to the first grinding component.

[0046] In one embodiment, the first grinding component includes a plurality of channels and a cavity having a depth greater than the depth of the plurality of channels.

[0047] In one embodiment, the first grinding component includes a hole and at least one opening, and the cavity of the first grinding component extends around at least a portion of the edge of at least one opening.

[0048] In one embodiment, the second grinding component includes a plurality of channels arranged in a pattern opposite to that of the plurality of channels in the first grinding component.

[0049] In one embodiment, the spice mill further includes a drive shaft extending at least partially through the body, a spring coupled to the drive shaft and configured to apply force to a second grinding component, and an agitator coupled to the drive shaft and located within an internal cavity of the body.

[0050] In one embodiment, the second grinding component is configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component to grind the material received from the internal cavity of the main body and to discharge the material from all four sides of the outer surface of the spice mill.

[0051] In one embodiment, the first grinding component is fixedly coupled to the main body, and the second grinding component is rotatably coupled to the main body.

[0052] In one embodiment, at least one of the first and second grinding components includes a plurality of channels and a plurality of protrusions arranged within the plurality of channels near the outer surface of the spice mill, wherein the plurality of protrusions are configured to limit the particle size of the ground material exiting the outer surface of the spice mill.

[0053] In one embodiment, the apparatus can be described as follows: The apparatus includes a body, a first grinding component coupled to the body, which includes a central opening, a plurality of first channels having depth, and a cavity extending at least partially around the central opening and having a depth greater than the depth of the plurality of first channels, and a second grinding component rotatably coupled to the body, which includes a central opening and a plurality of second channels.

[0054] In one embodiment, a plurality of first channels are arranged in a first pattern, a plurality of second channels are arranged in a second pattern, and the first pattern is the same as the second pattern, but in reverse.

[0055] In one embodiment, the first grinding component has a grinding surface facing the second grinding component, the grinding surface of the first grinding component is flat and planar, and a plurality of first channels extend into the interior of the grinding surface of the first grinding component.

[0056] In one embodiment, the second grinding component has a grinding surface facing the grinding surface of the first grinding component, the grinding surface of the second grinding component is flat and planar, and a plurality of second channels extend into the interior of the grinding surface of the second grinding component to prevent wear due to contact between the grinding surface of the second grinding component and the grinding surface of the first grinding component.

[0057] In one embodiment, the first grinding component and the second grinding component each have outer surfaces, and the apparatus further includes a gap between the outer surfaces of the first grinding component and the outer surfaces of the second grinding component, and the second grinding component is configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component to grind the material received from the body and to discharge the ground material through the gap.

[0058] In one embodiment, the device further includes an adjuster assembly coupled to a main body, the adjuster assembly including an adjuster base having a rim, an adjuster core having a tapered edge connected to the rim of the adjuster base and coupled to the adjuster base, an adjuster bar coupled to the adjuster core, and a click spring housed within the adjuster core, the adjuster bar being configured to rotate to move the adjuster core and the click spring, the movement of the adjuster core and the click spring changing the position of the tapered edge of the adjuster core relative to the rim of the adjuster base and thereby changing the size of the gap.

[0059] In one embodiment, the device further includes an internal cavity within a body, a cap including a socket that is detachably coupled to the body and selectively provides access to the internal cavity, a snap ring that is coupled to the body and connected to the cap to facilitate the detachable coupling of the cap to the body, a drive shaft extending at least partially through the body, and a plug coupled to the drive shaft, wherein the socket of the cap is connected to the plug and structured to transmit the rotational motion of the cap to the drive shaft.

[0060] In one embodiment, at least one of the grinding surfaces of the first grinding component and the second grinding component is flat and planar.

[0061] In one embodiment, at least one of the first grinding component and the second grinding component includes a plurality of protrusions arranged near the ends of the corresponding plurality of first channels and plurality of second channels to limit the size of the material passing through the corresponding plurality of first channels and plurality of second channels.

[0062] In one or more embodiments, the apparatus can be described as follows: The apparatus includes a body, a drive shaft extending at least partially through the body, a first grinding component coupled to the body, a second grinding component coupled to the drive shaft and configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component via the rotation of the drive shaft, and an adjuster assembly coupled to the drive shaft and configured to change the position of the second grinding component relative to the first grinding component, the adjuster assembly including an adjuster base coupled to the drive shaft and having a rim, an adjuster core coupled to the adjuster base and having a tapered edge connected to the rim of the adjuster base, and an adjuster bar coupled to the adjuster core, the adjuster bar configured to rotate the adjuster core, the movement of the adjuster core changing the position of the tapered edge of the adjuster core relative to the rim of the adjuster base, and thereby changing the position of the second grinding component relative to the first grinding component.

