Abstract:
A lid release mechanism and a lid locking mechanism for a food processing apparatus are disclosed. The lid release mechanism facilitates removal of a lid from a container via a camming surface in some embodiments. For removal, the lid may be initially tilted to break the seal between the lid and the container. A lid locking mechanism may be included, and in some embodiments, the motion to unlock the lid (e.g., pivoting an arm) also starts lid removal.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This Application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/792,067, entitled “CONTAINER LID RELEASE APPARATUS AND METHOD” filed on Mar. 15, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    Aspects herein generally relate to a container lid mechanism for a food processing apparatus and methods of using a container lid mechanism. 
       DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART 
       [0003]    Food processors such as blenders process foods within containers. Food processor containers typically include removable lids. Some conventional food processor lids form a tight interference fit with their associated containers. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    According to one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus includes a container, a lid, an arm that is moveable relative to the lid, and a camming surface. The container includes a contact surface. When the lid is engaged with the container, movement of the arm relative to the lid causes the camming surface to move relative to the contact surface. Movement of the camming surface relative to the contact surface causes at least a portion of the lid to move in a direction away from the container. 
         [0005]    According to another embodiment of the invention, a method includes providing a lid that is engaged with a container and moving an arm relative to the lid. The container includes a contact surface. Movement of the arm relative to the lid causes a camming surface to move relative to the contact surface. Movement of the camming surface relative to the contact surface causes at least a portion of the lid to move in a direction away from the container. 
         [0006]    According to yet another embodiment of the invention, an apparatus includes a food processor container having a contact surface, a lid configured to engage with the container, an arm attached to the lid, and a first protrusion extending from the arm. The arm is rotatable relative to the lid and the first protrusion has a rounded surface arranged to contact the contact surface when the lid is engaged with the container and the arm is rotated relative to the lid. 
         [0007]    According to yet another embodiment of the invention, an apparatus includes a food processor container and a lid configured to engage with the container. The food processor container has a top opening and a rim surrounding the opening. The container includes a first curved contact surface with an upwardly facing concave. The contact surface is attached to an outside of the rim. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. Various embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view that depicts a container, a lid, and a lid mechanism in accordance with an aspect of the invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view that depicts the lid depicted in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view that depicts an arm depicted in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view that depicts a container with an engagement member; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side view that depicts a lid that is engaged with a container; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a side view that depicts a lid that is slightly separated from a container; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a schematic side view that depicts an arm as a lever system; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8A  is a perspective view that depicts a lid that is engaged with a container, where the arm is in a locked configuration; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8B  is a perspective view that depicts the arrangement depicted in  FIG. 8A , where the arm is shown in phantom; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a side view that depicts a lid and a container, where the arm is in an unlocked configuration, and the arm is shown in phantom; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of another embodiment that depicts a container with an engagement member. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    A conventional blender or food processor often includes a removable lid to cover the container within which foods are processed. In some arrangements, a gasket or other seal may be included to provide a sealing engagement between the container and the lid. In some cases, the gasket may be fixed to the lid and interact with the container. In other cases, the gasket may be fixed to the container and interact with the lid. The inventors have recognized that, where a gasket or other seal provides a sealing engagement between a lid and a container, it can be difficult to remove the lid from the container by pulling upwardly on the lid due to continued sealing interaction between the gasket and the container or between the gasket and the lid. As the lid is being pulled away from the container, but before the seal has been released, the volume of the container is increasing without air being allowed to enter the container. As such, a differential pressure forms and removal of the lid can be difficult. 
         [0021]    The inventors have appreciated that tilting the lid slightly at the start of lid removal to form a slight separation between a portion of the gasket and a portion of either the lid or container can significantly ease the lid removal process. Additionally, the inventors have recognized that an arrangement which provides a mechanical advantage at the start of lid removal can facilitate removal of the lid from the container. Further, incorporating this tilting and/or mechanical advantage into a movement that may already exist as part of lid unlocking and/or removal can be particularly advantageous in some embodiments. 
         [0022]    Provided herein are embodiments where a food processing apparatus includes a lid release mechanism that facilitates removal of a lid from a container. Also provided herein are embodiments where a food processing apparatus includes a lid locking mechanism that locks a lid to a container. 
         [0023]    As used herein, the terms “connected,” “attached,” or “coupled” are not limited to a direct connection, attachment, or coupling, as two components may be connected, attached, or coupled to one another via intermediate components. 
         [0024]    Any of the embodiments or aspects disclosed herein may be used with a blender or other food processor. 
         [0025]    According to one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a container  30  engages with a removable lid  10 . The lid  10  may include an arm  20  that may be pivotally attached to the lid  10 . In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the arm  20  may be shaped to be easily grasped by the user such that the arm can serve as a handle. The arm  20  may be a straight elongated member, may be curved, or any other suitable shape, as this aspect is not so limited. 
