Patent Abstract:
There is provided an hand held blender essentially having at least two housing or body portions, a first housing or body portion suitable for containing a drive motor and a second housing or body portion suitable for containing one or more shanks or shafts operatively connected to the drive motor, and a processing tool operatively connected to the one or more shafts. Each of first and second portions has at least one connector suitable to rotatably connect and/or disconnect the at least two portions, as desired, in a reliable and stable manner.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to blenders. More particularly, the present invention relates to hand held blenders.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Hand held blenders including immersion blenders, are well known. Typically, these blenders have a tall, tubular hand grip portion that contains a drive motor, to which a shaft that may be immersed into a liquid or mixture is connected. The shaft typically has an input end operatively connected to the drive motor and an output end operatively connect to a processing tool, such as, for example, a whisk attachment (good for whipping cream), and other accoutrements, such as strainers or beakers, to puree or chop or otherwise mix the contents of individual drinks or the like.  
         [0005]     These hand held blenders are very practical for their specific purpose. Conventionally, such blenders are used in combination with any of a variety of separate containers to process (e.g., mix, chop, cut, etc.) any of a variety of different food stuffs of various consistencies from solid to viscous to liquid.  
         [0006]     These hand held, immersion blenders, sometimes referred to as stick blenders, can have transmission shafts of approximately 6 to 8 inches in length. Consequently, in operation, any inefficiency at the input end of the transmission shaft is amplified at the output end thereof. Also, the elongated nature of these blenders makes efficient cleaning and storage a challenge.  
         [0007]     Thus, it is an advantage for effective operation, storage and/or cleaning purposes to provide a hand held blender that ensures a reliable and stable connection between the transmission shaft and the drive motor, and that provides that the connection is quickly and easily releasable via a user interaction. It is also desirable to provide such a hand held blender with two or more hand grip portions to facilitate efficient operation of the blender during use.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is an object of the present invention to provide an effective and versatile hand held blender.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hand held blender that ensures a reliable and stable connection between a transmission shaft and a drive motor.  
         [0010]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a hand held blender that provides that the connection between a transmission shaft and a drive motor is quickly and easily releasable via a user interaction.  
         [0011]     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a hand held blender that has at least two portions, each preferably having a connector that provides a hermetic seal and allows each portion to be separately cleaned and/or stored without compromising the inner workings thereof.  
         [0012]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hand held blender that has one or more hand grip portions to facilitate efficient operation of the blender during use.  
         [0013]     It is still a further another object of the present invention to provide a hand held blender that facilitates uniform blending and/or comminuting results via effective and efficient handling of the blender.  
         [0014]     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by a hand held blender having at least a two portions, each portion preferably having at least one connector suitable to rotatably connect and/or disconnect the at least two portions, as desired, in a reliable and stable manner. In addition, the hand held blender may be provided with two or more handles. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  is a first side view of a hand held blender in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, showing a first portion and a second portion disconnected from each other or in a disengaged state;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a side section view of the hand held blender of  FIG. 1 , showing the first and second portions connected to each other or in an engaged state;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the second portion of the hand held blender of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the second portion of the hand held blender of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a bottom plan view of the second portion of the hand held blender of  FIG. 1 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     Referring to the drawings and, in particular,  FIG. 1 , a hand held blender in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention is shown and generally represented by reference numeral  1 . Hand held blender  1  essentially has a first body or portion  10  suitable for handling by an operator and for accommodating a drive motor  12 , and a second body or portion  14  suitable for use in combination with any of a variety of separate containers to process (e.g., mix, chop, cut, etc.) any of a variety of different food stuffs of various consistencies from solid to viscous to liquid via a third portion  16  operatively connected to drive motor  12  by one or more transmission or rotating shafts  18 , shown best in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0021]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , first portion  10  can have a device for providing power to blender  1 , such as, for example, a power cable  20 , one or more handles  22 , preferably ergonomically formed to provide easier handling during operation, a chamber or housing  24  for accommodating at least a portion of drive motor  12  and possibly a cooling system (e.g., a fan), one or more controls  26  (e.g., power on/off, speed, safety, etc.) preferably providing the operator with a wide array of operating options, and at least one first connector  32  facilitating second portion  14  being operatively connected to first portion  10 . First portion  10  may also have any of a variety of other features and/or components as appropriate for accomplishing the stated purposes of the present invention. For example, first portion  10  may also have a stabilizing handle  30  giving the operator more control over the movement of blender  1  during operation.  
         [0022]     Referring still to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the one or more handles  22  are preferably at a distal end  28  of the first portion  10  while the at least one first connector  32  is preferably at a proximal end  34  thereof. First connector  32  can have any of a variety of configurations. For example as shown in these figures, first connector  32  can have a mounting hub  36  preferably having one or more prongs or tabs  38 , best shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , and at least one aperture for accommodating a drive shaft  13 , shown best in  FIG. 2 , and/or a motor coupling operatively connected to drive motor  12 .  
