Spice Grinder Cap and Stator Locking for Secure Axial Travel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spice mills face issues with secure attachment to containers due to screw connections and close grooves, which are costly and difficult to manufacture, especially with plastic parts, and do not ensure safe operation.
Innovation Solution
A spice mill design where a peripheral rib forms the upper boundary of a groove that limits axial displacement, eliminating the need for screw connections and using inwardly resilient claws and circumferential ribs to secure the stator to the container, preventing rotor rotation and ensuring safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a screw connection is used to attach the grinder to the container neck, then the grinder can be securely attached, but the grinder can be detached relatively easily and the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the screw connection mechanical system with a friction-based attachment system. The stator's resilient claws grip the container neck through elastic deformation, eliminating screws and associated complexity while maintaining secure attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the attachment mechanism from rigid screw threads to elastic deformation of resilient claws. This parameter change allows the stator to securely grip the container neck through material elasticity rather than mechanical threading.
2Reliability
If two grooves are arranged close together on the rotor to limit axial displacement, then axial displacement is limited, but the arrangement is relatively difficult and expensive to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the axial displacement limitation function from the rotor to the cap. The peripheral groove on the cap interacts with the rib on the container neck, limiting axial displacement at the cap level rather than requiring complex rotor groove arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the axial displacement limitation function from the rotor and places it in the cap. This separates the functions: the rotor focuses on grinding, while the cap handles axial positioning through its peripheral groove and rib interaction.
3Ease of operation
If the circumferential rib of the container neck is overcome by elastic deformation of the cap, then the cap can be attached, but the stator is not secured in the axial direction and safe operation cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the attachment functions: the cap's peripheral portion with inwardly projecting lugs handles circumferential attachment through elastic deformation, while the stator's resilient claws handle axial securing by gripping the container neck. This segmentation allows both ease of operation and axial security.
Solution Approach 2:
The stator acts as an intermediary between the cap and the container neck. The cap attaches to the container neck through elastic deformation, and the stator transfers this attachment to the rotor assembly, ensuring axial security while maintaining ease of cap attachment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design provides a simple and secure axial displacement limitation, preventing the grinder from detaching and ensuring safe operation without the need for expensive screw connections or complex groove arrangements.
Implementation Method 1
The stator 4 has inwardly resilient claws 11 which grip a circumferential rib 12 on the container neck 2 near its upper end, as a result of which the stator 4 is firmly attached to the container neck 2
Data Source
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AI summary
The grinder has a grinding tool (3) arranged on a container (1), and a stator (4) comprising teeth (5). A rotor (6) comprising teeth (7) is supported in the stator and designed in an axially-displaceable manner over a cover (9) that is fixedly connected with the rotor. A peripheral part (20) of the cover has inwardly-projecting projections (19) that engage circumferentially running fin (17) of a container neck (2). The fin forms an upper limitation of a circumferentially running channel (18), where breadth of the channel corresponds to length of axial displacement path of the rotor.