Food processing apparatus

A soya milk processing apparatus includes a container and a grinding element that fits to a top of the container. An electric motor 18 having a drive coupling is supported above the grinding element so that the drive coupling of the grinding element can be engaged as required. The motor is supported on a bracket that allows the motor and its drive coupling to move downwards and upwards so that the container and the grinding element can be removed when a processing cycle has been completed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The invention relates to food processing apparatuses. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The invention relates more particularly to apparatus where it is necessary 
to grind up beans or other solid raw material and then heat or boil a 
strained residue of the grinding operation in water or other liquid. Such 
an apparatus is a soya milk making apparatus. It is known to carry out 
such processes of grinding and boiling sequentially to make soya milk but 
at present the apparatus is difficult to handle and to clean. The process 
requires pouring and transfer of the grinding residue and water between 
containers and the lifting, moving and the supporting of a relatively 
heavy electric drive motor. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object to overcome or at least reduce these problems. 
According to the invention there is provided a food processing apparatus 
for preparing soya milk and the like, comprising a stand having a base 
with a planar platform and an upstanding support column, an electric 
heating element in the base below the platform, an electric motor mounted 
on the column with a downward facing first drive coupling, an open topped 
container that stands on the platform below the first drive coupling, a 
grinding element that rests on top of the container with its grinding 
blades positioned inside the container having an upward facing second 
drive coupling, in which the first and second drive couplings are arranged 
so as to be engaged with one another and held together during use, at the 
completion of a preparation cycle the couplings disengaged and the 
container removed from the stand, the grinding element lifted out of the 
container, and the container used directly to dispense the processed food. 
The first coupling may be supported by a bracket that is movable down and 
up to engage and disengage the first coupling with the second coupling. 
The bracket may be mounted to a screwed coupling of a cap that is arranged 
to move the bracket down and up when the cap is rotated. 
The first coupling is preferably surrounded by a clamp that moves with the 
coupling to urge against and hold down a top of the grinding element when 
the first and second couplings are engaged. 
Electrical contacts may be included that move down and up with the first 
coupling to engage and disengage electrical contacts on the grinding 
element. 
Electric probes may be provided that are exposed and extend into the 
container and are supported on either side of the grinding element by the 
grinding element.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to the drawings, in FIG. 1 the apparatus comprises a stand 10 
having a base 11 and an upstanding support column 12. A top assembly 13 is 
mounted on a top of the column 12. An open-topped jug container 14 fits 
between the base 10 and the assembly 13 and has a lid 15 which is part of 
a grinding element, to be described below. It will be seen in FIG. 2 that 
the container 14 can be lifted sideways out of the apparatus. 
In FIG. 3, the base 11 has a planar platform 16 on which the container 14 
is supported in use and heated by an electric heating panel 17. An 
electric motor 18 is mounted inside the top assembly 13 with its rotor 
connected directly to a downward facing first coupling 19. 
The grinding element includes the lid 15 that fits snugly into the top of 
the container 14. (A missing segment of the lid at 20 does however allow 
the contents of the container to be poured out or water to be poured into 
the container 14 without removing the lid 15.) The grinding element 
includes a rotatable blade 21, a hopper 22 that has a screwed-on removable 
lid 23. The hopper has a number of apertures in sidewalls (the lid 23 may 
also have a central aperture) that are covered with mesh pieces 24. (The 
grinding element is however in general terms well-known in itself.) 
The blade 21 is mounted on a shaft 25 that has an upward facing second 
coupling 26 at one end. In FIG. 3, the first and second couplings 19 and 
26 are held in engagement so that the motor 18 can drive the blade 21 as 
required during use. The motor 18 and coupling 19 are mounted on a bracket 
27 that is movable up and down by rotating a cap 28. As the cap 28 is 
rotated its central inner section screws down and up on a threaded bolt 
29. The cap 28 is shown fully screwed down in FIG. 3 and if the cap 28 is 
"unscrewed", the bracket 27 is free to move upwards biassed by a set of 
springs 29 (two springs are shown in FIG. 3), the first coupling 19 moves 
upwards and out of engagement with the second coupling 26. 