         [0026]    Arm  20  may be rotated relative to the lid  10  about a pivot axis  21 . In some embodiments, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the lid  10  includes a gasket  12  that is attached to or otherwise fixed to the lid  10 . The gasket  12  may be permanently or removably attached to the lid  10 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , when the lid  10  is engaged with the container  30 , the gasket  12  forms a sealing engagement between the lid  10  and the inside surface of the container  30 . In some cases, the sealing engagement formed by the gasket  12  between the lid  10  and the container  30  provides a fluid-tight seal such that fluids cannot flow between the lid  10  and the container  30 . The container  30  is shown in transparent in  FIG. 1  to reveal the gasket  12  and a lower portion of the lid  10  that is positioned inside the container  30 . However, it should be appreciated that container  30  can be transparent, opaque, translucent, or any other suitable degree of transparency or opaqueness. It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the arm is moveable relative to the lid without being rotatable relative to the lid. The arm may be slidable, pushable, and/or pullable relative to the lid, or the arm may be moved in any suitable manner relative to the lid. 
         [0027]    In some embodiments, the gasket is permanently or removably attached to the container rather than the lid. In some embodiments, a gasket may be integrally formed with the lid or the container. In other embodiments, no gasket or seal may be included, and in some cases, engagement between the lid and the container may still provide a seal even without a gasket or gasket type component. The lid may engage with the container via an interference fit, a sliding fit, or any other suitable fit, as this aspect is not so limited. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIGS. 2-3 , in some embodiments, the arm  20  may include a user-engaging portion  23  that is grasped by the user. In some cases, the user engaging portion  23  may be the portion of the arm that is furthest away from the pivot axis  21  to give the user more leverage. The user-engaging portion may be a region of the arm that is further from the arm pivot axis than all other regions of the arm. The arm  20  also may include a camming surface  22  that interacts with an engagement member on the container, as will be explained in detail. The camming surface  22  may protrude from the arm  20  and may have a rounded shape. The camming surface  22  may be integrally formed with the arm  20 , or the camming surface  22  may be a separate component that is attached to the arm  20  via an adhesive, by welding, or by any other suitable attachment arrangement. 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, the arm  20  may include a locking member  24  that interacts with an engagement member on the container, as will be explained in detail. The locking member  24  may include a groove or recess  27  that is configured to receive the engagement member on the container. The locking member  24  also may include a protruding ridge  25 . The locking member  24  may be integrally formed with the arm  20 , etched or otherwise formed into arm  20 , or the locking member  24  may be a separate component that is attached to the arm  20  via an adhesive, by welding, or by any other suitable attachment arrangement. 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the container includes a top opening  31  with a rim  33  surrounding the opening  31 . The container  30  includes a contact surface  35  that interacts with the camming surface  22  of the arm  20 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the contact surface  35  may be attached to an outside of the rim  33 . The contact surface  35  may be a curved surface with an upwardly-facing concave. In some embodiments, the contact surface  35  may be integrally formed with the container  30 , etched, or otherwise formed into the container  30 . In other embodiments, the contact surface  35  may be a separate component that is attached to the container  30  via an adhesive, by welding, or by any other suitable attachment arrangement. It should be appreciated that the contact surface may be curved, flat or any suitable shape. In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 10 , the contact surface  35 ′ is flat. 
         [0031]    In some embodiments, the container  30  may include an engagement member  34 . The engagement member  34  may include a locking surface  36 . In some embodiments, the locking surface  36  of the engagement member  34  may interact with a locking member  24  on the arm  20 . The locking surface  36  may have a curved surface with a downwardly-facing convex. The engagement member  34  may be integrally formed with the container  30 , etched or otherwise formed into the container  30 , or the engagement member  34  may be a separate component that is attached to the container  30  via an adhesive, by welding, or by any other suitable attachment arrangement. 
         [0032]    In some embodiments, the contact surface  35  is a surface of the engagement member  34 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , contact surface  35  serves as an upper surface of engagement member  34 . In other embodiments, however, contact surface  35  and engagement member  34  may be separate components. In some embodiments, a contact surface is included, while an engagement member is not included. 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIGS. 4-5 , the top opening  31  of the container  30  may receive a portion of the lid  10  such that a portion of the lid  10  partially extends into the container  30 . In this manner, the gasket  12  that is attached to lid  10  may seal against an inside surface of the container  30  when the lid  10  is engaged with the container  30 , as seen in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0034]    The operation of the lid release mechanism will now be described. In  FIG. 5 , the lid  10  is engaged with the container  30  such that the gasket  12  forms a sealing engagement between the container  30  and the lid  10 . The container  30  may be placed on a countertop or other surface. As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the arm  20  is rotated counterclockwise relative to the lid  10  about the pivot axis  21 , the camming surface  22  on the arm contacts and slides against the contact surface  35 . As the camming surface  22  rotates and slides along the contact surface  35 , the camming surface  22  exerts a downward force upon the contact surface  35 . The exertion of force upon the contact surface  35  causes the contact surface  35  to exert an equal and opposite upward reaction force on the camming surface  22 . Because the camming surface  22  is fixed to the arm  20  and the arm  20  is attached to the lid  10 , the upward reaction force upon the camming surface  22  pushes the arm  20  upward, which causes a portion of the lid  10  to move upwards as well. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the right-hand side of the lid  10  tilts upwards as the camming surface  22  pushes against the contact surface  35 . As a result, the gasket  12  on the lid  10  tilts upward at an angle as well. This upward tilting of the gasket  12  causes a slight separation between a portion of the gasket  12  and a portion of the inside surface of the container  30 . This slight separation breaks a portion of the sealing engagement between the container  30  and the lid  10 , and may significantly weaken the force of the sealing interaction between the gasket  12  and the container  30 , thereby allowing the user to easily remove the lid  10  by pulling the lid up off the container  30 . 
