Patent Publication Number: US-2012026826-A1

Title: Blending assembly with automated dispensing valve

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/345,731, filed May 18, 2010. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to beverage mixers, smoothie makers, blenders, and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to blending assembly with an automatic dispensing valve that is actuated automatically by a control mechanism in the blender base. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Frozen, frosty, or icy drinks, such as shakes or smoothies, have become increasingly popular. Shakes, or milk shakes, are typically formed of ingredients, such as ice-cream and/or milk, and flavored as desired, with or without additives, such as candies, chocolates, peanut butter, etc. Milkshakes typically are available at most fast-food restaurants, such as burger chains, and often require special machines to make. Smoothies tend to be healthier, are usually formed of ice, frozen yogurt, and/or sorbet, and also can include additives such as fruit, berries, fruit juice, vitamins, etc. Smoothies are typically available from specialty chains, juice bars, and fast-food restaurants and can be made with commercial or restaurant-grade blenders. 
     Milkshakes and smoothies are typically prepared by first placing all the ingredients into a blending container. Once the ingredients have all been added into the container and the container is placed onto the blender base, the blender motor can then be energized to blend the ingredients to the desired consistency. 
     Once the blending of a smoothie or beverage is completed, it is necessary to first remove the container from the blender and pour the contents into a drinking cup or glass. It will be appreciated that the container has an open top that is substantially larger than a typical drinking cup or glass. Thus, it is common for the contents to then pour out of the wider opening of the container, and outside the narrower cup or glass, creating a mess to clean-up, and wasting the contents. In addition, it will be appreciated that the shakes or the smoothies tend to be thick and/or viscous, and thus are often difficult to pour. 
     Therefore, a need exists for a beverage blending assembly that facilitates the dispensing of its contents. In addition, there is a need for a beverage blending assembly in which the steps of blending, dispensing, rinsing and draining the container are automated. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a blending assembly that comprises a blender base that has an actuating member and a control mechanism, and a container that is removably mountable on the blender base. The container has an integral dispensing spout and dispensing valve. The dispensing valve opens and closes the dispensing spout. The container is adapted to receive ingredients. The control mechanism operates an impeller of the container to blend the ingredients and operates the actuating member to engage the dispensing valve to move the dispensing valve between open and closed positions with respect to the container, thereby opening and closing the dispensing spout for dispensing the blended ingredients. 
     The present invention may also provide a blending assembly that comprises a blender base and a container removably mountable on the blender base. The container has an integral dispensing spout and dispensing valve. The dispensing valve opens and closes the dispensing spout. The container is adapted to receive ingredients. The blending assembly has a means for automatically actuating the dispensing valve between open and closed positions and dispensing the ingredients from the container. 
     The present invention may also provide a method of operating a blending assembly wherein the blending assembly includes a blender base and a container removably mountable on the blender base and the container includes an integral dispensing spout and dispensing valve that opens and closes the dispensing spout. The method may comprise the steps of mounting the container to the blender base; adding ingredients to the container either before or after the step of mounting the container to the blender base; blending the ingredients in the container; actuating the dispensing valve to open the dispensing spout, thereby dispensing the blended ingredients from the container; actuating the dispensing valve to close the dispensing spout; adding rinse water to the container; and actuating the dispensing valve to close the dispensing spout, thereby dispensing the rinse water from the container. 
     Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment of the present invention 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a blending assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view in section of a blender base and valve of the blender assembly illustrated in  FIG. 1 , showing the valve in a closed position; and 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view in section of the blender assembly similar to  FIG. 2 , showing the valve in an open position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , the present invention provides a blending assembly according to an exemplary embodiment that generally includes a blending container  10  removably disposable on a blender base  20 . The container  10  may incorporate a conventional rotating impeller  24  at its base, a dispensing spout  30 , a dispensing valve  40  and a handle  44 . The container may optionally include a lid (not shown). The blender base  20  includes a drive motor that engages the rotating impeller  24  and an actuating mechanism  60  on the base that engages the dispensing valve  40  when the container  10  is placed onto the blending base  20 . The dispensing valve  40  is of the normally-closed type. The actuating mechanism  60  engages dispensing valve  40  when container  10  is placed onto blender base  20 . The container and base may be made of plastic, glass or metal. 
