Container and blade arrangement for food preparation appliance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9801499-B2
Application number	US-201414210992-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2014
Priority date	Mar 14, 2013
Publication date	Oct 31, 2017
Grant date	Oct 31, 2017

Abstract

A food preparation appliance has a base, a blade member rotatable in a direction of rotation, and a container with a closed bottom, an open top and a tubular sidewall together defining an interior space of the container. The top of the container is configured for releasable connection with the base, with the blade member disposed within the interior space of the container. The sidewall has a rib projecting inward of the interior space of the container and extending lengthwise along at least a portion of the sidewall from the top of the container toward the bottom of the container. The rib has, in the direction of rotation of the blade member, a peak defined as the shortest transverse dimension measured from the center of the container to the sidewall at a respective height along the portion of the sidewall having the rib, the rib being asymmetric in transverse cross-section.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A food preparation appliance comprising:
a base;
a blade member operatively supported by the base so as to be rotatable in a direction of rotation;
a container comprising a closed bottom, an open top and a tubular sidewall extending from the closed bottom to the open top of the container and together with the bottom defining an interior space of the container, the container having a center, the top of the container being configured for releasable connection with the base with the blade member disposed within the interior space of the container, the sidewall having a plurality of ribs projecting inward of the interior space of the container and extending lengthwise along at least a portion of the sidewall between the top of the container and the bottom of the container, the ribs each having, in the direction of rotation of the blade member, a peak defined as the shortest transverse dimension measured from the center of the container to the sidewall at a respective height along the portion of the sidewall having the rib,

wherein each rib comprises, in the direction of rotation of the blade member, an inflow segment leading to the peak and including a first slope and an outflow segment leading away from the peak and including a second slope, the outflow segment of one rib transitioning directly into the inflow segment of an adjacent rib in the direction of rotation of the blade member.

2. The food preparation appliance set forth in claim 1 wherein the container has a transverse cross-sectional dimension that increases along the height of the container from the bottom of the container to the top thereof.

3. The food preparation appliance set forth in claim 1 wherein each rib has, in the direction of rotation of the blade member, a base with the first slope inclining from the base to the peak of the rib, the container having a transverse dimension measured from the center of the container to said base, the transverse dimension of the container measured from the center of the container to said peak being in the range of 60% to 95% of the transverse dimension of the container from the center of the container to said base.

4. The food preparation appliance set forth in claim 1 wherein the second slope of the outflow segment is substantially less than the first slope of the inflow segment.

5. The food preparation appliance set forth in claim 4 wherein the inflow segment has a length, a transverse dimension of the inflow segment increasing along the length of the inflow segment.

6. The food preparation appliance set forth in claim 5 wherein each rib has, in the direction of rotation of the blade member, a base, the first slope inclining from the base to the peak, an angular distance from the base to the peak of each rib being less than or equal to approximately one-third of an angular distance between circumferentially adjacent rib peaks.

Assignees

• Spectrum Brands Inc

Inventors

• Nernberger Kroy Everett
• Smith Jacob Daniel
• Everett David W

Classifications

• A47J43/0722 Primary

  Mixing, whipping or cutting tools · CPC title

• A47J43/046 Primary

  with tools driven from the bottom side · CPC title

• A47J43/0727

  Mixing bowls · CPC title

• B02C18/12

  with drive arranged below container {(B02C18/083 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B01F15/00876

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic