Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a sound insulating appliance for reducing the sound created by coffee grinders. The appliance can be integral to the coffee grinder, insulating the grinder and preventing transfer of vibration on a supporting surface. Alternatively, the invention can surround the coffee grinder, providing an opening for the electrical cord and allowing the operator to actuate the coffee grinder from outside the appliance. The appliance utilizes polyurethane foam as an insulation medium.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention generally relates to coffee bean grinders. In particular, the present invention is a device for reducing the sound created by an operating coffee grinder.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    While many consumers purchase pre-ground coffee, a significant number buy whole bean coffees and grind their beans at home. Grinding coffee beans immediately before use typically provides fresher, more Favorable coffee. A wide variety of coffee beans are available allowing consumers to enjoy and combine different flavors of coffee. Thus, electric coffee grinders have become common household appliances.  
           [0003]    Unfortunately, these devices grind coffee very loudly. Coffee is often brewed early in the morning, so using a coffee grinder may inadvertently awaken other members of a household. At any time of day, a person grinding coffee as well as anyone in the vicinity is subjected to an unpleasant sound, which can interrupt conversations or otherwise disturb or annoy.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention is directed to an appliance that interfaces with a coffee grinder to reduce the sound created by an operating grinder. The invention can, for example, be used with a coffee grinder of the type that is cylindrically shaped, and having a blade-type grinding mechanism in a grinding compartment covered by a removable cover. When the cover is removed, coffee can be added to or removed from the grinding compartment. The cover often includes a mechanism to engage an electrical switch located within the grinder. Thus, when the cover is properly placed upon the grinder, and the mechanism is actuated, the blade will rotate and grind coffee in the grinding compartment.  
           [0005]    In one embodiment of the invention, a coffee grinder is placed within the appliance to substantially enclose the coffee grinder. This appliance includes a housing and a removable lid. The housing may include a bottom member, preferably made of a rubber-like material, upon which the coffee grinder is seated, and a cylindrically-shaped hollow shell. The shell is placed over the main body of the coffee grinder and is attached to the bottom member. The lid is shaped so that it fits over the top of the coffee grinder and rests on the top of the shell to enclose the grinder. In addition, the appliance can include structure to actuate the coffee grinder and to allow any power cord to extend through it.  
           [0006]    An alternative embodiment of the invention includes insulation material integral to the coffee grinder. The grinder may also have an isolation mechanism attached to the bottom of the grinder to minimize the transfer of vibration from the grinder to the surface upon which it rests. The present invention can also be adapted to provide sound insulation for other styles of coffee grinders including those that use millstones to grind coffee. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a prior art cylindrical blade type coffee grinder.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a side view of the sound-reducing appliance according to one embodiment of the invention, with a cylindrically shaped coffee grinder located within the appliance.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the base of the appliance shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is side view of a second embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a top, cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of the invention, a cylindrical, blade-type coffee grinder with integral sound reducing material.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is a front view of a fourth embodiment of the invention, a cylindrical, blade-type coffee grinder with sound reducing material attached to the exterior surface of the grinder.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 7 is a front view of the fourth embodiment of the invention with a lid that is attached to the sound reducing material on the exterior surface of the grinder.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 8 is a front view of another alternative of the fourth embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]    Referring to FIG. 1, a typical prior art coffee grinder  10  is comprised of main body  20 , and cover  30 . Mounted inside main body  20  is an electric motor (not shown) coupled to power cord  12 , which can connect grinder  10  to a standard household electrical outlet. Mounted in main body  20  is a switch (not shown) that is electrically in series with the motor and is actuated to control the application of power to the motor. Aperture  24  is an opening on main body  20  that provides access to the switch. Main body  20  further includes compartment  40 , a cavity that holds coffee beans. Compartment  40  typically includes a grinding mechanism  42 , which in the illustrated embodiment is a rotating blade, coupled to the motor.  
