Abstract:
A blender has a base, an axle assembly mounted on the base, a container securely attached to an axle housing of the axle assembly, and a stirring disk securely mounted on an axle of the axle assembly. A user puts foodstuffs, such as powder material, syrup, liquid material, ice cubes and so on, or tea leaves and water, into the container, and then drives the axle assembly and the stirring disk to rotate. Thus, stirring ribs of the stirring disk stir and mix the foodstuffs without crushing the foodstuffs, or the tealeaves and the water are brewed into tea. The blender is simple, easy and safe, especially for a person or a household to use.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a blender, especially to a blender that mixes and stirs foodstuffs without crushing solids in the foodstuffs. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art(s) 
         [0004]    A blender is a common household or beverage shop appliance used to mix, puree or emulsify fruits or foodstuffs. With improvements of the blenders, conventional blenders are capable of grinding soybeans with water to produce soymilk, crushing ice to make smoothies or milling grains with other foodstuffs to make sauces by using suitable blade assemblies. Moreover, the conventional blender is also capable of turning liquid milk into milk froth by using a milk-frothing disk in substitution for the blade assembly. 
         [0005]    However, whenever the conventional blender operates, the blade assembly of the conventional blender crushes solid foodstuffs, such as ice, fruits, grains and so on. The conventional blender is neither able to merely mix and stir the liquid and the solid foodstuffs to result in a “shaking” effect, nor able to brew tea by pouring water and putting tealeaves into the conventional blender. 
         [0006]    To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a blender to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The main objective of the present invention is to provide a blender. The blender has a base, an axle assembly mounted on the base, a container securely attached to an axle housing of the axle assembly and a stirring disk securely mounted on an axle of the axle assembly. 
         [0008]    A user puts foodstuffs such as powder material, syrup, liquid material, ice cubes and so on, into the container, and then drives the axle assembly and the stirring disk to rotate. Thus, stirring ribs of the stirring disk stir and mix the foodstuffs without crushing the foodstuffs. Moreover, when the user puts tealeaves and pours water into the container, the stirring ribs stir the tealeaves and the water to brew tea and to extract nutrition from the tealeaves. The blender is simple, easy and safe, especially for a person or a household to use. 
         [0009]    Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a blender in accordance with the present invention, showing a first embodiment of a stirring disk mounted in the blender; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the blender in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the blender in  FIG. 1 , showing the first embodiment of the stirring disk and an axle assembly; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the stirring disk in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a stirring disk; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is another perspective view of the second embodiment of the stirring disk in  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of the second embodiment of the stirring disk in  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a stirring disk; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a blender in accordance with the present invention, showing a fourth embodiment of a stirring disk mounted in the blender; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the fourth embodiment of the stirring disk in  FIG. 9 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of the fourth embodiment of the stirring disk in  FIG. 9 ; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the stirring disk. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  5 ,  8 ,  9  and  12 , a blender in accordance with the present invention comprises a base  10 , an axle assembly  20 , a container  30 , a stirring disk  40 A,  40 B,  40 C,  40 D,  40 E and a lid  50 . 
         [0023]    The base  10  has a base housing  11  and a driving device. The driving device may be a motor, is mounted in the base housing  11  and has a driving member  12  protruding through a top of the base housing  11 . 
         [0024]    With further reference to  FIG. 3 , the axle assembly  20  is detachably mounted on the top of the base housing  11  and has an axle housing  21 , an axle  22  and a nut  23 . The axle  22  is axially mounted through the axle housing  21  and has an upper end  222 , a lower end  221  and an outer thread. The lower end  221  of the axle  22  is connected to the driving member  12  of the driving device of the base  10  to allow the driving device to rotate the axle  22 . The outer thread is formed on the upper end  222  of the axle  22 . The nut  23  may be a hexagon nut, is mounted on the upper end  222  of the axle  22  and engages the outer thread of the axle  22 . 
         [0025]    The container  30  is mounted on the top of the base housing  11 , is securely attached to the axle housing  21  and has an upper opening and a pivot hole  31 . The upper opening of the container  30  allows a user to put foodstuffs into the container  30 . The pivot hole  31  is formed through a bottom of the container  30  for the axle housing  21  to be mounted through the pivot hole  31 . 
         [0026]    With further reference to  FIGS. 4 and 10 , the stirring disk  40 A,  40 B,  40 C,  40 D,  40 E is securely mounted on the upper end  222  of the axle  22  and has a panel  41 A,  41 B,  41 C,  41 D,  41 E, a lower sidewall  42 A,  42 B,  42 C,  42 D,  42 E and multiple stirring ribs  43 A,  43 B,  43 D,  43 E. 
         [0027]    The panel  41 A,  41 B,  41 C,  41 D,  41 E is securely mounted on the upper end  222  of the axle  22 , is securely mounted on the nut  23  of the axle  22  and has multiple through holes  411 A,  411 B,  411 C,  411 D,  411 E and a mounting portion  44 A,  44 E. The through holes  411 A,  411 B,  411 C,  411 D,  411 E are formed through the panel  41 A,  41 B,  41 C,  41 D,  41 E. The mounting portion  44 A,  44 E is formed on a center of the panel  41 A,  41 E, is hollow, is securely mounted on the nut  23  of the axle  22  and has a lower opening for the mounting portion  44 A to be mounted around the nut  23  of the axle  22 . 