         [0023]     Drive shaft  13 , in one aspect of the present invention, can provide or transmit rotational torque generated by drive motor  12  to the third portion  16  indirectly via the one or more rotating shafts  18 . In this aspect of the present invention, drive shaft  13  and/or one or more rotating shafts  18  may be interconnected in any of a variety of conventional ways. For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , a shaft connector  15 , such as a link pin  17 , may be used. Alternatively, in another aspect of the present invention, the drive shaft  13  provide rotational torque to the third portion  16  directly.  
         [0024]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 through 5 , second portion  14  can have an elongate member  40  that is preferably suitable to house or accommodate at least a portion of one or more rotating shafts  18  and/or drive shaft  13 . In addition, second portion  14  may have at least one second connector  42  at a distal end  44  of elongate member  40  and at least one third connector  46  at a proximal end  48  thereof. Preferably, second connector  42  is complementary to first connector  32 . For example, as best shown in  FIG. 2 , second connector  42  can have one or more grooves or slots  50  that are suitable to receive and/or engage the one or more tabs  38  of the first connector  32 .  
         [0025]     Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, first connector  32  and second connector  42  may be securely and reliably connected by engaging tabs  38  with slots  50  and twisting or rotating first connector  32  and second connector  42  with respect to each other to activate a lock/release mechanism. Preferably, a lock/release mechanism (not shown), such as, for example, a detent system or a biased cam system may be used to facilitate locking and/or releasing the connectors  28 ,  42  with respect to each other. Alternatively, in another embodiment of the present invention, first connector  32  and second connector  42  may be threadably engaged and/or disengaged as desired. Other rotating connections and/or locking mechanisms may additionally or alternatively be used and fall within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0026]     Thus, although first and second portions  10 ,  14  can have any of a variety of different shapes, sizes and/or configurations, and may have any of a number of different elements, connectors  28 ,  42  preferably allow the operator to easily disengage or release second portion  14  and first portion  10  for separate cleaning and/or storage.  
         [0027]     In a preferred aspect of the present invention, second connector  42  preferably hermetically seals distal end  44  to preferably prevent moisture and/or any other damaging substances from entering elongate member  40 . This sealing feature may be accomplished in any of a variety of ways. For example, as best shown in  FIG. 2 , second connector  42  can have a chamber or pocket  52  suitable to receive and accommodate hub  36  of first connector  32 . Pocket  52  preferably has sidwall  54  and a base  56 . Base  56  is preferably formed of one or more first sealing elements  58 , such as, for example, a bearing member, an oil seal, an o-ring, and/or a retaining member. Sealing elements may also be used. Preferably, first sealing elements  58  can be configured so that the one or more rotating shafts  18  and/or the drive shaft  13  may operatively pass therethrough without compromising the seal.  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , third portion  16 , can accommodate at least a portion of a processing tool  60  via, for example, a tool guard  62  and/or a tool holder  64 . In addition, third portion  16  can be operatively connected to second portion  14  via third connector  46  of second portion  14 . For example, as best shown in  FIG. 2 , third connector  46  can have one or more fasteners  66  that are preferably suitable to securely and reliably connect third portion  16  to the proximal end  48  of elongate member  40 . In another preferred aspect of the present invention, fasteners  66  facilitate the connection of second and third portions  14 ,  16 .  
         [0029]     In an alternative embodiment of the invention, fasteners  66  may be constructed so that third portion  16  and second portion  14  can be releasably connected. In this alternative embodiment of the invention, third connector  46  may cooperate with a fourth connector (not shown) in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the connection of first and second connectors  28 ,  42 . In addition, other connections and/or locking mechanisms may additionally or alternatively be used, yet still fall within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0030]     Although second and third portions  14 ,  16  can have any of a variety of different shapes, sizes and/or configurations, and may have any of a number of different elements, third and/or fourth connectors of this embodiment may allow the operator to conveniently disengage or release the second portion  14  and the third portion  16  from one another for separate cleaning, storage and/or operative uses.  
         [0031]     In another preferred aspect of the present invention, third connector  46  preferably hermetically seals proximal end  48  of elongate member  40  to preferably prevent moisture and/or any other damaging substances from entering elongate member  40 . Also, with respect to the embodiment of the invention in which second and third portions  14 ,  16  may be releasably connected, the third and/or fourth connector may preferably be suitable to seal and/or securely hold the various components of third portion  16  as appropriate for convenient cleaning, storage and/or operative use.  
         [0032]     This sealing feature may be accomplished in any of a variety of ways. For example, as best shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , third connector  46  can cooperate with one or more second sealing elements  68 , such as, for example, a bearing member, an oil seal, a cap element, and/or at least a portion of tool guard  62  or tool holder  64 . Additional or alternative sealing elements may also be used. Preferably, second sealing elements  68  and/or third connector  46  can be constructed so that the one or more rotating shafts  18  may operatively pass therethrough, without compromising the seal, and transmit torque to processing tool  60 .  
         [0033]     Having identified and discussed some of the preferred aspects or embodiments of the present invention, in use, blender  1  may be efficiently and effectively assembled and/or disassembled as desired to allow for convenient cleaning, storage, and/or varied operative uses.  
         [0034]     The present invention having been thus described with particular reference to the preferred forms thereof, it will be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the present invention as defined herein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0