Apparatus to produce pasta

Details Apparatus to produce pasta Apparatus to produce pasta

2001-01-30

2001-11-06

Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)

Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus

With apparatus assembly or dismantling means or with idle part

For extrusion or injection type shaping means

C099S348000, C099S353000, C366S098000, C366S314000, C425S151000, C425S197000, C425S205000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06312246

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention concerns an apparatus to produce pasta, as set forth in the main claim.
The apparatus according to the invention is suitable to be used particularly, but not exclusively, in the domestic field to prepare different types and shapes of pasta.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The state of the art includes apparatus used in the domestic field to prepare pasta of different types and shapes, such as spaghetti, macaroni, gnocchi, bread-sticks, biscuits, pizza, flaky pastry or otherwise.
Such devices generally comprise a receptacle, or basket, into which the desired ingredients are poured to be amalgamated together by means of a rotary blade.
The receptacle co-operates at the lower part with an extrusion chamber comprising a feeding screw suitable to convey and push the dough against an interchangeable extruder defining the type and shape of the pasta.
Such devices as are known to the state of the art have shown themselves to be inefficient for various reasons.
First of all they are difficult to clean, as the extrusion chamber is made in a single piece with the box-like structure of the device, or can only be partly dismantled.
In the second case, moreover, the user often finds difficulties in dismantling and assembling the components because of the complicated systems used or because the sequences to dismantle and assemble the components are too complicated or do not respect a pre-defined logical order.
It is difficult, moreover, with conventional devices to produce perfectly amalgamated doughs and to transfer the whole from the receptacle to the extrusion chamber. This is because in conventional devices it often happens that a layer of dough remains on the bottom of the receptacle which is wasted and therefore a longer time is required to clean the receptacle.
Furthermore, with these devices it is difficult to introduce the ingredients inside the receptacle, as the upper cover has to be opened, and therefore the device has to be stopped, or an aperture on the cover has to be used, and the shape does not prevent flour or pieces of the dough from spilling out.
In some cases, moreover, in conventional devices, there have been cases where flour or portions of the dough have infiltrated inside the compartment housing the motor means or electric parts, with a danger of malfunctioning or risks for the user.
Moreover, with conventional devices there is the problem that the dough is distributed to the extruder in an uneven manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,318 and GB-A-2.021.921 disclose domestic apparatuses for the production of pasta having the features of the pre-characterising portion of claim
1
.
However, these documents do not disclose guide and centering means provided on the internal wall of the housing of the apparatus and suitable to cooperate with mating guide and centering means provided on the external wall of the receptacle and extending substantially for the entire height of the receptacle itself. Thus, in these apparatuses, the operations of centering, insertion and extraction of the receptacle in/from the relative housing, and its coupling with the relative extrusion assembly, are rather complicated and cannot be carried out in an easy and fast way.
The present Applicant has devised and embodied this invention to overcome these shortcomings and to obtain further advantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is set forth and characterised in the main claim, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the main embodiment.
The purpose of the invention is to provide a mixing apparatus to produce pasta, extremely simple, easy to use and not susceptible to malfunctioning.
Another purpose of the invention is to allow a careful and rapid cleaning by achieving an apparatus with a compact structure but which will make possible to remove, both easily and quickly, all the components and functional parts which come into contact with the ingredients or the dough during the preparation of the pasta.
A further purpose is to allow the preparation of a perfectly homogeneous dough and the passage of all the dough from the receptacle to the extrusion chamber.
The apparatus according to the invention comprises, in its essential parts, a box-like structure with which are associated, in a removable manner, an assembly to mix and prepare the dough, and an extrusion assembly, inter-communicating by means of at least an aperture through which the dough can pass.
The assembly to mix and prepare the dough comprises, in its essential parts, a receptacle which can be closed at the top by a cover and inside which a mixing organ is suitable to rotate, equipped at least with first means suitable to amalgamate the ingredients and second means suitable to push the dough thus produced into the extrusion assembly.
According to a variant, the mixing organ also comprises third means suitable to scrape the dough from the bottom of the receptacle so as to prevent it from depositing there.
The extrusion assembly comprises, in its essential parts, an extrusion chamber co-operating internally with a feeding screw and, at an outer end, with an interchangeable extruder.
According to one characteristic of the invention, the apparatus comprise centering and guide means provided on the external wall of the receptacle and extending substantially for the entire height thereof, these means being suitable to cooperate with mating centering and guide means provided on the inner wall of the housing of this receptacle.
According to one characteristic of the invention, in order to assemble and dismantle the assembly to mix and prepare the dough and the extrusion assembly, the user has to respect a simple sequence suitable which will avoid problems in the functioning of the apparatus and accidental spillages of flour, portions of dough or other ingredients from the receptacle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other characteristics of the invention will become clear from the following description of a preferred an extrusion chamber co-operating internally with a feeding screw and, at an outer end, with an interchangeable extruder.
According to one characteristic of the invention, the apparatus comprise centering and guide means provided on the external wall of the receptacle and extending substantially for the entire height thereof, these means being suitable to cooperate with mating centering and guide means provided on the inner wall of the housing of this receptacle.
According to one characteristic of the invention, in order to assemble and dismantle the assembly to mix and prepare the dough and the extrusion assembly, the user has to respect a simple sequence suitable which will avoid problems in the functioning of the apparatus and accidental spillages of flour, portions of dough or other ingredients from the receptacle.


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patent: 5401159 (1995-03-01), Hsu
patent: 5409365 (1995-04-01), Su et al.
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patent: 5486100 (1996-01-01), Hsu
patent: 5731012 (1998-03-01), Backus et al.
patent: 0022090 (1981-01-01), None
patent: 2021962 (1979-12-01), None

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