         [0016]    Cover  30  is typically made of plastic or other suitable material and is designed to enclose compartment  40 . Cover  30  typically includes an actuation member  34 , which in the illustrated embodiment is a moveable member designed to actuate the switch. When cover  30  is properly placed upon main body  20 , actuation mechanism  34  is aligned with aperture  24 . Application of a force in the direction of arrow  36  will cause actuation mechanism  34  to move through aperture  24 , actuate the switch, and allow power to be applied to the motor causing grinding mechanism  42  to grind coffee beans.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 illustrates grinder  10  located within sound insulation appliance  50  in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention. Appliance  50  includes base  60 , shell  70 , and lid  80 , which combine to substantially enclose grinder  10 . Base  60  is comprised of a soft durometer rubber, polymer, or other suitable vibration isolation material, and is designed to allow grinder  10  to rest upon it. Referring to FIG. 3, base  60  includes support area  66  that is large enough to accept bottom surface  26  of grinder  10 . The top surface of base  60  has a lip  64  that extends above support area  66  around the circumference of base  60 . Lip  64  preferably includes notch  62 , which is designed to accept power cord  12 .  
         [0018]    Shell  70  is preferably hollow and cylindrically-shaped and constructed of a suitable sound insulation material, such as closed cell polyurethane foam. Shell  70  may have an additional outer layer made of aluminum or other suitably hard material. Shell  70  is preferably designed to fit over main body  20  and attach to base  60  to substantially enclose a majority of main body  20  of grinder  10 . Shell  70  preferably includes notch  72  that is aligned with notch  62  when base  60  and sleeve  70  are attached so that power cord  12  of grinder  10  can feed through the resultant opening. In other embodiments (not shown), a power cord may feed through a hole in shell  70 . Further, a plug (not shown) made of insulating material may be included to fill part of the hole after the power cord has been fed through it. Other structures and approaches can also be used to couple the grinder power cord through the appliance. Alternatively, no cord accommodating structure is required if the coffee grinder has batteries or another self-contained power source.  
         [0019]    Shell  70  may fit snugly within or over lip  64 , such that the friction between shell  70  and lip  64  provides the only attachment mechanism between shell  70  and base  60 . Alternatively, the attachment mechanism between sleeve  70  and base  60  may take many other forms, including any suitable structure to adhere or otherwise attach sleeve  70  to base  60 . It is to be understood that in alternative embodiments, base  60  may not include structure such as lip  64 . Alternatively, shell  70  and base  60  may be integrated into a single component or the appliance may include shell  70  and not base  60 .  
         [0020]    Lid  80  is preferably made of sound insulating material identical or similar to that used in shell  70 . Alternatively, lid  80  may have an outer layer (not shown) constructed of a hard material covering at least some sound insulating material. The outer layer may be made of the same or similar material as the outer layer of shell  70  described above. Lid  80  fits over cover  30  and preferably rests on the top edge of shell  70 . In one embodiment, lid  80  is attached to shell  70  by a hinge  74 . Alternatively, lid  80  may be shaped so that it fits over the top of and is completely removable from shell  70 .  
         [0021]    When lid  80  is properly placed upon shell  70 , the operator can grind coffee beans by pressing upon lid  80  so that the insulation material of lid  80  deforms to apply sufficient pressure against actuation mechanism  34  so as to actuate the switch. When the coffee beans are sufficiently ground, the operator can remove the ground coffee by moving lid  80  to an open position as depicted in FIG. 2, removing cover  30 , and pouring the coffee out of compartment  40 . It is preferable that the height of shell  70  is lower than main body  20  when grinder  10  is seated in the appliance to minimize the potential of spilling coffee inside the appliance when pouring coffee out of compartment  40 .  
         [0022]    Alternatively, appliance  50  may include other structure to enable the actuation of actuation mechanism  34 . For example, lid  80  may include a mechanism such as a hard plastic device that, when depressed, interfaces with actuation mechanism  34  causing the grinder to operate. It is to be further understood that the present invention may be adapted to coffee grinders that have alternative switch actuation mechanisms including rotational switches, pressure sensitive switch mechanisms and the like located anywhere on grinder  10 , for example, on the main body. Alternative embodiments may include access to directly actuate or may provide structure to indirectly actuate such switch mechanisms.  
         [0023]    While a first embodiment of the invention is described above, it may be configured in other embodiments. For example, FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment, a sound insulation appliance  150  that includes base  160  and housing  170 . Base  160  and housing  170  may be constructed of similar or identical materials as base  60  and shell  70 , respectively. Grinder  10  (not shown in FIG. 4) rests on base  160  and power cord  12  extends through notch  162 .  
         [0024]    Housing  170  includes bellows  174 , a series of corrugations shaped into housing  170 . When an operator applies force in the direction of arrow  180 , bellows  174  will compress, allowing housing  170  to adapt to the different sizes of coffee grinders. By applying pressure in the direction of arrow  180 , housing  170  is deformed so as to engage switch actuation mechanism  34  and actuate grinder  10  as described in earlier embodiments. Housing  170  may be attached to base  160  by any desired structure or method, including those described in earlier embodiments.  
         [0025]    In a third embodiment, insulation material is integrated within the main body of a coffee grinder. The insulation material may be identical or similar to that described in earlier embodiments. Referring to FIG. 5, a cross-sectional view of coffee grinder  210  is shown. The cross-section shows the top of an electric motor  295  with output shaft  297  located within the outer wall of main body  220 . Sound insulation material  290  is shown between motor  295  and the outer wall of main body  220 . It is to be understood that sound insulation material such as  290  may be placed below and above motor  295  and in any volume not otherwise occupied within the confines of main body  220 . It is to be further understood that a cover (not shown) may also include or be formed from sound insulation material. Further, isolation material, such as rubber-like materials, foams, or other materials having sound and/or vibration absorbing characteristics, may be used to inhibit the transfer of vibration to any surface upon which grinder  210  rests. While sound insulation material  290  is shown to fill otherwise unoccupied volume within main body  220 , it is to be understood that sound insulation material  290  need not fill the entire unoccupied volume.  
         [0026]    In a fourth embodiment, shown in FIG. 6, a sound insulation appliance  350  includes insulation material attached permanently to the exterior surface of coffee grinder  310 . The insulation material may be identical or similar to that described in earlier embodiments. Sound insulation appliance  350  includes shell  370  which surrounds and is attached to a significant portion of main body  320  of coffee grinder  310 . Shell  370  is made of similar insulation materials as described in earlier embodiments and may optionally include a hard exterior layer, formed of a suitable material such as aluminum. Shell  370  may be attached to the main body  320  using an adhesive, or it may be bonded directly onto the main body  320  by molding the shell  370  onto coffee grinder  310 , using a standard molding process. Sound insulation appliance  350  also includes base  360 , preferably made of a rubber-like material which is attached to either shell  370 , coffee grinder  310 , or both.  
         [0027]    Base  360  and shell  370  combine to form opening  372 , which allows power cord  312  to extend through appliance  350 . It is to be understood that opening  372  may alternately be formed in base  360  or shell  370  and not necessarily from a combination of the two components. It is also to be understood that base  360  may be removable. It is to be further understood that base  360  may provide structure to actuate or access to any switches that may be located on main body  320  as is described in previous embodiments.  
         [0028]    In this embodiment, cover  330  may be free of insulation material. Alternatively, as in FIG. 7, a lid  380  made of similar insulation materials as described in earlier embodiments may be attached to sleeve  370  by a hinge  374 . Lid  380  then rotates on hinge  374  over cover  330 . Appliance  350 ′, another alternative, is shown in FIG. 8. Lid  380 ′ completely surrounds and is attached to the cover (not shown). It should be noted in this alternative that appliance  350 ′ includes shell  370 ′, which extends to the bottom of coffee grinder  310 ′. It is to be understood that coffee grinder  350 ′ shown in this alternative is of the type with batteries or another self contained power source, although any of the alternatives in the fourth embodiment may include a coffee grinder that either requires a power cord or has a self contained power source. It is to be further understood that the fourth embodiment provides any access to or structure for the actuation of any switches on the grinder, as described in previous embodiments.  
         [0029]    In yet another embodiment of the invention (not shown), the concepts described in the above embodiments are adapted to work with a milling or burr-type coffee grinder. Such a grinder may be enclosed by a sound and/or vibration insulated housing with structure to actuate the grinder and allow access to add coffee beans and extract ground coffee. Alternatively, the grinder may include sound and/or vibration insulation integral within or permanently attached to the exterior surface of the grinder.  
         [0030]    The present invention provides sound insulation for coffee grinders, clearly providing the advantage of a quiet coffee grinding process over the state of the art. While the current invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of the invention.