Portable drink blender

Abstract

A portable beverage mixer includes a blade rotation axis offset from the center so that the mixer blade does not extend across the inner side of the drinking trough. The motor housing is formed of a lower housing in which the entire trough is formed, and an upper housing including an opening through which the trough passes and extends. A cover interlocking device is provided to prevent motor operation when the cover is in a closed position and does not seal the trough.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] Cross-reference regarding related applications

[0002] This document relates to the jointly pending agent document No. 132136-D200 incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] Statements regarding federally funded research

[0004] Not applicable.

[0005] The present invention relates to a food mixer in general, and in particular to a portable type of personal food mixer. Background Technology

[0006] It is known that personal mixers are provided, generally intended for mixing fruit-based beverages known as "smoothies." These were initially developed as smaller versions of standard upright mixers. Subsequently, they were improved into pitchers with a closed top, which allowed the entire base and "pitcher" to be inverted after mixing, thereby enabling the "pitcher" to be used as a drinking tumbler. Further improvements were made to provide a base with a through-trough. Through this, the user could keep the base motor at the top of the tumbler to act as a cap. In this way, the contents of the tumbler could remain in their original, unmixed state for a certain period of time and be mixed only immediately before intended consumption. For example, smoothie ingredients could be prepared at home in the morning, the mixer taken to work, and then mixed just before lunch. means of solving the problem

[0007] The objective of the present invention is to provide a portable beverage mixer with improved safety and reliability.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable beverage mixer comprising an integral leak-proof trough extending through a motor housing.

[0009] An additional objective of the present invention is to provide a portable beverage mixer having an offset blade rotation axis to improve safety and enable the use of straws.

[0010] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a portable beverage mixer having a cap hinged to a motor housing to seal a trough, and a mixer activation switch that can operate only when the cap is closed.

[0011] These and other objectives are achieved by a portable beverage mixer as described below. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0012] The objects and features of the present invention described above are explained more specifically with reference to the drawings, wherein similar reference numbers indicate similar elements. FIG. 1 is a front upper perspective view of a portable beverage mixer according to the present invention with the cover closed. Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the disassembled upper surface with the cover opened. Figure 3 is an exploded bottom perspective view with the cover closed. Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view along line 4-4 of Figure 1. Fig. 5 is a bottom view of a cap with the cover closed. Figure 6 is a detailed exploded perspective view of the upper and lower motor housings. Figure 7 is a lateral cross-sectional view along line 7-7 of Figure 6. Fig. 8 is a detailed exploded perspective view of a tumbler. Figure 9 is a detailed cross-sectional view along line 9-9 of Figure 2. FIG. 10 is a top view of a cap with the cover closed. FIG. 11 is a rear upper perspective view of a cap with the cover open. Fig. 12 is a detailed cross-sectional view along line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0013] Referring to FIG. 1, a portable beverage mixer according to the present invention is shown in its entirety by reference numeral 10. The mixer (10) generally comprises a tumbler (12) and a cap (14). The tumbler (12) is formed as a base and a concave element formed as at least one side wall extending upward from the base to the rim (16). A cavity is formed within the tumbler (12), which contains solids and liquids intended to be mixed, and which retains these materials after they have been mixed.

[0014] The cap (14) consists of a motor housing (18) and a cover (20) pivotally mounted on the cap (14) to move between a closed position and an open position. The cap (14) includes a trough (22) extending through the body of the cap (14) and extending from the cap (14), thereby allowing a user to engage their mouth with the trough (22) to drink the contents of the tumbler (12). The cover (20) will preferably close the trough (22) in such a way that liquid does not escape the trough when the cover (20) is in the closed position.

[0015] The cap (14) has a size that fits snugly within the rim (16) of the tumbler (12) in a manner that prevents liquid leakage. It is preferable that both the cap (14) and the rim (16) have a circular shape and can be detachably secured together by a threaded connection. The cap (14) includes a lower surface (24) received within the cavity of the tumbler (12) and an upper surface (26) located on the outside of the tumbler and accessible to the user. The cap (14) and the tumbler (12) form a vertical central longitudinal axis.

