Abstract:
A mechanism for storing nesting cutting tools includes a hood to house and at least partially cover at least some of the cutting tools nested within one another. The hood includes locking mechanisms on a household electrical appliance for preparing food. The mechanism includes a securing ring for cutting tools nested in the hood, with the locking mechanisms for the hood designed to come into contact with additional locking mechanisms of the securing ring which also contain at least one locking stop for the nested cutting tools relative to the ring which holds the tools at least partially inside the hood.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention concerns the technical field of household electrical cooking appliances containing cutting tools in a geometric form which allows them to be nested. 
     This invention concerns, in particular, a mechanism for storing cutting tools shaped like a truncated cone. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Document EP 2 159 014 shows a household electrical cooking appliance containing a motorized base housing an electrical motor, an accessory with a storage compartment for cutting tools shaped to allow them to nest, as well as a locking hood for cutting tools stacked within one another in the storage compartment; said hood contains a locking mechanism on the accessory. This arrangement allows the cutting tools to be stored on the appliance when the appliance is not in use. However, when the appliance is being used with one of the cutting tools, the unused cutting tools are simply placed in the locking hood and may be overturned by a simple hand movement. 
     Therefore, it would be worthwhile, for reasons of practicality and safety when using cutting tools and the household electrical appliance to have a mechanism for storing the tools nested within one another which would not suffer from the inconvenience of the single locking hood proposed in EP 2 159 014. 
     One goal of this invention is to meet this requirement and improve the storage of cutting tools which have a geometric form which allows them to nest. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This goal is achieved in accordance with the invention using a storage mechanism for nesting cutting tools, with a hood which can store and cover at least some of said cutting tools nested within one another; the hood contains a locking mechanism for a household electrical cooking appliance. This mechanism has a securing ring to secure the cutting tools nested in the hood, a mechanism to block the hood which is designed to connect with the additional locking mechanism of said ring, which also contains at least one locking stop for said nested cutting tools against said ring which at least partially secures said tools within the hood. 
     Accordingly, the unused cutting tools which remain nested within one another within the hood are secured within it by the securing ring in the event said hood is moved. 
     Preferably, in accordance with the invention, the securing ring contains a ring-shaped body on the external wall of which are said additional hood locking mechanisms and on the internal wall of which is at least one locking stop for the cutting tools. 
     Preferably, the locking mechanisms of the locking hood on the securing ring are selected from among one of the following categories: clipping locking mechanisms, screwed locking mechanisms or socketed locking mechanisms. 
     Preferably again, in accordance with the invention, the locking mechanisms of the storage mechanism ring of the invention include at least one continuous fold on the external wall of the ring or multiple protruding sections uniformly distributed along the external wall. 
     In accordance with a special embodiment of the invention, the storage mechanism ring also contains of attachment elements on the household electrical cooking appliance. These attachment elements allow the storage mechanism to be attached to the household electrical appliance with which the cutting tools are used, which facilitates storage of the entire unit when it is not in use. In particular, the ring attachment elements may be configured to allow the storage mechanism to be hooked to an accessory of the household electrical appliance such as a storage compartment for the cutting tools similar to the locking hood described in EP 2 159 014. 
     In one embodiment, the locking hood of the storage mechanism is preferably shaped to fit the contours of the cutting tools nested within one another; preferably said tools are identical in size. 
     A second goal of the invention also concerns a household electrical cooking appliance with a motorized base consisting of a case housing an electrical motor and electrical controls for said motor, an accessory which is part of the motorized base which contains a storage compartment for the cutting tools, a set of said cutting tools shaped to enable them to be nested within one another, as well as in the accessory storage compartment, connecting and rotating mechanisms for the cutting tool mounted within the accessory storage compartment and a locking hood for said cutting tools stacked within one another in the accessory storage compartment. In an innovative manner, this appliance also contains a storage mechanism for the nesting cutting tools as previously described which consists at least the locking hood attached to the securing ring for the cutting tools nested within one another. 
     In a more preferable embodiment, the securing ring storage mechanism contains mechanisms to attach the storage mechanism to the household electrical cooking appliance, in particular on the appliance&#39;s accessory. 
     Such attachment mechanisms may, in particular, be hooks, or use sockets or screws, or even function through elastic deformation and clipping on the accessory, for example. 
