Kitchen appliance for processing food

Abstract

The present invention relates to a kitchen appliance (101) for processing food, comprising a housing (12), in or on which a processing tool (14) is arranged for processing food, and a storage container (16) for storing the food to be processed, the storage container (16) comprising closure means (24) for hermetically closing the storage container (16), and a connec- tion port (44) for connecting a vacuum pump (46) to evacuate the storage container (16).

Description

[0001] Kitchen appliance for processing food

[0002] The present invention relates to a kitchen appliance for processing food .

[0003] Food can be processed in many ways . Examples of food processing are cooking and stirring . One example to be emphasi zed is the chopping of food or the grinding of cof fee beans . Such a kitchen appliance is shown in WO 2020 / 120038 Al . Further kitchen appliances for processing food are disclosed in DE 10 2022 112 672 Al , in DD 15 166 U and DE 10 2010 015 925 Al .

[0004] In particular but not exclusively in the case of cof fee beans , the food to be processed is stored for a certain period before the food processing is started . In case of cof fee beans , they are typically stored in a storage container of a grinder or a cof fee machine for a longer period, ranging from days to weeks . During that period, the food can dry out , rot , mold and / or lose flavoring agents such that the quality and the flavor of the food, in particular of the beans and the resulting cof fee , deteriorates . Ideally, only the amount of cof fee beans is inserted into the storage container that is needed for the immediate preparation of the wanted volume of cof fee at a given occasion which is , however, tedious and timeconsuming .

[0005] It is one task of one embodiment of the present invention to present a kitchen appliance for processing food, by which the drawbacks previously mentioned can at least be minimi zed . In particular, a kitchen appliance should be proposed that of fers the possibility to store the food to be processed in a storage container for a longer period with a reduced risk of the food deterioration mentioned above .

[0006] This task is solved by the features speci fied in claim 1 . Advantageous embodiments are the subj ect of the dependent claims .

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention a kitchen appliance for processing food comprises a housing, in or on which a processing tool is arranged for processing food, and a storage container for storing the food to be processed or the processed food, the storage container comprising closure means for hermetically closing the storage container, and a connection port for connecting a vacuum pump to evacuate the storage container .

[0008] By evacuating the storage container, the pressure inside the storage container is reduced below atmospheric pressure such that a negative pressure is generated . It is neither reasonable nor necessary to apply a high vacuum . Pressures of 101 to 100 mbar are suf ficiently low . To apply the negative pressure , a vacuum pump is connected to the connection port and then activated for a certain time until the desired negative pressure is obtained . After that , the vacuum pump is separated from the connection port . To make sure that the connection port is closed after disconnecting the vacuum pump, the connection port may comprise a back-pressure valve or a similar component which opens upon connecting and closes upon disconnecting the vacuum pump .

[0009] By applying a vacuum or at least a negative pressure inside the storage container, the biological activity therein is signi ficantly reduced such that rotting and / or molding processes are pronouncedly retarded . Moreover, the exchange of air between the storage container and the environment is interrupted such that the food does not dry out or lose flavoring agents . The quality of the food is maintained for a longer time .

[0010] The explanations mentioned above equally apply to food to be processed or the already processed food .

[0011] According to another embodiment the kitchen appliance comprises a supply line arranged between the storage container and the processing tool for guiding the food to be processed from the storage container to the processing tool , wherein the closure means comprise a closure body removably and / or adj ustably arranged inside the supply line for selectively closing the storage container . The storage container could be arranged separated from the processing tool without any connecting supply line . However, the supply line facilitates the supply of the food to be processed to the processing tool . The closure body in this embodiment has at least two functions , namely to selectively interrupt and establish the connection between the storage container and the processing tool such that the enduser can decide when to supply food to the processing tool . Moreover, the closure body at the same time separates the storage container from the environment such that a limited volume to be evacuated is defined inside the storage container when the connection between the storage container and the processing tool is interrupted .

[0012] According to a further embodiment , the kitchen appliance comprises an activation unit by which the closure body can be moved between an open position in which the food to be processed can be guided from the storage container to the processing tool and a closed position in which the storage con- tainer can be evacuated . The activation unit may comprise a handle or the like to facilitate the movement of the closure body between the open position and the closed position . The activation unit may comprise or interact with a lever to mechanically move the closure body between the open position and the closed position or may activate a motor which initiates this movement . The operating comfort of the kitchen appliance is thereby increased .