         [0035]    In some embodiments, the lid release apparatus is arranged such that the lid does not tilt during initial removal, but instead moves substantially longitudinally away from the container. 
         [0036]    The arm  20  may act as an arm system, with pivot axis  21  as the fulcrum, the user-engaging portion  23  of the arm as the effort application point, and the camming surface  22  as the load application point. In some embodiments, the pivot axis  21 , user-engaging portion  23  and camming surface  22  may be positioned to create a mechanical advantage, where mechanical advantage is defined as the ratio of output force to input force. Mechanical advantage is equal to the ratio of the distance between the fulcrum and the effort application point to the distance between the fulcrum and the load application point. As shown schematically in  FIG. 7 , the distance “a” between the pivot axis  21  and the user-engaging portion  23  is greater than the distance “b” between the pivot axis  21  and the camming surface  22 . In such an embodiment, the arm  20  provides a mechanical advantage that helps to facilitate removal of the lid  10  from the container  30 . 
         [0037]    The operation of the lid locking mechanism will be now described. According to one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 8A , the lid  10  is engaged with a container  30  and the arm  20  is in a locked configuration such that removal of the lid  10  from the container  30  is prohibited. As shown in  FIG. 8B , where the arm  20  is shown in phantom, when the arm  20  is in a locked configuration, the engagement member  34  of the container  30  is received within the groove or recess  27  of the locking member  24  on the arm  20 . Removal of the lid  10  from container  30  is prohibited due to interaction of the locking member  24  with the engagement member  34 . In some embodiments, if locking member  24  were moved vertically upwards, the protruding ridge  25  of the locking member  24  (see  FIG. 3 ) may abut the locking surface  36  of the engagement member  34 , thereby preventing removal of the lid  10  from the container  30 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 9  depicts the arm  20  in an unlocked configuration. As shown in  FIG. 9 , once the arm  20  is rotated counterclockwise relative to the lid  10 , the locking member  24  is spaced away from the engagement member  34  such that the engagement member  34  no longer obstructs the protruding ridge  25  of the locking member  24 . As such, when the arm  20  is in the unlocked configuration, upward vertical movement of the locking member  24  is permitted, and thus the lid  10  can be removed from the container  30 . 
         [0039]    In some embodiments, the same engagement member can be used in both the lid release mechanism and the lid locking mechanism. In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the contact surface  35  is a surface of the engagement member  34 , and the contact surface  35  interacts with the camming surface  22  of the arm  20  for the lid release mechanism. In addition, the locking surface  36  of the engagement member  34  interacts with the locking member  24  of the arm for the lid locking mechanism. However, in other embodiments, the contact surface for the lid release mechanism may be separate from the engagement member for the lid locking mechanism. 
         [0040]    It should be appreciated that, if components  22  and  35  in the figures were reversed such that component  22  is attached to the container and component  35  is attached to the arm, the component attached to the arm would be considered a camming surface and the component on the container would be considered a contact surface. 
         [0041]    In addition, in one embodiment, the arm  20  may be pivotally attached to the container rather than to the lid. Rotation of the arm may cause a portion of the arm to contact and slide against a portion of the lid, which may then cause a portion of the lid to be pushed up away from the container. The portion of the arm that contacts the lid would be considered a camming surface and the portion of the lid that is contacted by the arm would be considered a contact surface. 
         [0042]    In some embodiments, the container discussed above and shown in the figures may be used in a food processing apparatus. In some cases, the container may engage with a base (not shown) that includes a motor. The motor may power a food processing assembly that processes food within the container. For example, the food processing assembly may include blades, dough hooks, whisks, stirrers, or other type of processing tools. In other embodiments, however, the container may be used for other purposes other than with a food processing apparatus. For example, the container may be a storage container for liquids and/or solids. 
         [0043]    The above described components may be made with various materials, as the invention is not necessarily so limited. 
         [0044]    The above aspects may be employed in any suitable combination, as the present invention is not limited in this respect. Additionally, any or all of the above aspects may be employed in a food processing apparatus; however, the present invention is not limited in this respect, as the above aspects may be employed in any container that engages with a lid. 
         [0045]    Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of this invention, it is to be appreciated that various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.