[0016] As illustrated, the cap (14) includes a set of mixer blades (28) mounted on a rotating shaft extending from the lower surface (24) of the cap (14) parallel to the longitudinal axis. As best illustrated in FIG. 5, the rotating shaft of the blades (28) does not coincide with the longitudinal axis of the mixer (10). Instead, the rotating shaft of the blades (28) is laterally offset away from the trough (22). This will shorten the length of the blades (28) extending across the opening of the trough (22). In the illustrated embodiment, the offset of the shaft of the blades (28) is made in a direction directly opposite to the trough (22); the distance of the offset of the shaft of the blades (28) and the length of the blades (28) are chosen so that the blades (28) do not reach the trough (22). In other words, the blades (28) do not cross the opening of the trough (22) in any case. This improves the safety of the mixer (10) by reducing the possibility of finger injury when inserted into the trough (22). Additionally, this improves the functionality of the mixer (22). In this arrangement, the trough (22) can alternatively be used to accommodate a drinking straw (not shown), and the arrangement of the blade (28) will prevent damage to the straw.

[0017] As can be conceived, the blade (28) must be powered to provide the necessary mixing action. To this end, the motor housing (18) will include an electric motor (30) operably connected to the shaft of the blade (28), a battery (32) for powering the motor (30), and a power switch (34) for activating the motor (30) to start mixing. These electrical components must be protected from the liquid being mixed, and similarly, the liquid being mixed must be protected from contamination by the electrical components. These components are accordingly sealed within the motor housing (18) in a liquid-tight manner.

[0018] The need to manufacture a motor housing (18) having various electrical components internally leads to forming the motor housing (18) in at least two sections. In the illustrated embodiment, these are a lower housing (36) and an upper housing (38). The lower and upper housings (36 and 38) are fitted together in a meshing relationship to create a closed internal cavity that surrounds at least the motor (30). The illustrated embodiment uses a rechargeable battery as the battery (32), and accordingly, this embodiment surrounds the battery (32) within this internal cavity. As is known in the art, the meshing line between the upper and lower housings (36 and 38) preferably includes a gasket.

[0019] An additional feature of the present invention is to form a trough (22) within the housings (36 and 38). In particular, the trough (22) is formed entirely as a complete unit within the lower housing (36). The upper housing (38) does not form a part of the trough (22). Instead, the upper housing (38) includes a trough opening (40), the trough (22) extends through the opening (40), and the upper housing (38) is sealed to the outside of the trough (22) as part of a coupling relationship between the housings (36 and 38). This is a significant improvement over the design of the prior art, which divides the trough between two housings. This integral design of the trough (22) eliminates any possibility of leakage from the trough into the motor housing (18) and, more importantly, eliminates any contamination from the motor housing (18) into the trough (22).

[0020] The mixer (10) can be disassembled, and the blade (28) can be accessed by the user when the cap (14) is removed from the tumbler (12). The cap (14) further includes a motor (30) and a battery (32) capable of operating the blade (28). It is known that this provides a safety risk and provides an interlocking device to prevent the motor (30) from operating when the cap (14) is removed from the tumbler (12). The mixer (10) may include various improvements to the interlocking mechanism and may add an additional interlocking mechanism that is not previously known.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, an interlocking device for preventing motor operation while the cap (14) is removed from the tumbler (12) will first be described. While various interlocking mechanisms may be used, it is preferable to provide one or more magnets (42) that interact with Hall effect switches (not shown) associated with the cap (14). Although the use of magnets in such situations is known, it has problems such as the magnets becoming detached or corroding. If any of these problems occur, the interlocking device may not operate properly. To overcome these problems, the present invention forms a two-stage interlocking cavity (44) within the rim (16) of the tumbler (12), wherein one cavity (44) is formed for each magnet (42). The cavity (44) includes a block cavity (46) that is directly open onto the rim (16). The block cavity (46) preferably has an elongated shape. The cavity (44) further includes a second magnet cavity (48) formed inside the block cavity (46) and directly open onto the block cavity (46). The magnet (42) has a size that fits closely within the magnet cavity (48). The mixer (10) also includes a sealing block (50) for each interlocking cavity (44). The sealing block (50) has a size that fits closely within the block cavity (46). When the magnet (42) is received within the magnet cavity (48) and the block (50) is received within the block cavity (46), the block (50) is secured to the tumbler (12) by ultrasonically welding. In this way, the magnet (42) is secured to the tumbler (12) in a manner that prevents loss and oxidation.

