Source: https://patents.justia.com/patent/20140104976
Timestamp: 2020-01-24 12:14:10
Document Index: 540631337

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'arts 7', 'art.\n4', 'art.\n9']

US Patent Application for KITCHEN APPLIANCE Patent Application (Application #20140104976 issued April 17, 2014) - Justia Patents Search
Justia Patents Stirrer Mounted Through Mixing Chamber Bottom WallUS Patent Application for KITCHEN APPLIANCE Patent Application (Application #20140104976)
Dec 23, 2013 - KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
A kitchen appliance comprising a base station having a support surface on an upper portion thereof and a rotatable drive shaft comprising a first coupling part at a free end thereof. The appliance comprises a removable bowl comprising a bottom part that is supported by the support surface during operation and a coupling member supported from said bottom part. The member comprises a second coupling part for coupling with the first cJoupling part. The first coupling part comprises a head with an outer surface with a number of first cam portions. The second coupling part comprises a socket for accommodating the head, the socket has an inner circumferential surface with a number of second cam portions, said first and second cam portions comprise first respectively second cam faces, which mate upon accommodation of the head in the socket.
This application claims the benefit or priority of and describes relationships between the following applications: wherein this application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/993,266, filed Nov. 18, 2010, which is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/IB2009/052119, filed May 20, 2009, which claims the priority of foreign application EP08157301.6 filed May 30, 2008, all of which are incorporated herein in whole by reference
FIG. 2 shows the base station 3 in a perspective view. The base station 2 has a support surface 6 on an upper portion thereof. The drive means (not shown) inside the base station 2 are coupled to and arranged for driving a rotatable drive shaft (not shown), which drive shaft comprising a first coupling part 7 at a free end thereof. The first coupling part 7, which will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4A en 4B, further comprises a head 8.
FIG. 4A and 4B show the first coupling part 7 of the base station 2 of FIG. 2 in more detail. The first coupling part 7 comprises the head 8 and a stem 17 which is designed as a tubular part provided with an inner thread 18 for coupling to the drive shaft (not shown). It is noted that the stem 17 is not an essential feature of the first coupling part 7. However, from a viewpoint of cleanability the provision of a stem is beneficial. The head 8 comprises an outer circumferential surface 19 on which a number of first cam portions 20 are provided. The cam portions 20 are in turn provided with first cam faces 21.
The first cam faces 21, at least partly, extend in longitudinal direction I-I (which longitudinal direction coincides with the axis of rotation of the first coupling part 7 and consequently with the axis of rotation of the drive shaft of the kitchen appliance) along the outer circumferential surface 19 and are, at least partly, angled relative to said longitudinal direction I-I. Preferably, the angle of the first cam faces 21 relative to the longitudinal direction I-I is such that said angle is self-loosening. This means that, as will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the bowl 3 will be easily removable from the base station 2. As can be seen in FIG. 4A and 4B, the first cam portions 20 are evenly distributed over the outer circumference 19 of the first coupling part 7, but the invention is not limited thereto. Any arbitrary distribution is possible as long as the socket 16 is capable of interacting (accommodating) with the head 8.
FIG. 4A and 4B further show that the first coupling part 7, or the head 8, comprises a bevelled outer, in the embodiment shown a circumferential, edge 22. As will be discussed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, this allows a very convenient mounting of the bowl 3 on the base station 2, as the head 8 of the first coupling part 7 will easily be inserted in the socket 16 of the coupling member 14. Further improvement of the insertion (interaction) of the head 8 into the socket 16 can be achieved by designing the first cam portions 20 as substantially right-angled triangular members the right angle of which abuts the outer circumferential edge 22, whereby the first cam faces 21 of the first cam portions 20 are preferably flush with the outer circumferential edge 22 of the head 8 and have a cam width that increases in a direction away from the outer circumferential edge 22 of the head 8. It is noted that it is also possible for the cam faces 21 to have for example a constant width over their length, or any other variant. The embodiment shown however is particularly beneficial. It is further noted that in the example shown, the cam faces 21 are continuous, but that it is also possible to provide cam surfaces that are not continuous. For example, the cam portions may be formed by a number of separate smaller elements having separate cam surfaces.
From the above it can be learned that the coupling member indirectly couples the drive shaft i.e. the first coupling part 7-with the tool 31. The coupling member 14 and the associated coupling parts 7, 15 together form a very compact coupling between the bowl 3 and the base station 2, while at the same time taking care of rotatingly driving and coupling the tool 31. In fact, only the bowl 3, i.e. the coupling member 14, couples the tool 31. Together with edges 12, 13 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) the self-finding and self-locking coupling according to the present invention provides a mechanically stable coupling.
1. A tool suitable for use with a kitchen appliance, comprising:
a socket for interacting with a rotatable head of a coupling member of a removable bowl, the bowl comprising an integral closed bottom part adapted to be used with a base station having a support surface on an upper portion thereof and enclosing a drive means for driving a motor driven drive shaft, the socket having an inner surface on which a number of angled cam portions is provided that can mate with a number of angled cam portions provided on said head.
2. An assembly of a bowl and a tool attachable to said bowl, the bowl comprising:
an integral closed bottom part and a coupling member rotatably mounted in said bottom part, said coupling member comprising a first coupling part suitable for coupling with an external rotatable driving member located outside the bowl and a second coupling part for carrying the tool inside the bowl, and
wherein said tool is adapted to couple with the second coupling part of the bowl.
3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the tool comprises a socket for interacting with a head provided on the second coupling part, the socket having an inner surface on which a number of angled cam portions is provided that can mate with a number of angled cam portions provided on said head, such that upon rotation of the first coupling part the second coupling part and the tool rotate in unison and the rotatable tool is pulled down onto the second coupling part.
4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the angled cams portions having respective first and second cam portions with respective first and second cam faces, at least partly, extend in a longitudinal direction along respective surfaces of the faces and are, at least partly, angled relative to said longitudinal direction.
5. The assembly of claim 4, further comprising a base station having a support surface on an upper portion thereof and enclosing a drive means for driving a rotatable drive shaft, said drive shaft comprising a first coupling part at a free end thereof, and wherein the angle of the first and second cam faces relative to the longitudinal direction is such that said angle is self-loosening.
6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein, the first coupling part of the drive shaft comprises a head with an outer surface and a bevelled outer edge adjacent the outer surface, and/or the socket of the second coupling part comprises a bevelled inner edge adjacent the inner surface.
7. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the first and second cam portions are designed as substantially right-angled triangular members the right angle of which abuts the respective inner and outer edges.
8. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the first and second cam portions are shaped as elongated ribs that extend helically over at least part of the outer surface of the head of the first coupling part, respectively over at least part of the inner surface of the socket of the second coupling part.
9. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the first and second cam faces of the first and second cam portions are flush with the respective edges of the head and socket and have a cam width that increases in a direction away from the respective edges of the head and socket.
10. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the coupling member extends through the bottom part of the removable bowl and comprises a third coupling part for carrying the rotatable tool.
11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the third coupling part comprises a head with an outer surface on which a number of third cam portions are provided, said third cam portions being of similar design as the first cam portions.
12. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the socket of the tool has a bevelled inner edge.
13. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the socket of the tool is dimensioned such that it is unable to interact with the head of the first coupling part of the drive shaft, in particular that the socket of the tool has different cross-sectional dimensions than the head of the first coupling part of the drive shaft.
14. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the support surface of the base station is provided with a rotation lock adapted to prevent the bowl from rotating during operation.
Application Number: 14/138,198