[0013] In accordance with a further embodiment , the storage container defines a main axis , wherein the closure body executes a translational movement along the main axis and / or a rotational movement around the main axis when moved between the open position and the closed position . As mentioned, the closure body may be arranged inside the supply line . It may be beneficial i f the supply line is arranged coaxial with the main axis defined by the storage container . As the closure body in this embodiment moves along or around the main axis , the closure body does not have to be moved in a radial direction or perpendicular to the main axis and thus not radially to the supply line . The risk that the closure body abuts against adj acently arranged items is reduced .

[0014] In a further embodiment , the kitchen appliance comprises a gasket for closing the storage container in the closed position, wherein the closure body compresses the gasket in the closed position . As noted previously, to create negative pressure the storage container needs to be evacuated . This evacuation is facilitated i f the storage container is closed in an air-tight manner . When the closure body compresses the gasket in the closed position, such an air-tight closure of the storage container can be reliably established . In a further embodiment the storage container is arranged above the processing tool and embodied as a hopper . A hopper has typically a conical shape . The arrangement above the processing tool facilitates the supply of the food to the processing tool as the supply is gravity-supported . The conical shape helps to ensure that the food can easily exit the storage container .

[0015] In another embodiment the closure means comprise a removable closure lid for selectively closing the storage container . A removable closure lid facilitates the filling of the storage container with the food to be processed . In particular, it is possible to fill the storage container without the need to remove the same from the housing . Thus , the storage container may be formed as an integral part of the kitchen appliance .

[0016] A further embodiment defines that the connection port is arranged on the closure lid . This arrangement facilitates the access to the connection port and thus the connecting of the vacuum pump with the connection port . However, it should be mentioned that the connection port may also be arranged on other parts of the storage container, for example , on the lateral walls .

[0017] According to another embodiment the kitchen appliance comprises positioning means for positioning the closure means relative to the storage container . To apply a negative pressure , it is of high importance that the closure means are correctly positioned relative to the storage container to avoid leakage . The positioning means assist the end-user to arrange the closure means in the correct position . In a further embodiment the positioning means comprise recesses and / or protrusions arranged on the storage container for positioning the closure lid . Protrusions and recesses are effective and reliable embodiments of the positioning means which can be provided with small manufacturing ef fort .

[0018] In another embodiment the closure means comprise magnets by which the closure lid is fixable to the storage container . Magnets are an ef fective support for the end-user to place the closure means in the correct position . Moreover, a seal may be arranged between the closure means , in particular the closure lid, and adj acently arranged components of the storage container . The magnets may exert a certain compacting pressure on the seal , thereby avoiding leakage .

[0019] A further embodiment defines that the processing tool is designed for chopping the food, in particular for grinding coffee beans . As initially stated, chopping is a very frequently conducted step in the food processing . Thus , in this embodiment the kitchen appliance ful fils an often-requested food processing demand . In case of cof fee beans , usually, the ground cof fee beans are promptly used for the preparation of cof fee after the grinding . Thus , it is beneficial to store the raw cof fee beans in the storage container at negative pressure . In case of food, the chopped food may not always immediately be used for the preparation of a dish after the chopping process . In this case the chopped food can be stored at negative pressure and not the raw food .

[0020] According to another embodiment the kitchen appliance comprises an adj ustment unit for setting the coarseness of the food to be processed . The actuation of the adj ustment unit changes the way the processing tool is acting on the food to be pro- cessed . In particular when grinding cof fee beans the coarseness is an important factor for the flavor of the resulting cof fee . The functionality of the kitchen appliance is increased .

[0021] In a further embodiment the adj ustment unit is arranged on or around the supply line . A very compact design of the kitchen appliance can be obtained .

[0022] In another embodiment that the vacuum pump is arranged on or inside the housing . As long as the vacuum pump is connectable to the connection port , the vacuum pump can be an external component , in particular a hand-held vacuum pump . However, it is also possible to integrate the vacuum pump into the kitchen appliance . One ef fect is that an inadvertent loss of the vacuum pump can be avoided .

[0023] The present invention is described in detail with reference to the drawings attached wherein

[0024] Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the kitchen appliance according to the invention by means of an exploded view,

[0025] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view through a storage container of the kitchen appliance shown in Figure 1 ,

[0026] Figure 3 is a top view on the storage container shown in Figure 2 ,

[0027] Figure 4 shows the kitchen appliance of Figure 1 in the mounted state , and Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of the kitchen appliance according to the invention by means of an exploded view .

[0028] Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a kitchen appliance 101 according to the present invention by means of an exploded view . The kitchen appliance 101 is used for processing food . In the shown embodiment the kitchen appliance 101 is a cof fee grinder and comprises a housing 12 in which a processing tool 14 is arranged by which the cof fee beans can be ground . The cof fee beans can be stored in a storage container 16 before they are delivered to the processing tool 14 . The storage container 16 defines a main axis A and is embodied as a hopper 18 that can be removably fastened to the housing 12 . When fastened to the housing 12 the storage container 16 is arranged above the processing tool 14 . The storage container 16 and the processing tool 14 are connected to each other by a supply line 20 such that the beans are guided from the hopper 18 to the processing tool 14 under the influence of gravity . After having been ground, the cof fee powder is then further transported into a collecting container 22 which can be removably fastened to the housing 12 .

[0029] The storage container 16 comprises closure means 24 for hermetically closing the storage container . The closure means 24 comprise a closure body 26 which can be selectively introduced into and withdrawn from the supply line 20 such that the supply line 20 is closed or opened, respectively . The kitchen appliance 101 comprises an activation unit 27 by which the closure body 26 can be moved between an open position and a closed position . The closure body 26 is arranged on a pusher 28 which is part of the activation unit 27 by which the clo- sure body 26 can be introduced into the supply line 20 and removed therefrom similar to a drawer .

[0030] Moreover, the closure means 24 comprise a closure lid 30 that can be removably connected to the top of the hopper 18 . The kitchen appliance 101 is further equipped with positioning means 32 for positioning the closure means 24 relative to the storage container 16 . As evident from Figure 1 , the positioning means 32 comprise recesses 34 that are formed by the hopper 18 . A seal 36 , in particular an 0-ring, can be introduced into the recess 34 together with the closure lid 30 . Moreover, the positioning means 32 comprise magnets 38 that are also arranged on the hopper 18 and that cooperate with magneti zed or magneti zable counter-bodies 40 , e . g . , made of iron, which are arranged on the closure lid 30 .

[0031] At the bottom of the hopper 18 , the positioning means 32 are formed as supporting surfaces 42 on which the pusher 28 can rest ( see in particular Figure 2 ) when closing the supply line 20 . The positioning means 32 help the end-user to position the closure lid 30 relative to the hopper 18 such that it can be hermitically closed .

[0032] Returning to Figure 1 , a connection port 44 is arranged on the closure lid 30 to which a vacuum pump 46 can be connected ( see also Figure 4 ) . A back-pressure valve 48 is arranged inside the connection port 44 by which the connection port 44 is opened when the vacuum pump 46 is connected to the connection port 44 and closed as soon as the vacuum pump 46 is disconnected from the connection port 44 .

[0033] With reference to Figures 1 and 4 , the kitchen appliance 101 comprises an adj ustment unit 50 for setting the coarseness of the food to be processed, in this case the coarseness of the cof fee powder . The adj ustment unit 50 is ring-shaped and arranged such that it encompasses the supply line 20 . The adj ustment unit 50 interacts with the processing tool 14 . Depending on the rotational position of the adj ustment unit 50 , the coarseness is higher or lower .

[0034] Moreover, the kitchen appliance 101 is equipped with a protection plate 54 that can be inserted into the supply line 20 , thereby restricting direct access for a user of the kitchen appliance 101 to the processing tool 14 for safety reasons .

