Patent ID: 7047875

Claim:
A food treatment apparatus, comprising a base unit and a canister for rotatable placement on the base unit; said base unit comprising a housing comprising a cradle section and a control panel section disposed on one side of and elevated above the cradle section; an electric vacuum pump disposed in the housing; a vacuum line attached to said vacuum pump for interconnecting said base unit to said canister, wherein said vacuum line has a connection fitting thereon for inserting into an opening in said canister; an electric motor disposed in the housing; a control unit disposed in the housing, wherein said control unit is in electrical communication with, and is operable to control operation of said electric vacuum pump and said electric motor; a control panel on the control panel section of the housing and in electronic communication with the control unit; at least one rotatable drive roller in the cradle section of the housing; wherein the electric motor is operatively connected to the drive roller for causing rotation thereof; a second roller spaced laterally apart from said rotatable drive roller; said canister comprising a substantially cylindrical main body and a cover comprising a valve, said cover being sealably attachable to said main body, wherein said canister comprises: a shoulder portion having a first diameter for receiving said cover thereon; a first groove disposed adjacent said shoulder portion, said canister having a second diameter in said first groove, wherein said second diameter is smaller than said first diameter; a medial portion adjacent said first groove and having a diameter larger than said second diameter, said medial portion being wider than the width of said first groove; and a second groove on the opposite side of said medial portion from said first groove, said canister having a diameter in said second groove which is substantially the same as said second diameter; wherein the shoulder, the medial portion and the first and second grooves cooperate to form an alignment structure for aligning said canister on said housing during rotation of said canister.