Patent Publication Number: US-2016242600-A1

Title: Ice-crushing attachment for a multi-purpose kitchen machine

Description:
This invention relates to an ice-crushing attachment for a multi-purpose kitchen machine 
     Ice-crushing is a function that is often performed in the kitchen by means of a food processing or a blending appliance, in which a bladed tool is rotated rapidly within a receptacle, such as a bowl or a goblet, to crush or chop blocks of ice loaded into the receptacle. 
     Some such arrangements utilise bespoke rotating tools that are specially designed for ice crushing, whilst others utilise general purpose tools. It is often the case, however, when using either type of arrangement, that the results are not as required and, in any event, difficulties arise because there is little control over the size and consistency of the crushed ice, whereas the requirements for these parameters are frequently quite different, depending upon the intended usage of the crushed ice. 
     The invention aims to reduce or eliminate these difficulties. 
     According to the invention from one aspect there is provided an ice-crushing attachment for a stand mixer presenting a rotary drive outlet in addition to a planetary drive outlet; the attachment comprising a generally tubular body for attachment to the stand mixer; a rotatable scroll-type extruding tool capable of rotating within the tubular body and provided with means to couple with said rotary drive outlet when the tubular body is attached to the stand mixer; means permitting ice to be introduced into the tubular body and into engagement with the extruding tool for crushing and transport towards an outlet port of the attachment; and a die member, selected from a plurality of die members, fitted to said outlet port and configured to influence the size and/or consistency of said crushed ice as it emerges from said port. 
     The attachment described above closely resembles a known meat-grinding attachment that is commonly supplied with, or available to purchase separately for use with, a stand mixer. This similarity permits the provision of an extremely efficient and economical ice-crushing arrangement, since all of the components of the standard meat-grinder can be used to crush ice, with the single exception of the dies that are fitted to the output port of the attachment. It will be appreciated that a different set of dies is provided for ice-crushing, and a selected ice-crushing die is used in place of the die normally used for meat-grinding. 
     According to the invention from another aspect there is provided an attachment for a kitchen machine; the attachment comprising a kit of parts selectively configurable into a meat grinder or an ice-crusher and the kit of parts comprising a common component set including: 
     (a) a hollow main body part having a processing cavity therein within which a scroll-type processing tool can rotate when driven by the machine; 
     (b) a hopper for allowing meat products or ice to be introduced into the processing cavity; 
     (c) first coupling means for coupling the main body part to co-operative receiving means on the kitchen machine such that said scroll-type processing tool can be driven in rotation by way of a drive outlet on the kitchen machine; and 
     (d) second coupling means for coupling a selected apertured extrusion die to an output port of said main body part such that processed meat products or ice can exit the attachment via the die; 
     the kit being characterised by the provision of: 
     (e) at least one die adapted for use in meat grinding; and 
     (f) at least one die adapted for use in ice-crushing; 
     wherein said dies are configured for alternative fitment to said common component set to convert said attachment from a meat-grinding attachment to an ice-crushing attachment, or vice versa. 
     The invention also provides a computer program and a computer program product for carrying out any of the methods described herein and/or for embodying any of the apparatus features described herein, and a computer readable medium having stored thereon a program for carrying out any of the methods described herein and/or for embodying any of the apparatus features described herein. 
     Any apparatus feature as described herein may also be provided as a method feature, and vice versa. As used herein, means plus function features may be expressed alternatively in terms of their corresponding structure, such as a suitably programmed processor and associated memory. 
     Any feature in one aspect of the invention may be applied to other aspects of the invention, in any appropriate combination. In particular, method aspects may be applied to apparatus aspects, and vice versa. Furthermore, any, some and/or all features in one aspect can be applied to any, some and/or all features in any other aspect, in any appropriate combination. 
     It should also be appreciated that particular combinations of the various features described and defined in any aspects of the invention can be implemented and/or supplied and/or used independently. 
    
