Abstract:
Thin-walled glass-lined blender jars are disclosed. An example thin-walled glass-lined blender jar includes a thin-walled glass liner, and a plastic structural shell around the glass liner providing structural support for the glass liner. In some embodiments, a rib of a side wall of the plastic shell is positioned in a rib of a side wall of the glass liner. In some embodiments, side walls of the glass liner and plastic shell may taper inward from bottom to top retaining the glass liner within the plastic shell. In some embodiments, the plastic shell comprises a non-structural member selected for at least one of ornamentation, decoration, and/or aesthetics.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0001]    This disclosure relates generally to blenders, and, more particularly, to thin-walled glass-lined blender jars. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Blender jars are used with blenders to hold items, e.g., food items, that are to be processed by, for example, liquefying, chopping or pureeing. Blender jars include an integral rotating blade, or are removeably coupled to a collar assembly having a rotating blade. The blade is rotated by a motor to which a blender jar is coupled. Typically, a lid is placed on the blender jar to prevent, for example, spattering. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    Thin-walled glass-lined blender jars are disclosed. An example thin-walled glass-lined blender jar includes a thin-walled glass liner, and a plastic structural shell around the glass liner providing structural support for the glass liner. In some embodiments, a rib of a side wall of the plastic shell is positioned in a rib of a side wall of the glass liner. In some embodiments, side walls of the glass liner and plastic shell may taper inward from bottom to top retaining the glass liner within the plastic shell. In some embodiments, the plastic shell comprises a non-structural member selected for at least one of ornamentation, decoration, and/or aesthetics. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of an example blender jar implemented in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of another example blender jar implemented in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of yet another example blender jar implemented in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of an example rib of the example blender jars of  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    Conventional blender jars are made entirely from glass or entirely from plastic. While conventional glass blender jars do not retain odors and do not scratch easily, they can break and may be limited in size due to manufacturing processes and/or weight, especially for a large capacity blender jar. For example, a glass blender jar having a capacity of greater than  56  oz. may be too heavy for many consumers, which limits glass blender jar capacity. While conventional plastic blender jars can be molded to be lighter, more impact resistant and to provide larger capacities, they tend to retain odors and scratch easily, e.g., with hard items such as frozen food items. Sound is often a concern with conventional blender jars, as sound isolation is traditionally not contemplated for conventional blender jars. 
         [0009]    Thin-walled glass-lined blender jars are disclosed herein that overcome at least these problems. The examples disclosed herein have thin-walled glass liners that are, for example, press-fit or molded into a plastic outer structural shell, which provides structural support for the thin-walled glass liner. Example thin-walled glass liners have a thickness similar to that of a coffee maker carafe (e.g., 3-4 millimeters (mms)), and/or approximately half the thickness of a conventional glass blender jar (e.g., 6-10 mm), depending on, for example, glass material(s) used, and/or plastic shell design. Accordingly, the example blender jars disclosed herein can be approximately half or less than half of the weight of a conventional glass blender jar, which is significant as consumers increasingly desire larger blender jars. In the examples disclosed herein, the thin-walled glass liner provides, among other things, reduced weight, clean-ability, and minimal odor retention, while the plastic outer shell provides structural support to at least partially compensate for the reduced thickness of the glass liner, and provide impact protection, sound isolation and/or additional decorative features. Additionally, an air gap and/or insulation can be provided between the glass liner and the plastic outer shell to deaden sound. Further still, a vacuum could be provided between the glass liner and the plastic outer shell, which would further reduce noise as sound does not travel in a vacuum. 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of an example thin-walled glass-lined blender jar  100  constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. The example blender jar  100  of  FIG. 1  includes a thin-walled glass liner  102  having an upper opening  104  and a molded-in spout  106 . The example glass liner  102  includes a side wall  108  and a bottom wall  110  that at least partially define a cavity  112  into which items, such as food items, may be placed for processing (e.g., liquefying, chopping, pureeing, etc.). The bottom wall  110  includes an aperture  114  for receiving a blade assembly (not shown for ease of illustration) within the cavity  112  for processing items. 
         [0011]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the glass liner  102  is received or positioned within a plastic structural shell  116 . The example plastic shell  116  of  FIG. 1  provides structural support for the thin-walled glass liner  102 . Because the glass liner  102  is thinner than conventional glass blender jars, it has decreased strength and/or rigidity. The structural support provided by the example plastic shell  116  counteracts, overcomes, etc. the structural effects of the glass liner  102  being thinner than is conventional. By providing structural support for the glass liner  102  with plastic, which is substantially lighter than glass, the blender jar  100  of  FIG. 1  can be made noticeably lighter than a conventional glass blender jar (e.g., half the weight) while retaining strength and the benefits of glass, such as clean-ability, resistance to stains and scratches, etc. 
         [0012]    The plastic shell  116  includes a side wall  118  and a bottom wall  120  that define a cavity  122  in which the glass liner  102  is received, molded or placed. The bottom wall  120  of the plastic shell  116  includes an aperture  124  that opens into the aperture  114  of the glass liner  102  at an upper end, and further opens into a base portion  126  of the plastic shell  116 . The base portion  126  is used to couple the blender jar  100  to a blender base for driving the blade assembly within the cavity  112  of the glass liner  102 . As shown, the plastic shell  116  includes a handle  128  for engagement by a user. 
         [0013]    In the example of  FIG. 1 , the side wall  108  of the glass liner  102  is tapered inward from the bottom wall  110 , as shown. Similarly, the side wall  118  of the plastic shell  116  is tapered inward from the bottom wall  120 , as shown, such that the glass liner  102  is closely received within the cavity  122  of the plastic shell  116 , and is retained therein due to the tapered shape of the side walls  108 ,  118 . 
         [0014]    Turning to  FIG. 2 , another example thin-walled glass-lined blender jar  200  constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure is shown. Identical elements in  FIGS. 1 and 2  are designated with identical reference numerals. For brevity, description of identical elements will not be repeated here. Instead, the interested reader is referred to the discussion of the identical elements presented above in connection with  FIG. 1 . 
         [0015]    In contrast to  FIG. 1 , the example blender jar  200  of  FIG. 2  has a glass liner  202  having a straight side wall  208  and a plastic shell  216  having a straight side wall  218 . Accordingly, cavities  212  and  222  of, respectively, the glass liner  202  and plastic shell  216  are straight, not tapered. Because the cavities  212 ,  228  are not tapered, the glass liner  202  is not configuratively retained in the plastic shell  216 . Accordingly, in the example of  FIG. 2 , the glass liner  202  may be configured to be removable by a person, and/or lightly pressed into the cavity  222  of the plastic shell  216  for use therein. In some examples, the side walls  208 ,  218  are outwardly tapered, which would also provide for user removability and/or insertion. 
         [0016]    Turning to  FIG. 3 , another example thin-walled glass-lined blender jar  300  constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure is shown. Identical elements in  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3  are designated with identical reference numerals. For brevity, description of identical elements will not be repeated here. Instead, the interested reader is referred to the discussion of the identical elements presented above in connection with  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         [0017]    In the example of  FIG. 3 , a glass liner  302  is threaded into a plastic shell  316 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , bottom openings  314 ,  324  in, respectively, bottom walls  310 ,  320  of the glass liner  302  and plastic shell  316  have threads  340  that enable the glass liner  302  to be threaded into the plastic shell  316 . 
         [0018]    Turning to  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 , in general, the plastic shells  116 ,  216 ,  316  are made of a material capable of providing structural support for the glass liners  102 ,  202 ,  302 . In some examples, the plastic shells  116 ,  216 ,  316  are formed of rigid impact resistant plastic. The plastic may be at least partially transparent, at least partially transparent in some areas and opaque in others, etc. The plastic may be clear and/or colored. In addition to structural support, impact resistant plastic also serves to deaden reverberating sound when the blender jars  100 ,  200 ,  300  are in use. In the example of  FIG. 1 , it is contemplated that the plastic shell  116  is molded onto the glass liner  102 . In the example of  FIG. 2 , it is contemplated that the glass liner  202  could be press-fit into the glass liner  216 . 
         [0019]    In some examples, the plastic shell  116 ,  216 ,  316  is bonded or sealed to the glass liner  102 ,  202 ,  302  to enhance, for example, washability. Additionally, the plastic shell  116 ,  216 ,  316  and the glass liner  102 ,  202 ,  302  may have an air gap or a vacuum between them to provide additional noise dampening when the blender jar  100 ,  200 ,  300  is in use because sound cannot travel through a vacuum. 
         [0020]    The glass liners  102 ,  202 ,  302  could be made of a borosilicate glass material. However, other materials are contemplated. It is also contemplated that the glass liners  102 ,  202 ,  302  may have a thickness between 3 to 4 mm. Of course, other thicknesses are contemplated depending on glass material properties and/or the extent of structural support provided by a plastic outer shell  116 ,  216 ,  316 . 
         [0021]    Additionally or alternatively, the plastic shells  116 ,  216 ,  316  need not cover all the glass liners  102 ,  202 ,  302 , but may instead have an arrangement of ribs, members, braces, etc. that provide needed structural support for the glass liners  102 ,  202 ,  302 . For example, as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 , the blender jar  100 ,  200 ,  300  may have ribs, one of which is designated at reference numeral  130 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , which is a cross-sectional view of the rib  130  taken along line IV-IV of  FIG. 1, 2 or 3 , the example rib  130  of the glass liner  102 ,  202 ,  302  extends inwardly into the cavity  112 ,  212 ,  312 . The plastic shell  116 ,  216 ,  316  may include a rib  132  that extends inward, is dimensioned to generally match the rib  130 , and fits into the rib  130  of the glass liner  102 ,  202 ,  302  when the glass liner  102 ,  202 ,  302  is within the plastic shell  116 ,  216 ,  316 . Other plastic shell configurations are contemplated, including aspects other than structural support including, but not limited to, ornamental, decorative, aesthetic, etc. reasons. 
         [0022]    In this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” do not exclude the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Further, conjunctions such as “and,” “or,” and “and/or” are inclusive unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, “A and/or B” includes A alone, B alone, and A with B. Further still, connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presented are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections may be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the embodiments disclosed herein unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. 
         [0023]    Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.