HK1164665B - Juicer arrangement - Google Patents

Description

Juice extractor

Technical Field

The present invention relates to juicing devices and more particularly, but not exclusively, to centrifugal juicers intended for domestic kitchens and which comprise a motor-driven appliance capable of extracting juice from fruit (typically citrus fruits) or vegetables and delivering the juice by means of an outlet duct into a vessel, such as a jug or carafe, removably positioned near the body of the appliance, to receive the juice.

Background

Typically, such juicers have macerating devices, such as disc-shaped cutting plates, which rotate at a reasonably high rate to pulp the fruit or vegetables being juiced; the cutting plate includes, or is at least positioned adjacent to, a base of a frusto-conical filter element disposed in the generally cylindrical working space. The frusto-conical sidewall of the filter element is pierced or otherwise formed with small holes and/or slits so as to be sufficiently porous to allow juice to pass therethrough. A cutting plate, and generally also a filtering element, spinning fast enough to separate the juice from the pulp residue, mainly comprising fibrous lumps; the juice passes through the apertures in the frustoconical wall for collection and dispensing and the pulp residue is blocked by the filter element and is typically thrown upwardly and outwardly therefrom.

The working space is closed by a cover, a feed chute designed to receive the product to be extracted passes through the top of the cover, and a pusher is provided to push the product through the feed chute and into abrasive contact with the cutting plate.

Appliances based on the foregoing general arrangements have been well formed, can be economically manufactured and work well, but it has been widely found that undesirable materials such as pulp residue must be collected (either within the appliance or within a separate (or separable) container), the outlet duct requiring frequent cleaning, in part because the presence of inappropriate amounts of these materials in the prepared juice is perceived by many users as being less palatable and in part because these materials tend to clog the outlet duct. A particularly effective technique for transferring pulp residue into a detachable container for collection and disposal is described in our co-pending uk patent application No. gb 0900851.7 and such a technique may be conveniently used with the present invention.

Other difficulties arise in certain respects, however, such as preventing the tendency of the juice to continue to drip from the outlet conduit after the desired amount of juice has been dispensed, and ensuring that the juice flows cleanly into the vessel for receipt (i.e., without undue splashing). These difficulties are particularly, although not exclusively, associated with centrifugal juicers where the juice can be discharged at a fairly rapid rate.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a juicing device in which at least one of the above difficulties is reduced or overcome.

According to the present invention, there is provided a juicer arrangement comprising a motor-driven appliance capable of extracting juice from fruit, and a vessel for receiving the juice; the appliance has an outlet duct for juice; the conduit is tubular about an axis extending therealong; said vessel having a lid or cover means pre-formed with an aperture sized and configured to receive said tubular outlet conduit and the conduit having an end portion with an inner wall extending chordally thereacross; wherein at least the end is rotatable about the axis of the tube to invert the wall for juice dispensing and otherwise position the wall as an anti-drip dam element to impede liquid flow.

By this measure, the end of the outlet tube can be rotated from the juice dispensing position to the drip stop position and the end of the tube is at least partially inserted into the hole in the lid or cover, thereby assisting in the clean delivery of juice into the bowl.

Preferably, the end of the pipe is formed with an element that can be gripped, pressed or otherwise manipulated by a user to facilitate rotation of the end of the pipe from one or more positions thereof to other positions.

Further preferably, the end portion is rotatable between its juice delivery and drip stop positions while remaining inserted in the hole in the lid or cover means of the vessel.

In a preferred embodiment, a liquid seal configured to accommodate rotation of the end portion of the pipe relative to the remainder of the pipe is provided between the outer surface of the remainder and the inner surface of the end portion.

Further preferably, the outlet conduit comprises a fixed substantially straight hollow tube and the end portion comprises an external collar which is rotatable through at least a predetermined angle relative to the tube.

The hollow tube and end are preferably formed with cooperating features which limit and define the angle through which the end of the tube can be rotated relative to the fixed remainder.

It is further preferred that an end stop is provided for angular movement of the end, so as to provide the user with tactile confirmation that the end is correctly positioned in one or the other of its extreme angular positions relative to the fixed remainder of the outlet conduit, or for dispensing or preventing dripping.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the hollow tube and the end are formed with cooperating parts allowing axial assembly and disassembly thereof, so that the end can be easily removed for cleaning.

Preferably, the axis of the tubular outlet conduit is inclined downwardly from the appliance.