[0063] In one embodiment, at least one of the first grinding component and the second grinding component has a central opening, a plurality of channels, and a cavity located around at least a portion of the edge of the central opening, having a depth greater than the depth of the plurality of channels.

[0064] In one embodiment, at least one of the first grinding component and the second grinding component includes a plurality of channels and a plurality of protrusions arranged near the ends of at least some of the plurality of channels.

[0065] In one embodiment, the apparatus further includes a gap between the outer surface of a first grinding component and the outer surface of a second grinding component, wherein the second grinding component is configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component to grind the material received from the body and to discharge the ground material through the gap.

[0066] In one embodiment, the device further includes an internal cavity within a body, a cap including a socket that is detachably coupled to the body and selectively provides access to the internal cavity, a drive shaft extending at least partially through the body, and a plug coupled to the drive shaft and including at least one opening that leads to the internal cavity of the body, the plug being configured to connect to the socket of the cap and to transmit the rotational motion of the cap to the drive shaft.

[0067] In one embodiment, each of the first grinding component and the second grinding component has flat, planar grinding surfaces facing each other.

[0068] In one embodiment, the adjuster core includes at least one engaging arm, and the adjuster bar includes a channel connected to at least one engaging arm by a snap-fit ​​connection.

[0069] In one embodiment, the tapered edge of the adjuster core has a height that changes continuously along the length of the tapered edge.

[0070] In one embodiment, the adjuster assembly further includes a click spring housed within the adjuster core, and the adjuster bar is configured to move the click spring, which assists in changing the position of the tapered edge of the adjuster core.

[0071] In one or more embodiments, the apparatus can be described as follows: The apparatus includes a body having an internal cavity and sides; a cup removably coupled to the body and surrounding at least a portion of the sides of the body; an upper core coupled to the body and having a first opening and first grinding teeth; a first grinding component coupled to the upper core and having a second opening; a lower core coupled to the cup and having a projection extending through the first and second openings, the projection having a second grinding tooth; and a second grinding component coupled to the lower core, wherein the upper core is configured to rotate relative to the lower core in response to the rotation of the body to produce coarsely ground material by the first grinding teeth of the upper core and the second grinding teeth of the lower core; the first grinding component is configured to rotate relative to the second grinding component in response to the rotation of the body and the upper core to further grind the coarsely ground material into finely ground material, which is collected in the cup.

[0072] In one embodiment, the device further includes a cap having a plurality of brushes that are removably housed within an internal cavity of the main body.

[0073] The above list of embodiments is non-exclusive and non-limiting, and any of the above embodiments may be modified to include or exclude aspects disclosed herein.

[0074] In the above description, certain specific details are provided to provide a complete understanding of the various embodiments of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will understand that this disclosure can be implemented without these details. In other cases, well-known structures relating to spice mills and spice grinders are not described in detail in order to avoid unnecessary ambiguity in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0075] Certain terms and phrases used herein are defined as follows: The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used throughout this document, including the claims, refer to multiple subjects unless otherwise specified. The terms “include” and “comprise,” and their derivatives, mean unrestricted inclusion. The terms “associated” and “associated with,” and their derivatives, mean “include,” “be included within,” “interconnect with,” “contain,” “be contained within,” “connect to or with,” “couple to or with,” “be communicable with,” “cooperate with,” “interleave,” “juxtapose,” “be proximate to,” “be bound to or with,” “have,” “have a property of,” and so on. Other definitions of specific words and phrases are provided throughout this disclosure.

[0076] The use of ordinal numbers such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc., does not necessarily imply a ranked order; rather, it may simply distinguish between multiple instances of an action or similar structures or materials.

[0077] Throughout this specification, claims, and drawings, the following terms have the meanings expressly associated with this specification unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “herein” refers to the specification, claims, and drawings relating to this application. The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in another embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” “in other embodiments,” and other derivatives thereof are listed as one or more features, structures, functions, limitations, or features of the disclosure, but are not limited to the same or different embodiments unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or” operator and is equivalent to the phrases “A or B, or both” or “A or B or C, or any combination thereof,” and lists containing additional elements are treated similarly. The term “based on” is not exclusive and, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, allows for the basis of additional features, functions, or aspects not described herein.

[0078] Generally, unless otherwise specified, the materials for manufacturing the present invention and / or its components may be selected from suitable materials such as wood, stone, cloth, textiles, composite materials, ceramics, plastics, metals, metal alloys, polymers, foams, and plastic compounds.

[0079] The foregoing description uses specific nomenclature and formulas for illustrative purposes to provide a complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details are not necessary to carry out the invention. The embodiments are selected and described to best illustrate the principles of the disclosed embodiments and their practical applications, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to utilize the disclosed embodiments and various embodiments with various modifications suitable for specific intended uses. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the exact form disclosed, and those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations are possible considering the teachings above.