    
     
       In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  shows, in exploded and perspective view, an attachment in accordance with one embodiment of the invention set up as a meat-grinder; and 
         FIG. 2  shows, in perspective view, a set of three dies usable for ice-crushing 
     
    
    
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a multi-purpose kitchen machine comprising a stand mixer of a kind manufactured and sold by the applicants is shown at  1 . The invention, of course, can be used with many different kinds of multi-purpose kitchen machine and the appliance of  FIG. 1  is shown by way of example only. 
     The machine  1  presents a relatively low-speed, high torque rotary drive outlet  11  at the front of a head portion  12  thereof; the drive outlet  11  being normally concealed, when not in use, behind a removable trim panel (not shown). Other drive outlets having different characteristics (e.g. speed, torque and/or fixture configuration) are provided, in this example, behind trim panels  13  and  14  on the upper surface of the head  12 , and on the underside of the head  12 , as indicated by the arrow  15 ; this latter outlet being typically a planetary drive outlet for a beater or mixer tool which is suspended for use into a bowl  16 . Other outlets may be provided instead of, or in addition to, those just described. 
     It will be appreciated that the drive outlet  11  presents a rotary drive executed about a horizontal drive axis, and this is convenient for use with attachments  2  such as meat grinders, by means of which meat is ground and extruded to emerge forwardly from the attachment through an apertured die, and is allowed to fall into a bowl or other receptacle placed beneath the outlet formed by the die. 
     The attachment  2  is a dedicated meat-grinding attachment and comprises a generally tubular, hollow housing  21  provided at one end thereof with a fixture complementary to that presented by the outlet  11 , enabling the housing  21  of the attachment  2  to be releasably secured to the machine  1 , enabling a scroll-like screw extruder device  22  to be rotated by the rotary driver provided at the outlet  11 . The device  22  is mounted for rotation within a processing cavity  21   a  in the housing  21 , so as to extrude forwardly, and through a die  23 , meat and associated products introduced into the processing cavity in the interior of the housing  21  by way of a feed-tube  24  from a hopper  25 . It will be appreciated that, depending upon considerations such as packaging requirements, the feed-tube  24  may be integrally formed with or separate from the housing  21 , and likewise the hopper  25  may be integrally formed with or separate from the feed-tube  24 . 
     Typically, several dies such as  23  are provided, each formed with a respective array of apertures, and a die  23 , selected to suit the required texture or another characteristic of the ground meat, is fitted to the housing  21 . 
     The extruder device  22  and the die  23  are retained within the housing  21  by means of a nut  28  which is internally threaded as at  29   a  to screw onto an external threading  29   b  formed on the forwardly-facing end of the housing  21 . Nut  28  may be knurled or otherwise treated to facilitate its turning to fasten the aforementioned components properly in place within the housing  21 . Bearing in mind the stresses and strains that can be imparted to various components during extrusion of relatively viscous materials and the heat that can be developed thereby, however, it is often preferred to form the nut  28  with external driving indentations or protrusions designed to be engaged either by a dedicated spanner or by a general purpose spanner (neither shown), to facilitate loosening of the nut  28  from the housing  21 . 
     If desired, a pusher device (not shown) of any convenient design may be provided to enable a user to push meat products through the feed tube  24 , to encourage their engagement with the extruder device  22 . 
     In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, the meat-grinding attachment just described with reference to  FIG. 1  is converted to an ice-crushing attachment by removing the die  23  and replacing it with one of three alternative dies  30 ,  31  or  32  specifically designed, dimensioned and configured for use when crushing ice. By this means it is possible to provide both attachments in an economical form. 
     A typical set of dies is shown in  FIG. 2 , manufactured by injection molding from POM thermoplastics material. 
     In operation, therefore, a set of basic components can be readily converted, by the substitution of dies, from a meat-grinding attachment to an ice-crushing attachment, or vice-versa. 
     The attachment of this invention is thus in the nature of a kit of parts, selectively configurable into a meat grinder or an ice-crusher drivable by a kitchen machine. The kit is based around a common component set which includes a hollow main body part, formed with a processing cavity within which a scroll-type processing tool can rotate, when driven by the machine, and a hopper for allowing material to be introduced into the processing cavity. The main body part is connectable to the kitchen machine such that the scroll-type processing tool can be rotated by means of a drive outlet on the kitchen machine and moreover has a food output port and a fixing that permits an apertured extrusion die, selected from at least one meat-grinding die and at least one ice-crushing die, to be coupled to the food output port, allowing processed meat products or ice, as the case may be, to be driven out of the food output port by way of the selected die. 
     If required, the kit of parts can further comprise a pasta-making arrangement of the kind described in our co-pending UK patent application (No. 1317838.9) of even filing date herewith. 
     It will be understood that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example, and modifications of detail can be made within the scope of the invention. 
     Each feature disclosed in the description, and (where appropriate) the claims and drawings may be provided independently or in any appropriate combination. 
     Reference numerals appearing in the claims are by way of illustration only and shall have no limiting effect on the scope of the claims.