It is also preferred that the aperture in the lid or cover means of the juice receiving vessel comprises an aperture sized to snugly receive at least a portion of the end of the outlet conduit. This facilitates clean delivery of the juice into the vessel with minimal splashing.

It is also preferred that the vessel and utensil are designed to present complementary or contrasting appearances, and that they may be conveniently shaped to fit each other. By this measure, the design of the two components can be presented as a whole, thereby preventing the use of unmatched vessels and appliances.

Drawings

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1(a) shows a general perspective view of the main external components of a juicer according to an embodiment of the invention, including the relevant components of the main appliance, a vessel positioned to receive juice, and a container positioned to receive pulp residue;

figure 1(b) shows a perspective view of a lid for a juice receiving vessel;

figure 2 shows a partial perspective view of the juicer and its outlet spout through which juice flows to a juice receiving vessel;

FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) show external and cross-sectional views, respectively, of the outlet conduit in a juice delivery position;

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show external and cross-sectional views, respectively, of the outlet conduit in a drip stop position; and is

Fig. 5(a) and 5(b) show the fixed and movable parts of the outlet conduit, respectively, together with cooperating parts formed therein to accommodate relative movement therebetween.

Detailed Description

Referring now to fig. 1(a), 1(b) and 2, the apparatus comprises a centrifugal juicer appliance 1 having a base 2, a body portion 3 and a lid 4. The body portion 3 houses the motor and the main juicing components already described, which can take any convenient form and are not critical to the invention and so will not be described further herein. In this example, the body portion carries a rotary switch 5 (by means of which the operation of the appliance 1 can be controlled), and a pair of latches such as 6 to securely hold the lid in place, although it will be appreciated that these components are shown by way of example only and can take other forms.

The lid 4 supports a feed chute 8 sized and configured to receive product to be juiced, and a pusher (not shown) is provided whereby product can be pushed through the feed chute 8 and into abrasive contact with a cutting plate (not shown) provided within the body portion 3, and the cutting plate is rotated at high speed to create the juicing action of the appliance. As is known, the feed chute 8 and appliance 1 must generally be configured to prevent, whenever possible, the user's fingers from being inserted into contact with any component of the juicer, as this can lead to injury. This is typically achieved in part by size and ergonomic limitations and in part by an electrical interlock that prevents operation of the appliance 1 unless safe operating conditions are established. These basic conditions can however be achieved in any effective way without departing from the scope of the present invention, which mainly relates to the nature of the outlet duct 9 extending from the body part 3, through which outlet duct 9 juice can be dispensed into a receiving vessel comprising a jug or carafe 10.

To complete the description of the external parts of the appliance 1, a separation vessel 11 is also provided, positioned to receive the undesired pulp residues, which, as previously mentioned, are by-products of the juicing operation. Preferably, the container 11 is constructed and interacts with the body portion 3 in the manner described in the aforementioned british patent application, although other constructions can be used if desired.

In this example, the outlet duct 9 comprises a tubular interior 12 fixed to the body 3 of the appliance 1 and having a longitudinal axis 12 a; and a rotatable tubular end portion 13 arranged coaxially therewith. The end 13 is able to rotate relative to the fixed interior 12 and about the axis 12a by a user operating a key or other element 14 formed on the outer surface of the end 13.

As will now be described with reference to fig. 3(a), 3(b), 4(a), 4(b), 5(a) and 5(b), the main feature of the outlet conduit 9 is its ability to prevent juice from dripping once a desired amount of juice has been dispensed into the vessel 10. In this regard, and in order to solve this problem, the rotatable end 13 of the duct 9 supports a transverse wall 15, the transverse wall 15 extending chordally over the circular outlet opening of the end 13 and being arranged (when the end 13 is properly oriented) to act as a dam as regards the juice attempting to exit through the duct 9.

As previously mentioned, the end 13 of the duct 9 can rotate about the axis 12a with respect to the fixed part 12. The rotation is preferably carried out through a predetermined angle (typically 180 °) and limited by a stop, as will be described later. When the end 13 of the outlet duct 9 is in the first (juice delivery) position with respect to the fixed part, as shown in fig. 3(a) and 3(b), the wall 15 is arranged upside down and is thus positioned so that juice can flow under the wall 15 and out of the duct 9.