[0035] The kitchen appliance 101 may be operated as follows : It is assumed that the closure body 26 is introduced into the supply line 20 using the pusher 28 as shown in Figures 2 to 4 . The supply line 20 is thus closed . The closure lid 30 is now removed from the hopper 18 and a given quantity of cof fee beans filled into the hopper 18 . After filling the closure lid 30 is re-connected to the hopper 18 by the aid of the magnets 38 which also cause the seal 36 to be squeezed by the closure lid 30 to hermetically close the hopper 18 . The vacuum pump 46 is now connected to the connection port 44 . Upon connecting, the back-pressure valve 48 is opened such that air can be removed from the storage container 16 . The vacuum pump 46 is now activated until the desired negative pressure is reached . The vacuum pump 46 is then disconnected from the connection port 44 . Upon disconnecting, the back-pressure valve 48 is closing thereby maintaining the negative pressure inside the storage container 16 .

[0036] The negative pressure can be maintained until the end-user wants to prepare a certain volume of cof fee . For this purpose , the pusher 28 is withdrawn from the supply line 20 by a move- ment perpendicularly to the main axis A which is now open . Due to the influence of gravity, the cof fee beans are delivered to the processing tool 14 . When the wanted quantity is delivered, the pusher 28 is reintroduced into the supply line 20 , thereby closing the same and interrupting the delivery of cof fee beans to the processing tool 14 . The processing tool 14 is now activated to grind the cof fee beans . After that , the ground cof fee powder is further transported to the collecting container 22 which can be pulled out of the kitchen appliance 101 when filled to transport the cof fee powder to a cof fee machine .

[0037] Depending on the negative pressure set inside the storage container 16 , it may not be possible to withdraw the pusher 28 from the supply line 20 . Typically, the negative pressure inside the storage container 16 is not very high . A manual manipulation of the edges of the back-pressure valve 48 or a manual li fting of the closure lid 30 may be suf ficient to cause a leakage and thus to remove the back pressure . In exceptional cases of very high negative pressure , the backpressure valve 48 may be actuated by connecting the vacuum pump 46 to the connection port 44 . In any case , the negative pressure is released and needs to be generated again as described above and is maintained until the next volume of coffee is prepared .

[0038] In Figure 5 a second embodiment of the kitchen appliance 102 is shown by an exploded view . The basic design of the kitchen appliance 102 of the second embodiment is to a large extent similar to the kitchen appliance 101 of the first embodiment , so only the main di f ferences are described in the following .

[0039] One main di f ference is the way by which the closure body 26 is moved between the open position in which the food to be pro- cessed can be guided from the storage container 16 to the processing tool 14 and the closed position in which the storage container 16 can be evacuated . As previously noted, the closure body 26 in the first embodiment of the kitchen appliance 101 is moved between the open position and the closed position by a movement perpendicular to the main axis A. In the second embodiment of the kitchen appliance 102 , the closure body 26 is moved by a combined movement around and along the main axis A between the open and the closed position .

[0040] The activation unit 27 comprises a lever 56 a user can grip and turn around a secondary axis B which runs perpendicular to the main axis A. The lever 56 comprises a gear wheel 68 which is in mesh with a ring 70 that is mounted rotatably around the main axis A in a support unit 72 . The support unit 72 forms a part of the supply line 20 . The ring 70 is equipped with three slotted holes 74 penetrated by screws 76 . The ends of the slotted holes 74 and the screws 76 abutting thereon define rotational end positions between which the ring 70 can be rotated when the user turns the lever 56 .

[0041] The closure body 26 is also rotatably mounted on the support unit 72 . The ring 70 comprises three proj ections 78 and three slits 79 which interact with the closure body 26 such that the rotation of the ring 70 is trans ferred to the closure body 26 . The support unit 72 comprises sloped first surfaces 80 which interact with sloped second surfaces 82 of the closure body 26 . The rotation of the closure body 26 around the main axis A therefore causes a translational movement along the main axis A by which the closure body 26 is moved towards or away from the storage container 16 . When the closure body 26 is in the closed position, the closure body 26 abuts the storage container 16 and closes the supply line 20 . In the open position, the closure body 26 is positioned at distance from the storage container 16 such that the supply line 20 is open .

[0042] As noted before , a user can grip the lever 56 and turn the activation unit 27 around the secondary axis B . It is possible to also place the activation unit 27 into intermediate positions between the open position and the closed position . The cross-sectional area through which the food to be processed can move can thus be adj usted . This ad ustability of the closure body 26 may for example be used to regulate the coarseness of the cof fee beans .

