Patent Publication Number: US-2013248627-A1

Title: Food processor with a safety design

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical kitchen appliance used to facilitate food processing and more particularly, to a food processor with a safety design. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The safety design of a conventional fruit juicer is the installation of a trigger switch in the base thereof. When the jar of the fruit juicer is installed in the base, the bottom of the jar triggers the trigger switch, conducting electricity to the motor in the base. 
     Fruit juicers with a heating module are known. A fruit juicer with a heating module can heat the extracted fruit juice in the housing. U.S. Pat. No. 7,780,337 discloses a similar design, entitled “Blend soup maker”. However, if the electrical heating tube on the bottom of the jar is turned on to heat food in the jar as food in the jar is below a specific low level, the jar may be burned out, leading to hazardous situations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a food processor with a safety design, which effectively measures the safety level of the foods therein, avoiding a non-load burning accident. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a food processor with a safety design, which accurately detects the closing or unclosing status of the cover, avoiding accidental finger injury. 
     To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, a food processor with a safety design comprises a cover, a container, and a base. The container comprises a container body, a blade, a handle, a first electrical connector, a low-level sensor, a high-level sensor and a cover sensor. The container body comprises an accommodation chamber, and an opening in communication with the accommodation chamber. The blade is rotatably mounted in the accommodation chamber. The handle is mounted at the container body. The first electrical connector is mounted in a bottom wall of the handle. The low-level sensor is mounted in a bottom side of the handle and inserted into the accommodation chamber of the container body adjacent to the blade, and electrically connected to the first electrical connector. The high-level sensor is mounted in a top side of the handle and inserted into the accommodation chamber of the container body adjacent to the opening, and electrically connected to the first electrical connector. The cover sensor is electrically connected to the first electrical connector for sensing whether or not the cover is closed on the opening of the container body. 
     The base is assembled with the container, comprising a second electrical connector, a driving module, a heating module and a control unit. The second electrical connector, the driving module and the heating module are respectively electrically coupled to the control unit. The control unit is adapted for controlling the operation of the driving module and the heating module. The second electrical connector is electrically connected to the first electrical connector when the base and the container are assembled together. The driving module is connected with the blade. The control unit is adapted to receive sensing signals from the low-level sensor, the high-level sensor and the cover sensor, and to drive the driving module to rotate the blade and the heating module to heat the accommodation chamber of the container body subject to the sensing signals. 
     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 
         FIG. 1  is an elevational view of a food processor in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the food processor in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an elevational view of the present invention, illustrating the cover removed from the container. 
         FIG. 4  is a cutaway view, in an enlarged scale, of the base of the food processor in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the container of the food processor in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing illustrating the low-level sensor installed in the container body of the container of the food processor in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic sectional view of the low-level sensor of the food processor in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention will be described hereinafter by way of example with reference to the annexed drawings. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-7 , a food processor with a safety design in accordance with the present invention is shown for cutting, stirring and mixing food, such as vegetables, fruits and corns into a juice or paste. The food processor comprises a cover  12 , a container  14  and a base  16 . 
