Abstract:
A blending appliance is provided including a motorized base, a blending container, and an agitator configuration fitted into an opening of the blending container and rotatably coupled to the motorized base when the blending container is mounted on the motorized base. The agitator configuration includes at least a first blade form performing a blending operation on ingredients at a lower end of the blending container and at least a second blade form extending vertically upward from the first blade form and performing a processing operation on the ingredients in the blending container above the first blade form. The at least second blade form includes a pair of opposing elongated spiral shaped Hades that spiral in a direction of rotation of the agitator configuration when the motorized base is energized and configured to stir ingredients and force ingredients down into the first blade form.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/155,890 filed May 1, 2015, entitled “Blender Dancing Blades”. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to food preparation devices. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved blending appliance with an agitator assembly having both conventional blending blades and a blending implement for causing food contents to be stirred and forced down into the conventional blending blades. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Blending appliances used to blend beverages from solid and liquid ingredients are known. These blending appliances typically use agitators formed from blade sets that perform different functions. Known problems include cavitation and solidification of blending ingredients in areas of the blending jar remote from the agitator configuration typically disposed at the bottom of the blending jar. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    In an embodiment, there is provided a blending appliance including a motorized base, a blending container, and an agitator configuration fitted into an opening of the blending container and rotatably coupled to the motorized base when the blending container is mounted on the motorized base. The agitator configuration includes at least a first blade form performing a blending operation on ingredients at a lower end of the blending container and at least a second blade form extending vertically upward from the first blade form and performing a processing operation on the ingredients in the blending container above the first blade form. The at least second blade form includes a pair of opposing elongated spiral shaped blades that spiral in a direction of rotation of the agitator configuration when the motorized base is energized and configured to stir ingredients and force ingredients down into the first blade form. 
         [0005]    In an embodiment, there is provided an agitator configuration including at least a first blade form performing a blending operation on ingredients at a lower end of a blending container and at least a second blade form extending vertically upward from the first blade form and performing a processing operation on the ingredients in the blending container above the first blade form. The at least second blade form includes a pair of opposing elongated spiral shaped blades that spiral in a direction of rotation of the agitator configuration when rotated and configured to stir ingredients and force ingredients down into the first blade form. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    A more complete understanding of the present invention, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a blending appliance with a blending jar with an improved agitator blade configuration; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the blending jar of  FIG. 1  with the improved agitator blade configuration; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a partially cutaway sectional view of the improved agitator blade configuration of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the improved agitator blade configuration of  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the improved agitator configuration of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    While the present invention may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there are shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, embodiments with the understanding that the present description is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to that as illustrated and described herein. Instead, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications and equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
         [0013]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2  of the drawings, in an embodiment there is illustrated a blending appliance  100 . The blending appliance  100  includes a motorized base  110  and a blending jar  120 . In use, the blending jar  120  fits into a recess (not shown) in the base  110 . The base  110  includes an electrical motor (not shown) for providing rotary power to an agitator configuration  130  disposed within the blending jar  120 . Electronic controls (not shown) in the base  110  control electrical power to the electrical motor (not shown) which in an embodiment may include one or more switches (not shown) for controlling the electrical motor (not shown) at various speeds including “off”, “low”, “medium” and “high”. In an alternate embodiment, the electronic controls (not shown) may include a microprocessor (not shown) with memory storing pre-programmed routines for controlling the electrical motor (not shown). 
         [0014]    The agitator blade configuration  130  is inserted into an open end of the blending jar  120  and secured therein with an agitator nut  150  having internal threads  151  that engage complementary threads  121  on the bottom end of the blending container  120 . The agitator configuration  130  includes a spindle  132  that fits into a bearing assembly  154  that further fits into a hub  152  ( FIG. 3 ) formed in the agitator nut  150 . The agitator configuration  130  is secured to the agitator nut  150  with a threaded coupling  156  that engages threads  133  (best seen in  FIG. 4 .) on the bottom end of the spindle  132  of the agitator configuration  130 . The coupling  156  has projections (not shown) that engage complementary projections (not shown) on a rotary coupling (not shown) disposed in the recess (not shown) in the base  110 . The rotary coupling (not shown) in the base  110  is rotated by the electric motor (not shown) when energized and engages the coupling  156  which further rotates the agitator configuration  130 . 
         [0015]    In use, ingredients are placed into the blending jar  120  prior to the agitator blade configuration  130  being inserted into an open end of the blending jar  120  and secured with the agitator nut  150 . After blending, the agitator nut  150  and the agitator configuration  130  may be removed and the blended contents poured into another receptacle for further disposition. Alternately, a specially formed threaded drinking cap (not shown) with a drinking hole (not shown) may be threaded onto threads  121  of the blending jar  120 . Blended contents may be drank directly from the blending jar  120  through the drinking hole (not shown) in the drinking cap (not shown). 