     Various other characteristics based on the description below refer to the attached drawings which show, as non-exhaustive examples, various methods in which to achieve the goals of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the attached Figures: 
         FIG. 1  shows a household electrical cooking appliance and a storage mechanism for a set of cutting tools shown in a side view of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a longitudinal view of  FIG. 1 , limited to showing the household electrical appliance accessory working with the storage mechanism of the invention and a set of cutting tools stored in said mechanism; 
         FIG. 3  is a blow up of the entire functional unit shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIGS. 4A to 4C  show various views of the storage mechanism securing ring of the invention in a preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  shows the storage mechanism of the invention with a set of five cutting tools shaped like truncated cones; 
         FIG. 6  shows in a view similar to that in  FIG. 2  a variation in the embodiment of the household electrical appliance accessory of the invention which works with the invention storage mechanism and a set of cutting tools stored in said mechanism. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows household electrical appliance  1  in accordance with this invention. Household electrical appliance  1  consists of motorized base  2 , including case  3 , enclosing an electrical motor and the electronic control circuits for the motor (not shown) connected to control elements, such as switches  4  located on case  3 , to allow appliance  1  to be started and stopped by a user. 
     Cutting accessory  5  is attached on case  3 , shown in detail in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , and is preferably removable from case  3 , and able to be attached on it with attachment ring  6 , in particular using screws or sockets. Cutting accessory  5  contains storage compartment  7  which contains internal housing  71  the size and shape of which can be adjusted to receive and secure cutting tool  8 , which is shaped like a truncated cone. 
     Cutting tool  8  contains body  81  shaped like a truncated cone which has a cutting mechanism on truncated cone wall  82 . Body  81  has one extremity  83  which has at least one connecting and rotating drive mechanism. This connecting and rotating drive mechanism could be completed as shown in  FIG. 2  with a female drive orifice  12  formed in lower wall  84  of cutting tool  8 . Second extremity  85  of body  81  is open and forms outgoing opening  86  for cut food. Body  81  of cutting tool  8  is preferably made of molded plastic on cutting mechanism  82  formed by one or more pieces of sheet metal. In a variation, cutting tool  8  may be made from stamped metal. 
     As shown more specifically in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , cutting tool  8  as previously described may be mounted to freely rotate in storage compartment  7  of cutting accessory  5  and may be used along drive axis  9 . This drive axis  9  works with posterior extremity  91  with the electrical motor located in motorized base  2  and through anterior extremity  92  with cutting tool  8 . The connection between cutting tool  8  and drive axis  9  is preferably made through male connecting body  10  with teeth  11  adjusted to mesh with female connecting orifice  12  located on bottom  84  of tool  8 . 
     The coaxial nature and relative positioning of drive axis  9  to storage compartment  7  and cutting tool  8  are provided by locking disk  13  threaded on drive axis  9  using its posterior extremity  91  and butts against the bottom of storage compartment  7  which accepts cutting tool  8 . 
     Cutting accessory  5  also contains shaft  14  to insert the food to be cut. Shaft  14  is an integral part of storage compartment  7 . Shaft  14  is formed by a tubular section opening at both ends which form access well  141  to the interior of storage compartment  7  and insertion orifice  142  to insert the food to be cut through shaft  14 , respectively. This shaft  14  accepts pushing element  15  designed to push the food to be cut into shaft  14  through insertion orifice  142  into well  141  to allow the food to be cut using cutting tool  8  which rotates on drive axis  9  and the electrical motor inside motorized base  2  of appliance  1  when the user presses control switch  4 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , household electrical appliance  1  of the invention contains a set of cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e.    
     Cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  each include cutting mechanisms  82 ,  82   a ,  82   b ,  82   c ,  82   d ,  82   e  and bodies  81 ,  81   a ,  81   b ,  81   c ,  81   d ,  81   e  shaped like a truncated cone designed to allow storage by nesting and stacking tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  within one another, including in housing  71  in storage compartment  7  of cutting accessory  5  of the appliance. Accordingly, the various cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  are shaped to allow nesting within one another to create a tool stack. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  are identical in size. 
     When household electrical appliance  1  is not being used, cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  may be stored as described in EP 2 159 014 by nesting said tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  within one another in storage compartment  7  along a stacking axis which is also the rotation axis of drive axis  9  when rotating tool  8  to cut food. Once nested within one another, tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  are then secured in position by locking hood  16  which contains locking mechanisms  17  on cutting accessory  5 , and, more particularly, preferably on anterior edge  72  of storage compartment  7  thereof. 
     Locking hood  16  is shaped to mesh with the contours of cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  stacked within one another. 
     Locking hood  16  is adequately shaped to prevent cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  from shifting or moving relative to one another once blocked by locking mechanisms  17  on accessory  5 . 
