Abstract:
A juice extractor includes an auger tube having an auger rotatably mounted within it. The auger has a spiral formation of decreasing pitch toward a grinding end. At the grinding end, a grinding surface bears against a grinding plate to extract more juice from fruit or vegetable sediment. Sediment is delivered through an outlet, whereas juice is deliver from a separate outlet to a cup having a special shape.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The following invention relates to a juice extractor. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a juice extractor having an auger which drives fruit or vegetable sediment toward a grinding mechanism for pulverising the sediment to extract more juice therefrom. 
     Known juice extractors can comprise various rotatable mechanisms for extracting juice from fruit or vegetables. For citrus juice, the fruit can be cut into halves and each half pushed down upon a rotating conical/hemispherical surface. Such devices not only remove juice from the fruit but also mix in with the juice, the fibrous fruit particles and seeds. These particles are included with the extracted juice to be embibed. 
     It might be desired to provide a natural fruit or vegetable juice with a reduced quantity of residue therein. 
     OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a juice extractor in which fruit or vegetable sediment is better separated from the juice itself. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide and improved juice extractor that extracts more juice from fruit or vegetable sediment. 
     It is yet further object of the present invention to provide an efficient juice extractor for mounting temporarily on a kitchen bench. 
     It is a general object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above mentioned disadvantages. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     There is disclose herein a juice extractor comprising: 
     an auger tube having an inlet for receiving fruit and/or vegetable pieces to be juiced and an outlet for extracted juice, 
     an auger rotatably mounted within the tube and driven from outside the tube to rotate, 
     a grinder at one end of the auger for receiving partly juiced sediment and grinding the sediment for extracting more juice therefrom, and 
     a ground sediment outlet separate from the juice outlet. 
     Preferably the auger includes a spiral formation having a pitch which decreases toward the grinder. 
     Preferably the grinder includes a grinding surface on one end of the auger and a grinding plate fixed within the auger tube, the grinding surface turning against the grinding plate upon rotation of the auger. 
     Preferably the grinding surface has a spiral formation and the grinding plate has a spiral formation in an opposite direction to the spiral formation of the grinding surface. 
     Preferably a residue outlet cap is temporarily secured to the auger tube. 
     Preferably the grinding plate is fixed within the residue outlet cap. 
     Preferably the grinding surface and grinding plate are substantially conical in form. 
     Preferably the residue outlet cap is substantially conical in form. 
     Preferably the auger tube has internal longitudinal grooves formed therein. 
     Preferably the auger has a splined end onto which a handle having a splined socket is received. 
     Preferably the auger tube includes a formation and the juice extractor also includes a base to which the formation is received. 
     Preferably the base is temporarily mounted upon a flat surface by a suction fastener. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to FIG. 1 which is a schematic parts-exploded perspective illustration of a juice extractor. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In the accompanying drawing there is schematically depicted in a parts-exploded diagram a juice extractor  10 . 
     Juice extractor  10  includes an auger tube  11  having an inlet hopper  37  as shown. 
     An auger  15  is fitted within the auger tube  11  and has a splined driving end fitted within a splined socket  23  of a handle  12 . That is, the driving end of the auger passes through an opening in one end of the auger tube  11  to receive externally of the tube  11  the splined socket  23 . Rotation of handle  12  causes rotation of the auger  15  within the auger tube  11 . 
     Extending longitudinally along the inner surface of the auger tube  11  are grooves  13 . These grooves  13  might be spaced the whole way around the inner surface of the tube  11  or just part way therearound. If the grooves do not extend the whole way around the inner surface of the tube  11 , they might be provided just in the lower part thereof. 
     To centrally mount the auger  15 , a bearing  14 , typically formed of nylon fits around the splined end of the auger to locate the auger centrally of the aperture (not shown) through which the splined end passes to receive the splined socket  23 . The splined end of the auger can be made of a different material than the main part of the auger itself. Where the auger is of plastics material, the splined end might be of stronger or higher density plastics. This piece might be adhered or plastics welded to the main part of the auger. 
