Apparatus for agitating liquid foodstuff

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9801500-B2
Application number	US-201314413307-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 5, 2013
Priority date	Jul 12, 2012
Publication date	Oct 31, 2017
Grant date	Oct 31, 2017

Abstract

An apparatus for agitating liquid foodstuff, comprising a whisk that includes a magnetic rotor of a brushless electromotor assembly, and a main body including a liquid foodstuff container in which the whisk is receivable such that it is rotatable around a rotation axis (L) thereof, and a stator of the electromotor assembly. The stator is configured to electromagnetically drive the rotor in rotation, and includes at least one magnetic sensor configured to provide a signal that reflects positional changes of the magnetic rotor relative to the magnetic sensor. The main body also includes a controller configured to detect an initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk around its rotation axis from the signal of the magnetic sensor, and, once such initial movement of the whisk is detected, to operate the apparatus independent of said initial, movement.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for agitating liquid foodstuff, the apparatus comprising:
a whisk, including:
a liquid foodstuff agitator;
a rotor of an electromotor assembly, wherein the rotor is connected to the liquid foodstuff agitator, and includes at least one rotor magnet;

a main body, including:
a liquid foodstuff container, configured to at least partially receive the whisk such that the whisk is rotatable around a rotation axis thereof;
a stator of the electromotor assembly, said stator being configured to electromagnetically drive the rotor in rotation, and including at least one magnetic sensor configured to provide a signal that reflects positional changes of the at least one rotor magnet relative to the magnetic sensor; and
a controller, operably connected to the stator of the electromotor assembly, and configured
to detect an initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk around the rotation axis from the signal of the magnetic sensor; and
once the initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk is detected, to operate the apparatus independent of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller, in detecting the initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk around the rotation axis, is configured to detect at least one parameter of said initial, manually effected rotational movement.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the whisk is rotatable around the rotation axis in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction, and
wherein the at least one parameter includes the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction of said initial, manually effected rotational movement.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller, in operating the apparatus independent of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk, is configured to control the stator to electromagnetically drive the rotor in rotation, such that a direction of the stator-driven rotation of the whisk matches the direction of the initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one parameter includes a value indicative of the angular velocity of said initial, manually effected rotational movement around the rotation axis.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the controller, in operating the apparatus independent of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk, is configured to control the stator to electromagnetically drive the rotor in rotation, such that an angular velocity of the stator-driven rotation of the whisk is dependent on said value.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one temperature control element for controlling a temperature of liquid foodstuff in the foodstuff container, and
wherein the controller is operably connected to the at least one temperature control element, and, in operating the apparatus independent of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk, configured to operate the temperature control element dependent on the detected at least one parameter of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the detected at least one parameter of said initial, manually effected rotational movement dependent on which the at least one temperature control element is operated includes the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the whisk.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the whisk includes an elongate shaft having a first end that is connected to the rotor and a second end that defines a hand grip, and
wherein the apparatus further includes a lid for closing off the liquid food container, wherein said lid defines an opening, such that, when the whisk is operably received in the foodstuff container closed off by the lid, the rotor is located inside the foodstuff container at a position near the stator, and the hand grip extends outward from the foodstuff container through the opening in the lid.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the lid is at least partially transparent.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one rotor magnet of the rotor includes a plurality of permanent magnets, alternatingly poled and circumferentially arranged around the rotation axis of the whisk.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the stator includes a plurality of printed coils.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetic sensor includes a printed coil.

14. An apparatus for agitating liquid foodstuff, the apparatus comprising:
a liquid foodstuff agitator;
a rotor of an electromotor assembly, wherein the rotor is connected to the liquid foodstuff agitator, and includes at least one rotor magnet;
a liquid foodstuff container, configured to at least partially receive the liquid foodstuff agitator such that the liquid foodstuff agitator is rotatable around a rotation axis thereof;
a stator of the electromotor assembly, said stator being configured to electromagnetically drive the rotor in rotation, and including at least one magnetic sensor configured to provide a signal that reflects positional changes of the at least one rotor magnet relative to the magnetic sensor; and
a controller, operably connected to the stator of the electromotor assembly, and configured
to detect an initial, manually effected rotational movement of the liquid foodstuff agitator around the rotation axis from the signal of the magnetic sensor; and
once the initial, manually effected rotational movement of the liquid foodstuff agitator is detected, to operate the apparatus independent of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the liquid foodstuff agitator.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the controller, in operating the apparatus independent of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the liquid foodstuff agitator, is configured to control the stator to electromagnetically drive the rotor in rotation, such that a direction of the stator-driven rotation of the liquid foodstuff agitator matches a direction of the initial, manually effected rotational movement of the liquid foodstuff agitator.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the controller, in operating the apparatus independent of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the liquid foodstuff agitator, is configured to control the stator to electromagnetically drive the rotor in rotation, such that an angular velocity of the stator-driven rotation of the liquid foodstuff agitator is dependent on an angular velocity of said initial, manually effected rotational movement around the rotation axis.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one temperature control element for controlling a temperature of liquid foodstuff in the foodstuff container, and
wherein the controller is operably connected to the at least one temperature control element, and, in operating the apparatus independent of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the liquid foodstuff agitator, configured to operate the temperature control element dependent on a detected at least one parameter of said initial, manually effected rotational movement of the liquid foodstuff agitator.

18. The apparatus according to

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Ven Der Woning Mark Ronald

Classifications

• A47J27/004

  with integral electrical heating means (drinking cups with integral heating means A47J36/2466) · CPC title

• A47J43/1093

  the wires being of the closed-loop type mounted at the end of a shaft · CPC title

• A47J43/0465 Primary

  with magnetic drive · CPC title

• B01F13/0827

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B01F13/0863

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic