Abstract:
A food mincer providing improved features. The suction base includes a control ring providing an improved visual indication of its position. The plunger to feed the food is formed as a hollow container having a sealing lid to provide a storage area for accessories. The feed screw is formed in a multi-step molding process to allow for closer tolerances, which in turn allows for a simple gasket seal to be used. The feed screw and fan blade include a mating configuration only when the fan blade is in the proper orientation, such that if the fan blade is assembled in the incorrect orientation the extrusion grids may not be assembled.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to co-pending application Ser. No. 29/471,646, and co-pending application Ser. No. 29/471,648, which are both incorporated by reference herein. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates in general to kitchen appliances, and more particularly food mincers. The food mincer includes a novel plunger which includes a sealed storage area therein. The food mincer includes a novel activation ring for securing the mincer to the countertop. The food mincer also includes a novel screw arrangement permitting a reduction in parts. The food mincer further includes a novel blade fan connection which will ensure proper assembly. 
     Food mincers for home and light commercial use are well known in the art. An example of such a mincer is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,510 B2 to Yan Kwok Wong. This prior art mincer includes a pedestal which will removably mount a mincer unit (or other appliances). The pedestal includes a suction plate at the bottom which will releasably secure the pedestal to a countertop. In this device the suction plate is activated by manual rotation of a ring running peripherally about the pedestal. While this is an improvement over other mechanisms for activating a suction plate, it still has a drawback. Specifically, it is not clear from simply looking at the ring if it is in the secure or unsecured position. In practice it is necessary to print indicia on the pedestal to clarify this. Not only does this create an additional manufacturing step, but with use it is common for the indicia to wear off. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a suction base for countertop appliances which includes a control ring with improved visual indication of position. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a food mincer having a plunger providing a sealed storage area. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a food mincer having an improved feed screw allowing closer tolerances and less complicated sealing. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a food mincer with improved fan blade mounting which prevent improper assembly. 
     These and other objects are achieved by a food mincer providing improved features. The suction base includes a control ring providing an improved visual indication of its position. The plunger to feed the food is formed as a hollow container having a sealing lid to provide a storage area for accessories. The feed screw is formed in a multi-step molding process to allow for closer tolerances, which in turn allows for a simple gasket seal to be used. The feed screw and fan blade include a mating configuration only when the fan blade is in the proper orientation, such that if the fan blade is assembled in the incorrect orientation the extrusion grids may not be assembled. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The objects and features of the invention noted above are explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a top front perspective view of the food mincer according to the present invention in the operative configuration; 
         FIG. 2  is a top front exploded perspective view of the food mincer; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a rear view of the suction base with the control ring in the locked position; 
         FIG. 5  is a right side view of the suction base with the control ring in the locked position; 
         FIG. 6 a    is a top rear perspective view of the suction base with the control ring in the locked position, and  FIG. 6 b    is the same view with the control ring in the unlocked position; 
         FIG. 7  is a detail cross-sectional side view showing the rear end of the feed screw; 
         FIG. 8  is a detail exploded top front perspective view showing the mating connection between the screw and the fan blade in the correct orientation; and 
         FIG. 9  is a detail cross-sectional side view showing the fan blade assembled in the incorrect orientation. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a food mincer according to the present invention is generally designated by reference numeral  10 . The food mincer  10  generally includes a suction base  12  and a mincer attachment  14 . These two components are both similar in many respects to the base and mincer shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,510 B2 to Yan Kwok Wong which is included herein by reference. 
     The mincer assembly  14  includes a main housing  16  having a vertical feed chute  18  leading to a horizontal screw chamber  20 . The screw chamber  20  receives a feed screw  22  which includes a splined rear end  24  which extends through a crank aperture  26  ( FIG. 3 ). A crank handle  28  includes at a first end a connector having mating slots to receive the rear end  24 , and a handle mounting screw  30  extends through the connector to secure within a threaded opening in the rear end  24 . The other end of the crank handle  28  include a projecting rod  32  which will receive a crank sleeve  34  thereover in a snap fit allowing relative rotation. 
     The front end of the feed screw  22  includes a mounting rod  36  projecting longitudinally outward. A fan blade  38  includes a central aperture shaped to closely receive the mounting rod  36 , such that the fan blade  38  will rotate together with the feed screw  22 . When properly assembled, the cutting edges of the fan blade are spaced within the screw chamber  20  by a distance substantially and closely equal to that of the thickness of an extrusion grid  40 . The extrusion grid  40  is a circular disc preferably but not necessarily including a central aperture receiving a circular end portion of the mounting rod  36 , a plurality of apertures through which the food will exit, and an outer diameter sized to fit within and close the front end of the screw chamber  20  as is known in the art. A fixing ring  42  is threaded on to the front end of the main housing  16  to hold the extrusion grid  40  in place. 
     A first novel aspect of the present invention is the plunger  19  sized to closely fit within the feed chute  18 . In the preferred embodiment, the plunger  19  is formed as a sealed container. In particular, the plunger  19  includes a base and sidewalls forming a container body  21 , and also a cover  23  which seals to the upper edges of the sidewalls to thus form a sealed container. This sealed container is well sized for storing different sizes of the extrusion grids  40  discussed below. 
     The suction base  12  includes a main pedestal  44  elongated along a substantially vertical axis and resting upon an elastomeric suction plate  46 . A control ring  48  is provided and extends about the periphery of the main pedestal  44 , preferably at a point between the upper and lower ends of the main pedestal  44 , as shown. In a manner known in the art, the control ring  48  will operatively connect to a central rod having a lower end connected to the suction plate  46 . 