[0080] The terms “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “left,” and “right,” and other similar derived terms, are used for descriptive purposes only, based on the orientation of the components in the figures of this disclosure. These terms are not limited to directions that may be expressly, implicitly, or essentially disclosed in this disclosure, and any aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure may be oriented in any direction unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0081] Where used herein, the term “substantially” is interpreted to include the normal tolerance or error range due to minor differences and variations in manufacturing. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, relative terms such as “approximately” and “substantially,” and other derivatives thereof, when used to describe a value, quantity, number, or dimension, generally refer to a value, quantity, number, or dimension within plus or minus 5% of the stated value, quantity, number, or dimension. Furthermore, it is understood that any specific dimensions of a component or feature provided herein are for illustrative purposes only to refer to the various embodiments described herein, and therefore, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, it is expressly assumed in this disclosure that dimensions greater than or smaller than those stated may be included.

[0082] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 501,871, filed on 12 May 2023, the entire contents and disclosures thereof, which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0083] In light of the above detailed description, these and other modifications may be made to the embodiments. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed as limiting the claims to any particular embodiment disclosed herein and in the claims, but rather as encompassing all possible embodiments along with the entire scope of the equivalents for which rights are granted. Accordingly, the breadth and scope of the disclosed embodiments should not be limited by any of the above embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A spice mill having an upper part, a lower part and external sides between them, the spice mill is A body having an internal cavity, A first grinding component coupled to the main body, The first grinding component is coupled to a second grinding component, The apparatus is configured such that the second grinding component rotates relative to the first grinding component to grind the material received from the internal cavity of the main body, and the ground material is discharged from the external side of the spice mill.

2. The aforementioned spice mill, The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cap that is detachably coupled to the main body and selectively provides access to the internal cavity.

3. The aforementioned spice mill, The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a snap ring coupled to the main body and connected to the cap, which facilitates the detachable coupling of the cap to the main body.

4. The aforementioned spice mill, A drive shaft extending through at least partially the main body, The system further includes a plug coupled to the drive shaft, The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cap includes a socket connected to the plug that transmits the rotational motion of the cap to the drive shaft.

5. The aforementioned spice mill, The system further includes an adjuster assembly coupled to the drive shaft and configured to change the position of the second grinding component relative to the first grinding component, wherein the adjuster assembly An adjuster base having a rim is coupled to the drive shaft, An adjuster core having a tapered edge connected to the rim of the adjuster base, An adjuster bar coupled to the adjuster core, Includes a click spring housed within the adjuster core, The adjuster bar is configured to rotate to move the adjuster core and the click spring, The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the position of the tapered edge of the adjuster core relative to the rim of the adjuster base is changed by the movement of the adjuster core and the click spring, thereby changing the position of the second grinding component relative to the first grinding component.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first grinding component includes a plurality of channels and a cavity having a depth greater than the depth of the plurality of channels.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first grinding component includes a hole and at least one opening, and the cavity of the first grinding component extends around at least a portion of the edge of the at least one opening.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second grinding component includes a plurality of channels arranged in a pattern opposite to that of the plurality of channels of the first grinding component.

9. The aforementioned spice mill, A drive shaft extending through at least partially the main body, A spring coupled to the drive shaft and configured to apply force to the second crushing component, The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stirrer coupled to the drive shaft and disposed within the internal cavity of the main body.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second grinding component is configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component to grind the material received from the internal cavity of the main body, and to discharge the material from all four sides of the outer surface of the spice mill.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first grinding component is fixedly coupled to the main body, and the second grinding component is rotatably coupled to the main body.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first grinding component and the second grinding component includes a plurality of channels and a plurality of projections arranged within the plurality of channels near the outer surface of the spice mill, the plurality of projections being configured to limit the particle size of the ground material exiting the outer surface of the spice mill.

13. The main unit and A first grinding component coupled to the main body, The central opening and Multiple first channels having depth, The first grinding component includes a cavity that extends at least partially around the central opening and has a depth greater than the depth of the plurality of first channels, A second grinding component rotatably coupled to the main body, The central opening and Apparatus comprising a second grinding component, which includes a plurality of second channels.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the plurality of first channels are arranged in a first pattern, the plurality of second channels are arranged in a second pattern, and the first pattern is the same as the second pattern but inverse.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first grinding component has a grinding surface toward the second grinding component, the grinding surface of the first grinding component is flat and planar, and the plurality of first channels extend into the interior of the grinding surface of the first grinding component.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the second grinding component has a grinding surface facing the grinding surface of the first grinding component, the grinding surface of the second grinding component is flat and planar, and the plurality of second channels extend into the interior of the grinding surface of the second grinding component to prevent wear due to contact between the grinding surface of the second grinding component and the grinding surface of the first grinding component.

