Abstract:
A food blender includes a blender base including a housing defining therein a connecting seat, a connector mounted in the housing, a plurality of sensing elements mounted in the housing near the connecting seat and a driving device fixedly mounted in the housing and coupled with the connector and the sensing elements, and a food container detachably mountable in the connecting seat of the housing and having a stirrer and a plurality of magnetic members mounted in a container body thereof. The driving device controls the operation of the stirrer according to the number of the magnetic members actually detected by the sensing elements.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to food blender technology and More particularly to a food blender with a safety protection mechanism. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    When using a food blender, put food in the food container, and then attach the food container to the blender base of the food blender, and then switch on the power switch of the blender base, causing rotation of the stirrer in the food container to mince food. During the mincing process, if the mincing time is long, continuous crushing between food ingredients and the stirrer can cause generation of heat, resulting in an increase in temperature and pressure in the food container. 
         [0005]    More particularly, for the sake of ease of storage, some commercial food blenders use a small capacity food container. Increased temperature and pressure in a food container due to a long mincing time can cause the food container to explore. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a food blender, which provides a safety protection mechanism. It is another object of the present invention to provide a food blender, which provides multiple operation modes to fit different capacities of food containers, avoiding food container explosion due to an excessively prolonged operation. 
         [0007]    To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, a food blender comprises a blender base and a food container. The blender base comprises a housing, a connector, a plurality: of sensing elements and a driving device. The housing comprises a connecting seat. The connector is mounted in the housing. The sensing elements are respectively mounted in the housing near the connecting seat. The driving device is fixedly mounted in the housing, and coupled with the connector and the sensing elements. The food container is detachably mountable in the connecting seat of the housing. The food container comprises a container body a stirrer and a plurality of magnetic members. The stirrer is mounted in the container body. The magnetic members are mounted in the container body. The driving device controls the operation of the stirrer according to the number of the magnetic members actually detected by the sensing element. 
         [0008]    To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the invention provides an alternate form of the food blender. According to this alternate form, the food blender comprises a blender base, a first food container and a second food container. The blender base comprises a housing, a connector, a plurality of sensing elements and a driving device. The housing comprises a connecting seat. The connector is mounted in the housing. The sensing elements are respectively mounted in the housing near the connecting seat. The driving device is fixedly mounted in the housing, and coupled with the connector and the sensing elements. Further, the driving device provides a first operation mode and a second operation mode. The operating time of the second operation mode is shorter than the operating time of the first operation mode. The first food container is detachably mountable in the connecting seat of the housing. The first food container comprises a first container body, a first stirrer and a plurality of first magnetic members. The first stirrer is mounted in the first container body. The first magnetic members are mounted in the first container body. The second food container is detachably mountable in the connecting seat of the housing. The second food container comprises a second container body, a second stirrer and a plurality of second magnetic members. The second stirrer is mounted in the second container body. The second magnetic members are mounted in the second container body. The capacity of the second food container is smaller than the capacity of the first food container. The number of the first magnetic members is different from the number of the second magnetic members. When the sensing elements detect the number of the first magnetic members, the driving device selects the first operation mode, and controls the first stirrer to operate according to the first operation mode. When the sensing elements detect the number of the second magnetic members, the driving device selects the second operation mode, and controls the second stirrer to operate according to the second operation mode. 
         [0009]    Thus, the blender base of the food blender provides a respective operating mode according to the number of the magnetic members actually detected by the sensing elements, avoiding the danger of food container explosion due to an excessively prolonged operation. 
         [0010]    Other advantages and features of the present invention will be fully understood by reference to the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference signs denote like components of structure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a food blender in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a sectional elevation of the food blender shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a circuit block diagram of the connector, control button, three sensing elements and driving device of the food blender in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the present Invention, illustrating the blender base and the food container connected together. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    A preferred embodiment of a food blender in accordance with the present invention is described hereinafter in conjunction with the annexed drawings. However, the components, dimension and outer appearance illustrated in the annexed drawings are simply for illustration purpose only but not intended to limit the technical features of the present invention. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a food blender  10  generally comprises a blender base  30  and a food container  50 . The blender base  30  of the food blender  10  comprises a housing  31 , a connector  33  and a control button  35 . The housing  31  comprises a connecting seat  311  and three positioning grooves  313  located on an inner perimeter of the connecting seat  311 . The connector  33  is mounted in the housing  31 , and disposed inside the connecting seat  311 . The control button  35  is mounted on the housing  31 . 
         [0017]    The food container  50  comprises a container body  51 , a stirrer  53  and three magnetic members  55 . The container body  51  comprises three protruded portions  511 . The stirrer is mounted in the container body  51 , and rotatable relative to the container body  51 . The three magnetic members  55  are respectively mounted in the three protruded portion  511  of the container body  51 . Further, these three magnetic members  55  are permanent magnets. 