When sufficient juice has been dispensed and the appliance 1 has been closed, the user operates the key 14 to rotate the end 13 through the aforementioned predetermined angle (180 ° in this example) with respect to the fixed portion 12 of the duct 9 to a second (non-dripping) position, as shown in fig. 4(a) and 4 (b); thereby positioning the wall to act as a dam to block further juice flow; thereby preventing dripping when the juice collection vessel 10 is removed.

The fixed interior 12 of the outlet conduit 9 supports, in this example, a forwardly projecting tubular insert 16, the tubular insert 16 being dimensioned to fit within a similar insert 17 carried by the end 13 of the outlet conduit, and the inserts 16 and 17 respectively bearing cooperating parts as will now be described. The inserts 16 and 17 may be made of food grade plastic material or they may be made of a suitable metal such as stainless steel. The two parts 12 and 13 of the pipe are preferably made of stainless steel.

An insert 16 carried by the fixed interior 12 of the pipe 9 supports a seal in the form of an O-ring 18 and has formed on its outer surface 19 a circumferentially extending slot 20 in which two pairs of ribs are disposed; a pair of such ribs is shown at 21 and 22 in figure 5 (a). These two pairs of ribs form respective end stops limiting the angular movement of the end 13 in both directions with respect to the fixed portion 12 of the pipe 9. The insert 17 overlies the O-ring 18 and is radially sized to closely contact the O-ring 18 to form a seal that can accommodate relative rotation between the two inserts and prevent unwanted spillage of juice between them.

The inwardly facing wall 23 of the insert 17 carried by the end 13 of the duct 9 is formed with a tongue-like element 24 which engages into the slot 20 to hold the end in position and also serves to provide a positive tactile indication when the end 13 has been rotated into one or other of its extreme angular positions relative to the fixed part 12 (respectively if juice delivery and dripping ceases).

The tongue element 24 has a relatively complex shape, similar to a truncated cone, with inwardly inclined walls such as 26 at either end, and inwardly inclined circumferentially extending walls such as 29. Furthermore, the tongue element 24 is surrounded on three sides by connection slots 25 formed through the insert 17, providing a flexible support for the tongue element. It will be appreciated (as can best be seen in fig. 3(b) and 4 (b)) that a gap is provided between the insert 17 and the inner wall of the end portion 13 to allow sufficient flexing of the tongue element 24 for the above purpose.

When it is desired to assemble the end 13 to the fixed portion 12 of the pipe 9, the end 13 is aligned with the fixed portion 12 and moved towards it along the axis 12a, causing the inclined surface 29 of the tongue element 24 (assisted by the flexibility of its support) to ride over the surface 19 of the insert 16 until the tongue element 24 snaps into the slot 20.

Upon rotation of the end 13 relative to the fixed part 12, the tongue element 24 moves about the slot 20 until it contacts one or the other of the pair of ribs (such as 21 and 22) located at either end of its travel, whereby the inclined surface such as 26 of the tongue element 24 rides over the first rib of the pair and allows the tongue element 24 to snap into the recess between the two ribs. This action clearly defines and limits the angular rotation of the end 13 with respect to the fixed part 12 and provides tactile assurance that the end is set in the desired angular position with respect to the fixed part 12.

In this example of the invention (as can best be seen in fig. 3(b) and 4 (b)), a second tongue element, identical to element 24, is provided on insert 17 at a position diametrically opposite tongue element 24, and both engage into slot 20 when end 13 is assembled to fixed portion 12 of pipe 9. This provides enhanced operation. Moreover, each tongue element, such as 24, is received in a respective one of the two recesses formed between the ribs (such as 21 and 22) of each pair of ribs positioned in the circumferential slot 20 when the end portion 13 has been rotated into one or the other of its two stable end positions.

If desired, image indicators can be provided on the outer surface of the portion 12 or 13 of the tubing 9 such that alignment of the key 14 with one image indicator or the other indicates to the user whether the outlet tubing is in the juice delivery position or the drip stop position.

The end 13 is easily removed from the remainder of the outlet duct 9 for cleaning by reversing the assembly process described above, i.e. by withdrawing it in an axial direction opposite to that of assembly. The combination of an inclined surface (not shown) on the opposite surface of the tongue element 24, equivalent to surface 29, and the flexibility of the tongue element to mount to the insert 17 (and the gap between the insert 17 and the end 13) provides the necessary movement to allow the user to easily remove the tongue element 24 from the slot 20.