17. The first grinding component and the second grinding component each have an outer surface, and the apparatus is The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a gap between the outer surface of the first grinding component and the outer surface of the second grinding component, wherein the second grinding component is configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component to grind the material received from the body and to discharge the ground material from the gap.

18. The adjustment assembly is further connected to the main body, and the adjustment assembly is An adjuster base with a rim, The adjuster core has a tapered edge connected to the rim of the adjuster base and is coupled to the adjuster base, An adjuster bar coupled to the adjuster core, Includes a click spring housed within the adjuster core, The adjuster bar is configured to rotate to move the adjuster core and the click spring, The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the position of the tapered edge of the adjuster core relative to the rim of the adjuster base is changed by the movement of the adjuster core and the click spring, thereby changing the size of the gap.

19. The internal cavity within the main body, A cap, including a socket, is detachably coupled to the main body and selectively provides access to the internal cavity. A snap ring is connected to the main body and to the cap, facilitating the detachable attachment of the cap to the main body. A drive shaft extending through at least partially the main body, The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a plug coupled to the drive shaft, wherein the socket of the cap is connected to the plug and structured to transmit the rotational motion of the cap to the drive shaft.

20. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein at least one of the first grinding component and the second grinding component has a flat and planar grinding surface.

21. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein at least one of the first grinding component and the second grinding component includes a plurality of protrusions arranged near the ends of the corresponding plurality of first channels and plurality of second channels to limit the size of the material passing through the corresponding plurality of first channels and plurality of second channels.

22. The main unit and A drive shaft extending through at least partially the main body, A first grinding component coupled to the main body, A second grinding component is coupled to the drive shaft and configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component via the rotation of the drive shaft, The adjuster assembly is coupled to the drive shaft and configured to change the position of the second grinding component relative to the first grinding component, and the adjuster assembly is An adjuster base having a rim is coupled to the drive shaft, The adjuster core has a tapered edge connected to the rim of the adjuster base and is coupled to the adjuster base, The adjuster core includes an adjuster bar coupled to the adjuster core, the adjuster bar being configured to rotate the adjuster core, An apparatus that changes the position of the second grinding component relative to the first grinding component by changing the position of the tapered edge of the adjuster core relative to the rim of the adjuster base by moving the adjuster core.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein at least one of the first grinding component and the second grinding component has a central opening, a plurality of channels, and a cavity surrounding at least a portion of the edge of the central opening and having a depth greater than the depth of the plurality of channels.

24. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein at least one of the first grinding component and the second grinding component includes a plurality of channels and a plurality of projections arranged near the ends of at least some of the plurality of channels.

25. The apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising a gap between the outer surface of the first grinding component and the outer surface of the second grinding component, wherein the second grinding component is configured to rotate relative to the first grinding component to grind the material received from the body and to discharge the ground material from the gap.

26. The internal cavity within the main body, A cap, including a socket, is detachably coupled to the main body and selectively provides access to the internal cavity. A drive shaft extending through at least partially the main body, The apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising a plug coupled to the drive shaft and having at least one opening to the internal cavity of the body, wherein the plug is connected to the socket of the cap and structured to transmit the rotational motion of the cap to the drive shaft.

27. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein each of the first grinding component and the second grinding component has a flat, planar grinding surface facing each other.

28. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the adjuster core includes at least one engaging arm, and the adjuster bar includes a channel connected to the at least one engaging arm by a snap-fit ​​connection.

29. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the tapered edge of the adjuster core has a height that changes continuously over the length of the tapered edge.

30. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the adjuster assembly further includes a click spring housed within the adjuster core, the adjuster bar is configured to move the click spring, and the click spring assists in changing the position of the tapered edge of the adjuster core.

31. A body having an internal cavity and sides, A cup that is detachably attached to the main body and surrounds at least a portion of the side surface of the main body, The upper core, which is coupled to the main body and has a first opening and first grinding teeth, A first grinding component coupled to the upper core and having a second opening, A lower core coupled to the cup, comprising a projection extending through the first opening and the second opening, wherein the projection includes a second grinding tooth, It includes a second grinding component coupled to the lower core, The upper core is configured to rotate relative to the lower core in accordance with the rotation of the main body, and to produce coarsely ground material by the first grinding teeth of the upper core and the second grinding teeth of the lower core. The apparatus is configured such that the first grinding component rotates relative to the second grinding component in accordance with the rotation of the main body and the upper core, to further grind the coarsely ground material into finely ground material, and the finely ground material is collected in the cup.

32. The apparatus according to claim 31, further comprising a cap having a plurality of brushes detachably housed within the internal cavity of the main body.

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