     A residue outlet cap  19  is threaded onto the end of the auger tube  11 . The residue outlet cap  19  has a conical form, to the inside of which there is received a metal grinding plate  18 . Grinding plate  18  has helical indentations pressed thereon which correspond with similar shaped helical formations (not shown) moulded on the inside surface of the conical cap  19 . These helical formations mate with those of the grinding plate to prevent the grinding plate  18  from spinning within the cap  19 . A sealing ring  17  fits within the cap  19  and presses against the end of the auger tube  11  when the cap  19  is threaded thereon. The residue outlet cap  19  has a tip with a through-passage  34 . This tip is externally threaded to receive a residue tip outlet  20  having a small aperture  35  therein. Ground residue passes through the openings  34  and  35  to be received by a cup for example. 
     The auger  15  has a conically formed metallic grinding surface  16  adhered to its end. The grinding surface  16  has spiral shaped formations extending in a direction opposite to the direction of the formations formed on the grinding plate  18 . Plate  18  and surface  19  are typically metallic, whereas the other component of the auger and housing are typically formed of moulded plastics material. The auger tube might be light is transmissive or transparent. The auger  18  has a spiral  36  extending about its exterior surface from one end to the other. The pitch of the spiral decreases toward the grinding surface  16 . That is, beneath the hopper  37 , the pitch of the spiral is high, whereas the pitch decreases toward the residue outlet end. 
     The auger tube  11  has a lug  38  at its bottom surface to be received within a formation  39  at the top of a base  21 . 
     The base  21  is to be temporarily secured to a kitchen bench top by means of a suction fasting device therein. 
     The base  21 , typically formed as a plastics moulding includes a shaft  26  having an eccentricity or cam located thereon. The shaft extends through an aperture  25 . At the end of the shaft, there is provided a square head  27  that passes through a washer  28 . Washer  28  is secured into a recess by screws. A dial  29  is attached to the square head  27  and extends partly into the recess in the base about the aperture  25 . Within the base  29 , there is provided a plate  30  which cooperates with a lifter  32 . Lifter  32  has an upstanding leg through which there is formed a cam surface  33 . The shaft  36  passes through the aperture about which the cam surface  33  is formed, such that upon rotation of the shaft  26  upon turning of dial  29 , the lifter  32  lifts upwardly away from the bench top into the base  21 . The lifter  32  bears against a diaphragm  31  formed of rubber for example and fixed at its periphery to the base. This diaphragm acts like a suction cup to hold the base  21  on to the bench top. 
     A specially shaped cup  22  sits on the bench top and partly surrounds the base  21 . The cup  22  includes a juice receiving extension  40  which sits directly beneath the juice outlet  24 . 
     In use, pieces of fruit and/or vegetable are inserted through the hopper  37  to the feed end of the auger tube  11 . The handle  12  is rotated in a clockwise direction so as to cause the auger  15  to rotate within the tube  11 . As a result, the fruit and/or vegetable pieces are caught by the spiral formation  36  to drive the pieces toward the grinding surface  16 . 
     Due to the longitudinal grooves  13  against which the auger&#39;s spiral formation closely bears, the pieces do not simply rotate within the tube  11 , but are forced toward the grinding surface  16 . As the pitch of formation  36  decreases, the pieces are squeezed and extracted juice is caused to flow back to the outlet  24  to be received by the cup  22 . As fibrous sediment and seeds for example are delivered to the grinding surface  16 , they are pulverized between this surface and the grinding plate  18  against which the grinding surface turns. As the parts have spiral formations in opposing directions, an efficient crushing effect is achieved. Also, the pulverized pieces are driven toward the outlet apertures  34  and  35  and more juice is squeezed therefrom. Because aperture  35  is very small, nearly all of the juice from these pieces is driven back into the cylinder  11  to flow back to the juice outlet  24 . To assist this flow, the bottom of the auger tube  11  can be inclined downwardly toward juice outlet  24 . 
     It should be appreciated that modifications and alternations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope to the present invention. 
     For example, the cup  22  could be provided with two compartments, one for juice and the other for sediment received from the outlet  35 . Also, instead of a manually operated handle, an electric motor, and possibly a reduction gearbox could drive the auger.