Patent Publication Number: US-2005122837-A1

Title: Blender jar

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Blenders are well-known for blending foods or drinks. A conventional blender generally include a base with a motor therein, a plastic or glass container or jar mounted on the base with a knife rotatably driven by the motor, a lid for the jar, and control switches or buttons to control the speed of the motor. The jars normally are a constant diameter along their height, or increase in diameter from bottom to top. These shapes of the blender jar allow food items to bridge adjacent the bottom of the jar, such that the knife cavitates without blending the food items. The normal solution to this cavitation problem is to remove the lid of the jar, and shove the food items downwardly with a spatula, wooden spoon, or other object.  
      Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved blender jar which enhances blending of food and drink materials.  
      Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved blender jar which eliminates the blade cavitation problem of the prior art blenders.  
      Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a blender jar that circulates the food or drink items being blended.  
      A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a blender jar having a reduced cross-sectional area portion between the bottom and top ends of the jar so as to provide a circular flow path of materials being blended.  
      Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of a blender jar having internal ribs to enhance blending of food and drink materials.  
      Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a blender jar having an aesthetically pleasing appearance.  
      These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The blender jar of the present invention is adapted to be mounted on a blender base which houses a motor, with a knife positioned in the bottom of the jar for rotation by the motor. The jar includes a body having opposite upper and lower ends, with the lower end being adapted to be mounted onto the base. The body curves outwardly from the lower end and then inwardly so as to define a reduced cross-sectional area portion between the upper and lower ends. The body again curves outwardly adjacent the upper end of the jar. The jar has internal ribs to enhance the blending action of food and drink materials in the jar. A lid is provided to close the upper end of the jar. The jar includes a handle for easy gripping by a user. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the blender with the jar of the present invention mounted thereon.  
       FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of the blender.  
       FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the blender.  
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the blender jar taken along lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2  (background omitted) to display the cross-sectional area of the blender jar at this horizontal plane. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      The blender jar of the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral  10 . The jar  10  includes a body  12  with a lower or first end  14  and an upper or second end  16 . A handle  18  is provided on the body for gripping by a user. The upper end  16  includes a pouring spout  20  opposite the handle  18 . The lower end  14  is threaded to receive a mounting collar or ring  22 . A knife  24  with a plurality of blades  25   a, b, c, d  is rotatably mounted in the jar  10 . A sealing ring (not shown) is provided in the collar  22  to provide sealing engagement with the bottom of the jar  10  when the collar  22  is tightened on the jar  10 . A lid  26  closes the upper end  16  of the jar  10 .  
      The jar  10  is adapted to mount on a base  28  which houses an electric motor (not shown). The motor is variable speed, with the speed of the motor being controlled by buttons on a keypad  32 . The motor includes an output shaft  34  extending upwardly through base  28 . An electrical connection block  30  is included in base  28  for connecting a detachable power cord (not shown). The collar  22  includes threads for threadably mounting the assembled jar  10  and collar  22  onto mating threads on the upper end of the base  28 , so that the knife  24  is drivingly connected to the shaft  34  for rotation by the motor. The user then selects a speed for the motor by pressing one of the buttons or sensors on the keypad  32 , as in a conventional blender, to actuate the motor and thereby turn the knife  24 . The driving connection between the motor and the knife  24  is conventional and does not constitute part of the present invention.  
      The body  12  of the jar  10  has a curved wall or profile, as seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Preferably, the body  12  curves outwardly from the lower end  14  to define an increased cross-sectional area portion  36 , and then curves inwardly to define a reduced cross-sectional area portion  38 . The body  12  also has inwardly extending, longitudinal ribs  40 . It is understood that the shape of the ribs may vary from that shown in the figures.  
      For purposes of definition, the cross-sectional area, or more simply, the area of the blender jar is defined at various elevations by cross-sectional views that cut the jar on a horizontal plane. One such cross-section is indicated in  FIG. 2  along the lines  4 - 4 .  
      The blades of the knife  24  extend at various angles from a horizontal plane, both upwardly and downwardly, as seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Blade  25   a  extends the furthest from the shaft  34  and defines a spinning diameter of the knife  24 . The spinning diameter of the knife  24  is at least substantially equal to the diameter of the reduced portion  38 . This relationship between the spinning blade diameter and the jar diameter enhances the performance of the blender.  
      In operation, food or drink items are placed into the jar  10  while the motor is off. The lid  26  is then fit into the upper end  16  of the jar  10  to seal the jar. As the knife  24  turns, the materials in the jar  10  are chopped up and blended. The rotating knife  24  imparts a flow path to the materials upwardly along the inner wall of the jar  10 . The reduced cross-sectional area portion  38  of the body  12  directs the material towards the center axis of the jar, where the materials fall downwardly for further blending by the knife  24 . Thus, the materials being blended have a circular flow path, as indicated by the arrows in the drawings. This circular flow path enhances the blending action in the jar  10  and eliminates cavitation of the food items. The ribs  40  tend to break up the flow of material around the inside of the jar  10  which is imparted by the rotating knife  24 , so as to enhance blending. When the desired blending has been achieved, an “off” button on the keypad  32  is pushed to deactuate the motor and stop rotation of the knife  24 . The jar  10  can then be removed from the base  28 , and the lid  26  removed from the jar  10  so that the blended contents can be poured out via the spout  20 .  
      The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the preferred embodiment has been described with a cross-sectional area that is, disregarding ribs  40 , approximately circular. However, it should be understood all possible cross-sectional area shapes are within the scope of the present invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.