     The dispensing spout  30  and dispensing valve  40  are preferably integrated with the blending container  10  and the dispensing valve  40  is operated automatically by the control mechanism  100  in the blender base  20 . The dispensing valve  40  is normally closed, as seen in  FIG. 2 , to allow an operator to remove the container  10  from the blender base  20  and fill the container  10  with ingredients while the container  10  is sealed or closed by the valve  40 . Thus no ingredients can leak from the container  10  during this step. 
     The dispensing valve  40  may operate, for example, by providing a flange  50  on the valve  40  that is receivable in a slot  62  of the moving actuating mechanism  60  on the blending base  20 . Flange  50  may be linked to a piston  70  of the valve  40 . Piston  70  may have a rubber head  80  that seals against a barrier wall  90 . When the piston  70  is closed, the head  80  seals against the barrier wall  90 , thereby sealing the mixture or ingredients in the container, as seen in  FIG. 2 . When actuating mechanism  60  is moved to the right (by a stepper motor, for example), the piston  70  and head  80  move away from wall  90 , as seen in  FIG. 3 . This opens a passageway  92  for the mixture to pass by wall  90  and exit the container through the dispensing spout  30 . 
     When the container  10  is returned to the blender base  20 , the system automatically continues the drink preparation steps of blending the beverage (via the rotating impeller  24  of the base  20 ), dispensing the beverage via the dispensing spout  30  as described above, rinsing the container with water and then draining the water from the container via the dispensing spout  30 . The blender base  20 , which preferably includes the control mechanism  100 , operates the dispensing valve  40  during this sequence such that the valve  40  is closed during blending and rinsing operations, and open during the dispensing and draining operations. Because the dispensing spout  30  and valve  40  are incorporated into the blending container  10 , running the container  10  through a dishwasher insures that all food-contact surfaces are sanitized by the high-temperature wash. 
     The blending assembly of the present invention is designed to improve the function of prior art blenders. The blending container  10  is mounted on blender base  20  and the impeller is disposed inside the base  20  of container  10 . The motor is inside the blender base and engages with the impeller inside container  10 . The embodiment of dispense valve  40  in  FIG. 1  is a piston type valve, as described above, that closes the dispensing spout  30  when the piston is moved inward, and opens the dispensing spout  30  when the piston is moved outward. Other types of normally closed valves could be used in place of the valve  40  shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . 
     To make a smoothie or other beverage with the invention, the operator first fills the blending container  10  with the desired beverage ingredients. This may be done either with the blending container  10  on the blending base  20  or removed from the blending base  20 . Since the dispensing valve  40  is normally closed, no ingredients leak from the container  10  during this step regardless of whether the container  10  is on top of the blender base  20  or not. Once all the ingredients have been added, the container  10  is returned to the blender base  20  such that both the impeller and the dispensing valve  40  engage with the corresponding motor and actuating mechanism  60  in the blending base  20 . 
     At this point the operator may initiate the blending sequence by pressing a button (not shown) connected to the control mechanism  100 . The motor in the blender base  20  then energizes for a predetermined period of time to turn the impeller and blend the beverage. The control mechanism  100  then actuates the actuating mechanism  60  to open the dispense valve  40  allowing the beverage to exit the container through the dispensing spout  30  and into a cup. Once the beverage has dispensed, the control mechanism actuates the actuating mechanism  60  to close the dispensing valve  40 . Rinse water may then be directed into the container  10  for rinsing. For example, rinse water may be sprayed into the top of the container such that all walls of the container are wetted by the spray. After a preset time, the control mechanism  100  actuates the actuating mechanism  60  opens the dispense valve  40  to expel the rinse water. Once the rinse water has dispensed, the dispense valve  40  is closed by the actuating mechanism  60  via the control mechanism  100  and the impeller motor is de-energized. The container  10  is now ready to prepare a subsequent beverage. The control mechanism  100  and the motor operate the impeller  24  to turn through all of the steps of blending, assisting in beverage dispensing, assisting in container  10  rinsing and helping expel the rinse water. The impeller  24  may be turned while the valve  40  to facilitate dispensing of the thick mixture out of the container  10 . 
     The rinsing step described above is needed to clean the smoothie ingredients that did not dispense from the container to prevent product spoilage between beverages and to prevent potential cross-contamination between different smoothie types (e.g., strawberry and raspberry). To sanitize the container  10 , the container  10  may be run through a dishwasher at predetermined intervals (e.g., every four hours), for example. Depending on the type of dispensing valve used, some disassembly of the valve may be done prior to each wash in a dishwasher. 
     While a particular embodiment has been chosen to illustrate the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.