     The control ring  48  is mounted for rotation about the substantially vertical axis of the main pedestal  44  with respect to the main pedestal  44 . This rotation will be between two positions (and thus might be better referred to as oscillation). The unlocked position of the control ring  48  corresponds to the central rod being in its lowest position, the suction plate  46  being substantially undeformed, and the suction base  12  not being secured to the countertop. Rotation of the control ring  48  to the locked position will cause the central rod to be lifted, thus deforming the suction plate  46  to create a suction connection to the counter top and thus securing the suction base  12  to the counter top. Rotation of the control ring  48  in the opposite direction back to the unlocked position will release the suction connection. The specific mechanism for this operation may be as shown in the above-noted U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,510 B2 to Yan Kwok Wong, or any other equivalent mechanism. 
     A novel aspect of the present invention is in providing a clear visual indication of the locked or unlocked status of the control ring  48 . To this end, the main pedestal  44  is given a non-circular shape, with at least one line of symmetry. The control ring  48  is configured to closely match the shape of the main pedestal  44  when the control ring  48  is in the locked position. Finally, the amount of rotation to move the control ring from the locked to the unlocked position does not equal the angular distance between the at least one line of symmetry of the main pedestal  44 . This ensures that when the control ring  48  is in the unlocked position the control ring will no longer closely match the shape of the main pedestal  44 , but will instead have portions extending outwardly of the main pedestal  44 , and portions extending inwardly of the main pedestal. 
     In the embodiment shown, the main pedestal has a generally square shape with four sidewalls. The two front and rear sidewalls are substantially vertical. The two lateral sidewalls, however, are angled outward toward the bottom. As such, the main pedestal has symmetry about 180 degrees. In addition to the operative position of  FIG. 1 , the control ring  48  is shown in the locked position in  FIGS. 4, 5 and 6   b . In  FIG. 6 a   , however, the control ring  48  has been rotated 90 degrees, and as such the angled sides of the control ring  48  are aligned with the vertical sides of the main pedestal  44 , and vice versa. This mis-match of the angled and vertical sides provides a clear visual indication to the user that the control ring  48  is in the unlocked position. 
     Many other variations are possible. If the main pedestal had D-shaped cross section (not shown) the line of symmetry would again be 180 degrees, and the amount of rotation of the control ring would be other than 180 degrees, such as 90 degrees or 270 degrees. As another example, the main pedestal  44  could have a hexagonal cross-sectional shape, such that the lines of symmetry are 60 degrees. The desired amount of rotation for the control ring  48  would therefore be 30 degrees or 90 degrees, etc. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 7 , a further aspect of the invention will be described. For mincers of this type it is important to maintain a good seal between the feed screw  22  and the crank aperture  26 . One of the main problems here has been the desire to use injection molded plastic parts, but the difficulty in manufacturing to sufficiently close tolerances. The large variations in the sizes of feed screw  22  has typically required the use of complicated sealing arrangements at the rear end  24  of the feed screw  22 , including multiple washers, etc. 
     The present invention, however, avoids this problem. In particular, the screw  22  is formed in a multi-step molding process. A central core  50  of the feed screw  22  is first formed, from the splined rear end  24  to and including the front end with the partial overmolding of the metal mounting rod  36 . Thereafter, a second molding operation forms an outer layer  51  over the core  50 , with this outer layer including the threads as well as an annular washer seat  52 . The washer seat  52  will in turn mount an annular screw washer  54 . While the screw washer could be assembled using a press fit, it is preferred that it be formed during yet another molding operation. 
     With this arrangement it is possible to provide sufficiently close tolerances that leaking will be kept to acceptable levels. If desired, it is also possible to add an annular mating washer  56  on the main housing  16  surrounding the crank aperture  26 . 
     Another inventive aspect of the present invention is the mounting of the fan blade  38 , and in particular an arrangement to ensure the fan blade  38  is mounted properly. The fan blade  38  includes sharp edges which must slide over the inner face of the extrusion grid  40 . Only one side of the fan blade  38  has these sharp edges, so it is critical that the fan blade  38  be mounted with the proper orientation. 
     As best shown in the detail view of  FIG. 8 , the fan blade  38  includes an outer face  58  which is flat and will slide over the extrusion grid  40 . The inner face  60  of each extending blade, however, is rounded. The front end of the feed screw  22  surrounding the mounting rod  36  includes a set of mounting cams  62 . As may be envisioned, the inner faces  60  of the blades will rest between the mounting cams  62 , allowing the fan blade  38  to seat closely against the front end of the feed screw  22 . This close seating in turn allows the extrusion grid  40  to move closely toward the feed screw and thus be received within the front end of the screw chamber  20  as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
     In contrast,  FIG. 9  illustrates the situation where the fan blade  38  has been assembled in the incorrect orientation. In this orientation the outer face  58  is facing the feed screw  22 . The flat outer face of the blades is too wide to fit between the mounting cams  62 . As such, the fan blade  32  is spaced from the front end of the feed screw  22 . When the extrusion grid  40  abuts against the fan blade  38  the extrusion grid  40  is prevented from reaching its seating position in the front end of the screw chamber  20 , and will be unstable. This provides a very clear indication to the user that something is wrong, and the food mincer  10  has not been assembled properly. 
     From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objects set forth above together with the other advantages which are inherent within its structure. 
     It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. 
     Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth of shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.