[0022] During operation, the user will fill the tumbler (12) with the desired ingredients and secure the cap (14) to the tumbler. The motor (30) will be engaged by manually pressing the power switch (34), and the mixer (10) will be inverted so that the cover (20) is placed on the bottom with the tumbler (12) at the top. During this operation, it is assumed that the cover (20) is completely closed to prevent the contents of the tumbler from leaking out of the inverted trough (22) during mixing. The present invention provides an additional interlocking mechanism to exclude this assumption. In particular, the mixer (10) may include a cover interlocking device to ensure that the motor (30) cannot be engaged when the cover (20) is not completely closed.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 10 through 12, it is first observed in FIG. 11 that a power switch (34) is formed on the upper surface (26) of the cap (26). In particular, the power switch (34) is recessed within the upper surface (34) to prevent direct manual operation of the power switch (34) by the user: such recessed portion is too small to press the power switch (34) with the user's finger. Next, from FIG. 10, it is observed that the cover (20) is formed such that a portion of the cover (20) rests on the power switch (34) when the cover (20) is in a closed position (a position where the trough (22) is sealed and closed). The portion of the cover (20) resting on the power switch (34) is formed as an operating pin (52), and this operating pin will extend into the recessed power switch (34) when the cover (20) is in the closed position. Additionally, the region of the cover (20) surrounding the operating pin (52) is formed flexibly. In the illustrated embodiment, a pair of slots extends inward from the edge of the cover (20) to form a flexible tab, and an actuation pin (52) extends from this flexible tab. As can be conceived, manual pressure on the cover (20) within the region above the actuation pin (52) will cause the actuation pin (52) to activate the power switch (34) and start the operation of the motor (30). In this way, the operation of the motor (30) is prevented unless the cover (20) is in a closed position.

[0024] From the foregoing, it will be evident that the present invention is well configured to achieve all the aforementioned results and objectives, along with other advantages inherent in its structure.

[0025] It will be understood that, without mentioning other features and sub-combinations, certain features and sub-combinations may be useful and may be utilized. This is taken into account by and included within the scope of the claims.

[0026] Since many possible embodiments of the present invention can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, it should be understood that all matters illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described herein should be interpreted in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims

Claim 1 A portable beverage mixer comprising: a tumbler having at least one side wall extending upward to the rim and forming a beverage cavity inside; a cap detachably fixed to the upper rim of the tumbler, wherein the cap forms a motor housing and has an upper surface and a lower surface, a trough extending through and extending from the upper surface of the cap, and a mixer blade mounted to be rotated by a rotating shaft extending from the lower surface of the cap; and a cover pivotably mounted on the cap and movable between an open position allowing a user to access the free end of the trough and a closed position sealing the trough, wherein the rotating shaft for the blade is offset laterally from the longitudinal axis formed by the tumbler in a direction away from the trough. Claim 2 A portable beverage mixer according to claim 1, wherein the mixer blade does not extend beyond the inner edge of the trough. Claim 3 A portable beverage mixer according to claim 1, wherein the cap further comprises a power switch operably connected to the motor, the power switch being recessed into the upper surface of the cap, the cover comprising an actuation pin, the actuation pin extending into the recessed power switch only when the cover is in the closed position.

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