     The cover  12  and the container  14  are normally made of food grade plastics or glass. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the container  14  comprises a container body  18 , a blade  22 , a handle  24 , a first electrical connector  26 , a low-level sensor  28 , a high-level sensor  32 , and a cover sensor  34 . The container body  18  defines an accommodation chamber  36 , and an opening  37  in communication with the accommodation chamber  36 . Vegetables, fruits, corn and other foods can be put through the opening  37  of the container body  18  into the accommodation chamber  36  and temporarily stored therein. In this embodiment, a strainer basket  39  is set in the container body  18  within the accommodation chamber  36  for filtering food residue. In actual practice, the strainer basket  39  can be omitted. The blade  22  is rotatably mounted in the container body  18  within the accommodation chamber  36 . In this embodiment, the blade  22  is positioned in the strainer basket  39 . If the strainer basket  39  is omitted, the blade  22  shall be directly mounted in the accommodation chamber  36  of the container body  18 . The handle  24  is mounted at the container body  18 . The first electrical connector  26  is mounted in the bottom wall of the handle  24 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The low-level sensor  28  is mounted in the bottom side of the handle  24  and electrically connected to the first electrical connector  26 . Further, the low-level sensor  28  is inserted into the accommodation chamber  36  of the container body  18 , and disposed adjacent to the blade  22 . The high-level sensor  32  is mounted in the top side of the handle  24  and electrically connected to the first electrical connector  26 . Further, the high-level sensor  32  is inserted into the accommodation chamber  36  of the container body  18 , and disposed adjacent to the opening  37 . The cover sensor  34  is electrically connected to the first electrical connector  26  for sensing whether or not the cover  12  is closed on the opening  37  of the container body  18 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4 , the base  16  is assembled with the container  14 , comprising a second electrical connector  42 , a driving module  44 , a heating module  46 , and a control unit  48 . The second electrical connector  42 , the driving module  44  and the heating module  46  are respectively electrically coupled to the control unit  48 . The control unit  48  is adapted for controlling the operation of the driving module  44  and the heating module  46 . In this embodiment, the first electrical connector  26  is an electrical plug; the second electrical connector  42  is an electrical socket. When assembling the base  16  and the container  14 , the second electrical connector  42  is electrically connected to the first electrical connector  26 . The driving module  44  is connected with the blade  22 . At this time, the low-level sensor  28 , the high-level sensor  32  and the cover sensor  34  are electrically coupled to the control unit  48 , enabling a sensing result to be transmitted to the control unit  48 . Thus, subject to this sensing result, the control unit  48  can drive the driving module  44  to rotate the blade  22 , and/or the heating module  46  to heat the accommodation chamber  36  of the container body  18 . 
     The low-level sensor  28  and the high-level sensor  32  can be selected from the group of water level sensors and interrupter sensors. 
     When the level of the foods in the accommodation chamber  36  of the container body  18  is below the elevation of the low-level sensor  28 , the low-level sensor  28  provides a sensing signal to the control unit  48 , causing the control unit  48  to stop the heating module  46  from heating the accommodation chamber  36 , avoiding a non-load burning accident. When the level of the foods in the accommodation chamber  36  of the container body  18  surpasses the elevation of the high-level sensor  32 , the high-level sensor  32  provides a sensing signal to the control unit  48 , causing the control unit  48  to drive the heating module  46  in heating the accommodation chamber  36 , and to generate a visual or audio prompt signal. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the container body  18  of the container  14  further comprises two pivot holes  52 . The low-level sensor  28  and the high-level sensor  32  each comprise a sealing jacket  54  and a sensor element  56 . In  FIGS. 6 and 7 , only the low-level sensor  28  is described. The sealing jacket  54  is positioned in one pivot hole  52  in such a manner that the outside wall of the sealing jacket  54  is tightly abutted against the wall of the pivot hole  52 . The sensor element  56  is inserted through sealing jacket  54 . By means of the sealing jacket  54 , the sensor element  56  is firmly secured to the pivot hole  52 , preventing leaking of fluid out of the accommodation chamber  36  of the container body  18 . The structure and installation method of the high-level sensor  32  are same as that of the low-level sensor  28 . Further, the handle  24  is covered by a sheath  25  that shields the low-level sensor  28 , the high-level sensor  32  and the cover sensor  34 . However, the handle  24  can be configured to shield the low-level sensor  28 , the high-level sensor  32  and the cover sensor  34  without the aforesaid sheath  25 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the cover sensor  34  senses the closed status of the cover  12  by means of magnetic sensing. The cover sensor  34  comprises a sensible end  58  and a sensing end  59 . The sensible end  58  is positioned in the cover  12 . The sensing end  59  is positioned in the top side of the handle  24 . The cover sensor  34  can be a variable reluctance sensor (VRS), linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), or other magnetic sensor. If the cover  12  is not closed, the cover sensor  34  provides a sensing signal indicative of the unclosing condition of the cover  12  to the control unit  48 . Subject to this sensing signal, the control unit  48  does not drive the driving module  44  to rotate the blade  22 , preventing the operator&#39;s fingers being inserted into the accommodation chamber  36  of the container body  18  from injury. 
     Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.