         [0028]    The lower sidewall  42 A,  42 B,  42 C,  42 D,  42 E is formed around an outer peripheral edge of the panel  41 A,  41 B,  41 C,  41 D,  41 E, protrudes toward a lower surface of the panel  41 A,  41 B,  41 C,  41 D,  41 E, is disposed around the axle housing  21  and has multiple lower through holes  421 A,  421 B,  421 C,  421 D,  421 E. The lower through holes  421 A,  421 B,  421 C,  421 D,  421 E are separately formed through and are arranged around the lower sidewall  42 A,  42 B,  42 C,  42 D,  42 E. Each lower through hole  421 A,  421 B,  421 C,  421 D,  421 E extends longitudinally. 
         [0029]    The stirring ribs  43 A,  43 B,  43 D,  43 E are separately formed on the panel  41 A,  41 B,  41 D,  41 E. Each stirring rib  43 A,  43 B,  43 D,  43 E extends radially on the panel  41 A,  41 B,  41 D,  41 E. 
         [0030]    With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , in a first embodiment of the stirring disk  40 A, the through holes  411 A of the panel  41 A are radially arranged on the panel  41 A. The lower sidewall  42 A has an annular frame  422 A and multiple connecting frames  423 A. The annular frame  422 A is disposed below and around the panel  41 A. The connecting frames  423 A are separately arranged around and are disposed between the annular frame  422 A and the panel  41 A. Each connecting frame  423 A is arc-shaped and has two ends respectively connecting to the annular frame  422 A and the panel  41 A. Each lower through hole  421 A is defined between two adjacent connecting frames  423 A. The stirring ribs  43 A are formed on the lower surface of the panel  41 A. 
         [0031]    With reference to  FIGS. 5 to 7 , in a second embodiment of the stirring disk  40 B, each through hole  411 B of the panel  41 B is elongated and extends radially on the panel  41 B. The lower sidewall  42 B is perpendicular to the panel  41 B. The lower through holes  421 B of the lower sidewall  42 B are formed through the lower sidewall  42 B. The stirring ribs  43 B are formed on the lower surface of the panel  41 B. Each stirring rib  43 B is a sheet. The stirring disk  40 B further has multiple nets  45 B respectively mounted in the through holes  411 B of the panel  41 B and the lower through holes  421 B of the lower sidewall  42 B. 
         [0032]    With further reference to  FIG. 8 , in a third embodiment of the stirring disk  40 C, the lower sidewall  42 C obliquely protrudes outwardly toward the lower surface of the panel  41 C. Each through hole  411 C of the panel  41 C is elongated and extends radially on the panel  41 C. The lower through holes  421 C of the lower sidewall  42 C are formed through the lower sidewall  42 C. 
         [0033]    With reference to  FIGS. 9 to 11 , in a fourth embodiment of the stirring disk  40 D, the stirring disk  40 D further has an upper sidewall  46 D formed around the outer peripheral edge of the panel  41 D, protruding toward an upper surface of the panel  41 D and having multiple upper through holes  461 D. The upper through hoes  461 D are separately formed through and are arranged around the upper sidewall  46 D. The nets  45 D are respectively mounted in the through holes  411 D of the panel  41 D, the lower through holes  421 D of the lower sidewall  42 D and the upper through holes  461 D of the upper sidewall  46 D. 
         [0034]    With further reference to  FIG. 12 , in a fifth embodiment of the stirring disk  40 E, each through hole  411 E of the panel  41 E is elongated and extends radially on the panel  41 E. The lower through holes  421 E of the lower sidewall  42 E are formed through a distal peripheral edge of the lower sidewall  42 E. The stirring ribs  43 E are formed on the upper surface of the panel  41 E. The mounting portion  44 E further has a holding portion  441 E. The holding portion  441 E is formed on an outer surface of the mounting portion  44 E and may have multiple protrusions or may be a rough surface so allows the user to stably hold the stirring disk  40 E by the mounting portion  44 E. 
         [0035]    The lid  50  is mounted on and covers the upper opening of the container  30 . 
         [0036]    The blender as described has the following advantages. The user puts the foodstuffs such as powder material, syrup, liquid material, ice cubes and so on, into the container  30 , and then switches on the driving device of the base  10  to drive the driving member  12 , the axle  22  of the axle assembly  20  and the stirring disk  40 A,  40 B,  40 C,  40 D,  40 E to rotate. Thus, the stirring ribs  43 A,  43 B,  43 D,  43 E are capable of stirring and mixing the foodstuffs in the container  30  without crushing the foodstuffs. Moreover, when the user puts tealeaves and pours water into the container  30 , the stirring ribs  43 A,  43 B,  43 D,  43 E stir the tealeaves and the water to brew tea and to extract nutrition from the tealeaves. The through holes  411 A,  411 B,  411 C,  411 D,  411 E, the lower through holes  421 A,  421 B,  421 C,  421 D,  421 E, the upper through holes  461 D and the nets  45 B,  45 D of the stirring disk  40 A,  40 B,  40 C,  40 D,  40 E allow passage of the liquid foodstuffs and split bubbles in the liquid foodstuffs into foams to improve taste of the mixed foodstuffs. 
         [0037]    Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.