     As shown in particular in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , locking mechanisms  17  of locking hood  16  may be formed particularly in the simplest manner by hooks  18  designed to block hood  16  by clipping or hooking onto anterior circular edge  72  of storage compartment  7  of accessory  5 . Such hooks  18  may be located, as shown in the figures, at the end of fasteners  161  of locking hood  16 , which is attached to support tray  162  which engages with cutting tool  8   e  at the end of the tool stack in storage compartment  7 . Of course, other types of locking mechanisms  17  may certainly be considered without falling outside the scope of this invention, in particular, locking mechanisms using screws or sockets. As showed in  FIG. 1 , fasteners  161  equipping openings  163  allowing some of cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  stored in locking hood  16  in place on accessory  5  to be viewed. Fasteners  161  also facilitate the installation and removal of locking hood  16 . Fasteners  161  are designed to interact with anterior edge  72  of storage compartment  7 . 
     Locking hood  16  may be made from molded plastic, although this type of embodiment is not the only one. 
     Therefore, locking hood  16  holds cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  in a stacked storage position in storage compartment  7  of household electrical appliance  1  when it is not in use. 
     However, when household electrical appliance  1  is in use, one of the six cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  is used and mounted in storage compartment  7  of accessory  5 , and the five remaining cutting tools as well as locking hood  16  must be placed loosely alongside household electrical appliance  1 , or stacked within one another in the inverted locking hood  16 , with the risk of being accidently turned over. 
     To address this problem when storing of cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  when household electrical appliance  1  is being used or to facilitate alternative storing of cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  outside of household electrical appliance  1 , this invention proposes storage mechanism  19  for a set of cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  consisting of locking hood  16  and securing ring  20  which works with locking hood  16  and is attached to it, for example, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     In the example shown, storage mechanism  19  is provided to house five cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  while a sixth cutting tool is mounted in storage compartment  7  of household electrical appliance  1 . 
     Various views of securing ring  20  are shown in  FIGS. 4A to 4C . It consists of ring-shaped body  21 , which has on its external ring-shaped wall, at the level of a peripheral side  22 , an additional locking element of locking mechanism  17  in form of hooks  18  of locking hood  16  in the shape of protruding lip or edge  23 , which is preferably almost identical to anterior edge  72  of storage compartment  7  of accessory  5  of household electrical appliance  1  to fix and block locking hood  16  using its hooks  18  on edge  23  of ring  20 . 
     In the example shown, edge  23  is a continuous edge along the entire periphery of ring-shaped body  21  of ring  20 . However, this edge may also be discontinuous (not shown), in particular, in the shape of protruding sections at regular intervals (not shown) on the periphery of ring-shaped body  21  of the ring, again to fix and block locking hood  16  using its hooks  18 , either through elastic deformation and clipping on the edge, or by using a locking effect by rotating locking hood  16  on edge  23  of ring  20 . 
     Of course, it is possible to create additional locking mechanisms  17 ,  23  of locking hood  16  and securing ring  20  in an alternative form such as, for example, in the form of locking mechanisms using screws or sockets. Nevertheless, such mechanisms are more complex and, therefore, more costly to implement. 
     Ring  20  preferably constitutes a collar to hold cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  in locking hood  16  to form storage mechanism  19  for cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e . To do so, it also contains, on the internal wall of ring-shaped body  21  at least one, and preferably two, stops  24  which project radially into the internal wall of ring-shaped body  21  to locally reduce the diameter of central opening  25  attached to the center of ring-shaped body  21  of ring  20  to allow partial passage of bodies  81   a ,  81   b ,  81   c ,  81   d ,  81   e  of cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  while completely blocking the passage of said cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  at the level of its wider second extremities  85 ,  85   a ,  85   b ,  85   c ,  85   d ,  85   e.    
     Therefore, to store a set of five cutting tools  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  in storage mechanism  19 , it is sufficient initially to, as shown in  FIG. 5 , nest cutting tools  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  within one another in locking hood  16 , then to move ring  20  using its central opening  25  onto the resulting stack of cutting tools  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  and push it until its protruding peripheral edge  23  clicks on hooks  18  of fasteners  161  of locking hood  16 . Once ring  20  and locking hood  16  are attached to one another by their additional attachment mechanism, stops  24  of ring  20  then rest against second extremity  85  of the last cutting tool  8  of the stack, thereby holding the cutting tools between locking hood  16  and ring  20  allowing them to be stored and moved individually and uniformly. Storage mechanism  19  containing the set of cutting tools  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  may thus be easily stored in a drawer or cupboard without risk that the tools will separate from one another. 
     In addition, storage mechanism  19  proposed by the invention may also be attached to household electrical appliance  1 , preferably and in particular at the level of rim  72  of storage compartment  7  of accessory  5 . To do so, ring  20  preferably contains, on the external wall of its ring-shaped body  21 , at least two hooks  26 , similar to hooks  18  of locking hood  16  which allows storage mechanism  19  to be clipped to rim  72  of accessory  5  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     Of course, the hooks of attachment  25  could be replaced by any similar attachment mechanism on household electrical appliance  1 , e.g., using screws or sockets. 
     It is easily possible to attach storage mechanism  19  on household electrical appliance  1  which would allow cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  to be placed directly on the household electrical appliance as with locking hood  16  used alone. 
       FIG. 6  shows a slight variation of the household electrical appliance in which storage compartment  7 ′ is longer than storage compartment  7  of the device shown in  FIGS. 1 to 5  and, in practice, extends beyond the edge of the rotating tool mounted in storage compartment  7 ′ to better channel the exit of cut food. 
     In this embodiment, the remainder of the appliance is identical to that described in  FIGS. 1 to 5  and, in particular,  FIG. 2 ; in  FIG. 6 , the numerical references are identical to those in  FIG. 2 , but are marked with a prime character. Accordingly, the appliance is equipped with ring  20 ′ identical to ring  20  and may be mounted on the edge of storage compartment  7 ′ which is longer than storage compartment  7  in  FIG. 2 . Further, hood  16 ′ is preferably slightly shorter than hood  16 . However, ring  20 ′ with hood  16 ′ holds five rotating tools as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     In another variation, hood  16 ,  16 ′, which stores tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  and contains locking mechanisms  17 ,  17 ′ on household electrical appliance  1 , is not necessarily mounted on storage compartment  7 ,  7 ′. 
     The method of storing tools in the shape of truncated cones proposed by the invention does not noticeably increase the general cluttering by household electrical appliance  1 , which may still be easily stored in, for example, a cupboard. Cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  are stored economically and simply using storage mechanism  19 ,  19 ′ of the invention, which is integrated very easily into the appliance itself or which may be detached to separately store cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e . Accordingly, it is possible for the user to always have cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  available. 
     The use of household electrical appliance  1  of the invention and its storage ability is very intuitive. When the user wishes to prepare a dish which requires grated or minced vegetables, for example, it is sufficient to remove appliance  1  from its storage area and place its motorized base  2  on a stable workplace. The user then selects cutting tool  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  which is best suited to the desired preparation. Once the correct tool  8  has been selected, the user mounts it directly in storage compartment  7 ,  7 ′ making sure that said tool  8  is solidly connected by its connecting orifice with the connecting male body of drive axis  9 ,  9 ′ connected to the motor in motorized base  2 . It is sufficient to then connect appliance  1  to the electrical grid using the plug, insert the food to be cut into shaft  14 ,  14 ′ and start the appliance by pushing on switch  4 . Tool  8  mounted in storage compartment  7 ,  7 ′ then rotates due to the action of drive axis  9 ,  9 ′ and the motor and the food in shaft  14 ,  14 ′, pushed if necessary by the user using pushing element  15 ,  15 ′, are grated and/or minced by tool  8  and emptied through the orifice of anterior extremity  83  onto a tray or plate. 
     Once the food has been prepared, the user stops appliance  1 , unplugs it, and then removes tool  8  from the interior of storage compartment  7 ,  7 ′ for cleaning, and, if appropriate, also cleans accessory  5  if it is removable. When these items have been cleaned, it is sufficient to again store the set of tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  in storage mechanism  19 ,  19 ′ by stacking them within one another, then securing this tool stack in place using securing ring  20 ,  20 ′ placed on tool stack  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  and clipping them using the hooks  18 ,  18 ′ of locking hood  16 ,  16 ′ on edge  23 ,  23 ′ of securing ring  20 ,  20 ′. The user then places storage mechanism  19 ,  19 ′ in a cupboard, drawer or attaches it to rim  72  of storage compartment  7  of accessory  5  of household electrical appliance  1 . 
     In the specific example shown, which is the preferred manner, cutting tools  8 ,  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c ,  8   d ,  8   e  are in the shape of truncated cones which makes stacking easy and compact and ensures effective food cutting. However, it should be noted that the compactness of the stacking depends both on the angle of the cone and the thickness of the tool wall. 
     The following benefits of the solution for storing tools are provided by the invention: 
     the tools are all arranged compactly and securely without requiring a container or additional storage space in the household electrical appliance; 
     minimum cluttering from the stacked tools; 
     storage is arranged on an accessible and visible portion of the appliance, which allows the tools to always be available; and 
     finally, this storage solution is simple and extremely inexpensive.