[0043] As visible from Figure 5 , a gasket 52 is mounted on the closure body 26 . The closure body 26 abuts the storage container 16 with the gasket 52 which is thereby compressed and thus provides an air-tight closure of the storage container 16 . Due to the di f ferent design of the closure body 26 the use of the protection plate 54 ( see Figure 1 ) can be dispensed with in the second embodiment of the kitchen appliance 102 .

[0044] As noted above , the raw cof fee beans are stored in the storage container 16 under negative pressure until they are ground by the processing tool 14 . After grinding, the ground cof fee beans are then collected in the collecting container 22 . Not shown is an embodiment of the kitchen appliance in which the collecting container 22 instead of the storage container 16 can be evacuated such that the processed food can be stored under negative pressure . It is also possible to evacuate both the storage container 16 and the collecting container 22 . Reference list

[0045] 101 , 102 kitchen appliance

[0046] 12 housing

[0047] 14 processing tool

[0048] 16 storage container

[0049] 18 hopper

[0050] 20 supply line

[0051] 22 collecting container

[0052] 24 closure means

[0053] 26 closure body

[0054] 27 activation unit

[0055] 28 pusher

[0056] 30 closure lid

[0057] 32 positioning means

[0058] 34 recess

[0059] 36 seal

[0060] 38 magnets

[0061] 40 counter-body

[0062] 42 supporting surface

[0063] 44 connection port

[0064] 46 vacuum pump

[0065] 48 back-pressure valve

[0066] 50 adj ustment unit

[0067] 52 gasket

[0068] 54 protection plate

[0069] 56 lever

[0070] 68 gear wheel

[0071] 70 ring

[0072] 72 support unit

[0073] 74 slotted hole

[0074] 76 screw

[0075] 78 proj ection 79 slit

[0076] 80 sloped first surface

[0077] 82 sloped second surface A main axis

[0078] B secondary axis

Claims

Patent claims1. Kitchen appliance (101) for processing food, comprising- a housing (12) , in or on which a processing tool (14) is arranged for processing food, and- a storage container (16) for storing the food to be processed, the storage container (16) comprising o closure means (24) for hermetically closing the storage container (16) , and o a connection port (44) for connecting a vacuum pump (46) to evacuate the storage container (16) .

2. Kitchen appliance (101) according to claim 1, characterized in that the kitchen appliance (101) comprises a supply line (20) arranged between the storage container (16) and the processing tool (14) for guiding the food to be processed from the storage container (16) to the processing tool (14) , wherein the closure means (24) comprise a closure body (26) removably arranged inside the supply line (20) for selectively closing the storage container (16) .

3. Kitchen appliance (101) according to one of the claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the storage container (16) is arranged above the processing tool (14) and embodied as a hopper (18) .

4. Kitchen appliance (101) according to one of the preceding claims , characterized in that the closure means (24) comprise a removable closure lid (30) for selectively closing the storage container (16) .

5. Kitchen appliance (101) according to claim 4, characterized in that the connection port (44) is arranged on the closure lid (30) .

6. Kitchen appliance (101) according to one of the preceding claims , characterized in that the kitchen appliance (101) comprises positioning means (32) for positioning the closure means (24) relative to the storage container (16) .

7. Kitchen appliance (101) according to claim 6, characterized in that the positioning means (32) comprise recesses (34) and / or protrusions arranged on the storage container (16) for positioning the closure lid (30) .

8. Kitchen appliance (101) according to one of the claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the closure means (24) comprise magnets (38) by which the closure lid (30) is fixable to the storage container (16) .

9. Kitchen appliance (101) according to one of the preceding claims , characterized in that the processing tool (14) is designed for chopping the food, in particular for grinding coffee beans .

10. Kitchen appliance (101) according to claim 9, characterized in that the kitchen appliance (101) comprises an adjustment unit (50) for setting the coarseness of the food to be processed.

11. Kitchen appliance (101) according to the claims 2 and 10, characterized in that the adjustment unit (50) is arranged on the supply line (20) .

12. Kitchen appliance (101) according to one of the preceding claims , characterized in that the vacuum pump (46) is arranged on or inside the housing (12) .

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