         [0018]    The three protruded portions  511  of the container body  51  are respectively aimed at the three positioning grooves  313  in the housing  31  of the blender base  30 . When the food container  50  and the blender base  30  are assembled, the three protruded portions  511  of the container body  51  are respectively engaged in the three positioning grooves  313  of the housing  31 , and the stirrer  53  is connected to the connector  33 . The structure of the stirrer  53  and the connector  33  and their connection are of the known art, therefore we do not repeat them here. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , where  FIG. 2  is a sectional elevational view of the blender base  30 ;  FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the connector  33 , the control button  35 , three sensing elements  37  and a driving device  39 . The blender base  30  further comprises three sensing elements  37  and a driving device  39 . The sensing elements  37  are respectively fixedly mounted in the housing  31  near the connecting seat  311 . The driving device  39  is mounted inside the housing  31 , and coupled with the connector  33 , the control button  35  and the sensing elements  37 . The control button  35  is adapted for controlling the driving device  39  to rotate the connector  33 , for example, adjusting he revolving speed. How the control button  35  controls the driving device  39  is a common knowledge in the art, therefore we do not repeat them here. 
         [0020]    In the present preferred embodiment, these sensing elements  37  are mounted inside the housing  31 , and respectively disposed adjacent to the three positioning grooves  313  in the housing  31 . The sensing elements  37  can be, for example, Hall-effect sensors. 
         [0021]    The driving device  39  comprises a processor  391  and a motor  393 . The processor  391  has multiple operation modes. These operation modes are configured to control the operating time of the motor  393 . Every operation mode controls the motor  391  to operate at a different operating time. The selection of these operation modes has a great concern with the sensing elements  37 . This operation will be explained later. 
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a schematic sectional view illustrating the blender base  30  and the food container  50  mounted together. As illustrated, the sensing elements  37  are adapted for sensing the magnetic fields of the respective magnetic members  55 , and then converting the detected magnetic fields into respective electrical signals (for example, voltage or current signals) for analysis by the processor  391  of the driving device  39 . The processor  391  can select a corresponding operation mode. 
         [0023]    In the present preferred embodiment, the driving device provides three operation modes (the first operation mode, the second operation mode and the third operation mode) corresponding to three different capacities of food containers, for example, the first (large) food container, the second (medium) food container and the third (small) food container. Therefore, different capacities of food containers have a different number of magnetic members mounted therein. For example, the first, second and third food containers have different capacities and respectively have three magnetic members, two magnetic members and one magnetic member mounted therein. Although the first, second and third food containers have different capacities, they have the same connection structure for connection to the connecting seat of the blender base as previously described. 
         [0024]    If the first food container is mounted in the connecting seat of the blender base, the sensing elements of the blender base will detect the presence of the magnetic fields of three magnetic members. Thus, the processor will select the corresponding first operation mode according to the number of three magnetic members. Further; because the first food container has the largest capacity, the motor operating time of this first operation mode is the longest operating time. 
         [0025]    If the second food container is mounted in the connecting seat of the blender base, the sensing elements of the blender base will detect the presence of the magnetic fields of two magnetic members. Thus, the processor will select the corresponding second operation mode according to the number of two magnetic members. Further, because the second food container has the medium capacity, the motor operating time of this second operation mode is shorter than the motor operating time of the first operation mode. 
         [0026]    If the third food container is mounted in the connecting seat of the blender base, the sensing elements of the blender base will detect the presence of the magnetic field of one single magnetic member. Thus, the processor will select the corresponding third operation mode according to the number of one single magnetic member. Further, because the third food container has the smallest capacity, the motor operating time of this third operation mode is shorter than the motor operating time of the first operation mode and the motor operating time of the second operation mode. Thus, the food blender of the present invention an select a corresponding operation mode subject to the number of magnetic members. Therefore, food containers of different capacities can be operated under a respective appropriate operation mode, avoiding the danger of food container explosion due to an excessively prolonged operation. 
         [0027]    Further, the number of the food containers, the sensing elements and the magnetic members is not limited to three. They can be more than three. Further the arrangement of the sensing elements and the magnetic members is not limited to that illustrated in the annexed drawings. Further, in the present preferred embodiment, three different capacities of food containers are selected for explanation of the technical features of the present invention, however, in actual practice, the selection of different operation modes can be defined according to the function and access authority of the food containers, therefore, the operation mode corresponding to the container capacity is not a limitation. 
         [0028]    In the present preferred embodiment, the processor selects the appropriate operation mode according to the actual number of magnetic member detected by the sensing element. However, in actual application, the selection of the operation modes can be achieved through mechanical switch means or any other measures. Thus, the processor simply needs to determine whether or not the selected operation mode is consistent with the number of magnetic members actually detected by the sensing elements. If matched, the processor of the blender base controls the motor to rotate. If not matched, the processor controls the motor not to rotate. Thus, this measure is also within the range of protection of the present invention, achieving the safety protection according to the number of sensing elements and magnetic members. 
         [0029]    Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may he made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention not to be limited except as by the appended claims.