It will be seen that the bracket 27 extends downwards and is provided with 
a rubber ring 30 that surrounds the first coupling 19. The rubber ring 
fits snugly into a circular trough 31 integrally formed on the top of the 
lid 15. This ensures that the lid is held firmly down against the top of 
the container 14 and that the shaft 25 remains centralised with respect to 
the rotational axis of the motor 18. This ensures therefore that good 
mechanical connection is maintained between the couplings 19 and 26 during 
use, and that the grinding element and container 14 are firmly located and 
held together in position as required. 
There are two electrical probes 32 and 33 mounted inside the container 14 
and supported by and positioned under the lid 15. These probes are used to 
enable automatic central control of the apparatus, for example to detect 
that froth has risen up inside the container during heating to indicate 
boiling has started. An electrical path between the probes provided by the 
froth significantly changes the effective impedance between the probes. 
(Such control arrangements relying on the generation of froth are known in 
similar kinds of apparatus.) The probes are electrically connected to flat 
contacts 34 and 35 which in use make electrical contact with prongs 36 and 
37 mounted in the top assembly 13 and which move with the frame 27. This 
arrangement allows electrical signals to pass from inside the container 
14, when in use, to the stand 10. The stand incorporates a central control 
unit (not shown) mounted inside the stand in otherwise conventional 
manner. Such control unit is arranged to automatically control the 
operations of the heating plate 17 and the motor 18 during each processing 
cycle. 
In use of the apparatus, the hopper 22 is filled with a quantity of soya 
beans, which are normally pre-soaked. The grinding element is fitted to 
the top of the jug container 14 which has been pre-charged with a desired 
quantity of water. The container is placed on the platform 16 and the 
centre of the lid 15 aligned with the coupling 19. The cap 28 is rotated 
to urge the coupling 19 downwards and to press the rubber ring 29 into the 
trough 30 and urge the prongs 36 and 37 against the contacts 34 and 35. 
This action also brings the couplings 19 and 26 into engagement, starts 
the motor, and represents the beginning of a cycle. 
At first the heater panel 17 is turned ON continuously and the motor 
operated intermittently to allow material to slump back into the path of 
the cuter blades 21. After a period of time, the motor is turned OFF. The 
heater panel continues to heat the water mixed with the residue of the 
grinding operation until froth rises up to extend between the probes 32 
and 33 to indicate that the mixture is boiling. This causes the controller 
to turn OFF the heater panel 17 for a period of time. The heater is then 
turned ON automatically until froth rises up again to the probes 32 and 
33, and the heater is turned OFF again. The heater is turned ON and OFF in 
this manner until the mixture has been boiled for a total of about 12 
minutes. This ensures that the soya residues are neutralised or vaporized. 
When the cycle is completed, the cap 28 is unscrewed to allow the frame 27 
to rise up and the container 14 and grinding element to be removed from 
the stand 10. The grinding element is then lifted off and out of the 
container 14 and the soya milk can be poured out of the container 14 as 
and when required. Opposing finger- thumb grips 37 are provided in the top 
of the lid 15 to facilitate lifting of the grinding element. 
It will be noted that the full preparation cycle can be carried out without 
manual intervention and that after completion of the cycle, the container 
14 can be readily used to serve and store the soya milk. The electric 
motor 18 is supported throughout the food processing by the stand 10 so 
that no heavy or awkward lifting is necessary when using the apparatus. 
The apparatus components, including the grinding element, are easy to 
separate, wash and clean between uses of the apparatus. 
The apparatus can be used for any food preparation that involves grinding 
and the subsequent heating of ground up materials. The actual sequence and 
the respective amounts periods of grinding, heating and boiling can be 
easily varied by programming the central controller in a manner 
well-understood in the programmable controller art, according to different 
materials and user individual requirements. Also, the gauge of the mesh 
pieces 24 may be chosen, or changed, according to those requirements of 
and in accordance with different starting materials and/or preferred 
choices of the user.