The internal configuration of the end portion 13 is such as to improve ease of cleaning and to reduce the likelihood of dust and/or stale juices residing. Moreover, the wall 15 and the relative D-shaped opening in the end of the portion 13 are configured so that, if the juicer were to operate accidentally with the outlet duct set in its drip-stop position, juice could not return to the juicer. Instead, juice is allowed to overflow directly into the vessel 10. It is particularly advantageous that end 13 can be rotated between its juice delivery and drip stop positions by operation of key 14 while remaining snugly inserted into a skirted aperture 28 provided in a lid or cover 27 of juice receiving vessel 10 (see fig. 1(a) and 1 (b)). Moreover, it will be appreciated that the juicer appliance 1 can operate with the end 13 removed, if desired, thereby foregoing the drip stop capability.

It has previously been proposed, for example in EP-a1-1834555 and WO-a2-2009/010897, to solve the problem of dripping by means of a rotatable toggle-like member. It will be appreciated that this proposal lacks the attributes discussed in the preceding paragraphs.

Another problem addressed by the present apparatus, rather than the prior proposals described above, is that the juice is delivered cleanly into the bowl 10 without splashing. In this regard, the lid 27 of the vessel 10 is formed (as described above) in this example with a peripheral inlet aperture 28 dimensioned to snugly receive the outer section of the end 13 of the outlet conduit 9. The juice thus flows directly into the vessel 10 and the end 13 can rotate between its juice delivery and drip stop positions as previously described while being snugly inserted into the bordered holes 28, thereby providing clean delivery of the juice while maintaining anti-drip capability.

In this embodiment of the invention, the axis 12a of the pipe 9 is oriented at a downward angle relative to horizontal sufficient to match the position of the bordered aperture 28 in the lid 27 of the vessel 10. It will be appreciated, however, that depending on the device in actual use, the aforementioned downward angle can be adjusted in any given situation to match a custom vessel such as 10 and/or a standard glass or beaker specifically designed for use with the appliance 1.

Claims (12)

1. A juicer arrangement comprising a motor-driven appliance capable of extracting juice from fruit and a vessel for receiving the juice; the appliance having an outlet conduit for a flow path of juice; the outlet conduit is tubular about an axis extending therealong; the vessel having a lid or cover means pre-formed with an aperture sized and configured to receive the outlet conduit and having an end with an inner wall extending chordally thereacross, the inner wall including an opening; wherein at least the end is rotatable about an axis of the outlet tube to invert the inner wall for juice dispensing and otherwise position the opening in the inner wall from a dripping position in which a portion of the opening is positioned in a flow path of juice allowing juice to be dispensed to an anti-dripping position in which the opening is rotated away from the flow path allowing the inner wall to operate as an anti-drip dam element preventing liquid flow.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the end of said outlet conduit is at least partially inserted into an aperture in said lid or cover means of said vessel, thereby assisting in the clean delivery of juice into the vessel.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the end of the outlet conduit is formed with an element that can be grasped, pressed, or manipulated by a user to facilitate rotation of the end of the outlet conduit about the axis.

4. Device according to claim 1, wherein said end portion is rotatable between said dripping position and said anti-dripping position, while remaining inserted in an aperture in said lid or cover means of said vessel.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a liquid seal configured to accommodate rotation of the end of the outlet conduit relative to a fixed interior of the outlet conduit is disposed between an outer surface of an insert supported by the fixed interior and an inner surface of an insert carried by the end.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the fixed interior of the outlet conduit comprises a substantially straight and hollow fixed tube, and the end portion comprises an outer collar rotatable through at least a predetermined angle relative to the fixed tube.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the fixed tube and the end portion are formed with cooperating features that limit and define the angle through which the end portion of the outlet conduit can be rotated relative to the fixed tube.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein an end stop is provided for angular movement of said end, thereby providing a tactile confirmation to a user that said end is correctly positioned in one or the other of its extreme angular positions relative to said fixed tube of said outlet conduit, or for dispensing or preventing dripping.

9. The device of claim 6, wherein the fixed tube and the end are formed with cooperating parts that allow them to be axially assembled and disassembled so that the end can be easily removed for cleaning.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the axis of the outlet conduit is inclined downwardly from the appliance.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the aperture in the lid or cover means of the juice receiving vessel comprises an aperture sized to snugly receive at least a portion of the end of the outlet conduit.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vessel and the implement are designed to present complementary or contrasting appearances and are shaped to mate with one another.