         [0016]    Referring now particularly to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , there is illustrated an embodiment of an improved agitator configuration  130 . The agitator configuration  130  includes a blade stack mounted on a spindle  132 . The blade stack includes a lower blade form  134  with opposing sharpened leading edges, a middle blade form  138  and an upper blade form  136  having opposing sharpened leading edges. The middle blade form  138  is integrally formed with the upper blade form  136 . Alternately, the middle blade form  138  and the upper blade form  136  may be formed separately. The blade forms  134 ,  136  and  138  may be made of any durable material such as metal, steel, carbon, composites, or any combinations of such material which can be sharpened and withstand the high stresses and heats generated in this environment. 
         [0017]    The lower blade form  134  and upper blade form  136  are preferably similar to a conventional blender blade design (one or more generally U-shaped blades). In particular, the lower blade form  134  includes a central, substantially flat base  134   a  that extends radially with respect to the rotational axis R-R of the agitator configuration  130 . A first wing portion  134   b  extends at a first angle downward from the base  134   a  and an opposing second wing portion  134   c  extends at a second angle downward from an opposing end of the base  134   a.  While it is preferred that first and second wing portion&#39;s  134   b  and  134   c  respective angles are not equal so as to provide enhanced blending and processing, it should be noted that such angles may be identical. In this manner, solid ingredients are grinded and prevented from building up at the bottom of the jar  120  by the lower blade form  134 . The leading edges of the first and second wing portion&#39;s  134   b  and  134   c  are sharpened facing the direction of rotation of the agitator configuration  130 . In the example illustrated, the leading edges of the first and second wing portion&#39;s  134   b  and  134   c  are sharpened for a clockwise rotation of the agitator configuration  130 . In an alternate embodiment, the opposite edges of the first and second wing portion&#39;s  134   b  and  134   c  may be sharpened for a counter-clockwise rotation of the agitator configuration  130 . 
         [0018]    As with the lower blade form  134 , upper blade form  136  includes a central, substantially flat base  136   a  extending radially with respect to the rotational axis R-R of the agitator configuration  130 . A first wing portion  136   b  extends at a first angle upward from the base  136   a  and a second wing portion  136   c  extends at a second angle upward from an opposing end of the base  136   a.  While it is preferred that first and second wing portion&#39;s  136   b  and  136   c  respective angles are not equal so as to provide enhanced blending and processing, it should be noted that such angles may be identical. The leading edges of the first and second wing portion&#39;s  136   b  and  136   c  are sharpened facing the direction of rotation of the agitator configuration  130 . In the example illustrated, the leading edges of the first and second wing portion&#39;s  136   b  and  136   c  are sharpened for a clockwise rotation of the agitator configuration  130 . In an alternate embodiment, the opposite edges of the first and second wing portion&#39;s  136   b  and  136   c  may be sharpened for a counter-clockwise rotation of the agitator configuration  130 . 
         [0019]    In an embodiment, there is sandwiched between the lower blade form  134  and the upper blade form  136  the middle blade form  138 . The middle blade form  138  is comprised of the base  136   a  and opposing first  138   b  and second  138   c  elongated blades that curve or spiral as they extend upwardly into the interior of the blending jar  110 . In the illustrated embodiment, the first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades spiral clock-wise from the base  136   a  to their distal tips for a clockwise rotation of the agitator configuration  130 . In another embodiment, the first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades spiral counter clock-wise from the base  136   a  to their distal tips. It should be noted that the middle blade form  138  comprised of the first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades may be added to any existing or future agitator blade configuration. The first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades are formed from suitable material formed into a flat bar shape and spiral or curve in the direction of rotation in a range from greater than zero degrees 0° to less than ninety-degrees 90°. The distal tips of the first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades may be rounded but this is not meant to be limiting. The first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades prevent cavitation of solid or frozen ingredients that will solidify during blending and create a cavity or air pocket around the agitator blade configuration  130 . The first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades create turbulence preventing solidification of the solid or frozen ingredients and a suction that forces the ingredients into the upper and lower blade forms  136 ,  134  below. The width (w) and height (h) are dependent upon the diameter and height of the blending jar  120  and optimized to stir blended contents and force ingredients down into the blade forms  136  and  134 , particularly at low blending speeds required for blending protein drinks and the like. In a non-limiting example, the height (h) of the first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades may be in the range of thirty millimeters (35 mm) to seventy millimeters (70 mm). In a non-limiting example, the width (w) of the first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades may be in the range of five millimeters (5 mm) to twenty millimeters (20 mm). 
         [0020]    In an embodiment, the first and second wing portion&#39;s  134   b  and  134   c  are arranged ninety-degrees (90°) to the first and second wing portion&#39;s  136   b  and  136   c.  The first  138   b  and second  138   c  spiral blades are arranged ninety-degrees (90°) to the first and second wing portion&#39;s  136   b  and  136   c.    
         [0021]    It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, which is limited only by the following claims.